Ch.61They’re nanomachines, kid.

# Chapter 61: It’s Nano Machines, Rookie. (1)

I suddenly recalled something I’d read in my previous life: no matter how unusual something might seem at first, if people are continuously exposed to it, they eventually come to accept it as normal…

And the reason this memory surfaced was because our current situation perfectly embodied that concept.

[Event: Gray Sphere]

[The scientific community of the Empire is buzzing with excitement over the appearance of gray spheres that seem straight out of science fiction, even in this world.]

[Although scans show that the nano machines are completely inactive.]

[The overwhelming quantity, far exceeding the total number of nano machines produced in the Empire since their first creation, has given the scientific community hope for discovering new technologies.]

[Physics and Engineering points gained through the discovery of Gray Spheres!]

At least in the beginning, events like this would appear.

Initially, the mere fact that these were nano planets amplified our interest.

But as time passed, we discovered that despite differences in size and shape, they were all just the same nano planets, and boredom began to overwhelm us.

Fortunately, due to the long-term nature of interstellar exploration, we didn’t have to constantly monitor them.

We only got a rough idea of what the universe beyond the gate was like through occasional communications and reports.

“It’s really more boring and uninteresting than expected.”

“You can say that again.”

“There are hardly any planets with environments suitable for resource mining or colony construction.”

“If there were, the Colonization Ministry would be going crazy right now, shoving frontier fleets through the gate.”

But the universe beyond the gate was truly a desolate and barren world.

There were some asteroids, moons, and planets suitable for resource extraction.

But there wasn’t a single planet anywhere that could be “colonized” in the conventional sense.

“The nano machines aren’t active, but just their presence makes it impossible for humans to live there?”

“That’s correct. Living in such places would be equivalent to living in an atmosphere composed of heavy metals.”

Of course, if this were only true for the first star system we entered through the gate, it would be understandable.

“…This one is also made of nano machines.”

“Is this for real?”

A full seven.

During our investigation of seven planetary systems, we repeatedly failed to discover even one planet where human survival was possible.

As this situation persisted, even with unlimited resources and time…

“More nano machines… Minister, shouldn’t we start heading back soon?”

“Indeed, except for some resource-rich moons, we’re not getting any valuable results or findings.”

There was no way to prevent the morale of those conducting the exploration from plummeting exponentially.

Additionally, Minister Vermut, who was responsible for the research team, seemed eager to withdraw as well.

If we continued like this, the exploration would fizzle out with everyone just going through the motions.

Moreover, after that initial event message, nothing else had appeared for me.

Normally, I too would have concluded that further exploration was meaningless and given Minister Vermut, who was fidgeting like a puppy that needed to pee, a gentle push.

But…

“Minister Vermut.”

“What is it, Minister Arto?”

Upon hearing my words, Minister Vermut’s eyes sparkled as if thinking, “Finally, the moment has come.”

Facing that bright expression, I made a firm decision and offered brief “advice.”

“Let’s continue the exploration a bit longer.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Minister Arto, are you serious?”

Was my response unexpected?

Not just Minister Vermut and Riel, but everyone else watching the communication seemed unable to believe what I’d said.

“But Minister, there’s nothing more to see even if we continue exploring!”

Riel even openly objected, trying to change my mind—that’s how desperate the situation was.

But despite all these reactions, I insisted on continuing the exploration.

———————–

In the end, thanks to my overwhelming authority and influence, it was decided to continue the exploration for a while longer.

But as soon as the communication ended, Riel approached me and started chattering away.

“I really can’t understand—did you get some kind of special event notification that made you push for this?”

Of course, given that Riel knew my secret and was fundamentally a tutorial bot, she seemed to think I had some ulterior motive for pushing this course of action…

“…It’s a secret.”

Unfortunately for Riel, no event messages had appeared before me even as I pushed for continued exploration.

The reason I insisted was for a different reason entirely.

‘This could be huge if handled right.’

The current situation itself symbolized a hidden event that I had occasionally encountered while playing this game in my previous life.

‘If we continue exploring just a bit more, something big will happen at the end, if I remember correctly.’

Although I couldn’t remember exactly what it was, I clearly recalled that it was something extremely useful for the Empire.

So, trusting only my intuition, I decided to do my best to push forward with the exploration that everyone else disliked.

——————————————–

But the wall of reality was higher than I had anticipated.

“Minister, this is the last hyperspace route we’ve found in this universe.”

“We’ll begin exploration, but it’s best not to get your hopes up.”

“Initiating the 37th planetary exploration, scan results… this planet’s surface is also entirely composed of nano machines.”

When gray spheres appeared right from the start in the final planetary system beyond the gate, the expressions of the researchers aboard the research battleship looked like they were about to rot.

And perhaps thinking this was just a waste of money…

*Ring ring ring*

“Riel, what’s the call about?”

“The Treasury says they can’t stand by and watch more budget waste after seeing ten consecutive nano machine planets with no resources.”

Our budget managers had started going crazy, trying to reduce “waste” by overturning even the existing plans.

“…Fine, let’s agree to investigate just the last planet and then stop.”

When I stepped back and offered a compromise, everyone finally seemed to acknowledge that I had accepted reality, nodding in agreement.

Of course, Minister Vermut and the research team showed quite negative reactions as soon as they saw the last planet.

“Minister Arto? No matter how you look at it, that’s just another nano machine planet like all the others, isn’t it?”

“So, are you not going to investigate it?”

“No, it’s obviously just the same—”

“Investigate.”

“But…”

“Are you refusing?”

“We’ll do it.”

When I showed zero tolerance for any attempt to violate even the compromise I had offered, they all began scanning the planet as if swallowing a bitter pill.

But this time, as if to prove my intuition correct…

The planetary scanner output results slightly different from the previous nano planets.

“Ohhh!”

“Finally…!”

And the research team, upon receiving these “somewhat different” results, completely shed their previous lack of motivation and immediately tried to descend toward the planet.

“Wow, they’re really something else.”

“Indeed, truly the minds that will lead the future of the Holy Sebeli Empire.”

Riel and I were deeply impressed by their intellectual curiosity and efforts to help the Empire.

“Everyone get out of the way! We’re going to investigate this ourselves!”

“I can finally write my graduate thesis!”

“…Hmm.”

It would have been impressive if their zealous behavior wasn’t just for graduate theses.

But…

“We definitely got different readings around here.”

“It’s like wandering through a silver sand desert, so it’s difficult to infer anything from the terrain’s shape.”

“Experiencing communication interference from the research ship in orbit…”

“Minister, we can’t find any anomalies that would explain the scanner results.”

“Interestingly, this is the only planet with an atmosphere composition that humans could breathe…”

“But due to the excessive heavy metal content, prolonged activity would be difficult.”

Despite searches using numerous unmanned drones and graduate students, they couldn’t find anything that would trigger the scanner’s readings.

At best, the air was slightly better than in other places.

“I sincerely apologize for saying this, but honestly, I dare suggest it might have been just a scanner error.”

Perhaps because nothing was being found, the operators themselves were beginning to doubt the Empire’s most advanced equipment, which had undergone the finest maintenance and calibration.

‘Damn, could this really just be a meaningless universe?’

By this point, even I was starting to doubt my intuition.

Just as everyone was about to return to the ship, dejected by the lack of results from this final exploration…

*Thud! Screech…*

The screen of the unmanned drone relaying the communication suddenly began shaking violently.

It was as if someone was forcibly holding onto the drone as it tried to move…

While we were all expressing confusion at this sight…

“Everyone, the drone seems to be caught on something. Check it immediately.”

At Minister Vermut’s instruction, the exploration team on screen turned toward the drone.

But at that moment…

“W-what is that?”

“Identify yourself immediately!!”

Suddenly, the exploration team started pointing at the screen, or more precisely, at the drone, which made us even more confused.

“Why are they acting like that?”

“Maybe someone from the exploration team is playing a prank?”

And just as Riel finished speaking, the screen rotated and…

*Click.*

*Tilt?*

We couldn’t hide our bewilderment at the unidentifiable “something” that appeared on screen.

And for good reason—what appeared on screen was none other than one of our own kind.

A Sebelian… a human, staring at the screen without even wearing a spacesuit.