◈ Episode 125: Stählern Kapelle (2)
Hans floated in an endless dark space.
I feel like I’m floating in the sky even though the water is submerged.
‘Where is this place?’
How long were you in that space?
Hans opened his eyes and realized he was not in the dark.
it was a beast
The black things spread around him were not darkness, but all animal fur.
‘… … !’
I tried to scream in surprise, but no voice came out.
At that moment, red eyes popped up among the black fur.
The three largest pairs of eyes looked down at Hans.
The beasts roared and charged at Hans.
Aww! Hans frantically whipped his limbs to stay alive.
At that moment, I felt a cold and strange feeling in my palm.
Feeling like grabbing at least a straw, Hans gripped it tightly.
At the same time, Hans woke up from his dream with the feeling of a strong pull on his body.
“Heo-eok! Huh!”
“Are you awake?”
“Tongue, brother?”
Hans asked in a stupid voice as he looked at Ludger who was looking down at him.
He was sitting on a chair next to the bed with one leg crossed.
“Hey, what happened? Where are you?”
“This is a secret hideout. I brought you who fainted Are there any weird parts? or something that hurts.”
“No, no… … .”
“Then I’m glad.”
“More than that, I didn’t manage to die.”
Hans recalled the scene before he passed out.
Unlucky, he faced black magicians, and his body was consumed by their curses.
So, right before he died, he implanted the monster’s teeth that Ludger gave him into his body.
After that, all I remember are small and fragmentary memories that can only be called fragments.
“Have I become a monster that has lost its reason?”
“okay.”
“Still alive… … .”
“That’s fortunate. Hans, so now give it back.”
“yes? What do you want?”
“What you were supposed to give me.”
ah.
Hans belatedly realized what Ludger was asking for.
A piece of Relic. Didn’t he say he would deliver it directly to Ludger?
but.
‘… … that. It was stolen by a warlock.’
The last thing I saw was what the warlock was holding in his hand.
Even Hans didn’t know where the piece was after that. Because I have no memory left.
‘No, it’s ruined.’
At worst, it might be buried under the rubble of a half-collapsed Kunst auction house.
As I thought so, cold sweat ran down my back.
“Me, brother. that, so… … Do not be alarmed and listen carefully.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, give me what you’re holding in your right hand.”
“right hand?”
Hans then realized that he was holding something in his right hand.
The cool touch I felt in my dream.
When he opened his palm, there was a piece of the Relic that Hans had been looking for so long.
“what? Hey, why is this here… … .”
“He’s been holding it in his hand ever since he passed out.”
“I mean?”
“okay. Even when I faint, and when I move it here. He held it like he would never let go. So I just let it go.”
At that, Hans looked down at his right hand in silence.
Suddenly, a laugh came out.
“ha ha ha.”
not stolen
Even at the moment he turned into a monster, a handful of his reason remained to protect the object.
In a way, it’s really not a big deal, but Hans’s heart just moved.
“… … take it I’m glad I didn’t lose anything.”
“It was a lot of work. Hans.”
“Okay. Because that was what I was supposed to do.”
Hans smiled and handed over the Relic fragment to Ludger.
Receiving it, Ludger touched the Relic sculpture with his fingertips and stood up.
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“If you wake up, get up now. I have a lot to tell everyone including you.”
“What happened after you robbed the auction house, or something like that?”
“Obviously there is that, but it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“yes?”
Hans was about to ask what that meant, but Ludger had left the room first, so he had no choice but to get up and follow him.
In the conference room I went down, all my other colleagues were already seated.
Seeing Hans wake up, their eyes widened slightly.
Hans laughed awkwardly, feeling burdened by that gaze.
“Now then, where should we start talking?”
Rudger ignored the reaction of his subordinates and opened his mouth.
“First of all, everyone worked hard. It was a series of unintended incidents, but thanks to everyone’s good work, the operation ended successfully.”
“Wow! We are rich now!”
Sheridan raised both arms and let out a shout of joy.
Bellaluna, who had glanced at her, awkwardly raised her arms and shouted, “Yeah~” in a weak voice.
“But it is too early to rejoice. Because these stolen items are not immediately exchanged for money. At least it will take quite a long time to dispose of stolen valuables without getting burned.”
Fortunately, Kunst, which he had to track down, was completely ruined, so he was less worried about getting caught.
“But there is another story that really matters.”
At those words, everyone had an expression that something was coming.
“Everyone must have felt something while working together for the first time this time. realized at the same time What kind of abilities are the colleagues who will be together in the future.”
As Ludger said, the executives of the , who did not yet fully know each other, clearly imprinted each other’s abilities in their minds through this operation.
Alex was the first to speak.
“Well, to be honest, I was surprised. A person transforms into a huge beast, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“For saying that, you too.”
Pantos, who had been listening silently, got lucky looking at Alex.
“He used quite unusual swordsmanship. Was it a knight?”
“I wasn’t a knight, I was just an ordinary wannabe.”
“I’m not at the level of an ordinary wannabe.”
Alex fought the Nightcrawler knight evenly.
He claims to be an aspirant in his own words, but in terms of pure skill, he is a strongman comparable to a high-ranking knight.
He was an unbelievable talent at such a young age. The fact that a person of this level of skill is hiding his identity and acting as a fraud must be because there are circumstances that he cannot tell him.
As the atmosphere became increasingly unfavorable to him, Alex immediately changed the subject.
“Leader than that. What was that lady like?”
It was a blatant change of topic, but everyone pricked up their ears.
The most curious thing was the blue-haired wizard girl who was also there.
A wizard who handles water.
Even Alex, who had little knowledge of magic, was convinced that she was no ordinary person.
“I’m curious too.”
Pantos, who usually doesn’t talk much, was curious about it.
Because Pantos was only interested in the strong, Casey Selmore was also included in that category.
Even if you pretend not to, other people are also interested.
The relationship between Casey Selmore and Ludger was a hot topic for everyone.
As their eyes naturally gathered, Ludger shook his head.
“It’s just a bad relationship we faced in the past.”
“Looking at the reactions, it seems like we met when the leader was promoting under the name James Moriarty. that’s right?”
“It did.”
What happened in Delica Kingdom was left in Ludgar’s memory so intensely that he could count it on his hands.
Rudger opened his mouth that there would be nothing to hide anyway since he came this far.
“Her name is Casey Selmore. As you know, the Selmore family.”
“Selmore? for a moment. When it comes to the Selmore family I know, all I can think of is that famous magic house. that’s right?”
“There is only one name called Selmore, so the family you are talking about is correct.”
Hans, who was broad-footed in this area, knew the weight of the name very well.
“The Selmore family has been famous for producing great wizards since ancient times. Even recently, we have produced two wizards who have obtained the title of color.”
And one of the wizards with the title of that color was Casey Selmore, who had contact with Rudger.
Wizard and detective.
He is a genius whose achievements as a detective still remain.
“I first met Casey Selmore at Delica Kingdom.”
“Did we meet by chance?”
“at all. Rather, she came to me.”
Rudger frowned slightly, as if thinking of that time still hurt him.
* * *
“At that time, I was traveling in Delica Kingdom.”
“A trip?”
To explain the story of how he met Betty, and start by talking about his travels without hesitation.
Erendir could not hide his wonder.
“Travel is travel, um. what to say It had a purpose.”
“For what purpose?”
“At that time, I was at the height of my arrogance, as I was gaining a lot of recognition and fame as a detective.”
Casey was proud of being praised as a genius from all sides. He also enjoyed the reaction itself, where people praised and raised him up.
At that moment, she heard rumors about a man in the Delica Kingdom she visited by chance.
“I heard that there is a professor who is very good and has a bright brain. Even at a young age, he formulated numerous mathematical formulas and was particularly versed in geometry.”
“professor? I hope that… … .”
“that’s right. He was Professor James Moriarty.”
“yes? But was he not a vicious criminal?”
“It was only known later that the man first gained fame because he was a brilliant mathematician. It is not for nothing that the title of professor is added after his name.”
Of course, the title of professor later changed to a bad meaning of a person who promotes crime.
“I also went to Delica Kingdom to meet who that prestigious person was at first. And we actually met.”
Recalling their first meeting then, Casey looked blatantly annoyed.
However, I did not intend to disparage his achievements either.
No matter what anyone says, the geometric formula he created was so great that it caused a stir in the mathematical world.
“What kind of person was he?”
“Unlucky taste of rice.”
“yes?”
Erendir was greatly taken aback, as if he hadn’t expected such an evaluation to come out of Casey’s mouth.
Usually at times like this, don’t you say things like ‘He was an unusual person from the first meeting’ or ‘He looked suspicious just by looking at it’?
“Anyway, he was a very annoying person. Should I say that I am a person who lives for my own good taste? How is it that luck drips from every single tone of voice?”
“Well, but how did you find out that such a person is a criminal?”
“Not long after I visited Delica Kingdom, a serial disappearance case took place. Many people disappear every day without a trace. Especially children.”
“A disappearance case… … .”
“I worked hard to follow the trail, and then I came across an important clue. It was an abandoned mine where people stopped coming, but there were suspicious people there.”
At that time, Casey headed deep into the mine and saw something surprising.
It was not just an abandoned mine, but a laboratory where some kind of secret work was being done.
A space full of all kinds of machines.
A factory made of steel, pipes and clockwork.
And what was in it… … .
“James Moriarty. It was that man.”
Not James Moriarty as the famous mathematician.
It was the first time I met criminal James Moriarty.
Recalling the scene at that time, Casey clenched his fists.
I simply wanted to think that I was looking at the wrong person or that there would be a misunderstanding at first, but that was not the case.
The bodies of the Delica Kingdom policemen were scattered around Professor Moriarty.
Above all, the corpse of a child who had gone missing that day was lying in front of Professor James Moriarty.
And what was smeared on Professor Moriarty’s white gloves was the red blood that flowed from the child.
Casey almost instinctively raised her wand and fired a spell at him.
Professor Moriarty also naturally blocked her magic.
It was the first clash between the genius detective and the crime policeman of the century, which the rich people talked about in unison.
“After that, it is known. He ran away in the fight that day, and I kept chasing him to arrest him.”
While chasing the traces of James Moriarty, she faced the hidden cases secretly working in Delica Kingdom and solved them one by one.
The incident in which several people went missing has grown into a gigantic plan that puts the country’s life and death on the line.
A monopoly of the military industry to wage war. development of new weapons. A plan to assassinate a key figure from another kingdom. Even secret laboratories that use people as test subjects.
Casey dug them out one by one. He captured all the people involved and exposed their plans in detail.
The newspapers of the Delica Kingdom were almost covered with new events every day.
And three days before the final battle.
She met James Moriarty at a factory.
“It was a secret base that was manufacturing automatons. Where the hell did you secretly prepare such a thing? It was admirable even though it was an enemy.”
To Casey, who had come all the way there, Moriarty boasted about his plan without even thinking about hiding it.
Even the fact that he made a request with the country’s key figures in order to start a war and sweep away enormous wealth.
And right before the result of realizing the plan is completed.
A huge explosion occurred, and the factory was engulfed in flames in an instant.
“An explosion? Could it be that the detective did it?”
Casey glared at Erendir.
“Hey, Princess. I am a water wizard. It’s not a bomb horse.”
At that time, she was still immature and didn’t even have the title of color, and she only knew how to use water elemental magic.
“… … Of course, it is true that the factory did not operate properly in case of an unexpected situation. But it wasn’t enough to cause an explosion.”
The reason for her timid rebuttal is that she wasn’t sure what caused the explosion.
Maybe it really was because she messed with something in the factory.
But that wasn’t the point.
Arresting James Moriarty, the man behind and at the center of all these cases, was her first priority.
But unable to fight properly in the burning factory, James Moriarty fled.
In the end, Casey, who became desperate, found Betty while rummaging through a burning factory to collect evidence.
Betty was kept as if asleep in a half-collapsed room.
The word ‘beta’ was written on the large capsule she was lying on.
“Betty is a special automaton created there. In other words, Betty’s existence itself is evidence of the scene at the time.”
Casey got Betty out of the factory.
Shortly after she got out, the factory was reduced to ashes along with the fire.
“I guess that happened.”
After hearing all of Casey’s story, Erendir couldn’t help but admire. It was the same with Enya.
It was originally a famous story, but hearing it directly from the person concerned gave me a very different feeling.
But in fact, there was one story Casey hadn’t told Erendir and Enya.
‘Then all I saw was a half-collapsed room and Betty.’
To be precise, the project’s success, codename Beta.
If so, one doubt arises.
Doesn’t the fact that it has the code name Beta mean that something was created before that?
Project Alpha must have been made before the beta.
‘Then, where is the Project Alpha?’
* * *
Rudger’s story naturally ended with him meeting Arfa.
“As everyone must have felt, the Arfa here is not human. He is an automaton made of clockwork and steel.”
“Huh, my God.”
Hearing that, Hans stuck out his tongue in surprise.
“It was a machine? Are you the same as a person?”
“Because Arfa is special.”
“No, even if it is special, this is beyond that level. How in the world can there be machines that are so much like humans? If my brother hadn’t told me, I would have just thought he was an outlier.”
“… … .”
Everyone in the seat looked at Hans.
It was as if he was asking, ‘What are you going to say?’
However, since it was an automaton, I finally understood the ridiculous abilities Arfa showed me.
“Then the girl who collided with Arfa at the scene.”
“She is actually my sister.”
That day, Arfa realized right away the moment she faced Betty.
This kid is like me. that it was created for the same purpose as yourself.
“I’m surprised. I never dreamed that I would see a child like me there.”
“Me too. I would have thought that the automatons of the factory were still there.”
I would have thought that the assistant girl Casey Selmore had been carrying was an automaton that I thought had completely disappeared at the time.
Arfa opened her mouth with a smile on her face.
“Still, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who survived the project.”
It was then that Violetta, who had been listening quietly, opened her mouth.
“So, Arfa is the only remaining automaton from Delica Kingdom?”
“That’s how it is.”
“For what purpose did the Delica Kingdom try to create such an automaton?”
No matter how you look at it, Arfa was no ordinary automaton.
As well as his terrifying physicality and output, he has excellent intelligence and strange but human emotions.
Rudgar folded his arms and closed his eyes.
“There is only one reason why we want to mass-produce soldiers who don’t need knights and wizards and can consume as much as we want.”
Delica Kingdom, a steel and military powerhouse, sets a single goal.
Instead of tanks or anti-aircraft guns, they tried to create steel soldiers who thought and moved autonomously in the form of humans.
Let’s overturn the game of war using dolls made of steel that can be supplied in any amount.
A project with that purpose, stählern Kapelle.
“It is a war.”
The first automaton created by the Iron Choir and a successful prototype.
That was the existence of the code name Alpha, Alpha.
