I am back after quite a time. Apologies, I had quite a fever and was tired af nearly these 2 weeks.
Chapter 170: Fuwawa’s Awakening
“I know of its existence.”
The “Itoden(String telephone)” is a device made of two containers that can cover the ears, connected by a thread.
If the thread is taut, words spoken into one container can be transmitted to the other container held against the ear.
It is said to have originated when someone pressed their ear to the ground to hear distant sounds and came up with the idea.
“Starting from that concept, I experimented with various methods. It was about transmitting messages over long distances, which meant using quite a long thread—essentially a rope, and I tried many things with that.”
“So, you mean using the rope for communication?”
“Exactly. At first, I tried to transmit sound, but it did not work well. From there, I tried movements, twists, and various other methods, but none of them succeeded.”
“Heat—would probably not work either.”
“Impressive, Noah. I only thought of that half a year after starting the experiments with Itoden.”
“Since father tried all that, does that mean it ultimately proved useless?”
“That’s right. There are two main issues, one is that as the length increases, the transmission becomes less reliable, and it becomes susceptible to interference along the way. If you pinch the thread at any point, transmission is interrupted.”
“It’s not suitable for long distances at all.”
“Yes, even if it somehow got transmitted, it would become ambiguous. I believed it had to be conveyed in a clear, black-and-white manner to be useful.”
“Clear as black and white… oh!”
“What is it?”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Father nodded.
He then looked at me with , “so, what are you going to do?” expression.
I raised my hand. Mixing Fuwawa’s power with the ring I always wore on my thumb, I created a thread.
To make it “clear,” I made a thread as thick as my pinky and as long as from my elbow to my fingertips.
“What will you do with that?”
“I’ll do this.”
As I said this, I commanded Fuwawa.
Instantly, the thread I had made, initially white, turned completely black.
“Wow!”
Father exclaimed with a voice of admiration.
“I see! In that case, it would be clearly transmitted.”
“Yes, whether it’s black or white, it can’t be ambiguous. The content of the transmission could also—”
“We could create a code sheet in advance. For combinations of black and white—if it’s not letters but the sounds of words, 20 patterns would be sufficient to form basic sentences.”
“Yes.”
“That’s amazing, Noah. Indeed, I aimed for this kind of thing in the end but couldn’t find a way to make it happen.”
While being praised by Father, I gazed at the Fuwawa thread.
The good thing about this concept is that the power of Fuwawa, once separated from my hands, could still be utilized by others to some extent.
Even now, the “Fuwawa Box” can only be locked by the person who was given it.
Compared to that, changing between black and white is a trivial matter.
— However.
The excitement lasted only a moment, I soon discovered a problem.
I commanded Fuwawa to “extend” this thread as much as possible.
The thread grew thinner and longer and longer――but after it had gone around Father’s bedroom, the spacious bedroom of the Retired Emperor, it snapped.
“Hmm…”
I frowned and groaned.
Although wrapping around the spacious bedroom is quite long for a thread, it is far from the super long-distance method that Father and I hoped for—it was completely insufficient for communication between bases.
“That’s it.”
“Huh?”
“I mentioned there were two issues, right? The other one is more fundamental, I couldn’t create something long enough to connect cities.”
“Yes…”
I nodded solemnly.
As expected of Father; this issue seemed to be a familiar path for him as well.
However, one of the two problems was resolved.
Moreover, I had devised the best possible solution that could be imagined regarding making it clear as black and white.
I wanted to somehow bring this to practical use, and for that, it needed to be made longer.
{If that’s the case…}
“—! “
I suddenly turned my head, startled by the voice I heard from a direction outside my expectations, but I quickly realized what it was.
It was something that had happened before.
Many similar occurrences had happened in the past.
{Do you want my power?}
“…Yeah, I want it.”
“…”
I responded to the voice’s owner.
Catching a glimpse of Father looking surprised for a moment, but true to his nature, he quickly fell silent and adopted a watchful posture.
I concentrated on the voice’s owner.
{Then call my name. I wonder if you can. My name is a bit difficult.}
“…I see, it is indeed a bit difficult. It doesn’t seem to match your image.”
{In ancient times, it meant light. Now, go ahead, try calling it.}
“Oh… Fuwawa—no, Fumbaba!”
The moment I called that name, my body radiated light. The Fuwawa’s power, which resided within me, surged forth.
Bahamut, Livyathan, Behemoth—Fumbaba, an entity of equal standing to them.
Once said to be trapped within a painting, the beautiful woman now appeared with an even more exquisite, divine aura, resembling a goddess.
――――――――――――
Name: Noah Aarart
Emperor of the Empire
Gender: Male
Level: 17 + 1 + 1 / ∞
| HP | C+S | MP | D+A |
| Strength | C+SSS | Stamina | D+A |
| Intelligence | D+SS | Spirit | E+S |
| Speed | E+S | Dexterity | E+S |
| Luck | D+A | ||
| Fire | E+S+S | Water | C+SSS |
| Wind | E+C | Earth | E+S |
| Light | E+S | Darkness | E+S |
―――――――――――
In the corner of my vision, I caught a glimpse of the significantly increased “+” of “Earth.”
I turned to the goddess-like woman who had appeared before me and asked,
“Can I borrow your strength, Fumbaba?”
{With pleasure.}
Fumbaba smiled gracefully and raised her hand.
Then, the Fuwawa thread, which had just failed and snapped in the middle, began to float up. The thread slowly became one solid line and then gradually turned back into a thread-like form.
This time, it extended while maintaining a thickness about the size of a pinky finger.
It stretched on and on.
It continued to stretch, enough to circle my father’s bedroom ten times. And then—
“What about white and black?”
{Of course.}
In response to my request, the thread switched from white to black, then back from black to white.
I thought, this will work—
I turned to my father.
He wore a surprised yet smiling expression.
“That’s impressive, Noah. You’re commanding entities just like Livyathan and Bahamut, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s correct, Father.”
I nodded firmly.
Livyathan, originally Leviatan. Bahamut, originally Luthiya.
Both are treasures owned by the Empire, and my father knows them well.
“To be able to command such beings with such ease here—no, that’s not unexpected anymore.”
My father chuckled and looked at the thread again.
“Is this something that can be mass-produced?”
“Probably.”
“Will there be any effects from touching it?”
“Who knows?”
I asked Fumbaba directly, relaying my father’s question.
{This thread isn’t something that would be easily affected just by touching it,}
“It seems that it’s probably fine.”
“In that case, burying it underground would be good. If its length can be adjusted, it might be better to run it underground to protect it from sabotage and other such things.”
“Thank you, Father.”
I bowed deeply.
As expected, my father, who has been testing this method for a long time, demonstrated how to utilize even the thread just created.
It’s not hard to imagine that he has been thinking of burying it underground if a suitable method were to come about.
So, what should I do? How can I further make use of this?
Though perhaps not to my father’s extent, I found various ideas of my own regarding this.
“Go.”
“Huh?”
“Strike while the iron is hot.”
“Thank you very much. Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
Once more, I bowed deeply and exited the bedroom, seemingly sent off by my father.
As I strode down the hallway with Fumbaba in tow, I contemplated many things.
This is innovative.
The Empire will leap forward even further.
I was certain of this.
☆
After Noah left, the Retired Emperor gazed out the window from his bed.
His expression was one of satisfaction, but in exchange for that satisfaction, he suddenly looked significantly older at that moment.
The satisfied Retired Emperor appeared to have aged appropriately, as if something had slipped away from him.
He picked up the bell by his bedside and rang it.
The door opened immediately, and a man came in.
He was not a servant, but an elderly man, the former first Vizier, Noiz Hill.
“Did you call for me, Your Majesty?”
“Mm.”
The former emperor nodded, and Noiz Hill closed the door and approached him.
To Noiz Hill, the former emperor quietly said a single word.
“It’s the final order.”
“…………Yes.”
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