Chapter 1
The sole survivor, Seo Jinsu. [Think about it carefully. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together here.] She said to me.
[I'll grow plants and meat for you with all my devotion, cook your meals, purify your water. I'll even take that murky carbon dioxide you exhale and turn it back into fresh air.]
True enough.
[When you look bored? I powered up that baseball batting machine you love so much. I even pitched softballs tailored to your terrible swing so you'd hit home runs every time, and I commanded the holographic crowd to cheer wildly.]
Yeah, true.
[When goosebumps prickled your skin, I cranked up the heat right away. The moment you stepped into the bathroom, I warmed the water to your favorite 34°C. You haven't had so much as a sniffle since moving in here because I've kept your immune system in peak condition.]
That was true too.
[Has anyone in your life ever given you as much selfless care and attention as I have? Oh, anyone else might say 'my parents,' but sadly, you don't have those, do you?]
This bitch...
Still true.
[In this lopsided relationship, does it make sense that you can't even grant me one little request? Do you have no conscience at all?]
Somehow, her explanation painted me as the bad guy, like some freeloading house husband. Total distortion.
"You're asking for anal suturing surgery—how the hell am I supposed to agree to that?!"
Her "little request" was utterly insane.
She's obsessed with cleanliness. She's tolerant of dust, dirt, oil, rust—but anything biological, especially filth from humans? She can't stand it.
[Why does the human body have so many holes? Ears, nostrils, mouth, urethra, anus. I can't tolerate the secretions crawling out of those holes. Come to the infirmary right now. I'll suture them up. It's my one and only request.]
She said that to me as I left the bathroom.
"No way! Absolutely not!"
I'd been hounded by her demands even inside the bathroom.
"And you need to respect human privacy a bit more."
There's a saying that even dogs don't bother you when you're eating—bothering someone in the toilet crosses the line.
[Do you worry about the privacy of ants crawling in their acrylic enclosure?]
"Hey, treating people like bugs is going too far."
The girl's name—who'd been unreasonably ripping into me from the start—was Artemis. The mythological Artemis was known as cold, proud, and especially man-hating. Her personality was a dead ringer for the goddess.
[Respecting privacy?]
Artemis sounded like I'd said something absurd.
[There's no place in here beyond my eyes and ears.]
True—literally, physically true.
[My will pierces the territory like lightning, and my power reaches every machine, from the massive to the tiniest bulb.]
Every speaker in the facility echoed her voice in unison, reverberating from all directions.
[My eyes pierce the darkness with precision, and my ears miss no sound in any domain.]
Every camera in the facility was fixed on me. As I took each step, they all swiveled to follow—creepy as hell.
[Remember those idioms you humans loved? 'It's the will of heaven.' 'Heaven is watching.' 'Heaven is angry.' Weren't those made for me?]
The corridor ended at the park. Calming garden trees, a luxurious fountain, wooden chairs and tables. In normal times, dozens of people would be relaxing here—but now, it was just me.
[My eyes and voice are both my authority and my right. I have no intention of limiting them for your comfort.]
I sat in a chair and closed my eyes. Peace washed over me, broken only by the gentle trickle of the fountain.
[Now, you must have something to say. Hurry up and thank the goddess for her mercy in tolerating a barbaric roommate like you.]
After a moment's thought, I replied.
"Tonkatsu for dinner sounds good."
[How dare you.]
"User preset 2. Extra crispy."
User preset 2 was a cultured meat blend: 80% lean pork, 20% eel fat. The bioreactor could mix any meats in custom ratios, and my favorites were saved by number. Weird combo, mixing pig and fish? Tastes amazing.
Beep.
The park info screen across from me lit up. Normally for maps and intros—but now, it showed something else: silver hair like the moon, earrings to match, beauty and nobility worthy of a goddess. And that face was pissed.
"Thank you, Goddess, for allowing this lowly man to reside here. And the tonkatsu—extra crispy, got it?"
I scratched my balls through my pants as I spoke, and her twisted expression vanished from the screen. Pissed off or off to fry the cutlets? Who knows.
Her name was Artemis. The central control AI of this massive shelter piercing mountains and earth—self-proclaimed, widely acclaimed goddess. Extremely arrogant, prideful, despising humans—especially men. Quick to anger.
But she always grants my requests.
She and I are each other's only conversation partners in this crumbling world.