On the other side of the hatch, there was a passage that looked very similar to the one I had gone down before. There black walls made of an unknown material, and glowing lines that ran along the sides. It was as if these lights were leading us deeper down.
We saw no doors along the way. There was a part of me that hoped we would find something, an Automata or items, and so I was a little disappointed. We had discovered a ruin, surely they could have left us something…those stingy old elves.
“…Hmm.”
Daniela was walking ahead of me, but she suddenly stopped. I looked over her shoulder to see what it was. The passage had curved a little to the side, and there was a door. A door without any handles. It made me think of an automatic door.
“It is different here.”
“That’s a door, right?”
“A door? But it has no handles.”
“…Well, it’s one of those doors that open automatically, I think.”
“Such doors exist…?”
Sometimes, I wondered just how close the great age of magic was to modern-day Japan.
They were advanced enough that something like this didn’t really surprise me. Though, it was quite different for Daniela.
“Well, let’s go inside then.”
“I hope there is nothing dangerous…”
We were surrounded by the unknown. Though this was my second time being in a place like this, so I wasn’t as cautious as I might have been. But Daniela seemed very tense. I wasn’t sure if she was being needlessly paranoid, or I had my guard down. Still, we could balance each other out. And so I stepped in front of her and approached the door.
“Unless I’m wrong…ah.”
“Oh!?”
“See. It opened.”
It was an automatic door after all. The only thing it was missing was a bell ring and a ‘welcome.’ That being said, it wasn’t every day that I got to see an expression of surprise on Daniela’s face.
In fact, she still looked hesitant, and so I gave her back a push forward.
“Wait, Asagi. Do not push me!”
“Now-now-now.”
“You idiot! I am in no mood for this!”
But Daniela was oddly adorable when she was like this, and I couldn’t help but tease her.
There was a wide room on the other side. But there wasn’t anything there. Just another similar door on the opposite side of the room. Maybe this was like an antechamber.
“Well, nothing is happening. Let’s go.”
“Ahh…haa… You… I will remember this…”
“Sorry. I will stop fooling around.”
“Good…”
I felt just a little bad.
We went through the next door and came out into another plain hallway. There were an odd amount of turns as we continued down if for half an hour. Then we reached another door.
“…”
“I won’t do anything. See? After you.”
“Hmph…”
Damn, she was scary… Daniela glared at me and then turned back to the door and stepped forward. There was the hiss of air and then the door opened up into another room.
However, this time there was something in the center.
“Ah, that…!”
“Daniela, you go in first. We don’t know what will happen if I do.”
“Very well…!”
It was clearly some kind of ancient elf machine. It looked like the one that we saw in the underground of Reserentrible. In that case, it would be better for Daniela to enter first, as she was a descendant of the ancient elves.
Daniela gulped and slowly entered the room. I had Legs of the God Wolf activated, in case we needed to make a quick escape, and watched her from behind.
Then the lines along the floor and walls all gathered to the terminal in the middle of the room. The gathered light shone blindingly as a voice echoed in the room.
‘This is Estarosta. Facility 68. State your business.’
A woman with short, platinum hair appeared within the light and looked down at us. I had been expecting something like this, but it was still a surprise when it happened.
‘If you do not have a legitimate reason…’
“We-we do!”
I interrupted it hurriedly, before it prepared to drive us out. The Estarosta machine looked over to me.
“Monsters have been making use of this facility. We came to stop them and to investigate.”
‘This is not some trading city where monsters can easily enter. Your tale defies belief.’
“One thousand years have passed since the age you were created. There are no pure elves like you anymore.”
Daniela said. And the holograph looked away from us and fell silent. She was probably making calculations, much like Karma had done in Reserentrible.
‘…I see. According to the report from facility 215…’
“Facility 215…”
“Reserentrible? I think it was.”
So, Karma had made a report of the events to someone. I didn’t know how or where the report had gone.
‘According to the database… You are the foreigner, Asagi Kamiyashiro. And you are Daniela Villesilf. The descendant. Your names have been confirmed.’
“What?”
‘Welcome to Estarosta. Please accept our humble hospitality.”
The sudden show of kindness was confusing. We were now confirmed and welcome.
‘There have been reports about you two in Karma’s database. We have confirmed that you are not hostile forces, so do not worry.’
“Oh, uh. Umm, thanks.”
‘No, thank you.’
This machine was more polite than I was.
‘Your sudden arrival was most surprising, but it makes sense given who you are. Now, would you please tell me the rest?’
The Karma of Estarosta asked, and so we told it everything that had happened. The goblin stampede. The abnormally evolved being that had led it. The facility and the mutated monster. And that we had destroyed it.
At the same time, we asked it how much it knew about us.
‘Karma have a unique network that makes use of the dragon vein. There is a database built off of this network where information is shared and stored. Both your names were saved in it as data. And your purpose as well.’
“…So, uh. You don’t consider that to be a hostile act?”
‘As for the destruction of Nova, there is nothing that we can do about it. We would not resist. We are just machines that have been installed in different cities. And we are isolated from the Nova body.’
“Isolated? But how can a terminal function without the main machine?”
‘There appears to be something wrong with the Nova body. We were cut off from it and reconnection is impossible. However, the data was not destroyed, and the Karma Network is secure. We Karma can still communicate with each other.’
I see… They were like children who talked to each other but never contacted their parents. And as they had no orders from their parent, they didn’t attack. They also couldn’t help us. On top of that, Daniela’s presence meant they would reveal their data.
Something like that…
“I do not understand this at all…”
“I’ll break it down for you later.”
“Fine. I leave it to you.”
It wasn’t complicated… It was just that the words used by the more developed culture of the ancient elves were similar to what I knew. Well, it was also possible that they were influenced by people who were transported in the past.
“Thank you. This information will be a great help.”
‘It was no problem at all. Going forward, the Nova will not be hostile towards you. But we will not be allies either. You can think of us terminals for information.’
That was rather sad. But it was still helpful.
“What will you do now?”
‘This place will be made uninvadable. We do not want to allow monsters to use it again and inconvenience the people of this age.’
“So, just like in Reserentrible… We won’t see you again.”
‘The Karma Network is connected. As long as this star does not die, you two will not be forgotten. This is not goodbye.’
I wasn’t so sure about that… In any case, I suppose being able to converse didn’t mean you had emotions.
‘Lastly, I will disclose to you the data concerning the Nova.’
“Huh?”
“Hmm…”
That was something. Even Daniela seemed surprised.
‘This had been debated among us ever since your data was registered. It was one week ago that a conclusion was reached. We have decided to show you the way to the Nova.’
“I thought you weren’t allowed to help us?”
Daniela said what I was thinking.
‘Some might see it that way. However, as we are not aiding you directly, we do not see it as support. Besides, it is your decision if you wish to go down that path or not.’
“I’m not sure that logic really follows?”
‘We have been in operation for many years. We can advance, but we can also deteriorate. And the way we think can sometimes be subject to change.’
The Karma said with a wink. Daniela muttered something about this being nonsense. But I chuckled a little. This seemed like a rather cliche development for an AI. The Karma in Reserentrible had also said something about personal emotions, but ended up showing concern for us. This Karma was a little easier to talk to, though. Maybe AI were just like that.
“Thank you. Will you tell us now?”
‘Yes. Right here.’
The Estarosta Karma slid her finger through the air and a map was displayed. There were four red points on the map. Erediares, the west island, the south forest, and the Hill of Mist.
‘Eres is Facility 1 and is in the north. Kimon is Facility 2 and is in the west. Ulbesartus is the third and is located in the south. Use the ‘keys’ that are protected in these three facilities, and you will be able to enter Mistmaria, Facility 0. And there you will meet the Nova.’
Pretty ‘game-like,’ huh. But I suppose it made sense, given how important they were. This was the culture that existed during the great age of magic. It wouldn’t be anything easy. On the other hand…it all felt kind of analog. Perhaps it was ultimately more reliable than anything digital.
“Do we have to collect the keys in a certain order?”
‘No. As long as you have all three in the end.’
“Understood. Thank you for the information.”
‘We are grateful that you dealt with the consequences of our mistakes. The underground city of Estarosta will be isolated completely after three hours have passed. Please begin to depart.’
They would not allow anyone else to invade this place. Ultimately, we had closed off two ancient elven ruins. In a way, that meant historical buildings and cultural heritage being lost forever. I couldn’t help but feel bad about that.
“Will these places ever be opened again?”
‘Yes. If a time comes that peace is assured, then the lock will be deactivated. Perhaps we will work with humans again soon.’
That was a relief. I probably wouldn’t be alive when that happened. But Daniela might be. And the idea of the world being a better place during such a time made me happy.
“Alright, let us go.”
“Right. Well, Estarosta Karma. Thank you for everything. Goodbye.”
I waved before following Daniela out of the door. The hologram in the center of the light waved at us as we left.
‘Goodbye. Man from another world. And you who are one of our descendants. May you have a happy future.’
The lights faded and Karma disappeared.
We had to leave.
Silence fell over the now empty room. There was nothing to disturb the air. Just one plain machine in the center. It made me wonder how many years would pass before a human stepped in again. While we would no doubt speak with other Karma’s, it was still kind of sad.
I looked back one last time into the empty room.
“Thank you.”
If we did meet again, maybe we could talk about other worlds. It was with such thoughts in my head that I followed after Daniela.
On the other side of the hatch, there was a passage that looked very similar to the one I had gone down before. There black walls made of an unknown material, and glowing lines that ran along the sides. It was as if these lights were leading us deeper down.
We saw no doors along the way. There was a part of me that hoped we would find something, an Automata or items, and so I was a little disappointed. We had discovered a ruin, surely they could have left us something…those stingy old elves.
“…Hmm.”
Daniela was walking ahead of me, but she suddenly stopped. I looked over her shoulder to see what it was. The passage had curved a little to the side, and there was a door. A door without any handles. It made me think of an automatic door.
“It is different here.”
“That’s a door, right?”
“A door? But it has no handles.”
“…Well, it’s one of those doors that open automatically, I think.”
“Such doors exist…?”
Sometimes, I wondered just how close the great age of magic was to modern-day Japan.
They were advanced enough that something like this didn’t really surprise me. Though, it was quite different for Daniela.
“Well, let’s go inside then.”
“I hope there is nothing dangerous…”
We were surrounded by the unknown. Though this was my second time being in a place like this, so I wasn’t as cautious as I might have been. But Daniela seemed very tense. I wasn’t sure if she was being needlessly paranoid, or I had my guard down. Still, we could balance each other out. And so I stepped in front of her and approached the door.
“Unless I’m wrong…ah.”
“Oh!?”
“See. It opened.”
It was an automatic door after all. The only thing it was missing was a bell ring and a ‘welcome.’ That being said, it wasn’t every day that I got to see an expression of surprise on Daniela’s face.
In fact, she still looked hesitant, and so I gave her back a push forward.
“Wait, Asagi. Do not push me!”
“Now-now-now.”
“You idiot! I am in no mood for this!”
But Daniela was oddly adorable when she was like this, and I couldn’t help but tease her.
There was a wide room on the other side. But there wasn’t anything there. Just another similar door on the opposite side of the room. Maybe this was like an antechamber.
“Well, nothing is happening. Let’s go.”
“Ahh…haa… You… I will remember this…”
“Sorry. I will stop fooling around.”
“Good…”
I felt just a little bad.
We went through the next door and came out into another plain hallway. There were an odd amount of turns as we continued down if for half an hour. Then we reached another door.
“…”
“I won’t do anything. See? After you.”
“Hmph…”
Damn, she was scary… Daniela glared at me and then turned back to the door and stepped forward. There was the hiss of air and then the door opened up into another room.
However, this time there was something in the center.
“Ah, that…!”
“Daniela, you go in first. We don’t know what will happen if I do.”
“Very well…!”
It was clearly some kind of ancient elf machine. It looked like the one that we saw in the underground of Reserentrible. In that case, it would be better for Daniela to enter first, as she was a descendant of the ancient elves.
Daniela gulped and slowly entered the room. I had Legs of the God Wolf activated, in case we needed to make a quick escape, and watched her from behind.
Then the lines along the floor and walls all gathered to the terminal in the middle of the room. The gathered light shone blindingly as a voice echoed in the room.
‘This is Estarosta. Facility 68. State your business.’
A woman with short, platinum hair appeared within the light and looked down at us. I had been expecting something like this, but it was still a surprise when it happened.
‘If you do not have a legitimate reason…’
“We-we do!”
I interrupted it hurriedly, before it prepared to drive us out. The Estarosta machine looked over to me.
“Monsters have been making use of this facility. We came to stop them and to investigate.”
‘This is not some trading city where monsters can easily enter. Your tale defies belief.’
“One thousand years have passed since the age you were created. There are no pure elves like you anymore.”
Daniela said. And the holograph looked away from us and fell silent. She was probably making calculations, much like Karma had done in Reserentrible.
‘…I see. According to the report from facility 215…’
“Facility 215…”
“Reserentrible? I think it was.”
So, Karma had made a report of the events to someone. I didn’t know how or where the report had gone.
‘According to the database… You are the foreigner, Asagi Kamiyashiro. And you are Daniela Villesilf. The descendant. Your names have been confirmed.’
“What?”
‘Welcome to Estarosta. Please accept our humble hospitality.”
The sudden show of kindness was confusing. We were now confirmed and welcome.
‘There have been reports about you two in Karma’s database. We have confirmed that you are not hostile forces, so do not worry.’
“Oh, uh. Umm, thanks.”
‘No, thank you.’
This machine was more polite than I was.
‘Your sudden arrival was most surprising, but it makes sense given who you are. Now, would you please tell me the rest?’
The Karma of Estarosta asked, and so we told it everything that had happened. The goblin stampede. The abnormally evolved being that had led it. The facility and the mutated monster. And that we had destroyed it.
At the same time, we asked it how much it knew about us.
‘Karma have a unique network that makes use of the dragon vein. There is a database built off of this network where information is shared and stored. Both your names were saved in it as data. And your purpose as well.’
“…So, uh. You don’t consider that to be a hostile act?”
‘As for the destruction of Nova, there is nothing that we can do about it. We would not resist. We are just machines that have been installed in different cities. And we are isolated from the Nova body.’
“Isolated? But how can a terminal function without the main machine?”
‘There appears to be something wrong with the Nova body. We were cut off from it and reconnection is impossible. However, the data was not destroyed, and the Karma Network is secure. We Karma can still communicate with each other.’
I see… They were like children who talked to each other but never contacted their parents. And as they had no orders from their parent, they didn’t attack. They also couldn’t help us. On top of that, Daniela’s presence meant they would reveal their data.
Something like that…
“I do not understand this at all…”
“I’ll break it down for you later.”
“Fine. I leave it to you.”
It wasn’t complicated… It was just that the words used by the more developed culture of the ancient elves were similar to what I knew. Well, it was also possible that they were influenced by people who were transported in the past.
“Thank you. This information will be a great help.”
‘It was no problem at all. Going forward, the Nova will not be hostile towards you. But we will not be allies either. You can think of us terminals for information.’
That was rather sad. But it was still helpful.
“What will you do now?”
‘This place will be made uninvadable. We do not want to allow monsters to use it again and inconvenience the people of this age.’
“So, just like in Reserentrible… We won’t see you again.”
‘The Karma Network is connected. As long as this star does not die, you two will not be forgotten. This is not goodbye.’
I wasn’t so sure about that… In any case, I suppose being able to converse didn’t mean you had emotions.
‘Lastly, I will disclose to you the data concerning the Nova.’
“Huh?”
“Hmm…”
That was something. Even Daniela seemed surprised.
‘This had been debated among us ever since your data was registered. It was one week ago that a conclusion was reached. We have decided to show you the way to the Nova.’
“I thought you weren’t allowed to help us?”
Daniela said what I was thinking.
‘Some might see it that way. However, as we are not aiding you directly, we do not see it as support. Besides, it is your decision if you wish to go down that path or not.’
“I’m not sure that logic really follows?”
‘We have been in operation for many years. We can advance, but we can also deteriorate. And the way we think can sometimes be subject to change.’
The Karma said with a wink. Daniela muttered something about this being nonsense. But I chuckled a little. This seemed like a rather cliche development for an AI. The Karma in Reserentrible had also said something about personal emotions, but ended up showing concern for us. This Karma was a little easier to talk to, though. Maybe AI were just like that.
“Thank you. Will you tell us now?”
‘Yes. Right here.’
The Estarosta Karma slid her finger through the air and a map was displayed. There were four red points on the map. Erediares, the west island, the south forest, and the Hill of Mist.
‘Eres is Facility 1 and is in the north. Kimon is Facility 2 and is in the west. Ulbesartus is the third and is located in the south. Use the ‘keys’ that are protected in these three facilities, and you will be able to enter Mistmaria, Facility 0. And there you will meet the Nova.’
Pretty ‘game-like,’ huh. But I suppose it made sense, given how important they were. This was the culture that existed during the great age of magic. It wouldn’t be anything easy. On the other hand…it all felt kind of analog. Perhaps it was ultimately more reliable than anything digital.
“Do we have to collect the keys in a certain order?”
‘No. As long as you have all three in the end.’
“Understood. Thank you for the information.”
‘We are grateful that you dealt with the consequences of our mistakes. The underground city of Estarosta will be isolated completely after three hours have passed. Please begin to depart.’
They would not allow anyone else to invade this place. Ultimately, we had closed off two ancient elven ruins. In a way, that meant historical buildings and cultural heritage being lost forever. I couldn’t help but feel bad about that.
“Will these places ever be opened again?”
‘Yes. If a time comes that peace is assured, then the lock will be deactivated. Perhaps we will work with humans again soon.’
That was a relief. I probably wouldn’t be alive when that happened. But Daniela might be. And the idea of the world being a better place during such a time made me happy.
“Alright, let us go.”
“Right. Well, Estarosta Karma. Thank you for everything. Goodbye.”
I waved before following Daniela out of the door. The hologram in the center of the light waved at us as we left.
‘Goodbye. Man from another world. And you who are one of our descendants. May you have a happy future.’
The lights faded and Karma disappeared.
We had to leave.
Silence fell over the now empty room. There was nothing to disturb the air. Just one plain machine in the center. It made me wonder how many years would pass before a human stepped in again. While we would no doubt speak with other Karma’s, it was still kind of sad.
I looked back one last time into the empty room.
“Thank you.”
If we did meet again, maybe we could talk about other worlds. It was with such thoughts in my head that I followed after Daniela.
