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“We—we did it! It’s finished!”
“Indeed. This is the very best I could manage with what I’ve got left…”

It was five days later when Mr. Arnitta’s masterpiece of a robot was finally completed.

We had called out to every reliable person we could find, and all of us pushed ourselves to the limit to build it together. Its gleaming silver body shone so brightly, it felt like it could wash away all the good and bad things that had happened over the past five days.

“It looks so cool! Kyodaigorou DX!”¹　
“Right?! Right?! My Gigantic Transforming Golem!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Arnitta! Clearly, it should be Super Dreadnought Elegant Giant!”
“What!? It’s obviously the Grand Statue of Lord Thuru!”
“Ugh, we’re all over the place!”

The only problem was, even though the robot was finished, we still hadn’t agreed on a name.

“Settle down, everyone. I propose we go with Golden Plerion! Let’s just call it there!”
“That’s lame… it’s not even golden…”
“Silence, future heir! Got anything better yourself!?”
“Findteachnomatterwhat-Man.”²　
“That’s way too obviously personal!!”
“For the record, I vote for Bunbunmaru.”
“Please get some rest, Saint!!”

At some point, Plerion, Stell, and even Ms. Roche—who was recovering—joined in to help, and now things were in complete chaos.

So many people had lent a hand. If it hadn’t been for all of them, the robot would’ve taken even longer to finish.

“Hrngh… at this rate, we may have to settle it with brute strength…”
“Hold on, Mr. Arnitta. That would be unfair to some people here. Let’s decide using a traditional duel from my homeland.”
“A traditional Outlander duel… Don’t tell me—it’s *that*, isn’t it?”
“That’s right, Ms. Roche――*Rock-paper-scissors!*”

✦✧✦✧✦

“Kyodaigorou DX!!”
“My Gigantic Transforming Golem!!”
“Super Dreadnought Ultimate Elegance Forever Giant!!”
“Mustcaptureandimprisonteach-maru…!”³　
“…Starting to think that white-haired teacher was right to run.”

Thanks to a fair and rigorously intense rock-paper-scissors tournament, the giant robot’s name was officially decided: Kyodaigorou DX.

There was a spell that forced people’s hands into a rock gesture, a magic tool that let you throw all three hand signs at once, and Ms. Roche trying to bribe opponents with food—it was a brutal battle all around.

But in the end, I emerged victorious. As expected, the best strategy was to watch for when your opponent’s fingers twitched and throw your move just a moment after.

“So, Mr. Arnitta—Kyodaigorou is ready to move out anytime, right?”
“Gigantic… ngh! Yes, yes, as long as we load up food and supplies, it’s ready to deploy whenever!”
“Hm… But O sage of Magitech, how exactly do you plan to get this massive golem out of here?”
“Even with the divine muscles gifted to us by Lord Thuru, moving such a giant from this place will not be easy.”
“…Ah.”
“Mr. Arnitta?”

Right… The room was so spacious that I’d forgotten, but Kyodaigorou was still in the basement.

There was absolutely no way we could move it out through the doors we normally used.

“…As they say among the Outlanders, ‘Even Homer sometimes nods⁴,’ I suppose.”
“ARNITTA, YOU FOOL!! What now?! It’s already finished!”
“I know that! We’ll disassemble the moving parts and transport it piece by piece. One more job, everyone!!”
“Oh nooo—this is a disaster!”

It took us a whole day just to take apart and haul out Kyodaigorou. Then we spent another day gathering the supplies we’d need for the journey.

Mr. Arnitta was still busy during that time, reaching out to bereaved families and checking in on Mr. Zaif’s condition.

In the end, we left Rigel a full week after Master had already departed.

✦✧✦✧✦

“Mm… let’s go… senior disciple…”
“Are you sure you’re okay coming along, Stell?”
“Yes… Dad even cried tears of joy.”
“I… don’t think those were tears of joy…”

Under a flawless, cloudless sky, Stell stood tall with her hands clasped together atop the massive, reclining Kyodaigorou DX.

Her gaze was locked on the direction Master had gone—in other words, toward Regulus. Her determination was clear.

“Ms. Momose, unfortunately I won’t be joining you, but I wish you good fortune in battle. Miss Laika is almost certainly closing in on the heart of this mystery.”
“Of course! And um… about Mr. Zaif and the others…”
“Regrettably, I don’t believe they’ll be waking up any time soon. After all, they teetered on the edge between life and death.”
“Right… please take good care of everyone.”

Ms. Roche had decided to remain in Rigel for the time being, both to recover from the backlash of overusing healing magic and to continue treating Mr. Zaif and the others, who were still in a coma.

I’d hoped to hear from the three survivors what had actually happened in that workshop—but that was too much to ask now.

“Hey! Time to head out, missy! Get on board already!”
“Coming! Ms. Roche, once I reunite with Master, I’ll definitely come visit Aldebaran again! Thank you so much for taking care of Mr. Zaif and the others!”
“No thanks needed—I simply followed the teachings of the great god Ascles. …And, Ms. Momose, there’s one thing I must tell you.”
“Yes?”
“Though they’ve yet to regain consciousness, Mr. Zaif and the others have been murmuring in their sleep—repeating the same words over and over. ‘The tower must not be demolished.’”
“‘The tower’… I understand. I’ll remember that.”

I didn’t know what it meant—but maybe Master would.

The tower must not be demolished.

I repeated the words over and over in my mind as I said goodbye to Ms. Roche and climbed aboard Kyodaigorou.

“Sorry I’m late!”
“Alright, everyone’s aboard!? Roll call!”
“Number one, Umravolf Stell…”
“Number two, Momose Kaguya!”
“…Number three? Hey, answer me—Number three, Mintark!!”
“Don’t talk to me right now, I’m double-checking the supplies! Let’s see—food, water, fuel, and then…”
“You’re such a worrywart. But with me included, that makes all of us aboard.”

Stell, Mr. Mintark, Mr. Arnitta, and me—the four of us would be heading for Regulus.

I did wonder whether it was okay for two of Rigel’s high-ranking officials to just leave the city, but apparently they’d handed off (or dumped) their duties on Mr. Runira for a while.

They were probably going to get chewed out and resented like crazy later, but once those two set their sights on Regulus, there was no stopping them.

“No obstructions along the route! Thanks to advance notice, we’ll head straight through the main boulevard and exit via the Magitech District’s main gate!”
“Aye aye, sir! Stell, it’s gonna get bumpy—make sure you sit and buckle up.”
“…Mm.”

Once everyone was inside Kyodaigorou, Mr. Arnitta flipped the switches in the cockpit and the engine roared to life.

Thank goodness. When we had leftover parts after reassembly, I seriously worried whether it would work—but somehow, it was running smoothly.

“Our destination: the oasis city of Regulus! It’s going to be a rough journey, so brace yourselves!”
“““YEAH!!”””

✦✧✦✧✦

“…Huh?”
“Nn… what’s wrong?”
“No, I thought I heard something just now… maybe it was my imagination?”

Amid Mr. Arnitta’s rallying cry, I thought I heard a voice—faint and far away—that definitely didn’t belong to any of us.

Of course, no one else should be inside Kyodaigorou. Maybe I was just exhausted after rushing to finish everything on time.

Still… if my ears weren’t playing tricks on me, what I’d heard sounded very much like a dragon’s cry—one I’d heard only once before.