4-47: The Story Until Departure (2/5)

4-47: The Story Until Departure (2/5)

Shinichi and Frire were in a dimly lit space with intricate piping.

Although the area was spacious, it was dark, so it was hard to see anything without light, and only the area around Shinichi and Frire was lit up thanks to their skills.

However, they werent the only ones there.

For some reason, there was a group of 5 or 6 unconscious men and women bound in ropes of light(photon) that the two ignored, while they dismantled the black boxes(bombs) that were each approximately 10cm big.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

However, the methods they used were the exact opposite of each other.

So you say, Shirayuki, but the one thats really doing the work is you, and Im actually rather idle right now, Frire said.

Frires exoskeleton was deployed only on her two arms, and from it extended a thin metal arm, from which extended several layers of tool-shaped arms that dismantled the bombs with such precision it seemed as though the bombs were going through their manufacturing process in reverse.

But it was really Shirayuki who was responsible for that precision and all Frire was really doing was to lend her her arms.

In fact, Frire wouldnt even be able to obstruct her work unless she moved her arms a lot.

Besides, keeping quiet would actually make it harder to focus here, Shinichi said.

On the other hand, Shinichi had one of his hands raised to manipulate the mana(photon), while his remaining hand crudely dismantled(destroyed) the bombs.

He would crush the exterior steel plates, strip off the number display, and messily shred the cords.

And when he finally retrieved the small golden crystal in the center of the box to which all of those were connected, all that was left was just scrap iron.

Before Shinichi, bombs that relied on detonating pseudo-photons were no more than meaningless dummies.

Speaking of which, Shinichi started wearing black gloves since his blunder a few days ago, so no fingerprints would be left behind anymore.

In your case, I have no idea what youre focusing on.

Thats a trade I mean, personal secret.

To Frire, who was unaware of the circumstances under which Mana(Photon) which could serve as either gunpowder or fuel could be manipulated from the outside, Shinichis work looked less like dismantlement and more like simple destruction.

Shirayuki was even muttering in doubt how the bombs havent exploded yet.

Neutralization and dismantling complete.

But at the same time, she nimbly moved those robot arms and completely dismantled the bombs on her end.

Being able to continue working in the face of an incomprehensible phenomenon was one of the strengths of an AI.

Moreover, because that was the last of the bombs, the crisis at hand has finally passed.

Good job But Nakamura dismantled five bombs, while we dismantled two. You were a huge help, of course, but this is just

They were able to save a lot of time thanks to Shinichi, but this was supposed to be Frires field as someone from the military, and yet she was still lacking compared to him.

Of course, the fact that Shinichi could even control his countenance made Frires head ache badly.

If you can do that, then be more flexible with people.

If I tried that all the time, I probably wont last 3 days.

Though stunned by that pathetic confession, it seemed he might actually be able to keep up the act for two days, and that made Frires head ache again.

Second International Airport of Kutoria

That was the insipid name of the airport in the eastern coastal zone of the city.

Normal aircraft that didnt use dimension gates normally used the second international airport when leaving Kutoria.

Thats why, although Shinichi might feel out of place, the design of the airport was exactly what one would normally imagine an airport to be.

However, since entering Kutoria by air was restricted, the second international airport was usually deserted, though this time around, it was particularly noisy because of all the students and teachers that were departing.

But of course, most of the students and teachers have already left an hour ago, so the airport has already returned to its usual tranquility.

Incidentally, it was later revealed that the terrorists had obtained information about the school field trip from the parents of the students, and took advantage of the traffic to illegally enter Kutoria.

They were planning on destroying the airport to spread the chaos and bring more people in, but Shinichi found them before they could.

Theyd slipped into the busy crowd and would normally be difficult to find, but Shinichi was apparently able to intuitively find them by relying on the tenets of spot-the-difference puzzles.

To think that my first time flying would be on a Garesto-made plane

Kyui?

A teacher and a student briskly walked side-by-side in the boarding corridor connecting the airport and the aircraft.

Frire was seriously hurrying, but Shinichi was just acting as though he was in a hurry, as he believed that a few more minutes wouldnt make much of a difference given how late they were already.

Thats why he leisurely said that while looking out of the corridor window to gaze at the giant aircraft.

There was nothing unusual about it for those used to the aesthetics of today, but for him, who was still stuck in the aesthetics 8 years ago, there was one trivial thing that bothered him too much the aircraft looked just like an egg with short wings.

Yes, that was a machine that looked less like an actual aircraft and more something straight out of Science Fiction.

He would have found it more convincing had someone told him that it was actually a full-sized model assembled for a movie shoot instead.

After all of his contact with Garestos technology, he knew in his head that everything would be alright, but he just couldnt help but feel uneasy about riding that egg.

What are you idling for!? We need to hurry!

Yeah, yeah, Shinichi answered perfunctorily.

For a moment, he considered picking her up and running with her in his arms, but in the end decided not to because of all the people that would end up seeing them. Not to mention that hed already inconvenienced her earlier and would likely do so again when something simiilar happens later.