"...B-but they're stupid! Goblins are stupid and don't have the intelligence to do something like that!" (Reina)
Reina barked as she said this, but Slow Walker completely ignored her. It seemed that Mile was the only person that Slow Walker recognized as a conversation partner.
"I can't imagine that goblins are intelligent creatures!" (Mile)
And to Mile's words, Slow Walker replied.
[Descendants, I say. Descendants of intelligent beings...] (Slow Walker)
"Ah……" (Mile)
When it came to stories like this, Mile had a quick mind. It's not just because she was a sci-fi fanatic in her previous life.
"Degenerated..." (Mile)
Mile remembered the "robot-like thing" she had seen in the crack before. Golems. The servants (Scavengers). The resource-saving type autonomous simplified defense mechanism management system auxiliary device, the third backup system. And then Slow Walker. Even though their creator, the Administrator, was gone and their descendants had lost their knowledge and degenerated, the created beings continued to fulfill the mission given to them... If that's the case, it wouldn't be strange if similar beings existed in other worlds as well. Though the created beings retained their knowledge, their creators degenerated and became like animals...
History repeated itself. In the same way, it would not be surprising if a world that had undergone similar development followed a similar course. Even if intelligent beings in a certain world created mental creatures similar to the Scavengers, and they declined and degenerated in the same way as the human species in this world, although for different reasons and to different degrees...
Even after their creator had degenerated and became nothing more than a beast, they continued to follow the last orders they received and abide by the purpose of their created existence. What else could these created beings do?
"So, their world is on the verge of destruction, and they're moving to another world[1]?" (Mile)
[Probably... Rather than a sudden "extinction," it is possible that environmental changes occurred over a fairly long time span, such as stellar anomalies, global climate changes, ice ages, or resource depletion. The flow of time may be different to that of this world. Civilization may have been lost in an instant due to a global accident. A deadly epidemic, ultraviolet rays or cosmic rays raining down from space, a dimensional quake accident caused by the failure to develop a faster-than-light engine... It is impossible to deduce the causes of civilization's collapse and degeneration, and the need to escape.] (Slow Walker)
"Well, I don't understand... However, if goblins were originally intelligent creatures, then perhaps the other monsters were also originally normal animals. They were kept as livestock, kept as pets, in zoos, or in animal sanctuaries... So that's why there are a lot of pig-like ones (orcs), bear-like ones (ogres), dog-like ones (kobolds), and wolf-like ones..." (Mile)
[It's possible that they were experimental creatures. In order to modify the human body so that it could withstand environmental changes, animals used in these experiments were released into the wild for some reason, where they naturally interbred and became established as a species... And the fact that their descendants are unintelligent and violent monsters...] (Slow Walker)
"So there's a possibility that intelligent beings who received this treatment as a result of this research also lost their intelligence and went down the path to becoming violent... At the time, the future negative effects of tampering with the parts for other purposes were not known, but things gradually moved in that direction; did they end up altering genomes, the realm of God that should never be touched...?" (Mile)
It was unknown for the time being. Also, there's no point in knowing.
Did the people who abandoned this planet felt sorry for those who were once intelligent beings? And perhaps they left the planet because they were emotionally unable to kill and exterminate the goblins, who were the descendants of intelligent beings, and the monsters whose ancestors were likely ordinary animals. Or perhaps they simply wanted to escape another day of destruction and carnage. Mile asked _SUROOOWOOKAA_ about this, but...
[I don't know what the Administrators are thinking.] (Slow Walker)
The answer that came back was just as expected.
"Anyway, I think I understand most of it... However, the current human species cannot abandon this planet and run away, and there are no creatures among the invaders who are intelligent enough to negotiate with them. The robots will only listen to the orders of their creators, their masters, or their descendants, so it is virtually impossible to persuade them. ...There's nothing we can do about it... Ah, there are two things I want to ask you." (Mile)
[Yes, please do as you wish. Administrator's orders are absolute.] (Slow Walker)
Mile didn't really like being given orders or being expected to obey absolutely, even if the other party was a machine, so she frowned a little, but she understood that complaining about it would only cause trouble for the other party, so she continued the conversation without saying anything.
"Are there others like you?" (Mile)
Yes, that was something she had to check. Perhaps what the ancient dragons were looking for was Slow Walker or one of its companions. And Mile's answer to that question was...
[Unknown.] (Slow Walker)
"Eh?" (Mile)
[Several others like me were created. However, there are currently no contacts with any of them. They may have been crushed by tectonic movements, sunk into the ocean, swallowed by magma, or crushed by the flow of time... Or, like me a while ago, they may still be alive and well but just unable to be contacted, or the Timescale Variable Device may still be in good condition, and it is just taking time for the servants to get close enough to relay the information.] (Slow Walker)
"Oh, I see! It takes a certain amount of time to get close to the main body, which is surrounded by multiple time-stopping fields… Even if it seems like time is passing normally to the person in question, it must look incredibly slow from the outside, right? Oh, I wonder what the light will be like. Does it look dark? ...wait, if we send signals via radio waves, even if the frequency changes and the transmission is slower, we should be able to transmit a reasonable amount of information..." (Mile)
[Electromagnetic waves are reflected at the boundaries of fields.] (Slow Walker)
"So, laser communication or optical communication..." (Mile)
[Lasers and light are both types of electromagnetic waves.] (Slow Walker)
"Ah, is that so...?" (Mile)
Probably other similar methods wouldn't work either.
"So, one more question. Why do invaders repeat their invading attempts over such long periods of time? It's easy to imagine that they found the only world suitable for their survival, but if that's the case, then even if they fail once, they'll try again a few years later, like a war between nations. Why wait so long between them?" (Mile)
[Unknown. If I had to guess, it would take a huge amount of energy to create a dimensional rift, and it would take many years to accumulate that energy. Or it could be that some other conditions need to be met in terms of space-time, gravitational waves, or other things, and it can only be activated if the positions of celestial bodies are aligned. There could also be some other reason. It's also possible that there isn't any deeper meaning to this, and they were simply waiting for the damage they'd suffered when their invasion failed to recover and for the number of monsters to increase sufficiently. It's also possible that they have no aggressive intentions towards this world, and that if the number of monsters and the descendants of the creator increases beyond a certain level and environmental problems arise, they create a dimensional rift to force them to migrate in order to reduce the number of mouths to feed. These are all just speculations and not worth considering.] (Slow Walker)
"Ah, well, that's about it, huh..." (Mile)
Afterwards, Mile continued to talk about various things with Slow Walker, but Reina and the other two who were listening in the background couldn't understand most of what they were saying. However, since Mile seemed to understand, they didn't get in the way and just listened quietly, thinking that Mile would explain it to them later in a way that they could understand.
"...So, I've been the one asking all the questions, but what did you call me for this time?" (Mile)
This was probably a report that Slow Walker would be the person in charge of Golem and Scavenger, or that Slow Walker would also be under her control. That's what Mile thought, but...
[Based on the information regarding space-time fluctuations from the servants, the data from the observation and research devices that were hastily constructed and sent out in various locations, and the previous records, we have determined that the intruders have already almost completed the process of fixing the interdimensional connection hole after conducting preliminary investigations and fine-tuning using probes. In other words, a full-scale invasion has already begun. I wanted to tell you about it...] (Slow Walker)
"Whaaaaat?!" (All CV)
As expected, even Reina and the other two understood the last words.
From then on, Mile found out all the information about the matter...
Author's Note
This is an announcement.
When the fifth volume of my work, "Rōkin" (not "Noukin"), was released, due to a mistake, the bookstore bonus SS was not uploaded to the download location for each bookstore in time for the release date, and as a result, some readers who purchased the book were unable to receive it.
Therefore, before the release of the 6th volume, the SS will be posted on the web. (^^)/
It will be uploaded on Friday, June 18th on the Kodansha Ranobe Bunko blog.
I would be happy if those who bought volume 5 and other readers of "Rokin" would read it. (^^)/