226: Structure of the Imperial Planet Vanilla Sid

"Let me explain how we'll proceed once we arrive at the Imperial Planet Vanilla Sid, using a map of Vanilla Sid as a guide."

"Please do. I'll take notes."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you."

With the tasks laid out, the next step is to discuss how we'll actually move forward.

Memoqui displays a hologram of the Imperial Planet Vanilla Sid and its surrounding area, then proceeds to explain.

Well then, since I'm already here in person, I'll cross-reference Memoqui's explanation with the real thing as I observe it firsthand.

"First, we need permission to descend to the Imperial Planet Vanilla Sid..."

Um, the Imperial Planet Vanilla Sid is roughly structured in four layers.

The topmost layer is the space surrounding the Imperial Planet Vanilla Sid. It contains a colony responsible for managing people and goods descending to Vanilla Sid, various facilities needed for information exchange, and emergency military bases prepared for unforeseen circumstances.

In short, this is a checkpoint.

Whether coming from within or from outside, it serves as a place to stop and apprehend suspicious individuals or items.

"Permission granted. Initiating descent. Heading toward the base."

The next layer is commonly known as the Top Layer.

The surface layer of the massive structure that covers nearly the entire surface of Tei-sei Vanilla Sid.

From space, the region appears almost entirely white, lined with structures that signify Tei-sei Vanilla Sid as the capital and heart of the Vanilla Space Empire: the Imperial City, where the Emperor resides; the Imperial Parliament; the Imperial Military Headquarters and major military bases; office buildings of large corporations whose names echo across the empire; and grand estates of influential nobles.

Moreover, the structures forming the foundation of the upper tier extend from 4,000 to 5,000 meters above sea level, meaning mountains with higher elevations pierce through the upper tier.

That’s what “almost all” means.

Incidentally, these structures are not only physically elevated but also expensive in value.

“This is the Viscount Iseimi’s residence, located in the middle tier.”

Below the upper tier lies the middle tier.

The living space utilizes the interior of structural elements that form the foundation of the top tier.

In terms of lifestyle, while the scale is incomparably larger, it is largely similar to that of a typical colony.

It is said that 99.99% of humanity—essentially everyone—residing on Imperial Star Vanilla Sid live within the middle tier.

It seems many noble residences are located here as well—without a doubt, the residence of Viscount Iseimētsu, and likely also that of the Vanilla Genroot family, the real family of Villigianira, somewhere within this layer.

Moreover, as previously mentioned, since this layer lies within the structure covering nearly the entire planet, it is divided into tens of thousands of sectors.

Each sector is said to be governed by a different noble family, and each has developed its own distinct culture.

As a result, the differences between sectors could be quite extreme, and there were even cases where neighboring sectors, despite being adjacent, had no interaction due to poor relations—making the whole system rather chaotic.

"Underlayer..."

"I don't think we'll ever get the chance to go there, Satu."

"Yeah, probably not."

Below the middle layer lies the Underlayer.

It's said that this space recreates the natural environment of the time when the Vanilla Space Empire was established—conditions such as weather, ocean currents, and sunlight are completely controlled, resulting in an environment slightly improved over the original.

Only a small number of administrators live here, and the organisms present are essentially ancestral forms of species previously raised in the Middle Layer or brought into each star system, making them extremely valuable.

As such, access is generally restricted and requires permission.

An area where entering without permission results in severe punishment.

There are plenty of things that look delicious here... though...

"Looks like we just passed by Planet Vanilla Sid P3."

"Is that so? Then everything is proceeding as planned."

Incidentally,

if you're wondering where the raw materials for the massive structure covering the entire planet came from, they were sourced from another planet within the Vanilla Sid system.

That was the planet Vanilla Sid P3, which just passed by. From what I could see, Planet Vanilla Sid P3 now is little more than an empty shell, with almost no crust remaining.

It's as if the planet was completely stripped bare.

Moreover, the iron and other metals obtained from Planet Vanilla Sid P3 were not only used in constructing the massive structure on Imperial Planet Vanilla Sid, but also in building colonies and spacecraft during the early era of exploration in other star systems.

Therefore, the primal colony in the Sybrasmith system, where I was just recently, might have possibly been constructed using materials from Planet Vanilla Sid P3.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, I felt something dart across the edge of my main sensor view.

"Is something wrong, Sata?"

"No, probably just a trick of the eye. Something seemed to zip past the edge of my main view in real space... but I couldn't see anything that matched that description."

"Is that so? Memo, just to be safe, how does it look?"

"Please wait a moment. According to the log... no, upon closer inspection, there does seem to be something resembling noise."

"Memo, could you send me a copy of that data too? I'd like to take a look myself."

"Understood."

I answered honestly when Viridiani asked, but... something about the atmosphere has turned unsettling.

Was it really not a mistake?

"This... I can't be certain, but there's suspicious noise here."

"Yes. It's noise that becomes noticeable only when you're consciously looking for it."

"I suspected that seeing through the eight eyes of the Satas' core might be misleading, so I asked for a thorough examination—and it seems I was right."

"I see."

Hmm, there's definitely something in the Vanilla Sid system.

But what exactly is it, and how is it hiding its form?

I don't sense any hostility or ill intent, but it's unsettling.

"Approaching the end of sublight travel shortly. We'll soon enter the vicinity around the capital planet, Vanilla Sid. Please stay alert, just in case."

With a faint sense of unease, we arrived near the capital planet, Vanilla Sid.

03/20 Spelling correction