Kays Translations

Chapter 98: The Giant Arm

The thing Isamu likened to a robot arm, upon closer inspection, wasn't growing from the ground but was leaning against something like a rack.

If you consider it based on a human arm, the part from the shoulder onward seems to be intact.

"Isamu-dono, what do you mean by 'robot'?"

After muttering a single word, Felix called out to Isamu, who had become absorbed in examining it.

"Ah, um, sorry. It's a magic tool from the previous world, a general term for tools that mimic human or animal movements. If it's small, it's smaller than a human hand, and it automatically repeats the same movement tirelessly, assembling something all day long. The larger ones are several times the size of a human and are used by people to dig large holes or demolish buildings. Also..."

Here, Isamu hesitated for a moment.

The two examples mentioned earlier are examples of so-called industrial robots, including heavy machinery, and are already in practical use.

Although they are indeed robots, what Isamu associated with from what was in front of them was different.

However, the humanoid weapons robots that Isamu associated with from anime and games are being researched and prototyped, but many of them are fictional.

Isamu thought about how much to disclose, but in the end, decided to just tell it as it was.

"It hadn't been put into practical use yet, but there was research to create giants that could perfectly replicate human movements. If used for peaceful purposes, they would be used for construction, various types of work, and disaster relief, but if not..."

"Tools for fighting, you mean..."

Felix continued Isamu’s words with a grim expression.

"Yes. There were both types of robots being researched: ones operated by humans and ones that move autonomously without humans. And, they were quite popular as story material as well, with a considerable number of works created, ranging from ones that fly in the sky, dive into the sea, or change shape, but many of them have war or combat as their main theme. And this arm seemed more like the type of robot that appears in those stories."

Saying that, Isamu began to inspect the arm in detail.

In terms of shape, it seemed to have the part from the shoulder to the tip, and it was about two meters long, if not less. It was more than twice but less than three times the length of a human arm.

Instead of five fingers, it had three: a simplified structure consisting of a thumb, index finger, and the rest grouped together.

The forearm to the upper arm was covered entirely with what seemed like light metal armor, and the inside was covered with a slightly thick fibrous cover that couldn't be seen through.

And notably, there was a large device attached to the forearm.

While the arm side was reddish, this device was black.

It looked like a box-shaped object from the back of the hand to a little beyond the elbow, and it clearly looked like it was added later.

Furthermore, it seemed designed to be detachable or replaceable, as it was attached with slideable rails and belts on the upper arm.

"If this is indeed a magic tool for humanoid arms, then it's likely a spare part for replacement or a part being repaired or modified... If it were to be discarded, they wouldn't bother to keep it so neatly, nor would they put it on a rack..."

While crossing their arms and contemplating, everyone gathered around Isamu.

"It does indeed look like an armored arm." 

Eto muttered as he confirmed various things alongside Isamu.

"Yes. Since it's not as heavy as I thought, I'll take it back and disassemble it. We can't do it here."

"That's right. We don't have enough tools, and if someone starts concentrating, we won't move. It's better not to do it here where monsters might come out."

Chuckling with a throaty laugh, Eto said while nodding along with Anne-Marie and the knights.

Meanwhile, Willem, the first discoverer, put his hand to his chin and seemed to be lost in thought.

"What's wrong, Willem-san?"

"...Eto-san, have you ever heard of a magic giant called a golem?"

"A magic giant golem? No, unfortunately, I've never heard of it."

"Could it be the giant that Kempbach used only once in the past conflict?"

That was Karina's answer. Everyone was surprised by the unexpected answer.

"You know it quite well, Lady Karina. Yes, it's the giant that Kempbach is said to have used."

"No, it was described in a book I read before..."

Karina answered with a slight blush. As the foremost bookworm of the Marquis family, it was no surprise that her knowledge was extensive.

"It seems there was considerable damage on our side as well, but for some reason, it was only used once. Since there are no records of it being defeated, the prevailing theory is that it was a mistake, but... Its color was supposed to be red..."

"A red giant used by Kempbach..."

Isamu mulled over Willem's words.

This ruin is close to Kempbach as well. Similar ruins are scattered from Marquis Innocenti's border territory to the eastern part of Kempbach, so it wouldn't be surprising if a complete product were excavated from those ruins.

It's worrisome that it was only deployed once, but the possibility that this arm belonged to a magic giant golem seemed quite high.

"In any case, there's nothing else we can do but take it back and examine it. Let's be glad we found it."

After a brief silence, Felix spoke up. As the vice commander of the knights, who were all unique individuals, he remained calm.

"That's right. If it's useful, we'll just use it!"

With that, they temporarily shelved the topic of the giant's arm and decided to examine the armory in more detail.

...

"To think there's another door further in..."

Eto muttered in front of the door.

It wasn't as big as the entrance door, but another door was found in the corner of the deepest part of the armory.

The corner of the room protruded like a private room, with a door attached there.

"It seems there's only this button."

Next to the door, there was something like a button about five centimeters square, but there were no consoles other than that.

They tried pressing it, but since it wasn't powered on, it naturally didn't respond.

And Isamu had a clue about this shape.

"Hmm, I think this is probably an elevator."

"An elevator?"

Once again, Anne-Marie tilted her head at the unfamiliar word.

"Yes, it's a magic tool for moving up and down buildings. Since a small room moves directly up or down, you can move without using stairs."

"A moving room... Is that convenient? Using stairs seems faster, doesn't it?"

"Yes, I think using stairs would be faster for about two or three floors. However, in the previous world, it was common to have buildings of ten floors or more, and there were quite a few 50-story buildings... At that scale, it wasn't feasible to use stairs. Also, it's kinder to people with disabilities or the elderly, and it's convenient for carrying heavy or large items."

"Fifty floors!!? How do they even build such buildings??"

At the absurd size, Anne-Marie's eyes rolled.

"It's unimaginable, isn't it? I have no idea how they build them either. There are probably secrets to the structure, building materials, and construction methods... Building construction is probably something even people on Earth wouldn't know about except for some in the construction industry."

It was obvious to Isamu, who was not a specialist in the field, and probably even on Earth, apart from some in the construction industry, they wouldn't know how skyscrapers are built. They use them as if they were normal because they're built as if they were normal, but when you think about it, they're quite something.

"Is that so...? So, was this also made for going up and down long distances?"

"I wonder... Since there doesn't seem to be an entrance or exit above this floor, I think it leads further underground... I'm not sure about the depth, though. Also, elevators can have user restrictions, so it might be a place they don't want to expose to just anyone. Besides, it's made even deeper into the armory."

"I see... If anyone could use it, it would have been placed in a more accessible location, right?"

"Yes, I think so. That's why I feel like this one won't be easy to move..."

With that said, Isamu began investigating the elevator (provisional).

As long as it's a magic tool, there should be a magic circle somewhere and a place for maintenance from the outside.

And as Isamu expected, a hatch that seemed to be it was quickly found at the top of the door.

However...

"Hmm, it started up, but it's not a password system... I think it's a mechanism that won't open without some kind of key."

Although the magic tool controlling the opening and closing of the hatch started up without requiring any significant magic power, there was no message prompting for a password input, nor were there any input keys. Since there was a black panel that seemed to be used for some kind of reading, it seemed that the security level was indeed one notch higher.

"Is it no good...? But well, even just in this armory, we made quite a few discoveries. There are also things to take back and investigate. It was quite a haul, wasn't it?"

As Isamu examined the hatch themselves, Mizeroi called out.

"Yes, you're right. Just the investigation alone will take quite some time... Alright."

After stopping the magic tool just in case, Isamu replied as they were lowered down by Mizeroi.

Afterward, they discovered another box-shaped magic tool, but it was so sturdy that they couldn't dismantle it, so they decided to take it back for investigation as well, concluding their investigation of the armory.

"Wow, what a huge amount of souvenirs."

Looking at the items taken from the armory for transport, Willem chuckled.

It wasn't as much as a mountain, but they brought back all the dangerous explosive-type magic tools, and above all, that arm was large.

"Well, there's no helping it... It's a relief that the luggage inspection at the city entrance was lax. We were really lucky."

Isamu said this while preparing to go home after disabling the magic tools at the entrance to the armory just in case.

Except for the royal capital, noble family heads up to the first degree of consanguinity are not strictly inspected for carriages. They only verbally confirm what they're carrying and lightly visually inspect it.

When they first came here, Isamu was surprised at how lax the security was, but now they were grateful.

"Oh, by the way... Isamu-san, did the numbers you set when entering this room have any significance? It was 163150, right?"

Willem remembered the time when the password was set and asked Isamu.

"Oh, that... In the previous world, there was a game or a kind of code where numbers were matched with letters that sounded similar to them, making them read like normal letters."

Although there have been puns based on numbers for a long time, the peak was undoubtedly the Pager code.

Since the pager code was originally a gadget designed to send telephone numbers, only numbers could be used.

As a result of trial and error to see if it could be used for the purpose of conveying words somehow, the pager code was born.

Although Isamu is not a pager code generation due to age, he happened to come across it on the internet and became interested, so he used that memory to set a password this time.

"That's why it reads as 'Hime Saikō'."

With a laugh, Isamu said.

"Nyaa~"

Whether she was pleased to be used as a password, Orihime rubbed her forehead against Isamu leg.

"I see. That's very much like you, Isamu-san! Nice!"

Although Anne-Marie was initially puzzled, she said with a smile.

"By the way, Anne-Marie-san, how much will you tell His Excellency the Margrave?"

"Well... I found a hidden room in the ruins. I won't disclose the location. I'll probably only mention finding thunderballs, explosive-type magic tools, and what seems to be a magic sword of lightning... I think it's rude to keep it all a secret, but by buttering up a bit here, we might gain his favor in the future..."

In response to Isamu’s question, Anne-Marie answered while contemplating.

"Understood. With that premise, should I investigate the performance of the explosive-type and lightning magic swords on the way back from the ruins and report if there are no issues? We won't hand over the actual items, right?"

"Yes. It's the liberated area, and although Isamu-san keeps making discovery after discovery one after another, they are indeed artifacts...As a landowner, he can't confiscate them from the discoverer."

Anne-Marie replied with a wry smile, remembering.

"Hahaha, now that you mention it, all of this is indeed artifacts."

Isamu, realizing it when it was pointed out, couldn't help but laugh hollowly.

Thus, the party that left the armory returned safely to the surface after another overnight stay on the way back, concluding their three-night, four-day exploration of the ruins.

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