Published: July 4, 2025
The day after the princely residence repelled the attackers.
Ryo and Abel, who had returned from the south, visited the princely residence.
They received news at the port that the residence had been attacked.
"Are you safe?"
"Lord Rondo, thank you. Yes, we are fine, but..."
"We are...?"
Ryo tilted his head, not understanding the phrasing of Princess Shio Fen.
At that moment, some figures appeared.
At the front was Captain Ruyao, accompanied by ten ice golems.
One of them was pulling a cart.
On the cart lay something...
"I'm sorry, Lord Rondo."
Captain Ruyao, with red eyes, bowed his head.
"Huh?"
Ryo couldn't grasp the meaning.
However, he noticed that Captain Ruyao was trembling.
She was crying with her head down.
At that moment, Ryo realized something.
Beside Captain Ruyao was the second squad of garden watchers.
But the captain of the second squad was missing.
"Huh? Where is Friendship Proof No. 2?"
At that point, Ryo understood.
What lay on the cart was an ice golem.
He noticed that the golem on the cart had a yellow scarf wrapped around its neck.
"Huh? No way..."
The information entering his eyes was processed by his brain.
However, his heart refused to accept it.
He took a step forward.
The information became clearer as it was processed by his brain.
But his heart still strongly refused to accept it.
Just as he took another step forward... his heart finally understood.
"Did Friendship Proof No. 2... help?"
"Yes..."
Ryo gently asked, and Captain Ruyao answered while crying.
"It helped me..."
"Then that's good."
Ryo replied with a smile.
Surely, Friendship Proof No. 2 thought that it was better to be hurt than let Captain Ruyao get hurt and offered itself.
Ryo deeply bowed to Captain Ruyao and led the second squad pulling the cart back to Rondo Mansion.
Upon returning to the mansion, they were welcomed by the lined-up golems.
It was the first squad of garden watchers led by Precursor Officer No. 1.
It was as if they were welcoming their comrade, Friendship Proof No. 2, who had sacrificed its life, while holding back their tears...
Ryo and the others entered the workroom.
"Hey, Ryo. Is there... no way to restore that golem?"
"If it's only appearance, we can quickly create an identical one."
Ryo answered without stopping his work in response to Abel's question.
"Is that so? Why didn't you restore it immediately? Wouldn't that have eased her feelings?"
"Well... that might be true, but... ultimately, it is not Friendship Proof No. 2 for Captain Ruyao. It is not the comrade she fought alongside and entrusted her back to. That wouldn't have any meaning, would it?"
"That's unavoidable, isn't it?"
Abel understood that what Ryo said was reasonable, but wasn't it just the way things were?
"You knew how our golems are supplied with magical power, right?"
"Ah, you told me before. It's from that water magic stone over there, isn't it?"
Ryo was connecting ice plates while working with those two water magic stones.
From there, the golems were supplied with magical power.
That range included not only Rondo Mansion but also the Lyun Princely Residence, which was built in a half-encirclement around Rondo Mansion.
That was why Friendship Proof No. 2 and the second squad could fight at the princely residence.
"This magic stone also records the logs of those golems."
"Logs?"
"Yes... it's like a record. It contains all the actions they've taken and interactions with people."
"That must amount to quite a lot, right?"
"Yes. It's an immense amount."
Abel imagined it for a moment, and Ryo nodded.
Even if narrowed down to just one unit, there would be a considerable amount of logs.
"However, for example, the log of Friendship Proof No. 2 essentially contains the memories of its life. Of course, it's not constructed as a backup that can be restored to the same state before being damaged, but it's still just a log."
"Uh...?"
"If we reconstruct the log and change it into the form of 'memories' and connect it to a new Friendship Proof No. 2... "
"Friendship Proof No. 2 would be completely restored?"
"That's correct."
Ryo nodded happily.