Chapter 43: The Setup Is Over / The Main Event Begins

"Ah, please don't be disappointed, Rene, Tierra As, Lies. My confession to you was genuine. It was certainly part of my plan, but had you accepted, it would have brought me the greatest joy imaginable."

"Huh? I'm not disappointed or anything."

"What confession are you talking about, nya, Tierra?"

"It was just the delusional ramblings of a pervert, so you don't need to worry about it!"

"Haha, how harsh. I suppose I never stood a chance."

Don't you dare drag this conversation out any further. What am I supposed to do if Rimitie becomes canon? As if things weren't bad enough already, some clown is trying to get involved and make a weird ship happen. Seriously, please stop.

"...We've gotten off track. Let's return to the matter at hand. ...I see. I acknowledge that you possess unknown potential. Especially you, BI-F888-No.000008-Minia."

『Yes! It's Minia!』

"It is fascinating that you defied your command and chose to act independently. An unknown that exceeded our expectations."

『...Umm, sooooo? Does that mean I'm getting punished or not~?』

"Your actions will be overlooked this time, as a reward for providing us with something unknown. In this city, it is not rules, morality, or ethics that reign supreme. The pursuit of knowledge and the spirit of exploration are the one and only absolute justice."

『Yaaay! Hooray~! I'm off the hook!』

Lady Limient spoke with genuine delight as she gestured toward Minia.

Judging by how the conversation had gone, Minia had disobeyed her orders and helped Kizuna and the others. But because her actions were "unknown," she wasn't punished. If anything, she was praised for it. That seemed to be the gist of it.

"...However, it isn't enough. This is still insufficient."

Apparently, that little bit of the "unknown" wasn't enough for her.

Well, you couldn't exactly trust someone who claimed they were going to save the world without question and entrust them with countless lives.

Especially when...

"We will not perish simply because we refuse your assistance. We have already overcome the destruction of a world once before."

...they had a way to overcome such a crisis themselves.

"Long ago, the world we inhabited also faced destruction. But we, the people of Mikania—the City of Inquiry and Progress—carved out a path to survival. All we need to do is repeat that feat. There is absolutely no need for us to coordinate our efforts with yours."

"Is that the story about how you crossed worlds inside that special armor?"

『Mayor, Mayor! But, but! Didn't that armor deteriorate so badly after crossing worlds just once that it became unusable? And the rare materials we could obtain in our original world aren't available in "Chaos," either!』

Kizuna questioned Lady Limient's statement, and Minia raised a concern of her own.

I see. Judging from Minia's words, the method they'd used to travel between worlds in the past couldn't be reproduced.

"Heh heh. We are the City of Innovation. Did you think we'd resign ourselves to something being 'impossible to reproduce' forever? ...Take a look at this."

Then, wearing a smile like a child who'd just been handed a new toy, Lady Limient moved her left hand. A large window unfolded in midair.

An image appeared on its surface...

"We will destroy the Great Forest. That stagnant land. That is the choice we have made."

"What?!"

"What the heck are you saying?!"

Lies and Pahal immediately cried out in shock.

And who could blame them?

The image showed the Great Forest—and countless mechanical soldiers marching toward it.

"Maintaining trees of such immense size and in such vast numbers would be impossible without some special factor. Our investigation revealed that the cause was a rare substance beneath the Great Forest. Furthermore, that substance can be used to manufacture the special armor known as 'W.R.A.' With it, this city will once again be able to cross into another world."

"So you intend to destroy the elves for that?! Those innocent people...!"

Lies, who was usually so composed, argued back with raw emotion.

I didn't know all the details, but she'd clearly held a deep, deep attachment to her mother's homeland for a very long time.

Even if they'd rejected her, it was still a special place to Lies.

"Destroy the elves? No. We intend to destroy only the Great Forest. Our plan is to welcome every elf into Mikania and have them depart with us for a new world."

"The elves are coming with you, too?"

"Indeed. We have explained this to them time and again, but all they do is repeat incomprehensible nonsense such as, 'There is no need for change,' 'We will not permit the destruction of the Great Forest,' 'We live alongside the forest,' and 'If the forest perishes, then we shall die with it.' They refuse even to engage in a proper discussion."

It seemed the Machine City had sent messages to the Great Forest repeatedly. But just as they'd coldly turned Lies away, the elves had refused to entertain this proposal at all.

Perhaps Pahal didn't know about it because it had happened after she'd left the forest. Or perhaps only the elders had handled the matter to avoid causing confusion. ...Then again, in Pahal's case, I could also believe she'd simply forgotten about it or never been interested in the first place.

"Then we have no choice but to force change upon them. Even those fools who cling to an unchanging world will reconsider when danger comes knocking at their door."

"You...!"

"There's no longer any point in discussing this. The conclusion has already been reached. Farewell, travelers who would save the world. ...Rene, Tierra, Lies. When you find yourselves with no means left to act, feel free to return to this city. I promise to take you with us to the new world."

"Wait...! There's still more we need to discuss...!"

And then, the ground beneath our feet began to glow red. Light enveloped our entire bodies.

"Where are we...? Outside Mikania...?"

『Inference: Forced teleportation appears to have occurred. It is highly likely preparations were underway while the conversation was taking place.』

"So we were completely dancing in the palm of their hand, then..."

Before we knew it, we'd been dumped outside Mikania.

And so...

Events continued hurtling toward chaos.