039. Narrative Granting (1)
039. Narrative Granting (1)
Sumire.
A Production Specialist Type biodroid who had somehow drifted into Krädel and ended up living with us.
Her defining feature was her large chest.
One more defining trait: she was permanently forbidden from going out. Like a fixture, she couldn't leave the manufactory.
It wasn't as if I had some hobby of tormenting people and had locked her up in there. It was simply an unavoidable measure because she was officially a deserter.
Well, it seemed like higher-ups had completely given up on tracking her down, but even so, if she were caught wandering around outside and got ID-checked, she would be arrested and I would be detained.
With her consent, we'd made an agreement that she wouldn't take a single step outside the main building housing the manufactory.
Even so, it wasn't as though Sumire could never go out at all.
No matter how extreme an introvert she was, living without ever going outside was impossible.
She needed regular sunlight and outdoor activity to recharge, so walks for that purpose were permitted.
Provided, however, that I accompanied her without exception.
In other words, I took her out to get some fresh air, much like taking a dog for a walk.
Whenever she wanted, as long as there were no particular issues.
And now was no different.
"Eu-hee-hee... the weather is nice..."
Sumire said, smiling blissfully like a puppy getting a walk for the first time in ages.
It actually had been quite a long time since the last walk. I'd been busy looking after Rinne recently.
By way of apology, I put my other plans aside and took Sumire out for her walk.
After about an hour of leisurely walking...
Once we returned to the manufactory, I finally got to the point.
"Hey, can I ask you to handle a job?"
"Yes? A task, you mean...?"
"Manufacturing a skill module."
"Ah, if it's something like that, certainly—"
Sumire answered eagerly, as if starting to burn off the energy recharged from the walk.
But before that answer could even finish, I had to deliver a terrible follow-up.
"For reference, it's a product not in the database."
"Eh."
"It's an extremely niche product from a small manufacturer that's gone out of business, one that never even received military procurement approval... Fortunately, I managed to get hold of the product catalog."
We'd have to start by reverse-engineering the design from the catalog, and Sumire would need to handle the detailed adjustments and customization manually.
"Uhm, what specific product is it...?"
"Ah, here."
I handed over the product catalog.
Sumire, who had examined it, soon looked up at me with a bewildered expression.
That was because the skill listed in the catalog was a bit bizarre.
...No, to be honest, it was a pretty damn bizarre skill.
The cost to produce that bizarre skill was also substantial. The materials required were as outlandish as the skill itself.
Recreating a discontinued product inevitably meant paying for trial and error.
Naturally, Sumire was bound to question whether it was necessary to put this much effort and expense into making such an item.
But there was a need.
More than that, it absolutely had to be made.
Because this skill module was the only way to make Rinne viable on the battlefield.
"I'm counting on you."
Perhaps she had sensed my resolve. Sumire said she would give it a try, and began operating the manufactory equipment.
I didn't know the exact details of the adjustment process.
So I waited quietly for the result. About thirty minutes later, Sumire approached me cautiously and whispered her report.
"Uhm, I might possibly be able to tell you that I think it could perhaps be said that it wasn't a complete failure..."
In gloomy-big-breasted-speak, that meant 'it succeeded.'
***
I headed to the basement.
Of course, it was to drag Rinne out.
...It wasn't easy.
"Rinne, I know you're in there."
Silence.
"I've found a way. I mean it—just come out this once."
Silence.
Even after I pleaded with her about ten times, Rinne remained completely unresponsive.
It made sense. Rinne had completely lost all motivation after a week of repeated failures.
Throughout that process of failure, I had often said things like 'this time is different' or 'I've prepared a solution.'
Even if I came back today and rattled off the same words, there was absolutely no way she would come out of the basement.
...Though this time really was different.
So I didn't back down. Instead, I pulled out my last resort.
It was an extremely cruel and inhumane method, but I had no choice if I wanted to help Rinne.
With the grim resolve of administering some tough love, I began to 'read.'
"Min-hyuk entered the command room.
"Immediately, Min-hyuk's eyes widened. It was because of his adjutant, Roxy, who had been waiting for him on the bed.
"Or perhaps, because of her soft, white breasts, laid bare for all the world to see.
"No, maybe it was because of the charming cherry-blossom-colored... at the center of those breasts...."
"Hey, you crazy perverted bastard!"
Beolkeok! Rinne flung the door open and shouted.
"Why are you reading that obscene crap in front of someone else's hideout?! Are you some kind of complete pervert?!"
"Then why did you write something this obscene?"
"Because I judged that scene was necessary for the story's progression!"
As the conversation just now made clear, the sentences I'd recited a moment ago had been written by Rinne.
To be precise, it was the introductory part of the sex scene between the protagonist and Roxy, the main heroine of volume 1, from Beyond the Cradle volume 14.
I had merely read aloud the content written there, verbatim.
I had guessed that if I did this, Rinne wouldn't be able to bear the embarrassment and would come bursting out.
And indeed, that was exactly what happened.
"What is it now? Why'd you come bother me again?"
"I kept telling you. I found a way to deploy you onto the battlefield."
"...As if there was such a thing."
"Just follow me for now."
I said, holding up the copy of Beyond the Cradle volume 14 that I had brought with me.
Was she just that embarrassed about something she wrote herself? Or did she decide, since things had already come to this, to trust me one more time? Rinne obediently followed behind me.
I brought Rinne to the simulation room.
Rinne, who had been holding it in until we got there, began to grumble again.
"...Here again? There aren't any more skills left to test."
"Not among the ones registered in the database."
Just as Rinne said, we had tested all the standard skills provided by default, and each one had proven unsuitable for Rinne.
However, what I was going to test this time wasn't a standard skill registered in the DB.
It was an extremely niche skill that no one had found a use for, discontinued right after its release, and naturally, one that had never passed military procurement standards.
"Can you even fight with something like that?"
"If it were an ordinary military biodroid, probably not."
But Rinne was the exception.
Rinne, though, could make full use of it.
"What kind of skill is it?"
"I'll explain that inside."
As I said that, I activated the simulation pod.
Still looking unconvinced, Rinne trudged into the pod.
Soon enough, I followed her in.
"Why are you coming in too?"
"It's easier to explain inside. And if I want to simulate something that isn't in the DB, I need to make some manual adjustments."
I configured the scenario through the interface.
How many enemies. What the training objective should be. And so on.
The moment the setup was complete, my vision brightened.
A cityscape unfolded around us.
There was no time to appreciate the scenery.
Because not far from us, there was a biodroid and a Legion engaged in combat.
At that moment, the biodroid's appearance was—
"...Isn't that Laika?"
"Yep."
Of course, it wasn't the real Laika. It was a dummy manifested within the simulation.
Krädel's simulator had plenty of model data for Laika, and more importantly, I thought using her would help Rinne immerse herself in the scenario.
You might wonder, 'Wouldn't it be better to bring the real Laika?' But that wouldn't work.
Because Laika's role in this simulation was a little, shall we say, regrettable.
As for what that role was.
"She's just getting beaten up helplessly."
"Yeah. Her overall stats have been lowered by two ranks."
And on top of that, the Legion was B-Rank.
Even a fully prepared Laika would have a hard time beating a B-rank opponent. A version with all her stats reduced by two ranks obviously couldn't handle it.
That was why the Laika in the simulation was barely managing to block the Legion's attacks.
No, she wasn't even blocking properly. Hits were getting through the gaps here and there.
"...I can't bear to watch this."
Rinne muttered.
I felt the same way.
It was something I'd felt while training Laika as well, but the training simulator was immensely realistic.
No—depending on how you defined it, it was practically reality itself. It didn't just project graphics and sound; it connected directly to the trainee's sensory organs and let them experience the virtual world firsthand.
So even though I knew the whole thing was fake, seeing Laika get battered in front of me was hard to watch.
So.
"We should help her, right?"
"...How."
Well.
"First, shall we try what we always do?"
I granted an item to Rinne.
It was nothing special. A training bow.
For the time being, it was Rinne's primary weapon.
Of course, we'd already confirmed that Rinne had no talent for archery.
The reason she'd chosen the bow was also trivial.
She had to choose something, wanted a ranged weapon so she could operate alone, and found firearms intimidating.
I suspected another reason, though she'd deny it: Roxy, the heroine of volume one of Beyond the Cradle, used a bow.
Well, whatever the case.
"Try supporting Laika with that bow."
"With this?"
Rinne didn't seem very keen on it.
This was her first time training to cover an ally, but we'd already made it painfully obvious that Rinne had no talent with a bow.
She must have been wondering what the point was now.
I should mention upfront: I didn't particularly expect good results either.
"I'm just trying to make a comparison. To see how much of a difference this newly made skill module could make. To do that, I first need to check how terrible you are in your current state."
Maybe my words stung her. Rinne gritted her teeth.
Then, she nocked an arrow and aimed it at the B-Rank Legion that was pummeling Laika.
The next moment, Rinne released the bowstring. Paeng—!
But the arrow didn't even hit the Legion.
"Tch...!"
Was she pissed off at her own archery skills? Even without being told, Rinne nocked a second arrow.
And fired.
...Another miss.
Fired again.
...Another miss, as expected.
After three wasted shots, the fourth attempt came.
Finally, the arrow struck the Legion.
It struck, but.
"No damage."
"Argh!"
It was the moment Rinne screamed, furious.
The B-Rank Legion slammed down on the illusion of Laika with a massive front paw.
Ppakak! Laika's body was pulverized with a tremendous crash.
A message window appeared immediately afterward.
[Ally Killed]
[Simulation Ended]
Rinne glared at me. As if snapping, 'You didn't bring me here just to show me this crap, did you?'
Of course not.
As I said earlier, I had deliberately made her try something that wouldn't work so that she could feel the difference.
Now that I had a baseline failure to compare against, it was time to do it properly.
I finally granted Rinne the newly manufactured skill.
"Here, from now on, you can use a skill called 'Narrative Granting.'"
"Narrative Granting?"
I nodded.
And then I finally explained what the skill she'd been dying to know about actually did.
"It's a skill that materializes the buffs you create into reality."