"This place is definitely the ruins of the maze," Nana murmured as she gazed down at the valley from the mountain's peak.

A massive pile of debris and rocks lay scattered beneath the steep cliff.

This was the maze that Nana's former master, the Undead King, Zen, had activated to facilitate his own demise.

Over the past two years, vegetation had grown over the rubble; unless you were actively searching for it, you might never guess this was the spot.

Nana surveyed the area with calm eyes.

This is Zen's graveyard, a sorrowful place where Nana's sisters disappeared into mana bubbles when Zen's Unique Skill, [Limit Break], unleashed powers that surpassed their limits.

"Is this okay?"

"Yes, Liza. The tombstones are standing correctly, so I confirm."

We set up tombstones for Nana's sisters and Zen in the location she chose.

With no bodies to bury, we instead interred items belonging to Zen and Nana's sisters that had been stored in my Storage by the Auto Loot function.

"Nana."

"We've gathered some flowers."

"Please give them to your elder sisters."

"I thank you, so I inform."

Nana accepted the flowers that Mia, Arisa, and Lulu had picked and laid them before the graves.

She clasped her hands together in prayer for the departed, and we joined her in silent reflection.

If only I had possessed the power I have now back then, would there have been a chance for them to survive?

After her prayer, Nana turned to me.

It’s tough to read her expression, but she seemed somewhat weary.

"Master, is it possible to recreate my sisters?" she asked.

That was an unexpected question.

I checked my Storage.

The machines that had created Nana were destroyed along with the collapse of the [Maze of Trazayuya]. They resembled the adjustment tanks used by elves, but they appeared to be modified. I had documents left by Trazayuya and Zen in my Storage, but not a complete set.

"I think it is feasible, but it may take some time."

"Yes, Master. I request the reproduction of my sisters."

A hint of a smile flickered across Nana's usually expressionless face.

Alright, I need to kick things into high gear.

◇

"Ugh, I’m not sure what these parts are for..."

Having taken on Nana's request, I was now researching in the Boruenan Forest to repair the machines.

I was trying to piece together the creator's intentions from the surviving and broken parts, but it wasn't going smoothly; they were far too unique.

"Satou, isn't that an implant to support the magic circles?"

"Wrong! That's an auxiliary device for mana adjustment."

"But we already have one of those, right?"

"Maybe just one isn’t enough?"

"I remember hearing about multiple rectification devices when I observed No.8's creation," I reported.

"I thought so! Let’s proceed with that!"

The elves and Nana were assisting me. Even the research-loving elves from the Burainan Clan and Beriunan Clan occasionally dropped by to offer their insights.

"Snack time~?"

"Here come some sweets for your tired minds, nanodesuyo."

"Nn, honey cake."

The girls arrived with snacks and a sweet aroma.

We, the researchers deprived of sugar, rushed toward the treats.

I quenched my thirst with the superb blue tea Lulu poured and enjoyed the honey cake Mia had set aside for me.

"How's it going?"

"We’ve taken another step forward, but it’s not progressing smoothly."

I briefed Arisa, who had inquired about our progress.

I could form homunculi with identical shapes, but simulations showed their force magic circuits and expansion slots would be far inferior to Nana's original state.

Currently, we were reviewing things to see if we could eliminate any unknown or unnecessary circuits.

"It would be great if we could ask the maker himself."

Arisa sighed, shrugging.

...The maker himself?

"That’s it!"

Since I had placed a Marker on Trazayuya, I could easily locate him on the Map.

I had met him as tactician Touya in the Weasel Empire; he was acting as a spy for the Goblin Demon Lord of the Saga Empire, but now he was living with a plain-faced reincarnated person, running an alchemy shop in a remote country.

"Eh?"

"Zen is out of the question, but I can visit Trazayuya anytime."

There's a branch office of the Echigoya Firm near the Marker; I just need to use Flash Drive from there, and I'll be there in no time.

"Master, I wish to accompany you."

"An extra person is no problem at all."

I took Nana with me to find Trazayuya.

--Huh?

His dot on my Map vanished.

"Master?"

We landed near Trazayuya's mansion while Nana looked puzzled.

"Looks like they stepped out."

He must have teleported away using the Unique Skill of that plain-faced reincarnated person who was with Trazayuya.

"Master, the stove is still on under this pot," Nana warned, peering through a window.

Looking alongside her, I saw a pot still cooking, cups toppled on a table, and a half-finished document.

I wonder if something urgent came up?

"Let’s check back later."

I don't know when they’ll return.

"Yes, Master."

Nana nodded, appearing slightly disappointed.

It would be bad if it caught fire, so I extinguished the stove with magical psychokinesis [Magic Hand] and tidied up the fallen cups.

Since Trazayuya hadn't returned home after several days, I decided to visit him myself.

--However.

"There is no one here."

Just like a few days ago, Trazayuya was missing from his new residence.

They were just here; it must be another urgent matter.

"Let’s try to track them down."

"Yes, Master."

The spot where we could teleport was a bit far from his location, but Flash Drive would get us there in a flash.

We teleported and headed to Trazayuya's residence, but he disappeared again.

"Master."

Nana looked at me with her usual blank expression.

"Maybe the target is avoiding you," she suggested.

"You think so too?"

I had my suspicions, but having them pointed out felt a little awkward.

◇

『Preparations for [Project Free Fall] are complete, so I announce.』

Nana's voice came from the spaceship's cockpit, transmitted to my bone-conduction speaker.

I waved at the silhouettes reflected in the cockpit and plunged into the atmosphere using Flash Drive.

If they can locate us from the horizontal plane, then we’ll just have to invade from above.

I broke through the speed of sound as the barrier created by [Canopy] magic surrounding my body glowed bright red.

The ground below became clear in an instant; the city transformed from a blur into distinct shapes.

If I continued like this, I’d create a crater, so I used sight-based Unit Arrangement to land in the garden of the target's house and slow my momentum.

Then I spotted a bald man standing by the window, looking flustered—Trazayuya.

He was about to shout something, but before the plain-faced reincarnated person could react, I Unit Arranged right in front of him and teleported us both back to the spaceship.

"--Kuh, just kill me."

Once I released Trazayuya onto the floor of our spaceship, he uttered the same line as some captive knightess.

"Are you misunderstanding something?"

"And don’t harm Mio. That girl was merely following my orders."

We weren’t on the same page.

By the way, [Mio] was the name of the plain-faced reincarnated person.

Checking the Map, I saw her moving about in confusion inside the mansion where Trazayuya had vanished.

"It looks like she’s worried about you; want to call her?"

After saying that, I connected us through an original space magic, creating a bidirectional video call screen.

『Touya-sama! Are you unharmed?!』

"What are you doing? I told you to move to the next base immediately if I got abducted!"

『There’s no point in a world without Touya-sama!』

They seemed to have started some sort of drama.

Now I felt guilty since they took it so seriously.

"Now then, shall we continue?"

I spoke after letting the moment pass.

"State your demands. I shall spare nothing now that you've taken Mio hostage."

『...Touya-sama.』

He interpreted it as a threat, even though I initiated the video call out of kindness.

Well, whatever. Let's get to the point.

"Could you show me the blueprints for the homunculus production system you used to construct the [Maze of Trazayuya]?"

"Is that all?"

Trazayuya opened his Item Box, retrieved several rolls of blueprints, and some books that seemed to be development diaries, placing them on a nearby table.

"This is everything."

"Feel free to take a look."

I stored all the documents, quickly copied them with magic, and returned them to their original place.

Afterward, I used my Menu OCR function on the documents in my Storage to search for the terms I needed.

I came across some uncertainties and clarified them by asking Trazayuya for answers.

Having an interview with the creator himself was incredibly helpful.

"You have my thanks for the information. I’ve copied the documents, so you can have the originals back. I’d like to compensate you for the information and the trouble—"

"No need."

Trazayuya cut me off curtly.

"--No, wait, I have two demands. Return me to where I was, and don’t concern yourself with us ever again."

"Got it. I promise to have nothing to do with you again as long as you don’t cause trouble in the world."

I agreed with the sour-faced Trazayuya and teleported him back to where Mio was waiting.

◇

After completing the machine, thanks to Trazayuya's documents and explanations, I immediately began the production process of Nana’s sisters.

The software side was also issue-free, as Zen had left behind detailed instructions and adjustments for the sisters' personalities.

When I discovered that the source of those girls' knowledge about the mysterious shoujo manga came from a shoujo manga Zen had written himself, it was a shocking revelation. He mentioned that he died in a war, but apparently, shoujo manga had already existed in the Japan he knew.

I finished installing the education device while still processing that shock, and then I took the sisters to meet Nana.

The meeting spot was not the solitary island palace, but where the [Maze of Trazayuya] had been, as per Nana's request.

"Number 1, Number 2, Number 3, Number 4, Number 5, Number 6, Number 8!"

"""Yes, Nana."""

Nana called out the girls' production numbers with a mix of emotions as she stood before seven people who looked just like her.

Numbers were too bland for names; I wanted to give them proper names later. Something like Ichiko or Ein would be dull; I needed something with flair. Perhaps Adein would work.

Nana led the sisters to the tombstones.

"Everyone should visit these graves," she encouraged.

"Whose graves are these?" one asked.

"These are the graves of our predecessor sisters," Nana explained.

"Are we the second generation then?" another inquired.

"We might even be the third," Nana pointed out.

The sisters were lively.

Nana provided a brief summary of what had happened; after listening, the sisters put their hands together before the tombstones, their expressions calm despite their lack of emotion.

"Master, did I alone get rolled out during the manufacturing process?" No.8 jumped up and raised her hand to ask.

She must have noticed the physical differences between herself and her sisters.

In No.8's case, I hadn’t adjusted her chest measurement or height by design; that was simply how the presets worked.

"Don’t worry about it; you’ll grow soon."

I ruffled No.8's hair; she squinted and leaned into my palm.

Suddenly aware of the other sisters watching, I realized they were all staring at me.

Pochi and Tama were already lined up behind No.8 with sparkling eyes, as if to say, [We're next!]

"""It’s unfair to only do that with No.8!"""

I wasn’t sure if it was because they were all manufactured at once, but No.1's behavior felt more childish than I remembered.

Well, I was sure their individual personalities would develop in time.

"It’s time for a welcome party!"

"These sisters have just been created; they can only eat liquid food for now."

"Then let's make it a porridge party."

"Porridge~?"

"Pochi wants to eat onigiri!"

"Onigiri won’t do; it has to be liquid food."

"Exactly. It’s either porridge or soup."

"Then let’s treat them to deluxe consommé soup."

"Nn, can’t wait."

"""Yes, Mia. We're looking forward to the consommé soup!"""

Nana's sisters and the girls were all happily chatting.

For the sisters' training, maybe sending them to the veteran elven masters after leveling them to level 10 at Dejima Island's Phantasmal Labyrinth would be a good idea?

After that, it would be the usual training at Selbira Labyrinth until level 50, then we could take it easy.

"Master! Hurry up!"

"Master, let’s party!"

The girls called out to me in front of a gate leading to the solitary island palace.

I offered one last prayer at the tombstones before rushing to the gate where the girls waited for me.