According to the teacher, the reason Saint Nephthys has resumed the desert cross-train business is to acquire the relics of this ruin.
According to the information gathered from their side, the relics of the ruins apparently possess the power to manipulate the climate… If that’s true, it seems sufficient reason for Saint Nephthys to act again in Abydos, regardless of whether they’re the embodiment of evil or not.
However, the commanding officer of Saint Nephthys we subdued holds the position of director, which is an awkwardly high executive level, so it’s likely they do not have access to all the information.
For that reason, how Saint Nephthys obtained such information remains a mystery.
And the method the teacher used to interrogate Saint Nephthys’ director is also questionable. There’s no way they used a grown-up’s card for something like this, right? From what I’ve heard, that director seemed like a robot as well; did Arona have hacking capabilities too?
“But teacher, even if you claim that rejecting my meeting request was due to a policy of excluding outsiders, we did indeed invade private property first… Still, that doesn’t justify them attacking us without even a warning, right? At that point, they didn’t seem very friendly towards us. What do you think?”
“From the way they unexpectedly answered my questions, it strongly feels like they mixed truth and lies. There are parts that can’t be trusted unconditionally.”
Hmm, thank goodness they didn’t actually use the adult’s card. I hope the moment for the teacher to use that never comes.
“In the end, we haven’t discovered much clearly, have we? They certainly brushed off the really important parts with ‘we don’t know,’ while saying ‘half truth, half lies’ about the relatively unimportant ones. Yeah, I think it’s best to interrogate them again properly.”
“…Mika, I would appreciate it if you could refrain from crossing the line. What the teacher did was merely an interrogation, not torture.”
“Huh? Ahaha, what kind of image do you have of me, teacher? Torture? I wouldn’t do something like that. Just a little… threatening, maybe?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, so please hold back… Since we succeeded in subjugating Vina, entering the ruins and destroying the relics will conclude our mission in Abydos successfully. It’s uncomfortable for the teacher to see you and Hina getting hurt despite being busy.”
“Heueng… Got it. So when will we be entering the ruins?”
“Right now. But you’re excluded.”
“…?”
Wait, what on earth is this now?
I jumped up from my seat and stretched lightly. Hmm, there’s no pain at all.
“Wait a sec, Mika?”
“Uhe~?! Misono Mika, stop for a moment!”
“Ugh, uh-huh.”
But the reactions around me are really strange. I looked around to see the teacher with eyes tightly shut and a turned head. Some kids were inexplicably blushing, while others were watching the teacher as if they were on guard… what’s going on here?
I suddenly felt an odd sensation and looked down. Instead of my usual outfit, I saw something unfamiliar.
“…?!”
“The state of your clothes is such a mess. I had to change you into spare clothes…”
Hina’s words made sense now. If my clothes had survived such an explosion, that would be surprising in itself.
As I looked around, I noticed that my headpiece and gun remained intact, so… does this mean they’ve been protected by my Shinpi’s influence or something? The criteria for protection seem ambiguous. Couldn’t they have protected my outfit a bit more?
Anyway, it’s fortunate there were spare clothes. I’m relieved, but…
“Yeah… That’s all that was in my bag.”
And of all things, it’s Shiroko’s cycling jersey. If I had been aware of my outfit, I definitely wouldn’t have stretched like that. I’m shocked that I just now noticed this.
What’s more, the exposure from the belly due to the ratio of Shiroko and my… uh, mid-chest! Let’s just say that made for a rather embarrassing getup.
…Wait a second.
“If my original clothing was so messed up that I had to change into this…”
I turned my gaze back to the still-closed eyes of the teacher.
“Teacher, did you see? No, of course, you did. The only person who could check my condition while Vina was fighting was you. Huh, you must’ve seen it.”
“…Mika, I think there’s some misunderstanding here. How about we calmly unfold it through our conversation?”
“Pervert. Male scumbag. Just die.”
Gulp.
Ah, but of course, I won’t actually hit him. Even if I’m joking, it wouldn’t be a joke to the teacher.
I didn’t feel particularly unpleasant about it. After all, if you dig through streaming sites, you would find me in a swimsuit anyway, so there’s no reason to make a fuss about this.
Oh, but it was a bit enjoyable to have the chance to diss the teacher. My personal grudge against a perfect man who lacks nothing still remains.
Die, male scumbag.
That’s a phrase with quite a lingering resonance.
*
In the end, after proving that my physical condition wasn’t perfect but also not detrimental to activity, I could enter the ruins along with the group.
What I saw up close in the ruins was not what I had expected at all.
I was anticipating something from an Indiana Jones or mummified movie, but what greeted us was something like a near-future factory.
And, where there’s a factory, there are inevitably things being produced.
Considering that the relics of the ruins are estimated to be objects created by the technology of the Nameless Priests, it’s pretty much in the realm of possibility that the guardians of this ruin are the Nameless Guardians.
A legion of machines with four legs that looked like spiders and jellyfish-like creatures emerged from the production line of the ceiling, and the group let out a groan.
“Tch… is it another battle?”
“Well, we already heard about the guardians, so we knew this was a possibility~ Guess it’s fortunate we can gather supplies from Saint Nephthys.”
“The fact that Saint Nephthys couldn’t breach this means they struggled against the sheer volume of forces, huh?”
The ruins lying dormant in the desert were, in fact, a munitions factory producing the army of Nameless Priests.
“But if they’ve only been stalled here, it means they’ve made some progress during that time, right?”
“It’s hard to be certain… Perhaps while stationed against Vina, they kept part of their forces present and struggled to breach with the remainder.”
“Anyway, it’s half confirmed that our goal lies beyond these things. Let’s muster our spirit and go for it ♧”
“Yeah, fighting spirit.”
“I’m counting on your orders… teacher.”
No matter what the true identity of this place was, our reason for coming here remains unchanged. It’s to break through to the innermost depths of the ruins.
We have ample supplies and overwhelming military strength.
With the teacher’s guidance—a veritable cheat—we’re practically doing a time attack in a munitions factory!
*
Actually, let me correct that. This place was not as easy as I expected.
Fundamentally, there was no cover, and the supply of Nameless Guardians seemed endless.
The attacks from the Nameless Guardians hurt more than I anticipated, and we took cover behind the defeated remnants of the Nameless Guardians, gradually advancing. We managed to replenish our supplies, but we could find ourselves bleeding if we waste too much unnecessarily.
When a scorpion-like Nameless Guardian fell without its front legs, we focused our fire to quickly annihilate it.
Moreover, we had to avoid being directly under the production line, and at some point, we had to advance while being surrounded by the enemy. Watching the teacher continue commanding without a hitch made me feel like they were an actual superhuman.
If my physical condition had been at its peak, I would’ve forced a path, but neither I nor the others were at full condition, so progress felt sluggish. Even though the teacher received some protection through the box of Shidim, from a student’s perspective, this added to the strain of protecting them, creating a suffocating situation overall.
I wish the teacher would stay back; I think I would feel more at ease that way…
The problem is that the teacher’s command was indeed impressive. It was clear that the battle was becoming easier thanks to their presence. I could feel it, and seeing the RABBIT Squad not resist it confirmed they truly had a cheat ability recognized by the world.
After defeating four scorpion-like Nameless Guardians in quick succession, we managed to discover a path to the next level without a moment to rest.
The size of these ruins—or rather, this munitions factory—was far beyond my imagination…
I had no idea how many layers remained ahead, but I worried whether our supplies would last until we reached the lowest level. Moreover, I pondered how we would return after destroying the relics.
It was a sudden realization that one shouldn’t rush in headfirst without proper reconnaissance.
