011. Insomnia (3)
011. Insomnia (3)
Low, gently rolling hills not far from Krädel.
A forest that looked as though no one had set foot in it for ages.
There, a small but clear stream ran through it.
"...How on earth did you know? That there was a clean stream like this here?"
To my dumbfounded question, Laika told me the truth.
"Aaaages ago, I was napping on the rooftop and happened to spot it. Because there was something at this spot, all glitter-glitter— and glowing blue."
Hmm.
Now that I thought about it, maybe rooftop napping couldn't exactly be called an unproductive hobby after all.
As I was having that idle thought, Laika continued.
"...Well, this is Laika's first time actually coming here too. It felt like a hassle... and I wondered if maybe it was a mirage. Or possibly a Legion trap."
"That's a ridiculous thing to worry about."
It wasn't as if the water supply had been cut. There was no way anyone would set up a trap like this.
And this wasn't a desert, so there was no way it was a mirage.
When I pointed that out, Laika conceded surprisingly readily.
"......I guess so."
Laika let out a scoff aimed at herself.
"I was just scared for no reason. Like an idiot."
Maybe she had been.
"Still, it's fine."
"......Huh?"
"People are allowed to be a little foolish."
All that mattered was deciding to change once she realized she'd been foolish.
And look—Laika had already done that herself.
That decision was what had brought her to this little patch of water she'd only ever watched and daydreamed about from the rooftop.
When I said that, Laika quietly whispered.
"Thank you."
Having whispered it, Laika approached the water's edge.
Then she crouched down by the water and began peering into it.
Probably because she didn't want me to see her face.
But it backfired. The water was too clear, so it reflected everything.
Her bright-red cheeks were obvious, as were her eyes, opened twice as wide as usual and glistening with moisture.
Of course, I wasn't cruel or foolish enough to point that out.
I said nothing and simply stayed beside Laika.
Not long after that, a short alert chime rang from my PDA.
Checking the screen absently, I couldn't help but be surprised.
[The skill module level for biodroid 'Laika' has increased.]
- <Rampage> Lv.4 → Lv.5
***
Before the sun set, Laika and I returned to the base.
Naturally, we did not come back empty-handed.
Laika and I were each carrying a bucket.
My bucket held a not-yet-dry net, and Laika's bucket held clear water scooped from the stream, along with the long-awaited fish.
A pair of bitterlings and three minnows.
We'd actually caught a few more, but deciding that many were enough, we released most of them and kept only those.
What would the fate of these five be from here on?
With that worry—or perhaps anticipation—in our hearts, we transferred the fish to the tank.
Starting with the slightly larger bitterlings, then down to the smaller minnows. One by one.
Carefully and tenderly.
Before long, Laika began to quietly gaze into the tank, now filled with life.
Inside the world of the fish tank, there was no combat with Legions, no tiresome training, no past weighing down on her.
There was only the glimmering water under the light, and the fish swimming freely within it.
In that peaceful scene, Laika seemed to feel a kind of tranquility she had forgotten for a very long time.
The tension slowly left her shoulders, and her expression softened completely.
......That was all well and good.
But Laika started nodding off on her feet. Just how easily did she fall asleep?
Well, I mean. It was getting late. Sleeping was fine.
But the thing was, I still had something to say.
I had no choice but to tap Laika's cheeks and wake her up.
Then I gave her only the essentials, as gently as I could so I wouldn't distress her.
"Laika, your Rampage skill reached Level 5."
"......Euheng?"
Laika spun around in surprise and asked.
"Wh-when?"
"Earlier, at the stream. Probably right before catching the fish."
"......Then I really was an insomniac?"
She was only realizing that now?
More to the point, that wasn't even the issue.
I lightly chopped Laika on the crown of the head and said as much.
"What matters is that you've met the minimum requirements to be deployed onto the battlefield."
"So we start a mission right away?"
"......No."
I answered after hesitating for about three seconds.
"Before that, we'll carry out one last Ally Injury Response Training Program."
"Euhe."
Laika let out a troubled sound.
If someone who didn't know the circumstances had heard it, they'd have thought she was exaggerating her discomfort.
The Ally Injury Response Training Program was an extremely simple training program, after all.
The scenario assumed an ally had been injured. All she had to do was quickly suppress the units that posed an immediate threat, take the injured ally, and withdraw from the area to clear the program.
But for Laika, that simple exercise was a brutally difficult mission that played directly into her weakness.
Whenever Laika saw an ally injured, she panicked, and the intensity of that emotion triggered 'Rampage' before she even realized it.
This wasn't just about the last reconnaissance operation.
Even during simulation training involving similar situations, Laika had shown abnormal reactions.
The program had been terminated before she reached the full rampage stage, so there had been no major accident. Even so, running the same kind of simulation again without preparation carried a high risk of trouble.
In the end, every training program that might trigger a rampage in Laika had been skipped entirely.
The completed program list was riddled with holes.
In that situation, throwing her straight into live combat just because her module level had reached 5 was problematic.
A major failure or accident now could easily undo the progress Laika had only just begun to make.
Rather than that, my plan was to carry out one final test first, and then deploy her on missions.
When I explained the plan to Laika, she let out a deep sigh,
"If the Commander says so, I guess I've got no choice~ I'll give it a go, sure~"
she answered with complete nonchalance.
Of course, it was a pretense of leisure.
I could tell clearly now.
So I gave Laika a few pats on the head and said,
"Good. We'll start again tomorrow morning, so rest well while looking at the fish tank. If you ever need help, tell me anytime."
I meant to leave it at that.
I meant to leave.
"Okay. I need help."
"......With what?"
"You said to tell you if I needed help. Laika needs the Commander's help right now."
Hm. That had been a stock phrase.
Still, if she genuinely needed it, I was more than willing to help.
I made a face as if to say 'speak freely,' and... Laika, saying nothing, headed toward the desk.
Then she pulled over a chair, set it in front of the fish tank, and... instead of sitting down herself, made me sit in it.
"What are you doing?"
"Making a prime spot."
"And what am I supposed to do if you give the prime spot to me?"
"Bupbu— the Commander is part of the prime spot too."
With that, Laika acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world and tried to sit on my lap.
"......Does this actually help?"
"Yeah. A lot. I feel at ease when I'm with the Commander."
An answer without a trace of doubt or hesitation.
Convinced by it, I obediently offered my lap.
Then Laika, a little more timid than before, slowly climbed onto my lap.
Apparently, openly making a place for her like that had made her self-conscious.
Once seated, Laika wasn't particularly heavy.
A biodroid's body was designed to weigh about the same as a human girl's so the brain wouldn't sense that anything was off.
The same went for skin texture, body temperature, and scent.
Tucked snugly into my arms, Laika was far too soft and warm to feel like a weapon of war, with the unmistakable scent of youth about her.
All in all, she was very pleasant to hold.
Enough that, for a moment, I even thought I wanted to carry her tucked in my arms forever.
I shook my head. What a weird thought.
No, that aside.
"Hey, how long do I have to stay like this?"
"Until Laika is satisfied."
"And when do you think you'll be satisfied?"
"We'll have to wait and see. There are still lots of things Laika doesn't know about herself."
I see.
The reason I could accept that reasonably well was because Laika's ears had gone red.
In other words, she was rambling. Apparently she'd gone one step beyond what she could handle.
The next words out of Laika's mouth were terrifyingly calm, though.
"......And honestly, I don't really know much about the Commander either."
"Huh?"
"How did the Commander end up coming to Krädel?"
It was an odd way of putting it.
"What do you mean? Am I not supposed to come here?"
"Not that, but... I don't think it suits you. The Commanders who get posted to Krädel are all people who ended up becoming Commanders half by choice and half by circumstance."
That might be true.
But by that logic, I was also someone who'd ended up a Commander half by choice and half by circumstance.
"......The Commander? Even though you went to the Academy?"
"I'm saying it's hard to claim that going to the Academy was entirely my own decision."
Mainly because of my childhood friend.
I added in a voice barely above a whisper.
In the end, Laika heard it anyway.
"Childhood friend?"
"Yeah. Childhood friend."
I nodded and answered.
Then, a moment later, Laika asked, offhand.
"A girl?"
......Huh?
"What is?"
"I'm asking whether your childhood friend was a girl."
Uh.......
"Look, what does my childhood friend's gender have to do with this conversation right now?"
"Just? Because I'm curious?"
Laika gave a vague reason.
I answered a moment later.
"She was a biodroid."
Which meant female.
Of course, Laika's interest had already moved on from whether my childhood friend was a girl or a guy. Looking fascinated, she asked something else.
"Euhet. A biodroid was your childhood friend?"
"There's no law saying that's not allowed."
There were plenty of men in this world who took biodroids as wives.
Some even adopted biodroids as daughters.
And far more people made biodroids their friends, so there'd be nothing wrong with one becoming a childhood friend.
"Heu-eung——"
"Why are you glaring at me?"
"No reason."
Laika answered shortly and then pressed again.
"So? What does that childhood friend have to do with the Commander becoming a Commander?"
It felt like I was being interrogated.
Though there wasn't actually anything grand enough to warrant an interrogation.
It really was no big deal. That childhood friend had simply wanted to work for the military.
"For the military?"
"Yeah. I'm saying she wanted to become a military biodroid, like you."
"That's not typical."
As Laika said, it wasn't typical.
Military service was the least desirable career among biodroids, after all.
In a way, it was only natural.
If you were built for something like maid work or an office job, you could live happily in a safe metropolis.
Who would volunteer to become a military model just to get battered and torn apart on the battlefield?
If you wanted to be revered and praised by people, you'd be better off aiming to be an idol.
If money was what you wanted, becoming an equipment maker paid better.
And yet my childhood friend Sion had wanted to become a military biodroid.
The reason was absurd.
"She was a defective unit. That girl."