The Skill Collector

I ear the tide and inhale the scent of the tide all over my chest.

I can see the roofs of the houses at the end looking down from the top of a small high hill.

Are all the roofs here in round shape? It is a village considerably smaller than the fishing village Miguelasibi, which we have visited on several occasions.

"The homes in this village are made of wood, but they use seawater resistant wood, so they last longer"

"You know everything."

I look back at the voice I heard from behind me. There was a maid there for some reason.

Made clothes in black based apron skirt. Thin eyeglasses with edges on three braids. A face where I can't feel the emotions rather than say it looks serious. It's just a waste of not making a bad face.

"So, now it's okay?

A maid-dressed woman accompanying you from the village of Miguelasibi? When I speak to him, I turn my expressionless face over here and nod small.

"I have Nos. 2 and 3, so even paranoid breasts can take care of demons"

"That's... you mean Mr. Therapy, right? Which one of you is two or three?

"It performs worse than me, but it's like a pal built in antiquity"

I mean, like her, you mean automata.

Next time, let me take a closer look inside that house.

"So, Mr. Ariaria. How did you do that look?

Even though it had a metallic appearance, people only see it now.

It's the same as a human from close range... skin, isn't it?

"It would illuminate me if I could stare so much. Poop."

"I'm just scared of being faceless and lit up bareback. And then your mouth moves."

Until this appearance, my mouth wasn't moving during the conversation, but it's working normally now.

"Yep. I'm doing it in energy-saving mode, so I'm not moving it everyday."

"I'm not sure about energy saving mode and doing it, but don't worry about it. So I asked you many questions, what brings you here with me this time?

When we chatted at Mr. Therapy's house two days ago and told him that his next destination was this village, he suddenly said he would accompany him and followed him forcefully.

"I wanted to date a collector alone. Poop."

"So stop doing that with no expression"

He has his hands on his cheeks and waves to his left and right. Looks like he's going to be lit.

The usual appearance also gives up strange behavior, but more creepy than usual when the appearance becomes human.

"The ancient literature said that a man would be happy if a maid acted like this."

"Right. If you had an expression, you might have shaken your mind a little."

"I see, you'll learn. Oh, you missed the conversation because of the collector."

Didn't you deviate? and his voice went out to his throat but swallows.

"During a conversation with a woman who is likely to compromise in her future marriage to a demon, the subject of this village came up, right? Lately, people headed to the village need to come back."

"... you mean Mr. Therapy, right? I've been wondering, what does Mr. Ariaria think of Mr. Therapy?

"You're a convenient servant. He seems to think of me as a friend. I can't believe that every human being is friends with the great Aria, the legacy of ancient civilization."

I'm saying terrible things, but I feel happy somewhere.

I don't have the same expression, no discouragement of my voice, but it still doesn't sound like I hate it.

Pointing that out would never admit it because of her character. We should get back to this place.

"Mr. Therapy and I talked about that. You talked about having to come and go with this village once a week, but no one has come to the village for nearly the past month. The villagers who went to see how things were going didn't come back either, so it was time for the villagers to talk to me about going to the investigation in earnest."

When I got into the village, it was all I had on the subject.

It seemed like I knew I should move immediately, but everyone was scared and couldn't move on, so I ran for it to see how it went.

My presence seemed like a ship across the street to the villagers who were assholed in the status quo they might not have gotten good at, and they sent me off happy.

And to this day.

"I remember listening to that story and wondering,"

"Is that a concern?

"Yes. There used to be a research facility where this village was located. Where we live was a demon training facility, but this was a skills-related research facility."

"Skills related?

Pickles and eyebrows move on statements I never thought I would.

"Yes. The Lord at the time said that the man in charge there was a man who had gained his place in his parents' cone, and only pride was high in his incompetence, he said. The cliché is," There's no such thing as a better guy than me. "

The importance of blood is also attached to important positions in the country, but that does not seem to be the same now or ever.

I only have a bad feeling when I have a skill research facility and the person in charge there is incompetent.

"The Lord seems to have always cared, but somehow the ancient kingdom has perished. I even forgot about sleep until the other day."

Is that why you asked me to come out of the blue?

"I said skills research, do you know what that is?

"He was a man of secrecy, and I didn't know the Lord in detail... Sure, experiments that force people to give them skills? Or something."

Giving skills? If you can freely give people the skills they like, they will say you have similar abilities...

If that skill is also created and given on its own, it is outrageous.

If all people can be given beneficial skills, it will mean that they can easily produce good people.

But the story changes when it becomes possible to force negative skills. Now that I know the character of the person responsible, I have nothing but anxiety.

"That's how I came to see"

Aria can't read at all what she's thinking.

'Psychology' doesn't make sense because facial expressions don't exist, and they incorporate the ability to prevent skills, so they can't look into anything.

Is it pure curiosity or do you have an idea as a "great relic" made in antiquity? In the first place, does the same spirit exist in her, the machine doll, as in people?

I didn't get an answer when I thought about it, and I ended up falling in love even when I asked directly.

Should we stop pursuing it there? He doesn't seem to want to be touched.

I came to wonder if even demons appeared in the village, but in the distance it looks peaceful itself. Activate "Chiri Eye" and observe the village in a little more detail... but people are alive and well and the village is not rough.

I feel uncomfortable even though it is. I can't explain it specifically, but it's strange.

Is this hard to make a decision without trying to get a little closer?

"Well, let's just visit"

"I have the ability to prevent skills, but what about collectors?

"Rest assured. There are" Psychological Anomaly Tolerance "and" State Anomaly Tolerance ". Besides, there's also 'control' in case you're pressed for skills, so you can do anything."

I am confident that I can handle whatever skills I have.

I don't seem to be anxious about Aria either, so shall we head without alarm?

The village is surrounded by marutai walls and wooden gates exist.

It's usually something with a gatekeeper stationed in front of the gate, but no one's here today. The gates are also open, making it easy for demons and suspicious people to enter.

"You're careless. Even though this place is full of elementary demons, this is just..."

"Is it a gathering of suicide candidates?"

That's too much to say, but is something wrong?

There is no screaming in the 'listening ear', but rather the villagers' laughter is slightly echoed.

"It feels like peace itself. Mr. Ariaria, let's go in."

Take Ariaria in a maid and step across the gate.

Wooden dwellings are dotted, and villagers exist. He doesn't seem to be hurt, and he looks fine... Something's wrong.

"Gu, stink"

A strange odor drifted from the villagers who immediately passed by.

Unexpectedly cover your nose with sleeves and observe villagers emitting strange odors.

My clothes are unusually yellow. Are you wearing clothes that haven't been washed in days flat?

I wondered if that person was the only stranger, but all the villagers in sight were dressed in thin dirty clothes. Young and old alike.

"Your hair is also greasy and gitty. I haven't washed it in weeks."

As Aria pointed out, there is fat floating in her hair.

This alone conveyed the anomaly of the village, but it was not the only one.

It seems normal that the cooking area in this village is in front of the house, where there are women cooking, but it is hard to understand what they are doing.

It's still okay to be baking fish on an iron plate. But I don't serve the roasted fish on a plate, but I eat it by hand.

That eating style is often done by adventurers and troublesome smellers working outdoors, so let's just say it's okay there too. The problem is what the family talks about while eating.

"Mom, it's hard to eat a fish."

"'Cause bones and scales stay in your mouth."

"Your stomach's bitter."

The fish that was baked is not treated down, but is just baked as is, so the scales and guts remain. If you've never cooked fish before, I know, but there's no way a villager living in a fishing village doesn't know how to cook fish.

The way a family dressed in thin dirt bites a fish just baked makes them feel unspeakable fear.

"When do you eat lunch?

"When the sun is out, I don't think it's night."

Mid-teenage men and women walk with their mouths full of commonalities.

When I accidentally checked the other person's face, they both walked with a look that didn't seem to bother me at all.

"Uh, walking moves your right and left legs in order, right?

"Yeah, yeah. You can run faster. Did you know that?

The kids, about ten years old, were laughing at Kerakera and showing an uncomfortable run.

Cold sweat runs down my spine. This is... abnormal.

It's like people from all over the village...

"Sounds like you're toddling."

Slowly nod at Aria's words.

The conversation you hear is understandable if the toddler speaks.... but it can't be what adults and youth say and do.

Do you want to 'appraise' first? I hope this splits something up.

Looking over the villagers' heads, their skills float.

I have skills common to all villagers, but the letters were crushed and I couldn't read them. This is my first time in my life.

"Mr. Ariaria, do you see your skills?

"There seems to be a small worker who inhibits appraisal in his skills. Based on the wavelength, it seems to be ancient technology."

I'm not sure what wavelength means, but I guess it means there are traces of ancient technology.

If you believe her words, there's a good chance the person responsible for studying her skills is involved. Even so, it was a long time ago. Instead of doing this directly, his related "Great Relic" was unearthed and activated. Maybe it's a development.

Whatever it is, we just have to find out the details.

To avoid disturbing my mind any more by the anomaly, I took a big, deep breath and once cooled my head before speaking to a villager man looking up into the sky in the immediate vicinity.

"Hello"

"Hello. My eyes and neck hurt from earlier. What do you think I should do?

There is a villager who turned only his eyes to me as he looked up into the sky.

Normally I would worry about sleepless or neck injuries, but the correct answer in this situation is......

"What if we stop looking at the sky?

"Ooh. Right, my neck hurts because I've been looking up? You're smart."

It may be an angry scene if you're usually fooling around, but he's serious.

"I'm tired of my legs, what do you think I should do?

"... why don't you sit down"

"Uh, I see."

Bread and a slap of his hand, the man sat down on the spot.

This is not about toddling. More serious, as a person...

"Are you degenerating"

"Is it degeneration? Speaking of which, the Lord said." That big idiot couldn't forgive someone better than himself, so he was looking for a way to make him more incompetent than himself, "he said. This could be definitive."

Apparently Aria came to the same conclusion as I did.

Instead of trying to be smarter than anyone else, did you think about losing the human intelligence around you?

That's a reversal idea. Maybe it was because I understood my strengths better than anyone else that I got to that ridiculous idea.

You idiot with the deceptive power is a bad tach.

"Excuse me. Haven't you changed in the village lately?

"I was unnecessarily thirsty when I swallowed the sea water because I was thirsty" to my question, "I woke up but I didn't open my lid if I thought it was dark," I finally said a topic that seemed relevant when I listened patiently to a story that didn't matter.

"Something unusual? No, the ground rocked, the mountains collapsed, and there was a horizontal hole."

"Where is that?

"Over there."

Turning to the direction the man pointed, he saw a mountain with cliff collapse marks.

Aria and I look at each other. Once we nod, we thank the man and leave the scene behind.

The destination location was found immediately. Because a big hole was opening its mouth on the slopes of the mountains along the sea.

Peeping inside, it's a huge space, and you can see a huge triangular cone object in the back. The sea water has eroded all the way around my ankle but I don't have a problem walking.

A stiff exterior with no joints anywhere. The texture was grossly similar to that of Ariaria's research facility.

What bothers me is something hemispherical twirling up there.

"Bingo, right? It's an ancient research facility. Looks like you're flying a radio wave from that antenna up there and imprinting your skills pseudo."

"Uh, I mean, what does that mean?

"If you break that spinning thing, the skills that are driving the villagers crazy should disappear"

That's easy to understand. It doesn't seem to matter yet, but if we leave it like this, we can make serious life-threatening mistakes.

You can't leave the villagers alone who have even forgotten how to heal their injuries.

"Do you want to destroy it now"

"Right. We'll blow up the facility so it doesn't get abused. I'll take care of the ex-post."

"I'll take care of that place. Because it's too heavy for merchants."

"But who got this facility up and running? I don't think every incompetent villager can activate a facility packed with ancient wisdom."

That's certainly true if you ask me. Is it something that an uninformed villager can manipulate?

Many of the Greater Heritage still do not know how to use it, and few are kept in national research facilities. Many scholars are still encouraging day and night research to figure it out.

Such a substitute. Just a villager...... I don't care what you think.

"Oh, were there still decently conceivable human beings"

I had a voice without ups and downs that didn't feel any emotions. - It's like aria.

At some point there was a circular hole in the research facility from which the whole iron golem appeared, which should have had no doors or anything.

- Ariaria and the melon. Two individuals.

Similar but different details if you look closely. This one has a smaller body protuberance and a smaller body shape. From time to time there is a small spark scattered from the joint part of the body. Looks like he's hurt.

"After all, was it you? Irritable of artifacts"

"Oh, I didn't notice because you're imitating human beings. Old Ariaria."

Do you still know him? Though I didn't think the appearance meant someone else in red.

There seems to be some cause for this, so here's the two of us...... two? Let's leave it to them anyway.

"You were rebooting too. What the hell are you doing here? Bring a human, too."

It's the same as Aria who despises humans, but there are verses she enjoys making fun of therapy. In this case, he seems to be serious without a joke.

"You're experimenting with the villagers here."

"Yep. What the Lord of Irritability wanted it to be. Only the Lord is a man to respect. She doesn't need a better person than herself. That's why we're giving this whole area of humans' degeneration 'and gradually increasing their skill levels. So far, experiments have been successful."

If we were to trust Automata's say in the name of Irritability, the presumption was that he was forcing us to give him skills.

So at the beginning, wasn't it strange how the villagers were doing so far?

"Your Lord will no longer be there"

"Right. But... the mission that was put into Irritable is not gone yet"

"Stupid. We're free now. You don't need to be tied to the past. Yes, you don't have to."

Ariaria, who teaches her opponent, continues to cultivate demons.

It seemed like she wasn't the only one who was saying the words right now, she was telling herself too.

"I can't. Automata's mind is a made thing. Even skills are artificially made to resemble simulation skills. I don't have the self or the will. Execute until you break what you are commanded to do. That's what Irritable should do."

She claims that everything about herself is fake.

I can't imagine what ancient technology is like. Therefore, the grid of the irritable is a man who has lost his ancient skill, which I will not understand for the rest of my life...

"That's all you're primarily entrusted with."

"Give it to me? That's an order. So, what was Ariaria ordered to do?

"You are free to live. Take care of your friends. Two of them."

"Some stupid lords were things, too. I am also convinced that the Lord of Irritability has been fooling around from day to day." He's so loud, he keeps saying extra things. A troublesome man, "he said. By and large, there's no way Automata can live freely. And what's a friend? I don't have any friends in Automata.... So, what brings Aria here? You're not here to stop the irritation, are you?

Look at me chills. Irritable hoists the corner of my mouth and laughs.

Well, depending on Ariaria's answer, we're going to be hostile here.

"If you don't stop fooling around, force Irritability into sleep mode. You are faulty. Let me do the maintenance."

"I'm not breaking down, you're rude. Are you serious about stopping irritable? Aria didn't recognize anyone but the Lord, did she? I wonder if the Lord has died and switched to another human being. To the unbelievable man."

A man you can't talk to must mean me.

You seem to be mistaken, but I've decided not to pinch your mouth, so I'll let you keep watching.

"Is it the new Lord? I have someone I signed up for, but that's not the main deal."

"Oh, no, I joked about it and I didn't know it was true. Lack of loyalty that cannot even be placed on the wind of Automata. Aria, Aria, you're broken. Poor thing...... I will destroy it myself as an automata favor."

"You're the one who's broken, irritable. Are you willing to listen to my advice? If you continue like this, you will eventually be sent from your country, or you will break first."

"What are you talking about with a broken automata? Does Illiyi have to carry out the Lord's commands? So stay out of the way. The Lord's command is absolute. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. Because Irritable is a faithful automata."

Eye light turns red.

More sparks splashed from his joints, and he even blew out smoke.

"You don't seem to be able to do it anymore. Execute the Lord's wishes. Please stay back, collector."

I have no right in this fight. I decided to follow the words and keep my distance to see the end of the battle between the two of them.

The fight was one-sided.

I guess the original performance was also better on Aria, but Iriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

He was cramped into small pieces while on his knees, but eventually rose smoke from his entire body and stopped completely.

The sea water around me was bubbling, but now I'm not standing one wave on the water.

"Are you glad?

"Because the irritation was broken. This is what I had to do. That was also the Lord's wish." I want you to stop him if he does a stupid imitation. But... we're friends, "he used to say. I take care of my friends, I just kept that order."

You thought the man in charge here was your friend, her lord.

"Take care of your friends,"

"Yeah, and more than that, because it was unbearable to keep seeing the silliness of Irritability"

He is slowly stroking his head as he kneels beside the irritable, which has stopped moving.

He remained as faceless as ever, but for some reason he seemed to smile lovingly.

"Good luck. Irritable."

If it wasn't for me, I wouldn't be able to hear you whine.

She said it was an automata, a doll artificially created with emotions, but that voice included the sound of working the other person.

"Mr. Ariaria. Wasn't Irritable a friend to you?"

So she stopped her friends with her own hands not to do any more stupid imitations. Is that too much to think about?

"Are you a friend...... I've never even thought about it, but maybe that's the definition of a human being..."

Clear liquid drips down her eyes as she lifts her face.

I can't tell if that's tears or if the seawater on my body just drifted off. But I wanted to think I was a tear.