Arc 27: The Reverse World

Chapter 299: The Price of the Crown, and the Activation

Oh light come forth, Equal Solace, Area Heal(Touya)

I secretly place all of the wounded people in the black market under a widerange recovery magic. After all, I really dont want to stand out. Nevertheless, it might be already too late for that now.

There arent as many deceased as Ive thought. Was it because Rouge managed to hold Viola back? However, that probably is only true for this floor.

Yuri seems to have already confirmed it, but the picture of Hell itself has apparently been drawn on the upper floor.

I particularly dont mind it if I catch anyones attention, but its bad for Nia, Rouge, and Yuri of the Red Cats to stand out. Therefore, we decide to return to their hideout using Gate, since Ive already done what Im supposed to do and have more no reasons to stay here any further.

After we arrive at their hideout, I drink the tea Yuri served us in the tent of the fortress and finally feel at ease.

At any rateWhat an outrageous golem that was(Touya)

Though I heard about Violas recovery abilities from Yuri, seeing it in action was still kinda unexpected. I have no doubts that Violas recovery skill is about the same level as to how frame gears are capable of recovering from cuts and cracks.

Even though Ive bisected it horizontally, being able to recover from that as well is The speed of its recovery is at a level wherein it could no longer be called a regular recovery anymore Its almost like an instant resuscitation from the moment its invoked.

Is that the ability of the Crown series(Touya)

Hearing my mutter, Nia says something while looking at Rouge by her side.

A Crown golem possess an incredible power, but in turn, the contractor is forced to shoulder a huge risk ~you see. Do you think that immortality ability could be used without paying any sort of price?(Nia)

Price?(Touya)

Rouge, for example, gains the power of flames and immense destructive energy at the cost of its contractors blood. The more blood I give, the more this power grows. They say theres nothing in this world that it cant break if someone fully throws away his life into it. This is how the previous leader of the Red Cats how my father died(Nia)

Blood is the compensation!? And you said that he died. Did he offer all of his blood to Rouge!?

For some reason, preserved blood is said to be completely ineffective, and the blood that should be offered is the fresh blood of the contractor. I heard that a human will die if that person loses or more of their blood. Did he go over that limit?

Then, the price for using the purple crown is(Touya)

Im not sure about the validity of this information but Ive heard that the contractor of Viola loses his or her sanity. They go crazier and crazier as time pass by until Viola finally severs the lifeline of its contractor once they couldnt understand anything at all. Its said that Only the Purple Crown can kill the Purple Contractor, which is something I cant understand though In fact, its rumored that Viola killed each and every one of its previous contractors, no exceptions. This is what the compensation for immortality is like(Nia)

In that case are those crazy actions and strange words the side effects of being contracted to that Crown? Nevertheless, her sense of individuality is still there though

Fundamentally, its probably the purple contractors who have the shortest lifespan. The other contractors of the Crown series and I dont have to worry about dying if we are careful, but the purple contractors have certain death waiting ahead for them(Nia)

I wonder whats the reason for having that immortality. Ive initially suspected that shes undead, and its a pretty close guess. Isnt she something similar to a living corpse?

The contractors mind will keep suffering until that person can no longer tell who they are. Its no different from hell wherein someone continues to descend into madness without having much of a choice.

I try searching for Luna using my the search function of my map application, but theres no reaction. I wonder though, is she possessing some sort of artifact that obstructs magic? There may be golems having a Search ability similar to my Search magic, so its likely possible.

The Crown series is something like a double-edged sword, I guess. Dont tell me! Do the Etoile series golems that Ive purchased also require a compensation similar to the Crown series?

The Etoile series doesnt have a demanding compensation, so dont you worry. The Crowns are just too much of an exception. They say that the Crowns were created by a golem engineer going by the name of Chrom Lanxess from an ancient kingdom, but they also say he was fairly out of his mind

I wonder why I feel a strange Dj Vu. Is there some sort of template wherein this kind of geniuses happen to be oddballs? The professor of our household is a regrettable existence for anything aside researching

Cmon, she even installed a hidden camera inside the womens bath. She has been peeping like an old man would while laughing vulgarly. Naturally, she was punished with by getting hit on the head though.

For now, I bring out the three Etoile series from inside my Storage. I cant store a living being.. Or perhaps I should say, something with sentience cant be placed inside my Storage. Im sure of this because Ive tried it with the chibi-robots before. As such, storing the three Etoiles inside my Storage might be impossible once I activate them. Though conversely, Ill be troubled if Nias group doesnt teach me the method to start the three Etoiles.

I take out the Etoile furnished with clear red parts from the case. Its size is similar to a child. Doesnt it look like shes even shorter than Rouge?

The golem has the form of a female Or more precisely, shes like a young girl. The basic color is white. Aside from its big eyes, the face doesnt anything resembling ears, a mouth, or a nose. Its as if shes wearing a mask, but theres a strange charm in it. Its not like her face is absolutely smooth. After all, the shape of its face is similar to humans.

As I suspected. It does look humanoid, doesnt it?(Yuri)

Yuri mutters so while looking at the Etoile golem.

What she meant by a humanoid type is a golem that has the appearance of a person, and a golem thats not suitable for combat. This type is considerably intelligent, its also said they were probably created with that appearance in mind in order to take care of humans, be it nursing or watching over them.

I would even say that this golem appears closer to humans rather than Rouge or that Viola due to the former not being clad in armor even if all of them are humanoids.

Maybe because I keep comparing them with the Babylon series from our household. Every time I hear the word humanoid, I end up thinking to myself In what way?.

And, how do you activate them?(Touya)

Place your hand around the chest area and say Open while pouring in a little bit of magic power(Nia)

I dont really understand it, but I still try doing as she has said.

Open(Touya)

I hear a small sound of air exhausting out while the chest part is opening up. Strange mechanism fills the interior of the chest. Theres even a transparent glass-like container as big as a softball and a dice-shaped cube floating inside and emitting a green light.

This is the heart of a golem, the G-cube. Try thrusting your hand inside the golem and take it out(Nia)

When my fingers touch the glass-like container, they easily pass through it. Whats that feeling? Its like touching a lump of gel. It goes in between my fingers as if its wrapping them.

Though Ive taken out the transparent emerald crystal cube thats about 4 centimeters in size as it is, nothing, in particular, gets stuck to my hand. Its a strange sensation.

As long as this G cube remains, its possible to, at the very least, remake a regular golem. It will end up losing its memory and abilities though. After all, those are stored in the Q Crystal inside the head(Nia)

Apparently, the Q crystal being the brain, the G cube being the heart, and the body created by the ancient kingdom all together make up a Legacy golem.

Conversely, its likewise possible to rebuild a unit that can inherit the memory and abilities only if the Q crystal of a Legacy golem remains, but its said that the resulting golem is a degraded version in comparison to the original.

Though if the golem has been inoperable for several hundred years, the memory itself resets, which is apparently why most of the legacies have no memories of the ancient kingdom era. Thats regrettable.

And, what should I do with this?(Touya)

To register as its master, this G-Cube needs to take in the information of the person whos going to be its master. Any part of the body is fine be it a hair strand or a nail. With that, the registration will be completed(Nia)

Having pulled a strand from my bangs, I let it touch the G-cube. The strand smoothly sinks in, melts and disappears. So the registration ends here, right?

Returning the G-Cube back to its original container, I then close the armored chest, causing it to lock in place.

By the way, when trying to steal a golem that belongs to someone else, its necessary to overwrite this registration. Moreover, its also necessary to completely stop the golem, making it a very troublesome task. Well, the golem will obviously resist from having its master changed and getting its memory erased with all of its power.

Of course, those actions are illegal by nature and is punishable in turn since golems are personal possessions. It appears there are some steps that need to be done to prevent the theft of a golem, but its probably fine as of the moment.

I begin to hear a quiet running sound from the G-Cube inside the red Etoile, and before long, a faint light begins to emit from its clear red parts. However, thats only for a moment, and the light goes out soon.

It really isnt starting up. Normally, it should have started up by now(Nia)

So, is it broken like what the storekeeper has said?(Yuri)

Hhhmmmmm. It did activate for a moment. I wonder though, whats this feeling that Im getting? It feels as if this is an old broken electrical appliance. Could this be due to a loose connection? Though it probably wont be fixed with just some cleaning.

Should I examine a bit?

Analyze(Touya)

Using analyze magic, I perceive the structure of this golem. I naturally dont have the knowledge about this golem, so I dont understand the meaning behind what most parts are for.

However, I could understand the flow of magic power and such. The stream of magic that flows from the G-cube in the chest area isnt reaching the Q-crystal inside the head. It stops somewhere around the neck. Might the blockage be caused by something that, in comparison, is similar to the cause of infarction for humans? Though it would be extremely terrible if the blood vessels in the neck were to be blocked.

I walk around the Etoile golem and examine its neck. There I notice a red clear cubical part about 1 centimeter in size.

I try pushing it, but theres no reaction. In the first place, it doesnt look like a switch. Once I again try to validate this part with Analyze though, I notice a somewhat small barrier stretched underneath, which seems to interrupt the flow of magic power.

Is this part acting as a safety device? Under normal circumstances, there should be something like a startup key which disables this safety mechanism.

Maybe I can do something about it in that case.

Cracking(Touya)

I interchange the structure of only the tip section. The no attribute magic Cracking cuts into the startup formula and completely overwrites the activation requirements and settings. Though its impossible to fix the whole startup mechanism of the golem, its still possible to change a small portion of it.

The barrier gets erased, and the flow of magic spreads up until the head. Then the Etoile begins emitting red light from all of its clear parts. Did the magic power reach the Q-crystal?

It moved(Nia)

Oohh! You did it!(Yuri)

As if interrupting the celebration of the two, an unfamiliar voice comes out from the red Etoile.

Model Number ET-101 has been activated. Personal name unregistered. Operational conditions no problems. Please register the masters name and the personal name of this golem(Red Golem)

Oooh! It talked. Nope, rather than talking, it had felt as if a recorded machine voice was played though.

Hmm. Let me see. The masters name is Mochizuki Touya. As for the personal name. Hmm. Ah. Thats right(Touya)

Since her series name means Star, I would like to give her a name connected to some star.

The famous red stars from my previous world are Antares in the Scorpius constellation and Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation, but they dont sound like a girls name no matter how I look at those names.

Will a normal color be fine, regardless of its connection to a star?

Um. Your personal name is Ruby(Touya)

Registered. Change to the masters registration is completed. Rebooting(Ruby)

I gave Kohaku and the rest of the divine beasts names that are associated with jewels as well, so I guess giving these golems similar names would be just right. The meaning of their names overlaps with Kougyoku though. It goes without saying that the other two will be Sapphire and Emerald. They are a little long. Will Sappha and Emera be good?

Ruby, who stopped moving for a moment, starts moving again along with low starting sound.

Do you understand me?(Touya)

Pi(Ruby)

Ruby gives a small nod. Huh? Is this girl unable to talk? Though she talked just a little while ago.

This golem probably is a learning type model. If thats the case, wont she only know the minimum amount of words and movements right now? Though I think she should be able to learn to some extent if you go and teach her(Nia)

Says Nia as Rouge nods. Is that so? Is she like a baby that doesnt know anything? I guess I have to make her learn a lot of things from now on.

Would it be really alright to entrust this baby-like existence to the professor? . Her place might be the worst are for education.

Oh well. Thats fine. My best regards to you, Ruby(Touya)

Pi(Ruby)

Ruby lightly nods again. Will she really be able to talk in the future? If I ask the professor to make some easy changes to her, she might be able to talk quickly, but I