Chapter 95
“U, ueh.... That...? I mean...?”
I thought there were a bit too many materials, but I never expected this notification window to pop up right away. No, actually, since I hadn't seen it since making Ophilia, I'd just completely forgotten about it.
A clump of mana floating in midair, glowing an incredibly bright blue. Around the crystal-like core at its center, some kind of mysterious pattern is spinning around and around.
No!! This is not the time to be writing a review while staring at this thing!!
I sneaked a glance around, rolling my eyes back and forth to gauge everyone’s reaction.
“Ah....”
“T, that's....”
“It looks like the phenomenon Hunter Yoo Chaerin mentioned.”
“Uing..?”
“I had expected as much, but it came up again this time too.”
But it wasn't nearly as big a deal as I'd imagined. Chaerin unnie was beside me like, See? I knew this would happen. Sua unnie also pushed her glasses up with a swish, doing the classic smart-character thing.
Professor An made the same glasses-adjusting motion beside her.
The two of them poked at the floating mass of mana, waved a hand underneath it, and even stretched their arms up toward it.
“This... how is it floating in midair?”
“Indeed. I wonder about that too.”
“Well, it's mana, so I suppose we just accept it.”
“Right... because it's mana.”
Professor An and Sua unnie circled the mana core, tilting their heads this way and that.
“I-Is it okay..? Because of me, the schedule suddenly got delayed, and now there might be some astronomical losses, and I'll have to pay for everything...”
“That was already disclosed in advance, Princess.”
“Uing, really?”
Turns out Ophilia had told them beforehand. Chaerin unnie had seen it before too, so she brought it up first. I thought everyone had forgotten and only I remembered... ah, I forgot too.
Anyway, I thought something huge was about to happen, but it turned out to be no big deal.
“Then what are we supposed to do now?”
“Ah, Eve. Does this mana clump need to keep a certain distance from its mana user, or something like that?”
“Hmm.... I'm not really sure..?”
I don't really remember ever staying away from something like this when it showed up. When Ophilia was made last time, I was hugging the mana core all the time, and although this case is a little different, something similar happened when Minyumi was upgraded too.
But even then, it had only rolled around a bit and gotten slightly farther away; it wasn't like it had gone very far.
“Then it would be best to try it once. For now, today's schedule can probably go ahead with this. We can keep this mana core here for the time being, if that's all right.”
“No problem.”
“Can we do that, Ophilia?”
“Yes. Even I do not fully understand everything about the Princess's abilities. Therefore, I believe it is not a bad idea to conduct some research with Nova's help.”
“If Ophilia says so, then I guess....”
Apparently they're planning to leave the mana core here at the research facility and run all sorts of experiments on it. But what if, on my way home, it comes back to me because I get too far away or reach some limit?
Then I guess I'd be commuting here for about four days.
“If possible, I'd also like to see that friend of yours, Minyumi, the next time you come.”
“Right, I was curious about that friend too.”
“Ah, got it. Next time I come, I'll definitely bring the other golems too.”
Once the conversation was mostly over and I was getting ready to say goodbye, Sua unnie and Professor An both started trying to move the mana core around, only to give up.
It was floating in the air—what was that thing again? It looked like they were doing that mime where you pretend to move a balloon that's been tied down. It wasn't impossible to move, but it was hard for other people to do it, so I moved it to a corner of the research base instead.
Back up to the surface by elevator. On the way home in the car waiting by the entrance, it still feels egg-like, but I keep worrying because it feels like I left the golem I made behind.
“Gasp....”
“As expected, it's coming back.”
While riding home in the car from Five-Star Group's secret research lab, about halfway there, the mana core suddenly appeared on my lap with a poof.
“Oh my, it really is. Take good care of it, Eve, okay?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Apparently it comes back when the distance gets too great; Ophilia had expected as much to some degree.
“The research base just contacted us. The core suddenly disappeared, and they're asking whether it went back to the user.”
The people at the research lab are disappointed too, so it'll be a bit of a pain, but starting tomorrow I'll have to go back and forth to the research lab until this mana egg is born.
* * * * *
“I should have timed it better. That's a little disappointing.”
“Waaah.”
I made the mana core a little before 3 p.m. So after waiting 80 hours, the new golem will be born a little before 11 p.m. three days later.
Honestly, it's a mystery whether I'll still be awake then. Last time, when Ophilia was made, I was asleep too, so if this new golem wakes up while the Princess is snoozing away, wouldn't that be a little awkward?
“But, Ophilia. What kind of golem do you think will come out this time?”
“What image the Princess had in mind is probably the most important, isn't it?”
“Hmm....”
Something huge, but maybe like an armored knight? I was thinking of something a little similar to the golems fighting over there, so maybe a giant knight golem will come out.
It's already the third day today. Yesterday I was too lazy to keep going back and forth, so I slept one night in the staff dorm lounge, and now I'm so bored I feel like doing 500 somersaults. I can't turn on my phone or use a computer, so I can't even browse the gallery.
Which means there's nothing to do except run around with Minyumi, Suri, and Doggy.
Sometimes Minyumi and Suri go off to fight the golems, so I watch that for a bit too.
“Come on, Doggy. Boot up ping-pong. Let's have a match.”
—beep-beep....
“I might even win this time, you know?!”
In the end, what I end up doing is a ping-pong match against Doggy. It's just a simple game where there are paddles on both sides of the screen and you hit a round thing back and forth to score.
But Doggy is so good, I haven't won a single time yet, as if it's cheating. Come to think of it, isn't that obvious? What if Doggy was secretly rigging the game, making it look like I'd returned the ball properly when I actually hadn't??
—ding!
[YOU LOSE!]
“No fun....”
Actually, I don't think that's it. Doggy does miss sometimes, so I guess I'm losing purely because I'm bad at it.
“Haaah, Suri. You're bored too, huh.”
—chirp
“Enduring this counts as training? Living in a boring place has made you speak in just as boring a way.”
—chirp..!
After I grumbled a bit, Suri suddenly flapped over to me and started pecking at the top of my head with her beak. She was so fast that even when I blocked with my hand, she accurately pecked at my scalp through the gaps between my fingers.
Of course, it just felt like little thunks from the blunt part, so it didn't actually leave any wounds.
“Eek!! I'm sorry!!”
—chirp....
“Waaah....”
Lying sprawled out on the sofa in the staff break room, I started feeling a little sleepy. Was it because I'd eaten dinner? Or because I hadn't properly taken care of nap time?
“Mnh.... Uuuh....”
Minyumi and Ophilia were in the lab's test area, and Doggy had climbed onto my stomach and started squirming around, getting ready for sleep. Suri was beside me too, just being quiet.
—rrrrooooon....
* * * * *
“Princess. Princess?”
“Ueh..?”
“The core will be finished soon. The current time is 10:38 p.m.”
“Gasp..! Right! Doggy! Wake up already!!”
Doggy, who had been fast asleep on my stomach, still wouldn't wake up even when I picked it up and swung it around to rouse it.
—beep-beep....
“This guy's getting a junior now too! You need to go over there and keep them in line, do this and that!”
—beep-beep..!!
But at the word junior, it shot upright, even its usually nonexistent eyebrows turning fierce, and came down to the floor to walk with great dignity as if trying to project the authority of the ultimate senior.
—thump-thump
But its legs are too short, so it just looks cute.
“A-Alright, let's go, Ophilia!”
“Yes, I will accompany you.”
If you run for about five minutes after leaving the staff break room, you reach the test chamber I saw before. The place where Five-Star Group's mechanical weapon and Sua unnie's golem fought.
Off to one side, the core I made was floating there, and a huge number of researchers—uncles, grandpas, aunties, and older sisters—were gathered around it. They were wearing goggles and holding something like shields, so I wondered if they were trying to beat something up.
It was just that, in case there might be some unexpected shock, everyone was holding one of those shield-like things as a safety precaution.
Anyway, before it was completed, the non-Awakened researchers would all go upstairs, so it didn't matter.
“Eve, exactly how much time is left?”
“Uh... just a moment?”
[ The fragments of the fallen kingdom have reached maximum completion. Attempting synthesis of a new form. {Remaining time: 00:03:26} ]
“Th-three minutes! Three minutes twenty-six... no, four!! Now three!!”
“I see. Everyone go upstairs and prepare for output measurement, and Sua, stay behind and finish the golem maintenance.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
Under Professor An's orders, the researchers started moving in a flurry. A few Awakened researchers remained around the area, setting their mana detection sensors to maximum and checking the core's condition.
“Eve! It'll be over soon, right!?”
“Ah, Chaerin unnie!”
Just then, Chaerin unnie arrived too, and we decided to watch the new golem's completion together. That little nap after dinner must have been a stroke of genius, because I'm not sleepy at all and my eyes are perfectly clear.
—kreeeeek..!
Beside us, Sua unnie's golem was reactivating and moving, and Five-Star Group's mechanical war machine had finished its startup preparations by devouring mana stones.
“T-ten seconds left!”
“Countdown begins.”
To prepare for any unexpected situation, Minyumi, Chaerin unnie, and Ophilia stayed right close to me. Suri was flying circles overhead too, and Doggy was curled up in my arms, rumbling woof-woof.
—fwooooosh....
The two sides of the test chamber entrance were completely sealed shut with iron doors, and a bright light poured in.
And then, at last.
—KWA-BOOOOOM!!!
“Eek..!”
“W-What is this..!!”
An enormous wave of bright blue mana exploded outward in a circular blast and instantly filled the entire test chamber. The purity of that mana was so high that several Awakened researchers collapsed one after another.
Because we were so light, the shockwave flung us back like laundry, but fortunately Chaerin unnie and Ophilia protected me, so I was fine.
—wiooo wiooo
Suddenly sensing danger, Five-Star Group's mechanical weapon and Sua unnie's golem both lit red lights in their eyes and started charging toward the golem core shrouded in blue mist.
“W-What's wrong with those things!”
“The mana's too strong, so they must have recognized it as a threat!! What's everyone upstairs doing!! Somebody stop the machine already—!!”
The two enormous lumps of metal crashed and clanged around as they almost simultaneously reached the target and threw their giant punches.
—KWA-BOOOOOM!!!
“Hwaeeek!!!!!”
A fist bursting out from the mist, in an instant, turned those two giant golems that had fought Minyumi almost evenly—worth a combined total of about 4 billion—into piles of smashed scrap metal, revealing itself.
[ The fragments of the fallen kingdom have been completed. Production of Heavy Infantry Commander 'Galahad' has been completed. ]