Chapter 518: Through the Puppet Show, to the Concert

Author's Preface
Somebody take the bow away from that guy (A scream from the soul).
I've stayed up two nights in a row and still can't win; I feel like the work is going to be dropped, so here is an update.

Isn't the Sengoku era too scary when guys on the level of Gascoigne or Lady Maria are just walking around normally? [*1]

Acceleration Mode—it's a mode where I store Saina in the Inventoria, hoist Emul onto my shoulder, and just run like hell.

"Fu, fufufu... fuhahaー! Look at this desu wa! It's a paralysis-warding charm I swiped from Peatz desu waー!!"

"You're fully exploiting your older sister privileges, aren't you?"

It seems Emul-san is at the point where not getting paralyzed is more important to her, and she no longer cares about being carried around in an accelerated state with movements resembling a rollercoaster. My, my, I feel so much sympathy it brings a tear to my eye... just kidding, I'll blow my nose from the shadows for you.

"Now then... I've been running by calculating the approximate direction from the position of the stars, but..."

Huh, where did the star I was using as a landmark go? I guess I really shouldn't be trying to navigate by the stars like some kind of amateur.

"Saina, how much further?"

"...I have calculated the Contractor's (Master's) movement route based on the Inventoria's coordinates."

Mhm, mhm. And?

"You are proceeding in a terrifyingly straight trajectory."

Well, I was moving as if obstacles didn't even exist... you know, leaping from tree to tree.

"Guidance (This way): The distance to the Office (Doll Front) is... 200m."

It's actually pretty close. Or rather, at two hundred meters, I figured it would be visible by now... Is it underground?

The answer only became clear once I got close.

"Ah, so the tree heights were just meticulously used as camouflage, and the terrain actually drops down a level right here."

After advancing a little ways from where I had been running, the heights of the already annoyingly dense giant trees suddenly nearly doubled. These giant trees, which should normally stand before me like a massive wall, seemed to match the height of the upper trees because the terrain itself stepped down like a staircase.

Well, there's no way a sight like this could occur naturally. I thought, 'Could it be that we're finally getting some game-like consideration?' But then I saw a Conquista Doll soaring high into the sky using some extra equipment, lopping off overgrown branches with a Greatsword (Blade).
What kind of landscaping scale is that? How much is her hourly wage?

"This way."

"Oh... this is quite something."

I can't deny that it feels a bit underwhelming since I just saw that massive sci-fi spectacle called the Leviathan before coming here... but I see, they used the uneven terrain to build structures that are completely hidden from the surface.
This place, buried into the cliff face using the natural drop in the land, was the headquarters of the Conquista Dolls... a facility written as 'Office' and read as 'Doll Front'.

"Still, regardless of the scale, this kind of secret-base vibe gets a young boy's heart racing..."

"The definition of 'secret base' is not entirely incorrect. It is a fact that our mission is something that must be kept hidden from the Next-Generation Primitive Humanity."

Hmmm... Ah, I don't even need to wonder, this is totally a Library case, isn't it? Well, let's just enjoy how this unfolds for now.
Guided by Saina, I walked to the edge of the sheer cliff. I watched without much emotion as a board floating by mysterious buoyancy molded itself into the shape of a staircase... No, this is actually amazing, the sci-fi points are really stacking up.
Descending the crystalline spiral staircase, Me + Emul set foot in an open space that felt somewhat like a launchpad. Following Saina's lead, we walked through the Doll Front... and I finally asked the question that had been hard to bring up because it felt like a spoiler.

"Say, it was kinda hard to ask, but since we're here... what exactly is Orchestra?"

"May I start with a prerequisite explanation?"

"I don't mind."

Perhaps because most of the Conquista Dolls had gone to the Frontline Base, we were watched by surprisingly few dolls considering the size of the place. Before I knew it, our path had transitioned into a gentle, downward-spiraling slope.

"───Information Disclosure Request: Contractor Information Transmission: First Authorization, Second Authorization, Third Authorization... Commencing explanation. We are currently operating based on three protocols. One is the 'Reconquest' (Reconquista) project, designed to support the Next-Generation Primitive Humanity against an approaching crisis..."

'Next,' Saina said, pointing at a glass wall as if telling me to look.

"Next is the 'Collection' (Collector) project, meant to secure and store the legacy of the Divine Age Humanity, which is too much for the Next-Generation Primitive Humanity to handle."

For example, massive machines that looked like fighter jets. Or portable Gatling guns that Yashirobird would seriously consider breaking the glass for. There were also masses of advanced technology that completely lacked even a hint of the letter 'F' in Fantasy, all safely stored away.
Judging by Saina's tone, does this mean they can't exactly hand guns to monkeys?

"The existence of disproportionate items breeds unnecessary conflict... Based on the ideology concluded by the Divine Age Humanity before they departed for the sea of stars—or strictly speaking, by our creator, Andrew Jitterdoll, who brought us Conquista Dolls to life—we continue our retrieval operations to this day. Though, with the appearance of the Leviathan, this project may have lost its meaning."

And finally, Saina stopped walking. Before I knew it, the long corridor seemed to have reached its end. Standing there was a massive... yet, oddly out-of-place wooden 'door' within the mostly metal Doll Front.

"...And finally, Protocol 'Orchestra'. This is a regulation established between the Conquista Dolls and Orchestra itself, using 'Reconquest' and 'Collection' as prerequisites."

"'With' Orchestra...?"

Well, I suppose it's not that strange. Out of all the Unique Monsters I've encountered so far, the only one I flat-out couldn't communicate with was Lycaon. Wethermon and Goldunine (the boss version) were also basically impossible to talk to in a sense, but... is Orchestra the type of Unique Monster you can have a conversation with?

"I have been informed that this door was altered by Orchestra. It was originally made of metal."

"Material alteration?"

"Negation (No): It is the 'erosion' of reality. It is entirely different from the mana miracles that once destroyed the Divine Age... Even with the parallel distributed processing link of a thousand Conquista Dolls representing a fraction of the Divine Age, the Principle is Unknown (We do not understand). It is genuine 'Occult'."

"Fubya?!"

"Whoa, what's wrong, Emul?"

At that moment, Emul, who had been sitting on my head, was suddenly repelled backwards. It didn't look like she took damage, but... what just happened?

"It appears it is time for the performance to begin. Contractor (Master), only those who have received an invitation may meet Orchestra."

Creak, creak, the wooden doors began to open on their own without anyone touching them.
I absentmindedly picked up Emul, who had tumbled onto the floor, and roughly dusted her off as Saina looked straight into my eyes.

"If the three Bahamuts, the symbols of the Divine Age, are the suns, then those are the stars... Contractor, you have sprinted across countless stars... If that is the case,"

My consciousness began to fade, and my body was pulled forward on its own into the impenetrable darkness ahead. Wait, wait, the conversation event isn't over yet! I don't remember pressing the skip button, at least let me confirm something first...

"Are you able to provide an answer to this unit's (my) question as well?"

And right there, my consciousness completely blacked out.

Now, the Concert begins.

Author's Afterword
Orchestra, curtain up.

Translator's Note

• [1] Genichiro Ashina in Sekiro; and Bloodborne