New Objective?

"Is this sadness, Commander?"

Kalyptos had been reviewing several of his memory logs, and it left him feeling a bit lonely. Processing everything that had happened and realizing he wouldn't be able to meet any of them again brought an unfamiliar weight to his systems.

"Princess, I hope you can see the garden I made."

Looking beside the station, right around the grave he had dug, he had decided to plant some bushes and flowers he found in the forest.

'Kaly, look at the garden I made with the maids. It's beautiful, isn't it?'

Kalyptos had watched from behind the castle walls because he wasn't allowed inside, but the Princess always asked him to come over anyway.

'His Majesty the King even scolded me because I got all dirty afterward.'

'Hmm, you don't understand what beautiful means? Hmm, ehh? Umm, I don't really know either, but beautiful is when you think it's like 'Woah,' and you know you'll never see something like it again.'

Remembering that specific log, Kalyptos had decided to try making a garden a few days ago. On the other side of the station, he had also dug a massive hole just big enough for him to fit inside, simply because he was curious about what it felt like.

But as he lay there in silence, staring up at the gray sky doing nothing, it made him think.

"If I die and look up at a beautiful sky, perhaps it would not be a bad thing."

Still, he couldn't shake this lingering feeling of emptiness existing in a place without anyone who actually knew him, even if his new animal 'station residents' occasionally wandered inside the ruins to sleep.

'Kalyptos, taking a walk and finding out things we don't know is pretty interesting, you know.'

'Just like my kids at home, hahaha. They snuck into my study and tried to look for national secret documents.'

Playing that log back, Kalyptos thought it wasn't a bad option. Now that there were no human officers left to assign him an objective, perhaps he should create his own.

"Perhaps searching for the remnants of the kingdom's civilization will give me a chance to find something."

With that thought processing, he decided to get ready, ensuring his mechanical body was in good enough condition for the journey ahead.

"Commander... Princess... my new objective is to explore this new world."

***

Meanwhile, back at Count Fiero's estate, the old butler and the territory's knight captain were quietly discussing their lord's incredibly dangerous plan.

"Captain, what do you think about this plan?"

"I've already heard about this giant from the men who went hunting with our lord."

The captain of Count Fiero's knight squad was a massive man, nearly two meters tall, with a thick black beard and a bald head. He was a former adventurer who was appointed as a knight strictly because of his combat skills

"They said this giant is over 50 meters tall. You know normal giants are only a dozen meters tall, right? So I'd say taking it down is practically impossible."

"Sigh~ is that so."

The old butler had served this household for decades, and he knew perfectly well that the current lord wasn't exactly the brightest person.

However, he couldn't just refuse him outright. The Count tended to get extremely unpleasant when denied what he wanted, putting the butler in a tough dilemma.

"What if we prepare our forces, but also request some backup?"

"What do you mean, Captain?"

"We can ask for help from the capital. I heard 'they' are currently there, hoping to rack up some achievements."

The old butler immediately understood who the captain meant: the Hero's party. They were strong, talented youths directly appointed by the king. Since they were still trying to gain experience, they would jump at any opportunity for a good fight.

"Is that even possible?"

"Why not try? Besides, our own preparations will still take a few days. A fast horse can deliver the letter and bring the heroes here in that time."

Stroking his chin, the old butler knew Count Fiero wouldn't like sharing the glory, but this was a necessary insurance policy to keep his lord alive if things went terribly wrong.

"I'll write the letter. You get the horse ready."

"Understood."

And so, they went about their respective tasks, setting their scheme in motion to capture Kalyptos.