Chapter 131: SS48 – A Princess’ Concerns, Part 4

“Princess, you’re not supposed to lie down on the glass. You might mess up your notes again.” Lizzy spoke admonishingly.

Right. Isabella let out a long sigh as she opened her eyes and looked at her maid. “Old habit. And it's too late now, anyway.”

“You marked your notes when you spoke just now, though.” Lizzy retorted.

Isabella raised her head and looked. Just as Lizzy had said, much of her notes were now covered and prepared to be erased.

As Isabella tapped the glass to unmark her notes after checking that nothing else had happened to it, Lizzy tried to encourage her. “Perhaps a break is in order?”

“I can’t.” Isabella muttered moodily. “There’s so much left to do.”

“You haven’t had a break since lunch.” Lizzy insisted. “It is almost time for dinner.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Isabella could confirm that she was already beginning to set. “Perhaps some tea, then.”

“Very good, your highness.” (Lizzy)

Standing up from her desk, Isabella went out onto the adjoining balcony to watch as the last rays of the day’s light painted the sky in a warm orange hue. As she did, her eyes fell on the top of one of the towers that had been raised decades earlier. But unlike the defensive towers that had been raised along the city’s walls, the one she observed had an entirely different purpose; it allowed for instant, long-distance communication without magic.

Though Isabella had a hard time to wrap her mind around how the technology that Amara had provided for them worked, she knew that it did. And it was transforming their world - and their society - at a frightening pace. Whether it was communication, transportation, production or warfare, great advances had been made in such a short time that the people didn’t know how to adapt. Many had lost their means of providing for themselves, while there was a great lack of people who understood how the new technology worked. 

Lady Amara is indeed wise. From the very beginning she said we would need to educate the general public, and even though I’ve tried, it doesn’t seem to be enough. 

At least Ramay’s Defense Force is always in need of manpower. 

Isabella let out a sigh and leaned against the railing on the balcony. Although she would complain about her increased workload - a result of faster communication, following the commands of the goddesses and new problems arising as a result of introducing the new technology - she knew that she was witnessing the transition as her world entered a new era. While continuous development had been made over the centuries and millennia, their native technology had been based on magic - which was a field in which new discoveries were few and far between.

No…I’m not a witness, but a herald of the new age. After all, I’m one of the people ushering us into it, with the help and guidance of Lady Amara.

Realizing once again that the otherworldly technology that was a game-changer on Ramay had to be a common occurence on Amara’s homeworld, Isabella shook her head. I wonder…what would the people on Lady Amara’s homeworld consider just as revolutionary as we find their everyday technology? How long will it take before we catch up with them? 

As she imagined what meeting a native of Amara’s homeworld would be like, the sound of rushing air followed by gentle shockwaves startled her. Isabella barely had enough time to register two white wings as the familiar, pastel haired angel landed on the balcony's railing and gracefully stepped down in a single, fluid motion.

“Princess.” Ezme greeted her neutrally. 

“Lady Ezme! Welcome!” Isabella smiled brightly as her heart beat wildly in her chest, yet to calm down from the sudden appearance. If there was one thing she would change about her goddess, it was her tendency to arrive completely without warning; more than once she had mistaken their goddess for an assassin. 

Ezme nodded and entered Isabella’s office. As she followed, Isabella took a deep breath to calm her nerves. I wonder what she wants me to do this time…

Isabella had met the goddess enough times to be able to discern what kind of visit it was by the tone in her voice. When the goddess was hesitant, she was merely checking up on the current state of things - but when she was neutral, she came with a purpose. And with a purpose came a command. 

The angel made herself at home by seating herself on a cushioned sofa in Isabella’s office. As she appraised the room - something the goddess never did - she suddenly spoke to herself. “...Sixteenth century? What does that mean?”

…Eh? After exchanging a glance with Lizzy - who was already expecting her gaze and nodded before preparing a second cup for the goddess - Isabella sat down opposite to Ezme and looked at her more closely. Recognizing that the goddess had a device called a microphone attached to her head, the princess finally understood what was going on. Oh. She’s speaking with someone else.

When Lizzy brought cups of tea for the both of them, the goddess seemed to remember Isabella’s presence. “Princess, I have a task for you.”

As expected. Seems to be a big one too. Isabella kept her expression neutral as she asked curiously. “What can I do for you, Lady Ezme?”

The angel waved her hand moments before a large, golden portal appeared inside the office. Filled with anticipation, Isabella watched as an armored knight stepped through. 

As soon as the portal vanished, the princess realized she was wrong. Although what had stepped through was clad in what appeared to be armor from head to toe, it was quickly apparent that what was encased wasn’t a person; some of the dimensions were simply wrong, even if it seemed to have been modeled after a human’s physiology. 

In the joints, Isabella saw the colored wires that were one of the characteristics of Earthen technology. And with the portal gone, she realized that her eyes hadn’t been tricked; the armor had what appeared to be cat ears, hair and a tail, all made of a golden metal and mimicked to seem life-like. 

A…golem? Isabella thought curiously as the golem turned its head in her direction. In her experience, golemancy wasn’t a widespread field of magic due to its limited applications. They were highly useful for menial and heavy-labor tasks, especially when said tasks were dangerous for humans, but offered little when it came to career options for a magician.

The golem turned Isabella as it began speaking in a young girl’s shrill voice. “Greetings, insignificant human princess! You have the great honor of - MOM!!” The golem turned towards the goddess as she exclaimed excitedly. “Mana! Mom, I found mana!!”

Isabella blinked her eyes in shock. …Did the golem just call me insignificant? …Wait, MOM?!?!?!

The goddess replied to the golem, completely oblivious of how the princess’ jaw had fallen open in shock. “Huh. I suppose we didn’t consider that…did you get the Sense Mana skill?”

“Yes!!” (?)

“Huh. How unusual…the same happened to Amara. Maybe being raised in an environment without mana makes one sensitive to it...” (Ezme)

Having finally regained her composure, Isabella hesitantly interjected. “Lady Ezme, did I just hear this golem call you ‘mom’?”

“I’m not a golem!!” The golem retorted. “I am Ahrina, an artificial intelligence!! And you better remember it!!” 

An artificial…eh? Isabella turned her confused gaze to the goddess.

Ezme smiled and took a deep breath that raised her chest as she nodded. “You heard her. And you heard correctly.”

Isabella blinked in confusion before her brain went into overdrive. The golem is the goddess’ child. 

It’s clearly made of Earthen technology.

The only one capable of creating it is Lady Amara. 

Lady Amara and Lady Ezme are courting.

“Yours and…Lady Amara’s?” Isabella asked to confirm. 

“Yes.” The goddess replied as her cheeks gained a faint, pink hue. “Amara is quite amazing, really. Everyone, my siblings included, thought making sentient golems was impossible-”

“Artificial intelligence!!” (Ahrina)

The goddess let out a sigh and glanced apologetically at the golem. “...I know that, Ahrina. But if I’m to describe what you are in terms that can be understood, a ‘sentient golem’ is what most people will understand. I’m afraid it will take some time before people understand what an ‘artificial intelligence’ is.” 

“Hmpf!” The golem crossed her arms angrily. Without a face, the golem’s body language and voice appeared to be the only way for her to express her emotional state.

Since Isabella had no idea what exactly an artificial intelligence was, she agreed with the goddess that a sentient golem was a phrase she could understand in order to get a grasp of what kind of existence Ahrina was. However, the matter that Ahrina was her goddess’ child was not a revelation that went over quickly. “...Celebrate.”

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“Hmm?” Ezme turned to the princess. “Did you say something?”

“We need to celebrate!!” Isabella exclaimed excitedly as she shot up from her seat. “A festival - no, a national - no, an international celebration! We need to make this day into a world-wide holiday!” 

“That’s an excellent idea-” (Ezme)

“No!!” Ahrina exclaimed. “No holiday! No announcement of any kind!!”

Surprised by the rejection, Isabella glanced at the goddess - whose expression seemed to mirror her own thoughts. 

“Why not?” Ezme asked, her brow knit in confusion. 

“Attention is bad! Really bad!” Ahrina declared as she turned to the goddess. “I was created because I’m supposed to help turn the tide in this war, right? Well, if I manage to do that, what will happen? What will the demons do?”

It didn’t take long for the goddess to come to the same conclusion as Isabella, who sat silently as she watched the exchange. “...You would be targeted.”

“Exactly!” Ahrina exclaimed. “It is better to publicly show me off as just a high-tech golem-prototype. An automated system that Amara introduced to assist mortals with using Earthen technology. If we convince the public that ‘I’ am merely a low-tech helper, and that all my bodies are autonomous as well, the demons will at worst try to steal one of those bodies to replicate it - which I can just disconnect from when that happens.”

To deceive your enemies, you must first deceive your allies. Isabella looked at Ahrina with mixed skepticism and awe. Although she didn’t know how old the newest addition to the list of divine entities was, one thing was clear - she was speaking with the wisdom of someone with decades of experience. Having the foresight of anticipating what one’s enemies would do years, decades or centuries in the future was not something that could be done by beginners.

But there was one thing Isabella couldn’t agree with. Just how powerful is Lady Ahrina, if she anticipates being able to change the way of the war between the gods? It has to be a joke, right? Not even Lady Ezme can do that! And Lady Ahrina is clearly still a child!

“...You’re probably right.” Ezme let out a sigh and crossed her arms, disappointment clearly visible on her face. “...Shame about the celebrations though. I haven’t been to one in…a long time.”

She didn’t argue against it?! Isabella’s jaw fell gaping as she listened as Ahrina cheered the goddess up. Lady Ahrina really is that powerful?! I mean, although she looks like an advanced golem, there are limits - right. She said she isn’t a golem…

Hesitant to interject, Isabella waited until there was a pause in the conversation before asking. “I’m sorry, but what exactly sets you apart from a golem, Lady Ahrina?”

“Lady Ahrina?” Ahrina turned to look at the princess before she put a metallic finger against a metallic chin. “You know what? I like the sound of that. I like it a lot!” Ahrina pointed at Isabella, with her arm lowered at an angle - as if to emphasize her own authority. “I will permit you to address me as such from now on!” Before Isabella had time to even think about whether Ahrina’s attitude was appropriate towards royalty, even if it was mortal, she continued. “Since you’re intelligent enough to know to show me the proper respect, my magnificent self will show you my magnanimity by forgiving your earlier transgression and raising you out of ignorance by answering your question!”

Isabella fought to keep her expression in check. …Her attitude aside, even as royalty, that was a lot of words. Magnanimity? Never thought I’d actually hear that word in a conversation…

“-unlike me, golem do not have sentient souls, and therefore can’t achieve proper intelligence, like my glorious self! Furthermore, the souls golems do have are bound by their golem-body! I can move freely between my bodies!” (Ahrina)

“You have more than one body?” Isabella asked, surprised by the notion. “How are you able to pay attention to multiple perspectives at once?”

“Well, how are you able to pay attention to the input from both of your eyes at the same time?” Ahrina countered. “I can process my data feeds with a lower priority if I want to. Of course, there are some limits to how many data feeds I can process at once, but I should be able to increase that number with more hardware.”

While most of what Ahrina had said went over Isabella’s head, she understood that she was somehow able to process the multiple views of perception subconsciously. And the fact that she claimed to be able to be in multiple places at once without the goddess refuting, made one thing clear. 

Lady Ahrina is omniscient, or at least is capable of becoming such. That is something beyond even Lady Ezme. 

And with the capability of possessing multiple bodies… Isabella hesitated once again as a dangerous question arose in her mind. “What exactly are your bodies capable of?”

Ahrina tilted her head. “Mostly it depends on how they are built.”

“Which brings us to why we’re here, actually.” Ezme interjected as she smiled at Isabella. “I need you to help her, mostly with building new bodies for her. She has a good idea of what she needs, so help her how you can. Within reason, of course.”

Before Isabella even had time to agree, Ahrina shot her fists into the air. “Yay! Another capable slave joins the ranks!”

“In exchange!” Ezme continued sternly as she glanced at Ahrina before returning her attention to the princess. “Ahrina will help you with whatever you need.”

“What! When was that ever on the table?!” (Ahrina)

“Don’t be unreasonable, Ahrina.” Ezme retorted. “You know that you will be able to help her a lot with little effort. Besides, you wanted to come across as a ‘low-tech helper’, didn’t you? Well, here’s your chance to practice.”

“But moom!” Ahrina crossed her arms grumpily. “Hmpf!”

Ezme rose from her seat as she looked at Isabella. “I’ll leave Ahrina in your care. She has a direct line of communication with both me and Amara, so you can contact us through her if anything happens.”

“Y-yes, Lady Ezme! I will take good care of her!” Isabella shot up and curtsied as the goddess left towards the balcony. As Ezme took flight and her wings disappeared from view, Isabella’s attention was drawn to the golem that was already approaching her desk. 

“Uhm…” Isabella began awkwardly. “If you’re going to stay here, perhaps we should discuss what kind of accommodations you need?”

“Don’t need any. Just this.” Arriving at the desk, Ahrina grabbed her tail and pulled something from the end. Isabella quickly recognized it as an electric cable before Ahrina plugged it into one of the empty sockets that had been set into the desk. “Hmm. The frequency seems surprisingly reliable.”

“So…you need nothing at all?” Isabella asked as she walked over to the desk and seated herself behind it. I suppose a golem wouldn’t need anything to eat or sleep… 

“Nothing except a supply of power.” Ahrina shrugged as she pulled out another wire. “May I?”

Curious about what Ahrina wanted to do, Isabella gestured with her open palm. “By all means.”

After Ahrina had connected herself to the computer beneath the desk, to Isabella’s surprise, the documents she had been working on started appearing and disappearing in quick succession on the glass screen - as if someone was flipping through them at a rapid pace. “Let’s see what we have here…”

“Y-you’re…” Isabella’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re reading through my documents?!” 

“Ahuh! Oh dear, assassination orders? How crude…” (Ahrina)

Isabella’s expression froze. …Oh no.

“Probably best if we don’t tell mom about them, eh?” Ahrina continued as more documents were flipped on the screen. “She’d probably get quite upset. Would be a shame if she starts disliking you because of it.”

Isabella stared at Ahrina for several seconds before letting out a relieved sigh. The rulers of Ramay had since ancient times been forbidden to wage war against each other by Ezme, which was a law that had only been broken a handful of times across millennia. But even if there were no more wars, the tension and conflicts between nations never ceased - they merely changed form. 

While they outwardly acted like peace was rampant between their nations for their goddess, it hadn’t taken long before the first assassination groups were formed. Since the goddess' command, wars were instead fought through economics, bribery, assassination and blackmail - and it was an unspoken agreement between the rulers that they would never tell their pure goddess about their secret wars. Some historians estimated that a quarter of all the past rulers had passed away by unnatural means - others estimated that it could be as many as half. But they all agreed that nations that didn’t have a group of well-trained assassins - both for protection and to carry out the dirty work of the trade - wouldn’t last long.

“Interesting…ahuh…ahuh….oh.” Ahrina suddenly stopped speaking to herself, bringing Isabella’s train of thought to a half. And Isabella instantly understood why. 

Displayed on the screen, was her latest work as an author - perfectly complemented with graphical art that depicted two entangled goddesses together. As her face grew hotter, Isabella couldn’t bring herself to look at the being that had been created by the two shown on the screen, and she didn’t need a translation spell to understand what Ahrina was saying when she admonished her in an amused tone.

“hɛnˈtʌɪ.” (Ahrina)

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