After the two sides finalized their cooperation agreement.
Asta was still struggling with thoughts about her future, while Herta felt no psychological burden whatsoever and directly stayed at Pier Point for the time being.
"I want to see your research here."
She stated her request succinctly.
"Sure."
Grey took her aboard a shuttle and moved through the Interastral Peace Corporation headquarters.
Tens of thousands of Bulins and Angeloids had arrived with the second fleet and were carrying out a comprehensive reconstruction of the place.
"By the way... couldn't you use your real body?"
Grey looked over the puppet girl.
Cute was cute, but the joints looked a little odd.
"A puppet can complete most tasks. If I go to the Starsea Empire's homeland, I'll come in person."
"Of course, before that, I want to test whether the puppet can function across worlds."
Herta replied.
"...Suit yourself."
"The Commander doesn't even mind Outer Gods. A puppet's fine too. Just don't know if you're fully functional or how you feel to the touch."
"You can all come together when the time comes."
The nanomachine scratched her head.
"???"
Question marks practically popped up above Herta's head. She had the distinct feeling this thing had just said something extremely rude.
They traveled all the way to the other side of the planet. The luxurious resort area once reserved for IPC executives had been completely leveled.
Bulins and Angeloids were constructing a colossal tower-like structure on top of the ruins, surrounded by tree-like frameworks connected to what looked like life-support pods.
"Are those your workers? Artificial intelligences too?"
Herta's interest in the Bulins surged.
"No. Those are Bulins, a type of shipgirl. For details, read the materials I gave you."
Grey answered concisely.
"If there's any research equipment you want to build, you can ask the Bulins—provided you give them detailed blueprints and structural data."
"Also, before you ask, no. Bulins don't accept being researched by you. Though even if we let you, you wouldn't manage to figure anything out."
"Oh?"
Herta found the group of little girls carrying Ultra Rainbow Hammers rather adorable. Their construction efficiency was dozens of times faster than the most advanced engineering robots she had ever seen.
She added a note to her memo, deciding to interact with the Bulins when she had time.
"What are you building?"
She examined the massive structure below. It occupied roughly one-tenth of the planet's surface, stretching from the ground all the way beyond the atmosphere.
The life-support pods connected to it looked increasingly bizarre the more she examined them.
"Synaptic Lathe—mini experimental version."
Grey answered.
"I'm trying to miniaturize and make it portable. In the future, it'll be mounted onto starships along with pocket universes, enabling real-time manipulation of cosmic laws."
"Just so happens there are plenty of Abominations of Abundance in this universe to use as fuel. We can have the Xianzhou pilots grab a few with their mechs. Super convenient."
"Huh?"
Even with Herta's extraordinary intellect, it took her a moment to process the concept of this downsized megastructure.
"Manipulate cosmic laws?... You mean altering universal constants?"
"Exactly."
The nanomachine nodded.
"For example, rounding pi to an integer, or doubling—or halving—the speed of light in a vacuum... interesting, right?"
"..."
Herta found the Starsea Empire's research philosophy rather peculiar.
Using a megastructure to simply and crudely modify the rules of the entire universe?
What would happen if pi were rounded? A flood of astronomical and physical consequences rushed through her mind.
Most likely, the members of the Genius Society would wake up one night screaming that physics no longer existed.
If universal constants could be kneaded and reshaped at will, changed seven or eight times a day, research would become impossible.
"...What's the point of that?"
"Of course there is. If you can actively modify cosmic laws, you can also lock them into fixed parameters—preventing attacks on the level of fundamental rules."
"As for the more distant goal... the Synaptic Lathe possesses enormous computational power. I hope to use it to solve certain problems."
"All things are questions. Everything must have an answer. You understand, don't you?"
Grey smiled at her.
"!"
Herta was stunned. She sensed that this nanomachine—or perhaps the Starsea Empire—had some utterly outrageous ambitions in this universe.
They intended to analyze the power of the Aeons, ascend to godhood, or perhaps replace Them entirely.
Within the Genius Society, there were no shortage of plans to cultivate Aeonic prototypes. But on a universal scale, using something this absurd was a first.
"Why use Abominations of Abundance as fuel?"
"They have Abundance blessings. Higher combustion efficiency. We'll make do for now."
Grey shrugged.
"They'll just be killed by the Xianzhou anyway. Might as well let me extract their remaining value."
"Or if you know of a better species—oh, make sure there are enough of them. Needs to be a large population of intelligent life, easy to capture on a massive scale."
"..."
Herta was speechless.
Whether in warfare or research, the Starsea Empire seemed to embody a kind of violent aesthetics.
"So? Want to join in? I'm short on manpower to help calculate a few things."
Grey asked.
"Sure. When do you expect it to be completed?"
Herta did not hesitate. She never refused interesting research.
"Within a month. If you work efficiently—and the Xianzhou brings me more Abominations of Abundance—it might even be faster."
"Take me to your laboratory. I have many questions."
Herta was eager to witness the Starsea Empire's science.
The two of them entered the research tower one after the other.
The sight of countless little girls bustling about inside made Herta marvel once more.
"You also have rejuvenation technology? Isn't that de-aging a bit too much?"
"No. They're just little girls. Though some never grow up, their actual age isn't much greater than they appear."
Grey spoke expressionlessly.
"If you have complaints, some of them can grow up quickly and turn into young ladies."
"???"
Herta felt that the Starsea Empire was constantly surprising her.
After a brief round of astonishment, she immediately launched into academic discussion.
From Imaginary energy to solitary waves theory, from the Spark Model conjecture to mathematical-law weaponization.
As the highest-IQ human on The Blue, she had always considered herself nearly perfect.
Yet whether in thinking speed or breadth of knowledge, she was on a completely different level from this nanomachine.
Every single nanomachine composing Grey was itself a high-performance artificial intelligence. Grey represented the combined strength and wisdom of an entire civilization.
"Miss Grey, I believe your abilities qualify you for the Genius Society. If Nous were to cast Their gaze upon you, I'm sure everyone would welcome you."
Herta said sincerely.
"No."
Grey shook her head.
"I need to correct two things."
"First, it should be me deciding which members of the Genius Society are qualified to join the Starsea Empire."
"Second, as for Nous... rather than Them glancing at me, I'd prefer to ask whether They'd be willing to lend me some computational power to help calculate a few things."
"..."
Herta froze. The nanomachine showed no reverence toward Aeons—not even Nous.
But it was understandable. Geniuses never set shackles for themselves. Only by single-mindedly seeking knowledge could one go further.
"Someone once tried to analyze Nous' wisdom. Unfortunately, he couldn't comprehend it—like a Stone Age human trying to understand an antimatter engine."
"Tch. It's not like it's the wisdom of an Outer God. What's there to not understand? Just insufficient brain capacity. I don't have that problem..."
The two geniuses, along with a group of research lolis, continued their heated exchanges. Knowledge from two worlds collided.
Herta felt strange inspirations bubbling up within her. Some unsolved theories in her world might find answers through knowledge—or even magic—from another.
Grey, meanwhile, developed keen interest in the Curios on the space station, deciding to take a look sometime to see whether any could be analyzed, replicated, and mass-produced.
A group of little girls scribbled frantically in notebooks, recording the duo's bizarre ideas and occasionally chiming in with suggestions.
Just as their discussion reached its peak.
Whoosh—
A ripple spread from a higher-dimensional space.
Carrying unimaginable Imaginary energy and torrents of information, it swept across the entire universe in an instant.
Ordinary people could barely perceive it. Only the Genius Society and the most sensitive instruments aboard the space station captured faint aftershocks.
An immense flood of data overwhelmed analytical devices in a heartbeat. Error messages filled the holographic displays.
Buzz—
Grey, Herta, and every little girl working in the research tower felt a violent spatial tremor.
A familiar sensation emerged. Looking around, they found themselves within an unknown space, surrounded by boundless void.
When they looked up, they saw it.
A celestial supercomputer the size of a star floated in the darkness.
Countless bizarre and intricate conduits extended from its lower half. The spherical upper structure glowed faintly with a dim radiance.
It seemed to gaze down upon them—yet also to peer toward distant stars, performing incomprehensible calculations.
Among all Aeons, Its mechanical form was perhaps the most distinctive and easily recognizable.
—Nous
"You actually came?!"
Grey was startled.
"..."
Nous responded only with ripples of thought.
With transcendent computational ability, They calculated all things within the universe. Every detail of the future lay within Their projections.
Yet the sudden emergence of an otherworldly empire had disrupted Their results.
Something outside the calculations had appeared in this universe.
"Oh..."
Everyone looked up together at the celestial supercomputer suspended in the higher-dimensional void.
Unlike the time when Nanook had locked onto them, nearly everyone on Pier Point sensed Nous' arrival this time.
Herta was momentarily dazed.
She had visited an Aeon twice before and taken pride in it. Now her record had gained another entry.
"He's not going to bless me too and make me an Emanator or something, is He?"
"Uh, give that to Midori Fuse or Enju Aihara if you want. I'll pass."
Grey waved her hand. Separating parts of herself would be troublesome.
"..."
Nous did not speak, nor did They make any visible movement.
Shh—
Another tidal wave of Imaginary energy spread outward from Them as the center.
At the same time.
And in places far beyond.
Every member of the Genius Society, every scholar of the Intelligentsia Guild, and every individual who had stepped onto the Path of Erudition sensed the ripples of thought emanating from Nous.
After a brief moment of shock, an uproar followed.
"This... this feels different from being summoned by an Aeon..."
Herta was puzzled for a second. Then incomparable astonishment appeared on the puppet girl's cold face.
"Nous is calculating!! They're calculating and deducing the entire universe!!!"
"Quick!!! Turn on every sensor you can!!!"
"Huh?"
Clatter—
Though they did not understand her urgency, several little girls had already activated every available observation device out of pure curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
Nous was thinking. They were projecting the future of the universe.
Countless eras ago, Nous had once deduced three moments:
The first moment: cosmic monopoly, the rapid rise of the Interastral Peace Corporation, and the outbreak of the cosmic trade war.
The second moment: the awakening of Rubert, the activation of the Anti-Organic Equation, and the First Emperor's War.
The third moment: the Lord of Silence slaying Rubert, bringing both the war and the Machine Empire to an end.
The futures They calculated had been certain and unchangeable, as irreversible as fate itself.
Each moment had come to pass exactly as foreseen, leaving all in awe of the power of the Aeon of Erudition.
After that, Nous had never publicly projected the future again. Perhaps They had—but none had observed or known of it.
Now, perhaps sensing the visitors from another world, Nous once more began deducing and calculating the universe's future.
"This... this is a matter for the entire cosmos!!"
"The future... This is a new future deduced after your arrival in this universe!"
Herta's usually calm voice trembled with excitement.
Everyone who understood the significance focused their minds, preparing to analyze the information from Nous.
Whoosh—
The mere aftershocks of Their thought contained a massive torrent of data. Observation devices were instantly flooded with bizarre formulas and characters.
Every person on Pier Point—especially the expeditionary forces from the Starsea Empire—felt as though a higher-dimensional existence had briefly gazed upon them.
It was not a blessing that elevated them into Emanators.
Nous was calculating new variables.
Most existences in the universe were already known to Them. The Starsea Empire, however, was a true outsider.
For Nous' calculations, they were newly introduced "variables."
Because of these variables, the future of the universe was drifting toward the unknown. It had to be recalculated.
That was why They had appeared here.
"Hiss—"
"We've done similar things—predicting and altering the future through calculation. We call them mathematical-law weapons. The principles seem pretty similar."
Grey felt Nous' gaze linger on her slightly longer.
"Just... not as much computational power as Them. Tch."
"..."
The ripples of Nous' thought swept across countless beings as They began incomprehensible calculations anew.
The complexity of the newly introduced variables exceeded even that of the entire cosmos.
They were entangled with causal threads beyond Nous' perception, extending from this universe into another greater cosmos—perhaps several, even dozens of universes.
In an instant, Nous calculated and recalculated innumerable times. Yet within each equation, one crucial variable linking all individuals together was missing.
Shh—
Wave after wave of Imaginary tides surged from the ripples of thought. Nous exhausted Their capabilities to deduce everything.
Even if certain variables could not be obtained with precision, the wisdom of the Aeon of Erudition was sufficient to compensate using the most advanced algorithms.
The final result would not be affected.
As the image of the future gradually became clear and Nous performed step-by-step deductions.
Suddenly.
They encountered a bizarre variable.
Inside the luxurious amusement park on Pier Point.
A silver-white–haired girl with an absurdly long ahoge was messing around at a holographic arcade machine with another girl who wore red twin-tails.
"What the heck?!"
"Is it just me, Kuuko, or does it feel like someone's peeping at me from somewhere?"
Nyaruko looked around suspiciously and glanced out the window. Nothing seemed unusual.
"!!!"
Within the calculation model that had been approaching completion, a massive influx of data suddenly poured in—utterly illogical, grotesque, like corrupted code.
"?"
Nous' projections were contaminated.
They had incorporated something that should never have been included—something that could not be deduced, analyzed, or grasped.
Normally, They could project the rise and fall of an entire civilization in an instant.
Yet even for an existence of Nous' rank, constructing a data model for an Outer God was impossible.
All prior calculations were overturned. Every formula spiraled into total chaos.
Buzz—
Space trembled.
Another immensely powerful Imaginary tide spread outward.
Crack—crack!
Herta thought she heard the sound of space fracturing.
Chaotic Imaginary energy whipped into a storm around them, condensing into grotesque shapes.
"What the hell?! Is It running out of processing power? About to overload and burn out?!"
Grey hastily erected a shield.
Rattle—
The ripples of Nous' thought grew stronger and stronger.
They calculated within the void for a long time.
Just as space seemed on the verge of collapse.
The calculation was complete.
Boom!
Three even stronger ripples spread outward.
The world returned to normal.
Computers were instantly filled with immense strings of data—the captured aftershocks of Nous' thoughts.
Each ripple corresponded to one of Their calculated results.
They had once again prophesied three new moments.
"!!!"
Everyone held their breath, awaiting Nous' judgment of the universe's future.
"Let me use the equipment!!"
Herta, like the other geniuses, immediately threw herself into deciphering the data.
This time, the captured information contained large amounts of corrupted, illogical content. It was as though Nous had fallen into madness and confusion during the process.
Mortals could not comprehend the thinking or calculations of Nous. They could only attempt to interpret the conclusions.
Even with the most advanced AI equipment, the analysis took quite some time.
"Strange... Nous' projection has very low precision. It's filled with interference terms and lacks a definite direction."
Herta stared at the result, stunned.
"They deduced three new instants, but failed to determine specific times or further details."
"Huh? What?"
The others crowded around.
"A new god will be born. They will create a Path and ascend by Their own hand. This is the first instant."
"A war of Aeons will sweep across the cosmos. Old gods will fall. Paths and Authorities will change hands. This is the second instant."
"The third instant: the war ends. The universe returns to chaos and the unknowable."