On April 23, 3457, Unifilar—an organization that had plotted to unify the continent inhabited by humans—was crushed by the Hourai Island forces led by Jin.
Unifilar had been led by the crazed automata Elena, known as the Golden Destruction Princess. However, once the Hypno and Seduce brainwashing magic she employed was dispelled, most members returned to their senses. They subsequently transitioned into the new Nostalgia group, contributing to the stabilization of the continent’s affairs.
However, there were several individuals who did not approve of this development.
Originally, very few people in Unifilar were driven purely by self-interest; even if they were, they rarely rose to the rank of executive. The exception, however, was those with magi-engineering skills.
Most were of the breed described as technology-obsessed—people who didn't care who their patron was as long as they could pursue the research they loved. The majority of these technicians had joined Unifilar without being brainwashed because their abilities were highly valued, and they were the first to flee when the organization collapsed.
"Hmph. Unifilar couldn't make full use of my abilities either."
Muttering to himself, Dajure Harvey, the former Deputy Director of the Unifilar Technology Department, hurried along a night road. To be precise, it was a golem he had created that was doing the running; Dajure himself was merely being carried on its back.
"...But the swaying... I’m starting to feel sick..."
The golem’s full-speed sprint was roughly thirty kilometers per hour. The vertical motion was quite violent, and though Dajure began to feel unwell, he couldn't afford to stop the golem, so he endured the ride.
It was approximately eighty kilometers from the vicinity of the Kashimnole Mine in the Celuroa Kingdom, where the Unifilar headquarters had been located, to Genfu in the Kingdom of Franz. Along the way, they traversed trackless wilderness and crossed the border.
He felt a wave of relief once they were across, and as he slowed the golem’s pace, his nausea finally subsided. In its place, however, came a ravenous hunger.
"I'm hungry... so thirsty..."
Having gone nearly a full day without food or drink, Dajure was nearing his limit. It was close to dawn when they passed the town of Iyal and approached Te-to. There, Dajure finally lost consciousness.
"...Ugh..."
When Dajure Harvey regained his senses, he was lying on a comfortable bed. A pitcher and a cup sat by his pillow. Dajure frantically grabbed the pitcher and drank directly from it, draining the contents in one go.
"...Phew."
Once his unbearable thirst was quenched, he found the presence of mind to survey his surroundings.
"Where am I?"
He was in a small but clean room. It lacked any signs of daily life, suggesting it was a guest room normally left vacant. At that moment, the door opened and two men entered.
"Oh, you're awake."
"You are..."
One of the men was in his late forties, somewhat short and stout, with a build that was nearly as wide as it was tall. He had dull blond hair and blue-gray eyes. The other man appeared to be a guard.
"...Duke Orange, was it?"
As a former executive, Dajure recognized Duke Orange, who had been one of Unifilar’s secret supporters.
"And you, I believe, are Dajure Harvey."
Dajure nodded.
"...I heard Unifilar was defeated. Do you still have no idea who the opponent was?"
"...Yeah. Other than the fact that they're apparently someone called Deus Ex Machina."
"Hmm. The same one who overturned the recent conflict, then."
"That's the one."
At that moment, Dajure’s stomach let out a thunderous growl.
"Hmph. It seems you're famished. I’ll have a meal brought to you. We can discuss the details afterward."
"This is the fortress."
Three days later, Dajure Harvey stood within Fort Crow. After their initial meeting, Duke Orange had told him about a fortress where numerous artifacts remained.
"You were a Unifilar supporter, yet you never reported this place?"
When Dajure asked, Duke Orange gave a derisive snort.
"Hmph. I provide support—or rather, I did. But this is this, and that is that. This fortress is precious. It would be a waste to simply hand it over to others."
True to his words, Fort Crow was a magnificent sight even to Dajure’s eyes. Most importantly, a blue-haired automata had remained there.
"If Elena saw this, she’d probably order its destruction," Dajure muttered with a smirk as he set to work on repairing the machine.
"...Dammit! To think there are things even a genius like me can't understand!"
Dajure cursed to himself in the quiet room. He found himself unable to analyze or even comprehend part of the internal components of the blue-haired automata.
"I’ll just have to treat it as a black box."
The components were magi-devices that Jin would have identified as an ether converter and a mana driver. Their sophisticated construction was completely beyond the comprehension of a self-proclaimed genius like Dajure.
Left with no choice, Dajure focused his efforts on the external parts—namely, the drive and control systems.
"MASTER. PLEASE COMMAND ME AS YOU WISH."
The repaired automata greeted Dajure in stilted, mechanical tones. With Dajure’s level of technology, this was the limit of the repairs.
"Hurry it up, you slowpoke!"
"I APOLOGIZE PROFOUNDLY."
The automata, who identified herself as Loll, had been programmed to recognize the first person she saw upon activation as her master. Thus, without any effort, Dajure became Loll’s master.
"FURTHER INSIDE, THERE SHOULD BE AN AUTOMATA FOR ASSISTANCE."
Loll’s general knowledge was limited, but she provided one crucial piece of information: the existence of a staff officer automata designed to assist the commander of Fort Crow. That automata’s name was Refa.
"Make it your top priority to get this one speaking properly," Orange ordered.
"That goes without saying."
Duke Orange and Dajure were of one mind. If they could functionalize the assistant automata Refa, restoring the rest of Fort Crow would be significantly easier. Working alongside Bocker Ove, a magi-technician and confidant of the Duke, Dajure began the repairs on Refa.
"Lord Orange, I look forward to serving you."
Once she was repaired enough to hold a conversation, Refa proved to be a literal treasure trove of information. She revealed that if the "Brain" could be restarted, all functions of the magifortress would be restored. She spoke of a basement where various artifact-class magic tools lay dormant, and she possessed a deep well of knowledge regarding the culture and civilization from before the Great Magic War.
Duke Orange instructed Dajure and the other magi-technicians to revive the Brain. Simultaneously, he ordered a full search of the basement. He intended to monopolize this precious knowledge of the past, ensuring it never fell into anyone else's hands.
In addition to Dajure, other technicians fleeing the collapse of Unifilar eventually made their way to Fort Crow. For these men, the fortress was an ideal sanctuary—a place to hide while indulging in the super-technology of the ancient past. It was every bit as comfortable for them as Unifilar had been, even if the secrets of the ether converter and mana driver remained forever out of their reach.
Time passed. Eventually, Duke Orange was branded a rebel and fled into the depths of Fort Crow.
Anticipating such a turn of events, he had already stockpiled a year's worth of food, water, and medicine within the walls. He was not in immediate danger of deprivation, but he was undeniably a rat in a hole.
"Hmph. It matters not. Once I crush the Partisans and become king, all of this will be resolved."
The former Duke Orange placed immense faith in the potential of Fort Crow.
"There should be repair golems available," Refa informed him one day.
Specialized golems for maintaining the magifortress—if they could find them, the restoration would accelerate exponentially.
And then, on March 9, 3458, the repair golems were finally discovered, tucked away deep within the basement. With this discovery, the gears of fate began to turn with renewed speed.