Chapter 127
The Asgard empire’s magic institute.
The continent’s most advanced magic-technology research institution.
It was already common knowledge through the continent that magic was the definite driving force behind the empire’s hegemony and growth.
But how were they so successful at obtaining such technological innovations?
The answer was a top secret of the empire.
The truth was that a good part of those innovations were owed to two women.
【”…It seems the battle against Rosberg went well.”】
The tall 16 year old-looking girl picked up her documents with a satisfied smile.
【”That is true, I suppose.”】
But the youngest-looking of the two, was pouting. Contrarily to the oldest, the 12 year old-looking girl who spoke with a lisp, seemed dissatisfied.
【”Surely, that Kurats man must have been surprised.”】
【”Even so, that was still far from perfect, I suppose. The fact Farenheit was pushed to the point of being shut down is proof enough, I suppose.”】
【”Indeed. We ought to exercise more caution this time.”】
The girls were different age-wise and build-wise, but, apart from that, they were so alike it was like they were looking at their own reflection in a mirror.
What was even more surprising about the siblings was that the older one was the 12-year-old looking one, while the younger one was the 16-year-old looking girl. Moreover, they were actually both in their late twenties.
The sisters both suffered from the “Congenital growth mutation syndrome”, a sickness with no known cause nor cure.
All that was known about their condition was that their brain had gone through an abnormal growth at the expense of their physical growth.
What was certain, however, was that these two magic engineering prodigies were inseparable from the magic technological growth that the Asgard empire was now putting so much emphasis upon.
【”We still have much headway to make upon the stability of the riders, I suppose. Farenheit had some issues, but the Chaos riders are completely unable to handle high magic outputs. The real difficulty will be to bring stability to the mass-produced models, I suppose.”】
【”The empire is the most powerful nation of the continent as of now. Our focus should be on taking the current technology further, not on mass production.”】
Naturally, once the empire would start mass producing the riders, no nation in the world would be able to defeat them.
That was a testimony to how much higher the two girls’ brand of magic was compared to magic as the world knew it.
That difference made it that much more frustrating for the perfectionist sisters to be reduced to having to manage as they could and to equip the Fahrenheit rider with different prototypes to test them out.
【”But there have been reports of senior monsters with the ability to use magic-cancelling barriers, I suppose. While our magic is not of the same nature, there should still be potential to raise its efficiency with lower outputs.”】
The oldest sister shook her pigtails from side to side like a spoiled child who just could not be convinced, prompting the younger sister to quiver like she couldn’t hold herself back, before tightly hugging her.
【”Aaaah, it’s too much ~~! You’re too cute, Mizeru!! My big sister is too cute!”】
【”W-what do you suppose you’re doing, Isla! Release me right this instant!”】
【”No way! I’m never letting go!”】
Isla was happily rubbing her cheeks on her older sister’s very warm body.
Her hands were holding her tight, feeling her soft hair and her very young body that would not grow, not missing a single spot.
――This was not without reason.
The price of the massive development of the two sisters’ brain was the sacrifice of their physical growth.
However, their harsh destiny had even more in store for them.
The very structure of the human brain made it impossible for it to bear with an abnormal growth like theirs.
Mizel, whose brain had gone through an especially strong growth, would seemingly never be able to ever reach her first period. Moreover, she would not be able to grow up to the age of thirty.
In other words, she only had a few years left to live.
Even with their over-developed brains, the two sisters had failed to find an effective treatment for their condition.
The reason they had joined the empire’s magic institute in the first place was to find a cure through research.
But, after nearly 10 years, all they had discovered was there was no cure. And so, they both accepted their fates.
No one else could understand them. Therefore, they did not need anything in this life other than each-other.
In this world of their own that no one else could reach, they would live on their own and die on their own.
Once MIzel would reach the end of her life, Isla would naturally not be able to live.
For Isla, her excessive skinship with her older sister was her way of making the best of every single moment of the scarce time they still had,no matter how fleeting.
Creeee――――!
An inorganic, mechanical noise resounded in the room.
At that moment, the sisters, who had just been playing with each-other like children, instantly returned to their usual, completely emotionless expressions.
There were only a few people who could enter this institute. Among them, only one person was allowed to come without any prior notice.
【”So that’s the one Gunther used against Rosberg.”】
Heimdall’s smile carried arrogance the likes of which could only come from a supreme ruler who had the world in the palm of his hands.
【”――Affirmative; however, the output is still insufficient.”】
【”――Conjecture; it appears the machine went into emergency shutdown due to a short circuit caused by magic overload.”】
【”Will Farenheit’s current output be enough to deal with the lord of Bashtar?”】
Heimdall had already received information about not only the fact that SKuld had been defeated, but even the fact she had joined Kurats’ side.
This was not a strange turn of events from his perspective. He had always been vaguely aware of Skuld’s true feelings when she reluctantly worked for him, her father’s foe.
If she was to be an enemy, then that was that. There were many methods to defeat her anyway.
But the problem was how to defeat Kurats; the monster who had gone beyond even Heimdall’s own expectations.
If that monster was planning to cooperate with Skuld, the situation could go slightly out of hand.
【”――Affirmative; but solely in close-quarters combat.”】
【”――Affirmative; but only in a short-term battle.”】
【”How long will it perform at full power?”】
【”――Conjecture; 5 minutes at most.”】
【”――Conjecture; if multiple enemies attack it at once, it will last less than 3 minutes at full power.”】
【”Extend its uptime as fast as you can. All the material you’ll need will be prepared for you.”】
Kurats was not the only adversary to look out for right now.
There was also the snow white valkyrie, Frigga, as well as Lunaria, whose fighting strength was not to be underestimated. And now, even Skuld could be assumed to have joined them as a fighter.
Moreover, according to the intelligence Heimdall had received, Kurats was also followed by some beautiful women with mysterious powers.
――In all truth, they were an amazing team.
Even the peerless Asgard empire would have a hard time gathering such a team.
Originally, the only person worthy of caution in the Jormungand kingdom had been Rosberg.
There were still many countries with the power and military might to become a threat, but when it came to individual teams and their commanders, there was no match for Asgard even among the continent’s 5 major powers.
It was likely no exaggeration to say that if the empire could defeat Kurats and take over the Jormungand kingdom, then their conquest of the continent would be 90% achieved.
【”――Objection; we were promised a month of vacation if our mechanism showed good results in a real battle.”】
Isla glared at Heimdall while anxiously clenching Mizel’s hand.
The speed of her body’s growth was inversely proportional to the growth of her intelligence, meaning her body could not keep up with her brain’s energy consumption.
Lately, Mizel had been fainting like her battery was out and her sleeping hours were becoming longer. No one understood the situation better than Isla.
If Mizel could recover her energy, then she would very likely be able to extend her lifespan a little.
But Heimdall snorted in response like this was of no interest to him.
【”You only have 3 years left, what difference is one month going to make? “】
If a short lifespan was the price to pay for the two girls’ superhuman intelligence, it was essential to maximize the amount of research they would be able to achieve over their short lives.
If giving them vacations could extend their lifespans, Heimdall would likely have readily given them a break.
However, unless their breaks could be counted in years, such a lifespan extending effect could not be expected.
Such long breaks would only be a meaningless shortening of their research time.
In that case, exploiting them and squeezing the most out of them was likely the way to go to get research results.
【”――Indignation; if you do not improve your treatment of us, we will take decisive action.”】
Only the two sisters knew the contents of their research. Only they could understand it; and no one else would be able to take over it in their stead.
If Heimdall had no intention to give her older sister her time off, then Isla was going to take it herself.
She was determined to do so.
But her determination did not even come close to making an impression on Heimdall.
【”If you want me to separate you and hold one of you hostage, that’s fine by me. But if you still want to stay together, be quiet and obey.”】
【”――Reluctance; his majesty the emperor is being unfair.”】
【”――Reluctance; but we will continue our research.”】
The sisters had been together since the day they were born. The mere thought of being separated was enough to remove their will to oppose Heimdall.
At the end of the day, they were just birds in a cage, the kind that could not subsist without their owner.
【”Smart choice. If the lord of Bashtar can be successfully brought down, I’ll consider giving you some vacation time. It’s not like I’m planning to make you work to your death.”】
Heimdall intended to use the girls as much as necessary.
For him, the ends justified the means, no matter how unfair. He would not hesitate to do what he had to.
For the sake of his goal of unifying the world for a full lifetime, he could not afford to sympathize with the sorrow of each and every person.
【”You can ask for all the funding and information you want; you’ll take precedence over everything else. But I’ll be expecting better results from you.”】
Despite the arrogance of his tone, Heimdall could not actually not help but feel a deep interest towards the anomaly that was Kurats.
He hoped Kurats was feeling proud about defeating Skuld at this moment.
But the strongest assets of the empire were not powerful individuals like Skuld and Gunther.
The magic technology that no other country could follow, the technology that was led by these two sisters; that was the empire’s strongest weapon.
Chapter 127
The Asgard empire’s magic institute.
The continent’s most advanced magic-technology research institution.
It was already common knowledge through the continent that magic was the definite driving force behind the empire’s hegemony and growth.
But how were they so successful at obtaining such technological innovations?
The answer was a top secret of the empire.
The truth was that a good part of those innovations were owed to two women.
【”…It seems the battle against Rosberg went well.”】
The tall 16 year old-looking girl picked up her documents with a satisfied smile.
【”That is true, I suppose.”】
But the youngest-looking of the two, was pouting. Contrarily to the oldest, the 12 year old-looking girl who spoke with a lisp, seemed dissatisfied.
【”Surely, that Kurats man must have been surprised.”】
【”Even so, that was still far from perfect, I suppose. The fact Farenheit was pushed to the point of being shut down is proof enough, I suppose.”】
【”Indeed. We ought to exercise more caution this time.”】
The girls were different age-wise and build-wise, but, apart from that, they were so alike it was like they were looking at their own reflection in a mirror.
What was even more surprising about the siblings was that the older one was the 12-year-old looking one, while the younger one was the 16-year-old looking girl. Moreover, they were actually both in their late twenties.
The sisters both suffered from the “Congenital growth mutation syndrome”, a sickness with no known cause nor cure.
All that was known about their condition was that their brain had gone through an abnormal growth at the expense of their physical growth.
What was certain, however, was that these two magic engineering prodigies were inseparable from the magic technological growth that the Asgard empire was now putting so much emphasis upon.
【”We still have much headway to make upon the stability of the riders, I suppose. Farenheit had some issues, but the Chaos riders are completely unable to handle high magic outputs. The real difficulty will be to bring stability to the mass-produced models, I suppose.”】
【”The empire is the most powerful nation of the continent as of now. Our focus should be on taking the current technology further, not on mass production.”】
Naturally, once the empire would start mass producing the riders, no nation in the world would be able to defeat them.
That was a testimony to how much higher the two girls’ brand of magic was compared to magic as the world knew it.
That difference made it that much more frustrating for the perfectionist sisters to be reduced to having to manage as they could and to equip the Fahrenheit rider with different prototypes to test them out.
【”But there have been reports of senior monsters with the ability to use magic-cancelling barriers, I suppose. While our magic is not of the same nature, there should still be potential to raise its efficiency with lower outputs.”】
The oldest sister shook her pigtails from side to side like a spoiled child who just could not be convinced, prompting the younger sister to quiver like she couldn’t hold herself back, before tightly hugging her.
【”Aaaah, it’s too much ~~! You’re too cute, Mizeru!! My big sister is too cute!”】
【”W-what do you suppose you’re doing, Isla! Release me right this instant!”】
【”No way! I’m never letting go!”】
Isla was happily rubbing her cheeks on her older sister’s very warm body.
Her hands were holding her tight, feeling her soft hair and her very young body that would not grow, not missing a single spot.
――This was not without reason.
The price of the massive development of the two sisters’ brain was the sacrifice of their physical growth.
However, their harsh destiny had even more in store for them.
The very structure of the human brain made it impossible for it to bear with an abnormal growth like theirs.
Mizel, whose brain had gone through an especially strong growth, would seemingly never be able to ever reach her first period. Moreover, she would not be able to grow up to the age of thirty.
In other words, she only had a few years left to live.
Even with their over-developed brains, the two sisters had failed to find an effective treatment for their condition.
The reason they had joined the empire’s magic institute in the first place was to find a cure through research.
But, after nearly 10 years, all they had discovered was there was no cure. And so, they both accepted their fates.
No one else could understand them. Therefore, they did not need anything in this life other than each-other.
In this world of their own that no one else could reach, they would live on their own and die on their own.
Once MIzel would reach the end of her life, Isla would naturally not be able to live.
For Isla, her excessive skinship with her older sister was her way of making the best of every single moment of the scarce time they still had,no matter how fleeting.
Creeee――――!
An inorganic, mechanical noise resounded in the room.
At that moment, the sisters, who had just been playing with each-other like children, instantly returned to their usual, completely emotionless expressions.
There were only a few people who could enter this institute. Among them, only one person was allowed to come without any prior notice.
【”So that’s the one Gunther used against Rosberg.”】
Heimdall’s smile carried arrogance the likes of which could only come from a supreme ruler who had the world in the palm of his hands.
【”――Affirmative; however, the output is still insufficient.”】
【”――Conjecture; it appears the machine went into emergency shutdown due to a short circuit caused by magic overload.”】
【”Will Farenheit’s current output be enough to deal with the lord of Bashtar?”】
Heimdall had already received information about not only the fact that SKuld had been defeated, but even the fact she had joined Kurats’ side.
This was not a strange turn of events from his perspective. He had always been vaguely aware of Skuld’s true feelings when she reluctantly worked for him, her father’s foe.
If she was to be an enemy, then that was that. There were many methods to defeat her anyway.
But the problem was how to defeat Kurats; the monster who had gone beyond even Heimdall’s own expectations.
If that monster was planning to cooperate with Skuld, the situation could go slightly out of hand.
【”――Affirmative; but solely in close-quarters combat.”】
【”――Affirmative; but only in a short-term battle.”】
【”How long will it perform at full power?”】
【”――Conjecture; 5 minutes at most.”】
【”――Conjecture; if multiple enemies attack it at once, it will last less than 3 minutes at full power.”】
【”Extend its uptime as fast as you can. All the material you’ll need will be prepared for you.”】
Kurats was not the only adversary to look out for right now.
There was also the snow white valkyrie, Frigga, as well as Lunaria, whose fighting strength was not to be underestimated. And now, even Skuld could be assumed to have joined them as a fighter.
Moreover, according to the intelligence Heimdall had received, Kurats was also followed by some beautiful women with mysterious powers.
――In all truth, they were an amazing team.
Even the peerless Asgard empire would have a hard time gathering such a team.
Originally, the only person worthy of caution in the Jormungand kingdom had been Rosberg.
There were still many countries with the power and military might to become a threat, but when it came to individual teams and their commanders, there was no match for Asgard even among the continent’s 5 major powers.
It was likely no exaggeration to say that if the empire could defeat Kurats and take over the Jormungand kingdom, then their conquest of the continent would be 90% achieved.
【”――Objection; we were promised a month of vacation if our mechanism showed good results in a real battle.”】
Isla glared at Heimdall while anxiously clenching Mizel’s hand.
The speed of her body’s growth was inversely proportional to the growth of her intelligence, meaning her body could not keep up with her brain’s energy consumption.
Lately, Mizel had been fainting like her battery was out and her sleeping hours were becoming longer. No one understood the situation better than Isla.
If Mizel could recover her energy, then she would very likely be able to extend her lifespan a little.
But Heimdall snorted in response like this was of no interest to him.
【”You only have 3 years left, what difference is one month going to make? “】
If a short lifespan was the price to pay for the two girls’ superhuman intelligence, it was essential to maximize the amount of research they would be able to achieve over their short lives.
If giving them vacations could extend their lifespans, Heimdall would likely have readily given them a break.
However, unless their breaks could be counted in years, such a lifespan extending effect could not be expected.
Such long breaks would only be a meaningless shortening of their research time.
In that case, exploiting them and squeezing the most out of them was likely the way to go to get research results.
【”――Indignation; if you do not improve your treatment of us, we will take decisive action.”】
Only the two sisters knew the contents of their research. Only they could understand it; and no one else would be able to take over it in their stead.
If Heimdall had no intention to give her older sister her time off, then Isla was going to take it herself.
She was determined to do so.
But her determination did not even come close to making an impression on Heimdall.
【”If you want me to separate you and hold one of you hostage, that’s fine by me. But if you still want to stay together, be quiet and obey.”】
【”――Reluctance; his majesty the emperor is being unfair.”】
【”――Reluctance; but we will continue our research.”】
The sisters had been together since the day they were born. The mere thought of being separated was enough to remove their will to oppose Heimdall.
At the end of the day, they were just birds in a cage, the kind that could not subsist without their owner.
【”Smart choice. If the lord of Bashtar can be successfully brought down, I’ll consider giving you some vacation time. It’s not like I’m planning to make you work to your death.”】
Heimdall intended to use the girls as much as necessary.
For him, the ends justified the means, no matter how unfair. He would not hesitate to do what he had to.
For the sake of his goal of unifying the world for a full lifetime, he could not afford to sympathize with the sorrow of each and every person.
【”You can ask for all the funding and information you want; you’ll take precedence over everything else. But I’ll be expecting better results from you.”】
Despite the arrogance of his tone, Heimdall could not actually not help but feel a deep interest towards the anomaly that was Kurats.
He hoped Kurats was feeling proud about defeating Skuld at this moment.
But the strongest assets of the empire were not powerful individuals like Skuld and Gunther.
The magic technology that no other country could follow, the technology that was led by these two sisters; that was the empire’s strongest weapon.
