bookbashuk Page 98
Page 98
"Otherwise, you don't think I'm someone who has this skill, do you?" Technician... what a load of rubbish Poi.
"It's not that bad, it's just that he looks like this..."
Is that a wolf?
"This door connects to the entire dimensional sea. Is it really that strange that a world where one or two humans aren't the main characters appears?" Bai Ye shook his head from side to side. "Perhaps in their eyes, people like us are the monsters."
"So ruthless, even cursing yourself?" Mokou exclaimed in surprise.
white night:"……"
"If there's nothing else, please go ahead. You're blocking my light here."
"I have other things to do." Mokou shook her head and approached Grey Wolf. "Mr. Wolf, may I ask you a question?"
"?" Grey Wolf, who was drawing blueprints, looked up at Mokou.
“Look, my ability is to manipulate and use this kind of flame, and after so many years of fighting, I’ve unconsciously started using it. Although I can control it most of the time, there are always unexpected situations…” Mokou raised her hand and summoned a ball of flame: “So, is there any way for me to use this kind of flame inside the mecha?”
Holding the pen close to the flame, and seeing the nib almost instantly reduced to ashes by the Phoenix Flame, Grey Wolf's eyebrows twitched. He hurriedly threw the other half of the pen to the ground, as if worried that the pen had gotten dirty.
"Sorry, I really can't do that unless you can find a material that can withstand your flames. And that material not only has to be fire-resistant, but also has to be able to withstand physical attacks. Otherwise, even if the mech you make can withstand your flames, it will be a fragile piece of armor that will break at the slightest touch in battle... Maybe even a fragile piece of armor is better than that." When it comes to scientific research, Grey Wolf is quite meticulous. Although he really wanted to establish an image of "King Grey Wolf who is omnipotent" in front of his boss, to be honest, agreeing but failing to do it would be a bigger blow to his image.
"Fireproof materials..."
When this is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind for Mokou is Kaguya's Fire Rat Robe.
As a treasure that Kaguya, the Princess of the Moon, has kept for so many years, perhaps it has some sentimental value in keeping it, but it must be an extraordinary thing in itself... At least before her close combat skills improved, she was often the one who was beaten badly while Kaguya only had her hair messed up because of the Fire Rat Robe.
However, that woman didn't seem like the type to give away the Fire Rat Fur. And even if she were generous, putting aside the question of how to put a cloth armor on a huge metal mecha, the size difference between the Fire Rat Fur and the mecha that Kaguya named "Phoenix Rising from the Ashes" was an insurmountable obstacle.
So we'll have to rely on this guy again?
After waiting for a while without receiving a response, Mokou was looking at him with her unexpectedly cute eyes. Upon noticing this, Byakuya silently shook his head and began searching through the storage space of the card.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and pulled out a pile of ore from the open space in the shop: "I seem to have the materials you mentioned, but they are all unrefined, raw versions."
Upon hearing this, Mokou immediately opened her mouth and breathed a mouthful of flame at the ores on the ground, removing all the impurities from the ores and leaving only a metal block that shone with a reddish-golden light.
Name: Fire Metal
Type: Metal
Attribute: Steel
Quality: Excellent
"Note: Originally a mineral from a volcano in a certain magical world, it has been scorched by the molten lava of the earth's core for many years, and has already developed a strong resistance to fire. After being tempered by the flames of the phoenix from another world, it can well bear and transmit the power of the flames..."
“Great! If there’s enough of this metal, your mecha can be built in three days at most.” After testing the fire resistance of this “fire metal,” Grey Wolf’s eyes lit up as he spoke to Mokou.
"..."
"..." x2
"..." x3
"Why are you all staring at me like that? If you want enough fire gold, then pay up. I can provide both finished products and raw minerals." Bai Ye, somewhat speechless at being stared at by the man and the wolf, rolled his eyes at them.
……
From that day on, Mokou patrolled the White Night Gate three times a day, morning, noon and evening, until she received the custom-made mecha "Phoenix Rising from the Ashes" three days later, at which point she became a little more subdued.
Three days later, another unnamed mecha, which Bai Ye guessed was bought by the otaku princess of Eientei, was also completed. After working for six days, Grey Wolf happily carried a large bag containing the sheep's cards back to Wolf Castle.
Similarly, this also means that Byakuya's collection has gained two more "Gundams," and because they both belong to the fire attribute 2.8, Mokou's Phoenix Flame can also be activated if he wants to go inside...
A mech that requires a pilot to provide energy—are you scared yet?
"What are you thinking about again?" Black Jeanne asked, seeing Byakuya stroking Hagoromo Gitsune's fur with one hand and moving the other hand on a pure gold abacus. She happened to look up and saw this unexpectedly harmonious scene between the human and the fox.
"It's nothing, I just feel like I'm growing to love Gensokyo more and more, don't you think, little fox?"
"Mmm~" Hagoromo Gitsune, who was being petted comfortably by Byakuya, lazily opened her eyes, glanced at Byakuya, and indicated that she did not want to answer.
She, a fox who has been treated like a pet by you two and whose freedom of life has been restricted, can't possibly understand whether she's comfortable or not. Now she can only barely get by by acting cute and silly every day.
Chapter 243 Kaguya the Pay-to-Win Player
A few days later, at the Dimensional Shop.
Looking at Kaguya staring at him with a resentful expression, Byakuya raised his hand and touched his nose... He hadn't done anything, so what was with this inexplicable guilt?!
"I say, Your Highness, is there anything I can help you with?"
"I just want to know, how much did that heartless Mokou spend to bribe you?"
"?"
"What I mean is, besides the one million that was supposed to be spent on the mecha, how much extra did she spend to have you modify hers?"
"It's not that much." Knowing the reason, Bai Ye felt a little more at ease: "The raw materials for the modification cost 300,000, the labor cost of hiring experts for the modification was 500,000, and my transfer fee was 1.2 million... Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm just curious, does Mokou know the specific prices here?"
"How could I possibly let her know? Knowing her personality, the first thing she'd do after finding out the specifics would probably be to throw a Phoenix Wing Sky Shot at my face." Bai Ye didn't hesitate to slander his first friend whom he met in Gensokyo.
22. In a sense, this can't really be considered slander, since Mokou Tan's temper is truly awful...
Shaking his head, Bai Ye looked at the princess who seemed to possess an inexplicable charm and asked, "So you came here today just to ask how much more she spent than you?"
"Of course not! I'm here to spend money!" Kaguya pulled out a card and slammed it on the table: "Build me another mecha that looks exactly like the previous one, but with even more features than that dead turkey's. Do it as fast as you can, and name your price!"
"This isn't about money. You have to understand that mecha are just toys for Gensokyo. After this craze dies down, not many people will care anymore. I'm already quite surprised that Mokou spent three million to customize one. You don't need to act on a whim..."
“Five million!” Kaguya interrupted Byakuya.
"I've already said this isn't about money..."
"Ten million!"
"Why won't you listen to reason, kid..."
"Twenty million!"
“Please tell me your requirements, and I will relay them to the engineer verbatim.” Bai Ye abandoned his previous stance without hesitation.
Kaguya, having finally achieved her goal, smiled with satisfaction: "My understanding of mecha is limited to some games, and I don't know much about the specifics. But as long as it can easily defeat the one that killed Turkey, that shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
"I don't know the specifics either. I can't make a conclusion on his behalf before the engineer speaks. I can only say I'll try my best when the time comes." Bai Ye tilted his head, indicating that he couldn't say for sure either.
"So... what about the engineers?"
"Tsk... So impatient at such a young age, she'll never get married." Even though she knew that the girl opposite her, who looked so young that you could pinch her fingers, was probably a fraction older than her, Bai Ye still couldn't help but make a comment.
Then, while Grey Wolf was chatting with his uncles and cousins about his ideal life as a wolf, he received a jolt and disappeared into thin air amidst the curious gazes of his relatives.
……
A few days later, after paying the balance, Kaguya checked the notes on the back of the card and, after confirming that her mecha's ability to set fires had reached an unprecedented level, she left the Dimensional Shop with her mecha "Mokou BAKA" with satisfaction.
Don't get me wrong, Byakuya and Mokou actually have a pretty good relationship. This mecha was named directly by Kaguya, the buyer... After all, it cost tens of millions, so she should at least have this much freedom, right?
After leaving the Dimensional Shop, Kaguya skipped and hopped straight to Mokou's house in the Lost Bamboo Forest, and just like when Byakuya first met her, she kicked open the door, which was already slightly ajar.
"Dead turkey, where have you been hiding these past few days?"
"Huh? You've been avoiding me all along, okay?!" After glancing at the door and finding that it hadn't been damaged by Kaguya's kick, Mokou breathed a slight sigh of relief, but her disdain for Kaguya didn't diminish at all: "You've been avoiding me all these days, okay? I've been going to Eientei three times a day to look for you, and Reisen says you're not here no matter when, morning, noon, or night. Tell me, who's avoiding whom?"
"Didn't I already tell Reisen that I just had to go out on business?" Kaguya pouted, dismissively refuting Mokou's point of view.
"Don't you know who you're dating? You've been going out to exercise every morning and afternoon for four or five days in a row. You might as well just have Reisen tell me that you're just afraid of me and that's why you made up an excuse." Mokou looked at Kaguya with eyes full of disdain.
"..."
Wait, when did this idiot become so good at talking me speechless?!
"Enough with the nonsense, let's follow our rules. Last time I wasn't paying attention and you took advantage of my tools to scheme against me. This time, I'll let you and your three million experience what true despair is!" Kaguya confidently held up a card and gave Fujiwara no Mokou a provocative look.
"No wonder I felt like you were acting strange today. So you've already gone to the store to investigate me, haven't you?" Meihong suddenly realized.
"Hmph, as if I can't do anything to you just because I don't know the details of your thing." Kaguya raised her chin arrogantly: "But I really didn't expect that 540, with your personality, you would actually be willing to spend three million to modify a mecha that is actually not very useful. This makes me look at you in a new light."
"I said...did you forget something?" Fujiwara no Mokou stopped what she was doing and looked at Kaguya speechlessly.
"what?"
"When I went to buy the mecha last time, I used your card. Don't even mention spending an extra two million, even if it were an extra twenty million, do you think I would feel the pinch?"
Kaguya: "..."
No wonder I felt something was off after getting the quote from Bai Ye; now I know why!
Under Fujiwara no Mokou's watchful gaze, Kaguya's expression visibly worsened. Before she could utter another sarcastic remark, a mecha that was clearly far more elaborate than the one Mokou had purchased for Kaguya from Byakuya appeared between the two of them—
It pierced right through the roof of her little house.
"You damned, unmarriageable woman, go die a thousand times over!!!"
"Phoenix Wings Soaring Through the Sky!!!"
Chapter 244 Kaguya: "Money means you can do whatever you want!"
In the past, Kaguya would have definitely cheated by using the Fire Rat Robe when faced with her ultimate attack. However, this time, after the Fire Bird was released, Mokou was surprised to find that Kaguya was standing behind the mecha without changing her expression...
crazy?
"No, if that guy Baiye can produce raw materials that can perfectly conduct my Phoenix Fire, he can naturally also produce fireproof materials..." Looking at the mech that the firebird crashed into without even a spark flying, Mokou's heart skipped a beat, just like the name of a certain Gotham One-on-One King.
This is going to be tough.
"Hmph, now you know you were wrong, don't you?" Seeing that the fire resistance of this new mecha was indeed impressive, Kaguya felt relieved and smugly entered the cockpit. Then she manipulated the mecha to raise one leg: "Now I'll give you a chance to repent. As long as you lick my foot clean, I'll pretend that nothing happened before."
"You damn woman, you just want to die once, don't you?" Fujiwara no Mokou was speechless as she looked at the "foot" that was several sizes bigger than her whole body.
"Then there's no room for discussion." Kaguya sighed regretfully in the cockpit, and the mecha, which was tracking the pilot's movements in real time, shook its head in agreement: "Next, I'm going to blast your armor apart... Mushroom soup~ Are you ready?"
"Go to hell!"
Mokou, having been mocked, didn't say much. She also got into the cockpit of her own mecha, drew her 27-meter-long sword, and a red light flashed in her hand. The entire ship-slaying sword was now imbued with her Phoenix Flame.
That is, the "weapon" that dismantled Kaguya's mecha before.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but what era are we living in? You're still using such an outdated weapon. Don't you feel ashamed of the word 'mecha'? A ship-slaying sword is something that should only be used as a last resort."
Seeing Mokou's actions, Kaguya burst into laughter.
"I really don't believe that since we're all from the same company, you can come up with something amazing with these mechs!" Mokou gritted her teeth in resentment.
"Sorry, as long as you pay that guy enough, even if it's a mecha, I can make it look amazing." Kaguya's smile faded, and she pressed a row of five-colored buttons on the control panel. Mokou, who was opposite her, saw a small door open on the two shoulders of Kaguya's mecha, and two rows of ten U-shaped metal objects flew out from the door.
"What are these?" For no reason, Mokou in the cockpit had a bad feeling.
"Hmph, I spent a full ten million to have that guy specially add this ultimate weapon to me—the telekinetic floating cannon. Combined with the mech's built-in telekinetic amplification device, that mere turkey should kneel obediently before me!!!"
"Behold my 'Secret Technique—Sky-High Firepower to Fry Turkeys'!"
……
What happened between Kaguya and Mokou is just a microcosm of the entire Gensokyo region in recent times.
After the kappa-made mecha died for the N+1th time at the hands of the Kabuto giant piloted by the priestess, while some yokai chose to have the kappa rebuild a new one, some of the more astute yokai discovered a problem—
1. The Kabuto Giant of the Hakurei Shrine Maidens was definitely not made by the Kappa. This mecha is clearly inconsistent with the style of the other mechas they have made.
2. Kappa were not the inventors of mechs. This can be seen from the fact that when the sage of the monsters handed three mechs to the kappa, the kappa were so excited that they even forgot to punish the two criminals who blew up the warehouse.
to sum up--
There should be a mecha master in Gensokyo who is even more powerful than the kappa!
So some of these clever yokai approached the kappa, trying to extract the true origin of the mecha from them. Unbeknownst to them, they were tricked into buying the new mecha, which cost many times more than the normal ones and didn't actually offer much improvement in functionality. Others, who were bolder, went to the Hakurei Shrine to directly question the shrine maiden... It's said that the yokai near the Hakurei Shrine heard all sorts of strange screams during those days.
Finally, only a very few people who have ever been to a dimensional shop would realize that the probability of finding all sorts of bizarre items here is several times higher than that of Kourindo.
"So that's how it is. No wonder Reimu looked at me like that when she came to my shop to buy daily necessities that day..." After hearing about the recent events outside, Bai Ye stroked his chin: "So that girl is trying to pin the blame on me for all the trouble caused by her going out in her mecha to deal with the incident?"
"I think the fault she's shifting to you is that she let mechas appear in Gensokyo, right?" Izayoi Sakuya rolled her eyes after hearing Byakuya's deduction.
"You can do that?" Bai Ye looked at her in astonishment.
"..."
"Alright, alright, no joke. So you came here today to buy a mecha for your young lady?" Noticing that Sakuya's gaze had turned unfriendly, Byakuya, who had accidentally discovered that the maid's long legs were actually covered with throwing knives, waved his hands repeatedly.