Sprocket Calendar January 12th, 1016 06:30 Tokyo Core Tower
Dr. Breguet, may I ask where you are going?
To inspect the situation in the lower floors.
Do you really expect me to report every tiny detail like this?
The Core Tower is a valuable asset under the jurisdiction of the military,
so I will accompany you.
As you wish.
Make no mistake.
It's the military that has final say over everything that happens in the Core Tower.
I don't care if you're a meister or whatever,
just don't act all important when you're merely repairmen.
It's true, we from the Meister Guild are repairmen.
That's why we are going to save this city, no matter the cost.
Don't underestimate me!
Episode 2: Purge
Answer me.
When is the Kyoto Grid purge scheduled to happen?
In 20 hours, so tomorrow at 02:42.
Why so soon?!
The official statement is that
we're conducting an emergency purge because of an unpredictable anomaly.
If word gets out that we left it without fixing it, the military will lose face.
You're willing to kill the 20 million people living in Kyoto over something like that?!
Where is the anomaly?
F-Floor 24, in the pressure control block.
We're going there right away.
You want to fix it?
It's only 20 hours. As if you could make it.
Thanks for the concern.
Right, if I don't make it, I'm just going to die with this city.
What?
So loud.
Good morning, Master Naoto.
It looks like you did not sleep very well.
Was there something displeasing about my lap?
No, no, no!
Of course not! It was amazing!
It's just that lately, the ground beneath the Core Tower has been really noisy.
I assume it's due to minor errors in the city's mechanisms.
It's about 70,620 meters below ground.
That would be Floor 24.
You know?
Yes. After all, both this planet and myself were designed by Y.
The Meister Guild has no borders—
The Meister Guild, huh?
Are you interested in joining them?
Yes, definitely!
You get to ogle and play with Core Towers,
as well as clock towers, all you want!
What a life.
It's a pathetic joke that the people who could not repair me for 206 years are
mankind's most skilled clocksmiths.
Well, that's—
Wait, 206 years?!
So that means you were built even before that?
About a thousand years ago.
A thousand?!
You think you can get it going?
I need to secure a line first.
We have to inform everybody about the purge.
A special emergency frequency for the Meister Guild, eh?
The military is no longer just a hindrance. They are the enemy.
Yeah, indeed.
All right, I've reached the communication officer outside the Core Tower.
Kyoto Central Hotel
Kyoto Grid Communication Officer Limons speaking.
Dr. Breguet?
What happened?
Since you're calling on the special frequency, I assume it's very important.
The military intends
to purge the Kyoto grid in 20 hours.
That can't be! Are you sure?
I need to speak with Service Chief Konrad on Floor 3 immediately.
I will have you patched through right away.
Meister Marie, are you all right?
Yes, but the situation is critical.
The military intends to purge the Kyoto Grid in 20 hours.
Really? That's much earlier than we expected.
The anomaly is in the pressure control block on Floor 24.
Please go there immediately.
I will meet up with you there.
Understood, but please wait a moment.
Our location on Floor 3 has had its power system
severed from the power spring barrel on Floor 15.
Repairing it, let alone moving to Floor 24, is impossible, as of this moment.
I guess the military has begun to actively sabotage us,
seeing as we received information about the purge.
So that was that noise earlier.
We're doing everything we can to repair it,
but it will take about four hours.
Then going to the barrel directly would be faster, right?
You're right.
Hey, now... I shouldn't ask,
but are you really planning on descending 30,000 meters and reconnecting the barrel?
You got it. We don't have time!
Kyoto Grid Outskirts
Commencing purge from the outer edge of the Kyoto Grid.
This is a special express to the depths of Hell.
Hold on tight, Princess.
A beautiful girl is hugging you. You should be happier.
Meister Marie is on her way to the barrel.
There are ways to assist her a bit from here.
Continue working!
Yes, sir!
I bet everybody is wondering why such a beautiful girl like you is with me.
This is your school?
Basically.
RyuZU, what will you do while I'm at school?
I will do what is necessary to fulfill my raison d'être.
This is sudden, but I'd like to introduce a transfer student.
I'm going to be a student here starting today.
My name is RyuZU YourSlave.
What the heck are you doing?
It's not a hobby of mine to spend time on mediocre lower-class people,
so there's no need to be particularly friendly towards me.
And there is one thing I'd like you to remember.
I am Master Naoto's property.
What the heck are you saying?!
It's going to get narrow up ahead.
Can you get through with your big body?
Might be rough.
I'm sorry, but I'm not as flat as you, Princess.
What?!
I'm still developing!
Something to look forward to.
Come see me again in ten years.
Die.
Ow.
After this, the barrel should be right there.
Make sure to stay with me.
As you command, Princess.
Taking them on would be a bit troublesome.
We're taking a shortcut.
Halter, jump!
Sure thing.
Kyoto Core Tower Floor 15 Barrel
So that's the barrel's connection to the main shaft.
I knew it. They were waiting for us.
We're going in.
Jump!
Yes, ma'am!
How much time should I buy you?
Forty-one seconds.
Right, got it.
A VS-071a Minotaur huh?
The latest from Vacheron.
You want to test your strength against me, eh?
You little shrimp.
Another 120 to go!
You bastard!
Damn, I only had three more to go!
There's got to be something I can do.
Meister Marie, I hope we were able to offer some assistance.
Meister Konrad! Thank you! Just one more!
Halter!
Yeah!
Eighteen hours to go. Let's hurry back to the others.
Master Naoto, are you tired?
Well, the entire time I was at school, I was being bombarded
with looks of unrestrained jealousy, envy, resentment, and hatred, so yes.
You were able to secure my smile for yourself, a smile that even angels envy.
I believe you needn't worry yourself about the looks from those of lower birth.
I guess so.
But it really hasn't changed.
Huh? You've been to Kyoto before?
I meant this planet.
For 206, no, 1,000 years, it has barely changed.
It's stagnated.
A thousand years, huh?
Then, no matter how accurate the clock is, it most likely needs an overhaul.
Tokyo Core Tower Floor 24
Pressure control unit JD-90021 is fine, so that wasn't it.
This is impossible.
The pressure control block has trillions of parts.
Even if we narrow it down, we'd have to check about 520 million parts.
Nothing short of a miracle will help us find it.
Then let's make one happen.
There are 20 million lives at stake here.
We have to make this repair, no matter what!
We still have 9 hours and 44 minutes.
Let's try to narrow it down even further.
Meister Marie, shouldn't we give an evacuation notice to the public, then?
If we do that, the military might begin the purge earlier to cover their tracks.
That is very likely.
Then our hands are tied.
We got a message from the guild headquarters.
We are to withdraw.
Withdraw?!
What fun we're having!
If only RyuZU was here.
You're saying if that thing was here and moving, things would be different?
That would be a miracle in and of itself.
Right now, I feel like grasping for anything, no matter if it's a legend or a straw.
Save the 20 million in this city?
Even if we narrow it down, there are 500 million parts.
Find the defect in there?
That's impossible.
God.
But you're going to do it, right, Princess?
Of course!
I am Marie Bell Breguet.
A woman who never thinks that something is impossible!
Then first, you have to get some blood into your brain.
How dare you, Halter?
What's the matter?
RyuZU, can you try that on?
Um, Master Naoto?
I don't think this is an appropriate outfit for a servant.
That's not true. It looks really good on you!
RyuZU, you look great!
But this isn't befitting a servant.
It's more date-like and fun this way.
Master Naoto, you say things like "going on a date with a clock"?
You're not a clock, though.
Then what am I to you?
A super-cute automaton girl.
I am... cute?
Yup!
Oh, yeah! How about letting your hair be more playful?
You have such nice hair.
Like this, and hey, stop movi—
Ah!
I see. So everything was just a highly calculated plot for sexual harassment.
No, no, that wasn't it!
18:40 Kyoto Central Hotel
I've said it before. Please withdraw immediately.
But why?
The military maintains all the world's Core Towers.
That means we can't completely ignore their position.
It's give and take.
Don't be ridiculous!
You're saying that 20 million people are a fair price to pay for that?!
A regretful sacrifice.
You're in bed with the military.
This world cannot exist without both the military and the guild.
So my communication from this morning was also leaked to them.
Dr. Breguet, where are you going now?
Isn't it obvious? I'm going back to resume my work!
Then I will revoke your license.
You're now nothing more than a normal civilian.
Of course, you won't be allowed to enter the Core Tower, either.
I remember now. You have ties with Vacheron, don't you?
Is this all some plot orchestrated by Vacheron to discredit the Breguet family?
I haven't any idea what you're talking about.
You people!
Marie!
Let's go. Being here is nothing but sickening.
Yeah.
Calm down, Marie!
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
Don't you get it?
Don't you understand anything?!
This city, the 20 million people,
they're all just collateral damage in screwing me over!
No. The military would have conducted the purge with or without you in the picture.
The shitheads from Vacheron just went along with it.
How can you tell?
If I hadn't been here, the purge could have maybe been avoided!
Still, it's not your fault.
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
Shut up! Shut up!
Are you calm now?
What are you talking about?
I have been calm for ages.
I may be too calm.
Doesn't look like that to me.
All right, fine.
If everyone's only serving to hold me back,
then I'll just beat them to a pulp
and figure out a way to make it work!
Um, RyuZU, that outfit is just a bit unsettling...
I cannot comprehend why you have a fetish for seedy-looking uniforms,
but there is a time and place for everything.
You don't have to come with me.
From here on, this is me being willful.
Of course I'm coming with you.
I'm your bodyguard, after all.
Besides, you're always willful.
Shut it.
Hey, are we really staying here?
Master Naoto, even if you are as cowardly as a flea,
could I ask you to have a little bit more dignity and composure, as my master?
What is it, Princess?
What is it, Master Naoto?
Y-You're...
The first unit of the Initial Y-Series, RyuZU!
7 Hours and 32 Minutes Until the Kyoto Grid Purge
The purge of the Kyoto Grid draws ever closer.
Amidst the brewing trouble, two geniuses meet.
Thus, a strange quartet is born.
The gears that will shake the fate of the Clockwork Planet have just begun to turn.
Next time: "Conflict."
How can I not fall in love after seeing something like that?!
Episode 3: Conflict