Chapter 960: The Old Observatory
The conversation ended naturally a few minutes later. Not because they had reached a definitive answer, but because each of them already knew exactly what needed to be done. The doubts remained numerous, yet there was now a concrete direction in which to investigate them. In situations like that, Monica preferred to turn uncertainty into objective tasks. It was not possible to immediately eliminate an unknown problem, but it was perfectly possible to reduce, one by one, the variables preventing them from understanding it.
Little by little, the room emptied. Rogue left directly for the guild to mobilize experienced adventurers and gather reports from different regions of the continent. Cassandra headed to the barracks, where she would reorganize the patrol system and standardize the reports sent daily by the commanders. Mercedes would return to the North to consult the wildlife records her kingdom had maintained over the last few decades, while Frieren silently disappeared into the mansion’s corridors, probably on her way to the library, where she would spend hours searching old books for any similar reference.
When the door finally closed, only Strax and Monica remained.
Neither of them spoke immediately. The administrator gathered several maps that were no longer useful, carefully stacking them in one corner of the table while replacing the others with more detailed versions of the southeastern region. She had a habit of reorganizing her surroundings while she thought. It was not exactly a compulsion, but rather a way of putting her own ideas in order before moving on to the next stage of the work.
Strax watched her for a few moments before approaching the table again.
"You are already thinking several steps ahead."
Monica smiled faintly as she aligned two scrolls.
"It is my job."
"No."
He shook his head.
"It is your habit."
She did not deny it.
After so many years working beside him, they both knew each other’s ways perfectly well. Strax solved problems by confronting them directly, trying to understand the enemy during the battle itself. Monica followed the opposite path. To her, the fight was merely the final stage of a much larger process. If it was possible to win before even drawing a sword, then that would always be the best outcome.
She finished organizing the maps and finally turned her attention toward him.
"There is something else bothering me."
Strax crossed his arms.
"I thought the same thing."
"The creature’s behavior during the fight."
He nodded.
"It showed no fear."
"Nor arrogance."
Monica pulled one of the reports closer and opened it on the table.
"Animals flee when they realize they are going to die. Intelligent creatures retreat when they understand they will lose a battle. That thing did neither."
She ran her eyes over Cassandra’s notes.
"Even when it began taking truly significant damage, it continued testing all of you."
Strax remained silent.
That was exactly the part that had also stayed engraved in his memory.
The creature had not seemed desperate.
It had seemed... curious.
"You noticed it too."
Monica nodded.
"It was watching."
She found a specific page in the report and turned the document so Strax could read it.
"Cassandra recorded that after Samira’s first attack, the creature completely changed its combat stance. After Daniela’s second attack, it altered its movement again. After Frieren’s spell, it simply stopped trying to block magic in the same way."
She breathed slowly.
"That does not look like instinct."
Strax placed one hand on the table.
"It looks like learning."
"Exactly."
Silence returned for a few moments. They both understood the gravity of that possibility perfectly well. Learning during combat was relatively common among experienced warriors. However, doing so within seconds while modifying one’s own body to answer each threat was something entirely different.
Monica began flipping through the documents again.
"There is another detail."
She removed a small sheet attached to the main report.
"The soldiers found this near the site of the battle."
Strax took the paper.
It was only a simple drawing made by one of the patrolmen. It showed a piece of the creature’s shell that had broken off during the fight.
"What about it?"
"The shell disappeared."
He raised his eyes.
"Disappeared?"
"When the patrol returned a few hours later to collect samples, it was no longer there."
Strax spent several seconds thinking.
"An animal took it."
"That was the first hypothesis."
Monica walked to a nearby shelf and removed a small wooden box.
Inside was only a dark fragment approximately the size of a coin.
"They found only this."
Strax carefully picked up the small piece.
It was light.
Far lighter than it should have been.
When he touched it, he noticed that the surface had a strange, almost organic texture.
"This is not bone."
"I thought the same."
"Nor chitin."
She nodded.
"Frieren took several fragments to analyze. So far, she has not been able to identify exactly what they are made of."
Strax examined the small fragment again before returning it.
"So it loses pieces of its body."
"Yes."
"And they disappear."
"That too."
The two remained thoughtful for several moments.
Neither of them liked that information.
Mostly because it created too many questions.
Did the plates simply degrade?
Were they reabsorbed?
Did another creature collect them?
Or...
Monica interrupted her own thoughts before the hypotheses began to outnumber the facts.
"There is no point imagining possibilities right now."
She carefully closed the box.
"First, we need to discover whether this always happens or whether it was an isolated case."
Strax smiled faintly.
"You truly hate speculation."
"Speculation without evidence."
She corrected him.
"They are different things."
He ended up laughing quietly.
That was precisely why he trusted her so much. While most people allowed themselves to be carried away by fear or anxiety when facing an unknown problem, Monica seemed to function in exactly the opposite way. The less information she had, the more disciplined she became.
The conversation was interrupted by a few light knocks at the door.
A young officer entered quickly and gave a brief bow.
"Miss Monica."
She turned her face toward him.
"What is it?"
"The first reconnaissance group has returned."
She gestured for him to continue.
"They did not find any more creatures."
Monica showed no exaggerated reaction.
"Only that?"
"No."
The young man took a deep breath before continuing.
"They found an old abandoned imperial observation post near the edge of the desert."
Now Strax also turned his full attention toward the soldier.
"How long has it been abandoned?"
"We do not know yet."
The officer handed her a short report.
"But apparently there are preserved records inside."
Monica immediately opened the document.
The details were scarce, but enough to catch her attention.
The post stood on a rocky elevation that allowed it to overlook kilometers of desert. According to the patrol, the structure had been abandoned many years ago, but the main building remained almost completely intact thanks to the extremely dry climate of the region.
She finished reading and raised her eyes.
"That changes things slightly."
Strax understood immediately.
"Old reports."
"Exactly."
She began rolling up one of the maps.
"If that post truly operated for decades, we may find records of the region from long before our own."
Frieren would probably have loved that news.
Mercedes as well.
Any document produced before the beginning of the crisis could reveal gradual changes that no one had noticed at the time.
Monica quickly gave the officer several orders.
"I want a team protecting that location until tomorrow. No one enters, no one removes anything, and no one touches a single document before Frieren arrives."
"Yes, ma’am."
The soldier saluted again and left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Monica breathed slowly.
"It seems our first destination has changed."
Strax nodded.
"Before the desert..."
"...we are going to the observatory."
She finished.
It was a simple decision.
And it made far more sense than crossing hundreds of kilometers of sand in search of answers that might already be waiting silently inside an old building forgotten by time.
The following morning, Asgard awakened long before sunrise.
The first signs of activity began while it was still dark. Lanterns remained lit inside the workshops, soldiers crossed the inner courtyards carrying equipment, and several wagons were organized near the eastern gate. News of the old observation post had spread quickly among the officers responsible for the expedition, and no one seemed willing to waste time. If preserved records truly existed in that place, every hour saved could represent an important advantage.
Even so, the city itself remained surprisingly calm.
The markets opened normally, the locomotives continued following their schedules, and workers headed to the factories as on any other day. Monica had insisted that nothing beyond what was strictly necessary be disclosed to the citizens. Spreading rumors about unknown creatures or possible threats coming from the desert would only create unnecessary anxiety.
She preferred results.
Not speculation.
On the second floor of the city hall, however, the activity was completely different.
Maps had been spread across a table much larger than the one used in the previous meeting. Small colored flags marked roads, rivers, elevations, and ancient structures listed in the imperial archives. Beside the maps were several folders containing reconnaissance reports sent during the night. Monica had been sitting before that mountain of documents since very early in the morning, reviewing them one by one before their departure.
When Strax entered the room, she did not even look up immediately.
"Did you sleep?"
"More or less."
She continued writing.
"And you?"
"The same."
That drew a small smile from her.
"Then we are even."
Strax approached the table and looked at the absurd number of papers scattered around it.
"Did you really read all of this?"
"Almost."
She closed one folder and opened another.
"I discovered a few interesting things."
Strax pulled out a chair and sat beside her.
"Tell me."
Monica slid one of the reports toward him.
"This came from a small mining village in the south."
He began to read.
According to the document, over the last four months the residents had recorded a drastic reduction in the number of animals found in the region. At first, they assumed it was merely a change in the climate, but shortly afterward, species that had never been seen in those mountains began appearing.
"Desert animals."
Strax concluded.
"Yes."
She handed him another report.
"This one is even older."
It was a record from a trading caravan.
The description was striking precisely because of its simplicity. The person responsible merely commented that during a crossing, they had encountered a group of large predators walking side by side without showing any aggressive behavior toward one another.
"This happened five months ago."
Monica spoke as he finished reading.
"And no one paid attention."
"Because it looked like a coincidence."
"Exactly."
She opened another document.
"And here."
This time, it was a military report.
A patrol had found dozens of animal skeletons completely stripped clean at the edge of the desert. At the time, they had concluded that a group of scavengers had passed through the region.
Strax slowly raised his eyes.
"What if they were not scavengers?"
Monica nodded.
"That is exactly what I thought."
She spent a few moments organizing the documents.
"By themselves, these reports mean absolutely nothing."
She gathered them into a single pile.
"But when we put them in chronological order..."
Strax finished the thought.
"...they form a pattern."
"Yes."
For the first time since the investigation began, there was a relatively clear timeline.
It did not seem that the problem had appeared all at once.
It had been growing slowly.
For months.
Perhaps even longer.
Strax spent several seconds looking at the papers scattered across the table.
"That means we were lucky."
Monica agreed.
"Very lucky."
She rose from the chair and walked toward the window.
"If that had remained hidden for another six months..."
She looked at the city below.
"...we might be facing something completely different."
Strax followed her gaze.
Asgard still seemed distant from that problem.
But perhaps only for now.
After a few moments, Monica returned to the table and carefully rolled up one of the maps.
"The preparations are complete."
She handed the map to him.
"The expedition leaves in half an hour."
"Who is going?"
"You, me, Frieren, and Mercedes."
She paused briefly.
"We will also take Cassandra."
Strax raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Only us?"
"Along with twenty soldiers."
She answered naturally.
"I do not want an army."
"Why?"
Monica placed both hands on the table.
"Because we are still investigating."
She explained calmly.
"If we march with hundreds of men, anything intelligent will notice our presence kilometers away."
She looked directly at Strax.
"I prefer a small, organized, and silent group."
He eventually agreed.
It made sense.
Besides, Cassandra had enough experience to coordinate soldiers during unexpected situations.
While they were talking, the door opened again.
Frieren entered carrying a backpack significantly larger than usual.
Strax looked at her.
"Are you planning to move?"
The elf looked down at her own luggage.
"Books."
"How many?"
"Seventeen."
Monica discreetly massaged her forehead.
"Frieren..."
"I may need them."
Strax laughed quietly.
"She really might."
The mage looked pleased that someone finally understood her.
Mercedes entered just behind her.
Unlike the others, the Ice Monarch was already wearing her light traveling armor. Her silver hair was tied back in a much more practical manner than usual, and over one shoulder she carried a long white cloak made to endure the intense cold of the mountains.
She greeted everyone with a slight nod.
"The records arrived during the night."
She placed a small wooden box on the table.
"Two hundred and twenty years of censuses."
Monica’s eyes widened slightly.
"All of that?"
"My kingdom records practically every change in the wildlife because of the winters."
Frieren immediately approached the box.
"May I look?"
Mercedes smiled.
"That is exactly why I brought them."
Within seconds, the elf was completely focused on leafing through documents that probably no one had touched in decades.
Strax watched the scene with a small smile.
Some things truly never changed.
Monica then tapped the table lightly twice.
"Before we leave..."
Everyone turned their attention toward her.
"...I want to establish one rule."
She waited a few seconds to make sure everyone was truly listening.
"If we find any creature similar to the one from yesterday..."
Her gaze moved across each of them.
"...no one starts a fight immediately."
Strax remained silent.
She continued.
"Our main objective is still information."
Mercedes was the first to agree.
"If we can observe before attacking, we will have much more to gain."
Frieren nodded as well.
"I agree."
Strax took several seconds before answering.
"All right."
Monica knew that "all right."
It meant he truly intended to follow the agreement.
She breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Because although Strax was extremely powerful, she also knew that his natural tendency was to solve problems in the most direct way possible.
At that moment, however, they needed to understand the enemy before destroying it.
It was precisely that difference that could determine the entire course of the crisis.
A few minutes later, the group began leaving the city hall.
Outside, twenty fully equipped soldiers were already waiting beside mounts prepared for a long journey. Near the main gate, Cassandra reviewed the final details of the formation while checking the equipment of each member of the expedition.
When Strax approached, she asked only one question.
"Ready?"
He quickly looked at the companions who would accompany him on that investigation.
Frieren was still holding two open books while walking.
Mercedes silently watched the horizon.
Monica was already reviewing another map on the way to the gates.
Strax finally smiled.
"Now I am."