28th Shot: 48:1
Note: This chapter occurred before the Christmas Shot
"The Kingdom of Science's supply network is completed!"
An incredible news to be heard, although the delivery wasn't that too incredible–in fact, Shinko almost missed Senku's grand announcement completely. The mine cart they're currently riding was running in a rather frightening speed and once again, she had to hold on for her dear life. Unseen bumps had sent them hovering slightly in the air and sudden turns up ahead threatening to throw them off were a great source for early cardiac arrest–Shinko could testify that.
Both Chrome and Senku unexpectedly dragged her to join–no heads-up nor further explanation, just straight up snatching her hands and pulled her in. Despite her (quite) adamant refusal, they probably built an impressive ability to ignore everyone's protests. Thankfully, stacks of reports in her hand were still intact–grip instinctively tightened upon it when they're being blasted off down the slope. Her hands refused to let it be carried away by the wind, not after the hours she spent arranging, listing, and correcting everything.
And here the three were, speeding through from the iron mine to their one and only destination–the end of the tunnel dug through the cave which served as a designated exit.
While the scientists were having the time of their live enjoying speed and rush of adrenaline, the archer was busy trying make sure none of them flying from the vehicle. Even though Shinko was sure it would never happen recalling Senku was beyond strict towards safety. In just a few minutes tops, lit tunnels turned into wide open space and showed the end of their trail–with Ukyo and Gen already expecting them with Steam Gorilla II. The mine cart slowly came to a stop once it reached evened surface.
Sighing in relief, Shinko stood up and becoming really eager be back on the ground once they've stopped–it's magical because her legs still functioned normally rather than falling asleep. "I think I just noticed speed is my least favorite thing."
This would probably the first and last time the archer let herself ride the cart.
Ukyo chuckled, approaching forward and once he's right next to the vehicle, he held out his hand for her to take. Of course, Shinko didn't hesitate to accept his assistance by placing her hand on his. "Good to know there's something you're not fond of."
He held on firmly as she jumped off, safely landed on a ground accompanied with thin cloud of dust and a resounding crunch. Ukyo then reached out for the goods sitting innocently in the wooden vehicle–sacks of iron ore from the new mine they discovered ready to be delivered.
All thanks to Chrome and his short science adventure, the realm of factory wasn't something to be frighten of by the Kingdom of Science and he livened up to his name as King of Materials. He was indeed brilliant for someone who has no single idea about modern technologies, coming up with something based on curiosity and accumulation of his knowledge from Senku gave them gold.
Mine with insane amount of iron ore was the ultimate key for them to tackle enormous scale iron objects for their ship's engine component, wood was out of the list of this point aside for the body and interior. A sturdier engine meant safer vehicle for their voyage. They couldn't gamble anything, not if passengers' life were involved and Mother Nature became their biggest hurdle. With both iron and oil upon their palm, Kingdom of Science was ready to face future hurdles yet to come.
With a huff, the sonarman gave a strong pull and hauled a big sack over his shoulder. Positioned it in a more secure way, he then averted his gaze to her and gestured towards the smaller ones. "You can lift the smaller sacks, let me carry the bigger ones."
"Are you okay with it, Ukyo-san? It looks really heavy," Shinko commented as she bent down to get a hold of the mentioned goods. Still, it was sweet of him to tell her which load she could carry based on her limited physical capability. It wasn't a lie nor exaggerating–the object he's carrying was visibly heavy and if she was to do it, Shinko would've broken her back without even so much a step being taken. Witnessing the sonarman managed to carry such weight and showed no strain left her in amazement.
Who was she kidding anyway? Ukyo has always been amazing.
"It's fine." The mentioned young man dismissed her worries with a smile, sending warmth bubbling in her chest. He took his time waited for the archer to aligned her pace with his. "I'm used to this kind of stuff. The military needs you to build up some muscles, after all."
Humming in understanding, it did slip passed Shinko's mind that before humanity's petrification Ukyo was an active member of military–the SDF Navy. Even though his main duty was already settled as a Submarine Sonar Operator, he received regular heavy training to maintain his physics especially when he returned to the barracks. Of course, Ukyo's categorized more as a brain man rather than brawn, still his physical ability and endurance stood above average than the rest of them who wore civilians' status–except the Power Team.
Even now, he did his exercise regularly in the crack of dawn when everyone was far away from the land of living. Shinko sometimes helped him count his sets or brought some refreshments so he could rehydrate himself and cloths for him to wiped his sweat. He had to do a lot of sets to work up a sweat or to be out breath. Of course, she didn't say a peep about this to anyone–especially the girls, they would either talked her ears off or strangled her for keeping the 'juicy secret' to herself (it's Minami's words, not hers).
As much as she loves them to the moon and back, getting an earful from four sides simultaneously wasn't something she looked forward to.
"Like the gentleman you are, dear Ukyo-chan~" Gen complimented in a playful way–confirming that he indeed saw the scene and decided it's a perfect time be a tease like he usually was. "Always there for our fair lady, Shinko-chan!"
She couldn't help but chuckling at his words–maybe adding a little spice wouldn't hurt. "Ukyo-san has always been a gentleman, Gen-san. The one of a kind, the rarest one. It amazed me on how the girls haven't seize him up."
"Maybe it's because I'm stuck 24/7 with you," There's thick sarcasm in it but it held no bite, which made Shinko grinned. Teasing Ukyo was always an entertainment.
"Right~?" Gen continued, his face was anything but done. "I wonder if someone's already give their heart to you without you knowing~ How mean, Ukyo-chan."
"Oi, mentalist. Quit yappin' and start working." Senku, who's probably had enough of his antics and his struggles to avoid labor, deadpanned. "The supply network doesn't run on your mouth."
"You're the who's really mean, Senku-chan!" Said mentalist whined when the scientist dragged him by the back of his shirt to the cart–without a doubt telling him to help moving the sacks to their other vehicle. Though he lamented throughout his work, Gen never truly did abandon his share and had it done in the end.
Then a fleeting thought suddenly struck her mind the moment 'supply network' rang through the air. Back in the cave, she did hear Senku mentioned something about the same term which piqued her curiosity.
"I heard you said that our supply network has completed. Is that including the hot air balloon, Senku-san?" Shinko questioned as she placed the smaller size sack into the cargo with a huff. Even though what she's carrying was a lot less than the boys, it's still heavy considering iron ores weight the same as stones. However, with the five of them working together in piling the materials, Steam Gorilla II was ready to deliver the loads to their next destination.
Senku chuckled in respond, diverting his gaze to her and holding up three fingers. "Nah. Our network supply consists of three; the first one is traveling through the mountain trails on mine cart."
"And then on the land b-b-b-b-b-yyyy-c-c-c-c-ca-a-a-a-rrr!"
Shinko couldn't help but feel pity for a certain mentalist having to drive through extremely rocky road decorated with chunks of dirt and cavity–no doubt it was utter nightmare riding a car on that kind of road. The poor terrain condition caused Steam Gorilla II to move at a snail's pace even pedestrians managed to catch up with a simple jog.
"With our cargo being this heavy, these rough roads are seriously hell." Ukyo commented, watching as the vehicle tremble and shaking each second with each movement forward.
Then, Gen stepped onto the break to halt its movements–exact same time Taiju poured something black with gooey consistency on the dirt ground. Kohaku was quick replacing him to evened the puddle until it covered the whole road, on the back Nikki were up next with another batch of same material brought in a barrel.
Magma in the back was climbing on the stairs to get a refill while Yo handled the main piping barrel and keep stirring using a long wood. All of them were wearing protective gloves and shoes as well as mask covering their nose from intense industrial scent that Shinko never thought would experience again in this stone world.
"P-PAVED ROADS!? SERIOUSLY!?" Gen shrieked in disbelief–she could perfectly see his eyes popped out of his sockets from the fever-inducing view before him.
Ukyo laughed nervously, accepting the absurd event calmer than the mentalist who's in the middle of facing existential crisis which threatened to chipped his sanity. "Ahahaha, it kinda feels like the primitive stone world has all at once been thrown into building cities…"
Shinko mirrored the sonarman's nervous laugh, also trying to comprehend the situation above all the bewilderment underneath. "I feel like being thrown back to the modern times for a few seconds."
"Yeah, once you acquire oil, the world changes in a flash!" Senku snickered–although this time it was quite rare seeing how pleased he's also feeling. Then, he proceeded to poke his finger into his ear–the scientist's infamous gesture she saw him did repeatedly. Senku continued in a more nonchalant tone. "But y'know, the materials for making asphalt paved roads are just 90 percent gravel."
"SERIOUSLY!?" Shinko was really concerned about the probability of Gen's eyes would truly shoot out from its sockets from this constant shock or suffering from cardiac arrest.
"With it all liquidy and pouring it out like this, I had thought that it was made completely from oil!" Taiju exclaimed, his usual booming voice muffled underneath the protective mask.
"Right~?" Thankfully, Gen finally felt relatable from Taiju's straightforward comment.
Senku snorted harmlessly. "As if we'd be that wasteful with it, blockhead."
"Gravel and waste liquid, was it?" Ukyo chimed with a mix of confusion, amazement, and shock. "Its cost performance is incredible."
"That's why oil is called King of Resources, right?" Shinko pointed out, recalling the short lecture she and Ukyo stumbled upon during gasoline production near Sagara Oil Field. Senku said something about distillation and asphalt. "If you heat it up in different temperatures, each of it will produce different products. Everything from it is useful from the gas, gasoline, and even its waste."
"Ten billion points for you, Huntress!" The said scientist exclaimed, looking completely pleased by her explanation although it's still in simpler terms–Shinko felt a little proud.
What she never expected was a firm pat on the back that followed after, notably because Senku had expressed disliking and reluctance towards physical gesture many times before. Stunned on her feet for a few seconds, she blinked in confusion–brain trying to register that it indeed happened. Soon enough, she dismissed it the moment Senku skipped to the newest barrel of fresh asphalt being brought by Kohaku.
Ah, maybe he's in the middle of his euphoria–inadvertent action that immediately went forgotten by his mind in a flash.
"The scum that comes to the top when boiling oil, that is asphalt." Senku started, studying the thick black liquid which still puffing up hot steam. "By setting it with the gravel and pouring it on the ground, all you need to do is pound it and it's finished!"
In the midst of his short lecture, the Power Team did exactly as what he told them. Brandishing huge wooden hammers exceptionally heavy, each of them swung it to the ground–causing thumps that reverberated even to their chest alternately. The once uneven road magically became the smooth, black one commonly seen on modern times' highways. Now, the acquired paved roads!
"Oooh, look! The road is growing!" Gen's initial amazement trailed off into a more confused one. "I can't tell if this is scientific or primitive…"
His feelings were valid, because the concept of paved roads was indeed something introduced by modernity 3,700 years ago, while on the other hand in this era its construction didn't involve any sorts of modern invention–all of it were by hand and from scratch.
"We don't even need heavy machinery as long as we have our Power Team!" Ukyo mused.
"Our Power Team is invincible at this point!" Shinko beamed–their Power team was indeed beyond amazing doing all the heavy work inhumanely possible with only four members on board.
"We're not paving all the roads or anything." Senku reminded once Steam Gorilla II restarted and continued its journey down the newly-paved road, a lot smoother now without so much a tremble. "This isn't a huge scale of a project. We're just paving the shortest route to the river to take care of the terrible roads."
"Ooooh~ That's plenty~!" To Gen, this would be the happiest moment in his stone world driving experience, after countless times passing through cruel roads. "This is amazing~! Do you want to ride, Shinko-chan?"
Said young woman shook her head, kindly rejecting the generous offer. "I'm fine walking on the ground."
With the terrain being handled, they traveled much faster than before–essentially, they're cutting off time to use it more efficiently. The enormous project in process was kind of also racing against time, Senku mentioned it constantly–the sooner they have it completed, the sooner they would be able to unravel the mystery of humanity's petrification. Their answer lied somewhere beyond the ocean, the place where Soyuz landed more than three hundred decades became their first step to uncover it.
At the end of the road, one of Ishigami Village's esteemed boats already waiting. Once they're on its passengers' view, Chrome waved excitedly to greet them. Kokuyo, Kohaku's father and the former chief was also there along with Kinro, Ginro, and Jasper–each of them were holding a paddle in hand.
"Once you transport it to the river, you can leave the rest to us, the water folks!" Ginro avowed, posing in full confidence with a foot stepping on the boat's edge. If it's possible, there would be sparkles to support his claim.
Kinro, who's irked by his brother's acting as a hotshot, deadpanned. "Please just don't, Ginro."
"Instead of transporting heavy loads like this on land, it's far more efficient to transport them by water!" Ukyo remarked, already start picking up one of the sacks to be transferred. They had the boat ready, which means it's time to move all the cargo from Steam Gorilla II to the water vehicle so they could deliver it to its designated place.
Ryusui harrumphed in confidence. "Hmph! Even since ancient times, Japan's supply chain was always like that! That's the strength of a long, narrow island nation! The maritime transport king, the Nanami Conglomerate was originally a cargo vessel company during Edo Period!"
"I guess that's how your ancestor got filthy rich, huh, Ryusui-chan?" Gen mused, somehow accepting this fact a lot easier than he usually did–probably because they were already introduced to the fact that Ryusui was indeed an old-money right from the start.
The said young man then cackled and continued. "Which is why it's a wonder you didn't recognize me, my dear!"
If there's someone he dared to refer to as 'dear' or 'dearest', it would be the female population around–which was only Shinko this time, who halted her work and pointed to herself as she blinked in confusion. "Me?"
"Who else!? The only beauty around here is you!" Ryusui snapped his fingers before reaching out to grasp her hands in his eagerly–something he frequently did whilst talking to only female archer there was. "You are the Ogasawara!"
"Wait, I'm lost," Gen interjected, looking even more perplexed than before. He slowly pointed towards the taller young man. "So, Ryusui-chan, you're saying you've met Shinko-chan before? Way before we turned to stone?"
"And I think my memory is failing me because I don't think we ever met before, Ryusui-san," the mentioned young woman smiled nervously at the conglomerate's gesture which she didn't know how to shake off.
Fortunately, the captain was more than happy to 'remind'. "The gala when we were six! Don't tell me you forgot that! And why do you think Francois calls you lady when they call everyone else Master!?"
"No one remembered anything at that age." Senku deadpanned at his absurd attempt to jog Shinko's memory. Even for someone as brilliant as Senku, he couldn't remember every part of his childhood clearly–some of them went fleeting, the ones that stayed were bits that left big impression in his life. It's nearly impossible for one to remember every second passed in their life.
However, seeing as Ryusui was never the kind of person who lied even though he had bizarre colors in his personality, the scientist didn't stop him either from digging deeper.
"But he got a point," Gen muttered, noticing an odd difference between Francois addressing most of them and the moment they're addressing Shinko. Master was a title Francois gave to every resident of Kingdom of Science as a form of their ultimate respect, but none of them ever actually hear to the butler giving the title lady to someone. "I've never heard Francois calling someone else lady besides Shinko."
Ukyo blinked as realization dawned on him, especially to what Ryusui referred to. "Is Shinko somehow also from a big family like the Nanamis?"
A signature snap of fingers was a confirmation and said young man cackled merrily. "Indeed they are!"
"We are not, Ukyo-san," Instead of agreeing, Shinko had a completely different answer–rejecting the idea of her family having the same fame as Ryusui's famous conglomerate lineage. She hummed, weighing her answer as they were taken aback by her blatant disagreement. "We just have a long… history? But we're nothing grand like the Nanamis."
The reply, of course, was nowhere to satisfy Ryusui as he managed to argue, "Whatever are you talking about, my dear!? The Ogasawaras contributed a lot to this country!"
"Elaborate." Senku sighed, and Shinko knew he was wishing this pointless conversation could be over quickly because they still have a mountain of task to tackle–they couldn't really afford to waste more time when deadline's already on their tails.
To be honest, she hoped for the same and more for Ryusui to let go of her hands.
"Ogasawara Clan has been around for so long!" The young conglomerate started his explanation. "They're a samurai clan descended from Seiwa Genji, acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano Province during the Sengoku period and daimyō (feudal lords) of territories on Kyūshū during the Edo period. During Kamakura and Muromachi periods, they developed schools of martial arts called Ogasawara-ryu and contributed to codification of bushido etiquette!"
Ukyo looked lost for words, Senku with his wide eyes, and Gen's straight up almost fly out of its sockets for the nth time today. The three did share the same expression overall–pure disbelief although delivered in many forms picturing their personality perfectly. Although, the rest, which was residents of the new world, had no idea of what Ryusui's talking about as it filled with many alien terms for them.
"Your family is basically a part of Japan's history, Shinko-chan!" The mentalist, even though having the most blow for today, still managed to exclaimed. "And you don't even give us a hint for it!?"
Gen losing his mind over another mind-boggling fact was something he justified–he witnessed a friend of his somehow born in a clan contributed in Japan's long history, an enormous news she didn't even share to anyone and probably never will if Ryusui didn't expose it out in the open. Heck, even Ukyo, who's by her side 24/7, had no idea! The mentalist couldn't decide whether he wanted to praise Shinko for her humbleness or smack her head for hiding such important info.
Smiling nervously, the young archer replied, "I don't think that's important. Besides, it has no use in this stone world. We already agree that last names are not needed, right? And Ryusui-san, you know a lot about my family than I do."
"Of course!" And said young man definitely felt proud about it. "The esteemed Ogasawara clan is one of the most respected ones by the Nanami family!"
"I think I know Ogasawara-ryu," Senku piped in unexpectedly, stealing all of their attention. The scientist folded his arms across his chest as he continued. "It's on Setagaya District, right? My old man dragged me to look at it once because he's nosy."
Once again, Gen shot the scientist a bewildered look. "You've been there, Senku-chan!?"
This time, Shinko was the who blinked in surprise. "I'm surprised you knew about it Senku-san."
"Today is surely full of surprises," Ukyo chuckled nervously at the series of events unfolding before him.
"So, Shinko is important and rich like Ryusui…?" Kinro trailed off, trying to conclude all of their questions, responds, and explanation into one. The ones being mentioned immediately diverted their gaze towards the brunette with glasses, answering at the same time without hesitation.
"Yes, she is!"
"No, I am not."
"Man, you both are complete opposite and stubborn in this." Chrome commented, highlighting the fact that neither side wanted to back down from their answer. Though, he was rather surprised by how persistent Shinko could be when she usually relented with one or two rebuttals.
Senku chuckled at Chrome's statement, probably feeling amused. "Surprisingly, the huntress doesn't want to accept things as it is."
"Yeah, it's probably the first time I've seen you being this stubborn." Ukyo found himself agreeing and laughed slightly at the said young woman's dejected sigh. "Ryusui's being himself so he doesn't count."
"After this, you and me are going to have a looooong, friendly chat, Shinko-chan~" Gen decided, sending her a rather sinister smile as a sign that he's in utter betrayal and wouldn't let her get away without consequences.
A bead of sweat trailed down her temple. "Maybe you can get the girls to come along and hear…?"
"And how long are you gonna hold her hands?" The scientist drawled, eyeing the on-going hand-holding with a displeased look–maybe to the borderline of cringing uncomfortably. "We need those to lift things."
"Come on, let's get back to work." Ukyo suggested, ending their halted convo of moving mine goods to the ship. Stepping closer, he reached out to released Ryusui's hold from Shinko's hands. And as usual, the captain didn't think too much about it–proceeding to just continue with whatever they had on plate. Holding her hand for a moment before letting go, the sonarman advised. "You should tell Ryusui if you're uncomfortable. I'm sure he won't mind."
"I will if I have the courage to." Shinko laughed nervously, rubbing her neck. "It's kind of difficult, especially when he means no harm."
Ryusui was one of the most straightforward and bold people Ukyo had a chance to encounter–both in terms of personality and actions. If he had something on his mind, he would let people know loud and clear; if he had something he wanted, he would strive for it and do whatever it takes to have it in his hands.
Despite being so greedy and demanding of everything, he never overstepped his boundaries nor try to force people onto anything they didn't like–at least, that's what Ukyo's take about the young conglomerate. Underneath that rambunctiousness, he's a good man and an intelligent fellow–although some people would misunderstand if they're not taking their time to observe and look at some angles in new light.
That's why Ukyo couldn't help but smiled at Shinko's reply–because she understood. Other than that, she's selfless and a people-pleaser–never wanting to upset or disappoint anyone. A good trait, despite sometimes Ukyo wishing times where she finally be more demanding or selfish for good reasons. Though, she still needed to let Ryusui know about her opinion for sudden physical gestures–the captain would comply without a doubt as he's a gentleman.
He patted her head before referring to the sacks still sitting on Steam Gorilla II. "Come on, the cargo isn't going to move itself and we still have to work on the ship."
"Speaking of ships, if you're planning to take a huge ship, then leave it to the Ishigami Village!" Kokuyo declared the moment the word ship was heard, feeling proud of his village's capabilities when it came to things regarding water. "We've been riding little sailing boats like this back and forth across the waters ever since ancient times!"
"Though it's a pretty small ship, old-man Kaseki was the one that made them for us~" Ginro added.
"Speaking of Kaseki, you've got a phone call from him, Senku." Chrome informed, pointing to their communication device on Steam Gorilla II. It stopped ringing, which means the brunette already picked up the call and relied it to the scientist–and some of their conversation could be heard by the said elder. Most of them huddled closer to the phone in order to listen to whatever news Kaseki had for them.
"That's right. I've made plenty of small boats," The elder remarked. "So, I thought if I just worked harder, I would be able to make a big boat as well, but…"
Shinko sensed after the but hanging in, things wouldn't be as smooth as they thought.
.
.
Kingdom on Science has built multiple inventions in various sizes.
The smallest one would be sulfa-drugs which was in form of white powder and the biggest one completed was water power-plant near the rivers, Steam Gorilla, and linen hot air balloon. Knowing they had experiences in crafting big projects to success, without a doubt confidence formed when Senku announced they would create themselves a proper sailing boat large enough to hold crews on board. They succeeded many times, there's no reason they wouldn't this time either.
However, success didn't always come the easy way–they had to face hurdles upon hurdles looming before they reach their goal. It came the moment they're in need of proper fuel–Sagara Oil Fields required months to be discovered even if they had aerial view. They got lucky to had Sagara led them straight to it or else the search would last forever.
It also came the moment they realized batteries and simple engines wouldn't handle the workload to take them to the other side of the globe–having trial and error by risking lives on board wasn't an option. Thankfully, Chrome had it covered quickly by discovering an iron deposit mine to meet their factory scale iron quota.
This ship was definitely their first grand-scale project towering almost everything in sight, needing double digit number of people to handle the manpower. Ukyo knew it from the start, and why Senku especially in dire need of more people for the deed. Now, their biggest problem to tackle was the literal size of the project itself.
"I can't reach things!" Kaseki grunted, as he tried to connect the boat's skeleton part in hand with another one right across him–the distance was apparent. "And they get crooked! They poke out and aren't even! The ship's body keeps getting more and more warped… I keep trying to make little adjustments along the way, but as soon as I fix one thing, another goes out of alignment… It's all a mess! I'm sorry!"
The news being delivered previously made the cargo crew immediately departed back to the ship's building site. The moment they arrived and saw Kaseki's dejected look, already spoke a thousand words that something was indeed wrong and the craftsman didn't waste any time to show what he meant.
"It's not your fault, Kaseki." Ukyo tried to console the elder, although he couldn't help but looking at their ship's structure in concern–particularly because not a single idea surfaced in his mind to propose a solution that could help as he didn't have any experience in complex craftsmanship.
"Oooh, you're too kind… I might fall for you," Kaseki commented, tried to lightened up the situation.
The sonarman sighed. "No, I mean it. Even in our present day, the construction of a large ship is an extremely technical and difficult craft."
Building an enormous ship was a serious deal even in modern time with all the advance techs–only a few truly talented and experienced people able to master them. Not to mention, the materials they're using being completely different from the ones they've seen being used in modern ships–the whole structure made purely by woods, something which hasn't been seen for so long in modern ships.
"Well, then, why don't we just revive some master shipcrafter?" Yo suggested. His idea wasn't truly correct, but also wasn't something completely wrong. However, if they were going with it, there's another thing to consider.
"And where exactly do you expect to find one of those from modern day Japan?" Minami retorted, narrowing her eyes at the ex-policeman.
"Modern boats back in our time designed to be moved purely by engines whilst we're planning to make a hybrid one using sails." Shinko, who stood by his side started–her words instantly stole the spotlight as eyes focused on her figure. "The ship we're currently building is similar to a carrack although it only has two masts. Even if we're using engines more in the end, the structure is more similar to a ship during Age of Discovery around 15th to 17th century. To put it simple, it has a lot traditional touches from old times ships which not many modern shipcrafters know as they referred more to modern designs. That, and we don't have any revival fluid which means we couldn't revive anyone."
"W-whoa, I actually understood most of that." Yo muttered in disbelief. "And since when are you this smart, Shinko?"
Ukyo found himself smiling as warmth bubbled in his chest–the familiar feeling of proud blooming. During her days in Tsukasa's Empire, Shinko was a quiet and reserved young woman. Sure, she interacted with the residents and adapted well, but she rarely engaged in a long conversation with others besides him, Taiju, and Yuzuriha. Not many people could witness this new side of her, which was revealed rather often as soon as Tsukasa Empire merged with Kingdom of Science. Shinko was a resourceful young woman filled with wit who's capable of arranging words to communicate it better than most of them.
"What do you mean? Shinko has always been smart!" Minami argued, marching closer and hugged the young woman's arm.
"Ten billion points goes for the huntress!" And for someone who's somehow managed to earn Senku's affirmation in various occasions, Shinko was a special case indeed. Ukyo could hear the scientist chuckled. "This isn't a problem in the least. Just keep making it until you learn it. The Kingdom of Science is all about trial and error, after all."
"It's true, but that's where our other problem lies at, Senku-san." Shinko remarked, her smile turned stiff. "Even Magma-san could notice."
"How many years is it gonna take to finish this, then?" The said buff man grumbled, narrowing his eyes at the unfinished structure–at the same time, voicing out the same question echoed in their mind and also the biggest one.
Trial and error mean time-consuming process with no clear end–they'll repeat everything, commencing re-dos, starting over from zero, reorganizing, remodel, all things necessary to look for better alternatives until they found the perfect one. It's probably the only way around if they still want to commence with a large-scale sailing vessel. Unfortunately, they didn't have all the time in the world as another factor prevented them from doing so.
For the second time, Ukyo sighed dejectedly. "I'm really dying to know more about the Why Man's action…"
One of the reasons they're having this project was also to search for more answers about humanity's petrification–the source of ominous green light which destroyed modern civilization. Kingdom of Science was forcefully being pushed back to square one.
Senku sighed exasperatedly as realization on how severe the situation turned out to be–Ukyo could hear the frustration in his harsh scoff. Even for the scientist who always stood tall, it's still a hard blow to take head-on. "Yeah… that was a miscalculation on my part. Our Why Man isn't exactly someone that we can take an infinite amount of time to sit around doing this until we get it right. Time for change of plans."
"…Are you going to change the ship's size, Senku-san?" Shinko questioned solemnly. Ukyo's hand automatically sought for hers–a little bit of comfort he could provide.
Chuckling wryly, the scientist replied, "Well, aren't you quick to catch on, huntress. Yeah. We'll scrap the large-scale ship idea and swap it out for a small yacht that'll fit a few people."
Without a doubt this incurred series of protests and gasps of disappointment from their comrades. Just as heavy as it was for Senku, it held the same weight for all of them.
"Fit a few people!? That'll leave most of us out then won't it!?" Chrome exclaimed in disbelief, unwilling to let go of their initial project and the possibility that most of them were left behind whilst some other risk their lives without backup.
"What the hell, I'm getting on that boat!" Yo argued, deep-frowned marred his face.
"Since the start, we'll be having quite a people on board that's why Senku-san decided to build a large ship," Shinko commented quietly, even though Ukyo could hear it clearly. "We can have a yacht with only a few people, but it's too risky as we need many things from supplies to manpower. Going with both lacking will be a disaster."
The sonarman understood that she was right. Extremely-high risk was the best word to describe their alternative plan–if they truly went with the new plan, they're gambling even more on plate. Of course, their people were the most capable one, but abilities have limits and not many of them could do double to cover on what's missing.
"Our new plan is more of a dangerous gamble than a plan." Ukyo muttered, pulling his cap down–brows furrowed in concern as he glared to the ground. "We really can't afford to scrap the original plan if we want to survive going and back."
Kaseki sniffed as he looked at the boat structure tearfully. "Ohohooo~ I really don't wanna give up on my precious darling boat…"
"Give up? On what I want? On my beautiful large-scale sailing vessel?"
Ryusui's question resounded, which made both Ukyo and Shinko averted their attention on the said captain. Somehow, it sounded incredibly rhetorical as his eyes widened at their supposedly final decision to abandon the whole project.
That's right, Ryusui was the greediest man in the world. The word impossible didn't exist if he wished for anything–he would make it come true no matter what it takes. Firm determination that shone from his eyes was probably their solution for this problem.
Facing all of them, the young captain declared without hesitation–which definitely throw all of them off-guard, "I'm going to make a model of a large-scale ship! You'll accurately enlarge it. And this ship right here, the culmination of Kaseki's hard work and effort, correct it and revise it. I'm sure you can handle that, Senku. Can't you!?"
"If we can truly have a model ship, we definitely can build one as it's more accurate than the sketch in matter measurements, components' size, all of them…!" Shinko affirmed, eyes widened and full of hope.
Smirking widely and glanced at the greedy captain, Senku announced confidently. "Yeah. I can. As long as I've got a super-class model ship maniac on my side that can make a 48:1 scale ship with ten billion percent accuracy, that is!"
"Who do you think, you're talking to?" Ryusui challenged. "Let's make a far more exciting ship than we ever planned to originally!"
"Is this gonna be alright with Ryusui? He's not gonna ask for another 10 billion Dragos for his fee, isn't he…?" Gen whispered in worry as last time the young conglomerate demanded the rights of Sagara Oil Field, basically gouging them off the moment he knew he's the only one who had skills in commanding a ship. The mentalist couldn't imagine what kind of prize he would name for this other set of newly-discovered skill.
Shinko chuckled as a respond to the young man's concerns. "I think we no longer need to worry about that, Gen-san."
Ukyo nodded in agreement, throwing him a smile. "That's right. This time will be different."
Ryusui cackled as he snapped his fingers, confirming the two's words. "Hahaha! Correct! I need nothing of the sort! As long as it means never giving up on what I want!"
"Somehow… They put me at ease, Senku and Ryusui teaming up together." Suika remarked, tugging onto Shinko's shorts. The little girl than looked up to face the young woman and grinned, receiving a gentle head pat. "I feel as though they could do just about anything!"
Ukyo laughed slightly, feeling a lot lighter knowing that everything would be alright. "Desire equals justice, this is what Francois means."
That's right, everything would be alright because Kingdom of Science had a grand goal to fulfill.
The warm grip on his hand which he returned the same amount convinced him even more.
.
.
There was nothing wrong with having strong desire–that was Francois's principle.
It's natural for human to wish for something and for it to come true in some way. But of course, for it to come true required effort equal to how big the wish was. That came to another perspective that shaped them into today's figure. Francois maybe the most sought butler in the entire universe with people lining up to earn his service, however no one could possibly match the pleasure they felt the moment they served Nanami Ryusui.
Through Ryusui, Francois learnt what it meant to have desire and how many lengths someone could go to attain it. Nobody other than Ryusui poured their absolute effort to acquire things their heart desires. The conglomerate never lied to himself, once he wanted something he would shout it out and keep pressing forward. Ryusui never give up even after seeing what he needed to go through, even if pain involved, he never once accepted the word 'no' if his wishes were on the line. Francois's loyalty would forever lie on Nanami Ryusui–if Ryusui wanted something, then they would do all things necessary to assist him.
And now with the young conglomerate finally found people who shared the strong desire as his, Francois was at their beck and call.
No matter how small of big the desire they had, desire is desire and Francois would be more than happy to lend a hand. Because desire equals justice.
"So, is this acceptable, Francois-san?" This time they had the honor to help one of the most important people in Kingdom of Science, who's currently standing across from said butler with an anxious look–fiddling with her fingers in order to eased her nerves.
Although needed some time to jog their memory, they finally truly recognized Shinko. The Ogasawaras were one of the most influential families of Japan the Nanamis came to put to high regards, with their long history rooted deep and became a part of Japan's history itself–an esteemed family now devoted to culminate, preserve, and teach martial arts through schools they've built. The reason Francois took some time was because they only met Shinko once since most of the time she didn't attend invitations sent by the Nanamis–being represented by other part of the family as she's extremely busy with competitions and deeming polishing her skills to be more important.
Her desire rang true, now she's one of the most capable archers Japan has ever had and maybe even the world–Francois had nothing but respect towards her.
That's why their lips curled up into a simple smile, as they stared at the brownish liquid wafting up faint steam settled in a clay cup in their hands. A truly marvelous finding they didn't even think of. "This is nothing less than perfect, Lady Shinko."
Sighing in relief, the young woman placed a hand on her chest from their assurance. "Thank goodness. I don't really know how the pure one tastes like even though I drank it a lot of time. I just remembered the closest would be this."
"The taste is almost identical," Francois remarked, placing the cup upon the kitchen table gently. "Master Ryusui, Master Senku, Master Ukyo, and everyone would rejoice once they get to taste and this would be the perfect match for fresh baked goods."
Smiling sheepishly and rubbed her neck, the glimmer of delight in those purple eyes was something contagious. "I hope so. Everyone has been working hard, I really want to do something encouraging. Particularly for our Five Wise Generals who works especially hard."
The butler hummed in understanding. They could relate to it–when the people you care about was doing their best, it drove you to do the same, giving your full support, and doing all things necessary to share their burden. "Then, this would a more than perfect gift for them. I'm sure they would appreciate it, Lady Shinko. Shall we gather some more tomorrow? I will deliver the proposal to bring this along into our voyage to Master Ryusui as its dry and without a doubt would last long."
"I think we should since we will be making this for a large number of people." Nodding in agreement, the young woman started listing the people she would want to bring along. "Kohaku-chan, Suika-chan, Mirai-chan, and Nikki-chan will probably join us or even the kids. We can make this some sort of treasure hunt game to entertain them and teach them about edible plants."
"A noble plan befitting of your personality, my lady." And for such noble purpose, it would be impossible for Francois to not assist. The familiar sparks of determination began crackle in their chest. Bowing low, the butler declared, "I shall assist you to the very end, all for the sake of your wishes so that your support would be delivered successfully. After all, desire equals justice!"
"You don't have to bow, Francois-san!" Shinko insisted, hearing quite flustered by their gesture even though as mentioned before, this action was befitting for her who also working hard behind the curtain. "But thank you, Francois-san. Let's do our best!"
"Indeed, my lady."
Francois would always wish the best for Shinko.
.
.
A whole new plan also equals preparations to make sure the start of it proceeded smoothly–which means a regular meeting being held between five of them to divide tasks. Time became essential in this matter. The moment they could cover different jobs at the same time, the more they could make, build, and repair along the way. It's almost natural for the five of them to immediately regrouped in order to discussed many aspects, way, and future plans revolving around Kingdom of Science, the petrification, inventions, and Why Man's threat–although the title Five Wise Generals was much too honorable in Ukyo's perspective.
Sure, Senku, Gen, Ryusui, Chrome, and him kind of the ones who's in charge making decisions and leading, but declaring them as the most capable figures in the Kingdom of Science and leaders was too exaggerating. Well, at least it fitted Senku and Ryusui who found their place naturally in this matter, Gen was someone who moved according to the flow, and Chrome was the source of creativity and fresh air who supplied them different alternatives from his point of view as the resident of the new world.
Ukyo was nowhere near as special as them–sometimes he questioned on why he's being categorized in this group.
"Now that we're going to continue as it is, there're gonna be jobs to divide." Senku announced, placing a large paper on the large table and started to scribble upon the surface–a sign for Ukyo to focused on reality more than drowning in his thoughts. "Ryusui and Kaseki's gonna have full focus on making the model, I'm gonna build something to enlarge the model accurately with Chrome and Ukyo, Gen's gonna keep the motivation up."
"Man, it's always the tough job given to me on silver plate." Gen joked with a light tone, his playfulness always made the meetings' atmosphere light and enjoyable.
Ukyo hummed in understanding–the divided workload was precise and accurate based on their abilities. But he did notice additional task devoid of supervision and decided asking. "Who's going to watch over the separate on-going projects?"
The infamous smirk instantly marred the scientist's face, which made the sonarman chuckled nervously. "The huntress, of course! It's a pain to brief someone from zero, so leave it to her. She's doing a good job anyway."
Ukyo kind of regret in asking when he knew the obvious answer for it.
Gen snickered after hearing the answer. "You know, Senku-chan, Shinko-chan is really livened up to her title as your assistant."
"Hahaha! Truly a capable beauty! Charming indeed!" Ryusui commented, eager to praise.
"Doesn't matter," Senku dismissed nonchalantly with a brief wave. Then he continued, "Next will be…"
More words being thrown and pauses in between to comprehend any sorts of explanation, argument, and idea being proposed. Each of them had their chances to talk, giving input along with its reasoning, and refute. Every important part being approved were then listed on the paper so they wouldn't forget as many more meetings would be frequent in the future. Being immersed completely meant that the flow of time passed quicker than it's supposed to, flew past their head unnoticed as they kept going with whatever topic brought up one after another for thorough discussion.
More hours they spent, more notes to jotted down and filled the paper until their bright surroundings brought by day transitioned to brightness brought by light bulbs turned on in the room–until the previous rowdiness from the crowd below slowly diminished until there's only silence. Whilst the whole Kingdom of Science finally got their well-deserved rest for the day, the Five Wise Generals were still occupied with their meeting.
Moving on to another topic, Ukyo pointed out towards one of the words underlined by Senku, "For this one, I think we should-"
Then having to cut off his own words by suddenly being silent, incurring questioning gazes from the other four who didn't expect his abrupt action. Teal eyes immediately diverted towards the office's entrance covered by simple linen cloth, where a familiar pace of footsteps coming from and resounding clearly against his eardrums–every movement signaling that the figure slowly closing into the place.
"What's wrong, Ukyo?" Ryusui asked, referring to his odd behavior.
"You can come in, Shinko." He internally apologized to the captain for not answering, but his remark could already serve as an answer. A smile found its way to Ukyo's face automatically as the extremely familiar figure emerge from behind the curtain, parting the material with a hand–just with her in his line of sight, his energy was being recharged. He tried to tone it down and not being so obvious with how happy he was.
The young woman threw them an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for intruding,"
"Nonsense! You're always welcome, my dear!" Ryusui exclaimed, welcoming the interruption she brought with open arms.
"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise." Gen remarked, giving her a short wave as a greeting.
"I thought you're already asleep or something." Chrome commented, arms folding upon his chest and a grin followed right after. "It's probably midnight right now."
Chuckling in amusement, Senku's gaze rested on her–eyes shining with mirth. "There's something, isn't it? There's no way you drop by just to check on us. What are you here for?"
"Checking up on our Five Wise Generals who decided to pull an all-nighter is one of the reasons, Senku-san." Shinko didn't hesitate to admit, laughing shortly. "Although, there is another reason for this sudden visit."
That's when Ukyo noticed the tray she brought along–upon it was a clay teapot with five clay cups present and a plate of baked goods. Looking at the sweets immediately made his mouth watered. A little sugar intake to reenergize his brain wouldn't be a bad thing and some warm drink definitely would help them relaxed for a few minutes before continuing. And he's not the only one think so.
Gen and Senku automatically moved to cleared the table slightly in order to make some room so Shinko could place the tray down–stacking the papers strewn over and gathering the stationary in a single pile.
"Midnight refreshments!" Ryusui laughed, a hand reaching out for a piece of cookie from the plate while Chrome already help himself through a piece. "A nice break!"
"Definitely~" The mentalist hummed in agreement, slightly muffled as he savored the sweets.
"Thank you for bringing them here, Shinko." Ukyo gave her a smile which she returned wider, sending familiar flutters enveloping his chest in warm cocoon. His hand reached out, fingers intertwined with hers–giving a slight firm grip before untangling them. He couldn't do much with spectators around but refused to stick with words alone.
"Thanks." It's a simple word, but Ukyo could hear gratefulness from it. Senku nodded towards her direction. Ruby red eyes noticeably softened slightly by him, something the sonarman never thought would witness from someone such as the scientist.
Somehow, a lump magically appeared in Ukyo's throat–which he tried to swallow with difficulty. A few slow blinks he hoped to look subtle, the previous flutters vanished without a trace.
For some reason, his chest caved a little even if he knew it wasn't a big deal.
"So, what's inside the pot?" Chrome's question broke through the white-noise ringing faintly in his ears. The brunette pointed to the rather large tea pot went untouchable on the table. "Is it warm water or something?"
Shinko visibly perked up, purple eyes glimmered in something akin to excitement–a wave of fondness emerged through the sonarman. "That would be the main reason I'm here for."
She wasted no time to picked it up and pour the content to each cup, carefully not spilling any drop. In an instant, eyes focused the peculiar liquid settled coming out and started filling the cup. Once all the cup was filled, it was a signal to all of them taking one each.
Peering inside, Ukyo's mind began describing as Shinko haven't told them anything yet–brownish color, and when he took a sniff of the scent wafting along with hot steam, he detected slight spiciness along with some sweetness intermingled. A new type of smell, but somehow the back of his mind tingling with familiarness. His hopes skyrocketed, even looking from the appearance alone–heart beating wildly in his chest in thrill.
"Please drink carefully because it's piping hot." Shinko reminded, putting the teapot back to the table.
"…Don't tell me this is what I think it is." Gen had his eyes widened, staring at his designated cup in disbelief as if trying to convince himself that it was indeed real. "Even if the smell is different."
"It might be…!" Ryusui speculated, looking at the drink in amazement.
Senku shared the same expression with the captain, along with high expectations accompanied by a wide grin. He chuckled before musing, "Only one way to find out…!"
"I have no clue what are you guys talking about but I'm gonna go!" Initially confused with the others' respond, Chrome chose to tackle his curiosity head-on. "A science user never hesitates to jump on anything new!"
"I heard you said that before, Chrome-chan~" Gen sang, pausing his endeavor in blowing the drink to cooled it down.
"Twice," Senku added, snickering. "The first one's when we make fox-tail ramen, the second one's when we make cup ramen."
Being caught red-handed, the said brunette sputtered, "S-shut up! It what makes me a scientist, y'know!?"
Soon, everyone went silent as they finally got to savor the warm concoction–that applied to Ukyo as well. Extremely familiar aroma invaded his sense of smell once he took a sip, then slight sweetness on his tastebuds and slight tang on the back of his throat. It threw him off guard and he was sure to choke if he didn't have a steady grip on himself.
He found his mind went blank after one gulp–brain trying to distinguish between reality and imagination. The only thing he could do was staring at his cup in utter bewilderment for a few seconds before finally finding his voice.
"…No way." He muttered, corner of his mouth upwards forming a shaky smile. "I-I'm not hallucinating, am I?
"THAT'S BAD!" Chrome exclaimed, mouth opened wide in amazement after he wiped his lips. "It tastes so good! Sweet, fragrant, a little sour, and tangy! What is this!?"
"TEA!? A LITERAL BLACK TEA!? EALLY-RAY!?" Gen shrieked in pure shock, eyes darting from the cup to Shinko, who grinned as she basked on their reaction, frantically. "W-WHERE ON EARTH DID YOU GET THIS, Shinko-CHAN!?"
"You amazed me alright…!" Senku praised, sharing the same disbelief with the mentalist as well as apparent fascination. "During our exploration, not once did we stumble on any tea shrub and yet you managed to get your hands on this! Great job, huntress!"
"Finally! A delectable drink of modern time in this stone world!" Ryusui cackled breathlessly after downing the rest of his drink, his enthusiasm at its peak. "Black tea, I desire it! Name the price, my dear! And I'll have them all!"
"This is beyond incredible! You're amazing, Shinko!" Ukyo beamed, ruffling her hair affectionately.
True colors, Ukyo has always been enamored by it since forever. For some, it represents weakness, vulnerability, and naivety–all words describing ones lowest, something unacceptable in the old society where owning a thick and layered shield is a must in order to protect yourself. For him, it represents acceptance, trust, along with raw and hidden potential waiting to bloom.
Shinko truly bloomed when she became a part of Kingdom of Science's–more open, more laid-back, more relaxed while bringing along new discoveries, ideas, and sets of hands to help. She's probably having the most fun in her life and Ukyo couldn't be happier for her.
"This isn't real black tea, though." She giggled–her voice melodious in Ukyo's ears. "Just a substitute with closest flavor. The five of you are the first ones to try this."
"Simply incredible! Being the first to have a taste, that is!" Ryusui's cheeky grin wasn't faltering even for a millimeter. "I'll double-no! Triple the price! I desire it!"
Gen snapped so head so fast the sonarman was worried it would detach from his neck. "This is not black tea at all!? If you said nothing, it definitely tastes like the real one! I can't even tell the difference!"
"Kukuku, it seems you have a lot to explain to us, huntress. Fake black tea, isn't this exhilarating…!"
When true colors bloomed, it's bright, blinding, and showcased a view never to be seen before. It bounds to attract onlookers, tripping them to fall into glistening charm akin to flowers seducing bees to fly closer.
Kohaku mentioned to him once about a certain sparkle alight in his eyes whenever he mentioned or even have Shinko on his sight–noticeable to the ones who truly looked. He remembered being extremely flustered until he felt his ears burn as if it was on fire–an event he couldn't seem to forget. Kohaku wasn't someone who kept her observation to herself, a straightforward young woman who held honesty close to her chest–never would she put up lies or act sneakily like Gen.
Ukyo wondered if the sparkles twinkled in Senku's ruby red eyes alight with warmth and fascination as he looked at Shinko was the same ones Kohaku saw alight in his teal eyes.