Allison

A black fighter plane was flying over the forest.

Allison, sitting in the front seat, spoke to Wil in the back.

Wil burst out without even taking a breath.

Allison moved the control stick to the right and pulled it back.

“Whoa!”

Wil screamed as the fighter craft began to dive.

Then, the engine’s roar grew into a crescendo as the craft rose, then made a large turn perpendicular to the ground.

Once the plane was level again, Allison maneuvered it into a large left turn, then a right turn.

The plane finally returned to level position.

Wil replied feebly,

The craft flew into a dive again, headed straight for a plain in the midst of the forest.

A second before raising the nose again, Allison fired off a series of shots into the ground. There was the noise of gunfire, accompanied by some light vibrations in the frame.

“…”

Allison brought the plane back to level position, flying over the woods.

Benedict was flying at maximum speed.

On occasion, he slid the craft sideways to search for Allison’s plane. Suddenly, his caught sight of something.

“There you are…”

He spotted an aircraft of the same design as his own, flying a little ahead and below from his position.

Benedict descended and loaded his machine gun. The ‘Ready to Fire’ lamp came on.

Allison asked. Wil looked down.

The moment Allison spoke, a black fighter craft appeared next to them. It had approached without warning from underneath, sliding in right next to Allison’s craft.

Allison angrily glared to her right. Benedict was in the pilot’s seat, looking her in the eye.

They could see Benedict gesturing with his left hand, making a turning motion with his fingers.

Allison raised her left fist and made a gesture like she was smashing something.

“…”

Wil looked on, bewildered. A moment later, bullets flew from the nose of Benedict’s plane. He had opened fire. Empty sh.e.l.l casings and clips fell to the distant earth.

Benedict held up his left hand and began to hold up his fingers in a succession of symbols, and repeated the gesture several times.

Allison adjusted the radio at her seat to a certain frequency. She then spoke.

Wil could hear Benedict’s voice as well.

Allison asked.

Benedict was silent for a moment.

Allison nodded.

Allison explained to Benedict that the old man had been kidnapped via seaplane from Roxche to Sou Be-Il. That the Bezelese army seemed to be searching for the general’s gold ingots, which did not actually exist. That the old man’s treasure was something far better, and that they were now on their way to find it. However, Allison followed Wil’s advice and left out the fact that the old man was Lieutenant Colonel McMillan, the man behind the poison gas attack.

Benedict asked, astonished.

Allison asked.

Said Benedict and Wil.

Will asked.

Before their eyes, a vast body of water—so large it could have been a lake—began to emerge. It was the Lutoni River.

Allison nodded and turned to Benedict.

Second Lieutenant Carr? We’re not going back to the base. But thanks for telling us everything.>

Several seconds later.

Allison and Wil nodded firmly in unison.

Allison asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Benedict replied.

“I think so too.” Wil nodded quietly to himself.

“What’s going on over there?” Benedict wondered, watching Allison gesticulate excitedly.

She soon came back with an answer.

Benedict was lost for words.

“You’re giving him orders, Allison…” Wil sighed.

The two planes swerved right together and began to climb southward.

Suddenly, Benedict’s plane began to grow distant to their right. It sped up and flew further away.

The moment Allison began to turn right again, Benedict’s plane turned in their direction.

The two planes began to fly towards each other.

The two planes advanced rapidly. Air pressure pressed down on them as they brushed past at arm’s length, both Allison and Benedict saluting with their left hands.

“Here goes!”

Allison pulled back the throttle with a cry. She then stepped on the left rudder pedal and pulled the control stick to the left. The plane made a sharp left turn.

As gravity pushed her into her seat, Allison turned and glared at Benedict’s plane. Wil could not even turn his head—he looked down at the forest to his left and whispered silently,

“Beautiful…”

Benedict also pushed his engines to full throttle, swerving left. The two fighter crafts each flew in half a circle.

Making a quick turn, Benedict made it behind Allison’s plane and put pressure on his right hand, clutching the control stick. His entire body creaked under the increased strain, but he continued to pull back the control.

Allison’s plane finally came out of its swerve. The frame slowly tilted to the right, flying parallel to the ground for a moment before tilting and swerving to the right.

Benedict slowed his swerve and flew behind Allison’s plane, within firing range. His right index finger reached the trigger.

Allison’s craft was within range. But Benedict did not open fire. Instead, he flew in even closer. The stolen plane came into the circle of his crosshairs. It came closer and closer, until the plane was too big to fit in the circle.

At that moment, Allison’s plane tilted even further and began to fly upside-down. At the same time, she tilted the nose downward and descended rapidly. The gigantic floats on the bottom of the plane faced the sky as the frame left the crosshairs.

Benedict followed, swerving to the right into a sharp descent. He could see the stolen plane cast in the green backdrop of the ground. The plane’s size remained the same, but the green woods below grew closer and closer.

“This time, it’s a 9.9mm machine gun. You’re not getting away without some damage, Allison. But…”

The nose of Allison’s descending craft pointed up again.

Benedict mirrored her move, but with more force. He approached her craft, climbing to the left and approaching the stolen plane as though bearing down from above.

But he had drawn too close; his target was too far from the crosshairs. To the lower right of the circle he could see Allison’s goggles, facing in his direction. If he opened fire now, he would hit something for certain.

“s.h.i.t!”

Benedict swore yet again as he held off on the machine gun and slowed his turn. Allison’s plane grew distant to his left.

“He’s really good!” Allison cried, watching Benedict’s plane grow distant after approaching their left side.

Wil said blankly.

“d.a.m.n it…”

Benedict groaned, chasing after Allison’s plane again. He mimicked her angle as she climbed at maximum speed.

Suddenly, she stopped her ascent. And at a lazy speed unthinkable for a dogfight, she began to turn left.

Benedict approached Allison’s plane. The tail of the plane entered his line of sight. It grew closer in the crosshairs.

“All right…”

The moment the engine moved into the middle of the crosshairs, Benedict put pressure on his index finger.

“!”

At that point, he flinched at the sight of the stolen plane, growing closer to his craft against his will. Allison had slowed down without warning. At this point, they were already near the point of colliding in midair.

“Argh!”

A second before the inevitable impact, Benedict made a hard left turn. Allison’s craft pa.s.sed by to his right, flying behind him.

“All right!” Allison exclaimed, opening the throttle and pointing the nose of her plane to the lower left. There in her sights was Benedict’s plane, which had pulled out of a near-collision. The man in the c.o.c.kpit looked at her.

“d.a.m.n—”

“Take this!”

Allison opened fire without a moment’s hesitation. Countless shots were fired at a rhythmic pace. The rounds. .h.i.t the top of Benedict’s plane in a straight line, before hitting the c.o.c.kpit.

The green woods and the blue sky reflected in Benedict’s eyes instantly turned red. He felt an impact on the back of his head as his body shook several times.

<=>

Benedict’s plane was flying nearly level with the ground.

The red fluid covering his face dribbled into his mouth.

It was incredibly bitter.

Benedict reflexively spat out the liquid and reached up to his goggles. He wiped the lenses with his gloves, and the red world gave way to the blue sky. He quickly pulled up the goggles.

The c.o.c.kpit was dotted with red liquid. But nothing had been damaged.

“…”

His blood-red arms and legs moved as well as they ever did.

“What is this…?”

At that moment, Allison’s voice suddenly entered his ears.

Benedict lightly shook his head. He then spotted Allison’s craft flying next to him on his left. She was holding up her left hand. Wil was sitting limply in the back seat.

Benedict asked.

From the center of the frame to the nose, Benedict’s plane was stained with red paint. It stood out like a sore thumb against the black frame.

Benedict flashed Allison a grin.

Allison said, taking the lead. From this position, Benedict could shoot her down with ease.

Wiping his goggles, Benedict followed Allison as she turned south.

The two planes were flying in formation once more.

Finally back to a peaceful flight, Allison turned her attention to the back seat.

The vast Lutoni River was sided by forests and plains.

Ahead stood the peaks of the Central Mountain Range.

Two planes were flying through the airs.p.a.ce. From the distance, they looked like little more than a pair of dots in the sky.

And two more dots were approaching them from behind.

Allison asked, looking back. Benedict held up his left hand and held up two fingers. He then pointed behind him with his thumb.

Allison nodded visibly.

The moment Allison changed the frequency,

A deep voice entered their ears.

“Man, that’s one heck of a voice.”

Allison turned left and looked behind her. Two fighter crafts of the same model as hers were in flight.

Benedict answered. One of the first lieutenants replied,

The second lieutenant in the one-seater plane cried.

“Idiot.”

“That nitwit.”

The two first lieutenants in the two-seater mumbled simultaneously.

Allison’s and Benedict’s planes continued to fly as they did.

The two planes lowered their noses and charged at Allison’s and Benedict’s planes. As if on cue, Allison’s plane and Benedict’s plane broke formation. The former swerved to the upper right, and the latter to the lower left.

The single-seater followed the single-seater, and the two-seater followed the two-seater.

Benedict said to his pursuer, swerving right.

The second lieutenant’s plane followed after Benedict’s, slowly closing the gap between the crafts.

The second lieutenant pulled the trigger. Two rows of flashes emerged from the nose of his plane. The flashes missed Benedict’s swerving plane by a long shot.

At that moment, Benedict’s plane disappeared overhead. The second lieutenant’s shots disappeared into the distance.

“What?”

He turned and looked up.

“Wha…?”

Benedict’s plane was there.

The frame descended as though sliding. Two flashes of light erupted from its nose as bullets pierced the air. The second lieutenant’s plane entered the line of fire as though jumping in voluntarily.

The machine gun fire blasted off the second lieutenant’s head and landed directly on the engines. The metal covering was blown away; the engine stopped; the fuel caught fire. The plane began to fall to the right, spouting flames and black smoke.

Benedict’s plane flew overhead. The smoking wreck exploded in midair, scattering everywhere.

“Goodbye, Second Lieutenant.”

With that, Benedict headed off to find his next prey. He could see two fighter planes ahead.

The two first lieutenants were beginning to argue over control of their craft.

Allison’s plane was continuously making quick right turns to avoid them. The first lieutenants’ plane opened fire, but they missed.

The man in the second seat cried.

Allison’s plane again evaded them, and swerved left without warning. From that point, the first lieutenants could see black smoke and signs of an explosion in the distance.

The man in the second seat demanded again.

The man in the front pulled out of the turn and took his hands off the controls. The man in the second seat took hold of the control stick and smoothly turned the nose of their plane towards Allison, who was flying in a straight line. He rapidly gave chase.

The gap between them was closing. The first lieutenant placed a finger over the trigger.

Allison’s plane turned, flying to the lower left. At that moment, another plane appeared before them.

The intruding plane suddenly pointed its nose in the first lieutenants’ direction and approached rapidly.

“Wha…?”

“s.h.i.t!”

The men cried out in unison.

“Take this!”

Benedict opened fire as he charged at the plane.

The machine gun rounds pummeled clear through the frame and the people sitting inside.

Benedict quickly swerved left, flying past his foes’ seaplane.

The plane without a pilot quietly dropped nose-down, and slowly fell into the forest in a trail of smoke. Then, there was an explosive noise, alongside fire and a plume of black smoke.

Benedict’s plane quickly joined back up with Allison’s. The two planes once more resumed their journey south.

Allison said, sounding no different from usual.

Wil looked at the plane flying next to theirs. It was a new black fighter craft of the same model as theirs.

He said.

Allison also glanced at Benedict’s plane.

Wil wondered. Allison answered immediately.

Wil looked up. A magnificent scene was opening up before them. The great river to their lower left was beginning to split into two even branches.

Allison said.

“The treasure, huh…” Wil mumbled.

<=>

In front of the Teruto Royal Army Base Hangar.

Two amphibious planes were being warmed up for takeoff.

Sitting in the c.o.c.kpit was Captain Gratz, wearing his sungla.s.ses. Next to him in the seat was a submachine gun.

Gathered a short distance from the plane were several officers.

“Leaving so soon, Colonel? That’s a terrible shame.” Said the mustached Colonel Elcub to Colonel Nott.

“I have no patience for sarcasm! If you’ll excuse us!” Colonel Nott roared, his voice almost a match for the engines.

“I see. I’d really love to charge you for your stay, as well as the repair costs for our gate.”

“Bah. Send the bills to the capital if it makes you happy.”

“What should we do with the old man’s corpse?” Asked a well-built major.

“We don’t need it.” Colonel Nott spat. “You take care of it! Throw it to the wolves or something.”

He then turned and climbed into the seaplane.

The repair technicians undid the fastening. The seaplane began moving towards the ca.n.a.l.

It entered the ca.n.a.l, taxied for a short distance, then took off. The seaplane disappeared into the distance.

The major mumbled,

“The b.a.s.t.a.r.d’s not gonna die a pretty death.”

“Watch your words, Major.” Said Colonel Elcub. He then added, “although I do agree with you.”

The roar of the engines grew dim, then faded altogether.

Colonel Elcub turned to a lieutenant colonel who was standing behind him.

“What of those two aristocrats?”

“I’ve been told that they left before the commotion, saying they were bored to death.” The lieutenant colonel answered.

“Is that so? Finally, some peace and quiet.”

“What were the colonel and his men doing, anyway? Stirring up some trouble to start a little war of their own?”

“Who knows?” Colonel Elcub replied. “War, eh? All we need to do—both here andCross-River—is forget all that and keep up this quiet staring contest for all of time. There are too many fools on both sides who just don’t understand that.”

<=>

Benedict said, as Wil told him the directions. Allison agreed.

The two fighter crafts were flying low over the sh.o.r.es of the Lutoni River. Two shadows glided over the woods.

Benedict slowly turned left. Allison followed him onto the air above the river.

Listing off speeds and angles to Allison, Benedict landed in the middle of the river. The floats on his plane drew white wakes on the peaceful surface.

But before Benedict could finish, Allison turned and lowered her speed and alt.i.tude.

She then landed next to Benedict, slowly closed the throttle, and stopped just ahead of Benedict’s plane.

The two fighter crafts continued upriver side by side, using their propellers. The Lutoni River flowed at a gentle pace.

Wil said, looking around to his left and right. Each side was in perfect symmetry with the other. On the right was a forest in Sou Be-Il, and on the left was a forest in Roxche.

When they reached the confluence of the Lutoni River, they headed left. It was the East Lutoni River, on the side of Roxche. Although the river was half its original width here, it was still hundreds of meters wide.

Wil had gotten up from his seat and sat down on the frame. His line of sight grew wider. He could feel the engine vibrating from the back of the plane. The propellers were still spinning, sucking in air.

They saw a tributary flowing in on their right. And beyond the woods, they saw the land rising up without end. They were at the foot of the Central Mountain Range.

The two planes turned right. Unlike when they were in flight, centrifugal forces forced the planes into a leftward tilt. The supporting floats under the left wings tapped the surface of the water.

The river narrowed considerably, its width now at about fifty meters. Allison informed Benedict and closed the throttle even more. They slowed down.

The edges of the river grew crooked and began to zigzag. The two planes maneuvered towards the center of the river, trying to keep away from the sh.o.r.es.

“Urgh… C’mon…”

Allison grumbled as she carefully controlled her heading with the rudder alone. Cold sweat dribbled down her face.

“Amazing…”

When she looked around, Benedict’s plane was following her easily at an even distance.

“Agh… d.a.m.n it…”

Benedict grumbled as he carefully controlled his heading with the rudder alone. Cold sweat dribbled down his face.

“Amazing…”

Allison’s plane was leading easily at an even pace.

Wil observed their surroundings in awe and mumbled with a chuckle,

“It feels like I’m on a field trip.”

Eventually, the river began to run straight again. Its either sh.o.r.es rose up as though encasing it, turning into ten-meter-high cliffs just as Walter described.

The two seaplanes continued down the river. The roars of their engines echoed loudly.

Allison commented.

Benedict replied.

Allison and Benedict agreed with Wil. The cliffs on either side had given way to gentle slopes, and on their left they could see the mountain.

They found the river that encircled the mountain. It did not branch out into smaller streams, and instead flowed straight into a field at the foot of the mountains.

Wil said.

Benedict said, opening the throttle and taking the lead.

Benedict chose a sh.o.r.e on the inner side of a leftward curve in the river. It was a gentle slope where the current was slow. Keeping up an awkward pace, he pointed the nose of his plane at the sh.o.r.e, and shut off the engines a second before making contact with land. The plane stopped when the floats were about halfway on the sand.

Benedict took out a rope ladder from under his seat and climbed it down onto the sh.o.r.e. He grabbed a rope that was stowed under the frame and secured it onto a pair of hooks on the floats, and tied either end of the rope on two trees nearby.

He then guided Allison as her plane came to a stop beside his, and expertly secured it with another rope.

Allison stepped onto the sh.o.r.e, taking off her jacket.

“Thank you, Second Lieutenant. Would you like a tip?”

Benedict was bewildered to see her in a Royal Guard uniform, but managed to shoot back.

“Not at all, Warrant Officer. Where in the world did you get a hold of that uniform?”

“That’s a secret.”

Wil disembarked, carrying their suitcase.

“Let me introduce you, Second Lieutenant Carr. This is Wil—Wilhelm Schultz. He’s an old friend of mine. Wil, this is Second Lieutenant Carr.”

“Carr Benedict. As you can see, I’m from the Sou Be-Il Royal Air Force.”

Benedict offered Wil a handshake. Wil accepted it.

“Th, thank you.” Wil said.

“Hm? What for?”

“For making sure Allison wasn’t shot during that dogfight.”

Benedict was a little surprised.

“Oh… You’re an interesting person. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Wil.”

“The pleasure’s all mine.”

“What happened with your head? Are you injured?” Benedict asked, looking at Wil’s bandages.

“No, I just got into some trouble trying to play hero.”

“I see.”

“As someone who saw you playing hero, I’ve gotta say you looked pretty cool.” Allison said. Wil grinned.

“Let’s be off, then. We’re going on a treasure hunt.”

They looked up at the mountain. Before them was a vast forest.

Wil suggested that, at the very least, they should change their shirts. He and Allison put their Royal Guard jackets and hats into their suitcase, and changed into their own shoes.

Allison tied her own jacket and bag around her waist. Wil put on his bloodstained shirt and slung the suitcase over his back like a knapsack. The gun, however, would not fit inside. He kept it on a holster at his side.

Benedict put on a black jacket, and clipped a survival pack from the seaplane onto his belt.

Allison wondered if he wouldn’t get hot, to which Benedict replied,

“Patience is an officer’s virtue. …Or I should say, a man’s virtue.”

<=>

They walked through the woods. All kinds of trees were growing on the gentle, gra.s.sy slope. Although the way was by no means overgrown, it was still difficult to see where they were going.

“Stay close. We’ll have a lot of trouble on our hands if we get separated.” Benedict said, taking the lead and clearing a path through tall gra.s.s and branches. He also kept an eye out for caves to his left.

“I get it.” Wil mumbled. Allison asked him what he was talking about.

“He kept his jacket on because he was going to take the lead and clear out a path for us.”

“That makes sense. You’re really good at this, aren’t you, Second Lieutenant?”

“Well, yeah.” Benedict replied. “I did this a lot back in the army.”

“It really was a good idea to bring him along.”

“…You don’t have to put it that way, Allison…”

“You think so? But I’ll make sure the three of us split the treasure fairly once we find it.”

“No, I mean…”

Benedict chuckled bitterly as he made a way through the foliage.

Eventually, they spotted a cavern. It was overgrown on top, but the opening was large enough for a person to enter without crouching.

They scanned the interior with a flashlight. The dank cavern continued, but they spotted no rifle.

“Not here.”

“Let’s make a note of this place and search for the next cavern.”

They discovered several more similar caverns along the way. Some were too small to enter, and others suddenly dropped off into a deeper level. They did not find a rifle anywhere.

“It might have fallen, or it might have been buried. It has been thirty years since then.”

“Maybe.”

They took a short rest for Wil’s sake and quickly wolfed down some rations. Then, they set off once more. The sun began to set between the trees.

“This is the tenth one.” Allison said, pushing aside the foliage and peering inside with a flashlight.

“Hey, guys… I don’t think we’re going to have to look for cavern #11.”

Benedict and Wil looked inside.

The cavern opening was large enough to enter upright. The light from their flashlights were focused on an old rifle. The metal was rusted red with age, and the wood was on the verge of rotting completely. But the rifle was still firmly stuck in the floor of the cavern.

Just as Walter had told them, when they stepped inside they found themselves in a large cavern. It was about the size of a cla.s.sroom, and was located partly underground. Underfoot was damp stone, and stalact.i.tes were hanging from the ceiling. The light from the entrance dimly illuminated the interior.

“This must be it.”

Allison’s voice echoed loudly against the walls of the cavern.

“This must be a limestone cave. There must be a lot of these in the area.”

“Okay. Where to next?”

“Wil.”

“The twelfth hole on the right.”

Benedict pointed his flashlight at the right side of the cavern. The three began to walk, counting the openings.

“Twelve…”

“Here.”

“This must be it.”

The three flashlights stopped over one large opening. It was large enough to pa.s.s though upright, and the path led down in a gentle slope.

Benedict hung his handkerchief in front of the opening.

“I’m putting this here just in case. Now we take twenty steps, correct? Would you mind if I took the lead?”

“Not at all. Go ahead.”

“It’s an honor.”

Before Benedict could finish his sentence, Allison added,

“You’re the tallest one here. Please tell us if you hit your head on something along the way.”

“…”

Wil was astonished. Benedict chuckled wryly.

“Aren’t you nervous at all, Allison?”

“In my own way, yes.” Allison replied.

“Nineteen… twenty… there.”

Benedict took several more steps forward, then moved aside and led his companions into the large area.

“Wow. This is amazing.”

“It’s just like the old man said…”

The path quickly gave way to a wide s.p.a.ce with high ceilings. The floor was nearly level, and it was impossible to see where the cavern ended even with the flashlights.

The beams of light moved from one place to another in the pitch-black darkness.

“This must be it. Look over there.” Wil said. His flashlight was pointing at a rifle stuck in the ground about twenty meters away.

“Wait, Allison.” Benedict said as Allison moved. He took out a mirror from his bag and propped it up near the path from which they had come.

“Once we go all the way inside, we won’t know how to get back out.”

“Oh. Thank you. Can we go in now?”

“Don’t rush.”

Keeping their flashlights trained on the damp ground, the three carefully approached the rifle.

“I can’t be sure, but this gun doesn’t look Bezelese.” Benedict said. Allison spoke up.

“The treasure must be here somewhere. Congratulations, everyone.”

“But…” Wil trailed off.

“It might be a lot of work to try and search this entire cavern.” Benedict said, surveying their surroundings.

“But we have to. We’re going to comb every inch of this place.”

“It’ll be trouble if we get separated in here.” Wil said. Benedict agreed.

“That’s right. And we can’t go too far from the entrance. Both of you, turn off your flashlights for a second.”

The three turned out their lights, one by one. The cavern was filled with darkness. They could see nothing, even with their eyes wide open.

“See? I can’t even tell where the two of you are from here. If we run out of batteries while we’re inside, we won’t make it out alive.”

Benedict turned on his flashlight once more and pointed it at the mirror by the entrance.

“We’ll need a lot of rope, some stronger lights, and some more people.”

“I wish he’d have at least left us a clue.” Allison pouted.

“…”

Wil brought his light to the rifle again. The wooden stock was not as badly decayed as the one outside.

“Here!”

“What?”

Wil crouched by the rifle and leaned in close to the stock.

“This must be a hint. I see letters carved into the wood. It’s in both Roxchean and Bezelese.”

“Read it.”

“Read it.”

Wil nodded and read out the message.

“‘A beautiful sight’.”

Several seconds pa.s.sed by in silence.

“What?”

“Is that all?”

Allison and Benedict asked.

“…That’s all. It’s the same thing in both languages. ‘A beautiful sight’.”

Wil examined the flip side of the stock.

“Nothing. That’s it.”

“Seriously… that old man…” Allison grumbled.

“A beautiful sight…?”

Wil stood.

“A beautiful sight…”

Mumbling quietly to himself, he looked up, holding up the rifle in his hand.

Wil looked up at the rocky walls.

“There… Both of you. Look up at the wall behind us.”

Allison and Benedict pointed their flashlights at the walls in unison.

Three lights illuminated the smooth stone walls. There they saw pictures. Pictures on the grey surfaces.

Humans drawn in black, leading along a brown bull. Next to them was a small, four-legged creature, likely a dog or a monkey.

“Murals…” Benedict said, following the images with his flashlight.

There were other pictures on the walls. People surrounding a red fire. Men carrying what looked to be bows. Although the people’s faces were not drawn in, everything else was surprisingly realistic. The images were even shaded.

“These murals… they’re from a time when written script didn’t exist.” Wil said.

“Is this what we were looking for? That treasure the old man was so excited to find?” Allison wondered. There was a moment of silence.

“I don’t think so.” Wil said tentatively.

“I agree.” Benedict said.

“Why?” Allison asked.

“This definitely is a rare find. It’s a valuable academic resource. But murals like this have been found in several other places.” Benedict replied.

“Is that true, Wil?”

“Yeah… There’s a place called Ban’na Valley in the Princ.i.p.ality of Touls on the southeastern tip of Roxche. They found murals like this there. The geology is similar—lots of limestone caverns. They found tools and bones of ancient people. The people who lived there are called the Ban’na people. And I heard about this on the news, but they found archeological evidence just like that in Sou Be-Il, near the capital. And there are a few other places, too. Although none of the discoveries were near the Lutoni River.”

“Huh. So there were a lot of them, huh. Then even if we report this—”

“It won’t be earth-shattering news by any stretch of the imagination.” Benedict said firmly. “But there will be conflict.”

“What?” Allison gasped. Wil chimed in.

“I agree. I think this might cause strife between Roxche and Sou Be-Il. Let’s say both sides dispatch archaeologists to the cavern. The Roxcheans will just say, ‘these murals were drawn by the Ban’na people. This is evidence that their civilization expanded to this area, and even to the West’.”

“I think so too. The scholars from the Royal Academy of Science will claim that these are similar to the murals they found in Sfrestus, and claim this as evidence that humanity originated in the West, and that the Roxchean people and their culture were an offshoot of ours.”

“Oh. That argument again. This is stupid.” Allison groaned.

Wil surveyed the mural, moving his flashlight.

A scene of many people lined up to listen to one person’s speech. A person sleeping in the midst of splotches of particularly vibrant colors. It was probably a funeral scene.

“Still, this is fascinating. I’m happy I got a chance to see this, if nothing else.” Wil said.

Allison sounded a little angry.

“But Wil. The old man said that the treasure could bring peace between Roxche and Sou Be-Il. If this is the treasure he was talking about… he was really blowing things out of proportion.”

“Maybe. But this is still something very important.”

“…”

“Wil. Can you tell me when the murals in Roxche were found?” Benedict asked.

“Twenty-four years ago.”

“Of course… That’s about the same time as the ones on our side, if I remember correctly. In that case, it’s understandable.” Benedict said, crestfallen.

“You’re right. That’s probably what happened.” Wil agreed. Allison demanded that she be told what they were talking about.

“The old man found this mural during the Great War. In other words, over thirty years ago. At the time, no one knew that ancient people left such intricate drawings on the walls that still survived, almost completely intact.” Wil explained.

“Oh. I get it.”

“It’s not surprising that he was ecstatic to see something like this. I’m sure I would have reacted the same way if I were in his shoes. And if he never paid attention to the news afterwards and continued to remind himself that he found something great, he might have ended up inflating the value of these murals in his head.”

“Right… you’re right. You’re probably right.”

Allison turned off her flashlight.

Wil turned his flashlight towards her hand.

“Can I borrow that?”

“Why?”

“I just want to take a closer look at the murals. These people lived here over ten thousand years ago and left such amazing works of art. And the colors haven’t been distorted or changed at all, just like frescoes. This is a really valuable sight. Even if, in the worst-case scenario, the old man was mistaken, I still think this is a treasure in and of itself.”

“A treasure in and of itself, huh. …Here.”

Wil examined the murals, holding Allison’s flashlight in his left hand. There was a person riding a horse. People putting on some sort of clothing. A woman who looked to be pregnant. A pair of animals—mother and child—most likely sheep.

“But if you’re right… this is a pretty big disapp