idolpro | Kino's Heart Game

[yeet the statues to make a runway????]

How come?

[his eyes are sparkling a little]

“Well, first I should say... Welcome to my house. I’m Nimya, Nimya Tchuhachkova. Nice to meet you.”

“Hello. I’m Kino, and this here is my partner, Hermes.”

Nimya half-opened the door to the warehouse and invited Kino and Hermes inside.

The interior was dark, humid, and reeked of machine oil.

“Now I’ll answer your question. I want to turn the main road into a long, straight path. That’s why the bronze statues have to be moved,” Nimya explained.

Still doubtful, Kino asked. “What for?”

“It’s… for this.”

At the same time, Nimya pressed a switch in her hand. The lights hanging from the ceiling slowly lit up, and ventilation fans also started to run.

There was a transport crane dangling from the ceiling. The floor was lined up with various construction machines, and one corner of the room was littered with a mountain of scrap metal. There were several desks cluttered with documents. There were also a number of bicycles hanging side-by-side in one corner.

And at the center of the warehouse was a silver machine.

Roughly the size of a truck, it had a body like that of a fish with its streamlined form and dorsal and tail fins. At its tail end was a device that looked like a three-bladed fan, and arranged symmetrically on its sides were two panel-like protrusions, the span of which was longer than the machine’s overall length. And below these protrusions were two legs that had tires at the end.

“What… is this thing?” Kino asked after trying to figure it out for a while.

“It doesn’t have a name yet, but…” Nimya turned to Kino and Hermes. Then she declared with a bold yet beautiful smile, “With this… I will soar to the skies!”

There was the sound of a film roll coming to an end. And so, your character finds themself in the warehouse, free to examine the machine - or listen in on the conversation regarding this apparent flying machine.

[Yaaaaaaaaaay]

[he listens in eagerly, of course]

You can fly with that? How?

“If you hold a plank horizontally against the wind, nothing will happen, right? But if you place it at an angle, even if it’s only a little, a force that moves the plank forward and upward is generated. The same idea is in effect when you raise your head while riding a bicycle, causing your hat to fly off. So using this concept, if you attach an angled plank to an object – it doesn’t have to be a bicycle – and let it run at a particular speed, it will be lifted to the air by the plank. And that object should be able to fly.”

How... nicely thought out.

[Kino seems unconvinced.]

“I guess. But I haven’t had the chance to test out this machine yet. For it to fly, I need a long, flat, and perfectly straight road. No other place could meet those conditions inside or outside this country, except for that road. But those bronze statues are in the way. I’ll do whatever it takes to have them moved!”

Edited 2022-02-12 04:38 (UTC)

[cobalt kind of feels like the doorway that showed the ramp going over the top of the statues was kind of a giveaway about what the solution to this problem wound up being.]

[He's not really sure if he should say anything or just let kino take the credit for that idea, as nature intended]

[he just keeps listening for now]

“Anyway, that's my plan... oh! Would the two of you like some tea while you're here? You can look at it in the meantime, if you'd like.”

...Sure. I wouldn't mind that.

[Looking over to Cobalt, any objections?]

[DID SOMEBODY SAY TEA?!]

Yes, please.

"Roger! I'll prepare it now."

[In the meantime, Kino's going to wander over and take a look at the machine for themself. Do as you will, Cobalt!!]

[He doesn't even know what to do here except wait for tea and be excited.]

[He'll hang out with Kino, though, because that's also a thing he enjoys doing.]

What do you think?

[Quietly, so Nimya won't hear:]

I'm... not sure I believe it can really fly, but it sounds interesting.

I'd love to see her give it a shot.

Even if it doesn't work the first time, she seems determined enough to keep trying.

That's true. But I wonder if she'll actually have a chance...

Because of the statues?

I wasn't there for the conversation, but I'm guessing the mayor is so proud of himself and the heritage that he won't consider moving the statues... even though having an airport here would draw a lot of travelers...

Not just the statues. It's just... difficult for me to imagine something like that,

[A nod at the flying machine.]

being able to fly.

...Really?

We have airships back home that look much weirder than that. There are some shaped like breadboxes, or boats, or are round like balloons, have wings on either side like a bird.

This thing looks squarely within the realm of potential airship shapes, I would think.

[as if he knows anything!!!]

At that moment, a car’s engine was heard from outside followed by a violent rapping at the entrance.

“Nimya Tchuhachkova. Please open the door. It’s me.”

It was the chief’s voice. Nimya clicked her tongue and pressed the switch beside the desk. The warehouse shutters opened, allowing the sunlight to get in. Footsteps of more than ten people, led by the chief, came in.

“Good afternoon, Chief. For you to pay me a visit… could it be that my appeal was already approved?”

“Of course not. …Oh, traveler, how come you’re here?”

“I invited them out for tea and told them my story. I’m just welcoming our honored guest, am I not allowed to do so?”

The chief made a sullen face, but finally calmed himself after some effort.

“Nimya. There is something I would like to tell you.”

“And what would that be?”

“All citizens are free to do anything they want as long as they don’t commit crimes or create trouble for the community. However, this country’s council has decided that you shall no longer be allowed to waste time and money on this ‘flying machine’ and other worthless matters.”

The chief delivered his speech with a dignified and deliberate tone. Nimya only glared back, though not impolitely, and gave a curt reply, “It’s not ‘worthless’. That’s all I have to say.”

Kino and Hermes could almost hear the molars of the chief grinding in frustration.

A middle-aged man spoke up. “Chief. It’s no use no matter what you tell her. This woman has gone crazy. Just look at this weird machine.”

“Don’t you dare touch it!” Nimya gave a piercing shriek to the man who tried to approach the machine.

Kino stands back as Nimya shrieks at the people approaching the machine, watching impassively - but your character certainly isn’t bound to stay still if they want to take action.

[Cobalt hustles over and tries to get in between the chief and the airship]

Excuse me, sir? With all due respect... Why would you want to stop her from doing something that is going to make your country incredibly famous and wealthy?

I thought you were excited about travelers... right? Don't you want more?

[The chief puts on a smile, but his contempt is still clear.]

"Traveler, that's very kind of you, but there's no need to feed her delusions. Why, that machine obviously won't fly anywhere, much less be able to carry people!"

Well, yeah, if you don't let her work on it, you're right. That's the same as saying a motorrad that's trapped in a barn won't get anywhere, when you won't even open the door.

We have airships very similar to this in my country. They can carry whole armies, or commercial goods, or information.

Is moving the statues really that hard?

[That... gives everyone in the room a pause, although some of the other townspeople seem to be less impressed and more suspicious.]

"Their very foundations are in the ground - they aren't just some figures to move around, willy-nilly!"

[The chief sounds somewhat offended at the very idea.]

"Do you have proof - solid proof, that what you say is true?"

Proof that... airships exist?

[said as if this is as absurd as asking to prove water exists]

"Yes, yes! Proof that airships exist."

[He puts his hands on his hips expectantly, like Cobalt can somehow just summon this kind of thin into existence.]

Uhhhh... it's not like I normally carry pictures of them on me...

Wait, do I have my...?

[He pats himself down, looking for his phone. Can he just lucid dream it into existence?]

[All he has is his satchel and knife :(]

[ :( ]

Dang. I was thinking I could just show you one of my memories. Wait, no, I can't buy one because I don't have any points because I gave them all to Kino...Heck.

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