Chapter 3 (1/2)
Episode 3: Special People / Stand By Me
“So this thing is equipped with Sensory Circuits and Mode Messiah…”
Bruno, the head of the Masquerade Maintenance Division, spoke as he looked up at the pitch-black Phantom.
In his mid-thirties, he sported a stubbly beard and brunette hair that was tied back.
“I know that. But Luca…… the girl who stole this unit told me that it somehow took over her body. Do you know what could have caused that?”
Lieselotte also looked up at the Phantom.
Inside the War G.o.d Battles.h.i.+p Odin’s hangar were thirty ma.s.s-produced Masquerades.
Lieselotte’s Weisselillie and the Royal Guard’s machines were housed in a different hangar.
“C’mon, Lieselotte-sama… they’re Sensory Circuits, y’know?”
Bruno spoke while smoking a cigarette.
Though he appeared to be somewhat cra.s.s, Lieselotte never really scolded him for it.
Because they’d known each other for a long time now.
“You plan on installing them in my Weisselillie, right?”
“Yeah, well they’re pretty advanced. I mean, Sensory Circuit-equipped units are extremely rare to begin with.”
The Holy Raal Empire only possessed ten such machines.
To begin with, Sensory Circuits utilized the emotional energy of people who possess a Sixth Sense of level three or above in order to activate Mode Messiah.
Mode Messiah was a state which allowed the usage of energy weapons which far surpa.s.sed normal armaments.
But as their name implies, an energy weapon needs energy in order to function. And a Masquerade’s power cells are unable keep up with these requirements.
“Yes. Seven years ago, there was only unit in the entire world that was equipped with them.”
The number of humans possessing the Sixth Sense was low to begin with. And on top of that, the numbers of those at level 3 weren’t even enough to be counted.
During displays of strong emotion, humans possessing the Sixth Sense released far more energy than normal humans do. To the point where they could potentially destroy the world with their rage alone.
“You mean the legendary unit Espoire?”
“Yes. The King of Pastia piloted it himself and fought to defend his country. It was thanks to the extreme firepower that the Espoire displayed at that time that research about Sensory Circuits and the Sixth Sense spread throughout the world.”
But n.o.body had been able to salvage even a single piece of the Espoir’s remains. It vanished like a mirage, leaving only its legendary firepower behind.
“Up until then, people with the Sixth Sense were shunned and treated like children of the devil, huh…”
Bruno took a drag off his cigarette while looking at Lieselotte.
“Hmph. And? To return to the subject of our conversation, what exactly is inside the Phantom?”
“A quantum brain.”
“……what?”
“It’s not a complete one, though.”
An electronic brain, required for a robot to achieve full standalone operations. That’s what a quantum brain was. But they only existed in the form of conjecture, and Lieselotte had never heard of one actually being built in real life.
“Is it an Autodoll?”
That was the name for a fully-independent robot which was installed with a quantum brain.
“Didn’t I just say that it wasn’t complete?” Bruno shrugged. “Quantum brains eat up a lot of energy. So it’s normally kept in sleep mode, only maintaining awareness of its immediate surroundings.”
“Oh. And?”
“Once awakened, it uses an acc.u.mulated database of battle data in order to perform the optimal attack a.s.sistance… or something along those lines.”
“So it would be more like a semi-autodoll?”
“Something like that, yeah. The UN really is way more advanced than us, though… even if it’s incomplete, they were able to produce an actual quantum brain.”
“It’s not a problem, as that quantum brain has now fallen into our hands. When we return to base, dissect it in a lab and perform a thorough examination.”
“Eh?” Bruno’s eyes went wide. “You’re not going to use it?”
“We don’t have anyone who’s able to pilot it.”
Excluding Lieselotte, the War G.o.d Battles.h.i.+p Odin had no pilots with a Level 3 Sixth Sense.
“Then let’s just have you pilot it, Lieselotte-sama. We can even paint it white.”
“I’ll pa.s.s on being controlled by a robot. And I’m fond of my Weisselillie.”
Lieselotte treasured the Weisselillie just as much as if it was the girl who it was themed after– Luca herself.
“Then how about that girl? The one who stole it, I mean. Don’t you think it’s a waste to have her working as a maid?”
“She will serve as my maid. I’ve already made my decision.”
Luca feared the Phantom. And she wasn’t a soldier to begin with. It would be cruel to have her get inside that thing and fight.
“Aah, what a waste… but if the research of Autodolls can advance instead, I guess that’d be fine too.”
One day, after mankind had been wiped out, an Autodoll may dream in a decayed world. Lieselotte had such a feeling.
“I wonder if she realizes that her expression’s loosened up?” Bruno thought to himself as Lieselotte left while speaking of maids.
“But it’s seriously been seven years since then……”
Once the Espoir was brought up, his thoughts went back to that time.
“The Ojouchan who ran out to save her friend is a now a lovely lady… khaa, I’m getting on in years myself.”
Seven years ago, even though she’d just enlisted, Lieselotte disobeyed all sorts of orders and left for battle all alone in order to save her friend. Bruno was the person who opened the hatch for her at that time.
“The Espoir wasn’t the only thing that became a legend back then, Lieselotte-sama.”
That day, Lieselotte returned alive. Even though n.o.body expected it.
She’d shot down 31 Masquerades. Downed a single battles.h.i.+p. That was the battle record of Lieselotte, who had sortied in a ma.s.s-produced Masquerade.
It was thanks to these achievements that the Holy Raal Empire officially recognized the usefulness of the Sixth Sense.
“You’re special, y’know?”
Bruno had been watching Lieselotte ever since that day. And three years ago when she announced her intent to conquer the world, he clutched his stomach with laughter.
And he placed his bets on that dream of hers. That dream that countless kings had declared and failed to achieve.
“Aah, but wasn’t she unable to save her friend in the end……?”
Around the same time, the mess hall in the aerial battles.h.i.+p Arianrhod was steeped in anguish.
Of course this was due to the death of 《Purple Lightning Celia》.
Even though n.o.body had told them to, everyone was gathered in the mess hall. Not because the former cook Luca was the one who killed her, but rather because it was where lots of happy memories had been created.
The Masquerade Squad’s Harold Brown had also arrived in the mess hall.
He was a 19-year-old male, and possessed a special power. That power had been recognized by Celia.
His wavy red hair had been styled with wax and wrapped in a bun. Every single day, he made sure to maintain it. Because he hoped that Celia would think of him as a stylish guy.
“If something were to happen to me, you’re the one who shall protect the world!”
Celia said that with a smile.
How many jokes had they told in this mess hall?
Everyone loved Celia. She had a strong sense of justice, was kind, and was a truly straightforward person. Though there were those who found her to be annoyingly straitlaced, they were in the minority.
“Harry……”
The girl sitting next to Harold– Amelia, called him by his nickname.