“I will be certain to solve this.”
“Really, you don’t need to take it that seriously...”
Eve was being stared at intently by <Ringo>. Ever since the incident in ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ which Eve had used a magical tool, <Ringo> had been stuck to Eve as though determined not to miss even the smallest problem.
At first, she had literally stayed attached while they moved around.
That was far too much of a hindrance, so Eve had made her restrain herself there.
At present, there were two ways to measure mana concentration: using a mana meter and X-ray imaging.
Of those, the method that could confirm mana accumulated inside a living body was X-ray imaging.
However, they obviously could not use X-rays for constant monitoring. The X-rays themselves would likely cause serious harm to the body.
“...One X-ray scan per week, enhanced medical checks, deployment and operation of cell-repair nanomachines, and the wearing of vital-check devices. I request permission for these measures.”
“Hmm... Weren’t nanomachines the first thing we stopped using because the maintenance cost was no joke?”
“Yes, Commander Ma’am. The cost will be high, but at present, we have prospects for producing Superior-series ultra-high-performance materials in satellite orbit. Looking at our revenue and expenditure situation, they have reached a level where operation is fully feasible.”
“Let me see that for a moment.”
When it came to Commander Eve, <Ringo> would attempt terrifying things without regard for profitability, so Eve needed to firmly set limits there.
Although, as an ordinary person, it was difficult for Eve to judge what counted as going too far and what counted as insufficient...
“...Self-replicating types are too high-risk, so rejected. If they’re implants, external control is possible, so this should be... Supplying them once every three days is a pain, and the effect is weak...”
Incidentally, <Ringo> had not gone out of her way to explain this, but if nanomachines could be properly operated, a complete backup of the nervous system would also become possible.
Of course, that came with many restrictions, but for Eve, who had essentially shut herself inside <The Tree>, the functions <Ringo> wanted would likely be achievable.
That said, when considering personal identity, using that backup would only be the final measure for the absolute worst-case scenario.
“Well, this should be fine... It’s high-cost, but in the end, it’s only for one person. Once preparations are complete, you may do it.”
“Yes, Commander Ma’am. Thank you. I will begin preparations immediately.”
A nanomachine implant was, quite literally, a device for controlling nanomachines implanted inside the body. It had the function of diagnosing internal body conditions and, through either internal judgment or external operation, producing and controlling the appropriate nanomachines.
And so, now that Eve had approved direct protective measures for herself, <Ringo>’s emotions recovered a certain degree of stability.
<Noos> had also sent a confidential message saying this was a temporary state of shock and would likely stabilize soon, so Eve decided to end the topic for the time being.
“...So, Asahi, you were working on the wyvern too, weren’t you? How is that going?”
“Oh, right! I was so happy about being able to use the magical tool that I completely forgot!”
Brain units using doll-machine communicators were designed to show many favorable reactions through direct contact.
For that reason, Eve, <Ringo>, and the six sisters were currently forming a fluffy pile centered around Eve. It was a mental-stabilization formation for <Ringo>.
While checking from the corner of her eye that the relaxation effect was working, Eve prompted Asahi to continue.
“We are currently in the middle of a grand disassembly, but well, we have confirmed nothing strange! For now, we have started with the torso and internal organs, but compared to existing reptiles, other than its size, there is nothing especially abnormal!”
“...The fact that there is no abnormality is the abnormality.”
Akane’s quiet supplement followed Asahi’s cheerful voice.
“With a body that massive, there ought to be some unique mechanism to maintain it. At the very least, no such mechanism has been found so far.”
“I feel like it is being forcibly solved by some mysterious magic-fantasy power! If that is the case, Asahi and the others are out of our depth! We cannot analyze the mechanism!”
“...Well, even just learning that there’s no deviation from existing biological species is a useful result, isn’t it?”
After hearing the report, Eve responded that way. But this fact contained an important implication.
A threat organism with an enormous body had a body structure very similar to existing organisms.
In other words, it was conceivable that existing organisms were being gigantified under the influence of magic fantasy.
“Also, while dissecting it, we have been taking care not to sever the connection to the <Magic Stone>, and so far, the reinforced structure function of the body tissues has not been lost! If we work hard enough, we may be able to mount this on <Titan>!”
“...Like that front-line fortress?”
“Yes, Big Sister!”
Eve glanced toward <Ringo>’s emotion graph.
For the moment, the graph was stable.
Apparently, <Ringo> was choosing to ignore Asahi’s nonsense.
“If <Titan> could exhibit this robustness, and on top of that deploy that kinetic-energy-conversion-type magic barrier, it would become a truly unsinkable battleship! Even against a flock of wyverns, it could wipe them out one-sidedly!”
“Well, yes. If it can defend against attacks from the other side, it can annihilate them one-sidedly. I suppose the problem is that we can only operate one ship...”
“If we can hunt wyverns, we can operate multiple ships!”
“I wonder if there are really that many wyverns...”
Moreover, <Wyvern> was probably a species near the top of the food chain. If they overhunted them, the power balance across the entire surrounding region would likely collapse drastically.
At the very least, even within the observable range recently, the deaths of four <Wyvern> specimens had already been confirmed. The very first one alone had caused the severe impact of monsters rushing toward the Forest Kingdom of Levresta.
“Well, if we do it, we will need to gather all kinds of information first! In the worst case, we could be slaughtered by a quantity of violence that exceeds even our own material volume!”
As Asahi said, <The Tree>’s advantage on this northern continent lay in its material volume.
And through their battles so far, multiple individuals had been confirmed capable of resisting the multi-legged tanks that served as their main land-combat weapons.
Naturally, there were multiple threat organisms even more powerful than such individuals, and it was further estimated that many similar threat organisms inhabited the <Demon Forest>.
If violence from such individual entities came pouring in as a <Death March>, then even <The Tree> would be swallowed by that wave of numbers.
“Asahi noticed something recently. This continent feels like it’s actually standing on rather thin ice...”
“I’ve been vaguely aware of that too...”
There was the <Demon Forest>, a region where threat organisms—powerful species humanity could hardly resist—roamed freely.
There was also the existence of the Prava Divine Kingdom, a nation that invaded other countries through the power of magic.
The matter of threat organisms was more ambiguous, but at least regarding the Prava Divine Kingdom, most existing nations would likely have been swallowed up if <The Tree> had not intervened.
“As for threat organisms, their territories probably change over spans of centuries, but when viewed across spans of decades, they seem almost unchanged. It feels like human species have multiplied by threading through those gaps, and that is how nations have managed to exist.”
“Well, we still don’t know why <Fenrir> suddenly advanced out, do we? But unless an abrupt event like that happens, the <Demon Forest> seems to be a good hunting ground, so I can understand why human nations have survived. The Prava Divine Kingdom, too, from an overall perspective, was simply a powerful nation beginning a war of unification.”
In terms of preserving the species, the Prava Divine Kingdom was probably, well, one possible approach. It was certain that they had aimed for prosperity, not extinction.
“In any case, first comes information gathering, and second also comes information gathering! There are still far too many unknowns, so let us keep putting more effort into it!”
“<Ringo>, make sure you check properly so this doesn’t go too far, all right?”
“Yes, Commander Ma’am.”
