“Has it stopped, this is what I’m asking?”
”…Just about…”
The nosebleed finally stopped. Dodged the indignity of dying from hemorrhage-by-nosebleed, somehow.
For the record — I had Rosetta change into normal underwear. No way leaving her in the previous pair was good for my mental health. And — to be clear — I did NOT look while she changed, all right?
Wait — I can’t even look at her face properly now!
“Then I shall guide you to the Workshop, this is what I do.”
She started walking off, glanced sideways at me. …Yes?
“Would you wish to see the change-out as well, this is the question?”
“Don’t try to see things I didn’t try to see! Just lead the way!”
“Understood, this is what I will do. …By the way, master — do you prefer your chests large or small, this is the question?”
“Lead the way!”
“Yes, masteR.”
Why does this lot just segue into that kind of talk!? Like robot, like robot — wait, like creator, like creation? Spare me.
I followed Rosetta as she padded off. The cube-building grew steadily closer. If it’s called the Workshop, presumably it’s for making things.
The white building was about fifty meters on a side. I think the Arc de Triomphe in Paris is fifty meters tall — like that, but cube-shaped. Pure squared-off cube. And — no windows. No, wait — not even doors?
When we reached the wall, Rosetta calmly laid her hand on it.
The next moment, lines spread across the white wall, broke into small cubes that rearranged themselves at speed, and reformed into an open doorway.
Wait — is this building actually a collection of small cubes!? Small cubes that assemble into this building, and reshape on Rosetta’s command, into any form she wants. If so, that’s a stunning piece of tech…
Through the new entrance, a flight of stairs went up; a few steps in, an enormous open space appeared. …What is this?
A pure-white space. Nothing in it. Truly nothing. Just white walls, white floor, white ceiling. And huge — too huge.
“What is this?”
“This is the Workshop, this is what it is. It generates any conceivable tool you imagine, builds workbenches, supports fabrication — the all-purpose factory, this is what I call it.”
She placed a hand on the floor — instantly a white table appeared in front of us, and an array of tool-tipped arms rose out of it.
Right. The small blocks composing the building can be reconfigured into any tool or implement on demand.
“Only this humble unit and master can operate the Workshop, this is the privilege. Also, with an original product as reference, copies can be produced — provided the raw materials are available, this is the caveat.”
Right. Honestly with [Modeling] I haven’t felt the need to make things — but if I can mass-produce what I make, that’s a different conversation. I could mass-produce bicycles and sell them… Cashflow.
Complex things like the smartphone — I don’t actually know the materials, so probably can’t copy. Shape only, I could probably duplicate. But a smartphone made entirely of “iron” obviously won’t function.
This is less Workshop, more Production Plant, frankly.
For a test, I unholstered Brünhild and asked for a copy. From [Storage] I provided a mithril ingot.
Rosetta placed Brünhild on the white table, then placed her hand on the table in front of it.
“Scan.”
The area beneath the table flashed green for a moment. When that finished, she moved Brünhild away, placed the mithril ingot on the table.
“Copy.”
The mithril dropped into an opening with a clunk, and a lid closed. Green light again from inside. The lid opened, and the finished piece rose up.
Extra mithril fragments scattered across the area, but on the table was an identical Brünhild — gleaming silver instead of black.
I picked it up, tried the trigger, then tried to extend the blade — didn’t extend. Hm. [Program] doesn’t copy across.
I re-applied all the [Program] routines and stowed the old one in [Storage]. Mithril is going to be easier to wield.
“If you specify quantity during copy, it will continue producing automatically, this is the function.”
“Convenient.”
Nothing I immediately want to mass-produce, but might come up later. Oh — right.
“Rosetta, Cesca mentioned an anti-Phrase decisive weapon. That was made here?”
“Frame Gear, this is the product. Yes, those were built here. This humble unit also assisted the Doctor, this is what I did.”
Knew it. Developed at the Workshop, then sealed in the Hangar after completion. Should’ve just left them in operation…
“Can you make Frame Gears, Rosetta?”
“This humble unit cannot, this is the answer. Currently I can only manage things like equipment, this is the limit. No blueprints either, this is the problem. The blueprints may be in the Storehouse, this is my guess.”
Hngh. Find the Hangar, or find the Storehouse and have Rosetta build new ones — either way, not happening right now.
“Let me call everyone. Cesca will want to meet Rosetta too.”
“Looking forward to it, this is what I am.”
Right — I left them all stranded in the desert. Better hurry. I opened a [Gate] to where they were.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
”…The Workshop, huh.”
”…This is somewhat irritating, this is the feeling.”
Rosetta side-eyed Leen, who’d murmured without bothering to hide her disappointment.
“Far more useful than a Garden, which is mere ornamentation, this is the fact.”
“Now now — peace, healing, Healing Garden — my Garden is master’s emotional anchor. The presumption is breathtakinG.”
Stop glaring at each other. I stepped between them and pulled them apart.
“Setting that aside — are you saying we should combine the Garden and the Workshop?”
“Yes. With ownership transferred to you, masteR, that would be optimaL.”
“With the barrier level lowered, linking with the Garden is enabled, this is the system. The Garden can be operated from here too, this is what’s possible.”
At a Garden-style monolith in one corner of the Workshop, Rosetta worked the controls — then yielded the spot to Cesca.
“How shall we proceed, masteR?”
“Send the Garden back to Belfast. Workshop too, heading to Belfast. Dock there.”
"""…Dock…"""
…? Both of them stared at me. Did I say something weird?
"""Somehow, salaciouS…"""
“Just do it!”
See — there’s another problem child added now! This is exactly why I didn’t want to look for more Babylon pieces! I’m convinced these things were all modeled on that Doctor’s thought patterns.
《Master? The Garden suddenly started moving?》
Telepathy from Kokuyō. Right — I’ll need to fetch them later.
《Not a problem. I’m steering it toward Belfast from here. We found the Workshop.》
I opened a [Gate] and brought everyone aboard the Garden. Since both Workshop and Garden are now on autopilot back to Belfast, I picked up Kokuyō and Sango and skipped ahead to my own garden.
Through the terrace, into the living room — Rebecca-san, Logan-san, and Will spotted us, jumped up from their chairs, and dropped into full prostrations on the floor.
“Wait, wait — stop! That’s too much!”
“No! Cécile-dono told us! For our discourtesy toward the next King of Belfast, we beg your forgiveness…!”
Aaa… Cécile said too much, didn’t she? I glared sideways at Cécile-san by the wall, who returned an oops, hehe! face. Don’t think that smile fixes everything.
“Honestly, please don’t worry about it. I’m not comfortable with the formal stuff either.”
”…Right…”
The three reluctantly got up. I sat them back down, calmed them.
“We’re going to take a bath.”
Elze and the others filed off to their rooms. Leen was heading back to the palace with Paula to report on the Phrase — I made her swear silence on Babylon.
Cesca took Rosetta to her room. Wait — is Rosetta a maid here now too…?
“How are the others?”
“Probably tired… I mean, they’re all… fast asleep, deeply, that is…”
“You don’t have to force the polite register? I’m not nobility.”
I smiled at Rebecca-san’s struggle and drank the water Renee brought over.
“That so? Then I’ll skip it.”
“Hey, hey — is that okay?”
“He himself says so. Should be fine.”
She brushed off Logan-san’s panic with a grin. Yeah — casual suits her better.
“So — what next for all of you? You three can probably make it on guild work, but the others sleeping upstairs?”
“That’s the thing. They were village girls, no specialized skills, can’t fight either. Until they find work in the capital, could they stay here a while…?”
“That’s fine, sure…”
Work, huh. Could mass-produce bikes at the Workshop and have them sell those — but that’s tricky. I want to keep the Workshop secret, and if I’m selling, the pros — like Olba-san, the Mismid trader, Origa-san’s father — would do it better.
Beyond that — food stall? I could build them stalls but ingredient costs are a thing. Could seven people live off that…?
Mmm — a good idea is right at the edge of my mind but won’t surface. Business is hard.
Right then. What to do.