Above Your Head

Chapter 21: Getting a Job, and War (2)

“I just cannot get away with anything…”

I let out a sigh and followed Alaina.

Obviously, I have no intention of bringing up the word ‘spy’ with my mouth. It would be for the best if the Leonhardt Empire could catch the spy or even know who the spy was, but is there a way for me to know their affiliations when they are all aliens ultimately?

‘No, perhaps they already know about it.’

In the first place, I am not the type with an overwhelming sense of justice to the point of bringing danger upon myself. On top of that, I do not have proof.

Ding dong~

“Oh, it\'s an elevator.”

“…Was this not made on Earth? The style of the building is too familiar. Also, these numbers. Aren’t they too similar to Arabic numerals?”

Alaina laughed at Bo-ram’s fluttered mumbling.

“Hahaha. What was your name again, lady?”

“…Kang Bo-ram.”

“Yes, Miss Bo-ram. Don’t you think both you and I, who are extraterrestrial beings, look alike?”

“…”

Yes. They did look alike. No, not only that, but Alaina looked like a human no matter who looked at her. I remembered the words Celestia told me.

It is possible if it is not a biological problem but a theological one.

Based on her words, it was possible that a God of Creations who created the world exists; a transcendent being who can influence the shape of all life forms starting from their DNA…

But of course, I had never pondered about the existence of Gods that deeply, but I was in a situation where the existence of Primordial Gods was considered a natural thing, so it would not be weird for more superior beings to exist.

Was it because I have lived while thinking the world could be fake? I could accept facts that were ground-breaking to Earthlings really.

“You will learn everything during the orientation so there is no need to rush things. Ah, wait a moment. Genie, we will go up.”

The upper part of the elevator flashed for a moment at Alaina’s words before a green light scanned her body.

Yes, Lieutenant Alaina… Your identity has been confirmed. Where do you want to go?

“Take us to the Tech Division.” Alaina answered and entered the elevator.

I asked out of curiosity, “Was that thing artificial intelligence?”

The answer came from the speaker instead of Alaina.

I am Genie, the Control Persona that controls the overall system of Albatross. With the exception of private spaces, most places are under my radar, so call me whenever you need or if there is anything I can help you with.

It was unbelievable that the response came from artificial intelligence considering how smooth it was. Bo-ram had an amazed expression.

Dong-min was also in a similar situation, although he did not show it.

Well, we were in a much more serious situation than the countryside people visiting Seoul, so it was a relief that we did not look around tackily.

Wiiing-!

The door opened while I was in my thoughts and Alaina led the way again.

“The Chief of the Tech Division will probably have the most heterogeneous appearance to you Earthlings. Also… Although he has not reached the point of transcendence, he is still a Noblesse so keep that in mind.”

“A Noblesse?”

I started to wonder at the unexpected word. We already met the Imperial Princess, so to say the Royal Family, so was being a Noblesse an important thing?

‘No, perhaps.’

I thought of the original nuance for the words noble and royalty. Perhaps Celestia was the peculiar case and the other nobles had a difficult personality. Maybe we might get kicked out or picked on if we said something wrong.

However, Alaina laughed as if that was not what she meant.

“Hahaha. I understand what you are imagining, but it does not have the same concept as the Middle Age. The word Noblesse I used here was in the context of a race… You will also come to learn about this slowly.”

Alaina then led me to a room that was at the end of the hallway. Bo-ram whispered to me on the way there.

“Erm, sunbae-nim.”

“Yes.”

“It seems like they will use sunbae-nim as a technician based on the atmosphere, but… Do you have the skills to get a job in an outer space company?”

“No way.”

I shook my head. To tell you the truth, I was also quite at a loss.

‘What do I have to do here exactly?’

Of course, I did not hack The Great War. I do not have the ability to do that.

However, wouldn’t it be funny to say, ‘Actually I got that score with my skills’ since I had already hidden the truth once?

‘Will I have to reveal it unavoidably in the worst case scenario?’

Obviously, I did not have the skills to work in the Tech Division. In the first place, what could I do about it when I was dragged into this situation?

“The two of you can wait here for a moment.”

“Eh? Will it be fine?”

Dong-min raised his arm and rested it against the wall at Alaina’s words. He then nodded.

“If it is a wall like this.”

“Ah, we are guards so it would be fine to use force if we think the atmosphere is strange, right?”

I clicked my tongue when I heard the scary words from the small and cute beauty, Bo-ram. This girl seemed quite excited about being thrown into space so suddenly.

“Oh my, it seems like you are quite confident.”

“That is not the case actually. Because we do not know what kind of power the aliens possess.”

Her words might seem humble, but I understood the insinuation. Come to think about it… My father told her to release the first-class transformation and even to take out a weapon called Gungnir. And when she heard those words, she mentioned World War 3.

‘That means she might have power comparable to an army. In the first place, the transformation was groundless but… It may be normal that Magician Girls are able to transform.’

In addition, even Dong-min seemed unusual. Judging by how he could jump through space like it was nothing, it meant that he was a superhuman that would only appear in movies.

But of course, that might be something that only worked on Earth.

‘That can’t be. It would be meaningless to send him as a guard if his abilities do not work at all in space… Also, it seems like Father has prepared for a long time after listening to Mother, who has the power of Foresight.’

I felt the need to check the titles of these guys one day.

But of course, it would not be possible to know how strong they are or what abilities they use with just their title, but I should at least know something to be prepared for it.

“Chief-nim.”

Ah, let him in.

The door opened with his reply and I entered. And as soon as I passed the door, I stopped in fear.

“…Uh?”

Ah, are you the newcomer? Nice to meet you.

I didn\'t hear a voice. It was a kind of telepathy that rang inside my head.

Well, perhaps that was the obvious case since the other party did not have any vocal organs.

“A… lump of light?”

A lump of light that was bigger than the head of a human entered my view. There were about five or six displays installed around the lump of light that was floating like a goblin fire, illuminating various screens. There were also all kinds of machines placed on a big table that was five meters long and three meters wide.

Ah, I heard that you just came from Earth 34, right? It must be your first time seeing someone from the Kendler race, right?

It flew and stopped in front of me as it ended its sentence. I casually look above its head (?).

Leonhardt’s Empire, Albatross warship

Compléter of Creation Realm/Mutation Realm, Nathan

\'Compléter?’

It seems like a sign for some sort of mastery. He wouldn\'t be using martial arts or anything of that sort in that state, so it should be magic or superpowers. Since he is also the Chief of the Tech Division, he must be a non-combatant.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kwan Dae-ha.”

Nathan Hoffman. I am glad to meet you too. I should be at least ten times older than you, so you would not mind me speaking to you informally, right?

“Ah, yes, of course.”

I was surprised.

It is impossible to guess his age based on his appearance, but ten times meant that he is at least 200 years old, right? In addition, he could even be over three hundred years since he used the words ‘at least’.

I am sorry but I have little time to interview you because I am short on time. Fix these things.

Nathan said and gave me a problem.

Unknown machines that were the size of my body flew and landed in front of me.

Boom. Boom.

And there was more than one of them.

There was a part that looked like an engine, a human-shaped robot whose maneuver seemed to have been stopped, down to a product that looked like a watch that could be worn on the wrist.

I looked at the things, not knowing what to do, and Nathan continued.

You can fix all three of them or just one of them. It is enough for me to assess your ability.

I listened to his words and approached the machines. However, obviously… I did not have the talent to fix these things. I was in a daze. The only thought on my mind was ‘What should I do?’

‘No, they called me because they thought I hacked The Great War in the first place, but they want me to fix objects rather than hacking?’

Of course, it was a mistake on their part for having misjudged that I was a superhuman with abilities in electronics, so I was simply looking at the machines, feeling stumped.

‘What should I do?’

I do not want to control a Gigas.

No, to be honest, I was really, really interested in controlling a Gigas.

I want to ride and control a Gigas directly. I have some confidence in my skills, so it is also true that I want to confirm it.

However… I am afraid that those results would lead me to war.

The enemies in the simulation of The Great War were all part of a program, but there would definitely be people riding on the enemy Gigas in an actual battle.

In addition, most of the aliens look like humans rather than octopuses or other beings, so what if I go to war under such context?

‘But of course, it is also true that being a soldier does not necessarily mean going to war.’

But at the same time, it was the same as having to bear in mind such a situation if one became a soldier.

If you received a salary for being a soldier, wouldn\'t it sound crazy if you said "Actually, I am an advocate of peace. I do receive a salary, but I simply wanted to do daily tasks. I do not want to hurt anyone" and not fight should a war occur?

‘But it is impossible to fix these unknown machines… No, wait.’

I flinched at that moment and then took a deep breath.

“Whew…”

I concentrated on changing the "Overall Setting" into "State-Problem". Of course, I had no problem in seeing what the problem was even if I could not fix it.

“This robot is just out of battery. The connector in the left side looks stiff, but there seems to be no problem aside from that. As for this watch, it seems like there is a bug. It was forcefully turned off and on once. And this… Oh, it was an engine. The parts number 7 and number 23 of this engine are worn out. I think we need to change it.”

Nathan fell into his thoughts after listening to my calm explanation.

Hmm… I see. An ‘observing’ ability? Is it impossible for you to fix it?

“Yes, I do not have that kind of talent.”

I answered honestly because I would only bring failure upon myself if I said I could do something I could not.

How obscure… That is too limited.

He floated in the air softly for a moment. It seemed like he was thinking if he should send me back or not. I looked at him float and took out my smartphone from my chest.

“Ah, does Albatross’ language unification device also translate texts?”

It does not have that function. It cannot even interfere with one\'s vision. But you are from Korea, right? I know how to read Korean, so don’t worry.

“You know Korean?”

I looked at Nathan who was floating in the air, flustered.

No, but how does this alien know Korean?

But it seemed like that was nothing special for Nathan.

I learn all kinds of languages as a hobby when I am bored. I learned about 300 of them and fortunately, I also learned some languages and symbols of Earth.

“That is great. Can you read this?”

I asked and wrote with the Notes app on my smartphone.

- There is an eavesdropping device installed on the third display on my right and on your left. The machine on the table has been installed with a virus that leaks information.

These were also marked in the title, as if it has been recognized as a "Problem". The title showed ‘Eavesdropping device installed, Monitor’, so it was impossible to not know about it

Nathan’s body flinched, as if it was quite a shock.

Is this… true? And can you keep using this ability?

“It is enough if I only have to find problems.”

I nodded.

I decided that it would be better for me to trick them about having a technology-related ability since it seemed like I was entering the Tech Division.

The ability that allows me to see titles is dangerous to the point where anyone would feel threatened by it, but it should be fine if I just have to find problems in machines.

This… is amazing. The usage of the ability is limited, but it seems to be a high-ranked ability. It actually seems like it would be more useful than the average technical ability with electronics?

He mumbled and cleaned up the parts that were in front of me. He used telekinesis instead of limbs, and the objects that easily weighed more than a dozen kilos were sent flying and displayed on a wall.

“How is the interview then?”

Needless to say, you passed. We will see each other frequently in the future.

Nathan flew gently towards me and placed its body at my forehead. It felt warm and felt like the equivalent of humans\' handshake.

“I will be in your care.”

“The same goes for me.”

I smirked. It was the day that I got employed on an alien ship when I had yet to even graduate from high school.