Oran Knight is out (1/3 chapters for today)
Latter Days of Summer Vacation (1): Third of Seven Mysteries
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**Today’s Diary**
It was yesterday when we, having been seen off by Maria and the others, left the town of Stola and returned to the academy.
Feeling a bit relieved by the hardness of the dorm bed, I found myself feeling somewhat sentimental, thinking that I have become accustomed to this room.
Summer vacation has passed its halfway point, but the dormitory is deserted, as if it has tucked away its usual hustle and bustle somewhere.
Today, we set out to solve the third of the Seven Mysteries that Heinz mentioned, the mystery of the artificial lake in the practical skills area. Last time, we had a hard time at the lake, but this time….
—
“Well, everyone! What a fine morning!” (Heinz)
The energetic Heinz cheerfully welcomes the day.
Listening to him were me and Sonia. Hana was off today due to a family matter. Rick-san also hadn’t returned from his trip yet.
“So, today, is it the lake in the practical skills area?” (Sonia)
Sonia, who hadn’t heard Heinz’s story before we left for Maria’s house, asked somewhat suspiciously. And that was understandable. Heinz’s story was very vague, saying, “When it rains heavily on the artificial lake, something happens”.
Today is clear and sunny. There is not a single cloud in the sky.
Even so, Sonia came along simply because she was bored. There were already few girls at the academy. When she returned to the girls’ dormitory, there were apparently only three people there, including Sonia. And so, we leisurely proceed along the main road of the academy, which is overall quite deserted. The strong sunlight beat down on us mercilessly, but since all of us got tanned while staying at Maria’s house, we didn’t particularly mind and kept going.
We proceeded along the now-familiar path to the practical skills area. We entered the forest from a suitable spot and coming out to a grassland, where the blue sky spread wide in our view. I had sneaked into the practical skills area the night before the inter-school competition, but it was the first time being here during the day when there wasn’t a class, and it was this deserted. Looking at it again, it felt spacious and open. In a word, it was an extremely pleasant space.
“I mean, it makes you want to bring a blanket and have lunch here.” (Sonia)
Sonia murmured, seemingly thinking along the same lines.
“Hurry up, you two!” (Heinz)
Heinz, who had gone ahead, waved his hand, calling out to us. We looked at each other and smiled wryly before following Heinz.
Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’ve taken a good look at the artificial lake.
It’s described grandly as a ‘lake’, but originally it was a noble’s garden waterside, and while it’s certainly too big to be called a pond, it isn’t quite large enough to be called a lake. That’s my honest impression.
The water was unexpectedly clear, and from the looks of it, it didn’t seem very deep. Probably, I could somehow keep my head above the water even in the deepest part. Plus, there weren’t any creatures in sight, so it really was just a place where water had accumulated. For the moment, water flowed in from upstream on the north side and connected downstream, so there was some flow, but it was slow.
“So, what are we looking for?” (Lux)
When I asked Heinz, Heinz thought for a moment and then said.
“Well, for now, let’s just all look around at different things.”
That was the command given.
Yes, yes. Yes, sir.
Taking off our shoes, we tried stepping into the water a bit, walking along upstream, and throwing in some stones we found around, each of us doing whatever we liked, but nothing happened that seemed connected to the Seven Mysteries.
“…Nothing’s happening.” (Lux)
I said to Heinz after a while, and he tilted his head and replied.
“Maybe it’s because there’s no rain…” (Heinz)
At that moment, a low voice called out from behind us.
“What are you doing?” (??)
We instinctively hunched our shoulders and turned around hesitantly to find Burke-sensei, the old soldier and instructor who had been in charge of my afternoon class on the first day of enrollment, standing there with his arms crossed.
“What is it, first-years… uh…” (Burke)
While Burke-sensei was searching his memory, Heinz cheerfully answered.
“We’re Heinz, Lux and Sonia from 1-C!” (Heinz)
“Ah, that’s right. Well, when you get old, it takes time to remember the students’ names. So, what are you doing here?” (Burke)
We had decided beforehand to be honest if we were caught by a teacher. This was because the teachers at this academy, being veterans who had survived on the front lines, generally had sharp intuition. Any half-baked lies would be immediately seen through and thoroughly probed.
“Actually, we wanted to investigate the Seven Mysteries of the academy, so we came here!” (Heinz)
Heinz, who was always in good spirits, saluted Burke-sensei with a crisp hand to his forehead.
“The Seven Mysteries?” (Burke)
“Yes! We heard that something strange happens when it rains heavily on this lake, so we were investigating it!” (Heinz)
“Oh? Is there such a story?” (Burke)
Seemingly a bit intrigued, Burke-sensei stretched his neck and directed his gaze toward the lake.
“By the way, what are you doing here, Burke-sensei…?” (Lux)
I started to ask, but my gaze caught sight of a Wamo mushroom in Burke-sensei’s hand. It was a delicious mushroom that Rick-san had also been secretly picking. Noticing my gaze, Burke-sensei awkwardly hid the mushroom behind his back.
“It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone. Wamo mushrooms are delicious, aren’t they?” (Lux)
When I said that, Burke-sensei scratched his cheek with his free hand.
“Have you heard any rumors about this lake, Sensei?” (Sonia)
Sonia asked. After thinking for a moment, he tilted his head and said.
“Well, I wonder if there were any such stories?” (Burke)
When we looked a bit disappointed, perhaps feeling sorry that he couldn’t meet our expectations, Burke-sensei said.
“Well, it can’t be helped. This might not be related to the Seven Mysteries, but I’ll show you something you don’t normally see. Follow me.” (Burke)
With that, he led us upstream along the river flowing into the lake. Though it was upstream, we only walked as far as the hill where Zess once set up camp. It wasn’t a significant distance. When we reached the slope of the hill, the flow seemed to disappear into the hillside. Then, as Burke-sensei rummaged around at the end of the river, there was a metallic sound, *clunk*, and a hidden door in the ground sprang open.
Beyond it was a dark space that extended far into the distance, with only the sound of water flowing. There was also a narrow ledge along the edge, just wide enough for a person to walk on.
“This is…” (Heinz)
“From here, the river flows underground. It’s called a culvert’. Remember that.” (Burke)
“Where does it go from here?” Heinz asked, peering into the ankyo with great interest.
“It passes under the academy and connects to a river in the town. Water is drawn and flows out from there.” (Burke)
“Why is there a door like this?” (Lux)
I asked.
“Sometimes, debris from the outside river can flow in and cause blockages. This is for cleaning.” (Burke)
It wasn’t a particularly romantic reason, but the culvert, which appeared to open like a dark mouth in the bright practical training area illuminated by the clear blue sky, felt a little eerie.
“Is it the same downstream?” (Sonia)
Sonia asked.
“Yes, it is.” (Burke)
Burke-sensei replied
“Now, I’m closing the door, so step back. Needless to say, don’t think about going in there.” (Burke)
“Yes!” (Heinz/Lux/Sonia)
We replied energetically. In fact, even if we were asked, we wouldn’t want to enter such a creepy place. After that, prompted by Burke-sensei, we left the practical training area.
“Rain… hmm… well, if I had to say something mysterious about this lake…” (Burke)
Burke-sensei, despite everything, was trying to think if there was anything he could remember.
“If you had to say?” (Heinz)
Heinz asked eagerly.
“If I had to say… it would be that perhaps because of good drainage, the grasslands and the wilderness training grounds don’t get flooded even when it rains heavily.” (Burke)
And so, with that not-so-mysterious story, our investigation into the third of the Seven Mysteries came to a temporary close.
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