Shared Slumber
Sharing a bed.
As expected, figuring out Fix wasn’t easy.
I’d managed to open the thing and peek inside its structure, but the circuitry was so intricate that understanding its design and principles proved difficult.
So I tried using the cheat skill Engineering Insight.
That skill was supposed to grant engineering knowledge just by observing a target, after all.
Unfortunately, my level was too low for even that to work.
Engineering Insight at Level 3 simply couldn’t decipher Fix’s complex CPU.
Take it slow.
I decided to shelve researching Fix for now.
First, I’d save up money from the air conditioner subscriptions, then acquire the Emerald Mana Stone mined in the Dwarf Allied Kingdom.
If I developed a primitive computer step by step using that material, I might eventually find the answer.
After all, when I cracked open Fix’s head, I discovered its CPU was made from a different material than Earth’s CPUs.
Just as I’d suspected, it used Emerald Mana Stone.
So why were otherworldly CPUs made from Emerald Mana Stone?
Because, unlike ordinary mana stones, Emerald Mana Stone could be miniaturized down to the nano scale without losing its properties.
In other words, while ordinary mana stones lost their ability to hold mana when broken into tiny fragments, Emerald Mana Stone could still store mana even when reduced to powder.
That meant equipment could be drastically miniaturized.
Even a minuscule amount of the stone would allow mana to flow.
And that’s not all.
Furthermore, when specially processed, Emerald Mana Stone could have its mana capacity precisely controlled.
If you processed it to hold exactly fifty units of mana, it would hold exactly fifty—no more, no less.
So what if you processed it to hold only one unit?
Then it would register as one when holding mana and zero when empty.
In short, the presence or absence of mana could represent binary code.
That would let us use processed Emerald Mana Stone like transistors—devices that could switch between zero and one.
And if we combined multiple such transistors to perform specific operations, we’d have logic circuits.
We could build the arithmetic logic unit that formed the foundation of a CPU.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.
The real problem was that a modern CPU contained billions of these switching devices—transistors.
To replicate one, I’d need to shatter Emerald Mana Stone into particles smaller than dust and process each fragment to hold exactly one unit of mana.
Only by assembling billions of those fragments into something the size of a fingernail could a modern CPU be born.
I could only marvel at the insane semiconductor technology of Samsung back on Earth.
“This is going to be a long-term project.”
Creating a computer was an ambitious plan that would require patience.
Everything I’d considered so far was only the hardware design of the CPU; I hadn’t even begun to think about the software side.
Things like the various registers that assisted the CPU’s arithmetic operations.
Or cache memory and RAM to store processed instructions, compilers to translate coded languages into assembly, assemblers to convert assembly into machine code made of zeros and ones, and so on.
There were countless software considerations as well.
“……So in the end, I need to raise my level.”
To understand and build such a complex structure, I’d need to level up Engineering Insight further.
The higher its level, the more advanced structures it could comprehend.
“What happens if Hand Skill levels up……?”
Still, I wondered what would occur if Hand Skill rose higher.
I’d obtained Fix the moment Hand Skill reached Level 3.
Did that mean Level 4 would grant me another Fix?
Or perhaps Fix itself would upgrade.
Right now it was just a robotic arm, but maybe at Level 4 it would evolve into a humanoid robot.
Well, I wouldn’t know until it happened.
For now, I just needed to keep saving for Emerald Mana Stone while upgrading my suit.
If I kept doing what I was supposed to do, both Hand Skill and Engineering Insight would level up on their own.
***
“Kgh……”
Wednesday, third period.
Enya was glaring at me with a furious expression.
Understandably so—her name hadn’t been drawn as my partner for the practical lesson.
“Hehe, commoner. What a fateful coincidence that we were randomly paired together, don’t you think?”
And of course, the partner drawn for me was Isabella.
That was why Enya could only glare our way in frustration.
“Alright, we’ll be practicing the combat sleep technique. As previously announced, you pass if you can put your partner to sleep within fifteen minutes.”
At that moment, the instructor drew everyone’s attention with the instructions.
Even Enya, who had been wearing a resentful look, and Isabella, who had been smiling at me, focused on the instructor’s words.
The instructor began the explanation.
“If you paid attention in class, this should be straightforward, but since it’s your first practical, let me go over the key points once more. First: sound isolation. No need for complicated spells—just activate the device you were given and it will block sound within a two-meter radius.”
Sound isolation.
In other words, blocking noise to help put your partner to sleep.
The lesson the instructor was teaching was “how to sleep comfortably even in the middle of war.”
“Once sound is blocked, the next step is image association……”
The next step was image association.
Exactly as it sounded—visualizing images.
Usually calm, static images that brought peace of mind.
For example, waves gently rolling onto a pristine white beach.
Or following a single leaf drifting on a breeze, or gazing up at slowly drifting cumulus clouds.
Whichever you chose, the goal was to help your partner visualize a static image so their heart rate and breathing slowed.
“And after that……”
Next came “mana absorption.”
In other words, using mana refinement to relax tense muscles.
While continuing to speak and guide your partner through visualization, you used the mana absorption device to draw out the mana that had seeped into their muscles.
Only then would their body fully relax.
“Now, I’ll start the timer. You have fifteen minutes. If you can put your partner to sleep within that time, you pass. Begin!”
The instructor pressed the timer button, signaling the start.
I looked at Isabella, who lay on the bed staring straight at me.
Would this sleep technique even work on her?
As if reading my thoughts, Isabella smirked.
“You figured it out, huh? That kind of thing doesn’t work on me.”
“……”
Of course it wouldn’t.
Isabella couldn’t fall asleep through ordinary means.
Because she was suppressing negative emotions.
She processed those emotions into curses to inflict mental damage on her opponents.
If she ever lost control of those negative emotions, she would be the one harmed.
She had to live knowing there was a bomb inside her own head.
“Well, I still have to try.”
I activated the device anyway, cutting off sound within a two-meter radius.
In an instant, we were separated from the outside noise, as if only she and I remained in the world.
“I’m actually pretty good at putting people to sleep.”
I had put Isabella to sleep before.
Back when the number of retries in El Pandor Runtera had exceeded sixty.
During the late stages of her route, I had often shared a bed with her.
And every time, she had begged me to help her fall asleep.
That was how I already knew the method.
“Interesting. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Perhaps because of that, the face of the Isabella from back then suddenly overlapped with the one lying before me now.
Her face, smiling sadly as she looked at me.
Her lines echoed in my mind.
It’s fine. Even if you kill me.
“……Move over.”
Without realizing it, I made an impulsive move.
I asked her to give me space on the bed.
Isabella looked flustered.
“B-beside me? You’re going to lie down too?”
“……”
A flood of thoughts raced through my mind.
The Isabella from back then and the one now were completely different people, so why had I said that?
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
“Yes. I’m going to lie down too.”
But there was no taking back spilled water.
I could only try to salvage the situation as best I could.
“L-lie down? Together?”
Isabella’s expression looked uncharacteristically embarrassed.
Well, no one had ever tried to share a bed with her before, so her reaction was understandable.
Especially since lying in the same bed with a boy her age carried heavy implications.
I kept my expression calm, as if it were no big deal.
“……There’s research on this. Primates feel more secure when a trusted member of their species is beside them.”
Of course, that was a lie.
I’d made it up on the spot.
Fortunately, Isabella seemed willing to let it slide.
Her eyes curved into crescents.
“Pfft…… Really? You’re something else. Saying you’ll share a bed with the Grand Duchess so casually. Any other man would’ve been torn apart by now.”
“……”
She probably meant it.
Isabella was extremely averse to physical contact with others.
“But I guess you’re fine. Honestly, you’re kind of handsome. And interesting.”
Isabella scooted over, patting the empty space beside her.
“I’ll be looking forward to it. I’m really curious whether you can actually put me to sleep.”
Playfulness filled her face.
Her violet eyes sparkled as she looked at me with interest.
—Rustle.
I took a deep breath and climbed onto the bed.
Soon we were close enough that we could hear each other breathing.
Close enough that I could reach out and touch her face.
Don’t fall in love with me.
Once again, memories from the previous timeline flooded in.
The Isabella route that had always ended with her death.
Why did those emotions keep rushing back?
Those memories, which I had only experienced through the game, felt as vivid as if I had lived them myself.
“……Commoner?”
She called out to me.
The past memories scattered instantly, and her current face filled my vision.
“Is something…… bothering you? You look serious.”
Maybe it was because I kept overlaying the Isabella from before.
My expression must have slipped.
I smiled wryly and answered.
“Yes. I was worried I might fail the practical.”
“Pfft. Is that all?”
Isabella chuckled softly at my joke.
She asked,
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“……Hmm. I’m thinking.”
I’d already committed, but now that it came to it, I hesitated.
To properly put Isabella to sleep, there would have to be physical contact.
We hadn’t built up the same emotional bond as in the previous timeline, and we were only just getting to know each other—would she allow our bodies to touch?
……What if I said the wrong thing and got torn apart?
“Um, there might be some physical contact. Is that okay?”
But worrying wouldn’t help.
I just went for it.
Holding my breath, I waited for her reaction.
“……If that’s what it takes to put me to sleep?”
Luckily, she seemed willing to go along with it again.
She smiled faintly.
“Maybe.”
“……”
Isabella’s eyes looked thoughtful.
Then her cheeks flushed red.
She spoke.
“H-how much…… physical contact?”
“……”
This felt new.
To think that Isabella would look this embarrassed.
Since we were still in the early stages of the game, she still had some awkward, inexperienced sides to her.
“Well…… just holding you from behind. But don’t misunderstand. Think of it as part of the treatment for sleep imbalance.”
“……Hmm.”
When I framed it as treatment, Isabella nodded.
She turned her back to me with a swift motion.
“I heard about you from Butler Bilson. That cold wind you blew at me…… led to the development of Graham’s Northern Wind. So you’re fine. Our family is planning to invite you…… and I like you too…… I’ll just think of you as a big teddy bear behind me.”
She tried to sound nonchalant, but I could clearly hear the tremor in her voice.
She was piling on excuse after excuse just because we were going to hug.
Her ears, flushed bright red, looked especially cute.
“Ahem. Then I’ll begin.”
Still, I was nervous too.
After all, this was my first time actually holding her.
—Rustle.
But my movements were steady.
Like an old habit, I took the familiar position, pressing against her back and wrapping one arm around her waist.
Isabella’s body flinched with an unexpected reaction.
“Hic!”