Honeycomb, glass, and dry landscapes, part two

The image changed, and a building with stark lines, made entirely of glass and steel, appeared on the screen.

At first glance, it looked no different from any upscale office building in a bustling city, understated and modern.

But closer inspection revealed intricate cursed inscriptions densely engraved across its massive steel framework and glass curtain walls, as complex and precise as a living creature's neural pathways.

These patterns glowed faintly with cursed energy, spreading and intertwining across the glass and steel until they enveloped every corner of the building.

"The exterior employs a minimalist design, with a primary structure of high-strength alloy steel and specialized double-pane low-emissivity glass.

Twelve aboveground floors are planned for office use, with five underground floors for special purposes.

The overall resistance to cursed energy attacks is provisionally rated at Grade 1."

Terunobu Gojo adjusted the projection to display a cross-sectional diagram of the barriers, indicating each layer with the red dot of his laser pointer.

"The barriers employ a 'multilayer nested' active defense design, commonly known as a 'Russian doll structure.'

The outermost layer is a wide-area 'Bystander Repelling' barrier covering the entire headquarters block. Only sorcerers and authorized non-sorcerers can pass through.

As the barrier's core, the cursed tool 'I Am Not Here' will continuously transmit suggestions of 'ordinary, uninteresting, not worth noticing,' causing uninvolved civilians to subconsciously ignore the area or regard it as an ordinary industrial building, greatly reducing accidental entry and unwanted attention.

The middle layer is a 'cursed energy detection and alarm' barrier fitted closely against the building's surface. This is also the most conventional type of barrier.

Any unauthorized contact or attempted penetration by a curse will immediately trigger a graded alarm and pinpoint the intrusion site.

The innermost layer is a 'screening' barrier covering all entrances, exits, and critical areas.

Rather than a solid wall, it is a filtering membrane.

Only 'authorized targets' bearing a designated cursed energy mark or passing biometric identification can move through unimpeded.

According to our calculations, this barrier alone can block forced entry by Grade 1 and lower curses for extended periods without anyone maintaining it.

Increasing its strength enough to briefly withstand attacks from special grade curses would require at least three Grade 1 Sorcerers working in rotation, continuously supplying cursed energy to sustain it."

Terunobu looked at Dio and Yuki Tsukumo, who were watching intently beside him. He paused before continuing:

"The advantages are as described: it hides in plain sight, provides a multilayered active defense system, and meets modern aesthetic and functional requirements.

The drawback, however, is... the cost. Preliminary estimates put it at approximately forty times the first, traditional proposal."

"Forty times? Not four?" Yuki raised her eyebrows and asked for confirmation.

The figure clearly exceeded her earlier estimate.

"Yes, Lady Tsukumo." Terunobu nodded and explained.

"The impact-resistant alloy steel required for the main structure isn't the problem. At worst, we can procure a batch of armor steel from those navy idiots-the Gojo Clan has some connections there.

The real constraint is this 'skin.'

The outer curtain wall requires cursed energy circuits to be fused between two layers of low-emissivity glass. While maintaining light transmission above 92%, it must also withstand a direct attack from a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit without shattering.

Essentially, we would be manufacturing large, flat-panel cursed tools.

Production capacity for this material is extremely limited, driving up its price.

That portion alone accounts for over half the total building-material budget.

In addition, installing and calibrating the nested barriers will consume considerable materials and require substantial labor and resources from barrier specialists.

But please rest assured: the Gojo Clan is undertaking this project to serve the new Director-General. There will be absolutely no inflated pricing or embezzlement.

All material procurement and construction procedures will be transparent. No 'Commissioner Smith' will be getting involved, nor will any shipments 'inexplicably disappear at sea.'"

A brief silence fell over the conference room, broken only by the projector's faint hum.

Dio considered for a moment before asking, "What about the third proposal?"

Terunobu drew a deep breath. His expression grew particularly serious, carrying even a hint of the solemnity of someone unveiling his most prized possession.

He swiped across his tablet and opened the final model file.

The moment it appeared, even the well-traveled Yuki's eyes widened slightly.

It was not a "building" in any conventional sense.

Before them stood an enormous, intricate structure assembled from countless standardized regular hexagonal modules fitted tightly together like a honeycomb.

It had no clearly defined front or rear façade, nor a roof or foundation in the traditional sense. Every face possessed a strange uniformity, extending in multiple directions.

Its overall shape was intensely geometric and futuristic. It was not ugly, but it was certainly far removed from what most people would consider "beautiful" or "dignified," resembling an enormous industrial installation or a science-fiction base instead.

Dio stepped closer and stopped before the screen, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed hexagonal modules.

"As the headquarters building for Jujutsu Headquarters, isn't this design concept a little too... avant-garde and experimental?"

Terunobu answered immediately, his voice brimming with enthusiasm for the technical presentation. "Lord Dio, the heart of this proposal is not its appearance, but its 'weaponized' design concept.

It incorporates two major patented inventions from Kyoto Jujutsu High student Kokichi Muta: the 'cursed energy storage unit' and the 'miniature focused cursed energy emitter'-otherwise known as the 'Small Exorcism Cannon.'"

He enlarged a detailed view of one hexagonal module.

"Every hexagonal module you see is essentially an independent, rechargeable cursed energy firing unit.

When needed, its surface can open to extend the firing port of a 'Small Exorcism Cannon.'

This means that, in theory, the entire building can launch simultaneous cursed energy attacks from any direction and any number of positions, creating a fire coverage network with no blind spots."

"If I remember correctly, that kid's prized puppet uses the more powerful 'Great Exorcism Cannon,' doesn't it?"

Yuki Tsukumo narrowed her eyes as she made the pointed remark. She had heard about Kyoto Jujutsu High's "Mechamaru" and his craftsmanship from her student, Aoi Todo.

"Your insight is correct, Lady Tsukumo." Terunobu nodded. "The 'Small Exorcism Cannon' patented by Kokichi Muta is indeed an earlier, less efficient version of his 'Great Exorcism Cannon' technology, designed specifically for this concept of a large-scale building turned cursed tool."

Dio shifted his gaze from the striking model to Terunobu and asked the most crucial question:

"A very impressive design.

But, Mr. Terunobu, setting aside its extraordinary appearance and the difficulty of construction, let us return to the most fundamental question.

Would a 'weaponized fortress' like this possess sufficient defensive strength to withstand a direct attack from a special grade curse?

Or, put another way, if a special grade curse rushed right up to it, would these 'Small Exorcism Cannons' have time to react and intercept it effectively?"

The room abruptly fell silent. The professional enthusiasm on Terunobu Gojo's face, almost that of a salesman, faded.

He slowly shook his head and admitted, "...Unfortunately, we cannot fully guarantee that.

Lord Dio, you understand better than anyone that the gulf in strength between special grade and Grade 1 cannot easily be bridged merely by increasing numbers or firepower.

This design focuses on saturation attacks and area suppression at medium to close range. Against special grade curses possessing domains or unusual abilities, the structural defenses of the building itself remain its greatest weakness.

The risk of these modules being destroyed by a full-strength blow from a special grade curse is extremely high.

But unless we actually build one, modern construction technology for dealing with curses will remain confined to paper, unable to be refined and improved through practical application.

Therefore, I still earnestly recommend this proposal."

Having finished, Terunobu said no more. He simply remained slightly bowed, awaiting the final decision.

"How much would it cost?" Yuki Tsukumo asked another question that concerned Dio just as much.

"Uh..." Terunobu swallowed, hesitating briefly. "It would be... ten times the cost of the second proposal."

"How much?!" Dio's eyebrows shot up. A rare, unmistakable ripple of emotion entered his normally steady voice as he demanded confirmation.

"Lord Dio, there are legitimate reasons for such a high cost.

First, the cursed tool array formed by the hexagonal modules costs six times as much as the specialized glass curtain wall.

Second, the core operating principles of the 'cursed energy storage unit' rely heavily on Kokichi Muta's Heavenly Restriction.

Consequently, we must pay not only patent licensing fees, but also substantial, long-term expert consulting fees to the technology provider," Terunobu explained.

"If I immediately proposed to the Prime Minister that Kokichi Muta receive an exceptional appointment as 'Minister of Works,' with the corresponding authority and compensation, could the overall expense be reduced to something close to the second proposal?"

Terunobu shook his head. "Unfortunately, no.

The value of his technological patents and unique constitution cannot be replaced by an official position or title.

Even if he were personally willing to contribute for free, the research and development infrastructure, maintenance teams, and ongoing technological improvements behind him would still require enormous funding."

The atmosphere in the conference room grew strained and subtly uneasy.

This experienced "barrier craftsman" had seemingly presented three options with due deference. Yet the first had been rejected outright for its unsuitable style, while the third seemed impractical thanks to its staggering cost and complicated dependencies.

Those two proposals seemed like mere window dressing, ultimately pointing toward the one path he had already carefully laid out.

Besides... the second proposal had explicitly promised to "eliminate corruption," while the third had not mentioned it at all.

Surely this old fox didn't actually think I would miss that?

"The third proposal really isn't practical at this stage...

Never mind. We'll go with the second proposal," Dio decided at last.