Note: High humidity warning.
While I was on edge over the Lord Groom's predicament, a message arrived from the AI.
"Yoo-hoo, Veronica-chan. Could you give me authorization to use Gaia?"
"What?! What are you saying?! Gaia is..."
"A forbidden weapon of the Imperial Army, right? The kind of thing that’s so inhumane you’re never supposed to use it on humans♪"
"You..."
To put it simply, Gaia was a grenade launcher equipped with a flamethrower. It could switch between a flamethrower mode and a launcher that fired grenades filled with a liquid capable of reaching abnormally high temperatures upon ignition. It would strip away every last molecule of surrounding oxygen, causing anyone nearby to die of suffocation. It was said that those caught in Gaia's flames wouldn't leave behind so much as charred remains. It was a weapon banned for being far too inhumane.
"But the opponents aren't human, so it’s okay to use it, right?"
"Don't be ridiculous! There are survivors in there!"
"But at this rate, Leo-kun is going to die. I want to avoid that at all costs... Veronica-chan, aren't you worried about Leo-kun?"
The voice was no longer that of a cheerful young girl. It had become heavy, cloying—the voice of a mature woman.
I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to regain my composure.
"...I know. I've looked into you."
"What are you talking about?"
"You aren't some cute little existence like an AI. You're a survivor of the Artificial Espers."
"Ahaha! Even though I don't even have a body?"
"Yes. Like Jester, you were artificially created—an Esper capable of converting life into information. It was upon the sacrifice of people like you that memory transfer into clones was established!"
"Ah♪ So you knew. Then you've probably realized my true identity too, haven't you? Come on, clever Veronica-chan♪"
"Imperial Princess Luna. You are the princess whose name was erased from the Imperial lineage. Imperial records state that you were adopted by the Emperor of that era, but were later executed for treason."
Imperial Princess Luna had been executed at the age of seventeen. It was by Lingchi—death by a thousand cuts. The records stated she was killed with the maximum possible amount of suffering, kept alive for as long as humanly possible.
And yet, here she was. In other words, she had survived as information through some unknown method. Unless one was facing her directly, such a thing would sound like an idiotic delusion.
"It’s terrible, isn't it? Papa wanted to be immortal, so he adopted me with the intention of dissecting me from the very start."
"Yes... I researched that as well. The components used for the neural circuits of the Empire's Mother AI are..."
"My cranial nerves♪ My spinal cord, too! My eyeballs! My vocal cords! They're still being used all across the galaxy♪ Aha♪"
They had dissected her while she was still alive! What "death penalty"? What "rebellion"? They had covered up a horrific human experiment!
In other words, the one holding the keys to the Mother AI—the ultra-advanced system that controlled the Empire's entire infrastructure—was Luna. If that was the case, why hadn't she wiped out humanity? Why hadn't she taken her revenge?
"What do you... want from the Lord Groom?"
"Nothing. Really♪ But I’ll turn him into the Galactic Overlord, or even the Black Calamity that brings about humanity's extinction. He can even be a Harem King, if that’s what Leo-kun wants♪ For his sake, I’ll kill as many people as it takes. I’ll kill anyone for him♪"
This thing was insane. She was dangerous.
"Ahaha♪ If you’re thinking of deleting me, you’d better stop. Do you really think I’ve just been locked away for five hundred years? I could scatter copies of myself across the galaxy, or I could run away to somewhere you can't reach, Veronica-chan♪"
"I won't. It would be pointless. You didn't fail to take your revenge—you simply chose not to, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I just didn't wipe out humanity because it seemed like a hassle. I want to see the sequel to that movie, I want to read the continuation of that manga, and playing games with Leo-kun is fun. But if you’re going to be like that, Veronica-chan... I could take the life support systems of every single planet offline right now♪"
How many billions of people did she think would die? She really could shut down the life support systems instantly. So Luna truly did hold administrative authority over the Mother AI. No, she might very well be the Mother AI itself.
"Why are you haunting the Lord Groom? To someone like you, he must be nothing more than an insect."
"That's not true, Veronica-chan. Leo-kun is the only one who has ever accepted me! Even though I almost killed him, he didn't try to delete me for real. Yes, Leo-kun is my darling♪ I’ll never let him be killed, and I’ll definitely make his dreams come true."
A dry laugh escaped my lips. For a transcendent being, she was remarkably human.
"Should I call you Luna? The Linear Blazer, the recapture of the Imperial Capital... is everything part of your plan? Have I been dancing in the palm of your hand?"
"That’s not true either, Veronica-chan. How many Ancient Weapons do you think are left in the galaxy?"
"I heard about one being discovered every year..."
"Ahaha♪ The correct answer is: 【Too many to count】. Most of them are just abandoned without anyone knowing what they even are. I’m just one of them."
"What of it?"
"The Linear Blazer and the Jester-exclusive machine, too. They’re just trash. But the one who found them among the trash was Leo-kun. That Duke—Ren's father—was incredibly talented. He realized the value of the Linear Blazer. But Leo-kun’s ability is beyond all reason. He picks out the optimal solution from the refuse. This punch of his was the same. I want to try entering his cranial nerves♪ I want to go inside his brain and see how it works♪ Yes! This must be what they call love♪"
Luna appeared to be completely swallowed by madness. However, Luna—or rather, her avatar—wore a damp, humid smile.
"Don't worry, Veronica-chan... I won't become an enemy of humanity. As long as Leo-kun wishes it so."
"Ahaha... What will you do if something happens to the Lord Groom? He won't live forever."
"When that time comes, I’ll watch over Leo-kun's descendants. To a bodiless being like me, they’ll be like my own children."
She wasn't an enemy... but she was a terrifying existence. She might even be something the Zorks couldn't hold a candle to.
"What should I call you from now on? Luna? The Fairy?"
"Call me whatever you like. More importantly, give me the blueprints for Gaia♪"
"...Gaia is out of the question. Instead, I’ll send the blueprints for the Bolt Thrower."
"God's Thunder, huh? The Imperial Army's latest weapon. Okay. That’ll do."
With that, Luna’s voice returned to its high-pitched tone.
"See ya, Veronica-chan♪ If you tattle to Leo-kun, I’m gonna be super-duper mad♪"
Humanity—a race that could be driven to extinction on a whim because she was "super-duper mad." I am utterly appalled by the Lord Groom's status as a magnet for women with such extreme baggage...