006. Physical Examination (1)
006. Physical Examination (1)
The next day, in the precision analysis room.
The interior was, unsurprisingly, in poor condition.
The precision analyzer, the facility's centerpiece, was old and barely functional.
The medical bed and sensors were also damaged or broken here and there.
If the precision analysis room I'd seen at the Academy looked like an examination room from a medical drama, this place felt like some mysterious laboratory from a horror film.
Despite that, the atmosphere wasn't particularly gloomy, thanks to the girl at my side.
Laika stood beside me with her usual half-awake expression, wearing a shabby tracksuit.
Her endlessly lighthearted attitude somehow made the old, oppressive precision analysis room feel a little less dreary.
"......Hmnyahaaam—"
......Then again, maybe a little less cheerfulness would have been fine.
More importantly, how did she even walk while asleep?
"Mhm....... Consistent practice is the key......."
Laika mumbled something I couldn't tell was self-talk or an answer.
As anyone could tell just by looking at her, I'd forcibly woken her up and brought her here.
She'd said herself just yesterday that she'd cooperate, only for her motivation to reset after a single day.
Probably because she had trouble waking up in the morning.
......Or maybe she was doing it on purpose.
I suspected she might be faking sleepiness.
The reason was simple. On the way here, while staggering around claiming to be drowsy, Laika had been subtly sneaking glances at my reaction.
When she thought I wasn't looking, she'd open her eyes wide and watch me for a reaction,
then whenever I looked at her, she'd go 'Euheng' and shut them again.
Why on earth was she doing that?
From here on, it was only a guess...... but I figured she was probably embarrassed.
After all, she'd caused an incident yesterday, and in the process of explaining it, she'd ended up blurting out her whole personal history.
Laika had been presenting herself as a carefree rooftop cat unconcerned with worldly affairs. Having such a vulnerable side of herself exposed couldn't help but be embarrassing.
So she was probably escaping into sleep to protect herself.
It was like she'd gotten so embarrassed she'd gone all the way around to shamelessness.
Well, that was all speculation.
In reality, she might just be a lazy idiot.
Whatever the case, it was time to wake up.
"Time to get up. We've arrived at the precision analysis room."
"Euhye."
Laika opened her eyes groggily.
"Ooh— the precision analysis room— been a while—"
Judging by that reaction, she did have experience undergoing precision analysis.
Well, that figured.
Only a precision analysis could accurately identify detailed specs and component names that a simple scanner couldn't confirm. It was essential for efficiently developing and operating a biodroid.
It was the same now.
To make proper use of Laika, I needed to run a precision analysis and identify exactly what she was strong and weak at.
Above all.
"That real problem of yours I mentioned yesterday is still at the 'suspicion' stage. I need a precision analysis to confirm the diagnosis."
That was the main reason I'd brought Laika here.
Well, I couldn't say I wasn't also just purely curious to see Laika's stats.
Anyway.
"If you understand, take a seat in that booth."
"Euhing....... Well then, nothing to be done about it, I suppose......."
With a disappointed little hum, Laika plopped down onto the cot.
Then she began tying up her normally loose and flowing hair with a rubber band.
It seemed she even remembered how to operate the precision analyzer.
That made things much simpler. Biodroids undergoing their first precision analysis often had trouble accepting the next steps.
I approached Laika and began removing her slippers, which were half-on, as well as her socks.
"......Mmm."
Her reaction said she was embarrassed, but she could put up with it if that was all.
Of course, this wasn't the end.
If anything, it was only the beginning.
With that, I was about to move on to the next step.
Then I noticed Laika's tiny toes fidgeting anxiously.
I glanced at her expression. That was even worse; she looked like she was dying of embarrassment.
"......Embarrassed?"
"Eu, euhye?"
Laika flinched in surprise.
She launched into a rambling protest.
"W-wh-wh-wh-what are you talking about~? Laika's totally confident right now~ Dignified, even~"
I wasn't so sure. From what I could see, she didn't look dignified at all.
She was far more animated than usual and bright red in the face—in a word, adorable.
But why had she become that way?
I thought about it briefly, then recalled that the only Commander she'd been close with had been a woman.
Apparently, no commander since her had put Laika through a precision analysis.
Putting those facts together, there was only one conclusion.
"Have you ever undergone a precision analysis with a male commander?"
"......Euhit?!"
Startled, Laika blinked rapidly, her gaze darting around the room.
And yet, she eventually looked back at me and gave a tiny nod.
"......No. Never have. What do I do?"
Asking me wasn't going to help.
"Well, want me to ask Alicia to do it instead?"
"Euehng, I'm a bit weak against Alicia, though......."
"Weak?"
"Yeah. Alicia nags like crazy...... especially after I broke an antenna while messing around on the rooftop. I guess we ended up with sort of a cat-and-mouse relationship......."
Laika said this as though genuinely frightened.
Though if I had to say which of them was the cat, it was obviously Laika. Anyway.
"Then Rinne? ......No, if Rinne had the cooperativeness to come all the way here and conduct your physical examination, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"Yeahyeah......."
Laika nodded along as I answered my own question.
So the conclusion was obvious.
"I really have no choice but to leave it to the Commander....... Take good care of me, please....... Since it's my precious first experience......."
"Put the proper object phrase in front: 'a precision analysis with a man.' And drop the 'precious.' Because it's trivial."
"Okay...... Then since it's the trivial first experience of a trivial Laika...... please handle me carelessly......."
I wished she'd stop twisting my words so artfully.
I started to point it out, then stopped. I'd learned well enough by now that every time I did, the conversation only got weirder.
That aside, it wasn't actually embarrassing enough to warrant this much fuss.
To clarify here, the next step involved attaching electrodes to the appropriate positions.
However, biodroids were set up so that they couldn't manipulate their own bodies except in special cases.
So I, as her commander, had to attach the electrodes by hand.
For Laika's body model, the Angela, the connection points were:
1. The back of the neck
2. The sole of the left foot
3. Somewhere between the waist and buttocks.
4. The center of the chest
The last two were rather unfortunate places.
Even the first two weren't exactly places a man and woman could casually touch.
Still, they were better than the alternatives.
For that reason, I first attached one to the back of her neck and one to the sole of her left foot.
"Euhit......? Euhnyat......♡ I-it tickles......."
Seriously, what was I supposed to do when she had such a strange reaction to even that?
Maybe I should have done that part later.
Regretting my choice, I waited for Laika to present whichever connection point she felt most comfortable with next.
Then, after hesitating for a long while, Laika turned around and sat with her back to me.
Apparently, she considered the area between her waist and buttocks a little less embarrassing.
Because the person in question only had to stick her rear out slightly.
And she could avoid my gaze this way too.
......From my perspective, watching her, this was more embarrassing, though.
Despite her small frame, her plump bottom and slim waist—narrow enough to fit in one hand—stood out all the more.
I had no choice but to connect the third electrode while looking away.
"......Mm."
Laika let out another uncharacteristic little sigh.
Of course, there was still one more connection point left.
About a hand's breadth above the solar plexus, the exact center of the chest.
To help with the attachment there, Laika turned to face me this time and sat back down.
After hesitating for a long while, Laika rolled her T-shirt up to her belly button, as if that were as far as she was willing to expose herself.
......I was pretty sure she'd been sleeping on the rooftop with it pulled up higher than that.
Apparently, there was a difference between showing something in her sleep and revealing it herself.
There was no helping it.
First, I extended the electrode toward Laika's chest.
"Pardon me. Tell me if anything hurts."
Laika didn't answer and just nodded her head repeatedly.
Even that reaction was so different from her usual self that I finished the attachment work as quickly as possible.
In the process, I had to briefly pull on the bridge of her bra between her breasts, and I thought the back of my hand had brushed against something small that felt nothing like her stomach...... I decided to move on.
Because the person involved was desperately pretending not to notice.
"There, it's done. You did well. You can go back to your usual laid-back, carefree self now."
"It's not like saying it like that will just magically make me go back~"
Though she denied it, Laika had recovered a little of her composure.
There was no need to tease her pointlessly and make the atmosphere awkward.
Now, it was time for her to get the reward for enduring the embarrassment.
I activated the precision analyzer.
A moment later, the results appeared on the monitor.
In a word, they were both excellent and alarming.