Episode 288: Sunbathing
“What lovely weather we’re having, Sister!”
“…Indeed.”
For the sake of daily health, sunbathing is extremely important.
Vitamin D is produced within the body thanks to the UVB ultraviolet rays contained in sunlight.
Furthermore, exposure to strong light promotes the secretion of serotonin.
Of course, it’s possible to supplement Vitamin D with medication. Light for serotonin secretion can also be artificially produced. There’s no need to force oneself to sunbathe.
However, according to Ringo’s analysis, the act of dozing off in the sunlight is extremely important for Eve’s mental stability, perhaps due to her characteristics as a fox beastkin.
Therefore, sunbathing every morning and after breakfast has become a daily routine.
And today, Asahi has returned to the fortress The Tree, so the two are acting together. Asahi herself is mostly mechanized, so sunbathing itself has no meaning, but simply being with her sister improves her in various ways.
“It is time, so I will activate the optical shield.”
The communicator doll operated by Ringo, who was waiting a short distance away, announced.
The laminated crystal, with the appropriate voltage applied, shielded rays of light with wavelengths harmful to the human body. With this, even a long sunbath will not affect Ma’am’s precious body.
“…Time, huh?”
Eve, who had been curled up, slowly raised her body. She then raised both arms and stretched greatly.
Asahi, who had been rolling around with her, also stood up straight.
“I’ll bring drinks and snacks, Sister!”
“Thanks~”
Asahi ran to the self-propelled cart, took out a chilled glass, a pot, and some frozen treats, and ran back with a shutata sound.
In the meantime, Eve had moved to a two-seater seat. It was a couple’s seat woven with nylon fibers.
“Here you go~”
“What is it today?”
Asahi placed a tray on the table and poured a drink into the glass. The contents of the pot were carbonated beverages chilled to just before freezing. It seems to be flavored with citrus fruits found in the Northern Continent.
“Mmm, delicious~”
Asahi can digest carbonated water-like fructose liquids, as well as ice cream and sherbet. Therefore, today’s dessert is a sherbet made from a high-sugar fruit.
The fruit, which resembles a mango, is one of Eve’s favorites.
The two enjoyed their dessert while chattering happily, and then began to relax, snuggling together on the couple’s seat.
Normally, the other five sisters would return to work, so Eve would return with them, but today Asahi is here, so they are spending their time leisurely.
“Speaking of which, Asahi, have you decided what you’re going to do in the future?”
“Asahi?”
Hmm, Asahi tilted her head. She wasn’t particularly struggling to answer, just acting spoiled.
“Well, I’d like to land in the Holy Kingdom for now.”
“Oh, is that so? I thought you were going to North End City.”
“Cosmos is in charge of that area. Even if Asahi went, I wouldn’t be able to do much freely!”
The O-Class Strategic AI Cosmos is developing North End City. She is working quite energetically, setting up processing facilities for monster materials and testing development equipment for the Demon Forest.
She seems to have judged that adding Asahi there would only lead to a competition for resources.
“I see. So, the Holy Kingdom, huh? Certainly, the AI for base control is undecided there. Iris is in charge of overall management, though.”
“Yes, Sister. I think Ichi-go Sister’s I-Class AI will probably be installed there eventually, but for now, it seems like I can move around most freely, and research will progress!”
Yakarri Port, the landing base in the Holy Kingdom. The O-Class AI Lotus is installed here, but it is only a temporary installation. It is scheduled to be moved to a production base near a large-scale ore vein further inland.
Because of this situation, the safety of the Holy Kingdom is very high.
In fact, it may be several times safer than the Afurasia United Kingdom, which has left its local governing body intact.
“Oh, speaking of which, I heard you were developing a new escort fighter. Will Asahi be using it?”
“Ah, that’s right, Sister! Yes, it’s an escort fighter for Asahi’s escort, and for VIP protection! As a test, we’re planning to incorporate a magic item called Flame Wand, which we obtained from North End City!”
“Ho, ho.”
“This is a magic item made using the magic stone of a fire-breathing lizard, and if you put your heart into it, it will launch a ball of fire! I’m trying to figure out how to incorporate this into an automatic machine!”
“I see…”
“So, I’m currently testing the escort fighter. If there don’t seem to be any problems, I might land at Yakarri Port soon!”
“Be careful. I think it’s mostly within our sphere of influence, so it should be fine, but we haven’t been able to completely sweep the land and sea.”
“Yes, Sister!”
Eve is also aware that The Tree is steadily expanding its sphere of influence. All human civilizations that can be observed have been dealt with, but measures against monsters and threatening creatures are not perfect.
However, she can’t move forward if she’s just afraid of that.
She assesses the degree of threat and repeats the advance if it is within an acceptable range. She is currently continuing this state.
“The problems in the Holy Kingdom have been mostly resolved, but what does Sister think?”
This is probably Asahi’s pure question. Asahi is mainly focused on research, so she doesn’t have much access to strategic information that hasn’t been decided. She would download it if necessary, but this is just recreation.
Eve understands this, so she shares the information as a chat.
“Well, as Asahi knows, we’re in an expansion phase right now. Resource acquisition has been successful, and production is increasing rapidly. We are increasing our military strength to strengthen our defense capabilities, while increasing production facilities. The mines and land have expanded considerably with the conquest of the Holy Kingdom.”
The Purava Holy Kingdom is an inland nation. By cultivating plains, creating fields, and increasing food production, they are rapidly expanding their territory. The military strength, which would normally be insufficient, was covered by operating loyal magic soldiers called monk soldiers.
“The territory of the Afurasia United Kingdom is also quite large compared to the surrounding countries, but it’s incomparable to the Purava Holy Kingdom. For the time being, we won’t have any problems with land and resources.”
“That’s right. There are still many ore veins that haven’t been touched, and it seems like there are large-scale iron deposits in the Holy Kingdom, right?”
“That’s right, that’s right. We found traces of that on the west side. It’s a little far away, so I don’t know the details yet.”
The Northern Continent is still expanding to the east and west. If anything, there may be human nations further west of the Purava Holy Kingdom. It hasn’t been found in satellite images, but that’s no guarantee in a fantasy world.
Besides, even if there are no countries to the west, there are still multiple unreached countries to the east.
Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for conflict.
The controlled area has expanded rapidly. This time, it must be completely incorporated into the sphere of influence.
For that purpose, there is still a shortage of automatic machines and AIs.
“We need to increase the number of bases in the Purava Holy Kingdom. After that, we need to proceed with negotiations with the western countries. We have no information beyond the Forest Country (Lebresta).”
“That’s right. Well, for the time being, we’ll strengthen our internal affairs! Asahi will also learn magic and show you! I’ll be of service!”
“Fufu. I’m looking forward to it, Asahi.”
A short break, or something like that.
It’s an expansion phase.