THE BOMB SQUAD’S EXPLOSIVE PROGRESS
Following Potimas’s guidance, we proceed through the gigantic UFO.
Now that the Demon Lord is going all in, we’re moving along pretty quickly.
When she’s serious, no number of robots or tanks can even pose a challenge.
A wild robot appeared!
Oh wait, it’s dead already!
It’s sorta like that.
She finishes them off so fast, my eyes can barely even follow her.
At this rate, even Potimas can’t find a chance to attack her.
She’s just destroying the enemies way too fast.
On top of that, thanks to Gluttony, the Demon Lord can fight for as long as she has to.
Exhaustion? You wish. She just has to munch up some metal with Gluttony and she’s fully recovered.
I dunno if it actually tastes good, but she’s going to town.
Seriously, this skill is so overpowered that I can’t help but laugh.
It’s like, why didn’t you just get serious in the first place instead of worrying about Potimas?
But we’re moving along just fine now, so I guess that doesn’t matter.
The UFO’s robot stockpile must be starting to run low, too, because the attacks have been getting less frequent.
That means we can move that much faster, so we’re getting closer and closer to our goal.
Namely, the compartment containing the bomb.
As you might expect, the bomb is in the center of the UFO.
When it drops the bomb, it just ejects it right from there.
What’s the problem with that? Well, this UFO is stupidly large, so it’s kinda far from here to the center.
It doesn’t help that the main gun was right on the edge of the circle, so we basically started from the farthest point possible.
And since the UFO’s original purpose is to transport weapons, the robots and tanks inside keep coming after us, which obviously slows us down.
Considering the circumstances, we had no choice but to destroy the main gun and enter that way, but it’s definitely eaten a lot of extra time.
The longer we take, the harder things get for our allies fighting outside.
Hyuvan and the other dragons won’t go down easily, but some of the puppet spiders could easily kick it if they’re not careful.
Like Sael, or Sael, or Sael!
I wouldn’t put it past Riel to make a careless mistake and die, either.
The queens? Who would waste time worrying about them?
They’re monsters of the same species as Mother, remember?
If they’re in trouble, then everyone else is basically doomed.
Still, whatever I might say about the puppet spiders and Hyuvan and all them, they are decently strong monsters, so I’m sure they’ll be fine.
The most worrisome bunch are the humans the pontiff brought.
Honestly, I’m already wondering how many of them are gonna be left alive.
Seriously, they’re in waaay over their heads here.
It’s like if ordinary civilians participated in a war for the fate of the world.
I mean, I know they’re knights and all, but still… They’re inevitably way weaker than everyone else.
It’s a help to have them here, I’ll admit, but it’s almost like they’re just meat shields.
Yeah. They really drew the short end here.
I’m guessing the pontiff knew that when he brought them here, so I suppose they’re probably prepared.
But still, I feel bad for them, so I’d like as many of them to survive as possible.
I have no idea how the war outside is going right now.
Since the UFO’s exterior is covered by the mystery barrier, I have no way of checking on things out there.
And having no idea what’s going on outside is definitely making me uneasy.
It’s like we’re being forced to play a game with a time limit we can’t even see.
But it’s not like we’re holding back in here, so as long as we keep doing our best, there’s no real point worrying about it.
The best thing to do right now is forget about the outside and focus on our goal.
But that being said, I’m mostly just letting the Demon Lord do all the work.
My only real contribution right now is keeping an eye on Potimas.
And Potimas seems to be on his best behavior as our guide right now, so I guess you could say I’m not contributing at all.
Look, I don’t need to help with small fry like this, okay?
I’m just letting the Demon Lord handle this, since she’s the oldest, okay?
It’s not because I’m totally useless here, okay?
I’m not mad that she stole the spotlight, okay?
Okay? Okay? Okay.
Huh?
Whoa, déjà vu.
I feel like I had the same thoughts recently, like maybe even earlier today.
What’s up with that? Am I actually that useless?
Th-that’s not true!
I’m getting warmed up right now!
I swear! I’m totally amazing when I try!
I-I’m sure I’ll get a chance to shine.
I just know it!
I’m only saving my strength until that happens.
And making sure Potimas doesn’t try anything suspicious!
So far, he’s been leading us along without causing any trouble.
On top of being super-huge, this UFO is super-complicated on the inside, maybe because it’s basically a flying military base.
The corridors themselves are big enough for the tanks to pass through, but there are tons of twists, turns, and branching paths, so you’d definitely get lost without a map.
I don’t even know if we’re going the right way, but I guess a cyborg like Potimas probably has some kind of memory folder in his brain.
He’s mostly likely referring to the UFO’s plans stored there to figure out where we need to go.
He has the Memory skill, too, after all.
There’s no point doubting Potimas’s memory anyway.
Frankly, it’s not like I have any understanding of the inner workings of a UFO, so I wouldn’t be able to navigate it alone.
Even Wisdom’s mapping feature isn’t working right now, probably because of the mystery barrier.
When you can’t do something that you normally take for granted, you really realize how lost you are without it, in this case literally.
I guess that also means I should appreciate such handy features more.
But because I’m so accustomed to this particular feature, I don’t pay attention to remembering where I’m going.
Hrm.
Will I be able to find my way back?
I guess I’ll just have to hope the Demon Lord’s memory is better than mine.
Yeah, I have no intention of letting Potimas guide us back.
As soon as that guy takes care of the bomb, I’m going to wipe him off the face of the planet.
Or at least have him take a hasty exit.
I’m sure this is just a remote-control cyborg body, so even if I destroy it, the real Potimas will be just fine.
As much as I wish he wouldn’t be, for the sake of a peaceful future.
I’m sure the Demon Lord feels the same way I do, probably.
But I have no doubt Potimas knows what we’re thinking, too, so I’m guessing he’ll try something before he disposes of the bomb.
The Demon Lord and I want Potimas to destroy the bomb without a fuss so we can crush him afterward.
Potimas wants to destroy the bomb, too, but he’s hoping to kill me and/or the Demon Lord first.
Talk about an awkward situation.
Why do people have to fight one another anyway?
It sucks that we can’t just reach an understanding.
No, really, I’m being relatively serious.
The world is in danger, but the core members of this crew who have to save it are openly hostile toward one another.
We’re basically doomed.
I have to make sure this doesn’t actually turn into the end of the world.
With that in mind, I follow the Demon Lord, as she destroys more robots single-handedly, and Potimas as he takes the lead.
…When do I get to shine, huh?
We’ve arrived at our destination, and I still haven’t gotten a moment in the spotlight.
The Demon Lord just carried us the whole damn way.
At this point, maybe I should let her do everything?
All jokes aside, though, there’s an extremely heavy-looking door in front of us unlike any of the ones we’ve seen so far.
The room containing the bomb is on the other side.
Once we open the door, go inside, and have Potimas disable the bomb, our mission is complete.
“The GMA bomb is just on the other side of this door. I will begin locking the bomb’s functions at once, but I do not know what defenses might await within. I must prioritize locking the bomb above all else. If there is any danger inside, I assume I can count on you two to deal with it.”
Again with the “I assume.” Can’t you at least pretend to phrase it as a question?
You’re saying it like it’s already been decided.
Although I guess it’s not like I have any better ideas.
According to Potimas, the room on the other side of the door is fairly small.
The bomb is in there, but for all we know, there might be robots or something, too.
Maybe there will even be stronger defenses than the robots, since this is supposed to be an important place, right?
I doubt they would put anything too dangerous right next to this mega-bomb, but considering they were reckless enough to make the damn thing in the first place, we can’t be too sure!
No rational person would build a bomb strong enough to destroy a continent or a weapon that drops meteors down from the sky.
If they were that crazy, then they could probably mess things up in a way no normal human would ever even imagine.
Not to mention, Potimas’s words sound suspiciously like foreshadowing.
There’s gotta be something nasty waiting on the other side of that door.
Potimas unlocks the door by way of hacking.
I guess the guy who designed this system in the first place has no problem getting through electronic locks.
Despite its heavy appearance, the door opens without a sound.
So who’s the final boss gonna be?
As I brace myself, I see a barren circular room before my eyes.
There’s something in the middle that looks like a strange, clunky pillar of some kind.
Other than that, there’s no robots, no nothing.
Come on—I figured there was gonna be some kind of high-performance super-robot, at the very least.
Bit of a letdown, to be honest.
“It can’t be.”
But compared to my disappointment, Potimas’s reaction is very different.
His short murmur carries a tone of genuine surprise.
If this guy’s surprised, then it definitely can’t be anything good.
Sure enough, the pillar in the middle of the room begins to transform.
The weird structure opens up like a flower bud, forming countless muzzles.
And then it stands up.
What? It can stand?
All I can do is stare in dumb shock.
Seriously, a transformation?
It didn’t merge with anything, but it definitely transformed.
And now that it’s done, it’s clear that it’s some kind of weird robot.
The thing doesn’t attack us, maybe because we haven’t stepped into the room yet.
The pillar part forms the base, looking as sturdy as a tank or maybe even more so.
Then there are countless arms protruding from it with guns that appear to be exactly the same as the tanks’ main guns.
And its propulsion system seems to be repurposed from a tank’s treads.
Honestly, it kinda looks like a robot that was patched together from spare parts.
But since its weaponry appears to be made from those tanks, I know how strong it must be.
Well, it’s not quite what I pictured, but I guess this is a robotic last boss, all right.
Although I feel like it kinda lacks the panache to be a last boss, among other things.
“A Gloria? But I did not give them those schematics. Where did they get this information?”
But while I’m a little let down, Potimas’s expression is grim, and he’s muttering to himself about something or other.
“Potimas, explain,” the Demon Lord says shortly.
Like me, the Demon Lord doesn’t seem overly threatened by the robot in front of us.
But Potimas’s strange reaction has her suspicious, too, which is probably why she’s demanding an explanation.
“That was developed based on the schematics of a different weapon of mine. However, I have never shared those schematics with anyone. I know not where they saw such a thing, but judging by its appearance, I believe it is not a perfect reproduction. However, it is impossible to tell how close this one’s capabilities are to the original.”
In other words, this last boss is a half-baked reproduction based on stolen glances of Potimas’s secret weapon?
“So? How strong would the original be?”
“The original could easily destroy even an upper-class dragon. Ah, I mean the fakes, not the originals, of course.”
Potimas’s casual tone only makes his words seem more truthful.
Pardon me?
Is this guy serious?
An upper-class dragon—so like Hyuvan, you mean?
Ha-ha-ha. Good one, buddy.
You are joking, right?
But Potimas’s expression is deadly serious.
And it’s not like this guy would ever tell jokes in the first place.
Does that mean this thing is seriously strong enough to defeat a dragon?
No, wait, that’s the original. This thing is just an inferior replica.
It can’t be as strong as the original.
“And this might even surpass the original.”
Sorry, come again?!
This super-shoddy-looking knockoff robot?
“This is the worst situation possible. I never imagined it would come to this.”
“Hey. Can you share with the rest of the class, please?” the Demon Lord demands impatiently.
Potimas, on the other hand, just shakes his head with a sigh.
“What did we come here to do, hmm?” he responds in a condescending tone.
You never change, do you, jerk?!
I feel like I can see an enraged mask floating behind the Demon Lord.
But I ignore his sass and think about this rationally.
We came here to dispose of the bomb, obviously.
This final boss robot is the last barrier between us and victory.
Potimas seems super-stressed about this thing, but once we beat it, all we have to do is deactivate the bomb.
Wait. Deactivate…the bomb?
Huh?
Where is the bomb, exactly?
“Ha. It appears the white creature has figured it out.”
Potimas smirks sarcastically, then shoots a mocking look at the Demon Lord, who doesn’t seem to have realized just yet.
Not now, okay?
Now is not the time for crap like that.
The Demon Lord’s rage meter is climbing like crazy, and she looks like she’s about to smack Potimas down at any second, so I grab the end of her sleeve.
“What? I’ve got a noble mission to blow this guy away right now. Why are you stopping me?”
“Bomb.”
The Demon Lord is practically popping a vein as she stares at me, and then the room beyond me, when I speak a single word.
And then she gets it.
Right away, she whirls toward Potimas.
“It is exactly as you imagine.”
When Potimas confirms, the Demon Lord clutches her head and groans.
We came here to disable the bomb.
And the boss robot is our final obstacle.
But there’s nothing else in this room except for that robot.
Hmm. So where could the bomb be?
Well, kids?
Do you see anywhere in this room where a bomb might be hiding?
Oh, and you can’t say it was never in this room in the first place.
…Which means there’s only one right answer.
The bomb we need to dispose of is somewhere inside that final boss robot.
“Strategy time!”
Since the final boss robot isn’t attacking us yet, we can stand right in front of it and come up with a plan of attack.
Yep. That’s not very nice.
But we really have to come up with a plan.
Who could’ve possibly predicted this?
It’s so unexpected, it’s not even funny.
Whoever came up with this idea is an evil genius.
Or maybe just a mad scientist.
Who would think to put a bomb that could blow away an entire continent inside a robot?
No wonder Potimas muttered, “It can’t be.”
“Potimas, are we absolutely sure the bomb is inside that thing?”
“There’s no doubt. This body’s internal measuring instruments are reacting to it.”
The Demon Lord slaps a hand to her forehead and looks up at the ceiling.
I’d like to take the same pose, to be honest.
This is horrible.
Our goal is to disable the bomb.
The bomb is inside the robot.
That means we have to do something about the final boss robot before we can disable the bomb.
That in itself is no different than if the bomb were outside the robot, but since it’s inside, we have to defeat that robot without causing the bomb to explode.
That bumps up the difficulty level quite a bit, I’d say.
On top of that, Potimas says this weapon might be even stronger than the original.
It might look like a shoddy knockoff, but this boss robot has one key difference that would make him say such a thing.
It’s using the bomb as a power source.
In other words, the bomb’s not just stuck in there—it’s actually connected to the robot.
As one of its weapons.
“What do you think?”
“I can’t imagine it’s set up such that destroying it would cause the bomb to explode… Or at least, I certainly hope not. If that was the case, it would destroy the G-Fleet along with it. Thinking logically, no one would ever construct things that way.”
Always quick with the Do I really need to explain that to you? comeback, Potimas responds smoothly to the Demon Lord’s short question this time.
I can’t help noticing that the Demon Lord looks a little annoyed about that.
No doubt she was hoping he would hesitate long enough that she could say, Do I really need to explain this to you? back to his face.
He’s always snarking at us, so I understand the desire to get him back.
He sure sidestepped that attempt, though.
At any rate, I’ll just stay quiet and pretend I didn’t see anything.
Poking fun at her certainly wouldn’t lead anywhere good.
“Unfortunately, we cannot say for certain that it’s not the case.” Potimas sighs.
He’s right. Normally, you’d assume it wouldn’t be constructed that way, but we have no way of knowing for sure.
That’s the problem.
The bomb inside the final boss robot is stupidly powerful enough to destroy an entire continent.
Obviously, if it explodes on this ship, the UFO itself will be blown away, too.
There should probably be some kind of secure lock in place to prevent that from happening, but it’s possible that the lock could come undone by certain circumstances.
Like vibrations from the robot being destroyed, for instance.
So in other words, if we’re going to destroy this final boss, we have to do it veeery gently.
That just makes this even more difficult!
And what if there’s actually a mechanism that makes the bomb go off if the robot is destroyed?
Then, we can’t even destroy the robot at all.
No one in their right mind would design it like that, of course.
But at this point, we have to seriously doubt whether the person who did all this was really in their right mind.
Would whoever developed all this destructive technology really be rational about it?
There’s no way of knowing for sure.
And we can’t act based on wishful thinking alone.
The fate of the world depends on it.
We’ve got to be extremely careful and come up with a foolproof strategy.
But what are we going to do?
“…”
“…”
“…”
All three of us sink into silence.
Uh-oh.
I know I’m stumped, but the fact that the Demon Lord and Potimas aren’t even suggesting possible plans is kinda scary.
But I guess I can’t really blame them.
If we want to dispose of the bomb, we have to do something about the final boss robot.
But if we do that, then the bomb might explode.
We’re between a rock and a hard place, dammit.
Of course, it’s possible that we can destroy the robot without the bomb going off.
If anything, considering how powerful that bomb is, I think it’s much more likely that it wouldn’t explode from that.
If the robot is meant to guard the bomb against thieves who might infiltrate the ship, it wouldn’t make sense for it to explode if the robot was defeated.
What kind of moron puts the bomb a guardian’s supposed to be protecting inside the guardian anyway?!
That only makes the thing you’re trying to protect even more dangerous!
I guess that’s not the worst strategy, but who would even think of that?!
What if the bomb blows up by mistake?!
Seriously, what a mad scientist.
Considering that the culprit thought of this insane idea, it wouldn’t be too out of character if the bomb really did self-destruct as soon as the robot was destroyed.
Yeah. We gotta tread lightly here.
Wouldn’t it be better to let Güli-güli handle this?
We could just keep an eye on the bomb until Güli-güli gets back.
Pretty good idea, right?
I nod to myself in satisfaction.
Some of my hair falls onto my face, so I nonchalantly tuck it behind my ear.
And then there’s a smartphone in my hand.
“No one’s coming to help.”
A beautiful yet unsettling voice comes through the phone.
I know of only one person who can do things like that and who sounds like that.
The self-styled evil god, D.
A chill runs down my spine.
How long have I been holding this smartphone?
Normally, it just appears out of nowhere, which means I can’t detect it coming.
That’s all well and good, since that’s how it always goes.
But why am I holding the phone this time?
It was a coincidence that hair fell into my face.
And the fact that I tucked it behind my ear was nothing but a thoughtless, automatic reaction.
My hand just happened to be in the perfect position to be holding a phone to my ear.
That’s all there is to it.
Yeah. That’s it.
I just so happened to coincidentally be in a position like I was holding a phone, so D snuck the phone into my hand.
That must be what happened, right?
…Yeah, I don’t buy it, either.
How long?
When did D start controlling me?
That’s the only possible explanation.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t be holding this smartphone like this.
Even now, I want to throw it onto the floor, but my body won’t move an inch.
I feel sick to my stomach at the realization.
The owner of this phone is controlling me so completely that even I didn’t notice.
“Oh, don’t be so frightened.”
I’m not frightened, okay?
I’m just mad.
I am me. I’m nobody but myself, and I’m nobody’s puppet.
Of course I’d get mad if someone tried to control me.
That’s what led to me fighting against the Demon Lord in the first place.
More than anything else, I refuse to bend on this subject.
Anyone who tries to control me is my enemy!
“Ahhh, you really are so entertaining.”
Despite the voice’s emotionless tone, it somehow conveys a sense of joy.
I force down the rising fear in my heart.
Be strong! Don’t get overwhelmed! Stand up to your enemy, if only out of spite!
“Do not worry. Aside from the instance of light tampering just a moment ago, I have never interfered with your personal actions.”
I focus all my brainpower on the words coming from the smartphone.
I don’t want to miss a single syllable.
I’ll even ignore the fact that D is reading my mind as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
If these words are to be believed, the only time D has ever controlled my actions is when I was made to hold that smartphone naturally just now.
But the words “your personal actions” sound suspicious to me.
“Very astute. I have not meddled with you personally, but I did provide your weapon with a few extra perks.”
At D’s words, my eyes automatically move to the scythe in my other hand.
“Still, it is nothing too remarkable. I simply made it so that its abilities will improve to correspond with your own growth. The fact that it seems to be developing of its own accord is likely due to the effect of the Parallel Minds skill. I believe an extra framework caused by an irregularity is affecting the weapon.”
An irregularity? Does that mean the former body brain, the Parallel Mind that fused with the Demon Lord?
My Parallel Minds skill is level 10, but I can produce only nine Parallel Minds.
The last one, due to various circumstances, wound up in the irregular situation of being fused with the Demon Lord’s soul.
Since it’s basically been absorbed by the Demon Lord, that means I lost a Parallel Mind. So does that mean this “extra framework” is essentially giving the scythe a mind of its own?
“That is correct, more or less.”
Guess I was right.
“The scythe, which was made from part of your own body, is still a part of you now. That is why it has developed unusual properties. And as it is a part of you, it will not betray you in any way.”
I wonder about that.
My Parallel Minds were supposed to be part of me, and they still managed to betray me.
Who’s to say this scythe won’t betray me, too?
“My, but you are cautious. Well, what you do with that information is up to you. I simply wanted to give a bit of a special present to one of my favorite people. You get to decide what you do with it.”
Oh yeah?
Well, this scythe is useful.
Really useful, in fact.
I’m not sure if I can take D’s words at face value, but I don’t want to give up the scythe, either.
At the very least, I’d like to keep using it until this particular incident is settled.
“I’m terribly pleased it seems to be to your liking.”
Ugh. Having my mind read is seriously a pain.
No matter what excuses I try to make, you’ll always know what I’m really thinking.
Fine, then, I’ll admit it.
I like it, okay? I reeeeally like it!
This thing is just crazy convenient, all right?!
It’s strong! Insanely strong! Sooo freakin’ strong!
And I made it with my own hands, out of my own body, so yeah, of course I love it!
You got a problem, dammit?!
“Now then, as I was saying, no one is coming to help.”
…Wow. Totally ignored me.
Uhhh. Okay. Fair enough.
No waaay.
So, um, what was that about no one coming to help?
Why is that, exactly?
“I thought it would be more entertaining this way, so I stopped him.”
What?!
So it’s your fault?!
I was a teensy bit worried that something might have happened to Güli-güli, but clearly I was wrong!
In fact, this might be even worse in a way!
You damn evil god! You’re seriously evil!
Who the hell would take the safest option off the table when the fate of the world’s at stake just because it’d be more entertaining?
Only the worst gambler ever!
I mean, I guess it doesn’t affect D much either way, but for those of us with our necks on the line, this seriously sucks.
I guess if you’re just a spectator, then sure, watching us struggle against all odds would be way more interesting than Güli-güli just poofing the problem away!
But put yourself in my shoes for a second here!
I don’t even know if it’s possible for us to solve this on our own!
“At any rate, you’re on your own, as you can see. Do your best to bring home a win, okay?”
You’ve gotta be kidding me!
Just like that, the phone in my hand disappears.
As usual, D sticks around only long enough to say her piece.
I bring the hand that was holding the smartphone in front of my face.
I’m guessing my expression is fairly different for once.
“What’s up, White?”
See? The Demon Lord noticed, too.
…Hmm?
I raise my head, peering at the Demon Lord and Potimas.
The Demon Lord looks bemused, and Potimas looks composed as usual.
Neither of them makes any reference to the smartphone I was just holding a second ago.
That’s odd.
They’re acting like the phone conversation I just had never even happened.
I guess for all I know, it really didn’t.
“Phone.”
“Hmm?”
I say the word “phone” as an experiment, but the Demon Lord just tilts her head, clearly having no idea what I’m getting at.
Potimas doesn’t respond, either, but I’m guessing he doesn’t get it, either.
Neither of them must have sensed my conversation with D.
In fact, it didn’t seem like they moved at all during the conversation, so maybe time was stopped or something.
Somehow, D sent me a message without either of them even noticing.
Once again, I’m reminded how unusual D really is.
A real god, an evil one.
No wonder D sees a possibly world-ending threat as nothing more than a source of amusement.
D lives in a different world in many different ways.
Physically, mentally, and in terms of power.
“You okay, White?”
The Demon Lord seems concerned about my unusual state.
Ahhh, after talking with D, that kindness heals my wounded heart.
Describing a demon lord as a healing force seems sorta wrong in various ways, but for now I’m just gonna lean into it.
Moving on some weird impulse, I end up giving the Demon Lord a hug.
“Huh? White?”
Now she’s even more confused.
Hrm. Because of our size difference, this isn’t quite the kind of hug I was going for.
I kinda wanted her to comfort me, but instead it feels like I’m picking up and reassuring a child.
Oh well, I guess that’s fine. Going along with it, I pat her head, since she’s at just the right height.
“Wh-whaaa—?”
The Demon Lord voices her confusion again, but she isn’t trying to pull away from me.
She’s just letting me do it, even though I’m sure her head is full of question marks right now.
I suddenly started hugging her and patting her head, so I can’t really blame her.
I’m the one doing it, and I don’t know what’s going on, either!
The fact that she’s not shaking me off in this weird situation is just further proof that the Demon Lord is a freaking saint.
How is she so tolerant?
Seriously, why is this person a demon lord?
It’s like one of the Seven Wonders of the World at this point.
“Could you put an end to this foolish charade already?”
On the other hand, the man who’s watching us coldly is absolutely the devil.
How is he so evil?
This guy stinks to high heaven! Or should I say to hell?
But I guess in this particular situation, Potimas is probably right.
We can’t just run away from reality forever.
I reluctantly let go of the Demon Lord, feeling like a child who’s been forced to put down their stuffed animal.
Not that I ever had a stuffed animal, in this life or the one before it.
“All right. Since White seems to have calmed down, let’s get back to our strategy, shall we?”
The stuffed animal in question, the Demon Lord, calmly resumes our strategy mission as if that never happened.
Oof. Gotta admit, that borderline indifference hurts a little.
“Problem is, I can’t think of a single way to approach this. I’m stumped.” The Demon Lord throws up her hands. “If we just had to destroy that machine, that’d be one thing, but if we have to make sure nothing explodes in the process…”
She sighs and glares at the final boss robot.
I guess she’s just as flabbergasted by this disastrous bomb-in-the-robot situation as I am.
“Honestly, maybe our best bet is to wait until Gülie gets back?”
“Most likely.”
What’s this?
Did Potimas just agree with the Demon Lord?
The Demon Lord seems as surprised as I am; she stares at the elf in blatant shock.
“Obviously, I do not desire any situation in which the GMA bomb explodes. Attempting to kill you two was, in the end, a secondary objective. If I can, I will, but if not, I care little. You are not important enough to be higher priority than a situation like this.”
Aaargh!
Can’t we just kill this guy already?
He’s definitely picking a fight with us, right?
But sadly, we probably shouldn’t kill him, at least not right now.
“Ignoring how obnoxious you are for the time being, shall we agree to wait for Gülie to come back?”
“Indeed.”
The Demon Lord and Potimas seem content to wait until Güli-güli gets back.
Unfortunately, that means I have to tell them what I know.
“Not coming back.”
“Hmm? What was that, White?”
“He’s not coming back.”
When I repeat myself, the Demon Lord looks puzzled.
But there’s also concern on her face.
“Did something happen to Gülie?”
A flicker runs across Potimas’s face at that.
Hmm. How should I answer? Something did happen, but Güli-güli isn’t hurt or anything…
“Yes. But he’s fine.”
That’s all I can think to say.
“What does that mean? Explain yourself.”
Yeah, that’s what I expected.
Even I would’ve been surprised if they actually accepted that answer without a peep.
But you’re asking me to explain this?
Do you know who you’re talking to?!
If I could manage talking well enough to explain in detail, I would’ve done that in the first place!
Can’t you tell that was the best explanation I was capable of?!
Ugh, this is a problem.
How am I supposed to explain all this?
Dammit, the fact that D told only me about this is a pain in the butt.
I wish this guy would’ve shared that information with the Demon Lord and Potimas, too…
Wait a minute—was this on purpose so D could watch me embarrass myself trying to get through to them?!
No waaay… But actually, knowing D, that’s entirely possible.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but if White says Gülie is fine but can’t come back, that’s probably how it is. Even if we press her, I don’t think she’s gonna explain any more than that, right?”
As usual, the Demon Lord comes to my rescue.
She gets me so well that I kinda want to hug her again.
I guess she has known me in this life longer than anyone else!
Potimas shoots her a look, silently asking what the deal is, but the Demon Lord just shrugs.
Now it’s like she really did get him back with his favorite Do you really need me to explain it to you?
Although it’s not exactly a perfect revenge, since she doesn’t really know what’s going on, either.
Potimas doesn’t seem satisfied, but he seems to be forcing himself to go along with it for now.
His eyebrows furrow, but he doesn’t say anything else.
“So, White, is it safe to assume that Gülie is unharmed but he can’t come to our aid right now?”
I nod vigorously.
“In other words, we have to find a way to deal with that thing ourselves?”
She’s pointing at the final boss robot, so I nod again.
At that, both the Demon Lord and Potimas lapse into silence.
They’re probably racking their brains for a solution to this predicament.
Me? My job is to stand around staring blankly until one of them comes up with a plan.
What? Come on—I can’t think of anything.
If this was a monster I could Appraise, I could come up with all kinds of strategies, but this is a totally unknown opponent.
Machines are waaay out of my wheelhouse here.
There’s no point even trying to think about it.
And I make it a rule not to do anything pointless, so I’m just gonna leave this one to the professionals.
“I had hoped to avoid doing this, but I suppose I have no choice.”
Sure enough, Potimas seems to have come to a decision.
“There is one way. If it succeeds, we can silence both the GMA bomb and that fake Gloria.”
Potimas looks at us, waiting to see if we’ll go along with his plan.
“What is it?”
The Demon Lord wants answers before she agrees to anything.
We obviously can’t trust Potimas enough to consent to his plan without at least hearing what it is first.
“The body I am currently using is equipped with hacking functionality.”
He extends the pointer finger of his left hand, and it just…stretches.
The finger, which has transformed into a cord, must be the part with the hacking functionality he mentioned.
“I will insert this into that thing so that I may hack into its controls. If I succeed, I should be able to deactivate both the fake Gloria and the GMA bomb.”
Potimas keeps calling the final boss robot a “fake Gloria.”
Gloria must be the name of the original weapon, though it’s clear from his expression when he says “fake Gloria” that he isn’t too happy about the knockoff.
He must feel like an artist who’s been shown a counterfeit version of his own work.
“However, the hacking will take some time, and I will be vulnerable while I do so. If it attacks me while I am working, I will be unable to defend myself, and of course the cord will disconnect and the hacking will fail.”
Right. I can see why Potimas didn’t want to do this.
I’m sure being defenseless in front of the Demon Lord and me isn’t high on his bucket list.
“I will extend the cord from here and begin hacking into the fake Gloria. In the meantime, you two will protect my body and the cord.”
Immediately, the cord extending from Potimas’s finger begins to slither inside the room.
Hey, at least wait for us to agree!
But since he’s already started, I guess we don’t have much of a choice.
It’s not like we had any other plans anyway, so we’re stuck doing what Potimas says.
The Demon Lord seems to reach the same conclusion as I did; she heaves a loud sigh and keeps an eye on the cord as it moves.
I’m sure Potimas deliberately started without waiting for an answer, knowing we would have no choice but to accept it.
“White, you protect Potimas. I’ll cover the cord.”
The Demon Lord keeps her eyes on the cord as it moves toward the final boss robot.
Sensing its approach, the robot slowly shifts into action.
The final battle for the fate of the world has begun.
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