Episode 45: Finally, Powered Suit Development!
And so, things progressed smoothly, and it was decided that a new sentai series based on the Crimson Knight would be created.
Seiichi was to part ways here to hash out the specific details, but he was, in the first place, on winter vacation.
Kazuma questioned him about this, but Seiichi simply smiled and said there was no problem.
“This is such exciting work, you know. I can’t afford to just rest.”
“But, aren’t the New Year’s holidays for spending time with family?”
“It’s fine. I’m just creating the proposal, so it won’t take that much time. Things like what kind of name to give it, and what sort of direction to take.”
“If that’s the case, it’s fine, but please make sure to get some rest. If things go wrong, I might be the one scolded by the kids.”
“Ahahaha. You’re right. I’ll wrap it up quickly so you don’t get scolded, Kazuma-kun. Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Yeah. Thank you for today.”
“See you again!”
Watching Seiichi leave with a smile, Kazuma and Sakura Hakanai returned to Kurashige Industries.
The first thing Kazuma saw upon returning to Kurashige Industries was a giant robot.
“What the heck is this!”
“Ah. You’re back.”
“What is this?”
“Now that the Nanomachines are complete, we talked about trying to build something. So, we decided to build something interesting, and this is what we came up with. By the way, it doesn’t use any Nanomachines at all.”
“Hmm! It’s stupid, but I love it!”
“Gahahahaha! I like a boss who gets it too.”
“By the way, can you ride this?”
“Of course. It’s loaded with armaments, ready to launch anytime.”
“Did anyone test-drive it?”
“We did. But this machine’s performance is just too ridiculous. It’s a pain to get moving, and once it does, it’s hard to stop.”
“Hmm. The more I hear, the more it sounds like a complete idiot of a machine! But I absolutely love it!”
“Want to try riding it? The guy who test-drove it got thrown around by the Gravity and puked, though.”
“Let’s ride!”
After receiving an explanation from a worker, Kazuma excitedly climbed into the cockpit and gripped the control levers.
He turned on the power, heard a very fitting “VWOOM” sound, and, beaming with a very happy smile, shouted a famous line.
“Kazuma! Launching!!!”
A few tens of seconds after it started moving, the machine Kazuma was piloting exploded, scattering fleetingly like fireworks blooming in the night sky.
From amidst the smoke of the explosion, a soot-covered Kazuma emerged, coughing, “Gah-ho, gah-ho.”
“If it wasn’t me, I’d be dead, you know? Why did you install a self-destruct device?”
“For when it’s captured by the enemy, and as a last resort.”
“Makes sense~”
It was a lighthearted exchange, but the thing itself was outrageous.
It might have been logical, but if it malfunctioned and self-destructed with the pilot inside, it would be a disaster beyond words.
“Say, we’re gonna get yelled at for wasting resources on this, right~?”
“Well, we’ll definitely get yelled at.”
If Ema found out about this, he’d be furious, but Kazuma owed him an unrepayable debt, so he probably wouldn’t say anything.
On top of the achievement of liberating not only Okinawa but also its nearby waters and remote islands, and with expectations of similar future contributions, there would be no reprimand.
That said, if he reduced funds and lost supplies half for fun, Ema would undoubtedly give him at least a lecture.
“Alright, an announcement for everyone! As soon as the design is ready, we’ll start work. Until then, you’re all free to do as you please! That’s all, dismissed!”
And so, Kazuma joined the other workers in developing new weapons and armaments.
Although the workshop was chaotic, order was surprisingly maintained.
That was thanks to Sakura Hakanai, though Kazuma didn’t know it.
She would occasionally go to workers who seemed about to start a fight and calm them down.
Thanks to her, although the workshop was incredibly noisy, it ran without any particularly major problems.
“Phew… If I weren’t here, it would have been a complete mess, wouldn’t it?”
Kazuma was probably excellent as a pioneer.
However, as a leader to unite them, he was incompetent.
With passion and spirit, Kazuma could certainly show others the way and lead from the front, but it seemed he couldn’t command and unify them.
However, he was blessed with good companions, so Kazuma was just right as a figurehead.
“Fufu… What a true shame. If only I could control him as I wished, I could have had not just Japan, but the entire world in my grasp.”
So that no one could hear, Sakura Hakanai smiled bewitchingly and murmured with an ecstatic expression.
Afterwards, Kazuma continued to develop various weapons with the workers, using technology that fused magic and science.
“How about this Pile Bunker?”
A stake made with Earth Magic, launched with Fire Magic.
Its destructive power was immense, something irreproducible with modern weaponry.
Moreover, its ammunition was infinite as long as there was magical power—a truly broken level of performance.
“I don’t understand the principle at all, but it’s so awesome!”
“Right?! UOOOOOOOH!!!”
Praised, Kazuma test-fired the Pile Bunker “don-don” towards the target.
The recoil almost sent Kazuma’s body flying backward, but he endured it with Body Enhancement and an extraordinary stance.
However, the fact that even Kazuma needed that much strength meant it was a weapon an ordinary person could never handle, making its deployment as a weapon difficult.
“The recoil is incredible. With this, you’d probably fly off even if your feet were nailed to the ground.”
“Can you do something about it?”
“Either counteract it with an equal force, or firmly secure the entire body.”
“Is that the only way~?”
Deciding the Pile Bunker was essential, Kazuma had resolved to incorporate it into the Powered Suit.
However, it wasn’t that simple.
As pointed out by another worker, he had to create a mechanism that could withstand the Pile Bunker’s recoil.
It wasn’t urgent, but it became an important challenge.
“Kazuma-san! Look at this!”
“Hm?”
Where he went after being called out, he saw a worker wearing a helmet on his head, sitting in a cockpit-like chair, and small turrets flying around him.
“Whoa! What’s this!”
“This is a reproduction of something from a certain fictional work. You can control the floating turrets—bits—with brainwaves for precision shooting, and it’s also possible to restrain enemies with an Electromagnetic Barrier!”
“Whoa!”
“However, if there’s one problem, it’s that it’s extremely difficult to operate, making it almost unusable in combat.”
“Ohh…”
“However, we believe it could be operated by someone good at multitasking!”
“Alright, then I’ll give it a try!”
Kazuma put on the helmet and actually tried it.
First, while fighting a virtual enemy, he performed the operation of moving the bits, and then went through the series of actions for sniping.
He handled it flawlessly, but from an outsider’s perspective, it was indeed the work of a freak.
When a worker tried approaching Kazuma with a drone acting as a target, he shot through the target without flinching.
“All I can say is, splendid…”
“This is pretty usable, but is it still difficult for an ordinary person?”
“Normally, it’s difficult. Even with considerable practice, it’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“We simulated combat against Ibinom and criminals, but it’s high-speed combat, so they basically can’t hit anything. The naturally-permed guy in the anime is just crazy.”
“I see… Wait, what about me?”
“You’re also a freak.”
“What kind of way is that to talk to your boss… By the way, what’s its name? It’d be bad if it’s a blatant ripoff, right?”
“We’re tentatively calling it the Faerie System.”
“Huh. That’s a good name. Getting back on topic, if the control method is AI-automated, wouldn’t that solve the problem?”
“That wouldn’t be a problem, but it would lack precision. It would only perform set movements, so countermeasures would be possible if the patterns are learned. In that regard, manual operation allows for freakish maneuvers like the ones you just performed, making it extremely difficult to counter.”
“Freakish… Isn’t there a better way to put it? Like, god-like or something?”
“Someone performing 3D maneuvers and high-speed movement while freely controlling bits and making precision shots is, well, a freak.”
“I can’t escape the curse of being called a freak… Fine, whatever.”
Being called a freak was irritating, but Kazuma decided to let it go as it wasn’t worth getting angry over.
As he continued to pour his passion into weapons development with the workers, Kazuma received a call on his cell phone from Eiji.
There was no need to even look at the content. It was to inform him that the design was complete.
It was faster than he expected, but Kazuma remembered that for him, in subjective time, several years had already passed.
“Heading over now,”
he sent a reply, and Kazuma Teleported to Eiji’s place with Sakura Hakanai.
Arriving in front of Eiji’s room, Kazuma rang the intercom to announce his visit.
Eiji came out immediately after the intercom rang.
He had large, dark circles under his eyes and looked like he had been cooped up working for days.
“It’s been a while…”
“Not much time has passed in reality, though.”
“Come to think of it, that’s right. More importantly, the design is complete, so could you please check it?”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
Entering Eiji’s room, Kazuma immediately took a look at the design.
Just as Kazuma had ordered, it was a fusion of erotic and cute, and it was a satisfying design.
Of course, just as Kazuma had conveyed, Charlotte’s was a Japanese-style design, themed after a kunoichi.
Kazuma nodded, holding onto the optimistic hope that Charlotte would like this.
“Alright! This should be fine!”
“Could you show it to me as well?”
“Here.”
Kazuma handed the design sketch to Sakura Hakanai, who had come with him, and turned back to Eiji.
“Shibusawa-san. Thank you for the excellent work. Regarding your payment, would you prefer a bank transfer or cash?”
“A bank transfer, please. I’d be too scared to accept it in cash.”
“Understood. Hey, Sakura Hakanai. Make the payment immediately.”
“May I ask something?”
Sakura Hakanai, who had been looking at the design Eiji drew, asked something.
“Can’t this be made a bit more suggestive? I think mine could be more daring.”
“Eh, ah, no, I think it’s already quite daring as it is…”
“Mine can be even more extreme. I’m confident in my figure, and I don’t find it embarrassing.”
“Um…”
Eiji looked at Kazuma as if seeking help.
“Shibusawa-san. Can you modify hers? I’ll pay an additional fee.”
“N-no, I’m receiving plenty, so that’s not an issue… However, it might be faster to create a new design.”
“Hmm… In that case, could I ask you to do that?”
“Understood. Please leave it to me. What about the others?”
“Sakura Hakanai, what do you think from your perspective?”
“I don’t think they’re bad. Though, how they will feel about them is another matter.”
“I see. Then, that’s good enough. Eiji-san, please email me your bank account number later.”
“Understood. Shall I email the remaining ones once they’re complete?”
“Yes. Please do that.”
“Alright, I’ll do that then.”
Kazuma received the data for the completed designs and returned to Kurashige Industries.
Gathering the workers, Kazuma began the development of new Powered Suits based on the designs he received from Eiji.