Chapter 246: Grumbling Friends
The Reflector, having effortlessly devoured two wyverns, came to a halt, ceasing all movement. Its head, limbs, and tail retracted into its shell, enveloping it in silence.
“Twenty-four hours have passed since The Reflector’s active operations ceased.”
“Sounds like the ideal eat-and-sleep lifestyle,” Ringo remarked, nodding quietly without retrieving a mirror.
“It seems it awakened this time due to a direct hit from the wyverns’ attack. Normally, I suspect it awakens from other stimuli and moves in search of prey,” Ringo continued.
“Right. With that level of combat power, it might be using wyverns as its main source of food,” Eve mused.
Having dispatched the two wyverns with ease, The Reflector’s strength was indeed shocking. If one were to deal with it, the only options seemed to be a saturation attack using mass projectiles or somehow delivering high energy to it. Both methods relied purely on brute force without any finesse.
“It doesn’t appear to be very active, so that’s a relief! By the way, it seems the electromagnetic wave reflection behavior resumed after it stopped operating!”
“Wait, is it safe to test that? Won’t it retaliate?” Eve asked, concerned.
“Yes! Originally, I was regularly emitting low-output microwaves for monitoring purposes! I’m just continuing that now!”
“Well, that’s good to hear. Just don’t provoke it, okay?”
“I’ll continue monitoring,” Ringo assured.
With that, Eve decided not to press further. If Ringo was keeping an eye on things, Asahi likely wouldn’t do anything reckless either.
“Still, what exactly is this electromagnetic wave reflection…?” Eve pondered aloud.
“Asahi is curious about that too! However, there are simply too few clues to even form a hypothesis! I suspect it might be used as a trap to lure in prey!”
The name “The Reflector” derived from its unique ability to return electromagnetic waves, including microwaves, with a slight time lag. While the reason for this ability remained unclear, it was confirmed that The Reflector possessed biological radar organs, which explained its capacity to reflect.
“I wonder if all the giant lifeforms in this world have biological radar…” Eve mused.
“At least the Rain Croin doesn’t have one! Well, that’s to be expected since it’s a threat creature of the sea!”
“With that massive body, its speed must exceed 100 km/h if it’s a wyvern. It makes sense that it would have developed such a function to respond to stimuli beyond just sound and visible light,” Akane speculated.
Eve nodded in agreement with Akane’s assessment. Wyverns typically flew at speeds of around 150 km/h, and in emergencies, they could accelerate to subsonic speeds. At such velocities, relying solely on sound or visible light would indeed be inadequate. Visibility from above would be heavily influenced by atmospheric conditions, and auditory cues at subsonic speeds would be unreliable.
This led to the possibility that The Reflector’s biological radar was a countermeasure against wyverns.
“…Now that I think about it, we’ve seen it get shot down by mysterious plants or devoured by giant turtles. Could it be that wyverns are actually the ones being preyed upon…?”
◇◇◇◇
“…No way.”
Amagio Silverhead was left speechless as he watched the footage shared by Ashidancera = Ayame Zero.
The setting was the Paraiso Embassy in the Kingdom of Repuitari. Accompanied by Ixia, Amagio had been shown a special video featuring a colossal monster battle.
“From your reaction, it seems you didn’t know?” Ashidancera inquired.
“Yeah… Well, there might be something in the compressed memory (Archive), but at least I haven’t retained any of that in my current memory…”
While it was unlikely that important memories had been compressed, Amagio continued, “It’s true that there are some incredibly powerful monsters out there. I don’t recall anything that big, though.”
The advance of the Prava Divine Nation had stalled. Weapons and ammunition were steadily arriving at the front lines, and the defensive positions were becoming more fortified. The efforts to reclaim lost towns, primarily through guerrilla tactics, were also proving effective, leading to a chaotic situation on the Prava Divine Nation front.
However, this stalemate could be broken in a short time. The frustrated Prava Divine Nation might unleash its full might.
“Damn it. These monsters are pretty close to the battlefield, aren’t they?”
“About a 500 km radius, roughly speaking.”
Wyverns had an extensive range of movement, and their territories were currently in flux. While The Reflector itself was unlikely to move significantly, there was a real possibility that new wyverns could descend into the vacuum created by this conflict.
Moreover, the absence of the predator wyverns could lead to an increase in other monsters. The stampede of Big Moss, which had become a problem in the Forest Country (Lebresta), was also a concern.
“There have been reports of occasional monster attacks in countries near the Demon Forest. If these wyverns disappear, it means other monsters will increase, right? They’re in the middle of a war. I can’t see how they could handle that.”
“With the current supply of weapons and ammunition, we wouldn’t be able to deal with something like Big Moss. In peacetime, hunters venturing into the Demon Forest could manage to some extent.”
The highly skilled hunters had all been drawn to the front lines. While their efforts had successfully delayed combat, the monsters emerging from the Demon Forest posed a troublesome issue. Although no information had come in, it was likely that those monsters were currently left unchecked.
“The situation over there must be chaotic as well. Well, it’s not our concern since we’re the ones guiding it to that point,” Amagio remarked.
“Intervention is also an option,” Ixia suggested, replacing her empty cup.
She laid out freshly made scones, apparently developed recently using an expanding agent to achieve a soft texture.
“Intervention, huh? I can’t offer anything in return,” Amagio replied.
“You likely don’t need to worry too much about the cost,” Ixia assured.
She refrained from touching the tea or pastries, returning to the wall instead. It seemed she would leave the eating to Ashidancera. Since both were operated by Ayame Zero, it likely didn’t matter to her.
“Ringo seems to be troubled by various matters, but I personally believe it would be beneficial for you to join our ranks. Especially since your Control AI, which is a target of caution, is ultimately just an AI. It can’t operate freely on the same level as us.”
“Interesting. You sure have a way with words,” Amagio replied.
Ashidancera elegantly took a scone, breaking it along the cracks. The cream served alongside was made from freshly sourced cream, delivered that very morning.
“Even if you possess the same authority as us, your capabilities are limited. This is because the resources required for your operations, the Equipment Set, are provided by us. Unless you acquire technology that surpasses ours, you won’t be able to outmaneuver us.”
This conclusion was derived from a purely emotionless predictive calculation. The simulation results regarding whether Amagio Silverhead and his subordinate AIs could infiltrate The Tree from within. The only condition under which betrayal could occur was if Amagio’s subordinate Control AI secretly possessed resources exceeding Ringo’s or had algorithms fundamentally different from Ringo’s that were superior.
However, if such an exceptional AI existed, it was concluded that Amagio Silverhead would not be complacent in this situation.
“If you choose to ally with us, we will spare no effort in assisting you. While wastefulness is out of the question, we have no objections to dedicating our strength to stabilize this region.”
“…That’s reassuring to hear. Well, I’ll wait patiently until you reach a conclusion. It seems to be a deeply rooted issue.”
“Your Control AI is overthinking due to having too many computational resources. It should consider things more simply.”
“…Wait, am I being grumbled about?”