Chapter 11
Once it was revealed that the Namo Buster had performance levels beyond that of most computers and could crush all existing AIs, people immediately set out to analyze how this little toy could achieve such feats.
The method was simple: reverse engineering. If there was no physical object, it might have been a different story, but the Namo Buster was one of those things that could be easily obtained.
From basement YouTubers to professors at prestigious universities and government scientists, countless scholars got their hands on the Namo Buster and started their analysis.
However, none of them could understand how this tiny wind-up robot could deliver such performance.
“What is this?”
“How can a circuit the size of a palm produce such performance?”
“This is nonsense! It completely defies the laws of physics!”
The scientists were flabbergasted. No matter how they thought about it, they could not grasp how such a tiny toy could yield such results.
Was this how people in the Middle Ages felt when they discovered smartphones? They had the results right in front of their eyes and could use them, but they just couldn’t comprehend them.
Naturally, all attempts to replicate the results ended in failure.
“Failed to replicate?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“No, how does that even make sense? We bribed factory workers to obtain the schematics, and we even have a finished product. Yet you can’t replicate it?”
At the response from the person in charge, the scientist frantically scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“There must be a special manufacturing process that isn’t outlined in the schematics…”
“Then figure it out!”
“We’re still trying. However, if the order of production was deliberately hidden from the schematics, it’s nearly impossible to determine.”
“What’s so difficult about replicating it?”
“Of course, having the schematics and the actual product means that if we follow blindly, we might succeed eventually, but the number of attempts required is astronomical…”
Seeing the scientists repeatedly lamenting failure, the person in charge let out a deep sigh. Coming from a non-scientific background, it was utterly impossible for him to understand what they were saying. In the end, all he realized was that these scientists were incompetent, unable to replicate something even with the plans in hand.
“Then what about that unknown source of power? Have you figured out how such a significant amount of energy comes from a wind-up mechanism?”
“The wind-up mechanism itself isn’t much different from the regular ones we use. Even when fully wound, it barely lights up an LED for a moment…”
“Wait a minute. So how on earth does it produce such power? How does the internal circuit operate?”
“It seems to be a hidden feature in the circuit. And that the power required for that circuit is only at that minimal level…”
A low power circuit, just enough to flicker an LED.
Despite that, it surpassed the computing power of the latest graphics cards and drove the high output necessary to control the robot.
At that moment, the person in charge finally realized the level of sophistication of the circuit inside the toy robot. He also came to understand just how monstrous the Evilus corporation was to have created something like this.
“…What kind of people are the ones from the Evilus corporation?”
“Who knows? Maybe they captured an alien or something?”
“Maybe…”
The person in charge seriously contemplated whether he should report to the Hero Association that there might be a poor alien trapped inside the Evilus corporation that needed rescuing.
“I really want to see the face of the one who made this.”
*
Out of the blue, I received a date invitation from Ayle.
“W-would you like to go shopping with me, scientist?”
“Huh? Sure. When?”
“R-right now!”
It was surprising to see Ayle, who seemed uninterested in such things, suddenly wanting to go shopping. However, upon following her to the mall, I quickly realized that it was not surprising at all.
Ayle was beaming with joy, arms full of Magical Girl merchandise.
“Ehehehe. T-thank you, scientist.”
“I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to go shopping…”
“If I go alone, I can’t buy all of this… There’s a purchase limit for each person…”
She said this, cradling a bunch of Magical Girl goodies against her chest. Regardless of how great they were, it didn’t cross my mind that she wouldn’t be able to get what she wanted.
That made sense because after all, she was the evil Magical Girl, a high-ranking member of an evil organization. She probably had plenty of money. She could just squeeze the boss for more if she needed.
“Can’t you just buy it used? You might not have trouble finding what you want from resellers.”
“U-used? I can’t bear the thought of my Magical Girl being touched by someone else…!”
“My Magical Girl? It’s not yours, you know…”
“A-and those reselling jerks, I hate them! Unless the profits go directly to the Magical Girls…!”
“Ah, I can agree with that.”
While chatting and walking, we heard a ruckus from a nearby store. It was the dissatisfaction-laden voice of a customer.
“—Why is there no Namo Buster!? I know you have them all in stock!”
“I’m sorry, sir. That product has already sold out…”
“No! I know everything that’s here! Don’t even think about hiding it! Put it out right now!”
I couldn’t help but smirk bitterly as I saw the man searching for the Namo Buster, the latest product from Evilus. While I truly appreciated his intent to buy something from our company, it was obvious that he didn’t appear to be looking for it just for fun.
“It’s pretty popular… this Namo Buster.”
“The prices skyrocketed online.”
“Oh, then that guy is probably…”
“Probably a reseller looking to flip it.”
Once word spread that the circuit inside the Namo Buster was superior to that of most high-end graphics cards, people began to swiftly clear out all remaining stock of the Namo Buster.
Because of this, the current market price for the Namo Buster soared above $1,000. Considering that its selling price was under $10, that’s a hundred times increase!
Naturally, prices that go up rarely go down. The Evilus corporation had already halted the production and sale of Namo Buster.
“Thank goodness they didn’t recall it.”
If they had issued a recall, it would have caused an even bigger commotion. Fortunately, Regalia only decided to stop selling.
The reason was that recalling it merely because its performance was outstanding—despite there being no flaws—would tarnish the company’s image.
Moreover, if they had gone ahead with a recall, people could have interpreted it as an unanticipated blunder that the Evilus corporation never saw coming. Yet by maintaining a calm attitude, treating it like a one-time limited edition, people would praise Evilus’s technological prowess.
“To be precise, it was to hide my true identity…”
A wry smile crossed my face at that thought. To be honest, I never thought the science and technology in this place would be so inferior. After all, the level of weaponry was quite advanced.
There were fighter jets operating at 20 times the speed of sound and spacesuits safe enough for someone dropped from a satellite cloud… I thought the technology of this world was impressive.
But upon looking closer, it turned out all those were made using supernatural powers.
“Who would think all of this was crafted by superpowers?”
The so-called superpower engineering. At face value, it seemed plausible, but it was nothing more than a circus act disguised as science, where you fabricate a convincing outer appearance but rely entirely on the powers of superhumans for everything else.
However, coming from a superpower-less Earth, I could never have imagined such engineering existed, leading to this misunderstanding.
“I’ve got to be more careful from now on.”
This incident easily made it clear how precious my knowledge was in this world, and how I could find myself in immense danger because of it.
The kind of technology that could trigger a world war without hesitation… Now, I could start to grasp why Regalia was in such a frenzy.
“Uh, um— Scientist?”
“Huh? What’s up?”
“Sorry to disturb your thoughts, but… could you hang out with me a bit longer?”
I nodded readily at Ayle’s request. Even if I went back now, I had nothing to do anyway. Ayle beamed at my response, quickly pulling out her smartphone to search for something.
“T-there’s a Magical Girl collaboration cafe nearby! I haven’t been able to go because there are always too many people there…”
“Oh, so that’s why you started talking to me out of the blue.”
“U-usually, people go with friends or a boyfriend, but I have neither…”
“So today, I’m Ayle’s boyfriend, right?”
“Y-yes—!? P-please don’t joke about that!”
Seeing Ayle jump in shock at my teasing provoked a chuckle from me. Accepting her light scolding, I headed with her towards the Magical Girl collaboration cafe.
On the way, Ayle suggested we stop by the bank since she had run out of money. I wondered why she didn’t just use a card, but it seemed she absolutely didn’t want to waste even 1% of her money intended for Magical Girls.
At the bank, we encountered a robbery. A superpowered bank robber.
“—Everyone stay still!”
Whoosh—!
In an instant, the thief incinerated a guard, threatening everyone else with flames in his hands.
“Everybody down! You wouldn’t want to meet the same fate as that guy, would you!?”
“U-uh…”
Eeeek—!
“It’s a robbery!”
People quickly dropped to the floor. After all, nobody wanted to ignore the words of a robber who he had already burnt someone alive. I pulled Ayle close, both of us lying flat on the ground.
Ayle, forced into my embrace, shot a furious glare at the bank robber, biting her lip. Seeing this, I whispered softly in her ear.
“Don’t do it.”
“…But—! You want me to just stand by and do nothing!?”
“If you transform here, your identity will be exposed. If your identity gets revealed, I’ll be suspected too. Most importantly, we’re not heroes.”
At my words, Ayle balled her fists and trembled with frustration. Until recently, she had been powerless and now she had acquired powers as an evil Magical Girl. I could understand her reluctance to miss an opportunity to use her newfound powers.
But she was not a Magical Girl of justice. She wasn’t a hero either. She was a high-ranking member of an evil organization. A Magical Girl of evil. A so-called villain.
“But… if we don’t act, the civilians—”
“Don’t worry. Do you know where we are?”
This was the main bank dealing with Evilus Corporation. In other words, a critical facility in City E. There was no way this place would only have a single guard on duty.
Sure enough, barely had I finished speaking when someone in a police uniform dashed in through the door. The thief turned his head at the sound of footsteps, but the speed of the police officer was such that it was impossible to follow with the eye.
In a flash, the police officer subdued the robber and pinned him to the ground, quickly blindfolding him and cuffing his hands. Surprised at how quickly he was taken down, the robber struggled and yelled.
“Ugh—!? Wh-what! Let me go!”
Was it a last-ditch effort? Flames burst from his cuffed hands. Even the agile police officer couldn’t avoid the flames shot at point-blank range—whether he couldn’t dodge it or chose not to for the sake of protecting others, he took the flames head-on.
Those very flames that had melted someone in an instant. The crowd shrieked in terror as they watched. However, to everyone’s surprise, the police officer survived the flames and swung a punch towards the robber.
Guh—!
Looking down at the robber who had been knocked out with a single punch, the police officer spat on the ground, only to realize moments later that his shirt had completely burned off. He quickly covered his chest with his hands.
“—Ahem, citizens. The robber has been subdued! You can rest easy and continue with what you were doing.”
Wowwww—!
At the police officer’s words, people erupted in cheers and applause. The policeman accepted the applause with a slightly bemused expression before pulling on an outer jacket handed to him by a fellow officer who had just arrived and started heading our way.
Upon seeing the officer approaching, looking rather disheveled, I hurriedly turned my head to avoid eye contact. Could he have caught me sneaking a peek earlier…?
“Ayle—!”
“L-Levitan…”
“Fancy seeing you here! What a strange coincidence, huh!”
But the officer didn’t come to me; he went straight to Ayle to speak to her. I was surprised that Ayle, who had just said she had no shopping companions, actually knew someone.
I looked at the officer with curiosity. He met my gaze and winked, his eyes sparkling like a hunter who had spotted its prey.
“Is this the famous scientist?”
“…Do you know who I am?”
“Huh? Didn’t the boss tell you?”
The officer said this while striking a cute pose, bringing his hands near the rabbit ears that sprouted from his head.
“Bunny bunny— I’m a high-ranking member of the evil organization. Call me Levi-chan!”
Seeing the officer exclaim that with his wiggling bunny ears made me chuckle. It wasn’t my place to judge, but this city felt utterly insane.
Who would have guessed that the very officer who had just risked his life defending civilians from a thief was actually a villain?
I doubted anyone could have predicted that.
End of Chapter
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