178: A Diverse Underground Mall
"Alright, today I'm going to pick up my greenhouse, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
The next day.
After leaving the hotel, we walked through the Third Prime Colony.
Today's objective was to receive the greenhouse I had ordered through Memokshi, which was built according to the specifications I sent. It was intended for use within my Ether Space.
But... couldn't I have gone by myself? I don't see why we all need to go together.
Maybe so. But since I'm interested in what kind of greenhouse Sata was looking for, I'll go take a look.
If Lady Vee is going, the memo will naturally come along.
It's lonely being the only one left out, you know? Plus, I'm just genuinely interested.
Ah, huh, I see... Then, shall we go together?
To be honest, I'm buying this for personal reasons, so there's no real need for Viridiani and the others to come along... but they seem interested anyway.
In that case, it'd probably be more convenient if we went together.
"We'll need to descend from here."
So we begin moving downward...
Since it's a sensitive item, it's built in an area beneath the colony that connects directly to outer space, and the pickup will also be there.
""
"Compared to the area we visited yesterday, this place is completely different in terms of crowd density."
"Back there, everything was strictly managed by the mechanical intelligences, but here, various shops and workshops are located side by side, and there seem to be many tourists visiting them too. It's only natural that the atmosphere—and even the air—feels entirely different."
And yet, despite being underground... it's overwhelmingly crowded.
Not so crowded as to hinder movement, but clearly filled with visitors from across the empire seeking high-quality industrial goods.
The place teems with people of all races and appearances.
Occasionally, you'll see individuals dressed as the main character from Magical☆Pumpkin, or as high-ranking members of her opposing organization, Musikui★Croquy, or even as characters from other anime and novels—but honestly, they’re just attention-seekers. No need to pay them any mind.
"……"
"Vee?"
"No, nothing at all. I just happened to spot a few nobles who work at Teisei Vanilla Sid. It's just a regular day off, after all. There's no reason for me to be concerned, right? Yes."
"……"
Vilijaniira's expression was anything but calm.
If it truly were just an ordinary day off, she wouldn't be making that face. And Vilijaniira wasn't the type to grimace over minor, niche interests.
If it were a straightforward crime, they'd have already contacted us. If it were an urgent matter requiring immediate action, they'd have instructed us to move right away.
So, probably, it's something like seeing a married man with a woman who isn't his wife—clearly not a work-related encounter—something that looks suspiciously like an affair.
Yeah, why not report it to the emperor himself and make good use of it?
I'll stay out of it.
"Ah, Sata. There's no direct passage from the ground up to the spaceport, huh?"
"Ah, that's right. There are lots of small, privately-run workshops, and it seems they've made things complicated just in case something happens."
"Back in ancient times, they designed it like a maze to prevent terrorists or attacks from other spacefaring nations from easily exploiting it. While the threat from the former is long gone, we haven't encountered the latter at all—so far."
Anyway, changing the subject, we continue along the path.
Though gravity itself is distorted, making it hard to follow, from the puppet's perspective it feels like a winding road with many side paths branching off to the left and right, while from the main body's viewpoint we're gradually moving outward from the colony.
"Other spacefaring nations... If such a country exists, does that mean it runs on an OS different from 'Vanilla OS'?"
"Probably. 'Vanilla OS' is unique to the Vanilla Space Empire and serves as a marker of their territory, so if another nation exists, it would likely run a different OS tailored to that country."
"Perhaps somewhere in the cosmos, there's even a nation built upon the back or within the body of a massive space monster."
"That's entirely possible. After all, space monsters the size of planets do exist."
The conversation had smoothly shifted topics.
But then again, other space nations... depending on how you look at it, space monsters could be treated as individual nations on their own.
...
Yeah, I wouldn't mind being treated that way, honestly.
The difference in size and power is just too great.
"Say, when I was watching history class, I remember seeing stuff about spaceships that ventured beyond the galaxy, or even ships that went beyond the empire's borders. What ever happened to those, I wonder?"
"Well, if there's no other OS deployed beyond 'Vanilla OS,' then it's just 'Blank OS' territory. They must have implemented countermeasures to venture out...
There were ships large enough to travel for over ten thousand years without relying on mods—colony-sized vessels, even—back over a thousand years ago. But we haven't heard from them since. Where they are now, or what they're doing, is completely unknown."
Well, this is a conversation with no conclusion.
After all, there's been no communication from them, and we've been unable to observe anything ourselves.
"Ah, here we are."
As we spoke, we arrived at the workshop occupying one space within the spaceport.
Beyond the airtight shield separating the colony's interior from the outside, a greenhouse—presumably the one I'd requested—floats in the void.
Well then, let's go ahead and take it.