第１１３７堀：実証実験前はどきどきする (Part1)
**Chapter 1137: Pre-Experimental Jitters**
**Side: Yuki**
One thing led to another, and before I knew it, the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving us in the heart of the night.
Days really do fly by, don’t they?
In the midst of this, I was consulting with Agil and Comet regarding some information they had managed to dig up.
"I see. So, about 200 years ago, an investigation into the Great Sea of Trees ended in failure. They were wiped out, leaving only a handful of survivors..."
Right. It was the kind of story Agil had picked up during the day—common enough in its own way.
Surprisingly, the information came from the innkeeper. Whether it had any connection to the current ghost incident was anyone’s guess, but even so...
"You know, it might be worth trying to search for the remains while we’re at it."
"I wonder. The goal of this expedition is strictly to secure the outer perimeter to establish survey routes. I don’t think we’ll have the luxury of time to go around collecting bones."
"Agil is right. Besides, it’s doubtful any remains are even left. Regardless, we have to confirm the perimeter of the Great Sea of Trees first. In the meantime, I’ll get the details from Popuri to pinpoint the general location."
Exactly. It would be useful for the survey of the Great Sea of Trees.
It would also clarify the areas already covered by the Lancer Academy of Magic.
The only question is why Popuri had kept it hidden until now.
Well, "hidden" might be the wrong word—perhaps she just didn't see the point in reporting it.
After all, once I take control of a dungeon, monitoring it via cameras is trivial. Even if I didn't, I intended to bring proper recording equipment anyway, so she likely judged that information gathered 200 years ago was useless.
Then again, it seems they’ve continued the surveys since then, and even if it’s only once every five years, that’s still a significant amount of data.
*Sigh.* I’m going to have to properly review those documents, too.
Ugh, it really is a lot of work.
While I felt a headache coming on thinking about the future schedule, this wasn't the place to hash out those details, so I set that aside and continued the conversation.
"But first, we have to resolve this ghost incident. Besides, Micos is currently gathering details on the rumors, and one of them mentions a student who went missing about 100 years ago after claiming they would 'solve the mystery of the academy.' As of now, there’s no clear link to the massive casualties from the 200-year-old survey."
"I mean, if you want to get technical, doesn't '100 years ago' fall within the 200-year window?"
"If we start saying things like that, anything goes. Regardless, we need to gather solid evidence first. That said, I’ll keep it in the back of my mind. Honestly, if this ghost incident is actually connected to the Great Sea of Trees, we are in serious trouble."
"True. If the 'appearance of ghosts' is linked, then something must be stirring in the Great Sea of Trees as well. If that happens, I can’t even imagine what kind of monstrosity might crawl out. What could it be? A ghost boss? Or maybe a vengeful spirit with an instant-death ability?"
"What kind of cursed videotape are you talking about?"
For the record, if something like that actually showed up, I have no idea if we could even put up a fight.
No, we’d definitely die.
But, putting that aside...
"It’s past 10:00 PM. Shall we head to the monitoring room?"
"Understood."
"Agreed. Let’s get going. Is tonight going to be a long one?"
As Agil asked that...
"I’d prefer it not to be, but I hope we find out the ghost’s true identity. That might be asking for too much, though, so for now, the best-case scenario is that the camera Popuri touched can actually capture the ghost."
"Well, it’s one step at a time."
By the time we arrived at the monitoring room, Taiki and Taizo-san were already well into their preparations.
"Oh, Yuki-san. Good morning... wait, that’s not right, is it?"
"Exactly. 'Good evening' should suffice, though if you mean it in terms of work, 'good morning' works too."
"True. Well, this is a ghost investigation. I think it’s better to keep a bit of a relaxed mindset rather than being too serious about it."
Neither of them seemed particularly excited or repulsed by today’s investigation; they were perfectly calm.
"So, how’s it looking? Taizo-san, Taiki."
"Any reactions yet?"
"No, nothing at all so far. Principal Popuri infused the camera with magic power during the day, but we haven’t seen any results yet."
"I didn’t expect it to be that easy, but it seems it won’t move that readily. By the way, is Principal Popuri, who seems to be involved in this ghost incident, not here yet?"
Now that I think about it, Popuri hasn't arrived.
"No, I haven't received any word. It’s not the scheduled meeting time yet, so it shouldn't be a problem, but..."
Still, I was curious, so I checked with Kirika.
"Principal Popuri is currently in her office handling the work she usually does during the day. It seems her tasks have piled up due to the time she took off earlier."
"Ah, I see. I said I was going to rest, but I ended up doing paperwork until evening, too."
"That sounds rough. I’m in the same boat."
"It’s unavoidable that we’ve been busy with one thing or another, but will you be alright tonight? There’s no need to push yourself if you’re tired; you can just sleep. Kirika and Agil can cover for you, right?"
"Yes. As Taizo-san says, please do not push yourself if it is too much, Master."
"If you haven't slept, you should sleep. If you collapse, Yuki, our operations will come to a halt."
Everyone was worrying about me, but...
"It’s the usual for me, so don’t worry. If anything, because of what’s happening tonight, I actually had much less work than usual and managed to take a short nap, so I’m feeling great. Wouldn't you agree, Taizo-san?"
"Indeed. It was a day with more breathing room than usual."
Taiki has his hands full as a king, and Taizo-san is constantly busy with research and assisting Hifi, so they are just as busy as I am. Because of that, they seemed to accept that today’s situation was, in a sense, like a day off.
"So, Kirika, Agil, you’re both worrying too much. Besides, don’t you two usually stay up later than me anyway?"
"...That is only natural as part of my duties."
"And I’m in research, so..."
In the end, we’re all people who are used to staying up late.
Well, I know they’re worried about me, so...
"If it gets too tough, I’ll sleep, so don’t worry. More importantly, let’s focus on this."
"Agreed. Still, there’s nothing on the screen, as expected."
Where I directed my gaze, the footage from the cameras placed around the academy was playing.
But, as Comet said, it was a quiet, unchanging scene. There was certainly no sign of any ghosts.
"It’s not the time for ghosts to appear yet, so this is to be expected."
Right. They say ghosts appear at twilight or during the hour of the ox.
But at school, there are still students around during twilight, and teachers on patrol.
If ghosts were appearing during those times, it would be a huge commotion by now.
Ah, but if only Popuri can see them, then time might not matter.
Still, focusing on the times they’ve appeared before is a fundamental rule of this kind of investigation.
Yes, aligning the place and the time is what’s important.