CH 103

Chapter 103

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Fairy And Great Beasts Of The Prairie, Part 13 — The Secrets Of The Prairie

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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For a while after that, Kazas began to explore the caves alone as well. After waking up in the morning and eating, he would take his lunch and go out. And they returned late at night, sometimes never coming home.

Everyone was worried about her condition, but only Miranda,

「We’ve come across as a researcher. Leave him alone, that’s how researchers are. When you’re in the heat of the moment, you won’t listen to what others have to say.」

They weren’t so sure. Miranda is a researcher herself, so perhaps she can understand his state of mind.

Then one day after a few days passed, Kazas was talking to Phalanx about something. And after that, he called everyone out.

「Everyone, may I have a moment of your time?」

The expression on Kazas’ face was more serious than they had ever seen before. They sensed something unusual in his expression, and all of them gathered around as Kazas urged them to do.

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Then they ran the horses for approximately 10 minutes. Alfiris and others, who had been busy training, were surprised at the size of this cave when they arrived here, but it was too late for Kazas and Euthy. Then, stopping at a certain spot, Kazas indicated a section of the wall.

「Over here.」

Kazas indicated where the wall had collapsed, or perhaps Kazas had collapsed it. There are marks where soil, tree roots, and even bedrock seem to have collapsed. From there, one could see a wall that emitted a milky white, or perhaps a silvery pale or shiny color. Miranda was the first to ask a question at this somewhat bewitching sight.

「Kazas, this is?」

「I don’t know?」

But Kazas answered the question with a question. Kazas’ curt reply made everyone blink.

「Hey, hey, are you going to show us something that you don’t even know what it is?」

「I told you I don’t know. Although there are some who say that, here’s what I’ve learned from not knowing what this is.」

「Like a riddle?」

「No… I want Fenna-san to do some analysis too.」

「With me?」

Fenna points at herself and looks puzzled.

「Yes. I just kind of know the results, but just to confirm. Can you please analyze this wall? I thought that Fenna-san, who manipulates earth and metal magic, could do it.」

「I understand.」

If that’s the case, Fenna put her hand on the wall and started looking for something. A few minutes to do so. Fenna’s face gradually became stern and sweat began to form on her forehead. She sighs a few more minutes, and then Fenna turns to look after her with a sigh.

「How was it? Did you find out what kind of metal it is?」

「No… I have no idea what metal this is. This has never happened to me before. I’m sorry.」

「I knew it…」

「Have you anticipated this outcome, Kazas?」

「Yes. After all, it was a metal that didn’t leave a single burn mark, even with gunpowder.」

Courageously, Kazas made a preposterous confession, but Miranda unexpectedly butted in.

「G–Gunpowder in a cave, what a dangerous thing to do…」

「We’ve got the quantity right in mind.」

「Hey, what do you mean by that?」

Alfiris asked. Fenna answered her question.

「Listen Alfie, I am of the family that controls ore magic. Many of the Seeker’s royalty are skilled in the art of ore processing, including myself, and I am very knowledgeable about ores. However, here is a metal that I cannot analyze」

「You were fooled by fake jewelries, though.」

「Ugh…」

「That would be a matter of individuality. By the way, this same thing has been found in all 8 places I have checked in the last few days. Directions and distances are all scattered. In other words, it is safe to assume with high probability that the entire cavern is covered with this metal.」

Kazas continues. Miranda seemed to have somewhat guessed what was being said, but the rest of the group had no idea.

「But I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about it from here… Phalanx, if you don’t mind.」

「…Fair enough. It will come to light at some point. I don’t mind talking to you humans.」

「Thank you very much for your help.」

Kazas takes a pause. His expression can’t hide a hint of anticipation and nervousness.

「My specialty is archaeology… I believe that its greatest proposition is『to reveal the origin of life.』The first thing that struck me as strange in my research was the fact that sometimes there were things among the ruins that were not known to have been made by anyone.」

「Strange?」

「Yes. Dwarves, elves, giants… they are older than humans, and they too build ruins, but their architectural style is similar to each race, and each is distinctive and easy to recognize. But as I looked into it, I found that there are temples, sacred and magical swords that even they revere as more ancient objects.」

「…Is that so?」

「Yes. The only species older than them that is currently known is the dragon species, so it was assumed that such objects were made by dragons…」

「What if it’s different?」

Miranda has a serious look on her face. This must be an interesting topic for her.

「I’m sure it’s not.」

「What’s your basis?」

「This site is too big. I just asked Phalanx and he said that this road is 200 km east to west and 100 km north to south. And although I haven’t checked, I suspect that it is probably very deep underground as well.」

「In fact, as Kazas said, there is a down below, but I have sealed it off. There were beings roaming around who were immune to my claws and fire. They were so dangerous that they were sealed up to prevent them from coming out on the ground. They were not likely to come out in the first place, and they had the habit of attacking anyone who approached them.」

「Then it is even more so. It’s believed that there are now fewer than 10 dragons left in the world that can understand human languages. Labor-wise, it would be impossible to build these ruins with 10 heads, wouldn’t it?」

Kazas’ hypothesis is bold and would be laughed out of the room at academic conferences. But to Miranda, who has lived for 300 years and has had more contact with the『world』than most scholars, Kazas’ hypothesis sounded strangely convincing.

「What the heck… But one theory says that today’s flying dragons are degenerates of dragons, and that all dragons used to understand human language, right? If that’s true, then maybe the dragons could manage to do it with all hands on deck…」

「While this possibility certainly cannot be ruled out, there are other theories that suggest that dragons that understand human language today and dragons exercised by humans, such as flying dragons, are completely different species as living organisms. This is hard to say, though, since there are no specimens of biologically human-speaking dragons. The theory that is most likely to prevail is the one Miranda mentioned, but I believe that the latter is the more credible as a theory. Assuming the latter is correct, we can further hypothesize that… I believe that there was once an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent creature called God on this continent.」

「A god, you mean…」

Everyone was aghast at the larger-than-life story. But Phalanx seemed to have somewhat anticipated the answer.