Asia’s Priestess (Sibylla)
「Normally, they would have given a recommendation of surrender at this point. But since it’s the Argoforce we’re talking about, I suppose that isn’t happening.」
Their enemies did not see much value in humans. They also didn’t care for land and resources.
They were fully intent on wiping out every single person within Fortress Area P336 without exception.
And their ultimate goal was likely securing Asia once more. Therefore, this base siege and destroy operation was merely something to pave the way for the capture of the Silhouette Base, which was their final objective.
「Aimer, please lend me your strength. Can you take command of the Familiars from here?」
Kou went down on his knees in order to match gazes with Aimer and addressed her.
Instead of taking command himself, he wanted to raise the chances of them winning as much as possible. However, it was a decision that left a bitter taste in his mouth.
「This battle will probably be pretty painful for a gentle soul like you. But even so, I’m no good at taking direct command.」
「I’ll do it. But I’ll do so in the back seat of Unit 5’s cockpit.」
「No way! I’m also gonna head to the front line. It’s far too dangerous!」
「In this situation, there’s danger everywhere. If you and the rest were to lose, do you really want me to die here alone, Kou? I don’t want that!」
Aimer, who was usually obedient, cried out in protest.
「Aimer……」
Kou was hesitant. He wanted to claim that he wouldn’t let something like that happen. Still, he held back on saying something so irresponsible.
「And besides…… there’s something I want to talk to you about, Kou. Especially since we’re in this situation. Kou, you feel guilty for making me take on the responsibility of commanding the troops, right?」
「That’s only natural. Someone like you shouldn’t have to take on such a burden, Aimer.」
Kou believed that Barry and Jenny also felt the same way. As long as one remained in command, the more they would be faced with reports of casualties. And there would definitely be a lot of casualties.
This wasn’t something a young girl should burden herself with.
「It’s alright. You are watching over me, Kou. And besides–」
「What?」
「I’m, well, not even human in the first place.」
Kou fell silent. Aimer was human. She was definitely no Therianthrope or Nereid. She was just a young human girl.
She did have some extraordinary abilities. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t human.
「During the Interplanetary War era, I was placed inside a medical pod. Even though the humans, Therianthropes, and Nereids were all converted into quantum data forms and traveled through time, I was the only one who remained inside a med pod.」
「I’ve heard from Master.」
「Isn’t it strange then? There were many others who were placed inside med pods. But why was I the only one who slept inside one for over a thousand years?」
「That’s……」
There was no way Kou could understand Sophia’s intentions.
「Sophia didn’t recognize me as a human. Or perhaps, it would be better to say she couldn’t. I may have been treated as the same type as the Stones.」
「That’s wrong! ……I don’t think that’s true.」
Surely, there must have been another reason. Kou wanted to believe that was the case.
「Thank you, Kou. Neither Aki nor Nyanta knows my secret. ……You see, the back of my head was sort of blown off before. That’s why the thing inside my head isn’t a nanomachine cluster. It’s a spherical solid-state integrated circuit (IC). I believe it’s the reason why Master’s consciousness managed to be preserved.」
「An integrated circuit……?」
「It’s a type of error-tolerant quantum computer. The same type of computer that powers the Fennel OS is compensating for 60% of my brain’s functions.」
Kou didn’t fully understand what Aimer was talking about.
An error-tolerant quantum computer. It was also known as a true quantum computer. Back in the era where Kou was from, computers that had an incomplete ability to correct quantum errors called NISQ-types were just on the verge of becoming realized.
Quantum computers that were capable of constantly correcting quantum errors during calculations were far from being put into practical use, and only the theories existed.
「The medical AI back then determined that fully restoring memories and functions was impossible even when using cultivated brain tissue to fully replace the missing part of my brain. And without them, my brain was as good as dead. I’ve even lost the ability to move my limbs on my own. Now, Mii is…… Master is the one who is supplementing my brain functions so I can move my arms and legs. I am someone who used Master’s soul in order to regain my ability to move…… I’m already someone who used the life of a precious Familiar as a sacrifice in order to live.」
Aimer sorrowfully lowered her gaze.
「Am I an AI then? I am Aimer, someone who doesn’t even know her own name and needed Master (Mii) to tell me first. I am no human, and am just a soulless machine. I am unable to independently retain language capabilities, let alone memories. Perhaps I am just a leftover machine from a thousand years ago. But all of that doesn’t matter now.」
Aimer flashed Kou a slight smile.
「I truly value my time with you all right now. There’s you, Kou. Then there’s Voi, Nyanta, Aki, and Blue. Asia too. You guys are my everything. That’s why I will fight. For the people who love me and call me the name that Astraea gave me.」
「Aimer……」
「I’m sorry. I said all that even though we’re in such a situation. But I know that you don’t discriminate between machines and humans, Kou.」
“That’s why I like you more than anyone else,” Aimer inwardly thought.
「……Yeah. That’s right.」
Kou gently hugged Aimer.
This sudden action made Aimer’s eyes widen in surprise.
「–Before anything else, the one in front of me is just a regular girl. That’s why I have to protect you.」
「Kou……」
Aimer couldn’t help but tear up.
「I-I’m……」
「I may be kinda unreliable. But I still need to protect you, Aimer. So, go ahead and board Unit 5 with me.」
「Un. Thank you, Kou.」
Aimer quickly wiped her tears.
And then, she giggled impishly.
「But I also want you to keep protecting me even after we’ve turned into a grandpa and grandma.」
「Eh? I-I see. But I think the one you’d someday fall in love with and love you back should be the one to protect you, Aimer. But if you don’t find someone like that, then sure, I’ll protect you instead.」
Kou panicked and blurted out a sloppy response.
At times like this, he felt frustrated about his lack of communication skills.
「I didn’t mean to put you in a spot. I’m fine with this for now. Besides–」
The words “someone you’d fall in love with and love you back’ were enough for the young girl. It’s like he had given her a sort of pledge after all.
「Asia, Astraea, and everyone else are also girls who you want to protect, right, Kou? That’s why I can’t act selfishly.」
Kou was absolutely fine with AI, Therianthropes, and Nereids.
「Right. Thanks for understanding, Aimer.」
It might seem like Kou was being rather frivolous, but this wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
『Is it fine for me to join in on the conversation now?』
There was no sign of Asia being angry. On the contrary, she seemed quite happy.
「Sorry, Asia.」
『I’m happy that I’m regarded as one of the girls as well though! –Astraea. I know you’re listening. I’m sure you’re grinning a lot right now. Let’s tell Eunomia and Libya al about it later.』
A slightly embarrassed Astraea appeared at the edge of the screen for a moment, and then quickly disappeared.
「What are you guys doing when we’re already in such an emergency?」
Even Kou was a bit exasperated at the two AI’s antics.
『I joined the conversation precisely because it was an emergency. –Aimer, I’ll give it to you straight. After hearing your story, I decided to analyze your situation. And so, would you like to link with me? Of course, I’m not saying that there would be no burden on you. There’s also some risk to the process.』
「Link?」
Kou displayed a puzzled expression.
「If that’s possible, then please let me do it!」
Aimer replied vigorously. She seemed to have understood Asia’s intentions.
『A part of me will go into Aimer. The quantum computer that’s supplementing Aimer’s brain functions is certainly the same type as the one used by an MCS. If that’s the case, then it will become possible for me to more directly intervene in our current situation.』
「In other words, Asia and I will be able to take command of the troops together.」
『Right. I, Aimer, and Master, to be exact. All three of us together!』
「You are counting me as well, Asia?」
Aimer’s tone suddenly changed as she displayed a bitter smile. She had definitely switched with Master.
「That’s seriously reassuring.」
『Isn’t it? Aimer is kind of akin to a priestess (Sybilla). She’s a medium that I can use to descend to the world. We can combine Aimer’s decision-making with my processing power to accomplish a lot of things. Not as an AI, but as Aimer herself.』
Even though Asia and the rest were called Super AI, there were many ethical shackles that restrained their actions.
Those could be circumvented using Aimer’s judgment.
「Asia has already interacted with Unit 5 previously, so improving its command capabilities should be simple enough.」
「Got it. I’ll be counting on you three then.」
Kou felt inwardly relieved.
He would be receiving the support and commands of Asia, Aimer, and Master. If they still couldn’t manage to win with this, then winning would have been impossible in the first place.
『I’m initiating the link.』
「Link complete. There were no problems at all. It wasn’t all that difficult for us to synchronize our consciousnesses……」
Aimer’s pupils glowed with a golden sheen.
Her lips formed a gentle smile. She was now one with Asia. It almost seemed as if they were one being right from the start.
「What’s this……? Rather than adapting, it’s more like assimilating.」
「Please don’t make it sound so villainous.」
「Nn. I didn’t think it was possible to fuse to the point where our personalities would get almost completely integrated into a whole.」
「I’m not really sure what happened, but I’m glad there were no problems. Alright then. Let’s go ahead and board Unit 5. But, before that–」
Kou stood in front of the large monitor.
「I have a request to the management AI of Fortress Area P336. We will now head out to fight to protect this place. If possible, I would like each facility to cooperate with us as our comrades. I can’t promise anything definite, but…… If we win, I’ll make sure to rebuild this city and all of our fallen comrades.」
Asia and Aimer smiled. Asking the Fortress Area itself for help was truly like Kou.
『Request confirmed. Since said undertaking will differ greatly from our original duties, it will be up to each individual to decide if they want to participate. Would that be fine?』
「Sure. Thanks.」
『Understood. I shall transmit it as a request from a friend. Repeating for confirmation. After completing this mission, we will proceed to restore and repair our fallen allies–in other words, all damaged facilities–as well as rebuild the urban district, correct?』
「Yeah. That’s right. We’ll restore and repair everyone who can be repaired. And we’ll rebuild this place.」
『Transmission complete. From here on out, each facility will act at its own discretion.』
「Thanks. Well, shall we head out, Aimer? Asia?」
「Un. Right now, I suppose I’m Asia’s Aimer. You can call me both names, and I’ll recognize both as “me”.」
「Gotcha.」
The two headed for Unit 5.
Before leaving the control room, Asia looked back at the main monitor that housed the Fortress Area management AI and smiled.
All facilities proceeded to share information in real-time.
After countless years since they were first built, this was the first time a human had called them comrades. As a fellow AI, Asia could understand their bewilderment. And their joy.
However, this only lasted for an instant. Asia’s Aimer once again recalled the life she lost and her fallen friends.
Then, she continued to follow Kou and headed to where Unit 5 was parked.
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