act13d0

This cave used to be the entrance to a tunnel that connects to the neighboring village. Now that it's sealed, we can't trade with our neighbors.

Surtr?

I think I remember this path.

Sir, what's the relationship between this village and the neighboring one?

It's a mining village just like ours. Since the nearby villages are all in the same business, we deal with each other a lot.

Some villagers even move back and forth between the communities.

But the cave-in blocked off our only means of communication. They've probably already moved on to keep mining.

The course of this path, the direction...

It's getting more familiar.

I used to pass through this place often.

The familiar figures of children run past me and disappear among the piles of rocks up ahead.

You want to go to another village?

If we got the path open, we could contact them pretty quickly.

That would be great... Surtr?

I'm not willing to wait that long.

Huh?

What?

Move aside!

Surtr, wait! I know you're eager for answers, but the mine isn't safe right now!

Think for a minute before you put yourself in danger!

Meteorite, just wait for me outside and guard the entrance!

The girl! She actually smashed through the rubble and rushed in!?

Hey, wait!

Stop! Don't you go in there too!

You're risking another cave-in!

Damn it!! Surtr!

Deep within the mine, the traces of heavy machinery are obvious.

The path snakes ahead, as if guiding Surtr forward.

So this is the path to that other village.

It's just an Originium Slug nest now.

It looks like they took over the empty space in the past few months.

Troublesome.

Hm...

Children holding hands walk along the path.

Passing by the countless traces of Originium Slugs.

Disappearing into the darkness ahead.

Huh?

An explosion!

Another cave-in!?

That girl is in danger! What do we do!?

The streets in my memories were filled with the rich aroma of the earth, not the scent of dried plants.

The companions in my memories would not chase after one another, ice-cream in hand.

The buildings looked the same, yet were completely different.

It was not just minor differences in the design. Even the materials and structures were completely different.

Ah, I'm hurt. Ouch. My palm's scratched.

Never thought there would be a day I got distracted enough to get ambushed by Originium Slugs.

Tch.

This... this is...

There's another empty space beneath the mining pit?

(Rustle rustle). It's the sound of Originium Slugs.

(Rustle rustle).

(Rustle rustle).

The ruins of a city in a giant cavern...?

Surtr enters the cavern deep beneath the earth.

Beside the glow of Originium Slugs, she can trace the outlines of buildings among the piles of stone and rubble.

Tiles of a road, bricks of a wall.

It is very clear that the entire place has been buried for a very long time.

Dozens of years? Hundreds of years?

Surtr does not know either. Yet, she has found that which she is looking for.

Here!

Surtr!

Ah, thanks for pinpointing the location. I was able to break the rock layer at the correct spot.

What were you thinking?! Why would you rush into such a dangerous place all by yourself?!

I was doing a little thing called 'investigating'.

Incidentally, I discovered the cause of the cave-ins. There was a nest of Originium Slugs below the mine, inside a giant cavern.

The mining put more pressure on the bottom, so the whole thing just collapsed.

I destroyed the Originium Slug nest and used the cave-in to seal up the entire cavern. Done.

Though we skipped over the standard procedures, the issue was resolved.

What!

Huh?

So, you solved the whole problem by yourself, but you didn't find the path to the neighboring village?

Right, I realized that neither village was the one in my memory.

I made a mistake. There aren't any memories I'm looking for here.

You'd mess up something you recorded so diligently all this while?

I suppose I would.

I've seen something like this before.

You run into all sorts of problems on the way to your goal.

It's thanks to the people beside me that I've made it this far.

I'm used to it.

After all, this isn't the first time there was a discrepancy in the places I remember.

But even if you didn't find the right place today, you still have a place to call home, right?

Are you trying to say I can rely on you too?

Um, I guess you could put it that way...

Ladies! I've notified the others in the village!

The exploration team is getting ready! It sounds like you've taken care of things and we can get back to mining.

Please wait for us to bring our data back to Rhodes Island before you go back in there.

We wouldn't want any more accidents.

Hahaha, that's fine. Everyone's too excited. I really have to thank you both.

If you don't mind, why don't you spend the night in the village?

You'll be our guests of honor!

Well...

We have to hurry back, so I'm afraid we'll pass.

But...

Could I have an ice-cream?

异域同族

Weapon reliability certification?

What's that about?

You need me to take my weapon down to the workshop for inspection, and have the people there sign off on it?

Do we really have to go through all that just because I brought my own weapon...?

Can't you bend the rules a little bit, Professor? Just sign off for me.