Several weeks had passed, and honestly, Arthur could barely believe how much had changed in such a short time.
It was remarkable how time sometimes seemed to toy with fate. A simple deviation, a single decision—and suddenly, he had become the sovereign of the androids.
Everything had started almost by accident. By the time he finally realized it, Arthur was no longer just an improvised leader or a source of motivation—he was the absolute ruler of all androids. And, to his own surprise, it felt completely natural.
But Arthur knew that being a king did not mean ruling alone.
White, with her analytical mind and vast experience leading androids, had become his personal assistant. She was practically his right and left hand, coordinating all troops, managing supplies, and keeping the army's structure running with impeccable precision.
A2, 2B, and 9S, on the other hand, were his inner circle of trust—the pillars of his new reign.
A2, now fully repaired, had regained both her strength and her composure. She went out on expeditions almost every day with a small group of YoRHa androids she had assembled, annihilating any machine lifeforms that dared approach too close to the borders or providing protection support to Scanner-type androids.
Curiously, after the repairs, she and 2B had become almost identical, as if they were twin sisters created along parallel lines.
Of course, except for the fact that A2 adamantly refused to wear YoRHa-issued blindfolds and had decided to let her hair grow long.
2B, in turn, had taken on the role of his bodyguard. Although she claimed she was simply fulfilling her duty, it was obvious that she made a point of always staying close—sometimes a little too close. The official excuse was "protecting the king," but Arthur had already realized she hadn't told him everything. Still, he chose not to press the matter.
It certainly didn't hurt to have such a feast for the eyes called 2B around.
9S, as always, was the most enthusiastic of the group. While many would have already collapsed from exhaustion, he seemed to run on pure curiosity.
After countless hours of study and calculations, they had finally reached an extraordinary conclusion: the sphere contained the blueprint for a bracelet capable of bending space-time.
It was something that could open a path back to Arthur's original world.
But, like everything that seemed too good to be true, there was a problem.
A gigantic problem.
The bracelet replicated, in a completely bizarre way, the Second Magic—Kaleidoscope—something that, by itself, already bordered on the impossible. Because of that, it would require a colossal amount of magical energy, far beyond what Arthur could provide in his current state.
On top of that, the bracelet wouldn't function without the exact coordinates of the destination world.
Without them, it would be like trying to fire an arrow into the chaos of the multiverse while blindfolded.
And that was where, through pure cosmic irony, their only salvation lay.
The letter that had come attached to the sphere when Saeko delivered it.
The letter Arthur had set aside "to read later"—and, of course, had forgotten until now.
Arthur sighed once again as he realized the absurd synchronicity of the situation.
If there was an answer, it was there, in that seemingly idiotic letter he had left untouched.
"Did you remember something important?" 9S asked suddenly.
Arthur didn't answer immediately. A golden ripple formed above his hand, and from within it, a letter fell.
"This letter that came with the sphere… it might be the key to our problem," Arthur said.
9S practically jumped out of his chair in excitement.
"OPEN IT! NOW! THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!"
Arthur laughed and carefully opened the envelope.
Inside, there were two pieces of paper.
The first one was unbelievably idiotic.
A joke written in large, crooked letters:
"Why travel between dimensions when you can travel… to the MARKET?"
(below it, someone had drawn a stick figure walking through a portal labeled "sale").
Arthur massaged his forehead, feeling as though his future self had decided to mock him.
"I… I'm going to pretend I didn't read that," Arthur muttered as he set the paper on fire.
9S leaned closer, curious.
"Hmm… was that supposed to be funny?"
"In theory," Arthur replied as he picked up the second sheet.
The second paper was completely different.
It contained a sequence of numbers, and above them, written in messy handwriting, were the words:
"Home."
"This is it… this is…" 9S choked on his words.
"Exactly…" Arthur sighed.
"With this… with this, we can program the destination of the journey! Now it's possible! But we still need energy—but… but this already solves half the problem!"
"You're right. Good work, 9S. Let's get to it," Arthur said.
---
"Sir, the Commander asked me to deliver this to you."
2B's voice broke the silence of the office. She stepped in quietly, carrying a tablet.
"Thank you, 2B." Arthur smiled, taking the device. "By the way, I've already told you—you don't need to call me 'sir.' Just call me Arthur."
"Understood."
Seeing her serious expression, Arthur gave in to temptation and reached out, lightly ruffling her hair.
The strands slipped through his fingers like silk. 2B, confused, tilted her head slightly, observing him with a puzzled look.
A2, who had been watching everything from the sofa, raised an eyebrow. "What's on that tablet?" she asked, crossing her legs.
"These are the plans for our next offensive," Arthur replied, calmly reading through the contents. "White and I decided to strike directly at the main network of the machine lifeforms. She'll coordinate the troops and divide the units. Meanwhile, I intend to locate and destroy the central nodes of the enemy network."
"And the Scanner units?" A2 asked with interest. "I saw a group of them being deployed earlier."
"They have a parallel mission," Arthur answered without taking his eyes off the screen. "They're to infiltrate and hack key machine systems. There's something being created by those machines that we need to destroy before it's completed."
He remembered perfectly what he had seen in Sha Naqba Imuru.
"I see," A2 said, resting her chin on her hand. "The sooner we end this war, the better."
Her loyalty to him was already unshakable—not out of obligation, but out of pure respect.
Meanwhile, 2B remained still, her gaze distant.
Arthur noticed. "Is something bothering you, 2B?"
She hesitated, then slowly nodded. "There is something that intrigues me."
"And what would that be?" he asked, picking up the teacup from the table and bringing it to his lips.
"Sometimes…" she began, her voice almost a whisper, "when you look at me… or when you touch my hair… I feel… my heart beating faster. For no apparent reason."
"PFFFFT!!"
Arthur immediately spat out his tea, coughing between laughter and shock. 2B blinked, confused, not understanding his reaction.
A2 let out a short laugh. "Looks like someone just discovered the concept of love."
Still trying to recover, Arthur wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and muttered under his breath:
"For the love of all gods… this is going to be complicated."
Arthur intended to explain things to 2B. However, the moment he opened his mouth, the sound of an alarm echoed throughout the aircraft carrier.
Yes—he was currently standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier, where a large number of flight units were stationed.
Warships surrounded them as well.
The place this fleet was heading toward was the target of their current mission.
A colossal machine lifeform.
(End of Chapter)