-Aren't you saying you intend to block all traffic to and from the surface with ███? So no one can ever leave.
Reading those words brought something to mind.
The thing I had called the sky, something that hung there as if blocking out the sun. A bizarre thing that seemed both alive and not alive.
Certainly... it looked impossible to break through that and pass beyond it.
But the text continued. Growing more and more agitated, with heavier and heavier information concealment.
-Does that even make sense? Jin███, don't you have as many as █ people who have realized ██?
No, aside from that, what about ███? Are you abandoning it! Are the ██ here 고██지 ██?
I ask in 보██ format ██치██. Why did this kind of ██ do █?
The text file ended with a reply.
ㄴJin███: Inevitability. Immutability. Fate.
It ended with those incomprehensible words.
Something about it was strange. The city's administrative facility had submitted a report to some group, and that group had answered unilaterally.
"That's incredibly hierarchical...."
Wasn't the city's administrative facility the government? And yet it was acting as though it occupied a lower position.
And that group. It was a name I'd seen during the Gallery shutdown.
I had definitely seen that name in several places.
Then that group played the role of the government, and this city was one of its subordinate groups....
Judging by the text file, it seemed that group had also triggered the isolation protocol.
If I could just figure out that group's true identity... maybe I could escape too.
It seemed I would have to prioritize confirming what that group was.
And to do that, it looked like I would have to visit another city.
I closed the text file, returned to the crafting screen, and pressed "Sphere."
It was my first time crafting a usable vehicle.
But....
"The materials... it takes way too many."
"Of course. The Sphere is a basic vehicle meant to carry four people and their luggage."
Eosollujeun, who had at some point appeared behind me, answered.
Since I'd only seen it in pictures, I hadn't realized it, but it seemed to be quite large.
Wait, then that meant it was bigger than the submersible I was in now.
Then how was I supposed to craft it inside the submersible?
As I was thinking that, Eosollujeun opened her mouth as if she had read my mind.
"The Sphere is not crafted entirely with the fabricator."
"Then how do I craft it?"
"It can be crafted using a 'vehicle fabrication platform.'"
Wondering if there had been something like a vehicle fabrication platform, I searched for it.
A moment ago, when I transferred the scanner's information, it had been transferred along with it.
I immediately pressed the blueprint and checked what materials went into it.
But....
"Per unit, 1 kg of majip stone, 5 kg of titanium, 500 g of silver, 300 g of gold...?"
"Ah, for reference, the number of platforms needed changes depending on the size of the vehicle. The Sphere requires ten."
"Right. Thanks...."
The bitter sting lingering in my mouth lasted only a moment; I had something to ask Eosollujeun.
It was something I had simply let pass until now... but I felt it was about time I asked.
I cleared my throat for a moment, then opened my mouth.
"Eosollujeun, by the way, why don't you speak casually?"
"That is... hm. Let's say it is the same as why that manager uses polite speech."
She spoke indirectly, but it simply sounded like she was avoiding the answer.
Perhaps she noticed what I was thinking, because Eosollujeun added,
"...It is more comfortable for me to speak politely."
"Okay... got it."
Seeing her say that while holding Jui in her arms, I doubted she would change her way of speaking even if I pressed further.
I wondered if I should use polite speech too, but words that had already settled on my tongue did not come off easily.
A strangely awkward air drifted through the inside of the submersible.
At some point, Jui had fallen asleep peacefully in Eosollujeun's arms.
...Should I speak first? Just as I was thinking that,
Eosollujeun opened her mouth first. With something I had not expected at all.
"By any chance... what is your name?"
"My name...? Just call me Aurora—"
"No. I mean your real name."
I met the eyes I had been avoiding because they felt burdensome. Her red eyes looked at me without the slightest doubt.
Now that I thought about it, ever since I came to this world, my name had always been Aurora.
I wondered how she had known it was an alias.
But I did not bother doubting her. That was a kind of trust.
I recited the name I had never once spoken aloud.
"...'Baek Cheonche.'"
"Is Cheonche your real name?"
"That's right."
Even after hearing my answer, Eosollujeun still looked expressionless, but for some reason, I felt as though she was smiling.
In a voice with almost no rise or fall, she continued speaking.
"Please call me Rujeu."
"Isn't your name Eosollujeun?"
"It is, but it is similar to how being called Cheonche is better than being called Baek Cheonche."
Hearing Eosollujeun's example made it immediately clear.
After all, people almost never called someone by their full name including their surname.
There was nothing to think about. I simply had to call her "Rujeu."
Just as I was about to nod,
"Wait a moment. Do you intend to call me Rujeu on stream as well?"
"I was planning to."
"Hmm...."
She seemed to be thinking about something.
As if many thoughts were passing through her mind, her eyes seemed to be looking somewhere beyond me.
Then, as though she had made up her mind, she spoke.
"On stream, I will also call you Aurora, so when you are streaming, could you call me Eosollujeun?"
"I can, but... why?"
At my question, her expressionless face crumbled faintly.
It immediately returned to normal, but she could not hide even that faint fragment.
'Sadness? Guilt?'
Despite my thoughts, she continued speaking.
...In a voice that sounded desperate.
"It is... necessary for me. Absolutely."
Somehow... it was hard to refuse.
Even setting aside the help I had received from her, if someone spoke with that expression and that voice, anyone would likely agree.
Well, it was not that difficult a request either.
It would merely mean one small secret had been born.
A secret that would change my life by truly only the smallest amount, about one degree.
My answer was as good as decided.
"I won't ask what circumstances you have, but promise me it won't become a threat to me."
A verbal promise. On Earth, it was not something you made unless the other person was highly trustworthy.
But I had my intuition. My intuition was especially good for matters like this. All it had to do was distinguish between lies and truth.
"...Yes. If anything, this choice will serve to push you forward, Cheonche-nim."
"All right."
My intuition had always been right, and it would be right this time too.
If not... I thought I would be very sad.
As I shook Rujeu's hand, the promise was made.
From her small hand came the chill one felt from a machine, but for some reason, that cold seemed to have lessened compared to before.
***
At the time Aurora was in the submersible with Eosollujeun,
A woman was tossing and turning on her bed, unable to sleep even though the evening had grown quite late.
An elegant golden chandelier hung from the ceiling, and beyond the window, the capital could be seen at a glance.
This was the imperial palace lodging used to receive honored guests. Naturally, the person on the bed was also an honored guest.
She was staring fixedly at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say she was looking at the Gallery located where the ceiling should have been.
Her eyes were beautiful, like turquoise light reflected on the sea.
But at least now, they were bloodshot with red veins as if she were suffering from dry eye syndrome.
"Uuugh...."
She was Truth Scholar, who had come to the capital because of the imperial succession ceremony.
Originally, she would have returned straight to the Magic Tower, but because something had happened in the capital, she had no choice but to stay at the imperial palace.
However, even while handling her work, she had continued watching Aurora's stream.
As a result, while working, she had seen "another human" besides Aurora appear on the broadcast.
And a woman, at that. One who looked incredibly pretty.
She had even approached Aurora proactively.
And then... the stream had ended.
It was as if the conclusion had been omitted from beginning, development, turn, and conclusion.
Archmage was not a position an ordinary person could reach. For that reason, every archmage throughout history had pursued something.
What she pursued was truth. She investigated in order to know the truth. Therefore, she possessed a tremendous desire for inquiry.
Even if it was gossip that seemed trivial.
The unknown created by the absence of a conclusion maximized her desire for inquiry and made her mind spin at full speed.
From the point where the stream had cut off, her mind produced countless hypotheses.
And the swarm of hypotheses that began to arise in this way....
[Truth-Seeking Gallery]
-Truth Scholar: Is the woman who appeared on Aurora's stream her lover?
-Truth Scholar: Is the woman actually a cutting-edge machine from a vanished era?
-Truth Scholar: Judging from how bold she was at the end of the stream...
-Stop posting, ffs
-Truth Scholar: Is she actually the one who dealt with Eosollujeun?
-How is this not spam???
Though every post she made had different content, she became the first registered user to receive a warning from the manager.
***
"...What is this?"
After sleeping for a bit because of my fatigue and waking up, the Gallery had gone to hell.
Most of it was Truth Scholar's posts.... And all of them were speculative.
There was even one written five minutes before I woke up.
This is my fault... isn't it? I did go silent without even posting an announcement.
Ah, and there was one more peculiar thing.
Namely, that a message had come from the manager.
So the content was....
Coordinator: ...If there is something on the stream that will provoke an enormous amount of discussion, I would appreciate it if you posted an announcement. I am truly, earnestly asking you.
Sss... yeah, this really did seem to be my fault.