After that day, Cartesia became quiet. She stopped picking fights with Ireh and instead began helping with her research without complaint.

Since Cartesia wasn't bothering Ireh anymore, Ireh had no reason to confront her either.

Peace had finally come to the laboratory.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is curious.]

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is imagining.]

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity is intrigued.]

The only downside was the frequent noisy messages that kept popping up.

Still, this was tolerable. I had no idea what kind of thought experiments were causing these messages, but it was certainly healthier than them fighting.

"Kid. Ice cream."

"Ah, yes."

Cartesia seemed to have developed a growing interest in human food lately. She had particularly taken a liking to snacks, often demanding cookies or ice cream.

"Here you go."

I bought soft serve for easier eating. Mint, chocolate, mango, vanilla, and green tea. A fantastic combination.

But Cartesia's reaction was rather lukewarm.

"Not this. The one with a stick."

"You want it hard?"

"Was that what it's called? Anyway, that one."

Ah, she could have just said so earlier.

This time, when I properly bought her a hard ice cream bar, Cartesia grinned and unwrapped it. She had adapted to human customs quite skillfully.

"Hmm."

Cartesia stared intently at the candy bar before starting to lick it.

Lick, lick.

With each flick of her tongue, the ice cream melted quickly. Her gaze remained fixed on me.

"You said you have a business trip soon?"

"I need to go west. I heard they've made a prototype in Iryuel. I'm going to discuss it with the lab people and make improvements where needed."

"How long will it take?"

"I'll be staying there for a while."

"Then I want to go too."

Cartesia's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Besides the west, I'd like to see the east and north too. Actually, how wonderful would it be if I could go even further from here?"

"Are you that curious about other places?"

"It's my first time seeing the world through this body, after all."

Cartesia said this and then popped the ice cream into her mouth. She swallowed nearly two-thirds of it at once. I wondered if it wasn't too cold for her to eat so hastily.

Crack!

Something made a splitting sound.

Cartesia was grinding her teeth, crunching through the hard ice cream. Not just the ice cream part, but even the stick snapped in two as she bit down.

"Mmm, not bad."

The sight was somewhat disturbing.

***

Around the time of Lucia and Anya's birthday, the research cluster was taking shape.

The west was the center for gravity bomb production, as the region was filled with heavy industry companies like Stronium.

At Iryuel Academy's affiliated research institute, I saw the gravity cannon prototype with my own eyes. Sonia and Ireh had come along.

A researcher began explaining.

"First, we store Aether and Pron separately at the bottom. These are the supply sources. We annihilate them together in the upper composite mechanism, then accelerate the resulting particles in the external particle accelerator."

The researcher moved forward and continued.

"After acceleration and collision, we store the resulting gravitons in this graviton-pron tank. Then the compressor next to it compresses the prepared crystal to black hole levels, creating a pair of small black holes. Energy is generated when the two black holes collide, and we can adjust the yield by mediating with the gravitons we just captured."

"So maximizing that yield to accelerate the reaction creates the bomb, right?"

"That's correct."

The researcher answered calmly.

"Conversely, if we induce the reaction slowly, it can be used for power generation. Just like how our ancestors used the same technology that created atomic bombs to turn steam turbines."

"How do you convert the energy from black holes into electricity?"

"We turn turbines the same way."

An obvious answer.

When I told Cartesia about this later, she clicked her tongue in disapproval, saying we should just absorb the energy directly instead of converting it to electricity.

The researcher also didn't leave out the problems and areas for improvement.

"Pron is a dangerous substance, so management is crucial. Currently, we plan to contain it with walls made of lead and titanium, and internally with a device utilizing a gravity-Aether field. However... the budget..."

"The budget is insufficient?"

"We don't know how much will be allocated. Our research team plans to adjust our schedule accordingly once we begin full-scale operations."

Translation: Give us money.

I stepped forward and said:

"This project will be the key to victory in the war against the foreign gods. The potential profitability is enormous just from eliminating foreign threats. The government recognizes this and plans to provide maximum support and supervision to match your schedule."

Translation: We'll pay, so do your job properly.

Afterward, I visited other research teams sequentially. The position of chief director is arduous. Not only do I conduct my own research, but I also actively check the progress of other research teams and coordinate schedules, putting effort into communication.

However, there was one more reason for the inevitable overtime.

Waaaaaail!

While continuing theoretical research in my temporarily assigned laboratory, I looked up at the sound of an alarm.

Bang!

Sonia burst through the door and shouted:

"Young master, take cover!"

"Sonia, I told you to call me Professor here!"

"No time for jokes!"

Sonia pushed Cartesia, who was sitting on my lap, aside and forcibly pulled me to my feet.

"Heretics have stormed the academy! They must know you're here!"

"...They came all the way here? To Iryuel Academy?"

After the gravity bomb project began, the country scraped together regular troops and doctors to protect the scientists.

Of course, I had security too. As the project director, I was supposed to have the tightest security of all... or so Sullivan had said.

Although Rustila and Zernya couldn't come due to business in the south, the forces currently around the academy should have been sufficient for security.

But what, they broke through?

"That doesn't make sense."

"No, kid. It's entirely possible."

Cartesia, who had been sucking on candy, spoke up. She flipped her side hair and perked up her ears.

"Listen carefully."

Boom boom boom boom.

I felt vibrations. The footsteps were shaking the ground. It was clear that the heretics numbered in the hundreds or thousands.

I peeked out the window through the curtains. People were everywhere. Followers of the Magnus Order were filling Iryuel Academy.

"Eidel von Rheinland, come out now!"

"Release the Saint!"

"Your research will lead this world to destruction!"

The followers weren't carrying weapons. This was why the swordsmen facing them couldn't do anything. The Federation guaranteed freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Crunch.

Cartesia bit her candy, breaking it.

"Can't we just eliminate all of them?"

"Force isn't an option right now."

I'd recently heard from Sullivan that the Order's influence was growing daily, to the point where even ordinary citizens were sympathizing with them.

While terrorists would be one thing, harming unarmed citizens would deal an irreparable blow to the current government. It would mean losing all my political backing.

Ireh, who was also looking out the window, offered her opinion.

"Those people seem to be controlled by foreign gods. The timing is too suspicious for an organized rally. Besides, to hold a mass demonstration, they would need permission from the local government at least two weeks in advance..."

"So it's an illegal demonstration?"

Ireh nodded.

"Even so, we can't use force to suppress it."

While I didn't care whether they continued protesting or not, this would cause problems when returning to the south. The journey itself would become treacherous, and there might be assassins mixed in with the protesters.

We needed to disperse them peacefully somehow.

"Ah."

Just then, a good idea came to mind.

***

After Saint Julia was handed over to the government, the Magnus Order came under the rule of four high priests, known as the Tetrarchy system.

Elvin, one of the four, was young, capable, and renowned within the Order. After receiving a revelation from the foreign gods, he organized a peaceful demonstration to stop the scientists' gravity bomb research.

'We can't win by force anyway.'

Elvin had originally majored in political sociology. He had even gone to graduate school. Although he had only completed coursework for his doctorate without finishing, he had used that experience to serve as the Order's brain.

'I'll exploit the collusion between Rheinland and the current government.'

Elvin raised his voice with a smirk.

"Eidel von Rheinland, come out now!"

After occupying Iryuel Academy for some time...

"Who's representing this assembly?"

A soldier emerged through the crowd.

"Professor Rheinland wishes to speak with your representatives. We'll guide you, so please follow us."

"He won't come out but wants us to go in?"

"The professor is too exhausted from continuous overwork to walk. We apologize, but he asks that your representatives come to him."

Elvin snorted and began walking. With a wave of his hand, about a dozen followers emerged from various places and followed him.

'A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'

The followers accompanying Elvin were actually all assassins. Empowered by the foreign gods, they could easily snap someone's neck even without proper weapons.

"Please enter."

Though the number of swordsmen following them was considerable, the assassins were skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Elvin knocked on the professor's door and entered, certain of Eidel's impending death.

And shortly after.

The screams of men echoed through the corridor.