Chapter 7: Developing a New Model

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

It was lunchtime at the academy, and lately I’d been eating with Aikawa, in addition to Saito and Alice.

Aikawa turned to me, as if she was just remembering something, and said, “So when will your research complex be completed, Arakawa?”

What research complex? I’ve heard nothing about that, I thought, baffled. Anyhow, the only class I have to take at the academy is the ethics class. I don’t need a lab to do research.

“I’ve heard a rumor that some of the labs are going to be underground. That has me curious,” Alice added.

Is something going on without me knowing? I wondered.

Feeling concerned, I asked Saito, “Saito, what’s this about my having a research complex? No one told me anything.”

“Buh hee? I thought the details were sent to everyone’s terminals,” he replied. “There’s a building being built behind the second research complex to give you somewhere to carry out dangerous experiments without causing problems.”

I had no idea. I quickly started checking my terminal, but I saw nothing about it in my message history. I asked Saito to forward me a copy, and what I saw written in the message made my head hurt.

Announcement from the Principal to All Enrolled Students

At present, a new research complex is under construction on academy grounds behind the elite high school research complex. There’s a high probability that dangerous substances will be stored in the building, and details of the interior therefore won’t be published, in the interests of security. For this reason, anyone approaching the construction site without authorization may be detained by security staff.

We expect that this building will be used by academy student Kouki Arakawa after its completion.

Huh? What’s with this level of special treatment?! I thought. That reminds me, I did hear a rumor about there being a bald-headed guy wandering around the construction site. I wonder if that could be you-know-who? Though what I really want to know is why I’m the only one who wasn’t informed...

I thought hard about it, but couldn’t think of an answer.

I guess I’ll go talk to the principal about it, I decided.

“Sorry, I’m going to go see the principal,” I told everyone. “I probably won’t be back here today, so feel free to leave without waiting for me.”

Then I hurried to the principal’s office.

The principal looked afraid when I entered her office, for some reason.

I couldn’t remember doing anything wrong, so I began by asking her a question with a smile.

“What’s the idea behind me having my own research complex? No one told me about it.”

“But I sent the details to a terminal in your home. I even got a reply,” she answered.

She showed me a printout of the message she was talking about. It really was addressed to me, and it was full of details about the research complex. The message had asked whether I had any requests regarding the construction. I couldn’t remember ever seeing this or writing a reply.

Something’s not right here, I thought while checking the address that the reply had been sent from.

The reply had been sent by an “M-Arakawa.”

Who does Mom think she is?! She shouldn’t just reply to messages addressed to her son! I’ll complain to Mom about this when I get home, but this still doesn’t explain why I’m getting special treatment. It hardly makes me happy, and it turns other students against me!

I shared my concerns with the principal.

“You shouldn’t worry about that,” she replied. “We’ve taken it all into consideration. The most important thing is to ensure that dangerous research won’t take place where other students are present.”

I don’t even do any dangerous research... Where’d she get that idea? It’s like she thinks I’m dangerous somehow. I can’t take it. If she says one more word, I’m going to have a breakdown.

I soon gave up and decided to go home to see the real troublemaker: my mom.

**

“Welcome home, Kou.” Mom welcomed me back with a smile.

Normally I’d have given her a warm response, but not today.

“Mom, about this. Why did you reply to something addressed to me?” I asked, showing her the printout I’d been given by the principal.

“Well, Kou, you don’t know what’s needed for research or what the safety standards are, do you?”

She might be right about that, but I’m pretty sure I don’t need an isolated lab 30 meters underground. They’re even building a radiation room and a low pressure room. I don’t even need a research complex with three stories and a basement in the first place!

Getting a little angry, I made my complaints to Mom.

Mom replied, sounding even angrier than I was: “I can’t believe what I’m hearing! These are just basic safety standards, Kou. Thinking about the safety of other people is part of being a researcher. When you’re researching some virus, you can’t just say, ‘Well as long as I’m immunized against it, there’s no problem.’ The entire building would probably be sealed off if there was an accident! That’s why I made some requests to get the building up to the right standard.”

Why would she assume that I’d be researching anything so dangerous?! Something’s not right. And this is a bit rich considering she does her research in her own room. Is that somehow okay?

I defiantly voiced that question.

“It just so happens that my entire room is lined with lead,” she countered. “If anything goes wrong, it can be sealed off, along with everyone inside.”

It can?! That’s the first mention of that I’ve heard in the fifteen years I’ve been living here!! This conversation had been meant to be about my complaints, but somehow, I had turned out to be the one lacking in common sense, and was coming off worst.

I at least wanted to have some sort of comeback, so I started casting about childishly for something I could retort with. Then I thought of something I knew Mom would have no excuses for.

“I can understand there being a shower room, but why would I need a nap room and a kitchen? Those would just cause hygiene problems,” I said with a triumphant look.

Mom then replied with an even more triumphant look, “You’re right, they might not be necessary. But if you did have these rooms, you could stay overnight in the research complex. And that would mean that whenever your friend Alice spent all night doing research, she’d be happy to be able to use the shower. Maybe she’d even make food in the kitchen. But if you insist they’re not needed, let’s just give those rooms some other function.”

“Mother, please accept my humble apologies. I promise never to engage in such backchat ever again. So, please, don’t change anything. I’m begging you,” I said, falling to my knees, pleading with Mom to not to send the message she’d just started writing.

**

“So that’s how it went,” I finished. “Why do I get treated as if I’m dangerous?”

“Buh hee hee, looks like you have problems, too, Arakawa,” Saito replied.

The next day, I’d arrived early at the academy to share my troubles with Saito across a cafeteria table. As always, I’d just had to explain it to Saito, and he’d understood how I felt. I was feeling grateful to have such a friend when suddenly a thought occurred to me.

“Saito, we’re friends, right?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I’d say so,” Saito replied.

Well, if he feels the same way I do, I’m sure this won’t be problem... Though if he says no to this, I think I might just quit coming to school. Well, here goes nothing.

“In that case, can I call you Shingo? And you can call me Kouki.”

“Buh hee?! You really mean it?”

Of course! I wish I’d said it sooner, but I never found the right moment.

“I just remembered, Ara— ...Kouki. Just before I went home yesterday, the principal asked me to give you the security card for the research complex. You can enter it from today on.” Shingo took the card from his bag and handed it to me.

I started thinking that maybe later we’d all go to see it, and then Alice and Aikawa arrived with perfect timing.

“How about we all go see my research complex a little later?” I asked, “I just got the security card from Shingo, so now we can enter it.”

Shingo and Aikawa were in agreement, but Alice remained silent.

Then she turned to me and said, “It would be nice if we got closer, too.”

What does she mean by that? I wondered.

I told her I didn’t understand, and for some reason that made her get anxious all of a sudden.

“I mean, like you and Saito! I noticed you’re calling him by his first name now....”

Oh, that’s what she meant... With a smile, I called her, “Alice.”

**

“So this is Kouki’s research complex? It’s awesome,” Alice said aloud.

Alice wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

What is this? This is just as amazing as the Next-Generation Scientific Research Institute we visited recently, I thought, baffled.

The front entrance had three layers of security, and none of the main rooms inside could be entered without using a retina scanner and vascular scanner. Without thinking, I told everyone that I didn’t know how I could ever make use of the whole thing by myself.

“Well, how about we all use it together?” Shingo asked.

That’s not a bad idea, Shingo. I told him I thought it was a good idea, but I decided to ask the others first to see if they agreed.

“In that case, I’ll use the third floor,” Aikawa was telling Alice. “Do you want the second floor?”

“Yes. It’s best if there are some sturdy chemical storage shelves for the drug products and suchlike that I use. Saito’s work is the least dangerous, so I think he’d be okay on the first floor.”

I hadn’t asked them anything yet, but the girls had already started allocating rooms for everyone. I guessed from the flow of their conversation that I was going to be in the basement. I looked at Shingo with tears forming in my eyes, but he quickly looked away.

“Shingo, I don’t want to go down in the basement,” I whimpered.

“I can’t help you. Megumi and Alice aren’t going to listen to me, no matter what I say.”

You give up too easily, Shingo! Although I knew that from the start.

“What I wanted to ask was whether we could use the first floor together!” I said.

“Well, I don’t mind, but are you sure you’re okay with that, Kouki? I was planning to bring over some of my ‘friends’ from home,” replied Shingo.

I saw that my fate was sealed. I gave up. There was no way I would ever be able to get along with Shingo’s “friends.”

The room allocations they eventually decided upon meant that Aikawa was given the third floor and the high-speed communications equipment on the roof. Alice was given the second floor and all of the pharmaceuticals-related equipment. Shingo was given the first floor and the electrical engineering facilities. I was given the isolated laboratory in the basement.

We all took joint responsibility for all of the other facilities, including communal parts such as the nap room and shower room.

Everyone was happily getting ready to move their things from their labs to mine, but it wasn’t such a happy time for me. After all, I was the only one who’d be isolated in a seemingly pointless room 30 meters underground.

Just as I was nervously thinking that I might visit Shingo’s area after all, Alice timidly said to me, “If you’re underground, Kouki, that means we can be alone together without disturbing anyone.”

I never thought I’d say it, but being underground doesn’t seem so bad!!

**

Miki Arakawa’s Point of View

“Yes, I understand. Yes, please do. Goodbye.”

I ended the call feeling a little tired. I’d been talking to a member of Kouki’s security staff.

A security squad was constantly on standby within a secret room in the walls of the research complex in case anything happened to him. In addition to protecting Kouki, they would also intervene if he went off the rails and tried to make something extremely dangerous. They’d immediately begin a rescue operation and handle the evacuation if an incident occurred.

Oh... there was one more thing I’d forgotten.

I called the security squad again and asked them to prepare another piece of necessary equipment.

“I’m terribly sorry, but there’s one more piece of necessary equipment I forgot to mention. Please ensure you prepare enough CBRNE protective suits for all personnel to protect against chemicals, biological organisms, radioactive materials, nuclear energy, and explosives. I’ll be able to provide some myself if you don’t have enough.”

The voice on the other end of the call answered with obvious reluctance.

In irritation, I yelled, “It seems you haven’t understood how important this is! Are you listening? That boy once used chemical weapons in the garden of his own home. Would you really be foolish enough to enter Kouki’s research complex without protective clothing?”

With that, they seemed to understand, and they were quick to tell me they’d make the necessary preparations before ending the call.

Next up is the principal...

“Is that Ms. Yamamoto? This is Miki Arakawa. Thank you for always taking care of my son.”

The principal responded in kind, sounding somewhat flustered.

I said, “If I’m not mistaken, you’re forming quite the close relationship with the self-defense forces. It’s just... I see. No, I’m not calling to make complaints.”

It seemed that she’d mistakenly thought I was angry that she’d dispatched self-defense forces to deal with Kouki. In truth, I was a little annoyed about that, but that wasn’t particularly important right now. On the other hand, I hoped she’d forgive me for sounding a little annoyed about it.

“Could you ask the protection squad of the self-defense forces to ‘engage using extreme force’ in the event of an accident in Kouki’s research complex?” I asked. Naturally, I also told her to instruct them to ensure Kouki and his friends were safely extracted first.

The principal seemed to need to give this some thought, but once she understood what I’d meant, she agreed to discuss the matter with the self-defense forces.

All right. Now, no matter what Kouki creates, we should be able to cope with it. As long as he doesn’t make nuclear weapons, we should be fine... He wouldn’t do that, right? Could something happen to make him think, “Now I’m mad, so I’m going to make nuclear weapons”? I’m really overthinking this. I’m sure he wouldn’t make them if it meant violating international treaties.

“Hello, Shuuichi? I just wanted to talk about what we’d do if Kouki developed nuclear arms...”

It seemed I wouldn’t get much sleep tonight.

**

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

“Powered suit development?” I asked.

Shingo and Aikawa both nodded in response.

I don’t really get it... Why are they suddenly talking about powered suit development? After waking up early, I’d arrived at my research complex in the academy like always, and then they’d immediately started talking to me about powered suits. I was having a hard time understanding any of it. Not knowing what to say, I turned to Alice for help.

Alice smiled and said, “If the two of you don’t start explaining from the beginning, Kouki isn’t going to understand.”

To summarize what the two of them told me after being prompted by Alice, they said they wanted to compare the sixth-generation suit that my mom had developed, the space suit I’d worn after being transferred to another world, and the civilian suit made by Quartet Corp that I had for personal use. Then we were going to try combining the advantages of all three in a new model of suit.

“Are we capable of that?” I asked. “We might be able to make adjustments to the powered suits made by research institutions and private corporations, but the suit made by my mom is a tangled web of mysterious technologies.”

“I’m sure we’ll manage,” Shingo said. “Electrical engineering is my specialty, after all. Though I would like the blueprints for the sixth-generation suit.”

Now I see. Basically, he wants me to say, “Please, Mom!” Well, I don’t think there’s any harm in showing them the blueprints, I thought, and decided to hand them over.

I told Shingo to wait a while and sent an email asking Mom to send blueprints for the Arakawa model to my personal terminal. Three minutes later, I was reading her response.

“I’ve attached the blueprints just like you asked, Kou. All I ask is that you don’t under any circumstances pick a fight with another nation using some monstrous remodeling of a powered suit.”

Alice read the message over my shoulder, and the way she looked at me afterward hurt a little...

Please don’t look at me as if you’re thinking, “Huh? So you’re that sort of person.” I’ve never done anything like that, and don’t intend to start!!

I deleted the unnecessary message text and forwarded the response to Shingo.

“Buh hee!” he announced. “Now the real work begins.”

While watching Shingo celebrate, I promised myself, Sometime soon, Mom and I are going to have a serious talk.

**

After spending several days comparing the three types, we understood why the sixth-generation suit was so easy to operate, why the space suit was so robust, and why the suit made by Quartet Corp felt so good to wear. We had started making a powered suit that combined all of these advantages, but...

“When you control the original Arakawa model, it moves by converting electrical signals inside the brain,” said Shingo with a defeated sigh.

Like Shingo had said, we’d learned that the suit my mom had made was primarily controlled by converting brain signals. In short, the actual controls that the user operated were for nothing more than auxiliary operations.

I’d used the suit to weed the garden one time, but according to Shingo and Alice, “Powered suits were never designed for that kind of delicate operation.” The suit my mom had made was designed to only accept my brain signals. Put simply, it was an ultrahigh performance suit made just for me.

“So that explains how you were able to use it for delicate things like weeding the garden,” said Aikawa, who was just as surprised as everyone else.

“In that case, doesn’t that mean it can’t be worn by ordinary people?” I asked.

Shingo replied, “Yeah, so why don’t we ask Kouki’s mom how she made the main piloting module and what method it uses to trace the signals?”

I sent another email to Mom, and after awhile, everyone was looking at the reply on my terminal.

“I’ve attached the blueprints just as you asked, Kou. The construction itself could be carried out in the academy, but there’s a problem. It’s impossible for the brain signal tracer to just instantly decode someone’s brain signals and then start reading them. The system used in the suit I made does indeed trace Kou’s brain signals. But that’s the result of me deciphering those signals over the course of several years. There’s no quick way to collect that kind of data, so I’ve also attached a program that ensures the information won’t be erased when you remove the control module from the suit you took to the academy. Please input the program before you dismount it, and then use that. Lastly, today’s dinner will be hamburgers.”

I didn’t know today was hamburgers... I’d better get home. Wait. Forget about that!! Why was she deciphering my brain signals without asking?! She’s always doing these things. I’m starting to fear my own mom!

My friends were also looking at me as if to say, Wow...

In the end, we decided exactly what work we’d be doing while this strange atmosphere was still hanging over us.

First, we decided to increase the robustness to the utmost limit. This was going to be a one-off unit and nothing more than a prototype, so we were able to overlook the cost.

For the consideration of how it felt to wear it, we put a lot of thought into making the unit as easy to wear as possible, similarly to Quartet Corp’s.

For the ease of use, we simply decided to transfer over the module from the sixth-generation suit.

Alice was beside me, smiling and cheering me on: “Let’s aim for a seventh-generation unit! Let’s go for it, Kouki.”

Actually, Alice herself was working hard, too.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me: If we’re making it so this thing has high durability and can even withstand being in space, shouldn’t it be able to fly?

I tried asking everyone, “Hey, why don’t we add thrusters so it can fly?”

They were stunned.

Did I say something funny? I thought it would be cool...

**

Alice Alford’s Point of View

“Hey, why don’t we add thrusters so it can fly?”

Just as we were putting together our plans, Kouki suddenly made his suggestion.

So it can fly? Does he understand what he’s saying? I don’t know much about powered suits, but that’s just ridiculous. Just making the orientation control system and the fuel system would be too much work. Doesn’t he understand that?

As I’d expected, Saito raised these same misgivings. “That’s impossible, Kouki. How would you even handle orientation control?”

But Kouki replied, like it was no big deal: “It traces my brain signals, right? So if we add some auxiliary functions for calculating air resistance and midair orientation control, I think the control module would just automatically make the necessary corrections.”

I see, I realized. Ordinary powered suits have automated orientation control because they’re liable to fall over. If we make use of that, it might work out... But that still leaves the problem of how to install the fuel system and extra thrusters. Does he have an idea for that, too?

Megumi asked the same question I was wondering about. “Wouldn’t adding new control modules mean we’d need too many extra batteries as well as the extra fuel for the thrusters?”

“Well, we can just make it bigger. It’s not like it needs to stay the same size.”

It was just as he gave that response that I remembered the truth about Kouki — the truth I’d forgotten after being around him for so long: He was a genius.

From Kouki’s point of view, it was our pessimistic thinking that was hard to understand. We were ordinary people trapped by our own “common sense.” Meanwhile, he was a genius who paid common sense no mind while remaining several steps ahead of us.

He was right: If the current size wasn’t big enough, we just needed to make it bigger. And yet, the thought hadn’t even occurred to us.

Saito became excited, yelling, “That’ll work! We might be able to do this.”

Meanwhile, I’d been no use at all throughout the discussion, and my own uselessness had me feeling down.

“There’s something I need you to do, too, Alice. Do your best,” Kouki said to me with a smile.

This is no time to be feeling down, I realized. I decided to put everything I had into doing what I could.

**

Several days later, an extra-large powered suit lay before us. Saito had been in charge of its construction, and now he stood beside Kouki, proudly telling us all about it.

“I finished the final adjustments yesterday after everyone went home! This is the only powered suit in the world capable of solo flight.”

Saito continued to enthuse over the powered suit, describing it in detail. Powered suits were generally about three or four meters tall on average, but this powered suit had a height of eight meters, and thrusters for flying installed in the feet. Much like the sixth-generation suit, it was assembled so that all of the parts could be purged in an emergency. And as an additional feature, it was airtight and robust enough to be used in space—not that it would ever be going into space.

Kouki asked Saito, “If there’s just one, then what generation does this suit belong to?”

“I don’t really know how it’s defined, but sixth-generation models were made by testing brainwave signals, right?” Saito said. “I’m not totally sure, but I think your mom wanted to use that technology to make a remotely controlled model that can adapt to environments such as space. Basically, she wanted to make a remotely-operated, environment-specific seventh-generation suit. What we’ve made is an adaptable flying model that isn’t operated remotely. I suppose you could say it’s an eighth-generation suit.”

Kouki happily cried, “Awesome!!”

But Kouki should have understood that he was the only one who could pilot this powered suit because of its control module.

Saito said what I was thinking. “But Kouki, you’re the only one who can pilot this thing.”

It was cute how that made Kouki a little sad.

Kouki wanted to try wearing the powered suit right away, but first he turned to me and asked, “Alice, did you make the medicine I asked about?”

I opened the bag I’d brought and took out a case containing a disposable syringe. I explained how to use it as I passed the case to him.

Kouki said, “Thank you,” and stroked my hair.

Then he started up the powered suit.

“It’s floating! We did it!! It’s a success,” Kouki said to us through a speaker.

We were marveling at how our suit was floating when suddenly a broadcast was made throughout the academy informing us that there was an emergency.

“Information for all academy students: There has been a collision in the Pacific Ocean involving a large passenger ship and a tanker carrying chemicals. The situation is developing into a major disaster. Twenty minutes ago, the Japanese government announced a state of emergency and requested assistance from the International Science and Technology Academy.

“Students with medical equipment and those with powered suits that can be used in search and rescue operations should gather at the front entrance if they are prepared to participate in the rescue operation. There, they’ll be greeted by the Air Self-Defense Force. A single person could save a large number of lives, so we ask for your cooperation.”

When he heard the announcement, Kouki asked Saito, “Shingo, what’s the maximum flight speed and cruising range for this suit?” Instead of wearing his usual smile, his face looked serious.

Don’t tell me he wants to take it out on a rescue mission! I thought, appalled. That’s too dangerous! That thing he’s wearing is a prototype. There’s no way he can go out there.

Saito’s reply was far from what I was thinking: “The maximum speed it can tolerate is 1,600 km/h and the cruising range is 3,200 km. I hate catalog specs, so I’ve given it a full tank of fuel for the thrusters and plenty of batteries for the main body. But don’t raise the output to the maximum. I expect it’s fairly powerful, but if it breaks, the suit could be blown to pieces and you with it.”

“Well, here I go,” said Kouki. “Send the information about the site to my terminal right away. And let the principal know I’m going on ahead.”

That was all Kouki said before flying off.

I became angry with Saito and demanded he tell me why he hadn’t stopped Kouki.

Saito simply smiled and said, “Kouki’s such a kind person that there’s no stopping him. Surely, you knew that, too, Alice? Then there’s the way he was talking. He always talks like that when serious.”

He’s right, Kouki is so kind... If I had to say why I loved him, that’s the biggest reason. But did he really have to go alone? I’m going to be so angry with him when he comes back, I promised myself before running off to let the principal know.

**

Kaori Yamamoto’s Point of View

After making an announcement asking students to help with the rescue operation, I’d been about to make a call to the management of the self-defense forces when I was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Who would disturb me at a time like this?!

I was about to immediately send them away, but then I realized it might be Arakawa, so I invited them in.

“Pardon us,” said several voices.

The students who entered were the ones who’d made the cure for the European tragedy. That had caused a lot of trouble because of the barrage of questions we’d been getting from the mass media and pharmaceutical researchers. That was why I’d isolated them... I mean, urged them to use Kouki’s research complex.

“Is it something important?” I asked. “I’m incredibly busy right now.”

It was a roundabout way of saying, “Please leave.”

The student called Alice began speaking as their representative. “Arakawa is heading to the scene to help with the rescue operation. He went wearing a new type of powered suit, and we didn’t want it to cause a commotion, so we came to tell you.”

When she finished speaking, she showed me some papers containing details about the powered suit.

What on Earth? A powered suit capable of solo flight? And with a cruising range of 3,200 km?! What’s more, there was a note saying it was capable of being fitted with weapons. This has to be a joke. This is no powered suit. This is just a weapon of war...

What would possess him to head out wearing such a thing?!

Just recently, the United Nations had been complaining about the “progress of his ethics training,” and now they were going to be calling me again.

Could it be too late to call him back? I thought frantically.

If I did that and put Arakawa in a bad mood, it would be a problem when he rampaged through the academy. He was unmanageable at the best of times, but if he was using this weapon, that would be the end of the academy.

No, I’d probably die before that. I’ll just leave him be, I finally concluded.

“I’ll contact the Marine Self-Defense Force ship responsible for the rescue operation myself,” I said. “Miss Alford, will you and your friends be participating in the operation?”

Aikawa aside, the capabilities of the powered suit that Saito used would be very much appreciated. And Alice had knowledge of medicine that would be necessary when dealing with the wounded. I looked at the students, hoping that they would understand.

“Of course we’ll participate,” Alice responded.

Great. The human rescue operation takes priority; I’ll think about the problem of Arakawa later.

I told them to wait in front of the main gate, and returned to making the call.

**

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

Acting cool and flying out of the academy to show off in front of Alice had seemed like a good idea, but now I was starting to regret it. The vibrations were awful, probably because I was breaking the sound barrier in human form. I had just injected the strong anti-motion sickness drug that I’d had Alice make, but it wasn’t very effective, and I felt like I’d vomit. And the worst part of it...

“I’m scaaaaaaared!! It’s too fast!!”

I’d been sent information telling me that the surface of the sea would be stormy because of a typhoon, and it wasn’t wrong. I was flying through the storm with virtually no visibility, and it was terrifying. I cut through the gloom at high speed, currently 1,360 km/h. I felt like everything I’d had for lunch would soon be reappearing thanks to the vibrations and the fear, but I endured the feeling.

“I see it! That must be the ship!” I cried aloud.

As I frantically tried to approach the passenger ship through the storm, a self-defense force rescue ship came into view. Somehow, I could only see one rescue ship.

Don’t tell me that’s all they’ve got. I scanned the area with my radar and found nothing except the two ships that had had the accident and the self-defense force ship. Isn’t this, like, really bad?

For now, I approached the self-defense force ship to tell them I’d arrived to rescue survivors.

“This is Kouki Arakawa. I’m here from the International Science and Technology Academy to give some assistance. Please advise.”

“Thank you,” a person on the other end said. “We can’t approach because of the storm. There are currently no injured persons on the tanker, and it’s not at risk of sinking. However, there are many injured persons on the passenger ship, and several tens of those are seriously injured. As a matter of priority, could you help transfer the heavily injured to our ship?”

“Understood,” I said. “I’m taking action. Please treat this frequency band as a dedicated channel for all future transmissions.”

I sent the message and moved towards the passenger ship. There I found many people on the deck waiting for me. I began moving injured people so as to be as gentle as possible, but there were so many...

I can’t handle this alone, I thought before sending a transmission to the self-defense force.

“I’m the only unit here. Have no other rescue ships arrived yet?”

“They’re currently traveling here at top speed. However, they are having difficulties due to the bad weather. The aircraft are likewise unable to descend to sea level because it’s too dangerous.”

I know they’re having a lot of trouble, but they should keep on trying! Well, I guess they’re doing their best, I told myself while performing the same transfer operation over and over again. There really are a lot of people... To make matters worse, the passenger ship was flooding, causing it to tilt to one side.

The worst possible prediction ran through my head: We won’t make it on time.

I tried to think of some other way, and an idea occurred to me, so I asked the question: “About these aircraft. Suppose they could land and take off somewhere. Would it be possible to rescue people more rapidly?”

“It would be possible.”

I was satisfied by the immediate response from the self-defense force, so I made my decision. When I’d scanned with the radar earlier, there had definitely been an island nearby. I would tow the passenger ship into an inlet of that island.

I remembered what Shingo had said: “Don’t raise output to the maximum. I expect it’s fairly powerful, but if it breaks, the suit could be blown to pieces and you with it.” But I was sure it would be fine. Shingo was an incredible genius; what’s more, he was my friend. There was no way my friend would make a powered suit that would kill me. With absolute conviction in my heart, I made an announcement to the self-defense force.

“I’m going to tow the passenger ship into an inlet of the island. Please have the rescue team land there.”

“What? What did you say? I don’t think I’m hearing you right. Sorry, please repeat your message once more.”

“I’m telling you, I’m going to pull the passenger ship into an inlet!” I yelled angrily. “I don’t want to hear you slacking off at a time like this! Just make preparations! Lives are at stake.”

I received an energetic, “U-Understood!”

All right, now I need to send the same message to the passenger ship to let the passengers know...

Once I finished my preparations, I took hold of the passenger ship’s anchor, and had my thrusters fire at full power.

The output climbed to 50%, 55%, 60%, 75%... The output was steadily climbing, but the passenger ship wasn’t moving.

I passed 80%, and the fuselage began to vibrate strongly. But the ship still wasn’t moving. I passed 90%, and then finally I passed 100%, and it went off the scale like it was no big deal; but the passenger ship didn’t move at all.

I lit the reserve thrusters, too, and yelled, “Move!”

My prayer must have been heard, because at last the passenger ship began to slowly move. Once it had started to budge just a little, it continued to move under inertia.

I towed the ship into the inlet in a single stroke. I meant to go as far as a beach in the inlet, but the ship was moving with more intensity than I thought, and I realized I had no choice but to completely beach it on the island.

On the bright side, this would make rescue easier. The thought gave me some relief, but suddenly there was a warning alarm from the suit.

“Fire detected in thruster interior” was displayed on the main screen, so I purged the entire fuselage in haste and got out.

As I was tumbling down from somewhere high in the air, wearing just the reinforced exoskeleton, I muttered, “I hope the rescue team gets here soon.”

Then I plunged into the sea.

**

Maritime Self-Defense Force, Disaster Rescue Ship Captain’s Point of View

As we headed toward the rescue site through bad weather, I received a sudden report from a communications officer.

“We’ve sighted an object flying toward us at high speed from the mainland!”

“Could it be a rescue helicopter from the aerial squad?” I asked.

The response was negative. “There’s no ally identification signal response. And our rescue helicopters can’t break the sound barrier.”

What is it, then? If it’s from the mainland, it can’t be an attack, I thought.

Another communications officer then began reading a report from headquarters. “We’ve received a transmission from the Maritime Self-Defense Force General Staff Headquarters: ‘A powered suit belonging to the International Science and Technology Academy is currently flying toward your present location. Please offer cooperation during the rescue operation.’”

What is he saying? It’s flying? A lone powered suit is flying toward us from the mainland? Ridiculous! That’s not even possible. How would it fly this far? We’re 800 kilometers off the mainland. There must be some kids in General Staff Headquarters who don’t understand the situation and were taken in by some tall tale from an academy student trying to show off.

Then there was a tremendous roar, and the powered suit flew across my line of sight.

“That powered suit. It really is flying,” uttered a crew member in surprise. Every other crewmember was probably thinking the same thing.

We then received a communication from the suit. “This is Kouki Arakawa. I’m here from the International Science and Technology Academy to give some assistance. Please advise.”

Kouki Arakawa... I’d heard in the news that the son of a particular genius had been admitted to the academy, but I’d suspected he was just riding his mother’s coattails. Even a genius would be tempted to use her influence to help the prospects of the son she adored. Geniuses didn’t appear in two consecutive generations... or so I’d always believed. But what was this? The son had surpassed his mother with a level of genius that had allowed him to develop something like a flying powered suit.

“What should we do, Captain?” an officer asked me.

Saving human lives was the priority. I quickly told the officer to give Arakawa instructions.

As I left the crew to take care of the operation, I realized that the suit was moving in exactly the way humans move.

Normally there would be a certain level of time-lag when operating a suit like that, but that wasn’t the case with him at all. The appearance of the suit and the way it moved so gracefully made me imagine a demon wearing armor.

How can it move like that?

I asked my subordinates if any of them knew anything.

“I have a theory, if you’d like to hear it,” said a subordinate who was one of the ship’s powered suit users.

He was a talented and reliable crew member, so I felt that his opinion carried some weight. With that in mind, I urged him to speak, and I couldn’t believe what he had to say.

“I suspect it’s using a brain signal conversion control module that was installed for experimental purposes in sixth-generation suits. That module was expected to be developed for use in seventh-generation suits. Considering that this suit can fly, I think that would make this an eighth-generation suit. The level of development is 30 years ahead of current technology.”

An eighth-generation suit?! Ridiculous! A normal child could never develop such a thing. He’s a monster. The boy known as Kouki Arakawa is without a doubt a true monster! I thought.

Then we received another transmission.

“I’m the only unit here. Have no other rescue ships arrived yet?”

An officer quickly responded, “They’re currently traveling here at top speed. However, they are having difficulties due to the bad weather. The aircraft are likewise unable to descend to sea level because it’s too dangerous.”

We would have liked to avoid exposing a child to danger, if possible. We were a professional ocean rescue squad, and we had our pride. But given the circumstances, we had no choice but to rely on a single child. I felt so utterly powerless that I began to grind my teeth, and then a third transmission arrived.

“About these aircraft,” it said. “Suppose they could land and take off somewhere. Would it be possible to rescue people more rapidly?”

“It would be possible,” an aircraft officer responded instantly. That was another subordinate of mine with a strong sense of responsibility. Although he’d had no part to play so far, he met the prospect of being useful with enthusiasm.

Still, there was nowhere on the passenger ship for aircraft to land. I didn’t know what the boy was planning.

Arakawa announced something that seemed simply impossible. “I’m going to tow the passenger ship into an inlet of the island. Please have the rescue team land there.”

What is he saying? He thinks he’s going to tow a passenger ship that displaces over 200,000 tons of water? It seemed impossible to me as I heard the transmission, and the officer seemed to feel the same way. Unsurprisingly, he asked Arakawa to repeat his message.

Arakawa’s transmissions had been friendly up to now, but this time he was enraged. “I’m telling you, I’m going to pull the passenger ship into an inlet! I don’t want to hear you slacking off at a time like this! Just make preparations! Lives are at stake.”

His words caused the officer to respond quickly. The officer gave instructions to all other aircraft flying overhead, but they just couldn’t accept it.

“There’s no way he can tow the ship as far as the island,” one of the pilots objected. “Besides, I can’t act without approval from my superiors.”

The officer spoke back with rage in his voice: “Don’t give me that bull! That kid is carrying out the rescue by himself. Aren’t you ashamed that we’re adults—professionals, even—and we’re just watching?! Anyone who doesn’t get that should head right back to base and resign!”

When the pilots heard that, they all began flying toward the island as if they’d finally understood exactly what it was they should be doing.

“Captain, I apologize. I let my emotions get the better of me,” the officer added, looking at me.

“Let’s forget it,” I said. “You were just saying what the rest of the crew were thinking. If anyone’s going to be punished in the coming days, I’ll make sure it’s me.”

Hearing my words, he looked at me, seeming somewhat surprised.

What you’re looking at? I might be a harsh superior, but I do know what’s right. Don’t look at me like I’m some kind of rare animal!

I avoided his glare and watched Kouki’s powered suit begin to act. He was holding the anchor and firing his thrusters. But he wasn’t moving... In fact, I could see smoke pouring from his suit.

This is madness. If he increases the load on his suit, it’ll explode. Just as I grabbed the mic to send him a transmission, I heard his voice and stopped.

“Move!”

His voice came from a line that had been left open. At first it was slow, but I could see the passenger ship was moving now.

He’s actually towing it... I smiled triumphantly, but I still didn’t quite believe it. To see a powered suit achieve such a feat left me lost for words. What I was looking at was an angel.

Despite the bad visibility through the rain, I could see that he was so desperately trying to tow the passenger ship that he’d even fired his reserve thrusters. The flames from his thrusters shone like the wings of an angel. Just moments ago, I’d been thinking the suit looked like a demon, but now I wanted to punch myself for having thought so.

The angel gradually accelerated, and successfully towed the passenger ship to the island inlet without incident. There were cheers from all crew members on the bridge. This would make the rescue operation go smoothly. I was about to send a transmission to express my admiration to Arakawa himself, when everyone on the bridge froze.

There was fire coming from every part of the suit. It seemed he’d decided to abandon the main body. After purging the whole thing, he’d started falling to the surface of the sea.

I gave instructions to my subordinate rapidly as I watched. “Head to the point where he’ll land, ASAP! Don’t let that boy die. He did more than anyone for this rescue operation. If we let him die, we’ll forever be seen as worthless! Hurry!”

The boy had saved countless lives in our place. It was our turn to save him.

As we made haste toward his location, I promised myself that we would.

**

Kaori Yamamoto’s Point of View

Several days after the accident, I received a call from the United Nations. I expected they had more complaints to voice, but to my surprise, it was the complete opposite.

“I should have expected no less, Principal. I take my hat off to your teaching abilities,” said the President of the United States as he showered me with praise over the video link.

The Prime Minister of Russia chimed in with, “I agree completely.”

I couldn’t understand it. “What did I do?”

“You must stop being so humble. The fruits of your ethics training is clear to see: Kouki Arakawa actually put himself in danger to save the lives of others!”

“From the reports I’ve received, he gave it his all to complete his task even when the powered suit he was wearing burst into flames. The fact he came back uninjured means that world avoided a great loss, and that should be cause for celebration.”

I hated to interrupt their celebrations, but the ethics training I’d planned for him hadn’t even reached the first stage, because he hadn’t been able to attend any lessons yet. But I didn’t feel like I could say that given the current atmosphere, so I just went with the flow.

“Of course! I’m confident in my ability to educate. I’m going to continue working hard on his ethics training,” I told them.

This was met with responses of, “Magnificent!” “We must think of some bonus to reward the principal,” and suchlike. I didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding had created this situation, but I was going to head home soon, drink some wine, and go to sleep.

As I kept myself from facing reality, I stood and wordlessly waited until the meeting was over.

June 18, 2102: A large passenger ship and a tanker carrying chemicals collided in the Pacific Ocean.

There were 560 people wounded in the disaster, but miraculously the incident concluded with no deaths, thanks to the actions of Kouki Arakawa, who hurried to the scene wearing a prototype eighth-generation powered suit.

The components that were purged during his emergency ejection were secretly recovered by British forces, but all of the data was reset the moment the control module was removed. The £300,000,000 spent recovering the components was therefore wasted.

**

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

Recently, I’d started to think about something constantly. In this world I’d been reincarnated into, military technology had been developing by leaps and bounds. There were even powered suits and space forces. So shouldn’t that have made it possible to make a certain device?

Conveniently, Alice and Aikawa were both attending lectures outside of the academy, and couldn’t visit the research complex.

With a serious look on my face, I said, “Shingo, we need to talk. This is really important.”

I’d started the conversation differently from how I would normally, and Shingo sat up straight and waited for me to continue.

“Shingo, I think I’d like to make optical camouflage,” I told him.

Shingo asked me why. He seemed interested in why I would want to make such a thing, and said that if I had any dangerous ideas, he’d have to report me to the principal.

I could have given him some excuse to hide my true intentions... but if I tricked my friend and hid the truth from him to make optical camouflage, I was sure a day would come when I’d regret it. I knew that in my heart, and so I looked Shingo straight in the eye and told him precisely what I was intending.

“I want to peep on Alice while she’s showering,” I told him.

It was clear from Shingo’s face that he was shocked, but just as he was about to say something, I put up my hand to silence him. I had more to say, and it was crucial for Shingo to hear me out.

“You know there’s a shower room here in my research complex, right? Well, Aikawa uses this research complex, too.”

The more I talked, the more interested Shingo became. I started feeling more relaxed, and continued talking while drinking my tea.

“Supposing Aikawa did use the shower. Would you be able to wait patiently, Shingo? You’re bound to start thinking, ‘I want to peep.’ But you’d be afraid that you’d be caught if you did. What you need at a time like that is optical camouflage.

“Now that you’ve heard what I have to say, I don’t mind if you refuse to cooperate for ethical reasons. I wouldn’t blame you for that. But if possible, I’d like you to keep this discussion a secret. I intend to start making it by myself.”

After I’d explained everything, I returned my teacup to the table and turned to face Shingo. Looking back at me was the manly face of my friend— no, my comrade.

“Buh hee! Of course I’ll help! Why wouldn’t I?” Shingo replied passionately.

Thus began our “Stealth Camouflage Development Project.”

**

Miki Arakawa’s Point of View

“I have an urgent report.”

I was in my room compiling a research report when I received a call from one of Kouki’s security officers and one of Shuuichi’s intelligence officers who had been studying the information on Kouki’s personal terminal.

What has my boy done this time? I wondered.

The intelligence officer began to explain: “A few days ago we found that Kouki’s personal terminal was being used much more frequently than usual. We investigated the cause and found something in a protected folder. I’ll forward it to you.”

The folder forwarded to my terminal was named “Secret Project.” I already had nothing but bad feelings, but I checked the contents.

“Optical camouflage development project: The objective is to develop optical camouflage that can be used by an individual. The minimum performance requirements are noise cancellation, waterproofing, and the ability to continuously operate for more than 30 minutes. As an additional objective, we aim to make it mountable to a powered suit so that it can be used outdoors.”

Exactly which country does my son intend to start a war with? I wondered. I’d thought the same thing about the eighth-generation suit he’d made previously. And the AI-equipped work robot that I’d helped with, too. When I thought about it rationally, I could only imagine this was preparation for an intense war.

Large countries like the United States aside, he was capable of bringing down a small nation by himself without breaking a sweat.

I gave them both instructions while imagining the worst-case scenario: “I’ll make a decision on this matter after discussing it with the higher-ups and my husband. Until then, please refrain from doing anything other than monitoring him. If you provoke Kouki carelessly, your lives could be in danger.”

With that, I ended the call and immediately made a call to Shuuichi’s terminal. I was connected to Shuuichi quickly, and I forwarded him the folder. Our discussion quickly had him scratching his head in confusion.

“What’s he going to do with a thing like that?” Shuuichi asked.

In the end, we decided that he’d recently gotten interested in a girl and was unlikely to try anything dangerous anytime soon; but we wanted to continue keeping him under heavy surveillance.

**

Several days later, we received an urgent message from the special squad that was monitoring Kouki.

“Kouki and his friend have conducted a trial run of the prototype optical camouflage, and the trial was a success. It was still detected by our infrared detectors, but to the naked eye, it completely disappeared. It remained completely invisible for 20 minutes.”

“Understood. Is there anything else to report?” I asked.

It seemed the boys had made prototypes of several insect-shaped scouting robots equipped with optical camouflage that made them invisible for just several minutes.

This was a problem. I wouldn’t be able to protect him if he was so blatantly preparing for war.

Exactly which country is he planning to declare war on?

Just as I began attempting to identify which ill-fated nation it was, I received a report that made my heart stop.

“This is an emergency! Kouki has mobilized his scouting robots against the academy. He has already begun to act.”

We’re too late...

I didn’t know what he intended to do with those scouting robots, but the academy would become hell on Earth. I regretted not understanding my own child’s feelings better.

I gave my next instructions through gritted teeth: “Please relay the image of my son to me. If I can understand what he’s attempting, I’ll know how to proceed. Please also instruct the self-defense forces to mobilize. Please instruct them to evacuate the students.”

The image and voice of Kouki then came to me through my terminal.

Please, at least refrain from killing any of the students at your academy, I prayed.

Kouki said, “Ms. Roberta is the adviser for the swimming club, right?”

The voice of Saito, who was sitting beside Kouki, reached me. “Buh hee, you’re right. Right now she should be in the changing room. Kogane Beetle #1 should be able to enter through a gap in the ventilation fan.”

I noticed that Kouki was operating the controls while Saito spoke.

“Infiltration successful!” Kouki cried.

“Well, Kouki? Can you see any boobs?”

“Don’t get impatient. If she sees it, she’ll stomp on it. This thing just looks like an insect.”

I could tell they were excited.

What’s this about? Wasn’t it a weapons test? I thought to myself, confused. Meanwhile, they were saying things like “Ms. Roberta’s are so big,” in excited voices.

There was no mistaking it— My idiot son and his friend had gone to extremes for the sake of peeping.

I felt dizzy as I sent my next transmission to the observation squad: “That’s enough. Please withdraw. And notify the defense forces that our information was incorrect.” Then I ended the call.

I spent a long time deliberating whether I should be pleased that my son was developing normally, or whether I should scold him for peeping.

**

Kouki Arakawa’s Point of View

There was something I’d been constantly thinking about since last night.

I didn’t know why Mom had said the things she had, but I had no choice but to accept them as fact. It was really tough, but I couldn’t remember ever going wrong by listening to my mom’s advice.

So despite my reluctance, with a serious look on my face, I said to Shingo, “Shingo, we need to talk. This is really important.”

I’d started the conversation differently from how I would normally, and Shingo sat up straight and waited for me to continue.

“My mom found out about us peeping.”

“Whaaat?! How?!”

How should I know?! You tell me.

I’d been eating dinner as normal last night, when suddenly she’d smiled and said, “Kou, I know how interesting it must be for you, but peeping is never okay. Alice would hate you if she found out, wouldn’t she? No doubt about it.”

Where did she get that information? I’d wondered. It scares me...

I told Shingo the whole story, and waited for his response.

“Buh hee. Then what happened to our completed optical camouflage?”

“It’s installed on my powered suit, so the next time you publish your research, you can go ahead and include it.”

I didn’t really have any use for research reports in my name. I figured I’d let him have it in the spirit of generosity between comrades.

Next time something happens, this should smooth cooperation between us, I cunningly thought to myself.

“What happened to the photograph? The one of Ms. Roberta,” Shingo asked quietly.

“Well, obviously, I’ve it saved on my terminal and put the strongest possible protection on it!!” I cried.

Shingo responded with a thumbs-up and a smile. His face was the face of a comrade.