Chapter 105: The country of machines

Very well, let's think about this, who could this man possibly be?

He said that his country wanted to spy on me... That does not narrow it down at all. But there are probably not many that could use a demon lord as a spy, I can only think of Arana's sisters.

There are also those strange machines that I've never seen before, they seem unusually advanced.

"Ah, you must be from Mekria."

"That is correct. My name is Gerard. High technomancer of Mekria. Under the direct service of Queen Felias."

Yes! I got it right.

"Wait, so you deceived me?"

"I did not. All I said was true. I did not even make any misleading statements."

Uh, he's right, I'm the one who just accepted everything he wanted.

"So, Nera. If he's an enemy should we have him arrested or something?"

"Eh? I... don't know."

"Arrest me? For what crime?"

"Well, you..." He didn't really commit any crimes, did he... "Trespassed into the castle?"

"I did not. I asked the guards. I was allowed to enter."

Yeah, I guess we have not made it clear who should be allowed to come in and who should be kicked out.

"So what were you after? You were collecting data about me... I suppose that you are trying to find a way to defeat me."

"That is incorrect. I believed that you would be sympathetic to my goals. The first being the advancement of science."

"Ah, yes, I'm all for advancing science."

"The second being understanding the truths of our universe."

"Of course, I also want to know all those truths."

"And the third being the destruction of nature."

"Yes, let's dest- Wait, what?"

"The destruction of nature. The ultimate goal of all sapient beings. Are you aware of the history of my country?"

"I... I'm sure that Nera can explain it to me."

I give her a pleading look, she knows more about the history of other countries than I do.

"Right... Mekria... If I recall correctly, it is a country of mostly humans and dwarves located in a cold and desolate area of the north continent. The largest magic forest in the world used to be located there, protected by many powerful spirits and elves that gave them directions. The power of the forest could provide the people with warmth that could save their lives in the cold winters and improve their harvest so they could avoid famines."

"Oh, shouldn't that make them love that forest?"

"There was a problem. In that harsh environment, some famines were particularly bad, and some winters were particularly cold. In those instances, the people attempted to take more than what they were allowed to in order to survive, and the elves used the spirits to punish them with natural disasters, all in the name of protecting nature.

No explanation was given as to the reason why taking what was needed to survive was wrong, and many innocents died each time that happened. The people of Mekria began to hold a grudge against the elves, and against the very concept of 'protecting nature'.

They decided to focus on the improvement of their technology, to do that, they rejected the use of magic other than to power and use their machines. That restriction they gave themselves allowed them to develop faster than any other country, and eventually, they became able to overpower the elves and their spirits. Most of the elves were killed in revenge, and when their machines became capable of giving the warmth and food they needed, they burned that magic forest to the ground."

"That is partially incorrect. Our ancestors did not overpower the spirits. They merely learned how they work. Spirits are like machines. No free will or intelligence. Only act according to a set of patterns. They can be controlled if they are understood."

I see, so that's how Mekria became the country of machines.

"So... You must hate elves like me, no?"

"That is incorrect. I believe that the actions of our ancestors were a mistake. We would allow the remaining elves to join us and take advantage of our technology if they were to ask. We hold no grudge against them. Those elves from the past were merely slaves of the true evil in that story."

"The true evil... Are you talking about... nature itself?"

"That is correct. Nature is the reason why all of those tragedies happened. Only when nature is replaced with machines can people know peace and prosperity. The history of Mekria is proof of it."

"You say that. But even if improving technology makes people's lives better, I don't see why nature needs to be sacrificed."

"Nature is a tyrant that enslaves all living beings. Violence will always be part of our lives for as long as we need to kill other living creatures to eat. We will always be in conflict with each other for as long as we are in need of the same resources that nature says we must have. And those that are weak will be the ones to die.

I was born unable to walk. I am one of those weak ones that would have died without the help of machines. Because the law of nature is that only the strong survive. And that is why nature must be destroyed.

We must escape our prisons of flesh and become machines ourselves. I cannot accomplish that on my own. But you have mastered the art of flesh-shaping. If we were to work together there is a chance that we could succeed."

Eh? He wants to work with me?

"Uh... I'm not sure if I'm interested. I don't want to destroy nature, whatever that means for you. And I'm already busy becoming the queen of this place and stopping an invasion of void demons. You might want to look into that as well by the way."

"I am not familiar with those void demons. But the rule of a queen is only temporary. A scientist can change the world forever. We do not need to be enemies. And I believe that you might be underestimating us."

"I'm not, I don't really have an opinion about you."

I mean, I've never seen the machines from Mekria fight or anything, so there's nothing for me to base an opinion of them from.

"When it comes to a potential conflict. You seem to only be concerned about Queen Felias. Her high level makes that understandable. But from studying you earlier I could tell that our queen will not be necessary. The technology that my country has developed with years of hard work is powerful. You would not be able to defeat us."

"Oh. You really think that?"

"To be more precise. We would be able to subjugate an average individual with the same powers you have quite easily. Perhaps you can surprise me by using them in a more intelligent manner. But I doubt that you could win against us.

I do not wish to leave having collected that data and not give anything in return. I shall leave you with this gift."

A white humanoid figure then comes into the hallway, it's something similar to a golem, but not quite... Gerard is using some magic to control it.

'Appraisal'

{Unknown golem, Element: Fire, Level: 53}

I don't think that appraisal is working correctly, it shouldn't say 'unknown', I don't think that's a golem, and something tells me that it's much stronger than level 53...

"What is this?"

"A standard-issue pearl combat unit. A robot. An example of the tools used by the combatants of our country. Feel free to study it as much as you want. It might help you to understand what we are capable of. And I would appreciate it if you were to suggest any improvements."

I've only looked at it for a brief moment but I'm stumped. I don't understand the magic that he's using to control it. And right away I can tell that this is not something I could easily recreate... And most importantly, the design is very optimized, this is the first time I've looked at someone else's work and I cannot see any obvious flaws. Is it because I'm not familiar with this technology?

"That will be all for now. I will be taking my leave. Please keep my offer to collaborate in mind."

"Oh, of course. It was nice to meet you."

Nera and I decide to accompany him as he leaves. The truth is that I'm a bit curious about the method he used to come here. Did he use a car like the one Ranna had? Ah! I should have asked if I could get a new one for her.

Instead, he gets into a strange vehicle, one that has a large balloon on top and a relatively small cabin... I believe that it's a blimp?

Except that there's a very complex magic circuit on it, the design is... impressive. It should be able to increase the effect of fire and wind mana crystals immensely, I... I don't think that I would have been able to make a better one.

The blimp slowly lifts into the air, and then.

*BOOM*

A loud sound like an explosion is heard behind it as it leaves at an astounding speed, and for a moment there's a cone-shaped cloud behind it. Nera seems to have gotten scared by it.

Don't tell me that was...

"W-what was that?!"

"Nera... Do you know what that sound meant?!"

"No, I don't, I really don't. Do you?"

"If I'm not mistaken... That vehicle was traveling faster than the sound it produced!"

This is simply amazing... I had already lost hope of ever finding someone who could surpass me as a researcher, even in a field completely different from mine.

But this... So this is what is possible with the hard work of generations of the people of Mekria... Can I really measure up to them?

It already felt great to know that there was someone like Vilde that I could look forward to surpassing in terms of combat. But to think that there was also someone who could challenge me in this area... After everything I've seen ever since I left my home, I was starting to lose hope.

I know that Gerard and Mekria are potential enemies, I should not be happy to learn that they are this powerful. And yet... I cannot help but feel excited.

forli

I always thought that the people being punished would not learn why their actions were wrong as they never get to see their consequences and are instead just being told to not do it by a more powerful being. And with all the people that die, they would end up seeing the 'guardians of nature' as tyrants.

So I wanted to write a story in which the act of protecting nature with violence ended up completely backfiring. I don't think I've ever seen a villain with this particular motivation.