25th Move | Space Ambition

"Let me explain."

The trio looked at me expectantly. I think they're the type to act before thinking and the only reason they haven't ganged up on me yet my own abilities be damned was they know me.

"I was testing around with physics of the dimensional variety." Then it occurred to me that these probably don't even know what physics is, "effectively, I was playing around with Worlds. I was trying to see what was out there beyond the veil of the World. If there are Otherworlders, I wanted to know what else is out there?"

"So you somehow pulled Arcueid here?" Kaval said hesitantly, as though talking about something illegal.

I nodded, "it was an accident. I've stopped all attempts of breaching the gap between worlds after Arcueid came through. I'm currently working on the way to reverse my summoning 'magic'," I used the word extremely reluctantly, "and return Arcueid back to her own world."

I patted the True Ancestor that snuggled up to me like a cat as I explained the current situation. Like any child, Arcueid is extremely physically affectionate, and I don't deny her any when I'm free since I doubt she's gotten any during her time as a child soldier.

—Wait are those cat ears on her head—?

As I brush my hand across her head, I blinked and found her head with a brush of soft blonde hair. I could've sworn there were cat ears on Arcueid's head just now.

Concerning.

I return my focus back to the conversation, "anyway, Arcueid's living with me for now. That's the current situation."

In a tone of awe, Eren said, "You... managed to accidentally summon Otherworlders? What kind of spells are you using anyway?"

My eyes gained a faraway look in them as I thought about how to explain the level of science to them. I doubt the trio even knows about what a black hole is or Special Relativity.

So how do I compress such complex information enough that they would understand it?

[Literature] came up with an explanation.

"Strictly speaking, I wasn't using purely magic, instead I mostly used what's known as science, a process of studying, observing, and using experiments to understand the natural world. Other than a single summoning spell to aid in the process, I primarily used a point of infinite density to break through the surface of the World and connect to another World. Using a tether, I reeled Arcueid here."

Eren seems to be the only one who seemed to somewhat gets it as the other two looked lost like a student completely unprepared for an exam.

"Fascinating, how did you get that point of infinite density without magic? It sounds impossible, I don't think anyone else other than maybe a True Dragon might be able to produce that."

"Eren, are you sure you want to know?" I asked her with a grave tone to signal just how serious this is.

There's a reason why accepting the chance that something discovered tomorrow could completely upend the currently established physics is a requirement for physicists because it actually happened. With the discovery of Quantum physics almost completely invalidating Newtonian and Classical physics.

The elf looked unsure of herself before nodding.

"Matter becomes strange as it's being compressed. I'm sure you know of how ice turns into water and then gas as you heat it up yes?"

Everyone nodded. I tapped on my clothing and projected out a hologram of a series of molecules to better explain my point.

"As it turns out, you can do the same thing if you compress a gas. With enough pressure, you can force a phase change of a gas into a liquid and then into a solid." The hologram showed a series of loose molecules come together before stopping completely as a solid, "Now if you keep on compressing the solid it will heat up but is unable to phase change into a liquid. Eventually, once enough force is placed upon every bit of the clump of solid matter, it will eventually become so small, so heavy, and so dense that the World itself literally cannot support it anymore and it falls through. It creates a hole in the fabric of existence itself."

The hologram showed the molecules coming closer and closer together until they've all fused into a single atom before that too is slowly getting compressed until it's replaced by a completely black sphere.

It's wildly inaccurate but enough for people who only understand magic to figure out where I'm getting.

Eren looked thoughtful, "huh, so that's what happens to matter once you compress it enough. In the past, advanced practitioners of Nuclear Magic figured out how if you compress normal matter with enough force you can cast Nuclear Magic spells much easier. However, there was a limit to how far the people can compress it."

My mouth hung ajar. Really, it should've been obvious how this world has some knowledge of nuclear physics with the existence of Nuclear Magic.

"Welp, I didn't know half of what's been said so I'm just saying this," Kaval declared, "even though it's known as a cardinal sin within Luminism, countries still do it but with a very high degree of secrecy."

I tensed at the mention of Luminism, the official religion of the Western Holy Church. Secularism, or more popularly known as 'the separation of church and state' hasn't really occurred here, so the Pope wields incredible influence, I estimate it's even more than the Pope of my old world.

Beyond being a threat I'll need to deal with, the more important issue is that the Church's god Luminous could very well be real.

It's a Tolkien-esque world. If Eru is real then so could Luminous.

But at the same time, if this hypothetical god of their religion does exist, it would mean that either the god does not care about the rest of the world or does not have the power to protect every human.

The latter means they are not all-powerful as their Holy Book would claim, and the former means they are not all-good, yet this entity nonetheless commands the worship of over 100 million people as the largest religion on the continent, with the second one worshiping Milim.

"I already told you to not worry, I disassembled the facility after summoning Arcueid," I assured them, and the three accepted it.

"So uh, what race is she?" Eren took the initiative and I had to double-check if I heard her correctly.

Then it hit me: this world isn't like my own, since 'race' here was more like 'species' and thus, it isn't seen as rude since different races have different physical abilities beyond superficial details.

I looked down at Arcueid who was laying down on my lap completely mimicking a lazy cat.

"She's a super vampire."

Emphasis on the 'super' because she's somehow rebuilt herself from atomic disentanglement. The only way to be even deader is with subatomic disintegration or maybe complete spiritual destruction.

"A vampire?" Kaval shouted, disturbing Arcueid and causing her to rise up and glare at the offending man.

Kaval froze like a deer in the headlight of a car.

I pushed Arcueid back into my lap with my right hand like a person pushing against a door.

"Now I don't know much about higher vampires but are you sure she doesn't need blood? Like from all the tales I've heard from other adventurers, all vampires require blood to survive." Gido asked when he finished his drink and ordered another one, seconds later, the small door on the side of the wall opened up and popped in a soda can the size of my hand.

Finally getting off my lap, Arcueid looked at him with a bright smile, "well I am a True Ancestor, a higher form of vampire. My kind has this mental need for blood but their body doesn't, and during the process of getting kidnapped, I've changed and no longer have this mental need for blood. Heck, I can stand in sunlight without any issue."

I sighed exasperatedly, "Arcueid, can you not use the word 'kidnapped'?"

"Hmmm, no," Arcueid said pointedly.

Before I could sigh again at Arcueid's antics, Gido reached into his back and got out a bottle of alcohol.

"Now I know that Homunculus can rarely get drunk, however, we got the strongest booze in Blumund using the coins we had. The owner promised that it's so concentrated that for us normal humans we'd need to dilute it in water. 'A drop for a cup if you want to get wasted in one,' he said."

He then ordered an empty glass and poured the undiluted alcohol in, before giving it to me while pouring out a drop for their three. I sniffed as Gido diluted the ones he'd give to Eren, Kaval, and himself.

My nose wasn't able to pick up the smell commonly associated with alcohol from the cup.

Huh.

[Silenced Emotion: 90%]

My paranoia that had hidden away thanks to my much safer position came roaring back as I immediately thought this was an assassination attempt made by Gido as he figured out I'm a Perfect Homunculus.

I was about to teleport out of the room with the Subspace Diver before my logical side slapped the paranoia away.

[Silenced Emotion: 30%]

I'm a Perfect Homunculus. I doubt any poison they have access to can work on me.

"Hey, that looks fun!"

I was about to drink before Arcueid suddenly sprung up and snatched the whole bottle. Then, she went bottoms up and drank the whole freaking bottle like it was water and she was an athlete who had just finished running a marathon.

Gido and co's jaws all dropped at what had just occurred.

I would probably be more worried if she was a human, but Arcueid is a super vampire, again, emphasis on the super.

A pit opened up within my stomach as I saw Arcueid with an extremely mellow expression on her face once the bottle had been entirely emptied.

"Arcueid? Are you alright?" There was this dreamy smile on her face. Her body swayed and wobbled like one of those noodle man mascots being blown up with wind you'd find on the front lawn of a car repair workshop.

Arcueid's grip loosened, and the bottle fell.

Catching the bottle before it could smash into the ground, I glimpsed at it and saw runes engraved upon the glass. [Magic] instantly recognizes it as runes that enchant the water inside the container to induce a mental effect identical to that of being drunk but without any alcohol.

Eventually, Arcueid fell back into my lap again, actually legitimately purring as she hugged my waist.

Everyone was silent. No one spoke a single word until I sighed.

I can't really get mad at her, but that doesn't mean I can't be strict with her. As her guardian, it's my duty to both shelter her and covers for her.

And so, "Door me," I reached in and took out a wallet, "Please don't fault Arcueid, she's been through a lot. So how much was that wine? I'll pay for it."

My fingers flipped through several Tempest Dollar bills of the highest denomination like how one would flip through the paper within a filing cabinet. My mind meanwhile was going through the economics of adventure work to try and estimate with a large degree of accuracy just how expensive the false wine was.

I'm thinking a few dozen silvers at most. But for goodwill, I'll pay more.

I took out a few bills of hundreds, but Gido interrupted me, saying "wait! There's no need for that!"

A look of confoundment passed over my face. I get that it's a social convention and polite to reject offered money but those are for small expenses. Things like wrecked cars aren't small expenses, and so I should assume the same for this special wine Gido bought.

"Are you sure? I can pay for it."

"No no! We're fine!" Kaval confirmed and Eren nodded.

Eren then spoke up, "Though... why does she act like that?"

Looking down, I only then realized I'd started patting Arcueid's cat akin to how someone would pat an overly affectionate cat.

"Arcueid..." She looked so vulnerable while laying there so peacefully on my lap. Really, one would never imagine she's a super vampire, "she's been through a lot, it's her story to tell so I'll leave it for her."

Eren nodded in understanding, and then raised her glass up high, causing the other two to do the same.

"Well, at least we have these! So let's make our first and final toast a memorable one!"

The elf brought up her glass causing others to do the same.

"This is for the defeat of Charybdis! To Scientia!"

"To Scientia!" the other two yelled out before they all clinked their glass with my own.

I emptied mine, and the instant the cup hit the table, I felt the effect of drunkenness hit my mind like a runaway train that destroyed all logical thoughts.

Then, half a minute later, that effect was entirely removed. I can think clearly once more.

"That wasn't half bad."

It didn't burn my throat and instead was more like drunkenness in liquid form. It definitely lasted longer than anything [Chemistry] was able to produce.

I could feel the specialty cry out in anger and give me blueprints to make several different forms of alcohol that could very likely work on me.

"Eren, that—"

I found everyone passed out on the table.

'A drop for a cup if you want to get wasted in one'.

Huh, I guess that shopkeeper was honest in saying that.

I let out another exasperating sigh.

"Shizue."

The servant opened the door and bowed, "what is it that you wish, Lady Scientia?"

"Get these people to their hotel."

I watched as the servant used Doormaker to teleport several more of her bodies here. Gently, those bodies carefully carried Kaval, Eren, and Gido on their backs effortlessly before walking through another Doorway, leaving me alone with only Arcueid and the original Shizue chassis.

That was a fun excursion. Back to work.

_____________________________________________

The sky was blindingly bright. There was absolute silence as though the very concept of 'sound' could no longer exist.

Which made sense given the current circumstances.

I sat on a rocky protrusion on top of a large hill. All around me was the deathly silence of a world whose life has long been extinguished.

About 24 hours ago, the Von Neumann probe I sent out to explore the universe had entered into this star system and found a planet that would've supported life had its parent star been younger.

A basic geological survey done by the Von Neumann probe showed evidence of a tremendous variety of life, even more than Earth. But now that's no longer the case. It was such a shame too, as I was billions of years too late to witness what surely would've been a lush alien biosphere.

Even if much of the fossil records of this planet had been destroyed, some of it still remains. Not enough to paint a full picture of this world but enough to show that something was there.

I looked upon the system's sun, which has entered into the last phase of its life, now covering over a third of the sky.

It was a red giant.

The eery quietness does nothing to take away the spectacle of a star right before it goes supernova.

To know that something is about to end. To see it right before it ends... There's just no feeling quite like it.

In less than 10,000 years, this planet that once had the biodiversity that would put Earth to shame will be engulfed by its parent star, returning to its maker as the sky fills with fire one last time. While ten millenniums is enormous for us mortals, it's a blink of an eye on galactic time scales.

I tried to take a breath, yet failed as the atmosphere that once covered this world is long gone, blown away by stellar winds over a billion years ago.

Gazing upon the blindly bright imposing star that's so close I feel like I could almost reach it if I simply stretch out my hands, I couldn't help but feel a sense of existential terror stir within me. And yet, within the depth of that terror, I recognize there's a certain poetic beauty in returning to the place that had once birthed you right before you die.

The formation of planets was the result of leftover dust and gas not coalescing into the star. Those dust and gas then combine to form terrestrial planets if it's closer to the parent star, and gas giants if they are further.

Meeting your maker for the last time... to be killed by its embrace...

I placed my right hand on the rocky protrusion. Crimson lines blossomed from my naked chest and crept down my right arm. Using [Unlimited Alchemy] I transmuted sections of the rock into oxygen until it entirely severed a small chunk from the protrusion like a person cutting out a chunk of butter with a knife.

When the planet is consumed by the star, this small chunk will be the last evidence of this world. The last proof that something was there. The last memory of its existence. The last touchstone to a planet that had once supported multicellular life.

It is something very precious.

I felt my eyes soften as I looked upon the rock.

This world was the only other world other than the one I reincarnated on that held life. Or at least, once did.

Getting up, I raised my free hand and a black doorway with purple outlines appeared three meters away.

Walking through the Doorway, my body was greeted with cool air and utter darkness. The insides of the Citadel are much darker than the surface of a planet about to be consumed by its parent star.

Loud sounds filled my ears as hovering small octopod drones got to work cleaning my body with air blowers.

Within mere seconds, any dust and debris were cleared off. The synthetic fiber-based clothing I had on when I entered that place burned away like paper in a raging fire from the heat of the local and was now replaced by a full-body nanite coating when I entered the Citadel's Workshop.

Thick, high-tech blast doors slid open to reveal the inside of a warehouse comparable to Berlin Airport.

In truth, without my previous knowledge, one wouldn't know it was that big, but instead, appear to be endless as every direction was blocked by towering machines that rises from the metal floor like the skyscrapers in a city, preventing anyone from seeing the wall on the other side.

[Spatial Compression] coincidence with [Dimensional Physics] works miracles.

I continued my walk unabated, and very soon the ground underneath my very feet rose up to reveal the fact that it was actually a hover pad using control over dark energy, a cosmological constant that has a positive density but negative pressure.

Multiple holographic screens lit up all around me, displaying a dashboard of information pertaining to the Von Neumann probes and what they discovered as well as the construction of the fleet within the intergalactic void.

The hover pad flew over tall monolithic machines that served purposes no one besides me would understand, passed over an observation lens that can peer into the tiniest sections of reality itself, rushed over devices that can record events so short there's an argument for its nonexistence.

Their value would be incalculable to modern 21st Century physicists, but for me, they've served their purpose in helping me understand the nature of the universe and have thus become obsolete.

Now, the real purpose of my excursion into this workshop was for: the Imaginary Space.

Imaginary Space appears as this massive black circular platform the size of a suburban house. The surface of Imaginary Space was featureless and polished so much one can see their reflection. There are four large protrusions that come out of the sides of the platform that curves inward, making Imaginary Space look like a claw that belonged to some unknowable creature.

Exactly as it's named, Imaginary Space is the most sophisticated hologram projector I've ever created. With an incredibly powerful computer, Imaginary Space is built for the purposes of helping me project maths, and display designs and blueprints.

Imaginary Space also has one of the most accurate physics engines ever, capable of simulating the behaviors of quantum uncertainty and a few undecillion atoms. Such a powerful and accurate physics engine permits me to test out tinkertech constructs without actually spending any resources.

Though to be honest, the last one isn't really an issue with me having an enforceable claim to a noticeable portion of the entire galaxy.

As with colonizers of old, you can lay claim to an area of land, but you need to be able to back up that claim with force. Usually, this is done with the backing of the local government, but space is really a wild west out there.

The hover pad stopped right next to the platform.

Stepping off, my hardened nanite shoes made metallic clanks with every step I took against the smooth surface of the Imaginary Space, creating echoes that reverberated all around me.

I stopped around the edge of the platform, and some of the nanites on my shoes rearranged themselves and plugged into the smooth surface. Suddenly, a holographic heads-up display overlaid itself around my head, making it look as if I was wearing a pair of glasses. Very quickly more holograms followed that formed all over my body.

It was as if I was wearing an entire set of holographic armor.

Although not my most powerful creation, holograms are definitely some of the most useful ones, personally speaking.

With a single swiping gesture, a large grey block the size of an SUV was projected into the center of the circular platform, floating a few centimeters off the ground. There were detailed engravings carved onto every bit of the block's surface.

The hologram was so life-like that anyone who first saw this would mistake it for something real.

I leaned backward, and the nanites around my leg area instantly hardened to create a slanted wall that I could somewhat get comfortable with.

With that dealt with, I turned my focus fully on the projected digital mass in front of me. [Molecular Engineering] recognize it as a type of computronium, a form of molecular electronics dedicated to the sole purpose of calculations.

It's so advanced that I'm forced to create an entirely new coding system just for it. This means the computronium wouldn't even use binary since that'll be like trying to play a cassette tape by inserting it into a smart TV: it's just too obsolete.

I stretched out both of my hands and then moved them. Sensing them, the holographic computronium block followed my hand.

Pulling both of my hands apart while making sure my fingers stayed the same, the computronium block pulled itself apart as though I had somehow telekinetically broken it.

The inside is ungodly complex.

I spun my hand around an invisible axle and the two pieces of computronium spun as well.

Then I tapped a section of the holographic gauntlet formed around my right hand and a blob of the exotic matter was projected directly in front of me.

A grin appeared on my face.

Let's create another miracle.

I was like a conductor. Every moment of my arms and the hologram changed. There weren't any wasted movements as [Acting] and [Gymnastics] aided me in perfecting the manipulation of the hologram in front of me.

In mere minutes, I created a new type of computronium that is much more powerful than a conventional computer. It is something that approaches Bremermann's Limit, the very peak of the maximum rate of computation that can be achieved within a self-contained system.

Next on the agenda, I placed the remaining charges for today into the already lit [Stellar Engine] and [Megastructures]. Immediately, a wealth of information that once should've had me going into a fugue popped into my mind like a flower blooming at the beginning of spring.

Yet it is but one in a field of other flowers, other specialties.

A smile blossomed like the many flowers of [Inspired Inventor]. The power to challenge reality will soon be within my reach, and with it, a chance to free Veldora from his confinement and give the Jura Tempest Republic one more trump card in its arsenal.

_____________________________________________

Hours later.

"What the what the what?"

"My request... my ultimate request when I agreed to be in your service, Lady Scientia, is to help my old students," Shizue spoke in a tone that was filled to the brim with submission and respect.

I was originally working on the blueprint for a section of the Matrioshka Brain when Shizue had come knocking. My plan was to complete a small section and then copy and paste the section until it covered a star. Afterward, I'll have an AI look it over to see if there are any flaws or mistakes and correct them.

However, hearing what Shizue had said caused my mind to do a mental equivalent of a 'crash' and forced a restart.

I had entirely forgotten about that.

"Remind me again, why does your old student need my help?" I asked with confusion clear in my voice.

The almost completed hyper-complex stellar shell of the Matrioshka Brain started passively spinning around above Imaginary Space as it's programmed to do.

A Matrioshka Brain is— or rather, was, a hypothetical megastructure of enormous computational capacity powered by a Dyson Sphere. It is a type of stellar engine that uses the energy output of an entire star to power a computer.

Physically speaking, it has the internal consistency of an onion. A Matrioshka Brain is filled with layers, each layer filled with computers that collect and radiate heat outward into a new layer which turns it into energy for computing. This process is then repeated hundreds of times before there is no more heat to radiate to the next layer anymore.

To give you a perspective on the power of a Matrioshka Brain, with only conventional computers limited by the Carnot Efficiency and the Landauer's Limit, you can simulate a whole universe with just one Matrioshka Brain.

Yesterday night, right before I had entered that dead world, the Von Neumann probes had found a system near the center of the galaxy perfect for the construction of such a computer that can challenge reality itself. If I could link it with [Great Sage] I can speed up that Unique Skill's calculation by a factor of hundreds of billions at the very least.

If I'm really desperate for calculation, I can also order the creation of a fleet of Jupiter Brains— a planet fully turned into a computer— if a single Matrioshka Brain isn't enough. That should push it into trillions.

Usually, if done conventionally, it'll take thousands of years to complete the Matrioshka Brain. However, if I divert a large percentage of my existing and near-future industrial capacity as well as fully utilize the exponential growth of nanomachines, I can complete it in perhaps two to three months.

I think I'm near Type-II status on the Kardashev scale.

"My Lady, these students are Otherworlders. However, unlike yourself, they were summoned by the mages of this world. But, they were summoned wrong in the sense they're too young to properly contain the magicule increase that comes with crossing between worlds, so most do not survive past the five-year mark." My servant explained.

Fascinating. The infusion of magicules to souls as they cross between worlds seems to suggest magicules itself originated from somewhere outside of Realspace.

Although, I wonder what kind of spells people of this world use. I mean I used a naked singularity to pierce the barrier between universes in the form of a wormhole but I don't think anyone else other than me has access to a naked singularity. With the Dimensional Bore, I reeled in inanimate objects, and it was only with magic that I reeled in Arcueid.

More things to investigate in the future. I placed that on the mental equivalent of a post-it note.

"These students are nearing that point, please, help them!" Shizue pleaded to me, lowering herself into what Rimuru apparently called a 'dogeza' with desperation clear in her voice, "I had originally come out of retirement and took the mission coming to Jura when Guild Master Fuze had told me of a god-like knife that someone made without magic, I had thought that if they could save me, then perhaps they would be able to save these kids. I... I know that I attempted to cheat out of the life-long contract by dying early, but please, at least allow me to comfort these kids in their final hour—"

"Enough." A simple phrase silenced everything. Shiuze looked up at me from her prostrated form with desperation clear in her eyes.

Man, that synthetic face looks indistinguishable from the real thing.

I crossed my arms, "that was still in the contract no? I did promise I would save them."

I'm... not comfortable with someone so close to me showing submission, even as I felt a sense of pleasure course through my body. You are my employee, take pride in that. Even if it's directed toward me, the boss, I want employees who can think for themselves.

I want thinkers, not workers. If I wanted workers I'd build robots.

[Silenced Emotion: 70%]

Very quickly that guilty pleasure dissipated as I turned up the [Silenced Emotion]. I will not allow such mental vices to affect me, yet even with [Silenced Emotion] running so high, it does nothing from the sense of foreboding that my gut is feeling.

According to Shizue, they were summoned with too much magicule in their body, so the obvious solution dictated by Occam's Razor: "couldn't you just suck the magicule out?"

Those words left my mouth before I could properly process the content, [Acting] fortunately allowed my poker face to remain amidst the internal panic.

Of course, such a logical approach definitely has been thought up before and it clearly didn't work if they are still having such problems.

Shizue respectfully lowered her head again in subservience, "directly taking magicule would be tantamount to invading the soul. I fear these children would not survive such an intense operation even if it is by your hands, my Lady."

So that option is out, [Surgery] is raging at the fact that Shizue is doubting its ability to create miracles. "You were an instructor, yes?"

"Before I came into your service, I worked as an instructor for these childrens, due to how recently busy you were, I thought it would be terribly rude of me to ask for you to answer that request but—"

"Now that everything is cleared for the foreseeable future, you had only then asked for such a thing?"

Shizue nodded.

I have the justification to refuse her request under the grounds of her attempting to cheat. But if I were to do that I'll build resentment, and what better way to create disloyalty than to create resentment?

Even if my gut is telling me to not let her go...

There really is only one option available. However, to make sure this cheating type of behavior isn't encouraged in the future, caveats need to be listed.

"Where did you say you taught?"

"The Kingdom of Ingrassia, my lady. Specifically, the Zwei Academy," she responded earnestly since the servant knew that I'm definitely allowing her to go.

Although the Kingdom of Ingrassia huh?

Ingrassia, Ingracia, and Englesia, all these are words in different dialects all refer to the same nation. Imaginary Space pulled up a political map of the continent. Ah, they are that large country between Ruberios and Falmuth that's the size of Brazil.

They are perhaps one of the most developed places in the entire world. In fact, there is a saying about Ingrassia I heard among the merchants about how its capital is the most beautiful city in the world, 'beauty like Lura' they would say.

Beyond being beautiful, Ingrassia is the cultural center of the entire Western side of the continent. The capital Lura is the place where the Freedom Association and the Council of the West all have their headquarters stationed.

Despite being one of the preeminent geopolitical Superpowers of the world, I haven't given them much thought. Instead, I'm more worried about the Eastern Empire since they're literally right on our borders.

Right, I should devise a plan on how to deal with them, shouldn't I?

After all, like so many Western nations, they still haven't recognized the Jura Tempest Republic as a legitimate country.

Though different from many feudal states that surround it, Ingrassia is one of the most progressive nations out there. I personally think their progressivism was due to the Kingdom being a melting pot of different cultures.

Being the most progressive nations, I think they can be allied. I would rather this not be another Thucydides Trap but the term is debatable since the Jura Tempest Republic already has more GDP than the estimated total of the entirety of the West combined.

We're only trailing behind the Eastern Empire and that's primarily due to the Empire's ludicrously large population. Seriously, how the hell does the Eastern Empire have over 800 million people?? The similarity between it and China is uncanny.

My inner thoughts ceased when I realized that Shizue is still waiting for an answer. Turning to her, I scratched my head and thought of a response.

Wait a minute... My mind recalled Shizue's backstory.

"How old were you when you were summoned?"

"...six, my Lady."

Apparently, that wasn't an obvious enough hint.

"I won't help you." Shizue looked like she had died inside, "But I will say this: there is definitely a way to save your students even without my help."

The servant's face turned to confusion as she tilted her head to the side, "...is that true?"

"Of course!" I confirmed and started waving my hand around as if to assure her of this fact, "in fact, it's extremely obvious. You just need to look at history."

Then I gave her a safety net.

"Now, you see, Rimuru has been wanting more nations to recognize the existence of Tempest after Blumund officially established diplomatic relationships with us a week ago. We're even building an Embassy in their capital. So here's what I'm going to do,"

I then pointed at her, "I'm going to send you as the 'bodyguard' of President Rimuru when he travels to Ingrassia for diplomatic talks. After you reach there, Rimuru is going to give you free time for as long as he stays there. You will spend your free time there visiting that academy of yours and trying to find a cure for your students. If you truly couldn't figure it out by the time you return, I'll be terribly disappointed but I give you the answer to saving the childrens."

Hope fills her eyes like an athlete filling their water bottle after a long day of training, her heart filling with joy at the thought of her students not dying.

"Thank you, my Lady! I will forever remember this debt I owed you." She got up and bowed deeply.

"Bring your War Chassis as you go," the part about better selling the image went unsaid.

The Shizue chassis in front of me quickly left.

I let out a long tired sigh as I looked at the fleeting form of the Maid Chassis, a headache coming online as I thought about the future.

Eastern Empire, Velgrynd, the Ten Great Demon Lords, Milim, Velzard, my Space ambitions, and finally the ever-illusive fourth True Dragon that I just can't get any information on for some odd reason.

I know the True Dragon exists. But other than an offhand mention by Veldora and some records of how there were 'four' True Dragons, I really cannot find any information about the fourth True Dragon.

Veldora is easy since he's in Rimuru's stomach. Velgrynd is Emperor Rudra's Imperial Consort and the fucking Marshal of the Eastern Empire's military. As for Velzard, the last recorded sighting of the Ice Empress was during the last time a Perfect Homunculus had walked the earth. There were at least some legends about how Velzard was in the frozen continent up north but I have absolutely nothing on the fourth.

It's seriously making me question whether or not the True Dragon even existed or if it was a fanciful tale someone made up.

The only possible explanation I could deduce was that this True Dragon went into space but I've claimed every star within an approximately 70,000-lightyear radius and I haven't discovered anything.

My reach extends to over 300 billion stars, almost the entirety of the current galaxy I inhabit, and still, I couldn't find a single damn thing about this elusive fourth True Dragon.

It's quite annoying. Hell, the closest thing I have to a possible answer was this one cave painting 300 kilometers south of Lake Shisu about some 'Star-Dragon' that could just as easily be a random god the humans of that period had worshipped.

And it's exacerbated when radiocarbon dating puts the creation date of that painting before even the establishment of Mesopotamia over 6000 years ago. Accuracy is needless to say, highly doubtful.

I saved the almost finished blueprint of the Matrioshka Brain section and turned off Imaginary Space, making a sitting motion as the backside of the nanite suit instantly hardened to create a pseudo-chair immediately following my action.

Sighing like someone whos tired of life, I moved on to plan for the future while [Multitasking] created a separate room in my mind to plan for when to get a shot of the dopamine booster that is Arcueid Brunestud.

Speaking of tires, a holographic display was projected in front of me showing a delicately designed circle; an experimental barrier that'll make it safer for humans to take up residency. Where instead of being forced to eat a pill every day that acts as a spiritual laxative, they can walk freely without fear of being poisoned by the excess magicule in the air.

The amount of magicule required to make something like that is enormous for a being like me. It'll likely knock me out for a few days. Fortunately, I figured out a way to use another source of magicule instead by using [Unlimited Alchemy] to transform matter into magicule, essentially a reverse of Creation Magic.

This has resulted in me being able to unload a veritable thunderstorm's worth of magicule as compared with the tap water worth of me before so long as I have access to enough matter.

Considering how I'm using an entire planet's worth of mass every few seconds to construct my Grand Fleet in the intergalactic void, I think I can spare, oh I don't know, maybe a few million of a percentage for my own personal use? Wait, that's way too much for this, a billionth is more than enough.

Anyway, I think it's time for a small break, I mentally concluded as I pulled up my contract list and called Arcueid's residence phone.

As the dial tone played on, I recall a particularly funny moment when Arcueid had first come into the Workshop, about how she screamed in terror at the impossibility that is my technology, and afterward, she had done everything she could to avoid coming into this room like how a cat would do everything to avoid water.

Arcueid acts way more independently now. This means my subtly giving her more and more mature books about growing up definitely affects how she acts.

Mentally speaking, I'd say Arcueid's now in her late tweens to early teens.

Hearing the dial tone die and be replaced with a "Yello?", my mind instantly felt much better than before as I hear Arcueid's sliver-bell-like voice.

"Hey, Arcueid, are you interested in perhaps having a talk about the..." I trailed off when trying to remember the Japanese comics that Rimuru had created, "'manga' was it? Whatever those picture books you read from right to left Rimuru gave you over a cup of tea?"

Afternoon tea should do wonders for relieving the stress of planning the future of a nation.

half of my mind started idly pondering how other world leaders cope with it.

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AN: looks like being a Perfect Homunculus does not protect you from the problems of modernity and stress!

if you guys are feeling the story slowing down, remember there is always a calm before the storm, and holy hell the storm that is brewing on the horizon is a large one that's for sure, hurricane size guarantee. With such a large storm there are bound to be casualties.