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527 – 「A Pretty Luxurious Problem to Have」

「So, did you go on a rampage?」

「Yeah, pretty much.」

「You… I mean, I kind of get how you feel, but still…」

As soon as I finished getting treated for the injury I sustained during training—yeah, I had a crack in my rib—in Krishna’s makeshift medical pod, Elma came over for an interrogation. I shared my perspective with her. She ended up looking exasperated, but I won’t apologize. I mean, I got suddenly dragged into what they called ‘an investigation,’ forced into a sparring match, and ended up injured, so I’m not taking the blame for that.

「So, how do you feel? You have gotten more power, right? Didn’t you dislike it because it feels like you are becoming less human or something?」

「Nothing’s really changed. All that’s different is I can now dish out violence more easily.」

I remember vividly shouting from the bottom of my heart how much I didn’t want to become some kind of superhero or a warrior species whose hair goes blonde when angered. But now that it’s actually happened, I realize it’s not that different. Sure, I can now control electricity with my bare hands and kill any living creature I can see or sense in an instant. But even before getting all this power, I could achieve the same result—eliminating all life in my range—using Krishna or other methods. The only thing that’s changed is that I now have a quicker, more convenient way to do it.

「Yeah, that’s just like you… I mean, you were already powerful enough to take out dozens of fully armed soldiers from Earl Ixamal’s private army with just two swords.」

「I don’t really think that’s something all that impressive, though.」

Even if I didn’t know how to handle swords, I probably could have barely made it through with my heavy power armor, the RIKISHI.

「It’s definitely impressive, you know…? Even for a highly skilled noble of the Drawn Blade faction, facing dozens of fully armed, well-trained soldiers wouldn’t normally end well.」

「Is that so? I always thought those nobles were tougher than that.」

「Nobles aren’t that good against multiple enemies. No matter how enhanced a noble’s physical abilities and reaction speeds are, they can’t avoid or counter a saturation attack. It overwhelms them.」

Now that she mentions it, Balthazar, the original owner of my swords, couldn’t fully handle the crossfire from me and Mei, and had to rely on his personal shield and smoke for defense.

「I see… Still, even if I’ve awakened to this kind of power, it’s not like there’s much use for it. Feels like a waste of talent.」

I feel like I could take on one of those J◯dai knights or S◯th lords and come out on top now. But it seems they can also predict the future while in battle, so I might be at a disadvantage in close combat. Also, can this sword even stand up against a lightsaber? Sure, a monomolecular blade probably cuts better, but it’s still made of material. It might easily get sliced through and destroyed if we clashed. Yeah, thinking I could win easily is definitely a bad mindset.

「You could say the same about the Krishna, right? Speaking of which, it looks like the analysis of the Large Caliber Pulse Laser Cannons has come in.」

「Now that’s a topic I’m interested in. What did they find?」

「Looks like they turned into Graviton Cannons. Congratulations, Krishna now possesses a graviton weapon, something the Grakkan Empire’s weapon development division gave up on despite pouring massive amounts of money into it.」

「Did they find the operating principle?」

「Apparently, that magic circle-like thing converts the energy from Krishna’s Large Caliber PulseLaser Cannons into gravitons. If the Grakkan Empire’s weapon development team saw it, they’d probably throw their research tablets out the window.」

A graviton cannon… a graviton cannon, huh? Can shields even block that? Actually, can you even defend against something like that with physical energy? I thought the Telekinetic Impact Cannon was bad enough, but a Graviton Cannon sounds like an even more dangerous weapon.

「Isn’t that way overkill for dealing with space pirates?」

「Yeah, but it’s not like you can reverse Krishna to its prior state, right? We just have to live with it.」

「Guess we’ll have to make do with the cards we’ve been dealt… Complaining that it’s overpowered is a pretty luxurious problem to have.」

「Absolutely.」

Elma and I exchanged a wry smile. Well, it’s like using an oversized kitchen knife; with enough skill, you can still peel an apple with it. They say ‘the bigger the better’ after all. The saying doesn’t quite fit in this case, but if it’s overpowered, we’ll just have to experiment and figure out how to use it best.

☆★☆

When Elma and I stepped out of Krishna, people who looked like the ones we saw at the Great Shrine when we participated in the purification and exorcism rituals were waiting for us. These people were dressed like traditional priests and shrine maidens. They are probably employees of the Ministry of Divine Affairs, where Kugi used to work… Ah, I recognize that wolf-eared priest leading the group of shrine maidens. He’s walking over with a solemn air.

「Hiro-dono, we deeply apologize for the trouble we’ve caused you.」

The wolf-eared priest and the shrine maidens bowed their heads in unison. Elma, standing beside me, was just as confused as I was. I have no idea why they are apologizing to us.

「A great number of researchers have gathered here, as you can see.」

「Ah, is that so?」

「When the pursuit of personal curiosity and research results combine, they tend to go overboard… The same can be applied to military officers, when they encounter an unknown existence that may be stronger than themselves; they often lose their restraint.」

I could feel a strong wave of psionic power radiating from the wolf-eared priest as he spoke with a somber expression. Impressive, as expected of one of the big faces of the Great Shrine, he possesses much more psionic power than that arrogant horned officer.

「I repeatedly told them—over and over—not to force anything upon you, Hiro-dono… But it seems that those idiots who are only good at burying themselves in research and those fools with muscles for brains can’t even understand the most basic orders… I truly apologize.」

The wolf-eared priest apologized again, his voice filled with both anger and regret.

「Well, I went wild and made them pay for it, so I’m not holding a grudge. Just go easy on them with the punishment, alright? Plus, I’ve awakened to new powers and, more importantly, I want to learn more about the Third Spiritual Form I’ve been unconsciously using. I’d like to master it, so I would be grateful if you could introduce me to someone who can teach me how to train it.」

「I greatly appreciate your magnanimity and consideration. We will ensure that Ministry of Divine Affairs personnel are always present to prevent such incidents from occurring again. Please forgive us.」

「Of course. Honestly, I appreciate the level of care you’ve shown.」

I decided to accept their goodwill graciously. I’d prefer to avoid a repeat of today’s events, after all.

「We’ve arranged accommodations near the research facility for tonight. If you would kindly head there via the air shuttle, it’s already prepared for you.」

「Thank you for all the care. In that case, I’ll gather everyone and we’ll take our leave for today.」

「Understood. We shall proceed accordingly.」

At his command, the two shrine maidens behind him nodded and closed their eyes. Ah, I can feel a gentle wave of mental energy spreading out. Are they giving instructions telepathically?

「Um, it seems the two engineers are insisting on continuing for a bit longer…」

Nearby, I could hear Tina and Wiska arguing over something. Looks like they’re in the middle of rechecking and restructuring Krishna’s maintenance procedures. I suppose we’ll have to forcibly drag them away.

「I’ll go retrieve them. Elma, can you help me out?」

「Not much choice, is there?」

Elma shrugged as we headed off to collect the mechanic sisters. Sorry, you two, but it’s not like we’re in a rush. We don’t have a set departure time, so you can take your time working on Krishna later.