Local Man Being The Local Man He Is, Decides to Be Chill Like That, While War Is Moments Away
"That crack sure is getting big, huh?"
{Host...}
Looking up at the widening gap in the night sky, he could see a massive planet slowly but steadily squeezing through.
Meanwhile, at the forefront of both their planets, shimmering particles of rainbow-like light acted as a bridge, gradually solidifying overtime to connect their worlds.
The first few days with the crack appearing and all, one couldn't even see the bridge, but now...
"Hey, how long has it been again?"
"A bit over two months, I reckon."
"Damn, that's quick."
"Yes."
Casually sitting on Valkyra's metal shoulder, he continued admiring the night sky, while occasionally swinging his legs.
The war machine elegantly flapped her wings while also star-gazing in silence.
'This feels nice.'
Closing his eyes, he thought back on what they did today.
After their VERY hard but productive day of constantly working and making the blueprint come to life, the Legion had finally completed its first mega project after two months.
And during this time...
Jin hadn't slept at all.
This certainly warrants a celebration!
Fuck it, why not mark this occasion with a special holiday in the future, commemorating the day when the lazy hobo finally decided to be... 'productive', for once!
Day 27th of the... whatever calendar!
"I most certainly deserve this break, without a doubt."
"No."
"I beg your pardon?"
Seeing a pair of red crimson eyes subtly glancing at him, Jin innocently blinked his eyes, a wronged-looking look on his expression.
"..."
Valkyra didn't know what to think at all at the moment.
These two months of hanging out and flying around with this human had really gotten her thinking about a bunch of stuff lately.
And it wasn't only her.
The guy would just pop up out of thin air, scaring the ever-living shit out of the soldiers, before casually asking one of the Legion Commanders to chill with him.
And every now and then, he'd even pitch in with the construction work, which once made Nero gasp in surprise.
...
"My Praetor can't be this hardworking, I demand him back! Where is he- OUCH!"
...
Valkyra could still vividly remember the way this man... just causally bonked the Empress' head in broad daylight.
Back in her days, that shit would've gotten someone executed!
Her past Emperors and Empresses were never this laid-back, so what the fuck is up with those two?!
The only time she ever really got serious was on the day they got summoned when Reinhard thought he was 'him', only to get bent over real quick.
'Ah, I'm lost.'
Watching Jin casually humming a tune whilst he had decided to make her shoulder his go-to spot for the past few months, she had already given up.
Releasing a worn-out sigh, Valkyra unconsciously shrugged her shoulders.
"WOAH, you just shrugged?"
"Ah?"
"That's awesome!"
'... am I adopting his mannerisms?'
...
...
...
{Host...}
'Yo.'
{Why. Aren't. You. Using. Me?! (¬⤙¬ )}
'Future investments, dear system.'
{DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!
DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!}
'I dare you to do that again.'
{Or what, Host!}
'I won't talk to you.'
{˙◠˙}
'Hey, you a good system.'
{૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა
...
...
⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡}
'Geez...'
Jin shook his head, quickly wiping off the subtle smile crossing his face, before looking at the towering structure before him.
"PRAETOR!"
Yet, that couldn't even last for a moment before a certain Umu Empress pounced on him from behind.
As he felt a pair of hands encircling his body, he glanced to his side, only to find Nero cheekily popping her head out.
"Hi!"
A warm and gentle smile adorned her face.
"Sup."
"So... what do you think?"
"Awesome, all I can say, for real."
Whilst conversing with her, he glanced at the futuristic-like building almost rivaling that of the Empire State Building in terms of height, but way wider and with a semi-circular shape.
Nonetheless, even if it was a structure of that size it wouldn't have taken the Legion, especially with all nine thousand of them working together, that long.
But-
"To think this was only a set..."
"No kidding! I was really surprised to see it turn into a multi-building complex."
Both of them observed as soldiers flew out from the main building in front of them, heading towards the smaller adjacent buildings.
"Haha!"
As if having thought of something funny, she laughed while leaning her head on his shoulder.
"I still remember the reactions on their faces when they suddenly saw another set of schematics pop up."
Mimicking them, a sudden vibrant crimson light shone out of her eyes.
"They went like this!"
"Uh."
Well, he had quite frankly overlooked that part.
'Oops.'
"... lemme guess, did one of the guys fall face flat into the ground?"
"Eh? Have you familiarized yourself with that particular individual?"
Curiously glancing up at him, she saw a somewhat complex look.
"Yeah... he's a good guy. Talked with the dude a few times and learned that they don't have names, only those higher up in the military rankings had that privilege."
Bitterly smiling, he looked down at Nero.
"Something along the lines of-
|Oh, the reason, Sir Wulfric? Well... you see, we're just cannon fodder, and cannon fodders don't need to be remembered.
That's just how it goes. But you know what? I'm okay with that! I truly believe we all have a purpose, no matter how small.
Do you see that building over there? We put it up using your blueprint! Now, isn't that a sense of purpose?|
-that... it left a bitter taste in my mouth, but it's also nice in a way."
"Ah."
Noticing that the atmosphere had gone awkwardly silent, Nero decided to steer away from the topic.
"P-praetor! Have you noticed something else?"
She released her arms from around him and tiptoed in front, casually taking hold of his hands in the process.
"Uh... you mean that big ass thing in the distance... over to the west from here?"
"Umu! It's directly linked to a vast network of satellite dishes across The Divided Lands, which will greatly bolster our strategic advantage in this war!"
Jin squinted, looking at a massive disk-shaped structure atop a hill, its form emphasized by a rod-like extension jutting out at a 45-degree angle, whilst framed against the backdrop of distant mountain ranges.
Wait...
His eyes suddenly widened.
"A fuckin' telescope?"
"Bingo!"
"To stalk them?"
"BINGO!"
"Who came up with that?"
Suddenly seeing her pointing her finger behind him with a shit-eating grin, his eyes suddenly went dead.
"..."
He imagined some Elden Ring boss music running in the background of his mind, as he robotically turned his head around and saw... oh for fuck's sake!
Observing the golden-armored war machine kneeling in ominous silence, he noticed him slowly raise his head.
"Indeed... it was I, Legion Commander Reinhard."
"Jesus Christ..."
"Oh, I know him!"
"Jesus?"
...
...
...
[Congratulations on fully completing the schematic for the Advanced Technological Workshops!
Unlocked new functions!
✧ NEW! ↠ Inside, the Lord can utilize the automated machinery to enhance troops with a maximum affinity for this procedure!
✧ NEW! ↠ The Lord can assign subjects to research new weapons and armor or upgrade specific parts, benefiting beings beyond just machines!
✧ NEW! ↠ Now, when the Lord desires to upgrade the Advanced Technological Workshops with the required materials, there's no need to rely on subjects for renovation. Simply click the "Present Infrastructure" button, where an upgrade option will be available! Upon doing so, it will be done in an instant! No cooldowns!]
...
After taking a look at the massive cockstructure, also known as the Near-Planetary Observation Scope, or in layman's terms, a big ol' telescope, Jin headed back solo, leaving Nero, Lothric, and Reinhard to continue to handle their things.
"..."
Now, back to sitting on top of Valkyra's shoulder, he had just read the notification he had received and was not really that surprised.
Besides, he had more pressing matters to attend to.
"Why is that damn rhino not waking up?"
"Your definition of a rhino seems to have been skewered, Respected Advisor."
Deadpanning at her remark, he looked down at her carefully analyzing the Titanhorn who peacefully slept under a tree's canopy.
"You implyin' that y'all have rhinos?"
"Yes, 45.342 of them."
"Should be zero now though."
"..."
"I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted."
Noticing the icy tone, he couldn't help but awkwardly scratch his head.
'Oops?'
"Yo, chill! Why are you shrugging-"
*THUD*
...