Let's turn our attention back to the rolls of construction blueprints in front of us.
The old parchment, laid out flat, was slightly yellowish-gray and quite fragile. A light touch revealed a rough, burr-like texture. Fortunately, a layer of grease and a magical inscription provided protection, barely keeping it from crumbling and allowing the crucial drawings to remain relatively intact.
They say these are things left over from the early days of the city's founding, but in my opinion, they may be even younger. They were probably renovated once or twice in between. The quality of the parchment scrolls I have varies, but the youngest one should be at least several decades old.
I naturally couldn't understand this kind of technical stuff, and the other three were completely clueless as well. So we could only try to figure out what each piece of data represented from the descriptive and explanatory text.
"These were all taken by that little fellow from a room in the priest's tower in the church's backyard."
While observing, Miyuki calmly recounted the outline of the operation: "He seemed very familiar with the terrain there, consciously avoiding all the patrolling guards and sentries, and led me into the courtyard. The stealth was quite smooth, and we finally arrived at a room deep in the corridor on the second floor of the priest's tower in the church's backyard."
"Yes, that's where they stored all the important things they had kept since the city was built, including these blueprints I have, as well as other decorations like swords or shields. But now it's become a pile of junk that no one cares about, covered in cobwebs and dust, and the decorations are much simpler than elsewhere."
"Ah, I think I know where it is."
Alice's soft murmur rang in my ears: "It must have been the former lord's office space. I went to check it out the year after we finished clearing out the north. Although it was somewhat poor and harsh, it was still a thriving little territory. Because the lord didn't like or have time for luxurious enjoyment, he simply renovated it to appease others' protests against his excessive frugality. I never expected it to be taken away by someone else."
"I thought it looked familiar before, now I know why."
Although it wasn't something I could just hear whenever I wanted, it was truly an unexpected secret.
Stanley, with his sharp ears, turned his head and frowned, asking, "What's the situation with the former lord?"
Little is known about the former kingdom, and even less is known that most of these existing cities were once ruled by powerful noble families. Stanley clearly didn't know which faction it belonged to.
After confirming that Alice shrugged to indicate that she didn't care, I briefly explained the information about the nobles to the two who had shifted their attention, and then added: "So, the reason why the church's backyard doesn't have the same tight security measures as the front gate, and why the buildings in the backyard are so scattered, is most likely because those parts were seized without authorization from other families."
Although it was just an unfounded inference made from Alice's soliloquy, my intuition told me that it was very likely true.
As evidence, the unconscious narration of the little guy reveals the repressed hostility that many families in the inner city harbor towards the church itself.
Part of it was due to the struggle for control over the vast city, and the other part was most likely due to this.
Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that this is merely a tactic of political control, and we must be extra vigilant when making contact with such individuals in the future.
Skipping over this interlude, and briefly recounting the perilous situation of the two hiding in the dark corridor, nearly waking the priest of the night, and the night watchman who was suddenly awakened from his slumber, we turn our attention back to the blueprints before us.
Although we were able to easily find the construction diagram of the central square based on the above annotations, it is worth repeating that I, and the rest of us present, completely failed to understand many of the explanations and annotations on the construction diagram.
I should have consulted my father and brother when I went home earlier. They've worked so hard in the workshop for so many years, putting in so much effort; they must have some special skills in understanding the icons in front of them.
Perhaps I could ask my junior, Princess Grey? Since she's also involved in some of her family's business activities, she might understand the manuscript in front of her?
I started thinking haphazardly about the acquaintances who weren't here at the moment, and once again felt overwhelmed by how far things were progressing.
This part doesn't feel like a mentor's style at all.
Although they managed to resolve a series of minor incidents by chance, and then obediently caught the necessary bait, the key they needed showed no sign of appearing before the keyhole.
The sight of someone anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the puzzle's door is hardly a pleasant one.
Is there anything I've overlooked?
His gaze darted haphazardly across the parchment scroll, trying to find the necessary traces.
However, perhaps to avoid any unexpected triggering after the overall drawing is completed, due to this basic theory of ritual studies, the seemingly ritual components in the picture are scattered in various corners, and some are even deliberately intertwined, like a mixture of fish meat minced after the bones have been removed, making it even more incomprehensible.
More than what I have now, I need a complete structural diagram to conduct the analysis. Is there any way to do that...?
Cutting off the parts directly might be a good idea, but if that were done, the numerous annotations on them would be broken into jumbled and meaningless text that is impossible to read and cannot be properly analyzed.
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