Chapter 79 – The Arden System… Is It?

A development room buried deep within Syn-Fibra's secure interior, layered in security clearances.

Holographic displays cast soft light across the room's surfaces, and in that glow stood two figures: Milea, and Steve -- a veteran engineer, her senior colleague.

In terms of rank within the company, Milea, as head researcher, held the higher position. But the breadth of experience and depth of technical knowledge that Steve carried with him had always commanded Milea's deepest professional respect.

"...I see. Yes -- it does appear that this device operates under the influence of the 'Arden System.'"

Steve rested his chin on his hand and murmured with quiet appreciation.

What was displayed on the main monitor in front of him was video data recorded by the observation camera drone that had trailed the reborn Arden during the recent test flight -- floating along behind Letaria's machine through the entire engagement.

"Yes. Despite operating under the Electra Duro's intense jamming, it maintained near-perfect stability throughout. Video, audio -- everything was captured and recorded without any difficulty whatsoever."

Steve nodded slowly at Milea's words.

"With the analysis of the large mobile weapons platform 'Restful' -- and of 'Zodan's' wreckage -- progressing as far as it has, our structural analysis of what was hidden inside Arden has advanced considerably as well. This may serve as the very foundation we need for new system development at this company."

"Indeed. ...But it has to be said that every process that produced these findings was something that only Letaria could have made possible."

"That extraordinary power she possesses. Her 'magic.'"

Milea gave a small nod, and on the holographic screen, the waveform of Letaria's brainwave patterns bloomed into vivid display.

"Exactly. This unknown signal, and the abnormally powerful brainwave activity that emerges in tandem with heightened emotional states -- these are what we believe constitute part of what she calls her 'magic.' And this waveform has demonstrated a powerful resonance with Arden's core systems."

"And she heard Restful's 'voice' -- during the battle."

Steve's quiet question. Milea answered without a word, a single nod.

The unknown system housed in Arden -- referred to internally as a "black box" even at the main office until now -- was currently being called the "Arden System" on a provisional basis by the development team.

It had been established that Restful and Zodan both carried neural mechanisms closely analogous to this system. Restful's remained unclear, but Zodan's had functioned through "resonance" -- the fundamental structure was the same, but functional differences existed between them. This, in turn, strongly suggested that multiple cases had been in active testing. And, ominously, there was now reason to believe that even Restful had originally been designed as a weapon intended to be piloted -- operated by a living person.

"What the analysis revealed is that the essential quality of the Arden System is 'resonance' -- attunement. Not merely a control link, but something that takes the very magic she carries and amplifies it further, reinforces it. It functions, in essence, as a kind of magnifier."

"The power she described as 'just sensing movement.' Drawing it out to many times its natural strength through a machine as the medium -- it really does call to mind those espers you read about in old science fiction."

Steve crossed his arms, expression thoughtful and grave.

"Even subjects from the illegal augmentation experiments that corporations and militaries used to run covertly -- even they could never have achieved compatibility rates or output levels like this."

"...And that is precisely where the problem lies. We had been operating on the theory that those who created Restful were aiming to complete a series of live combat tests of this brainwave-based system. But--"

"The existence of Letaria-san was simply too singular an anomaly for that framework to hold. Which means the true objective that Escad's engineers were working toward may, in practical terms, have been missed entirely."

Steve finished the thought.

To put it in plain terms: the "powerful machine-assist and control system driven by brainwaves" that Escad's engineers had been reaching toward was never completed. Because if the only person in this entire universe capable of using it was Letaria alone, it held no value whatsoever as an industrial product or a military weapon.

"My desire is to make the Arden System a force that protects her. But..."

The light in Milea's expression dimmed.

If this information were to reach the wrong hands outside the company, individuals with twisted ambitions -- within the organization and beyond it -- might emerge who wanted to treat Letaria's very body as a rare and precious specimen for exploitation. Registering Letaria in her own family records, placing her under firm legal protection, had been partly a preemptive measure against exactly that. But even so -- it was fundamentally impossible to allocate budget toward something that only one specific person could use. And while she had said she would invest her personal funds, even her entire net worth had its limits.

Reading Milea's quiet distress, Steve allowed himself a gentle smile and laid a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"There's no need to be so pessimistic, Milea. Even data derived from Letaria-san -- if you change the angle of approach, there's no shortage of universal applications waiting to be found. For instance... well, let me think. If we took the knowledge from the Arden System and worked backward, we might be able to develop a 'safe auxiliary resonance system' that doesn't mentally degrade or erode the user. There's no need to build it into a massive Makina. It could be applied to medical equipment, or smaller-scale operational systems in the field. We strip out any data that's dependent on Letaria herself, document the universally applicable findings, and use that as the basis to draw down budget. That's entirely viable."

The breadth of Steve's perspective as an engineer -- and the reassurance of a veteran's steady confidence.

"Milea. What do you say -- could you formally assign me to the brainwave research division? If the Arden System is now confirmed as a genuine subject of inquiry, headquarters authorization should follow. I want to be of use to you, and I'll be honest -- this technology genuinely interests me."

The moment those words landed, something lit in Milea's eyes.

"Please -- I would be very grateful, Steve-senpai. That is truly encouraging."

"Good, I'll be expecting high expectations then. ...Oh, and one more thing."

Steve worked the console in front of him and opened another window as he continued.

"This may be a little unwelcome to hear -- it concerns the weapon acquisition from before. The 'Grave Arc.'"

At those words, the warmth in Milea's expression hardened at once.

◆

It was back when Seldia was still under threat from the unidentified unmanned weapons.

Seeing Milea pushed to the limits of endurance by consecutive all-night shifts, Steve had kindly offered to hold down the development room in her absence. Taking him at his word, she had just collapsed onto her bed for the rest she desperately needed when a call came in from Grain, the vigilante corps' captain.

His request: a power output boost for his own machine, Shuel. And then -- with a gravity on his face more intense than usual -- he had added one more item.

"...And there's something else I need to ask of you. I want something powerful mounted on Letaria's Arden as well. Something in a different class -- the kind of thing that only she, right now, could handle."

"You and Letaria both? Why are you this urgently concerned?"

Milea asked without concealing her confusion, face worn with fatigue. As Syn-Fibra's head researcher, and as someone who had Letaria's personal safety constantly in mind -- agreeing readily was impossible.

But rather than offering an explanation in words, Grain transferred an encrypted file -- obtained through unofficial channels -- directly to her terminal.

"Look at this. Data from a chip I found in an abandoned factory during an investigation. ...There are still more unmanned weapons out there. And something unidentified may be concealed among them."

She opened the data. What it contained were specifications for a "large mobile weapons platform" -- heavily corrupted, and based on dated design principles. But if this thing existed and could be made operational, Letaria might be the only person who could respond to it.

A precaution for the worst case was absolutely necessary.

But the most powerful trial-stage weapons at the Seldia branch under Milea's oversight amounted to the prototype Photon Rifle she had already given Grain. Everything else was in fundamental research phases -- nothing remotely deployable in live combat as a genuinely "powerful weapon."

So Milea, grasping at whatever she could, placed a call to the reliable senior colleague she had left holding the lab.

"Steve-senpai, I'm sorry to contact you so suddenly. ...Is there any route to obtain something from another department's development -- a high-output weapon of some kind?"

The request came entirely out of nowhere. Steve was surprised -- but reading Milea's state, he grasped the situation immediately.

"Hmm. If that's what's needed, I believe I do have something in mind. There should be an untamed prototype heavy weapon sitting over in the Perda branch -- still in dispute apparently over whether to release it. Let me use a personal contact over there and see if I can arrange something with their lead."

And so Steve had worked his connections behind the scenes, quietly arranging for the weapon's transfer to Seldia in secret. That weapon was the Grave Arc -- the blade with which Letaria had cleaved Restful in two.

◆

Steve's voice, in the present, drew Milea back from the memory.

"The combat data that was sent to us -- the problem is that in several places, the physical parameter readings jump far beyond what the numbers should allow. It's difficult to put down to simple data error. Their chief researcher wants to come here in person and investigate directly -- the anomalous pilot and the anomalous machine."

"...I see. Understood, thank you for telling me. I'll need to think about how to handle that."

(Nothing is ever straightforward...)

Milea cursed quietly to herself, and tightened her grip on the data pad in her hands.