“Well then, let us get on to the main topic, boys and girls.”
Said Kernel with a somewhat hoarse masculine voice, as he sat heavily on a sofa.
“That was probably not the last we heard from Azure Skies. Where will the second wave come from?”
“Request explanation about the reason.”
It was Lobelia who responded.
“According to the people responsible for them, the number of magic stones used, thirteen, doesn’t match the number of magic stones that disappeared.”
“And by a large margin. Where could the others be!?”
The man shrugged as he talked with a light tone, before turning to Qualia and changing his tone to a low, serious one.
“If even one explodes, this city will be wiped off the face of the map.”
“Analyzing situation. The remaining ancient magic stones are not in the capital.”
“Oh my, what makes you think that?”
“There were no reactions in the radar system.”
Everyone moved to Qualia’s room.
In the middle of the room, stood a pillar about the size of a person. Even the owner of this place, Lobelia, had no idea it was there.
“…I don’t remember calling for this. Did you make it, Qualia?”
“Affirmative. It is a radar system built using the 5D printer function. It works autonomously, and continues working until it receives the signal to stop.
“Is this the mechanism that Princess Lobelia was talking about, that detects ancient magic stones? It’s thick and big…”
Qualia watched out of the corner of his eye as Lobelia crossed her arms and observed it with deep interest, along with Kernel. He then produced a film the size of an eye with his right hand. A contact lens.
He equipped it on his right eye, and read out the information it gave him.
“Currently, four point three five eight kilometers eight o’clock of this position, there is a three story building. On the first floor basement of said building, lie thirteen neutralized ancient magic stones.”
Kernel was impressed, and clapped his hands.
“Oh my. Not only did you find them, but you can also describe the building. That is classified information, that only I and a few trusted people should know… So stopping the ancient magic stones was no fluke. By the way, can I also use that?”
Kernel also took a contact lens.
“So I just put this in my eye?”
“Affirmative.”
“Duke Kernel, don’t put a strange object in your eye…”
The Clearance knights accompanying him seemed dismayed. In this world, the only tool available to compensate for poor eyesight was glasses. The concept of contact lenses did not exist.
But Kernel laughed as he snorted, sounding exasperated.
“Do you have any balls? You need to be able to handle something like that radar system as easily as you handle a big stiff one!”
“What a horrible example! What if you go blind?”
“Sacrifices are part and parcel of a technological revolution! The same goes for the magic dolls. It just so happens that my turn has come… But on the other hand, I get to be on the vanguard of unknown technology.”
Kernel put the contact lens on his right eye, and received information about the position of the magic stones and the positions of things around them through brain waves. After receiving the lecture, Kernel made a sound of admiration at the map spread in front of him.
“Oh dear, this truly is tremendous… I can’t understand the logic of the magic behind it…”
He shrunk back for a moment, before clearing his throat.
“What is the area this can cover?”
“Estimated to be fifty kilometers.”
“That is enough to cover the capital. But there is a possibility that a black hole activated outside of this fifty kilometer range could engulf the capital. We can’t rest easy just yet… How many of these can you make? We could equip them on our magic dolls and have them look outside the capital.”
Lobelia did not go as far as to frown when she heard of magic dolls, but she did let out a regretful sigh.
Kernel heard her, and looked at her with squinting eyes.
“Oh my, what is the matter, Princess Lobelia?”
“…If those are the ‘main ones’, I think we should assume they will be guarded and/or protected by traps.”
“Yes, the enemy isn’t stupid.”
“You aren’t thinking of magic dolls as disposable items?”
“Weapons are disposable. So are magic dolls.”
“I don’t think that’s right.”
“Princess Lobelia, magic dolls are not people. They are weapons of a modern age.”
Lobelia did not look overtly upset, but her glaring eyes conveyed a lot. Kernel was facing enough conviction to be buried in it.
“Ethics don’t protect a country or its people ya know? It’s our job to do that.”
“…”
“The number one priority now is to stop the black holes from being activated, no matter what. We don’t know if they won’t split them up again and arm them in the upper area again.
We need to have radar systems patrolling the capital to make sure that doesn’t happen? Right? Qualia?”
He looked to Qualia for confirmation, who responded immediately.
“Stopping the activation of black holes is the most important objective, and it is correct to concentrate on resolving it. However…”
His pure, honest eyes proved there was no lie to his words.
“Magic dolls should not yet be designated as weapons.”
“…Qualia, did you perhaps hear that the maid that was once friends with Princess Lobelia was a magic doll?”
“Error. No such information has been recorded.”
Love, the name of Lobelia’s friend, inscribed on the tomb in the backyard.
But this was Qualia’s first time hearing about her being a magic doll. As Kernel watched Qualia turn to Lobelia, asking for an explanation, he knew he really did not know.
“If that truly is your opinion, without any particular sense of sympathy, that is fine. I understand. We will have tea if you change your mind.”
Kernel did not pursue any further either, simply sitting back down on the sofa and continuing.
“We have other things to discuss. Liebe, the leader of Azure Skies, is still out there. And he is quite powerful… That Stealth of his is shrouded in mystery. He might bring a black hole hidden with him. Before that happens…”
Kernel’s worries were interrupted by the sound of a cup shattering.
Ina, who had prepared and brought tea, was frozen in place.
“…Eh?”
Azure Skies.
Liebe.
Once those words reached Ina’s cat ears, she stood as though her soul had left her body.
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