第５５４堀：マジック・ギア・スティーブ 後編 (Part2)
"I'm jealous of a workplace where you can sleep during the night shift."
『Watch the door. There’s no magical signature, but that doesn't mean there aren't physical traps.』
"That's our specialty, isn't it? The Boss loves them, after all."
『That man uses a combination of magical and physical traps, mixing simple ones with complex ones. It’s practically impossible to disarm.』
"Well, he’s trying to kill people with his, so ours are at most..."
I open the door, but I don't step inside immediately; I check the floor first.
"...at most, just tripwires."
It’s a mechanism where a foot catches a thread, causing iron items like swords and armor propped up in the warehouse to topple over. If that much noise rings out, anyone would notice. I couldn't find any threads leading outside, so this is a trap contained entirely within the warehouse. Well, maintenance is a pain, and it’s not like this is the royal treasury, so there’s no need to make it that secure.
"Anyway, is this definitely the Magic Gear? Fang 1."
『Yeah, that’s the one. Swap it with the dummy as planned.』
"Roger that. Wait, hold on. There’s a letter inside the box."
I open the letter tucked into the box containing the Magic Gear.
*To the dear Taklam,*
*Haire-sama watches over the pious believers.*
*As proof, we send this to you.*
*Regarding its usage...*
"Hey, hey. If I recall, Haire is..."
『The largest religion around these parts. Even Haiden claimed they took their name from Haire, and there were stories about them defeating the Demon Lord.』
"And it matches the time when the monsters disappeared, too. Oh boy, we poked a bush and a snake came out."
Troublesome.
『Any other information?』
"None. No sender address, either. I need you to check the Haire headquarters."
『Already on it.』
"For now, I’ve recovered the items of interest, so I’m pulling out. More importantly, we need to speed up the recovery of the other Magic Gears."
『I know. I’m moving the teams on standby.』
"If Haire is really behind this, the roots go pretty deep. I have no clue what they’re aiming for."
『For now, Steel 1, come back. Talk to the Boss directly. That’s the first step.』
"Understood."
While chatting, I slip out of Taklam’s mansion and dash through the noble district. Man, one problem after another. How is the Boss going to explain all this?
『Still, it’s just like the tropes—you infiltrate a place to investigate, and you end up finding something even worse.』
"Ain't that the truth. In real life, it’s not fun at all."
『Well, anyway, let’s return to base, finish recovering the other Magic Gears, and confirm everything.』
"Agreed."
And so, the result of the full-scale Magic Gear recovery operation: it was confirmed that every single location had a letter from the Haire Church attached. The Boss was holding his head in his hands.
"...To think something like this would turn up here. We don't have the manpower to verify it. Plus, it’s practically the local state religion. I can't just go talking to the folks from Haiden or Findall about this!? They’d just distrust us instead!?"
That's right. I think he's spot on.
"...The mastermind behind the 'Assembly of Wisdom' and the remnants of the Lira Kingdom might be the headquarters of the biggest religion in the region? What is this, a B-grade movie!? And what’s the benefit in it for them!? Or are they just using Haire’s name? If that’s the case, I’d be relieved, but the content is too important to ask about carelessly!?"
"So, what do we do from here, Boss?"
"...Go to the Haire Church in Haiden and poke around. I doubt there’s hard evidence, but if there is, it’ll make persuasion easier. As for me... I have to explain the gathered intel to the envoys from Haiden and Findall."
"Oh, so you *are* going to explain it after all."
"...I panicked at first, but it’s not like I’m announcing it to the whole country. I’m sure the members involved have enough common sense. I’ll pray for that."
Good luck with that. Now, I guess I’ll get back to work.
And finally, a hint toward the identity of the shadow organization...
STAGE 1 Cleared. NEXT STAGE.
Not Outer Heaven, but the shadow of Haire.
Now, what will happen next?!
The perspective shifts to Yuki, and then we move to STAGE 2.
Stay tuned for the next installment.