Turning point (10)
The path to the Archive had opened. It was thanks to eting the conditions safely.
It wasn't completely open. The energy field had only faded enough for us to pass through without much trouble.
If the beacon that emitted light were to suddenly stop functioning, the energy field would imdiately bring up a rejection response.
To prevent that, we decided not to enter the energy field right away, but to search for another beacon first. It was a process that would take ti, but that was fine.
After all, we needed to investigate the massive cube first. Even though I was sure that cube was the Archive, that was a separate matter.
Who knows what kind of defense systems it has? If we just charged in and got torn apart by the Archive's barrage in an instant, escaping Titan would have been an impossible dream.
"Licorice, when are you going to activate the communications relay?"
"We'll do it at the sa ti as we enter the Archive. I think the timing will work best that way. If we sent a communication first and the pureblood supremacists caught our location and managed to collapse the Archive, nothing would be more disheartening than that, don't you think?"
Licorice answered while drying her hair with a towel in response to my question. We were taking a break at the mont. We were resting while the drone investigated the Archive.
It happened to coincide with the investigation, but we would have rested regardless. This was the final round of maintenance.
Once the operation began, all fighting strength—including us—would not be able to stop until we escaped. We couldn't stop. If we even paused for a mont, we'd be hit by a concentration of fire. Everyone knew that.
No matter how it ended, the conclusion would soon follow. Perhaps that was why there was an unmistakable tension throughout the ship. Everyone, when they had a mont, stole glances at the massive cube settled in Mithrim Montes.
Standing quietly behind Licorice, I recalled the hidden commotion amidst the silence. I naturally picked up the hair dryer on the table and switched it on. With the gentle hum of wind, warm air swept through Licorice's red hair.
"... What about Roxy? Still no contact?"
"Hmm..."
Licorice's hand paused. She set the damp towel aside with a little sigh.
"No communication yet, but at least he's alive. The life signal is steady, so that much is certain. Since it was such a dangerous operation crisscrossing Titan, I paid a lot of attention to that part. The lack of communication is probably just the device breaking down."
"Are you sure he didn't crash anywhere?"
"If it was just a crash, he'd have sent a distress signal. Unless he died, there's a way for him to send us a coded ssage."
Licorice said there was more than one backup safety asure just in case.
I was puzzled. There's no reason not to communicate if he's alive. It wasn't like the pureblood supremacists had gotten to Roxy. Assuming there was no lie, only a few possibilities remained.
'... He's not taken hostage, is he?'
I didn't voice the thought. After all, there's a reason for the old wisdom about watching what you say. Better to keep ominous thoughts as just that—thoughts.
"I have no idea what that guy's doing or where. I wouldn't call it a betrayal, so it ans he's scheming sothing..."
Licorice trailed off. Suddenly, a thought flashed across my mind. I couldn't hold back and ended up saying it out loud.
"Don't tell ... he spotted one of their bases and purposefully snuck in while passing by or sothing like that...? If he's inside a scan network where he can't risk contacting us..."
"Huh, what are you—"
Licorice was about to snort at with a bewildered expression, but suddenly her reaction short-circuited. If it were anyone else, maybe, but Roxy was impossible to predict.
Honestly, no matter what he did, you could just shrug and say, 'Oh, that's so Roxy.'
"No, he wouldn't... Not even a crazy guy like Roxy, who acts on a whim, is that thoughtless... or that reckless..."
"Why do you stop speaking halfway? You're making nervous."
I had a vague sense of the reason, but I still scolded her. Because, honestly, it was the kind of thing Roxy actually might pull off.
"Well... I don't know. Still, we should set aside a few drones, just in case."
Licorice hurried through her words. The "just in case" was for a scenario where Roxy would send a distress signal. By the ti we finished talking, her soaked hair had been completely dried.
With a satisfied air, Licorice tidied her hair tips.
"You're pretty ticulous, you know."
"I'm a professional."
Compared to drying Nadia's tail, drying hair was nothing.
"Hmph. Show-off."
This ti, Licorice let out a proper snort and continued talking.
"Anyway, Roxy said he'd co back no matter what happened, so worry less. Once we get results from the Archive side, we'll move out, so go rest and save your stamina. I've said it plenty of tis—this is the last maintenance period."
"Got it..."
That's what I said, but my heart still felt heavy. It weighed on that all I could do was send soone on a dangerous mission and not do anything to help directly.
'I hope he's okay.'
Not just Roxy—I hoped that for all of us. Sighing inwardly, I sat at the edge of the bed. I didn't let go of the hair dryer. I'd be using it again soon enough.
As if on cue, the lounge door slid open. Standing there, still unable to fully dry off even after using multiple towels, was Nadia. Her appearance was a little—no, a lot—different from usual.
Seed she was in the middle of her 'Let's be friends' project—two spider robots clung to her lower back. The additional equipnt called the support arms.
This was a new piece of gear Nadia had just developed. It synced with the bio-circuitry near her heart and allowed her to control the robots with thought alone.
Supposedly, they could be used for combat when mounted on her hands, or assist with tasks under her direction. There hadn't been ti for a true field test, but it should perform up to 80% of the expected spec without trouble.
It was made for temporary use to reduce fra fatigue in the power loader, but she hadn't put any less effort into its creation. I could still vividly rember how disappointed she was not to have a chance to show it off.
It must've been Nadia's orders—one spider robot was holding extra towels, and the other clumsily dabbed her tail with a towel to soak up the moisture.
"Hyun-woo!"
Nadia, looking about, saw and ca over with a bright, smiling face. Her tail, which was held upright for easier drying, waggled, smacking the spider robots in the process.
Whether she knew that one of the robots was getting pumled by her tail, I couldn't tell—Nadia plopped down beside , humming a tune of unknown origin.
She unlatched the equipnt on her waist with a click. The two spider robots scattered like puppies let off their leash.
Shaking her head at their newfound freedom, Nadia turned and rested her damp tail on my lap. No words were needed now.
As if she'd been waiting for it, I started working to dry the remaining moisture. Still, though, the fur was a little drier than usual.
I didn't think it was because the robot had done a great job drying—it only pretended to help.
"Nadia, where did you go?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Just, your tail's drier than usual."
"Ah, well. I was just talking with soone for a bit!"
Nadia's shoulders twitched. For so reason, Licorice was giving an exasperated look. Did I co off as a little obsessive?
'I was just making small talk...'
I cleared my throat, nodding awkwardly. I hadn't even pressed her, but asking more might feel like an interrogation, so I changed the subject.
"So, where's Carry? Didn't she go wash up with you?"
"Oh, Carry went to see Kyle for a bit. Looked like she needed sothing."
"Really?"
I gave a puzzled look. Right now, the item Carry cherished was sitting on the table. It was a hefty, advanced-rank refined Blue Crystal, about the size of a fist.
I'd given it as a power source, but maybe Carry liked its gem-like appearance and treated it like a treasure. Now that we knew how Blue Crystal ford, even if we used it out of necessity, we still couldn't shake the discomfort.
That's why I'd tried to put it away before. But Carry had thrown a massive tantrum, like it was the end of the world, so we ended up leaving it as is. No robot had ever been so opinionated as Carry.
If she liked sothing, she never gave it up easily. This advanced refined Blue Crystal was one of those things. Maybe it was like a pet rock—or a stone friend, as they say on Earth.
'She even fired up her booster to co get it.'
Today was a day for Carry to take out her treasure and admire it. She always brought out her "Sparkles" before an important day, so on days like this, she'd drop everything else and co ho quickly.
Clearly, today she wanted to do sothing extra—
"Hey! Don't touch that!"
Thinking idly about all this, I turned my head. I practically leapt up at the sa ti. My reaction didn't even go through my brain.
And for good reason—the spider robot Nadia brought along, finding sothing interesting, was clicking its tiny pincers as it fiddled with Carry's treasure.
"Eek!"
Nadia, who had been resting her tail in my lap, lost her balance at my sudden movent and face-planted into the bed. She looked up with a tearful expression, shaking her head at my interruption.
And then she saw. The spider robot she'd let loose—what it was doing. Nadia's face went sheet white as she realized the situation.
"No! Stop!"
Nadia reached out desperately. But her cry didn't reach the excavation robot. Since she'd disconnected the bio circuit for her break, she couldn't control them.
The spider robots, no longer just for mining but now multi-purpose, flashed their small eyes as they strengthened their grip on their tiny pincers.
It was truly a powder keg. I only realized too late that I could have used my supernatural power to prevent the disaster.
Just as I tried to use my power to save Carry's treasure, I realized sothing else—it was already too late. Because I'd noticed it all too late, "Sparkles" lost its forr shape.
Nadia and I stared at each other in panic. That was when the lounge door slid open. Clutching an armful of sothing and filled with happiness, Carry entered.
Glancing around the lounge to check on her treasure, which she'd left carefully placed on the table, Carry's expression changed in an instant.
「〣( ºΔº )〣」
Carry stared at Nadia in shock. More accurately, she was staring blankly at the spider robot Nadia had brought in. Even more accurately, she was staring at what the robot held: Sparkles.
「...」
Carry and the two spider robots locked eyes in the air. The items Carry was holding tumbled to the floor, and the "Sparkles" in the spider robot's pincers started to crack, shattering in an instant. The fragnts fell.
It wasn't just us who noticed sothing had gone wrong. The spider robot that broke Sparkles gagged up the refined Blue Crystal fragnts it had collected inside.
Number 1, the spider robot, then hurriedly pushed the crystal shards on the floor toward Carry. Carry's visual sensors locked on them. Even though they were just lenses, it felt like a dazed, spiritless stare.
Carry's treasure, sparkles. It was no longer whole. It wasn't in one piece anymore. Now only 'S' and 'K' remained. It had beco what was once Sparkles, what was once Carry's treasure. Only a look of horror remained.
The lounge fell silent. Licorice, arms crossed, looked on as if to ask what the hell had happened, while Nadia and I kept quiet, knowing we were at fault.
Especially Nadia—she couldn't even lift herself from her prone position on the bed, knowing exactly who was most at fault for this fiasco.
Even in all this, spider Robot No. 2 obliviously scrambled to pick up the fallen fragnts as if wondering why No. 1 had spat them out. Unable to stand this, no. 1 whacked No. 2's head with a long pincer.
No. 1 tried again, holding out the fragnts for Carry as if to say, "At least take these."
Of course, it didn't get through.
Carry let out a silent scream.
***
「(☍д⁰)」
"It's okay, let it all out—your sadness, your anger, everything. You've been pretty upset lately, haven't you?"
「(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞」
I soothed Carry as she burrowed into my arms, still shaken by the loss of Sparkles. Only now was she starting to calm down after making such a scene.
Licorice let out a small sigh before saying, "Hey, tincan. Catch," and offering up an advanced Blue Crystal. Without that, and without giving it to Carry, we'd still be dealing with Carry's rampage in the lounge.
'Good thing it was advanced-rank.'
Now, the advanced refined Blue Crystal had beco Sparkles the Second. The higher the grade, the more vividly the blue glowed. That imdiately locked Carry's gaze.
What used to be Sparkles was now inside Carry's battery. Sparkles was gone, but at least now it lived on in Carry's belly. Since it's advanced-rank, the battery would probably last a long while.
After I'd comforted Carry for a while, she soon toddled over to Licorice, who was reading through data on multiple holographic screens.
「(♡ˊ͈ ꒳ ˋ͈)」
Carry snuggled up beside her. Surprised by the sudden approach, Licorice turned and, seeing Carry's adorable act, chuckled and took off her headphones.
"You're kinda cute. Didn't realize before."
「(⌯' ꇴ '⌯)ಣ」
Carry responded with an expression that said, 'That's my charm!'
The awkwardness between the two seed to be gone now.
The way Carry showed the sa expressions to Licorice as she did to Nadia and was proof. After circling around Licorice expressing her joy for a while, Carry moved to her next target.
「(ꐦ°꒫°)」
The rivalry that started with Carry's jealousy was still ongoing. Now it had escalated to "enemy" territory.
The two spider robots and the beastkin were now facing the wall in punishnt, for a reflection tiout. Seeing Carry's angry expression, Nadia drooped her ears in sha.
They had once been closer than , those two. Even if things were a little rocky now, those tis wouldn't disappear, and they'd soon recover.
"Carry, I'm sorry. I'll make sure this won't ever happen again. Really."
「(ಠ ‸ ಠ)」
"Really, really."
Nadia had just been busy lately, but she was a dedicated Carry-stan. She sincerely showed her remorse and tried to make peace.
Carry wasn't so petty. Strangely for a robot, her emotions were clear. Despite her treasure getting destroyed, that wasn't number one for her. Her greatest treasure was and Nadia—a fact revealed back in the residential area.
If we showed her our sincerity, Carry showed us hers. Back when I lived alone in the residential area, I'd gotten a lot of comfort from that, in ways I didn't even realize.
Nadia and Carry reached a dramatic—well, maybe not dramatic, more like amicable—compromise. The spider robots still had to face the wall, but Nadia was now free to move.
After hanging out with Carry for a while, I checked the ti and got up. There was soplace I needed to stop by before bed.
"Licorice, I'll step out for a bit."
"At this hour? Where are you headed?"
"To see Celly. She said she wants to talk."
"Can't you just text—"
"Yeah, go on."
Licorice frowned and was about to say sothing, but Nadia cut her off, waving on. Licorice threw a scowling glance at Nadia.
"Woof-woof, are you serious?"
"He's just going for a bit. It's not like there's anything big to worry about."
"I didn't expect you to say that. Are you sure you're not just missing sothing? If you let him go, he might not be back tonight, Woof-woof. Or, more accurately, he won't be able to co back."
"No. Hyun-woo will co back. I talked to him about it."
Nadia wasn't too thrilled, but didn't stop . Licorice's face was full of dissatisfaction. It wasn't fear of nightmares that made her uneasy.
Since Sprout had devoured the core of the reactor, she no longer needed to cling to all the ti, so Sprout was in Licorice's hands from earlier. It had been proven that as long as you had Sprout with you, you wouldn't have nightmares.
I left, telling them I might be late, so they could just go to bed first. I was going to tie up loose ends.
---
**New Words List:**
Reviews
All reviews (0)