> Kelly PoV <

　　�

　　Red and Ellie met me as I passed the gates. They guided my cart to a small decrepit house.

　　�

　　Apparently there`s a [Gateway] inside.

　　Normally you need three or four mages to feed it enough mana. Red can operate it by herself.

　　She definitely belongs in this city.

　　�

　　I arrive at a wide garden. Various flowers and crops are planted here and there. There`s a tall, black metal fence going all around us. A black, ominous looking tower stands in the middle of it all.

　　�

　　But what catches my sight is the white spider-like things. Those must be the golems they`ve been telling me about.

　　�

　　"Now then, you need to wear one of these."

　　�

　　Red points at her ear. Ah, I didn`t even notice that weird ear cuff until now.

　　�

　　"It might sting a bit."

　　�

　　Ellie says as she walks to my side.

　　I sat on the ground as instructed. She fiddles with my ear a bit and then-

　　�

　　"Oww!"

　　�

　　A sharp pain goes through it, but it quickly passes.

　　�

　　{....ello, hel......ou h.....}

　　�

　　"Eh, there`s a strange buzzing in my ear?"

　　�

　　{..ello, hello, can you hear me now?}

　　�

　　"Gah! A voice!"

　　�

　　{Ah it looks like that did it!}

　　�

　　{Hello Kelly, I`m Nano.}

　　�

　　WHY?

　　�

　　Why is it like this.

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　　Is he shy? Is he even a he? How does this even work in the first place?

　　�

　　{This ear cuff will let us talk.}

　　�

　　{It will also block out Ellie`s mind reading [Star Magic].}

　　{Since it`s rude to do that to your friends, you see.}

　　�

　　"Ah, okay? Sorry this was a bit jarring.

　　�

　　Pleasure to meet you Nano."

　　�

　　{Likewise, I hold high hopes for you.}

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　　{That armor you made was splendid.}

　　�

　　{It was a golem that assisted with your movements, right?}

　　�

　　"Hoooh, you have good eyes Nano! I can`t wait to meet you in person."

　　�

　　{Ah, that`s a bit impossible.}

　　�

　　So it really is like that. I figured as much.

　　�

　　You see these types of people, the ones who shun the world. They bury themselves in their work, it`s a bit sad. It`s especially true for people working in obscure fields like me.

　　�

　　"Well, that`s a shame. I`m sure someone like yourself has a lot to teach me."

　　The author`s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.�

　　"Ah, but Nano isn`t a person."

　　�

　　* * *

　　�

　　Well, that was a long explanation. I still燿on`t believe this [Star Magic] is actually magic though.

　　�

　　First of all, the golems are way too versatile. They have a lot of moving parts and strange devices. Also as usual there isn`t燼 drop of mana coming from them.

　　�

　　I`m more sensitive to the flow of mana than others. It`s a necessary skill when creating something like Scrappy.

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　　This Nano knows almost nothing of traditional golems.�

　　However, we`re sure to come up with some good things if we cooperate.

　　�

　　Right now I`m heading into the tower`s underground levels. The tower itself is way too fancy on the inside, even though the outside is so ragged.

　　�

　　{Okay Kelly, I need you to promise me something.}

　　�

　　{I`m about to show you a lot of things.}

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　　{It would be very bad if others got wind of them.}

　　�

　　"... how bad?"

　　�

　　{Worst case, world could end.}

　　�

　　"That`s pretty bad."

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　　They literally fell from the stars. It makes sense that they dragged along some forbidden things that shouldn`t exist.

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　　{So, promise me to keep them under wraps.}

　　�

　　"I promise."

　　�

　　{Oh, also don`t mention them to Kira.}

　　�

　　"Why not?"

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　　She lives here, surely she deserves a right to know.

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　　{It would do nothing but cause her to worry.}

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　　Yeah, Red is a genuine worry wart.

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　　Unless it`s about money, then she becomes a completely different person.

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　　"Okay, I promise."

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　　{By the way I`m always listening.}

　　�

　　{If you ever slip up, the earpiece will explode, taking your head with it.}

　　�

　　Ugeh!

　　�

　　What is this!? That wasn`t in the contract!

　　�

　　These people are clearly criminals after all aren`t they!?

　　�

　　{Then, welcome! To my workshop!}

　　�

　　The doors slide open to reveal a storm of sparks, grinding and screeching.

　　This... I am most assuredly爊ot drunk enough for this.

　　I have this entire act written, but I still need to proofread and touch it up a lot.�

　　English isn`t my native language and I want to do it properly, so bear with me.

　　I`ll try to get it done in the next several hours since I`m a bit excited, but no promises