“Klaha, you’re amazing.”

“Huh?”

It happened out of nowhere after they were left alone.

Just moments after Wilae had left the room, taking Eunice and Lililia with her.

As a small moment of silence settled into the room, Ziel suddenly said it from beside her.

“You noticed right away that Wilae-san was tired. That was impressive. You’re right—she probably arrived at the same time as Eunice.”

“Ah, no… It’s not like that…”

“And your explanation was easy to follow, too. That really helped. We hadn’t made any progress at all.”

If things had continued like that, who knows how many years it would’ve taken? Thanks, he said.

Hearing him say it so directly—

Klaha felt embarrassed at being praised for something so small.
…Though she’d still add it to her “Good Things That Happened” list.
But even so, she reflexively tried to steer the conversation away.

“But, not really. Just now, when Lililia-san and Eunice-san were here, I got nervous and couldn’t talk at all.”

“Nervous?”

Yes, she nodded honestly—because it was true.

The Saint of the Island Guardians, Lililia.

The Archmage of the Stars, Eunice.

They weren’t just excellent among the younger generation.
They were among the very best in the world, even when compared to all clergy and mages.

With Ziel, who was top-class—no, likely the top—among swordsmen, she no longer felt that same nervousness.
(Not that it meant she had lost her sense of awe toward him—
Back in the Eastern lands, she had been the same with Chikano, so it was probably more about familiarity and ease of conversation—
No, it wasn’t like Lililia or Eunice were hard to talk to, either—)

Anyway.

Anyway, those were the thoughts swirling inside Klaha’s mind.

“I see. So that’s how it feels from your perspective, Klaha.”

When she nodded, Ziel said,

“Then, if you ever have trouble, just tell me.
If there’s something you want to say to Lililia or Eunice but feel hesitant, or anything else, really.”

“Huh?”

After voicing her surprise, Klaha suddenly realized—

The words she had just spoken to divert the conversation—
They had turned into an admission of her own worries.

Without meaning to, she had ended up talking about her own struggles, as if confiding in Ziel.

A little while ago, she wouldn’t have said something like that.
So maybe, little by little—she was changing.

“…Yes. If anything comes up, I’ll ask for your advice.”

“Yeah, anytime. …Though, right away, I’ll be the one relying on you.”

“Shall we go? Let’s greet them”, Ziel said.

“Alright, let’s go greet them”, Klaha said, regaining her composure and pulling out the building’s floor plan.

“By the way, what kind of building is this?”

“It’s a research facility used as a base by the mage who reported the incident. This room here… is the archives. Right here on the map.”

“Got it,” Ziel said, glancing at the floor plan.

Klaha already knew that Ziel’s “Got it” didn’t always mean “I now understand the layout.”
It was a strange quirk of his.

“Just outside this room, if we turn right, there’s a staircase at the end. If we go up, we’ll find the private rooms they prepared for us. I’ll guide you there properly later, so let’s go together.”

“Thanks. I think I can remember at least that much.”

“Sure.”

It wasn’t a “No, you won’t,” kind of response, of course.
It was just a reply to his “Thanks.”

Then, Klaha continued,

“The laboratory Wilae-san mentioned earlier is…”

As she spoke, she opened the door.

Beyond it was a hallway, naturally. A glass window stretched along one side, and sunlight filtering through the summer leaves pooled on the floor like a shallow tide.

At the sun-faded wall at the far end—
If they turned left there, the laboratory should be just beyond it.

“This way.”

Ziel followed half a step behind her, walking at a steady pace.

“Amazing. This scenery… It feels completely different.”

He exhaled as he gazed out the window while walking.

Klaha followed his gaze. The strong sunlight—
So dazzlingly white it almost hurt the eyes, yet filled with deep, rich greens that refused to be outshined.

“Yes. This is my first time coming here as well.”

The Southern Jungle.

If possible, she wanted to stop and gaze at it forever—
But of course, she couldn’t.

So instead, she didn’t stop walking.
She made a visor with her hand and stole glances at the view, just like Ziel.

This research facility was built practically at the edge of the jungle,
so all she could see were trees.
But if she lifted her gaze just a bit, she could spot a sliver of blue sky—

“…Ah.”

Seeing birds flying there, Klaha suddenly remembered.

“Something wrong?”

“Ah, no.”

“The farther away it gets, the larger it seems.”

That phrase—
She finally realized where she had heard it before.

“It’s nothing. I just remembered something.”

But for now, she kept it to herself.

Since Eunice had created that riddle for Ziel,
it wouldn’t be right for her to spoil the answer.
And perhaps Ziel already knew it by now.

“Ah, Ziel-san. There it is.”

“Oh, good.”

When they turned the corner, as expected, there it was.

A door.

The one that should lead to the room where the three other investigators were.

It looked different from the archives’ door.

The archives had a simple wooden door.
This one was metal, thick, and looked highly airtight.

For a brief moment, Klaha hesitated to knock.
Before she could, Ziel reached out and rapped on it lightly with his knuckles.

“Yes, I’ll open it now.”

A woman’s voice answered.

Klaha immediately judged that it wasn’t the voice of someone much older than her.
It was relaxed, without tension—perhaps someone around her own age.

And when the door creaked open—her guess wasn’t far off.

“Yes? Who might you be?”

The one who appeared was a girl with light brown hair.

She wore a collared shirt and seemed to be around Klaha’s age.

Klaha’s first impression was that she was petite—
But looking closer, that wasn’t quite right.
Ziel, Lililia, Eunice, Wilae—
Everyone Klaha had interacted with today was taller than average,
so her sense of scale had been thrown off.

In reality, this girl was about the same height as Klaha herself—
In other words, average.

“Hello. We’re here for tomorrow’s investigation—”

Ziel was about to continue, but for some reason, he paused.

“Ah, I see,” the girl said, understanding his intent.
She nodded politely. “How very considerate of you.”

Come inside. I'm just an assistant.

With those words, the door was pulled open wide, inviting them in.

"Excuse us."

"Excuse us..."

Klaha followed slightly behind Ziel as they stepped inside.

It was a bright room.

Although thin white curtains were drawn, their light-blocking ability seemed low. Or perhaps the light reflecting off the window sills was enough to illuminate the entire room. When the wind made the curtains billow, they shimmered even more, leading Klaha to believe the latter was the case.

As anticipated from the floor plan, this room was much larger than the reference room they had first arrived in. About twice the size, but the way objects were arranged along the walls in a continuous loop made it feel even more cluttered.

The objects were varied.

There were aquariums, pots, and even large containers like those used in public gardens. Their shapes and sizes differed, and under the sunlight, they sparkled.

"Oh?"

And at the center of it all—

By the window stood a silver-haired man.

"Could it be...?"

"Our guests. Look, Professor. These are the people who will be assisting with the investigation starting tomorrow."

"Ah, I see! Thank you for coming all this way."

Prompted by a brown-haired girl, the man took large strides toward them.

"I am Roylen, the one who reported the 'Tremor.' I usually conduct research here on pharmacology and related flora and fauna. This is my assistant—"

"Ney. My usual duties include pointing out his mistakes and cleaning up spilled coffee on his desk."

"I'm Ziel... yeah. I travel while training in swordsmanship."

"I am Klaha. I assist in the journey while receiving swordsmanship training."

They exchanged bows, acknowledging their cooperation for the upcoming investigation.

Young, Klaha thought, observing the man—Roylen.

Not that she was comparing him to herself or Ziel, but even setting aside his clean-shaven, well-defined features, Roylen seemed to be at most in his late twenties.

He was leaner than Ziel, yet he didn't appear unhealthy. Perhaps it was due to his neatly kept, clean attire, or simply the well-proportioned length of his limbs that left a different impression. Klaha couldn't decide, but Roylen's appearance was far more intellectual than expected.

Despite his youth, he was apparently considered a candidate for the title of Arcmage.

He had edited the latest edition of an encyclopedia on the flora and fauna of the Southern Great Forest, cultivated and bred rare raw materials collected on-site, and contributed significantly to pharmacology—his area of expertise—using those materials.

"Uh,"

Klaha was about to suggest sharing this information with Ziel later when—

Ziel, glancing around the room, asked, "I heard there was one more person."

"Ah, him..."

Roylen also moved his gaze around the room. However, unlike Ziel, he stopped his eyes at one particular spot and held them there.

"...Ney, how long did he say this would take?"

"I think he said about twenty minutes? Should I go get him?"

Their gazes were fixed on a corner of the room, where a door even thicker and heavier than the entrance stood.

Though simple in construction, it exuded a sense of security. Oddly enough, its surface bore distortions and dents.

A plate was affixed to it, reading: Laboratory 2 – WARNING!!

Ziel glanced sideways at Klaha.

His expression seemed to say, It's fine, right?

Klaha, in turn, glanced sideways at Ziel.

It's fine, right?

"Don't worry about it. We only meant to introduce ourselves. You must be busy preparing for tomorrow."

"We'll just meet again tomorrow, properly."

"No, I don't think what he's doing right now has anything to do with—"

"Yes, probably nothing to do wi—"

The words were cut off.

Because an incredible sound echoed through the room.

BOOM.

For a moment, Klaha couldn't comprehend why her vision had turned to a single color.

But as soon as she wondered what color it was, she knew. The color of Ziel’s clothing—something familiar. In half a second, she realized she'd been shielded.

"Ow!!"

A voice rang out a second later.

"Hey... What the hell were you messing with?"

"If it's outside of work duties, I'm not helping clean it up."

It took another two seconds before she heard the exasperated scolding of Roylen and Ney.

Finally, peeking out from behind Ziel, Klaha saw—

The aftermath of what seemed to be an explosion, a door blown off its hinges lying pitifully on the floor, and—

A third figure.

"Hey, you guys. Shouldn't you be worried about me first? I'm fragile, you know."

"Where, exactly?"

"You look like the very definition of 'tough' to me."

Shoulder-length straight blond hair, smooth tan skin, and a young man, probably just over twenty.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, rubbing the back of his head, coughing up soot.

Then, as he raised his long eyelashes and looked toward them—

"...Ziel?"

The name slipped from his lips.

Klaha, startled, looked up at the bespectacled young man who had been called.

Ziel, too, widened his eyes in surprise.

"...Dewey?"

Strangely enough, that name—

Klaha knew it as well.

"Whoa, it's been ages! Man, you've grown, haven't you? Actually, I heard about that thing you built—"

"Uh, is it just me, or does it smell burnt in here?"

"Crap—Dewey! That magic tool is smoking!"

"Are you trying to burn the place down?!" Roylen panicked and ran toward the doorway marked Laboratory 2 – WARNING!!—or rather, the gaping hole where the door had been.

"Get the fire extinguisher, quick!"

"I'll move the plants so they don't burn."

"Ahh, sorry, really, but it couldn't be helped!"

"I'll fix the door, so can you two handle the rest?"

Dewey—

The young craftsman who owned the glasses shop (or rather, general store) that Ziel and Klaha had visited months ago, only to find it on long-term hiatus.

As they watched the chaotic scene unfold, utterly stunned—

"...Seems like they're busy."

Ziel’s voice snapped Klaha out of her daze.

"Let's just train a bit and get to bed early to prepare for tomorrow."

"...Yes."

Agreed.

The two of them turned on their heels, whispered a synchronized "Excuse us," and quietly closed the door behind them.

And so, that was their first meeting.

Their summer began in such a way.