Ch.566Let’s Learn About Daedalus (1)

Finally, the time of suffering through not-quite-executions came to an end.

Just as I was about to enjoy some truly peaceful moments…

*Swoosh*

“Commander~ I came because I have something to ask~”

“H-hello, C-Commander…”

“Griyanar and Nero? What’s going on?”

After docking with Daedalus, the two mad scientists whose presence had rapidly diminished had, for some reason, made their way directly to the command center.

Of course, as always, one of them wore that distinctively wicked yet seductive smile.

The other, as usual, maintained a slightly hunched posture claiming her chest felt heavy, with her hair casting shadows over her face, making her look extremely gloomy.

*Shuffle*

“…Commander, why are you taking a defensive stance while asking what’s going on?”

“W-we h-haven’t d-done anything… y-yet…!”

Without realizing it, I had naturally taken a defensive, cautious stance, causing the two mad scientists to react as if their feelings were hurt.

But right after that.

“…Yet?”

“Ah.”

“Eh.”

Jessica, who had been listening to the conversation, quietly moved behind the two and softly muttered a word after hearing what Nero had unconsciously blurted out.

I witnessed the curious sight of the two flinching and then trembling.

And shortly after.

The two, now sporting bumps on their heads courtesy of Jessica, finally began explaining why they had come to see me.

“Anyway, what exactly did you come here for?”

“About that, Commander, we’ve completely docked with this Daedalus base, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So I was wondering, could we possibly modify Daedalus like we did with Tannhäuser before?”

Besides Griyanar, Nero added some additional comments with her characteristically gloomy smile.

To summarize, they wanted to ‘turn Daedalus into a juicy jungle combining bioengineering and mechanical engineering!’

“Commander, here you go.”

“Hmm.”

I took the Earl Grey tea Jessica brought me, added about five spoonfuls of marmalade jam, and while sipping it, expressed my doubt.

“By the way, what level of modification are you planning that you’re coming to ask me directly?”

<Interpretation: What kind of trouble are you planning to cause that you’re actually asking permission, unlike with Tannhäuser?>

To this question, Griyanar and Nero replied:

“Last time, we modified Tannhäuser without permission and you got angry, so we thought we should ask first this time.”

“A-actually, I t-told Griyanar that we n-needed to get p-permission when she was about to do it on her own…”

“I see.”

Hearing that Nero, who was more normal than Griyanar, had brought Grigri along, and that they literally came for ‘permission’.

I finally felt like our shameless Grigri might be trying to change into a normal person.

“Our Grigri has finally learned to ask for permission. I’m not one to cry easily, but this brings tears to my eyes.”

“Sob sob.”

Anyway, the conversation briefly went in a different direction, but returning to the main topic of ‘how exactly are you planning to modify it?’, Griyanar and Nero said:

“First of all, with Tannhäuser, we made it easy to separate because you could move the base, right?”

“Hmm.”

“But this time… honestly, there’s no reason to move elsewhere anymore, is there?”

“T-this is the o-only highest-level s-stronghold in the central zone…!”

“Well, that’s true.”

“So we want to put all our modification efforts into completely integrating the base with Daedalus, enhancing everything from internal defenses to recovery capabilities and everything else.”

“I-if we do it right, the r-recovery speed of the fortress cannons and v-various defense facilities will also i-increase…!”

In summary, they wanted to completely integrate this base with Daedalus, turning it into a literal living biological stronghold.

Hearing this, I could recall in my mind all the various incidents that occurred when Grigri arbitrarily modified Tannhäuser in the past.

‘Let’s see, was the most serious incident when the TS potion leaked into the water supply, turning most of the superhuman troops into women? Or was it when the barracks and ship docking facilities turned into tentacle dens?’

Either way, the situations were undeniably bizarre.

Recalling those incidents, along with the fact that there weren’t any ‘particularly noticeable’ advantages compared to such modifications.

I was about to tell them it wasn’t allowed, expressing my position of ‘disapproval’.

But at that very moment, an event choice appeared before my eyes for the first time in a long while.

—————————————–

<Event>

<Daedalus Extreme Modification Event!>

<*This event automatically activates when there is a ‘Level 50 or higher Support-type Superhuman’ at Daedalus.>

<Content>

<Commander, you now control Daedalus, the only Level 9 stronghold in the central zone!>

<And now some major news has reached you!>

<Your superhumans ‘Griyanar’, ‘Nero’, and ‘Rain’ have a grand plan to modify your base and the ‘Daedalus Research Fortress’ to strengthen it further!>

<Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly what the results will be.>

<Additionally, once the enhancement work begins, the base and stronghold docking points will be completely integrated, making it impossible to undock for at least 1 year.>

<Also, a considerable amount of resources will be needed to proceed with the base and stronghold modifications.>

<Option 1. Proceed with Daedalus modifications! (Linked event progression, base warping and undocking will be impossible until the ‘Enhancement Plan’ is completed, requires 10 million minerals and 500,000 rare resources to start modification, then consumes 1 million minerals and 100,000 rare resources every week)>

<Option 2. No more modifications, stop the modifications! (End linked event. The event may randomly regenerate in the future.)>

—————————————–

‘Oh right, they did say that docking with Daedalus would trigger events related to Support-type superhumans.’

Seeing the event message content, I realized that unlike with Tannhäuser, this time there would be definite returns, which made me contemplate even more deeply.

‘Well, this is something.’

Of course, such contemplation didn’t last very long.

What could be considered a ‘risk’ in this event?

The fact that undocking the base would be impossible for over a year.

And that it would consume a large amount of resources upfront, plus additional massive resource consumption every week until the work was completed.

But as Griyanar and Nero had already mentioned, I had no reason to move elsewhere from here.

And as for resources…

“Jessica, what’s our current resource income rate?”

“Since many people have docked at Daedalus, we’re getting just under 10 million combined minerals and rare resources every week.”

“Holy moly.”

“And we currently have 19 million minerals and 3.2 million rare resources in storage.”

It’s almost embarrassing to say, but we had resources rotting away in abundance.

Realizing that there were essentially no risks, but guaranteed returns no matter how minimal…

<Option 1. Proceed with Daedalus modifications! (Linked event progression, base warping and undocking will be impossible until the ‘Enhancement Plan’ is completed, requires 10 million minerals and 500,000 rare resources to start modification, then consumes 1 million minerals and 100,000 rare resources every week)><Selected>

I immediately pressed option 1, deciding to approve Grigri and Nero-nero’s plan to extremely modify our base and stronghold.

“Alright, you two can go ahead and do it properly.”

“Really?!”

“A-are you serious?”

“Yes, if you’re going to do it, don’t do it half-heartedly like with Tannhäuser, do it thoroughly.”

And adding to that, to boost their motivation and make them work even harder on the modifications.

The two showed reactions that were half surprise at hearing something they never expected.

The other half was filled with determination to live up to my trust, as they hurriedly left the command center and returned to the ‘Nest of Life’.

Watching them leave, Jessica expressed her concerns:

“Commander, but what if things go wrong? Especially since both Griyanar and Nero tend to create strange things when they’re too enthusiastic.”

“Well, it’s still better than them doing it half-heartedly without any enthusiasm.”

“Hmm, that’s not wrong, but…”

As I mentioned, the principle that ‘someone with excessive enthusiasm is better than someone completely lacking motivation’ isn’t wrong.

Jessica also twitched her large ears and nodded, agreeing that it was indeed true.

Of course, the very next day after that conversation.

“AAAHHH!”

“Commander, Ignis went to the bathroom and got impaled by tentacles.”

“…Tell Grigri and Nero-nero not to touch the plumbing or bathrooms.”

Seeing their enthusiasm overflow in a different sense, I retracted my words and realized I needed to curb the enthusiasm of the two maniacs to some extent.