Ch.343Gravity Bomb (1)

After that day, Cartesia became quiet. She stopped picking fights with Ireh and instead began helping with her research without complaint.

Since Cartesia wasn’t bothering Ireh anymore, Ireh had no reason to say anything to her either.

And so, peace returned to the laboratory.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is curious.]

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is imagining.]

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is interested.]

The only downside was the frequent noisy messages that kept popping up.

Still, this was tolerable. I had no idea what kind of thought experiments were causing this, but it was certainly healthier than them fighting.

“Kid. Ice cream.”

“Ah, yes.”

Cartesia seemed to have developed a growing interest in human food lately. She had particularly taken a liking to snacks, often requesting cookies or ice cream.

“Here you go.”

I bought soft serve for easier eating. Mint, chocolate, mango, vanilla, green tea. A fantastic combination.

But Cartesia’s reaction was rather indifferent.

“Not this. The one with a stick.”

“You want it hard?”

“Was that what it’s called? Anyway, that one.”

Ah, she should have said so earlier.

This time, when I properly bought her a hard ice cream, Cartesia grinned and unwrapped it. She had adapted to human customs quite skillfully.

“Hmm.”

Cartesia stared intently at the candy bar before starting to lick it.

Lick, lick.

With each flick of her tongue, the ice cream melted quickly. Her gaze remained fixed on me.

“You said you have a business trip soon?”

“I need to go west. I heard they made a prototype in Iryuel. I’m going to discuss it with the lab people and make improvements where needed.”

“How long will it take?”

“I’ll be staying there for a while.”

“Then I want to go too.”

Cartesia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Besides the west, I’d like to see the east and north too. Actually, how wonderful would it be if I could go even further from here?”

“Are you that curious about other places?”

“Well, it’s my first time seeing the world through this body.”

Cartesia said this and then popped the ice cream into her mouth. She swallowed nearly two-thirds of it. I wonder if it doesn’t feel cold when she eats so hastily.

Crunch.

There was a sound of something breaking.

Cartesia was grinding her teeth, crunching and chewing the hard ice cream. Not just the ice cream part, but even the stick snapped in two with a crack.

“Mmm, not bad.”

The sight was somewhat creepy.

***

Around the time Lucia and Anya’s anniversary had passed, the research cluster was gradually taking shape.

The west was the center for gravity bomb production, as the region was filled with heavy industry companies like Stronium, spread out like a net.

At Iryuel Academy’s affiliated research institute, I saw the gravity cannon prototype with my own eyes. Sonia and Ireh were there with me.

The researcher began explaining.

“First, we store Aether and pron separately at the bottom. These are the supply sources. We annihilate these two in the upper composite mechanism and then accelerate the resulting particles in the external particle accelerator.”

The researcher moved forward and continued.

“After acceleration, the gravitons produced from the collision are stored in this graviton-pron tank. Then, the compressor next to it compresses the prepared crystal to black hole levels, creating a pair of small black holes. Energy is generated when the two black holes collide, and we can adjust the yield by mediating with the gravitons we just captured.”

“So maximizing that yield to promote the reaction creates the bomb, right?”

“That’s correct.”

The researcher answered calmly.

“Conversely, if we induce the reaction slowly, it can be used for power generation. Just like how our ancestors used the same technology that created atomic bombs to turn steam turbines.”

“How do you convert the energy obtained from black holes into electricity?”

“We turn turbines the same way.”

An obvious answer.

By the way, when I told Cartesia about this, she clicked her tongue. She said why bother converting it to electrical energy when you could just absorb it directly.

The researcher also didn’t leave out the problems and areas for improvement.

“Since pron is a dangerous substance, management is crucial. Currently, we plan to build walls made of lead and titanium, and inside, we’ll try to contain it with a device using gravity-Aether fields. However… the budget.”

“The budget is insufficient?”

“We don’t know how much will be allocated. Our research team plans to adjust our schedule considering this aspect once we begin full-scale work.”

Translation: Give us money.

I stepped forward and said:

“This project will be the key point to victory in the war against the foreign gods. The elimination of external threats alone represents significant potential profit. The government recognizes this and will therefore provide maximum support and supervise the site to match your schedule.”

Translation: We’ll give you money, so do your job properly.

Afterward, I visited other research teams sequentially. The position of chief director is arduous. Not only do I conduct research myself, but I also actively check the progress of other research teams, coordinate schedules, and put effort into communication.

However, there was one more reason why I had to work overtime.

Waaaaaail!

While continuing theoretical research in the temporarily assigned laboratory, I looked up at the sound of an alarm.

Slam!

Sonia burst through the door and shouted:

“Young master, take cover!”

“Sonia, I told you to call me Professor here!”

“No time for jokes!”

Sonia pushed Cartesia, who was sitting on my lap, aside and forcibly made me stand up.

“Heretics have stormed the academy! They must have known you were here and invaded!”

“…They came all the way here? This is Iryuel Academy?”

After the gravity bomb project began, the country scraped together regular troops and doctors to protect the scientists.

Of course, I had security too. As the project director, I was supposed to have the tightest security of all… or so Sullivan had said.

Although Rustila and Zernya couldn’t come because they were busy with southern matters, the forces currently around the academy should have been sufficient for security.

But what, they broke through?

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“No, kid. It’s entirely possible.”

Cartesia, who had been sucking on candy, spoke up. She flicked her side hair and perked up her ears.

“Listen carefully.”

Thud thud thud thud.

I felt vibrations. The footsteps were shaking the ground. It was clear that the number of heretics wasn’t just in the hundreds, but thousands.

I peeked out the window through the curtains. People were everywhere. Followers of the Magnus Order were filling Iryuel Academy.

“Eidel von Rheinland, come out now!”

“Release the Saint!”

“Your research will lead this world to destruction!”

The followers weren’t carrying weapons. That’s why the swordsmen who were facing off against them couldn’t do anything. The Federation guaranteed freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Crunch.

Cartesia bit and broke her candy.

“Can’t we just eliminate all of them?”

“Force isn’t an option right now.”

I had heard from Sullivan recently. The order’s influence was growing day by day, to the point where even ordinary citizens were sympathizing with them.

While terrorists would be one thing, harming unarmed citizens would deal an irreparable blow to the current government. It would mean losing all my political backing.

Ireh, who was also looking out the window, offered her opinion:

“Those people seem to be controlled by the foreign gods. The timing is too cunning for an organized rally. Besides, to hold a mass demonstration, they would need permission from the local government at least two weeks in advance…”

“So it’s an illegal demonstration?”

Ireh nodded.

“Even so, forceful suppression isn’t an option.”

Whether they continue to protest or not isn’t my concern, but this creates problems for returning to the south. Not only would the return journey become difficult, but there might also be assassins mixed in with the protesters.

We need to disperse them peacefully somehow.

“Ah.”

Just then, a good idea came to mind.

***

After Saint Julia was handed over to the government, the Magnus Order came to be ruled by four high priests. This is called the Quadrumvirate system.

Elvin, one of the four, was a young, capable figure with a formidable reputation within the order. After hearing the revelation from the foreign gods, he organized a peaceful demonstration to stop the scientists’ gravity bomb research.

‘We can’t win by force anyway.’

Elvin had originally majored in political sociology. He even went to graduate school. Although he only completed his doctoral coursework without finishing the degree, he had used that experience to serve as the order’s brain.

‘I’ll use the collusion between Rheinland and the current government against them.’

Elvin raised his voice with a smirk.

“Eidel von Rheinland, come out now!”

After occupying Iryuel Academy for some time…

“Who’s representing this assembly?”

A soldier emerged through the crowd.

“Professor Rheinland wishes to speak with the representatives. We will guide you, so please follow us.”

“He won’t come out but wants us to go in?”

“The professor is too exhausted from continuous hard work to walk. Regrettably, he has asked the representatives to come in.”

Elvin snorted and began walking. With a wave of his hand, about a dozen followers emerged from various places and followed him.

‘A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’

The followers accompanying Elvin were actually all assassins. Empowered by the foreign gods, they could easily snap someone’s neck even without proper weapons.

“Please enter.”

Although the number of swordsmen following them was considerable, the assassins were skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Elvin knocked on the professor’s office door and entered, certain of Eidel’s impending death.

And shortly after.

A series of men’s screams echoed through the corridor outside.