<Cosmos>, while staring at the mana meter brought into the research facility, was racking their brain.
As expected, taking apart something of which there were only two units right away was frightening.
One unit was currently being carried by an Android Communicator dispatched to <Demon Forest> for on-site confirmation.
The remaining one would have to be examined non-destructively.
Using manipulators, <Cosmos> lightly tapped it with a plastic hammer.
From the echoes of that sound, they inferred the internal structure.
They tapped it several times and recorded multiple echo profiles. From the analysis results, the exterior was inferred to be wood, and the interior to contain many hollow spaces.
It was not a complete cavity, and it seemed there was a mechanism inside that moved the needle.
The mana meter was a box roughly palm-sized, and its surface opened on a hinge. Inside was a needle that swung left and right, and by the movement of this needle, the density of mana could be understood.
However, there were no scale markings, and it was unclear where the zero point was.
At the very least, inside this research facility, the needle was all the way to the right.
When the mana meter was lightly shaken, the needle also swung, so it did not seem to be fixed in place.
When the magic stone of a monster hyena transported from the Fratara Outskirts Base was brought near, there was a response, so it was inferred that mana was closely related to magic stones.
In the worst case, if it broke, they would disassemble it.
Having decided that, <Cosmos> performed an X-ray imaging.
It was unknown what impact radiation would have, but fortunately, it did not affect the mana meter’s function.
The captured images were analyzed, and the structure became roughly clear.
Something string-like wrapped around some kind of substance. That string was tied to the base of a metal needle, and the needle seemed to be fixed on an axis.
A mechanism where the needle moved left and right as the string-like thing expanded and contracted.
Considering that the materials were the Forest Tiger’s magic stone and whiskers, it was probably that the whiskers were wrapped around the magic stone into a coil shape, and its expansion and contraction was used to move the needle.
The Forest Tiger’s whiskers could be considered a material that expands and contracts in response to the density of mana.
It was far simpler than expected, and it was also a physical mechanism.
Since there was no shock absorber, the vibration of the whiskers’ expansion and contraction could not be absorbed. This was probably the reason the needle vibrated.
If so, then as long as they could obtain the same materials, it seemed that <The Tree> side could also produce prototypes.
Even so, it was unknown whether this mana meter would continue to operate normally even if it was disassembled.
It was also possible that due to some magical fantasy element, it would not function unless it had this shape, or that something not visible in an X-ray image was being used.
Since its function had not been impaired, <Cosmos> decided to deploy this mana meter to the field as-is.
They had a mana meter mounted onto a drone about one meter in size, and by filming the needle’s movement with a camera, they cobbled together a mobile probe.
An Android Communicator was accompanying adventurers, so it could not move freely.
Using this drone mana measurement craft, they would create a local mana density map.
If it moved too quickly, it could not measure accurately, so its movement speed was about that of a person walking. To be honest, the efficiency was very poor.
They could only hope that the adventurers who had resumed activity would deliver the materials for mana meters.
******
“Commander Ma’am. Since an anomaly was discovered inside a Fairy Circle in <Demon Forest>, we will dispatch an investigation unit. Will you confirm?”
“Hm?”
To Commander Ma’am, who was running in the fitness room, <Ringo>, standing by at her side, asked that.
“Since we have the chance, maybe I’ll go take a look......”
“Then, to the command room.”
As Eve stepped down from the running machine and began walking, <Ringo> briskly wiped her sweat while following alongside.
Without obstructing Eve’s movement, they attended to her while walking. It was the movement of a seasoned expert.
After receiving a sports drink from a cylindrical auxiliary machine that approached from the side, <Ringo> offered it, and Eve thanked them and put her mouth to the straw.
It was perfect.
They predicted Commander Ma’am’s every movement, and executed perfectly flawless attendance.
Lavishly using <The Core>’s resources, tracing down to each individual artificial-muscle fiber of the Android Communicator, <Ringo> was in top form today as well.
“This is the photographed Fairy Circle.”
“Oooh......? Something feels really blurred, or......?”
On the command-room monitor was the most recently photographed Fairy Circle.
Since it was a satellite image, it was a straight-down shot, but the Fairy Circle that previously traced a clean circle was now filled with green, and even its outline looked vaguely blurred.
“Based on analysis, it appears vegetation is proliferating rapidly. Some specimens already exceed five meters in height. It was predicted that within one week, the trees will extend to roughly the same level as the surroundings.”
“H-Huh...... So they grow that rapidly.”
Naturally, trees did not grow in height that rapidly.
There were plant species with extremely high growth power, like bamboo, but based on image analysis, it was assumed these were not such special plants, but the trees that commonly grew inside <Demon Forest>.
“It is believed there is some kind of magical fantasy effect. We conducted interviews in Northend City, but we were told there are no records of such cases.”
“Well...... Unless you observe it every day, you wouldn’t notice something like this.”
Moreover, the area where this phenomenon was occurring was quite deep when viewed from Northend City.
To begin with, it was a region where Fairy Circles were unlikely to form in the first place, and from within the forest, unless you happened to reach that spot, you likely could not observe it.
“For investigation, we sent a squadron of tilt-rotor aircraft. Since it is assumed to be an abnormal situation, in the worst case, we are also assuming total loss.”
“Mm, well, can’t be helped. If they crash, what do you do?”
“If recovery prospects cannot be established, we incinerate the control hardware with thermite for confidentiality. After that, we destroy it with long-range bombardment.”
They could not allow a civilization society other than <The Tree> to obtain technical information that was not under a control mask.
Therefore, it was decided that equipment that became unrecoverable in locations not under their influence would, as a rule, be completely destroyed.
“And...... oh, you’re taking a mana meter.”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Since it is a clearly anomalous point, for investigation. It ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) is valuable, but it is not something that can absolutely never be obtained.”
The mana meter installed on the aircraft in flight showed some fluctuation, but it was basically no reaction. So far, no conspicuous reaction in the air had been confirmed.
“Well, that’s a point worth poking at. It seems like we’ll get information out of it more than if we handed it to Asahi.”
By the way, if they handed it to Asahi, the probability it would be taken apart into pieces was predicted at 280%.
It was a forecast where she would disassemble it once, then reassemble it, then disassemble it again, then reassemble it again, and then it would become irreparable. The probability that she would disassemble it again after it became irreparable was 80%.
If Asahi were in Northend City, handing it over and having her investigate would have been one option.
In an environment close to <Demon Forest>, it would be just right for trying various things.
However, the judgment that, since she was in the rear, the investigation would not progress, accounted for half of the reason it was not entrusted to her.
And of course, there was no way the worrywart Commander Sis-ter Eve and <Ringo> would send Asahi to the front line.
“The butterfly monster that occurred inside the Fairy Circle has already moved toward the Northwall Mountains. At the very least, there are no threat-creatures detectable from above.”
“Even so, what scares me is that you don’t know what’s going to show up...... If those wyverns come at us as a flock, we’d have no choice but to withdraw......”
Even the wyvern that <The Tree> shot down was something they only barely managed to oppose by having multiple units beat it senseless together.
If threat-creatures of that class attacked as a flock, even <The Tree> would not escape a hard fight.
The threat-creatures encountered so far had basically been solitary.
Methods to counter them individually were prepared, but it had to be said that countermeasures against flocks were lagging behind.
“Well, anyway, information. If something shows up, it’d be interesting, though......”
In the footage, the investigation unit approached the Fairy Circle.
