The reason why Cider Claiborne, the original developer of automatons, no longer makes automatons. The reason why automatons capable of such diverse tasks have now been reduced to decorative items for the upper class.
"You rember all sorts of things."
Brushing it off with laughter was useless.
"Did they starve to death?"
"Don't you have any intention of showing
consideration?"
At his evasive response, Esperanza, who was still crouched in front of the cart touching other machines around her, raised her chin. When their eyes t, Cider could no longer delay his answer. He whispered as if pushed.
"They died."
"Do you think it was because of you?"
"...Is it ridiculous?"
"Co here and sit down."
The wavering gaze like the moon reflected in water was pitiful. Cider crouched down in front of Esperanza as instructed.
"I didn't want to have this kind of conversation with you."
"Do you trust ?"
"It's really unfair."
Despite the complaint, there was no hesitation in his answer.
"I trust you."
Esperanza leaned her head on Cider's shoulder. Her wavy hair spilled over his back and chest, tickling the back of his hand. Outside this room were plush sofas and a bed where he would take naps while staying up all night waiting for asurent results. But they sat leaning against each other on the uncarpeted laboratory floor.
"I don't know if inviting you here was the right thing to do."
"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."
Though she had given enough hints, she didn't want to pick at a wound that had barely scabbed over.
"But... I'm soone who will return, aren't I? So even if you're caught by
with sothing you wanted to hide, it won't be a problem."
The tip of her tongue was bitter as she referred to herself as soone who would return. What would this man think? Did he understand what I ant? She looked up at Cider with an anxious heart.
He gazed blankly at the sight of priceless machines piled up like junk, like a young boy, and opened his mouth.
"I wanted to show you."
"Did you?"
"I also didn't want to show you, of all people."
In his contradictory heart not knowing which way to lean, the weight of trust tipped the scales toward the forr.
"I thought you might hate
after seeing it, but at the sa ti I knew you wouldn't. Still, it was a bit of an adventure."
The fact that she ca from 13 years in the future, her boldness that didn't even blink before monsters, her generally calm and indifferent personality. Still, just in case, he had written a card at the laboratory entrance. For Cider Claiborne, that was being excessively cautious.
And the adventure he attempted while being extrely careful was successful.
"I first made an automaton when I was fourteen. There's a magic stone mine on the outskirts of Avondale City. I didn't know exactly what kind of work they did, but I also knew they were bringing children around five years old to use them cheaply. Back then I had ridiculous sense of justice. You don't believe ? It's true. I was young."
Ridiculous sense of justice. A fourteen-year-old boy's sense of justice was bound to break easily like an egg hitting the rock of reality. But Cider Claiborne was a genius, and in his study there were many ways to turn that ridiculous sense of justice into reality.
"It was no different from the ballerina attached to ladies' music boxes. That's why I called it an automaton. Though the appearance was much more hideous."
"I can imagine."
Cider let out a dry laugh and clasped his hands over Esperanza's.
"But it was an invention that could replace the entire process of mine excavation. Father was quite excited. Even though he didn't look it, he was quite family-oriented in his own way, so he probably wanted to brag about his son, right? He imdiately took it to sell at the mine. Magic stones were expensive and the efficiency wasn't that good, so it couldn't replace all the people. It was only used for transport which consud the least magic stones, but even that seed to save quite a bit. It would listen better than using children, wouldn't cost for als, and wouldn't cost for corpse disposal. It would have looked good too."
He muttered coldly and examined Esperanza's eyes. As if looking for seeds of contempt within them.
"Of course the children were fired. That winter was particularly harsh, and the children who couldn't find other jobs died. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they all died. Father said those children would have died the sa way even if they continued the harsh mine work, but well... I still don't know how sincere he was about that."
The count donated large amounts to workhouses and child protection organizations for his shocked young son, but that couldn't bring the dead back to life.
Avondale Mansion, which was uncharacteristic of a genius magical engineer's house, where they bothered to employ people for work that could use automatons or machines from other mansions. The cynical face that looked at automatons no different from ornants.
"There are many people who would make machines that take people's jobs even without , and above all, it makes money. Entrepreneurs carry bags of money around commissioning such machines. It's also a field that could develop a bit more slowly. So."
Cider, who had paused his words, stroked Esperanza's fingertips and gripped them with a bit more strength.
"Back then I decided not to make machines that do work people can do. The problem was, there were more jobs people could do than I thought. I thought, 'Of course this isn't work for people to do,' but there were people doing that work. So I just gave up on that principle."
Laughter that burst out reflexively shook Cider's shoulder. Though it wasn't that kind of atmosphere, thanks to that, Cider, who had been tensing his shoulders, also laughed like a sigh.
"Is giving up that easy?"
"Because I wasn't that desperate. Actually, it didn't last long either. Three months? After that, since I was going to make machines that could replace people's work anyway, I started making the Bronze series thinking I might as well try replacing people themselves."
"Are you saying you were trying to clone humans?"
Cider glossed over it roughly.
"It's a bit different. Well, there were various technical difficulties. As you can see from the appearance, it only went as far as replacing a few professions."
He said it wasn't human cloning, but in the end he was trying to make automatons close to people. Never had his nature of having no lingering attachnt to what he gave up been more fortunate than now. If there had been truly human-like automatons in Attorney Bronze's place, Esperanza's reaction couldn't have been the sa.
"Since I had no intention of making it public anyway, I took the appearance from 'Detective Bronze' and kept the na the sa."
That ans he freely used copyrighted designs. Being private, he really went wild. Esperanza clicked her tongue quietly.
"From then on, I just decided to comfortably make what I wanted to make. As you know, I'm not virtuous, so my frustration is more important than whether others live or die."
How confident he is while saying such things. Cider finally smiled. The tension that had been tornting him until just now had mostly fled.
"Around that ti I built this laboratory too. At first employees ca to clean, but after I made managent automatons, I sent them back. Coleman probably hasn't been here since around that ti either."
"But why was he so scared?"
"Because he thinks of this place as sothing like a demon's den?"
It was a surprisingly crude expression. Esperanza stared at his lips, wondering if those words really ca from Cider's mouth. He spoke as if betraying any expectation.
"So he's always worried I might go to hell for doing impious things. It's pitiful."
"You call that talking."
"Among old people, there are still those swayed by superstition. Like Coleman, or Duke Dunbarton."
That side was quite sothing too. Cider smiled warmly while brushing Esperanza's hair behind her ear.
"I don't care. If they saw sothing like the Bronze series, even the dignified gentlen's club mbers would start talking about demons. The fact that you didn't was the victory of my adventure."
"I did well, so why are you taking the victory?"
Cider lightly ignored those words and continued.
"Still, Coleman is soone who would block my way and hold out until he died first if the church ca to capture . If you thought of sothing like the unfortunate childhood of a genius no one understands, you're wrong."
"Ah, I suppose so."
The dark atmosphere instantly returned to normal. Esperanza promptly pulled away her leaning body. Cider smiled and embraced Esperanza's shoulders. Esperanza pushed him away grumbling. Cider spoke as if making excuses.
"I told you it wasn't a big story."
"You were trying not to talk about it, so what do you an it's not a big story."
"Because it's not an attractive story."
Acting recklessly in his youth and causing trouble, abandoning the principles he set for himself without even trying to keep them. And sitting in this laboratory making things that couldn't even be seen outside. He had never been ashad of such a life. Even without this laboratory, he was a genius of the century, and with just the public technology, he was unquestionably the best.
But in front of Esperanza, he was ashad. The desire to appear as a better person was inevitable sincerity.
"I like these kinds of stories."
Esperanza shrugged her shoulders greatly. It wasn't a shallow remark ant to comfort. But when listening to soone's deep story, the listener's inner thoughts tend to be revealed as well.
"I don't have that kind of catalyst. I lived going with the flow, and living like that, I beca this way. No matter how big an event happens, it can't shake that 'living like that.' I'm just
then and now, even after my parents passed away, even after suddenly falling into your study, still. Just living so-so, just being so-so ."
Calm, indifferent, easily forgetting, not changing easily. Friends said she was like a stone, and that was a penetrating remark. Even if worn down and rolled until the surface becos smooth, that's all—a stone is a stone.
"I like that you're a delicate person."
And those words were completely unplanned. As soon as Esperanza spoke, she shut her mouth tight. But it wasn't sothing that could be resolved with silence.
"What I an is, so."
"As a friend. I understood without you saying it twice."
Cider didn't seem particularly disappointed or inclined to tease. Only Esperanza seed to be making a fuss. Though she felt strange inside wondering why he was so unbothered, she couldn't very well say sothing like 'Didn't you say you liked ?' Cider really acted as if nothing had happened, putting the machine back in its original place and opening the door.
"Do you want to continue touring?"
"Hmm. One story per room?"
"There are no stories left. Only boring magical engineering lectures remain."
Cider spoke as if threatening, but with a one-on-one lecture, she could sohow make him stop.
"What's in the other rooms?"
A wicked voice whispered.
"Mainly 'inventions that would cause social controversy.'"
"I want to see them!"
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