"Hmm, it really is quite weak after all."
In the laboratory on Hourai Island, Saki muttered as she tested the ground spider silk—GSS—that Goose had purchased.
"Is the tensile strength even lower than iron? If so, we should be able to manage cutting it with scissors."
Laojun agreed with Saki’s assessment.
The ground spider silk produced on Hourai Island possessed several times the tensile strength of steel. Its simultaneous flexibility was exactly what made it such a rare material.
"The melting point—or rather, the softening point—is also low."
"But the fact that it doesn't melt until it reaches the temperature where iron glows yellow is quite impressive," Smith 151, acting as a laboratory assistant, offered his opinion.
That was approximately 800 to 900 degrees Celsius. Silk from Hourai Island could withstand temperatures up to about 1600 degrees.
"It is far superior to the material known as 'plastic' that My Lord once mentioned. It is perfectly practical," Laojun added in support.
"Yes, you're right. Now I'm just curious about how much of it can be harvested..."
At that moment, Laojun's report took on a sharper tone.
"Saki-sama, Goose-dono has been attacked."
"What!?"
Without even noticing the sample fragment slipping from her fingers to the floor, Saki turned toward Laojun and asked urgently, "Well!? Is Goose alright?"
Laojun replied in a calm, steady voice.
"He is safe. Capella 7 of the Quinta is with him....Ah, the threat has been neutralized."
"I-I see..."
The tension drained from Saki, and she slumped down onto the floor.
However, she was back on her feet in an instant.
"Laojun! I'm going to Loizart!"
With that shout, she headed for the Warp Gate. Laojun called out to stop her.
"Saki-sama, please wait. There is time, so please change your clothes first."
"O-Oh, right."
Appearing in Loizart while still wearing her research lab coat would be far too suspicious.
With the help of Perido 49, Saki changed into a set of tidy, everyday clothes.
Then, finally, she made the trip to Loizart.
"...Still, I withdrew Regulus 46 far too early," Laojun mused.
Laojun had assigned Regulus 46, known as Deck, to a different mission. Because of that, he had left the vicinity of the stall, making them unable to prevent the attack on the Street Vendor before it happened.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Welcome, Saki-sama."
Belle was the one to greet Saki when she arrived in Loizart.
"It's been a while. Right then, I heard something happened..."
Laojun had explained the gist of it, but Saki had been so agitated that only half the information had actually registered.
"Yes. Actually..."
As she listened to Belle's explanation once more, Butler D, acting as the current steward, and Barrow arrived.
It was Butler D who had informed Barrow and Belle about the situation with Goose.
"Saki-sama, welcome. I am about to contact the Security Guard and then head out to pick up Goose-sama."
"Oh, in that case, I'll go too."
"Understood."
And so, Saki went out into the city accompanied by Butler D.
Butler D, who knew the city of Loizart inside and out, headed for the Security Guard station without hesitation.
There, he explained the situation and the nature of the suspicions.
The difficult part was that even though he was stating facts, he had to present them as 'predictions' and 'conjectures.'
"Hmm, I see....And the young lady there?"
the Security Guard who had taken the report asked, looking at Saki standing behind Butler D.
"This is Eschenbach-sama, a guest of our household. She is a friend of Goose-sama and came along because she was worried."
Immediately, the guard's attitude shifted.
"Ah, that's right, you're Saki Eschenbach-dono! I saw you at the Technology Expo!"
Apparently, this guard had remembered Saki's face from when he had been working security at the expo venue.
"Understood. We'll head out immediately. Hey, you three, follow me!"
"Sir!"
Since they already knew the location, the group rushed straight toward the high-end shopping district. Butler D guided everyone without a moment's hesitation to the entrance leading to the basement.
The guards listened intently from the top of the stairs, but no loud noises reached them.
Three of the guards and Butler D quietly descended the stairs, while Saki remained above, protected by the fourth guard.
"I don't hear anything... No, wait, I hear voices."
("...I have to get him seen by a healer somewhere"...)
Worried that there were casualties, the guards rushed down the rest of the way. Butler D, who knew Goose, called out first.
"Goose-sama, are you safe!?"
＊ ＊ ＊
"You're..."
"Yes, I am Butler, the steward of the Nidou household."
Three Security Guards followed Butler into the room.
Tenkunhan and the other man tensed up, but Goose remained unperturbed.
He briefly explained the circumstances.
A golem lying on the floor, and three men tied up.
There was a man named Goose who was an acquaintance of Saki, the two men with him, and another man who was severely injured.
It was blindingly obvious who was at fault, though making the final legal judgment was not the guards' responsibility.
Still, the three tied-up men were suspicious enough that the guards decided to take them into custody.
That left the black-armored golem, which didn't move an inch.
Thinking it would only respond to its master, one of the guards spoke to Tenkunhan.
"Sorry, but could you order this golem to come with us as well?"
However, Tenkunhan shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that."
"Why not? Do you intend to defy us?"
"No, it's not that..."
Tenkunhan smiled somewhat awkwardly and replied, "This isn't a golem; it's just a doll. It won't move even if I order it to."
It seemed it had been nothing more than a bluff all along.
Hearing that, Goose couldn't help but let out a wry smile, thinking that Tenkunhan was truly a regrettable person.
"Goose! Are you safe!?"
Saki met Goose as he emerged back onto the street.
"Saki!? Why are you here?"
"I just felt uneasy after we spoke, so I came after you!"
"I see..."
That didn't quite explain how she knew exactly where to find him, though. Goose decided to ask for the full story later.
Behind them, the three men who had regained consciousness were being led away.
Tenkunhan and the other man carried out the severely injured man.
"First, we must treat the injured....Why don't you come to our mansion? It just so happens that Elsa-sama is currently at home."
Butler D said "it just so happens," but in reality, he had heard over the manacam that Elsa had rushed over from Hourai Island the moment she heard Laojun's report.
"Elsa-sama is? That would be a huge help!"
The man who seemed to be the leader of the remaining guards evidently knew of Elsa as well as Saki, and he agreed immediately.
"Alright, then I'll head back first and tell Elsa to be ready!"
Leaving them with those words, Saki ran off. Since it was the main street, the danger had passed. Just in case, Capella 7 followed her while remaining invisible.
And so, following the natural flow of events, Tenkunhan and his associate headed for Jin's mansion.
To the hesitant Security Guard, Butler D parried the concern by stating that since Jin was a noble of the Shouro Empire with a residence in Loizart, providing such assistance was only natural.
"We have returned."
"Welcome back, Butler. Is that the patient?"
Elsa had already come out to the entrance hall.
"Yes, Elsa-sama. Please."
"Leave it to me."
Since every second was vital, they spread a blanket in the entrance hall and laid the patient down.
"Schmerzmittel."
Elsa first used a painkiller to calm the man, who was groaning in agony, and then proceeded with her examination.
"Diagnose... A simple rib fracture, and an open fracture of the left humerus. A crack in the skull, with slight hemorrhaging in the brain....I will treat the brain first. Heilung. Heilverfahren."
She used surgical healing magic to stop the bleeding and then applied internal healing magic to absorb and decompose the blood.
"...There, the brain is stable. Next, the fractures. First, I will realign the bones... Heilung."
Goose, Saki, Barrow, Belle, and the Security Guard could only watch in stunned silence as Elsa performed the treatments with practiced, clinical efficiency.