Clockwork Planet
/ Clockwork Planet Vol 2 Chapter 2
…I’m sleepy.
The girl thought as the thick mist descended upon her.
She could not ascertain where she was, what she was doing, This situation had continued on for a long for a long time, and it had been like this all this time, especially recently when it got severe.
Her heart felt cold and dejected, like a winter freezing everything.
The puzzles, trumps, drawings, all that were interesting in the past did not seem this way anymore. There were none of those things around in the first place. And thus, there was no fun in tidying up either.
…Ahh, the girl thought.
Yes. That’s why I’m always sleeping here.
There’s nothing I have to do. I don’t know what I want to do. That’s why I can’t help but want to sleep and dream.
—I wanna go back.
The sudden suddenly thought of this faintly.
Once she recalled the memory, the slightly dazed head became clear.
The room that was shone upon by the gentle sunlight, filled with toys.
There was the puzzles of words and symbols, the bear with a spring, the folding chess set, the mirror that contorts in strange ways, the barrel organ that rings when spun in reverse, and the flying bat that runs on spring energy.
She surely would be scolded by her older sister if she were to leave her toys lying about and fall asleep on that luxurious feeling, but surely it would feel very relieving.
…But the moment she thought of this again, her thoughts would be clouded. She could not recall any prior events.
Where exactly was the home she longed for…?
The sun was setting, about to fall.
The sky on the other end of the outer sea was gradually dyed crimson, coloring the planet of metallic armor red.
—The Clockwork Planet.as
In this world, recreated completely through gears, humans lived in cities built on gigantic gears that were several kilometers, even dozens, in diameter. These gears spun slowly, and the teeth linked the cities, causing the equator spring to generate massive energy that would circulate through the entire world.
Amongst the millions of city gears, there was one particular gear.
Grid Kyoto was at this point about to meet the neighboring city gear, Grid Mie.
It was a colossal gear, the other end nary to be seen.
There were numerous holes peppered on it, each of them approximately 10m in diameter, neatly lined together like a beehive.
Naturally, the other meshing gear that was to mesh too had similar holes.
The massive city gears slowly meshed together, and the moment both holes met,
Both gears let out a booming noise.
It was a sharp, shrill explosion echoing, akin to thousands of cannons firing in unison.
This boom lingered for a while, ostensibly wanting to crush the gears, and immediately calmed down when the gears spun without meshing again.
—This was the cylinder train, a method of transport between cities., a scene of ‘transit’.
When the city gears mesh, the ‘connecting station’ would shoot out large cylinders containing passengers and cargo, allowing a simultaneous exchange.
The massive cylinder would then stop at the ‘platform’, where they would be sorted according to the various freight functions in the city…
Within a city, one could see spring-powered cars and buses, unmanned taxis roaming, but the cities would continue to spin without fail, and there were no permanent roads connecting one city to another.
Thus, there was a need for such unique transportation methods. However,
“…Wait, Naoto. You look like you’re about to die. You alright?”
Marie, who got off from the passenger-use cylinder to the ‘platform’, sounded extremely astounded as she called out to Naoto, who was walking like a walking zombie.
“Shut up…I wanna ask why are you guys fine…my head still seems like it’s spinning.”
Naoto retorted as he groaned, pressing down on his headphones.
The passenger-use cylinders had a soundproof construct built in it, and Naoto’s headphones had soundproof functions, but it seemed the noise from the ‘transit’ caused him much discomfort.
“…An ordinary person like me really can’t imagine what a pervert who can hear even electromagnetic waves actually heard back then. Looks like those ears cause you much hardship in your daily life, huh?”
RyuZU continued to nurse the reeling Naoto, and though her presence was as normal, she spoke with an ominous tone.
“It really is an artless method of transportation. While it surely is fine for transporting cargo and organisms in the lower ranks, you do not know how to prepare a seat for the elites, and coerced Master Naoto into this suffering. Perhaps you do not know of the term Barrier-free?”
“How can there be a seat for the one and only super pervert in this world?”
Marie coldly muttered, and Halter then apologized and he continued,
“Sorry, but I didn’t think about that beforehand. I first thought it would be too ridiculous to just fly to a neighboring city, and didn’t think such a thing will happen.”
Naoto cussed, and shook his head unsteadily, saying,
“…Ahh, well, I forgot about it. The sudden shock from before caused me to remember that there was once when I took this thing when I was a kid, and back then, I was shocked by this sound. It seemed it was so traumatic to me that I just erased it from my memories…damn it.”
“I do apologize for that. I’ll arrange for air transportation when we head back.”
RyuZU continued to support the tottering, shaky Naoto, and the quartet walked off.
This transportation method runs several times a day, each time transporting massive numbers in one go, and thus, the terminal was filled with a mass flux of crowds moving to and fro.
In front of them was the Grid Mie.
From the existing ‘connecting station’ on the surface, one could transfer to the link rails that form the keystone of the city’s transportation, or to the unmanned taxis that were in queue, waiting for customers.
They avoided the crowds for the time being, and moved towards at the rest space located beside the entrance. Marie was leisurely clasping her hands and supporting her chin.
“Anyway—that damned masochistic bastard who’s waiting for my lashing’s in this city, right?”
Kukuku. and as Marie let out a sinister snicker, Halter stared at his master with his eyes half-closed, saying,
“Ah, I suppose I don’t really need to remind you, Milady, but we only have a rough guess of the place. We aren’t actually certain of the exact location.”
“Are you treating me as an idiot, Halter? Using the weather data of the estimated time that message was sent, and the number of times the city gear spun, my repeated calculations has narrowed it down to a radius of 500m. The original data’s vague, so I can’t go any further than that, but there’s always a way if I compare it to the local intel. My pleasure’s about to begin. Fufufu…”
Seeing Marie grin menacingly with such cockiness, Naoto, seated opposite her, was dumbfounded as he said,
“…How desperate is this girl for the sake of one single prank call?”
“Leaving aside the fact that she is unable to let go of the delusional vilification or slandering of a fool, I would say, to be precise, that she is lacking in confidence. Leaving aside yourself, Master Naoto, I suppose it is a normal reaction for someone like Master Marie to be so concerned with such words because she is so self-aware. Is there not a wise aesop in the past? That quarrels will only happen between people of the same levels.”
RyuZu coldly stated these words with a smile, but Marie merely snorted.
She sarcastically closed her eyes, folded her arms, and wagged her index finger, saying,
“I see that you’re mistaken, RyuZU. I’m already used to the envy, jealousy and slandering of the peasants.”
“…Then, what are you so furious about?”
It seemed Naoto was feeling a lot better, and he sat upright with his eyes half-closed
“Furious? Me? Hahaha, what a joke. It’s not that easy to make me angry, you know? Yes, really. I’m not furious. I’m not furious.”
Marie fixed her eyes intently on Naoto, her lips curling.
“I am simply following what my big sister said. If a fine lady is to be humiliated, pursue that person with a smile on your face, elegantly hunt that person to the end of the world, and slap that person until he cries.”
“…There’s no way I want to see that big sister in my entire life.”
With his eyes half closed, Naoto blurted these words from the bottom of his heart as he sighed.
—Grid Mie.
Naoto was born and raised in the neighboring city, but this was the first time he visited Mie.
To begin with, moving between cities itself was not something particularly enjoyable, and there were many who never left their hometown cities from the day they were born.
However, leaving that aside, Naoto expressed his initial thoughts about Grid Mie.
“…Hot…why’s it so hot?”
The sun had already set at this time, and it was almost time for night.
But even so, it was so hot that standing under the shade was enough for him to sweat profusely.
“That’s because of the nearby Grid Shiga purged a long time back.”
Marie briefly answered as she strode forth. They were headed towards the spring-powered train, which circles the city, the Link Rail station, located at one end of the terminal.
Naoto followed her from behind, and asked,
“Is this just like what happened in Kyoto…?”
“……What exactly did you learn in school? No wonder you keep failing all your subjects.”
Marie let out a deep sigh, and shook her head.
“It’s true that in the long-term…by causing cities to fall, it’ll definitely cause damage to this planet. However, if the city malfunctions to the point of being unable to be salvaged, it’ll affect the entire planet if the city’s left alone. The first thing to do is a ‘Triage’ to prevent the damage from spreading, and that’s purging. Normally, there’s a need to follow a formal procedure to calculate and evaluate carefully. The people who lost their homes would have to be supported sufficiently.”
Marie let out a long ramble, and seemed to have finally lost it as she fanned herself with her right hand.
“…It’s really hot. The sun’s already setting, yet hot air’s still coming out…”
“It’s still better than Siberia though.”
Halter, who was converted into a cyborg, muttered while looking as if it was not his problem.
After hearing that, a surprised RyuZU tilted her head slightly as she spoke,
“How strange that is. I do remember Siberia being a frozen region as far as I can recall.
“During the time your functions stopped, June 8, 42 years ago, the Grid Neryugri.
Marie answered briefly. And Halter, following behind them, chimed in,
“The Grids south of Siberia malfunctioned. It was originally an unmanned block, and was not purged in time, and so, the surroundings seemed to have become a scorching region. The frozen lands melted, and the Baikal lake’s overflowed to the point of drowning the surroundings…it affected the entire Northeast Asia. Now it has become one of the premier tourist resorts in the world, and it’s bustling, to put it.”
Humans are really resolute folks, Halter joked sarcastically.
Marie wiped the sweat off her face as she continued,
“Well, this is an example of what happens if you hesitate over purging and leave it alone. That’s why purging is something that has to be done, but on the premise of it being a ‘last resort’…”
But, Marie wondered.
This was the basis of the true terror regarding the Clockwork Planet, this absolutely ridiculous construct ‘Y’ constructed.
Basically, there was no permitting of any machinery lacking in spare parts.
Since it was an intricate clockwork structure, no matter how small the part that was lost, whether it was a gear, cylinder, spring, wire, the structure would instantly collapse.
But this planet defied such a logical thinking.
It was as if such a predicament was thought of beforehand, and even if the gears were faulty on a city-wide scale, the other cities would continue to run, seemingly to make up for any deficiencies.
The connectivity and linkage were absolutely complicated. A single purge alone would sometimes affect cities 4,000km away.
Thus, a ‘purge’ would naturally require the government’s authorization, and also the agreement of international organizations and the surrounding cities.
For as the term implied, that was a ‘final measure’ that could potentially endanger the world.
Of course, upon thinking about this, Marie clenched her fists, and bit her lips.
“Stopping such incidents is the mission of us Clockwork technicians—huh?”
Marie let out a skeptical voice, tilting her head.
Unknowingly to her, two people vanished, and when she turned back, she found Halter standing there, scratching his head.
Marie frowned, and asked Halter,
“…Where are those two?”
“Ah, how do I put this…?”
Halter raised a finger, and Marie turned towards the direction he pointed.
Standing there was,
“Hmm!!? A swimsuit that suits RyuZU—ugh, that’s difficult!”
The fool muttered in grimace as he stood in front of the mannequin placed in the shop window.
“This one…no, this one—but the swimsuit design looks inferior when compared to her quality.”
“I suppose so—swimsuits were originally designed for those who felt their body sizes were lacking, to decorate those who had quite the regrettable bodies. It might be extremely difficult to found something that matches a perfect existence like me.”
“That’s absolutely right! I guess it’s better to go to an automata exclusive clothing shop after all, right? No, I guess it’s better to custom make something for your level, RyuZU—!?”
“You think we got time for that, you idiot!?”
Marie grabbed Naoto by the collar, her voice frigid to a point of below 0°C .
“It’s Sunday tomorrow. After you’re done with my stuff, go ahead and hold hands with the automata to the seas or the mountains however your like. Now let’s go.”
“Ahhh…RyuZU! I wanna think about it on the train! Get me a pamphlet!”
“Understood, Master Naoto.”
With the refreshing creaking of metal, the ring rail raced through the perimeter of the city in the middle of the night.
Looking out from the window at the first carriage car, Naoto muttered,
“But really, this city ruins the scenery…”
The ring rail ran through the meshing of the gear cars.
In terms of planetary coordinates, the speed was merely 80km per hour.
But as it was moving in the opposite direction of the city’s spinning, the relative velocity was 140km instead.
The passing scenery outside the window were buildings, buildings and more buildings with gears exposed from them. There was an occasion park to be seen, but even it was buried amongst the trail of gray streets illuminated by light gears.
“Well, it’s to be expected that it would be inferior as compared to Kyoto.”
Marie did not seem moved or whatsoever as she replied,
“Kyoto is one of the few sightseeing cities left in the world with a lot of heritage preserved. Mie is basically an industrial city, so this is how the scenery’s basically like.”
Naoto blinked his eyes as he stared at Marie.
“Marie, you’re more familiar with Japan than me, a Japanese?”
“Didn’t you forget that I’m an ex-Meister? World Geography’s basic knowledge to me. I should be the one asking you to know more about your neighboring cities…”
Marie yapped flabbergasted as she raised her other leg instead.
She glanced aside out of the window, and muttered,
“It was said that there was a little more nature preservation back then. That there were ‘Four seasons’.”
“Four seas?”
“Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter—this country used to be hot in the Summer, and cold in the Winter.”
Halter answered.
Naoto was stunned, tilting his head skeptically. This was the first time he had heard about such a thing.
“What was that? Something that happened 1000 years ago?”
“—No, Master Naoto. The seasonal changes did not disappear completely when I malfunctioned 200 years ago or so. In the past, the Clockwork Planet would adjust the temperatures to ‘completely replicate’ the original Earth…but it seems to have changed completely.”
It was rare for RyuZU’s answer to not contain any sarcasm.
Her eyes were staring out of the window, but seemed to be looking at something else instead.
“…Yes. It is almost at its limit, in many ways, huh?”
Marie closed her melancholic eyes as she nodded.
Silence arrived upon them.
Naoto did not understand what this meant, but he hesitated over whether to ask the question, and in the end, merely stared at the swimsuit pamphlet quietly.
—And so, a few minutes passed as the group tumbled along with the ring rail.
They then got off at the station that was at the complete opposite end of the first ‘Connecting Station’ they got off at, separated by the Core Tower.
Hanging above the alighting group were the starry skies, the moonlight, and the silhouette of the equatorial spring that ripped through the night sky.
“…”
While Naoto looked up at the sky, Marie showed a sinister sneer beside him.
“Now then, looking at coordinates, I think my sandbag should be around here somewhere.”
“Milady, your signature bitchslapping has upgraded.”
Halter snarked with a blank face, but she ignored him.
“Now, Mr Walking Navigator, do you mind investigating the exact location of this thing—hey!?”
But Naoto ignored this conversation.
He continued to stare into the void wordlessly as he walked towards the platform exit.
And RyuZU followed him without without uttering a word.
“W-wait a sec, Naoto! I can’t figure out where that crash-test dummy is without you here!?”
“So it has progressed beyond the level of just whacking him up…?”
Marie and Halter were left behind, and they too frantically gave chase.
They passed through the ticket gantry, and once they passed through, they would be at the commercial district located in front of the industrial complex.
Naoto, who first exited the station, was rooted to the spot, seemingly staring at the sky.
And Marie called him from behind.
“Wait, Naoto. What’s going on here?”
“Quiet.”
“You—”
Naoto’s cold response caused Marie to speak up without a further thought.
“Master Marie, do you mind remaining quiet for a little while?”
After hearing RyuZU’s brisk words from the side, Marie nodded slightly.
She then looked over at Naoto.
The latter still had his back facing her as he stared blankly into the sky.
Marie could recognize this back.
This was the one who deciphered the practically infinite number of gears in the Core Tower, enacting a miracle.
The gray eyes staring into the sky were able to see the ‘certain thing’ Marie could not.
—He pricked his ears to listen attentively.
Marie did not understand the reason for that.
She was already unable to comprehend the world Naoto felt.
But since Naoto deliberately did so, it meant that there was something she never realized.
…Sweat trickled down her forehead.
The meshing of the gears did not sound as loud as before, probably because this was a bustling area. The streets were relatively clean, reeking of a hot, humid air.
This was probably what Marie was able to sense.
Naoto was probably able to hear a lot more things, and after a pause, he finally spoke up.
He said,
“—I can’t hear anything.”
……
“Wh-what are you fooling around with—?”
Marie nearly tumbled heavily due to the sudden surprise.
But Naoto continued to stare deep into the bustling streets, the industrial complex he could barely see.
And Halter suddenly spoke up,
“—What time is it now?”
“Eh?”
The entire group stared at Halter, including Marie.
“The time. What’s the time now? I’m guessing it’s around 7pm or so…”
“Looking at the Japanese Kansai Standard Time, the time now is 18:58:23—I see, it really is weird”
After hearing RyuZU’s reply “What’s that about”, Marie was about to ask, only to quiet down.
She then realized it.
She frantically looked around, and before she could say what she realized, Halter spoke up,
“—Isn’t it too quiet?”
7pm at night, in front of the station.
The sun had completely set, and the lights from the light gears lit the surroundings.
The spacious roads were devoid of wind, the hot, humid air stagnating heavily, and only the heat released from the roads that were exposed to the day whiffed by the skins of the quartet who remained still.
It was so hot, yet Marie shivered.
There was no passer-by to be seen, and the opened shops were lifeless.
The operating shops looked a little old, yet the outside looked to have a little fanciful designs to them. While they all had their shutters raised, there were no customers to be seen. There were constructs at the cross junctions of the road, probably functioning as police boxes, yet there was no person in sight.
It was an empty bustling street—how did she not realize this paradox?
There was nothing more mysterious than this place.
This place was basically,
“A ghost city…”
Marie was left flabbergasted as she muttered in a groaning manner.
The location was the outskirts of the Grid Mie heavy industry complex, and there was a tall tower that allowed a full view of the entire place.
It was a watchtower built on a hill, in the middle of a path trail.
The sun had sight, and this place, devoid of human presence, was left with only 4 shadows.
One of them, Naoto, was leaning his body out from the railing, narrowing his eyes as he gathered his concentration.
The vast scenery he could see was the industrial complex at night, buried by the numerous light gears.
This complicated collection of metal was akin to an organ formed using unknown machinery. It was a little terrifying, but the riveting sight was breathtakingly beautiful and majestic.
…However.
“I can’t hear anything after all.”
Naoto said with a soft, yet audible voice.
“I can’t hear anything. This clocktower has stopped—like it’s completely empty.”
The air suddenly felt heavy.
Marie’s voice was tangled in her throat, and seemingly wanting to affirm this, she said,
“…Do you know what you’re saying?”
That quivering voice was dry.
The Clock Tower had stopped.
The words were few and brisk, but what exactly was with this sort of an anomalous situation?
This was not simply the case of lowered functionality and causing extra burden on other Clock Towers. if the Core Tower was the brain of a city, the Clock Tower would surely be the vital organs. They were the lifelines of the city’s functions, to a point where there would be no benefit in swapping out any of them.
For example, the human body cannot perform its vital functions if it is lacking in any organs.
As the ex-Meister who partaked in many city maintenances, Marie was clearly able to imagine what would have happened.
Naoto turned his head back, and saw the exceptionally terrified look on her face, blood practically drained from her face.
“That’s why now, this isn’t just on the level of ‘abnormal’. This entire street is already.”
She gasped
“Dead, that’s what it is.”
“!!”
A bead of sweat trickled down Naoto’s cheek. It was not due to the steaming heat, and his limbs, trembling slightly, clearly indicated that was not the case.
In the midst of the silence, RyuZU narrowed her eyes sharply as she said.
“I see. So this is the reason why ‘there is no wind’ on this street.”
With this line, Marie and Halter widened their eyes.
At this time, the industrial complex in front of their eyes should be facing that thing called the ‘sea’.
Thus, it was impossible not to have wind. Despite this however, there was nary a breeze blowing at the watchtower.
“…This really isn’t something that simple.”
Halter muttered in a groan.
An ill premonition rose up his spine as he let out a sigh.
He did feel that something was amiss before they departed, and this was turning into a terrifying reality for him.
He turned his stare towards a silent Marie beside him, and said,
“Milady, I think it’s good to re-analyse that transmission again, you know?”
“Eh?”
“Normally, I won’t say anything if you have any grievances, Milady, but now that things have soured, I suppose the situation has changed, right?”
“…What’s going on?”
Halter nodded slightly, placed a hand on his forehead, and let out a sigh.
“First off…the premise is that the microwave transmission can’t reach a wide range.”
“I already know that. In other words, that guy—”
She cut off her words.
Marie’s face gradually became one of understanding, and Halter nodded slightly.
She recalled the taunting mail that was sent.
The prank mail that was deliberately sent using microwaves, a fossilized technology in this era.
If she were to calm down and think about it, there were too many skeptical points about this.
Marie let out a pant, licked her lips, and said,
“If that message really is sent to me, the one able to send it—needs a few prerequisites.”
“That’s how it is. One of them is obvious is that you’re still alive and living in Kyoto, Milady. The other is…”
“The one able to receive this message—in other words, someone who knows that you’re with me, Halter.”
Marie continued off from where halter left off, and nodded.
And with the duo’s conversation, Naoto seemed to have thought of something as he said,
“Ah, I see, uncle. Didn’t you say back then that those guys doing ‘special jobs’ are also using wireless transmissions?”
“It’s not some standard equipment actually, but…”
Halter let out a wry smile as he nodded.
“It’s not rare to have such a function installed in cyborg prosthetics that engages in unique—illegal activities. I too have it, and many infiltration troops or agents would have such things too.”
Also, Halter pondered.
If that person was using such prosthetics, it would not be a surprise to for him to have information about them.
—Marie Bell Breguet died, and the terrorist who leaked the information remained at large.
But that was simply just wanted was officially stated on the surface.
For the information syndicates, the information bureau of the 5 Enterprises for example, Marie and Halter’s current locations and identities were basically an open secret.
And so, naturally, Halter continued.
“I’m not saying that the possibility of it being just a prank is zero. Maybe it was just a transmission sent in all directions many times, and that maybe the original recipient wasn’t meant to be Marie. Looking at this current situation however, let’s forget this for the time being and go back to the start again.”
“In other words, why this sender decided to use eletromagnetic waves, huh?”
Marie nodded, and pondered.
For the time being, they would erase all pre-existing hints, including whether Halter did receive the message by chance.
It was already a severe crime to use electromagnetic waves without any permit.
It was way too risky to send this prank that may not reach its target.
Marie clasped her hands together, pressing it against her little chin.
And so, the first thing she thought of was—
“…A ‘trap’?”
“If that’s the case, some conditions are lacking.”
Halter immediately denied this, and looked over to Naoto.”
“There’s a higher chance of it being a prank, but even if we do get baited, we can’t possibly track him down without Naoto here.”
“…In other words, it’s not enough intel for him to lure us out.”
“Before that, wasn’t it you who went rampaging and not letting it go because of the mail, Milady—my apologies. Please continue.”
Halter muttered, only to stop himself when Marie shot him a dirty glare.
“In that case…it probably is a ‘warning’. Or rather.”
“A ‘notification’? That doesn’t give a reason as to why he would use a microwave transmission.”
Halter shrugged his shoulders.
No matter what sort of message it was, it would be meaningless if it did not reach its target.
For the sender to take such unnecessary risk, there clearly was a reason why he used an electromagnetic transmission.
What if?, Marie lifted her face.
“Maybe there’s a possibility that this electromagnetic transmission itself is a message.”
“Isn’t it too indirect? It’ll be better to just write it out, or maybe convert it into a code.”
“But what if…he was forced to do this?”
“Using an electromagnetic transmission instead of a gear transmission in this era? What kind of situation can that be…?”
Halter groaned as he sighed.
And so, Naoto, who had been silent till this point, suddenly raised his hand.
With a smile, he said in a single breath.
“I see. The mystery’s all solved now!”
“…”
Marie and Halter gave Naoto incredulous looks in response to his words.
And with those looks, Naoto looked extremeley serious as he muttered,
“What’s with this cold reaction?”
“No, that’s because…”
Halter averted his eyes skeptically, and Marie sighed, saying,
“What do you want to say? Let’s hear from you.”
She prompted him to continue on with a disbelieving voice.
Naoto nodded, and confidently boasted, saying,
“In other words—there’s a possibility of there being an Initial-Y series over here, no?”
……
Marie closed her eyes to ponder Naoto’s words, regurgitating them.
“—Erm, well.”
“Yeah?”
With a tender smile of a kindergarten child, Marie said to a confident Naoto.
“None of those are related, you know? I already began to feel this way when I first met you, but now my mind’s blown, you know? It’s fine, I guess you’ll be fine drinking some medicine…a bit better, maybe.”
“No, hear me out a little. You’ll understand it if you think about it normally.”
Naoto’s eyes were half-closed as he muttered, and Marie sighed,
“Is that so? I really have no idea where you got that name from.”
“—I see. So that is how it is.”
RyuZU suddenly interrupted.
“The sender was trying to transfer some information, and yet was unable to do so in that suitable. If we assume that to be the situation—there is such a possibility.”
Marie frowned skeptically.
Why would she be saying such a thing too? Marie wonder. Naoto’s sudden ramblings were not something that actually began at this moment, but even RyuZU at least would have some semblance of sanity in his mind, excluding the fact that she had a ridiculous swear filter function.
And so, Halter spoke up, seemingly to express Marie’s doubt,
“…I’m really sorry, Missy. I’m stupid, so I can’t understand what you just said…”
“Yes, that may be the case, but there is no need to despair that might. Your self-awareness makes you akin to a Mr Rotten Metal that is ranked higher than mitochondria.”
RyuZU solemnly concluded, and narrowed her eyes.
“This sender may have met my little sister.”
—Eh? And all that were present turned to look at RyuZU.
“Did you not say it beforehand? ‘It’s not rare to have such a function installed in cyborg prosthetics that engages in unique—illegal activities’ The sender may have been forced to use this microwave transmission. Assuming that the sender was already in that predicament, it can be deduced that it was not under ordinary circumstances, but during a mission instead.”
RyuZU calmly continued with her words.
“Supposing that the sender encountered a predicament beyond his expectations while in the midst of gathering information, and was unable to escape. His final means would be send a code to you, Master Marie? This would indicate that the sender was involved in such a situation.”
“Ohh, as to be expected of you, RyuZU! Yes yes yes, this is what I want to say!”
Naoto nodded excitedly.
But Halter stroked his chin skeptically,
“In other words…that certain thing’s a member of the Initial-Y series?”
“Oh? Do you have any disagreements with that?”
“That’s the only issue I have here. There are quite a few situations in missions where we can’t escape, and alive aside that, what reason would someone an agent undertaking a mission provide intel to our Milady? I dare say the sender’s not a Breguet.”
“I do not know that much, but I do not think that is something that important.”
“No, isn’t that the biggest mystery…?”
While Halter muttered, Marie merely nodded slightly.
“But if an agent undertaking the mission is the sender—this condition can explain why the ‘resonating gears’ aren’t used, but microwaves instead.”
“Yo, Milady.”
“This theory may be a little far-fetched, but anything is possible till this point. Leaving aside why I’m the receiver, there’s only one doubt left, the real intent of the message.”
That message. That transmission was the reason why Marie came to this place.
That was,
“—Hey Bitch. Aren’t you getting all too jumpy over there, you ghost girl? Are you not satisfied because your little hole hasn’t received anything? Are you waiting for the little big cock to fuck that thing you have? Shake your cute little ass and beg me here, you Nympho.”
That was it.
RyuZU narrated it fluently like a repeated broadcast.
Marie smiled savagely as the veins popped out of her temples
“—Even if it was really something beneficial, I’m definitely going to hang that guy.”
Marie hissed such a declaration, but RyuZU ignored her as she continued on solemnly,
“But pardon my directness, Master Naoto, is there really a code in there? Though the other person is uncouth, he really is insightful, no? I can only see truth in this no matter how I think about this.”
“You wanna get wrecked!? I’m a virgin!!”
“…Oh?”
“…!”
She just declared that she was a virgin in the wilderness.
Completely enraged and embarrassed, Marie’s face was flushed red as she turned away, her clenched fists quivering madly.
Halter pressed down the shoulders of this girl who was about to explode at this point, and continued on with the topic,
“…Anyway, assuming that our hypothesis is correct, let’s think about it. First—well, the little big cock to fuck part? This does seem like a strange way of describing it.”
Naoto folded his arms, and spoke up,
“Normally thinking—well, what does that mean? Little, big, that thing?”
“Well, the word ‘cock’ does have the meaning of ‘bird’ and ‘stopper’.”
Halter gave a wry smile, and continued,
“Also, there’s the meaning of ‘nonsense’ or ‘wind vane’—or it can also have the meaning of ‘whim’. Also, though I’m not willing to consider it this way, but back when I was in the army…”
At this moment, Halter froze. A still-agitated Marie glanced diagonally upwards at him, prompting him to continue,
“What?”
Halter gasped,
“…That’s what we call the ‘firing hammer’.”
—
Silence descended upon them.
Marie’s narrowed her eyes sharply, lowered her head, and pressed her right hand on her chest.
“…In other words, it means that there’s a little weapon that’s big in firepower?”
“Yeah. But I have to say this, a gun that requires a cocking motion nowadays is—”
“I get what you’re saying. Cocking, an antique? Little and big, antique arms, arms…”
Marie continued to mutter in rhythm, and suddenly looked towards RyuZU, standing beside her.
“…? What is the matter?”
RyuZU’s skeptically tilted her head, but Marie ignored her as she bit her lips.
—The first model of the Initial-Y series.
An antique automata which could easily wreck all modern weapons.
…Maybe this is really what it’s hinting at. She thought.
“A small big cock (small, powerful, weapon)…?”
After hearing Marie’s little mutter, RyuZU simply showed a sweet smile.
And then, she lifted her skirt, the hem letting loose an ominous gear grinding sound.
“Master Marie, you actually called me a male reproductive organ. My apologies, I have never realized that you were so irked with life. I shall now fulfill your wish.”
Accompanying the words were the black scythes that could easily sever heavy-armored automatas.
Marie raised her hands, shrieking,
“Wait, woah!!! I-I don’t mean that way!”
And then, an inspiration struck her.
She turned her head to Naoto, and standing there was a boy who looked nonchalant and stupid, yet arrogant and uncouth if seen in another direction.
This guy just made that guess instinctively…?
Marie narrowed her eyes.
There were flaws in that guess, and there were many ways of refuting that guess no matter what, and the logic was a little far-fetched. Even so, she could not deny his thinking, just that it was extremely unlikely and ridiculous.
And in any circumstances, the chances of him being correct was not zero.
The most important crux to this was that his almost unnatural trail of thoughts was able to conclude this so quickly. Marie did see such instances before.
Marie’s older sister, or a few of the Meisters she worked with, were of this category themselves. They were people with astounding instincts, able to conclude through their instincts, not by getting the answers through logical deductions and verifications, but to skip the entire process to obtain the correct answer…
Their ideas were typically so out of the world.
But even so, with some actual verification, they would be deemed to be almost completely perfect.
Assuming that a person like Naoto Miura, who had such a superhuman-like abnormality, was that sort of person, perhaps his instincts were infinitely closer to the truth…
Marie groaned silently, and then slowly opened her mouth to admit.
“—It may sound stupid, but there may be an Initial-Y series model here.”
“You serious, Milady?”
And Halter spoke up.
Marie met his surprised look right in the eyes, and waved her hand.
“I don’t have any intel regarding where the Initial-Y series are. I can’t deny that there’s a possibility of it being here.”
“No, we’re still not certain if it’s referring to the Initial-Y series, and I guess there are still other explanations…isn’t this getting too far-fetched?”
“I know that very well. I just can’t deny it completely, and in fact—”
Marie stared at the street below.
If it was a ghost city as Naoto had said, a faux city ripped of its gears,
“…We can only go inside and check it out ourselves.”
“Yeah! In other words, we’re going to find another of the Initial-Y series, right? I wanna take part in this sandbag thing! How can I not be involved if you do find RyuZU’s little sister? I’ll be so envious! Let’s go, RyuZU!”
“You’re really the same as usual…”
After hearing Naoto boast his desires, Marie shook her head.
And Halter, standing beside her, slouched his back slightly, saying,
“…I really wouldn’t recommend you guys to take action without being certain of the intel.”
Marie nods in response to that advice, but shrugged her shoulders.
“…Either way, things aren’t going to change. The guy who knows about us did send a transmission that logically couldn’t be tracked down from such a mysterious place.”
“That’s the case, but,”
“Maybe it’s not about the Initial-Y series, but the chances of this being a trap or a warning aren’t very high either. In that case, maybe this is ‘provided intel’ from a certain person who’s cornered.”
“…You’re being surprisingly calm, you know?”
After hearing Halter ask this, Marie raised an eye flexibly, saying,
“Do you think this Princess really will go crazy just because of that little taunt?”
“I do think that’s the case. Am I wrong?”
“Of course—naturally, I’m going to slaughter that sender later.”
Halter went silent as he rolled his eyes at Marie.
The latter snorted as she lifted her chin, saying,
“I’m saying this not because I’m overwhelmed by emotions. In fact, with your experience, my expertise, Naoto’s senses and RyuZU’s fighting strength, it’s easy for this group here to break into the factory complex, right? If we can’t get anything after probing a little, we’ll just hurry up and retreat.”
…Hm. Halter nodded, his arms folded as he touched his chin.
Marie was certainly right about this. They were not intruding upon a military base, and if they were to fully utilize the skills of all the present members, breaking into the factory should be a cinch.
If they were able to get intel, they would definitely be able to find out their next course of action, assuming that they would not lose anything even if they do miss.
And it was true that they could not leave this anomaly alone…
“…”
However, Halter wondered.
He could not refute the logic, but neither could he agree with it.
It was not because the idea was ridiculous; surely that was not the problem. No matter what Halter himself felt, he could be certain it was correct as long as Marie felt that there was a possibility.
But even so, the back of his neck was stinging painfully despite him being unable to describe it in detail.
—He had a bad feeling about this.
It was not the instinct Naoto had displayed, and neither was it the logical deduction Marie had used.
To put it somehow, it was the countless experience he had accumulated. The faint scene of danger held only by those ordinary people who passed through the hail of bullets, went through hellish situations of life-endangering moments, those cowards.
To put it another way, that was simply it.
In fact, Marie’s assessment of their battle abilities was correct.
She was an ex-Meister, a genius. Leaving aside her wrestling skills, she could easily hold her own against an ordinary automata with its Coil Spear unleashed. Halter himself was a full-body cyborg who had the Breguets’ latest cutting-edge technology incorporated in him. Most problems could be solved by the two of them alone, and also—
There was Naoto, whose insight was able to even decipher the latest Vacheron stealth weapon, the Goliath
And then there was RyuZU, the Initial-Y series model who had such overwhelming functions; any machinery pitted against her would be powerless.
As Marie had said, there should be no problems.
…But no matter how many times he affirmed this, Halter was unable to rid himself of his anxiety.
It was a massive factory located near the outskirts of the Heavy Industrial Complex.
In the midst of that Industrial Complex that had practically ceased to run, the factory alone continued to operate. Marie would not tell from the outside what sort of a factory that was.
The quartet, who arrived at this place due to Naoto’s instincts, observed from the metal tower that was slightly further away.
Patrolling around the factory were guards dressed in the ‘Military’ uniforms.
Marie lowered her posture as she peeked in on the situation, saying,
“Looks like…it isn’t completely empty here.”
“They can’t just leave all the guard work to automatas anyway.”
Halter answered as he turned to look behind.
Right in front of his eyes was Naoto, who had his eyes closed as he lowered his head. He was not wearing the trademark headphones this time.
He had the abnormal hearing sense to eavesdrop on conversations despite the 100% noise cancelling functions, and this time, he had complete grasp of the entire facility down below.
His eyes still closed he said,
“…The facility looks rather large here. It’s very normal on the surface, but the walls inside are extremely thick, and the work area’s wide. From the underground, it looks like 4 areas can be assessed. At the bottom of it all is an extremely, unnaturally large space, and…what’s this? It’s not running properly, but there’s ‘something’.”
Marie frowned, and turned her head back to Naoto.
“What something?”
“It’s not activated right now, so I’m not too sure about it…but it’s really big. It’s about the city of an entire city—a building?”
“…I see. That’s suspicious. Any entrance you found?”
“Can I tell you the construction, location of the surveillance and where the guards are?”
“That’s good enough. Please.”
Marie nodded, and opened a blank map in her mind.
After hearing Naoto’s report, she drew an intrusion route on the blank sheet in her mind.
After hearing the necessary information needed for infiltration, Marie slowly got up. Halter, standing beside her, raised her petite frame single-handedly, but the former did not mind as she stared at the surface of the watch wrapped around her arm—and took a breath.
“Now’s the time.”
Halter jumped.
The displacement from this roof to the targeted factory was approximately 100m.
And Halter covered that distance in a single leap.
He let out a soft little thud as he landed on the concrete roof.
And a beat later, RyuZU, carrying Naoto, silently gave chase.
&nsbp; &nsbp;
They were inside the factory of concrete and reinforcement bars.
The passageway was exceptionally wide, easy for equipment to be moved. The light gears set at fixed intervals apart caused the passageway to be lit completely white.
Walking along this passageway was a young man dressed in white robes, probably a researcher. He was accompanied by a little 4-legged automata.
As he walked on, the man read the stack of papers in his hand, probably some documents, before stopping in his tracks. The automata beside him too let out a creaking as it stopped.
He turned around.
“…?”
Nothing.
The man tilted his head, and let out a sigh. Perhaps he was thinking too much when he senses a stare, maybe.
Letting out a wry smile, he turned his stare back.
“—Bonsoir.”
Standing in front of him was a blond pretty girl smiling at him, speaking fluent French.
The man was left flabbergasted, and the simple-minded automata, reacting to such a situation, drew out the gun it had within as it let out a monotonous warning,
“Intruder spotted—”
The next moment, the man was knocked out from a hit at the back of his neck, and the automata at his feet was silently severed into scraps at the same time.
“Bonne Nuit.”
Marie watched the man and machine slump onto the floor as she muttered.
And Halter, who knocked the man out from behind, scratched his head, saying,
“—This intrusion is getting too easy, hey.”
10 minutes, or just 10 minutes, had passed from the moment they began their intrusion as they easily got to the elevator leading to the bottom most level of the factory.
It was not that the security was too lax here. For a normal factory, it could be said to be too much, but Marie merely shrugged with a complacent look.
“Naoto’s able to identify where the guards and surveillance equipment are, and even identify the entire construct of the building. Security practically doesn’t exist here…your ears are really convenient here. If such an ability’s revealed to the world, I guess you’ll be vivisected for research, you know?”
Or maybe I should do this. With such an added implication, she turned to Naoto, who’s carried around by RyuZU, who carried him on the back.
Naoto didn’t respond. His physical abilities were subpar, and after considering the fatigue of moving around and sudden dangers, RyuZU was tasked to carry him around and let him focus on his hearing. However…
“…”
Marie noticed the perverted looking eyes he had as he looked around RyuZU’s shoulders, and what he was exactly focusing on was plain for all to see.
Trying her best to eke out a smile, Marie called out to him,
“Naotoooo—!?”
“—Heh? Oh, no, I’m not thinking that I won’t get scolded if I’m to touch those titties at this moment, really, I swear!”
Naoto tried to defend himself with blatant lies, and RyuZU merely said with a nonchalant look,
“—Master Naoto, if you really wish to vent your primal lust, please rub them as you wish, for I do not have the right to say no.”
“Eh? Really? But for some reason, this complicated heart of a man just wilted after hearing you say that—”
“Whatever, can we just leave that for later!?”
Marie closed her frozen eyes slightly as she hissed, and head towards the double doors down the passageway in front of them.
The doors were shut, and the wall beside it had panel buttons installed in it.
This was a unique elevator that required the correct password to use.
“Can you crack it?”
“—It’s the same as the ones in the upper levels. Just remove the 36th hook from the right on the 4th level to open it.”
“Understood.”
With this brief reply, Marie moved her hands.
The panel beside the door slid open, and the screw floated as if it was zero gravity. Within the wall were many gear locks.
Even a skilled clockwork technician would require several hours to cautiously open this lock, yet Marie fumbled around it it, and pulled out the 36th hook from the right of the 4th row, a spare part as small as a a little finger nail, as if it was a magic trick, before shutting it back like time had reversed.
The doors let out a whoosh as it readily opened.
“Right, let’s go. Down below, right?”
“Yeah.”
After hearing Naoto nod without hesitation, Marie hopped into the elevator enthusiastically.
And Halter, watching her from behind, could not help but let out a sigh.
&nsbp; &nsbp;
—The detector that was able to decipher facility securities better than any hi-specification sonars, Naoto.
—The technician that was able to use that information and immobilize any systems at a godlike speed, Marie.
—The one able to wreck anything, even a heavy-armored automata without any retaliation allowed, RyuZU.
With these people present, any number of guards or security would be meaningless. One would even suspect if they could easily break in like this even if it was the headquarters of the 5 Enterprises.
No matter how potent the security system in, none of them would last against Naoto and Marie.
And for those physical obstacles that could not be unlocked by codes, RyuZU’s scythe would rip them apart in less than a second.
Whether it was the latest traps or surveillance installations, all would be meaningless.
They would immediately discover, dissect and destroy them. They would either discover the patrol guards, researchers, even automatas beforehand, or neutralize them.
They were intruding into a facilities with such a tight security network, yet this trio had the attitude of one being here for a social studies trip or something.
…If this was not called foul play, what else could?
If I were to see this during his days in the army, I would have resigned without hesitation. Halter thought.
…However, it had yet to vanish.
The stinging pain of uneasiness lingering around his neck got stronger by the moment.
While underground, on the elevator leading to the deepest part, Marie stared at Halter, and said,
“What’s the matter, Halter? Looks like you’re bothered.”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
He shook his head in response to Marie’s words, but frowned.
The infiltration was proceeding well, too well, to a point where one could not help but let his guard down.
But what exactly was this mysterious feeling this body of his felt—no.
Halter quietly let out a sigh.
He knew this feeling very well. He had such a feeling before.
This, yes.
The moment when his allied forces were well armed, and the enemy resistance was few, the feeling a complacency as they moved forward.
—During such moments, they would encounter things beyond their expectations. For example, that might be the moment…when his team had leaped into the enemy’s kill zones.
It was the feeling that some extraordinary situation would be awaiting them, or to be precise, firm belief.
&nsbp; &nsbp;
“Ah, wait…I hear something.”
Naoto suddenly spoke up as he placed his hand at his ear.
Marie asked,
“What is it?”
“It’s a soft voice, and I can’t really hear it clearly, but it sounds like the total number of ‘parts that don’t exist’, actually no, it’s far more than that…”
“From where?”
“From about, 74,850m below us.”
“About 75km below…? That’s impossible.”
Marie immediately denied this, causing Naoto to curl his lips in a pout,
“Why?”
“Because there’s nothing there. It’s further than the bottom of the Core Tower. When the Clockwork Planet was constructed, those massive number of gears were made out of the cold crust and mantle of this planet. That’s why the planet is hollow, and if there’s something right below, it’s at most the completely frozen planet core—”
Till this point, Marie seemingly thought of something, and muttered,
“Or it might be the other constructed space below the city later on. That’s it…”
&nsbp; &nsbp;
After an hour and a half, the elevator reached the deepest part of the factory.
The doors opened, and they exitd. The wall beside had the frame ’25th level’ hanging at the wall by the side. As far as Marie knew, this was the lowest level of this Grid Mie.
Once they exited the elevator, they hopped into the floor, and it was a wide, spacious place, forming a large vault. The light gears installed on the walls glowed, turning the surroundings as bright as day.
Naoto slowly moved forward, walked towards the middle of this wide space, and turned his head around, kicking the floor slightly.
“It’s below here. There’s still a hole here…’something’.”
Marie looked at the floor without uttering a word. The floor was covered with metal panels, and there were protective layers, shells, and then there was a basement far below it, in other words, outside the city.
Naoto said that there was something down there.
“…Let’s confirm it. There’s still a floor below it, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I don’t know where the entrance is however.”
After seeing Naoto nod, Marie narrowed her eyes.
“I guess that floor needs to be accessed from the Core Tower. This is just the bottom of the city, and there’s no entrance here in the first place.”
“Then, what do we do?”
“Just cut the floor up and go down.”
Marie simply said this nonchalantly.
“A Coil Spear should be able to cut through this method. Move back.”
“No, wait, the space below…it’s tall—like 327.3m tall, you know?”
“…Isn’t that space too big? Well, assuming that Naoto’s carried by RyuZU…I guess Halter’s legs won’t be able to handle this. We’ll just use some anchor wire.”
“…Understood.”
Halter answered briefly, but he narrowed his eyes.
His expression was tense, ostensibly ready to get into action as he remained wary.
“Don’t let your guard down, Milady. I’ve been sensing something bad for quite a while.”
“I know. All these aren’t normally no matter how we think about it.”
Marie nodded, and swung the Coil Spear.
&nsbp; &nsbp;
The four of them leapt into the hole that was cut out.
They entered free-fall from more than 300m in height, but RyuZU showed no worse as she carried Naoto while elegantly adjusting herself in mid-air.
A few seconds later, Halter, hanging from a wire, descended with Marie.
Marie got out from Halter’s clutches, and blinked a few times.
“…It’s dark.”
It was pitch darkness, nary a single light. She could not see her own limbs very well, let alone the face of Halter standing beside her. She looked up at the ceiling they were at, and saw that in the midst of the darkness, there was a glowing hole akin to a full moon.
Naoto sounded a little terrified as he said,
“—Hear me out, Marie, this thing is…”
“Wait, I’m not a pervert like you who knows everything just from a sound. Let me light it up a little before we continue.”
Once Marie said this she transformed the Coil Spear with a single swing.
She pointed the gun upwards, and fired a flashbang.
Because of the flashbang, the wide space was immediately shrouded in day-like light, due to the flash gears spinning rapidly.
And so, that thing appeared from the darkness.
“—Are you kidding me?”
Halter groaned when he saw that scene.
Why is it that those bad feelings of mine always happen without exception?
“…What, is…this…?”
And Marie widened her eyes, speechless. Halter clicked his tongue.
“What else can it be?”
He gasped.
“—Like hell it’s something, shitty droopy eyes!”
Halter’s eyes sharpened behind those thick-colored sunglasses.
Chapter end
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