0% This might be a bit random at this point, but I always wanted to get my hands on big money since I was a kid.
I wasn’t talking about tens of billions that normal rich people dealt with, but way more than that.
It wasn’t because I was greedy; I was far from that in the first place. I was the type of person who made gold leafs for proton scattering experints instead of a ring when they ca across a gold nugget.
That nature didn’t change in this world or the next; I sailed through ti as who I was.
So woman or man, human or machine–gender or race didn’t matter to a researcher.
“I respectfully ask the Minister of Economy: I need more money.”
“But at this rate, the country’s finances will....”
Today, I was holding another demonstration in front of the Ministry of Economy building. My opponent was a mber of the famous Rothschild family.
“The enemy is already at our doorstep, aren’t they?”
Give research money. If not, I’ll blast you with an h-bomb.
“Haa.... will one billion ellans be enough?”
“Two billion.”
“......Understood.”
It was sweet today, too.
The status and power to freely do big science! Oh how sweet it was. I felt like I was going to get addicted.
I would never be able to do it again when I got back to Earth, would I? The thought made a bit sad.
Anyway, that wasn’t what was important right now.
I spent an astronomical amount of money, and the result was incredible achievent in a short period of ti.
“Minister! We discovered a new superconducting material similar in structure to olivine!”
“What’s the critical temperature?”
“At 10 atmospheres, it’s about 477.38 in absolute temperature.”
“......Oho.”
Holy shit.
This was Nobel Prize-worthy.
“It wouldn’t be following the traditional superconductivity theory....... Did you just happen to make one by accident?”
“Yes, it was the result of two shifts of Air Mages working non-stop.”
“Good, very good.”
We achieved the first goal much earlier than expected.
Then we could move onto working on scrolls right away.
But first, I had to et with Akasha and Rosemary, because we needed White Night to be able to trigger it at any ti.
I got up, thinking to take Klais or soone else with .
“Minister, we’re in trouble─!!”
Geebus, that scared .
“What is it?”
“The Demon Army is attacking directly from the coastline. You need to evacuate before it gets out of hand!”
“.......”
“...Um, Minister?”
Knew it, I was wondering why they weren’t coming.
There were golem-turned-artillery and Elental Mages encamped on Märcherm’s coastline, and amongst them were many veterans at Cecil Renay’s level.
It was probably sturdier than the German fortifications built on Normandy coast during World War II. Just how gutsy was this bastard to attack such a place?
The answer was obvious, but I decided to ask anyway.
“Who’s the commander-in-chief?”
“That’s... it just happened so I’m not sure.......”
“If you don’t know, then please take note.”
Whether I liked it or not, there was only one person to do sothing this bold.
“Gilach of Sumr Heaven. He has co.”
Co to think of it, they haven’t been shooting atomic bombs as frequently lately. They seed to be taking a break.
Perhaps Jǫrmungandr was tired, or it could also be that they used up all the bombs to take down the Fire Elental King.
Either way, the Demon Army didn’t have the absolute advantage right now.
If we were to move, now would be the ti.
“You know that lithium refinery they’re building in the capital? Tell them to stop for now because it’s dangerous.”
“How are you going to proceed with research and developnt if we stop?”
“The research can be done sowhere else first.”
–was the excuse I gave to the secretary. Because sothing like lithium, it didn’t really matter if we had it or not.
“The rest of the research staff will move to Ivy Island and continue; we’ll be constantly interrupted if we stay here.”
Ivy Island was a secluded island far from the capital.
Rosemary and Akasha were there.
“We’ll go and make one for a test.”
We had a superconductor. Now with their help, we could make Dark Day even if it wasn’t perfect.
A thousand years. It was the mont when all that research was going to co shining through. The end of war wasn’t far off, indeed.
“Contact the front where General Pecton is right now, tell him to bring the elf nad Verl Horde.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The assistant bowed and left.
Thankfully, Gilach’s attack that day was minimal. I had heard that Kaurelia’s navy was powerful, and they seed to have held them off well.
The next day.
I stayed up all night to pack my things.
I even brought a few of my acquaintances with as we evacuated–Lotte, Freyr, the Hasfeldt sisters, and finally, Yufiel and Leninya.
After sharing the situation, we agreed to move locations via a port that hadn’t been attacked.
When we arrived at said port, seeing a familiar face was a bonus.
“......Aether.”
A voice I had heard many tis before.
It was Verl.
“Hey, how have you been?”
“Don’t even ask. The pains of going to the army twice, I tell you.”
“Haaa.... Thanks for all your hard work.”
I hadn’t experienced being in the army in the other world so I couldn’t fully sympathize. Even in the Demon Army, I had been a technical advisor, not a combat soldier.
“You worked hard. Well.... So that aside. You know why I called you, right?”
“Of course.”
We looked at each other and grinned slightly. There were people who misunderstood seeing us like this, but whatever. I didn’t really care to explain.
Things would go back to the way they were when I went to the other world, anyway. Although I didn’t know if I’d beco Aether, or Aether would beco .
Man or woman, what did it matter as long as you lived?
“Let’s go.”
I told the navigator to raise the anchor.
The coal-fired stear spewed out a fog-like burp as it pushed forward. In the early morning, the fog cleared to reveal a vast expanse of sky.
On the way to the island, we talked in private.
“To be honest, you can’t beat Sumr Heaven in your current state.”
“Well isn’t that great news.”
The first thing we talked about was Gilach.
Gilach and I were long-ti enemies.
In this world, I wasn’t from Ahrens continent. I was born in so archipelago sowhere out there.
I had been a street urchin since arriving on the continent, and when I had been powerless, I was an easy target for slave traders and bandits, though I managed to escape because I was agile.
Those days of roasting wild plants over a campfire in rags... I never wanted to go back to them again.
Gilach, on the other hand, was a High Elf, aning he was born in Kaurelia.
The guy who seed like he would’ve had a good life besides being born with yellow eyes, suddenly turned against the world and joined the Demon Army.
Even so, he refused to be grouped with as the sa ‘gold-eyed’. He didn’t get along with Pasmo, who was a dwarf, either, but he had been especially an to .
Though to be exact, we hadn’t had a sense of camaraderie, either.
“If we’re going to sink him, I want to sink him with my own hands.”
“And I told you, you can’t as you are right now.”
It was frustrating, but I knew. That was why I needed Dark Day.
And I needed Verl to buy ti to make Dark Day.
“You got any tricks up your sleeve?”
“Only one.”
Verl glanced in a direction, and my head slowly turned to follow his gaze.
There, chatting with Yufiel, was a Golden-Eyed girl.
Leninya.
A girl with even deeper red hair than Lotte. The way she was smiling slightly with her bangs hanging was cute.
“The boat ride reminds of the last ti I ate at a sashimi restaurant.”
“Yeah.... It’d be nice if we could go back after the war.”
Despite her sotis dangerous comnts, she and Yufiel were still close.
I felt proud that I raised two good students.
But wait.
Leninya was the hidden card for taking down Gilach?
“What do you an?”
“It’s a long story.”
To summarize Verl’s next words:
Gilach was a bourgeois. Leninya was a proletariat.
“To Gilach, Leninya is his natural enemy.”
Apparently, their Innate Magics were opposites of each other.
I could only quirk my head, because Leninya had never shown any of her Innate Magic.
Moreover, Leninya was only a student.
“She’s just a second-year. How can a kid like that defeat a top executive of the Demon Army?”
At my question, Verl spoke decisively.
“Staff.”
“Staff?”
“It’s not a matter of magical proficiency. It’s a matter of the caster’s will and ideas.”
Sothing I’d always known.
Sothing I hadn’t paid much attention to.
“Staffs change their appearance based on the caster’s past experiences or thoughts.”
“...... Hmm.”
“You know that, don’t you?”
“That’s true.”
I slowly reflected on what I had heard.
In my case, it was consistently the vernier caliper. It was a weapon that well-represented the word ‘physics’.
“Gilach is a hook.......”
Gilach’s hook, a crescent moon, was a symbol of his elitism and hatred of the Elentals. It was a combination of the superiority he felt as a High Elf and his anger at the Goddess who made him gold-eyed.
On the other hand–
“......Leninya is a hamr and sickle.”
The hamr and sickle that Leninya wielded as her staff was called the ‘continuous sun’. But this referred to the continuity of the sun that hid the moonlight.
The sun represented a king or emperor. The hamr and sickle also represented the working class.
In other words, the people were the emperor.
“Okay, I get it.”
Before I knew it, I was convinced.
The idea that the people were the masters of the world was completely opposite of Gillach’s beliefs.
And given the course of history, it was ti for the forr to prevail.
“How long do you think it will take to finish Dark Day?”
“A week for the prototype, two to three months once it’s all tested for stability.”
“Okay, then, make it fast in case Gilach cos before then. I’ll go see Leninya.”
Verl turned away with those words.
It was great timing.
“...Upf.”
Blood gushed up. I hurried to the stern, where no one was around, and let the mouthful of blood spill into the sea.
“Haa, haa.......”
Unlike before, the amount of blood was considerable. The color had also shifted from black to red.
The floating blood mingled with the azure sea, creating a red tide-like appearance. I gripped the railing and killed ti until my breathing evened out.
Sumr was passing by.
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