"Mmmh...?" I sleepily opened my eyes, only to be greeted by the blurry image
of a girl's face. The early sun shone into the room and illuminated her form. The
girl was fast asleep, breathing to a gentle rhythm.
"...Yumina...?" Seeing my fiancee's face caused a sense of calm to wash over
me. I closed my eyes.
She reached out both of her hands, contorting herself a little as she pulled me
into a soft embrace. I didn't put up any sort of fight, instead returning the hug. I
smiled. Mmmh... She smells like home... All my troubles are gonna melt away... I
squeezed her a little tighter, and she made an adorable little sound. Ah, this is
so nice... I wouldn't mind staying this way forever... Wait a second.
What is Yumina doing here, exactly?! I know for a fact I went to bed alone last
night! I-I mean I go to sleep alone every night! E-Everyone has separate rooms, I
don't do that kind of stuff with them! I'm not a weirdo, I'm not a lech! Cold
sweat began to bead all over my body, forcibly ejecting me from the peaceful
slumber I'd just been wrapped in.
"Aaaaaagh!" I leaped out of bed and fell violently to the ground. Even though
I'd thwacked the back of my head pretty hard, I didn't really feel the pain due to
my panicked state.
"Hmm... Eh? Ah... Touya. G-Good morning..." Yumina sleepily rubbed her eyes
as she sat up on the bed. Those silky pajamas really look good on you, Yumina...
Then again, you look good in anythin— CONCENTRATE, TOUYA! FOCUS!
"Wh-Why are you here, Yumina?!"
"...Is it not normal for a married couple to share a bed? Touya, you've been
rather busy with affairs related to the duchy lately, so you haven't paid much
attention to me at all. This was the very least I could do to get some of your
company, no?" She spoke with a smile on her face, punctuating her sentence
with a little giggle.
W-We only recently went on a date with everyone, didn't we?! You're gonna
give me a heart attack if you keep up these antics... P-Plus, we aren't even
married yet!
A twelve yea— Wait, no... she's thirteen already. A thirteen-year-old girl can't
be sharing a bed with a boy my age... If this was my old world, I'd have been
branded a social pariah without trial regardless of whether I touched you or not!
"Well, that aside, shall we go to Belfast? We did arrange it. I'll get ready, see
you soon!" Yumina hopped off the bed and walked over to me. Before I could
process what happened, she had leaned over and given me a peck on the
cheek.
Uwaah! Taking advantage of my daze, Yumina merrily sauntered out of the
room. She was fast...
...Let me just make one thing clear, though. I didn't lay a hand on her!
We hadn't been to Belfast in quite a while. The only real change was that the
knights on guard duty in the castle kneeled when greeting us this time around. I
didn't really feel comfortable with it, but I didn't speak up because it was likely
they'd already gone and decided that was how they had to behave with me.
I'd been the grand duke of Brunhild for months at this point, but I still wasn't
accustomed to the way people treated me as a result.
We went further into the castle and finally met with Queen Yuel. She was
sitting on a couch and seemed fairly relaxed. The bump on her belly was huge!
She had to be in her eighth month of pregnancy.
"Ah, Yumina, Touya... welcome."
"How are you, Mother? You don't feel ill at all, do you?" Yumina carefully
approached her mother before gently touching her stomach. A baby was going
to come out of there in one or two months... It felt pretty weird to think about.
Still, that was the miracle of life.
"Where's the king?" I looked around, but I couldn't see hide nor hair of him.
I'd told him well in advance that we'd be visiting, so it seemed a little strange.
"Hmph... If you're looking for him, you'll find him on the baseball field."
"Huh?"
"They took down part of the castle wall in the western district, then leveled
the grounds out and built a full field." Queen Yuel explained, a bemused smile
on her face. So they made a baseball field... Damn, I wish I could motivate
people that well. I had a feeling that the project was less out of concern for the
people's entertainment, and more because the king just wanted to play around,
though.
I was interested in checking it out, so I left Yumina behind and moved through
a [Gate]. Sure enough, there was a wonderful baseball pitch occupying some
land that didn't have much of interest on it before.
"Wow, it's like the real deal..." His Majesty and several of his teammates were
all huddled around the mound, chattering. What're they going on about?
"Oho, Touya my boy! You're right on time, get over here!"
"What's going on here?" The king noticed me right away and ushered me
over. I wondered what he wanted.
"If the ball enters the home run zone after a bounce, is it still a home run?"
"Huh?" What're you asking, exactly...? Why this all of a sudden? It's not like I
know... I only really played baseball in elementary school anyways. I took my
smartphone out and searched for whatever he meant.
"Uh... let's see here... Baseball rules... a bounce... a home run... Ah, got it. It's
a, uh, ground rule double."
"What's that?"
"Y'know, it's a two-base hit."
"Oh? Got it, let's carry on then!" What? You just understood that? Even I
barely understood! Regardless, the game continued.
I sat on a bench with His Majesty the King and watched the team play.
"They're pretty darned enthusiastic, huh..."
"Well, we've got a friendly match with the Refreese Imperium coming up next
week. They're pretty tense and determined."
Wow, they're doing that kind of thing already. I didn't expect international
games to begin so soon... Welp, this is already well and truly out of my control, I
just hope it stays a public entertainment, and not some weird way of
determining war outcomes or whatever.
"Queen Yuel looks healthy, I'm pleased."
"Aye. The child's growing well, and fast! I just hope she gives birth safely and
healthily. I initially thought it'd be fine if the child was a girl, since I'd just bring
you into my household as Yumina's fiance, but... I think I'd quite like a son now.
Someone to play catch with, you know?" It was definitely a good bonding
experience for a father to play catch with his son. I was fairly sure it was the
kind of thing most fathers wished they'd get a chance to do. Along with other
stuff, like drinking booze with their son and celebrating.
...Come to think of it, I never got a chance to drink with him, did I...? What a
horrible son I am... I'm sorry, Dad.
"The team's a little worried, I'll admit... they don't think their defense is up to
scratch. The other team has a lot of power going for them."
"You need a finesse pitcher to throw them off their game. Throwing
curveballs would be your best bet."
"Curveballs?" The king's eyes glimmered with devious sparks. Crap... Why'd I
run my mouth?
It was too late, the damage was done. He was asking me about curveballs. I
broke, and I explained that a ball could be curved without magical interference.
The people of this world had already established an unspoken rule of never
using magic in a contest of physical prowess. They used magic-detecting items
to sense for spells and enchantments during sports matches. It was basically an
anti-cheating measure. Nobody had considered you could throw a curveball
without actually using magic.
I explained the curveball, the fastball, the forkball, and the change-up. His
Majesty the King and the pitchers looked at me with great skepticism, so I
ended up looking up an instructional film on the internet. After they saw it in
action, they believed it could be done.
Naturally, they asked me to teach them, but I completely lacked the skill level
for such a maneuver. I just taught them the basics about how to put a little spin
on the ball, but nothing too complex. Then, I told them a white lie about how
they'd master it if they practiced it over and over.
...But even though I used such a half-assed teaching method, they still figured
out how to do it! That gave them an unfair advantage over Refreese, so I
figured I'd have to go and teach the Imperium players how to do it as well.
What a bother.
When Yumina and I returned from Belfast, we were greeted by Kougyoku. The
bird swooped down and perched on my shoulder.
"My liege, an update has come in from one of my scouts."
"Oh? Did they find something?"
"I am unsure whether or not that is the case. They have found a four-sided,
triangular structure. It's made of strange material, black as pitch." Four-sided
triangular structure...? Does she mean a pyramid? The black material she
mentioned definitely rings a bell... The cylinder in the Elfrau Kingdom was the
same kind, wasn't it? That means this could actually be good news!
"Where is the ruin?"
"It's on a lone island far to the southwest of us. It's due west of the Sandora
Kingdom." That was pretty far, but it wasn't a distance we couldn't traverse. I
wondered whether we should go there with the Babylon, or if I should just use
the [Fly] spell instead...
I summoned the usual party. When it came to discussing Babylon, only Leen
and my fiancees were privy to the details. I didn't plan to let anyone outside of
my duchy know about it. I had no intentions of people murmuring about me
suspiciously before the Phrase came knocking at our door.
I pulled up the map app and confirmed the position. Leen looked over the
map, mumbling something as she checked the island's location.
"It's a rather small island... It may even be smaller than Brunhild."
"Does anyone live there?"
"I've no clue. We have no diplomatic relations with anyone in that area, at
least. I've never heard of such an island before, to be frank." If it was on such a
remote island, I definitely wouldn't have been able to find it just by randomly
exploring. I was instantly filled with a newfound appreciation for my little bird
friends.
"This'll be the fourth Babylon, then! If I'm lucky, it'll be the hangar or the
storehouse."
"Hmph, well, I'd prefer it to be the library, since that falls in much more with
my interests."
"I am actually rather curious about the tower, I am."
"I-I think it'll end up being the research laboratory..."
"Psh, if you guys all think that, then I'll hedge my bet on it being the rampart."
Apparently we were betting, all of a sudden. I personally thought we should
confirm whether or not it actually was a Babylon ruin before getting too
excited, though.
With that, we set off. I desperately hoped it would be the hangar or the
storehouse...
◇ ◇ ◇
The location definitely fit the "deserted island" image pretty well. That much
was obvious from my viewing platform up on Babylon.
I tried using my search magic to look for people, but it was barren. The whole
place was devoid of life. We moved down to a wide, sandy beach. I had a good
view of it from the air. The summoned bird that had found the island took
notice of me, then swooped down. Whoa, you're a big bird. It was large, with
wispy emerald feathers, and resembled a crane.
"The ruins are in the forest, not too far from here." Kougyoku, perched on my
shoulder, spoke up. I looked ahead and saw nothing but a dense cluster of
trees. I wasn't too worried, though, as the island wasn't especially large.
"Touya-dono, are there really no people here, are there not?"
"Well, judging from my search... There definitely aren't any humans here."
Yae led the advance, cutting a path through branches and vines that blocked
our path. A lack of human activity could've allowed for monster or magical
beast activity to thrive. With that thought in the back of our minds, we
advanced cautiously. Yae suddenly held up a hand, causing us all to freeze in
our tracks.
"...There is something strange nearby, there is." Yae readied her sword as she
spoke. As if following her lead, everyone readied their weapons and gazed
around the area with trained, suspicious eyes.
...Paula, you don't have to fight.
I stared at the animated stuffed bear, who was inexplicably shadow-boxing
the air. Just as my attention was held by her, I felt a presence coming from
ahead of us in the underbrush.
A monstrous demonic beast, similar to a rhino, slowly stomped out from the
shadows. Well, I said it was like a rhino, but it actually had three horns. In that
case, I suppose calling it a triceratops would be more appropriate. It had a
single horn in the middle of its nose, and two smaller horns rising from its
forehead. It had four big, fat legs, and a tough hide that resembled an
armadillo's. Its eyes shone red as blood, its chest rose and fell in an unsteady
rhythm—there were no two ways about it. This thing was hostile.
With a sudden grunt, it bowed its horns and charged toward us with
incredible speed.
Before I could fire my Brunhild, Yumina reacted fast and fired her Colt Army
Model 1860 off at the beast.
The bullet she fired burst the rhino-thing's right eye. An incredible shot, given
that she didn't have time to aim. The beast staggered and its charge slowed.
Sensing her chance, Linze cast a spell.
"Entwine thus, Ice! Frozen Curse: [Icebind]!" The rhino-beast's legs were
frozen to the ground, and its advance was halted completely. Lu jumped out
toward it and administered a few slashes to its knee. The beast began to strain,
attempting to shatter the ice through sheer strength alone.
Following Lu's motion, Elze jumped out and gave the monster a vicious right
hook, dazing it. Yae, on the other hand, used her Touka to put an end to it all,
cleaving through the monsters neck in one swift motion. Its head slid from its
body, decapitated.
"W-Whoa..." They killed it in seconds! What's with this teamwork?!
"It was no challenge at all, it was not."
"It was probably around Green rank... I guess."
"Hmm, I wonder about that. I think the Phrase weaponry definitely gave us an
edge here. If it was just a regular blade, then he'd have been a much bigger
deal. Probably a Blue rank."
"You're right, it has pretty tough skin."
"I'd suggest harvesting it, or saving the corpse for later." Everyone was idly
poking at its corpse with their weapons. I didn't even get a chance to touch it...
"It kind of looks like an armored rhino, but... I've never seen this kind of magic
beast before. Is it a new species, perhaps?" As Leen mused such things, I
grabbed the dead body and tossed it in [Storage]. I decided to investigate it a
little more thoroughly later on.
After that, we continued on. We faced off against a two-headed snake, a sixlegged wolf, and a long-limbed monkey. The girls mercilessly slew each beast
without me getting an opportunity to lift a finger, and each beast we
encountered made Leen comment on how unusual each particular specimen
was.
They seemed similar to known species, but little details were just a tad
different. I wondered if it was a result of the island's environment influencing
their evolution, somewhat like the Galapagos Islands back in my world.
The island was completely isolated from the outside world, so it would make
sense to assume the creatures living on it would develop different needs to
those living in more populated areas. That made me a little worried, because it
would've probably meant the magical beasts we'd killed so far were
endangered species. But, apparently, the conservation of species like that
wasn't considered a major priority in this world. I couldn't blame them. Beasts
like those threatened human lives often, so it was an "us versus them" scenario.
The common animals such as lizards, native birds, and rodents generally kept
their distance from us. I assumed it was due to Kohaku and the other Heavenly
Beasts being with us. Their effects didn't extend to magic beasts, however.
As we continued, we were attacked several times by yet more beasts. Elze
and the others took care of them without a hitch. Don't get me wrong, I was
happy they could take care of themselves and me, but... I felt kind of left out.
"Oh." Eventually we came to a clearing in the jungle growth. Right there, as if
it was waiting for us, was an obsidian pyramid.
It looked to be about eight meters high, and every side of it was around ten
meters long. It was covered in vines and ivy, as if it hadn't been touched in a
great many years. The actual structure was completely unharmed, though.
"Yup, got no idea where the entrance is on this thing..." I walked around it,
but I couldn't make it out too much due to the dense plants covering the
structure. This is annoying, I'll just take care of it...
"Come forth, Fire! Whirling Spiral: [Fire Storm]!" A vortex of flame hugged
itself around the pyramid. I took control of it, taking care not to burn any trees
in the surrounding area. The vines were reduced to ashes with little resistance.
All that remained now was the large, black pyramid.
I looked at it closely, and noticed a thin, seam-like groove running along its
surface. I reached my hand out to run a finger along it.
"YYYOWCH!!!" IT'S HOT, AH CRAP! WHY DIDN'T I WAIT?! I quickly looked at
my hand. Thankfully, it wasn't burned. I'm a total idiot...
I poured cold water down the pyramid from the top, and steam began to
rapidly rise from the structure.
Huh, wait a sec... Was it seriously that hot? I'm lucky I wasn't burned... But
wait, I didn't get a single mark on my skin? My hand isn't even a little bit red...
I figured it was probably related to the fact that I technically had an infant
god's body.
Welp, whatever. This time I'll be thankful for it, I guess.
I thought maybe the rapid difference in temperature would cause cracks or
fissures across the surface, but nothing happened. I put my hand on the nowcooled surface of the pyramid, and felt along the groove. It was at about
shoulder's height. I felt along the groove until I reached a part that was wider
than the other sides. It was just wide enough to fit my hand inside.
This is kinda like that Mouth of Truth thing in Rome, isn't it? Am I meant to put
my hand in it?
...It's not gonna chop my hand off, is it? I cautiously extended my arm and
slipped my hand into the hole, and a part of the groove began to shine a bright
green. A part of the pyramid suddenly shifted and extended into a form much
like a door. It didn't have a doorknob, though. It seemed more like an engraving
of a door than a door itself.
"This again, huh." I reached my hand out and touched the door-engraving.
Just as I'd expected, I managed to pass through it without any trouble. I found
myself in a dimly-lit room with six pillars surrounding a magic circle. Yep, this is
it. It's a Babylon teleporter.
"Found it. I'll be warping off now, okay?"
"Understood. Please be careful." I sent a message to Kohaku and the others
outside, then began activating the pillars.
Just like clockwork, I activated the Null magic last, and a spiral of dazzling light
engulfed me.
As the light faded, I found myself in a familiar-looking scene.
The sky overhead was blue, dotted with a few clouds here and there. The
grass I was now standing upon was a beautiful verdant, and there were trees all
over. The sunlight shimmered in the water as it flowed in a nearby channel. I
was definitely aboard a Babylon.
I looked around and suddenly noticed a black building to my right. It seemed
to stretch out pretty far. I also noticed what appeared to be a school building
nearby.
Geez, is the Babylon facility here as wide as the island itself? I took a step
forward, intending to investigate, when someone jumped out at me from
behind a nearby tree.
"Hiyaaaaaah!!!" The assailant swung down a heavy metal stick at me.
WHAT? I was caught off-guard, but I still managed to just barely avoid the
assault. Still, even then I could clearly see that the end of that weapon had left a
considerable indent in the dirt. I quickly focused to get a look at what I'd just
been attacked with, and... it was a gigantic pipe wrench. Nope. I'm done here.
Nooope.
"Hark, traveler. You've done well to dodge my assault. Like, nobody's ever
been able to do that ever, wow!" My assailant beamed from ear to ear as she
rested herself against the pipe wrench. Her hair was a long, messy bundle of
red. Her eyes were sort of almond-shaped, and her cheeky grin had no hint of
fear behind it.
"Though that may well be because you're the only one I've ever launched a
strike against." She let out a dry laugh at her own comment. This young woman
was surely this Babylon's Terminal Gynoid. She spoke like an older guy one
minute, then seemed to lapse into something more girly. She was wearing a
skirt too, so her general outfit was similar to the ones that Cesca and the others
wore.
But there was something else about her... She was insanely short. She only
looked a little bit taller than Renne. Rosetta was the shortest of the Babylon
Terminal Gynoids, but this one was shorter than even her.
"Er... and you are?"
"I am known as Fredmonica. But you can call me Monica! I'm like, the
Terminal Gynoid of this Babylon and stuff! Name thyself."
"Uh, I'm Mochizuki Touya. Touya's my given name. I'm the, er... master of the
garden, the workshop, and the alchemy lab... Yeah, that's all of them."
"The garden... Cesca's domain! I see, you hold ownership over multiple
Babylons. You are... most impressive. So you gotta, like, show me if you got the
right stuff too!" Monica gripped the pipe wrench and came lunging at me again.
H-Hey, calm down! Don't you have limits here?! "[Slip]."
"Uwhoa!" Monica suddenly flew backward, as if someone had pushed her,
and both legs went sailing up into the air. Oh... nice panties.
Monica quickly scrambled to her feet and held down her skirt.
"D-Did you gaze upon my undergarments?"
"Huh? Ahaha... well, maybe you're a little young to be wearing black." Oh,
come to think of it, if she's the same as Cesca and the rest... then that makes her
about five thousand years old? Guess she's not too young, then. Monica sat
down on the ground, tugging at her skirt. Her face burned deep crimson.
She okay? Every Terminal Gynoid I'd met so far was some kind of weird
pervert, so her reaction was throwing me off. I started to feel a deep fear well
up from within me.
"...Th-Then you've like, totally left me with no other... choice..."
"Huh?"
"I'M GONNA PURGE YOUR FRICKIN' MEMORIES!" Monica started wailing like
a banshee and ran toward me, flailing her pipe wrench. H-Hey, that's
dangerous!
"[Shield]."
"Huoh!!!" I formed an invisible barrier in front of me, deflecting the attack.
Monica struck the front of it and toppled over due to the recoil. She tumbled a
bit and finally stopped, her final position being one of a girl crashed into the
ground, her behind high in the air. Her skirt, naturally, was rolled all the way up,
and her panties were completely exposed to the wide open air. Her underwear
was pretty adult, all-in-all. It was black and adorned with lacy strings.
Eventually she sprawled herself outward, rolled on to her back, and lay there
stretched out like a starfish. Uh... your panties are still showing.
"Truly misfortune shines upon me this day... I'm totally done for!" She sniffled
a little as she declared her defeat. And then, all of a sudden... I felt a wave of
guilt wash over me. From an outsider's perspective it'd totally look like I bullied
a kid, flipped her skirt, and then made her cry. I didn't mean it to turn out that
way!
"V-Very well, uwah... you're accepted as a compatible individual. Henceforth,
Fredmonica, Airframe Number Twenty-Eight, is beholden to your wishes,
waaah." Please stop crying. This sounds terrible while you're crying. Eventually,
the tears did stop. She called out to me from the ground.
"Master, do help me up." I grabbed Monica by the hand and pulled her
upward. She used that opportunity to catch me unaware, wrap her arms
around me, and steal a kiss from my lips.
"Mmmph?!" I've been caught! I was careless and she went and trapped me!
Why can't I learn from my mistakes?! Monica separated her lips from mine after
a short while. A grin spread across her face, along with a pink flush.
"Registration complete. Your genetic information flows within me, Master.
You like, totally own the Hangar of Babylon now, hurray!"
"The Hangar of Babylon?!" Holy shit, it's the hangar?! I did it! Bingo, baby!
◇ ◇ ◇
Monica showed me to the black building, and we entered. More than
anything else, I was surprised by how spacious it was. What the hell? It's wider
on the inside.
Just as the name hangar would imply, the inside of the building looked like a
warehouse. There were metal shutters lining the walls to the left and right.
Seriously though, how far does this hall go? I can't even see the other end...
"What's with this place?"
"You surprised? We used spatial magic and stuff to make it way wider than it
looks. That being said, such broad space is simply unnecessary. We're hardly
fully stocked here, are we?" I figured it was similar to my [Storage] spell.
Though the difference here was that time was halted in my [Storage] space. I
could store a boiling hot soup in it, and pull it out hours later to find it at the
same temperature. I figured [Storage] was more of a space-time magic than
just a space spell.
Still, I had no idea just how broad a storage space could be... Wait, I'm missing
the main point!
"Frame Gear! Do you have Frame Gears here?!"
"Hm? A Frame Gear? Right this way." Monica addressed me a little curtly, so I
strode behind her with little comment.
Monica arrived at one of the metal shutters, and reached over toward a
button next to it. However... try as she might, she couldn't quite reach it.
I reached out to press it instead, and...
"Son of a...!" Monica swung the wrench upward and smashed it against the
button with all of her might. W-Whoa, simmer down... This girl's a hothead. The
button was completely annihilated, by the way, but the shutter began to creak
open. Monica had a smug smile on her face, but all I could do was wonder how
she planned on closing that shutter again.
I peered into the dark interior, and found myself staring at what appeared to
be a giant knight.
It was around ten meters tall. It was gray in color, and looked like it was styled
after a traditional western knight. It wasn't flashy by any means, but it
emanated an aura of reliable sturdiness. It had an overpowering air to it that I
couldn't help but be impressed by.
"So this is a Frame Gear."
"Verily so. However, this one is a particularly archaic model. So like, five
thousand years back, we planned on mass-producing these cuties if the war got
any worse." Wait, this is one of the mass-produced ones? I was surprised, it
didn't seem particularly cheap-looking. They'd probably given up on making
them flashy and instead focused on making them reliable fighters. No point in
mass-producing something if it wasn't easy to control, after all.
"Are there any more?"
"We've, uhm, got a few in storage, yeah! There's a type that prioritizes
mobility, and one that specializes in land-based assault, among others. We also
had plans to construct a more advanced model, but... I think those blueprints're
in the storehouse, yeah!"
Hmph... The storehouse, huh... I hope they're still safe, all things considered.
Well, even if they did fall to the ground, let's hope they're still intact.
"Can I get in it?"
"What, you wanna give it a whirl? Well, I do suppose it'd be fine, but don't
expect it to move."
"...Huh?" What do you mean don't expect it to move?! Hey now, I've come this
far and you're telling me the damn thing's broken?! What's the big idea?!
"Why won't it move?"
"No fuel." Ahaha... Oh, that was simple enough. Fuel, of course! I didn't even
know these things took fuel. I just thought they'd be magic-powered.
"So, what does the big guy use? Gasoline?"
"Gasoline? I'm unfamiliar with such a term. This bad boy like, uses Ether
Liquid, yeah?"
"...Ether Liquid?"
"Ether Liquid is a fuel one creates by mingling their magical energies with a
chunk of specially-treated Ether Ore. After that, it powers itself, understand?
For it would bind the Frame Gear to a magical signature, and then use your own
energies to function."
Ether Ore? I've never even heard of that. Is it some kind of rare mineral?
Whatever it was, the Frame Gear wasn't going to budge an inch without it. I'd
come so far, but made no real progress. It was disheartening.
"Monica, do you know how to make it?"
"I'm afraid not. My talents lie not in the schools of magic." Ugh... So I basically
have a big robot statue. Great. I let my shoulders sag in disappointment, and
the girl suddenly began sputtering at me in an attempt to reassure.
"N-Now wait a moment, please don't be discouraged. There's more than just
the Frame Gears here, I'll have you know. There's like, totally a bunch of other
stuff! We got little floating boats, and automated carriages that move parts
around!" Automated carriages? Like a car? I'd considered making a car in the
past, but my lack of understanding made me give up. My interest was once
again piqued. Oh, wait a sec...
"What kind of fuel do those things run on, exactly?"
"...Ether Liquid..." Goddammit! They won't move, then! Damn you to hell, you
pervy Doc! Why didn't you leave me some full fuel tanks laying around?! I
listened to Monica's further explanation. Apparently the magic within Ether
Liquid diminished over time until there was nothing left. Sort of like how a soda
loses its carbonation if you leave it out after opening the lid.
Apparently it was fine to last several years or so, but five thousand years was
far too long.
"Is there anyone that can make Ether Liquid?"
"Ah... likely the Gynoid that controls the research laboratory, but she's
troublesome to deal with." Monica frowned as she spoke, then gave a little tilt
of the head.
I'm following the same pattern here... Now I have to search for the research
laboratory? This is a pretty lame goose chase.
"Oh, uhm... there's totally a chance Flora might know, though!"
"Sorry?"
"The alchemy lab and the research laboratory... have a close relationship.
They exchange materials and design notes with one another, as is natural given
their respective fields. I actually had quite a similar relationship with Rosetta in
the workshop, but she was somewhat of a shut-in." That's true. Once Rosetta
goes into the workshop and sets to work, you can't drag her out.
I decided to ask Flora about it. Hopefully it would lead to a breakthrough.
I opened up a [Gate] so I could brief the others on the situation.
"Ether Liquid, I see..." Flora tilted her head as she mulled over what I'd said.
The alchemy lab was a facility dedicated to producing chemicals and new
compounds, so I thought it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask about Ether Liquid
there.
"I think that's possible, you see?"
"Great!"
"But, you see... I think it would be of a lower quality than the Ether Liquid
produced at the research laboratory, you see? If that's fine, I'll be able to make
you some." I didn't really care if the material was lower quality. Just being able
to move around in the Frame Gear would be enough for the time being. But,
just as I was getting ready to dance a merry jig, Flora dashed my hopes with a
simple sentence.
"So, where is the Ether Ore?" Huh? Ether Ore? I looked over at Elze and the
others, and they simply shrugged.
"Never heard of Ether Ore before."
"... Yes, me neither. It certainly sounds strange." Damn it, seriously...? Can't
things just go right for once?
"Ether Ore is soaked through with a specialized liquid during its carving and
processing. The Ether Liquid is finalized after the ore reacts to the magical
power inside, and infuses it into the liquid. You'd need a chunk of Ether Ore
about this size for the Frame Gear you mentioned." Flora mimed out the shape
of a rugby ball with her hands. From the way she described it, it was like
infusing tea into hot water with a teabag. Still, there was no point getting hung
up on the details of the process, as I didn't even have any of the ore to begin
with. Hell, I didn't even know what it was.
"Ether Ore is a mostly transparent ore that appears in many different hues of
color. It can inherently store, release, and amplify magical power. It was quite
readily available five thousand years ago." Cesca spoke up with an explanation,
but I didn't really think it helped. Linze, on the other hand, suddenly spoke up.
Hmm?
"...Uhm... is that what a spellstone does...?" Spellstone? Oh, right. Those little
pebbles I used to check my magical affinity. They're usually little jewels that
magic users adorn their gear with.
Linze rummaged in her pouch and pulled out a few spellstones. Flora picked
one of the little things up and held it up to the light. It was tiny.
"There's no mistaking it now, you see? This is Ether Ore." Huh... I guess the
name changed over the last five thousand years. Wait, doesn't that mean the
problem's solved? Despite the seemingly good news, everyone other than the
Gynoids had awkward expressions all of a sudden.
"What's wrong?"
"W-Well, I... don't know how to put this, but... there's no spellstone that
size."
"Sorry?"
"Spellstones are considered real rarities... Tiny fragments such as these are
fine and all, but... larger ones are more problematic." It was true that the
largest spellstone I'd ever seen was the wind one on Renne's pendant. Laim had
told me it was fairly valuable due to its size, but it was only around the size of a
walnut. Apparently, these things were in short supply.
"Belfast's Royal Treasury has a water spellstone, but it's only about this big..."
Yumina mimed out the shape and size of a softball in her hands. You're seriously
telling me that even a royal treasury doesn't have the size I need?
"...I-Incidentally, how much would a spellstone that size cost, exactly?"
"I'm not sure... I don't even know if you could put a price on something that
rare." This is terrible! Plus, I'd basically be using it as a teabag. If I squeezed it
out to its limit making the Ether Liquid, would it just be reduced to junk? We'd
have to toss out something that valuable?! My dreams were slowly being
crushed. Yae, who saw despair inching its way across my face, suddenly spoke
up.
"Touya-dono, can you not use your search spell to find a stone of the relevant
size, can you not?"
"What?" I wasn't sure about that. Can I search for something buried
underground? Wait, actually, I did find that ruin in the desert, didn't I? That was
buried. Well, guess it can't hurt to try.
"Alright, [Search]... Let's see... spellstones larger than thirty centimeters in
diameter." Several pins fell down on to the map of the western territories.
Huh... That was actually easier than I expected.
I quickly checked if any of those pins fell within Brunhild's territory. As luck
would have it, there was exactly one. I wasn't too keen on digging for insanely
valuable items in the territory of other countries, after all.
Alright, let's excavate the magic stones! Hurrah! To be honest, I was getting
tired of all the running around...
◇ ◇ ◇
"Alrighty, let's start digging." I stood at the spot and rolled back my sleeves.
I'd be digging with magic, but it still felt like the right thing to do.
I knew that this was the location of the spellstone I needed, but I had no idea
how deep down it would be.
"Welp, guess I've got no choice but to dig." I began digging into the ground
with Earth magic. I cast [Fly], then moved the disturbed soil aside with
[Levitation]. I encountered several thick layers of stone as I dug further down,
but I persevered.
I dug out a lot, but still hadn't reached the spellstone. To be honest, I was
getting a little concerned. I didn't want to hit an underground reservoir or
something.
Eventually, the rocks began to change in consistency. Some of them were
sparkling, so I stopped my digging and moved closer to check. I found small,
reddish jewels mixed in with the stone and dirt. I wondered if they were
spellstone shards. That probably meant I was close.
Guess I'm getting there... I'll be a little more careful from here...
I began digging more slowly, until eventually... I unearthed a big red
gemstone!
Is this it? I didn't want to damage it, so I carefully began to peel away the
earth and stone around it. Little by little, the buried spellstone was freed
completely from its rocky confines. It wasn't too big, all-in-all. I'd designated my
search to cover anything with a diameter larger than thirty centimeters, so it
could've been any kind of size above that. Still, it was better that it wasn't too
massive, otherwise it would've been harder to get out.
I took out the fire spellstone using [Levitation]. It was actually sizable. My
initial appraisal was wrong. It was over fifty centimeters in diameter. It held the
glimmer and beauty of an amazing gemstone.
Wait... couldn't I make a ton of money by digging out precious materials like
this? I reconsidered immediately. I'd remembered what Kousaka had told me
about not relying on my own overpowered abilities to bring in money for my
country.
It wasn't something I wanted to think about, but when I eventually died, the
country would fall into disrepair if it solely relied on me. It'd be better to avoid
making large profits related to my specific set of skills, lest the populace
become dependent.
The development of the nation was going just fine, anyhow.
Maybe I can use this method to find the raw materials for a Frame Gear,
though... Ah, but I can hardly complete the entire process of getting the metal
from the ore.
Selling this would still make us a ton of cash, though... I quickly dispelled such
a thought from my mind: the Frame Gear's power was my priority, first and
foremost. I couldn't be selfish, and we needed the spellstone to get the job
done. With that, I filled the hole back in and went home.
"Wowsers, that's pretty big, you see..." I brought the spellstone back to the
alchemy lab, and Flora was quite surprised. I ended up using [Modeling] to split
it in half, since there was no reason to use the whole thing. I decided the other
half could be kept as a spare in case we messed up somehow.
Flora said it'd take about a month to complete. After that, I made my way
back to the hangar.
I headed toward the garage with the knight-like Frame Gear, and I noticed
that the shutter was still open. The button was broken. I knew it...
I entered the garage, and the gray knight was standing right where I left him.
"Ten-hut! It's Master!"
"Hm? Master?" I turned on my heel in response to the voice behind me.
Rosetta and Monica were there. Rosetta was wearing her usual work jumpsuit,
but Monica had changed into a camo uniform. It wasn't exactly the right size,
either.
That beret on her head made her look like a special forces soldier... As usual,
the logic behind a Gynoid's mind was alien to me.
"What's up, you two?"
"It's been five thousand years, sir! Therefore, I thought it prudent to run some
routine maintenance, sir! There's spells applied to the hangar so nothing would
rust or deteriorate, but dirt, rubbish, and other such dust tends to pile up, sir!"
"How very rude of you... Just where is this alleged dust? I like, totally maintain
the hangar just fine, got it?" Monica did a little pout in response to Rosetta's
comment. I watched you smash a button with a pipe wrench... Are you really
maintaining this place just fine?
Rosetta mulled around the Frame Gear for a bit, and then suddenly called me
over.
"We can't activate this, sir! But would you like to sit in the cockpit anyway?"
"Yeah, I think I'd like to try." As soon as I replied, Rosetta clambered up the
Frame Gear. She climbed from the foot to the knees, then to a foothold on the
side. After she arrived at the chest, she pushed a small panel. A whooshing
sound echoed out, and a chest hatch suddenly opened up. Ooh!
I copied Rosetta's movements and clambered up toward the cockpit. Monica
was already standing at eye-level with me, having made use of a platform
loader nearby. If you had that, why didn't you use it to begin with?
I looked inside. There was a comfy-looking leather seat in the middle, with
one control stick to either side of it. There were some gauges I didn't quite
understand, some panels, and a ton of switches and pulleys. The design looked
pretty retro to me, so I couldn't wrap my head around it.
I clambered inside and sat down. It was actually quite comfy. There were
pedals beneath my feet, which I thought might be for making it walk.
"Once you understand the basics, you should be able to make it move, sir!
After that, you'll simply learn through experience. Drop and give me twenty
minutes of your attention! The unit itself will scan your brainwaves and adjust
accordingly, sir! Even a baby can do it, sir!"
"Yeah like, uhm, so basically the pilot's own thoughts and experiences will
impact how well it can do, get it? If the pilot isn't like, a totally experienced
fighter or whatever, it's not gonna do much more than move, okay?" That made
sense. So even if the pilot became skilled at handling the robot, it would be
limited by their own experiences. In that case, the best pilots would be soldiers
or knights. I asked Rosetta about it, and she said it depended on the Frame
Gear. Apparently there were units that responded better to mages, and so on. It
seemed that I'd have to pick the pilot based on their individual characteristics in
relation to the unit.
"I hope I can get it moving soon. It'll take some time to get used to it, but I
want to learn the ropes as soon as possible." I hopped out of the Frame Gear's
cockpit and walked over to Rosetta. She had a cheeky grin on her face.
"I was hoping you'd say that, sir! I happened to make something in secret for
you!" Rosetta suddenly struck a pose. I had no idea what she was doing. I
suddenly wondered if this secret was the reason she'd been cooped up in the
workshop so much lately. Rosetta guided us to the workshop. Inside, we found
two strange objects that kind of looked like egg-shaped orbs. They were about
the size of a small car. They looked like white eggs, but they were clearly
mechanical in design.
"If you'd take a minute to hear me out, sir! This is a state-of-the-art Frame
Gear simulation, sir! I call it the Frame Unit!" With a bit of fanfare, Rosetta
explained her creation to me.
Frame Unit? So wait, this is a simulator? That means I can replicate the
experience of controlling a Frame Gear?
Rosetta tapped the side of one of the egg orbs, and the front of it opened
downward. What I saw inside was pretty much identical to the Frame Gear
cockpit back in the hangar's garage.
"And this thing works?"
"Yessir! It's not powered by Ether Liquid! It runs on your magical energy,
because it doesn't have to physically move!" Welp, guess that makes sense.
Apparently the Ether Liquid inside a Frame Gear synchronized the magical
power in the fluid with the magical power in the pilot. It made it so that the
machine would move in tandem with the pilot's thoughts. I guess that made the
pilot the brain of the mech, and the Ether Liquid was like the nerves.
It didn't stop there, either. The liquid was some kind of catalyst for incredible
magical reactions that operated the machine's central reactor, too. Rosetta and
Flora had explained it all to me, but it went over my head. I wasn't very
scientifically inclined. It was best to just say "a wizard did it," and carry on with
my day.
According to the girls, my magic power was vast to the point where it may
have even been possible for me to move a Frame Gear without Ether Liquid, but
in order to test that out they'd need to build a unique model from scratch.
There actually was a Frame Gear with that exact specification, but the
blueprints were... you guessed it, in the storehouse. Still, the prospect of
building my own Frame Gear that worked off my magic alone was alluring.
Alright, let's try out this simulation.
I poked my head inside and, sure enough, it was identical to the Frame Gear's
cockpit. Rosetta closed the hatch, and a dim green light filled the area.
"Do you copy, sir?"
"Rosetta? I read you loud and clear."
"First thing's first, sir! Fire her up! Touch the central panel node right in front
of you." In front of me... This thing? I touched a small panel around the size of a
B5 notepad, and several gauges began to come to life. There were three large
monitors. One was in front of me, and two were to my left and right
respectively. They all began lighting up as well. I was pretty impressed by the
fact that it was touchscreen-operated. The retro aesthetic had thrown me off.
The simulation displayed me at a considerable height. I wondered if Frame
Gears would actually have me being this tall. I looked around and saw a vast
plain, with what looked like a woodland in the distance.
"Did you design this space yourself?"
"No, sir! What you are seeing is a simulated area based on visual information
taken from around this country!" Aha, I was wondering why it looks so familiar.
Despite the fact that it was simply an image on a screen, it felt so real.
"Let's begin with walking, ten-hut! Press your foot down slowly on the right
pedal. Alternate that motion with a press on the left pedal. Walking should
come to you just fine after that, sir!" I did as I was told, and the unit began to
slowly move forward. Whoa, it's shaking and everything!
"If you wish to move, just shift your center of mass. The Frame Gear will move
left or right based on your own motions. If you wish to move backward, then
ease up on the gas. If you wish to dash, then put the pedal to the metal, sir!"
Oho? Oh my... This is interesting... I walked, turned around, and took a few
steps back. It reacted seamlessly, as if responding to my whims. I wondered if it
was already reading my thoughts in order to move more easily.
Gradually, under Rosetta's careful guidance, I figured out crouching, jumping,
and strafing. I then started figuring out how to move the upper body with the
control sticks. Moving the arms up and down, waving them around, turning
around, and so on.
After some time, it felt almost like a second body. If I wanted to turn the
Frame Gear's neck, or move its fingers, or just turn around a little bit, it was all
done by simply willing it. If a person became accustomed to their Frame Gear,
it'd surely move just as easily as their own body. Looks like they weren't wrong
when they said anyone would be able to pilot it.
As I was getting used to the Frame Gear, to the point where I was doing a
hop, skip, and a jump on one leg, another mech suddenly appeared in front of
me.
"Huh? What the heck?" It looked much like the mass-produced gray Frame
Gear I'd seen back in the hangar's garage.
"You like, totally seem used to it now, huh? Shall we swiftly proceed to the
next phase?"
"Huh? Monica?" The voice I heard definitely belonged to her. That must've
meant she was the one in the Frame Gear. There were two orbs, after all. She
must've gone inside the other.
Two plain, gray swords suddenly dropped in front of myself and Monica
respectively.
"Now we'll try a demonstration of actual combat." I see... So the real reason
there were two orbs was for multiplayer, huh?
I reached out to the sword and firmly grasped it.
Alright, let's do it! Despite the fact it was more of a game-like VR setting, it
felt like I was inside a real Frame Gear. It really was the ideal training tool.
This just made me all the more anxious to try the real thing...