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Chapter 354 – Discoverer’s Privilege
That night Elise and Conrad were born. I took advantage of that gap in time when they were asleep and went to Aquawill-san’s room. Ellen and Amalie were still wide-eyed and unable to sleep, and they were both looking at the baby without getting tired of it. I was standing next to them just a few minutes ago, looking at Elise and Conrad in the same way.
“We’re here in large numbers again, aren’t we?”
“Everyone said they were interested when I told them about it.”
The three who came along were Isla, Flamme, a brown-feathered harpy, and Tozume. And although Flamme and Tozume followed along, saying they were interested, they seemed to be put off by the opulence and elegance of the private quarters of a real princess, which they would be entering for the first time. Unlike Sylphy’s and my room, Aquawill-san’s room has furnishings befitting royalty.
Eh? The cost of the furnishings, you ask? Well, Sylphy is… indirectly paying for it.
Well, this kind of thing is a kind of beauty of form and style. If you try to push through with only a simple and rigid quality, it won’t make the economy go down. The royal family of the Merinard kingdom is a tight-knit bunch, and it doesn’t go over well with the merchants, who say that even the royal family’s rooms have only modest and poor furnishings. Things are not going well.
“W-what should I do? …I’m totally out of place…”
“I don’t think there’s any need to be so flustered about it.”
Tozume smiles bitterly as she says this to Flamme, who is clinging to her legs with a shiver, but you can tell that she, too, is careful not to accidentally break any expensive-looking vases or furniture. The carpet in this room is very fluffy, to begin with.
Leviera and Gerda, who were waiting in the room, began to prepare seats and tea for Isla, Flamme, and Tozume, whom I brought in addition to the group.
“So, what did you accomplish?”
“Impatient, aren’t you? Well, it’s just like you to be so impatient.”
After saying so, Aquawill-san urged us to take our seats and spread out on the table a piece of paper with something written on it. At first glance, it looked like a map.
“…Which map is it?”
“Yeah? This is…”
“T-this is not a map of this area, is it? Rather, it does not seem to be a map of the Merinard area.”
Isla and the others tilted their heads. Isla would know the map by memory, and Tozume, a former adventurer, and Flamme, who often serves as a scout among the harpies because of her night vision, know the area far better than most people and can even read a map. The map was not a map of the area around the kingdom of Merinard, which the three of them could determine at a glance. But I had an idea what it might be.
“Did you draw the map of Omicrule?”
“Yes. I made it by observing Omicrule with the astronomical telescope that… you provided. Of course, I did not do it alone.”
“Is that so?”
“You said it yourself. You said that I should invite researchers who observe Omicrule and other astronomical objects to come and talk about it.”
“Oh, I see.”
It seems that Aquawill-san was working energetically to solve the mystery of Omicrule by inviting experts as per my advice.
“This map of Omicrule is the result of their efforts. The telescope and budget you provided were of great help.”
“That’s a great achievement. If you have any requests for additions or improvements, I’m open to them.”
“That would be great, but first check the results. After that, you can decide if you want to invest the budget or not, isn’t that the right way?”
“I see.”
“Are you sure you are okay with that? If you spend the budget like hot water with such a sense of appropriateness, you will eventually run out of steam, won’t you?”
“I’m sorry.”
If I dig around the area, I can make all the money I want, so I don’t have a sense of money… If I clear a rocky mountain or a hill in a remote area, I can find as many rare metals and gems as I want. Yes.
“Anyway, let me explain.”
Aquawill-san then pointed to the map and began to explain the topography that she had confirmed with the astronomical telescope.
“First of all, I saw a river flowing here, here, and here. And this area seems to be a mountain range. Also, this area where the river flows out to the sea seems to be a plain.”
“Hmm. It is a magnificent delta.”
“That’s right. And here comes the main point.”
“Yes.”
There are several points on the map. It could be a delta in the plain she had just pointed out, or it could be along a river, or it could be near a lake.
“We found what might be man-made objects at these points.”
“I see.”
“Eh?”
Isla and I nodded our heads in agreement while Tozume and Flamme shouted in surprise.
“I thought it might be possible, but it really was there.”
“Interesting.”
“Eh, why are you both accepting it as normal?”
“I-is it the land of the gods? Is it the land of the dead? Or is it a land of monsters?”
Tozume is bewildered by the two of us, who are unfazed, while Flamme is completely confused. I wonder what Aquawill-san and the expert or authority on astronomical observations who discovered what seemed to be traces of some kind of civilization thought about it? Me? I thought, you know, if there is water, land, and forests, there might be intelligent life.
I mean, this world itself seems unnatural or artificial. To me, Adol, the god of the Adol religion, can only be seen as an intelligent creature with advanced bio-engineering technology. Another terrestrial planet that exists at such a close distance from us is also interesting. I have a feeling that two adjacent planets were terraformed at the same time. Then, he migrated humans and subhumans to both this one and that one and called himself a god. Such a scenario flickers in my mind.
“Is it God, the dead, or monsters that are on Omicrule across the sky? It is, well, inconclusive at the moment. But it’s interesting to know that there seem to be traces of some kind of civilization. Maybe one day, Aquawill-san and her colleagues will be in the spotlight, and their research will be widely covered.”
“Someday?”
“Someday, I suppose. At least not in the next ten years or so, but maybe hundreds of years in the future.”
“Hundreds of years?”
“Our children’s or grandchildren’s generation.”
“Nngh! We’re a long-lived species!”
Come to think of it, these people usually have a lifespan of a few hundred years or so.
“I-I think it will be difficult for me, Danna-sama, and Gerda-san to see the day.”
“Oh, maybe I’ll get to see the day when it comes into the spotlight. That would be great, but how in the world will it happen?”
Tozume tilted her head. I guess she can’t really picture it. A place that is visible but never within reach. What good would a map of such a place do? It’s natural to think so.
“Our air boards have made the Merinard Kingdom narrower, haven’t they?”
“Narrower…? Oh, well, yeah. I guess you could say that the fact that we’ve become so fast on our feet that we can get from the Great Omit Wilderness to Merinesburg in a day has certainly made Merinard a smaller place.”
“Yeah. Eventually, I’d like to build a vehicle that can fly. Right now, I’m relying on Grande, but I’d like to make a vehicle that people can get on and fly, like an air board.”
“I-if that’s the case, we’ll be out of a job, won’t we?”
Flamme smiled bitterly as she said this. She is a timid girl, and she may not really want to work as a bomb squadron member or scout.
“As an extension of that, someday, a vehicle will be built that will allow us to ride as far as Omicrule. When that happens, this map may be used as important information for our activities there. Maybe, if we don’t go that far, it will happen at an earlier stage, when Omicrule is being observed around the world.”
“I see.”
“Heh… that’s great.”
It seems that Tozume and Flamme also understood my explanation. Good, good.
“You should give it a name.”
“A name?”
“Hmm, yes. Right now, only Aquawill-sama understands this map, that is, the topography of Omicrule. It is appropriate that the discoverer give it a name.”
“That’s nice. That kind of thing is first come, first served. If you quickly give it a name and write that you named it, it may go down in history.”
“Eehh… that kind of randomness.”
While saying that, I didn’t miss the way Aquawill-san’s elf ears perked up when I said that her name might go down in history later on. She’s quite excited despite her words. No doubt. It would be rude for me to point this out, so I won’t do it.
“A-anyway, you can actually observe Omicrule while looking at this map.”
Perhaps aware of her reaction, Aquawill-san got up from her seat quickly with a red face and turned her steps toward the balcony where the astronomical telescope was set up. We followed her to the balcony.