落とし穴９２堀：夏の残骸 (Part2)
"Well, I only really used this place for the test of courage. I mean, that’s exactly why I built it."
I turned on the room's lights and opened the windows for ventilation, lightly dusting off the equipment. Not much time had passed, so there wasn't much buildup.
"So this is the monitor. You installed quite a lot of them, didn't you?"
Labyris hadn't participated back then, so this must have been her first time here.
"Yeah. It was to make sure there were no dangers on the path and to keep records."
"Collecting all of these seems like a real pain."
"It’s not like I have to do it all today; I just came to check on things this time. And look, the monitors and the cameras are all still functioning."
Since the surveillance cameras were hardwired, I could control them remotely. The master control screen showed that all cameras were online and ready to be activated at any time. They lasted longer than I expected.
With that thought, I activated the system, and the monitors flickered to life all at once. The recording functions seemed to be in perfect working order, too...
"Hmm. Yuki, you guys said you modeled this after a traditional inn, but this looks like a school."
Labyris suddenly remarked. A school? Did I build something like that? While I was busy checking the monitors, Jessica and Cleena tilted their heads in confusion.
"No, it’s an inn."
"Mm. An inn. There's no sign of it being a school."
"Eh? But look, right here."
On the monitor Labyris was pointing at, a space that looked exactly like a school classroom was indeed spread out before us.
"Wait, hold on! The footage from the indoor cameras is completely wrong!"
I realized it as I checked the screens. The cameras along the path to the inn were showing the forest as usual, but the footage coming from the cameras inside the inn was bizarre.
"This really is a school, isn't it? Wasn't it supposed to be an inn?"
"No, it was definitely an inn during the test of courage."
"Mm. It was definitely an inn."
"But like Labyris said, it looks like a school. Why? No, that’s a stupid question. Luna must have been pulling another one of her weird pranks."
" " "Ah." " "
My wives nodded in realization. Only Luna would be capable of something like this. I couldn't entirely rule out Taiki or Taizo, but they had neither the time nor the reason to do something so pointless.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to grill Luna?"
"No, first we’ll go check the physical site without going inside. It’s possible it’s just a visual trick."
"That sounds like something Luna would do."
If it were just a visual trick, she could just revert it later and play dumb, claiming she had nothing to do with it.
"For now, let’s record this monitor footage. There’s a spare camera here... this one. Cleena, take this and record it."
I handed the camera to Cleena and left the recording to her.
"Mm. Recorded perfectly."
Cleena seemed to have a knack for machinery and picked up the controls easily. Lately, she’d even been playing around with computers and cameras freely. That part was fine.
"Alright, let's head over to the inn now. If there's a school there, we'll document it, then head back to interrogate Luna. The four of us will be witnesses so she can't talk her way out of it, so keep that in mind."
"Understood."
"I understand."
"Mm. I've got the recording covered."
With that decided, we left the observation post and walked toward the inn, only to find... a grand school building towering before us.
"A school. Without a doubt."
"It certainly is."
"Mm. A school. The inn has vanished."
Apparently, it wasn't a hallucination; the school was physically there. What's more, it looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, just like the inn had been, showing just how much effort had been put into this. Only Luna would go to such useless lengths.
"Alright, we've confirmed it and have the evidence. If we go inside carelessly, we might not be able to get back out, so let's retreat for now. We're going to find Luna and interrogate her."
"Agreed. Messing with the land without permission is a no-go."
"I'll send a message ahead, then."
"Mm. The camera footage is solid, so we're good."
Now then, I wonder what Luna's goal was in doing all this. I mean, the abandoned inn we worked so hard to build is gone.
...I'm sad.
It’s like when you remember something you used in the summer last year, only to find it’s all worn out—or worse, thrown away without your permission. It’s that kind of feeling.