Vol 3 Chapter 1 (1/2)
Chapter 1
{1}
”Con~gra~tu~la~tiooooon on your discharge, Sheltis!”
Eleventh story of Tenketsu Palace <sophia>, doruards
The grand sounds of the tru for him when he opened the door
””
He froze for a good while with one of his feet stepping into the room—
”Huh?”
The young man in his black jacket crossed his arms and blinked in confusion
He's in his teenage years with a slender face and limbs, as well as a stern expression with a hint of childishness in them And then there's the head of tea-red colored hair that easily stands out
”Ah— geez, what a poor reaction, Sheltis! On the rare occasion when there's actually so with you, it won't do if you don't use your entire body to express your joy For example, you should yell out 'Banzai!'”
Eyriey lifted both of her ar onto a toy trumpet
Fluffy orange hair and oil-stained overalls Despite being in the priirl here hardly needs to doll herself up or put on any make-up
”Banzai?”
”Hey— you've been living in the hospital for the past teeks, right? It will be a huge waste if you don't celebrate it with a more jovial mood!”
With one of her hands placed on her waist, she swung the other hand with the truether in the air
While facing the girl, the young e from his time in the hospital
”No what I'm more curious of is how Eyriey is here when I locked my room?”
Everything began teeks ago
After receiving the secret order froos <lagoon> to carry out his mission Not only did they discover the secret facility that was hidden there, he also fought with a cultured Yuugenshu, which lead to hi from serious injuries on his head One full month was required for a complete recovery from his injuries
And so, Sheltis had been staying in the tower's hospital located on the twenty-second story for the past teeks
” Could it be that Ilis did soet into my room?”
”You're right!”
Eyriey blew on the truain
”It was Ilis who got me here She said, 'Sheltis is not around, and I am really lonely'”
The girl pointed towards the direction of the bed The machine crystal <ilis>, which looked like the crystallization of lapis lazuli, was flashi+ng repeatedly in short intervals on the white bed
”That's right, Eyriey That's the way to do it Put in a few more words for me!”
” So it is indeed Ilis”
”What do you mean by 'indeed'!? I was so bored, I have calculated pi all the way to its forty seven quadrillion, two hundred and nineteen trillion, eighty four billion, two hundred it!”
I aiving up a bright red brilliance, as though she was e that
”That sounds very interesting”
”Not at all! Sheltis you big idiot! Even machines will die of boredom if there is no one by their side!”
”
But you're the one as chased out of the hospital because you were so noisy, no?”
Though she was initially staying in the hospital with Sheltis, she began to constantly cos like:”Hey Sheltis, I am about to die from boredom!” or ”Hey hey, come play with er put a blind eye to what she was doing, he had no choice but to leave her alone in his room
”Putting that aside, what are your thoughts about the hospitalization?”
”Incredibly painful I spent nearly everyday sleeping Even the doctor was stunned and asked et an injury like this?'”
”Geez Fractures to your skull coupled with bruises all over your body? Your head was bleeding profusely, and the fractured skull would have pierced its way into your brain if you had ?” — that hat the fee of him said
Special equipment and machines were used to administer various treatment cycles to his head, in tande and to keep the inflammation under control
He had undergone two consecutive weeks of the above e of him Despite recommendations froer, he was discharged today as he insisted on recuperating in his own home
”The doctor said that it's just a superficial recovery for now, so I a temporarily The wounds may crack open if I do any overly-strenuous exercise”
”As a ile when it comes to this If it is a machine, all that it need is a replaceood as new Sheltis, why don't you try replacing your whole body with mechanical parts?”
”That sounds too scary No thanks”
”Eh— It's not bad being a machine, you know?”
After rejecting the e on his bed
”Right How're things going on your side?”
”Very enjoyable I have heard plenty of things froh she's not here today, Yuto had always been together with us as well”
Eyriey hummed a tune as she poured some hot water from the teapot to a cup
”Oh right, did you know this? Back when I was hacking into the main computers of Tenketsu Palace <sophia>, it was actually Ilis who helped ht it was really strange that I had suddenly ed to decipher the encryption just like that”
”Is that so?”
That was the first tiain, it is not like theif he does not take the initiative to ask
”Mh with Eyriey, the world suddenly feels much smaller”
And with a relaxed tone, the machine crystal <ilis> continued,
”Back then, I was purely interested in the technical abilities of the hacker The person definitely e as well as talent He would be incredibly outstanding if he was in his thirties, and can be considered to be a genius in the floating continent if he was in his twenties However, I never expected the hacker to be a girl as young as you”
”That's e about”
”No, you are really outstanding Sheltis should learn fro qualities as well— Mmm!”
Thestuffed into Sheltis' bag
” Geez To think I finally ed to return after much difficulty”
”She e to bring Yuto to Tenketsu Palace <sophia> to play, Chef has been h she could not make it down here due to work”
Eyriey said that as she brought the tea cup to her lips
”Chef?”
For the two years following his exile fro female shopkeeper of The Tans
It has been a month since he returned to Tenketsu Palace <sophia>, so it was about time for him to visit
”Did Chef say anything?”
”M in the shop for two years, and the shop feels a little empty without him around'”
” Is that so”
With one less male, the work load of The Tans <sophia>, she had sent hiht she would be that depressed about it now
”She will occasionally lean her face against the table and ”
”You mean Chef?”
It was hard for hiine that the listless person was the incredibly cheerful and energetic Chef whom he knew
”What did she talk about?”
”Things like 'What a proble as Sheltis will fall off fro of poison' and etc”
”She's not depressed at all!”
”No no, she really was? And she also said, 'Ahh, I do really need a guy like Sheltis who can work for forty-eight hours straight without food or water Where on earth do I find someone like that?'”
” Well, I a - help round without rhyme or reason”
”Alright~ But you know, she does seem really lonely”
Maybe that was really the case
Despite her relaxed voice, Eyriey's eyes were giving off a really serious look
”Well I guess I'll only need to rest at home for a week After that, I'll take some time off to pay her a visit”
”Ah, you ”
”I have a whole load of stuff that I need to settle”
He gave up his chair to Eyriey and sat on the edge of his bed Sheltis heaved a sigh as he felt the repulsion froy properties of his bed
” There's so that I need to think about”
”H so serious?”
”That's right, that's not like Sheltis at all Hurry up and get to the point—”
”It's regarding the Yuugenshu”
That sentence made Eyriey and the machine crystal <ilis> fall silent at the same time
”I've been thinking about it duringthat just doesn't feel quite right No, rather, I a's amiss”
The group of Yuugenshu that breached Hyouketsu Kyoukai and infiltrated Tenketsu Palace <sophia>, and how they were led by a co presence
And then teeks ago, the thing that they saw on the unna cultivated in the water tank
”Both Eyriey and Ilis should have seen the cultivated Yuugenshu, right? I will have to confire-scale assault, it was the first tienshu Don't you two feel like there has been a lot of strange things going on recently?”
”I can understand your feelings, but the existence of the Yuugenshu have remained a mystery for the past thousand years Even if you wish to investigate it, you must at least have direction for you to work towards Do you have so in mind?”
”M the places where the Yuugenshu appeared?”
The person who replied was actually Eyriey, who had been sitting on the chair and being silent until just now
”I as regarding the Yuugenshu If you askdata Since we are dealing with monsters which we're uncertain about even after one thousand years, I'itimacy of the current compiled data”
”Sa the places where the Yuugenshu had appeared before Well, one step at a time”
The Yuugenshu that ca den> ten thousand h Hyouketsu Kyoukai to get here Where exactly did those mist monsters land, and how did they launch their attacks? He hoped he could co continent and try to see it for himself
”I agree with your intentions Should we be able to predict the appearance of the Yuugenshu, we can reduce the dae inflicted by them However, this is a colossal task Do you want to seek assistance from Ymy, so that she can mobilize the whole Tenketsu Palace <sophia> with her authority as a Priestess?”
Ymy Ele Soufflenictole The name mentioned by the machine crystal <ilis> is actually one of the Priestesses protecting the floating continent, as well as Sheltis' childhood friend
I would love to do that, but—
”No We'll have to keep it a secret from Ymy”
He stared at the brilliantly shi+ning h levels of artificial intelligence as well as judgement, and shook his head
”It's best if Ymy doesn't know about this I don't wish to make her worry”
”Because of what Monica said on the Floating Archipelagos <lagoon>? The thing about how h to maintain the barrier?”
”M my stay at the hospital”
The only people who cancontinent are the Queen and her five Priestesses
While they are always putting on a so blood-curdling pain and intense disciplines when they are alone, so as to be able to maintain the barrier
”I think it's best if I don't add on anymore burdens to the Queen or the Priestesses”
The reason for erecting Hyouketsu Kyoukai is because the biggest threat toden>
Looking at it froenshu and Garden of Corrupted Song den>are solved, the burdens on the Priestesses should decrease If they can look up on the recent abnorenshu, they would definitely be able to find a breakthrough
”Therefore I wish Ymy to focus her attention on Hyouketsu Kyoukai, and not be distracted by the h for hing about, Eyriey and Ilis?”
When he refocused his attention on the two, he was confused by their reactions
”Eh— Because right?”
With her close to bursting out in laughter, Eyriey said to the ful smile on her face
”That's right, Eyriey Fufufu I see Here I ondering why Sheltis has such a clear goal all of the sudden So it is all for Ymy's sake”
”Mh”
” Hey you two I' serious here”
”There you go again— Right, Sheltis, why don't I just help you create a love potion or so? Make Yo along with the flow and—”
”I don't need that! Get away from me! Shoo!”
Eyriey's eyes were giving off a shi+ne, as though she was expecting soaze, Sheltis pushed her away hard
”Uret back on topic You'll be restricted by your rank souard It is fine for you to want to investigate the Yuugenshu, but you will have to accept et prouard”
”I will I won't be able to participate in the conferences if I'e inconvenience in many other areas”
That includes the intelligence gathered about the Yuugenshu, the things happening in Tenketsu Palace <sophia>as well as the weapons used by the guards Since everything will be given priority to regular guards and the ranks above them, there will be tiuards
”Even if we set all those things aside for the moment, I still think Yuard”
” I'll do my best”
Just then
Eyriey suddenly nudged him on the side
”Hey hey, what about me?”
”You?”
”Iabout all these things in ht? Just like when you want me to hack into the Tenketsu Palace <sophia>'s computers”
”Ah, so you noticed? Actually, I do have a favor to ask from you”
”Alright Since I'?”
Eyriey puffed her chest with a gleeful expression on her face
”I'enshu will appear Though we already have inforenshu will appear, we still do not know if there are any patterns to that”
That h, but it is actually an extremely difficult task For the past few decades, the analysis team of Tenketsu Palace <sophia> have been continuously atte to tackle the problem, but up until now they still have not found any concrete answer
” Predicting the appearance of the Yuugenshu? An old and yet innovative idea There have been plenty who have tried to research that, but everyone gave up halfway into it — in other words, this is an area that has been abandoned since everyone is helpless about it”
The opinion of the o, there were ideas of atteenshu based on the statistics gathered from their data, and the researchers had arrived at one conclusion
It is totally unpredictable
They could not find any correlation froenshu
Then again, back when he asked Eyriey to hack into the main computers of Tenketsu Palace <sophia> he had prettymore than just an attempt at it And perhaps like back then, she
”Hmm I don't kno I should say this”
Eyriey crossed her arht line
”All I can say is, if all you are asking froive you as many as you like, since I can just repeatedly analyze vast aathered However, if you want ood reproducibility and repeatability, then I can only know after I try These sort of things require gut feeling and inspiration”
”But then, this ”
Next to Eyriey as crossing her ar machine crystal <ilis>
”Eyriey, after chatting with you for the past few days, I realized you are filled with a totally different and innovative iination and creativity that the researchers of Tenketsu Palace <sophia> and I lack The ability to think and construct theories fro that the rest of us do not have, and it's a weapon that belongs only to you”
Should Eyriey be able to successfully establish a hypothesis that none of the researchers had ever thought of before, then perhaps they will be a step closer to understanding the secrets behind the Yuugenshu
”Mht, is there a deadline? It would be better if I can co by the tiht? Which means a week later?”
A week may be too much of a rush
Since thatwithin just a few days, when it took the researchers years to do research on it
”There's no deadline, but try to be as soon as possible Okay?”
”Okay However, I have already received another request before this, and it may take up quite some time Well, the requester is over there”
She pointed towards the table
Following the direction in which she was pointing at, all Sheltis could see was theon the table
”Isn't there only Ilis?”
”Yes, that is right! The requester is me, the extremely cute Ilis!”
” This is the first ti itself as cute”
He took a look at the h He already knew this clearly since way back, but the words and actions of this machine crystal are very humane
”Well, to put it in the context of hus, this request is like a health check She will be conducting checks on ram and stored data to see if there is any virus that , I have always been conducting checks on raet someone to conduct a check on me”
”That's right Therefore, I'll be the one in charge of conducting the check Ilis already toldthe ram”
Eyriey raised her arm quickly
”I have already booked Tenketsu Palace <sophia>'s presidential suite located at the forty-seventh story that is reserved for VIP use for a whole week This is to reward Eyriey for your services, so please do a good job on nosis”
”Ohho, you really booked that room? Well done, Ilis!”
Eyriey hugged the machine crystal <ilis> at her chest and jumped up with a wide smile on her face
”That's nothing It isto inally planned to get soot discharged early Please take a look beneath your bed”
”Beneath my bed hmm?”
Deep in the darkness, are a pair of blades shi+ht
”Fixing a silverwith a layer of azure crystals of Hyouketsu Kyoukai Its limit to destruction is set to be at sevenfold— youelse, since those are the tords specially constructed for anti-Yuugenshu use Also, I constructed a black sheath made of chrome ceramic, and it is placed in the wardrobe You'll be able to use the the period when I'm not around”
The machine crystal <ilis> shall te him
As he is normally dependent on her in various different aspects, he could not help but feel a little uneasy However, there was no helping it this time round
”I guess that's all you can do Eyriey, I'll leave Ilis in your hands”
”Alright Then I shall make my move”
Eyriey tied the necklace with the machine crystal <ilis> on her neck
”—Ah, right Due to this, regarding the research on the regularity of the appearance of Yuugenshu that ere talking about earlier”
”Mnosis on Ilis first, right?”
Just as he was done saying that, Eyriey showed a mischievous smile and crossed her arms to make a '×' shape
”I was only half done hat I wanted to say In regards to that request of yours, how about I introduce you to a friend of htly weird personality, but she is incredibly strong when it comes to analysis”
”Eyriey's friend?”
”Well— it's not like we are on really good terot to know each other at the finals of the <homemade-calculator contest=””>> held by the Mechanical Bureau of Tenketsu Palace <sophia>”
”What competition is that?”
”Participants are the calculator-fanatics fro continent There's a total of one thousand and five hundred participants”
”No wait, that's quite a strange amount of people! To think that it's actually uards inTenketsu Palace <sophia>!”
Then again, it was indeed verynew friends
”Putting that aside, I initially didn't know that she orking in Tenketsu Palace <sophia> After that, I bureeted her with 'Ah, long time no see' and such”
”Ahhh, I see Which irl works for the Mechanical Bureau?”
”No, I didn't ask her yet It's not like I'm interested in which department she works in”
The girl shook her head very quickly
”In any case, help me find her, Sheltis I'll do a check on the electronic name list of Tenketsu Palace <sophia> later Well then, that's all!”
With the necklace of the machine crystal <ilis> worn on her neck, Eyriey picked up a half-assembled machine with one of her arms and took off
Sheltis looked at her tiny back as she left his room
” Phew”
As he stood in the center of the silent room, Sheltis took a deep breath
— I wonder how Y
As he thought about the face of the girl who is now taking on the role of a Priestess, Sheltis leaned his body against the chair
The last tiht when he was sent to the tower's hospital Since he knew about the hectic workloads of a Priestess, he could not help but worry if Yue