Agartha, the Mechanical City

"As far as underwater Gollems go, the maestro would be the best person to

ask. But they're a misanthropic and totally eccentric sort, so they stopped living

in civilized parts a long time back. Can't think where they are now," our guest,

the professor, mumbled to himself as he stroked his wispy beard.

We weren't on Babylon itself. Instead, we were in Doc Babylon's research

wing at the far end of the castle. It had been specifically built at the far end

because I didn't want anything exploding and damaging anything important to

daily life.

"I could adapt a Frame Gear to work underwater, but it wouldn't be half as

good as something built from the ground up for deep-sea exploration. I think as

far as tracking the Ark goes, we'll probably want the latter."

After saying all that, Doc Babylon produced a plastic model of one of our

Chevalier Frame Gears. It was wearing some kind of backpack with built-in

torpedos and anchor attachments.

Hm... Those attachments would definitely help us fight underwater, but she's

right. We should make new drones.

"If we were to design something new, how long would it take?"

"Hm... Might take a while if we work with no basis at all, so we should at least

work with a blueprint to start. If you ask me, we should go with an Over Gear

instead of a Frame Gear."

...An Over Gear? Those Frame Gear variants designed to work with the crown

Gollems? But why?

"Humanoid forms aren't the most versatile for swimming. It would be wisest

to make it resemble an aquatic animal. And our Over Gear designs are already

based on animals, no?" Elluka replied curtly. She had a point. A streamlined

design would be best for maneuvering through the waves.

"We could even attach Frame Gears to it if we go that route. I approve. Would

we make it fish-shaped, Doctor?" Quun asked, unable to resist chiming in. She'd

been anxiously listening to the entire conversation up until that point.

Doc Babylon clicked her tongue and folded her arms in response before

saying, "Hmm... It's a bit uninspired to just go with a fish. Perhaps a turtle

design like Sango would be a bit more my style? A Frame Gear could easily ride

that too."

"Whatever do you mean? We should obviously go for a shark-shaped design.

It needs to look intimidating to keep it from running into any undersea trouble."

"No way, a shark's a bad look. If we're going in that general direction, then it

should be a dolphin. Dolphins are far cuter!"

The four mechanically-inclined geniuses began a heated debate about the

shape of the new machine. I ended up slinking away, as I was nothing more

than a sideline observer. It wasn't like I had anything of value to input, anyway.

Though honestly, I did have one question.

"If we're building it as an Over Gear, then what crown will we use as the

core?"

Noir had the lion-shaped Leo Noir, Rouge had the tiger-shaped Tiger Rouge,

and Blau had the deer-shaped Deer Blau. The question now remained, who

would be the pilot and core for the new one?

Elluka looked at me like I'd asked something dumb and replied, "Your Yumina

can do it, no? She has the white crown, Albus."

"But Albus and Yumina only have a temporary contract, don't they? Will she

be able to pilot it safely?"

Albus's ability, Reset, came at the cost of his contractor's memories. That was

why I hadn't allowed Yumina to make a full contract with the white crown. I

didn't want her putting her very mind at risk, after all.

"Even if she's a submaster, she can still operate it. The crown ability doesn't

need to trigger to operate the Over Gear, and the main master isn't around to

assume direct control, so there's no issue."

That made sense to me. If that was the case, I was comfortable enough

leaving the underwater piloting to Yumina.

"I'll also start cooking up an aquatic Frame Gear prototype. If I make it in the

shape of a mermaid, we can repurpose the torso designs from the other

models. Then, we can mass-produce them. Better to have them in bulk than

keep them as unique ones like your Valkyrie Gears."

Mass-produced mermaid Frame Gears? That would be pretty handy for

accidents at sea, so why not?

"We should also have your Reginleif and the Valkyrie Gears refurbished for

underwater operations, since it would be inefficient to have you pilot massproduced variants. I'll be sure to send a bill for the development costs, all

right?" Doc Babylon said and grinned, rubbing her hands together as her eyes

narrowed.

Damn it... I know you need it, but you guys really piss away my money

sometimes...

I grumbled quietly...only to snap out of it when Quun tugged on my sleeve.

"Is that a problem, father?" she mumbled, looking up at me with pleading

eyes.

Hngh...! I-I have to hold fast! This is a trap! I'm being tricked here! Quun, stop!

They're all grinning at me over there!

"...I'll pay. Just try not to overspend, okay?"

"Thank you, father!" Quun exclaimed, then jumped for joy and gave me a big

hug. Doc Babylon, Elluka, and the professor smiled wide. They all flashed

thumbs-up at me in sequence.

Damn it all... They got me hook, line, and sinker.

"Now then, let's get to work on the concept stage. I'll handle the Over Gear,

but who wants to start inroads with the mass-production Frame Gear?"

"Oh, me! Wait for me! I'd love to help!" Quun yelled, then parted from me in

less than a second and ran after the engineering trio. It sure was tough being a

dad...

My coffers were running low, so I needed to go make money. I'd been leaving

most of the gold-rank jobs to Ende, but I figured that had to change sometime.

He'd just gotten married, after all. In a way, you could see it as me doing him a

favor. Yep, that was it. Just me being an all-around great pal.

That's me. Touya, the regular family man.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Touya-dono! If you are going to the adventurer's guild, then we would like to

join you, we would."

The next morning, I was about to head off to the guild in search of a job when

Yae and Hilde approached me. Apparently, they were right on the cusp of

reaching gold-rank status. That would make them the fourth and fifth people in

the world to do so. The way things were going, more than half of the goldranked adventurers in the world would be my direct family members. Hilde's

grandfather was the first one to ever attain that rank, so he was positively giddy

that his offspring was following in his proverbial footsteps.

I felt that the two had probably been motivated by the fact that they knew

Yakumo and Frei both had gold status in the future. I was sure that their

parental pride made it impossible for them to be a tier below their future kids.

Brunhild didn't really have any requests at the silver or gold level, but that

didn't mean you couldn't find any in other places. It was just a matter of looking

around. Ende and I could teleport around, so we managed to do work all over

the world and raised our ranks fairly quickly. I wondered if my kids had such

high ranks thanks to Yakumo and Yoshino's abilities to move long distances in

short amounts of time as well.

Ordinary silver-ranked adventurers needed to travel for days on end to reach

their target, then actually fulfill their objectives before trekking back to the

place they got their mission. People like me had an innate advantage that took

out a lot of the busywork, so it was only natural there was only one gold-rank

before I showed up. The introduction of the magic train might help speed things

up in that regard, though.

Yae and Hilde had probably approached me thinking my spells could get them

an easy quest clear. I wasn't about to deny a request from my wives, but they

could've easily asked Yakumo.

"It is a touch awkward to ask one's daughter for help with reaching her level,

it is..." Yae said before letting out a nervous chuckle. It was just as I'd thought,

she had her parental pride on the line. I couldn't blame her, really.

"Didn't Elze want to go for gold too? Should we bring her along?"

Ende had reached gold-rank and he was Elze's sparring partner, so she'd been

eager to match him.

Hilde spoke up in response, saying, "Elze is out shopping with Elna today. I

believe they're looking for clothing at Zanac's shop, so we'd best not interrupt

them... I think she's obsessed with dressing the poor girl."

Hilde smiled slightly after sharing that information. That definitely made

sense to me. All my wives loved their kids, obviously, but Elze and Linze went

above and beyond when it came to fussing and fawning. Yakumo, Frei, and

Quun were the oldest kids and they all had some air of independence about

them. They were still children, obviously, but they'd grown out of going out for

activities with their parents. Yoshino and Sakura didn't really do all that much

together beyond music, while Arcia and Lu had more of a friendly motherdaughter rivalry going on.

Elna and Linne were the youngest children we had here, so they were the

ones who got fawned over and spoiled the most. Elze was particularly attached

to Elna. Elna wasn't a big fan of fighting, so she didn't train with her mother, but

they spent just about every other waking moment joined at the hip. Elze loved

taking Elna out and buying her all kinds of cute outfits. She was one of the

proudest mothers I'd ever seen.

"I never thought that Elze would be such a doting mother. She's the fussiest

among us! Elna's definitely the cutest of the lot, though, so I understand."

"I would say that you are the second-most doting out of all of us, I would."

"It's not my fault Frei's so cute, is it?"

Frei was definitely cute, that was for sure. I was just glad that my kids were so

well behaved.

"If we do not give them proper independence...it will be hard for them to find

spouses, it will."

"Hngh!"

Yae's words hit me right in the gut. I didn't want to think about my kids

getting married!

I know it'll happen someday, but... Hm... Maybe I can stop my kids from

getting married, somehow? If I just come up with a scheme...

"Come now, let's get going."

"Yes. There is not any point fretting over inevitabilities, there is not."

"Grrrgh..."

Yae and Hilde started marching toward the guild, so I wearily followed them.

◇ ◇ ◇

"If you're after gold or silver quests...how about these? Nobody's taken any of

them yet."

We were in the adventurer's guild talking to Relisha. She handed over two

slips of paper to Hilde and Yae respectively.

Brunhild's guild didn't have any silver or gold postings, but Relisha had access

to the global network, so she was able to relay information on foreign jobs.

"Hm, let's see... A Thunderwyrm has attacked Palouf, it has."

"And this one tells of a Frost Giant in Elfrau."

Both of those creatures would have given any average silver-ranked party a

run for their money, but I felt like Yae and Hilde could work together to take

them down in no time at all. That didn't mean we could afford to be

complacent, though. Safety was always paramount.

"You need not worry, you need not. Our sister-in-law has trained us well

every day, she has."

Hm... I don't know how to feel about that line. It's almost like she's saying my

worrying is pointless. But I guess that's a relief to hear too...

Either way, I sent Luli with Yae and Kougyoku with Hilde just to be safe.

Luli could talk with the Thunderwyrm, so Yae could possibly end her quest

without conflict. And in Hilde's case, Kougyoku could keep her warm over in

Elfrau.

I opened up [Gate] and sent the girls to their respective destinations. I told

them to have their summoned companions notify me with telepathy when they

were done. Then, after I saw the girls off, I turned back to Relisha.

"So, are you after a job?"

"I sure am."

"I'm afraid to say that I have no quests befitting your stature at this time."

"Huh?"

No gold-ranks at all? Nothing? No national crises?

"Ende took care of all the outstanding requests prior to his wedding, since he

wanted to take some time off..."

"Goddammit!"

That bastard! I go out of my way to do him a favor...and this is how he

preemptively repays me?! No, no... Ende taking care of business before his break

is pretty commendable... I can't fault him for it. Damn him. Damn him to hell!

"Are there any high-value quests available? Anything that'd help me make

some quick money?"

"I must admit, hearing a world leader almost beg for money is a little

concerning, but... Hm, let's see... There have been reports of a stampede

around Roadmare," Relisha replied after flipping through a pile of papers on her

desk.

Stampedes were bad news. If left to its own devices, the horde of monsters

would end up endangering innocent people. It was definitely something that

had to be dealt with immediately. However, there were other things to

consider.

"Is this the kind of situation Roadmare's adventurers could handle on their

own?"

"It is."

"Tsk... I can't take it, then."

I could have easily gone over there and solved it in the blink of an eye, but

then I'd be depriving the honest adventurers of Roadmare of a job well done. It

was an awkward situation. Even if I was a gold-rank, I was still an adventurer, so

I didn't want to be a glory hog.

Still, when it came to stampedes, there was no simple way to harvest

resources from the massive amounts of monsters. The carcasses were usually

left behind. The guild would then have specialists go collect stuff later and

distribute them to the adventurers as rewards. The rewards were doled out

based on participation, and the adventures that didn't do much of anything

typically weren't rewarded. The way this was done was by having some trusted

adventurers act as watchdogs for the guild. Such individuals were heavily vetted

for reliability before being entrusted with the role.

"But wait, another stampede? There've been tons of those lately, huh?"

"There certainly have. The reason isn't known either. Whether they're being

spooked by something or not is to be determined..."

The most typical reason for a monster stampede was the presence of an

invasive species. When a particularly powerful monster showed up, the weaker

ones native to the area would find themselves driven from their homes. And

eventually, they'd gather up and form a monster horde. It was the same with

that giant Zaratan we'd encountered not too long ago. The creatures, startled

by its sudden appearance, ended up grouping together and running amok until

they formed a stampede.

That made me wonder, though... If the cause of that stampede was the

Zaratan waking up...could that truly be called a coincidence? Perhaps the

Zaratan sensed something as well. Zaratans were cowardly creatures despite

their huge size. It was entirely plausible that it started to move because it

sensed something it needed to flee from. The merging of the two worlds had

increased the ambient mana in the atmosphere, resulting in the emergence of

more Behemoths. More Behemoths showing up definitely meant more

stampedes, but would it necessarily mean more stampedes everywhere at

once?

"If you get reports of any Behemoths in the stampede areas, please let me

know. I'll deploy Frame Gears to help fight them off."

"Of course. I'll be sure to do just that."

Slaying Behemoths was still a bit much for ordinary adventurers, so I was sure

that could be excused. Either way, that didn't help solve my current

predicament. I was out of pocket money and out of ideas.

Hm... Maybe peace was a mistake after all. Wait, no! Don't think like that!

Peace is good!

I left the adventurer's guild and started walking around town. I had no clue

what to do next.

"Hm... Maybe I can start a business?"

Clothing had already been covered by Zanac. Hospitality was pretty much on

lock with Micah. Aer's café was the most popular one around...and

miscellaneous stuff like gadgets and ether vehicles were all under the thumb of

Olba Strand. I wouldn't have felt right intruding on any of their business

endeavors at this point, even if the ideas were originally mine to begin with. I'd

also basically abandoned the Moon Reader library café idea, so I didn't even

know what they were up to.

Money for clearing contracts was pretty good, but it was a feast or famine

lifestyle. I wanted to start up some kind of long-term sustainable income, a

steady stream of cash to keep me from getting into this kind of mess again.

Plus, money wasn't the only issue I had. We needed specific materials for our

aquatic refurbishing project. Iron, mithril, orichalcum, and so forth.

Should I just go mining myself? I dunno, it'd be kind of a pain... Are there any

places where I can even get the materials directly? I guess it'd be useful if we

had a mine, but I don't even know where we'd... Wait!

"Am I stupid or what? There's an entire mining nation I'm forgetting here."

Gandhilis, the Steel Nation. Most of the Gollems on the western continent

were created from the raw materials produced by that country. I'd met their

ruler before, so I could probably negotiate some kind of bulk deal at a discount.

People could typically get price reductions for buying large amounts, so surely

it'd be fine.

"All right, lemme double-check what I need with Doc Babylon," I mumbled,

then opened up a [Gate] and headed back to the castle.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Hey, you guys... Did you go all night without sleep or something?"

"Hm? Is that a problem?" Doc Babylon replied, tilting her head in response to

my question.

It wasn't a problem for her, sure, but that was only because she had an

artificial body. In the case of Elluka and the professor, however, they were

painfully prone to mortal fatigue. It was bad for their health.

I narrowed my eyes at Quun, my suspicion fairly plain.

"I-I slept properly, promise! Mother actually dragged me back down to the

castle herself!"

I wasn't surprised Leen had done that. She had a good grasp on the kind of

person her daughter was, after all. I'd heard Quun still came here as early in the

morning as possible, though. I wondered if there was a way to curb those bad

habits of hers...but unfortunately, all I could really do was sigh.

"I'm going to Gandhilis to pick up some raw materials. I need to know what

you guys need."

"You're going to Gandhilis, father? Take me with you!"

I wondered what Quun wanted in that country of all places.

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't trust Touya to know the best

kinds of ores, so having Quun go with him is perfect. I approve."

Ugh... Sure, I don't know the best stuff, but it's not like I couldn't just cast

[Analyze] to get a general idea, right?

"A general idea isn't good enough, father. Iron, for example, can end up being

completely different depending on the carbon content. Pure iron has higher

levels of plasticity, but it's still not enough to simply know that. You need an

expert."

"All right, I get it. You can join me."

Quit using all those weird words I don't understand. It's like you're speaking in

tongues. What the hell is plasticity?

"Ah, lass, let me know if you find any good deals."

"Yes, and don't mind the cost. Just beg Touya for it and I'm sure he'll

surrender in no time flat."

Ugh, you devils! Quit corrupting my daughter! Damn it... The whole point of

the trip to Gandhilis is to get stuff on the cheap. If I end up buying expensive

stuff, then I'll have defeated the entire purpose!

The worst part was that I knew I wouldn't be able to resist if Quun actually

started begging. The sight of my daughter looking up at me with tears in her

eyes...was far too much for me to bear.

I decided I needed to call in reinforcements... Very special reinforcements,

actually. And so, I turned away from the scheming researchers and quickly sent

out a message for help on my smartphone.

"What the...? Why is mother here?! I thought this was a father-daughter

trip!"

"Goodness, that's a mighty rude thing to say. I'm your parent too, Quun. Can't

I join you?" Leen smirked as she spoke nonchalantly.

Quun looked positively incensed, but Leen appeared more amused than

anything. She looked like she was enjoying herself, even...

"Ugh... And here I thought I'd be able to get father to buy some special

Gollems!"

"Darling... Does she really have you so wrapped around her little finger?"

Leen said, narrowing her eyes slightly as she looked from Quun, to me, and back

again.

It's not my fault... I know she's using me but still...

Any father would jump at the chance to make his daughter happy! It was

basic paternal instinct! Still, even I had to admit that buying her multiple

Gollems was a very big ask.

All right. Now that I've got Leen here to back me up, it's off to Gandhilis!

◇ ◇ ◇

I called up the leader of Gandhilis and asked if I could buy the products

directly from him. He gladly agreed and we negotiated a price. However, while

we were on the call, he said he wanted to consult me about something, so I

couldn't help but wonder what he wanted.

"Guess we'll find out soon."

"Did you sort a deal out?"

"Sorta, yeah. But they want to speak to us at their palace."

I shrugged over at Leen before opening up a [Gate]. Quun bounded through

the portal before I had a chance to even step through. Clearly, she was in a

hurry.

"Honestly... What an excitable girl. Just who does she remind me of, I

wonder?"

"Hmph! I know that's a dig at me, but I seem to remember you being just as

excitable when we were looking for Babylon's library."

"I wasn't as bad as her."

Oh, come on...even Paula knows that's not true.

"A child will naturally resemble their parents in some ways."

"True enough."

The two of us chuckled softly. Shortly after that, Quun poked her head

through from the other side of the portal and said, "You two will have plenty of

time to flirt later on. Let's not keep Gandhilis waiting!"

"O-Oh, uh, right. Let's go."

"Y-Yes, let's."

Leen and I were a little embarrassed, but we quickly recovered and headed on

our way.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Oh, father, that high mithril is a must."

"Sure thing."

I went around listening to Quun's instructions, placing various ores and

metals into my [Storage].

After we met with the Gandhilis royal family, we were led to a storehouse

beneath the palace that contained various processed and refined materials.

Alloys and ingots and stones were piled up into huge, neat stacks all around us.

It was insanely impressive just how much they had. Then again, they weren't

the Steel Nation for nothing.

Gandhilis was a country that was home to hundreds of mines. And thanks to

their abundant underground resources and incredible smelting technology,

pretty much every nation on the western continent relied on them for metal.

The country had been invaded for its resources in the past, but it had managed

to repel the invaders every single time. Foreigners were rarely prepared for the

rugged terrain of the country, nor were they any match for the incredible

military Gollems Gandhilis commanded.

It came as no surprise that many dwarves called Gandhilis home. I was just

glad I hadn't brought Frei with me. She'd never want to go home.

"I wish we had a mine in Brunhild..."

"Now, now, Touya. The grass is often greener on the other side."

Leen had a point. I mean, I didn't know the first thing about mining. I couldn't

tell the difference between ores at a glance, so not even my [Search] spell

would help very much unless it was something really distinct.

I could identify Mithril or Orichalcum Golems, at least. I remember hunting

down the latter a lot when I was trying to get the resources for Sue's Frame

Gear. Back then, I had to hold myself in check to keep them from becoming an

endangered species... The other world leaders also got mad at me for that

incident...which was understandable, since I'd traveled around the world on my

hunt. Thankfully, I managed to set that right by showing some of the countries

the locations of nesting grounds where Mithril and Diamond Golems tended to

gather.

"We're buying an awful lot, though... Do we really need this much just for one

Over Gear?"

"We absolutely do! I can't go into the details, but I promise we need all this!"

"...Are you sure you're not just trying to scam extra materials out of him?"

"What a terrible accusation, mother! I'd never! Oh, let's buy these ones as

well. Here, father."

Quun hurriedly dodged Leen's suspicions and moved on to the next set of

metals.

...It definitely feels like we've got more than enough. There should be plenty of

materials in Babylon's storehouse too, right?

I knew that Over Gears were bigger than Frame Gears, so I was prepared for

some expenses...but it was beginning to reach the point where I feared I

wouldn't be able to pay.

I couldn't help but let out a nervous sigh as I watched Quun pick out more and

more ingots.

◇ ◇ ◇

"That's quite a lot... I can't help but wonder what it is you even intend to

make."

The king of Gandhilis gasped in shock when I listed off everything I'd put in my

[Storage]. But honestly, he couldn't have been any more horrified than I was.

I'd ended up buying far, far more than I'd anticipated. Did they really need this

much? Just how many things were they planning to make?

I could only assume they were going to make the Over Gear and the

underwater Frame Gears at the same time. Quun wouldn't tell me, though.

Instead, she just grinned. She and Doc Babylon were far too secretive for their

own good. I was their sponsor, so they could at least let me in on the details!

"So, uh, how much am I gonna owe you?"

"O-Oh, well..."

The king looked a little awkward as he scrawled out a number on a piece of

paper and handed it over to me.

Huh? Wait. This is way cheaper than I thought...

"Uh...isn't this too big a discount?"

"Yes, but there's also the matter I wanted to discuss with you, remember? If

you can help me with it, I'll mark down the price to the amount on this paper."

Figures there'd be a catch. Wonder what he wants from me.

"Look over this map, would you?" he requested as he spread a map of

Gandhilis out over a nearby table. It was a map that had been created thanks to

the data from my phone that I'd provided to the world leaders a while ago. The

capital city of Gandhilis rested in the center.

"This city here, Mercurium, has the biggest mine in the entire nation.

However, the Gandhola Mountains sit between it and the capital. The only way

to transport ore from that bountiful mine is by expending vast resources flying

them over the mountains or carting them around the entire stretch."

Hmm... I bet you can't carry much ore on an airship. It's too heavy. The

mountain routes aren't great either. It's a pretty long distance just to haul

resources...which is why I think I know what he's gonna ask.

"So you want me to dig you a tunnel here, huh?"

I tapped a finger on the map and traced it from Mercurium to the capital. The

king smirked, and that was when I knew I was bang on the money.

"In all honesty, yes. That's about what I need from you. We've always wanted

to build a tunnel, but there are structural risks at play. Our previous attempts

have led to cave-ins and other dangers. But this magic from the eastern

continent, Earth magic specifically, may well be what we need."

That made sense. Earth magic could be used to dig through an area while

simultaneously reinforcing the surrounding area to prevent any cave-ins. It was

basically the same as a tunneling shield from Earth.

"This is quite the distance, though..."

When we were preparing the trail for the magic train, I'd dug out a huge

tunnel through the mountain range that bordered Belfast and Refreese, but this

tunnel would be nearly twice as long as that. It was over a hundred kilometers

at a glance. It wasn't an impossible request, but I also didn't feel like wasting a

ton of time on it. And so, I decided that I'd just dig it all out in one go.

"All right, cool. I'll do it."

"Oh?! You will?!"

"Sure. So, where do you want me to start? Oh, and where do you want me to

end it?"

"Mmm... The shortest distance between Mercurium and the capital would be

the best, I think."

As the king and I deliberated on the details, Leen was having a spot of tea

with the queen. Leen was a grand duchess of Brunhild, after all. When it came

to meeting other royals, she had to act the part. Her daughter, however...

"Oho ho ho ho ho! Ether lines all the way through the structure? Most

fascinating... Oooh! Is it for emergency power settings, perhaps? That's very,

very fascinating..."

Quun was hassling one of the royal guard Gollems as it stood in the corner... I

could only hope that nobody in the palace recognized her as my daughter...or

we'd be breaking several rules of decorum.

The Gollem remained motionless as Quun eagerly inspected every one of its

joints. Even though I knew it was just a machine, I couldn't help but feel bad for

it.

"Sorry about her..."

"No, not at all. If anything, I'm honored by her keen interest in my nation's

Gollems."

I smiled awkwardly at the king, and he simply smiled back. I could tell he was

trying to be polite, given what I was about to do for his country.

"My, I'd expect no less from royal Gollems. What intricate wiring... Maybe I

can open this one up and..."

You better stop, Quun... I can see veins bulging out of Leen's forehead. It'll be

your funeral if she... Oh. Oh no! There she goes.

Leen quietly murmured an apology to the queen before standing up and

marching straight toward Quun. I could barely watch what was about to unfold.

Quun didn't even notice Leen's approach. She was so absorbed in her

inspection of the Gollem that she couldn't avoid the attack from behind. Leen's

fists closed in on Quun's temples, grinding and pressing in hard.

"Hm... If we were to design it this way, then the friction coefficient would—

Ow! Owowowowow! M-Mother?! Why?!"

"Quun... Would you please behave? Are you trying to make us look bad?"

I could only watch as Leen continued to press her knuckles in against Quun's

head. Even Paula seemed terrified by the sight.

"...Sorry about them," I said.

"Oh, don't worry..." the king replied, no longer bothering to hide his

confusion.

We finished finalizing the start and end points for the tunnel, as well as

agreeing upon the width. I figured if we introduced a magic train to Gandhilis

later on, it'd be better to have a tunnel big enough for one.

"Darling, can we help dig the tunnel?"

"What, mother? Me too?"

"You're benefiting from these materials, no? You should earn them."

"Okaaay..." Quun grumbled quietly. She was probably just happy to be free of

the deadly attack. I had a feeling Leen would've resumed her assault had the

girl refused to join in.

Much like Leen, Quun had an aptitude for every magical element except

darkness. That meant they could both use Earth magic. With their help, we'd

get done that much faster.

I nodded my head, ready for some parent-child cooperation.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Come forth, Earth. Perforating Excavation: [Dig Spiral]!"

"Come forth, Earth. Barrier of the Mother Soil: [Earth Wall]!"

Leen and Quun took their positions on either side of the hole I'd made,

immediately reinforcing the hole I'd dug out. The excavated soil was packed

tight by the [Earth Wall] spell, then smoothed out and made into a perfect

hallway.

I could dig about ten kilometers with each cast, then use [Teleport] to get to

the end of the area I'd dug out. At that rate, it would only take about ten casts

to reach the other side of the mountain range.

"We'll need to put some wards up to keep monsters from nesting in here."

If that happened, this place would turn into one long dungeon tunnel, and

there'd be no way to escape if you ran into any monsters halfway through,

which wouldn't exactly be good for Gandhilis.

"We'll have to add a rest stop too, I think. Maybe more than one, even."

"A ventilation system would also work wonders."

Gollem carriages moved at a speed of roughly twenty to thirty kilometers an

hour. That meant spending about four or five hours in the tunnel, so a rest stop

seemed necessary.

After digging about halfway, we carved out a large room to act as a rest

facility. Then, I dug a few small holes upward for ventilation.

"I almost feel like a mole, digging like this."

"I can't blame you, darling. How do the dwarves live like this every day?

Though, I suppose they're often hunting for ore, so it's probably worth it."

"It'd be nice if we hit an ore vein during all this. They might give us a discount

if we strike big."

As we were talking, a huge mole with giant claws suddenly dug up from the

soft earth below us. Paula trembled and clung to Leen's leg.

"Wow, that's rare! It's a giant mole. What are the odds of finding one of

those?"

"It appeared because you tempted fate with your words, father."

"What? It wasn't my fault."

I'm pretty sure it was attracted to the sounds of our magic. It couldn't have

shown up just because I mentioned moles, right?

"Graaargh!" the giant mole roared, glaring at us from down the passageway

and brandishing its claws before charging directly at us.

Hmm... Maybe it heard me after all? It was probably attracted to our voices.

Bet it thinks it found some food or something.

I wasn't really sure how to handle it, but...

"[Aqua Cutter]."

"Ah."

"Gyaghaaah!"

Quun cut in with a spell, promptly dispatching the beast. The mole was at

least six meters tall, yet it had been sliced in half like a stick of bamboo. I

couldn't believe it...

"Honestly...you should consider the spell you're using, girl."

"Hm? But Fire magic wouldn't be good in this tunnel, right? Water magic

made the most sense."

"You're not wrong about that, but your method was flawed. Even if darling

places the body in [Storage], you've still stained the ground with blood."

Leen wasn't wrong. I could already smell the coppery scent of blood as it

pooled around the giant mole. It was rather gruesome.

I shoved the remains of the dead giant mole into my [Storage], then used

some Wind magic to waft the immediate scent of blood and decay off into the

air.

"Using Water magic to choke the creature or Ice magic to seal its body or

freeze it would've been smarter, dear."

"Hmph... I'll try that next time, I guess."

Leen smiled and patted her sulking daughter on the head. Quun was a smart

girl, so she likely would have figured out that stuff on her own at some

point...but that didn't save her from her own impulsive nature. She'd made a

mistake.

We kept on digging, and whenever another mole or a giant worm or

something showed up, Quun showed us that she'd learned her lesson by

promptly dealing with them through her Ice magic. These creatures seemed to

be pretty common in this earthy tunnel, so I made a mental note to put up

proper wards once the construction was complete. As I thought about that, I

casually activated [Dig Spiral] again, excavating more of the soil in front of

me...except my spell ended up hitting an open area.

At first, I thought maybe we'd reached the other side, but it couldn't have

been that. We still had a good deal of mountain to get through, after all.

"Hm? Is this a cave of some sort?"

"Oh. Perhaps it's a limestone cavern."

The tunnel was dark, so Leen and I had one [Light Orb] each cast above our

heads, but even the light from those couldn't fully illuminate the hole I'd

tunneled into.

Quun made an orb of her own and ran over to the opening.

Hey, wait! That's dangerous, you moron!

"My goodness! Father! Mother! Look down here!"

"Hm? What is it?"

Leen and I were a little surprised by Quun's excited voice, so we hurried over

to look.

"Wait, what in the world?!"

There was a dim light within the cave, like the kind you'd see faintly emitted

from luminous moss, but that wasn't what caught my attention. No, what I

couldn't help but look away from was the sight of the massive city spread out

beneath us. We were high up above it, but looking down I could see roads,

buildings, obelisks, fortified structures, and even a pyramid. It was an

underground city... Or, to be more specific, it was the ruins of an underground

city. Some of the buildings were clearly in a state of disrepair...and I couldn't

see any movement. Though, I was looking from a far distance, so I could've

been wrong.

I wondered if it was a city from an ancient civilization or something. Whatever

it was, I hadn't anticipated bumping into it during my tunnel digging operation.

"That's incredible! I don't remember anything like this being on the maps, not

even in the future! What a discovery!"

"I have to agree with her, darling. This is quite the find. We might get some

free resources out of this discovery."

"Hah. That would be nice. Maybe I'll save enough money to treat us to a nice

dinner, huh?"

Quun was raving excitedly, while Leen and I exchanged some playful banter.

Still, there was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I'd just found

something troublesome. After all, Quun was acting as if she'd never even heard

of this place. Did that mean I'd changed the future? Or perhaps Gandhilis had

elected to hide it? But why would they have done that?

I quickly called up the king and he seemed just as excited about the discovery

as Quun was. He immediately said he'd be on his way, then hung up.

...He's on his way? But even if he comes by airship, it'll take a while to get all

the way through here... Maybe I should go pick him up? Nah, I'm sure it'll be

fine. Guy'll be an hour or two tops, probably.

"Father! Father! Let's investigate! Please? Can we?!"

Hmm... I doubt I'm gonna be able to keep Quun under control until the king

gets here. We should probably scout it out and make sure it's safe, right? It'd be

bad if the place was home to monsters, like those moles and worms.

In the end, we decided to follow Quun through the hole I'd opened. The way

down was a sheer drop, so I used [Fly] to get us down safely.

I landed in what seemed to be a plaza, but the paving stones were cracked

and many of the buildings were on the verge of collapse. Like I'd assumed, it

was an abandoned city.

"It's like this because protective spells aren't very common on the western

continent. Only Gollems get that kind of treatment, as far as I know."

"Yes. It'd be difficult to protect an entire city from wear and tear without

large-scale protection spells."

Doc Babylon had told me that the buildings from her era were usually

reinforced with Earth magic, then kept free from natural erosion with

protection spells. However, because such magic wasn't common on the western

continent, it wasn't used for things as regular as buildings. Only especially

valuable things were treated with that kind of magic. That potentially meant we

could find preserved treasure...

I wasn't quite as excited as Quun, but the prospect did intrigue me. But, as if

to put a damper on my excitement, I suddenly heard a noise from the dark.

"...You guys hear that? Is something out there?"

More noises began to ring out from the dark. The three of us stood on edge,

waiting to face whatever was shambling our way.

We kept hearing metallic clunking noises...and before long, a Gollem emerged

from the shadows. It was slowly crawling our way. It was about the same size as

an average man. At a glance, one might assume him to be a knight clad in brass

armor, but his face was largely featureless and he had a single mechanical eye

that slowly veered from left to right. Four exhaust vents jutted out from its

back, a glittering gas slowly leaking from the pipes. The gas also vented out of

the Gollem's limbs and joints as if it was on the verge of falling apart.

Several of these brass Gollems shambled out from the dark of the city. They

weren't armed, but the way they slowly lumbered or crawled toward us made

them look like zombies from a horror flick.

"Never thought the city would be filled with weird Gollems..."

"What shall we do, darling? Should we destroy them?"

"Huh?! What was that, mother?! These are valuable legacy Gollems! We

couldn't possibly do that! If we break them, we might not be able to reassemble

them!"

"...Please save your troublesome prattling for another time, Quun."

Leen let out a frustrated sigh as Quun began to panic. I could understand my

daughter's feelings, but I wasn't about to let these things just attack us.

Since Quun seemed worried, I quietly decided to at least spare one. I could

just deactivate it instead of destroying it, after all.

Right when I began to invoke [Eternal Coffin] to capture some Gollems, a

woman's voice rang out, saying, "Fall back, my children. You shall not harm

these intruders."

The sudden voice caught us unawares, but then the brass Gollems began to

slowly slink away from us. And then, out of the shadows, came a woman. She

wore a loose-fitting white toga, the kind you'd stereotypically see in media

depicting the Romans. Her silver hair glimmered in the dark and her eyes

gleamed gold. A beautiful smile crept across her face as she bowed in the dark.

"Welcome, overdwellers. Welcome to Agartha, the mechanical city."

The silver-haired woman...warmly welcomed us.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Agartha?"

"That's right. This city was founded by refugees who fled Darnassia, a

civilization that once thrived to the north," the silver-haired woman answered,

smiling all the while.

"...Darnassia? Never heard of it."

"Darnassia was one of two ancient countries that once vied for supremacy on

the western continent, father," Quun chimed in, filling in the blanks.

I'd heard of the two ancient civilizations, but I didn't know Darnassia was one

of them. In the Reverse World's history, legends told of an ancient Gollem war

that erupted between two nations, leading to widespread devastation. The

current world of the western continent was what rose from the ashes of that

war.

"During the great war, there were those who didn't wish to engage in

combat. They fled their homeland, came across this underground facility, and

hoped to wait out the conflict here. Yet decades passed and the war showed no

signs of ending, thus the people came to call Agartha their new home."

"Hm... That makes sense. From what I recall, the war lasted over three

hundred years..." Quun mumbled.

Her words seemed to corroborate the woman's story. Though personally, I

found the idea of a war that could last hundreds of years hard to swallow. Then

again, there was the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years' War back on Earth. It

had technically ended after a year when one of the sides surrendered, but there

was no formal treaty signed by either party. So later on, historians noticed this

and went, "Wait..did this war actually end?" and then a formal declaration was

finally signed over three hundred years later. It was a funny story, really. If only

all wars ended so peacefully, without a single shot fired.

"Does that mean you're a descendant of those ancients?" Leen asked, raising

a brow as she brought her question to the toga-wearing woman who simply

shook her head in response.

Oh? She's not?

"The people that settled here slowly dwindled in number, and after about

two hundred years, they all died out. It's difficult for humans to survive beneath

the ground, away from the light above, after all."

Oh, yeah... No daylight. Being cooped up with the curtains closed is bad

enough, so I can only imagine what living this far beneath the ground must be

like.

"Ah. It was likely due to Vitamin D deficiency. That can leave one far more

susceptible to death through disease, and is a considerable cause of

osteoporosis."

"You sure know plenty, Leen..."

"I read about it in a book I brought back from your home, darling."

Leen had picked up just about every textbook she could get her hands on

during our honeymoon. I wouldn't have been surprised if she knew more than

me about Earth at this point.

Hold up... If all the people died, then what's with this woman? Who is she?

Didn't that war end like five thousand years ago? Unless...

Quun suddenly snapped her fingers, her eyes widening.

"I see! You're a humanoid Gollem, aren't you?"

"I am. My name is PEL-42. I am from the Perlagione Series of healthcare

Gollems. My individual name is Perlulushka," Perlulushka replied, bowing her

head.

A humanoid Gollem, huh...? Legacy Gollems really are on another level. I took

her for a human. Though I guess looking at her eyes, the irises are a little

different from a normal person's. Honestly, she's like Cesca or any of the

Babylon sisters. It's pretty crazy.

Leen shot a confused glance at her and asked, "You're a healthcare Gollem?

Then why did the people here die?"

"They died in spite of my best effort. As generations continued, fear of the

outer world only intensified. They chose to wither here instead of venture

outside. The land above was an earthly hell, or so they said. Thus, they resolved

to stay."

Hmm... Guess the folklore carried on from generation to generation until the

younger people were too scared to go up there. Well, I can't exactly blame the

refugees for not wanting their kids to go above ground and possibly face

murderous robots.

"So you've been tending to this empty city all this time?"

"I have. Even after this place became the city of Gollems, even after all the

people died, I have remained. I stay in a low power state, but occasionally I

wake to survey the surroundings. I've taken it upon myself to be the warden of

this dead city, as well as the Gigantes."

"The what now?"

Perlulushka raised her hand slowly, pointing off toward something far in the

dark. The dim lights of the city were enough for me to make out that she was

pointing at something large not far from the pyramid-like building, but I

couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

"Come forth, Light! Sublime Incandescence: [Megabright]."

Leen cast a spell to illuminate the dark. The ball of light she conjured made its

way to the tip of the pyramid, lighting up the entire city as if it was just a small

room. And that was when I saw what was behind the pyramid.

A massive machine, half-buried in a wall, towered over the city. It was an

unfathomably large Gollem with a strangely humanoid form. However, the

most shocking thing about it was that I'd seen something identical to it before.

"The Hecatoncheir?!"

It looked almost identical to the ancient weapon that the witch-king of

Isengard had attempted to restore.

"...Hecatoncheir? You mean the one you fought in Isengard, father?!"

"Oh? You're familiar with the endweapons? That machine over there,

Gigantes, is a match for the Hecatoncheir. It is the foul legacy left behind by my

ancient masters..."

In other words...this ancient city wasn't a city at all. It was a production

facility of sorts. A factory that rested deep underground that produced

Darnassia's most heinous weapons of war.

When the refugees had come here, everyone working in the facility was dead.

Their bodies were twisted in agony. It wasn't known if there was an accident, or

if there'd been some kind of sabotage involving poison gas, but once they'd

confirmed the immediate area was safe, the Darnassian refugees decided to live

in this place. As frightening as it was, it was safer than the war above ground.

Unfortunately, the people gradually learned horrifying information as they

combed over the research notes that had been left behind. The Gigantes

weapon had already been completed. It was just in a dormant state.

"The Gigantes is currently in a state I would refer to as sleep mode. But if it

was to be activated, it would begin to act based upon its final orders. And

regrettably, it had only one command. Defeat the enemy."

"And who would be the enemy?"

"All Gollems that aren't affiliated with Darnassia."

What the hell kind of order is that?! If this thing wakes up, it's just gonna start

attacking every Gollem in the world!

"The Gigantes has no reason to exist other than that one order imprinted

within it. Even without a contracted master, it shall attempt to carry out that

duty indiscriminately. And it won't just stop at Gollems either. Anything

unrelated to its homeland will be scorched. People, cities, countries. That is why

this is such a foul legacy. For when it awakes, it shall raze the entire world."

The witch-king had mentioned something about how at the end of the great

war, multiple countries scrambled to make ultimate weapons. Perlulushka had

referred to this thing as an endweapon too. I could only assume the Gigantes

was made to combat whatever country had produced the Hecatoncheir.

"This is apocalyptic... What do you make of it, darling?"

"Hrm... Sounds like it'll be a problem, so maybe we should just trash it."

"You can't think of destroying it! That would be a waste! Er, I mean...I know

it's a threat to world peace and all, but still..." Quun objected before shirking

back as both Leen and I glared at her.

This is kind of an annoying situation, though. I'm in another country's

territory, so I can't just destroy this thing without running it by the king. I dunno

if I have the right to do that. Sure, I found it, but it's technically in Gandhilese

territory. Still, even if Gandhilis claims it, I'll have to make sure it can't actively

be used. That's way too risky.

"Can I go take a look at it?"

"...So long as you do nothing to disturb it, you may. Please take extreme

caution."

Gollems without masters were still conditioned to obey humans within all

reasonable bounds, so Perlulushka accepted my request. It was probably a little

awkward for her, though, since she was the protector of this place. I could

understand her apprehension. Plus, the first thing it would target upon

awakening would be the Gollems in the immediate area...and she probably

wasn't that eager to die after surviving this long.

Perlulushka led us over to the Gigantes. As I got closer, I realized it wasn't

really embedded in a wall, it was more that the cavernous area around it had

caved in and covered it.

Right when I was about to take another step, Perlulushka stopped me.

"Don't go any further than that. Watch and see."

Perlulushka picked up a small rock and tossed it toward the Gigantes. The

second the rock flew through the air and made it a little bit past where I was

standing, a laser sight beam suddenly locked onto it. Then, a gun popped out of

the gigantic Gollem and fired a single shot, blasting it to smithereens.

The sight caused Quun to blink in surprise. Then she smirked and said, "So it

has an active interception system, does it?"

"It does. The system functions independently of the Gigantes. It targets

anything and everything within a certain range."

Wow, talk about intense. Guess that explains why nobody from Agartha ever

destroyed the thing.

"So, uh, what do you want to do with it?"

"We of this city are Gollems. We obey the will of mankind. Whatever you and

the other humans decide is our course, though my personal hope is that you

will fulfill the wishes of those who once called Agartha home. That you will

destroy the Gigantes and restore peace to this land."

The refugees who came to settle Agartha must have spent generations

trembling in fear of not only the outside world, but this terrifying Gollem on

their doorstep. Given that she must have been witness to this generational

trauma, I could understand Perlulushka's feelings.

"Father. [Prison] should suffice here, no?"

"Yep, yep..."

I couldn't help but feel like my daughter was treating me like a utility tool, but

I understood what she was getting at. And so, I activated [Prison] and took a

step forward. A tracing laser sight settled on me, then several others, but none

of their shots hit me.

Perlulushka stared in wonder as the bullets bounced off the invisible barrier

around me. I was a little amused at how expressive she was. Given that she was

a medical machine, she probably needed to be able to display more humanity

than most of her fellow Gollems.

It would've been more convenient just to destroy the turrets firing at us, but I

didn't want to disturb the Gigantes and wake it by accident. It was annoying,

but it was better to be safe than sorry.

I had Perlulushka, Quun, and Leen join me inside the protective barrier. We

then made our way toward the Gigantes's foot together.

"Oh yes, the mana circuit here is alive and well... The ether lines are running

all along its surface... Incredible. Does this have a dampening effect, I wonder?

It's almost like a soft defensive line of magic. Not even charged bullets would

have any effect..."

...Crap. Quun's nerding out again. Guess I can't be surprised, but it sure is

tiring.

"Speak more plainly, Quun. Can we destroy this thing?"

"Well...the ether lines and the mana circuit work in tandem to create

something equivalent to human skin. In other words, when it's attacked, or

touched, the ether lines work like nerves to tell the Gollem what happened. If

you don't destroy it in one instantaneous attack, the Gigantes will awaken. Even

the slightest touch is probably enough to make it activate."

...So, in other words, we can't go near this thing without risking an extinctionlevel threat. I sure dug the wrong tunnel today, didn't I...?

"Hmm... It'll be a bit of a pain, but I can probably destroy it in one go. I could

open up a [Gate] under it and send it into a volcano, maybe..."

"I'm not so sure that would do the trick, darling. Its defensive functions would

probably shirk off the lava, and then it would simply crawl back out of the

crater."

Leen promptly shot down my suggestion, and I couldn't argue with her. At the

very least, I couldn't dismiss the possibility. I didn't want to gamble with

something so risky either...since an exploding volcano wouldn't have been

much good for the world.

"It might be a good idea to move it, though. If we transport it someplace

uninhabited and fight it with multiple Frame Gears, I'm sure we'd win."

That definitely made sense to me. It was an apocalyptic weapon, but it

couldn't be stronger than the wicked god. I was sure I'd be able to take it down

if I had all my wives supporting me.

Hmm... I really need to talk to the king about all this, but he's probably left the

castle by now, so I can't just teleport to him.

I estimated that it'd probably be about an hour or so before he reached us, so

I decided to return to Agartha and wait. We left the Gigantes behind and had

Perlulushka show us around the city. Since the place was an ancient weapons

facility, Quun was practically giddy as she walked through the streets.

An hour passed by in the blink of an eye as Quun meticulously documented

everything she came across. At one point I looked up and noticed King Gandhilis

and his men peering through the hole I'd made above.

"I had no idea my country was home to such ancient terror..." King Gandhilis

mumbled as he and his entourage looked across the city and the Gigantes with

faces that seemed both awestruck and horrified at the same time.

I quickly introduced Perlulushka and briefed them on the matter at hand. The

Gigantes situation wasn't something I wanted to neglect, after all.

"An ancient civilization's weapon of mass destruction... I knew of Isengard's,

but to think we had one too... This is indeed a troubling matter."

King Gandhilis sat there in thought, pinching the bridge of his nose. I could

understand his dilemma. Gandhilis had a great many engineers and researchers

who would surely have loved to investigate every inch of the ancient weapon,

but if they handled it in the wrong way, then the entire world would be at risk.

"Your Majesty, this is a prime opportunity for our nation. Should we reverse

engineer this Gollem, we can learn untold secrets of the past..."

"And risk doing what Isengard did? Risk scarring the world further? Are you

mad? I can't simply weigh this situation myself, it is far beyond a single man

such as I..." King Gandhilis let out a deep sigh as he admonished the soldier

who'd spoken up.

Eventually, he stood up, looking over at the Gigantes, and said, "This ancient

technology would be a boon to Gandhilis, that much is true. Yet I cannot risk

the safety of my people. I would defer to the Grand Duke of Brunhild on this

matter. However, should there be wreckage after all is said and done...I would

like to have my engineers examine it."

"Sure, that sounds fair. We'll have Elluka and some assistants go over it with

you."

The assistants I had in mind were Doc Babylon and maybe some of the

gynoids, but I had a feeling the professor would want to investigate the Gollem

as well.

"I'll move the Gigantes to a place without any people in it, and then we'll fight

it until it's broken."

I'm gonna have to call everyone in for this, aren't I? I guess that includes the

kids too...? I dunno, though.

"Oh, might I be able to watch you fight it?"

"I would also like to see the Gigantes face its end."

Both King Gandhilis and Perlulushka requested to be present for the battle.

Given that Perlulushka had been watching over it for thousands of years, I could

understand why she'd want to see the end of it. The king probably wanted to

confirm the destruction for the sake of his country, and I didn't have a problem

with offering the two of them peace of mind.

"Mmm... I guess it's fine, but..."

I didn't know what kind of weaponry the thing had, so I didn't want to put

either of them at risk. In the end, I decided to set up a live feed and have them

watch on a monitor. I also figured that the kids could watch the feed as well, so

they could feel involved without being in any actual danger.

...It was starting to feel like I was setting up some exclusive showing for a

mecha movie or something.