Chapter 126

Time’s Nap The most prosperous city in the world, located in the heart of the north, was a stronghold to Hakua and company as they traveled across the continents. At its height, much of the population was concentrated in that metropolis. It was so overcrowded on the surface that there was no room for new structures, and yet the population continued to grow, leading to an interest in underground development. The success of this experimental subterranean expansion of the most developed city in the world was a great boon as the total populace continued to climb. The construction was completed in the alarmingly short time of one year, thanks to heavy use of Pure Concepts. This led to the technological prowess of Hakua and her friends being known the world over. This city, erected with cutting-edge advancements beyond what Maya had known in Japan, looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. The most important structure in the crowded underground chamber was the environment control tower. The space had to be airtight to increase the density of the Concepts of Primary Colors, but humans couldn’t live for long in a sealed place. Managing the countless elements needed to maintain a livable space underground was impossible for humans. So Gadou, the holder of the Pure Concept of Vessel, created a conjured soldier for the task. The result was the humanoid conjured soldier dubbed “the Astrologer.” There was no real need for it to be a humanoid. The Astrologer was equipped with artificial intelligence made using Guiding Force circuits. However, Guiding Force AI technology was still in the early stages of development. It couldn’t respond to anything outside the realm of its programmed expectations. “She’s a good girl. She’s just shy, that’s all.” Nono’s oft-repeated line was more appropriate for a favorite doll, or perhaps for a frequently used tool, than for a real person. Still, Maya liked the Astrologer, partly because she enjoyed its ability to hold simple conversations. Since she still had a tendency to freeze up when confronted by anyone larger than herself, Maya needed someone she wasn’t afraid of. There were times when Nono would hole up alone with the conjured soldier. That was always strange. It was very different from when she linked with the Astrologer for a prediction. She would maintain a Guiding Force connection with it for hours, even days. When Maya asked her why, Nono only winked with one of her starry eyes. “For the sake of the future.” Maya still remembered how much that smug declaration annoyed her. At dawn, the City of Ruins began to take on color. Menou watched the underground sunrise through an empty window frame in the movie theater lobby. The light source at the heart of the environment control tower shed gradually intensifying light on the city above and below. “…” After gazing at the city for a while, Menou flipped through the pages of her diary. Each line was a record of her memories, which were fading with each day. The Pure Concept of Time ate away at her spirit even if she didn’t use any conjurings, and when she did, she lost her recollections even faster. How much did it affect her personality? She put a check mark next to each passage that described things she no longer remembered. By doing so, Menou itemized which memories she’d lost. This helped her gain an objective idea of how much she’d forgotten. Each day, the tally increased. Presently, they covered a third of the diary. “…Using a Pure Concept certainly makes them decrease faster.” Menou had employed Decay Acceleration since arriving in the City of Ruins, a conjuring that consumed more of the spirit based on the target’s volume. It’s why Menou used the Acceleration conjuring on a small Guiding bullet instead of on herself. Yet although this strategy minimized the loss, she kept forgetting things. It wasn’t in chronological order, either. Sometimes it was from her youth in the monastery, other times from the last six months. And it didn’t seem to be based on which memories were most critical to her personality. Her exchanges with Akari and Master Flare hadn’t faded much at all. Only one person seemed to be disappearing from her memory very rapidly. Namely, the girl in white who used to be her assistant. Try as she might, Menou couldn’t recall her feelings for that girl. Reading the diary entries about her was like learning of a total stranger. How should she act upon meeting that girl again? “I’m still fine for now…I think…” Time was running out. Losing more than half of her memories was bound to affect her personality. Perhaps she’d already changed in undetectable ways. What would happen if her history kept disappearing? Menou closed the diary, her thoughts churning. By all rights, she would become a Human Error. That was the inevitable outcome of using a Pure Concept. And the Star Memory, the storehouse of people’s memories, was Hakua’s domain. Menou doubted that her nemesis was kind enough to preserve her memories there in case she needed to restore them. Surely it was one reason why Hakua didn’t bother pursuing Menou personally. She knew that Menou would self-destruct if left to her own devices. Sending Michele hastened that process. However, Menou wasn’t without hope, if only a faint one. She wasn’t an Otherworlder. Looking at the diary and objectively assessing what she’d lost made something clear. Menou had other memories besides her own—Akari’s. They shared their lives through a mutual Guiding Force connection. Menou had recorded all of Akari’s memories in the diary as well, but not one of those pages had a single check mark. Only those recollections that originally belonged to Menou were consumed. It was safe to assume that it was because those were directly linked to Menou’s soul. Should her past continue to erode until all that remained within Menou were memories from Akari’s point of view… “Good morning.” Sensing someone behind her, Menou cut her thoughts short and gave a greeting. “Hey. You wake up early, eh?” It was Nono. She walked over to stand by Menou’s side with unhurried footsteps. “Maya and Madam Sahara are still off in dreamland.” “I’ll scold Sahara for being so careless later.” “No, you should let her sleep. Rest is very important, you know. Even I don’t like staying up constantly.” “Oh?” Menou narrowed her eyes. She was under the impression that Nono had survived these past thousand years by infusing her soul and spirit into the conjured soldier called the Astrologer. She’d escaped Hakua’s notice by becoming a being that already existed to manage the environment control tower. Since she controlled the Starhusk, an otherworld repatriation circle, and sealed away the City of Ruins, the Astrologer had to be more important to Hakua than Menou realized. And yet Hakua couldn’t come near her, due to the influence of the Starhusk. Menou reexamined Nono seriously. Pale skin. Dark eyes. Even her conjuring qualities were those of an ordinary human. “You’re quite strange, you know that? You don’t have any of the characteristics of a conjured soldier, even though you are one.” “Well, yeah. I don’t find any pride or embarrassment in being one. Unlike the kids these days, I have no need to show off those characteristics that separate me from humans. Nor do I have any special idiosyncrasies like Kaa, so I simply mimicked my beautiful, pale-skinned self when I activated. That’s all there is to it.” “And who is ‘Kaa’?” “The person who held the Pure Concept of Vessel.” “Ah.” Menou nodded. By “the kids these days,” Nono probably meant the Primary Triad conjured soldiers with natural intelligence that were born of the Mechanical Society. “So your mind is reawakened on a conditional activation.” “Not exactly, but there’s no harm in you thinking of it that way, so I’ll let you carry on with that level of comprehension.” “How generous. On that note, what are the conditions that trigger your awakening?” “I come out whenever the world is in serious danger.” Could Menou really trust her on that? Nono wasn’t there when Akari became a Human Error. “You know, I’d prefer small talk with you over something serious,” Nono said. “Should we chat about the weather?” “Heh-heh. That is a fascinating topic, but no, not this time.” The weather never changed underground, of course. Nono grinned at Menou’s sarcastic remark. Then she abruptly removed her glasses and put them on Menou’s face. “…What are you doing?” “Oh, I just thought they’d look good on you. I always wanted to make Hakua a member of the glasses gang.” “What ‘glasses gang’? And are these fake?” There was no prescription, nor was there any kind of conjuring effect on them. Apparently, Nono’s glasses really were purely a fashion accessory. “The fact that I wear glasses even though my eyes work fine is further proof of how much I love their design!” Nono proclaimed cheerfully. She peered at Menou casually. “When I mentioned yesterday that the Starhusk is an otherworld repatriation circle, your eyes really lit up.” “…” Menou didn’t trust her ability to conceal her reactions at such close proximity. She silently removed the glasses and handed them back to Nono. The girl must have jokingly put them on Menou’s face as an excuse to get close enough to gauge her responses. Nono’s smile dimmed a bit. She’d shown a similar expression yesterday. This was different from mild enjoyment of a conversation. Her smile was fixed, like on a poker face. “Were you disappointed? The Starhusk is a masterpiece that Kaa and I made, not unlike this underground city. But you came here hoping it was a weapon that could defeat Hakua, didn’t you? She certainly is strong, after all. Seeking a weapon to beat her is far more sensible than opposing her directly.”