89: What is an OS?

"This is terrible..."

"Yes. It's truly a complete disaster."

"No survivors have been confirmed among the people believed to have been inside the baron's household since the Megalina began its rampage."

We took refuge inside the 'Pumpkin Witch.'

Shortly afterward, the 'Pumpkin Witch' took off.

Once we judged it was relatively safe, I used the main body while Viridiana checked the state of the Spetfana baron's household through a camera provided by Mekoshi, located nearby.

The Spetfana baron's household... was nothing short of a ruin.

The exterior color and ship ID of the 'Pumpkin Witch' have been successfully changed. As long as there are no traitors in the intelligence unit, very few people will be able to track the 'Pumpkin Witch'—now redesignated as 'Cool Cocatrix.'

Thank you, but I already knew that... If a clumsy organization finds out about this ship, it could really turn into a troublesome situation.

I'm not denying it. So, Lady Villigian, please be careful when handling it. Depending on who finds it, you might not get off so easily.

Is that so? Now that you mention it, regarding what comes next...

The content of the conversation between Virijiani and Joharish... well, let's just skip over it.

He's gone off somewhere.

What matters more right now is where Magelania has gone.

I don't really feel like I'm on the ground.

It's because there's no unpleasant feeling arising from the fact that the OS differs from anywhere else.

Magelania might already be capable of hiding around like me... but the government's moving faster.

Magelania has already been flagged as an extremely dangerous individual, with surveillance footage posted on street monitors and other public displays.

If Magelania has shown herself on the surface under these circumstances, there should already be a commotion noticeable even to me.

"Underground?"

"Possible, yes. The underground systems of the Flaretanbo system are said to have extensive sewage networks built to accommodate Sw, making them extremely large."

I was about to conclude it must be underground, but then I heard support from Memox.

If the sewer sphere is designed to handle something nearly ten meters in diameter, then a human-sized being like Magelina should have no trouble fitting inside at all.

Whether it's the sewer sphere or her own movement, if she possesses telekinetic power strong enough to reduce an entire house to rubble, then anything is possible.

"Also, Satā-sama. This is the audio and image data left behind by the unit sent to secure Magelina."

"Surprised it's still intact. Or has it already been analyzed?"

"The recording device worn by the infiltrating unit had dual storage—main and backup. If either was destroyed, it immediately transmitted the data, allowing complete recovery. It seems they used the familiar twin system common in intelligence units."

"Oh, I see."

Mekoshi sends the data to my information terminal.

There, the image and behavior of Magelania are displayed...

"Then, Sata-sama. How do you assess Magelania's current state?"

"Judging through a camera is difficult. But despite being newly formed, it already feels less like a mock cosmic monster and more like a true cosmic monster. At the very least, it's certainly not human."

"Regarding its behavior—especially anything concerning its unique eyes? Are they essential?"

"..."

Well, I can tell one thing for sure—it's definitely something dangerous.

And I can also tell that it's likely to target Virijanila again in the future.

Still, about the claim that special eyes are necessary... that's a bit unclear...

"To start from the basics, a cosmic monster isn't like a 'Vanilla OS'; it possesses a different operating system and can survive and operate independently in outer space."

"Yes, that's correct."

"And since the operating system is different, it fundamentally exists as a separate entity. In other words, if the owner of the OS declares something white, it becomes white, regardless of whether it's actually black or rainbow. So if the Megalynia, transformed into a cosmic monster, says it needs special eyes, then for Megalynia, special eyes are indeed necessary."

"I see. Conversely, that means they wouldn't be necessary for Lord Sata."

"Isn't necessary. I might eat a nice fried eye of a large fish, but even that's just a matter of personal preference. Both me and Megalynia are cosmic monsters, but the rules for sustaining our bodies and those for becoming stronger are completely different."

Well, it probably is necessary for Megalynia.

Though it's a point that only makes sense within Megalynia itself.

"Let's change the subject. Do you think it's possible for a human to become a cosmic monster, other than through the hands of that mysterious puppet master?"

"I can't really say. I was supposed to be born as a synthetic human from Seiryō Corporation, yet somehow I ended up being born as a cosmic monster. Even after five years of investigation by Seiryō Corporation's top mod researcher, they couldn't figure out why I was born as a cosmic monster. So..."

"So...?"

"I can't deny the hypothesis that, without the involvement of that certain shadowy figure, a human could become a cosmic monster given the right trigger."

"Is that so?"

That shadowy figure can transform humans into cosmic monsters at will—there's no doubt about that.

But that doesn't negate the possibility that a human could become a cosmic monster under certain circumstances.

Therefore, it's impossible to say whether that shadowy figure is involved in this case.

I don't feel any sense of spatial teleportation, as if that shadowy figure were interfering, either.

"Besides, wasn't it said that the area around 'Vanilla OS' is managed by the imperial family of the Vanilla Cosmic Empire? If that's the case, it's not a field accessible to just any amateur with a bit of knowledge. In fact, wouldn't it be more likely that someone like Viridiana would have better access to information than me?"

No, I think even Lady Vee would find it difficult. I've heard that only the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and their directly assigned researchers are permitted to be involved with 'Vanilla OS.'

"...Actually, if I had known, wouldn't that have made things even more dangerous for Vee too?"

You're right. I was actually relieved that Satā-sama didn't know, since it's just a memo.

I had the strange feeling that I was about to step on a huge mine.

Kuwabara kuwabara.

"Cough. Anyway, our top priority right now is finding Maglenia and dealing with it somehow. Leaving that thing alone isn't an option under any circumstances."

"I agree. Let's split up—check for any disturbances using the memo and Satā-sama."

I focused on the main body, while Memoqshi scanned the planet Flaretanbo 1's various cameras in search of Maglenia.

It was certain that Maglenia would eventually attack Vrijanila, and this time, waiting passively for an assault would put us at a disadvantage.

"Satā. There's a message."

And just as I had begun searching, Vrijanila, having made some kind of decision, approached me with resolve.

11/13 Correction of typo