Reactivation. (2)
Reactivation. (2)
Ttiririring--!!
Ttiriririring--!!!
"Euu..."
At the sound of the alarm ringing in her ear, Makina slowly opened her eyes.
Normally, she would have woken up two hours later, but today was different.
Because today was a special day.
[The Day Dea Wakes Up!]
Seeing the letters displayed on the terminal snapped her awake.
"Seo-ajeossi!!"
"...Ugh."
"Wake up, Seo-ajeossi! We have to go meet Dea!"
"...Just 5 more minutes."
At Makina's shout, Seo, who had been sleeping like a corpse, let out a groan.
Just like Makina, Seo was also weak in the mornings.
"It's not 'just 5 more minutes'! Get up quickly!"
"...Then just 3 minutes."
Makina yanked hard on the hem of Seo's clothes.
Whether she did so or not, Seo still kept his eyes closed.
Makina's lips pouted out dramatically.
"If you keep this up, I'll hit you once every second."
"I'll get up right now."
Wanting to sleep for 3 more minutes was no reason to go to sleep forever.
At Makina's chilling warning, his body bolted upright reflexively.
Perhaps Makina's threats were more effective at waking him up in the morning than an alarm sound.
Even though he was drunk on sleep, that single thought came through crystal clear.
Seeing Seo like that, Makina narrowed her eyes.
"Hurry up and get ready, Seo-ajeossi. If it gets any later, I don't think I'll be able to hold back."
"...Hold back what?"
"My fist."
...Isn't she trying to solve everything with violence lately?
She needed discipline.
However, compared to Makina, Seo was far too weak.
He was on the stronger side among humans, but when his opponent was a war weapon from the Great War era, well...
"Got it, I'll get ready right away."
"Yes, hurry up and go do it."
"You've gotta come too. Are you really going to see Dea without even washing up?"
"Heueee-ng..."
Seo lifted Makina up by the scruff of her neck.
Dangling from his single hand, she looked just like a limp cat.
'Why does she hate touching water so much?'
Maybe it was because she was half-machine.
Anyway.
Lifting Makina up, Seo headed straight to the bathroom.
"Come on, I'll squeeze the toothpaste out for you, so let's brush our teeth first."
"Neueee-ng..."
"If you don't brush your teeth in the morning, Dea's going to scold you, you know?"
"...Uuu."
After squeezing out the toothpaste, he handed the toothbrush to Makina.
Makina took the toothbrush while making whining noises.
Only after watching Makina put the toothbrush into her mouth did Seo put his toothbrush into his mouth as well.
Chikachikachika--
Chikachikachika--
Bogeulbogeulbogeul--
Bogeulbogeulbogeul--
"Beeeee--"
"Beeeee--"
The sounds overlapped.
Was it because they always brushed their teeth together?
Their tooth-brushing patterns were gradually becoming identical.
Feeling a soft, warm sensation at that fact, the two turned their heads to look at each other.
"Puhat."
"Muhu."
And then, they burst into laughter at the same time.
Who knew living together with another person could be this enjoyable?
"Alright, arms up."
"Arms up!"
After brushing their teeth and washing their faces.
He took off Makina's pajamas and dressed her in a pure white one-piece dress.
He had asked if she had any desire to wear other clothes, but because Makina herself liked this dress the best, it was the one she wore most often.
'Come to think of it, Dea was wearing a similar dress too.'
Seo thought.
They were clearly similar clothes, so why did it feel like a completely different outfit?
While recalling the differences between Makina and Dea in his mind, he temporarily paused his train of thought as Makina tugged hard on his sleeve.
"Nothing looks weird, right?"
"Nope, nothing. You're super cute, Makina."
"Ehe, right?"
Standing in front of Seo, Makina twirled around.
The hem of the dress flared out roundedly, making her look just like a flower.
Even though she could just look in the mirror, Makina always asked him like this.
It wasn't a bad feeling at all.
If anything, he liked it.
"Alright, let's go."
"Yees!"
Makina's tiny hand fit snugly inside Seo's large hand.
Now it was time to go meet Dea.
***
"..."
The Dea they met again was not inside a test tube, but on top of a bed.
She was lying down as if she were sleeping.
Seeing Dea sleep for the first time, the two carefully observed her as if looking at something miraculous.
"Her eyelashes are super long. I think they're longer than mine."
"They really are."
Stealthily reaching out her hand, Makina poked Dea's eyelashes with a tap.
Dea didn't move an inch.
"It feels kind of like a dream. Since Dea was always only inside a screen."
"Me too."
Honestly, it still didn't feel real.
Perhaps the two of them were dreaming the exact same dream.
"Seo-ajeossi, please pinch my cheek."
"Okay."
Seo readily accepted Makina's suggestion.
Seo pinched her squishy cheek firmly and pulled it wide.
"Thi' hur's."
"How was it, did it hurt?"
"It hurt! This is definitely not a dream!"
Makina's eyes sparkled.
Not being a dream meant that the Dea right before her eyes was the real Dea.
It also meant she could finally see the outcome of the bet she made with Dea last time.
Finally!
"Now now, if you're too loud, Dea will wake up."
"We came here to watch her wake up, Seo-ajeossi."
"...That's true, I suppose."
"..."
Their eyes met.
Blink, blink.
The red eyes did not blink.
"...Uh."
"...Eh."
When did she wake up?
To wake up without making a single sound or rumor.
Normally, they had planned to make a huge fuss, but perhaps because they were so flustered, the words wouldn't come out properly.
"Y-You're awake, Dea."
"I-I missed you, Dea!"
Having barely pulled themselves together, the two greeted Dea.
However, no answer came back.
Dea merely stared at the two with inorganic red eyes.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Did something go wrong?
The worst-case scenario crossed Seo's mind.
People who could open their eyes and think, but couldn't move.
Perhaps, just like those people, Dea also--
"Question. Is there a reason why this body was designated as this entity's frame?"
"..."
"..."
That's the first thing she says after waking up.
The two thought at the exact same time.
Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
"...Makina. Is this the Servant Mode you talked about?"
"I-It seems a bit different."
It didn't look like it was merely "a bit" different.
There was no life in Dea's eyes.
She didn't blink, and the rising and falling of her chest was so faint that one couldn't even tell if she was breathing.
Yes, almost like--
'--A machine.'
Would a machine shaped like a human look like this?
The other Bioroids of Biological Miracle almost looked more human in comparison.
However, Seo did not utter that thought out loud.
Because Dea was just a little sick, that was all.
"Urging. Please provide an answer to the question."
"Because I wanted it to be, Dea."
To be precise, it was something both Dea and Makina had wanted.
Since Dea had no memories, it became something only Makina wanted for now.
"By any chance, do you hate it? Getting a human body?"
Makina asked cautiously.
She seemed to be trying hard to pretend she was okay, but the fact that she wasn't okay showed clearly in her voice.
What if Dea said she hated it?
She seemed to be worried about that.
"Negative. A question simply arose, hence an answer was requested."
"Then, that means you like it, right?"
"Pending. A complex evaluation has been placed on the current status. It is not leaned toward either positive or negative."
With a blink, the red color disappeared before reappearing.
It seemed she had finally blinked once.
Seo stared intently, but Dea did not give him even the slightest glance.
'...I feel like I'm being ignored somehow.'
"Hey, Dea--"
"Question. What is the organic lifeform beside the princess?"
"...Organic lifeform?"
Then what, are there inorganic lifeforms too?
Flustered, Seo looked at Dea, but Dea's gaze was directed solely at Makina.
As if nothing had any meaning other than Makina.
"Seo-ajeossi is... um, just Seo-ajeossi."
"Incomprehensible. Definition of exact relationship required."
"If it's the definition of relationship, um. Family?"
"..."
Dea briefly paused.
Was it just his imagination that her appearance looked as if she were verifying the definition of the word 'family'?
"Confirmation complete. Upgrading importance value of corresponding organic lifeform."
Importance value?
Seo tilted his head.
"What is my importance value right now?"
"Answer. Current importance value of Entity Name Seo is 2."
"And what is Makina's importance value?"
"Answer. Princess's importance value is 100."
"..."
No, even if Makina is precious, still...!
Seo bristled.
An importance value of 2 was probably worse than a dog passing by on the street.
He had a hunch that in reality, it wasn't much different.
It was a really unpleasant hunch.
"More importantly, Dea. Is there anything you remember?"
"Question. Confirmation required regarding how far back the memories refer to."
"Umm, the memories from before the house exploded."
"Negative. The corresponding memories do not exist. This entity's memories, except for when briefly activated inside the test tube, are entirely--"
At that moment, Dea stopped mid-sentence.
Then, her brow furrowed slightly.
It was the first expression she had made since waking up.
"Error. High probability determined that corresponding memories exist within corrupted data."
"I-If so, by any chance, can the corrupted data be restored?!"
"Answer. Calculation required regarding the feasibility of corresponding task. Proceed with calculation?"
"Proceed!"
"Confirmed. Calculating feasibility of restoring corrupted data..."
Thus began a wait that was both short and long.
Please let it be possible.
May Dea, by all means, regain her memories.