"Control, does the Dragon God she's describing seem familiar to you in any way? Is it the Getter Dragon from the murals I saw in Elven Island?" I asked after Hertrude gave us a summary of what Fanoss had been plotting behind the scenes. The confirmation that their so-called Dragon God was a giant robot which was probably also a Getter Robo was already pretty alarming.
From initial descriptions, it appears that what Fanoss has uncovered is not an original Getter Robo G model. Instead, it seems to be a Getter Robo D2 model.
"Is that a good thing? I can't really tell." I followed up because I had no idea. A few moments passed with no answer. "The lack of response is really making me nervous, Control."
Apologies, I am merely calculating the possible outcomes. Getter Robo D2 is a Mass Production Getter Robo. It integrates technologies from both the G model as well as Shin Getter Robo. Functionally, it is meant to surpass the capabilities of Getter Robo G.
"I can hear the 'but' from here, Control." I was already rubbing my forehead with the way they were lining up their response.
However, Getter Robo G has the penchant of evolving into exceedingly superior forms under great duress. Overall, facing a deteriorated D2 model would be better for us.
Okay, sure. There was one other problem though. "But that means that it would still be a full-sized Getter Robo?"
Correct. D2 models are slightly taller than Getter Robo G at fifty-five meters due to the elongated horn on its head.
"That would make it almost ten times the size of a standard Armor." Angie pointed out in obvious alarm. It was understandable as we were talking about an utterly gigantic robot by this world's standards that had similar capabilities as Black Getter.
"What's wrong Leon?" Livia asked worriedly when I started hitting my head on the table again.
"Black Getter is eighteen meters tall." I told her and she slumped in her seat. The size difference between a Getter D2 and Black Getter was around the same ratio as a regular Armor was to Black Getter. How strong would its Getter Beam even be at that scale?
Keep in mind that even though they may have a D2, it is tens of thousands of years old now and does not have access to its original power source anymore.
"What are they planning to power that thing with then?" I asked Hertrude after Control made a great point.
"The elves." We all froze at her answer.
"What?" Livia whispered in horror.
"Vandel and his ilk have been researching how to convert the elves' life force into power for the Dragon God. With their long lifespans, he figures that they can provide more energy than humans or other demi-humans." Hertrude explained, a bit of anger seeping through her voice. Huh? What was that about?
"Can they do that?" Angie asked, shaking her head in revulsion at the possibility.
I am uncertain. Getter Rays are sometimes described as the power of life itself. It may be possible, but we have never needed to try that method of powering any of the Getter Robos before. Any means of doing so at this point will likely need to involve magic.
"You said that you're here because you want me to save your sister?" Livia changed the subject to the other major thing we learned after Anne got tired of the word games and just used Compelling Voice on Hertrude.
"Rauda is like an empty doll ever since Vandel tried to have her control his Dragon God using the Flute of the Hundred Demons." Hertrude answered in a strained voice.
"Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all." I muttered. I'd bet good money on the flute being related to the Hundred Demon Empire as well.
"Where is this flute now, girl?" Anne asked.
The princess sighed and shook her head. "It is in Fanoss with Rauda. I planned to have it sent to me should my attempt to recruit Livia end in failure."
"And what would you do with that flute if I refused?" Livia asked nervously. Hertrude set her shoulders and looked at my lover with full conviction.
"I would use it to summon monsters in the middle of the Capital and hold it hostage until you agreed."
"Wha–why?!" I yelled out.
"I have to save Rauda. Nothing will stop me. Nothing." She answered me with gritted teeth. Okay, I get it but that was just way too drastic.
"I say we dispose of he–Anne! No!" Livia interrupted Anne's casual suggestion of murder.
"Assassinating the Princess of Fanoss would cause a war." Anne took back control and scoffed at Angie's words.
"In case you haven't been listening, they are already preparing for war as we speak. Is this not the inevitable outcome of the stories you spoke of?" I nodded at her question, but there was something else I wanted to know more about.
"Why do you think that Livia can save your sister?" Hertrude grimaced at my question.
"I was given a prophecy by an elven elder before she was taken to be processed. Livia would bring me hope, my sister salvation, and would bring doom upon our enemies. This was even before Rauda was reduced to the state she is presently in." I would have normally dismissed that kind of thing as pretty stupid, but we were way past not considering prophecies and the like to have a possibility of happening.
If I may ask. How did Fanoss manage to enter Holfort's borders and abduct most of the elven population while stealing an entire part of the ruins, including a Getter Robo, without alerting the army?
Well, the obvious answer there would be that there were traitors in Holfort. The scarier answer was that they had magic or technology that could let them just show up and do all that stuff at will.
"Vandel arranged the attack with traitors from your nobility, a group calling themselves The Forest of Ladies. Rauda and I then used the Flute of the Hundred Demons to summon a great guardian monster." Well, it wasn't fun to find out that there was literally a conspiracy group in the nobility. On the other hand, at least they didn't have teleportation.
"Traitors? Do you know specifically who they are?" Angie's eyes sharpened at the mention of traitors. I was pretty sure that she would immediately go to her father and brother if she got any names.
"Vandel was the one who was colluding with them. Neither Rauda nor I know which of your nobility are involved." Of course, because that would have been too easy. Control then spoke up next with a question of their own.
What did this guardian monster look like?
"It is a gigantic great masked knight that has a blade-like horn on its head. It was able to spew out great beams of destruction from its shoulders. Its claws were able to dig up the ruins and it was powerful enough to carry the Dragon God." Hertrude spoke with a bitter expression, likely reliving the whole experience. The reason why was revealed as she continued talking. "Rauda and I very nearly passed out from the strain of keeping it under control for the time it took for it to secure the Dragon God to our largest ship. We dismissed it from this realm the moment the work was done."
"Anything you recognize?" Control bobbed their probe up and down in confirmation of my question.
Denkoki. It is a Hundred Demon Mechanized Beast. Ironically, it actually faced Getter Robo G when it was first created. If that flute can summon Enemies of Humanity, then we must destroy it as soon as possible.
Control was absolutely right. If that thing could summon monsters that could fight a Getter Robo, then it would be a really big threat as long as it existed.
"Can you have the flute sent here now?" Hertrude shook her head at my question.
"Asking for the flute would be tantamount to telling Vandel to commence the invasion of Holfort. He might just do so even with the Dragon God being incomplete." Well, we definitely didn't want that to happen.
"Leon, perhaps we should involve Queen Mylene in this now. Even if the invasion won't happen this year, we could at least have some preparations done in the meantime." Angie suggested and I immediately nodded at that wonderful idea.
"Vandel and the old Warhawks have already anticipated that someone might figure out their plan. They have been using the facilities that we took from the Elven ruins to constantly generate and send out monsters against your country." Hertrude informed us. Well, that definitely confirmed that it was Fanoss' fault that there was a big increase in monster activity.
"I don't suppose you know how we can shut those down, do you?" Sadly, she shook her head in the negative.
"I'm afraid not. All that is being handled by those men." I sighed but nodded in understanding.
"If I promised to help heal your sister, but you have to join forces with us to stop Fanoss, what would you do?" Livia suddenly gave a pretty wild proposal out of nowhere. Was she really expecting Hertrude to suddenly switch teams that easily?
"As long as you allow me to kill Vandel personally, I would have no issues with siding with you." I guess she would. Wait, was this part of the mind control too?
"You would betray your country, just like that?" Angie asked her incredulously.
"Vandel turned my sister into a vegetable for his ambitions. He and his fellows were also responsible for the deaths of our parents when they wanted to sue for lasting peace with Holfort when we were very young. Why would I stay loyal to a country that has brought me and my family nothing but misery and death despite our service for it?!" Holy shit! I was looking at the wrong person as the Final Boss. It turned out that Vandel was a way worse monster than I ever expected. Based on Angie and Livia's expressions, they agreed.
"Anne, is she still under your control?" Livia's expression changed, indicating that Anne was taking over.
"Partially," She began, looking at the girl in question. "I changed my command to make her more agreeable and open to us. She still has free will, such as it is, but she will always favor our opinions and inputs over that of others."
"It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but as long as she is not a slave to you then I suppose that it is no different from us convincing her to trust us ourselves." Angie was pretty reluctant about the casual use of mind control, which was understandable.
"I'm not too keen on letting Vandel finish his Getter Robo, but I can't really see a way for us to get to him without starting the war ourselves." I growled out in frustration. If we only knew about the attack on Elven Island then…I would have been up against a Hundred Demon Mechanized Beast that was way bigger than Black Getter. We may have won with the Nagare helping, but the damage the fight might have done would have probably been unacceptable anyway.
"We should still definitely tell the Queen about this. I shall ask father if he can arrange an audience with her." Angie reminded us. How I missed Julius being around so I could just ask him to bring me to his mom.
"I should probably ask her for an official way for us to be able to visit her whenever we need to while this is going on as well." I nodded and raised a brow at the girl when she scoffed.
"Yes, I'm sure that the ability to be able to visit her in private by yourself anytime you wish has nothing to do with it. Just a happy coincidence." Angie flatly stated with her own raised brow. I winced but Livia saved me by nuzzling against the other girl's neck.
"Leon has to take care of Queen Mylene too, Angie." She said while planting soft kisses on Angie's neck. Right in front of Hertrude? Really? The girl in question seemed fascinated by the display of love.
"I know that…" Angie mumbled while valiantly putting absolutely no effort in pushing Livia away.
"Any other suggestions?" I turned to Control while the girls had their fun.
I shall begin construction of a second Getter Robo as you had previously suggested.
"Wait, really?!" I exclaimed so loudly that the girls turned to us.
The looming threat cannot be dismissed. It is a clear and present danger that may not be surmounted with only Black Getter F and the Nagare, not without great cost to innocents.
"Another Getter? Who will pilot it?" Angie asked, gently pushing her loving Livia away from her.
"Deirdre." My two lovers blinked at the name I gave them. I laughed at their surprise and explained why. "Yeah, it turns out that she is a way better pilot than I am and is learning at a ridiculous rate. We actually have her as my backup for Black Getter in case I can't pilot it."
"Will it just be another black bunny?" Livia excitedly asked Control.
I have gathered enough data in regards to Miss Roseblade's piloting style. I believe that building a Getter Robo that is suited for her combat ability would be ideal. It will ultimately be a modified variant of Black Getter F. I have already created a pilot suit for her, in fact. It is currently stored in the Nagare.
"When can you get it finished?" I asked, eager to have some help in big fights.
I am already designing it at the labs and should have it built and ready for testing before summer break.
"We can give it to her as a birthday present!" Livia happily said. "Deridre told me that her birthday is in the summer!"
"Well, that works out." I noted with a chuckle. Yeah, she was going to go nuts with that kind of birthday gift.
"I shall also feel out the opinions of my father and brother in regards to the monster situation and anything about this Forest of Ladies business." Angie stated with a determined nod. She would be the best one to handle the political side of things aside from Mylene.
"I have another suggestion." Anne suddenly spoke up, taking control once again. "While our current symbiosis is excellent, I would like for Livia and I to become stronger still."
"You want the other relics." I immediately picked up on what she wanted. Anne nodded in confirmation.
"You said that my bracelet is in the Capital's Dungeon." She stated, recalling something I said a while back.
"We'd need a reason to go down there." I muttered. We could probably get permission to delve into the dungeon, but likely not to the depth where the bracelet was located at.
"Then it will work out." Angie informed us with a smile. She then sighed when Anne, Livia and I looked like we didn't know what she was talking about. "We'll have a practical exam in the second term for our Adventuring Classes. It requires us to get to a certain depth in the Capital's Dungeon."
"We can make the cover story of preparing for it while we look for the bracelet. Who would we bring?" I asked, open to suggestions. My immediate answer would have been the boys, but they were abroad. I was thinking of asking Daniel and Raymond as well, but I wanted to know what the girls could think of first.
"Well, both Clarice and Deirdre have already cleared the required depth for the exam." Angie pointed out, making me smack my palm on my forehead. Of course they did, why didn't I think of that? The girls giggled at my expense.
"I would also like to help, if you allow it." Hertrude offered with clear determination. "I am unsure about this whole relic business, or why there seems to be another woman speaking from Livia's body, but I trust her implicitly. My sister depends on it."
I can also bring one of my combat drones as well.
So the tentative team would be me, Control, Angie, Livia with Anne, Deirdre, Clarice, and Hertrude. Clara would probably jump at the chance to join as well. That was already eight strong. A Full Party, as it were.
"Well, looks like we have a lot of work to do then." Despite saying that, I was actually smiling.
At least Control and I didn't have to deal with all of this by ourselves anymore.
…
"It hasn't even been a week since we left, big brother." Marie told me in a flat tone. "How can things go so crazy already?"
I was back in my room and Control was using the drones that Marie and I had to transmit to each other so we could talk. Based on the pajamas she was wearing, my sister was also getting ready for bed.
"In my defense, things were already going crazy in the background even before we found out everything we did from Hertrude." I pointed out before flipping things around. "How are things on your end?"
Marie groaned and looked up to the ceiling. "The protagonist is an amoeba."
"Excuse me?" I blinked at what she just said.
"She split into two and I have no idea which one to look after." Marie tried to clarify but that wasn't helping either.
"I still have no clue as to what the hell you are talking about." I told her as much with a shake of my head.
Miss Marie is speaking metaphorically. There seems to be no singular protagonist as we found that there are two girls with the name Beltre. A pair of twins, Lelia and Noelle.
"And you don't know which one of them is the protagonist?" Marie's frustration was understandable then.
"The heroine of the second game didn't have siblings and there was no default name for her either." Marie showed her frustration by punching her pillows. "Apparently, the first name is a blank space while the last name would always be Beltre when you start a new run."
"What about the love interests? Anything on them?" I changed the subject to the other end of the equation.
"Control has found one so far, Loic Leta Barielle. Handsome redhead but is apparently pretty intense." She said, though it sounded like she wasn't personally interested in him as a guy. "Trying to look for any of the others is pretty hard with our current arrangements."
"Why? Is someone restricting you guys?" Was Alzer treating them poorly because they're foreigners?
"The opposite." Marie waved off my concern with a sigh. "The chairman of the great houses apparently is taking Julius' presence seriously so he actually has his daughter acting as a guide for us."
"That doesn't sound so bad." I pointed out with a tilt of my head.
"His daughter is Louise Sara Rault, the main villainess. The chairman is Albergue Sara Rault, the final boss." Well, that was definitely not the people we needed attention from.
"Fuck."
"I know, right? I even found out from her that she has a younger brother who might also be a potential love interest. I'd need to investigate more to find out for sure." Marie said irritably. I recalled the conversation with everyone earlier and had an idea.
"Looks like we both have our work cut out for us." I started slowly before broaching the topic. "You can always let Julius and the boys in on this. I'm pretty sure that they would believe you being a reincarnate and my sister in our past life."
Marie just looked at me blankly before closing her eyes and shaking her head. "...I'm tired. Goodnight, big brother. Please cut the connection, Control."
What was that reaction about?