----Miki Viewpoint...

You need to get some sleep, don't you?

　Shuichi-san said this to me when he came into the room and was not in bed. Seventy-two hours have already passed since the remains of the subway in which Kouki was holed up collapsed. The limit of survival.... It would be difficult to live without food and water for more than 72 hours. Three days after the collapse, the survival rate will drop to less than 6 percent. But just because it drops doesn't mean it will drop to zero.......she'll be alive.

He'll be fine. More importantly, what have you found out?

There are reports coming in from the engineering department that they've finished analyzing the suit the New World was using. The suit they were wearing is a 6th generation machine, and the suit they believe the commander was wearing is almost as good as an 8th generation machine.

Well that's why there was so much damage.

Oh. An elite power suit squadron of the UN's standing army that went to the rescue was destroyed in just eight minutes. In the end, we shot down 65 of the New World suits and 241 of ours were damaged.

　It's almost funny that we're not even in the race. But if the experiment I'm working on with Alice is successful, it won't matter what the difference in suit performance is. For that reason, we have to get the data together as soon as possible.

We're going to conduct the Type-0 activation test at 1:00 pm on Noah Island. We've ordered all non-affiliated personnel to vacate the island, so if anything goes wrong, you take care of the rest.

But the system is imperfect, isn't it too dangerous?　Besides, it's not Alice's fault that Gongju is in this situation. Why in the world did you tell the kids about the Alice plan, anyway!　You're out of your mind!

''Sooner or later the girls will find out. Then it's better to know now than later, when they find out and feel left out of the loop. You can't stop the activation experiment now because Alice-chan insisted on it. I feel responsible for it.

"Gongju will hate you..., he was trying to protect Alice's secret to stop what we are trying to do now. And yet........

　I know that. But if Gong-Ju had escaped from that place alive, the Type 0 suit would be absolutely necessary. And the children believe that he's still alive. That's why we have to shorten the development period, which will take several years, and no matter what method we use, we'll finish it in one more day.
　Pushing aside Shuichi-san, who still has an unconvinced look on his face, and stepping out into the corridor, I unintentionally bite down in frustration at my inadequacy. Feeling the taste of blood spreading in my mouth, I felt my mood eased somewhat...




----Alice Viewpoint----

Kong, you okay?　You're gonna be okay.

"Cue

　He smiled at Conn in the display and nodded to let Miki know he was ready to go.

'Start the test. Get the converter up and running!

Initiating transducer. Entering Type 0 suit operating condition.

　That's good. The antimatter reactor that was originally supposed to be installed in the reactor didn't make it, so we hurriedly installed the magic converter that we were developing separately, and I heard from Miki that it uses Kon's magic power as fuel, but it seems to have worked properly. I'm sure I'll be able to be of some use to everyone!　When I was relieved, Miki was looking at me with a sad look on her face. I wonder if she still cares about it after all?

I'll be fine!

'I'm sorry.... You can hold a grudge.

It's what I said. I'm not a normal person but I don't mind it. It's just that I need to get the suit working as soon as possible.

Thank you. As I explained earlier, we will now physically connect to your Type-0 suit. Not to mention the fire control system, motion control system, and the entire system, including data communications, will be processed by your brain.

Not so much a living computer as a living organism. It sounds kind of cool, doesn't it?

　I could see that Miki's eyes became like a dead fish with my words. I'm sorry about that.

We're going to use the device we brought back from the lunar ruins to help your brain function, but at worst...

I'm fine!　The data we measured yesterday showed that my brain completely outperformed the processing power of a person, right? We have plenty of room.

　That's so cool, I'll have to brag to Megumin after the experiment is successful. Besides, the fact that I'm better than you in terms of brain processing capacity alone means that I have the makings of a genius, right?　In other words, if I work hard, I can become a person like Miki-san, so I have to make sure I succeed and learn a lot of things from her.

I'm off then.

　After saying this to Miki, I entered the special capsule built behind the control unit with the help of a researcher. I put on a helmet that is large enough to completely cover not only my head but also my face, and after a moment of composure, I speak into the built-in microphone and say, "I'm ready.

'I'm ready, sir.'

Okay, we're going to jab your brain with an extremely thin needle to inject the nanomachines. Don't move.

I understand.

　I braced myself, thinking about what to do if it hurt, but it didn't hurt at all. Instead, I felt a cold sensation for a moment, and then my vision suddenly opened up...

Wow!　I can see everything behind me!

'Alice, calm down!　Now you're sharing your senses with the suit's external camera. I'm going to shift the power from low power mode to normal mode now.'

Okay, got it.

Five seconds to transition, four, three, four, three, two, one, normal mode, full activation of the zero-suit!

　I don't feel anything in particular, is it okay?　Anxiously, I stared at Miki-san in the control center and saw a red circle appear in the middle of my vision. What is this?　As I stared at it, I noticed one of the researchers next to Miki-san was pulling and shaking. The red circles increase as I move my perspective to that direction. At that moment, the person who was trembling twitched in a jolt.

''Alice-chan, it's hard to say this, but.......''

What is it?

Fire control system is active. It's locking us up.

　Whew!　Wait, how do you do this?　Well, I think I kind of understand it, but it doesn't work. As my mind became impatient, a message log of 'System Optimization Complete' appeared at the edge of my field of vision, and at that moment I suddenly 'understood' how to use it. I hurriedly unlocked it the way I'd just learned to, and while I was at it, I turned off the fire control system for a while.

'I'm sorry,'

It's okay, I know you're new to this. I've already optimized the system and I'm ready to... wait a minute.

　Miki suddenly cut off the communication and shouted something into the extension phone. And while looking at me, she showed me her 'usual smile' for the first time since Conju went missing.

'Alice, we found Gongju!　He's in Chelyabinsk, they said he's safe and well.''

　Yes!　I'm so glad, I'm so glad. I knew you were safe!　Believe me, I was right to have my suit ready to go at any time. Just as my emotions were about to explode with joy, a message log appeared at the edge of my vision.

''Explosion recognized, do you want the reactor to go out of control?'' ...

　Ew, I can't stand this suit.