After Yuuki escaped, we couldn't immediately begin pursuit.
Everything requires proper procedure, and acting without preparation was a recipe for failure.
The reason Yuuki had gotten away was Leon jumping the gun, but another factor was that the three of us couldn't fully trust each other.
I realized that establishing our own organizational structure properly was of utmost importance.
Freeing Chloe as soon as possible was undoubtedly a shared sentiment among the three of us.
However, rushing into things wouldn't lead to success, and all three of us had independently concluded that Yuuki had fled to the Empire.
If the enemy was allying with the Empire, acting alone would put us at a disadvantage. Preparations would be necessary.
I took on the responsibility of dealing with Milim, while intelligence gathering fell to Leon. We were waiting for reports from Leon's subordinates who had successfully infiltrated.
Glancing at the Blue Knight, who was embracing her resurrected sister—the Red Knight—in joyful reunion, Leon expressed his gratitude to Luminas. After that, the three of us quickly made an arrangement.
Until Leon obtained intelligence, we would refrain from taking any independent action.
In truth, given the circumstances, Leon's outburst wasn't without justification. But the fact remained that Yuuki had escaped.
We could have covered the entire combat zone with a barrier to prevent escape—or well, whether barriers would work against an Ultimate Ability was another matter entirely—but we should exercise restraint in acting unilaterally.
We weren't on terms of complete mutual trust, but rescuing Chloe was our singular, shared objective.
This had been formalized as a pact against Yuuki. If anyone broke it, sanctions from the remaining two would be unavoidable.
While Leon gathered intelligence, we also had our own tasks to attend to.
The plan was to first stabilize our footing—including our own territory—so that we'd be prepared even if a conflict with the Empire arose. And with that, things were settled.
The first issue was dealing with Milim afterward.
After parting ways with the other two, I found myself in quite the ordeal.
Calming Milim, who had flown into a rage and was rampaging.
Being thanked by Milim, who was overjoyed at the resurrection of her pet.
Reasoning with Milim when she started making demands.
Persuading Milim—whose guardian had come to bring her back—to not resist being taken home.
In short, Milim had shown up in a fury, and I had to calm her down and talk her around.
You could say I was jerked around quite a bit.
That guardian—I really wished they had come sooner. They showed up as if timing it for after Milim had calmed down, which made me think they had been watching from hiding the whole time.
It turned into an incredibly exhausting ordeal, but why me? When I thought about it, the whole thing was a mystery.
Leon had managed to pass the buck to me quite effectively.
Well, Milim's mood improved quickly enough, so that was a relief.
The soul of the Chaos Dragon that had taken up residence in the magic crystal had spawned a small monster.
A small dragon.
It was born right after Milim arrived, as if hatching from an egg.
"…Gaia, is that you?"
"Kyuiii!!"
The girl and the small dragon embraced each other tightly.
It was a touching reunion.
After that, well, as you might imagine, the four of us ventured into the dungeon again and proceeded with power-leveling the small dragon.
We certainly weren't just goofing around. For the first time in a while, I possessed my virtual body, and Veldora,
The small dragon, which could fly, followed behind me.
As expected of a former Chaos Dragon.
It seemed to have grasped the combat basics from just a few encounters, and it used its wide-area attack—Miasma Curse Breath (even though the curse had been lifted, it inexplicably still shrouded itself in miasma)—to sweep through enemies.
With the abilities etched into its soul, it could also manipulate gravity and coordinate perfectly with the front line, even accelerating their movements. In no time, it had become the centerpiece of our party tactics.
Gravity barriers were a piece of cake too—even if the enemy had mages, our combined defense of my magic barrier and the small dragon's gravity barrier provided complete protection.
Even the boss of the 30th floor, which we had struggled with last time, became easy to defeat after we practiced our coordination.
"Quuaahahaha! They are no longer a match for us!"
"That's right! After all,
"Wahahaha! Now we're really getting the hang of it!"
"Kyuiii!!"
We were having a blast.
Huh? You say you're the ones having fun?
Don't be ridiculous. We were working hard for the sake of the small dragon.
Well, we were enjoying ourselves a little too, but everything was for the sake of raising the small dragon.
Besides, while Veldora, Ramiris, and Milim might not have worried, I was concerned about Chloe.
Even when things seemed fine on the surface, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
But panic was the enemy. There was nothing to be done right this moment, so worrying too much wasn't helpful.
Perhaps Milim and the others were trying to cheer me up?
If so, that was a welcome thought.
While lost in these musings, just as I was about to proceed to the next floor, that person—the guardian—showed up.
This was when Milim started throwing a tantrum, but it was no use.
In the end, Milim kicked and screamed like a spoiled child, but she was defeated by
She was promised that she could come visit regularly, and I managed to convince Frey that Milim needed some time off or things could get dangerous, so Milim left.
"I'll come back again!" she declared before departing.
It was like a storm passing through.
The small dragon continued training in the dungeon afterward, accompanied by my virtual body set to automatic mode.
It was still too early for Milim to train it personally, so the plan was to return it to her once it had grown stronger. The dungeon, with its appropriate variety of monsters, was the ideal training ground for its growth, and with Ramiris's resurrection bracelet, there was no need to worry if anything happened.
And so, a new companion was added to our dungeon.
Incidentally, something we had no way of knowing was that the five entities wandering the dungeon had become feared as Unique Bosses. Their strength existed in two tiers—normally dangerous, but occasionally becoming abnormally powerful.
In other words, when we were directly controlling them, they were recognized as inescapable harbingers of death.
I should note that I learned about this some time after the rumors had already spread throughout the dungeon.
And so, we had managed to navigate through Milim's wrath more or less successfully.
When Milim wasn't around, it would be problematic if we went off having fun without her. So, I decided to get serious about work. Not that I meant doing things myself, of course.
I was talking about the joint research project that had been discussed before.
My role was to oversee it and come up with ideas for research directions.
The road construction by Geld and the installation of the Barrier Devices were progressing smoothly.
It was said that the direct highway between the Sarion Dynasty and the Nation of Monsters would be completed soon.
With the Dwarf Kingdom, we had plans for a railway, and the transport of supplies was also proceeding on schedule.
However, there was concern that if the Empire were to invade, this road could become a double-edged sword. That was why we had prioritized completing the Sarion side first.
But then, dwarven craftsmen, Sarion Dynasty magic researchers, and Holy Empire engineering technicians began arriving in the Nation of Monsters.
The road still needed a bit more time to complete, but it was merely unpaved—travel was not an issue.
So, without waiting for the road to be finished, they came as promised.
As a side note, the entire transportation network was completed in less than a year.
Street lamps were prepared for travelers moving at night, and the monster-repelling Barrier Devices were fully installed.
A railway was completed to the Dwarf Kingdom as planned, with a coaching town at the midway point—complete with a station—where nearby residents had gathered into a small town.
This coaching town had also served as a base during construction and was a great success. As a result, it was thriving.
The railway ran along a river, and this town happened to be at the midpoint, making it a perfect rest stop.
This coaching town would later develop into a city with a relay station.
It seemed there had been no point in putting things off out of concern for an Imperial invasion. They had casually finished paving the other roads and moved on to laying track.
This was largely because the Great Forest of Jura had come fully under my control.
The various tribes cooperated, and young people joining Geld's workforce had increased our labor pool. Since the transportation network also affected food supply, the ability to efficiently deploy labor was a major factor.
For these reasons, construction progress had been faster than I had predicted.
In truth, it was far faster than construction progress in my original world. It was truly remarkable.
I had considered building fortresses as defense against the Empire, but I decided against it. I thought it would be pointless.
If the Empire truly intended to attack, I would crush the Empire itself. There was no need for a long coexistence, and perpetually standing guard with our eyes peeled would be the height of foolishness.
It would be cleaner to use our maximum combat power to put an end to it. Therefore, I saw no need for fortresses.
There was a valid concern that an Imperial invasion could destroy the railway tracks we had laid, but in that case, we could simply rebuild.
If there was something productive to be done first, fine—but there was no reason to cower in fear of an unknown timeline and delay development.
This reasoning also applied to the talk about angels coming.
If they attacked, we'd annihilate them. And then we could just build again.
Thinking about defense was important, but what truly mattered wasn't things—it was people.
As long as we protected the builders, that would suffice.
With this mindset driving our plans forward, we managed to reach the railway's completion in a remarkably short time.
Spirit Engineering was a joint research project between the Dwarf Kingdom and the Elves.
Vester had been involved in the Magimech Soldier Plan, and this was the world's foremost technological system, serving as its foundation.
In contrast, Magitek Engineering was a closely guarded technology.
It was a unique theoretical framework created by the late Empress Elmesia's mother—a genius Elf researcher—who had fused Elemental Magic and alchemy based on Spirit Engineering.
By pooling the intellects of the Sarion Dynasty's greatest minds, they had succeeded in systematizing it into what became Magitek Engineering. Naturally, it was a national secret, and any leak to foreign nations was strictly forbidden.
Vampire scholarship resembled something akin to Earth's physics and engineering.
It was a discipline and technology that systematized the world's physical laws without relying purely on magical power.
Because it involved no magical interference, the results were always the same regardless of who performed it. In a sense, that was expected, but in this world—where outcomes varied depending on the amount of Magicules—it could be considered heterodox.
In practice, even if the vast data was merely the product of vampires' idle pastimes, the significance of that enormous dataset was considerable.
We pooled the research outcomes from each party's respective areas of expertise and compiled them into a more granular body of knowledge in the Nation of Monsters. At the same time, the true purpose of this project was to use that knowledge to drive further research.
This was research that absolutely had to be kept secret.
Naturally, the facility for this research needed to be in a defensible location where unauthorized personnel could not enter.
For this reason, we prepared a research facility on the 95th floor of the Underground Labyrinth.
It was the domain of the Treants, developed into a forest-type city.
Since it also served as a city for the Elves, there might be those among them who wished to participate in the research.
The defenses were formidable, and to return to the surface, one had to submit a request and then have a Tree Spirit perform a teleportation—a system that allowed thorough control against information leaks.
Even if the angels attacked, I was confident they couldn't reach the 95th floor. And in the worst case, Ramiris had boastfully declared that we could swap the 95th floor with the 99th through floor reconfiguration.
We could rest easy.
Lodging facilities were also prepared, and everything was in place.
When the research began, there were initially many clashes of opinion. Each party wanted to absorb the others' technology while keeping their own secret.
That wouldn't do.
So I exposed each party's technology to all the others.
For someone like Raphael, secrecy was meaningless. I compiled everything into easy-to-understand documents—formatted like official public records—and distributed copies to each party.
Paper was precious too, but parchment was out of the question. I prototyped low-quality paper from wood fibers and other materials, handed it out, and had them work with it.
It was elementary, but it was a first step.
And I made each party give up on keeping their technology secret, steering them toward cooperation.
For that, nothing worked better than alcohol. Fortunately, this was the Elf town, renowned as a paradise. To help relieve stress, whenever research discussions got heated, we'd go out drinking and have them battle it out over drinks. I had them repeat this process.
The vampires also participated casually—drinking was second nature to them, and they didn't actually need fresh blood.
I accompanied them to the evening establishments every night too, but I didn't receive any overtime pay. Truly baffling.
As they shared drinks and clashed opinions repeatedly, the barriers between nations began to dissolve. Before long, they were researching together amicably and producing a variety of results.
Ramiris had participated in this research with great interest.
Before anyone realized it, she had become the researchers' mascot and idol.
She hadn't forgotten that I had destroyed her golem before—she even crafted a new one.
The Spirit Magic Core, familiar from the Magimech Soldier Plan, was also completed without any trouble. This drew dry laughter from everyone.
It was something that no amount of research had brought even a glimpse of success for—theory alone had gotten them nowhere. And now it was completed just like that, so all they could do was laugh.
Frankly, the magic crystal I had crafted served as a reference.
On top of that, I made public the research results from Vester and Kurobei, as well as the Barrier Device—the portable Magic Circle activation device.
Once the mechanism had been analyzed and each party's ideas and data were synthesized, a prototype of the Spirit Magic Core—which could absorb Magicules from the atmosphere and operate autonomously—was completed.
Spirits would be embedded within it to convert Magicules into spirit energy. Since Magicules could be stockpiled like batteries, the operating time was measured by the amount stored.
In any location where Magicules were constantly present, as long as it wasn't performing extremely demanding operations, the power source could function indefinitely—maintenance required, of course.
We had obtained the power source of our dreams.
The first product incorporating the Spirit Magic Core was Ramiris's golem.
It stood 2.2 meters tall and weighed 1.5 tons. Precious stones housing various spirits were embedded in each joint, and gravity control enabled high-speed mobility.
As a prototype, it had no armament, but it looked like fun, and that was what mattered. Some clamored that once development progressed further, it could be used militarily, but it was far inferior to
In my opinion, it was no more valuable than a toy for Ramiris.
The real deal, however, was the magitank train.
We had originally planned to use golems, monsters, or animals to haul cargo wagons, but once we had the dream power source, things changed entirely.
We fabricated a body to match the newly completed rails, modeled after a streetcar, and prepared passenger cars and freight cars as well.
Power, Magicule output capacity, and load limits.
We gathered data on all of these and managed to bring the system into operation. With an average speed of 50 km/h, we deemed it viable.
This was a history-remaking invention that enabled the transport of overwhelming quantities of material. With this, even food from distant locations could be transported while maintaining freshness.
The railway construction showed no signs of stopping.
Not just between the Dwarf Kingdom and us—we wanted to extend through the mountains and all the way to the sea. Inquiries were pouring in from various nations.
Through Blumund Kingdom and all the way to the Ingracia Kingdom. And to the Sarion Dynasty, which we had connected directly.
In this one year, we had laid track all the way to the Dwarf Kingdom, but the transportation network still had a long way to go.
I also prepared an armed train, equipped with inertial control, gravity control, and various weapons.
I didn't need fortresses, but I thought it would be interesting to deploy one if the Empire invaded.
It was armed with a formidable main cannon called a Spirit Cannon, and its primary purpose would be troop transport.
Well, this train was built as a hobby project, so I wasn't thinking about serious deployment. It was a single-unit bluff.
In this world too, troop transport determined the success rate of military operations. So even without specially arming a train, military use was entirely possible.
There was no need to build dedicated military trains—ordinary cars would suffice.
In this year alone, we had prepared 20 powered trains. Each was a six-car consist with five linked cars.
This allowed the transport of approximately four thousand soldiers. More could be transported by adding linked cars, but that depended on the situation.
Right now, we were working through the logistics cycle and experimenting with train operations.
The Dwarf Kingdom and the Nation of Monsters could now be traveled between in three days, one way.
Of course, this was ignoring rest stops and mechanical issues, so in practice it would be about a week. As operational data accumulated, it should get a bit faster.
And so, one monumental achievement was announced, and the news sent shockwaves of surprise and excitement through every nation.
Well then, this year's achievements had been truly extraordinary.
Through intelligence regularly supplied by Leon, we knew that Yuuki had risen to become a high-ranking minister in the Empire.
However, striking from our side would be inadvisable. The Empire was undoubtedly preparing for war, but no formal declaration of war had been issued.
As for assassination—whether it was on the table or not—it probably was. But even sending a small team resulted in them being cut down. I argued it was futile, but Luminas apparently went ahead with it anyway.
As expected, the results were grim. The agent who failed destroyed the evidence by self-destructing, and a second attempt was never made.
All we could do was watch and wait.
The Empire would make its move sooner or later, that much was certain, so we focused on completing our preparations.
Thanks to that, research progressed, and the transportation network made significant headway.
This year had been a preparation period for the Empire's side as well, but the conditions were the same for ours.
And we weren't the only ones who had been preparing.
Just as train operations were getting into full swing, a request arrived.
It came from the Council—a coalition of nations surrounding the Great Forest of Jura.
The request was for the Nation of Monsters to participate in the next council meeting.
Accepting this request was, by now, an inevitable step in the natural course of things.