We needed a system that anyone could use and where theft wasn’t an issue. It seemed beyond all probability, but it was actually pretty within reach. My idea involved the use of Sticky Steel Thread and magisteel. I tried the first out with Soei, but my transmission skills over the thread were honestly pretty astounding. Since it worked with magicules, you could get your voice and thoughts across with remarkable clarity.
Magisteel was packed with those same magicules as well, so I thought it could work largely the same way—and after some experimentation, it did. What we could do is work magisteel into wires about a half an inch thick, run them through the dimension used by Shadow Motion, and connect the world’s cities together with it. That alone wouldn’t accomplish anything, but attaching this network to the device Vester and his team were developing could convert waves of passing thought into real-life sights and sounds. This device required no magical force to use, so I wanted to get it running as soon as it was complete. In the meantime, we needed to gather the requisite amount of magisteel and get ready.
With the amount of monsters we had in this nation, regular iron ore kept in storage would transform itself into magic ore. This could then be processed into magisteel wire, with Shadow Motion practitioners doing the wiring work. Nothing would really serve as physical obstacles to this network, so installation wouldn’t be that terribly difficult. Once we really had the ball rolling, I also had plans to expand the network from the cities to the smaller villages. Now all we had to do was develop the necessary receivers.
Really, as someone who had lived in a data-driven society, communication speed was seriously important to me.
“What do you think? That’ll be super-useful when it’s done, won’t it?”
I couldn’t help but sound a little full of myself in front of Hinata.
Once this network was complete, it was time to start transmitting entertainment and nurturing a nascent culture. There were so many dreams I had and a mountain of things left to do—and if I wanted to get any of it done, I had to provide safe and comfortable lives for my people.
Somewhere along the line, the meeting hall had grown quiet. The paladins were frozen in place, perhaps enraptured by my speech. My own officials, meanwhile, were practically smoldering with anticipation; listening to me inspired them more than ever before.
Then Hinata rolled her eyes. “Look,” she muttered. “That kind of information is normally kept confidential by governments, did you know that? I mean, matters related to communications, in particular… You just don’t go telling that to outsiders. Not that I’m complaining, but…”
Hmm. If you phrased it like that, then okay, maybe that was a mistake. Maybe I got carried away and said a little too much. Must have been the alcohol talking.
But even considering the possibility was a mistake. The moment I thought Uh-oh, did I screw up? Raphael jumped to conclusions.
Report. Resetting Cancel Ailments. This resistance cannot be adjusted for the time being.
Wh-what?!
But it was already too late. Even worse, a “reset” wasn’t something you could do all the time. Whether I wanted it or not, the poison was being cleansed from my body. But booze isn’t poison! I thought to no avail. My skills were just merciless.
Of course, I suppose this happened because I still had a pounding headache from getting wildly drunk the day before. I cut a little too loose for my own good, and that was the cause of it. Maybe I’d be more tight-lipped toward Hinata if I wasn’t inebriated. Let’s just call it my just deserts and move on.
I glanced at Hinata, just in time to see the jolly man next to her—Fritz, was it?—steal a piece of top-grade beef from her plate. Looks like I’m not the only guy in this room who played with alcohol a little too much.
“Now, now, what’s the big deal, Lady Hinata? That just shows how much he trusts us! Oh hey, and if you aren’t eating that, I’ll take the rest!”
I think he was a top officer in this force. He certainly robbed Hinata’s plate with lightning-fast dexterity, at least. Still, it must have taken a few drinky-drinks to decide it was worth the risk.
The moment Fritz tossed the morsel into his mouth, I could see a vein throb in the vicinity of Hinata’s temple. Her natural paleness made it all the more visible, although it would’ve been impossible to miss no matter what color her skin was.
“Fritz… Were you looking to die today?”
“Um…? Lady Hinata, you’re looking so…serious…”
Now Fritz’s mind was perfectly clear, as he shot to his feet and attempted to run for it. But he couldn’t escape Hinata, who promptly landed a chop on his jaw that instantly sent him to the floor with a concussion.
Let this be a lesson on how to enjoy a drink responsibly.
The next day:
“Back to our conversation yesterday, you realize that if you draw too much attention with all of that, the angels are going to attack you, right?”
Hinata blurted it out just before leaving, as if she had just thought of it. It wasn’t really the kind of thing you could bring up at the drunken, festive feast we had last night, but since we weren’t going to be strangers any longer, I suppose she thought it important to mention.
Erald and Gazel mentioned those guys to me before—the angelic army. Each one of these “angels” or whatever, according to Hinata, was a B-plus threat, and they had a force that numbered a million strong, all ready to swarm me. It was quite a bit beyond what I pictured, and that was just the infantry—there were captains and commanders above them, with a full chain of command between. The generals in their force—yes, there were generals—had even tangled with demon lords, if you went far enough back in history.
