"I am aware of its existence."
A tin can telephone—a device made by taking two containers large enough to cover the ears and connecting them with a taut thread.
As long as the thread remained taut, words spoken into one container would carry over to the container held against the other person's ear.
Its origin was said to trace back to someone who, while pressing an ear to the ground to listen to distant sounds, struck upon the idea one day.
"Using that concept as a starting point, I tried various experiments. To transmit over long distances, one needs a fairly long line—which inevitably becomes a rope—and with that, I tested this and that."
"So you were trying to transmit messages using ropes."
"Indeed. At first, I tried passing sound through it, but that did not go well. From there, I tried motion, twisting, and all sorts of things, but none of them succeeded."
"Heat... wouldn't work either, I suppose."
"Impressive, Noah. It took me six months of experimenting with tin can telephones before I even thought of that."
"Since you tested it to that extent, Father, does that mean it proved completely useless in the end?"
"Correct. There are two main problems. First, the longer it gets, the harder it becomes to transmit, and the more susceptible it is to outside interference along the way. With a tin can telephone, merely pinching the thread with your fingers prevents anything from carrying through."
"It really isn't suited for long distances at all, is it?"
"Indeed. Even if a signal somehow made it through, the message would be ambiguous. I realized it would be useless unless there was a clearer method—clear enough to make it as distinct as black and white."
"Black and white... Ah."
"What is it?"
"...Forgive me, Your Majesty."
Father gave a nod. "Mm."
Then he looked at me with an expression that asked, What are you doing?
I held out my hand.
Channeling Huwawa's power into the ring I always wore on my thumb, I fashioned a thread.
To keep it easy to see, I made the thread as thick as a pinky finger and as long as the distance from my elbow to my fingertips.
"What will you do with that?"
"Like this."
With that, I gave an order to Huwawa.
Instantly, the white thread turned pitch-black.
"Oh!"
Father let out an admiring exclamation.
"I see. With that, the signal would be unmistakable."
"Yes. Black or white—there is no room for ambiguity. As for the contents of the transmission—"
"We need only prepare a cipher codebook beforehand. Combinations of black and white—if we use the phonetic sounds of spoken words rather than written characters, about twenty patterns should be enough to construct functional sentences."
"Yes."
"Magnificent, Noah. Indeed, that was what I ultimately aimed for, but I saw no prospect of realizing it."
Basking in Father's praise, I gazed down at Huwawa's thread.
The beauty of this was that Huwawa's power, even when separated from my hands, could be utilized to some extent by other people.
Even now, only designated individuals were able to lock and unlock Huwawa's Box.
Compared to that, switching between two colors—black and white—was child's play.
—However.
My excitement lasted only a moment before I spotted an immediate issue.
I ordered Huwawa to extend this thread as far as possible.
The thread grew thinner and longer—only to snap after looping just once around Father's bedchamber, the vast chamber of the retired emperor.
"Ngh..."
I furrowed my brow and let out a groan.
Looping around a spacious bedchamber made it long as far as threads went, but it fell far short of the ultra-long distances Father and I desired—the kind of range needed to connect distant outposts.
"There it is."
"Eh?"
"I told you there were two problems, did I not? The other is a fundamental issue: we could not produce something long enough to span from city to city."
"Right..."
I nodded solemnly.
As expected of Father; this was clearly a road he had already walked.
However, of the two problems, one was now solved.
On top of that, I had devised the best possible solution imaginable: making it black and white.
I wanted to find a way to make this practical. To do that, I needed to make it longer.
『If that's what you need...』
"—?!"
I snapped my head toward empty air.
Startled by the voice that suddenly echoed in my mind, I quickly regained my composure.
This had happened before.
In fact, it was an occurrence that had taken place several times now.
『Do you want my power?』
"...Yeah, I want it."
"..."
I answered the speaker.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Father look momentarily surprised, but true to form, he immediately fell silent and simply watched.
I focused my attention entirely on the owner of the voice.
『Then call my name. I wonder if you can manage it—my name is a bit difficult, you know?』
"...I see. It is indeed a bit tricky. It doesn't quite match your image."
『In the ancient tongue, it used to mean 'light.' Come on, try calling it.』
"Right... Huwawa—no, Humbaba!"
The moment I called that name, my body shone with brilliant light.
The power of Huwawa dwelling within me overflowed.
An entity standing on equal footing with Bahamut, Leviathan, and Behemoth—Humbaba.
The beautiful woman once said to have been trapped inside a painting now materialized, radiating the dignified presence of a goddess with an even more breathtaking, noble aura.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Emperor of the Empire Gender: Male Level: 17 + 1 + 1 / ∞
HP: C + S MP: D + A Strength: C + SSS Stamina: D + A Intelligence: D + SS Spirit: E + S Speed: E + S Dexterity: E + S Luck: D + A
Fire: E + S + S Water: C + SSS Wind: E + C Earth: E + S Light: E + S Dark: E + B ――――――――――――
In the corner of my vision, I caught a glimpse of my Earth stat's plus-modifier soaring drastically.
I addressed Humbaba, the goddess-like figure standing before me.
"Can I borrow your strength, Humbaba?"
『With pleasure.』
Smiling gracefully, Humbaba raised her hand.
At once, the severed thread of Huwawa that had snapped a moment earlier floated into the air.
It merged into a single mass before slowly unraveling and stretching out once more.
This time, it extended while maintaining the thickness of a pinky finger.
It stretched, and stretched, and continued to stretch.
It kept extending until it had looped around Father's bedchamber ten full times.
And then—.
"What about black and white?"
『Of course.』
In response to my request, the thread smoothly transitioned from white to black, then back to white again.
With this... I thought.
I turned back to Father.
Though surprised, a smile graced his face.
"Astounding, Noah. So that is a being on par with the likes of Leviathan and Bahamut."
"Yes, that is correct, Father."
I gave a firm nod.
Leviathan, originally Leviathan. Bahamut, originally Lutye.
Both were treasures held by the Empire, beings with whom Father was well acquainted.
"To command such entities so freely—no, it is far too late to be surprised by that."
Father let out a soft chuckle, brushing the thought aside, and turned his gaze back to the thread.
"Does it look like this can be mass-produced?"
"Most likely."
"Will it be disrupted if someone touches it?"
"How about it?"
I posed Father's question directly to Humbaba.
『It's hardly so fragile as to be disrupted by a mere touch.』
"It seems it will be fine."
"Then it would be best to bury it underground. If its length is so adaptable, routing it beneath the earth will shield it from sabotage and the elements."
"Thank you, Father."
I bowed deeply.
As expected of Father, who had spent so long experimenting with this very concept.
Even with a thread that had only just been created, he immediately pointed out how to make practical use of it.
It was easy to imagine that he had long contemplated burying the line underground if a viable form ever presented itself.
Then what should I do? How could I push this even further?
Though perhaps not to Father's extent, all sorts of ideas for how to use this flashed through my mind.
"Go."
"Eh?"
"Strike while the iron is hot."
"Thank you very much. Forgive me for taking my leave, Your Majesty."
"Mm."
After bowing deeply once more, I departed the bedchamber with Father's blessing.
With Humbaba trailing beside me, I strode down the corridor, my mind racing with possibilities.
It was revolutionary.
The Empire would take an immense leap forward.
Of that, I was absolutely certain.
In the quiet bedchamber left in Noah's wake, the retired emperor gazed out the window from his bed.
His expression was filled with satisfaction, but in exchange for that contented look, he seemed to age drastically in that single instant.
Having found peace, the retired emperor looked his true age, as though a vital weight had finally slipped from his shoulders.
Reaching for the bell at his bedside, he rang it.
The door opened immediately, and a man stepped inside.
It was no servant, but the former First Prime Minister Noisehill, an old man of similar advanced years.
"Did you call for me, Your Majesty?"
"Mm."
The retired emperor nodded as Noisehill closed the door behind him and approached the bedside.
Looking at Noisehill, the retired emperor spoke a single, quiet sentence:
"This is my final order."
"............Yes, sire."