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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫
“My name is Ralph Plant. I’ve been working at this water purification plant for 10 years now.”
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That staff member, Ralph, began to speak in a sporadic manner.
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According to Ralph, the situation gradually worsened after Clavi was appointed as the head of the water department three years ago.
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“First, the obligation to report water quality, which was once a month, became once every two months. Now it’s once every six months. That man used his position on the council to gradually change the water law.”
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Ralph continued his story, his shoulders dropping in frustration.
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“Eventually, that man started to squeeze the budget of the water purification plant. We couldn’t even afford to hire a proper mage, and when we asked for an increase in the budget, he insisted that it was our job to make do with what we were given.”
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“Damn it! That stubborn man! The water usage fee has doubled since he became the head of the water department, and he was doing such a thing behind the scenes!”
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Ralph nodded at Miranda, who was pounding her fist in anger.
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“In fact, there were several plans for demonstrations against the increase in water usage fees, but I heard that all of them were crushed by that man.”
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“. . .We were the ones who suppressed it as the security team. Even though it was our duty, I felt helpless at that time.”
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Miranda answered gruffly.
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“As for the inspection of magical elements, it has been reduced to once a year because there has never been any detection so far. The last time we did it was exactly a year ago, so something might have happened after that.”
“What do you think, Luke?”
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“Well. . . I can’t rule out the possibility that magical elements were artificially mixed in, but I think it’s quite difficult to prepare that much magical elements and then mix them into the water. It should be impossible unless you’re a fairly high-ranking mage.”
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“I also think the possibility is low. If a mage capable of doing that much took some action, we, the security team, should be notified.”
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“Something might have happened at the water source. Maybe we just didn’t notice it and let it flow into the water supply.”
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“In the end, it seems that there is no change in the fact that we have to check the water source.”
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Miranda stood up.
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“For now, we’ll leave this matter here. But the corruption of the water department will surely be corrected. We can’t overlook this terrible situation.”
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“Thank you! I can’t face my family as it is.”
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Ralph bowed his head.
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“Then we should gather evidence now. If you’re going to be a witness, we, the security team, will protect you. We’ll contact you later, so please don’t let anyone around you know until then.”
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“I, I understand.”
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Luke and the others said goodbye to Ralph and headed back to the water source.
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“But that man Clavi, he seems to be doing quite a lot of shady things.”
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“Yeah, he’s the embodiment of evil and corruption in this country.”
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Miranda continued her stern conversation while driving the running dragon.
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“His hands are reaching everywhere. We’re trying to catch his tail, but instead of going well, we’re under so much pressure from above that we can’t move. But we’ll definitely bring him to justice.”
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Eventually, the group arrived in front of a cave that was gaping open on the mountainside.
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Cold spring water flowing from the cave was flowing into the waterway leading to the water purification plant.
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“This is the water source of Mercapolis. We’re pulling the underground water that comes out from the back of the cave.”
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“It seems that the magic element is mixed inside this cave.”
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The light of the magic element revealed by Luke’s magic also continued to the back of the cave.
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“What’s with this cave. . . It’s not like the highest difficulty dungeon’s magic element.”
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Alma muttered with a tense look on her face.
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The magic element hanging in the cave was already thick enough for Alma and Miranda to recognize.
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“This water source is called the Quiet Water Cave. It’s originally designated as a sanctuary of Mercapolis, and it’s a place where it’s forbidden to enter. Why such a place. . .”
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Miranda stared at the cave with a stern look on her face.
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“It doesn’t seem to be guarded for a no-entry area.”
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“The guards who protect this place were the first to get black spot fever. After that, black spot fever spread mainly among the guards, so they probably couldn’t afford to do anything.”
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Miranda drew her sword and turned her face towards the Quiet Water Cave.
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“Be careful. It’s just after the demon beast’s activity, so there might be a demon beast inside.”
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Leaving her subordinates at the entrance, Miranda took Luke and Alma and entered the Quiet Water Cave.
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“It’s strange, there’s no demon beast at all even though the magic element is so thick.”
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The inside of the Quiet Water Cave was surprisingly quiet.
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All that echoed around was the sound of water flowing and the footsteps of Luke and his friends.
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There was no sign or shape of a demon beast.
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“Please wait a moment.”
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After walking for a while, Luke suddenly stopped.
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“Luke, what’s wrong?”
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“This place. . . something’s strange. . . Lighting.”
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Luke’s magic brightly illuminated the entire cave.
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“Wha, what’s this?!”
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Seeing what was spread out in front of her, Alma involuntarily raised her voice.
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What was there was an ancient and huge gate that was so old that its age was unknown.
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The gate, which was placed over the waterway, had already been destroyed and was wide open.
The magic element, which had become so thick that it could be visually recognized, was overflowing from the back.
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“A gate? Why is there something like this here. . . I wonder if they broke the one that was blocking the waterway?”
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“This is called the ancient water gate. It’s been here since before Mercapolis was built, and no one knows when it was built. It’s also said to be a ruin of the previous empire. . . But why is it broken? I’m sure it was closed.”
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“No. . . that’s not it.”
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Luke’s face, who answered Miranda, was unusually stern.
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He approached the destroyed gate and held out his left hand.
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The pattern engraved on the gate emitted a faint light in response to Luke’s chant.
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“I knew it. . .”
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Luke’s expression became even more stern.
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“This is not just a water gate. It’s a magic device set up by master.”