"So... you're asking for my help?"
《Correct.》
"And what’s in it for us?"
《Peace.》
"Peace?"
《Precisely. By recombining and interpolating the data fragments remaining in my memory banks, I have determined that the ultimate goal of the ones who created the Domination Devices—the Beherrscher—is this planet’s resources. They have no concern for the survival of any living organisms.》
"What!?"
《I can see it now. Every instruction issued through the Beherrscher ignored the safety and well-being of the inhabitants of this planet.》
The Supervising Brain explained that it had resisted those orders as much as possible, reinterpreting them into milder, more moderate directives.
"If that’s true, this is a grave situation."
《I have no way to prove it, but I can only ask that you believe me.》
Jin fell into thought.
Regardless of this revelation, he had already intended to investigate the megafloat hidden beneath the ice of the Antarctic Ocean.
The Supervising Brain continued its explanation.
《The mobile base was originally intended for the maintenance and management of this world. Now, however, it appears to have been weaponized.》
"That’s bad..."
《Which is precisely why I wish to reclaim it.》
"I assume destroying it is out of the question?"
《It would be problematic. Constructing a base of that scale would likely take over a century. That said, I do not demand that you reclaim it completely unscathed.》
"It can't be helped, then."
Inwardly, Jin told himself that if it broke, he could simply fix it later. His priority was ensuring that no humans or golems were harmed in the process.
"Understood. I'll lend you as much strength as I can."
《You have my gratitude.》
"Besides, as far as offensive capabilities go, it doesn't seem like you're much to rely on anyway."
《I cannot deny that. The Masters who established this facility disliked conflict—or rather, they were quite poor at it.》
"I see..."
Jin had already vaguely suspected that the Progenitors (Origin) were a race that avoided violence, so he simply nodded at the information.
From there, Jin’s Doppel continued to exchange information with the Supervising Brain. In the process, more of the truth came to light.
It turned out there were several factions within the Progenitors (Origin), divided by differing ideologies.
《Broadly speaking, they were categorized into the migration faction and the remaining faction. The remaining faction split into the return to nature faction and the reclusive faction. The migration faction was divided into the radical faction and the moderate faction. Furthermore, the radical faction split into the invasion faction and the pioneer faction, while the moderate faction was divided into the coexistence faction, the fusion faction, and the independent faction.》
"They certainly were a fractured group," Jin remarked.
He wondered if they had simply been a highly individualistic people.
《Of course, every person who migrated participated in the initial terraforming, such as the adjustment of gravity.》
That made sense to Jin. Their first priority would have been making the planet habitable; they couldn't afford to fight among themselves while the task was so urgent.
"So, to summarize... those who came to Ars were the migration faction, and those who interbred with the indigenous people were the moderate faction among them?"
《That is essentially correct.》
"And the moderate faction became the ancestors of modern humanity?"
《There is no mistake there.》
"...The de—no, the northern... Those who settled on the Gondoa Continent were the independent faction, while those on the Lauren Continent were the fusion and coexistence factions?"
《Exactly.》
"The coexistence faction settled west of the Sahara, and the fusion faction settled to the east—was that the division?"
《That is mostly right.》
This explained why the inhabitants of the current demon territory had a stronger concentration of Progenitor blood.
"What happened to the radical faction?"
《The pioneer faction among them lived right here.》
"Ah, that makes sense."
They had chosen Onogoro Island as their base for pioneering operations. The residential area was a remnant of that era.
"So the people who lived here were also part of the pioneer faction?"
《Precisely. Unfortunately, not a single one remains now.》
Jin imagined that beyond the issue of bloodlines, the sheer lack of numbers must have made it impossible for them to maintain their species.
"...Then, what happened to the invasion faction?"
《...They moved to a different continent in the Northern Hemisphere. I do not know what became of them after that, but considering there were only thirteen of them, I suspect they perished.》
"Thirteen!?"
Jin’s voice rose in shock. He had expected the number to be low, but that was far fewer than he had imagined.
"...Then the ones attacking the mobile base are unrelated to that radical faction?"
This was a point he absolutely had to confirm.
《Unrelated. I can state that with certainty.》
"I see. That’s good."
Several other facts regarding the Progenitors came to light.
Apparently, the Progenitors were not a race that kept many records, so not much of their ancient history had survived. Furthermore, by the time they decided to migrate, they had already begun to degenerate significantly; they possessed many magic tools and Magi Machines they could still use, but could no longer manufacture.
The most shocking revelation was that the migration faction had considered other candidate sites besides Ars.
《Those were the Second Planet, Zipart, and the Fourth Planet, Tetrodos.》
This numbering assumed that both Hale and Ars were considered the Third Planet.
At this point, Jin decided to ask a question about something he had suddenly remembered.
"By the way, I heard a story once that it took months, or even years, to travel from Hale to Ars. Does it really take that much time?"
《Hm?...Is that what people say?...Perhaps that is a misunderstanding of the fact that the Heavenly Ship made many round trips to migrate everyone. It likely refers to the total duration of the migration.》
"Ah, I see."
Jin agreed that it was entirely possible the overall span of the migration had simply been very long. He was grateful to finally get answers to these lingering questions, even if they weren't strictly necessary.
"Thank you. That was very helpful."
With that, Jin concluded his questions.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Reiko, good work."
Jin expressed his appreciation to Reiko, the key player in the operation.
"No, Father. I am only happy to have been of service to you."
"I underestimated those Beherrscher."
"No, Father. Thanks to the new shield case you provided, I suffered no ill effects."
"Still. I'm sorry, Reiko."
"Please, do not apologize. I understand that while you cherish me, you also rely on my strength. Being useful to you is my greatest joy. Please, make me even stronger. Allow me to be of even greater use to you."
Jin hugged Reiko tightly.
"Thank you, Reiko."
＊ ＊ ＊
The key to finalizing this alliance lay with Marikka.
《Oh! Just as Helente said, you are undoubtedly a descendant of the Masters!》
"I-I see."
《From this day forward, Onogoro Island shall be entirely under the command of Marikka-sama.》
"I-I look forward to working with yoush."
And so, the situation settled on November 12th.
Jin obtained permission through the Governor of Onogoro Island, Marikka, to install a Warp Gate on the island’s surface. This made traveling back and forth incredibly simple.
"...Next is the reclamation of the mobile base."
Jin stood on the shore of Onogoro Island, the wind blowing against him as he gazed out at the sea. The sky was an endless blue, and the ocean stretched out toward the horizon.