As expected, the Cradle began to stir both internally and externally due to the mechanical components of Ex Machina.
“Currently, outsiders have entered the Cradle to investigate the machines of Ex Machina. Due to the research schedule, there will be frequent communication with the outside, so students are advised to refrain from…”
It had gotten to the point where even Olga Hermod had to gather the students to offer a word of caution.
That alone spoke volumes about how chaotic the situation had become.
No matter how capable Olga Hermod was, once politics got involved, there was little she could do. And because of that, there was a high probability of a security lapse.
No, in all likelihood, something was bound to happen. Unlike Olga Hermod, I had a pretty good idea of what caused this situation. It seemed like a deliberate move, so what could anyone do?
“Haa…”
Saintess Tillis.
She as the eye of the storm had drawn in all sorts of random trouble.
She always wandered through places like slums and suspected crime syndicate hideouts, so it was no wonder she had earned her fair share of grudges.
Even from the events I had confirmed through the game, there were at least five incidents.
Now imagine that kind of living provocation to evil suddenly staying in one place. Of course, it would stir things up.
“I guess I’ll have to live quietly even in the Cradle for a while.”
I had already been acting cautiously ever since Tillis set foot in the Cradle.
But now, even just walking around the campus felt unsettling.
I definitely had to avoid going anywhere near the main gate.
“Hmm…”
I tried to think a bit more flexibly.
Would I really be safe just by avoiding everything? Up until now, I had focused mainly on staying out of trouble.
And how did that work out?
Lobelia had cornered me despite me doing absolutely nothing, and Kult had mistaken me for an associate of the Oracle.
As such, even when I did nothing, problems still found their way to me.
What’s worse, this time, with a wildcard like Tillis in play, there was no telling when, where, or how a terrorist attack might break out.
So I figured I should at least take some minimal precautions.
“Yuna?”
“Hmm? You called?”
At my call, Yuna popped out from behind with a soft “Poof!”
I wasn’t even surprised anymore.
Though I hadn’t expected her to be standing right behind me.
In any case, the fact that she had been nearby was a stroke of luck.
“Hmm…”
“Why? Why did you call me? Is there something you want to ask? If it’s something my disciple wants, you don’t even need to ask.”
I hesitated for a moment.
I shook my head a few times, but in the end, I nodded.
I was ready.
“Alright, Master. I was thinking of learning a few techniques.”
“Hm? Hmmmm? Ah! So you just want to extract techniques from me, is that it?”
Wow, she might look foolish, but she was the hardest to fool. I thought she’d just be happy that her disciple was finally showing interest, but she saw through my intentions immediately.
Busted. Tch…
“Alright then, I’ll teach you a secret technique you can pick up quickly.”
“Really?”
“Mhmm! But this is a favor, okay?”
This worked out in my favor.
All I had to do was acknowledge her once and I’d get to learn a secret technique.
Since she was an assassin, she’d definitely teach me something that could even overcome physical strength differences.
“Then let’s do it around lunchtime today. You’re going to the workshop after school, right?”
“Works perfectly for me.”
I hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly.
It was almost unsettling.
***
Around lunchtime.
After grabbing a simple sandwich with Yuna, we headed to a quiet, secluded spot to begin our special training.
“To be honest, what I’m going to teach you isn’t exactly some special technique.”
“I wasn’t expecting anything special anyway.”
If it really were a special technique, it would probably take a long time to learn.
There aren’t many things in life that come easy. And even if there are, they’re not meant for me.
People should be diligent and hardworking.
“Remember the time with the barbarian? Your finishing attack failed.”
“Yeah. If I’d kept my dagger in better shape, it might’ve gone differently.”
“Sure, the condition of your dagger played a part, but your stance was a bigger problem.”
Yuna smiled brightly and held out her hand.
In the blink of an eye, a dagger appeared in her grip.
It looked just like a card trick. I was watching closely, yet I couldn’t catch the moment the dagger appeared.
“You were hugging Lady Ariel, so you could only use one arm. That’s why you lacked power.”
Chik!
Yuna’s hand moved again. It was almost too fast to see and this time, the tip of her dagger was gently pressing between my ribs.
The blade was precisely positioned between the bones.
A perfect demonstration by a skilled expert.
“A thrust targets a point, concentrating power into a single strike. That’s why even a small amount of force can deliver a lot of impact.”
Whoosh!
This time, Yuna flicked her hand as if shaking it off.
Thud!
The dagger embedded itself cleanly into the wall.
“So, what do you think is the downside of a thrust?”
I shrugged.
As a beginner, I didn’t think I could give a proper answer.
“Of course, every attack has its pros and cons. But the biggest drawback of a thrust shows when you fail to put your full weight behind it.”
Whoosh!
Yuna took a new dagger from within her clothes and, just like before, flicked her hand toward the wall.
Ting!
This time, unlike earlier, the dagger struck the wall and bounced off.
“Since it’s a technique that targets a point, if the direction of force isn’t solid, this is what happens. The reason you couldn’t pierce the barbarian’s skin is the same principle.”
“So?”
“What I’m going to teach you is simple, but it’s the textbook approach.”
Chwarak!
Yuna gave a sly grin and this time pulled out a handful of daggers over her hand.
No matter how many times I saw it, it really felt like watching a card trick.
“It’s about how to properly deliver power in any stance or situation. It’s the basics of an assassin preparing for an ambush.”
What Yuna said she would teach looked surprisingly useful.
It felt like a tailor-made outfit, perfectly suited for someone like me.
Since I was weak, I had to fight dirty and go for the unexpected, not face opponents head-on.
And what Yuna was offering to teach was a technique that could strike precisely at that vulnerable spot.
“People like us tend to put everything into a single blow, right? What do you think?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Puhihi! I knew you’d say that!”
She was probably planning to teach me this technique for when I truly became her disciple.
If I really did become her disciple, how far could I go?
It made me curious, but since I didn’t have any real desire for power, I figured it was best to set that curiosity aside.
“Well then, shall we begin?”
I had to be careful not to give in to temptation…
***
After learning how to handle daggers from Yuna during lunch, the afternoon classes ended.
As usual, I had taken a sweet nap during the lectures, and now I was rubbing my eyes on the way to the alchemy workshop.
Of course, I made sure to avoid any strange people on the way there.
However…
“Oh, Johan, you’re here!”
“What’s all this, Professor Georg?”
When I arrived at the alchemy workshop, I saw all sorts of equipment laid out and the tools that normally never even saw the light of day.
A strange sense of unease crept over me.
“You can tell just by looking, can’t you? We’ve decided to join the technology partnership this time.”
“Wait, why are we doing that? We only know how to make potions. We don’t have a clue about mechanical devices.”
“…I do.”
“Oh.”
Professor Georg was, after all, a famous alchemist.
And alchemy wasn’t just some magical technique for making potions. It also included working with metals, like metallurgy.
Right now, Ars Magna focused mostly on potions, but that didn’t mean we were incapable of doing anything else.
“Then Professor Georg, you can handle it on your own. I don’t know anything about it.”
“You really are a heartless bastard.”
“I do have blood and tears, but I’d rather not spill any.”
And if you’re going to cry, please do it outside.
Judging by the look of things, I’d probably end up working more here, and yes….there’d be both tears and blood.
Just as I was locked in this strange battle of wills with Professor Georg, it happened.
“Hmm? Are you perhaps Professor Georg’s student?”
An old man I felt I had seen somewhere before stepped out from the back of the workshop and asked.
“Oh, Head Coran. This guy? He’s, uh… basically just a parasite.”
“Hahaha! A parasite, you say? Ah! Well, I suppose it was the same in our day too. We were so desperate to steal even a single technique from our masters. It does make him a parasite, in a way. He’ll go far one day.”
To him, learning a technique wasn’t about being taught. It was about stealing it from your master.
Definitely an old-school mindset.
Still, when Professor Georg called me a parasite, I doubt he meant it in the sense of a disciple surpassing his master.
What I was sucking out of him like a parasite wasn’t skill; it was the budget.
“Head Coran, why don’t you take this opportunity to explain it to him? It seems this guy doesn’t quite understand the exact reason why we need to support this technology partnership.”
“Ah, that sounds good. I’ve always wanted to teach young people someday and now the chance has come.”
Coran Lekias was the Head of the Imperial Technology Research Department. His eyes lit up.
Seriously, why go out of your way like this…
They could’ve just taken Professor Georg instead.
“And what’s your name, student?”
“…Johan Damus.”
“Oh! From House Damus, are you? One of the Empire’s most prestigious noble families. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“The honor is mine.”
Is it because he’s older?
Most people didn’t even know where House Damus was, but this old man seemed quite familiar with my family.
“So you’re curious why us researchers need the help of you alchemists, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
I’m not actually curious.
But he looked like he wanted to be asked, so it was hard to ignore.
I mean, I did grow up in a country that values respect for elders.
I should at least be polite.
“As you know, alchemy is a fundamental field. What began as a study to create gold later had a great influence on analyzing and classifying matter.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“The things discovered through that process hold great value.”
A journey that began with lead, in the pursuit of gold.
The things discovered and developed along the way even if they weren’t gold were no less valuable.
“The reason we’re seeking Professor Georg’s help is precisely because of that metal refining technique.”
“I explained up to that point.”
Professor Georg cut in as the conversation showed signs of dragging on.
So he finds it bothersome to explain, but also hates it when things get too long? What a frustrating man.
“Ah, I see. Then I’ll just explain why we currently need that kind of technology.”
I could more or less guess the reason.
They must have used some kind of special metal in the Ex Machina device we recently secured.
But what kind of metal could it have been that they came all the way here because of it?
“The structure of the machine we seized this time was truly intricate. I hesitate to say it, but it really did feel worthy of the name Ex Machina.”
“Well, credit where it’s due. They are impressive, no doubt.”
Even if just one of the technologies they used had spread properly, the Empire’s technological level would’ve taken several leaps forward.
That machine that went on a rampage this time alone….wasn’t it built with some monstrous technology that would be hard to replicate even with modern methods?
“But the more we analyzed the structure, the more one puzzling aspect began to emerge.”
Was the technology really that advanced?
I tried to recall what I saw then.
A huge machine made of steam engines and gears.
It certainly looked intricate.
But was it really beyond interpretation, even with the combined efforts of the imperial and Cradle research teams?
“The structure was complex, but not incomprehensible. We could probably recreate it in a week.”
Coran Lekias spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
But before long, he continued with a serious look on his face.
“But even if we recreate it exactly, it still wouldn’t move.”
Coran Lekias grinned.
“There’s a crucial something missing from that machine. Haha!”
He wore the expression of a child who’d just discovered a new toy.
“It’s the cooling system. If we build it using conventional methods, it would probably overheat and explode.”
That machine was both huge and intricate.
With steam engines and gears all working together, the heat generated must have been enormous, yet there was no cooling system?
A metal that withstands extreme heat.
One that endures high pressure.
And even after prolonged exposure to steam, it doesn’t rust?
They want us to figure out the structure of that kind of metal?
I instinctively glanced over at Professor Georg.
“What are you looking at?”
“…Just, hang in there, professor.”
Good Grief. They really asked the wrong person.
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