by Kamiya Yuu
And so, with nobody to obstruct them, they arrived at the cargo entrance of the Clock Tower.
There was a metal door and a little guard room set up there, and a guard, slightly aged, stared suspiciously at the group that was delivering this large set of cargo.
Their leader, a massive man akin to a standing bear, smiled as he raised his voice,
“Hello! Good work there. Thank you for always taking care of us here.”
“Y-yeah, many thanks…may I know what do you need?”
The guard answered vaguely, and the hulking figure bared his teeth, showing a refreshing smile, fishing out a document from the document bag tucked under his armpit.
“We’re from Success Transporters, here to deliver the new observation equipment.”
“Eh, I never heard of that before…?”
“Ah great. This is a bother. Did they make a mistake with the contact again?”
The hulking man gave an exaggerated frown, and let out a little grumble,
“It’s the 3rd time this year. These college professors really suck at dealing with the procedures properly…ah, it’s nothing, pardon me.”
“Don’t worry, I understand.”
The large man apologized, and the guard gave a bitter smile, saying,
“I guess it’s most likely Professor Kizaki? There are students always complaining about him behind his back, but he’s so careless despite him being so serious to them.”
“Eh, well, it seems like he’s being the same as usual.”
The large man looked worried as he bent his back, and pointed at the document that was handed out,
“I heard that Professor Kizaki was suddenly dispatched from today onwards, and we couldn’t contact him. He wanted to get to work immediately, so he requested for us to set up the equipment while he is on leave here…I guess it’s inconvenient after all?”
“Hm…well, you do need a request form from the professors in the first place…”
The guard expressed his sympathy, and nodded,
“Well, your documents look rather formal here, so I guess it’s fine. I’ll give the professor a reminder once you come back>”
“Thank you very much! You’re seriously a great help here!”
“No no, you have worked hard there. I shall open the door now.”
The kind-hearted guard maintained his smile as he pressed the switch beside his hand.
The door opened, and the hulking man received the stamped document, bowing as he expressed his thanks.
The gang dressed in work clothes pushed the cart as they entered the cargo path.
Once they made sure the guard room could not be seen, the hulking man—Halter, let out a laugh, saying,
“—Anyway, the security at college’s typically like this, Professor Hannes.”
“This really is unbelievable, Halter.”
Answering him was the man pushing the cart behind him. That middle-aged man had a chiseled, rectangular face, and did not seem to be one who would show much emotion.
“That one document alone’s enough to get anyone of unknown identity into the Clock Tower?”
“The ‘military’ definitely won’t do that. For normal people however, they look at the clothes and attitude It’s not easy to end up suspicious if you wear some jumpsuits from a freight company and say some words there.”
The name, Hannes, gave a look of disapproval,
“But it’s really a nice coincidence that the professor went out, huh?”
“Ah, not really, that was an arrangement by the Breguets.”
“…What did you just say?”
“It’s a college, and not a place to be rude. We just randomly arranged some work and got the professor to leave. Thanks to that, we’re going to be the only ones in this Clock Tower.”
After hearing Halter’s words, Hannes let out a deep sigh, and repeated,
“…This is seriously unbelievable.”
“You did once work with that tomboy, but it seems like you’re by-the-book there.”
Halter raised his lips as he teased.
However, Hannes looked stumped as he immediately answered back,
“Tomboy? As far as I know, she’s a lady who’s very serious, honest and outstanding, no?”
“…Well, words themselves aren’t very convenient.”
That description was not necessarily wrong, but it did seem amiss somewhere.
Halter took a deep breath, shook his head, and changed the topic,
“Anyway, if anything happens here, I’ll deal with it, professor, so please focus on your work. We’ll set the limit, including the setting up of the equipment to be 4 hours. Is that okay?”
“Of course. I am a Meister after all. Trust me on it.”
Hannes, the ex Observation team leader of the Meister Guild, boasted this proudly.
And in response to those words, Halter gave a wry smile, nodded and lowered his head.
“—I guess it is rude on my part.”
● ● ●
Gear Era 1016, February 8th, 0:00.
Just right before the day that would be recorded in the annuls of human history.
Marie Bell Breguet was at Grid Akihabara in Tokyo, Japan, the First Clock Tower.
She was in a room filled with clockwork functions similar to that of the Core Tower, and in that room, there were dozens of technicians hard at work.
—They had to control the Core Tower and the various Clock Towers to execute Marie’s plan.
And they were all working on this job without any break.
Of course, they were not part of the Technical Forces which regularly maintain the place.
Their race, gender and ages were all different, and their clothing, equipment lacked a sense of cohesion. The only common them they had was the Chronopass they had on their wrists.
That was the proof of a Meister.
A highly intricate clock with 9 faces of various sizes.
That was a medal given to the highest of the 200 million Clockwork Technicians.
No matter how many hundreds Technicians came to work together, they would be no match for a Meister. These Technicians themselves had extraordinary talent and abilities , and amongst them, one of them called out,
“Professor Marie!”
Marie, engrossed in scribbling calculations at the work desk, lifted her head.
“Yes, go head.”
“We’ve confirmed numbers 3340 to 7990. All checks in all levels have been completed.”
“—Got it. Affirmed. Good work.”
Marie nodded, and this time, another technician staring at the communicator yelled,
“Report! The 4th Clock Tower has reported that all level functions have been completed. Now transferring the temperature control system and administrator limits to all levels.”
“—Understood. Please reply ‘When it’s about time for the operation, please escape immediately once the final checks are done’. Also, relay the same message to the other Clock Towers.”
A few incoming reports, some affirmations and instructions given later, Marie took a large breath.
She sat on the chair, stretching her back to loosen her tense muscles.
And a man, recently entering old age, spoke up,
“We finally made it.”
He elegantly placed the cup giving off steam on the table, and continued,
“Red tea, with lots of honey and milk. I do remember you saying you like sweet things?”
Marie’s expression eased as she picked the cup up.
“Thank you, Mechanic Leader Conrad.”
“I’m no longer a Mechanic Team leader, Professor Marie.”
The man, Conrad, calmly corrected,
“…So you are.”
Holding the steaming cup at her lips, Marie lowered her eyes.
Back when Marie was with the ‘Meister Guild’, Conrad was the team leader of the Mechanics, and was responsible for assisting Marie. He was an experienced, capable technician, and stayed til
l the end of the crisis in Kyoto.
After that incident, he resigned from the ‘Guild’, and turned to working as a freelance clockwork technician on the streets. The one who helped investigate the suspicious movements of the Tokyo ‘military’ was none other than Conrad himself.
“The most important thing is that the work is finished without any hitches…we’ll have to overexert everyone.”
“No no, all of us do enjoy working with you. In fact, it seems all the Clock Towers are emptied, so the works a lot easier.”
“…Though this is one huge criminal operation.”
She tasted the sweet hot red tea, and paused.
She wondered about these technicians who were with her here, and the ones working in the other Clock Towers.
Most of them were like Conrad, formerly Marie’s subordinates, Meisters who quit the ‘Guild’ after the Kyoto incident and became unemployed.
—We’ll hijack the city’s functions and take on the invading massive weapon.
Anyone would have wondered that Marie’s plan was reckless, and yet they took part without commenting on it.
These people had valuable skills, and most likely, they would have obtained the jobs and treatments they desired; yet they participated in this plan that was without rewards, and even criminal.
For they were requested by Marie Bell Breguet; that was their only reason.
And after recalling this fact, Marie felt so much heartfelt thanksgiving and gratitude, her cheeks blushing.
“I’m really—grateful.”
At that moment, the communicator on the table let out a ringtone.
Marie pressed the receiving switch, and there were the words,
“—Marie, you ready?”
It was Naoto’s voice. He seemed a little excited, his voice shriller than usual.
Marie curled her lips, saying to the voice receiver,
“—Of course. Who do you think I am?”
“I’ll leave it to you then, Meister.”
“Of course. Please finish your job too.”
Understood. Naoto answered so briefly, and the call got cut.
Marie switched off the communicator, and Conrad asked,
“Was that ‘him’?”
“Yes. It’s Naoto Miura.”
Marie nodded, and Conrad muttered as he let out a sigh,
“I did witness it personally yesterday, but I do find it unbelievable no matter how I look at it. He managed to observe the Core Tower and the 12 Clock Towers just by his own hearing at that level of assistance equipment…”
“But it’s reality.”
Naoto managed to hear the entire structure of Akihabara, and Marie translated it into a diagram.
They analyzed the structure of the Core Tower and the various Clock Towers, and manipulated 4 Clock Towers to hijack the Core Tower to create a system that could freely manipulate the temperature and communications network—
Such a ridiculous job would need hundreds of years to be grasped, yet Naoto and Marie were able to complete it all in 3 days.
“If the Core Tower is the brain of the city, the Clock Towers will be the organs. For example, this would be basically nudging the organs to interfere with the brain…the Core Tower and the Clock Towers are linked, so theoretically speaking, it isn’t impossible, but…it’s surprising.”
Of course, this was completed with the help of dozens of Meisters, but…
Conrad let out a mutter with a deep voice,
“As a Clockwork Technician myself, I am very terrified.”
Conrad himself was a Meister, the apex of all Clockwork Technicians.
It could be said that he had researched on the latest clockwork technology humanity had, and was well versed in them. It was not a boast; he really had the accomplishments and experiences to back that up.
But the talent he could not understand at all existed in this current reality,
“Somehow, I wonder…if that talent of his is really some a human has?”
“He’s a human, Professor Conrad.”
Marie immediately answered, and lowered her eyes,
“He’s not a convenient God, and he’s not a convenient magician. He’s no different from us, just an ordinary idiot that can be seen everywhere.”
“…”
“But though he’s an idiot—looking at what happened in Kyoto back then, and this incident, he’s a lot better than the brains of those guys who planned those stuff. No matter how abnormal that ability is—Naoto’s filled with ‘humanity’ at least.”
Humans certainly were not correct, not completely perfect, not truly omnipotent.
No matter who it was, everyone was born without a value, foolishly making mistakes, and yet if the way to live was to work hard, obtain the meaning of human life and progress forward,
—Then Naoto Miura would be the most human-like person Marie Bell Breguet knew of.
Conrad briefly stared at Marie,
“—Yes. You are right here.”
And so, he quietly muttered.
And then, it seemed he had a sudden notion as he spoke up,
“Actually I had been wondering all this time, but,”
“Yes?”
Marie tilted her head, and Conrad muttered in a teasing mutter,
“You really are bad at faking your true personality.”
“Eh…?”
Marie blurted out a stunned voice.
And Conrad grinned, saying,
“But I do think this true self of yours makes you more charming, Professor Marie.”
“—P-please don’t tease me here!”
Conrad enjoyed the pouting face of the girl, ostensibly a granddaugther to him, and turned his head.
The technicians had stopped working for some time, staring at their conversation, and Conrad looked back at their faces, clapping his hands.
With a deep, astringent voice, he said,
“…Now then, it’s about time, everyone. Let us all enjoy the instance before history’s changed.”
● ● ●
February 7th, right when it was about to be February 8th.
The events that would be called the ‘Akihabara Terrorist Incident’, and the prelude incident to the ‘February 8th uprising’ began.
—On a boy’s command,
There was an intense quake spanning a 30km radius with Akihabara Grids as the epicenter.
All communication functions ceased, and the “Resonance Gears” within started to function beyond their specifications.
The core towers of gear arrays, which regulated the functions of the city, started acting in a way never seen before.
This was neither an ordinary malfunction nor a sign of defect after years of wear and tear. The systems were running normally, but for some reason, it was not running according to its manager’s instructions.
And 5 minutes after it happened.
The communication functions, which had ceased for a while, suddenly started to work again.
The people, who were unable to do anything and watched the developments in silence, heard a ‘criminal statement’ through the television and radio from a ridiculously agitated criminal.“Good evening, ladies—and—gentlemen!! And all foolish, mediocre and ordinary citizens who do not fit these categories!! Pardon me for disturbing your enjoyment of the weekend night!!”
The voice being broadcasted was doctored to resemble a drunk emcee speaking, echoing everywhere.
After hearing these words, Conrad frowned, seemingly perturbed,
“Deary me, I really can’t keep up with the thinking of young people these days…”
And beside him, Marie, who too had her head in her hands, groaned,
“No…actually, do you mind not thinking of that idiot as a representative of young people?”
Marie and Conrad had to stay with the system construction, and so they left the criminal statement for Naoto to handle, yet it ended up like that.
This unprecedented, never to be replicated historic event—
was contrasted with an overly crude criminal statement; it was too late even though Marie regretted it.
“Ahh, goodness, I’ll definitely tell him off later!—How’s the false information going?”
The clockwork technician in charge of the control panel answered,
“Proceeding successfully! All 168 channels maintained. No signs of it being discovered!”
“—Understood. Observation team, where’s the gigantic weapon?”
“It’s moving below Grid Shibuya right no! Looking at the ‘military’s actions, it’ll take about 56 minutes before both sides meet!”
“—Understood. Looks like it’s going successfully. Please prepare the temperature controls!”
Marie proceeded with the next instruction, and Conrad said,
“Professor Marie, the rest can be left to us.”
“…Please do so. Now then, I’ll meet up with them as planned and proceed with the next phase. Once the operation is done, please escape immediately.”
Understood. After hearing the replies in unison, Marie grabbed her coat and bag, before racing out.
Putting on her coat, she ran up the emergency stairs to the roof of the Clock Tower.
The warm night wind grazed her cheeks.
The light gears converted gravity as light, and with the brightness lighting everything, no stars could be seen in the sky.
All she could see what the silver moon and the ‘Equatorial Spring’ that was revolving due to the moon’s gravity.
She could hear Naoto’s ridiculous ‘criminal statement’ from some speakers.
Marie yelled,
“Ryu—ZU!!”
“—There is no need to shout as I am here to pick you up, Master Marie.”
A cold voice could be heard from behind.
Marie turned back, and found the silhouette of the automata with the silver hair swaying in the night wind.
“In fact, it is you who is late by two seconds, Master Marie. In this situation where a slight delay may result in a precarious situation, this failure is—”
“Then hurry up and make up for lost time!”
Marie growled as she leapt at RyuZU.
