{1}
Four-thirty in the morning.
The cloudless spherical sky above his head was of the colors of the night, in which the stars were still shining brightly. The horizon at the far end was faintly glowing red from the sun's rays, indicating that it was close to dawn.
With the remnant of the cold air of the night lingering around his skin, he took a deep breath.
His lungs were filled with cold air. The comfortable chilliness was gradually causing his sleepy body to awaken. Sheltis had always love this feeling.
"...... Mmm...... phew......"
Neck, shoulders, arms. He slowly relaxed his whole body patiently before injecting strength and tensing up his muscle fibers which had loosened from his stay in the hospital.
Just then.
"—Sheltis."
He could feel a slight presence from behind him due to that person's steps on the grass.
"Has your body already recovered fully? Didn't you say you'll have to rest for a few more days before you can rejoin training?"
A bunch of eye-catching sakura-colored hair appeared beneath the cold sky.
With her hands holding onto a pair of crossed rods <Rosario>, the young girl in a set of spotlessly clean, pure-white ceremonial clothes was standing on the training ground filled with dew.
"Ah, morning, Monica. And also—"
"...... Morning."
Another girl was walking a few steps behind Monica.
Her body was small and frail. The ceremonial clothes which she wore were as ordinary as those of Monica's, but the mechanical helmet and visor which covered her head were especially striking.
"Eh? Kagura's here as well?"
"You sound like it is surprising for me to join the training. As one of the cadet guards, I must occasionally participate in the training as well...... Moreover, I was scolded by Instructor Yumelda yesterday. She instructed me to join in more often."
Can't be helped— the young girl put on a listless expression. It seemed like she was not too willing to participate in the training.
"You hate training?"
"I don't detest an adequate amount of exercise. I just find it a chore to remove my research clothes to put on my ceremonial ones. Also, the mechanical helmet is a hindrance during exercise."
*Ka*. She rapped the sides of her helmet once with her fingers.
...... So she won't remove it even during training?
"Are you curious?"
"Eh? Yeah, sorry. You noticed?"
"All thanks to my experience. I had been asked by many others before."
Kagura raised two of her fingers, perhaps to signify that there were two reasons for her wearing it.
"This visor is connected directly to the computer in the research laboratory and doubles as a screen, thus enabling me to monitor the programs even when I am out of the lab...... The second reason can be explained simply by this: I am a People of Nell. You should understand, right?"
"Mmm. I've seen a few of your kind in Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>"
Compared to 'humans', the ears of People of Nell are long and pointy, and covered with fur like that of a cat's — this is due to the fact that the People of Nell live in the cold parts of the Floating Archipelagos <Lagoon>, which resulted in that evolutionary trait. Their long ears allow them to pick up sounds in a blizzard, while the warm fur helps to fight against the cold.
"My ears will be open for all to see once I remove my helmet. I hate being stared at just because I am one of the People of Nell. I hope you will not judge me based just on my appearances alone."
Kagura placed her hands at the sides of the helmet where her ears were located inside. Her lips were pursed into a straight line.
"I won't."
"...... That's quite a straightforward answer from you."
"Mmm, it's because you're in a situation similar to mine. Take for example this coat of mine."
He insisted on wearing the old black ceremonial clothes instead of the white ones issued to him by Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>. He had no option but to do so due to the mateki in his body. Even so, it was still difficult for him to get used to the strange stares from others. Since he can understand those feelings, he will not allow himself to judge others based on looks.
"...... You're right."
Kagura nodded her head as she said that bitterly.
"In that case, I guess the two of us are actually quite similar—"
Just as she was saying that.
"Ah, n-nothing of that sort! You haven't even gained the slightest bit of recognition from me! I am still treating you with a clear sense of wariness and animosity!"
"I know. Also, I'll only be practicing for a maximum of an hour before heading back to my room."
Just then— the silent Monica lifted her head. Her gaze was fixed on the twin swords placed on the bench.
"Since you've brought them here, it means you're planning to participate in the training?"
"The doctor told me it's okay to swing my swords for an hour or so."
He thought of his twin swords which were made of brilliantly shining purple crystals. He grabbed hold of the unsheathed swords to reaffirm their feel in his hands.
After much begging to his main doctor, he finally obtained permission to undergo training after many difficulties. Despite the fact that there was still a long way to go before he could join in the mock battles, he had at least obtained permission to swing his swords by himself.
The reason for doing that was because he could no longer do nothing after seeing Ymy's performance yesterday.
"It is quite a waste to use that precious hour to train under the dark skies as the sun will be out in about two to three hours time...... Then again, you will probably be found out by Instructor Yumelda if you do that. Should that happens, the length of your training will probably not be limited to just an hour."
"That's right. That's why I must stretch myself now."
He grabbed onto one of the swords with his left hand, and lifted the other horizontally with his right—
He slashed the right sword at the air at the exact same time as he breathed. The purplish glowing sword cleaved the emptiness before him in two as though it was parting the sea.
It was as precise as an accurate scale.
He could feel the weight of the molecules of air and the specks of dusts via the edge of the blade.
— That feels pretty good.
The 'restrain' and the 'release' of his strength were good enough to allow him to accurately sever a drop of water with his blade. The actualization of that was due to his well-trained nervous system as well as his mental state. Both of them were of no difference compared to their state two weeks ago when he was not yet hospitalized.
— What about moving?
His brain questioned his body.
Despite the slow responses of his muscles, which was purely due to a temporal slackness caused by a long period of rest. And once he knew his responses were dulled, he could come up with the correct countermeasures.
— No problem.
After realizing the problem, Sheltis stomped against the ground and flew towards the air. With three diagonal slashes from the right sword and two horizontal cleaves from the left, he cut out the ideal paths for the blades.
"Ha!"
He swung the twin swords hard in the air.
Horizontal sweeps, cleaves, heavy slashes and uppercuts.
After sketching out the ideal paths in his mind, he began implementing the movements one by one. Scars of the air - vacuums resulting from the slashing of the emptiness - appeared before him, and before they could disappear completely, new vacuums were etched by the other sword. His movements were swift and sharp. The audience was rendered breathless from his swordplay which flashed past their eyes.
After swinging the final move, he leaped forward and landed at the ground faraway in front of him—
*Biki*
"...... Ouch."
The pain and sounds of his body chapping reverberated in his mind.
...... So it's still too much for me to take?
He began to take in deep breaths as he pressed his hands against his temple so as to quell the burdens of his body.
"Are you okay?"
"Mmm...... looks like I have not recovered fully yet. I thought I had held myself back quite a lot already."
"You idiot, how's that holding yourself back!?"
The dumbfounded Monica crossed her arms and shot a meaningful look to the young girl beside her.
"What do you think?"
"...... I should have prepared video cameras in advance. His movements are abnormal. There is no way we can catch those high-speed motions with our naked eyes."
There was a rare enthusiasm to be heard from Kagura's voice.
"What were those moves just now? Were you practicing on a predefined set of moves?"
"It's nothing as serious as what you've said. All I had done was to come up with a random set of moves in my mind before acting them out with my body."
"So those were done impromptu...... are you a freak?"
"It's not like that."
"Eh?"
"That is the minimum standard required to be able to protect the Priestesses. Actually, I don't think that's enough. If you think I am incredible as compared to the rest of the people, that's because you are comparing me against the other cadet guards."
The regular guards are a level above the cadet guards. Going a step higher are the fifty elites named the cadres guards — and they are also the candidates for the Sennenshi.
...... It's the cadres guards who pose the real challenge.
Only five Sennenshi are chosen from within the fifty cadres guards. The competition is unimaginably intense. Even Leon was just a cadres guard two years ago as well. Also, Sheltis was once among the fifty. All the cadres guards are highly skilled, and thus the intense competition between them. Sheltis has had enough experience with this three years ago.
"I see. I am indeed looking at thing from the point-of-view of a cadet guard. That also means that your words are right where I wanted them to be......"
How so?
"Sheltis, you are indeed the person of three years ago—"
Just as Kagura was saying that with an expression of praise.
*Kacha*. The sound of the safety of a gun being disengaged came from far behind their back.
"Step down!"
"Eh?"
It's already too late to warn Kagura of what was going on. Having come to that conclusion within a split second, Sheltis turned his body around and swung the twin swords in midair.
The bullet was a silenced one. From the angle of the barrel that he could faintly see, he worked out the path of the bullet.
—*Kin!*
The bullet was deflected away along with the sound of clashing metal.
"...... W-What are you two doing!?"
Kagura was the first to shout.
One of them was a dual gunner wearing a large ceremonial coat, while the other was a young girl dressed in a skirt. The badges of the regular guards were clearly visible on their left arms.
Jin and I'sa. The two people whom he had seen just yesterday were walking towards them leisurely.
"You're really something to be able to respond just from the sound of the safety disengagement."
"...... What do you mean by 'you're really something'? Attacking from the back isn't something that should be coming from a regular guard."
Kagura berated them furiously as she suppressed her shock. Her sight was focused on the jet-black pistol in the hands of the dual gunner — the barrel was still emitting thin trails of white smoke.
"Please stop with these horrible jokes of yours. I'll be reporting to the instructor for what you have done earlier—"
"Hold on, Kagura. It's not like that. They were not aiming for us."
"...... Huh? What are you talking about, Sheltis?"
"What I mean is, we were not their target."
Using the blade that he had used earlier to parry the bullet, Sheltis pointed towards the direction of the ground. It was a black trail that streaked past the turf. Judging from its direction, it would have only grazed past Sheltis, Kagura and Monica and made its way towards the trunk of the tree.
"I had deflected the bullet out of reflex. The bullet would not have hit us anyway."
"It's great that you understand. It would be troublesome for us if you complain to Instructor Yumelda or the Boss without knowing the truth."
While combing her golden twintails, I'sa pointed her fingers in their direction,
"Mmm, you've passed. I shall permit you to join us. Follow me."
It's a pass? Join them?
Sheltis looked towards Monica and Kagura in confusion, but he was met with their gazes as well. All of them must be thinking of the same things right now.
"Sorry, but I do not get what you mean."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"There is a severe defect in your conversational capabilities. I can recommend you a really good doctor. You can try again once he has you fixed."
"What's with the attitudes of you all!? To think that I have specially made my way here to find you...... Umhhh?"
"Calm down, I'sa. You're not making any sense."
After covering the mouth of the girl, the dual gunner, Jin, placed his dual pistols back into the holsters at his waist.
"Sorry for frightening you guys with that sudden snipe of mine. That was me playing along with I'sa's silly plan of 'testing your capabilities by attacking you in secret', which had resulted in what happened earlier. However, the results were within our expectations."
"What's your motive?"
Monica asked without blinking an eye.
"It's just like what I'sa had said. We are here to invite the twin sword wielder to join a group of four regular guards, which includes me and I'sa, to take on a mission."
...... Me?
Both Jin and I'sa were looking at Sheltis,
"We've lost contact with a group of cadet guards who were patrolling the nature sector about twenty-nine hours ago. We have no idea if it was a malfunction of the communication devices, or if they had encountered any sort of mishap...... the headquarters deemed it as a mishap, and had thus dispatched a rescue team. That was something that happened yesterday morning, twenty-two hours ago."
"Mmm, I heard that from Instructor Yumelda already."
{2}
Eleventh story of Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>, dormitory of the cadet guards.
"Next, question number thirty-two. Please answer this question by putting yourself in the shoes of a Yuugenshu. You are now a Yuugenshu that has just broken past the barrier and is now attacking the floating continent. What will your very first targets be: humans or buildings?"
"...... Probably not humans."
"Question number thirty-three. Your reason for that?"
"That's how most of the Yuugenshu I have seen acted."
"Which means to say you are speculating based on similar happenings? Well then, question number thirty-four—"
"W-Wait! Let me rest for a while. Also, there are questions that I want to ask you as well!"
While sitting on a chair, Sheltis raised his hands up to interrupt the young girl who was keying in data at high speed.
"If you wish to ask me things pertaining to my questions, then I am sorry to say that I cannot answer. Feel free to ask me anything else."
The young girl in front of him — Kagura, remained staring at the screen. She continued to type on the keyboards of the computers with her nimble fingers while conversing with him.
"Urm...... how much longer till it is over?"
"Just like I had said earlier on, I will have to amass a certain amount of data before I can use them as references to derive the patterns of the movements of Yuugenshu."
"I have already been answering your questions for one whole hour."
"It's because you are always hesitating with your answers. Monica only took half of the amount of time you used. Isn't that right, Monica?"
Kagura turned towards the direction of the girl with sakura-colored hair, who nodded her head in agreement.
"Yeah. Though my questions were different from yours. I answered them all with my gut feelings."
"That's right. You have yet to hypnotize yourself as a Yuugenshu, Sheltis. You have to integrate yourself into the role better."
"...... I'll try my best."
He took a deep breath and braced himself.
It all began when he was done with his dinner on the thirty-sixth story of the tower and had returned back to his room.
Kagura and Monica barged into his room at just the right time, and that was how the lengthy conversation started. Since it was something related to his request to Kagura, Sheltis was more than willing to help. However, it was a little draining to answer questions for an hour straight.
"Rest time's over. Question number thirty-four. Please answer this question by putting yourself in the shoes of a Yuugenshu. To your left is a fallen beauty, and to your right is a stout swordsman with a sword in his hand. Who will you attack?"
"...... That's a difficult one."
In the end—
It was two hours later when Kagura finally stopped her hands from keying in any more data.
"That should be roughly it. It's been hard on you."
"It's over?"
"Yes. I am now doing the fine-tuning, so I no longer require any more assistance from the two of you. Thank you for your help too, Monica."
Kagura informed them simply before directing her attention back to the screen. Even though her eyes were hidden beneath the visors, it felt like she did not even blink her eyes once.
"That was really long."
"It's not my fault."
Sheltis sighed in response to Monica's pitying smile and sat on the bed.
Different from Kagura's laboratory which is of a decent size, his room was built specifically for the cadet guards' use. Not only was the place small, there were also not enough chairs for the three of them.
"Sorry for looking around...... but this room feels very neutral in terms of gender," said Monica as she scanned the room enthusiastically.
"Well, my room......"
"Actually, Monica's room is much emptier. Since she owns very little cosmetics or casual clothes, she does not need much space to store them."
"—U...... Uh!?"
Monica was rendered speechless momentarily from the words of the sharp-eared Kagura.
"K-Kagura! How about you focus on your analysis instead of wasting your time talking about other people's room? Didn't you boast that you will have the results ready by today?"
"I am done with it."
Thousands of lines of characters gushed on the screen like waves. When the characters vanished, what was left on the screen were the words 'Analysis Results'.
"How's it?"
"— Simply put, it's 'an unexpected result that is within expectations'. I'll print it out."
The printer on the desk was activated immediately as Kagura touched the screen with her finger. Two sets of two-page data were printed within seconds.
"Here. Please take a look at it, Sheltis and Monica."
"Urm...... the first page is filled with mathematical formulas. Are those the calculation results?"
The whole paper was filled to the brim with formulas. It was not just filled with equal and unequal signs, but also with other mathematical symbols which Sheltis has never seen before.
"That's right. To explain it in laymen's terms, this is what I meant by 'an unexpected result that is within expectations'. One can understand how illogical the actions of Yuugenshu are after taking a look at this data. They have strayed far from human logic."
After printing a copy of the data for herself, Kagura pointed at the top of the sheet and continued,
"For example, what would the Yuugenshu attack first — humans or buildings? If it is humans, then would the priority be on the adults or the children? The males or the females? Also, who would have a higher chance of being attacked — those who wear red or those who wear yellow? As for the buildings, would the hotels be prioritized, or would it be the office buildings? I have asked both Sheltis and Monica questions like these earlier, and the conclusion that I've obtained is that they are 'totally undependable'."
"The answers from both of us?"
"Yes. I can see a certain trend from both answers. For example, Monica will give priority to the stronger opponents, while Sheltis will tend to choose foes that are easier to defeat. However, the Yuugenshu do not have any inclinations of that sort. It's like they are picking their targets by chance."
"Since they do not choose their targets, it means that they are attacking at random?"
"That's the most problematic part. We cannot assume that."
Beneath her visor, Kagura continued with a serious tone,
"How should I put it...... I feel that certain rules do exist among the Yuugenshu, although they are something unknown to us and cannot be converted to a mathematical model for now. Then again, that view has long been discussed to death in past researches."
"Meaning to say, there is nothing we can do until we discover their rules?"
"Not quite."
Kagura's mysterious smile deepened.
It was as if she was waiting for him to say that all this time.
"In any case, I'll explain it later. Do not think about it for now. Let us go straight to the second page."
Both of them flipped to the second piece of paper as she urged.
Different from the earlier form of presentation, the next page was a diagram filled with lots of colorful symbols. There were plenty of red ▲ markings scattered all over the map of the floating continent. There were also blue lines connecting various parts of the floating continent together.
...... What an intriguing diagram.
The red ▲ and the blue lines. It was hard to locate areas where the red and blue intersect — perhaps it was because of the difference in the data used and represented.
"You should have already realized that this is the map of the floating continent. The red ▲ symbols represents areas where the Yuugenshu has appeared twice or more. And then...... based on those results, the blue lines show the possible areas where the Yuugenshu can show up in the future."
"Hold on, Kagura. I have a question. Since those red ▲ represents areas of high frequency, wouldn't it be more logical to view those areas as the possible places where the Yuugenshu will appear next?"
"Past data means nothing when we are dealing with the Yuugenshu."
Kagura's voice was filled with an absolute confidence in reply to Monica's question.
"The areas with two or more occurrences are probably nothing more than just pure coincidences. What I did was to go against the thought patterns of humans — first, I assumed that the choices made by Sheltis, Monica and I are good enough to represent those made by a majority of humans. I then keyed in totally opposite results into the database for analysis."
"...... And was it successful?"
"How could that be?"
Kagura was quick to dismiss her actions.
"Ultimately, the computer is designed to analyze, following rules set by human beings. God knows the number of times messages like 'formulation error' and 'error: calculations exceeded predefined settings' have occured — that's right, everything was within my expectations. It would be problematic if they weren't."
Her voice was filled with an enthusiasm and emotions previously unseen from her.
And a self-confidence which they never knew of.
"The trails of the blue lines represent the areas where the errors occurred. After hundreds and thousands of errors, a boundary is then formed by connecting all the unknown areas together."
Beyond the boundaries of human logic.
Beyond the settings of the man-made computers.
Forcing the occurrences of the illogical results and stringing them together to form an unknown boundary line. So that was what Kagura had came up with — was that her interpretation of the rules of the Garden of Corrupted Song <Eden> in which the Yuugenshu resides in?
"Along the blue line are a few areas marked by the symbol ●. They are places where it took the most effort to filter out — simply put, they are places with the highest 'illogical' ratio."
"...... There are five in total."
Two in the nature sector, and three in the ecosystem-conservation sector <biotope>.
Those are the possible places where the Yuugenshu may appear at.
"And that concludes my explanation. Despite the short amount of time, I did this with all of my sincerity. I will answer any queries which you may have."
"I know nothing about the technical aspects of the report."
Sheltis looked straight at Kagura as he grabbed onto the papers tightly.
"But thank you. I'll make sure the data is put to good use."
"Alright. But like I had said earlier, I will only help you once. I did it because of Eyriey and Monica. Please do not assume I will be providing you with any more assistance."
"...... You sure are strict."
"I can reconsider things if you are willing to answer 'that question'...... Putting that aside, what are you planning to do, Monica? Will you be accompanying Sheltis in his quest to verify my analysis results? I'll remind you now that this is not within the domains of missions. Not only will you not receive any reward points, there is also a high possibility that you will be doing it all in vain."
Kagura's doubts were harsh but reasonable.
It was Sheltis who had requested for the analysis, so Monica has no obligation to participate in the verification of the results. Rather than to waste her time on things like this, it would be much better for her to clear some missions and earn reward points.
...... Monica should be aiming to get herself promoted to the ranks of regular guard as quickly as possible.
He glanced at her quietly — Sheltis then held his breath due to his surprise from what he saw.
...... Monica was actually smiling?
"I'll follow Sheltis wherever he goes."
The girl nodded, and her long sakura-colored hair swayed along with her action.
A barely noticeable smile appeared on the edge of her lips.
"To the cadet guards, this may be something unrelated to the missions. However, I invited Sheltis into the squad because I want to be promoted to the regular guards together with him. I am willing to do it."
"...... Do you really believe in Sheltis?"
"Well, it is just like how Kagura believes in me."
"............"
The silence from Kagura was longer than any of her previous ones.
"...... I am very interested about my analysis results as well."
She crossed her arms in slight frustration.
"It is not like me to just provide you two with the data and leave the rest of the work in your hands. Sheltis, call me before heading out on the investigation. I will be coming along as well."
"Are you okay with that?"
"I would not come along if my friend <Monica> was not going. Moreover, I was planning to personally verify my research as well. And should the Yuugenshu appear in the predicted areas...... though I am not dying to see them, it would prove that my theory is right."
Kagura turned around.
"Well then, I'll be going off now. It's already late into the night...... oops......"
Her body suddenly leaned towards her side.
"Kagura?"
"I-It's alright, Monica. I'm just...... very tired from staying awake and focusing for thirty-three consecutive hours."
She stood up wobbly and pressed her hand against the table at her side to regulate her breathing.
"Geez, you've not changed a bit."
"Mmm. I'll take a snooze after a hot water bath."
Under the supervision of Monica who was putting on a wry smile, Kagura walked slowly through the corridor. Sheltis could not help but to knit his eyebrows as he looked the sight of her frail back.
"...... Somehow, I feel really apologetic when I see her like this."
Thirty-three hours. The time period mentioned by Kagura was the time difference from when he first met her until their separation not too long ago. In other words, Kagura was focused on the job of analysis without having taken a rest ever since she had accepted his request.
...... Though she seemed so unwilling to at the beginning.
"I am already used to it. That is just how she is. Speaking of which, what should we do with this?"
{3}
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Eyriey's sneezes echoed in the glamorously decorated room.
"Ah...... why the random sneezes? Is it because of the air-conditioning?"
She sniffed as she pressed her hands against her mouth.
"Or perhaps someone is talking about you."
The voice that was close to laughing came from the machine crystal <Ilis> besides Eyriey's arm. Its crystal part was connected to multiple wires where special equipment were used to measure her processing space.
"Hmm— who could that be? Yuto said she's going out, and Chef should be sleeping by now. Which leaves us Sheltis? Or perhaps Kagura's the unexpected winner?"
"There's an even more unexpected scenario: it may be both of them."
The machine crystal <Ilis> looked like she was flickering in happiness.
"Jeez. They will die of envy should they know that I am living in such a wonderful room."
She sat on the incredibly soft sofa and her body sank itself deeply into it. Her right hand was typing on the terminal. She picked up the teacup on the table with her left.
"Ah— speaking of which, this is really something. I never expect such a luxurious room to exist within Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>."
Gentle rays of light were coming from the chandeliers above her head; on the carpets were the geometric images of the leaves and vines of plants. The living room is big enough for a game of hide and seek; the bathroom was built using cream-colored rocks that were polished to be as bright as crystals. The rest of the furniture were all extravagant, with examples including the velvet curtains at the windows.
The accommodation facilities located on two hundred and forty seventh story of Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>.
It's a high-end suite that is reserved only for the VIPs from organizations like the Government Sector and etc. However, the machine crystal <Ilis> had hacked into the systems in secret and booked the room under the name of someone else and not Eyriey.
"Mmm, I love these spacious places the most. I can go all out to make machines and pile them up. My legs would not be tripped by the wires, so the incidents of short-circuiting will be reduced greatly."
"Fufu, that is just like you."
"I originally wanted to bring Yuto here as well, but she just had to go out at a time like this...... hahhhhh. Oh crap. I've relaxed myself totally after the sneeze."
She shook her head in order to resist the urge to yawn.
She had already drunk countless cups of coffee, but it looked like forty hours without any sleep or rest had finally taken its toll on her body.
"Because you have been focusing on my checkup. I am really sorry."
"Not at all — I am enjoying myself as well."
The machines required were built from scratch under the instructions of the machine crystal <Ilis>. Unconventional theories were utilized in the machines, and they were built via methods and materials that would not be used typically — all that had pleased Eyriey greatly.
It could probably be seen as a impetus of her creativity.
Strokes of inspiration on ways to improve the machines appeared in her mind one after another, as though they were flowing out of an endless fountain.
"Ah— give me a second. Let me record down the idea which had just came to my mind."
She fished out a notebook which was as thick as a dictionary from the pocket of her overalls. Its original thickness was not even half of its current width, but it had become thicker and thicker as she kept adding in more pages in between the original ones.
She slipped a memo paper in between a heavily scribbled page before writing down her ideas quickly on the black spaces.
"Oh. That's surprising?"
"You mean the notebook?"
"Yes. I thought you would record it down in some storage devices, but little did I expect it to be a book. I never knew you belong to that camp."
From the increased pitch of the tone of the machine crystal <Ilis>, she did sound rather surprised.
"It's actually very inconvenient. Moreover, I've never organized its contents before, and my writing is not pretty."
"Hmm— perhaps it is due to the inconvenience it brings. The things stored in the storage devices can be copied very easily. Though you think you have already deleted the data, it is actually still stored inside the devices. If we are talking about notebooks, there will be no one but me who can decipher the contents, especially if it is something that cannot be seen by anyone else."
"............"
"Is that weird?"
"N-Not at all! I think it's a really great idea!"
The machine crystal <Ilis> flickered in a fluster.
"Ahaha, there is no need for you to be polite with me."
"T-That's not it...... You may laugh at me since I am saying this as a machine, but I can't help myself but to think of the past when I look at you just now...... So I wandered about in the vast sea of data for a while and was lost in sadness."
"Oh? Things of the past?"
"She's a girl who's very much like you. She too would always record things down on her notebook, and her explanation was: 'It will be really embarrassing if it is seen by others'. Urm, she is a mechanic like you as well."
"Heeh?"
What an interesting mechanic. Her reason for using the notebook was exactly the same.
"Is she really like me?"
"She was totally a carbon-copy of you, right down to the looks and personality— ah, however, she is quite a muddle-head. For example, she would definitely neglect something important when she was asked to come up with a design document. In comparison, you of the current era is more outstanding than her."
"............"
Despite the calm tone of the machine crystal <Ilis>, there was no hiding for her emotions within — it sounded like she was introducing someone who is very important to her.
"She must be someone very important to Ilis, is she not?"
"She is."
After pondering on the machine crystal <Ilis>'s answer repeatedly.
—Ahh, so that's the reason why Ilis requested me to perform a check on her.
"Anything wrong?"
"Nope, nothing."
Eyriey quickly retracted the smile at the corner of her lips.
...... She must have overlapped that important person......
...... Overlapped her memories of that important person with me......
The machine crystal <Ilis> did not realize it. She might have done so unknowingly.
The reason she asked me over when Sheltis was in the hospital must have been because she was very lonely, and that made her subconsciously sought someone whom she yearns to rely on, isn't it? She looked for me since I am the person who is most similar to that person.
—Jeez.
—She's such a hopelessly adorable machine, and yet is as fragile as a human at the very same time.
"There, there. Ilis is a good girl."
"Eh...... H-Hold on, Eyirey, don't touch me like that! I-It's ticklish!"
The response of the machine crystal <Ilis> was comical when her surface was caressed by Eyriey.
"Oh right, could that person be......"
"...... Yes. She is my—"
Just then.
The machine crystal <Ilis> went silent all of the sudden. The crystal portion had lost its glow as well.
"E-Eh......? Ilis? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
She thought something had gone wrong with the checkup. However, the wires were still connected to the crystal, and the screen of the computer had no problems on it as well. It looked like there was no abnormality.
"Hello— Ilis? Did you fall asleep?"
"......Ah, s-sorry. There was interesting information in the network of Tenketsu Palace <Sophia>, so I couldn't help but to get my hands on it."
"You went to retrieve data? You can't do that, Ilis. The checks will not be accurate if you continue to do things like that...... though that is what I wanted to say, but I guess you should have known that already."
In other words, the information is much more important than the current things in hand.
And it appeared deep into the night when everyone should be sound asleep?
"It seems like they are about to carry out an emergency meeting in the headquarters of the Guards Command that is established within the Law Enforcement Bureau...... The level of secrecy was actually determined by the royal decree of the Queen. It looks like the Priestesses and the Sennenshi will be participating in the meeting."
"That sounds very serious."
Even though a commoner like Eyriey has no idea about the detailed protocol, it should be no trivial matter if the Priestesses are summoned in the middle of the night — what exactly is going on here?
"Could it be the Yuugenshu?"
"Nope. They would have carried out some other special protocols should that be the case. Things are different this time round — the only thing for sure is something serious has happened. I will go and take a look."
With that, the machine crystal <Ilis> became silent once more.
Sponsored Content