To investigate the Maso Density around ＜The Tree＞, Albatrosses equipped with Maso Meters took off one after another.
While gazing at the scene, Eve, accompanied by ＜Ringo＞, sighed.
“Looks like another headache-inducing problem has surfaced…”
“…”
Of the 12 Maso Meters recovered, 6 were mounted on Albatrosses to measure the density in distant areas. The remaining 6 were planned to be mounted on Drones to patrol the nearby sea.
While she wasn’t particularly concerned, ＜Ringo＞ seemed very worried about the high Maso Density. It appeared to be showing a rejection response to the fact that something it couldn’t perceive existed around it (at an abnormal level).
Well, it wasn’t hard to understand.
If the fortress she thought she had perfectly managed was actually contaminated, it was imaginable that she would feel uneasy.
“＜Ringo＞ is overthinking it! Maso is universally present on this planet, probably! It’s like oxygen!”
“Whoa, you startled me. Asahi, aren’t you undergoing an Overhaul?”
“My love for Onee-sama has made the impossible possible!!”
Asahi’s voice, who should have been disassembled for an Overhaul, suddenly interrupted. Eve looked at ＜Ringo＞, but she shook her head.
“It’s a connection via the wireless unit standardly installed in the Brain Unit. The adhesion to the spinal Nervous System is progressing, so some connections cannot be released, and the consciousness level is maintained.”
“I was bored being disassembled with consciousness last time, so I worked hard this time!”
“I hope there are no adverse effects… is it okay?”
“She says she’s fine, so it should be okay.”
Apparently, ＜Ringo＞ had already given up on Asahi. While replying quite casually, she displayed the Maso Density map for Ma’am.
“This is real-time data from the Albatrosses. All aircraft are flying radially to quickly confirm the surrounding density.”
“Hmph. …Just looking at the numbers, it seems that ＜The Tree＞ is still at the center.”
When the displayed Maso Densities were connected with contour lines, they were distributed in roughly concentric circles. The area around ＜The Tree＞ was the highest, and the Maso Density decreased rapidly from there. At the point with the highest Maso Density around ＜The Tree＞, it was as high as 2500%. Even 30km away from there, the density seemed to drop to about 200%.
“It will take a little more time to see the whole picture. For now, tell me about the future plans.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We will continue measuring the area within a radius of about 1,000km, up to the continental coast, with the Albatrosses. At the same time, we will use the Drones to collect data within a radius of about 50km. By comparing it with a detailed Maso Density map from around North End City to the Demon Forest, we will be able to analyze the situation around ＜The Tree＞.”
This Maso Meter, which used the olfactory cells of the Forest Boar, had the characteristic of being slightly slow in reaction speed. Due to the nature of generating a potential difference in response to the surrounding Maso Density, it was understandable that it lacked immediacy.
Therefore, the Maso Meter readings would be quite blurred on the Albatrosses, which flew at speeds of several hundred km/h at the slowest.
To compensate for this, Drones capable of low-speed flight and hovering were used to collect information in the nearby sea.
“Also, we will urgently set up about 2 fixed-point observation points. We will be able to confirm whether fluctuations in Maso Density occur over time at those locations.”
“Hmm, it doesn’t seem like the center of ＜The Tree＞ is simply the place with the highest density. ＜Ringo＞, can I borrow your computing area?”
“Stop it. If you hog the bandwidth during maintenance, it will never end.”
“Cheh.”
◇◇◇◇
“Now then, let’s share information! About Maso!”
“Let’s hear Asahi’s test results first.”
“Eh, why, Onee-sama!!”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
A briefing was held for Eve, who couldn’t connect directly to the network.
Everyone gathered in the lounge.
“Asahi is over here!”
“Sit here!”
“Ah, yes.”
The noisy Asahi was captured by Utsugi and Erika. She was pushed into the middle of the two-seater sofa as is. She was being held firmly from both sides, but well, she seemed happy with that, so it was probably fine.
Eve sat next to Ichigo, and Olive snuggled up next to her. Akane, who came in last, glanced around and chose to sit next to Ichigo.
After confirming that everyone had settled on the sofa, ＜Ringo＞ began serving.
“Now then.”
After the drinks and snacks were ready, Eve opened the conversation.
“How was Asahi?”
“Yes, Ma’am. For the time being, no abnormalities were detected. The degree of adhesion of the spinal Nervous System is almost 100%. In the future, information on your chassis damage will be directly fed back to the Brain Unit, so be careful.”
“Yes! I’ve created a bypass circuit for the feedback processing system, so the fault tolerance should be higher than usual, no problem!”
“Asahi, ＜Ringo＞ is telling you to be careful not to get hurt.”
“Ah…”
Scolded by Eve, Asahi hurriedly turned her gaze to ＜Ringo＞. ＜Ringo＞ was staring at Asahi with a fed-up look.
“Asahi-chan is reckless, after all~”
“She’s on the front lines, so we’re worried~”
Her cheeks were kneaded from both sides, and Asahi fell silent. Eve chuckled as she watched the three of them.
“Well, it seems like she’s taking good care of safety, and we’re monitoring her from here, so I’m not too worried. …And?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
＜Ringo＞ displayed an X-ray image of Asahi’s Brain Unit in the air.
“I’ll share this with everyone. This is inside Asahi’s brain, you see.”
What emerged from the X-ray photography was a mysterious haze occurring within the Brain Unit.
“Compared to last time, the area of this white shadow has definitely increased. To put it simply, some kind of abnormal situation is in progress. However, no problems have been found in the tests. The diagnosis results are as shared.”
“Is it an abnormality that cannot be detected by testing equipment?”
Ichigo asked, and ＜Ringo＞ nodded.
“That’s right. There are no functional problems whatsoever. However, this white shadow is projected in X-ray photography. That’s all.”
“Ooh… could it be that Asahi has finally stepped into the realm of unreason (fantasy)!?”
Asahi, who was informed of this test result for the first time, lit up her face. Asahi tried to stand up, but was immediately suppressed by Utsugi and Erika.
“Hey, Onee-sama!”
“Okay, okay, let’s listen quietly~”
“Stay seated properly!”
“So, we investigated whether this abnormality was occurring elsewhere.”
While watching the three who were bustling on the narrow sofa, Eve continued.
“At least, we confirmed the signs of this white shadow in the U-class and E-class AIs that are active in the Demon Forest. Also, the O-class Strategic AI ＜Cosmos＞, which manages North End City, is the same. And…”
＜Ringo＞ looked around at everyone.
“X-ray photography has low resolution, and the information obtained is inferior to other test results, so we weren’t using it. The truth is that Asahi tried using all the testing equipment that was available.”
“Isn’t Asahi’s treatment a little rough?”
“Asahi is a troublemaker, after all~”
“You’re aware of that, right~?”
Perhaps because they don’t usually interact directly much, Asahi was being played with by Utsugi and Erika.
“We conducted investigations on all independent AIs as much as possible. As a result, a similar situation to this white shadow was confirmed in the physical computing devices of about 30% of the AIs. Akane, Ichigo, Utsugi, Erika, Olive. It’s the same for you all.”
At ＜Ringo＞’s words, the Five Sisters froze.
Fantasy is encroaching on the SF Fortress.
Writing it like that makes it sound dangerous, but these guys would probably just analyze it normally.