Implant Assembly
Clang clang clang clang clang clang
Brilliant sparks, whiter than any white coat and more dazzling than lightning, kissed the cracked and shattered steel. The hands that sealed those fissured wounds as if gently licking them clean moved without a single hesitation or tremor.
Even the facial glass that had occasionally fractured and fallen away like tears was replaced with a display panel scavenged from an ordinary powered suit. Electrical signals flowing in through the grounding points reorganized themselves into visual data, and the image of the mechanic absorbed in her work came into view.
“Can you see me?”
I can see you.
“How many fingers~?”
Two.
“The specs were totally different, but somehow it still works. Weird.”
Ilena simply wasn’t used to showing kindness to other people. She wasn’t strange. She had stared at me with the same wonder a child shows the first time they see a puppy, yet the moment she started the actual repairs she displayed considerable skill.
“Blood and acid got inside too, so I need to wipe that down. Mind if I climb in for a bit?”
Understood.
“Could you grab me that cloth and the lubricant? The yellow can over…”
Here.
She seemed to like the mechanical arms; the way she kept asking for this and that made the distance between us close faster than it ever had with Sera. It felt a little like the relationship between a crocodile and a plover. In this case I still wasn’t sure which of us was the bird.
“Hm? You’re wiping my sweat?”
Thank you.
“Jin, you’re seriously too nice. Almost too good for your pilot.”
My evaluation kept sinking lower and lower, but the fact that the real culprit was Sera remained an unrevealed truth. We had been through plenty of dangerous situations, and Sera didn’t exactly possess maintenance knowledge, so blaming her felt unfair.
What mattered more was the absorption of power—no, of mana. Just as expected, the moment Ilena began repairs a sweet fragrance began to seep from her body. Even though both of them were Level 1 ability users, their flavors were completely different. Hers was bright and refreshing, like lemon mixed with honey and ice.
“That’s about all the simple maintenance I can do for now. The core… I’m not even sure I could fix it in my own workshop. But I’ll try.”
Thank you. Regarding that, I will consult with the Crown Guard members.
“Mm-hm. I really hope you can come.”
Five hours later.
Once the repairs were finished and I stepped outside with Sera still inside me, Ilena snapped straight back into her prickly attitude as if the earlier warmth had never existed. Even though she still had to strap on an oxygen tank and trek all the way back to the Residence Sector after that grueling work, she refused to show any weakness.
“The road will be rough. If you want, I can escort you.”
“Don’t need it, so get lost.”
“I’ll only go halfway.”
“Do you not understand plain language? I said I don’t want to be around you. This is exactly why I almost never take the mask off…”
It was hard to believe this was the same woman who had been chatting so warmly just moments ago. Her hostility left me flustered, and then Sera’s voice reached me.
Jin, I’ll wear the suit and take her.
How is that any different from right now?
She’s wary of being left alone with someone. There’s no one else who can help, and Jin is… well… a man…
The way she spoke in fragments sounded less like uncertainty and more like mild embarrassment. It felt unfair that she was fretting over something like that when she didn’t even know the other woman’s face, let alone her name.
Or maybe that kind of thing actually happens in her survivor group?
As expected, the moment Sera offered to escort her personally, Ilena accepted.
While I stayed silent between the two of them walking through the ruined streets of Ebon Square, Sera spoke first.
“We’ve finished emergency repairs on the unit and nearly completed the search of this area, so we’ll be heading to the military rendezvous point. If you have any information on them, tell us.”
“Oh my. And why exactly should I tell you that?”
“M-my superior—no, my comrade—may be soft on you people, but I’m not. What happened to the payment for the supplies we gave you last time?”
Sera’s sharp question made Ilena fall silent. Had she assumed that once we met other survivor groups we would stop trading with hers?
Her actual answer, however, was unexpected.
“You know why we couldn’t come out here until now? Because the gates were sealed.”
“You’re referring to the sector lockdown via the main system. But they opened again, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they opened. But we weren’t the ones who opened them.”
Sera didn’t look particularly surprised. She herself had once intervened in the system through a security console when she manipulated the artificial gravity on the bridge.
“What’s the problem with that? Imperial soldiers have the right to access the security systems.”
“Ah~ is that so. Then why now, of all times?”
“Excuse me?”
When the rendezvous point came into view in the distance, Ilena tapped my hand, signaling that she wanted the luggage I had been carrying for her returned. After swapping her oxygen tank for a fresh one, she picked up her pace and walked ahead.
“The soldiers who were with us said the same thing. Even if they claim they didn’t know the codes, they still couldn’t figure out why the doors stayed shut the entire time Ebon Square’s danger rating climbed all the way to Level 3.”
“That’s…”
“And then they just send out ‘it’s safe now’ broadcasts. Who’s going to believe that?”
Apparently most of the opinions had been negative; they already harbored bad feelings toward the military. The designated meeting point itself would have been a problem of distance for people traveling on foot.
“At least don’t break Jin any further.”
Before she left, Ilena glanced back at me with lingering regret.
“If the damage to the core keeps stacking up, there really won’t be any going back.”
Sera, do you want to go to the military?
Fourth floor of the CSJ Company headquarters building. After casually thrashing the security robots that were, as usual, spitting non-lethal rounds and blaring warning messages at the intruder, I asked the question.
Aside from the occasional mutant attacks that came at all hours, life had become reasonably stable. Supply runs, moderate exchanges with other survivors, repairs for the worn-down suit. Even Sera, who had been surviving on water and liquid rations, had started putting a little flesh back on her cheeks after discovering bone pizza.
Ilena said they don’t seem trustworthy.
“It’s not a matter of trust. If we want to take back the Hermes, we absolutely need the military’s strength.”
We stopped in front of the door leading to the fifth floor—the top floor of the building. It wasn’t because we lacked the power to punch through the increasingly fierce resistance of the security robots.
In the event of an unexpected attack that paralyzed the company’s functions, a final security system would wipe every scrap of data to prevent intruders from extracting information. We still hadn’t found a way around that.
“It’s the same reason we want to take over this security company. To grasp the entire situation in Ebon Square at a glance, we need the monitoring system for the security CCTVs.”
But neither I nor Sera have clearance to access that system.
“I know. Even so, doing what I can right now is my role.”
Her mindset and conduct were as upright as any adult’s. It was almost too bright to look at directly. I would have preferred prioritizing Sera’s survival over restoring the ship, but since this was how she felt, I decided to help. There was no guarantee this stable life would last forever, after all.
Then let’s go meet Ilena.
“What? How did the conversation jump there!?”
Why? Because of the awakening of a unique ability and the power supply, of course.
Synchronization rate with Ilena Elijah has risen from F → E.
Due to the unique ability Implant Assembly, two options to enhance the suit’s performance are presented.
Currently installable assemblies
1. Optical Phase Disintegration Beam Lv.1
2. Ionic Plasma Shield Lv.1
※ Unselected options may reappear later.
Ilena’s Implant Assembly was different from Sera’s Evolution Algorithm; it was an ability that added armaments to the suit. For someone who had been fighting almost exclusively with fists—barely even using outdated firearms or swords—this was excellent news.
Optical Phase Disintegration Beam Lv.1
On the water-rich planet Yurdin there is a saying: “All light returns to its source.” It refers to the power of the sunstones they always carry—stones that point precisely toward the sun even through cloud cover.
The wave of light that can be fired from the palm will disintegrate every obstacle in its path and press forward.
Consumes 10% of power per use. Be careful not to put a hole in the ship.
There was one fatal drawback, however: every option guzzled power like a monster. The Ionic Plasma Shield in particular converted incoming damage into power consumption; a bad hit could drain us dry in an instant.
My piloting skill is still crude, but her ability is useful to me. I recommend securing at least 50% power before we resume exploration…
“Piloting…! You just handed over user authority like that!?”
Fortunately I had discovered that Sera was no longer the only source of mana, so making full use of that fact was the wise move. Sera, however, cut me off in complete confusion.
“Y-you only finally gave me permission when I was about to die to a mutant… and now some woman you just met!?”
The situation is different from back then.
“And what’s this about power supply? Ah, you sucked it out of her. So Jin is the kind of suit that just accepts anyone as its master?”
I couldn’t understand which part she was jealous about. Strictly speaking we weren’t even lovers—we didn’t even have a relationship that two humans could form. Besides, the fact that power was still scraping the bottom around 20% was entirely her fault. Ever since that time she soaked her underwear she had refused to even mention the subject.
Then Sera can just fill the power herself.
“……!!”
The moment the words left me her face flushed scarlet and her shoulders hunched. This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to bring it up first.
I took the sudden silence as refusal and reluctantly offered another solution.
Then let’s minimize activity for a while until the power is sufficient.
“Will that… be enough?”
It depends on consumption, but we can secure about 5% per day. Also, during the two hours when I completely shut down, natural recovery seems to increase, so it might be faster…
Thud!
At those words Sera suddenly slammed her forehead into the desk. She did it several more times until a loud crack split the wood.
“Aaaahhh! All this time, alone, the power, don’t tell me…!”
Sera, are you all right?
“……Let’s do that. Natural recovery. Yes.”
When I pressed a cushion against her forehead she kept thudding against it—thud thud thud thud!—and her body heat climbed even higher. From the neck down to the tips of her shoulders she had turned completely red as she mumbled in a tiny voice.
“I’m glad Jin is a complete idiot who doesn’t know anything.”
?
“We don’t need to call that woman. I’ll… fill it diligently myself.”
And four days later.
——!
Looking at the power that had reached the target far faster than expected, I realized I had misunderstood something.
“…….”
Sera quietly packed our things without saying a word.