第３１３堀：彗星の考えと思い (Part1)
Chapter 313: Comet’s Thoughts and Intentions
Side: Comet Tail, Former Dungeon Master of the New Continent
"Comet. You’ve confirmed the details, haven't you? Write down the envoy’s status and submit it."
"Understood."
My mouth opens of its own accord, delivering the response, and I return to my private quarters to carry out the orders received from Hifi.
Hmm. Since I’m fully automated and never grow tired, I suppose I should be grateful. Undead are certainly convenient.
Still, I wish I could interject at least a little. Because I could only speak in broken fragments, I ended up giving Hifi the wrong impression. Or perhaps it wasn't a misunderstanding? Words are difficult things.
Well, in a sense, the current situation is my own doing. Honestly, I have no idea what to do about it. Even if I wanted to, I can’t even move a finger of my own volition, let alone speak; I am nothing more than Hifi’s living doll.
...Hm, that sounded a bit suggestive even to my own ears. Well, Hifi is a beauty, and lately, I’ve started to think I’m not so bad myself. Like this... you know?
On my way back to my room, I pass by a mirror offered to me from somewhere. Reflected in it is a woman with beautiful, long blonde hair, dressed in the style of a mage—my current self. I’ll ignore the fact that my skin is pale, or rather, blue.
...Yes, "lately" refers to the time since I became an undead and Hifi’s puppet. Back then—no, while I was alive—I was always buried in research, my hair a tangled mess and my clothes tattered. I realized only after becoming undead that my raw materials were actually quite good.
"Oh, if it isn't Lady Comet. Is your arm feeling better?"
As I pondered this, walking on autopilot, I encountered Taizo Motome, who had been brought to this world by Hifi, standing at the end of the corridor.
"Yes. There are no issues. I have been instructed to write down the status of the enemy observed during reconnaissance."
"I see. Well, the real work starts now, after all. But do try not to overexert yourself. We are both masters of our respective fields, aren't we?"
"Thank you for your concern. If you’ll excuse me."
Geez, I’m just a fully automated doll, so even if he shows concern, I’ll just keep working... though the materials used are my own remains.
However, I’ve really come to regret these restrictions on my speech lately. Motome’s knowledge is simply incredible. Everything he says is just "this is amazing." He calls it scientific technology, right? It’s a system and set of rules completely different from magic. No, actually, I feel like there are points where they intersect. If I were free, I’m sure I could cooperate with Motome to create something even more interesting.
Oh, and I’m sure it would be useful for the mana depletion problem that the high-ranking god named Luna asked about, too. Well, it’s too late to say that now. All the dungeon skill-related matters are under Hifi’s management anyway. In fact, I suspect that as far as Luna is concerned, I’ve been treated as dead for a long time. It’s only been about 50 years since I was resurrected.
I thought my knowledge might be useful, so I had applied preservation effects to my dungeon laboratory. That was my saving grace; my body didn't rot, my soul remained anchored, and Hifi simply turned me into an undead. I never imagined I would be used like this, though. Hahaha.
Depending on how you look at it, being able to live a second life is a form of happiness, isn't it? Even if things are quite complicated right now...
*Scratch, scratch...*
Yes, it is complicated. Before I knew it, I had returned to my room, and my body was already performing the work Hifi had ordered. Only the sound of the pen running across the paper echoed in the room.
Honestly, I never thought Hifi would go this far. When I heard from Luna that she was a god, I was surprised, but back then, she was just a kind older sister serving as a priestess at a village church. I was seen as an eccentric—honestly, how rude to call someone trying to unravel the mysteries of the world an eccentric... but that’s beside the point.
Because of that relationship, I was living quietly at the edge of that village, conducting my research. When I, as a Dungeon Master, began addressing the mana depletion, I ended up cooperating with Hifi, who happened to be in the same village. Well, even before that, she had been diligently taking care of me, checking on my house and cleaning up.
The relationship between Hifi and me back then was exceptionally good. Actually, I don't think my relationship with Hifi is bad even now. After all, she personally takes care of my clothes and hair without fail.
And then, in an effort to strengthen our side, Hifi and I developed a convenient, overpowered sword—the "Convenient Sword" for short. In a sense, it was too effective, and the girls we brought along ended up cutting me down. I had wanted to lighten their mental burden with the sword so they could fight effectively even as girls. The direct reason was that I had realized the cause of the mana depletion lay in the arrangement of the great powers, and I had conveyed that information too vaguely. Because of that, they chose to cut me down to protect the continent themselves. I wish they had had the patience to listen to the full story.
Well, it was my responsibility for failing to control their mental state. But personally, I felt that a problem affecting the entire continent should be tackled by everyone together, so I didn't hold a grudge against the result of being cut down. If the girls I took in wanted to carve their own path, I thought that was fine. It was a shame I couldn't say goodbye to the other companions who had helped me, though.
When I woke up, 350 years had passed. Hifi had lost that fluffy kindness she once had and had become the leader of a nation. When I first woke up, I could move quite freely, and that was when I learned what happened after. I never expected that the dungeon monsters led by Peace would try to conquer the continent, and that it would be those girls with the "Convenient Swords" who stopped them.
It seems that my death split my own people right down the middle. In stories, it’s told like a heroic epic, but from my perspective, it was just a brutal internal conflict. And while those girls remain as the ancestors of most of the great powers, most of them ended up imprisoned. It seems they became reckless due to the mental control. They tried to unify the nations, ignoring all diplomatic adjustments, and were locked away. I honestly feel for the high-ranking officials of those countries at the time.
That must be why. The wishes of those I left behind were weeded out, and Hifi’s own wishes were shattered as well. If that weren't the case, she wouldn't have started her own country and used me as an undead puppet.
...In other words, she is serious.
Well, as far as I’m concerned, war is just one method, so I won’t deny Hifi’s way of thinking. Besides, Hifi is the only one left, so I have no intention of interfering. When I said, "I... am... no longer needed," I meant, "I don't intend to get in your way, so there is no need to control me."
Well, if I weren't controlled, I’d probably just hole up in my lab. In that sense, I think Hifi is right to control me. Although, it seems she’s misunderstanding me in a completely different direction.