"That doesn't make sense..."
Inside the Vitality Hall, Gorth was fiddling with a silver-white slice on the table—the fruit that had been born unexpectedly.
I picked up a piece and tasted it. Apart from a cool sensation, I didn't experience any special effects.
"Is it just a fruit with a special appearance?"
Gorth was about to try again, but a certain Vampire constantly swaying nearby clearly had no intention of letting him have his way.
"How strange! You're not in class in the forest this morning, but instead you're slacking off here?"
"It's just normal teaching... but the way you're saying it makes me feel inexplicably tired."
Putting down the slice, Gorth looked helplessly at the ship model that was about to be pushed into his face.
"We already know you like it a lot, could you please move it away?"
"But you didn't look carefully at all!"
Vane poked his head out from behind the model, looking indignant.
"You used to take forever to look at a Gundam model! This is a giant ship model from another world, aren't you even a little bit curious?"
"... Guess what I was doing in the forge earlier?"
Using vines to push the model further away, Gorth pointed to the gate.
"If you're really interested, I'll make one for you later."
"You've become boring..."
Disappointed at not getting the response he wanted, Vane prepared to leave.
"Its internal structure is almost identical to the real thing..."
"Same?"
After taking a closer look at the model with Vane, Gorth had to admit that he had been somewhat hasty before.
"This technology... maybe they could actually build Cherno Alpha."
"Robots are already an obsolete technology."
Satisfied with the feedback, Vane took the model away, Gorth simply made a display stand for it.
"As high-speed warship technology becomes more and more advanced, even Victoria's Steam Knights are now on the verge of extinction."
"The Steam Knights... I'm a little curious about its construction."
"How about we send the boss to Victoria? Those dukes probably wouldn't mind exchanging discarded [junk] for funds."
Gorth was somewhat tempted, but still refuted Vane's point of view.
"Forget it, it wouldn't be good if the boss got lost again."
Vane immediately nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
"That's true... Steam Knights are of no use to us either."
"In terms of efficiency alone, battleship fleets are indeed more destructive... but mechs are a man's romance."
"Isn't that fleet?"
"That's true, everyone has different preferences."
Gorth certainly loved fleets; even in the game, the thrill of commanding a steel torrent to crush the enemy was unparalleled.
"Speaking of which... what happened to the fleet you brought back? There must have been quite a few, since Little Black is all listless."
According to Vera, the returned Wandering Soul Core had turned gray, and it entered the Crown and became unresponsive the moment it returned.
"I didn't count carefully, but there are definitely over a hundred."
Vane's answer left Gorth speechless; it wasn't some wooden sailboat.
Although nominally a research fleet, each vessel could be used as a weapon of war to engage in combat with mobile warships.
Thinking of the underwater city still under transport, Gorth asked:
What are your plans to do with them?
"Disposal?"
Vane placed the model down and looked back with a somewhat strange expression.
"It's not a person, can't we just leave it there? We can always have Little Black refurbish it when we need it."
"... What about the Iberia authorities?"
"You're still worried about that?"
Vane found this somewhat amusing.
"Leaving aside whether they even have the guts to bare their teeth, even if I gave them the entire fleet, the current Inquisition wouldn't be able to accept it."
In ancient Iberia, almost all factories were located in the south.
The Great Silence tsunami brought Iberia's productivity back to square one.
Even the punitive forces currently maintaining the border are "new recruits" trained through years of fighting against the Seaborn.
A fleet of hundreds of ships...
Not to mention the need to retrain the operators, even routine maintenance is a challenge for Iberia right now.
"I thought you were planning to... retrieve them from the seabed."
"Intending to help them?"
Vane picked up where Gorth off, his eyes narrowing.
"Judging solely from the moral character of their leaders... the Saints of Iberia are moral exemplars, but that doesn't change the fact that this country is a cesspool."
"Farmland is being destroyed, leading to food shortages."
"Industrial development collapsed, and internal chaos ensued."
"Distractions between superiors and subordinates have led to the rampant spread of cults."
Gorth fell silent, Vane sighed:
"To be honest... I really admire those Saints. I would have restarted it under those conditions long ago."
"Truly admirable."
Gorth nodded in agreement.
Such a person, who can step forward and turn the tide in times of national crisis, is a legend in any world.
"[Saints ]... truly deserving of the name."
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about me anymore."
Vane waved his hand and took a slice from in front of Gorth.
"What's been on your mind for so long, fruit?"
"The fruit of my vines."
Vane suddenly turned his head, Gorth nodded to indicate that he hadn't misheard.
"Damn it... that thing can actually bear fruit?"
Holding the slice tightly for close examination, Vane put it in his mouth and tasted it.
"How do you feel? Is it poisonous?"
Gorth looked at Vane expectantly. Although he had also tried it... he was completely unaffected by his poison shield talent.
"I don't feel anything... but it's probably not poisonous."
Sensing the reaction of the [Immortal Body], Vane simply picked up a whole one and tasted it.
"(￣~￣) Chewing... it tastes a bit like a frozen pear without any sweetness."
"That doesn't make sense... It was grown using chemical fertilizers, so how could it not have any special effects?"
Vane paused in his chewing, then stared stiffly at Gorth.
"You didn't get any on yourself, did you...?"
After a moment of stunned silence, Gorth came to his senses.
"I don't think so, didn't you taste it?"
"That's a **! Don't you even wash it!?"
Painfully licking his tongue, Vane simply ran to the Nursery to rinse his mouth.
"Is it really that exaggerated? It's fruit from a tree, how could it possibly get stuck there..."
He casually picked up a slice and tossed it into his mouth, chewing it calmly. Gorth did indeed taste somewhat like a frozen pear.
"How about adding some sugar for Alina and the others..."
"[Vampire's profanity!]"
The viscous shadow expanded instantly, and the towering trees surged from the hall toward the Nursery.
"What's wrong! What happened!?"
Gorth, rising from the shadows, looked around. The dragon egg was safe, the plants were safe, and Vane...
"This is our drinking water... Get out here right now!"
Gorth pulled Vane, who was lying nervously in the well, out of the water and asked in bewilderment:
"Why are you howling like a ghost out of nowhere? Did you accidentally fall into the well?"
There was no response. Vane nervously looked around, which made Gorth tense up as well.
"What's going on? Are there enemies?!"
A thick, viscous shadow enveloped the entire ground, and Gorth did not sense any response from other living beings.
"No..."
Vane had somehow climbed onto Gorth's head, looking like a trembling quail.
"I... I think I saw..."
"What did you see?"
Gorth grew increasingly tense; the summoned creature in the shadows was ready.
"I saw a cockroach!"
"..."
With a blank expression, Gus pulled Vane off, the shadow receded, and Gorth strode back into the hall.
"Hey! Don't leave me alone!"
Vane slid and grabbed Gorth, who pulled him down with vines and grabbed a broom from the hall.
"If you really have nothing better to do... do what the second brother said and clean the house."
Gorth waved his hand wearily.
"Cockroaches... where did cockroaches come from in an enclosed space?"
"[Vampire's profanity!] I'm telling the truth!"
Vane's eyes became even redder, and the whites of his eyes even turned bloodshot.
"Even though I only caught a glimpse of its shadow... it was definitely a cockroach! I even heard footsteps!!"
"The footsteps are coming..."
He became increasingly convinced that Vane was talking nonsense; he had just confirmed that there were no other living things in the Nursery.
But seeing Vane's pitiful appearance, Gorth sighed and still picked him up.
"... Do the doctors of Babel Tower treat the mentally ill?"
"How would I know? But I should know a little... Wait, I'm mentally sound!"
"I believe you."
Back in the hall, Vane's body relaxed.
Gorth sat back down in his seat, speechless with disbelief:
"Seaborn looks much scarier than a cockroach, so why do you get along with them so well?"
"How can that be the same! Seaborn is much cuter than a cockroach!"
As if recalling some unbearable past event, Vane suddenly shivered.
"You won't get hurt, so what are you afraid of?"
Seeing Vane's embarrassing state, Gorth looked around the room.
"Want some alcohol to give you courage? I remember we have a bottle of vodka..."
Brush--
A flash of light, and Vane was gone.
After a brief moment of confusion, Gorth rubbed his head knowingly.
"I haven't even had a sip yet..."
Having lost interest in research, Gorth also departed amidst the light.
After an unknown amount of time, a rustling sound began to echo in the silent hall.
Tiny tentacles emerged from the edge of the table, and the glossy, crustacean crawled up the corner of the table and onto the surface.
Seeing the snow-white fruit on the table, the uninvited guest happily slipped inside.
Brush--
"Ahem, I bought a new bottle from outside... um?"
Looking at the empty seats, Vane placed the drinks on the table.
"They just left without even saying goodbye..."
As if realizing he was alone, Vane nervously looked at the Nursery.
Lush greenery, a peaceful and serene world.
"Phew... Could it be that I really saw it wrong?"
With a sigh of relief, Vane uncorked the bottle and took a sip of wine.
The thought of that dark figure still made Vane feel uneasy.
"Let's go out first."
Having made up his mind, Vane took a few pieces of Pure Gold from the small hill in the corner and glanced at the fruit on the table.
Although he didn't feel anything... maybe it's due to his constitution?
"Take some for Dario to try."
He picked up a pill, wiped it, Vane was about to put it in his pocket when his body suddenly froze.
On the snow-white fruit, a pair of wicked tentacles are swaying gently.
Like handling a newborn baby, Vane carefully placed the fruit back on the table.
A red light flashed in his eyes, and the Black Knight switched his twin swords to his hands.
"Go to hell!"
Clang--!
The two swords were held horizontally together, watching the juice flowing from the gap.
Vane breathed a sigh of relief.
The next instant, chilling footsteps echoed from the sword.
In an instant, the two swords, along with the remains of the fruit, were thrown against the wall.
[Immortal Body][Otherworldly Vortex][Bat Assault]
With all skills unleashed, Vane is ready for battle.
Under his tense gaze, the evil creature emerged from the crack.
Then... it kept growing!
In Vane's despairing gaze, a muscular cockroach-like figure wearing purple shorts stood up.
Baring a gleam of white teeth at the Vampire before it, the cockroach's carapace suddenly unfolded.
With its wings flapping rapidly, a large, sleek, and shiny creature rushed towards you.
In an instant, the Vampire in hunter's attire transformed into a hastily drawn gray-white bat.
"Croak! Third brother, save my teeth--!"
Snap--
Vane...