Caught in a God's Sight
Father had borrowed the dawn and slipped away from the house.
The spaceship was roughly a thousand pyeong in size. Inside, there were hardly any people. Most of the occupants were management robots. The family members who lived with me seemed to want to avoid running into me; I never even caught a glimpse of them. As for Eidel’s mother? She had never appeared in the story. She was probably absent from this place, or perhaps she had passed away before the main plot began. The only one I could hold a proper conversation with was the android Sonia.
“Young master.”
Sonia adjusted her katyusha headband as she spoke.
“Do you truly intend to proceed all the way to the graduate course?”
Graduate. That was what they called the academy’s postgraduate program.
“Yes.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m perfectly sane.”
Sonia’s eyes flooded with shock. It seemed even a robot knew how brutal graduate school was. Still, what did it matter? The first time is always the hardest. From the second time onward, it should be manageable. Even though the shiny new degree had vanished, the “me” who had fought tooth and nail to earn it had not. That was enough.
This time, the graduate course would be far easier than before. After all, developing the graviton bomb was essential if we wanted to stop the Outer Deities’ mischief. And to make that possible, I first needed to climb to a high social position. A professorship, for example.
“You have lost your mind… you have completely lost your mind…”
Sonia kept muttering under her breath.
“Pass the Academia course first before you say such things. The graduate program is not a place just anyone can attend.”
“All right, all right. Can you order this for me?”
I handed her the tablet. Sonia took it, and her eyes narrowed.
“You intend to purchase every workbook on this list?”
“Didn’t you tell me to talk after I pass Academia?”
Academia corresponded to the level between high school and first-year university on Earth. After that came the College course, and finally Graduate. Eidel was sixteen this year and would soon turn seventeen. In other words, it was time for him to enter high school.
Since Stellarium was a prestigious institution on a cosmic scale, it held a dedicated entrance exam for high-school applicants. Only by passing it could I avoid being expelled from the family, avoid being torn to rags by an Outer Deity, and later make full use of the Rheinland family’s vast fortune for graviton bomb research.
Recalling how easily I had passed university entrance exams in my previous life, I felt confident that I could overcome the Academia entrance test if I gave it my all.
“As I have repeatedly informed you, the probability of you passing Stellarium converges on zero.”
“Ah, is that so.”
“This Sonia believes the second option is the most reasonable. Would it not be better to enlist in the military instead of attempting enrollment at this time?”
“You want me to go die as cannon fodder on the battlefield?”
“This Sonia has no desire to force death upon you either. I merely offered realistic advice.”
This was hopeless. I placed the order for the workbooks myself without going through Sonia. Why entrust a machine with something a human could handle?
“You are buying everything in sight.”
“I wanted to buy them a week ago, but the atmosphere made it awkward. I need to get the order in now while I can.”
Sonia slapped a hand to her forehead. In the end, there wasn’t much she could do. After all, what grounds did she have to lecture someone who had finally decided to study?
Order received. Delivery will arrive shortly.
I looked around after confirming the order.
“What a disaster.”
The room was in no state to be seen. Gambling cards, betting chips, and all sorts of inappropriate items were strewn everywhere. I hadn’t paid it much mind before, but now that I was serious about moving forward, the mess stung my eyes.
“When was the last time this room was cleaned?”
“I do not recall.”
“Aren’t you a maid?”
“Strictly speaking, this Sonia is not a maid. I am a multipurpose android. I do not act unless given an order.”
“Then what’s with that outfit?”
“You mean this frilly garment?”
Sonia fluttered the black skirt of her classic maid uniform and answered with a perfectly blank face.
“I wore it because it is cute.”
“And that headband?”
“The katyusha? I wore it because it is cute.”
I pressed a hand to my forehead, utterly dumbfounded. Sonia tilted her head as if to ask, What seems to be the problem?
“So you haven’t cleaned at all this whole time?”
“Correct. You ordered me not to touch anything, so I obeyed.”
“And hitting me was also done with permission?”
“That, too, was merely obedience to the family head’s command to discipline you.”
“Ugh.”
Fine. I’d clean it myself. Since I would be using this room for the next several months, I needed to throw out everything unnecessary. First, I should ventilate the place. I started toward the window.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh.” Right. We were in space.
After the ventilator swept out all the stale air, I began cleaning in earnest. Wiping away dust and sorting useless items was routine. I worked so hard that sweat beaded on my forehead. Sonia, who had been standing idly, saw me moving busily and began to help.
“Young master, have you finally decided to live like a proper human being?”
Her eyes, white as seashells beneath moonlight, sparkled clearly. In answer, I showed her with action.
“Throw all of that away.”
I pointed at the bookshelf.
“Those are…”
Idol bromides, game character figurines—every last piece of merchandise that the old Eidel had treasured. A kind of luxury. None of it was needed for studying. I pulled the goods down from the shelves. These fellows would soon vanish like dew on the execution ground. The decent ones could be sold secondhand; the rest would go straight into the trash.
“Y-young master?”
Sonia asked, visibly flustered.
“What?”
“You previously ordered me never to lay a hand on those items.”
“Not anymore.”
“But…”
“I’m disposing of them all. The bookshelf should contain only books.”
I spoke with finality. In a way, this was an obsession—the result of a compulsion born from the determination to survive tenaciously in this cursed world and reach a happy ending. It was the survival instinct any human ought to possess.
When I moved to dispose of the goods myself, Sonia stepped forward to assist. At first she hesitated, unsure what to do, but soon she began placing bromides and the like into boxes.
“Young master.”
“Yes?”
“It is nothing.”
“Then why call me?”
“…It is nothing. I am simply a little confused.”
I tossed the VR device into the metal trash bin and shot her a glance.
“You’re throwing that away as well?”
“Why? Feeling sympathy because it’s a fellow machine?”
“That cannot be. Do not compare a fifth-generation artificial intelligence to mere scrap metal.”
Sonia made a show of sighing and adjusted her katyusha again.
“Don’t worry. I’m not throwing you away.”
“…What an unfunny joke.”
It wasn’t a joke; it was the truth. Robots gave faster feedback than humans and held fewer prejudices. If I showed her my changed self clearly, Sonia would become my first ally.
“Anyway, this is the last of it.”
With the cleaning roughly finished, I stood and brushed myself off. Sonia rose as well, arms full of bags.
“I will go dispose of these. In the meantime, young master, please wash up.”
“Thanks. I was about to lose my mind from feeling so grimy.”
I took a quick cold shower. In the now-clean room I turned on the ventilator, air conditioner, and dehumidifier all at once, then dried my hair. The sensation was like arriving in paradise.
However, Sonia was taking longer than I had expected.
The ordered products have been delivered. Thank you very much for using our Io Shopping Mall.
The books I had ordered arrived right on cue. I went out to the dock and carried the boxes in one by one.
“Oof.”
My back felt like it would snap after moving for the first time in ages. Both the old me and this new Eidel had bodies far removed from good health, so our stamina was severely lacking. Once I passed the exam, I would have to start exercising.
“Good grief.”
Just as I hauled the last box inside, Sonia returned to the room as silently as a ghost.
“Did you carry all these boxes by yourself?”
“You weren’t here.”
“I had a task to complete.”
“A task? What task?”
What work could she possibly have right now?
“I prepared a meal.”
With that, Sonia produced a tray she had hidden. There was a neatly cut ham-and-cheese sandwich, a salmon salad dressed with oriental vinaigrette, and even a glass of milk. A simple yet luxurious combination.
“Did you… make this yourself?”
“Household management is my specialty.”
Sonia set the plate on the desk and placed a hand on her waist in a triumphant pose.
“Please enjoy.”
“……”
This was completely unexpected. For the past week, Sonia had told me to “eat by yourself.” So I had survived on canned food alone. It had been the cheapest and easiest method.
“I am not a cat. I almost could not bear watching you open cans every day. Why did you do that?”
“I lost money gambling.”
“You were even monitoring what you ate because of that?”
“Why not?”
“……”
“Anyway, thank you.”
This was the first time since becoming Eidel that I had received food from Sonia. The emotion was so overwhelming that tears threatened to rise. The moment I took a bite of the sandwich, a refreshing flavor bloomed. The crisp texture of the lettuce was perfectly preserved, while the mildness of the ham and egg harmonized beautifully. The right amount of cheese tied the two together smoothly. Just as the novel had described. The girl was simply good at cooking.
“Why are you staring so intently?”
“No reason. I’m just grateful.”
“There is no need for gratitude. If you simply live like a proper person, young master, I can prepare meals like this every day.”
“Huh.”
Though the novel had never described it, this moment revealed exactly how Eidel had lived all these years.
“I’m sorry.”
“…Pardon?”
“For having lived like an idiot all this time.”
Of course I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I still felt I ought to say it. I stuffed the rest of the sandwich into my mouth and began opening the boxes in earnest.
“Whoa, look at that quality.”
Unboxing new books was always thrilling—especially academic ones. What I had purchased, however, were not paper books. If anything, they were terminals closer to e-books. The necessary texts were sold bundled together on these devices.
“Still, this does seem inefficient.”
“In what way?”
“Wouldn’t it be simpler to store them on the cloud and charge for downloads?”
Sonia shook her head.
“What if they were hacked? What would become of the company that published them?”
“Just make the security airtight.”
“The cost of maintaining such security is far higher than the cost of bundling them into tablet boxes and shipping them.”
Wow. Was this culture shock? Then again, even after inventing paper in ancient China, people had continued to use bamboo slips more often. In an era where room-temperature superconductors were commercialized and humanity had expanded its living sphere across the entire galaxy cluster, perhaps it wasn’t strange at all. I had apparently been thinking like a primitive.
“Young master, this Sonia is still puzzled. Why have you suddenly decided to apply to Stellarium?”
“That’s…”
I had no particular reason to give. To prevent the world’s destruction? That was correct. But it sounded far too abstract. If the protagonist had said it, maybe it would have worked, but Sonia would probably just laugh at me. Besides, speaking such things aloud might let a passing Outer Deity overhear.
“I require a convincing reason.”
Sonia leaned in, pressing for an answer. Since I had no proper justification to offer, I simply said what came to mind.
“Because it looks fun.”
It wasn’t a lie. Separate from stopping the universe’s destruction, learning had always been exciting.
“It’s much more fun and easier than earning two quadrillion credits or joining the army.”
I had simply chosen the path that suited my abilities.
“Ah, uh, ah…”
Sonia’s face turned pale once more—the same expression she had worn when I first mentioned graduate school. I didn’t have the leisure to respond to every reaction. I continued opening the rest of the boxes. Korean workbooks with Korean workbooks, math with math. I bound the tablet boxes together with binders. It was simple; all I had to do was manipulate the floating screens in the air.
While opening the final box, something other than a book popped out.
“…Ah, fuck.”
“Why are you swearing?”
Sonia approached with a displeased expression, as though thinking, There he goes swearing again. Sorry, but even a saint would have cursed in this situation.
“What… what is this?”
Sonia asked, equally startled. What had emerged from the box was a white object twisted grotesquely like a broken tooth. It emitted a glow slightly darker than an LED, and merely looking at it made my head throb as though it would split open.
A white trapezohedron. An artifact notorious for suddenly appearing right before an Outer Deity’s spiritual body revealed itself.
The fact that it had appeared before my eyes meant one thing.