Luckily or not, we were able to arrive at the meeting spot of D.U. without being late at the scheduled time.
There seemed to be a lot that Aco wanted to say regarding Hina’s sudden business trip and the destination being Abydos, but she swallowed her words and simply wished us a safe trip.
As soon as the clock struck 11, an automaton affiliated with Kaiser PMC approached us.
“Trinity’s T-party host. I hadn’t heard there would be a companion.”
“That’s my own concern! ☆ It’s not really something you need to worry about, so how about you just guide us?”
“…Understood. Please follow me.”
Sitting side by side in a vehicle bearing the Kaiser PMC emblem, I felt oddly like I was being kidnapped. I had never felt such a thing when I was actually kidnapped, but it felt somewhat similar.
During the ride, there was no casual chatting. Hina and Nana didn’t see the need to talk in a place with Kaiser’s ears around.
After what felt like a long silence, the scenery outside began to slowly change. The wind started blowing sand around, dirtying the windows.
However… one problem was that we weren’t inside the Abydos Autonomous District yet.
“…Mika, it seems the situation is more serious than we anticipated.”
“Right? At this point, it’s certain that the desertification will spread outside of Abydos sooner or later.”
As we entered the autonomous district and drove along the sand-covered road for a while, we finally arrived in the city center. The reason we didn’t take the train could be that we were probably worried about information leaking to the rival company, Saint Nephthys.
Passing through the city, we were able to see Abydos High School from quite a distance. And nearby, the sight of a fierce battle.
I had received some records of clashes with Vina. The achievements of SRT’s weaponry fell short of expectations. Vina’s laser shots didn’t hit us at all thanks to the evasive maneuvers orchestrated by the teacher, but what was truly concerning was her enormous size.
In reality, my worries had manifested themselves.
Vina wasn’t a simple boss that just repeated the same patterns in the game, changing them only when moving to the next phase. At least in battle, she was a monster capable of unexpected actions and knew how to exploit her strengths.
Continuing past Abydos and driving for a while, we had now fully entered the desert. Visibility was severely limited due to the sandstorm.
…This is exactly why Hoshino said not to come.
Considering that the driver was an automaton from the PMC, the risk of an accident was probably nonexistent, but I began to realize just how serious the situation in Abydos was.
The fact that such a large-scale incident had only resulted in a couple of trivial articles from the outside speaks volumes about how indifferent Kivotos as a whole was towards Abydos Academy.
This was definitely not a natural phenomenon. It couldn’t be natural.
“It will take about three hours to reach our destination.”
Wow, how annoying.
With nothing but sand swirling outside the window, it was even worse. Glancing beside me, I saw Hina looking just as serious, staring outside.
Reaching out, I took hold of Hina’s hand, and after blinking at me in surprise, she tightened her grip silently.
I discreetly pulled out my Hyudaepon and left a brief Momotalk message to Hoshino and the teacher, letting them know that we were currently at the Abydos desert.
By the way, thinking about having to fight Vina in this environment was rather terrifying. At this rate, I wouldn’t even be able to see that serpent moving.
Seeing how the three of us managed to drive her away and how impressive Hoshino and our committee from the prior clash felt, I couldn’t help but feel proud of it. But would we really be able to catch her?
With my eyes closed and leaning against the window, I slowly sorted through the situation.
The place where Kaiser President spoke of, where all of Abydos’s glory began.
That undoubtedly referred to the campus that Abydos had been using initially before it had to relocate due to the onset of desertification.
I couldn’t help but wonder what could possibly remain there, but at least at this moment, it was certain that the chances of finding a solution on our own were relatively high.
If by any chance we couldn’t find a clue to resolve the desertification there, the remaining choice would practically be down to one.
In the end, all roads lead to Gematria.
*
“We have arrived.”
Looking at the time, it was already nearly evening. I had anticipated this and brought along a ton of jerky.
…And a gas mask too.
Just so you know, convenience stores in Kivotos sell gas masks. They sell ammunition and explosives too, so a gas mask isn’t surprising.
The quality might be embarrassing to compare with those used by places like SRT or Arius, but still, it should be more reliable than what Kaiser provides.
I had to be careful because I had imagined situations where wearing a gas mask could lead to toxic gas bursting into the respiratory tract.
Stepping outside was uncomfortable due to the visibility issues, but after moving a bit, I saw a massive tent. It resembled one that a traveling circus might use.
Once we passed that, an excavation site deep underground came into view as the automaton guided us.
The first thing that caught my eye was a huge stone pillar engraved with various symbols. What do they call this… an obelisk, perhaps?
Beyond that, stood an architectural marvel that wouldn’t be overshadowed even compared to our T-party’s building, rising from deep underground.
However, at some point, it had stopped burrowing down and seemed to have bored a hole through the wall of the building entirely.
Since the inside wasn’t affected by the sandstorm, I decided to remove the gas mask and hang it on my handbag.
Just then, someone approached us, as if they had been waiting.
“Are you the T-party host?”
“…Who are you?”
“I’m the General of Kaiser PMC. You could say I’m the overall supervisor for this excavation site.”
The automaton, resembling a military officer with a PMC armband, greeted us. The General’s gaze, which had been focused on me, briefly shifted to Hina before returning.
“I hadn’t heard that the Council President from Gehenna would come.”
“Well, it just turned out that way. Given the current situation in Abydos, both our academies can’t help but take an interest.”
“…It doesn’t matter. Follow me. I’ll explain about this place as we go down.”
If he hadn’t initially planned to fight me, there was no reason to pay heed to Hina’s presence.
Riding the lift that descended into the excavation site following the General, we began our descent.
“When the President decided to fulfill her deal with you, she focused on precisely two places. One is the building that was used just before moving to the current annex, which can be considered the last bastion of Abydos… the other is this place. This is where the history and glory of Abydos—once the most powerful academy in Kivotos—began.”
“Is the reason for excavating only this building because the scale of the campus is exceedingly massive?”
“Correct. However, we believe that even excavating just this building is sufficient because this is where Abydos’s student council used to operate. We cross-referenced coordinates using various maps and equipment to start the excavation. Even though most of the important materials were moved to other places during the academy’s relocation, some remnants must surely exist.”
And I must hope that within those remnants lies the information I’m searching for—not just for Abydos but also for the sake of Kivotos.
Following the General who stepped off the lift that had come to a halt, I walked alongside him. While gazing at the various symbols carved into the obelisk, something familiar caught my eye.
It was a symbol depicting a pyramid shape. Now that I think about it, there might even be one of those pyramids somewhere in that vast desert.
For some reason, drawn underneath the pyramid was a long-snouted canine-like creature…
Upon closer inspection, I found a symbol depicting a wolf-headed woman as well.
…This certainly seems related to Egyptian mythology. A wolf and a woman, and speaking of Abydos, there’s undoubtedly one person who comes to mind.
“…T-party host, are you not coming? We won’t have time to look around elsewhere if we delay.”
“Haha, there’s no need to rush, I’m on my way soon enough. Why the hurry?”
“How annoying… Hmph. Fine, just follow.”
Isn’t the truly annoying one the person who says that in front of someone capable of crushing them with their bare hands? General…
Anyway, I followed the General inside the building that the Abydos Student Council used to utilize, moving toward a wall that seemed to have a hole in the middle.
I hope this place has the information I’m seeking.
