I Stopped Simping and the Heroines Lost Their Minds

One week after the survey team returned from Grayroot, Arthur entered the academy’s administrative conference room with the rest of Squad 7, Leon, and Alicia.

The conference table held the written results, copied records, Arthur’s revised map, and one sealed jar containing a fragment of burrower crystal. Elena had returned the remaining samples to her workroom after completing her first comparison.

Professor Rusk had placed Arthur’s corrected Grayroot map beside the outdated quarry schematic. Several passages shown as open on the official copy had been crossed out as collapsed. Arthur’s version also marked the broken lower entrance, the creature passages, the unstable loading chamber, and the contaminated runoff stream.

Instructor Morwenna did not waste time with formal greetings or attendance.

”Grayroot is no longer a survey target,” Morwenna announced, taking her place at the head of the table. ”We are deciding what happens to it next.”

The team delivered their findings in parts, sticking strictly to the evidence connected to their roles.

Felix opened his ledger, presenting a short, meticulously written sequence. ”The recovered records show that Grayroot shipped material after the lower works were officially sealed. One of those shipments used a Thorne-controlled road. Furthermore, several loads passed through the same reseller network later connected to Tolan’s contaminated guild shipment. The papers identify payments and routes, but not who contaminated the material.”

Sylvia leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. ”Does the post-closure shipment prove that illegal mining continued?”

Felix answered carefully, refusing to leap to assumptions. ”It proves material left the quarry after closure. It does not prove that the ore was extracted after closure. Stored material may simply have been removed later. The missing approval records prevent a definite conclusion.”

Chloe stepped in to summarize the medical evidence. ”The recovered foreman’s complaints list coughing, severe weakness, headaches, and unstable mana after workers finished shifts in the lower quarry. The symptoms resemble the cases Matron Beatrice treated years ago, but the records alone cannot prove they share the same source.” She tapped her own field notes. ”However, the team followed strict contamination precautions in the lower works and returned without any exposure symptoms.”

Leon and Alicia detailed the physical threat.

”The lower seal was broken outward,” Leon explained. ”The quarry contained an active burrower nest, and the main creature carried crystal growths similar in appearance to the altered boar we encountered on the road. The loading chamber remains highly unstable.”

”The stone and timber placement confirmed the barrier was breached from the inside,” Alicia added. ”The burrowers had also recently damaged and widened passages that were marked as intact on the older map.”

Arthur pointed to the stream marked below the quarry.

”The runoff contained black grit, and at least one altered animal had been drinking there. We cannot say how far the contamination extends, but it is not confined to the lower tunnels.”

Sylvia frowned, looking at the sealed burrower crystal. ”Does all the contamination now lead back to Grayroot?”

Elena stopped the easy conclusion before it could take root.

”The samples suffer similar mana disruption, but their base minerals are different,” Elena stated, her tone maintaining the strict evidence standard she had established in her workroom. ”Grayroot is one contaminated location. It has not been proven to be the original source.”

Emily reached into her jacket, pulled out the copied road permit, and placed it flat on the table. She pointed directly to the wax seal at the bottom.

”This proves the wagon crossed my family’s road,” Emily said firmly, preempting any accusations. ”Nothing more.”

”I agree,” Rusk said without hesitation.

Rusk studied the updated quarry map for a long moment before making the first official decision.

”I am officially suspending all access to Grayroot,” Rusk declared. ”The closure applies immediately to student contracts, ordinary guild surveys, independent salvage claims, and merchant collection from the surface yard. Only an authorized clearing and inspection crew may enter.”

Sylvia nodded. ”The Obsidian Hand will remove every Grayroot contract and warning notice today. No salvage requests, private surveys, or collection permits will be accepted.”

”I am also sending inspection requests to the city authorities for every business tied to the reseller network,” Rusk continued. ”The inspectors will check their storage yards, declared mineral sources, past delivery records, and current unsold stock.”

”Does Dungeon Logistics have any older copies of the missing Grayroot pages?” Morwenna asked.

”No,” Rusk admitted. ”The duplicate index ends at route and payment information. The missing freight pages may have contained the sender and authorization details. The duplicate index cannot replace them.”

Rusk tapped the copied road permit Emily had placed on the table, identifying the next possible source.

”The Thorne estate maintained independent toll and wagon books because it operated the regional road,” Rusk explained. ”Those records may contain the wagon owner, the driver’s name, the date of crossing, the toll payer, the declared cargo, and the stated destination. They will not prove who contaminated the ore, but they may prove who was moving it.”

”The archive exists,” Emily confirmed. ”Though I do not know how far back the surviving books go. Access will require formal permission from the family office. The academy cannot simply arrive and demand to see private estate records.”

Felix adjusted his glasses. ”Would copied records sent by courier be sufficient?”

”The estate does not send original toll books outside the archive,” Emily explained. ”A clerk might copy a specific entry, but we do not yet know which wagon or payment record we need. We will have to examine the surrounding books ourselves.”

Emily turned the copied permit toward Felix. ”The archive is organized by toll station and date, not by merchant name. Without the surrounding entries, a copied page could hide which wagon travelled before it and which followed after.”

Felix glanced at the years listed in his notes. ”Then we need the books in sequence.”

”Exactly,” Emily said.

”Emily must attend, as it is her family’s archive,” Morwenna decided. ”Felix understands the freight accounts. Vance can connect the archive entries to the Grayroot and guild evidence. Chloe has the worker complaints and the field medical notes. An academy medical representative may also be needed if retired road workers are interviewed.”

”Beatrice is the obvious medical representative,” Morwenna said. ”She treated the earlier miners and can compare their accounts with the Grayroot complaints. I will ask her after the estate responds.”

”Leon, Alicia,” Morwenna said, shifting her attention. ”You are not required for a records visit. Your Grayroot assignment is complete.”

Leon closed his report folder and nodded. Alicia gathered her copies of the route notes without objection. Their part of the Grayroot assignment was finished.

Rusk pulled a fresh sheet of academy parchment toward him and began preparing the official archive-access request. He kept the process brief and strictly professional.

The request asked for access to road records from the relevant years, permission to copy necessary entries, the names of surviving drivers or road workers, and permission for an academy medical representative to interview any willing former employees connected to the shipments.

Felix reached into his satchel and pulled out a densely written secondary page. ”Should the request also include permission to examine several unrelated financial discrepancies I found in their public archive filings?”

Sylvia gave him a flat, withering look. ”We are not using a contamination investigation to audit the entire Thorne estate, Felix.”

Felix sighed quietly and slid the extra page back into his bag.

Rusk signed the document as the responsible department head, and Morwenna signed beside him as the academy representative. Rusk slid the heavy parchment across the table to Emily. She would have to send it alongside a personal letter confirming that she would accompany the delegation.

The meeting adjourned. Leon and Alicia left first while Chloe and Felix gathered the medical and freight summaries.

Chloe and Felix gathered their copies of the medical and freight summaries and followed them out.

Emily remained behind, staring down at the formal request.

Arthur waited near the heavy wooden door while she read over the family titles and the required legal wording. She was noticeably less comfortable holding the letter than she had been stepping into a nest of crystal burrowers.

”How difficult can requesting old road books be?” Arthur asked.

Emily looked up at him. ”My mother controls the archive.”

Arthur understood perfectly from her expression that the fact was not meant to be reassuring.

”I will send the request tonight,” Emily said, carefully folding the parchment. ”But do not assume permission will arrive without conditions.”

”What kind of conditions?” Arthur asked.

Emily slid the letter into her coat pocket. ”The kind my family thinks are reasonable.”

She walked past him and out into the corridor. Arthur watched her go, realizing that she had shown significantly less concern facing a charging boar than she did facing her own parents.

Grayroot had required weapons. The next lead required Emily to write home.

*****

Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!

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