3-20: Same as Ever (3/4)
Originally, the odds of people, who made a living out of searching ruins, happening into a golem was really low.
That’s because they usually searched ruins dated 1,000 to 2,000 years back.
For some reason, only the ‘real’ ruins from over 3,000 years back have golems.
But even then the common sense when meeting a golem was to run away.
After all, they were self-moving soldier dolls immune to magic.
One could indeed cut them if one had an excellent sword and the skills to go with it, but the golems would keep moving until their magic core is destroyed, making destroying them take a lot of effort. So, it made more sense to just run away.
Obviously, defeating an enemy like that as if it were a given would leave anyone flabbergasted.
“But anyway… Anyway, I say! Those materials are at most reflective or diffusive, but these Anfotoniums can neutralize. Ah, but they can’t seem to actually affect the area around them and do require direct contact to work.”
Youko gave him the look when he tried to forcefully push forward the conversation, but that just made him want to move the conversation ahead even more.
Anfotonium’s effects went beyond Falandia’s anti-magic material that has been refined since times of old, though its effective range remained the same and required direct contact to work.“Garesto only started seeing these stones as jewels these past decade or two. Apparently, it’s a fairly strange stone. They only exist underground and yet unless they’re regularly able to make contact with the air, they’re just stones. They also turn into sands if they’re not processed after being turned into a jewel.”
Apparently, because of that it found popularity to some as a vanishing jewel.
From the sound of it, it seems like a stone from a fantasy world, but the fact that such a stone could be turned into a jewel through research and technology was enough to show the height that Garesto’s science and technology has reached.
“Most of the stones though are buried and lost before they can be turned into jewels, making their rarity even above that of pure photon. But then again it’s not like the government is searching for them as hard since they’re not an energy source…”
“But people are desperate to get their hands on them behind the scenes, right? After all, what was once just a bunch of strange stones have now turned into dangerous things that could kill people.”
“Yeah. Whether it’s in their day to day life or their weapons, Garesto is supported by photon energy. If word of this stone’s existence were to get out, and if anti-government advocates were to get their hands on them…”
It won’t end well. There were plenty of ways to use them.
Equipped, one could become immune to most attacks and penetrate defenses. They could make it easy to get past the barriers and photon energies meant to protect cities and important facilities. Even stopping the essential utilities could be possible depending on how one went about things.
Perhaps it was because they were afraid of just that that this information was not made public, and even in the host computer, only a little information about it could be found from the details concerning Teacher Frank’s transfer to this school.
Unfortunately for them, that wasn’t enough since Shinichi just needed to know about something to investigate it.
Much less…
“They’ve handed it over already, haven’t they?”
“They have indeed.”
‘Ha ha ha’, the pair of master and fox lightheartedly laughed. They couldn’t not laugh.
After all those stones have already been handed over to the terrorist support organization, Nameless.
They might not know how they were able to find out about these stones, but their actions were more than enough proof that they knew their value.
But to the countermeasure department who didn’t know the value of the stones, they had no way of understanding the truth behind the incidents.
And for some reason, Garesto doesn’t seem to have noticed either. Perhaps, they just haven’t investigated deep enough yet to find out about the robberies.
But that’s not really their fault. After all, the only reason Shinichi was able to find out this much was because he could easily read up on both side’s information.
Still, given the situation, he should at least leak the information that Garesto ought to know. It was much better to do so than not.
“Sensei sure discovered something troublesome. If he were a little calmer, he would have realized that his discovery wasn’t a good thing, but I guess he was just too excited to realize that. A new discovery is an achievement, after all.”
Shinichi could understand how he must’ve felt after investigating the Doneju Family, but it was still a troublesome story that greatly troubled other people and resulted in him suffering from his own actions.
“The moment they couldn’t get all of the stones, there wasn’t much use for them at the military or civilian sector, but it’s precisely because they’re useless there that they’re useful for terrorists.”
“Someone higher up apparently thought so too, and so covered up the research results and banished our dear teacher from the scientific society.
On the surface it looks like he was demoted and thrown to this school, but… The truth isn’t something so laughable.”
The two wryly smiled at each other as they felt like telling the man that he should have had the foresight to realize that much.
Three years ago Frank was put in charge of the Technology Class.
Kutoria has little connections with the outside world and requires the people living on it to get permission before leaving, so it’s a convenient place for holding non-criminal personnel that the government wants to isolate.
Strangely enough, Shinichi’s gut feeling upon coming here was actually completely correct.
Although that’s also why it wasn’t funny.
“And sensei wasn’t the only one who was placed here. I’m talking about that. No, it’s fine. I also came here because of those advantages.”
Going out of the city was difficult and the residence terms were strict; hence, to someone like him who wanted to run away, no place could be more convenient.
But the only one who came to this city on his own volition despite knowing that was him.
“Your motives aside, master, just what kind of place is this? The more we investigate it, the less it appears to be a school and more like a den of evil.”
Youko sighed as she pointed that out, causing Shinichi to wryly smile.
After investigating this much and after seeing the school, anyone would feel like saying that.
A floating city where terrorist incidents were common place and raybeasts existed.
Residents and students who accepted that strange circumstance almost matter-of-factly.
A self-governing organization being manipulated by the Earth government and the Garesto government. In the academy was the daughter and heiress of one of the Ten Great Nobles, the Padyuel Family, and among her subordinates were those who held anti-Earth sentiments and those overly concerned with rank.
A student council that acted independently made up of school alumni.
A gulf between the teachers due to the difference in subjects taught, and people isolated from society.
A battle-crazed female teacher renowned as the Holy Sword, said to have adherents even in the army.
A top Japanese student who dared to stay in Garesto after drifting over and went wild.
A fox girl whose tail just can’t seem to be caught no matter how deep one investigated her.
A group of bottom feeder students whose talents and dreams seemed to be going nowhere.
“I think it just has that kind of side to it too, but… I see. So this is the kind of evil den that I transferred to, huh.”
“The way I see it, the only future this place has is one giant explosion. Not saying what the cause is, though.”
It was to a place like that that a boy from another world and with more secrets than one could imagine transferred.
Yes, that same unlucky boy who caused incidents so frequently that he wanted to cry.
His luck was so bad that he could tell what Youko was implying even though he didn’t want to.