Chapter 687 - Housekeeping’s Power Is Infinite
After finishing our meal in-game, we used the Transfer Magic Circle to travel to the castle.
Our group consisted of me, Mion, Lupi, Sweee, Shal, El-san, and...
"I have been waiting for you."
Sera-san, who had gone ahead, joined us. Since I had formed a contract with Sera-san, I was now officially the owner of this castle. Naturally, I also owned the mansion we currently lived in, so she could apparently manifest in either location instantly.
"Can you do that even in places outside this island?"
"Of course I can! There are no limits to Housekeeping!"
She declared this mysterious theory with her chest puffed out in pride. I was a bit envious, but since I couldn't appear in places that weren't my home, it didn't help me much.
"Sweee?"
"Hmm? I'm not thinking about moving here just yet. It would put too much distance between us and Pan or Shal."
Sweee let out a troubled hum at my answer.
"This is a summer home."
"Sweee!"
Mion's words brought a look of understanding to her face. Incidentally, Mion... or rather, the Izumo family, apparently owned several villas...
"Alright, we're going to check out the tower. Mion and Sweee, stay behind us just in case. Shal, El-san, if you please."
"Nya!"
"Yeah, leave it to me."
Shal and El-san took up guard duty for the two. If things got dangerous, I had asked El-san to grab them both and retreat via the Transfer Magic Circle.
"Woof."
"Yeah. Let's go."
At the eastern edge, I placed my hand on the door requiring authorization, going through the usual process. Right before I opened it...
"Shall I go see?"
"Ah... Yes, please."
Thanks to the contract with me, the restrictions Sera-san previously faced had been lifted. Since the backyard beyond the door fell within the castle's domain, she could naturally go there.
"Will she be alright?"
"There is no need for concern. A Silky only vanishes when the home they must protect is lost."
El-san provided the answer. I wondered if that made her the strongest as long as she was inside the 'home she must protect,' but if a Silky lacked offensive means, it probably just meant she couldn't lose. Then again, a dragon could probably just level the whole castle...
"There was nothing there. I cannot accept how overgrown it has become, though!"
"Now, now, please endure it for today."
"I'll help out too once things settle down."
Sweee nodded along, and Sera-san seemed to calm down. With that, I opened the door. It was certainly what one would call overgrown.
"It's in even worse shape than the courtyard..."
"This means we'll have to call Pan and the others too."
However, the path leading up to the tower still had its Stone Pavement, making it manageable. The frames for things like the Flower Arch were completely covered in thick vines, though.
"Shou-kun. This is the fence Nina-san had."
"Hmm? A fence... Oh, you mean that safety fence."
Now that she mentioned it, it did look familiar. Mion showed me the results of her Appraisal.
[Magic Safety Fence]: A safety fence made of Magic Steel with Barrier Magic and Spatial Magic engraved upon it. Currently inactive.
Yeah. It was the same one I'd seen before. That meant this place really was an Ancient Ruins, some kind of Magic Facility. I'd likely need to become the administrator here as well, but would that trigger another World Announcement?
"What is this?"
"A door requiring authorization."
"Got it. Sera-san, can you take a look inside?"
"Leave it to me!"
I felt a bit guilty relying on her like this, but considering safety first, it was the best move. After a short wait...
"No one was inside. It is dark, but I do not believe there is any danger."
"That's a relief."
Mion looked comforted. The only people who could enter here would be those who used to live here or their acquaintances, so if that were the case...
[Access by the Blessed Ones confirmed. Top-level administrator privileges confirmed. Would you like to unlock?]
"Yes."
There was a safety fence in the middle of the path, and this door also required authorization. The security was quite tight, suggesting something important was inside...
"Sweee?"
"Ah, right."
I had Mion and Sweee manifest lights using the spirits of light. With our preparations complete, I carefully opened the door.
"Whoa..."
"It's incredible..."
The interior walls of the circular tower were packed with bookshelves filled with books. A spiral staircase stood in the center, seemingly connecting to the upper floors.
"Is this place three stories too?"
"Yes. There are three floors above ground, and the stairs continued quite far down into the basement."
Then the top floor was likely the Control Room. The bottom probably connected to that pier-like area deep within the cave. I was curious about the books, but we should head up first.
"Lupi."
"Woof!"
Despite being told no one was there, we climbed the spiral staircase while staying alert. It was quite high, and the lack of a handrail on the outside was terrifying...
"Shou-kun."
"Yeah."
It was a bit embarrassing, but prioritizing safety, we held hands as we climbed. Lupi, who had reached the top first, looked around. Seeing nothing, he sat down and waited for us.
"Is this... a workshop?"
A familiar Magic Furnace and magic hearth sat along the wall. A large desk was positioned a bit further away, and next to it... that was a drafting table. There were plenty of other shelves too. This floor had many interesting things, but the top floor was the priority.
"Let's go up first."
"Okay."
"Woof!"
We slowly followed Lupi as he ran up. The third floor was, as expected, a Control Room. There was something that looked like a console I'd seen before on the northern wall. Setting that aside, there was an old, decaying bed on the left. On the right was an old table and a single chair, piled high with books and documents.
"It feels a bit eerie..."
"It does..."
While we were feeling creeped out, El-san walked toward the table with indifference, and Lupi headed for the bed. Sweee took Shal over to the console.
"Sweee!"
"Thanks."
She found the slot where the Emergency Magic Crystal Stone likely went. However, the size of the lid was about two sizes smaller than the one Nina-san had.
"Ah, it really is small. Is this a medium size?"
"Shou-kun. This is a Regenerated Magic Crystal Stone."
"Eh?"