In the end, at the request of the Time Traveler, Mile ended up staying here for the entire three-day holiday. Since a command room, living quarters, and even food storage facilities had been specially prepared for her, she was hesitant to return without using them. For Mile, a former Japanese, trampling on the consideration of others was too much of a hurdle. During this short vacation, everyone was planning to do what they want, and Mile had said that she was going somewhere a little further away, so there was no need to worry her companions.
Also, Mile had a lot of things she wanted to ask the Time Traveler. About this continent and the whole planet. What was the current strength of the Slow Walker on this planet, in orbit, and in the solar system? And…….
"Do you know why the monsters on this continent are so incredibly intelligent?" (Mile)
[No, not at all…]
Mile was disappointed that her plan didn't work out.
[I was within the range of the Time Scale Variable Device's effect and had been disabled for some time now. It was only two months ago that it was rebooted, when the servants sent by the Slow Walker... or as the Mile-sama calls Scavengers arrived.]
Of course, when these beings talked about "A little while ago," they were referring to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years. ...It's the same as what archaeologists and geologists call 'A short while ago.'
"Oh, I see. That makes sense, right...?" (Mile)
If you thought about it, it was only natural. The Slow Walker had also spent many years isolated from the outside world, and it had only been a little over six months since it was able to obtain information from the outside world.
Mile was supposed to be good at such logical deductions, but this time she made a big mistake.
"So, you don't know much about other things, like the current situation on this planet..." (Mile)
Mile was a little disappointed, but she was careful not to let it show too much. She understood how devastated it would be if such a creature had betrayed Mile's expectations and failed to be of any use to her. But…….
[No, that's fine. We've been receiving the latest information from Slow Walker...]
"Ah! Of course! They understand the current human language, they know about us, and they've been sent the blueprints for Little Mecha-Bird-chan's bodies and the data for their electronic brains... I'm sure they've shared other information as well, right..." (Mile)
Mile, was not feeling well today. She didn't have the energy she usually had when she was plotting something evil. Perhaps the pressure of having to come up with names for the Little Mecha-Bird and the Time Traveler was making it difficult for her to concentrate...
As for the naming of the character Slow Walker, it seemed that she pretended not to hear about it, since no one directly mentioned it to her. Mile was extremely bad at naming things. One issue was a lack of naming sense, but the bigger problem was the heavy responsibility that came with it. The name that individual would be called for the rest of their life. What if you give the person a name they don't like? What if it was a strange slang word that they didn't know? It was outrageous that one should decide on something as important as a name that had such a huge impact on one's life. And so, during the half a year that she had been living as Angel-sama, she had been asked many times to name babies, but she had declined every request.
Mile spent three enjoyable days asking the Time Traveler various questions, having them explain the current state of the base and future development plans, and even trying to make new dishes using ingredients from the pantry that Mile had not yet obtained. Incidentally, it seemed that the food storehouse had a time scale variable device that reduced the rate at which materials deteriorate to one thousandth of the original speed. It wouldn't completely stop time, but if something that would normally last for a few days could last for decades, it would be sufficient. ...For the time being, there was no one other than Mile planning on staying here to consume it...
"Well, I'm heading home now. If you need anything, please contact me via Little Mecha-Bird-chan. If anything happens, I will either ask Little Mecha-Bird-chan to contact me, or I will come here myself..." (Mile)
[No, even if you don't have any particular reason, you're welcome to come anytime. This is Mile-sama's home base, our command base, after all.]
"Oh, yeah, thank you very much." (Mile)
The Time Traveler was trying to get Mile to visit more often, but it didn't seem like its feelings were getting through to her. However, at least if they completed the iron ship and contact her, the Administrator (Mile) would definitely visit here. Perhaps because of this sense of security, she didn't feel any strong desire to visit the Time Traveler again.
Then, led by her guides, Mecha Horned-Rabbit and Mecha-Kobold—as it was a straight road there was no need for guidance, but that was probably their preference—Mile and Little Mecha-Bird headed towards the surface. At the entrance, Mecha-Wolf again sent her off with a dirty look... and then she took off into the air.
"Gravity Blocking Magic (Caverlight), activate!" (Mile)
Mile put up a windproof barrier in front of her and headed towards her companions.
After their three-day vacation, the Crimson Vow party reunited at an inn in the port town. Since they came to the New World, they couldn't go back to their parents' home, and in any case, even if they were in the Old Continent, they wouldn't be able to go back home on such a short vacation. Besides, since arriving on this continent, the four of them had only been active around the fishing village and port town where they landed, so they had nowhere else to go, and they didn't have any acquaintances anywhere else. Of course, there were no familiar cities or tourist spots, so they were going to such places just the four of them. So, it seemed that except for Mile, the other three spent their time in port town and fishing village...
"Mile, you don't know anyone and you don't know any place, so where on earth have you been?" (Reina)
It seemed that Reina wanted to spend time with the four of them, and she seemed a little grumpy. However, no matter how good friends you are, being together all the time could be stressful. Sometimes you just want to be alone.
Mavis and Pauline seemed to understand this, but Reina had always been with her father since she was old enough to understand and continued to be with everyone in the Crimson Lightning, so as a solo hunter, she experienced loneliness for the first time. As such, she was abnormally afraid and wary of losing the "Days when she is not alone" that she had regained, as well as her companions. She was also very worried that Mile, who had lost her family and was likely lonely just like her, would be left alone. ...Mile also had a tendency to dislike solitude, but Reina's dislike of solitude was somewhat abnormal. Well, given Reina's background, that's not surprising...
However, with one of her concerns now resolved, the steel ship's hull in sight, a convenient workshop nearby where she could order industrial products without hesitation, and a good relationship with a machine intelligence she could consult with "Local technology that was originally on this planet, and didn't need to worry about taboos or otherworldly technology like Nanomachines," Mile was feeling a little elated, and in response to Reina's words, she blurted out... without any ill intent, and carelessly...
"Reina-san, are you my mother?" (Mile)
"..." (Reina)
"......" (Mavis + Pauline)
"………………" (3 of them)
"Mile……" (Mavis)
"Mile-chan……" (Pauline)
"That's a bit..." (Mavis + Pauline)
I've done it, she thought, but it was too late.
"Maaa~iii~lle~..." (Reina)
"I-I'm so sorry!!" (Mile)
Author's Note
Announcement!
Next week, on Wednesday, June 14th, the anime Blu-ray Disc BOX for "I'll Save 80,000 Gold Coins in Another World for Retirement" will finally go on sale!
It comes with various bonuses, including an original novel.
Thank you very much! (^^)/