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Just that simple message.

“Even if it says ‘help my mother,’ what does that mean?”

Trapped inside this mysterious object, Lucella found herself faced with a stone tablet pleading for help. It was a riddle-like situation.

While there was earth-elemental magic called ≪Masonry≫ that allowed one to shape stone at will, the stone tablet in front of her didn’t seem to be the product of such magic. It appeared as if a hard object, perhaps a paving stone, had been forcibly chiseled with something nail-like to carve the characters.

“Why go through the trouble of chiseling the stone plate? Without even using magic too. Or maybe, even if they couldn’t use magic, they wanted to somehow inscribe the message on the stone. Maybe so the message would last a long time, longer than a paper could…?”

The clumsy characters gave off a feel that the inscriber gave their best. If they had chiseled it with a nail-like object, they probably couldn’t have written a detailed explanation of the situation.

“Even if they’re asking for help, if this is a ship from the time of the Human-Dragon War, the people inside, even if they were elves, should have reached the end of their lifespans,” Kafal remarked, her large face getting closer to the stone tablet as if trying to smell it.

“Normally, that’s true, but with the advanced technology from before the Human-Dragon War, our modern common sense might not apply… For example, there might be someone who stopped time and has been asleep for a thousand years.”
“I see. But what could those ancient people with such technology be in trouble with? To think they would have to entrust a solution to someone in the distant future.”
“Hmm…”

As an adventurer manager, Lucella had knowledge of encounters with ancient relics, but the ancient civilization had many mysteries even for experts due to the collapse caused by the Human-Dragon War and the loss of records. For Lucella, it was all mostly unknown.

She could imagine what might have happened, but whether those were sound speculations or mere fantasies was uncertain.

“Anyway, before we think about the plea from a thousand years ago, we need to consider our own situation. Let’s investigate this place… I think there should be a keycard left somewhere.”
“Keycard?”
“It’s a key that the ancient human tribe often used, and it’s commonly found in ancient ruins… or so I’ve heard. I believe this place was a facility used by the ancient people for some purpose rather than a dungeon to confuse intruders, so there should be keys for the users and a path… at least, I want to believe that…”

Surveying the strange garden, Lucella began to walk cautiously. For now, they needed to investigate the house in front of them to get started.

All around, the grass grew tall, but it was a single type, thick and green like reeds, and strangely, there were no insects to be seen. There didn’t appear to be a proper ecosystem here. At first glance, it might seem like it was imitating a natural environment, but upon closer inspection, it was an unnatural place. It was likely an artificially created miniature garden.

“It mentioned a ship, right? I wonder what kind of facility this was.”
“Maybe this is what they called an ‘ark.’ There were quite a few people who made enclosed ships to hide safely until the Human-Dragon War ended. They wanted to be hidden for decades if needed.”
“I see, I didn’t know that.”
“Well, most of those arks ended up being destroyed by dragons in the end.”
“…You sure know a lot, Lucella.”

Kafal seemed half impressed and half embarrassed. Despite living much longer than Lucella, she felt like she was being outdone in terms of knowledge, which was a blow to her pride.

“I studied a lot of books to become an adventurer manager… that’s all.”
“I want to learn human writing and read books soon too.”
“You’ll pick it up quickly, Mom. I guess you’ve been really busy lately and didn’t have time to study. When we get back, I’ll teach you.”
“Hehe, I’m looking forward to it.”

Kafal nuzzled Lucella’s face, causing her to spin around.

In the center of the miniature garden was a weathered wooden house. It was a simple and charming house that could easily be found in the illustrations of a children’s book. Many people might dream of living in such a place free of worldly desires for their retirement. However, as Lucella approached, she noticed that the house was constructed from several different types of wood, all neatly processed but with varying degrees of durability. Over time, this had caused the house to warp and deteriorate. At least, that’s how it seemed.

“I wonder if this house belonged to the people who were on the ark.”

There was a door, but Lucella was wary of touching it, fearing that it might crumble, so she cautiously entered the small house through a side window.

Inside the house, dust and dirt had accumulated, and weeds grew here and there. The one-room interior was filled with the remnants of what were once woven carpets, a fireplace without a chimney, and a mysterious machine in place of firewood.

However, what stood out the most was the large bed that occupied nearly half of the room. It was a bed big enough for two adults to sleep side by side, with a design that looked like iron bars bent and assembled. In this charming house that had seen the passage of time, the somewhat mismatched khaki-colored cover and blankets were still intact.

There were large and small pillows lined up, and on the small pillow lay a person. Or rather, a corpse. A corpse lay there.

The flesh had withered away, leaving behind dry and shriveled skin and bones, resembling a mummy. However, it was clear that this was the body of a 15 or 16-year-old girl. Gently lifting the unknown material off the blanket, Lucella revealed what appeared to be a pale peach-colored nightgown.

Her hair, spread gently over the khaki blanket, seemed to have lost its color, appearing white. Seeing that hair, Lucella’s heart tightened in her chest.

“This unnaturally white hair… The death curse of a dragon…”

Dragons were creatures deeply intertwined with the composition of the world. Lucella knew the weight of receiving the hatred of such a being. That hatred became a curse that would lead to death, and the pure white hair was a sign of that curse.

And then there was this mummified appearance. Lucella knew that the bodies of those who had continued to drink the “life-prolonging medicine” would remain like this without decaying. Normally, corpses were cremated to prevent them from becoming undead, but not in this case.

During the era of the Human-Dragon War, it was common for dragons to die in numbers unimaginable by modern standards, and the curse was a matter of course. There were even cases where entire countries were cursed by dragons. The girl cursed by the dragon would survive through the “life-prolonging medicine,” but the curse could not be lifted, so she would eventually die, and her body would remain mummified without anyone to bury her…

Such a story came to mind.

“Lucella, this bed is for two people, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”

From the window of the house, the large eyes of Kafal, who couldn’t enter, peered inside.

She understood what Kafal was trying to say.

The other half of the bed, the large pillow – these empty spaces seemed to belong to “Mom.”

If that’s the case, could it be that this girl left the message on the stone tablet?

“I’m just speculating, but I think this girl realized she was nearing death due to the dragon’s curse. So, for what would happen after her death… she left a message…?”

As she spoke, Lucella couldn’t help but feel that things didn’t add up. Why did the dying girl place her hopes for the future regarding her mother? What was the situation with her mother?

Inside the house, there were few noticeable pieces of furniture. The most prominent were the large bed, one chair in front of the fireplace, and a modest bookshelf. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like they would need to search the house extensively.

On the bookshelf, there were thick spines lined up, and Lucella pulled one out with anticipation. However, all she found were tattered brown scraps of paper that had fallen apart between the bindings.

—It’s in tatters. Since the place is imitating the outside environment, it’s gotten weathered. What a waste…

Lucella couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

She was civilized enough to lament a cultural loss, and she was penny-pinching enough to mourn a financial loss.

Specialized books on ancient technology would be worth hundreds of gold coins to collectors, and even if they were just popular writings or fictional tales from common folk, they held significant cultural value.

All the books had deteriorated to the point where only the bindings, or at best, the frames, remained.

After enduring such a long time, going through cycles of dampness and dryness, this was the result.

【Finally, we got a house, and we moved in. From today, I can sleep with Mom.】

That was what could be barely deciphered on a scrap of paper. It wasn’t printed; it was neatly handwritten in a cute script.

It seemed like a diary.

“It doesn’t look like there’s a keycard here.”

There weren’t many places to search. She hesitated to further disturb the small house where the parent and child from a thousand years ago had seemingly lived. Quietly, Lucella slipped out.