by Yuu Kamiya
Ignoring him, Marie spoke up angrily. “I, Incompetent, you say...?! Are you insinuating that the Breguet family, which has continually turned out many hundreds of Meisters generation after generation, is below that chump over there?!”
RyuZU curled her lips as if scoffing.
She continued speaking with a smile that was different from the ones she showed Naoto—one that clearly contained anger.
“—Yes. ‘This chump over here’ corrected the fault in my body that the members of that lofty family of yours failed to even detect despite wringing the knowledge out of in their flea-sized brains as hard as they could for over two hundred years—in three hours.”
Being told this so forwardly caused the gears in Marie’s head to stop turning for a moment.
Looking stupefied, she pointed at Naoto. “...This dumb-looking chump did?”
RyuZU wordlessly held up the hem of her skirt. Marie shook her head in a fluster and cried out, “I, I get it, I take that back! ...No, it’s true that RyuZU is operating... Why was a clocksmith like him hidden in this city...?” Muttering to herself, Marie flopped onto the chair with a thud.
On the other hand, Naoto, the one who had been nominated, was breaking out in a cold sweat. “No, erm—Miss RyuZU? I appreciate your flattery, but you went a little far in suggesting that I’d be able to do something that a hundred great Meisters combined couldn’t mana—”
“You can,” RyuZU asserted. “As the one who was able to repair me, Master Naoto is, without any room for doubt, currently humanity’s greatest clocksmith.”
“No, I’m honored to hear you say that, RyuZU... but—”
—It’s impossible.
There’s no way I could do it. To begin with, I’m a total amateur who isn’t even an apprentice yet, you know?
Words of repudiation immediately surfaced in Naoto’s mind, but he was unable to put his thoughts to words when he saw RyuZU’s all-too-serious face.
He agonized and hesitated, but just when he thought he had something to say and opened his mouth to respond—
“—!!”
The city trembled furiously from a shock of unprecedented scale.
Chapter Four / 19 : 30 / Conquistador
The air crackled as it shook.
Assaulted by the fierce impact, Naoto was thrown out of his chair and tumbled onto the ground. His body stiffened as he groveled on the floor. Standing up would be impossible.
—Even in the present day where the entire planet had been reproduced by gears, there were still earthquakes.
Those frequently occurring micro-tremors just barely perceptible to humans were the result of the city mechanism expelling the pressure that had built up in its systems.
However, this shaking wasn’t something so simple.
The shock was of such magnitude that it felt as if space and time itself was being violently rocked. It was enough to make one think that the city was going to be smashed into smithereens if things continued like this.
The cupboard by the café lounge’s counter had collapsed.
The gigantic chandelier in the hotel’s lobby had fallen.
Cars on the boulevard in front of the hotel had collided in a line like billiard balls.
One after another, thunderous roars and explosions made it through Naoto’s headphones and into his ears.
Meanwhile, the quaking still showed no signs of stopping.
And that’s when Naoto saw it.
A teacup had been blown right off the table, yet it didn’t fall to the floor; instead, it was floating in the air. The contents that had spilled out had split into big drops of water and were also gently drifting.
...What is this?!
As if to answer Naoto’s question, Marie yelled, “A gravitational disorder...!”
Marie had crawled under the table and was lying face down on the floor. Next to her, Halter, who had thrust just his head underneath the table (because he was too big), exclaimed in a fluster, “Don’t tell me that the collapse has already begun?!”
“Halter, how much time is left?!”
“Seven hours and twelve minutes—There should still be plenty of time...”
Marie’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me that the military expedited the purge...!”
“No, calm down. If it’s true that they’ve come to an agreement with Meister Guild’s leaders, then they won’t try to bury our Meisters along with the city.”
“Even so, an omen of this scale should be outside their calculations. If the pandemonium spreads, we can’t rule out the possibility that they’ll take firm measures against it...!”
A short while after, the quaking settled down.
Even so, a numbing sense of foreboding markedly lingered in the air, as if lightning were about to strike.
Driving the cries and angry bellows he could hear from afar into the corner of his mind, Naoto stood up.
And then Marie addressed him. “You—”
“—Huh?”
“You, what’s your name?”
Serious-looking emerald eyes stared straight at Naoto.
Unable to ignore her, Naoto answered, “...It’s Naoto. Naoto Miura.”
Hearing that, Marie let out a deep sigh.
She looked down, hanging her head before raising it back up with a look of resolve. “Very well, Naoto. As I mentioned earlier, my name is Marie. I won’t admit that you’re a better clocksmith than I am even if it kills me, but—”
Her words were cut off. Before she knew it, RyuZU was standing behind her with a threatening look on her face.
With a tight smile, Marie continued, “B, But because my life is dear to me, I’ll admit it! Listen, okay? Humility and modesty are unnecessary, so answer me clearly. Do you possess even the slightest potential to do something about this situation?!”
Naoto was at a loss for words. “That’s...”
“He can.” RyuZU immediately replied for him.
She turned to Marie and continued indifferently, “Based on what you have told me, the essential problem you have should not be ‘There is not enough time’ but ‘The source of malfunction cannot be located.’”
After hesitating a bit, Marie said, “...Well, you could say that too, but aren’t they the same thing?”
“It is a difference of heaven and earth. Conversely, as long as the cause can be located, then there is no problem.”
Marie wavered a little again before nodding. “You’re right. If the source is located, then things would be in the bag, but...”
“In that case, there is no problem whatsoever—Master Naoto.”
“W, What?”
“You should already know. The origin of this city’s disorder—the source of the sound.”
Marie tilted her head. “Sound?”
Well, if it’s just that...
Naoto nodded.
“But, it should be no surprise that I can’t tell exactly where it is like this... I’d have to actually go to the twenty-fourth floor for that.”
“Wai—wait a second!” Marie cried out. She questioned Naoto, “How do you know that the twenty-fourth floor is where the problem is?!”
“Wha?”
Naoto looked befuddled as Marie pressed him so vigorously it looked like she was going to bite him. “Neither Halter nor myself said anything about the current repair site being the twenty-fourth floor. So how do you, who hasn’t ever even entered the core tower, know that?!”
“How, you ask...?” Naoto said with a blank look on his face. “—Obviously because dissonance is coming from around there.”
“—Hah...?”
“I had thought that it was really annoying, making that racket all the time, but then it got really bad two days ago, so I was convinced that the military guys were ditching their maintenance work...”
“Two days ago—”
An “Ah,” escaped from Marie’s mouth. She thought back to the gravitational fluctuations that had suddenly occurred before dawn that day.
He noticed
that irregularity—the one that took ten members of the observation squad to measure—Wait, dissonance?
Halter stepped forward from Marie’s side and asked cautiously, “Naoto, I want to confirm something with you—In other words, is it like this? Through just sound, you can perceive a disorder seventy kilometers underground from the surface, and with just your ears to boot. Is this what you’re saying?”
“Hm? Yeah, what about it?”
Seeing Naoto nod his head nonchalantly, Marie and Halter froze. They were astonished.
Even though they could understand the meaning of what was said, that only made it unbelievable.
They felt uncertain as to whether the short boy in front of them was really human.
In a trembling voice, Marie yelled, “L—Look here, you! What kind of absurdities do you think you’re saying like it’s nothing?!”
“I mean, even you guys can pinpoint it this far, can’t you?” Naoto looked like he wanted to answer “Of course,” for them.
Marie shouted back at him with abandon, “...Yes, that’s right. But it was information that we had to force out of someone from Technical Force, since it took us an entire day to inspect down to only the second floor!”
Naoto tilted his head, his mouth agape. “Why would you do something so troublesome? Ah, was it to make extra sure?”
“Because we couldn’t have found that out if we didn’t do at least that much...” Halter let out a sigh that seemed like it was squeezed out from the bottom of his artificial lungs.
“Hah? I just have ears that are a little sharper than most, you know? You guys should at least also have some parabolic reflectors to gather sound with, right?”
“...Look here, if the analysis could be completed with just sound collectors, no one would be worked up—” Halter groaned while pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Hold up.”
Talking over Halter, Marie said with a tense face, “—I just realized. Don’t tell me that those are a pair of noise-canceling headphones?”
“Hm? Yeah they are, what about them?”
“You’re kidding me!” Marie yelled. Her voice had grown hoarse. “You—why are you able to hear us while wearing something like that?!”
“Even if you ask why, well, because it was cheap I guess?” Naoto scratched his cheek as if he was unsure before continuing, “I don’t really listen to things like music, but it’s more relaxing when things are quiet, so...”
“—They give me peace of mind,” he added.
Marie glared at him and pressed, “—Peace of mind? Nowadays, even any cheap product should make good on being ‘100% soundproof.’”
“Even if you say that, I really do hear you.”
“I’m saying that that’s weird! You know that you’re cutting out all information that enters through the ears right now?! Just what are you saying you ‘hear’ like that?!”
“I, I mean, you say that, but...”
“.........No, never mind. It doesn’t seem like you’re lying.”
Marie let out the largest sigh she could. Then, to make sure, she continued, “In short, you can tell the source of irregularities by just listening to their sounds. If we take you with us to the twenty-fourth floor, you’d be able to identify the point of malfunction. As long as you can do that for us, we can manage to do something about the rest—Are you fine with me construing things this way?”
As Marie looked at him, Naoto scratched his head as if troubled.
—He understood that she was placing her expectations on him.
It was just that, to Naoto, this was an unfamiliar sensation—it might even be the first time he’d felt something like this. Because of that, he was unable to simply give an immediate reply.
Sounding unconfident, he answered, “Ah—.... Before you become disappointed in me, I want to mention beforehand that I’m just a high school student, that fumbling with machines is just my hobby, and that I’m a total amateur who isn’t even an apprentice, much less an actual clocksmith.”
“Thanks for the depressing information.” Marie groaned, closing her eyes halfway as she shrugged. “I don’t know you, but I do know how complicated RyuZU’s design is. If you fixed her; if you’re saying that you found the fault in her with your ears, then that’s all that matters. I’ll believe in that reality.”
Naoto stayed silent.
After thinking a bit, he properly faced the blond-haired girl in front of him for the first time.
He asked, “...Tell me, why would you do so much?”
They could hear screaming outside that sounded like it was coming from the lowest level of hell.
There’s no reason whatsoever for me to stay in this city now that I know it’s going to be purged. To be honest, I want to get the heck out of here already.
“According to what you’ve said, you’re surrounded in all directions by enemies and the future looks hopelessly bleak. Why aren’t you running away?”
Naoto thought that that was what most people would decide to do in her situation.
—However,
“I’m someone who hates thinking that something’s impossible,” Marie stated. “There’re limits, no doubt, but setting them myself and giving up on my own? No thanks. I’ve come this far by constantly challenging someone, whether it be Father, Elder Sister, or myself in becoming a Meister.”
Naoto couldn’t understand her thought process. “...Why?”
“Because this world is a challenge. —Our planet died a thousand years ago. It had reached its limits and come to an end. But because there were clocksmiths who challenged themselves, we are alive today.”
Marie smiled sweetly and continued, “Things that are irreplaceable always lie beyond one’s limit. That’s why I don’t want to give up. If I run away here—I could never be proud of myself again.”
“......”
“That’s why,” Marie whispered, as if making a wish, “Please—lend me your hand.”
Naoto didn’t answer her.
The boy who was born an ordinary person, grew up at the bottom of society, and had lived his life up to now savoring the bitter taste of reality, and—
The girl who was born a genius, had her talents polished, and had lived her life up to now hoisting noble ideals.
The two of them were water and oil.
For the two of them to come to understand each other in this short time was hopeless; their values were separated by a gulf that was far too large.
“......”
Naoto believed that if this city was going to collapse, he and RyuZU should get the heck out of here already.
Fortunately—or perhaps not, they were homeless right now. It made no difference where they went.
To begin with, even if I were to trust this incomprehensible creature called Marie and bring RyuZU along with me to a do-or-die situation like that, just what would be in it for me?
“...Sorry, but—”
“Ah—Master Naoto. I have something I would like to report,” RyuZU spoke up, interrupting him as he was trying to refuse Marie’s plea. “As I am but Master Naoto’s follower, I was troubled over whether I should mention this, but...” began RyuZU, glancing in the direction of the core tower through the window before continuing quietly, “If she has not been moved, at the bottom of Kyoto’s core tower should be... my younger sister.”
—Thump.
Naoto felt his heart pound vigorously.
He stopped breathing for a moment as the word that RyuZU had uttered echoed in his head many—no, countless times over.
—Yanger sistur... younger, sister... younger sister... Eh? Younger sister...?
“Younger, sis...ter?”
Naoto staggered and clung to the table that had tumbled to its side next to him as he looked up at RyuZU.
—RyuZU’s... younger sister.
At the bottom of the core tower?
In other words, here in Kyoto?
In this city that’s on the brink of collapsing in a purge and sinkin
g down into the dead planet below?
His lungs sought oxygen savagely, and he felt an illusory sensation run through him, like his blood had reversed its flow.
“...In other words, that is to say...”
Naoto tried his best to feign composure somehow by taking deep breaths, but it just made his panting louder.
However, his valiant efforts were negated by his shrill voice as he exclaimed, “An, An, An automaton made after RyuZU?!”
“Yes. The Second of the Initial-Y Series, AnchoR ‘the one who destroys,’ should be there.”
“W-W, Wait, in other words, umm, an automaton... more advanced... than RyuZU?”
RyuZU furrowed her eyebrows. “—There is no automaton with greater overall functionality than me, but I have capable younger sisters who possess abilities that exceed my own under specific situations and whom the inferior creature that is man cannot even hope to compare to.”
Naoto staggered to his feet.
His body temperature was flaring and his blood pressure was skyrocketing with such force that it felt like his blood vessels would rupture.
“Err, umm. Could I ask you something just to be sure?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Umm... was it ‘AnchoR’? ......What kind of girl is she?”
“Let me think. She has pretty black hair in a bob-cut, and though she has visible white beneath her iris, her pupils are a vivid red. In terms of human appearances, I would say that she looks to be about twelve years old. She’s about a hundred forty centimeters tall at most and has trouble expressing emotion. True to her title of ‘the one who destroys,’ she possesses the strongest mobile fighting ability and armaments of all automa—”
“—Hm? Whaaat are we just sitting around for? Let’s get going!” Naoto straightened his back with a snap and raised his fist high into the air. Sounding determined, he declared, “If there is even a slight chance that someone like me possesses the means to save twenty million lives, then we mustn’t let go of that chance! After all, I suspect that that’s—my destiny!”
Naoto spoke forcefully. Unlike before, his eyes were now full of radiance, like they were burning with passion.
His emotions were typically called ‘ulterior motives’ and ‘selfish desire.’