If You’re Prepared, There’s Nothing To Fear! Part 2

"I know it's strange, but it's simply Touya being himself..."

"...Good grief... I know that's how it is, but we should really consider

ourselves lucky..."

"Hm... how so?" I'd accidentally found myself listening in on a conversation

between the emperor of Regulus and the king of Belfast. They were both

looking up at the Chevalier while chatting with one another.

"Well, think about it this way. If the lad were too ambitious or reckless, he

could've easily wiped any of us off the map. He's in a position of extreme

power, and none of us could really resist him if he put his mind toward

hostility."

"Hm, perhaps, but... I don't really think he'd be the sort to make a turn like

that. Goodness, what kind of person must you be to expect something like

that?" The emperor of Refreese and the beastking of Mismede also interjected.

It was hard to tell if I was being praised or criticized, honestly.

"Touya is not the ambitiously hostile type, I can assure you. I know he is kind

and just, and he is most assuredly our friend and ally." Her Holiness the Pope of

Ramissh spoke up with a calm expression on her face. In a way, she was the

only person in the room to know my true nature better than anyone else. That

being said, I definitely wasn't the holy messenger she thought I was.

Unfortunate as it may have been, I was no angel.

"That aside, this thing is incredible... Can it really move?"

"Indeed it can. It functions similarly to the Frame Units." Cloud, King of

Lihnea, was gazing up at the Frame Gear with amazement in his eyes.

I'd gathered all of the western allied leaders in Brunhild to show them the

Frame Gear. The knight bodyguards that each leader brought with them stared

up at it with amazed or shocked expressions. Wasn't too surprising, all things

considered.

"So... What is this thing for?"

"I suppose you could call it a hobby of sorts... for now. But formally, you could

consider it an anti-Behemoth measure."

"Ah, the Behemoths. Yes, this thing could definitely reduce the damage done

by those beasts." The King of Belfast nodded confidently, as if he agreed with

the usage. The reality of the situation was different, of course.

I couldn't afford to let the world leaders know just yet, so for the time being

I'd only let Guildmaster Relisha in on the truth about the Phrase. Her

intelligence network was valuable enough for me to bring her into the fold on

the subject. Plus, I saw no point in getting foreign entities involved in situations

that may or may not end up actually happening. Not to mention the fact that I

had no real proof, either.

I decided that for now the best course of action was to make quiet

preparations, so that if push came to shove... We'd be able to deal with the

situation. I had to consider what was best for everyone.

Revealing the Frame Gear to the public was a necessary step to this end.

"Hm... Touya... Could we perhaps take it for a ride?"

"Yes, of course! Riding it is a matter of grave importance!" Both the king of

Belfast and the beastking of Mismede stared at me with passion in their eyes.

Their unsettling gazes were focused entirely on me, silently screaming "let us

ride it" at me.

"Well... I don't see why not, but... I believe it would be better to have a guard

ride it first, to ensure safety. Don't you agree, Gaspar?"

"Hm...? Me?" The one-eyed military commander of the Regulus Empire,

Gaspar, looked over at me with a curious expression. All the guards here had

ridden the Frame Units in the playroom, after all. It was for that reason that I

didn't think they'd have any issues handling the Frame Gear.

"Don't worry or anything. I installed a special feature in case of unexpected

circumstances. There's an emergency stop function." I had an emergency stop

installed on the Frame Gear as a safety measure. It was operated from my

smartphone, and functioned by limiting a Frame Gear's movements. So, for

example, if Gaspar were to decide to use the Frame Gear to attack everyone in

this room... he wouldn't be able to move at all. Not that I expected a good man

like him to do such a thing.

Gaspar clambered up and boarded the Chevalier, after acquiring the

emperor's permission, of course.

"What do you think? Not too different to a Frame Unit, is it?"

"Yeah... You're quite right, I'm familiar with the controls."

"Well then, by all means. Give it a shot." I communicated with Gaspar through

a receiver module, and told everyone around the Frame Gear to stand back.

I heard the familiar start-up whirring, and the heavy knight gear sprung to life.

After Gaspar's successful run, there was a small dispute about who would get

to ride the Frame Gear first, but otherwise there wasn't much of anything to

worry about. All the leaders (with the exception of Her Holiness the Pope) had

the chance to pilot the Frame Gear, and... surprisingly, they all operated the

thing with a great deal of finesse.

I also made a promise to loan out the Frame Gear to nations under attack

from Behemoths. I also decided to give each nation six Frame Unit simulators

each, so the countries could train pilots. That way they wouldn't have to rely on

me.

The reasoning I gave them was that six simulators each would allow their

knights to both relax and practice.

The real reasoning was, of course, quiet preparation for the potential Phrase

invasion. If they were being trained for war without knowing, it wasn't going to

hurt them.

Because Belfast and Regulus both had vast territories, the appearance of

Behemoths in their land had a statistically higher chance of happening. I'd

agreed to lend them the Frame Gear in times of need because of that. Ramissh

and Mismede also bordered the Sea of Trees, so it was possible a Behemoth

could charge out of the woodlands and start wrecking them, so pledging my aid

there was fairly logical as well.

Lihnea wasn't really likely to come under assault from a Behemoth... so it

wasn't likely they'd ever need my Frame Gear support. But hey, the worst case

scenario could always happen, so I pledged to protect them as well. A

Behemoth could always rise out of the ocean, after all.

I was pleased to hear that every country in attendance accepted my terms

with little protest, and all seemed content.

I was worried they might demand I make them their own Frame Gears or try

to integrate the technology into their armies or something, but that didn't seem

to be the case.

I was informed that the girl I'd rescued back in Eashen had finally woken up,

so I headed straight for the alchemy lab. By the time I got there, she was no

longer in the Lazarus Capsule, and was instead staying in the lab's bedroom. She

was sitting in bed, wearing light, pajama-like clothing.

Her right hand, resting atop the blanket, had regenerated entirely. I couldn't

see her leg, but I assumed it was in the same pristine condition as well.

I noticed that her hair, which I had initially believed to be pure white, actually

had the tiniest tint of red to it. It made her hair the faintest pink, like the shade

of a cherry blossom. I hoped it wasn't an ill omen, like her hair being sullied by

blood or something.

"...Ah..." The moment she laid eyes on me, a little voice creaked past her lips.

She seemed like she recognized me.

Flora, seated on a chair nearby, waved over and greeted me.

"She's regenerated fully, has she?"

"Ah... S-Sorta... y'know..." Flora frowned softly, and her reply sounded a little

off as well. I wondered what was wrong. "W-Well... the girl's... lost her

memories, you know?"

"What?" According to Flora, the girl had no memories of anything up until the

point where I saved her. She couldn't remember her own name, where she was

born, or even why she was so wounded.

"This isn't a side-effect of that regenerating treatment, is it...?"

"That's impossible, you know?! Maybe if it was her brain being regenerated...

But memory loss due to regrowing a hand and a leg?! That's absurd, you know!

Perhaps you'd like to test it out yourself, you know? I know! I'll chop your little

pecker off and dunk you in a Lazarus Capsule!"

"C-Calm down!" Don't be a dumbass! I'm not gonna go that far just to test a

pet theory! ...Plus if it really was a side effect, I'd lose my memories too! That

aside... how much does she know?

"Do you remember me?" The girl lazily nodded her head forward. So she

definitely still had her memories of me saving her. Right after that, she went in

for the regeneration treatment, so it was far more likely that the attack on her

life itself is what caused the traumatic memory loss.

"What's your name?"

"...I am unsure."

"How'd you get hurt?"

"...I do not know." Guh... What happened here...? I probed her memory for a

bit after that, asking her questions about this and that. Her general

understanding of the world, common sense, reading, writing, numbers, and

Eashen were all intact. She was also knowledgeable about Belfast and Regulus.

But all of her personal memories were gone. She didn't know her name,

where she was born, when she was born, her likes and dislikes, or her familial

situation. As a last-ditch effort, I tried applying [Recovery] on her again, but it

was useless.

"Hm... I'm sure you'll get your memories back one way or another."

"...You..."

"Me?" The girl on the bed turned to look right at me, her light purple eyes

gazing through my very being.

"...Who are you...?"

"Ah, I'm Mochizuki Touya. I'm the grand duke around here... Here being the

Duchy of Brunhild."

"...Grand Duke..." The girl showed a surprised expression for all of two

seconds, then immediately returned to a neutral expression. She didn't seem to

have much in the way of emotional range.

"...This is Brunhild?"

"That's right, yes. I brought you here from a rocky region of Eashen, since

your injuries were so great."

"How...?"

"I used transportation magic." Her eyes once again widened for a brief two

seconds. Then the neutral expression set in again. It was kinda funny, in its own

way.

It would've been pretty bad to reveal the existence of the alchemy lab to an

outsider, so I immediately used [Gate] to transfer the bedroom, everyone, and

everything inside it inside a spare room in the castle.

"What...?" The girl suddenly looked around the room, eyes darting as the

scenery abruptly shifted. I figured that'd be enough for her to believe me about

my transportation magic.

With that, I decided that she could stay in Brunhild for the time being. With

any luck, she'd get her memories back before long.

I could always take her back to Eashen, but the fact that she had no

memories, coupled with the fact that she was probably being targeted didn't

exactly bode well for anyone. Seemed I had no choice.

"It'd be bad if you didn't have a name, you know. Should we see about giving

you one just in the meantime?"

"A... Name... I'm... fine with anything. You decide, Lord." Hmm... bit abrupt,

lemme think here... I think a more Eashen-sounding name would be better than

a traditionally western name... Let's see... Aha, got it.

"Hm... How about Sakura, then?"

"Sakura...?"

"Your hair is a beautiful pink, so I gave you the name of the cherry blossoms in

my home country. If you don't like it, I can think of another." It was a pretty

simple name. But the girl shook her head, regardless.

"Sakura is... nice. Thank you..." I noticed that Sakura, who seemed rather

emotionally muted, was smiling just a little bit.

◇ ◇ ◇

Quite a while had passed, but Sakura showed no signs of regaining her

memories.

In terms of physical health, however, she was fighting fit. Not a single blemish

or scar remained on her skin.

I tried to hand over the medallion that she had with her, but she just looked

at it in confusion. Either way, it was hers, so I insisted she keep hold of it. I was

hoping it might trigger some of her memories or something.

I had suggested we go back to the valley where I'd found her, but she

immediately and firmly refused. Couldn't say I blamed her. Going to the place

where you very almost died was bound to be traumatic.

It almost seemed like she was actively avoiding having her memories return...

I was beginning to wonder if she was actually fine being amnesiac or

something...

I'd never experienced amnesia myself so I couldn't really put myself in her

shoes, but I wondered if her personality right now was the same as it was

before, and if that'd cause some kind of identity crisis down the line... Though I

suppose that'd be more classed as a split personality disorder rather than an

amnesia problem.

I'd read a book somewhere that personalities worked like this. Let's start by

calling a person's default personality A. If a person is having an exceptionally

difficult time in their life, then A may create an ego named B. B will experience

all the rough stuff, and only surface during times of stress, while A is protected

from the harsh experiences. In a way you could call it a defense mechanism,

something that protects the person by making them feel like it happened to

someone else.

I decided there was no use trying to force her memories back out of her or

anything. I was sure that in time, they'd return to the surface.

Sakura eventually regained enough strength to move around again, and the

first thing she said was she wanted to look around my country. I didn't really

have a problem with that, but I assigned Sango and Kokuyou as her bodyguards,

just to be safe.

She seemed to especially enjoy walking out to the construction areas and the

farms. I even spotted her walking around with Linze now and then. I figured the

two probably got along because they were both quiet and reserved,

personality-wise.

"The girl certainly is something... She's strong even in the face of lost

memories."

"I'm not so sure if that's strength or lack of feeling. She doesn't know who or

what she used to be, or anything about her old life... So I imagine it'd be hard to

even grieve." I casually dug holes in the ground as I replied to Julio's musings,

and then began planting cherry blossom trees in the freshly-dug earth.

I didn't think it'd spur Sakura's memory or anything, but I'd been meaning to

bring over some cherry blossoms from Eashen for a while. Winter was coming,

though... So they wouldn't be blooming for a while.

It was a bit late to consider, but I briefly wondered whether or not they'd

actually bloom. Ostensibly the climate in Brunhild was similar to the climate in

Eashen... but I couldn't be certain. I figured if they didn't work out, I could easily

ask Flora to breed a species that would.

The climate in this world was rather unreliable and generally all over the

place. Apparently said instability was the work of spirits.

On a tangentially related note, I think what the cherry blossoms represented

also depended on the region. Cherry blossoms were seen as a symbol of

farewell in the west of Japan, but a symbol of new opportunity in the east. The

difference between a graduation ceremony and an entrance exam, I suppose.

I remember visiting a relative in Aomori during Golden Week, and being

surprised that the cherry blossoms weren't in bloom where he was.

"Julio, have you handled cherry blossoms before?"

"No, I haven't. But this country seems to have a lot of Eashen influence to it,

so I don't think I have to worry too much." That was certainly true. A lot of

people in Brunhild were former residents of Eashen, after all. Tsubaki and her

ninjas, for one, and also the former members of Takeda's Elite Four. We

certainly were a lively bunch! We even had various beastmen and demonkin

working for us.

Brunhild was pretty multicultural, which allowed people of all creeds and

heritages a chance to work and live freely. Getting a job wasn't difficult due to

this.

"Would you like me to plant a row of cherry blossom trees along the road to

the castle? I think it'd look beautiful when they bloomed."

"Yeah, sounds good." I spent my morning with Julio, listening intently to what

he had to say. After that, I went to listen to Tsubaki's report.

"Relations between Palouf and Lihnea are on the mend. War is extremely

unlikely at this point in time."

"That's good. Lihnea's king is working hard, after all. I hope they can make a

peace treaty someday." Tsubaki's agents fanned out across the continent and

passed on information about other countries through the Gate Mirrors that

each of them held. I didn't have agents stationed in the royal palaces of other

countries or anything: it wasn't espionage. I just had them mingling with the

townsfolk, and collecting information as it suited me.

"At present, I would say the most pressing issue is the growing instability in

Eashen."

"Huh? What about Eashen?" I asked Tsubaki for more information, wondering

if it had anything to do with Sakura. It did not. Apparently there were a bunch

of skirmishes going on between the feudal lords and their respective houses.

Nothing on a large scale yet, but it wasn't looking good.

"Eashen was divided between nine houses. Date, Uesugi, Tokugawa, Takeda,

Oda, Hashiba, Chosokabe, Mouri, and Shimazu. Due to the incident you were

involved with, Takeda was dissolved. Consequently, Oda and Tokugawa's power

increased. Then Hashiba merged with Oda. Tokugawa and Oda currently have a

friendly relationship, but Oda is much more powerful right now." I wondered

how it would turn out. In my world, Tokugawa was the one that seized the

power. I wondered if in this case, Oda would pound the mochi, Hashiba would

knead the mochi, and Tokugawa would sit on his butt and devour the mochi.

I suddenly remembered meeting Tokugawa Ieyahsu, and seeing his short,

stocky build and little mustache... It made me suspect history may well go the

same way in this world as well. But I couldn't say for sure, it's not like Eashen

was identical to Japan or anything.

I was concerned about Eashen, but I decided to leave it be for the time being.

If Oedo turned into a danger zone, I intended to evacuate it... Yae's family, at

least.

After Tsubaki was done reporting in, I headed off to the Hangar of Babylon.

A bunch of Heavy Knight Gears, the Chevaliers, were all lined up in their

garages. There were a couple of Knight Barons, as well. As far as ratio went,

there were nine Chevaliers to every one Knight Baron.

It was easy to count off the ratio, but the rate of production was a little more

complex. It took a lot more resources to create a Knight Baron, and it was a

commander-type gear, so it needed a lot more control to handle properly. If it

was simple to control, it would be pointless to make Chevaliers, after all.

As far as things stood, the Chevaliers excelled in defense, while the Knight

Barons excelled in offense. Rosetta and Monica were also hard at work setting

up a new gear type.

I walked through to a garage I'd never been in before, and found myself

staring at a slender, red Frame Gear.

It had massive thrusters on its back and waist, as well as gigantic wheels on its

feet. It definitely stood out as far as Frame Gears went. I noticed Monica and

Rosetta tweaking the waist thrusters, and called out to them.

"So, how long's this one gonna take?"

"Well sir, it should be done by tomorrow, sir! Have you selected a pilot for

this thing yet, master sir?!"

"This is somewhat of a temperamental gear, so it's rather much unsuitable for

mass production. Like, you really need to pick the right person for the job, and

stuff!" This was the Dragon Knight Gear, the Dragoon. If the Chevalier was built

for defense, and the Knight Baron for offense, then the Dragoon was absolutely

built for mobility.

It did have one weakness. To make it extra speedy, its armor was relatively

thin. It was also relatively weak. In all honesty, I wasn't sure if it could pose

much of a threat to the Phrase. I was fairly sure it'd fare well against a

Behemoth, though. One was already in the hangar, and then I had another

made, so there were two in total.

I tried to give it a test pilot run, but the handling was insanely difficult. When I

triggered the Extremespeed Mode and deployed its wheels, it was almost

impossible to maintain my balance. It went without saying... fast things are fast.

I also fell over once my balance reached a tipping point, and the Frame Gear

ended up getting damaged as a result. It wasn't enough to break it or anything,

but I could see it happening easily if the pilot fell repeatedly.

It was a machine that needed finesse to handle. The pilot needed to be

skilled, but even then it didn't boast a lot of power, so it couldn't use heavy

weaponry either. I wasn't sure how to best make use of it. Hmph...

It'd probably be able to use a weapon made out of Phrase fragments. It

should probably even be able to pierce a Phrase if I channeled enough magical

energy into it.

Well, I said should because I hadn't actually had a chance to test Phrase

weaponry on a Phrase yet.

If I equipped the Dragon Knight Gear with something like Yae's Touka blade,

then I could best make use of its mobility in combat.

Still... that would mean having to use Phrase fragments as materials. I still had

some left in storage, but I didn't really have enough to make effective Frame

Gear equipment.

I returned to the castle, only to find Kougyoku flying frantically in my

direction.

"What's going on?"

"I've gotten a report from my bird scouts. An ancient ruin has been

discovered, much like the one on the lone island." Lone island? Oh... the ruin

that brought me to Monica's hangar...! That's great news!

"Where is it?"

"East of the Ryle Kingdom, within the Knight Kingdom, Lestia. It's located

within an abandoned ruin in the southern portion of the country." Oh, Lestia...

That's the place ruled by the Knight King, if I recall properly. And his dad is a

Gold-rank adventurer, just like me.

I was interested in finding out more about the enigmatic Knight King, but I

had different priorities. Babylon took precedence. If the ruins took me to the

Storehouse of Babylon, then I'd have the tactical edge and would be able to

improve my Frame Gears in various ways. I might even get to make a plane or

something. Man, that'd be nice. My own private jet...

I wondered about my next course of action. On all my previous excursions, I'd

flown Babylon there and taken everyone along with me, but now that I had

[Fly] it would be way more convenient to just go there myself.

In the end, I told everyone that the fifth Babylon had been located, but I

intended to go alone. They initially objected, but I reasoned that me flying there

would be considerably faster, and I was the only one that needed to go anyway,

given my aptitude for all elements. After that, they reluctantly agreed. They did

make me promise to bring them over with a [Gate] the moment I set foot on

the new Babylon, though.

That reminded me. Sue had become one of my brides-to-be, but she still

didn't know a thing about Babylon. I hadn't given her an engagement ring yet,

either.

The ring I'd take care of later, but I didn't know if she was ready to learn

about the floating fortress.

I wasn't entirely sure if it was okay to tell Sue. When we first met, I told her a

story based on an old anime, and she immediately told me she wanted to hunt

for a castle in the sky... So she was definitely eager, but... There was a chance

she'd tell Duke Ortlinde, since she was very close with her father.

I asked Yumina for advice. "Sue's a smart girl, it should be safe to tell her the

basics. But on the other hand, she might get too excited and try to hunt for

them herself or something..." That was definitely a possibility. Sue was way too

energetic for her own good. That wouldn't be so much of a problem if she had

strength to match her energy, but I could see her getting herself in trouble.

Thus, I decided to keep my mouth shut for a bit longer.

I told everyone to look after Sakura, and opened up a [Gate] to the place I'd

fought the Behemoth earlier, right on the border of Ryle and the Sea of Trees.

Using that as a base, I cast [Fly] and bolted due east. Thanks to my [Shield]

spell, all the wind pressure was negated. Flying was... a breeze.

After a while of flying, I paused to pull up my map. I was fairly sure I was in

the Knight Kingdom territory, though.

"Let's see here... Ah, a little more southern and eastern... Gotcha." I turned

off my map and, just as I was about to jet off again, I caught an unusual sight in

the corner of my eye. What's that... smoke? Something was smoldering in the

distance. No, something was ablaze.

"[Long Sense]." I used my spying magic to check out what was going on way

over there. What I saw was a town. A town on fire. There were people fleeing

en masse. They were being defended by knights in shining armor. Defended

against horrid creatures that were ravaging the place without mercy.

Monsters of shimmering crystal. The Phrase.

"Ghah...!!" This may sound insensitive, but the people were quite lucky. They

weren't too big. They looked similar to the Cricket Phrase I'd encountered so

long ago.

But, there were a lot of them. I could see about ten of them in the

surrounding area.

They were shaped similar to beetles. Not the typical Japanese rhinoceros

beetle, but closer in form to hercules beetles.

I saw someone swing their blade in the direction of the Beetle Phrase. They

were clad in silver armor, golden hair flowing gallantly behind them. With a

flourishing sword strike, the knight repelled a few of the Beetle Phrase, but only

caused a few surface scratches. Scratches that very quickly healed up.

"No hesitation, no surrender! Are you not knights?! We must secure time for

the townspeople to reach safety! Do not falter, do not yield even an inch of

ground!" It was a girl. She turned her head to the side, barking orders to the

knights behind her. She looked to be about the same age as me. I assumed she

was the leader.

One of the Beetle Phrase fixed its aim on the girl, extended its horn, and

charged as if attempting to pierce her armor.

The female knight deftly parried the strike, performing a rolling dodge to the

side in the process.

Now isn't the time for spectating! I canceled my [Long Sense] and began

hurtling through the air full speed toward them.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Lestian Knights attacked the Beetle Phrase with all their might. But

several of the men were skewered where they stood, powerless against the

relentlessly tough carapaces of their enemies.

"Guh... Wh-Why can't we pierce them...?!" Moving around behind one of the

creatures, the female knight slashed her blade toward its relatively spindly legs.

But, the leg wasn't broken. What shattered was her blade.

"What...?!" She stopped moving, caught by surprise, and another of the

beetles took the opportunity to charge horn-first at her.

"D-Damn it...!"

I suddenly swooped down from the air, used [Storage] to pull out a crystal

Phrase sword and sliced the beast's horn clean off.

And, with a chaining motion, I followed up my attack by stabbing my blade

straight through the beast's core.

The moment I pierced its command center, the creature cracked and

crumbled into pieces.

That was a valuable field test for me: it seemed that they actually were

susceptible to the blades made out of their own bodies. Just so long as I poured

enough magic into it to make it harder, at least. I'd need to remember that, lest

I screw up somehow and hit them with a dull swipe.

The Phrase here were of the lowest caste in their species, so I could easily kill

them by ripping out their cores with [Apport], but I wanted to test the cutting

capabilities of the crystal sword a little more.

"J-Just who are..."

"Cut the chatter. Evacuate the townspeople. We can talk later. For now, leave

them to me."

"V-Very well, then! It's in your hands!" Alright...

"Run Search. Locate all Phrase within a one-kilometer radius. Excluding any

destroyed ones."

"Searching... Search Complete. Eleven Phrase in total." So that means there

were twelve... Let's see, two, four, six... I can only see eight in the immediate

area... Alright.

"Let's dance! [Accel Boost]!" I used my combination spell, mixing the best of

body fortification and speed. I leaped ahead, slicing the cores of two Phrase

cleanly in half. I jumped off at an angle, kicked off a house wall and plunged

downward, piercing a third core with my blade as I landed.

I relentlessly stormed through the town, cleaving an attacking Phrase at the

horn. I gracefully leaped to the side, slicing through its core in the process. I

used my momentum to spin and cut another Phrase much in the same way.

Three remained. I closed the distance in a second, running through two cores

as I charged. The last one was right in front of me, and I simply stabbed it

through the front.

"Run Search. The remaining three Phrase."

"Understood. Displaying." I confirmed the location of the last three on the

map, then jumped up and ran along the rooftops. I saw one of them beneath

me, caught clashing with a few knights. In a flash, I jumped down and reduced it

to pieces.

Ignoring the confused knights, I charged headlong toward the last two.

As I deftly dodged their horned attacks, I moved with a spinning flourish and

mowed down the last two. With that, it was done.

There wasn't even a scratch or chip in the sword I'd used to cut them all

down. Just as I'd hoped, the crystal blade was absolutely perfect for the job.

I stopped supplying magic power to the blade, pulled a sheath out of

[Storage], and put it inside. Since the sheath was also made out of a Phrase

fragment, the two kind of mingled together in an indistinguishable combo.

I looked over, and saw the female knight from earlier staring at me. She

seemed unharmed, that was a relief. I called out to her.

"So, what's the damage?"

"Hm? A-Ah... Well, there are many dead. Townspeople, and knights alike.

Most of the citizens here are severely injured."

"I see... It's a shame so many fell, but I can at least patch up the people who

remain." The girl seemed confused by what I said, and looked over at some of

the fallen knights, but I ignored her. With that, I triggered [Multiple] and

applied healing magic to all the injured people in a one kilometer radius.

The wounded were all embraced by threads of light, and their wounds closed

up. Some knights who were fallen on the streets also stood up, none worse for

wear. The girl stared, wide-eyed at the knights, and then me.

"...Who are you, strange savior? How did you know we needed help? Just

who in the world are you...?"

"I'm Mochizuki Touya. Touya's my given name. I just happened to be passing

through. What about you?"

"A-Ah... Please forgive my rude behavior. I am the First Princess of the Lestia

Knight Kingdom. Hildegard Minas Lestia. We owe you a great debt this day."

Wait what. She's a princess? I just figured she was some knight... She sure

handles the sword well. I guess that's what I should expect from a Knight

Kingdom, huh. I looked her over again. She was tall and slender, with a body

that was proportioned quite nicely. Her hair flowed long and blonde, her eyes

were blue as a clear sky, and her skin was fair. She certainly had the elegant

looks a princess typically had.

Her armor looked to be Mithril, as well. It had golden adornments here and

there, and if I wasn't mistaken I thought I could sense some enchantments on it

as well. The other Lestian Knights didn't have the marking hers did, either. What

appeared to be the emblem of the Lestian Royal Family was engraved on her

breastplate. I did recognize the symbol, since I'd looked a little into the country.

She was telling the truth, as far as I knew.

Welp, guess I better introduce myself properly then.

"No, I was the one being rude. I didn't realize who you were. I hail from the

west, a country located between Belfast and Regulus. Allow me to formally

introduce myself. I'm Mochizuki Touya, grand duke of Brunhild."

"Brunhild?! I-I know of such a place... Ruled over by a just adventurer who

climbed the ranks from rags to riches... The genius mediator who dabbles in the

affairs of the western nations, solving all their woes..." Once my tone changed

and I introduced myself formally, Hildegard seemed absolutely bewildered.

Huh, a mediator? Is that how I'm known, now? I mean, I guess I do whatever I

want no matter where I go, and I host the western alliance meetings... But I'm

also pretty impartial. It's not like I pick and choose who I help based on personal

ties.

She asked to see my guild card, just in case, so I took it from my pocket and

handed it over.

"A-Astounding... This is indeed the same type of golden card as my

grandfather's... Please, forgive my impudent request. I profusely apologize for

harboring even the slightest doubt."

"Don't mention it, honestly. More importantly... Were you referring to the

former king just now? I'd actually quite like to meet the man who holds the

same rank as I." I wanna know what kind of guy he is. He's probably an amazing

fighter. When I mentioned wanting to meet him, the princess made an

awkward little smile. It made me feel a tad uncomfortable.

"W-Well... I'd only ask that you... Reel in your expectations if you do happen

to meet him..."

"Huh?"

"No, don't mind my idle musings. You're quite amazing, honestly. Our entire

band could do nothing against those wretched beasts, yet you struck them

down in a single blow..." The princess muttered as she looked at the broken

Phrase fragments. You stupid? It's more amazing that you parried them without

any magical aid, and you were managing to hold them back. You guys are the

real heroes here!

"These creatures are called the Phrase. They absorb magic, and their physical

resistance is unmatched. Despite their tough bodies, they're still dangerously

flexible. They also have the ability to regenerate. In order to kill them, you need

to destroy the controlling core within their bodies."

"The Phrase..." The princess knight began to tell her story. Apparently she and

her band were headed to training. But all of a sudden, she heard news of a

town coming under attack by monsters that had just appeared from nowhere.

They took a detour and arrived at the town posthaste. But, they found their

weapons did nothing to harm the creatures, so they decided to stall them and

at least let the civilians get to safety. As she told me her story, her fists clenched

just a little bit.

I only saw a glimpse, but Hildegard was clearly adept at swordplay. I wasn't so

sure she'd lose to someone like Yae, even.

What happened here was that her opponent was simply too much for a single

human to handle. That was all there was to it.

"Oh right, would you mind if I collected up the pieces of the Phrase?"

"Hm? Ah... Yes, that's quite fine. You are the one that killed them after all,

Your Grace..." An unspoken rule amongst adventurers was that to the victor go

the spoils. Parties often divided their loot up, but solo fighters didn't need to

worry about such things. I gathered up all the broken Phrase fragments at once,

and sucked them into [Storage]. A bunch of knights jumped up in surprise as

the dead monsters sank into the ground.

Great. This was an unexpected boon! Sure they're low-level, but there's twelve

so I can definitely make a bunch of stuff with this. Though... There were twelve.

The fact that so many appeared at once is definitely troubling.

"That blade of yours... Is it perhaps made from the same material as the

Phrase?" Hildegard motioned toward the crystal sword. She seemed quite

interested. She certainly had a keen eye. But I guess it was kind of obvious, as

both my blade and the Phrase corpses were made out of identical crystal.

"You're correct. The knights of my country all bear crystal blades and shields

as their default equipment. I'm the only one who can make them, using my Null

magic." I decided to throw in that last little comment to subtly suggest that they

couldn't bother trying to replicate it. I didn't want them suddenly asking me to

return the pieces I'd gathered up just now or anything. Even though [Modeling]

is needed to create the shapes, you also need a ton of magical energy to make

them firm and sharp enough, not to mention the fact that [Gravity] is also

needed to make them more lightweight... I was definitely the only one who

could manufacture gear like that.

"Incredible... I'd be lying to you if I said I did not envy you slightly. I hope

someday I'll be able to wield such a magnificent blade as well." Heh... So she

likes the sword that much, huh... Guess it's why she's staring so intently.

Hmm... There's an idea. I certainly wouldn't lose anything if I made a good

gesture toward the Lestian Princess right about now.

I activated [Storage] and produced another two sheathed crystal swords. I

took the two of them, and the third I'd just wielded, and used [Modeling] to

carve the Lestian Royal Emblem into the handles. Then, I passed all three to

Princess Hildegard.

"Here. A way of remembering our chance encounter. One for the Princess,

one for her esteemed father, and one for her esteemed grandfather."

"No— Wha— Truly?!" Hildegard seemed dumbfounded. She really didn't

expect to ever hold one of these things, let alone three. When I passed them to

her, she adopted a really flustered expression. It was cute.

"A-Are you sure this is quite alright? Are these weapons not a matter of

national confidentiality for Brunhild?"

"Nah. Doesn't really matter who knows about them since I'm the only one

who can produce them. The materials aren't that common, but every one of the

knights in Brunhild wields one. But these three are special. They're ones I made

for my personal use, so they actually outclass the ones my knights wield. Just

pour a little bit of magic into them and they'll operate at their peak. If you place

the edge of the blade faintly on something even like a chunk of iron, it should

cut through it like butter. Also they shouldn't ever break. If the rare event

comes that they do get broken or cracked, they'll regenerate in an instant." The

Knight Princess unsheathed one of the blades and held it up to the light. She

stared at the shimmering sword, quietly channeled a bit of magic into it, and

very weakly hit it against the ruined wall of a nearby crumbling house. The brick

wall was indeed cleaved as smoothly as butter.

"A-Astounding... I can't even feel its weight in my hand. Th-Thank you so

much... If another of these Phrase creatures appears... I will defeat it." I smiled

a little when I saw the princess' happy face, but a nagging thought at the back

of my mind told me it wouldn't be so easy if she fought a Phrase even one rank

above the ones I'd killed today. I killed that thought the moment it surfaced, for

I didn't wish to see her happiness go away.

Okay, I better make a move on. Don't want anyone questioning why a foreign

monarch is here. Better get outta here before that inevitably happens.

Maybe I should appoint someone to take care of state affairs while I'm out

doing stuff like this... So long as they give the throne back when I get home, I

mean.

Maybe I should see about drafting a law that makes it easy to concede the

throne to someone else. Only active while I'm alive, though... Heh, I could even

appoint Kohaku as the state leader in my stead. I wonder if people would end up

calling Kohaku King Tiger, or something... Like that one German tank.

I'll talk to Kousaka about this when I get home... But maybe I shouldn't... AActually you know what? Nevermind. He'll yell at me.

"Now, I have business to attend to, so you'll have to excuse me. It was a

pleasure to meet you, though. I'd love to meet again."

"The pleasure was all mine, Your Grace. Thank you for your gift to my family. I

promise you that I will return the favor to your duchy someday." I didn't really

mind either way... But I was kind of curious about what she had in mind,

regardless.

I invoked [Fly] and the princess looked even more surprised. I grinned at her,

let out a small laugh, and blasted away into the heavens.

Well, that was fun... But now I've gotta focus. Babylon, here I come!

◇ ◇ ◇

After separating from Princess Hildegard, I moved southward. Eventually, the

ruins came into sight. It looked like a bunch of abandoned buildings. There were

a bunch of crumbling stone walls, and rocky pillars here and there.

I saw what appeared to be various dilapidated castles and fortresses, which

certainly caught my eye. All their walls were in a serious state of disrepair.

When I landed, a tiny blue songbird flew over from the surrounding trees. It

was one of the scouts I'd sent out some time ago.

The songbird flew over my head and went off in the direction of the ruins'

center, chirping as if beckoning me to follow.

"Huh... What is this?" In the middle of the ruins, there was an unusual object

similar in composition to the previous objects I'd encountered at Babylon

ruins... But the shape was weird.

The first was a cylinder, the second was a pyramid... But this one was a ring. It

was a huge ring, about four meters in diameter, just sitting there in the middle

of the ruins.

The foundations and bottom half of the ring were completely buried, so it

might've been more appropriate to call it an arch. The ring's material itself was

around 50 centimeters wide... It was also about 30 centimeters thick.

I tried walking through it, but nothing happened. I tried touching it, but I

didn't pass through, either.

"What's up with this thing?" I wondered if, perhaps, it was just coincidentally

similar to the other places I'd been to and didn't actually have anything to do

with Babylon at all.

Come to think of it... Wasn't there something like this in a movie I saw once? I

remember the ring in that movie was like a dial-based portal that could take you

to other planets.

I thought that might be the key, so I tried turning the whole ring like a dial. It

didn't turn. I was beginning to run out of ideas.

I walked around the ring, looking at it. Then I spotted a red stone lodged in

the side. What's this, a spellstone? I looked up, and saw a blue spellstone

lodged in the side as well. I used [Fly] to check out the ring from all angles, and

found even more. Green, brown, yellow, and purple. There were six spellstones

lodged in this thing.

Heh, I get it. So the circle itself is like a gate, and I just have to trigger it in the

usual way.

I poured fire magic into the portion of the circle with the red spellstone, and

the space between the two sides up to the stone became red. I repeated the

process of pouring magic into each stone, until the entire ring was now a

beautiful six-colored rainbow.

Lastly, I poured out Null magic at my feet, and the six colors were mingled

together with the seventh addition. I was enveloped in light, and all went white.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself surrounded by the ever-familiar

scenery of Babylon. A ring, much like the one in the ruins, was behind me.

"Hoh." I could see a similar-looking ring nearby, too. This place seemed bigger

than a standard Babylon island, for whatever reason.

I looked up in the distance, and saw an enormous white tower soaring way up

past the trees. Well, at least it's not the Dark Tower.

Hm... Does that mean this is the tower? I'd kind of prefer it to be the

storehouse, though...

Even though I called it a tower, it didn't have any visible windows,

decorations, or protrusions. And the lower part of it was swollen outward, so it

kind of resembled an Erlenmeyer flask.

"Welcome to the Tower of Babylon. And welcome to my rampart." A sudden

voice rang out, and I turned around in a startled frenzy. A girl stood there, just a

bit shorter than me. She was around Flora's height... But her breasts were

nowhere near as impressive. She was flat!

She wore an outfit much like the one Cesca was wearing when I first met her.

A big difference was the pinstriped jumper skirt. From below said skirt were two

slender legs wrapped in tights. Her hair was short, somewhat wavy, and very

faintly blue.

"Indeed I am the Terminal Gynoid tasked with managing the rampart. My

name is indeed Preliora. You may indeed refer to me as Liora."

"The rampart? I thought this was the tower." Maybe she was defective: I was

clearly looking at a tower. As I stared, I let my surprise be known to her.

"Indeed, that is the Tower of Bayblon. But it's also true indeed that the

rampart is stationed here as well. The tower's transfer ring was indeed

annihilated by an exploding volcano around five hundred and twenty-seven

years ago. After that I, the Terminal Gynoid of the rampart, did indeed meet

with the Terminal Gynoid of the tower around three hundred and seventy-four

years ago. Indeed it was our chance encounter that led to us docking together,

and waiting together for the person with the proper attributes." Liora bowed

her head slowly as she spoke. Hm... So the tower and the rampart docked

together, huh... That's super damn convenient for me! Two in one.

"I do indeed take note of the fact that you are indeed a person with all the

proper aptitude for all elements. However, that does not indeed mean you are

the proper person."

"You sure? The girls at the garden, the workshop, the alchemy lab, and the

hangar all recognize me as proper."

"If it is indeed the case that you have mastered Four Babylons, then... There is

no problem indeed. The rampart is yours." Huh? That was... easy. Not gonna

flash your panties, or make me touch your chest? Not gonna lob a pipe wrench

at me? I suddenly recalled all the stupid things I'd done, and wondered if there

was even a point.

...I can't help but feel a bit unsatisfied, though. N-No, calm down... You didn't

want a weird pervy trial. It's better this way.

"Indeed then. Airframe Number Twenty, Preliora, will now be transferred to

your care. Make sure you take care of me indeed, master." Liora bowed toward

me. Number twenty? Guess that makes you older than Flora. Or... younger?

Monica's number twenty-eight, so I'm not sure about the rules. I guess the

numbers go from twenty to twenty-eight, though.

"Indeed then, master. I'll take you toward the tower's terminal. Right this

way." I followed after Liora, and saw someone sleeping in the shade of a tree.

For a split-second I wondered if she was injured or incapacitated, but she was

definitely just taking a nap.

She wore a large ribbon similar to Liora's, and the same kind of uniform as the

other gynoids. She was a good deal shorter than Liora was, but her breasts were

a bit more developed. They heaved as she snored. She sure was sleeping

deeply.

Her amethyst hair almost reached her waist, and was bunched in two places

around the front of her body with little clasps.

And, there was another matter...

"Er, her skirt..."

"Indeed. I wouldn't mind it. It's how she usually sleeps." No I definitely do

mind it! Her skirt is completely rolled up, I'm getting a face full of panties here!

They're striped! She's wearing striped panties! The girl was lucky that only the

two gynoids lived here, otherwise she'd be putting herself at risk. "Alright, well

uh... Wake her up or something."

"Indeed I will. Noel. It is time to wake up. Pamela Noel, wake up." Liora gently

shook the sleeping girl by the shoulders, but she didn't stir. Liora then placed

her hands under the girl's armpits to lift her up, but she still didn't stir.

"...Is she usually like this?"

"Indeed. We Terminal Gynoids of Babylon had aspects of Doctor Babylon's

personality split across us. Those personality traits manifest and amplify within

us, becoming the core of our being. This one... Noel... Is indeed the perfect

amplification of the Doctor's lazy, apathetic, and procrastinatory tendencies."

Oh, so it's like that, huh... So their personalities are dictated by aspects of the

Doctor's own, and they developed based on those. That explains why they

display that wicked pervert's attitude every so often...

Liora actually seems pretty good, though... Wonder if she contains the only

good part of that good-for-nothing woman's personality.

"Master... Do you perhaps have any food?"

"Huh? I don't really have anything on me... Why? You hungry?"

"It is not for me, no. It may indeed be necessary to provide food to this girl."

What? Food to wake her up? I took out some grilled skewers from [Storage] and

passed them to Liora. They were still piping hot, since I'd put them into the

storage space immediately after cooking them up.

Liora held them in her left hand, moving her right hand in a fanning motion,

wafting the scent over in Noel's direction.

The sleeping girl's nose started to twitch, her head unconsciously craning

toward the scent. Eventually she rose to her feet, staggering over in Liora's

direction. ...Her eyes were still tight shut, though.

"Wake up, Noel. You'll indeed have some skewers to eat if you wake up." As if

responding on cue to Liora's words, Noel's eyes shot open. Her eyes were

fierce, locked on to their target. The target being the skewers in Liora's hand, of

course.

"...Mmh... I'm huNgry... HaveN't had a good meal in Four thousANd nine

hundRed and seven years... Mind if I grab a biTE?"

"Uh... Go ahead..." As soon as she heard my approval, Noel snatched up the

skewer from Liora. She immediately started chowing down on it, swallowing it

all up in but an instant.

...She sounds kinda weird, but damn... If she really hasn't eaten in close to five

thousand years, that's amazing... Then again, Cesca told me they didn't feel any

hunger when they were put under cold sleep. Apparently they get their energy

through a few medicinal mixes and photosynthesis, so they don't actually have

to eat.

"YuM. This stuff is yummy."

"Glad you think so." I don't know if it was the good food or just her becoming

a bit more comfortable, but the girl turned to look at me.

"S'your name?"

"Mochizuki Touya. I was just recognized as a person suitable to control the

rampart, so I'd like the tower to do the same."

"...Certain conditions musT be met iF you're to be seen as suiTable for the

tower. If you go aLong with thEm, then I'll accept yOu." Noel stood up and

turned a sharp gaze my way. ...I can't really take you seriously. You've got sauce

from the skewer on your face...

"Alright, what conditions?"

"YuMmy food. And a wArm bed. GimMe those, and I'lL be fine." ...Well,

that's... simple. The girl herself seems to be. Wonder if she'll be okay like this...

"Sure thing, then. I can have that arranged."

"Okey dOke. You're recogniZEd, then. From now oN, AirfraMe Number

TweNty-Five, Pamela Noel, is in your care. Feed me lOts and lOts, MAster." I see

your mind's in your stomach. But hey, I'm not one to go back on my promises. I

opened up [Storage] and took more skewers out. Noel, wide-eyed and smiling,

grabbed them and wolfed them all down.

"IncreDible, MaSter. I knew I coulD trust you. YuMmy..." After a heavy gulp,

she started licking sauce off her fingers. Yae ate a lot, but I was sure this

robogirl could give her a good run for her money. She kind of brought to mind

the image of a bear just before hibernation.

Noel suddenly turned to face me, gave a little nod, and came closer, like she'd

forgotten something. Before I could even begin to ask her what she was doing,

she stole my lips from me.

"Mghh?!" Her tongue began to invade my mouth, swirling and twirling around

mine. A-Ah... This taste, it's so sweet... No, it's salty, too! It's that damn sauce!

Eventually she parted lips with mine, stuck out her tongue, and used it to wipe

her lips clean of any remaining juices.

"Registration complete. I've goT your GeNEtic code now, maSter. The tower is

yours to command... NoW fEed me. Feed me moRe."

"Geez..." I brought my sleeve to my mouth in order to wipe off the sticky

sauce Noel had gotten on me, but Liora appeared out of nowhere. She grabbed

me firmly by the chin, and wordlessly stole a kiss from me in much the same

way.

"Mghh?!" She caught me off-guard, I couldn't free myself. She'd completely

seized me with all her might. I was powerless to resist as Liora's tongue

wriggled, writhed, and softly vibrated inside my violated mouth.

Wh-What the hell...? This actually feels pretty good... This is different, ahh...

Her movements alternated between rough and gentle, and she greedily suckled

at my lips with a passionate vigor.

Th-This is taking a while, isn't it?! It had been going on for a painfully long

time, so I tried to pull back harder. She didn't let me go. Slowly it got to the

point where I was bent backward, arm extending toward the sky in desperation.

Just as I thought I was gonna pass out, her lips freed mine, and I fell to the

ground. She made me fall lower, in various senses.

"Registration complete. Master's genes are stored indeed. The rampart is

formally yours now indeed, Master." Liora smiled at me, and tilted her head as

if to ask if I was alright. How could I possibly be alright after that?! She almost

reunited me with the old man. "Please accept my most indeed-ious of

apologies, master. I was simply in a daze, as I had never kissed a male before."

"...A male?"

"Yes, indeed. In the distant past, I was Doctor Babylon's... Night attendant. If

you wish, I could take up the same role with you, Master. I'm fine being

penetrated, but I'm indeed fine with doing the penetrating."

"WHAAAT?!" Isn't that a little explicit?! Does she have that technique due to

experience, then?! But what the hell did she mean by fine penetrating, how does

she plan on doing that?! How could she even do that to me?! I thought you were

good, Liora, but you're a no-good weirdo too! Hell, you're the most frightening!

Wait, does that mean the Doctor swung that way?! Was she into chicks? My

head was in an absolute frenzied daze. I wasn't sure how to feel. This is fine. I'm

fine. I pushed the bad thoughts away, and simply convinced myself everything

was fine.

◇ ◇ ◇

Even though it was called the tower, it was only six or seven stories high. It

didn't really have much in the way of windows, and a strange pattern ran up

along the sides in various geometric shapes. The chalk-white walls reflected the

sun's glare intensely.

"LemMe explain. The toWer is... Zzz..."

"Please wake up." ...You're napping already? You just ate! You're gonna get

fat, idiot!

Noel closed her eyes and began to slumber deeply, so Liora picked up where

she left off.

"Indeed, the tower collects mana from the atmosphere and amplifies the

accumulated amount. In a sense, please consider it to be a functional magic

reactor. It is indeed true that each of the Babylon islands have something

similar powering them, but even all of the others combined cannot match up to

the tower's output. You could indeed consider the tower to be the heart of

Babylon as a whole." So if Babylon was a ship, the tower would be the engine. If

it docks with the rest of the Babylons, it'll provide a ton of power.

According to Liora, Babylon would be able to fly much faster with the tower

docked. But more importantly than that, the extra power would increase the

efficiency of the other parts. We'd be able to boost the production speed of the

Frame Gears, and the Ether Liquid. This was actually quite a valuable find.

"The toWEr is alSo uniqUe in that it requires verY little maintenance. Just

gottA fine-tune the thing now and thEn, so it's easy-peasy... Which is why it's

fine if I taKe long naps... G'nigHt..." Noel, who was now leaning against a tree,

opened her eyes to add that, then fell back asleep again. Hey, now... Is Babylon

gonna be okay if the person in charge of its engine is like this? Or... Heh... I guess

Noel's in charge of the tower because of how low-maintenance it is. She

wouldn't wake up even after shaking her around a bit, so I used [Levitation] to

carry her with us.

"Wow... Zzz... This is new... Zzz... Feels nice... Zzz." Pipe down... If you say

you're sleeping, then sleep!

Liora guided me elsewhere, and eventually we came to a white castle. It was

situated on the opposite side of the island to the tower. It was a little smaller

than my castle back in Brunhild, but a castle nonetheless.

It kinda looks like the castle at Tokyo Disneyland... Which, now that I think

about it, shouldn't be called Tokyo Disneyland. It's in Chiba. Well whatever... It

looks like the Neuschwanstein Castle, from Germany.

"This is indeed my rampart. It's Babylon's central defensive system. It can

repel physical and magical attacks alike by deploying a shield. Functions such as

temperature control, invisibility shielding, access regulation, enemy detection,

and piloting Babylon on a whole are also indeed present here." Hoho... So, in

ship terms... If the rampart was an engine, this thing would be the bridge.

Still... A shield that can defend against physical attacks? Kinda reminds me of

the Blockbracer that ended up being used during the coup in Regulus.

"Indeed. The Blockbracer was created using a similar principle to the

rampart." So they were related... That's pretty scary, actually. Still, if I can divert

power from the tower to the rampart, I'll be able to put up a pretty powerful

shield. That's great all-around.

Oh, come to think of it... There was that Manta Phrase I encountered a while

ago. I wonder if we have any countermeasures for stuff like that. "Do you have

anything that can intercept flying enemies?"

"Indeed. The Satellite Orbs should do just fine."

"Uh... Satellite Orbs?"

"Indeed. A Satellite Orb is a spherical weapon around twenty centimeters in

diameter. They're made of Orichalcum and have automated flight functions,

automated tracking, variable density, and miniature shields." ...Huh, that's

pretty big. Kind of like bowling-bowl sized bullets... I guess?

In short, the Satellite Orbs were spherical weapons that intercepted airborne

enemies by ramming into them at incredible speed. It was definitely an efficient

way of taking out the Phrase.

There were twenty-four Satellite Orbs in total, and they all orbited the

rampart in a dormant state. In emergencies they powered up and

indiscriminately rammed into approaching enemies.

They kind of reminded me of something out of an old mecha anime. But the

function was a little bit different.

I followed after Liora and walked into the castle. The entrance hall was

positively beautiful. It was incredibly well-maintained and held a regal air about

it. If I wasn't aware of where the Babylons came from, there was no way I'd

believe it was around five thousand years old. At a guess, I'd say the place had

been enchanted with something like [Protection] in order to stop wear and

tear.

Still, it looked like a regular castle.

That was pretty nice. But what had caught my eye were the tiny things

moving around on the ground.

They had round heads, and cylindrical bodies. They had little round hands and

feet with limbs that resembled bellows. Huh, what are those things? Well, I sort

of knew what they were. They were clearly robots. About two heads tall. I'd

seen something similar in an old anime that was being rebroadcast once. It was

a helper robot based on those old karakuri puppet dolls from the Edo period.

These little robots kind of resembled that... They didn't have top-knots, though.

I don't think they were quite big enough, either. But it's not like I had that

robot with me for scale or anything.

There were almost ten of them pottering around, attending to their business.

They looked around thirty centimeters tall. They held feather dusters, brooms,

and washcloths in their hands. Are they... cleaning? "Assemble." Liora uttered

an order, and the robots all tottered over and gave a small salute. There were

nine in total.

"From now on indeed, the venerable Mochizuki Touya will be our master. Do

not be rude to him." The mini-robots looked my way and gave another salute. I

wondered if these things were the little robots that Rosetta had told me about

earlier. I thought they were all in the storehouse, though... But I figured it was

possible that some had been stationed in the rampart as well.

"Hey... Can these things help maintain Frame Gears?"

"Indeed, but only for simple things. They're incapable of performing too

complex or specialized a task."

"Is this all of them?"

"Indeed not. There should be six more in the castle. Including the ones

standing here, that makes fifteen in total." Fifteen, huh... Well, that'll help take

a load off for Monica and Rosetta. I asked if they could be reproduced in the

workshop, but apparently that was a no-no. They were enchanted with a special

magic exclusive to Doctor Babylon, and programmed with her own personal

sequence. That was a shame. Apparently they were at just the right size, too.

Any bigger and their autonomous functions might go awry.

I ordered them to continue cleaning for the time being, and the little drones

continued their work.

I carried Noel, who was still floating by my side, into one of the castle rooms.

Then I set her down on a bed.

The tower and rampart both set off in Brunhild's direction, and I opened up a

[Gate] to meet up with everyone back home.

"This is... quite unreal. I-It took me about two hundred years to program

Paula with this level of complexity..." Leen stared down a mini-bot and picked it

up under the arms, muttering all the while.

Paula threw up her arms in despair and crashed to her knees, making a pose

as if to say "I've been defeated!" She then began to mime crying out to the

heavens, but obviously there weren't any tears. Damn, Paula... You really aren't

that bad yourself, don't worry.

The Babylon I found wasn't the library that Leen so desperately wanted to

find, but she didn't seem too sad because it contained something that caught

her interest.

"...Then you're the eldest of the sisters, Liora?"

"I would not put much importance in the sequence of us being sisters, but...

Indeed. As far as the Babylon numbering goes, I was the first." Liora curtly

answered Linze's question. Noel was napping alone inside the rampart castle,

so it fell to Liora to explain the finer points about the two new Babylons. After a

while, Liora started to ask her own questions, and it felt a bit more like a mutual

discussion rather than an interrogation setting.

I was quite comfortable hanging out inside the rampart. The place had a lot of

furniture that reminded me of my own castle in Brunhild. According to Liora,

Doctor Babylon had actually peeked into the future, looked at my castle, and

copied my aesthetic choices before I'd even made them.

"So then... Yumina, Lucia, Yae, Elze, Linze... You're indeed my master's wives,

yes?"

"W-Wives, ahah... Well, eventually, yes..." Elze bashfully answered Liora's

question. Why'd she ask that...?

"I count five indeed. Where are the others?"

"...Others? Aha. You must mean Sue-dono, you must. She is currently living in

Belfast, she is."

"That does indeed mark six. But what of the other three?"

"GAAAAH!!" My voice betrayed me, and I blurted out nonsense. Shut up! Shut

up, damn it! Don't say another thing! All the girls suddenly stared at me.

"...Why did you yell just now?!"

"N-NO REASON? I JUST... FELT LIKE YELLING. IT'S... HAHA... IT'S NOTHING,

LINZE. I PROMISE!" DANGER. DANGER. Even I knew I didn't sound convincing at

all. I could feel their stares turn from confusion to ice cold scorn. I broke out

into a cold sweat. Things had suddenly become terrifyingly tense.

Yumina turned and started talking to Liora.

"Liora... What did you mean just now when you said 'other three'?"

"Ah indeed. This is something I heard from the Doctor, but master will—"

"No! Nope! Nooo! Time out, Liora! Think it's time for you to go take a nap

with Noel! Let's not talk about delicate things so hastily and without good

reason, okay?!"

"Yae. Do it."

"Very well." Yumina's unspoken command was heeded easily by Yae, who

bound my arms tightly behind my back. Why the hell are you guys so

synchronized?! And why do you work best together when it's for the sake of

abusing me?!

"So, you were saying?"

"Ah yes, indeed. The Doctor's future-sight revealed that master will have a

total of nine wives. That is why Babylon is fragmented into nine pieces, after

all."

"NINE?!" All five of them screeched at once. It was out. The secret was way

out. Everyone other than Leen and Liora were screaming. Even Paula. Why was

she freaking out?! "I-If Sue's the sixth, then... That means there'll be three

more?"

"I-I don't even know what to say... I simply have no words..." Elze and Lu

spoke slowly, as if in shock. Wait, what are you guys getting mad about?! I

haven't done anything yet! "...Touya."

"E-Eek!"

"Genuflect." Linze's cold voice pierced through my heart. I could do nothing

but what I was told. I stood up from my chair, crouched down to the ground,

and bowed profusely. Despite my thoughts, everyone had already branded me

a sinner.

I didn't agree with it at all. It wasn't me that had done anything, it was future

me! "Stay still, dog."

"H-Huh?" The girls huddled together and moved to the far corner of the

room, muttering something or other. Hey now... I feel kinda left out here...

"Heheh... Wonder what punishment they're deciding on for you..."

"D-Don't say that!" Leen whispered to me and laughed slightly. The damn

fairy was simply watching everything unfold with a wicked grin on her face. She

was absolutely loving it. Paula patted me gently on the shoulder as if to comfort

my prostrated self. A-At least you're good, Paula...

Just as my social link with a stuffed bear increased, everyone came back over.

"Well? Is the verdict in? Heheh... What's his sentence?"

"D-Don't say that, damn it!" As I tried to ignore Leen's cruel words, I patiently

awaited my fate. Even I'd accepted punishment at this point.

Yumina let out a little sigh, and began to tell me the conclusion they'd

reached.

"...Ultimately, there's not much of a difference between six and nine. We've

come this far already. I told you to begin with I don't mind how many

mistresses or concubines you happen to have. Not to mention the fact that it

hasn't actually happened yet. Blaming you won't solve a thing, so... It's fine."

Oh... Oh God... Oh God, thank you!

I almost thought I heard God's voice saying "That had nothing to do with me!"

but I was in too relieved a mood to care.

"...However." Lu picked up where Yumina left off. Huh? I'm innocent, aren't I?

Discharge me! Discharge me! Linze then picked up the little speech, carrying on.

"...We realized that you've known about this for some time and kept silent,

Touya. Keeping secrets like this... Is surely a problem between a man and his

wives, isn't it?"

"Therefore, we declare you..."

"Guilty." What?! No! God, Help me! Help me, God! Take me with you, God! I

almost thought I heard God's voice saying "I told you, it was nothing to do with

me!" God, you bastard! Help me, I'll kill you! I felt like my own personal power

diminished with each new wife I obtained... That their combined might was

enough to put an end to me completely. It was at that point I began thinking

about the benefits of monogamy. Which bastard was it that said having a

harem is every man's dream?! I wished I could bring him here, and show him

the brutal reality.

"Th-Then... What do you want from me...?"

"We'll forgive you... If you give each of us a kiss, one by one. Your actions

have made us insecure in our relationship with you, Touya... You have a

responsibility to make us feel better." Oh... Oh Geez. I've kissed Yumina and

Linze, but... N-Not the other three.

I looked over to see Yumina smiling, Linze blushing, Lu holding her hand to her

fast-beating heart, Yae fussing around with her hakama, and Elze fidgeting with

her hands.

In all honesty, I was very embarrassed. I thought this would be the best

moment to escape and leave their request unfulfilled, but I had nowhere to run.

So, with Leen and Paula jeering and yelling at me... I did it. I kissed them oneby-one. It was weird.

But... After I kissed each of them... Lu turned a shade of scarlet and ran away,

Yae grabbed me by the arm and threw me across the room while screaming....

Elze pulled her arm back and pummeled me in the chest, sending me flying

backward in a tailspin. Ghah—!! Even if you're embarrassed, there's no need for

a corkscrew blow! I started to get worried that my life might actually wind up in

danger if I didn't make romantic things a little more regular and casual with my

girls.

As I faded out of consciousness, I asked a small, profound question in my

head. Is this misery, or is this joy?