Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

“…See, that’s the thing. I’m a top-tier, hyper-quality, super-duper golem built to protect humanity from punks like y’all!”
“Wow, he’s telling me everything without even asking~”

At first, I thought Icarus might be hard to talk to, but it turned out he just loved to talk.
All I had to do was ask a tiny question, and he’d start spilling details I didn’t even ask for. He’s probably the kind of person—uh, machine—who’d get scammed real easy.

“But if you’re such an amazing golem, how’d you get tied up so easily?”
“Don’t talk nonsense, girlie! I’m built for management o’ this residential block, not for fightin’! The brawlin’s left to the ‘Mantises’ outside.”
“The Mantises… you mean those look-alike golems out there?”
“Look-alike!? Who’s lookin’ like who, huh!? Speak proper language and say the subject when you talk, dang it!”
“They just look a lot like someone I know. The colors are a little different, but… why’s that?”
“How should I know!? It’s prob’ly ‘cause they was made in a different factory. An’ if they’re outside, that means someone stole—HEY, YOU! Yeah, you, the brat over there! Don’t touch that panel! That thing controls this whole facility’s energy lines!”
“Good to know. I’ll take a closer look at how it works, then, so keep it down.”
“I SAID DON’T TOUCH IT, YA DANG GREMLIN!!”
“Now, now—never mind that. Icarus, how old are you anyway?”
“No clue. Been goin’ in an’ outta sleep mode for who knows how long. Total uptime’s thirty-two days and twelve hours, give or take.”
“So just over a month? That’s shorter than I expected.”
“Ain’t my fault. I’m part o’ the final defense system that only boots up durin’ emergencies. Lately, the ‘Seven Calamities’ been stirrin’ nearby, so I been on night watch duty non-stop…”

That must’ve been Theo. The impact from the meteor she dropped must’ve woken Icarus up.

That’s why he mistook me for an enemy—he could probably sense traces of dragon energy from my body and staff.

“Okay! Next question!”
“Heh, go on then, let’s hear it.”
“Mr. Icarus, you were fighting with Theo—the ones you called one of the Seven Calamities, right? Why were you fighting them?”
“Don’t call it a fight, girl. That was a war for the very survival o’ humankind.”
“That’s what I mean—why do those girls hate humans so much?”
“…So you really don’t know a damn thing, huh. Guess I envy ya for that.”

There was a weight in Icarus’s voice now—a bitterness that hadn’t been there before.
It pressed on my chest hard enough that I had to brace myself just to stay calm.
But we had to know. Why Theo and the others hated humans… what really happened back then.

“I don’t know. That’s why I want to know. Please—tell me.”
“……Tch. Ain’t no helpin’ it then. But lemme warn ya first—my data access ain’t all that broad. Never know what might trip ol’ Babel’s filters, y’hear?”
“Babel… that’s that big tower we always see in the sky, right?”
“That’s the one. Thanks to that hunk o’ junk, all human languages got mashed together into one. Even me—supposedly got a heavy ‘Gejoronko’ accent mod built in, but you can still understand me just fine, can’t ya?”
“‘Gejo’… what now?”
“Don’t worry ‘bout that part. The point is, everybody can understand each other now—and that’s where the trouble starts.”
“Wait, that’s… a bad thing?”

But that sounds like a dream come true! Everyone being able to communicate perfectly? No more language barriers! English tests would be a breeze!

Mr. Icarus’s screen dimmed a little, like he was frowning—or the robotic equivalent of it. I still couldn’t imagine how universal understanding could possibly backfire.

“Tell me, girl—what language d’ya think you’re speakin’ right now?”
“Japanese… I think?”
“Heh. See, ya ain’t even sure. That confusion? That’s what the whole world’s been stuck in. Nobody really knows what language they’re usin’. Now imagine—what happens if that tower up and disappears one day?”
“……That’d be… really bad!?”
“Bingo. Humanity’s whole language system would crumble overnight. And to top it off, everything we say gets monitored by Babel. Every single word.”
“I—I see… So that’s why you can’t just freely talk about certain things, huh?”
“Right again. That tower’s got itself a list o’ ‘taboo words’—say one out loud, and bam, one o’ the other Calamities comes flyin’ straight at ya. Neat little trap, huh?”
“…And how certain are you of that claim?”

The voice came from behind us. Master, apparently done—or maybe fed up—with trying to operate the console, joined the conversation.

Or rather, she’d given up entirely—she was holding part of the control panel in her hands, the whole thing half-torn from the wall.

“What the hell d’ya think you’re doin’, huh!?”
“This was the fastest way to cut off the golem’s power supply. It’s an incredibly advanced control board—one could call it a work of art.”
“And what good’s ruinin’ a piece o’ art gonna do ya!!”
“I regret it deeply. So, is it true that Babel monitors our conversations?”
“You, I swear I’m gonna smack some sense into ya later… Ain’t got hard proof, but word-watchin’s damn near certain. Plenty of shelters got hit under the same circumstances.”
“You won’t… tell us what those taboo words are, will you? This place would be in danger if we knew.”
“Now you’re talkin’. Best keep your mouth shut. ’Sides, even I don’t know the exact details.”

Babel still floated faintly in the sky that day. Whether spoken or written, any attempt to pass on knowledge would surely be detected.

But could such a thing really be possible?

“Icarus, how wide is Babel’s range of influence?”
“Huh? All of it, that’s how wide. It’s watchin’ over humanity, so there ain’t supposed to be any blind spots.”
“But isn’t it hard for everyone to avoid saying a taboo word? Statistically, it shouldn’t be zero by chance.”
“If Theo and the others attacked because of an accidental trigger, it would cause a major uproar. If that repeated, the general pattern should become clear.”
“……”
“Or perhaps… the world itself is arranged so no one ever has the opportunity to use those words?”
“Untie me.”
“Eh?”
“You heard me—hurry up and untie me! Ain’t like I’m fixin’ to run off!”

Until now, Icarus had been completely still. But suddenly he started squirming around—more like a caterpillar than a person—and I had no idea what to do with him.

“Momo, untie him. He seems to have something he wants to say.”
“Ah, okay! Uh… can I just rip this off?”
“Hold it right there! That’s a precious cable, ya hear!? Don’t ya dare scratch it, not even a millimeter!”
“Eeh… fine…”

I carefully began untying the cords—well, they looked more like electric cables than rope.

Even when I tugged a little, they wouldn’t budge at all; whoever made this had done an impressive job.

Thanks to that, it didn’t take long to get Icarus free.

“Pheew… if my body’d gotten a scratch, every fine-lookin’ golem in the world’d be weepin’, ya know? Anyway, y’all come with me.”
“Come with you? Where to?”
“There’s somethin’ I gotta show y’all. You too, Mr. Tan Handsome. Anyone sharp enough to think that far’s earned the right to see it—that’s one o’ the commands wired into me.”