072. Getting a Job (1)
072. Getting a Job (1)
The Cradle of Silence operation ended in success.
Of course, a Commander always had more work to do immediately after a mission ended than before it began.
Just the tasks that had to be handled within the day alone... submitting reports to high command, settling seized spoils of war, distributing mission allowances.
<So when exactly do you plan on providing me with a body?>
On top of that, being the first to successfully capture a large hive like this created additional work.
A new forward base had to be established in that hive.
<So when exactly do you plan on providing me with a body?>
Well, you didn't necessarily have to build a new forward base.
Once a forward base was established, the administrative responsibility for it would also fall to our base.
If profitability looked poor, it made more sense to return the rights to the military and have the site transferred to another unit.
<So when exactly do you plan on providing me with a body?>
Ice Shell was a prime example of a forward base that was better left unclaimed.
Located in the desolate plains of the northern battle zone, Ice Shell had no means of generating profit whatsoever.
It would hold little value unless a vein of superphase material was discovered nearby.
Even knowing this perfectly well, I had still established a forward base at Ice Shell first.
Because honestly, financial gain was a secondary issue.
My goal was to keep advancing north and reach Sion.
<So when exactly do you plan on providing me with a body?>
In that sense, the Cradle of Silence was an ideally suited location for installing the next forward base.
The Cradle of Silence lay slightly farther west, but even farther north than Ice Shell.
Economically, it was also far better than Ice Shell.
For one thing, the Cradle of Silence hive wasn't some crude nest the Legions had thrown together in the middle of nowhere.
Fundamentally, it was a human-made research facility constructed by a major manufacturer.
That enormous facility had now come under Krädel's jurisdiction.
<So when exactly do you plan on providing me with a body?>
...Though it had come under our jurisdiction, that alone didn't mean much.
As someone with neither capital nor technology, I had no way of running a research facility, and being placed in charge of security for a given area didn't make that facility my property in the first place.
I merely acquired the authority to construct and operate a forward base there.
The land was returned to the state, and the civilian facility was returned to its original owner.
The Cradle of Silence was likewise returned to Genesis Industry, a biodroid manufacturer that was still in business.
However, to repair and reopen the facility, they would inevitably require the cooperation of the garrison's Commander — me.
In fact, Genesis Industry's management had contacted me just that morning.
They expressed a willingness to compensate within reason and asked me to let them know if I needed anything.
So I——
<So when exactly do you plan on providing me with a body? This is now the fifth time I have asked.>
...Hah.
"Stop nagging me."
I dismissed the message window that kept popping up and answered.
The sender of the messages was, as you might have guessed from the tone, Eve 27.
She was the one who had helped me inside Eve's system last time, and she was fundamentally good-natured.
<Stop nagging? Have you provided me with cause not to nag?>
...Correction. Not exactly good-natured. As you can see, she had a rather prickly personality.
But she wasn't particularly threatening. She had no way of doing anything besides firing off messages like that.
More precisely, she had no physical body to take any action against me.
She was one of the cultured brains composing the computer-type biodroid Eve, and like all other Eves, she existed in a 'brain in a vat' form.
The only difference from the other Eves was that she alone had not been infected by the Legions.
Thanks to that, it seemed she had once tried to normalize the infected Eves... but in the end, she succumbed to them and was exiled to a backup server.
Afterwards, she had been sucking up the computer resources provided by the infected Eves as a form of self-consolation and escapism.
In that situation, I had promised to grant her an opportunity to live in the real world (= a body) in exchange for securing Eve 27's cooperation——
"...Come to think of it, isn't this a bit strange?"
<What do you mean by that?>
"No, I mean, in the end, the infected Eves were safely subdued thanks to me."
<That is so. It was because you activated the Healing Phase that the infected Eves collapsed, unable to withstand the phase pressure.>
Right.
And that was also something Eve 27 had wanted from the beginning.
In other words, judging by the outcome, it was more accurate to say I had helped the incapacitated Eve 27 rather than the other way around.
Under such circumstances, did I really have to go out of my way to provide the high-cost reward of a biodroid body?
Wasn't I the one who risked my life entering the firewall and persuaded Rinne?
To be blunt, aside from guiding the way and explaining the situation, did Eve 27 really do anything?
<......Th-that is false.>
"False? Then what did you do?"
A brief silence.
The message window appeared again.
<What about when I held off the security guards that swarmed in after the firewall was lifted? Is that not my contribution?>
"Isn't asking for a body just for that a bit much? I'd say I've already repaid a contribution of that level by retrieving the computer with your brain and bringing you out — which, frankly, I didn't even have to do. What do you think?"
Silence again.
The message window that appeared this time was slightly smaller than the previous ones.
<In any case, you solemnly swore to give me a body. In that sense, I warn you repeatedly: if you do not keep your oath, you will taste my wrath.>
"I'm curious enough to ask — what exactly are you planning to do?"
It was a childish yet potentially effective method.
Well, not that it mattered — if I just unplugged the cord connected to her brain on my end, she wouldn't be able to do anything.
But there seemed to be no need for either of us to go that far.
"Fine."
"I'll get it for you. A body for you to live in."
<Truly?>
I meant it.
Whatever the case, it was true that I had received her help.
A promise was a promise.
So I would gift her a body.
No, actually — I had already placed the order.
<......According to the specifications I requested?>
"The specifications you requested?"
Ah, now that I thought about it, she had said just any body wouldn't do.
She wanted a top-of-the-line model.
Specifically, a flagship model from a major brand like Halo Company, Kaguya Heavy Industries, or Dunkel Industries, with a preposterously busty blonde-bombshell exterior.
An absolute top-grade core, no exceptions.
Other parts at minimum A-rank, with skill modules festooned all over — something like that, I think she'd said.
Unfortunately for Eve, that was not happening.
"That's impossible."
<Why is that?>
Well, you see.
Fundamentally, it was because Krädel didn't have the resources to provide such a high-spec body.
But that wasn't the only reason. The funding issue had actually been more or less resolved this time with the securing of the Cradle of Silence.
The problem lay with Eve herself.
Because her brain had been active for far too long, numerous restrictions had arisen regarding 'usable bodies.'
<......What did you say?>
"To put it simply, your compatibility with off-the-shelf products is garbage."
Among the products of the companies you mentioned — Halo, Kaguya, Dunkel — there wasn't a single compatible match.
<Then what is to be done?>
There was only one thing to do.
I had to place an order with Genesis Industry, the manufacturer that designed you.
I asked them to make any suitable biodroid body they could for this poor brain in a vat.
Genesis Industry, eager to maintain good relations with us, custom-made a dedicated model at a low price.
<......A dedicated model? What does it look like? What are the main specs? What skill modules are installed?>
"The representative will explain all of that now."
<Representative? And what do you mean, now? Is the transfer happening this very moment?>
Yes.
I had received a message from Sumire only moments earlier.
She said the setup of the gift delivered from Genesis Industry was complete.
***
I headed to the Manufactory.
The interior was not merely well maintained; it was immaculate.
After all, it had an unpaid caretaker who treated the place like her sanctuary: Sumire.
Sumire barely interacted with anyone besides me. I'd told her she was free to roam Krädel's main building and socialize, but her social awkwardness apparently kept her isolated.
As a result, whenever I visited, Sumire usually came trotting over like a puppy greeting its owner after several days apart, barely containing her excitement—
But today, she hadn't even seemed to notice my presence.
There was a reason for that.
She was staring, utterly entranced, at the massive glass tube.
It was filled with translucent pale-blue liquid, and something floated inside like an immersed specimen.
It was none other than a biodroid body.
"This one?"
"Eu-hik...?!"
Ah, maybe I should have made some noise to announce my arrival.
Sumire was a deserter and timid by nature, so she startled far too easily whenever someone appeared without warning.
I lightly apologized to Sumire, who had belatedly registered my presence and let out a sigh of relief, then asked again.
So this was the gift?
"Ah, y-yes...."
Sumire answered haltingly and then explained.
This was the gift provided by Genesis Industry.
Eve's dedicated body, custom-made for her.
<Model: EVE>.
"The mounting work is finished, right?"
"Ah, yes. She was so impatient and begged me to mount it quickly, so I put her in right away, and I've been running the stabilization process since then... I think it's probably okay to take her out and activate her soon."
"Then go ahead and do that."
I said that, then casually added.
"Ah, and put some clothes on her. I'll wait outside, so call me when you're done."
For some reason, Sumire's face flushed red as she nodded.
A short while later, I re-entered the Manufactory at Sumire's call.
Sumire was still there, along with one more biodroid who looked fresh and clean, as though she had just stepped out of the shower.
I approached her and asked.
"How is it? Do you like it?"
"...I'm not sure. It still doesn't feel entirely real. I haven't even properly seen what I look like. Speaking of which, would you bring me a mirror?"
Eve turned to me and asked.
I did as she asked. When Eve finally saw her reflection in the mirror, the corner of her eyebrow twitched as she muttered,
"...What is this? This shoddy, soft-looking little brat of a body."