From the bottom floor of the student council building to the upper levels, the General led us directly to the top district, explaining that we had already searched everywhere.

Essentially, just like T-party, the Millennium Seminar, the Student Council, and the Gehenna Student Council all use the top floors as the most important area without exception, it seemed that the past Abydos was no different.

At least T-party is currently using the mid-level office as the core of all operations, but the symbolism of the top terrace still remains.

The building didn’t just look large; upon entering, it was no joke. If the campus could be buried this deeply in sand, it wouldn’t simply be desertification; it would rightly be called a disaster.

As we entered the top floor, PMC automatons were busily scurrying around, rummaging here and there.

It seemed that they hadn’t been seriously examined for long.

However, places where documents might be found, and most of the bookshelves, were mostly empty. It seemed that the few things we discovered had already gone into confirming whether we needed the information.

“…Right in front of us is the only place we haven’t checked yet, the Student Council President’s office. I received orders from the President that the T-party host should wait for your arrival.”

“Alright, then there’s no reason to hesitate. Let’s check it out right away.”

I put in some effort to open the door to the office, but it stubbornly refused to budge. All I heard was a clunk as if it was locked tight.

Well… looks like there’s nothing more to be done here.

“It appears to be locked. Just wait a moment—”

Bang——!! Crick.

“Open…?”

“Huh? Why bother using tools, it’s a waste of time.”

With a hefty kick, the door half-caved in and fell out of its frame.

I couldn’t make out the emotions on the General’s face, who stared at me, dumbfounded. It’s understandable since he’s an automaton; such things wouldn’t show on his face.

Still, I figured this much was a decent display of manners.

“Tsk. Let’s hurry inside.”

Hina, who chuckled lightly, shoved the dangling door aside and entered the office first. Following her, I completely tore the door off and set it aside.

What caught my attention first was the sand trickling down and accumulating in the corner of the office ceiling. The amount was enough to completely bury a bookshelf, and with the trickle being barely perceptible, it seemed like it had been accumulating for quite a while.

“Hmm… General, could you check that bookshelf over there?”

“What…? You expect the Commander of PMC to do such trivial tasks…”

“Right, so are you going to check it?”

As I smiled at the General, who looked incredulous, he sighed and headed over to start clearing the sand.

“…Mika, I’ll check this bookshelf.”

“Oh, okay. Then I’ll check the desk first.”

At least it seemed like there was something left in this office. Hina pointed out that there were about three books remaining on that shelf.

As I approached the desk to check, a large map was spread out on it. It must be a map of Abydos from back in the day.

A quick glance revealed various markings in areas now classified as deserts. Notably, the large oasis was marked more like a lake than an oasis.

No wonder tourists from other autonomous districts come to see the Sand Festival; even I would want to see that at least once.

I carefully rolled up the map to keep it undamaged. It was quite old paper, so I was being cautious.

The miscellaneous items strewn across the desk were mostly meaningless, so I moved on to the drawers.

Click.

I lacked the key to open the locked drawer, so I roughly yanked on the handle—only for it to pop right off. Thanks to the design of the drawer, it had now provided an opening, and I could check the contents with the same method.

Every time I experience this, I think, when your body is healthy, your brain gets to relax.

In the bottom drawer was the student roster. I glanced through it; it was a roster from decades ago, but nothing special caught my eye.

However, if the current Trinity or Gehenna were more powerful, the number of students would naturally be in the five digits. Perhaps this isn’t just an ordinary student roster, but rather one that records high-ranking students.

Placing the roster on the desk, I opened the next drawer, but unfortunately, all that was inside was an old pistol. Given that it was an item from decades ago, that was to be expected.

Only one drawer remained. Hoping there was something of value inside, I yanked it open to find a key resting atop what looked like a notebook.

…Wait a moment. If the key is inside, how is the drawer locked?

It seems like it’s likely a key for another location, so just in case, I pocketed it.

Taking the notebook out and opening it, I was immediately assaulted by a horrendous handwriting that tortured my eyes. I’m not joking; it was nearly illegible.

Yet, I squinted and decided to try reading the notebook. After a long struggle, skipping meaningless parts and fighting through the sloppy handwriting, I turned about twenty pages before meaningful content appeared for the first time.

[Ruin Exploration—Supplement ——— It might be due to what was disturbed. The old saying goes that if you touch it, you will invite the anger of —— —there are tales of people wandering recklessly through that place. Because of the released steel ——, we are losing our place in ——.]

Thank goodness, that was the information I needed. It was referring to some incident suspected to cause desertification and, contextually, appeared to mention Vina.

However, it was still too early to rejoice. I couldn’t discern the precise cause because the handwriting was utterly unreadable.

[The storm begins—. Cruel———chaotic storm ——— follows. The only ones capable of this phenomenon ——— are… their ——. However, the guardians reject our———. The monsters of ——— also undoubtedly lurk there. But the greatest —— lies elsewhere.]

As I turned the page, there was a while of nonsensical dialogue. Most of it was related to the damage caused by Vina. The fact that it became difficult to operate in the desert mirrored the context where Vina was first mentioned.

And finally, the notebook concluded with the most vital piece of information.

Just in case there was anything else on the back, I checked and commenced reading the last page. Unlike the previous horrendous script, there were hints that the writer had made an effort to write as neatly as possible.

[Abydos has moved its base. However, the records related to them will slumber here with me. Only I remain here to fulfill the contract made with them. This is all for Abydos, and I… lose everything today.]

[The steel monster was under their control. The sandstorm also derived from their technology. Nameless Priests… their purpose is clear, but as the Student Council President, I must protect Abydos.]

[If someone doesn’t set foot near those ruins again, the sandstorm will remain silent until the new world they speak of arrives.]

[But… I do not trust them. Even if the glory of Abydos begins to fade with my generation, a day will come when all light will be regained. For that day, I leave this record here.]

[Whether it happens after everything is resolved, beforehand, or remains unresolved while this writing is forever forgotten in the sand, I do not know, but I earnestly request this of the reader. May the information I have be of help to you. I hope you can destroy that O.P.A.R.T.S. that you have sacrificed ‘God’ for…]

And that marked the end of the content. Digesting the newly acquired information, I tried to sketch a picture.

Ruin Exploration… “Master”?

It’s clear that a troublesome club caused some accident at some ruins, pulling the trigger for the release of Vina and the onset of the sandstorms.

Contextually, these ruins seem to belong to the Nameless Priests, as does the O.P.A.R.T.S that triggered the sandstorms. If Vina exists to protect that O.P.A.R.T.S and those ruins… then Vina too was created using the technology of the Nameless Priests?

The Student Council President of Abydos seems to have made a deal, sacrificing herself and the Nameless Priests to mitigate the advance of desertification and the rampage of Vina. It appears the Nameless Priests acquired the mystery of the then Student Council President in return.

If that’s the case… is the solution to this situation simply to find those ruins and destroy the O.P.A.R.T.S as he suggested?

If Vina is a being that guards those ruins, it wouldn’t just mean chasing that monster away; it would have to be hunted down in a literal sense.

If that’s the case, can I just consider the deal with the Kaiser President finished? Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check the other side just in case.

Kaiser is really stepping up to help in this matter. Looks like keeping him alive was a smart choice in retrospect.

“…T-party host, there’s nothing here.”

After scraping away the sand and completely overturning the bookshelf, the General made a strange sound, as if to complain. I decided to set aside the question of how a machine could make such a noise.

“Mika, these books don’t have anything of particular importance, but… I found something odd.”

Hina approached me, holding a small iron box that seemed somewhat mysterious. Did it have a hidden compartment or something?

It had a lock, but just in time, I found a key. Of course, locks can usually be opened some way or another, but it’s always nice to take the easy route.

After pulling out the key and matching it up, the lock opened easily. And what emerged was…

“…Huh?”

A cube-like object that I couldn’t discern the purpose of was inside.

For the moment, I decided to stash it away since I couldn’t figure anything out even after taking a quick look.

Though many questions were being answered, uncertainties still lingered.

…So, what on earth is the ultimate goal of the Saint Nephthys faction, which evidently exacerbated this situation?