Ch.107To That Place (1)

# Chapter 107: To That Place (1)

A week had passed since Minister Vermut’s words…

Nothing had changed during that time.

Of course, it wasn’t a problem that the Leviathan’s repairs weren’t complete yet, since we weren’t going to fly to that nano-machine universe right away.

The real problem existed elsewhere entirely.

——————————

“Minister, the Ministry of Technology and Science and the Defense Ministry’s Strategic Research Institute have analyzed the situation.”

“Hmm, the results came faster than expected.”

Back when I first sent drones, and even a research battleship.

To find out why communications were cut off, I had sent nano-machines carefully wrapped in packages to the aforementioned institutions.

I had been too busy to remember about it for a while, but finally, they said they had results.

However, just as I was about to read the report Riel brought, a new event message appeared before my eyes.

[Event: Interference Waves]

[The research results you requested about the nano-machines are in.]

[Surprisingly, when electronic equipment approaches the nano-machines, they emit powerful strange electromagnetic waves that seem impossible for their size.]

[These electromagnetic waves disrupt the communication systems controlling the equipment and, before long, completely sever the connection.]

[This explains why the drones lost connection during the initial investigation, and why the research battleship was sunk without even being able to send an SOS signal.]

[Added ‘Understanding of Nano-machines’ trait to the Holy Sebelli Empire (Empire-wide +5% research efficiency for 5 years)]

‘What kind of ridiculous event is this?’

————————–

While I was reminiscing…

“Minister, here’s a new report.”

“…Hmm.”

The moment I looked at the document Riel brought.

-Ding♪

[Pause]

With the familiar notification sound and automatic pause.

Once again, a new event message appeared before my eyes.

[Event: The Nature of Electromagnetic Waves]

[After countless tears, sacrifices, and hardships from graduate students, we’ve finally discovered the true nature of the electromagnetic waves emitted by the nano-machines.]

[At first, we thought they only served to disrupt electronic equipment and block communications.]

[But under the direct command of Minister Vermut from the Ministry of Technology and Science, we discovered that these electromagnetic waves also serve as operational signals between nano-machines.]

[Although in the process, we learned the hard way that even previously deactivated nano-machines become activated when exposed to these electromagnetic waves, resulting in the catastrophic loss of two research facilities and one research vessel.]

[With this impressive result, Minister Vermut is confident that by tracking the electromagnetic wave transmission signals, you can trace the remnants of Ash as you requested.]

‘Hmm.’

When I pushed the event message aside, I saw that the report contained exactly what the event message had summarized.

[Pause Released]

Since most of the content was like that, I released the pause and.

While pretending to calmly read the report, I began to consider how I should proceed.

‘So how do I use this now?’

I understand that Ash’s location can be tracked through the nano-machine signals.

And I also understand that I can reach that location using the Leviathan.

But the report contained additional problems that the event message hadn’t covered.

[To search for Ash as you requested, Minister, we need a vessel capable of self-sufficiency while exploring the vast universe.]

[A vessel that can not only provide basics like food and air but also withstand the onslaught of nano-machines while triangulating Ash’s position.]

[But as we’ve mentioned before, only the Leviathan-class Super Dreadnought you acquired can withstand the nano-machines’ assault.]

[There is absolutely no way to defend against the nano-machines with existing materials, so the operation must be carried out using only that vessel.]

After reading that far, I realized that we would essentially have to conduct the operation with just that one massive ship.

‘Damn, what is this, some kind of space battleship Ya*ato?’

Moreover, due to the many unreported incidents during the additional gate sealing process…

We couldn’t just reopen the gate that Ash had sealed, that we had reopened and then sealed again.

‘Wait, then how do we get in?’

Only then did I realize the fundamental problem with the operation I was planning.

A single massive ship incursion?

Inability to request support due to nano-machine communication interference?

There was a problem that far exceeded all of those.

Namely, we had ‘no means to reach that universe.’

Of course, it wasn’t impossible to forcibly break through the gate seal that we had reinforced, but…

[P.S.: If the gate seal is broken, there is a high probability that a massive number of nano-machines will pour through.]

As the warning at the end of the report stated, it was obvious that such an action would have unmanageable consequences.

And even if we did go that way, the question of who to send was also a problem.

It’s not that I didn’t trust my subordinates.

“Come at me, you blue-green Prosnack!”

“You little… fall in line!”

They would fight among themselves in the basement of the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry when bored, or.

“Who is our boss?”

“The great prophet who will lead us to salvation!”

“That’s exactly right.”

…When given vacation time, they would go around the empire proselytizing(?) about me.

They certainly displayed some peculiar behaviors, but I acknowledged their tremendous skills.

And if I didn’t want to use the Purge Unit members…

I could ask Admiral Zeidler, the commander of the 3rd Fleet who owed me a favor, to send some capable people.

The issue wasn’t my subordinates, but the reliability of that ancient relic.

I could almost hear someone saying, ‘How can you suddenly change your attitude after obsessing over this super-large ship for so long!’

But honestly, it was only natural to lack confidence in the ship.

I had grown somewhat attached to Ash after having it for years.

But the Leviathan had been in my possession for barely a year.

Although I had become accustomed to it thanks to the biological core “Administrator” creating human-like speech patterns, behaviors, and even personality…

I couldn’t send subordinates without any support to deal with such an unreliable entity.

And if I sent civilians, who knows if they might end up surrendering the perfectly functional Leviathan to the nano-machines while fumbling around like the investigation team leader during the gate investigation.

After much deliberation, I finally reached one conclusion:

‘It looks like I’ll have to go myself.’

Given the situation, I couldn’t just trust the Administrator and order my subordinates to handle it…

I decided that, for the first time in a very long while, I would handle this matter personally.

———————————

Of course, when I said I would go myself, our great Emperor spoke without reservation:

“Arto? Do you want to spend the night away from me already?”

“Artraia, I don’t think I’ve been living with you from the beginning.”

No, it went beyond lack of reservation, it was more like…

“And Artraia, didn’t you say yourself that maintaining imperial dignity is important at all times?”

“What does it matter? It’s just you, me, and Riel here.”

“Oh, please pretend I’m not here. I don’t want to get caught between your romantic antics.”

Previously, she had at least maintained some boundaries for the sake of dignity or other reasons.

-Snuggle snuggle

…But after squeezing me like fresh fruit juice, she now threw dignity out the window in private rooms and clung to my arm.

“Arto, are you really planning to go there alone with that thing?”

As she said this while inserting my arm between her maternal pouches and looking at me with a worried expression.

‘…!’

My resolve, which had been as hard as steel, was about to melt like molten iron in an instant.

If this continued, I would abandon all my determination and end up doing the deed with Artraia again…

‘No! If this continues, I’ll get squeezed again!’

Finally coming to my senses, I decided not to pull my hand out of Artraia’s embrace (which would have been impossible anyway since she was stronger than me) and instead calmly persuade her.

“Artraia, this time it really can’t be helped.”

“But…”

“It’s something I can’t entrust to anyone else.”

At my words, Artraia puffed her cheeks regardless of her age and expressed her dissatisfaction.

“You said there’s no entrance to get there anyway? So why are you in such a hurry?”

“…It’s a hunch.”

If I said I had to go because of an event, I’d be treated as a madman right away.

So I gave a vague answer, and Artraia sighed deeply before speaking.

“Sigh… If you’re reacting this strongly, Arto, this must be something really important?”

“That’s right.”

When I quickly affirmed, Artraia fell into thought for a moment…

And after a while.

“Alright, if you say so, I can’t help it… Is there anything I can do to help?”

I was deeply moved by her attempt to provide maximum support when she couldn’t prevent her husband(?) from doing something dangerous.

So just as I was about to list the items I wanted to request from Artraia.

-Beep beep beep! Beep beep beep!

When the emergency alert sounded, I immediately turned on my terminal to check what was happening.

“What’s going on?”

And upon hearing the news, I couldn’t believe my ears.

-“A-Arto Minister! Just now… an envoy from the Pioneer Empire has arrived!!!”

“…What?”