“Eternal life and youth? Of course I want that. It’s a no-brainer.”
Luciana spoke without a moment’s hesitation.
I had posed the same question to her that I’d asked Henry earlier. As another of my Executives, I wanted to hear her perspective. The result was the exact opposite of the archer's.
Alone with me in the Audience Chamber, Luciana shrugged.
“I hate the idea of dying. If I can live forever, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
“You’re remarkably straightforward about it.”
“Don’t you think that’s more fitting for a Succubus?” Luciana said, sounding rather proud of herself.
She took great pride in her race and always carried herself with dignity. Every word and action she took was brimming with confidence. I had heard that many within the Demon King’s Army were infatuated with her, and I suspected it wasn't just due to her racial traits, but her own personal charm.
“If I’m going to become one of the undead anyway, a Vampire sounds lovely. It’s important for a girl’s appearance not to change much, you know? Regardless, I’m not going to die and leave you all alone, Demon King, so rest easy, okay?”
Luciana gave a mischievous smile and poked the tip of my nose with her finger.
It was then that I realized her motivation wasn't purely about eternal life. She was being considerate of me. It seemed she couldn't bear the thought of dying first and leaving me to face eternity by myself.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s a bit late for that, isn't it? It’s mutually beneficial, so don’t worry about it.”
Luciana let out a sigh, looking slightly exasperated with me. I remained silent, unable to offer a rebuttal. No clever words came to mind, and I realized I could only be grateful for her presence.
Seeing me like that, Luciana deftly changed the subject.
“Anyway, putting that aside, a message came in from the Research Institute. It seems they’ve finished the analysis of the Golem.”
“I see.”
I shifted my focus. I had been told it would take some time, but this was much faster than I had anticipated. Only ten days had passed since I’d requested the analysis. The Director had likely immersed herself in the work, begrudging even the time spent sleeping.
Having delivered the message, Luciana turned toward the door.
“I have things to do, so I can’t go with you. Let me know the results later, though.”
“Understood.”
I nodded, and Luciana waved as she left the room. Despite her lighthearted behavior, she was incredibly thoughtful. This was a side of her I never would have noticed back when we were mortal enemies. Back then, the moment we faced each other, we were focused only on killing the other. It was a truly strange twist of fate.
Once I was alone, I decided to head to the Research Institute immediately. I needed to see the state of the Golem for myself. Along the way, I explained the situation to Grom and Henry and brought them along.
The Research Institute Director was waiting for us at the entrance.
“Demon King! Welcome! Please, please, come inside!”
She greeted us with frantic politeness and immediately began leading the way. We passed through the security checkpoint and proceeded down the hallway. This was Henry’s first time visiting the facility, but since his magic power had already been registered, the alarms remained silent.
Henry looked around at the interior with interest, glancing at the Research Institute Staff members who bowed every time we passed.
“You’re quite well-received here, aren't you, Boss?”
“And for good reason! Just the other day, the Demon King provided us with a magnificent specimen. Every member of the staff is truly grateful!”
As the Director answered joyfully, I noticed distinct dark circles under her eyes. She was clearly suffering from a severe lack of sleep. However, she was strangely hyper-energetic. She seemed to enjoy her research so much that she didn't even notice her extreme fatigue.
That said, I couldn't have her collapsing from overwork. I would eventually have to make rest periods mandatory at the institute. She would likely protest, but on this point, I wouldn't budge.
Identifying this new administrative challenge, I continued through the institute. Midway through, Henry threw a question at the Director.
“I came here to see those things called guns. Where are they?”
The Director beamed and practically pounced on Henry. She grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously.
“You’re interested in the guns!? In that case, I’ll have someone else show you the way! I would dearly love for you to try a test firing and experience their performance for yourself!”
The Director stopped a passing staff member and instructed them to lead Henry to the Gun Storage Room. The staff member nodded and led the archer away.
“Boss, I’m gonna go check out the guns. I'll catch up with you later.”
“Understood.”
After seeing Henry off, Grom and I followed the Director. As she walked ahead, she spoke loquaciously without looking back.
“My, oh my, that Golem is truly something... The more the analysis progressed, the more amazed I became. Was that really manufactured in the Technomagic Kingdom?”
“There is no doubt. I captured it from their army personally.”
It would likely be impossible for any other nation to produce it. I had never heard of a country with a level of technology as high as theirs.
“I heard the analysis is complete. Is that true?” Grom asked, his voice carry an intimidating weight.
The Director replied by placing a fist over her heart, not intimidated in the slightest. “Please, rest assured. We tackled the project with our full strength. We have achieved some respectable results.”
Her passion for research was clearly the real deal.
Eventually, we arrived at the target room in the basement, partitioned off by a thick steel door. The Director released several layers of locks and swung the door open.
“Now then, right this way. It is in here.”
Beyond the door lay a space of pure white. In the center of the room sat the Golem. It looked brand new compared to when I had captured it, and several unfamiliar parts had been integrated into its frame.
Upon seeing the Golem, Grom immediately rushed over to it.
“Oh! Oh! It has been restored to such magnificent beauty!”
“I tried repairing the damaged sections by using the intact parts as a reference,” the Director explained. “It has lost several functions, but for the time being, it can move.”
While the Director spoke, Grom was busily touching the Golem, lost in a state of childlike excitement. He had likely been looking forward to this analysis more than anyone else. He seemed to have taken a great liking to its craftsmanship.
“These are the analysis results. They contain every scrap of information we could extract regarding the Golem.”
“Hmm.”
I looked over the documents she handed me. They had investigated the Golem’s base performance and internal structure in incredible detail. As expected, the system was entirely different from any existing magic formulas or designs. It utilized technology uniquely developed by the Technomagic Kingdom.
The Golem before me was a restoration within the limits of what was possible. For the parts they couldn't replicate, they had compensated with the institute’s own magic tech. As the Director said, it had lost several functions, but the primary drive systems were intact.
One feature that particularly caught my attention was the Shared Vision function. A small crystal housed in the Golem’s head served as an eye, reflecting whatever it saw directly into the caster’s field of vision. This allowed the caster to remotely operate the Golem as if it were their own body.
However, the connection would fail if they were too far away. This explained why the Golems had not pursued the Holy Staff Army during the battle at the fortress. They could only be operated within the range of the Shared Vision. If the caster remained stationary at the fortress, the Golems' range of action was naturally limited. It was an unexpected weakness for such a high-performance machine.
(I see...)
I read through the documents. Once I had grasped the full scope of their findings, I spoke to the Director.
“Director. I want to hear your personal opinion.”
“...May I speak without reservation?”
“You may.”
The Director looked at the Golem with a bitter expression.
“I can understand the design philosophy and the intent. Regarding the power of imagination, the designer is nothing short of a genius. It’s frustrating, but I have to admit it. However, their actual level of technology is fatally lacking.”
The Director flipped through the documents I held and pointed to a specific page, her brows knitting with dissatisfaction.
“First, as a premise, this Golem is not a finished product. You likely captured a prototype that was being deployed for experimental live-combat testing.”
She flipped the pages again, showing me a sheet covered almost entirely in red ink.
“There are one hundred and seventy-eight magical defects that I can list off the top of my head—excluding actual damage from the battle. It’s hard to believe, but it seems that because these defects somehow mesh together, the machine produces performance far beyond its intended capacity. Even if one were to eliminate the defects and tune it perfectly, it wouldn't reach this level of output. It is, quite literally, a miracle of accidental harmony.”
“Just as I suspected.”
I was largely of the same opinion. The Technomagic Kingdom certainly possessed fearsome technology, but they weren't yet at a stage where they could truly "manufacture" this Golem with consistency. Malfunctions and unresolved design flaws were somehow compensating for each other, allowing the weapon to function.
I didn't think it was designed that way intentionally. It was understandable why the Director described it as a miracle.
“If you like, would you care to see it in operation? It won't produce its original performance, but we might discover something.”
“Very well. Proceed.”
I nodded. Seeing it in motion was the best way to understand it, and it was essential for identifying how we could improve the design for our own use.
Grom, standing beside the Golem, looked at me with an expectant expression. Even without him saying a word, I knew exactly what he wanted. Since we were here, I intended to grant his wish.