Clockwork Planet
/ Clockwork Planet Vol 3 Chapter 1
Currently, on this ‘Clockwork Planet’, humans are living on gigantic gears.
And amongst them, the major cities during the old era–before the Earth was mechanized and fitted with gears, like the capital of developed nations, or economic hubs, were uniquely designed to be distinctly different from ordinary cities.
The Multi Grid Tokyo was one of them.
It is the core of Japan, formed by multiple city grids overlapped over each other. Hailed as the largest population in the country, the governance, authority, communications, education, industries and cultures–all the them were considered the apex in the country, and could be said to be a complex city, a compressed essence of Japan itself.
And so, amongst them, the ‘governance’ core itself was at Grid Kasumigaseki.
It was the city of governance with many ministry buildings located there, spearheaded by the National Diet Building.
This was typically a peaceful city, where all the public sector workers would be quietly doing their work.
But on this day, the city appeared to be in a state of war from the middle of the night, until the morning.
The Defense Bureau and National Police Agency staff were scurrying around, looking utterly determined, and the Resonance Communications was filled with groans and curses from the intelligence and inspection officers associated to each bureau.
At this moment, in a certain Senate room located at Kasumigaseki in the ruling party’s headquarters, the counter-terrorist council were having a meeting.
“–So? What happened?”
The current Prime Minister slowly inquired.
He ignored the uproar that occurred since the middle of the night, and dawdled his way in only when it was morning; at this moment, he leisurely arrived at the head seat, and gave a skeptical face.
“I heard that there was a terrorist incident in the middle of the night. Is it suppressed now?”
“–Mr Prime Minister, I do say that the situation is more dire than that.”
Upon hearing the response of the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Prime Minister gave a perturbed frown.
“Is there an instance of civilians being hurt? You really are worrying me here. The Cabinet was just established, and if the approval ratings are to all again…”
“That is not all that is. Right now, Grid Akihabara is in a state of complete cessation.”
The Prime Minister looked stupefied, asking,
“What?”
“And right now, a certain massive weapon of an unknown military force is currently occupying Akihabara.”
The Prime Minister’s mouth was wide open as he muttered,
“An unknown, massive weapon…?”
“It can be said to be a gigantic–Super Dreadnought level of a land mobile armor. Before dawn, it took on the 7th Aerial Squad in Grid Yokosuka, and annihilated all of them…”
Having heard of this report for the first time, the Prime Minister looked somewhat anxious as he gave a perturbed face.
“Wait, you are really worrying me here. Those fighter jets are rather expensive, aren’t they? Didn’t we just cut the defense budget last year too? Now the media’s going to attack us for it.”
“As I said, there is something more dire than this, Mr Prime Minister.”
“Mr Prime Minister, please listen to his explanation.”
The ruling party’s Chief Secretary interrupted from the side, and pointed at a man.
The young man was probably in his early 30s. He was tall and frail, looking a little unreliable. His hair was casually tied up, and he was dressed in a casual jacket and denim pants. Such a racy flair was a distinct sight from the officials dressed in suit.
“…And you are?”
The Prime Minister asked, looking suspicious. The man showed a smile devoid of tension as he answered,
“It is our first meeting. My name is Yuu Karasawa, a civilian Meister–I was deployed here as a consultant for the Technology Bureau.”
“A Meister…?”
The Prime Minister looked skeptical, and Karasawa showed the ‘Chrono Compass’–the proof of a Meister.
Once the basic identity check was done, he continued on, smiling,
“To be honest, the current situation is in the worst predicament. Grid Akihabara is currently occupied by the armed forces–and if this massive weapon is to invade the other Grids, the damage will continue to spread.”
“Then what are you hesitating for? Shouldn’t you be off to suppress those terrorists? This is why the ‘military’ exists, right?”
Karasawa continued to smile even as the Prime Minister looked displeased, and calmly answered.
“It is not that simple. When the terrorist activity occurred in the middle of the night, the capital defense forces discovered a massive weapon, and entered the underground to take it head on, but–they were all annihilated.”
“Huh”
“And the 7th Aerial Squad that was shot down had the latest CzFG-11 planes. Coupled with the fact that the pilots were highly proficient, and they are the strongest aerial forces the ‘military’ had.”
And also,
“More importantly, once it was observed that they were wiped out, there was an attempt to attack the weapon directly using the Capital Defense Cannon…the cannon did hit the target, but it did not bring about much effective damage on the target’s armor.”
The Prime Minister was dumbfounded, and turned to look at the Defense Minister,
“…What have you been spending the yearly Defense budget on? You can’t suppress a mere terrorist cell?”
The Defense Minister’s face was red, and he hushed his voice, answering,
“If I may say, the armed forces we have are just ordinary weaponry meant for city combat. We did not have the massive firepower needed to tackle such a scenario.”
“Defending the city is the job of your people, right? You made the suppression of a terrorist cell so gaudy, it is a problem here.”
“…Our responsibility here is to defend against the invasion from foreign militaries. It is completely unexpected that a massive weapon of destruction would appear in our own soil.”
“I don’t know anything about military affairs.”
The Prime Minister, legally the commander-in-chief, continued on,
“Can’t you hurry and destroy it with some guided missiles or anything?”
Karasawa amicably interrupted,
“–The enemy does have the anti-air firepower to take out the latest weaponry, you know? Also, it has armor strong enough to withstand a direct hit from the Capital Defense Cannon. Do you intend to fire LAMS missiles onto your own country?”
“…LAMS?”
“A mechanized bomb designated to eliminate any traces…in old terms, it would be a nuclear bomb.”
“Ah, ahh…if that is the case, you could have said so right from the beginning. The specialists love their acronyms–no, just no. The people will revolt. What does the ‘military’ intend to do?”
The prime minister immediately shook his head, and Karasawa informed him, his voice clearly forceful at this point,.
“In conclusion, the current situation is that it is impossible to take down that military force through brute force alone.”
“I will be troubled if you said that. That is merely the incompetence of the ‘military’, no? This responsibility–”
“It doesn’t matter who should take responsibility here.”
The Chief Cabinet Minister coldly interrupted.
He was said to be a political with a steel-like endurance. At this moment, even he could not hide his face and voice as a grim look began to appear on his face.
“You got it? Right now, Grid Akihabara is in functional breakdown because of the terrorist weapon. In fact, it is no different from being destroyed. If we leave it alone, it will only be a matter of time before the other Grids are wrecked. We have no choice but to counter it quickly.”
“I did say that it is the ‘military’–”
“The current situation is at a point where the ‘military’ fighting strength can’t settle this. This is why we have to think of countermeasures, and your decision is imperious, Mr Prime Minister.”
“Mine?”
“We have to hurry and purge Grid Akihabara. I wish to have your permit.”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary’s words caused the Prime Minister to be dumbfounded.
“What are you saying now? How can I possibly do such a thing?”
“There is no other way.”
At this point, Karasawa lost his smile for the first time. He raised his hand and stood up, interrupting them,
“Ah, my apologies. As the consultant, purging Grid Akihabara is not something I really would like to recommend…”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary turned his head around, glaring sharply at Karasawa.
“–For what reasons?”
“Akihabara is not just a single city. Structure-wise, it is an important part to the functioning of the Multi Grid Tokyo. To purge it will certainly affect the other Grids.”
“But that is what purging is all about?”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary brusquely noted.
“And also, Akihabara is no different from being wrecked now because of that weapon. based on their saying, it would have affected the other Grids now, I suppose?”
“Of course that is the case. Akihabara’s functional failure at this point is causing a burden on the other Grids now.”
“How long can we keep this up?”
“It is fine if it is today or tomorrow, but certainly not half a year.”
“How much can you repair Akihabara in this half a year?”
“We have to look at the extent of the damage. It might be hard to tell at this point, but with the full assistance of the ‘Guild’, I would say that it is not impossible to–”
“There is nothing to talk about here.”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary cut off Karasawa’s words.
“I know you want to boast about your old nest’s abilities, but I cannot allow you putting an uncertain observation as a wish and ignoring such a reality facing you–Prime Minister!”
The Secretary ignored Karasawa’s objection as he forced the Prime Minister’s hands.
That ferocious sight of his caused the Prime Minister to be greatly intimidated. The latter’s forehead was oozing sweat, but he staggered and voiced his opposition.
“But…what about the people? Didn’t such a thing happen a few days ago? if we have to carry out a forced purge here in such a situation, the social backlash…would be terrible, no?”
“It has been more than 8 hours since the incident happened in the middle of the night. It’s a Grid with few people living in it in the first place, and they were all evacuated.”
“Wait, Secretary! That decision is too hasty!”
A female senator, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, suddenly exclaimed.
“The is still a chance for Akihabara to be restored, right? And we have yet to be sure of who we are dealing with and their objectives.. Should we first think of negotiating with the criminal group?”
“Is this the time to think about this so leisurely? I say we should take action decisively. Maybe problems will happen in the future, but isn’t it our priority to deal with the situation now?”
“Purging Akihabara is not simply a problem for our country alone! The other countries’ reactions will also–”
“If we can hurry and deal with this current situation, we can explain our way out of this no matter what happens.”
“What are you saying now!? It’s because of such discreteness that caused the folly of previous government administrations, no? If we are being heavy-handed in this, it is inevitable that the other countries will condemn us!”
“It is your job to deal with this, right?”
“I cannot agree with that thinking at all! First, we need to peacefully settle this–”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary and foreign minister were yelling away.
And the Prime Minister, sandwiched in the middle, was looking gaudy.
That anxious face was practically saying ‘what about the next elections?’
(Did I make a mistake in coming here…?)
And Karasawa, slouched on the chair, could only mutter in his heart.
He, viewed as an outsider, could only watch their bickering as he sighed in annoyance.
–It was unbecoming of them.
The man in charge was overly incompetent, had no views, and could not make any decisions.
The man who accurately grasped the situation was more practically proactive, but his ideas were too radical.
And the woman who understood the situation was an idealist, and perhaps it was unlikely of her to come up with some actual actions.
–Nothing had changed ever since a thousand years ago.
No, perhaps it had been this way since 2000 years ago. This is ‘politics’.
His old refuge, the ‘Meister Guild’–a non-profit organization that worked beyond borders, was not completely spared from this.
Perhaps such a power game was part of human nature…
Karasawa calmy observed them,and narrowed his eyes.
(I wonder if Professor Marie…and Professor Conrad are fine…)
He had accurately grasped the situation of the ‘Akihabara Terrorist Incident’ that happened during the night.
Or rather, he was one of the accomplices involved in cleaning up the mess.
His previous job was as a member of the Communications branch of the ‘Meister Guild’ First Division, second team–the team led by Marie.
And it was due to Marie’s request for help that he agreed to assist immediately…
(…But this situation has deviated from what we were talking about.)
He never showed any emotion, merely grumbling in his heart.
Leaving aside the massive weapon, the collapse of Grid Akihabara was never in the plans.
In other words, their plan failed.
As for how they should deal with it, they would be contacting him at any given moment now–
Karasawa witnessed the squabbling going on, and sighed for the umpteenth time on this day.
“I wonder if I can get some overtime pay…”
The sun was hanging high up in the sky.
The dazzlingly white sunlight was warm, raining evenly all over the city.
But even though it was the day, there were some places where the sunlight could not reach them.
In a dusty, messy underground street located in a corner of Grid Ueno–though it appeared to be rather bustling at night, it was devoid of people at this time, silent, with the shutters pulled.
But even at this time and place, there was a shop that remained functional.
The crude neon gear spun lazily, showing the filthy shop decorations.
There was no door on this shop. One could hear some light-hearted music from inside, but the shop was designed such that nobody could look inside from the entrance.
The trio were standing in front of this shop.
One of them was an extremely frail boy–Naoto, and he quietly muttered the name on the display.
“Strip the Ueno…?”
Marie instinctively lowered her sights..
The old poster plastered on the wall entered her sights.
“A replication of 150%! Everything, an all-around rotation where everything can be seen–!”
And along with such an inciting line was a girl automata of a similar age to Marie, posing in overly teasing or stimulating poses that defiled her common sense of shame, and defied the common moral conscience when it came to sex.
“–!”
Marie instinctively turned her face aside.
There seemed to be something…no, one might say that everything was filthy and lewd, impure. She could be said to be completely reviled by it. She did not want to think anything about the ‘replication’ of doing 150% to it.
AnchoR was carrying RyuZU on her back, and she asked with interest,
“Papa? What is this shop…?”
“Ah, well, it’ll always be too early for you, so you shouldn’t ask~…”
Naoto merely passed it off, and he muttered to Marie beside him,
“Well…hey, is this really the address?”
“…I guess, so…yeah, it’s true.”
“But Marie.”
“Don’t say it.”
“Even if you won’t, I will. This is a shop that feels R18 no matter what, right!?”
“I don’t know!? The address leads here as far as I know!”
Marie yelled, her face blushing.
The duo hollered as they stood at the entrance of this shop, which clearly appeared to be a backalley fetish shop.
In other words, a strip club.
This was not a shop where naked women danced. The playtoy automata would wear extremely lewd clothing, do erotic dances for the onlookers, and provide lewd services–this was a club akin to a chemical reaction, where a deviation in modern society had a chemical reaction with a group of art enthusiasts with exquisite tastes.
Typically, Marie would not give a glance to it, let alone visit it–
But no matter how many times they affirmed this, this was where Conrad instructed them to head to, the rendezvous in cases of emergency.
And at this moment, someone exited from the shop, perhaps having heard of the commotion outside.
It was a graceful old man dressed in an exquisite suit.
“Professor Marie–thank goodness. Are you alright?”
Marie had completely frozen.
Standing there was Conrad, as expected. The unique monocle reflected the colorful lights from the neon gear–and it did not match him at all.
“Professor Marie, what happened!? What exactly–”
—That’s what I want to ask, Marie thought.
No, there was too many things to discuss and inform, and she felt relieved after meeting this old man. However–as this was this place, she really could not be happy at all.
Feeling extremely worn out, Marie asked,
“Erm…Professor Conrad, actually…there are materials…here, right?”
“Of course. Now then, let us head in.”
Where would the ‘of course’ come from…?
Marie did not understand, but they could not discuss anything at the door, and with prompting, she went into the shop.
…However, she really had to squeeze out lots of courage just to step into the threshold.
She heard Naoto’s careful instructions to AnchoR from behind.
“AnchoR, this will be bad for your mental health, so just look down no matter what.”
“…? I understand…”
“–Hm, I see…it is more serious than I expected.”
Conrad noted sternly as he walked in front, but to be honest, Marie could not listen to anything at all.
–This space filled with ahan’ufun certainly caused all sense of tension to be gone.
The shop was basically as what Marie expected, and beyond expected.
Red light filled the shop, and it was a little dim. The areas where the automata were supposed to dance on stage were unfiltered. The BGM was intense, exotic.
The next issue was the leather sofa placed along the aisle.
That probably was the audience seat. Due to the screen, it was hard to peek inside.
–But why is there a ‘leg’ stretching out above the screen? What is the body posture like!? What is the creaking on the sofa about? What’s with the ‘I’m coming’? What miracle is that female underwear that suddenly flew above their heads!?
–Decadent. Wretched. Immoral!!
Marie was blushing furiously as she kept her eyes right in front.
But at the next moment, she spotted an automata with an amazing body showing off her amazing assets, giving an erotic wink.
Marie wordlessly looked afar.
The big sister automata gave Conrad a teasing pose, and then approached the strange acting Naoto, who was so tense he was frozen all over.
“Woah!?”
Naoto let out a squeal, for he was stroked on the butt.
AnchoR, who obediently looked down as she stood beside Naoto, asked in confusion,
“…? Papa, what’s the matter?”
“Ah, ahwawa…kids shouldn’t be looking!”
“You, too, mustn’t look! Or rather, I’m bad with this myself in the first place!”
Marie could not help but interject.
Upon hearing Marie’s reaction, Vermouth, held under her armpit, mocked,
“Hahaha, relax, Missy. Is this your first time at such a shop? I heard that you changed jobs to be a terrorist? Now there’s no need to worry about some boring laws now.”
“That isn’t the issue!”
–It’s really impossible for me to say the word ‘lewd’ in front of Professor Conrad’.
After passing through this unhealthy space, the gang entered the back room. They then head down the stairs in a single file to the basement, and at the end of it, there was a wide room.
“We’re here. Though it does appear messy.”
The room they were brought to looked a lot more decent than the one above.
There was none of the lewd things they could see or touch. The lights were white, and there was no rowdy music to be heard. Placed inside were simple beds, sofa, table, and simple living tools.
Deep inside was a thick door. It seemed there was a workshop behind it.
Having calmed down a lot more, Marie inhaled deeply.
Then, she asked a question she really wanted to ask.
“I want to be sure of the situation…Professor Conrad. But before that, may I ask something? Why this place?”
Conrad looked perplexed in the face of this question.
“It is a fine place, right? Just as you like it, don’t you?”
“Do you think I like this?”
Marie coldly retorted, and Vermouth giggled, saying,
“Right? Isn’t this a fine shop. Please allow me to visit with my lower body the next time.”
“I’ll give you a coupon later. An all-day discount is possible.”
Conrad noted amicably, and Vermouth chuckled,
“You really are understanding unlike what your appearance implies, old man. Now then, I’ll be really grateful if you give me a smoke.”
“Sorry. I stopped smoking for a few years already.”
“Now that’s a pity. Tobacco is the duty of a man, old man.”
“At my age, I’m happy with a glass of Scotch.”
“…Professor Conrad!”
Marie glared at the old gentleman with a venomous look.
Conrad raised his hands in defeat, and gently told her,
“This shop belongs to my acquaintance.”
“Professor Conrad!?”
“Yes, the boss is an old acquaintance of mine, and he does treat me to some drinks from time to time. As payment, I’m in charge of maintaining the girls, you know? That’s basically it.”
“That’s impossible. The arms of a Meister are used for this…!?”
Marie widened her eyes in shock.
Conrad was amused by this girl who was like a granddaughter to him, shrugging,
“It appeared they’re rather popular because their dancing skills have improved. Of course, he happily allowed me to use this place as a shelter.”
Also, he added mysteriously,
“I can’t say this out loud, but this is also an illegal auction place for automata.”
“–Huh?”
“In other words, this is a black market for premier automata with illegal added parts that are male-oriented. Organizations are involved, and they’ll close an eye on this, so this is the best to hide a workshop.”
“Wow, the government is corrupted…”
Naoto muttered unhappily.
Marie felt a heavy bump on her head as she cupped it, sighing,
–Yes, it was truly logical.
It really was to be expected of the Englishman Professor Conrad, who had a workshop in Grid Akihabara, to have so many relations in the far foreign country of Japan.
The workshops were inferior to an actual one, but the basic equipment were there. Though they were not hoping for military equipment, there was naturally a large number of illegal, superior parts.
But to be honest…
(While that is the case…I can’t just pass things off like this!?)
Till this point, Marie had thought of him as an outstanding gentleman, a senior worth respecting. As a technician, she learned a lot of things from this Professor Conrad–
But the rare sight of him was a pervert, one similar to Naoto…!
Having realized this reality, she felt utter despair, her footing practically beginning to collapse.
“Well…leaving aside that.”
She shook her head, and bucked up. There were more pressing issues at hand.
Marie raised a head she was holding under her armpit–Halter’s, and said,
“Anyway, please help maintain his life, okay? There’s magnetism…but if the brain inside is fine, he can probably be saved when the outer casing is swapped.
Of course, the premise was that if he was still alive, but Marie did not say it.
–As Vermouth had said, it was a miracle he was still alive, for the head was hot due to the magnetism. The life maintenance device might be wrecked before it was activated–Marie did not want to think of it this way, but his brain might have been dead. She could not guarantee at all–as to whether he was still alive.
Conrad nodded understandingly, saying,
“Hm…I suppose a brain transplant is needed. Amongst the unlicensed doctors I know of, I do know one with such an expertise. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”
“Please. Also…”
Marie hesitated, saying,
“–Professor, are you able to get spare parts for Halter’s body? In around 2-3 hours…no, within 1-2 hours.”
“…I suppose that will be impossible now.”
“–”
“First off, it’s extremely difficult to obtain ‘military prosthetics’ at this point, and dangerous at that. To be honest, there was a plainclothes investigator who just came by, and passed by all of you. This isn’t a military market, and has something to do with the politicians.”
“…”
“It’s likely that the black market dealers in Tokyo are being investigated. Right now, it’s impossible to obtain military parts in Japan. The moment we obtain them, we’ll be eyed immediately.”
“Is that, so…?”
In that case, what could they do?
She knew very well that her hopes were slim, but her heart still sank after having this fact pointed out.
Upon seeing Marie give such a bleak look, Conrad gently comforted,
“…First, we have to hurry and put his brain on the life support. We’ll then think of the prosthetics afterwards.”
“Okay. I’ll leave this to you.”
Conrad received Halter’s head, and quickly left the room.
Marie then proceeded to pat her face.
There was no time to waste. She turned around, and said to Naoto, who was in a corner of the room.
“Naoto, bring RyuZU into the workshop. Also…use anything suitable parts to make a fan and cool it down.”
Naoto nodded, and asked in surprise,
“Ahh…but won’t water or ice cool it faster?”
“Seriously…what did you learn in school anyway? If you cool down something hot too quickly, it’ll either crack or deform–my diagnosis is that you should should do this for RyuZU, so trust me.”
Marie said, wondering,
–I just said something unreasonable, but–
AnchoR sensed Marie’s stare, and nervously lifted her head,
“? Mama?”
“Don’t call me that.”
Marie gave a brief reminder, and averted her eyes.
Halter’s anti-magnetism installation was the strongest in this world. It was designed such that for brief moments, it would be able to function within the faux-electromagnetic field created by the of the ‘Planet Governor’s electromagnetic filter.
However, the electromagnetic pulse from that weapon easily pierced through the filter.
Considering the fact that those automata could easily repel such powerful electromagnetic fields, and even remove their own magnetism–there was only one conclusion.
–‘Y’ did consider the idea of ‘an electromagnetic attack’ right from the beginning.
This cute looking thing, tilting her head skeptically while saying unreasonable things, was the proof of this. In that case, RyuZU could be repaired once she cooled down–and Marie firmly believed in that.
“–”
…How foolish.
Halter’s prosthetics–a realization of the Breguet’s full proficiency in technology, could not withstand against it, but an antique built 1,000 years ago could continue like it was nothing?
–Then what have we been doing till this point?
Marie felt the futility of all the technology she learned till this point, the humiliation, and how worthless she was as these emotions struck her chest.
However, she could not show them, for it would be unbecoming of her.
She held in the peeved emotions within her, sighed, and entered the workshop.
“…Heh?”
After a glance into the workshop, she found there were some unexpectedly decent equipment inside.
There were some models that were a little dated, but there was work machines that could be used for cutting and creating parts, and there were also hangers to hang automata, and a work desk for professional technicians to use.
For a workshop for personal use, this could be said to be the best facility possible.
“As to be expected of you, Professor Conrad…”
Perhaps she should forget the fact that this was a place to repair the dancing automata up there.
Naoto followed from behind, asking in affirmation,
“Oi Marie. Do I use this hanger to put RyuZU up?”
“Yeah sure.”
“Got it–now then, AnchoR, I’ll leave it to you.”
Okay, AnchoR chirped cheerfully as she brought her older sister to the hanger closest to the work desk, dangling it from there.
Once she was brought under a bright spot, it was obvious that RyuZU took great damage.
The biggest damage to her was the abdomen. Her clothes, and even her artificial skin were melted and worn off, showing the insides. The extremely fine cables that appeared to be nerves caused were snapped, spreading out like a bundle. The parts appeared to have taken quite some damage, and the spine could be seen even without opening the abdomen.
The skeletal contortion was more severe than Marie assumed. If she was to let RyuZU regain mobility and not correct it, it was likely the latter could not move.
If the surface appeared to be so severe in damage, what exactly was the extent of damage inside?
Naoto too watched RyuZU uneasily.
RyuZU’s damage seemed to cause him more pain than his own burn, but also–there was something–
“…Papa, can sister…be saved?”
AnchoR asked cautiously.
Naoto immediately changed his expression, smiling at her.
“Of course! We’re doing this because RyuZU needs this. Of course she’ll be saved. You don’t have to worry, AnchoR.”
Saying that, he patted the head of the girl who lowered her shoulders dejectedly.
–Though that was the hand that had a bad burn.
Marie let out a little sigh, went back the previous room, opening the first-aid box placed right next to the entrance of the room, took out something from it, and returned to the workshop.
“Hey, you need to just your burn treated.”
Marie took a syringe from the kit, saying to Naoto,
“This is a nanobot used for medical treatment. If you don’t want to die of pus forming from the burn, strip and sit there.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
After a brief thanks, Naoto did as he was told obediently.
He scowled as he slowly took off his burnt clothes, and sat at where Marie indicated.
Marie peeled off the membrane at the tip of the syringe–as thick as a juice can, and coldly noted,
“I’ll say this first, but I don’t think you’ll be able to get treated completely. There’ll still be scarring–if you don’t get an artificial skin or a skin graft.”
“It’s fine. Best possible case is that I can move.”
Marie sighed.
She aimed the syringe at the back burn on Naoto that was as bad as she thought, and began injecting.
The needleless syringe let loose, injecting a lot of nanomachines used for medical treatment along with the solution. These nanomachines had the effect of disinfecting, boosting regeneration, and being a placeholder for body functions.
To be honest, Marie was probing at this point.
The medical nanomachines were highly potent, but after injecting, there would be a sharp pain.
And she did not warn Naoto about this.
The nevers from the muscles to the skin would be influenced by the nanomachines, and he would feel great pain as a result. Even an adult man would yelp in pain due to this unbearable sensation, but Naoto never did whimper all this time.
Marie did not think he did not feel pain.
The proof was that his face was wincing, and he was clenching his fists firmly, shivering.
However, Naoto never did groan until the very end, and merely exhaled heavily at the end.
“Wait. I’ll get you some fitting clothes.”
“Ah, sorry about that. Thanks.”
Feeling some sort of setback, Marie left the room.
It was all because she said they had to do this that Naoto dragged a scorching RyuZu and moved her around.
The expression Naoto showed, what he said, and his attitude repeated in her mind over and over again.
…It’s likely. Marie thought.
No, that’s not it. Surely, if it’s that guy, that big idiot–
–If he feels there’s a ‘need’ for it, he’ll cut off his limbs without hesitation.
She felt a chill run up her spine.
That expression, that face, all of it was imprinted in her mind, affirming her belief.
It was something different from realization–it was as though it was ‘a matter of fact’, and it was somehow–
Having finally found a change of clothes, Marie returned to the workshop Naoto and the others were at.
She handed over the T shirt with the theater logo print on, probably some campaign item, to Naoto.
Naoto slipped on the sleeve of the shirt, seemed to have thought of something, and said,
“Anyway, what about that uncle there?”
He was looking at the live head that was casually tossed onto the work desk.
Vermouth, the sight of attention this time, noted with displeasure.
“Do you guys even have any conscience? If you forgot, I can help you remember. It’s not strange if I’m to die at any given moment. Hurry and get me on some life support.”
“…Seriously, why is this guy too so…”
Well, whatever, Marie shook her head.
She ignored the back of Naoto’s T-shirt that was covered with the erotic sight of automata spreading their thighs wide, saying,
“Anyway, I can’t let you rest for now. I still got some things to ask.
“Spare me already…w-wait, wait wait wait, you bitch!? Why do I get the feeling that you’re up to no good again!?”
“We’ll find you a suitable automata befitting your body, and we’ll get you on life support, so relax.”
“Are you seriously brain dead, you bitch!? You’re already think of attaching me to some blowjob doll!? What do you think a man’s pride is about!?”
“That’s no such thing.”
Marie coldly stated, and hung the automata on the hanger, putting her on the workdesk.
Then, she carelessly–or so it appeared to Naoto–detached an automata head, and latched Vermouth’s heart on it with a click.
“Shit, are you serious, you crazy bitchass of a princess…!?”
Vermouth felt a chill as he stared at this self-proclaimed genius.
It was not an abhorrence of a feminine body. He had to admit that this naive brat was capable enough to be considered as a genius.
–A cyborg had completely different functions from an automata.
One was a replication of a human body’s ‘construct’, while the other was about a human’s ‘function’.
In simple terms, an automata did not contain a ‘brain’. Depending on the functions, there were some that could continue running even without a head.
But on the other hand, a cyborg body had a ‘brain’. Thus, all prosthetics has to replicate most of a person’s original body. If not, the ‘brain’ would reject. In other words, this brat simply swapped his head with an automata, and his ‘brain’ did not think that anything was amiss.
And most surprisingly, he did not know when the life support was attached.
Feeling impressed, Vermouth muttered,
“–I see, so you aren’t a ghost, but a demon now? Sorry for saying so much about you before, Missy. If you’re a demon, being horny is obviously–warrgh!?”
The sharp sensation from the nerves caused Vermouth much pain, and he screamed in agony.
Marie finished the work behind his back, and chirped,
“Now then, let’s sort this situation out.”
The counter terrorist committee meeting was in utter chaos.
Having realized the direness and danger of the situation, discussions were in full swing.
Anyway, we should begin the purge. No, negotiate with the criminals. How about we draft in the nearby Grids military and attack? We should first think of evacuating. We should coordinate with the other counties.”
There were all kinds of views and objections, and they just could not make a decision.
In conclusion, there was no progression in the debates at all.
The Chief Secretary who was in favor of purging raised his hand, saying,
“Luckily, considering the angle, we won’t have to worry about the ‘Heaven’s Pillar’ being hit, right–?”
“Are you still sleeping?”
The Defense Minister chided,
“They have a ‘main cannon’ that shot through Grid Akihabara, an entire city Grid, and it’s something that can definitely shoot through anything! That thing dares to appear in the ‘lowest level’ of Akihabara because it gets to have the entire capital in its firing range from below, you know!? Do you not understand anything about this!?”
Another Senator yelled agitatedly,
“Speaking of which, what is that weapon actually? The power of that ‘main cannon’, it came from the deep underground, and all, aren’t those capabilities overly ridiculous or something…?”
Saying that, he stood up, scanning through those present.
Then, he thought of the existence of the civilian consultant sitting in a corner.
The consultant who was questioned–Karasawa, looked perplexed as he tilted his head.
“Are you asking me?”
“Who else?”
“Thank goodness for that. I thought you had forgotten about me.”
Karasawa giggled as he scratched his head, and stood up,
“Eh–regarding that enemy weapon, I can answer, but it’s just my theory.”
“Come straight now! What kind of a consultant are you anyway?”
“Pardon my words, but I am simply a technician hired as a consultant here–I am not well versed in electromagnetic technology that defied International regulations.”
The Senate immediately went silent, and the Senator questioning Karasawa looked utterly dumbfounded.
Another Senator looked pale as he asked,
“Electromagnetic technology, you say?”
“Yes. I read through every single word in the report, but I cannot find any explanation other than that.”
Karasawa continued with a clear, permeating voice,
“First, I could not think of anything with regards to the ‘main cannon’ that shot through Grid Akihabara. However, there was an electromagnetic pulse afterwards. The armor that withstood the Capital Defense Cannon was an electromagnetic armor or something similar, and what shot the planes down were probably electromagnetic accelerated cannons.”
Looks of terror appeared on the Senators’ faces as they groaned.
The Senator remained hopeful, asking,
“What are the chances of it being some kind of a new technology?”
“That will be impossible. No matter how it is used, a clockwork construct cannot replicate such a phenomenon–yet that weapon did it twice.”
That was,
“Grid Akihabara was completely magnetized–and most importantly, the Resonance Cannon of the Capital Defense Forces was completely nullified. Neither of these two points can be explained by the theories and explanations of what the 5 Great Enterprises are researching.
There was also the possibility of the armor that withstood the Capital Defense Cannon being made of complex alloy. A supersonic cannon could be a plausible explanation of shooting down the fighter jets.
However, it was theoretically impossible to nullify a Resonance Cannon. To create an anti-resonance phenomenon, it was not about the materials–one could only deduce that there there was something on the surface that would not cause it to vibrate.
Also, considering the fact that Grid Akihabara was magnetized–it was a naturally conclusion that the machine contained electromagnetism.
“–But you’re an amateur! How can you conclude that!?”
The Senator who raised the initial question said, having been jolted back,
Karasawa chuckled,
“Well, if I am well versed in electromagnetism, that obviously means that I am a culprit–and against the technology clauses in the ISS, you know? Research on it be forbidden, but isn’t the more pressing issue why Japan has something that has extensive use of this?”
The Senator who managed to gather himself looked paler than paper.
–Such a thing surely would not pop out so randomly. It probably was something Japan had researched on a long time ago. The ones who knew about that should be present.
That was what Karasawa was hinting at.
This heavy duty bomb unleashed by a civilian rattled every Senator, and they became uneasy.
“Wh-what proof do you have?”
“Yeah! If you don’t have any proof, stop guessing blindly there!”
“Well, pardon me for that.”
With the needle-like stares of the surrounding people, Karasawa calmly noted,
“But the threat does exists right below us. I am simply narrating my thoughts on this as a consultant.”
And the rowdy Diet room immediately went speechless.
However, they began to probe each other, and the atmosphere of skepticism caused more confusion amongst the members than before.
(If I’m to contact the ISS right now, this country will be in a deadlock…)
Karasawa sat, harboring such dangerous notions.
If the other countries were to know of this fact, they should at least agree in unison install any sanctions on Japan they could think of.
(Well, the problem is that the weapon is aimed at this government…and then what?)
Would it become an excuse for this situation?
This involved the international regulations that the ISS and relevant organizations had.
However, this was the situation Karasawa understood–
First, the use of electromagnetic technology.
Second, a weapon that is built can cause great devastation to a city Grid.
Third, Considering limited resources, mass depletion of resources that were of no benefit to the planet’s operation.
Fourth, Anon-fixed cannon capable of shooting 50km.
Fifth, The above–that is done without the special approval or security issues from the ISS.
These 5 issues alone were a breach of the ISS, and also trampled over at least two clauses of the clauses of the International Security Council (INSC), The International Electromagnetic Council (IEC), the World Commodities Organization (WCO).
(…However, in that case, everyone’s caught in an ant trap.)
Yes–every country had such a thing, no exceptions.
There was no country that abided by such a rule, even if it was a third world country that was not worth mentioning. At the very least, that was the belief they had in each other–and because of that, no need for any surveillance.
Thus, once it was discovered, all a country would face were penalties.
However, the problem was–that the weapon was not under the government’s control.
(To be honest, if it invades the other countries, things will get easier.)
Karasawa pondered about the chaos that would ensue.
In that case, each country would settle this while ‘military judgement’. No matter how forbidden that powerful weapon might be, it could not continue to run forever. Surely, it was a matter of fact that it would be crushed in a battle of attrition.
No matter how potent that weapon was, it was still a single ‘fighting strength’. That alone would not be enough to break the world’s power balance, and tactically, a powerful single unit would be hard to capitalize on.
However, it did not do anything, except to aim the cannon at its own country…why?
Karasawa stared at the muttering Diet–the sleazy politicians who were going from probing to backstabbing each other, and suddenly realized.
–I see. So that’s what they’re aiming at? Those bastards.
“…So in other words, that weapon can just stay there, and that’s all? The government and Military will just self-destruct–that’s why you’re saying that they won’t do anything?”
Marie muttered with a trembling voice.
Having considered all this, that weapon–no, the enemies were probably inside them, not going to move.
Vermouth nodded his eyes to indicate his agreement, and said,
“But if this guess is correct, we have a problem…right brat?”
“Yeah, because those guys won’t let things end off like this.”
“What do you mean?”
Marie did not understand the meaning of their conversation, and scowled.
Naoto sighed and shook his head, answering,
“Well, you can say that the weapon isn’t moving…at the same time though, ‘it can’t move’.”
“…”
“I don’t know anything about electromagnetic technology…but it can’t move without a power source, right?”
“Well…I guess there’s probably a battery or a generator or something.”
Marie’s words seemed to confirm Naoto’s doubts, and he nodded,
“It’s probably powered by gears.”
“Huh?”
Marie opened her mouth in shock.
This weapon contained technology and armaments that destroyed all gear functions, but the weapon itself was built through gear technology…? Would it not be self-destruction?
While Marie showed a look of doubt on her face, Vermouth said,
“I think they combined the use of insulators and conducting gears. It’s not simply a usage of old technology–I’ll say it’s a hybrid that fuses clockwork and electromagnetism.
Marie frowned upon hearing Vermouth’s words,
“I understand the theory…but is such a thing really possible?”
“It’s already possible. That’s why that large weapon is giving off electromagnetic power and moving.”
Vermouth continued.
“The Hybrid Electromagnetic Tactical Class weapon ‘Yatsukahagi’–I think that’s the official name. It’s funny, isn’t it? The ones who gave that name isn’t those guys, but the government.”
“What’s going on?”
“My team found a few formal words ‘plans’ on that blueprint–do you think those guys now will write it down?”
Before Marie could answer, Vermouth sarcastically noted,
“–‘A Research Agreement on the Clockwork Year 985, March 25th regarding the research on a hybrid electromagnetic tactical class weapon’–the Prime Minister, the Chief Cabinet Minister and Defense Ministers signed that agreement. Isn’t it funny!?”
Nobody could laugh.
Marie’s face appeared completely frozen, and Vermouth said to her,
“…Well, in other words, that big thing’s power source probably isn’t any different from the others. It’s a spring generator that uses gravity and converts it to energy, though I don’t know the total number in there…”
“–1033.”
Naoto confirmed.
“It sounds weird, but there’s no doubt it’s the sound of springs. Also, those guys seem to be ‘recharging’.”
Marie and Vermouth’s eyes got sharper.
Naoto never noticed them as he frowned and continued,
“I guess the initial light, and that forbidden…whatever, electric pulse? Anyway, that depleted all its power. I don’t know why, but it’s continuing to replenish almost 10% of its power, and at the same time, it’s recharging steadily. Until it regains full mobility again–from when I heard it in Akihabara, there was 71 hours, 32 minutes and 12 seconds. It’s been 5 hours since then…so about 66 and a half hours. Until then, it can’t move.”
Upon hearing that, Vermouth widened his eyes.
“Hey brat, did you have a look at the blueprint–no, even that can’t explain this. Who the hell are you?”
Marie ignored this obvious question, and pressed on,
“–So you’re saying that the weapon can only stay there during this 66 hours and 30 minutes? Unable to move? Are you sure?”
She questioned, and Naoto shook his head,
“I don’t understand anything about electromagnetism at all. If they give up on a lot of armaments and allocated the power too, maybe it’ll get moving before then. Just to add on, I don’t know what’s the 10% power used for, so maybe it’ll recover faster if it stops depleting–but this isn’t the problem.”
“What do you mean…is there still something?”
Marie frowned in surprise, and Vermouth said,
“It’s Checkmate, and they want to ‘begin recharging again’. Do you still not understand, you naive Princess?”
“–!”
Marie raised her eyebrows as she turned around, and Vermouth sneered, telling her,
“This is no longer a terrorist act–it’s a ‘coup d’etat’. They’re waiting for the government to break and self-destruct, and then–they’ll come up with something.”
Marie immediately understood.
She was speechless, remained blank as she widened her emerald eyes in shock.
Linking all the prior clues together, there was only one conclusion.
That was–a chokehold.
Of course, that was the reason why Vermouth called it a ‘checkmate’.
A terrorist act? It was not something that obvious. As the term ‘Checkmate implied’, the enemy had an ace that could topple the country. The little stunt Marie and the others did far paled in comparison.
One had to wonder how much time, how much obsession, how much of that limitless malice did the forces of Mie–no, the old Shiga forces, were able to come up with this strategy, and considering that–
It was to be expected that Marie and the others would be crushed when the enemy simply moved.
–Now that we’ve realized this, think of what you can do now, Marie.
The enemy was at the center of the Multigrid Tokyo, and shoved a knife into the throat.
Grid Akihabara was magnetized, and the bypass they worked so hard to set up could not be used.
And just as they had planned, the Cabinet was caught in an awkward situation.
As for what they should do later, Naoto and the others did not understand.
However, the government would certainly head down the path of self-destruction. To make matters worse, as long as news of that weapon reached the other countries, it would result in the worst possible situation of of the ISS interfering to discuss military intervention due to security reasons.
And if they decided to fire the God’s Staff, ‘Tall Wand’–the anti-Earth satellite cannon, Tokyo itself would vanish from this planet.
No, even if they did not do anything, it was only a matter of time.
She thought of the best case and worst case scenarios that could occur.
The best would be–their plan succeeded, and they usurped the power of this country.
For them, so well-versed in electromagnetism, perhaps Akihabara could be demagnetised and be the same as before. The price however would be that the entire world would view this country as dangerous, and a subduing war would be a moment’s away.
The worst case scenario–would be the military intervention of the other countries in Tokyo.
It was likely that they would deal with this situation in the fastest manner possible. However, that would imply the destruction of Tokyo, and affect the region around East Asia, resulting in a global scale world.
Though I’m guessing that this theory is rather out there–Marie mocked herself.
…If the situation is going to end up like this, what can we do right now?
But more importantly, they lost two fighting forces in RyuZU and Halter, while AnchoR remained in an unusual state of being unable to battle.
No, even if all members were gathered, what could they do?
The government was on the brink of self-destruction, and the massive weapon was already a threat to the global situation. Surely it would be deemed as a threat by the major powers in the world, no?
In such a situation, what could a few self-proclaimed terrorists–do?
There was only one answer…nothing, at all.
The moment Marie got this conclusion.
Naoto suddenly stood up with an extremely grim look, saying,
“Hey, Anchor, let’s go out.”
“…Go out?”
The young girl automata tilted her little head in confusion.
“Yeah, AnchoR, you weren’t able to do anything over the 1000 years because of that shitty limiter, isn’t it? Let’s check out all kinds of things.”
“…Wah–”
AnchoR’s smile widened as she grabbed Naoto’s outstretched hand.
Marie’s narrowed her eyes, speechless as she watched them.
“Is your heart and nerves made of some super alloy or something? Do you still have the luxury to go out shopping when you’re a wanted terrorist?”
She noted sarcastically, but once she met Naoto in the eyes, she felt suffocated.
It was not a manner of speech, for her heart was certainly griped.
Naoto’s eyes remained undaunted, having discarded her who had determined that ‘nothing could be done’.
“It’s obvious.”
And with a will able to reignite the hope in Marie, who had all but given up, Naoto noted adamantly,
“Let’s do what we can do”–and so,
AnchoR tugged at Naoto’s sleeves.
She fidgeted as though she was fawning, saying,
“…I want, an order.”
“Right right, anything will do~! What exactly~?”
Naoto nodded, giving a leery smile without any hesitation,
AnchoR continued to beam as she pointed at the convenience stores just two stores away.
“…Can I, have a look…at that shop?”
“Any shop will do! I’ll buy you the entire shop no matter what it is, as long as you want it!”
“Hey, Naoto.”
Marie looked completely exhausted to sigh, and seeing this, she asked with a weary look.
“Mind telling me what are you doing right now?”
“Doing what I have to do now!”
Naoto’s grey eyes were glittering as he said,
“AnchoR has a lot of things she wants to do, but can’t do, so NOW I’m gonna fulfill them with my hands–! What else other than that?”
Marie did not answer.
All she showed was a hollow, dry smile, looking up at the sky as the sun blared upon them.
“…The weather’s fine. Speaking of which, I remember there’s an ice cream shop. How about we go check it out before Tokyo sinks…”
She muttered to herself in devastation, clearly feeling as though she had seen through everything.
They were in the shopping street of Grid Ueno–the Grid above the Grid Akihabara they escaped from.
The arcade signboard had the old words ‘Ameya Alley’ written on it.
One would feel that what happened the previous night was just a nightmare, as this place was bustling.
It was an ordinary day, but there were people passing through.
The streets were filled with shops boasting items that were filling out from their stands, and they were coupled with the calls from the stalls lined side by side–one would have a strange melancholy to such a scene…but it was to be expected of them.
–For there was a verbal blackout
They did not know anything about the massive weapon that appeared on this particular morning.
The collaborator who infiltrated the government did contact them, but even without his report, it was obvious that the government would come up with such a method.
On a certain day, there suddenly appeared an electromagnetic weapon that broke the International Treaty. Its aim was a coup d’etat, and it currently occupied Akihabara, Tokyo was on the brink of destruction–and so on,
There was no way such a thing could be explicitly mentioned.
The government–or rather, all those pessimistic about this situation, would probably make use of all their authority to control the reports.
–An expected action.
The situation was so dire, and the government doing anything troublesome would bring about a terrible outcome.
It was what as Naoto thought, what Vermouth had said, that the weapon was simply there so that the government knew ‘it was there’, delivering a fatal bomb to it.
Never mind the civilians knowing–what was worse would be that the foreign countries affiliated to
the ISS knew.
It’s really ironic, Marie thought.
The one silver lining in this series of unfortunate events for the government–was that the electromagnetic pulse unleashed by that weapon nullified all equipment that could prove its existence.
And furthermore, thanks to the terrorism forewarning from Marie and Naoto in the middle of the night, the residents of Akihabara had evacuated. It was possible to divert the attention of the people.
Upon lifting their heads, they could see the cable TV airing reports of the ‘Akihabara Terrorist Incident’ that happened the prior night.
“Due to the prior announcement of a terrorist act to freeze Akihabara, Grid Akihabara is currently being sealed. The government has called for people to be safe and avoid approaching and entering the danger zone. Also, the identity of the terrorist group that preluded the crime has been confirmed, and the government is currently looking at clues to find out where they are. With this regards to this matter, Chief Cabinet Secretary Ohatake–”
–So it went. Of course, Marie’s whereabouts were not revealed.
Even at this point, it appeared the government had no intention to admitting that thing’s existence.
Just like a bunch of fools Marie mocked.
If that weapon was to finish recharging and begin action, the news would surely spread, let alone a mere information censor. Once any greedy broadcasting studio hoping for a scoop fly in with a helicopte
Chapter end
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