Investment for the Future
The Commander's office at headquarters.
The first meeting was convened under the grand title of Discussions for the Future of the Ark.
Naturally, I took the seat of honor, and beside me, Wanderer quietly assisted the meeting in holographic form.
Along the sides of the long circular table, the Arclight and Cerberus squads sat facing each other.
Later, when the number of ECHOs increased, only the squad leaders would attend the meetings, but since there were only seven of them now, I called everyone.
"……."
"……."
Was it because they were a squad that had temporarily joined Ark 69 after the failure of the Carapace Lord subjugation operation?
The Cerberus squad looked bewildered as to why they were even there.
The youngest, Luna, in particular, was staring blankly into space with unfocused eyes.
However, I had absolutely no intention of sending these useful hounds back to their original Ark 74.
Therefore, I intended to instill a sense of ownership in them, making them view Ark 69 as their new home. I planned to do this through gatherings like this.
"Arva. Tell us about the current situation."
At my word, Arva began to speak while fiddling with her tablet.
"Currently, the remaining energy of our Ark is 35.7%, and food reserves are sufficient for 38 days. This figure includes the Cerberus squad."
"…ECHOs don't need food, though?"
Luna, whose animal ears twitched at Arva's dry report, expressed a genuine question.
Toward Luna, Arva continued in a stiff voice.
"Correct. However, if food is not consumed continuously, even an ECHO will experience a decline in physical ability and instability in Core Output. Therefore, unless it is an emergency where there is not even enough food for the humans to consume, it is efficient for ECHOs to also regularly consume Concentrated Nutrients."
"Ah. We've never taken nutrients before…."
"……."
Just how did Ark 74 treat these girls?
Anyway, looking at Luna, who quietly shut her mouth, I turned my gaze back to Arva.
"What about water?"
"Thanks to the underground water plant in Sector D-7, drinking water and purified water are being supplied stably."
I nodded as I listened to Arva's report.
Since arriving at this damn Ark, restoring the underground water plant before anything else had really been worth it.
Alpha, a mass-produced ECHO, was now managing the underground water plant quite skillfully.
But that didn't mean the fundamental problems or the situation of the Ark had been resolved.
"The problem is the external danger."
Arva's voice dropped an octave.
"According to the analysis of the Central AI, Wanderer, only 3.1% of the defense facilities within the Ark are currently operational. If the Ark's location is exposed to the outside and a large-scale offensive by hostile forces begins, it will be difficult to hold out for even 30 minutes with the current defense facilities."
That was why Arva and Pomen had recently obtained a large amount of resources from the Hongwei-7 along with Karen.
In other words, the real purpose of this meeting was to decide where to prioritize using those resources.
Though the Commander's orders would be absolute regardless….
I am a democratic commander who collects the opinions of the ECHOs.
Or rather, I had gathered the ECHOs here in case they had a good idea that I hadn't thought of.
After a moment, Arva continued, displaying complex graphs and formulas on the screen.
"Therefore, I propose an emergency system to control all resources of the Ark and distribute only the minimum survival supplies to the ECHOs, Commander."
…An emergency system?
Wasn't the very existence of Ark 69 an emergency?
I swallowed a hollow laugh at Arva's words.
Furthermore, distributing only survival supplies… there was nothing else to distribute besides survival supplies in the first place.
So, what Arva was saying was….
"You're saying we should put all the resources obtained from Hongwei-7 into restoring the Ark's defense facilities?"
"That is correct, Commander. That is the most rational judgment to increase the Ark's survival probability by even 1.7%."
It seemed she hadn't given a single thought to the convenience or morale of the other ECHOs, excluding the Commander.
It was a very Arva-like way of thinking.
But her words weren't entirely wrong.
The reason for going to Hongwei-7 to get resources was for that very reason.
It was to make the Ark even a little bit safer.
Considering that, following Arva's words might be the right thing to do.
"What about you all?"
I asked Pomen, wondering if there were any other opinions.
"…Uh, I'll go with whatever the Commander wishes."
And Pomen, crossing her legs seductively, gave an answer that wasn't far from my expectations.
"Fufu, me too. I'm happy to be anywhere as long as I'm with the Commander."
Noah also winked at me and chimed in.
"Uh—! Defense facilities, or any facilities the Commander wants, I can make them all! Just trust me!"
Karen, burning with motivation alone, seemed not to understand the intent of my question.
Tsk, I'll just have to compliment her later.
As I expected, the main members of Arclight all maintained an attitude of following my decision.
"……."
"……."
Meanwhile, the girls from the Cerberus squad occupying the meeting room seats were still looking at me, as if they found this situation awkward.
When I looked at Helena, who attended as the representative, she got startled and hastily spoke up.
"I-I will do as the Commander wishes."
Has the aftermath of that passionate night the other day not faded yet?
I could feel Helena's voice trembling slightly. It was a completely different side of her compared to our first meeting.
If it's like this, there's no point in leading the meeting….
While it was convenient that everyone agreed to follow my will, on the other hand, it was a bit anticlimactic.
Isn't the beauty of growth found in clashing different opinions and finding a better solution in the process?
I felt that there was still a long way to go.
"In that case, let's do this."
Everyone's eyes focused on me.
And I presented the blueprint I had envisioned to the ECHOs present.
"60% of the resources obtained this time will be invested primarily in restoring the defense facilities, as Arva suggested."
Because the safety of the Ark is important.
Moreover, with a clear external enemy like the Carapace Lord, it was an inevitable decision.
"And the remaining one-third will be used to construct a farm inside the Ark."
"A farm… you say?"
Arva asked back, as if it were unexpected.
The emotion of being unable to understand flashed across her machine-like face.
Looking at Arva, I nodded and continued.
"Yes. You all might be fine living on Concentrated Nutrients, but I'm not. For humans, there's a term called gastronomy. I want to eat things like rice, flour, corn, and so on."
"Gastronomy…."
Arva pondered my words for a moment and then nodded as if she understood.
Although it was a decision for the Commander's personal desire rather than survival, like an ECHO, she seemed to weigh the importance of those words in her own way.
And the reason I'm building a farm first is….
It was simple.
I wanted to eat things like rice, kimchi, and bread, but it was also to get closer to the ECHOs.
In Echoes of Humanity - ECHO, you could see events by increasing the affection of each ECHO, and one of the most effective gifts was food.
So, the farm was the first step in capturing the hearts of the ECHOs.
I intended to make them weapons that thought only of me, not simply because they were loyal, but because I was human.
"Uh… rice? What can you make… with flour?"
At that moment, the curious animal ears twitched again.
Luna, who had once again intervened in our conversation, suddenly flinched as if she realized her mistake and trembled.
From the looks of it, she must have been scolded severely whenever this happened in Ark 74… but what's the big deal about answering her?
Seeing that, I shrugged and spoke in an intentionally softer voice.
"With those things, you can make bread and cook rice, right? Any other questions?"
"…Uh, how do you make them?"
"Hmm…. Sorry, but I don't know that part very well either."
However, I had a solution to answer her.
"Don't worry, a new companion will make them for us soon."
Breadgarden squad, the gene obtained while exploring Hongwei-7.
If I created her, I could taste warm bread and delicious food even in this barren Ark.
And after that….
Arva's favorite food was strawberry cake, right?
My relationship with the ECHOs would become even stronger.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A few days later, at Sector D-3 of the Ark.
Karen and Luna were sweating profusely in the air mixed with dust and grease.
Beside them, many giant pipes were laid out.
"Hyaap!"
As Karen swung a large spanner, a giant irrigation pipe clicked into place with a dull thud.
Not far from there, Luna, who had been sniffing the dirt with her nose buried in it to analyze the components, looked up.
"Sniff, sniff. Ms. Karen. The soil over here smells too much like iron."
"Really? I guess the contamination hasn't cleared yet. Then, could you spray plenty of nutrient solution over here? You can use tanks 2 and 3."
"Uh… will that even work? I feel like nothing will grow here no matter what we plant."
The soil she had seen in Ark 74 consisted only of dead land that could never harbor life again once contaminated.
"That's why we spray the nutrient solution. We're giving the soil food."
"Ahhh—!"
Convinced by Karen's words, Luna let out an exclamation and groaned as she moved a giant nutrient tank.
Then, gripping a thick hose, she began to diligently spray the nutrient solution onto the ground.
It was hard work, but it was much easier than fighting scary zombies or other monsters outside.
After spraying the nutrient solution and checking the smell of the soil for a long time, Luna suddenly looked up and asked Karen.
"Um, Ms. Karen. Can I ask you a question?"
"Huh? Go ahead. What is it?"
"Um… why did the Commander ask to make the farm this big?"
"Huh? Well, obviously…."
At Luna's innocent question, Karen briefly stopped the hand that was turning the spanner.
Then she looked at the vast land they were cultivating.
A wide expanse of land that looked to be about 1,000 square meters.
According to Wanderer, the Ark's Central AI, the Ark farm being built according to the Commander's orders could produce enough crops to feed about a hundred people if the latest cultivation techniques were used.
"There are no other humans in this Ark besides the Commander, right?"
"Right? Hmm, maybe he's doing it to produce crops that we can eat together too? Our Commander is a very kind person!"
"Is that so…?"
Luna tilted her head at Karen's words.
The commanders she had experienced in Ark 74 treated ECHOs as mere living tools.
Their meals or moods had never once been a subject of consideration.
In fact, Luna had rarely been provided with even the Concentrated Nutrients she could eat to her heart's content here in that wretched Ark.
But the commander of this Ark was different.
The joy of eating.
Luna, who had never tasted anything other than Concentrated Nutrients, could not yet fully understand the meaning of those words.
"Of course! The commander of our Ark is someone who cherishes ECHOs not as simple subordinates, but like family!"
Shouting that, Karen began to tighten the pipes again with renewed motivation.
If she could show the completed farm to the Commander when he returned to the Ark?
The thought that she might receive praise again took over her mind.
And Luna watched Karen's energetic appearance for a moment before burying her nose in the soil again.
Family….
She quietly repeated that unfamiliar word.
A word she had never possessed, and therefore, had never even imagined.
While chewing over that word, she looked at the land she was fiddling with.
Perhaps, a very small and fragile hope began to cautiously sprout in her heart—that this desolate Ark could truly become their new home.