"Father, what in the world is this?"
Reiko held the object between her fingertips and presented it to Jin.
She had currently switched off the Magic Canceller and set it to act as a Magi-Jammer. In this state, no magic could be used by anything other than Jin and his own creations.
"Analyze... This is?! One more time. Analyze."
Jin’s expression grew troubled as he scrutinized the object.
"Father, what is the matter?"
"Jin, what’s wrong?"
"Jin-sama, what exactly is that thing?"
"Hmm, how should I put it... This is a collective of ultra-small magi-machines. You could call them micro-magi-machines... They’re essentially a type of golem."
"Something so small is a golem?!"
On that point, Jin himself had created tiny golems before. His Milli-Smiths stood only five millimeters tall, so they were comparable in scale to these micro-magi-machines.
"The question is what this thing was doing."
Jin deactivated the Magi-Jammer so that Helente could witness the results of his investigation. As he did so...
"Father, the micro-magi-machine has started moving."
"What?"
The object, which had been shaped like a bean, suddenly shifted. Like a glob of jelly, it slipped through Reiko’s fingers and began to crawl up the back of her hand.
"That's creepy."
《Wh-What is that?!》
The rebooted Helente voiced her alarm.
"This is the micro-magi-machine we removed from you, Helente."
《What!》
"It was likely parasitizing your control core. I suspect that 'Helente’' persona was a side effect of this thing's presence."
《I see... Indeed, my thoughts feel much clearer now. The noise is gone; everything feels transparent.》
"So it really was interfering with you."
《I am deeply grateful to Marikka-sama.》
"Fue?! Wh-Who, me?"
"No, Marikka, if you hadn't been here, we wouldn't have been able to respond so quickly. This is definitely your achievement," Jin praised her.
"D-Do you really think so?"
《It is exactly as he says, Marikka-sama.》
Since there was no end to the pleasantries, Jin decided to further investigate the still-wriggling micro-magi-machine.
"Inspection. Decompile... Eh?"
"Father!"
"Jin-sama, what is it?"
《What is this?》
"?"
Only Sion had a lackluster reaction since she couldn't read magi-formulas, but everyone else was equally shocked by the results.
"Domination... Erosion...?"
"Reiko, put the Magi-Jammer on that thing... No, hit it with the Magic Canceller and then seal it inside a barrier."
"Yes, Father."
Jin led the others into another room before giving Reiko the instructions so Helente wouldn't overhear.
"...But I have a feeling this is getting beyond a joke."
Once the micro-magi-machine was removed, Helente became completely cooperative. Of course, Marikka’s presence played a significant role in that change.
Now back to normal, Helente had been released from her restraints and was talking with Jin and the others in the second-floor lounge of Jin Castle. Before releasing her, Laojun had analyzed a copy of her control core to verify she had no intentions of betrayal. At this point, it was safe to consider Helente fully allied with them.
Because of this, several mysteries that had been bothering them were finally resolved.
The megafloat was originally intended to be a mobile base to protect the world. It wasn't meant to be quite that massive, but about 1,000 years ago, the magi-brain managing its construction began to develop abnormalities.
Almost simultaneously, the Brain of Onogoro Island also developed an abnormality. Specifically, it stopped recognizing the megafloat’s malfunctions as errors. Furthermore, its interest in the world of Ars began to wane.
Helente had been desperately searching for the "Lord of Kunlun" for two reasons: to see if he could do something about the megafloat’s issues, and because the Onogoro Island Brain would occasionally act erratically, prompting her to find someone capable of fixing it.
As a side note, Helente couldn't explain the energy transfer process. The reason was simple: she did not know how it worked.
Helente further stated that Onogoro Island’s role was to protect this world of Ars where the Progenitors had settled. However, after the magi-brain malfunctioned, its awareness of that duty had become incredibly weak.
《It should be impossible to simply stand by and watch the world of Ars after an Ether Stampede, and yet...》
Apparently, the fact that the discs only used arrows as a means of attack was a remnant of their original, restricted programming.
"Does that mean you can't modify that kind of equipment?"
《Correct. We do not have the authority.》
One more small mystery was solved.
"What in the world is that micro-magi-machine, I wonder?"
《I do not know either.》
"At the very least, it isn't friendly."
"Jin-sama, 1,000 years ago... that would be around Adriana-sama's time, right?"
"It would be."
"I wonder which came first? Helente, do you know the exact number of years?"
《My apologies, but my information regarding that period is ambiguous, so I cannot calculate the exact years.》
Helente bowed her head to Marikka in apology.
"N-No, no! Please don't worry about it!" Marikka waved her hands in a panic, feeling flustered.
"In any case, liberating the Brain has to be the priority."
"Right. The megafloat comes after that," Sion agreed with Jin’s words.
《Indeed. That would be best. The megafloat isn't something that can be finished in a day or two anyway.》
"That means we’re heading to Onogoro Island."
"Setting aside the method of travel, can we actually sneak in?"
《It will be quite difficult. Security is very tight,》 Helente said. 《However, I can enter without issue.》
"Well, that makes sense."
《If we make it look like I have taken prisoners, I could likely bring up to two people inside without raising suspicion.》
"I see. That's the plan, then."
《It would be dangerous for Marikka-sama, so she should stay behind.》
"R-Right."
"Reiko and I will go. If we say you captured the 'Lord of Kunlun' and his servant, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
《There should be no problem.》
"Alright. In that case, explain the interior of Onogoro Island to me as best you can."
《A reasonable request. Do you have something to write with?》
"I'll prepare it immediately."
And so, the Onogoro Island Infiltration Plan and the Brain Liberation Operation began to take shape.