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Chapter 322 – Astronomical Observation
The telescope I built with my crafting abilities was a lightweight one with a diameter of 50 mm. Omicrule is an astronomical object that appears much larger than the moon in my former world, so it will probably be possible to observe it with this telescope in a good way. The telescope comes with a set of mounts, and the operation itself does not seem to be too difficult.
I mean, this is――.
“You seem to be very familiar with it. Have you ever handled such a tool before?”
“No, this is my first time. It seems that my ability includes the ‘proper’ use of the tools I make. Even tools that I have never handled myself, I am able to handle them without any problems.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, that’s so.”
While having such a conversation, I adjusted the telescope as my body moved and pointed the tip of the telescope at Omicrule. The rest is just a matter of looking through the telescope and fine-tuning it, and the preparations are complete.
“Now, let’s see what we can see.”
I looked at Omicrule through the telescope with great enthusiasm, but I could not find anything that looked like an obvious man-made object. Well, it would not be so easy to find, and it is doubtful that we have enough magnification to find such things in the first place. However, the clouds in Omicrule and the colors of the land and sea are clearly distinguishable, and the difference in colors makes it clear whether the area is a desert or a mountainous region. Above all, it is interesting to see a clear green area―perhaps a forest or something.
“I see; that’s interesting. Here you go, Aquawill-san.”
“…Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
I moved away from the telescope and pointed to it with my hand, and Aquawill-san began to look through it as I did. She must have been watching me operate the telescope. With a steady hand, she was changing the direction of the telescope in detail and observing the Omicrule at the end of the sky.
As I watched her profile, I thought about what I had just seen through the telescope.
I knew before looking through the telescope that Omicrule has land and sea. This alone would have raised expectations for the existence of life, but as a result of the observation through the telescope, I could see what appeared to be a forest on the land. The existence of forests means the existence of plants. If plants exist, it would not be surprising if insects and animals exist, and there is a good possibility that intelligent life forms exist.
Perhaps what appeared to be a forest or something else may be entirely different, though. Someday, when the internal and external situation surrounding the Merinard Kingdom settles down, it might be a good idea to launch an Omicrule exploration project. Well, it would be a long time before I could get my hands on that.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Lots of things. I thought that there might be some kind of creature because I could see the sea and the land, and on the land, I could see some kind of forest… and there might be an intelligent life form that has culture and wisdom, like the people on this planet, that is to say.”
“I see. There have been many legends about Omicrule since ancient times. It is said to be the home of the gods, the afterlife, and a land of evil where vicious monsters abound.”
“Yeah, I remember Shumel and the others saying something like that. That’s why I’m interested in it.”
I don’t want to talk about how I want to reach out to explore Omicrule someday. It’s really in the conception stage, or at least in the realm of fantasy.
“…Perhaps you may be able to reach out to Omicrule someday.”
Aquawill-san’s words were very abrupt, but I was just thinking about it, so I was somewhat taken aback. Aquawill-san stared at me as if she could sense my feelings.
“Sylphiel and the others may have done a lot of work, but it was you, in effect, who broke the grip of the Holy Kingdom from the Merinard Kingdom. Of course, there is a limit to what you can do alone, but even so, without you, the situation would not be what it is today.”
“I think you are right. Without me, it would have been difficult for the Liberation Army to cross the Great Omit Wilderness.”
Most of them probably would not have even survived the great assault of Gizma. Even if they had escaped to the depths of the Black Forest, they still would not have survived. Even if they had sacrificed a lot to survive Gizma’s attack, their greatly reduced numbers would have had a tremendous negative impact on their subsequent activities.
“If you wanted to, wouldn’t it be possible for you to wipe out all the surrounding countries?”
“Hmm? I doubt it. I don’t think it would be easy to conquer and rule. It might be possible to just destroy them.”
I think it is possible if we use magic sparkling stone bombs and golems with zero dead weight. The result would be a magical pollution zone where not only people cannot live, but also no plants can grow.
“If only to destroy it… Either way, it’s a tremendous power.”
Aquawill-san let out a sigh and looked at the Omicrule floating above while sitting on the other chair.
“With such power, I’m sure I’m insignificant to you. No matter how defiant I am to you, you probably think I’m nothing more than a kitten or something fussing at your feet, right?”
“I don’t recall being that presumptuous… about seeing you as insignificant. As for me, I’ve been honest and sincere with you all along.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Aquawill-san’s words. What can I say? This princess has a sneaky nature despite her appearance.
“Honest and sincere, huh…? I guess so if that’s what you think.”
“That’s a tricky thing to say.”
It sounds as if she swallowed the words, “For you, maybe.” Well, I had a feeling that she didn’t like me, so I tried not to approach her too casually. Oh no, maybe that was the wrong thing to do.
“Well, from now on, I would like to try to communicate more closely or smoothly with you. Yes.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
The conversation did not continue, but the stinginess toward me seemed to lessen slightly. I don’t know if the day will ever come when Aquawill-san opens up to me, but for now, I’ll be satisfied with this. This kind of thing is not something that can be dealt with in one fell swoop.