I Am Not the Heroine

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What I am about to create is somewhat akin to giving life.

To be precise, it must have the essential function of self-judgment.

‘It doesn’t have to be exactly like a real brain.’

A mechanism that senses magic and mobilizes various means to attack the source until it’s eliminated.

With that as a foundation, I began to sketch the design.

“Master Key, please provide a parallel design.”

Vvvrrmmm.

And such a vessel is needed at least five times.

Well, I didn’t have to worry about mass production since Master Key and I were handling that part.

The only aspect I needed to focus on was the design of the brain, specifically the artificial intelligence and the vessel.

Mentioning artificial intelligence in a fantasy world felt honestly awkward.

But then again, it wasn’t entirely strange, as somewhere in this world, there existed beings called golems.

Apparently, they were created by an ancient civilization, but no one knew the truth about them.

In the original story, they were mentioned only as phrases from a book read by Aswel.

“Uhp!”

Fortunately, thanks to my master, Lati, and Kunder, I had plenty of materials to experiment with.

The special product from the Inferblaino Volcano that Lati gave me was particularly essential.

With plenty of materials that only appeared in such unique terrain, the potential for endless development was promising.

“……..Of course, I should exercise self-restraint.”

Out of a hundred possibilities, I only need about three right now.

Once the commission in this city is resolved, I can freely conduct my research, so until then, I just need to quickly and reliably establish the technology for production.

“First, the artificial intelligence.”

The reason I wasn’t starting with the vessel is simple.

The shape of the head must be determined first so that an appropriate body can be made.

Otherwise, I could end up with an elephant’s brain inside a human body, or vice versa.

So, I prioritized the artificial intelligence, though it was somewhat embarrassing to even call it that.

“The minimum requirements are a visual device and a classifier. And a storage unit to hold the command spells.”

Once that’s in place, I can move to the next step.

“Vision means sensing light.”

From the Space of Space, I pulled out a copper-colored ore.

Then, I inscribed golden characters in mid-air with a pen before bringing the ore close to the characters.

The ore reacted, emitting a faint golden light.

It was an ore I had acquired from a friend in another kingdom and would serve as an eye.

I sharpened the tip of the pen like a carving knife and began to work on the ore.

‘Learning gem-setting was totally worth it.’

Thanks to what I learned from Diaursil, I could bypass a part that would have taken quite a while.

This was possible because her gem-setting skills weren’t limited to gems alone.

It’s likely that the device corresponding to ‘eye’ would also be indispensable for detailed work in the future.

‘Considering the overall color… Platinum and brass sounds good.’

As I faintly recalled the structure of the head, the design of the body naturally followed.

I referred to the eyes of existing beings while crafting the ore into an eye shape.

Unlike the intricate eyes connected by hundreds, thousands of devices, mine was simpler.

I continued the work by crafting the ore into an eye shape, incorporating additional required materials intermittently.

After about three hours of work, at last, one eye was completed.

A shining mechanical eye of brass color.

Perhaps due to its shininess, it gave off a sense of liveliness.

“Now, if I just make the connecting wires and the classification device, etc… ”

First, I scanned the mechanical eye with Master Key and began mass production.

Two eyes weren’t necessarily required.

“The classification device and storage unit shouldn’t be too difficult…”

I could dismantle the coin-sorting magical tool I had made before for the classification device, and I could handle the spell storage with some external assistance.

The rest was the body, which also shouldn’t take too long.

“Uhp!”

Maybe because I wasn’t feeling anxious and was thinking leisurely, the work time surprisingly decreased significantly.

It had only been half a day, yet I had already resolved a quarter of the entire project.

“Aswel is…”

I wondered if the others had already gone out.

Having started work late at night, I looked out the window and noticed dawn breaking.

It’s likely that others had already left.

“……….Should I go too?”

After all, if this mechanical soldier gets completed, I must head there.

So, it wouldn’t hurt to take this opportunity to make my presence known and do some wall repairs.

“……….”

No, it was absolutely not because I felt lonely or missed someone.

I input an additional command to Master Key and firmly locked the door, instructing the servants not to enter.

Then, I leisurely rode Night Lux toward the wall.

* * *

Highst Wall.

It was the name of the colossal barrier that was a signature feature of Winterguard.

Honestly, the moment I laid eyes on it, I felt like I was looking at something not made by the technology of this world.

Although I had never been there, I imagined it would resemble the view from below the Hoover Dam in the United States.

It was that high, filled with a solid sense of strength.

However, that perception only held true when viewed from a distance.

“Get ready to switch shifts soon!”

“Requesting supplies!”

“They say more priests are arriving from the church, so just hang in there a little longer!”

The gate below was utter chaos.

Though unlike the panic and screams from the temporal fortress, it was closer to a natural disturbance created by countless people coming and going.

Perhaps because only the northeastern Highst Wall needed guarding, there were several times more security personnel stationed than in other cities.

Come to think of it, there weren’t many guards at the southwestern gate through which one could enter Winterguard.

That wasn’t the norm, but more so a consequence of the unusual situation that had occurred a week ago, leading to a rearrangement of personnel.

Holding the reins of Night Lux, I walked around and approached a guard.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes? Huh?”

“Do you happen to know where As… No, the Hero is?”

The guard looked me up and down before asking.

“Are you perhaps the Hero’s squire?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, the guard started talking without a care.

“Well, I suppose the Hero must need attendance given how tough his position is.”

“No.”

“But I didn’t know you had this kind of taste… Well, I suppose that’s none of my business.”

Noticing that he kept prying into strange territory claiming it wasn’t his business.

At that moment, someone approached the guard from behind.

“The Hero is that way…”

“Rui. You’re here.”

“Gulp! Hero!”

Aswel greeted the guard with a warm smile.

But for some reason, I realized that this smile was different from usual.

“Oh, it seems the Hero’s squire is looking for the Hero, so I was going to guide him…”

“I’m not a squire.”

Then, Aswel walked over to me, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me close.

Thump.

“He’s my companion. A wizard with outstanding magical skills in our party.”

“………”

I had to stand still, crumpled in Aswel’s embrace, unable to say anything.

I wanted to escape, but I failed and instead awkwardly fiddled with Aswel’s sleeve.

“Ah, ah! I’m sorry! How impolite!!”

The guard quickly bowed his head, his face pale.

Nearby, others were scolding him with expressions that screamed “Did you mess up?”

“It’s alright.”

Thanks to that, Aswel defended me.

Huh? Thanks to that?

In any case, the guard left, not wanting to be criticized anymore.

“Why did you come here? You could’ve stayed at the mansion.”

“………I was bored.”

Saying “I was lonely” felt a little wrong, after all, I wasn’t exactly a rabbit.

As I naturally released myself from the guard with parting ways, I still held onto Aswel’s sleeve.

I just… didn’t want to let go.

Aswel didn’t seem to mind too much either, so I remained by his side until we entered a room behind the wall.

“What’s the current situation?”

“Rie is keeping an overall watch from the top of the wall and providing ranged support, while Serelin and Niabella are defending below. The attacks have been stronger than Count’s warnings.”

Ariya was likely focusing on treating the injured just like usual.

“Have the types of magical creatures been identified?”

“Uh-huh. This time, there are flying ones as well. So, I guess that’s why they built the wall incredibly tall.”

Right, the flying magical creatures resembling bats were attacking the guards from afar as well as with shoulder charges.

Moreover, the wall itself was continuously being damaged, leading to large cracks appearing everywhere.

“And I came here wondering if there’s anything I could do to help.”

“But Rui, you’re already providing a significant help. We’re fine.”

“Thanks to everyone being considerate, the speed of our work has increased. I want to utilize the remaining time.”

The help I had in mind was precisely to reinforce the wall.

“Since I did it at Alpares, it shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“But the size and height are different.”

“That’s why I’ll need to climb up a bit.”

Additionally, having left Master Key behind, I couldn’t easily provide spells with the less influential pen.

“Well, there are stairs and ropes for external repair work, but…”

It would be more certain to attach additional devices to the rope to go out.

“Then I’ll tell you to get ready.”

“Oh, and.”

I grabbed the hem of Aswel’s cloak as he turned to leave.

“I have one request for you, Aswel.”

Since the rope might sway in the wind, I needed someone to help me focus on my work.

.

.

.

“R, Rui? If you’re too scared, just use the stairs…”

“No, hic, I’m not scared! Hehe, not scared at all, hic!”

No, it was way higher than I thought!

Wasn’t it just about hating bell peppers?

Wasn’t it only about hating bugs?

Is it possible that I have acrophobia too!

“Ahhh.”

“Khuugh…”

In the end, I trembled while tightly hugging Aswel, unable to do either this or that.

Then.

“R, Rui. It’s alright… so…”

Aswel gently stroked my head to calm me down, and in an instant, I felt the fear dissipate.

“……….I’m a little better now.”

“Really? That’s a relief…”

“A little, just a little. So, um, please don’t let go of this hand.”

“O, okay…”

Despite trembling, I began the wall reinforcement work while relying on Aswel’s warmth wrapping around my waist.

Afterward, although strong winds blew and the structure shook, every time it happened, I was able to quickly overcome the fear with Aswel’s assistance.

“Haah…”

“You did well, Rui.”

Finally, when I had resolved all the significant issues and came down to the ground, I swiftly distanced myself from Aswel.

“I-I-I did well, Aswel. I’ll be going now. Bye.”

Then, while hiding my flustered face from realizing what I had been doing up until now, I hurriedly fled to the mansion.