The following noon,

The team successfully reached the location of the ruins.

The terrain around Entrod was peculiar, mainly a mix of various landscapes and hills. During this season, aside from the special conditions near the waterfall, the rivers were mostly completely covered with ice.

The discovery of the ruins was also aided by such unique terrain.

Due to this Environment, even smaller waterfalls were directly frozen by the cold weather.

At the edge of a waterfall about thirty meters high, behind the frozen flow of water, a tunnel could be seen, and those who developed the ruins camped nearby, enclosing this unexpectedly revealed spot tightly.

"You must be Professor Doyen!"

"I heard you were just at Waterfall City, it's great that you could come to support us!"

The people at the camp who came to greet them were very enthusiastic.

Ronald could tell from their attitude that Doyen had a very good reputation in the academic world.

Soon, their group was brought into the camp.

The specific situation here and the forthcoming schedule were gradually discussed over a welcoming lunch.

The finding of the ruins was quite a coincidence.

Two months ago, someone in Waterfall City happened to be collecting food for the winter around there, and they discovered the hidden passage beneath the waterfall.

Ordinary people encountering such a thing naturally wouldn't care much, and would return to the city to casually boast about it as gossip, but when selling some surplus loot, this news was inquired into by a trader he dealt with, and continued to develop from there.

It wasn't until after the world had changed that the team developing this site suddenly ran into trouble.

Various undercurrents surged in a society where people had a restless heart.

In the midst of this change, the people seeking and exploring, chasing hope in their hearts, naturally made it a key project of their exploration.

And due to the fact that very ancient architectural remains were found, a support force centered around three people including Doyen was thus formed.

First was Doyen, a professor of history, who had the knowledge assurance in developing ruins; next was Celiel, a world-traveling adventurer familiar with handling various emergencies; and finally, Clara, a journalist with excellent capabilities in the news industry.

In addition to being competent on their own, these three were also friends who were familiar with each other from the past. The team formed around them had completed some commendable missions before and thus was very trustworthy.

During the lunch,

Doyen also introduced Ronald to the people at the camp.

This professor was clearly not a reckless man, and while introducing him only disclosed that Ronald was a 'professional' he had invited, and didn't overtly reveal Ronald's mysterious identity.

The previous incident of people disappearing during the development of the ruins.

Doyen firmly remembered it and regarded this information as very important.

If there was a problem inside the ruins, or with these developers who had invited him,

Then Ronald and his servant were their last assurance for dealing with the problem.

"..."

Lunch was over.

The developers did not rush to set out immediately.

They thoughtfully set up tents for the supporters, planning to rest and gather energy before starting work the next day.

"Sir, do we need to sleep together?"

As night fell, Costate actively extended the invitation to Ronald.

The number of tents provided by the developers was entirely sufficient, and regarding the size of each tent— it could only be said to be barely adequate.

Glancing around, Ronald looked at the maid in front of him with a strange expression:

"Costate, after being approached by Celiel on the way here, you wouldn't have awakened some strange ideas, would you?"

Costate spoke very generously:

"Sir, I don't really care much about the actions of ordinary people."

"It's just that the weather is cold around here, and to avoid some unnecessary trouble as well as to ensure your comfort during the night, I still hope we can sleep together."

"Please rest assured—I have no habit of disturbing others and there is no strange odor to my body either. If needed, do whatever you see fit with me."

Ronald immediately understood Costate's idea.

During the welcome banquet at noon and while getting acquainted with the camp in the afternoon, Costate had attracted quite a bit of attention from those around him.

Assuming they slept apart tonight.

Then, unless something unexpected happened, neither Ronald as the host nor Costate as the servant would likely get a good night's sleep.

Disturbances of all sorts would almost be unavoidable.

Now, the maid had come to him with such a suggestion.

Actually, it truly was a choice made so Ronald could rest properly.

"Alright."

Ronald smiled wryly and scratched his head,

"It's also my fault for not having considered such issues before."

"By the way, Costate, you can learn spells from various schools, can't you? Just tonight, I'll teach you a spell to change one's appearance. If we encounter similar situations in the future, we can be better prepared."

Costate naturally followed the order as usual,

"Sir, I understand."

"…"

The two entered the tent to rest.

That night, Ronald did indeed hear some noises around him.

As they slept together directly, it was inconvenient for people to disturb them directly, and their target shifted to Professor Davenport.

After all, within the entire support team, Davenport was generally seen as the default leader. Now that they had information to inquire about, naturally, he was the first they approached.

So, at least for half the night,

The unfortunate university professor was unable to sleep well.

"…"

Ronald had a very comfortable sleep.

In the winter, daylight arrived later, and when Ronald got up on time according to his biological clock the next day, the sky outside the tent was still pitch black.

And beside him,

Costate, with her eyes closed like Sleeping Beauty, had a quiet and comfortable look that was even somewhat cute.

It was completely inconceivable that this was her usual appearance.

"At times like this..."

"There really is nothing non-human about her…"

Pitter-patter—

Ronald unconsciously moved to touch Costate's hair.

Just then, he heard a footstep approaching.

Ronald recognized the identity of the footsteps and thoughtfully put on his clothes before walking out of the tent.

—It was Davenport who had come over early.

A well-rested Ronald looked at Davenport, who had dark circles under his eyes and showed an apologetic smile,

"Davenport, it seems you didn't get much rest last night."

"I'm really sorry."

"…"

"It's nothing." Davenport didn't care too much about that. While smiling wryly and gesturing with his hand, the professor directly approached Ronald and his expression immediately became serious,

"Mr. Ronald, let's talk about important matters."

"I've gathered some information yesterday and think that today's exploration is highly likely to be dangerous. So before that, there are some things I'd like to discuss with you in advance."

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