Visibly relieved, she inched her butt right up next to his and brought her petite lips to his earlobe so that only he could hear. “…Um…I…can do it. My laptop…survived…so if I take some materials from the plane…I should be able to manage…somehow.” “Are you good for tools?” Ringo nodded, then clapped her hands together. In a flash, countless spiderlike manipulator arms extended out from her backpack, which had been lying inert by the wall. “Wh-wh-whoa! Didn’t see that one coming!” “Damn, that’s handy. Those arms have all sorts of tools on ’em.” Masato was right. With just that one backpack, Ringo had access not just to normal tools, like drills and pliers, but also equipment for welding, lathing, laser machining, and pretty much every other type of manufacturing imaginable. She was definitely set when it came to equipment. That said… “But whatcha gonna do for power? We’re a little short on outlets.” Ringo responded to Shinobu’s concerns by whispering “That’s…okay” in Tsukasa’s ear. “I checked…the crash site…and I…didn’t detect any radiation.” “The plane ran off one of your pocket nuclear fission reactors, so if that had been damaged, there would have been a radiation leak. Because there’s no radiation, we can infer that the reactor’s still functioning. Is that what you mean?” “Yeah… The refined uranium won’t last forever…but we should be fine on power…for now.” “Well, that’s good to hear. Could you go ahead and get started on that tomorrow?” “…Y—Yeah…” Hmm? Ringo had agreed to his request, but she’d hesitated for a moment. “What’s the matter? It sounds like you have something you want to say.” “…!” Ringo’s shoulders twitched. Apparently, Tsukasa had hit the nail on the head. There was something else she wanted to do, too. However, afraid that she’d end up upsetting Tsukasa somehow, she hadn’t been able to bring it up. The boy prime minister, however, was observant enough to pick up on even her subtlest tells. And because he knew she was the type to think too hard about other people’s moods and opinions, he knew just the way to get her to speak her mind. “If you have an idea, by all means, let me know. I’m the one giving instructions, so it’d be a big help.” It’d be a big help. Hearing those words made Ringo relax a little. She leaned into Tsukasa’s ear again and said falteringly, “…Um, well, see? When I went to the crash site…I saw the red valley where the plane’s nose was…and I had a hunch. So I used these…to check.” When she said “these,” she pointed at the work goggles affixed to her hat. Just like her backpack, they were one of her many inventions. They were equipped with a multitude of features, such as the ability to zoom in when doing precise work, to scan a machine and see its insides through its frame, and to analyze objects and gases to check their chemical compositions. After pointing at the goggles, she told Tsukasa about her surprising discovery. “Oh, wow. That’s…” “What’d she say?” “Apparently, there’s a deposit of bauxite ore at the crash site.” The unforeseen development caused Masato and Shinobu to ooh and aah as well. Akatsuki, the only one who didn’t quite follow, turned to Masato and said, “Hey, Masato, could you remind me what bauxite is? It sounds familiar.” “It’s the base ingredient for aluminum. It forms in warm, humid climates, but it’s not like biomes stay the same way forever. Depending on how far down you go, you can end up excavating it in cold places, too.” “…I want…to use the bauxite here…and make aluminum. Without easy-to-craft metal…I’m not…very useful.” “What’s she gonna do for a refinery, though?” “She said, ‘I’ve got the blueprint for one in my head, so it’ll only take me three days to build.’” Tsukasa recited the words his friend had whispered in his ear. “…Damn.” Masato was struck speechless. One would expect nothing less of the genius who’d advanced human civilization by centuries. “One problem. The pocket nuclear fission reactor will cover her power needs, but apparently, the scrap from the plane won’t be enough to make some ‘reduction pot’ she’ll need to process the aluminum.” Hearing that last tidbit, Masato said “Heh” and flashed his pearly whites. “Sounds like a job for me.” “I’m glad you’re quick on the uptake. I heard that Elch, the treasurer, is going into the city next week to sell handicrafts the village women made. He’s going to use the proceeds to buy food for the winter. Merchant, your mission is to accompany him and figure out how to rake in some cash. Then, once you’ve bought enough to fill the village stores, use what you have left to buy as many of the materials Ringo needs as you can.” “Sounds like a straightforward enough plan, but ‘rake in some cash’? Really? Couldn’t you have come up with a nicer way of putting it? Like ‘help Elch out of the goodness of your heart’ or something?” “I have never in my life seen you help someone out of the goodness of your heart.” “…Dammit, you know me too well. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised since we go back so far,” Masato said as his shoulders swayed gleefully. “As it long as it exists in this world, I’ll get it for ya, whether it’s for sale in that city or not… Although, that asshole kid doesn’t seem to have inherited any of Winona’s cuteness, so getting him to let me tag along is probably gonna be a struggle.” “As far as that goes, I’ll discuss it with the mayor directly. Leave it to me.” “Then, hey, it’ll be smooth sailing on my end.” Tsukasa nodded at Masato’s response, then turned his gaze to Akatsuki and Keine. “Now then, Akatsuki and Keine. You two are going to stay here in the village with me and lend Lyrule and the other village women a hand. If you don’t know what to do, just ask them. And if they don’t have work for you, you can help Ringo out with her project.” “Very well.” “Hey, I like these orders! Safe jobs are the best!” “I…appreciate the honesty. And finally, Shinobu.” “That’s me, Cap’n! What should I do nyeow?” “I want you to go to the city with Merchant and collect as much information as you can on this world.” “What should I focus on?” “Everything. History, politics, culture, magic… Anything you can get your hands on. Even better would be if you could get details on the Seven Heroes story Winona mentioned. Just don’t do anything crazy.” “Sha-sha. Leave it to me! Why have legs if not to pound pavement, that’s what I say!” As a journalist, there was hardly a better job one could think of for Shinobu. She took on the work with pleasure. “I’m counting on you… Oh, and one other side mission for everyone except Merchant and Shinobu. Whenever you have downtime, I want you to learn these,” Tsukasa said, pulling a notepad from his breast pocket and handing it to Akatsuki. When Akatsuki opened it, he was greeted by a script that could only be described as drunk earthworms wriggling about. The text was laid out next to some Japanese. “Wait, is this the local language?” “Altan, it’s called. Lyrule helped me put this together while I was recuperating. It’s a textbook on commonly used Altan words and grammar. Merchant and Shinobu are going to be interacting with language a lot, so I already had them learn it, but I want the rest of you to do the same. Being able to read and write will vastly increase our options going forward.” “Aw, man… I hate studying. It’s weird, though. Why can they understand Japanese even though the writing is so different?” Akatsuki’s question earned nothing more than a shake of the head from Tsukasa. “Who knows? Maybe some astronomical coincidence happened and all the pronunciations and definitions just happened to line up. There could also be some supernatural power at work… Either way, we’re unlikely to figure out the answer anytime soon. At this point, throwing another bizarre anomaly or two on the pile isn’t going to make much of a difference.” “Indeed. We should be thankful for our luck, that we should.” “Also, even if we knew, it’s not like it’d help us get back home, so honestly, who really cares?” “…You guys are really good at adjusting to all this,” Akatsuki remarked. “Nya-ha-ha. We just figure there’s no point worrying about the unknowable, that’s all.” “Shinobu sums it up succinctly. Now, then… You all have your orders. Any questions?” Their silence was as good a response as any. Thus, the first course of action for the Seven High School Prodigies was set. Starting the next day, they’d begin working in earnest to get back to Earth. Tsukasa took a look at the group gathered around the hearth…and made one last speech. “Everyone, I know we’ve been thrust into a thoroughly ridiculous situation with no warning or pretext, and I know you’re all probably worried about whether we’ll even be able to get home. Given that we don’t have any firm leads, I don’t blame you. But we have nothing to fear. Think back. How many countless times have we overcome the impossible, the futile, the unthinkable, the unrealistic? Besides, they call us High School Prodigies for a reason, and there are seven of us here. What obstacle could possibly stop us? In fact, I’d say we have too much to work with.” “Heh-heh. I daresay you’re right.” “You said it. Hell, if anything, I’m more worried we’re gonna run the tables on this quaint little place.” “Right? So let’s try to take things nice and easy. If we go all out, we’re liable to break this world.” Hearing Tsukasa’s confidence, the other six grinned fearlessly. “““Yeah!!!!””” The cheer marked their vow to one another—a vow to return to Earth.
Chapter 4
9 min read