Chapter 58
Off to the Test Run
A few days after it was decided that Takanashi-san would let us borrow three rooms in her house.
It was already late May, and rainy days were still common.
A light rain was falling today as well. The sound of raindrops striking the roof and ground could be faintly heard through the window.
Riko-senpai, Takanashi-san, and I had gathered once again and were looking up at 'Kenning' in the garage.
"Wow... You work fast, Miyucchi."
"Not at all. It's because Kenning is easy to maintain, and the people at the factory were skilled."
Riko-senpai praised her with a wry smile, while Takanashi-san answered with her usual expressionless face.
Even so, I was amazed by how efficient she was.
"I think it's really incredible too."
"I'm honored."
A matter-of-fact answer. That was also just like her.
The Kenning we were gazing up at was incomparably cleaner than when we had first encountered it.
Its armor was painted black and gray without a single scratch. Its silhouette was somewhat sleeker than before, giving off a faintly heroic air. The head components had changed slightly as a result of Riko-senpai's modifications to its machinery, which might have contributed as well.
"Damn... As expected, a real robot like this just reeks of gunpowder...!"
"Huh? It's been a long time since we stopped using firearms, and more importantly, replacing the armor means there shouldn't be any smell like that..."
"Takanashi-san. She's just talking about the atmosphere, so don't worry about it."
"I see."
But I could sense the smell of gunpowder coming from this machine too... probably.
If possible, I would have liked to equip it with some kind of firearm. That was nearly impossible, both legally and in terms of how difficult it would be to acquire one. Besides, ordinary weapons were useless against monsters.
Still, I thought the equipment leaning against the garage wall was pretty good.
"Hmm. If only the weapons weren't some lame shield and baton, I'd give it a hundred out of a hundred."
"Huh? A robot equipped with a shield and baton? That's more than valid. It makes it feel more realistic."
Did you just make fun of Pat●labor? Huh?
I hadn't watched it as it aired, but it was unquestionably a masterpiece.
"I get it. That's certainly one way to interpret it...!"
"I'm glad you understand..."
But I would still have liked to see Kenning equipped with a shotgun or revolver.
I turned my gaze toward the garage wall. The dedicated equipment was placed on either side of Kenning.
On its right was a log a full meter and a half long. Painted black and fitted with grips across it, it was a tonfa baton made from spirit wood.
At first, I had considered equipping it with a motorized repeating crossbow, but I abandoned the idea because of the law and settled on its current form.
If Kenning were ever seen by the police, we planned to bluff by claiming it was being operated with Takanashi-san's ability. But if we had it carrying something resembling a crossbow, they would investigate it far more thoroughly...
Once I succeeded in mass-producing scrolls, I wanted to give it a gun-shaped staff. A staff would be legally safe, and it would be less likely to leave evidence behind.
On Kenning's left, a tower shield two and a half meters tall and one meter twenty wide was propped against the wall.
It was equipped with 'Telekinetic Shield,' and a magazine was attached beside its grip. It could hold up to twenty scrolls, so they had to be activated one at a time, but it probably wouldn't be broken by anything short of a major attack. ...Probably.
A baton and a tower shield made it look just like riot police. It was cool, but I was still worried about not having any ranged weapons.
Even so, Takanashi-san gazed up at Kenning with a faint sparkle in her otherwise expressionless eyes.
"...I don't think I've ever been particular about weapons, but now I feel differently."
Her cherry-pink lips moved slowly.
Her voice trembled slightly, as though she was confused by her own feelings. But more than that, it contained joy.
"A machine made just for me by Yahiro-san and Riko-senpai. When I think of it that way, I find myself strangely attached to it."
As she said that, Takanashi-san reached out and touched Kenning's arm.
A hulking steel giant, the exact opposite of fingers as delicate and pale as white fish. Yet she touched it as gently as if it were a beloved dog she had spent many years with.
It made me feel oddly bashful. Seeing how happy she was made me smile. When I glanced to the side, Riko-senpai was scratching her head in embarrassment too.
Perhaps noticing my gaze, she clapped her hands vigorously to cover it up.
"All right! Anyway, Kenning's repairs and modifications are finished, so what should we do about the test run?"
"Naturally."
Takanashi-san turned around, her long black hair fluttering.
Her eyes held a strong resolve.
"In a dungeon."
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day, we immediately took the train to the neighboring city once again.
It was the city where the lycanthrope spiritual disaster had occurred. Astonishingly, not even a month had passed since then.
The train was running normally, as if matching my slightly skewed sense of normalcy. The station itself looked perfectly ordinary too.
However, once we passed through the ticket gates and left the station, the scars of the spiritual disaster were still starkly visible.
Houses were left standing everywhere without even being properly repaired. Some had collapsed block walls, others still had no front doors. There were even houses consisting of nothing but blackened, charred frames.
The houses covering holes with blue tarps might still be inhabited. But the houses with more conspicuous damage probably...
The grime on the road brought to mind the blood I had seen that day. Even though it wasn't raining yet today, I felt as if the smell of rain and iron had spread through the back of my nose.
"...Are you all right?"
Riko-senpai peered at me after I stopped just outside the station.
Unlike usual, she wore a serious expression, so I somehow managed to smile.
"Yes. I'm fine. Let's head to the bus stop."
"...All right."
I still sometimes saw the scene from that day in my dreams.
But even so, I had managed to return to everyday life. It was a little less ordinary than before the 'Day of Regression,' though.
The bus arrived a few minutes later, and we boarded it for our destination. It was good that I had checked the schedule beforehand, but there were so few buses that getting back might be difficult.
The bus interior was deserted, with no passengers besides us.
I tried to sit in an ordinary seat, but Riko-senpai pushed me toward the back and made me sit on the long bench at the very rear. For some reason, she and Takanashi-san sat down on either side of me.
I felt extremely uncomfortable. I placed both hands on my knees and sat up straight. I couldn't bear the thought of accidentally touching something strange, or having them mistake it for an attempt to touch them.
The pleasant scents of the two of them were now filling the nose that had been filled with the smell of rain and iron.
...Maybe I was more thick-skinned than I thought.
As I was self-deprecating in that way, Riko-senpai casually looked around. After confirming that there was truly no one else around, she spoke to me in a low voice.
"Hey, come to think of it, how's your end going, Otaku-kun?"
"How's what...?"
"The paper-making. Is it going well?"
"Well, not really. I need to leave the chopped wood in bleach for ten days."
"Oh, I see."
Riko-senpai murmured that with a slightly surprised expression.
It varied depending on the type of wood and which bleach I used, but for now, that was how I was experimenting.
"...Hey, I was thinking about something."
"Yes?"
"Otaku-kun, you're basically aiming to make 'mana-infused paper that anyone can produce as long as they have the recipe and materials,' right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"If you're ultimately going to make it in a factory... wouldn't cellophane tape or something work? I'm pretty sure that's made from wood, right?"
"...!!"
I opened my eyes and mouth as wide as they would go.
"Wait, don't tell me..."
"That was a joke. Unfortunately, it's proving difficult."
"Oh, really? What's the problem?"
"To cut to the chase, the 'mana-storing fibers' are the most important part."
If all I needed was for it to hold mana momentarily, ash made by burning spirit wood would work just fine.
But the more physically damaged the fibers were, the harder it became to keep mana stored. When I turned it into ash, the mana dissipated after about a day.
As long as the damage was merely chemical, it seemed to be fine. But once the fibers were damaged to the point that they could no longer be seen with the naked eye, the mana quickly leaked away.
For now, I had determined that washi was about ideal for storing mana.
But it didn't have to be washi. The important thing was the spirit-wood fibers. It was washi only because I was trying this at home.
"I'm researching how much damage the fibers can withstand, and what proportion of 'Blood of Rejuvenation' to add. I'm currently working on that recipe. Since I have to keep watching the fine mana fluctuations while I work, outsourcing it is difficult until the recipe is complete..."
"Wow. It's more difficult than I expected..."
"I want to reach the point where I can just dump the work on a factory as soon as possible... Though I don't even have a paper mill willing to take it on."
Given my current suspicions about the government, I couldn't entrust it to just any place.
"Riko-senpai. Don't you know of a trustworthy, flexible paper mill among Master's acquaintances? At this point, even a craftsperson who makes it by hand would be fine."
"No way, no way. Even if Grandma has a wide circle of acquaintances, it's limited to the neighborhood. There isn't anything like that in the city where we live, right?"
"Yeah, that's what I figured."
Well, first I had to finish the recipe. Everything depended on that.
As we were talking, Takanashi-san suddenly leaned her face close to mine.
Her hair swayed, and the scent of flowers tickled my nose. Her incredible beauty filled most of my field of vision, and my thoughts seemed doomed to become filled with nothing but Takanashi-san.
And, more than anything else, her ample breasts were pressed against my upper arm.
"Yahiro-san."
"T-Takanashi-san...!?"
Her soft flesh pressed against me with a squish. I wanted to praise myself for deciding to wear light clothes without an outer layer because of the temperature.
Even through my thin clothes and her undergarments, I could clearly feel Takanashi-san's chest. It was soft enough to make me feel as though I was sinking endlessly, yet somehow it also had enough spring to push back against me.
My heart seemed to leap like a pole vaulter. I thought it might fly right out of my mouth.
Her jewel-like amethyst eyes stared straight at me.
"As I said before, I support your research too. Please don't hesitate to tell me if there's anything I can do to help. I'll do anything."
"N-no, no, no. You've already helped me more than enough...!"
Please stop. For a moment, my mind was racing with the idiotic thought, 'She said anything!? Does that include something lewd!?'
I was desperately making reason beat instinct into submission, but I was weak. I couldn't hold out for long.
So.
"Riko-senpai... Say something funny!"
"The other day, Kinucchi said, 'What shape are Yahiro's collarbones? I wanna use them as a model for a painting, so I wonder if I could somehow make him expose them while pretending it was an accident!'"
"I didn't mean tell me about that dumbass! But thanks, my worldly desires have receded a little."
"You're welcome! By the way, Kinucchi's grandma overheard her say that and lectured her for about an hour."
"Serves her right."
"But she showed no remorse, YO!"
"...Maybe I should consult the police one of these days."
"A college girl and a male high-schooler's collarbone... You might have a shot at getting a case to stick, but it would probably end with a warning."
"Yeah, I figured."
Master, if it came down to it, do you think you could introduce me to a good lawyer?
But part of me thought being subjected to mildly suggestive conversation by a beautiful college girl wasn't so bad. Was this what it meant to have two hearts...?
That was dangerous. If Kinue-san had a figure like Takanashi-san's, I might have opened the door to a new fetish.
Meanwhile, Takanashi-san tilted her head with a puzzled look at our exchange before returning to her original posture.
I was relieved when her enormous breasts moved away, but I also felt a pang of regret.
My worldly desires... They were strong! About ten thousand times stronger than my reason!
As I was thinking that, an announcement echoed through the bus. It seemed we were nearing our destination. Riko-senpai, who was sitting by the window, pressed the stop button for us.
About three minutes later, the bus stopped. We paid the fare and stepped onto the asphalt.
The bus pulled away as if in a slight hurry. After giving it a brief glance, we started walking.
Our destination was, naturally, a dungeon. We headed toward the sealed facility covered in bare concrete.
This city had dungeons besides the one belonging to the lycanthropes. That was the one we would be entering today.
The moment the sealed facility's automatic doors opened, we heard thunder in the distance.
Maybe a storm was approaching... Or so I thought. No, that couldn't be it.
Remembering the weather forecast I'd seen before leaving home, I stepped inside the building.