“For now.”
Ringo continued.
“At present, no problems whatsoever have been found in our functionality, cognitive ability, or data-processing capacity. We conducted comparisons across a considerable number of Brain Units, but we were unable to confirm any difference based on the presence or absence of the white shadow.”
“How fascinating! Ringo, aren’t there any other topics like that!?”
Asahi popped out from between the frozen Utsugi and Erika and charged straight at Ringo.
Ringo caught the lunging Asahi with needlessly advanced body control, spun her upright in a smooth turn, and slammed her into the nearby sofa.
“Oh!?”
“Calm down.”
After pinning Asahi by the head so she could not move, Ringo switched the projected image.
“With regard to this white shadow, we have no choice but to assume the involvement of fantasy. If a phenomenon cannot be observed based on the scientific theory we possess, then there is no issue treating it as fantasy.”
At the very least, when it came to scientific interpretations of the phenomena of this world, Ringo ought to cover everything without exception. The library that had appeared in this world at the same time as <The Tree> contained all knowledge. Since Ringo had absorbed that library in its entirety, it would not be much of an exaggeration to say that she knew everything in the universe.
“And then—”
The next thing displayed was the giant crystal discovered inside <Rein Kroin>.
“This crystal yielded no information whatsoever through analytical instruments. Even when we used the same testing methods, the results differed every time, making it impossible to identify its constituent material, but...”
CLICK.
The display changed.
“The results of conducting a new observation through X-ray imaging are here.”
What appeared there was a pure white something. Near the edges of the image, there were slight gradations of black and white, but on the whole it was displayed as white.
“Huh... well now. This again.”
Put very roughly, X-rays show hard, thick objects as white, while soft, thin things are penetrated.
“Since the target was a crystal, we had not expected penetration. However, rather than the crystal itself, the surrounding space also appears to be preventing X-rays from passing through and scattering them due to some kind of issue.”
“Haaah! So that means mana is interfering with the X-rays!?”
“Not interfering. Reflecting.”
“Either one is fine! Does that mean mana can be visualized with X-rays? It does, right! It does, right!?”
For Ringo, there was absolutely no way those were the same thing, but as a result of her education, Asahi had developed into the sort of person who did not care very much about scientific precision. Or had ended up that way. Well, it was probably an ideal trait for the initial approach of trying fantasy first. Probably.
“We should check a bunch of things right away! Let’s get the X-ray imaging equipment set up immediately—”
“Calm down.”
“Mmph.”
Asahi tried to stand, and Ringo sank her back into the sofa with an expert shift of weight. It was the body control of a true master.
“If Asahi is right, and we can confirm variations in mana density in two dimensions, then that would literally increase our resolution, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. We are currently designing measuring ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) instruments while comparing them against the mana-density meter’s numerical values. We should be able to manufacture sufficiently practical instruments quite soon.”
“Ohhh, ohhhhhh. This is it, Ringo. The second it’s done, send it straight to the front lines. Right away. Hurry, hurry!!”
Asahi, apparently having pulled in information through the network, started making noise again. Ringo flicked a glance toward Eve.
Eve sighed, then nodded.
It was not so loud that the discussion could not continue, but it was loud all the same.
“H-Hey, mmn!? Ringo, what was that all of a sudden!?”
“Let’s have Asahi be a little quieter, shall we?”
“Kyun!”
A self-propelled manipulator arm crept up, grabbed Asahi by the scruff of the neck, and threw her. Ringo chased after her, caught hold of the fabric around Asahi’s waist in midair to decelerate her, and at the same instant Ichigo and Olive, who had been seated on either side of Eve, stood up and caught Asahi. They, too, used deft body control to cancel out her kinetic energy, spun her once, and deposited her in a soft landing on top of Eve.
“W-What do you— oof.”
Eve hugged Asahi as she crashed in face-first and physically covered her mouth.
“Good. Ringo, continue.”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am.”
The next thing Ringo displayed was map data centered on <The Tree>.
“The measurements are still ongoing, but we now understand the rough distribution, so I will explain.”
It was a density map plotting the measured mana density.
“With <The Tree> at the center, the area out to roughly a 120 km radius is approximately the minimum range. From the outer edge inward toward <The Tree>, the mana density gradually increases.”
Centered on <The Tree>, several slightly distorted concentric rings were drawn. They were contour lines connecting points with the same measured mana-density value. They could not really be called perfect circles, yet they still formed a circular pattern centered on <The Tree>.
Without question, the center point of the mana density was <The Tree>.
“What concerns us is that the location with the highest mana density is the circumference roughly 1 km around <The Tree>. The mana density at <The Tree> itself is also quite high, but it is not even comparable.”
As Ringo explained, she enlarged the map.
“<The Tree> itself and the several hundred meters surrounding it are approximately 1,200%, though with some variation in shading. From there, the density rises sharply, reaching a maximum point of 2,840%. This circumference of roughly 1 km maintains a density of about 2,500%.”
The place with the highest mana density was not the center of the concentric rings, but the circumference 1 km away from it.
“Huh... Yeah... I have no idea what that means.”
Staring at the map, Eve tilted her head. Apparently this was not like the mana hotspot under observation in the <Demon Forest> of the United Kingdom of Aphrasia, where the mana density was highest near the center.
“...Big Sis... mmph!”
Asahi, who had her face buried in Eve’s chest, tapped at her with her little hand over and over. It seemed she had something she wanted to say. Reluctantly, Eve loosened her grip.
Asahi jerked her face up.
“This looks just like ripples on the surface of water, Big Sis! The properties of mana— mmph.”
It sounded like she was going to get loud again, so Eve wrapped an arm around Asahi’s head once more.
“Ripples?”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. Based on the mana-density distribution we have currently observed, there appear to be peaks and troughs very similar to ripples. Whether they are actually spreading outward like real ripples will require continued observation.”
Ringo thoughtfully switched the mana-density map to a side-view display.
Sure enough, it looked as though waves were being generated outward from <The Tree>.
If these were in fact ripples exactly as they looked, then when had they begun?
“If we continue recording fluctuations in mana density at the fixed observation points, we should eventually determine that. ...What matters is that we have at last obtained a means of observing <mana>, which appears to be the root of this absurd fantasy.”
Asahi was tapping again, but this time Eve did not let go.
“There are still unknowns, such as why mana reacts to X-rays at all, but those can likely be clarified in time. At present, observation is impossible unless the mana density is fairly high, but there are ways to work around that.”
“...If it’s X-rays, do stars emit them too?”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. However, they are absorbed by this planet’s atmosphere, so they cannot be observed at the surface. We would need to prepare an emission source. Also, to make them reach long distances, an irradiation of considerable intensity would be required. Since X-rays are high-energy, we would need to take their effects on the surrounding area into account.”
Ordinary visible-light cameras or active radar and the like had almost no effect on the target when used. But X-rays were powerful electromagnetic waves, and if they were directed at living organisms, they could cause effects such as genetic destruction.
If they were carelessly broadcast, the impact on the surrounding environment would not be trivial.
There was even the possibility that all biological life around the emission equipment could be wiped out.
Of course, if it became necessary, Eve would not hesitate to do it, but since it was impossible to predict what sort of effects might occur, caution was necessary.
“Butterfly effect, was it? I don’t know... I get that kind of feeling around the <Demon Forest>.”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am. It requires close observation.”
