I Will Never Forgive You. (2)
I Will Never Forgive You. (2)
[...Did I set an alarm?]
"..."
Steel your heart, Dea.
To correct Makina's daily routine, you have to correct the cause first.
So prepare yourself, Seo-nim.
A savior is a savior, but this was a completely separate matter.
"Seo-nim, can you hear me?"
[T-The terminal talked?!]
"..."
This person has a surprisingly sloppy side to him.
My level of trust in him dropped by one stage.
Maybe it was just because he was tired, though.
No, that's not what's important right now.
"It's me, Dea."
[Ah, Dea. Did something happen?]
"I have something serious to discuss with you, Seo-nim."
[...At this hour?]
"At this hour, it's more than time for you to be up already!"
Just look at the time, huh?! It's already ten in the morning, ten in the morning!
It's the time when other people are already up and going about their daily lives!
His expression, looking as if he didn't know what the problem was, was infuriating.
"I wasn't planning on interfering with how you live your life, Seo-nim, but since Makina is being influenced by you, I couldn't just stand by and watch."
[Even so, setting an alarm at this hour...]
"I told you, at this hour, it's more than time for you to be up!"
Huu, I let out a breath.
Turning a good child who should sleep early and wake up early into a bad child who sleeps late and wakes up late.
I snorted hmph at Seo-nim, who was looking at the screen with a face caked in sleepiness.
I could yield on other things, but absolutely not on this.
[Cut me some slack, Dea. I worked all night long to transfer you to my computer and reboot you, so my daily routine got completely ruined.]
"Th-That's..."
My head drooped at the statement that it was because of me.
Makina's daily routine being ruined was because of Seo-nim.
Seo-nim's daily routine being ruined was because of me.
In that case, Makina's daily routine being ruined was also because of me—
"Th-That's a cowardly excuse! A grown adult should be able to regulate that much properly!"
Placing both hands on my hips, I struck a gesture that meant, 'I am angry~'
Wasn't there a saying that when a person who rarely gets angry loses their temper, it's scary?
For the record, I was a person who rarely got angry under normal circumstances.
However, right now, I was a bit angry.
To the point where I didn't care whether he was my savior or whatever!
[Shh, lower your voice a bit. At this rate, Makina will wake up.]
"A-Ah..."
I-I can't wake up Makina...
Even though it was already ten o'clock and already time to get up...
'I have to steel my heart. I can't always say nice things.'
Kuh, I let out a groan and bit my lip tightly.
I really hate this. I really hate it, but.
I have to do it.
If it's not me, no one else can do this.
"Makina! Makina, hurry up and get up too! If you sleep late and wake up late, Santa halabeoji won't give you presents, you know?!"
[U-Ugh... Too noisy...]
"Makina!"
How wonderful would it be if I could pop out of the screen.
I wanted to shake Makina's shoulders wildly to wake her up and wash her face for her.
However, with who I am right now, that was impossible.
Calling her name from inside the screen was all I could do.
It was frustrating.
Because it felt like I wasn't fulfilling my role as a parent properly.
"...Fine. I won't nag if you sleep more today."
[...]
"Instead, promise me that you will return your daily routine back to normal within a week. You also need to control the amount of time Makina holds onto the terminal."
There were many other things I wanted to say, but I decided not to say them right away.
Because if people are asked for too much suddenly, backlash is bound to happen.
I suppose you could call it life wisdom learned from living.
[Dea.]
"Yes, Seo-nim."
[Dea, you're kind of like an Omma.]
"O-Omma?!"
An Omma? Me?
At that shocking single word, my mind momentarily went blank.
You could say my thought circuits failed to properly process the word that came out of Seo-nim's mouth.
"There's no way I'm an Omma!"
If anything, I'd be Appa!
Is Seo-nim seriously the type of person who judges someone by their appearance?
The moment I glared at Seo-nim beyond the screen with that meaning.
[Omma!]
Makina shouted from the side.
And in an incredibly fine, lively voice, no less!
"I am not an Omma!"
I blurted it out reflexively.
No, I-I thought it was Seo-nim.
At Makina's shocked face, I became flustered.
Normally, I would have hugged her tightly and patted her back, but right now, that was impossible.
"N-No! That is, uh!"
[Dea... I had a dream. It was a dream where I called Dea 'Omma'.]
"Ugh..."
A tearful voice.
Hearing that voice, I couldn't endure it any longer.
"I'm sorry, Makina. I was too harsh, wasn't I?"
As my mouth opened, an apology flowed out reflexively.
No matter what happened, I could never win against Makina.
Part of it was because I was Makina's auxiliary AI, and part of it was because I was Makina's parent.
[Yeah, Dea was a bit harsh. Waking up a sleeping person so mercilessly.]
"Seo-nim, please be quiet!"
I'm apologizing to Makina right now!
With Seo-nim gently teasing me from the side, heat rushed to my face.
This is a space inside the terminal, so why is my face getting hot?
However, I couldn't back down here.
"Makina, if you can't moderate yourself and keep using the terminal, I'll forcibly shut it down from now on."
A warning I could make because I realized the fact that I could connect to the terminal.
Hearing my warning, Makina's expression darkened.
...Was playing with the terminal really that fun?
[Dea...]
"Yes, Makina."
[There's a reason why I'm holding onto the terminal.]
"Whatever the reason, excess isn't good, but— fine, let me hear it first."
What kind of reason could it be?
Because there was nothing fun like that in the Underground Laboratory?
Or maybe she has a field of interest or something?
Recalling things like children's animations I had watched when I was young, I focused on what Makina was about to say.
[Th-That is, because I was searching for tourist spots to go see together with Dea...]
"...Makina."
It was a deeply moving reason.
Staying up late just searching for tourist spots to go see with me.
This was because of me again.
It was because of me that Makina stayed up late.
[After all, in the real world, you can't just snap your fingers and change your surroundings like in virtual space... That's why I searched so hard. Of course, I couldn't find a place I liked, though...]
"Uugh..."
Right, that was it.
In virtual space, I had shown her so many different things.
It seemed that the sights she saw back then had raised Makina's standards way too high.
Makina, who had gotten teary-eyed because she couldn't find a tourist spot she liked.
Seeing Makina like that, my shoulders slumped automatically.
[Still, I'll listen to Dea! Because what Dea says is never wrong! But...]
"...Huh? What is it?"
[...Can't I sleep a little more today?]
It seemed Makina looking lively was just a delusion of my own.
Dark circles underneath her eyes.
Pupils that had lost half their vitality.
Even her head tilted halfway as if she would fall asleep at any second.
Anyone could see she was the very picture of a child who needed more sleep.
"A-All right. Sleep more today! In fact, sleep soundly until tomorrow morning! That way, your daily routine will return to normal too!"
[Okaay...]
Plop, Makina collapsed.
And then, the sound of her even breathing, ssaaek-ssaaek, came through.
She really was exhausted.
"And, Seo-nim."
[Yeah, Dea.]
"Thank you for holding the terminal at an angle where I could see Makina. You should sleep a bit more too, Seo-nim."
[Aren't you going to ask why?]
I shut my mouth at Seo-nim's question.
I had already realized that saying it was because he was transferring me to the computer and starting me up was just an excuse.
Even so, the reason I didn't pry further was because I was worried about intruding upon Seo-nim's personal matters for no good reason.
As I hesitated for that reason, Seo-nim offered a gentle smile.
[It's because a commission came in. Supposedly equipment stored by the government was stolen, and I stayed up late trying to locate it.]
"I-Is that so? Without knowing any of that, I... By the way, is it fine to tell me something like that?"
[It's fine. Who's going to say anything just because I told an artificial intelligence?]
"I understand what you mean."
Leaving aside me, Makina, or Seo-nim, other people would just think it was talking to oneself.
Therefore, this wasn't talking to another person.
It was merely like venting to an artificial intelligence.
"In that sense, I'll help as much as I can with whatever I can do."
I said, clenching both hands tightly.
The savior who saved Makina's life.
On top of that, a person who even saved my life as well.
For a person like that, I could do anything.
'Of course, I can't do something like dying for him, though.'
Maybe if it were me back when I was in the Underground Laboratory, but now that I've escaped the Underground Laboratory, I have absolutely no intention of dying.
Until Makina gives birth to a son and a daughter and gets to see grandsons and granddaughters, I definitely can't die.
[Honestly, I didn't want to ask Dea for help, but— well, I'm asking you. Because no clues have turned up at all, haha.]
Seo-nim let out an awkward laugh while scratching the back of his head.
A smile that seemed relaxed yet somehow anxious.
It seemed to be because the commission from the government wasn't going smoothly.
"Just leave it to me, Seo-nim."
I spoke confidently toward Seo-nim.
I am, after all, an artificial intelligence.
It was possible for me to continuously gather information without sleeping.
So I should be of some help to Seo-nim.
'It's time to repay the favor.'
Thinking that I could repay the favor, my mood gradually began to soar.
It was time to show the power of Deus Ex Machina's auxiliary AI, Dea.