Chapter 143: The Combination of Magic and Technology, Could It Be the World's Strongest?
BANG—
A fist slammed hard on the table, the loud sound echoing through the old dormitory.
The young man glared fiercely at the bewitching, mature woman who had squeezed him completely dry and then ignored all his hard work by telling him it was impossible.
"Hey! What do you mean you can't modify RyuZU? You'd better explain it to me properly!"
His forcibly lowered voice and the dangerous tone made it clear that he was extremely angry.
He had gone through so much trouble to sneak in here, bypassing the academy's checks, and had gone to great lengths to help Raishin just for a chance to meet her. He had even offered RyuZU's unique automaton technology as an unequal exchange.
After all that setup, she was telling him it couldn't be done?
How could he not be angry!
Irori stood in front of Shouko, looking nervously at the enraged Kobayashi. The temperature around her dropped slightly, a clear sign that she had entered a combat state. The man before her was a puppeteer who, like Raishin, was skilled in martial arts. If he got close, it would be very dangerous.
But Kobayashi was still rational.
Shouko Karyuusai was not the type of person to take the benefits and then kick someone to the curb. And he still held the manufacturing data of the "Karyuusai Dolls," which she was afraid of him spreading. So, for her to say it was impossible, there must have been some obstacle.
Thinking of this, he understood.
Furthermore, the necklace on his chest was emitting a faint glow, preventing his anger from rising again. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, took a deep breath, and his anger slowly dissipated.
He opened his eyes, which had returned to their usual clarity.
Shouko smiled bewitchingly. "Oh? I thought you were going to pounce on me in a rage."
It was unclear if she was praising his strong self-control or belittling him for not being able to control his emotions.
He rolled his eyes and said with a sneer, "Even if I did pounce, you would have had the big sister next to you forcibly 'calm me down,' right?"
He pricked her lightly with a cold joke.
Irori's ability was to absorb a large amount of heat from the surroundings in an instant to lower the temperature and form ice. Even he, who could use magic, could not prevent his body temperature from being stolen. That was why Shouko had been so confident.
She didn't need to defeat him, just stall him long enough to give her time to explain.
"Alright, then let's hear the reason."
He rested his chin on his hands. Although there was no more hostility or killing intent, his eyes were still filled with a dangerous look. If she didn't give a reasonable explanation, he was going to fly into a rage on the spot.
This unspoken warning was conveyed to her. She was not nervous, but instead asked a question.
"Do you know how many gears are in RyuZU's body?"
"Four trillion, two hundred seven billion, six hundred eighty-six million, four hundred and three!"
He blurted it out instantly, without any hesitation.
She was so stunned that the hand that was about to light her pipe paused in mid-air. The flame burned her fingertips, turning them slightly red.
Only when the pain reached her nerves did she react and throw away the match.
"Ouch."
"Master!"
Irori quickly came forward and used her own magic to apply a cold compress to the burned finger.
While the master and servant were busy with the bandage, he continued to press, "And then? There are a total of four trillion, two hundred seven billion, six hundred eighty-six million, four hundred and three gears in her body. So what?"
"No, it's nothing."
She shook her head, smiled bewitchingly again, and asked in return, "And the neural circuits connected to her?"
"Sixty-two trillion, nine hundred forty-five billion, six hundred thirty-four million, five hundred seventy-four thousand, five hundred and seventy-eight!"
Again, he blurted it out without hesitation.
"You... are a really good master," she sighed for some reason.
RyuZU had no design schematics. This was a point he had made clear when they first started their research. Because he had obtained her by chance, it was excusable that there were no blueprints.
And for him to know the ridiculously high number of gears in her entire body without any schematics was already quite admirable.
Seeing her attitude, he seemed to have understood something.
"From the way you're talking, this is the obstacle?"
"That's right. The absurd number of gears is giving me a real headache. After all, my eyes can only see through magic, not through a ridiculous number of gears, especially when they are arranged in such an intricate and unchangeable way."
She took a light puff from her pipe and, for the first time, showed a bitter smile. It was the expression of someone who had been deeply struck. And the fact that he actually knew exactly how many there were had truly shocked her.
After a moment of silence, she slowly opened her mouth again. "Do you know about chain reactions? It's when a change in one thing causes a series of related things to undergo corresponding changes. Her core is her heart (the Imaginary Switch), but not all of her parts are controlled by it. It is assisted by the neural circuits, which is why there is such an absurd number of them."
Simply put, if there was the slightest misstep during the modification, her entire body would disintegrate, and it would be irreversible.
"Wait, I have a question."
"What is it~"
"The 'Oborofuji' and 'Setsugetsuka' you created are all girl-type humanoid automatons, the same as her. Can't you perform even a simple modification with that knowledge?"
"If you're talking about taking the two scythes from under her skirt and installing them on her back as wings, I can do that for you."
A merciless mockery.
But it also showed from the side that she disdained to do such a perfunctory, low-end modification. For a moment, he didn't know whether to be glad or pained.
He rubbed his temples.
Just as he thought there was no way to strengthen her, he heard her suddenly say something else.
"Besides, she isn't a true automaton, is she?"
"...What are you trying to say?"
"Don't try to fool me. Who do you think I am?"
She, who was known as the "Number One in the World of Lifelike Automata," stared intently at his face and slowly said, "Actually, she can be activated even without mana, right? She can even use her own power without having mana injected."
Seeing him put on a blank poker face, she didn't mind, because he had already been exposed.
"There are indeed Magic Circuits in her body, but they only serve to slightly protect the delicate gears. It's like making a beautiful frame that matches a magnificent and elegant oil painting, just to mount it and protect it from external wear and tear."
A very fitting description.
It had to be said, she was worthy of being the number one. The purpose of the [Supreme Throne]'s Magic Circuits he had installed in her was precisely this.
"And, she isn't a Bandoll... hmph, what am I saying? Isn't that perfectly obvious?"
A trace of fanaticism flashed in her eyes, mixed with a deep sense of defeat.
"That's why I said I'm completely helpless in this situation. To be able to create such a perfect automaton with gears alone... I really want to meet him..."
Then, she took another long drag from her pipe.
After spending a few days with her, he had discovered that whenever she encountered something shocking, she couldn't help but take a big puff to forcibly calm herself down.
I see. I think I understand what she means.
Pure mechanical technology versus magical biological technology.
All of her creations were Bandolls. Besides the Eve's Hearts inside them, they each had human organs in their bodies, so to maintain their activity, they had to eat meat like Sigmund. But RyuZU was different. Being purely mechanical, she didn't need to eat or drink. As long as she was wound up, she could operate as usual.
Was that why she felt a sense of defeat?
He also had the same feeling. The more he understood RyuZU, the more he could feel just how ridiculous and powerful her creator—"Y"—was.
"But..."
Her lazy body sat up straight, as if ignited with some strange impulse. Her sudden movement made everyone feel that she was about to do something.
She said, "I will absolutely not admit defeat so easily!"
As expected. After seeing an automaton from a different system that is on par with, or even slightly better than, her own, her competitive spirit has been ignited?
"Then what do you want to do, Number One in the World of Lifelike Automata?"
"—An Eve's Heart."
Her head lifted slightly, the flames in her eyes growing more and more intense.
[Eve's Heart]
It is the device necessary for an automaton's activity, equivalent to the position of a heart. Almost all automatons are equipped with a basic circuit called an "Eve's Heart," which gives the automaton self-recovery, self-awareness, intelligence, and a sense of biological reality.
It was the foundation of the automatons of another world, a system different from RyuZU's.
"If we do that, won't it cause a conflict?"
"Who knows?"
"Hey—"
"After all, this is my first time seeing a purely mechanical, intelligent life form that doesn't rely on magic..."
A combination of magic and machinery?
He tapped his brow and began to think, believing that this was actually feasible.
"Besides, whether you agree or not, I'm going to do it. But the decision of whether to install it is in your hands."
"...For you to be so willful is really not like you."
"Can't be helped. Who told me to be so restless right now?"
Her smile became even more bewitching.
It seemed that studying RyuZU during this period had given her a great deal of inspiration, and she wanted to have a good, hearty experiment right away.
He was still a little worried.
"What's the success rate?"
"I don't know. But it must be very high. Because her body does not reject mana. The proof is that the Magic Circuit in her body was not disturbed when it was operating."
If that was the case, then he was even more confident.
"By the way, do you know about mana?" she suddenly asked. "That boy (Raishin) said you know about mana, and even said arrogant words like 'nobody knows it better than you.' So... can you explain to me, what is the definition of mana?"
"A special energy that can perform composite functions. You can call it a binder or a medium."
He spoke without hesitation.
Under her curious gaze, he used a beginner-level magic spell while explaining it to her.
A small flame shot out from his fingertip.
"This is fire. To ignite it, you need the fire element, or you can call it a fire particle. It's a boson, just like photons and gravitons."
"Atomic theory?"
"That's right. After all, the basic composition of matter in this world is atoms. It's not wrong to call it atomic theory. And the role that mana plays in it is as a medium that triggers phenomena. At most, it's just a symbol."
"At most? What a harsh way to put it."
"Hahaha, is that how you see it? But if you knew that there is an energy that far surpasses it, you would surely have the same attitude as me."
"What is it?"
"Divine power."
As if to punish her for deliberately keeping him in suspense, he held a sliver of divine power in his fingertip and slowly pointed it towards her brow, stopping only when his finger was about to touch her smooth skin.
And she, as if scared silly, didn't move, her eyes staring blankly, it was unknown what she was thinking.
Tap—
The finger, with its divine power dissipated, lightly tapped her brow, waking her up.
Her body couldn't help but tremble. It was unknown if it was from excitement or fear. She asked in a low voice, "What was that? Why was there such a terrifying yet all-encompassing pressure?!"
"Divine power. The divine power of the Goddess of Water," he said with a smile.
That mysterious look made her very unhappy, but looking at him, she knew he definitely wouldn't tell her.
"You really have a lot of secrets."
"Maintaining an air of mystery is how you attract a woman's attention."
"If that was your goal, then you have already successfully attracted the attention of me, the number one in the world of lifelike automatons."
"Then I am truly honored."
The verbal battle between the two finally ended with each of them winning a round... no, by piquing her curiosity about divine power, he had probably gotten the upper hand.
Back to the topic.
He sat up straight and asked seriously, "What do you need me to do? My hands... should be able to help."
"That's right. Your hands are very important."
She really did need his help. Because...
"First, take out the Magic Circuit in her body."
"...Eh?"
"What is this? That technique is crude to the extreme! The Magic Circuit wasn't even fully used! Such a top-tier thing is just being used to protect the gears? Are you kidding me? What a desecration of a heavenly treasure!"
She rarely got angry. It seemed his previous modification of RyuZU was truly despised by the number one in the field.
"Wait, wait. How did you know the Magic Circuit in her body was installed later?"
"Isn't that obvious? Because the style is different."
Just as painters have their own style and calligraphers have their own handwriting, the gears and the Magic Circuit in RyuZU's body were incompatible.
Was that why she had said that?
"Also, I already said it, didn't I? She can operate without mana, so I couldn't think of a reason why she would need a Magic Circuit."
"...I see."
He suddenly understood. Her saying that before was not just to prove herself, but also to test the Magic Circuit.
He was the one who was best at catching others' small slip-ups in their words, but he hadn't expected to be the one caught this time.
"And, what do you plan to do with it?"
"Of course, I'm going to make an Eve's Heart that can utilize this Magic Circuit to its fullest and is incomparably compatible with her! Just you watch, boy. This may be the strongest 'heart' in the world!"
"The strongest..."
It had to be said, he was also looking forward to it.
(End of Chapter)