EP.50 Emergency Situation
『This is an emergency situation. Please wake up immediately.』
It came like a surprise attack.
Slipping through the night sounds, it was so stealthy that it didn't even make a footstep. Breath, body temperature, even life—it had none of these. By the time I noticed, it had already reached my side.
『This is an emergency situation. Please wake up imme... Third attempt, failed. I judge that repeating further would be meaningless according to inductive logic.』
Something had approached my sleeping side and chattered. A faint voice matching its small size. Perhaps a fairy that secretly comes and goes while one sleeps.
But it seems this fairy cannot fly through the sky. Seeing as it couldn't climb onto the bed that was barely knee-high, and was hopping about below peeking this way.
I ignored the faintly sensed presence and tried to sleep again. Even if it weren't the tooth fairy but Santa Claus himself, he couldn't interrupt my sleep. If it had business, I hoped it would finish quickly and leave while I slept....
『Pursuant to the emergency response manual, I will activate the forced awakening protocol.』
A sound of wind being sucked in, and—
『WHYYYYYYYYY!』
"Kyiiiaaaaaaaaaah!"
At the roar shaking my ears, I kicked off the blankets and sat up abruptly. Calming my startled heart and casting my gaze downward, I saw a crystal sphere glimmering dimly, looking up at me.
"Golem?"
『I am Captain A.B., military communications officer. Due to an urgent situation, I unavoidably...』
"How dare you wake me from my sleep. Today I'll put an end to that old service history. Time to return to the scrap yard. Trainee Shay! A golem is escaping...!」
Then the golem kicked my shin with all its might. An attack launched from far below eye level. Unable to read the golem's intentions, I could neither evade nor resist.
Moreover, the golem's material was steel. Its strength was several times that of my flesh. And the outcome of a collision between a shin and another object was an honest battle decided solely by strength and hardness.
I glared through the intense pain.
"K-kkeugh."
I opened my mouth wide, grabbed my shin, and slumped onto the bed. Tears leaked out. I glared at the golem with eyes mixed with anger, resentment, and pain. The golem too looked at me with its creaking arm fitting its twisted leg frame.
『There is no time. I warn you. Respond immediately.』
"Kkeugh, to what? What on earth is it that you're waking people up in the middle of the night for?"
『An intruder. Someone is attempting to intrude.』
"What? An intruder?"
I mulled over the golem's words for a moment.
So, someone is intruding into this Tantalus right now? And the golem detected this and is telling me to stop them.
An intruder who has broken into one's dwelling. In a normal situation, one would naturally feel tense. But I couldn't feel any of the tension that should have come.
Grabbing my aching leg, I lay back down on the bed.
"Did you perhaps mistake them for a castaway? Looks like someone misstepped and fell, right?"
Intrude into Tantalus? That's no different from swimming in the sky or roasting fish in water. It's a combination where the subject and predicate don't match. Why would anyone intrude into this place where you can't escape once you enter, this place with nothing to steal?
"Well, it's not the Resistance again, is it? If the Resistance invaded again, that's just the military nation being incompetent. Seriously."
Of course, if they're carrying a bomb, that's an exception. With a bomb, humans can swim through the sky and fish can cook in water.
Bombs solve most things thought impossible. So when something is blocked, if there's a bomb nearby, try using it.
『I cannot determine the opponent's intentions. They are unarmed. However, precisely because their intentions are unknown, the situation is all the more urgent.』
"Unarmed? Hmm. Seeing as the night light is on, it must be night outside too. Hah, what is this. Like the old tale of some famous philosopher, they must have been looking up at the stars and failed to watch their step and fell in. Let's pray for their soul together."
『...Merely falling cannot constitute an intrusion into this place. They clearly threw themselves into the Abyss with the will to enter here.』
"No, I'm saying that doesn't make sense. Who would come in here for any reason? Well, if they're here, maybe someone came to pick them up since we're feeding them."
At my dismissive attitude, the golem stopped speaking and began to carefully observe me. I too narrowed my eyes and pressed the golem with questions.
A brief staring contest ensued. The winner was me.
『...You are skilled at such negotiations. Does this mean you won't move unless I provide the relevant information?』
"Huh? To what?"
『Permission granted. By raising your alert level by one tier, I will temporarily elevate your information access privileges.』
"No, I mean, to what."
What's this about arbitrarily raising the alert level? What are they even talking about? I just didn't want to get up.
『Tantalus is the Abyss. A land completely separated from the surface. This place cannot be reached by normal means.』
"Normal means?"
『Falling. With ordinary falling, one merely becomes a lost child of the Abyss; one cannot pinpoint the coordinates of this Tantalus.』
"Since when did falling become a normal and ordinary means of transportation? Historically, plummeting was an easy and fast one-way ticket to heaven!"
That's a bit different from what I know. As expected of the military nation. A crazy country that even abuses common sense.
Oh, wait.
"But I was thrown into the Abyss while normally restrained...? Ah, I get it. 'That' was what wasn't normal, right?"
『...If you understand, let us move on.』
The golem, who hastily cut off my words, continued reporting.
『Originally, Tantalus is a place that no one without the military nation's permission can ever reach. That is why, despite being a Level 5 facility, no particular security devices were installed even at the prison entrance.』
"Well, the military nation messed up there. Calling it a major facility and being so complacent. Tsk tsk.』
『...Anyway.』
I just heard a clicking sound; I hope the golem's circuit didn't snap.
『While monitoring the interior and exterior of Tantalus, this unit detected that the illusion encompassing the Abyss was broken approximately 7 minutes ago. I immediately sought out you, the only available personnel at present. The intruder is heading straight here and is expected to arrive in approximately 3 minutes.』
"So. What should I do?"
『If possible, eliminate them.』
"No, why do they keep trying to make me kill people? Does it itch if they don't kill someone for a day?"
From the immortal to this person falling now, they keep telling me to kill whenever something happens. I waved my hand with active denial.
"A good citizen like me who can't even catch a dog, who would I kill? Stop saying nonsense."
『Query. Then, how did you handle the Resistance?』
"The blade stayed still, but they stuck their necks in themselves. Trying to fight Trainee Shay, showing off the Rosario in front of Trainee Tirkanjaka. High-quality suicide after one provocation? Well, if they had any intention of living in the first place, they wouldn't have fallen here with a bomb."
Anyway, if someone has come visiting, I should go out to meet them. I need to read in advance what intention they came with and gauge whether they can be used or not to make things easier. If they seem completely unusable, I'll have to kill them using the regressor and the vampire.
Since I'm going out anyway, hearing a line of story from the golem in the meantime is a small gain. I equipped my clothing packet and prepared to go out.
"Alright, alright. I'll go check it out. Wait here."
Then the golem desperately grabbed the hem of my clothes.
『Please bring this unit along. I have a duty to observe abnormalities in Tantalus.』
"I don't want to, it's heavy."
『You are a laborer assigned to Tantalus, and you are obligated to follow the orders of this unit, the officer in charge of this location. If you do not wish to suffer disadvantages for failing to follow orders, please comply with this unit's directives.』
"Did you think I'd listen if you said it that stiffly? Ahh, my heart hurts so much I don't even have the strength to lift a golem."
When I threw a tantrum in an exaggerated tone, the golem realized that threats no longer worked and spoke.
『...What do you want? I warn you in advance, demanding any material compensation from a soldier on duty is a serious crime.』
"I have no intention of getting anything from a golem. Well, try acting cute. Cutely. If possible, make a childish, lisping sound like a child."
『......Time......』
"You're in a hurry so you need to hurry up to not be late. Come on, how do you ask me to carry you? Piggyback? Up-up?"
『....』
I heard a grinding sound from the golem; I'm worried something in its frame broke. I leisurely whistled.
Whew whew whew, about three times? I heard the sound of gritting teeth from the golem.
『Up-up... please.』
"Ayy. The ending is still a bit stiff. Even if a golem's body is hard, its heart should be soft."
Crack, I heard the sound of a straw breaking over the mic. After an indescribable noise, a trembling voice began to flow from the microphone.
『Up-up... do it for me... big brother...』
"I didn't tell you to call me big brother. Still, speaking softly makes it much more comfortable. We're on good terms with each other, how nice."
Anyway, since it's the request of a little sister I wouldn't mind putting in my eye, I should grant it.
I lifted the golem and gave it a piggyback ride. I had asked for up-up, but this was my own small consideration, worrying that if I did that, its vision might be blocked.
With the golem's two legs draped over my shoulders, I stepped into the corridor.
"Oh, by the way, I did follow the military nation's orders, right? I didn't hand over any bribe, and if you give me disadvantages over this, you're the one reflecting personal feelings in the evaluation. A military communications officer wouldn't commit perjury based on private feelings, right?"
『---!!!』
"Is it broken? It seems like there's a problem with communication. Why can't I hear a human sound?"
Casually. To teach the golem about thrills, I deliberately walked while swinging my upper body largely. Then the golem clawed at my head with its hard fist. I heard a tu-thud sound from my hair roots.
Okay. I've got a weakness found. Let's not do this.