“I see... That makes sense,” Kyoko said. “I’ll come up with some choices from the mothership’s database, then we can pick out some options and customize them to our needs. The computer will handle design and fabrication... Wait, wouldn’t it be faster to make it as a potion container, Kaoru?”
“That’d be cheating. I don’t wanna overdo it,” I said. “Sure, I’d use that method for emergencies or saving lives without hesitation, but when we’ve got a legit workshop in your mothership, using materials mined by robots from other planets or asteroid belts, it’s...not breaking this world’s rules as much. Your mothership is kinda cheating too, but it’s using existing tools to make stuff, so I figure it’s better than popping things into existence as potion containers...”
“Kaoru’s always been stupidly serious about that kinda thing...” Reiko pointed out.
“Yeah, she can be real empty-hea— I mean, thickheaded.”
What’s that, Kyoko?!
“Don’t mix those two terms up! Ever!” I barked.
“So, I pulled some designs from the database,” Kyoko said, bringing a stack of blueprints and mock-ups. “A two-seater ultra-compact craft, a four-seater for when all three of us need to go somewhere, ground vehicles like bikes and cars... We have types that use tires and types that can hover. Hovercrafts are split into flying car and gravity-neutralizing types. Also, we have water-skimming crafts, submersibles, and more. For emergencies, like evacuating the kids at Little Silver, the existing mini vessel, transport, and dinghy would be safer, right?”
“Uh, right...”
That was a lot of options. They all sounded interesting, but we couldn’t exactly go with all of them. Gravity neutralization had to be safer and more comfortable to ride than tires, but if someone was to see us, floating in the air would be a lot harder to explain than a wheeled vehicle... But come to think of it, even wheels would be a problem without an animal pulling the vehicle.
“Why don’t we try all sorts of prototypes?” Kyoko suggested.
“Sure, let’s do that,” Reiko agreed.
Seriously? All of them?
Well, Kyoko just had to tell her mothership’s computer to do it, so it wouldn’t be much of a hassle. The onboard factory would automatically churn them out once ordered. If resources ran low, robots would mine nearby planets or asteroids, or sneak onto this one at night. Tireless little guys.
All of this had started because Kyoko’s question about teleportation creating a copy at the destination and the original person dying had freaked us out. The alternative was to warp space itself, but that sort of tech was forbidden by Celes because it was likely to cause distortions. Reiko had gotten strict warnings about it when Celes had granted her magic...or rather, science-backed powers.
And so, we got a few different types of useful crafts. Each of us got one of each type, stored in the Item Box when not in use, ready to pull out anytime and anywhere.
Now, getting to Little Silver was gonna be a breeze!
“We’re back!”
“Welcome home!” the kids replied.
Yup, with the prototype crafts done, I’d headed back to Little Silver for a test run after closing.
Reiko and Kyoko had stayed at the shop, even though crooks would probably come during business hours if they were to harass us. But someone could be planning a nighttime theft, robbery, or kidnapping, so we needed at least two people holding the fort. With our airtight security and those two merciless girls on watch, there was no need to worry... Actually, maybe I should’ve worried about any potential intruder’s physical and mental well-being, or maybe their life.
I was just here for a quick overnight check on the kids and would be home before the shop opened in the morning. Leaving the shop to those two felt unfair...to the customers. Falsetto stayed too, but she always left her hands free to block any blades or arrows that may come our way, radiating menace to those around her. Not exactly employee material... No customer would ask a sword-wielding, armored woman oozing murderous vibes for product details. They’d probably assume she was a hired sword to ward off thugs.
Falsetto had tried to insist on coming with me, but I’d explained I had no enemies in Little Silver’s town, and the lord and townsfolk there looked after me. I had to explain repeatedly that hardly anyone there could even hurt me if they’d wanted to.
I’d said “hardly” because last time I’d claimed “never,” and she’d countered by bringing up what had happened seventy-four years ago. Besides, if she agreed that I was a hundred percent safe, it’d be like saying the role of Einherjar was meaningless...and she was never gonna do that.
This time, I’d used the two-seater ultra-compact craft. It had a throttle, brake, and stick for controls; super simple, even for me and Reiko. It autocorrected on turns so there wouldn’t be any sliding around, and we didn’t have to worry about messing with rudders or whatever. In fact, it didn’t even have a rudder, an elevator, or ailerons. It was kind of nuts that a flying craft had brakes on it in the first place...though it probably just reversed the thrust instead of stopping acceleration with physical brake pads.
It wouldn’t crash if stopped in midair either. It didn’t use wings for lift—it actually had no wings at all. No rear thrusters either. It likely floated using gravity neutralization or antigravity. The thrust probably came from bending gravity or something else entirely... It could hover, reverse, and even move sideways. What was this thing, a helicopter?!
It was best not to think of it as Earth tech...because it wasn’t. I didn’t need to understand this stuff anyway. What percentage of drivers on Earth fully grasped engines and gearboxes? They didn’t need a comprehensive understanding of their inner workings to drive a car. Besides, this craft had an autopilot, a safety system, collision avoidance, and monitor systems built in. It was foolproof... Not that I’m a fool!
Like presses needing two buttons pushed at the same time or microwaves that wouldn’t run with the door open, the design was fully idiotproof... Though there were idiots out there who still caused accidents, like people who disabled blaring alarms because they were annoying or microwaved a wet cat to dry it. There was nothing you could do about outright stupidity. I felt bad for managers and safety officers getting flak for those cases...
Anyway, swarmed by the kids, I headed to the tatami-like room. We couldn’t lie around on the floor together unless it was a room with no shoes allowed.
I’ll have to heat up some bath water later...
These kids never bathed unless we were around, saying it was a waste of firewood. We’d built such a big bathhouse and they weren’t even using it... But that should change with Reiko and Kyoko visiting more. Our trips would each be shorter, but things should balance out once matters were settled with the main shop.
“What? You started producing more dried and smoked goods? You’re scouting new clients too? And cut rest periods to just half a day a week? Take a break! Didn’t we tell you to take two days off a week?! You think we’re happy about you working more? Of course not! We feel awful about overworking you kids! Oh, no... Don’t look so sad! Don’t cry! Don’t cry!!!”
“I’m back...” I said.
“Oh, welcome home. How’d the ultra-compact craft handle? Are the kids okay?” Kyoko asked cheerfully.
I slumped, too drained to answer.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Kaoru? Kaoru!”
“And that’s what happened...” I said, exhausted.
“Ah...” Reiko and Kyoko replied.
“Those kids are too serious for their own good,” Reiko added. “Or maybe not working makes them anxious. They’re probably afraid we’ll think of them as useless and abandon them and they won’t be able to feed themselves anymore. Or maybe it’s ingrained in them that the little ones will go hungry if the able-bodied kids don’t work hard. I’m sure they had enough to eat at the orphanage, but it’s not as if they were born there. Who knows what life before the orphanage was like for them...”
Kyoko and I went quiet. The kids still didn’t trust us enough to spend their days without worries. Had they been living in fear all this time, worried we’d abandon them at any moment? We still seemed to be far off from fixing the way they became emotionally unstable when we were gone for ten days or more, even though they’d improved a lot. Early on, they’d gone into a full-blown panic when we passed out drunk in our underground headquarters and they couldn’t find us in the morning. It was only recently that they’d learned to tolerate our absence for a week to ten days. Also, even though they feared we might abandon them, they were reassured by the presence of Scary and Hang, because they were certain we couldn’t leave such pricey horses behind.
I dunno how I feel about that...