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I had sent a letter to Hyperion, asking if he had noticed anything strange about the Baire Pirates. But since a reply wouldn’t come quickly, I had to check what could be done in the meantime.
"Lala, you said you’re tired, but since you can still move, wouldn’t it be okay to bring a few more family members along?"
"Nancy mom, absolutely not."
Ethan had suddenly collapsed as well. If someone came with us only to suddenly faint, they’d just become extra baggage.
Besides, we have no idea when or where they might collapse. We can’t take them along recklessly.
It was better to have them rest somewhere well-stocked with medical supplies. Since they’d seen what I had just done for Ethan, even if someone else collapsed, the others, whose symptoms weren’t yet severe, could take care of them.
More importantly, this island had no living creatures aside from plants, so it was safe for just the three of us to move around. Nancy, especially, was a solid fighter who could easily handle the work of two members in the Caelum Pirate Crew.
I quickly packed the essentials, sample bottles, reagents, and some emergency medicine just in case. As I moved briskly, I kept thinking.
There was nothing wrong with the soil.
Then could it be the water? If not water, maybe something transmitted through the air. But in that case, I still needed a reason why I wasn’t getting sick.
"Nancy mom, Dahlia mom, let’s head out."
"Huh? We’re leaving now?"
"I think we need to find out as soon as possible. Since we don’t know the exact cause, we can’t rule out the possibility that the illness might progress rapidly."
Our first stop would be the large ornament we passed at the beginning, the one covered in gold that the entire Caelum crew had eagerly scraped at.
They sure scraped it clean.
With a grim look, I examined the grooves where the gold and jewels had been embedded.
"Did either of you help with the scraping?"
Nancy answered readily.
"Huh? We didn’t. I went over to that castle instead. There were so many locks that Gerard couldn’t open them all alone."
"And did you open everything?"
"No, there are still a few left. It’s like something’s sealed in there, you know? It’s wrapped up so tightly… Without Gerard’s help, we probably won’t be able to open it."
True, there was no locksmith as skilled as Gerard. But asking him for help wasn’t an option, not when he was among those whose fingernails were starting to darken.
Still, that’s not a problem.
I took out the universal lock-picking tool Gerard had once given me. Technically, I’d never returned it since I first received it, but at this point, I considered it a gift.
"Either of you know how to pick locks?"
Dahlia quietly raised her hand. She couldn’t speak, so communication was sometimes difficult, and in those times, Nancy often spoke on her behalf.
"Dahlia’s been studying lock mechanisms these past few years. She’s not as good as Gerard, but she can do it."
"Then that’s fine."
I stopped examining the ornament and headed straight toward the towering castle at the center of the island.
Dahlia and Nancy followed behind me, until Dahlia suddenly scooped me up in her arms. As she carried me, Nancy looked over and asked.
"But why are we suddenly heading for the castle?"
"I’ve been thinking about it."
Why I haven’t gotten sick, and the symptoms of the people on the ship, when I put those two together, one hypothesis came to mind.
"This illness is strangely similar to Pond poisoning, the same disease that spread through the Tenus territory. People complain of fatigue, their complexion turns pale, and their fingernails blacken."
To be precise, it also causes blotches to appear all over the body. But I hadn’t shown any signs of illness at all. Aside from the fatigue from activity, I hadn’t felt tired in the slightest.
Why? I formed the hypothesis that I might have developed an ‘immunity’ due to my previous Pond poisoning. Of course, I couldn’t say for certain that the mysterious disease that had spread in the Kingdom of Laos was exactly the same as Pond poisoning. But it was a hypothesis worth pursuing.
"Why would they seal the castle up so tightly?"
Normally, a castle would be a prime target for pirates, especially if the kingdom had fallen. The Laos royal castle almost certainly had magic stones embedded within its walls to minimize damage.
That meant its doors couldn’t simply be smashed open, leaving only the option of unlocking them one by one.
So that’s where the Baire Pirates’ treasure came from…
I’d assumed they’d simply looted it from somewhere, as pirates do, but it seemed they had once reached the Kingdom of Laos. I slipped my hand into my bag and brushed my fingers over a goblet.
But where exactly had they gotten it?
Records described the Kingdom of Laos as wealthy, but here, the only gold-decorated pillars we’d seen were near the harbor where we had docked.
No other buildings bore signs of scraping or looting. Which meant that this goblet must have come from inside the castle itself.
We also hadn’t found any royal tombs outside. That meant the royal family’s remains were most likely kept somewhere inside the castle.
They must have looted the interior first and then locked it up. Why, I don’t know.
When we arrived at the main doors, Dahlia began working on the locks. Without Gerard, each mechanism took much longer to deal with.
"Think you can finish this today, Dahlia mom?"
She nodded in response, her eyes still fixed on the lock. Watching her concentration, I led Nancy a little farther away.
"Nancy mom, can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to."
"What is it? If our princess wants to know, I should tell you anything."
To confirm another possible hypothesis, I asked Nancy.
"Would it be alright if I asked why you and Dahlia mom joined the Caelum crew?"
"…Is that something you need to know for this situation?"
"Maybe."
Or maybe it wasn’t necessary at all. That was why I felt so guilty for asking, because it meant making them recall memories they might rather forget.
"Hmm, I don’t have such severe trauma over it, so it’s fine."
It must not have been a pleasant story. I looked up at Nancy with a serious expression, and she bent down so our eyes could meet.
"It’s not anything grand. Dahlia and I… were test subjects."
"…Test subjects?"
"Yes. It might be a heavy thing for you to hear, but that’s what we were. I don’t know exactly where it was, but they carried out experiments on all sorts of diseases and medicines."
Nancy gave a bitter smile.
"A year before you arrived, Dahlia and I were rescued and joined Caelum. But Dahlia had suffered far worse than I did back then, and her body never fully recovered."
Nancy had said "test subjects," but in truth, they were probably experimental slaves. The weight of the revelation left me momentarily speechless.
"I’m sturdier than Dahlia, though."
Nancy added, trying to sound upbeat.
But she couldn’t hide the deep sorrow in her eyes.
Could the reason Nancy survived the White Rot outbreak also be because of those experiments?
She’d gotten sick, yes, but she’d survived.
Dahlia, on the other hand, was never as healthy as Nancy, so she couldn’t withstand it.
And it wasn’t just that. The crewmate Nancy had been closest to, the one she’d shared her White Sun with, must have been Dahlia.
"So, do you think you’ve figured something out?"
"…Yes."
It was possible that Pond poisoning had originated right here in the Kingdom of Laos.
The reason nothing had happened to Nancy and Dahlia was because of their history as test subjects. Experiments for studying such illnesses often involved recreating ancient diseases and then attempting to cure them.
It was for the sake of the future. They must have been exposed, survived, and developed resistance.
Click—
The sound of the lock opening rang out. Dahlia turned toward us with a bright smile.
"Shall we go in?"
"Yes."
As soon as we entered, the sound of our footsteps echoed through the wide hall. Even inside the building, a chill could be felt.
"It’ll take quite a while to explore the whole castle."
"We don’t need to. We just have to find the royal tomb."
According to what had been passed down, after Princess Aracely Laos died, a plague had spread. In other words, she could be considered the first patient.
She’s been dead for a long time, so I’m not expecting to find anything to harvest from the corpse.
But royalty were often buried with their personal belongings. The Baire Pirates might have considered only gleaming gold to be the greatest treasure, but I knew better, records and knowledge stored in such places could hold the clues needed to save lives.
It may be similar to Pond poisoning, but the place of origin is different. There must be some distinction.
"Then let’s head for the underground…"
"I’ll come with you!"
A hearty male voice called from behind. We all turned, eyes wide, to see a familiar man, of course it was familiar.
Why is Nereus here?!
Because he was Nereus Caelum.
Panting slightly, Nereus grinned as if he’d run here in a rush.
"Dad! I told you to rest!"
"I did rest, for a few hours."
He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, but he was clearly forcing himself to act as if he were fine.
"I can’t just leave my daughter in a dangerous place like this, can I? I’m here as your representative. There’s a clue here, right? Let’s hurry and find it."
"And if you collapse, how are we supposed to carry you back?!"
"Even if I faint, I can get myself back to the ship."
"Is that even possible?!"
When I yelled back, Nereus replied with a shameless expression.
"When you’ve got a daughter this much of a genius at six years old, doesn’t it seem possible?"
"…."
I couldn’t argue with that.
"Alright! Let’s look around quickly!"
Somehow, the patient Nereus looked the most energetic among us.
"Royal tombs are usually hidden underground, so let’s go that way."
"Well, it’d be strange to have a tomb above ground."
And so, we all headed into the underground levels.
There were multiple chambers down there, but the most unusual was an octagonal room whose front was entirely made of stained glass.
"Is this the last room?"
"There’s no other passage leading somewhere else?"
"There were stairs going further underground in another area."
"Then let’s go there..."
"Wait, everyone. Hold on a moment."
Nereus, Nancy, and Dahlia were about to head somewhere else, but I called out to stop them.
"What is it? Did you find something?"
"Yeah. Let me just check this one thing."
In the center of the octagonal room was a round tile with tiny holes in it. There was also a small groove, and I inserted a thin rod from the lock-picking tool into it, turning it sideways.
Click— whirr—
As it turned, a black panel inside the hole slid away, letting light seep through.
"What kind of mechanism is this?"
Then I looked toward the stained glass covering the walls. Taking out the goblet, I said.
"Some parts of this are made of glass, you know? I’ve been wondering why, but now I get it."
Each stained glass panel had a different central color. Coincidentally, or not, they matched the colors of the glass gems embedded in the goblet.
And there are exactly eight gems.
I set the goblet into the hole in the floor. Light from beneath streamed into it, passing through the glass pieces.
"……"
Everyone held their breath, watching. I rotated the goblet so that each colored gem aligned with its matching stained-glass panel. The light shone onto the corresponding glass, and then...
Rumble—!!
"L-Lala! Be careful!"
A huge tremor shook the building. Nereus rushed forward and scooped me up. The floor tiles thudded and rattled, fragments shifting underfoot. And then, a hidden staircase appeared, leading downward.
Just as I thought.
This was the way to the royal tomb.
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