Chapter 631: The Architect (4)

Certainly, when I went out with Mouser to talk about the Furnace General and Narcissa, the conversation had practically made no progress.

But in the short time Mouser waited while chain-smoking behind the workshop and then returned, Elava’s condition had completely transformed.

Her previous difficulty in controlling her senses and power was gone, replaced by a voracious absorption of Mouser’s advice, like a student hungry for knowledge.

“I don’t think people can’t change at all, but character and habit are precisely the things that are difficult to change so easily… I’m truly curious what mysterious method you used.”

At his words, Lennok, leaning back in a chair in one corner of the workshop, gave a weak smile.

“Sometimes, a shock treatment works better than some mysterious solution, wouldn’t you say?”

“…Shock treatment, you mean?”

“There are times when willpower triumphs over theory. I was just lucky.”

Strictly speaking, he had solved the problem with a solution more thoroughly based on Cybernetic World theory and logic than ever before, but since he had indeed started by giving her a ‘shock’ using Ouroboros, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Ibert, perhaps unable to imagine Lennok having rummaged through Elava’s mind in such a short time, fell silent and then looked away.

“Elava grew up receiving a great deal of attention from Ex Machina due to her unique constitution since childhood.”

“…”

“However, because of that, she couldn’t settle in one workshop and wandered for a long time, even past adulthood. The fact that she couldn’t live up to expectations might have become a deep regret for her.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Lennok replied quietly.

Ibert nodded.

“Indeed. Even though it’s clearly not her fault, in this city, disappointing expectations can become a sin. That’s why Master also treated my older brother…”

Ibert, who had been nodding absentmindedly, clamped his mouth shut after saying that much.

He gave an embarrassed smile, picked up his coat, stood up, and bowed slightly.

“Thank you for this. Of course, even if you couldn’t completely cure Elava’s constitution, the improvement in her condition alone will be a great blessing for her.”

At Ibert’s polite gratitude, Lennok smiled and waved his hand.

“It’s fine. I, too, gain some meaning from these endeavors every time.”

“Is that so…”

Ibert made a thoughtful expression, as if he had realized something from Lennok’s words.

“Material compensation and tangible forms aren’t the only things that leave meaning, are they? I’ve forgotten that for far too long.”

“…”

Lennok had alluded to copying the program code from Elava’s mind and acquiring it, but Ibert seemed to have misunderstood entirely.

“I don’t understand why a craftsman like you received a ‘pending’ judgment at the Meister Selection Ceremony. On the upcoming summons date, I will definitely help you.”

“Ah, yes… Thank you.”

After that, Lennok continued to converse with Ibert about major events and happenings within the Machine City, then, after a suitable amount of time, saw Elava and Ibert off.

“The City Audit three days from now will make surface security strict for a while. Enforcers also get a bit sensitive during this period, so please be careful, big brother.”

“You talk as if I’m about to cause trouble. Are you starting to resemble Narcissa too?”

At Mouser’s gruff reply, Ibert just laughed it off and left the workshop with Elava.

Judging by their direction, were they planning to stop by a hospital near the Workshop District, as Lennok had mentioned?

Though he tried not to show it, Ibert seemed to care deeply for Elava.

“Van, are you sure you don’t want to charge extra for this job? Ibert sent the payment to your account, but you could have gotten more than this.”

Mouser asked.

“He works as a Meister at Narcissa’s workshop. He’s probably loaded, so there’s no need to be considerate.”

“It’s fine.”

At Mouser’s words, Lennok smiled and slipped his hand into his pocket.

“Because I already have what I need.”

A small chip, about the size of a finger joint, was in his pocket.

Lennok had copied the code into the chip’s storage and confirmed the program’s identity via his cell phone.

Although he couldn’t fully confirm it due to insufficient phone memory, it was undoubtedly a code used to unlock some kind of lock.

Combining Ibert’s words with Elava’s actions, this must be the core program code needed to forcibly open the Heart-Star Vault’s door.

Lennok thought that far, then picked up a small box placed in front of the workshop door.

“What’s that?”

“It’s something I personally requested from Meister Cyberd. I asked for it as payment for the last job, and he got it for me surprisingly quickly.”

Lennok replied, tearing open the box packaging on the spot.

Inside the box were two dust-covered batteries.

Mouser, checking the engraved pattern on the inside of the batteries, murmured with a slightly surprised expression.

“It’s from the Ultrus Workshop. Nowadays, it’s hard to get your hands on stolen goods like this, even in the heart of Machina.”

“Didn’t you say Meister Cyberd had connections in many areas? I asked him, just in case.”

“Hmm… The battery condition isn’t very good.”

Mouser said with a low hum.

“It’s secondhand. It’s been used for a long time. There might not be much power left, but is there a reason you absolutely had to get these batteries?”

Lennok didn’t answer, instead quietly taking out the batteries and examining them.

Kaiser’s pocket watch. The batteries from the Ultrus Workshop, which were used as fuel for that artifact, were precisely these stolen goods.

If possible, he wanted to change the artifact’s power supply method itself so it could be used at any time, but that was difficult for now.

In that case, he had no choice but to procure batteries this way to borrow Kaiser’s power.

“It seems I’ve pretty much gathered all the necessary preparations.”

Lennok said that, gripping the batteries tightly.

“All that’s left is to verify it myself.”

“Whoosh!!”

The cool sound of waves echoed in his ears. The sea breeze was so clear he could taste a faint saltiness on his tongue.

Seawater crashed against the inside of the barnacle-covered breakwater, scattering and fading away.

Droplets of water, flung upwards, clung to Mouser’s bushy beard, hanging in clusters.

“Damn it, it’s freezing!!”

Mouser, who had suddenly yelled, asked Lennok, who was still observing the sea far off.

“Van, is it really okay to try this today?!”

“Didn’t we get confirmation from Manager Ibert about Ex Machina’s schedule?”

Lennok, standing at the edge of the breakwater, unfazed by the violently crashing waves, extending his senses deep into the sea below, replied.

“Starting today, there’s a two-day City Audit led by Ex Machina, and for that event, the elite forces within Machina are concentrated in one area.”

“Whoosh!!”

Lennok, who had extended his mana senses deep into the waves to carefully check the water temperature and current direction, stood up.

“If not today, there’s no chance of safely exploring near the Underwater Barrier alone. We have to try, no matter the weather.”

If he waited to be officially summoned to the Heart-Star Vault, it would be too late to retrieve Teremer’s Demise, the Magic Gun from the Old World.

Lennok intended to use this rare opportunity—before the summons began, and while sea-side security was lax—to explore the Underwater Barrier alone.

“Damn it, trying it in this kind of weather feels like asking to become fish food at the bottom of the sea.”

Mouser grumbled.

“Anyway, it’s not me going down, so it’d be strange for me to complain any further.”

“This sea area is near the factory district, where entry is restricted to authorized personnel. If not for an opportunity like this, it would be difficult to get in again.”

Lennok said that, gesturing towards one side of the coastline.

“No matter what, I can’t ask for this kind of favor twice.”

“…”

Among the large factory buildings lined up along one side of the coast.

A man holding a folding knife in one hand was vigorously waving towards them.

This was the client who had come to Lennok to fix his folding knife back when Lennok worked in the Lower Workshop District.

Lennok had inquired if this client, who had introduced himself as working on the coast, could get him into the factory district’s seaside area.

Of course, he hadn’t asked for it for free; he’d slipped him some money. But simply getting Lennok secretly into the difficult-to-access factory district waters was enough.

Lennok waved back at the distant client, then immediately deployed an illusionary veil, deceiving the client’s eyes.

“With this, that man will see us as merely having visited the sea and leaving immediately.”

“…Thorough. Can I go back now?”

“I’ve prepared a receiving device that transmits my real-time position and heading latitude.”

Lennok said that, placing a small terminal, small enough to fit comfortably in one hand, into Mouser’s.

“You just need to connect this to the computer inside the workshop and confirm that the data is being output correctly.”

“You’re planning to go into the sea yourself, but you still want to extract data separately?”

“If Machina’s Underwater Barrier is maintained through spatial distortion, then data must be extracted simultaneously from both inside and outside the distorted space for comparison.”

Lennok replied calmly.

“Without doing that, it would be impossible to calculate the spatial distortion rate and pinpoint the exact location of the barrier.”

“You think the Underwater Barrier itself is maintained through spatial distortion?”

“It’s not a thought; it’s almost certainly true.”

Lennok looked back at Mouser’s surprised expression and reached inside his coat.

A jet-black shadow seemed to shimmer from within his sleeve, and from it, the massive form of the Night Raven rose, lightly stepping onto the coastline.

“Clank!!”

Lennok looked at Mouser, who flinched slightly at the sight of the Night Raven flapping its steel wings, and said,

“In a large metropolis like the Machine City, changing district locations and moving barriers every quarter would be impossible with physical design alone.”

“…”

“Meister Narcissa mentioned the load on the barriers when she moved my workshop to the Upper Workshop District. However, she didn’t raise any issues regarding the barrier’s area or position at all.”

“Hmm…”

“Moving the physical size or location of a barrier isn’t a big problem. In that case, wouldn’t the same apply to the area beneath the Underwater Barrier?”

The steel barriers that divide and distinguish each district of Machina are colossal iron masses, easily tens of meters tall and several meters thick.

To move and relocate such barriers every quarter, redefining and dividing new areas, just how much metal would have to be moved and transported?

And how much energy or raw materials would be consumed in that process?

It would be an undertaking impossible to even attempt unless there was a way to drastically reduce consumption, beyond the level of common sense.

That’s why Lennok believed the technology for moving Machina’s mechanical barriers must be related to spatial compression and distortion.

“The Sidesquad agent who tried to kidnap me from the workshop immediately recognized that I was manipulating space through the Night Raven.”

“Whoosh!!”

The moment the Night Raven unhesitatingly strode along the coastline and dipped its two legs into the seawater, Lennok also pulled the goggles from his neck up onto his face.

“That’s probably because the Sidesquad agents were aware of how reality distorts when space is altered.”

“…So you were already inferring how the Machine City operates from that moment?”

“Of course, all of this is difficult to confirm without actually going near the Underwater Barrier myself, but…”

The moment he shed his coat, lightly patted his shoulders and chest, and formed hand signs, Lennok’s attire transformed into a slightly form-fitting suit.

A diving suit designed to withstand the immense water pressure he would now face.

Lennok, having completed his final preparations, rolled up his sleeve and put on the prepared tablet watch, saying,

“At the very least, I should be able to achieve something today.”

“Beep!!”

A clear radar display appeared on the watch screen, along with a moving light source tracking it.

This was equipment Lennok had created to track the Penteract’s magical energy, which was attached to Teremer’s Demise, beneath the sea.

The relic vault existing beneath the Underwater Barrier, the most secret and dark place even within the Machine City of Machina.

It was time to enter the Heart-Star Vault.