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“What! It was a door all along? Then open it at once, White One!”
“You really think I can do that with my bare hands? I’ll leave it to you, Momo.”
“Master, even I have my limits!”

The door was sealed shut with no gap to slip a hand into. No matter how hard I tried, there was no way I could force open something this massive and thick.

“But still, the fact that there’s a handle means there must be a way to open it.”
“A door that repels my magic? Insolent! All the more reason I must get through it!”
“Hmm… in that case… Mr. Arnitta, think Kyodaigorou can open it?”
*“Oh, we were just talking about that on our end too. Back away, it’s dangerous!”*

Steam hissed from Kyodaigorou’s truck form as it slowly began to transform into its two-legged giant robot mode.

Once the transformation was complete, the height of the handle lined up perfectly with its size.

“…Hey, was that transformation really necessary?”
“Master, how can you say that?! Transformation is the essence of romance!”
“Don’t let me down, White One! That was cool, wasn’t it?!”
“I see now… the mistake was asking you two in the first place.”
*“Heeey, if you don’t move back a little more, you’re gonna get squashed.”*
“Ah, right! Okay! Come on, Master, let’s move back—this is dangerous.”

I pulled Master away as Kyodaigorou reached for the handle and began pulling the doors apart.

It didn’t seem to be locked, and the double doors started to creak open, inch by inch.

“But seriously, what’s this door even for? Don’t tell me you’re supposed to drag out a giant golem like this every time you want to open it.”
“Don’t assume things, White One. Look at it—there’s not a speck of rust. It’s far too well-preserved to be abandoned for decades.”
“…A material that repels magic, and a pristine surface—there’s a lot we don’t know. Is this what that dragon wanted us to see?”
“I doubt Valka would go to such lengths to hide something this trivial. I’d wager ten to one the real secret lies beyond this door.”
“What kind of place even needs a door this huge…?”

And then—just as the gap between the doors grew wide enough for a person to pass through—

A sudden impact shook the ground, hitting me deep in the gut. Dust and sand trickled down from the ceiling.

It wasn’t an earthquake. And it didn’t feel like when we were swallowed by the sand earlier either. It was like something heavy had slammed into the ground for just a moment.

“Waaah! What was that just now?!”
“No idea. From here, the dragon’s magic is overwhelming—I can’t even tell what’s out there. But one thing’s certain: the situation isn’t peaceful.”
“…We better hurry. I am worried about my friend too, but either way, unless we find an exit, we will not even make it back to the surface.”
*“Aye, I don’t know what’s going on either, but now’s not the time to dawdle! Let’s move before we get buried alive!”*

Urged on by Mr. Arnitta, I slipped through the gap in the door—and immediately caught a whiff of dusty, stale air.

Master’s fireball lit up the space beyond, revealing a ruin that reminded me a bit of Mr. Arnitta’s workshop.

A corridor paved with hexagonal tiles, several conduit lines running neatly along the walls, and strange lightbulb-like objects hanging from the ceiling, faintly glowing with a bluish hue.

“Wh-What is this place…?”
“I’m not sure either. If I had to guess, I’d say it looks like a magitech research facility.”
*“…The age doesn’t match. This kind of decay isn’t something that happens in just ten or twenty years.”*
“I said that first!”
“Stop competing, idiot. And Momo, move a little closer to me.”
“Huh? What is it, Master? Suddenly acting all clingy? You’re making me blush…”

Just as I leaned down, thinking she was trying to pull me into a hug, something shot past over my head at incredible speed.

My hair, grazed by it, sizzled at the ends—and the part of the door behind me glowed red-hot.

If Master hadn’t called out, it wouldn’t have been the door getting scorched—it would’ve been me.

“Wh-wh-wh-MASTER!?! What was that?!”
“Don’t cling to me, you’re smothering. Seems we’re not exactly welcome guests.”
“So it seems… They are coming.”

As the king idly toyed with a gold coin in one hand, he stared down the corridor. The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed closer with each step.

Then, from down the hall, something emerged—its eyes (or something like them) blinking rapidly as it approached.

It was a robot, but not one like Daigorou.

**“Welcome, welme, apollges, goodbye, welkme, comewel.”**
“Uh… um… hello?”
**“Welcome, security, wellchavewas, comewel, welcdbye…”**
“Yep. That thing is definitely broken.”

The robot approached, scuttling forward on a flurry of legs, babbling utter nonsense. It looked like a spider.

But where it should’ve had eight legs, half of them had been torn off. The lens-like “eyes” were shattered, exposing the mechanical guts inside.

And despite it constantly repeating “Welcome,” the turret mounted on its back had been aimed at us the entire time.

“No need to ask its creator for permission. Let’s just destroy it and move on.”
“Wait, White One! That would be a waste! I want that thing!”
“Our safety comes first. It’ll be faster to just break it. If you don’t like that, handle it yourself.”
“Wonderful, thank you kindly! As expected, White One, you are truly generous! Leave this one to me!”
“Wait—huh!? Are you sure about this, Your Majesty?! Is this okay, Master?!”
“Let him do whatever he wants. I don’t care anymore.”

Pouting, Master turned away. Meanwhile, the king confidently strode toward the spider-bot without hesitation.

I knew the king was strong, but if that heat beam from earlier hit him head-on, even he wouldn’t walk away from it.

And if he died here, Regulus would be in big trouble. Worse, we might get accused of killing the king and arrested.

“Don’t worry, Momo. It pains me to admit it, but that idiot isn’t the type to be taken down by a half-broken golem like that.”
“Master…”
“And if by some miracle he does die here, then I won’t have to lift a finger. With fewer witnesses, cleanup will be a breeze—wahaha!”
“Master!”

I couldn’t help but watch the king’s back with a worried heart. But the fight was over in an instant.

It was like time skipped—one moment he was walking, and the next he had instantly appeared behind the spider-robot. Ice shot out from his hand onto the turret, instantly engulfing the entire machine in a thick sheet of frost.

It didn’t even get a chance to fire. Didn’t even twitch. Total annihilation.

“All right! If I yank out the core, we won’t have to worry about it going berserk again. That’ll do, won’t it, White One?”
“…Yeah. I’ve got no complaints.”
“A-amazing…”

It all happened so fast, I could barely follow it with my eyes.

There was no doubt about it—this king really was strong.