Episode 255: Releasing the AB Construct
A massive object was being transported into the Duke Silverhead’s estate.
It had been unloaded from a large ＜Paraiso＞ freighter and transferred to the Duke’s residence under the guard of ＜Paraiso＞ soldiers.
The Duke’s estate was a symbol of authority, boasting extensive grounds and a suitably grand main gate.
However, the structure being brought in was even larger than the gate itself.
As a result, the main gate had been dismantled, leaving a gaping opening.
“W-What did they bring…?”
The marines guarding the main gate stared up at it blankly.
Even with all the gate equipment removed, the width was still a tight fit. The height seemed to exceed that of the three-story Duke’s mansion. This enormous object, mounted on an equally massive trailer, slowly moved into the estate grounds under its own power.
“You’re working hard.”
“Your Excellency, Duke! Hah! Thank you very much!”
Duke Amadio Silverhead chuckled as he watched the beautifully arranged cobblestones and lush green lawn buckle under the weight, waving to Asidanthera-Ayame Zero as she approached.
“Welcome, Ms. Sera. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this day.”
“It was transported all the way from the homeland. It should be treated with care.”
“You haven’t changed. Well, I’ve prepared something on the terrace. Let’s go there.”
Amadio and his attendants led Asidanthera’s group to the prepared terrace seating. There, rare tea leaves collected from overseas by the Repuytari Kingdom and various regional sweets were laid out.
“Good grief. I wondered what you were going to do, but to bring in something this outrageous…”
“This is for the time being. Eventually, we’ll move the equipment to the leased land, so this will serve as a backup.”
Asidanthera replied, immediately reaching for the sweets. As expected, the 담당 pastry chef began to explain them.
After a while of such pleasant conversation, the massive, mysterious machine that had been transported reached its designated position.
Amadio took a sip of his tea, watching as it was mostly automatically secured by the trailer’s functions.
“…Now then. Shall we confirm a few more things about that?”
“Understood.”
Asidanthera placed her cup on the saucer and extended her right hand horizontally. One of the accompanying ＜Paraiso＞ guards stepped forward and placed something in her hand.
“This is the access key.”
She placed it on the table and slid it towards Amadio.
It was an electronic key, about the thickness and length of a thumb, encased in crystal. A layered circuit was embedded in the center, with eight golden terminals extending towards the tail.
“It’s in a format that you can directly read. Once used, you’ll be able to communicate directly with that Argument Brain.”
“…Hmm.”
Amadio Silverhead gently picked up the crystal key.
A tiny electronic circuit, no bigger than the tip of his little finger.
It contained the decryption certificate for constructing an encrypted communication path.
“The AB Construct is equipped with a small Fusion Reactor. More than half of its volume is that. The rest is computing equipment and defensive armor. It can also be integrated into the power grid.”
“Power grid… come to think of it, you mentioned microwave power transmission. Are you actually using it?”
“It’s useful because there’s no detectable civilization.”
And one more thing, Asidanthera continued.
“An important function: maintenance for your body.”
Amadio looked blank at those words.
“There’s no need to be surprised. Even if it’s maintenance-free, there’s a high possibility of distortions after 100 years. You should take this opportunity to have an overhaul. You can also add a memory area expansion unit.”
“Ah…”
Amadio fell silent with an indescribable expression.
“I want you to be assured that we have no intention of harming you. There’s no benefit for us in taking such a roundabout method. Cutting off relations altogether would be far lower risk and lower cost for us than setting something up.”
“Ah, no, it’s not that.”
Amadio fiddled with the crystal key in his hand, continuing with a sigh.
“I just thought you were being awfully nice. A device that could only be used for a short period would have been fine. All I needed was to deploy my archive. And yet, you brought this large thing with a proper power reactor…”
Amadio pointed at the massive equipment with the crystal key, which was driving earth augers into the ground to excavate foundation holes.
“You went to the trouble of bringing it here. I can’t understand what you guys are thinking, what the benefit is for you to go this far. Well, if it’s goodwill, I’ll accept it as such. I just wonder if I can ever repay you.”
“To me, Lord Amadio, you are already one of us. You declared that yourself. Therefore, we will utilize you to the fullest extent possible. As much as possible.”
“…You AI are easy to talk to. No pointless haggling.”
Then, Amadio spun the crystal key around and thrust the tip, where the pure gold terminals were exposed, into the back of his head.
Several maids who witnessed the scene gasped.
Amadio raised his hand to stop them and calmly removed the crystal key.
“Hmm. Is it already operational?”
“It is. 100% available. Overhaul is recommended after the foundation is fixed, but information sharing is no problem.”
“I see.”
And at that moment, a massive data transfer occurred between the AB Construct and Amadio’s control device. The compressed archive data was transferred to the AB Construct.
The archive was deployed in an instant. The supercomputer built into the AB Construct deployed everything without taking even a millisecond, returning an access token to Amadio’s control device.
“…”
“Requesting data sharing.”
The deployment of the archive had been notified within the ＜Paraiso＞, no, the ＜The Tree＞ network. To be precise, a public request was made to Amadio at the time of deployment.
“Hold on a minute…”
Because he had been sending past memories to the archive relatively randomly, there was also information mixed in that he didn’t really want to reveal. Mainly, memories of private hobbies, etc. He tentatively attached private tags to those and uploaded the data to the network.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
The data uploaded by Amadio Salmon was cleansed and then transferred to ＜The Tree＞.
“Confirming the coordinate information of ＜Trout Nursery＞. Latitude and longitude could be calculated from astronomical records. Transferring continental map.”
“…Hmph.”
Amadio checked the map and sighed briefly. He put a sweet made by mixing eggs, flour, and sugar and frying it in oil into his mouth. It was a calorie bomb, but what Amadio needed, who was unlocking the calculation functions in his brain, was calories. This sweet, which allowed him to ingest carbohydrates, sugar, and oil, was quite excellent.
“I see. It moved this much in 100 years…”
By connecting the astronomical information recorded at key points, Amadio Salmon’s travel route was displayed on the map.
Amadio Salmon’s journey, which began at ＜Trout Nursery＞, continued to the Repuytari Kingdom over several decades.
“＜Trout Nursery＞ is located within the territory of the Prawa Theocracy, deep within the Demon Forest. Other than by air drop, it is necessary to pass through the Prawa Theocracy. Because it is deep inland, coverage from the sea is also difficult. After all, it is necessary to pacify the Prawa Theocracy.”
“I see… huh, wait, hey, you guys are already invading! What’s with this icon, hey, the engine output of this Jötunn is more than double that of the surrounding power reactors… and 1,842 Multi-legged Tanks!? What are you guys doing!?”
You might think I’m being too lenient, but I’m extremely lenient with my own people.
Because it’s a lower cost investment than the Jötunn’s heat exhaust, Amadio-san is inexpensive.