Phantasmal Realm – Realm

 

The people of Libya continued their discussions, ultimately deciding to split into two settlements—one in their previous residential area and another within Realm.

「To think that after losing technology, agriculture and livestock farming would be revived—by Mythology Weapons, no less.」

Astraea voiced her thoughts candidly. On Planet Asia, most food production relied on cultured synthetic materials, with agriculture fully automated.

「It’s ironic, isn’t it? That advanced technology was lost, and now the weapons capable of destroying humanity are the ones bringing back farming. When people learn about this, Transferees and immigrants might want to relocate here.」

Even Kinukawa seemed to share that sentiment.

「Factory-grown vegetables… I can’t even imagine it.」

「Kou-kun, you know, in the past, even bean sprouts were classified as an industrial product. That was later changed—sometime in the Heisei era.」

「Wait… really?」

Kou was less shocked about bean sprouts being considered an industrial product and more taken aback by the mention of ‘Heisei’—a term he hadn’t heard in a long time.

「Even in our time, there were vegetables grown industrially. King oyster mushrooms, radish sprouts… those, too.」

「Even something as simple as vegetables… Earth set the template for everything, huh?」

「Indeed. No matter how far we are from it, the essence of humanity remains universal. And its origin is Earth.」

Astraea’s words resonated with Kou, and he nodded in agreement.

Like Planet Asia, many lives had been lost here. Planet Libya, having lost its technology, had suffered tremendous human and civilizational losses. And yet, precisely because of this technological decline, it seemed to carry a stronger connection to Earth than Planet Asia did.

Of course, he kept that thought to himself—he had a feeling that saying it aloud would hurt Asia.

「I didn’t expect that combat silhouettes weren’t even a concept here.」

「This was the first planet to be subjugated. The presence of Transferees made a significant difference. Before they arrived, Planet Asia was in much the same situation.」

「Before Transferees appeared, you didn’t even have anti-air cannons to fight off Murders with laser weaponry. It’s a miracle you even held out as long as you did.」

It had been over twenty years since Kinukawa was transferred. Unlike Kelly or Kurt, who had been among the first, by the time Kinukawa arrived, things were at least starting to improve, still, it was a time when railguns were still impossible to manufacture.

The John Arms Company’s ‘Bear’ was originally a modified work Silhouette, but it was something that could be produced at any outpost. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that humanity’s counteroffensive began with the Bear model.

The war situation began to improve a little around the time when the first Transferee companies developed autocannons, and light gas guns became practical. Planet Asia, which had its military technology restricted, found that instead of gunpowder-based weapons, it was easier to adapt hydrogen-based experimental light gas guns for mass production.

「Planet Libya is in an even worse state. On Planet Asia, at least some automated mines and steel mills were still operational—even without humans. But here, even those have completely shut down.」

「Realm’s production capabilities seem exceptionally high. Morgan is eager to begin manufacturing, but whether she can produce anything truly combat-worthy remains uncertain. The decision to build biplanes using only water, resin, and minimal iron-based materials… was a desperate measure, wasn’t it?」

「That’s right. Abel-san and Eirene put a lot of thought and effort into making it work.」

The Boon propeller aircraft could be built using civilian production lines, rather than requiring dedicated industrial manufacturing facilities.

Recognizing this, Abel devised a biplane-type Agathodaimon that could be immediately produced within Realm.

「Fortunately, Etna’s mining facilities are operational. Even so, mass-producing weapons in large quantities will be difficult.」

「Exactly. That’s why we plan to recover and repurpose Teras and convert leftover weapons into Mythology Weapons. Morgan will explain the details, so Kou, please head over now.」

At Astraea’s command, everyone in her battle command post moved toward the briefing location where Morgan would be giving her briefing.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The Arsenal Realm was massive.

Its underground factory levels were even larger than those of the Silhouette Base, making Silhouettes essential for navigation.

For safety reasons, all attendees of Morgan’s briefing were required to board a Silhouette during the session.

In Unit 5, Kou and Aimer took their seats.

In Aki’s Epona, Nyanta occupied the rear seat.

「It’s been a while since I last piloted a Silhouette.」

「Maybe I should have them build a Quattro for me too.」

Matt was piloting the Lanius C-type, which Kou had provided him. Behind him sat Libya.

Their guide through Realm was a modified Kasha, its firepower carefully adjusted.

The procession of Silhouettes following behind the rolling Kasha was an odd sight—almost surreal.

「This place feels strange… in a fantastical way.」

「More like eerie. Or maybe ‘demonic realm’ would be a better fit.」

The Kasha was the first weapon produced within Realm. It was particularly well received by the pilots affiliated with Gogyou Heavy Industries and Misumaru Heavy Industries.

Some of the groups were even animatedly discussing Japan, their homeland.

「The Kasha seems to have blended in completely.」

「It fits better with the Japanese than the Kryptos… It must be because it’s based on a Japanese legend.」

「The Agathodaemon also worked well with the Type-0, right? Was that because you designed it, Kou?」

「The biplane was Abel-san’s idea, not mine. I don’t know much about those. Maybe it’s just a matter of sympathetic motion optimization.」

As they casually chatted, Aimer suddenly spoke up.

「Hey, Kou. I talked it over with Master… Can we call Asia here too?」

「Of course.」

「Got it. …Thanks, Aimer. And you too, Master.」

Aimer’s eyes shimmered gold—a clear sign that Asia had descended. Aimer had once again surrendered the control of her body to Asia.

「I’m not good at negotiations, so having Astraea or Eirene around really helps when dealing with someone like Morgan.」

「Please don’t make it sound like I’m constantly scheming.」

Astraea materialized her avatar and, without hesitation, pulled Asia onto her lap.

「This is too cramped! You could’ve just used the monitor in Unit 5!」

Asia protested loudly as Astraea forcibly inserted herself in the seat.

「Oh, come on, just this once.」

Astraea brushed off the complaint with a lighthearted tone.

「Are you sure it’s okay for you to be here?」

「My discussion with Morgan about how to handle confidential information is already finished. Information regarding Another Level Silhouettes and Polymetis will remain classified—only accessible to the captains and A-rank Development Engineers.」

「Makes sense…」

The information at hand had the potential to affect the entire Nemesis star system. While the upper ranks of the Trireme Fleet would likely need to be informed, it was not something that should be widely disseminated.

「This Arsenal Realm is more unique than any other factory across the three planets. For the residents of Planet Libya, that is a fortunate thing.」

「Still, its location and scale make it seem impractical.」

「That’s true. Imagine the world’s largest factory being on an isolated island—it would be incredibly inconvenient to use, wouldn’t it? And if that island were surrounded by dangerous waters, even more so. While isolation provides security, it also makes logistics a nightmare.」

The MCS followed a standardized design, seating 1.5 occupants. In practice, the rear seat was rarely used in most units.

Asia’s complaint about the lack of space was entirely reasonable.

On the Trireme Fleet, however, the rear seat had seen frequent occupation lately—often by Familias, serving as interpreters for the Eidolons. There weren’t many organizations that made such efficient use of the extra space.

「Morgan’s projection has appeared.」

「Arthur is there too.」

At the briefing site, a massive space dock designed for warships, a holographic projection of Morgan materialized.

Sitting beside her—as if he had always been there—was Arthur, with Flack in the pilot’s seat.

For those waiting aboard the ships, the briefing was broadcast via large-scale holographic projections and monitors throughout the fleet.

「Oh? It’s rare to see that girl caught up in something like this.」

Astraea smiled as if she had come across something unexpected.

「Shouldn’t you be worried about her? She is your sister, after all.」

At the bottom right corner of the holographic projection, two familiar figures stood—Eirene, her face pulled into an awkward smile, and Abel, still wearing his ever-present mask.

 

AN:

The migration to the Realm has finally begun! However, Planet Libya remains in a devastated state—even with the assistance of Mythology Weapons, survival remains a serious challenge!

This chapter also gave me a chance to revisit light gas guns. In reality, they seem to have limited military viability.

While they are used in JSDF armor research and meteor impact simulations, they still suffer from inconsistent muzzle velocity, making them less attractive as replacements for modern shells.

Railguns would be the next logical step… but given that the U.S. Army canceled its vehicle-mounted railgun program in 2015, that also seems like a difficult path forward.