The City of Mepe (1)

We proceeded with Da in the direction Da had come from. It was even more filled with traps than the path we had taken before. Not only were there many of them, but the traps had been laid in layers and seemed to be linked, so activating even one would set off the others.

Da, who knew the location of every trap, went ahead of us, so we made it through safely. However, there were so many traps that we definitely would have triggered one somewhere if we had been on our own. I could already see the sequence of events: all the traps activating at once and wiping us out. It was truly fortunate that Da was with us.

"The traps end here. Safe from here."

"Finally... That was nerve-racking."

When Da told us that we had passed through the trap zone, all of us felt relieved. Even with a guide, we had essentially been walking through a minefield. It was only natural that we felt relieved now that we no longer had to be so careful.

"Gwooon..."

"Even so, it's gotten awfully low here. Cal has to fold those wings to get through."

However, the farther we went, the narrower the passage became. It was reasonably wide, but the ceiling was a little too low for Cal. Perhaps it had been built to accommodate the height of the Tactical Shells worn by the Metallica.

Speaking of height, how had Da operated that Tactical Shell? Given the Metallica's physique, it should have been difficult for them to wear armor of that size. The inside of the Tactical Shell had been completely hollow, and there was no control stick like in a robot anime. The mystery only deepened.

"Here. Ta-da."

"Oooh."

As I was racking my brain over it, Da suddenly stopped in the middle of the cave. Then they touched an ordinary-looking section of the cave wall. It turned out to be a hidden door, which opened with a comical pop.

There was a handle inside. When Da turned it, another section of the wall slid open sideways. Beyond it was a reasonably spacious, empty metal room.

I had no idea what this place was. However, the hidden door reminded me of our first hideout. What had happened to that place by now? It had only been a few months since we left, but it already felt like years ago.

"A small room? But this seems familiar."

"Elevator. Ride."

Setting aside my sentimentality, this room appeared to be an elevator. Come to think of it, it did look like a large freight elevator for bringing in materials. It had probably been designed so groups of Metallica wearing Tactical Shells could set out together. As expected, they seemed to possess an advanced civilization.

After we boarded, Da operated a panel. The hidden door closed, and the elevator descended. We felt the characteristic floating sensation of an elevator for about ten seconds. When the doors opened again, a space much larger than we had imagined spread out before us.

I checked the map. It said 'The City of Mepe.' That was the name of this city.

"It's bright. It's hard to believe we're underground."

"There are streetlights, but it seems like that hanging thing that looks like a sun is responsible for most of it."

"All the buildings are made of metal. And the ground... Is it plaster or asphalt? It's been paved beautifully."

"L-look! Cars are driving!"

"Feels modern!"

Mepe, a city of the Metallica, looked much like a business district. A sphere that shone like a sun hung from the ceiling, which was estimated to be about twenty meters above the ground. Angular buildings stood in orderly rows below it. All the buildings seemed to be made of metal, polished until they shone like mirrors.

The ceiling and ground were coated with something resembling plaster or asphalt. The city seemed to distinguish between sidewalks and roads, and vehicles resembling cars were actually driving through the streets. Since the roads extended in straight lines, I assumed the city had been laid out in a grid.

The buildings and vehicles were all sized for the Metallica. The building doors were small, and each floor was obviously low. The vehicles were compact and had distinctive shapes. Simply standing there and observing the city was enough to make all sorts of fascinating discoveries.

In a city like this, we stood out tremendously. Everyone nearby stopped, then approached us. Da silently shook hands with them. At that moment, the two clasped hands liquefied and fused together!

As we stood speechless, the merged state dissolved after a few seconds, and the two returned to normal. Da and the first Metallica Da had touched repeated the same process with other Metallica. Before long, everyone who had gathered had completed this mysterious act.

"They understand words! Outsiders!"

"Visitors!"

"I've never seen them before!"

"Yaaay!"

The Metallica were ecstatic, hopping up and down as if to welcome us. Every individual had a voice like a young boy or girl, so perhaps that was simply the kind of voice they had as a Race.

Despite not uttering a single word, they all knew about us. That act must have been a means of exchanging information for the Metallica, something akin to conversation. Being able to communicate information instantly seemed convenient.

"We have to tell everyone!"

"Hurry!"

The Metallica had been frolicking for a while, but then they scattered and ran off in all directions. They must have been sharing news of our arrival throughout the city by that method. They had quite an interesting way of life.

Once the gathered Metallica had left, only us and the Metallica who was presumably Da remained. I say "presumably" because the Metallica wore no clothes and had almost no distinguishing physical features, making them impossible to tell apart.

Logically, the one left here had to be Da. However, they looked so similar that I couldn't be certain enough to say so with confidence.

"Everyone, follow. Show city."

"Ah, yes. We'd appreciate that, but... you're Da, right?"

"Hm? That's right?"

What a relief! I had gotten it right! Otherwise, I wouldn't even have known what to talk about. Da's gender was still unknown, but they were undeniably kind. In any case, we should follow their guidance. We would learn more about the city that way than by wandering around on our own.

"Here. Recommended."

Saying that, Da entered one of the buildings. Its entrance was larger than those of the other buildings, and even Cal seemed able to fit through it. What could this place be?

When we followed as instructed, we found countless Tactical Shells lined up inside! However, it did not feel like an armory. Each Tactical Shell was striking some kind of pose, with a plate describing its armaments and performance placed at its feet. The scene reminded me of a car showroom.

"Hmm... This new model is good. It's hard to choose."

"Excuse me, what kind of place is this?"

"Hm? Tactical Shell storage. Use whichever you like."

A Tactical Shell storage facility? We could use whichever one we liked? Wasn't that a little too freewheeling? I was curious about their social system, but for now, we decided to look around too.

There were all sorts of Tactical Shells. In addition to the four-legged and bipedal types Da had used, there were tank-like types with treads. There were even animal types, such as wolves and lizards.

Their armaments were just as varied: ranged weapons, melee weapons, magical support, automatic weapons, deployable bombs... They had every kind imaginable. There seemed to be certain standards, and in principle, any Tactical Shell could be equipped with any weapon. A very small number of weapons required dedicated Tactical Shells, however. They were the sort of weapons that existed for the sheer cool factor.

"This is amazing."

"Hwaa! Whoaa!"

"Iris-san has lost the power of speech...!"

"Whoa! So cool!"

My companions, myself included, enjoyed looking at the Tactical Shells. Each distinctive shell struck the pose it apparently considered coolest. They were entertaining enough to watch even without doing anything else. In Iris-san's case, they would probably inspire her to create new weapons, so we should let her look to her heart's content.

Even so, what I really wanted to know was how the Metallica operated these Tactical Shells. The shells came in different sizes, so wouldn't that cause problems? Until I saw one actually being operated, I had no idea how to control them.

"All right. I'll take this one."

By then, Da had apparently chosen a Tactical Shell. Like the previous one, it was a four-legged type with a humanoid upper body. Heavy weapons were mounted on both arms and both shoulders, while a large box like a backpack was strapped to its back. Da seemed to favor this four-legged type.

Da climbed up the shell's legs, opened the armor on its chest, and transformed their body into liquid before entering! The Tactical Shell then began to move and used its right hand to close the open chest armor. Could it be...?

"Do you turn liquid and enter through the gaps in the Tactical Shell?"

"Yes. There are tubes inside. Once I enter them, it moves."

Da answered my question from inside the Tactical Shell they had boarded. Thinking back, when Da had first escaped from a Tactical Shell, they had emerged in a state resembling metallic jelly, like a Slime. I had assumed they had done that to get out of the Tactical Shell, but I never imagined it was necessary to operate one.

According to Da, Tactical Shells had no power source of any kind. A Metallica entered tubes threaded through the shell like blood vessels, then moved it using the operator's skill and magic. They were literally shells that the Metallica wore for battle, weapons made exclusively for their Race.

We would have difficulty using these Tactical Shells ourselves. However, with some ingenuity, they might become powerful weapons that even we could use, capable of carrying a wide variety of armaments. I really wanted them to introduce us to the people who made them!

"Yeah. This feels right. Let's go."

"Where will you take us?"

"The workshop. Where Tactical Shells are made. Interesting."

"I'm going! Please take us there!"

Iris was the first to latch onto the idea. The fact that she rapidly approached using her tentacles showed just how excited she was. I wanted to see the place myself, too, so while I wasn't as enthusiastic as she was, I was looking forward to it.

After leaving the Tactical Shell storage facility and walking for a short while, Da led us to one of the city's especially large buildings. It, too, had enormous doors that even we could fit through. We followed Da, who entered while still wearing the Tactical Shell, and went inside as well.

Large machine tools stood packed tightly throughout the workshop. I had no idea what most of them were used for, but every machine seemed to be operating at full capacity, and the workshop was constantly filled with the sounds of machinery.

We also saw Tactical Shells that seemed intended for work rather than combat like Da's. They carried bundles of parts and assembled Tactical Shells.

"This reminds me of the factory I visited on a social-studies field trip back when I was a student."

"Ah, I know what you mean."

"It smells like machine oil."

"Oh... ooooooh..."

"Iris-san? Are you all right?"

While we were watching the work, Da went off somewhere in the workshop and returned with three Metallica. Were they workers here?

"I'll introduce them. They're all my sons."

"Sons?!"

"Nice to meet you."

"They're all craftsmen here. They'll show you around."

Da... you had at least three sons? And they were apparently adults, too. I had never imagined that, perhaps because Da's voice had sounded childish. Thinking about it calmly, the high pitch of their voices was a trait of the entire Race, but I couldn't shake my first impression and had simply assumed Da was a boy.

With our guides now numbering four, we continued our tour of 'The City of Mepe.'