"Is this... the future one year from now?"
Kurumi murmured with a blank expression.
She was in the center of a room.
The room was about 33 square ter in size. The floor was paved with marble bearing pale white patterns. Inside, there were not only sofas, tables, chairs, and a water dispenser, but also a computer and other items on the counter.
There were no windows on the walls, only a glass automatic door. Because of that, no natural light entered the room. In its place, a bright fluorescent lamp on the ceiling illuminated the interior.
Kurumi could not help feeling disoriented.
Until now, she had only used the Sixth Bullet to send her consciousness through ti. This was her first ti using the Eleventh Bullet to send both body and soul into the future.
Should she say it was too unexpected? Or that it simply did not feel real? If Kurumi's mory of Zafkiel was not mistaken, the Eleventh Bullet only possessed the ability to travel through ti. It could not move soone through space.
In other words, this place should have been the sa place where Kurumi and Yutsuki had parted.
"Is this place... really the future?"
Kurumi's face was full of confusion.
Unlike the "past", which had already beco fact and was difficult to change, the "future", from the point of view of the "present", was filled with countless variables. It could not be predicted, nor could it remain in mory as sothing that had already happened.
Kurumi had imagined the future as well. But at most, she had pictured ruins abandoned by humanity or wastelands endlessly ravaged by Inverted Spirits.
No matter what, she could not connect the Tenguu City in her mories, which had been destroyed beyond recognition, with this room before her eyes that looked like a company's VIP reception room.
At that mont, a cold voice suddenly sounded in the empty room.
[——Biological response detected. Beginning identification. Appearance recognition——passed. Voiceprint recognition——passed. Retinal recognition——passed. Spirit power wavelength——passed. Individual identification successful——owner——Tokisaki Kurumi.]
"Who's here?"
Kurumi shouted in panic.
[Welco, my master.]
At that mont, the computer in the room suddenly activated, and the avatar of a girl appeared on the screen.
[I am a household service AI produced by Ratatoskr. My official na is Naia. From now on, I will be responsible for taking care of your daily life. Do you have any questions?]
"Naia...?"
Kurumi could not help frowning.
The mont she heard that na, she imdiately thought of the two electronic Spirits she had t in the computer world.
But very quickly, she denied that possibility.
"Where is this place?"
[Answer——This is a small underground facility located forty ters beneath the forr center of Tenguu City. Total area: 30,925 square ters. It includes a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, restroom, ga room, heated swimming pool——]
"What ti is it now?"
[Answer——The current date is February 13th, XXXX. The ti is 19:03.]
"Why do you know ? Why are you calling master?"
[Answer——Master's personal information was registered in advance in the AI administrator database. You currently have the authority to use all equipnt within the underground facility.]
"...Where is this place?"
[Answer——This is a small underground facility located forty ters beneath the forr center of Tenguu City. Total area: 30,925 square ters. It includes a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom——]
"Enough."
Kurumi interrupted Naia and pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache.
Although the avatar on the screen resembled those two artificial intelligences sowhat, it was fundantally different. Though she had not had many chances to interact with them, in Kurumi's impression, whether it was their movents, tone, or expressions, the Arusu sisters's electronic counterparts felt extrely natural and lifelike. If angered, they would even mix lies into conversation or deliberately play troubleso pranks.
But the AI before her eyes could only chanically respond to Kurumi's words. There was no rise or fall in its voice either. It was rely an emotionless machine.
"...Was this underground facility created by Yutsuki-san?"
After adjusting her emotions, Kurumi began questioning Naia again.
After arriving in the future, she had appeared right in the center of this living room, and Naia had activated at the sa ti. Clearly, the designer of this underground facility knew Tokisaki Kurumi would appear today.
And the only one who knew that was Ryougi Yutsuki.
[Correct. Including this AI, the entire underground facility was designed and remodeled by my creator——Engineer Ryougi Yutsuki. The design purpose is to provide the resident with a comfortable and peaceful living environnt.]
Naia affird in a flat tone.
"Comfortable and peaceful... I see..."
Hearing those words, Kurumi seed to understand sothing, and her expression beca incredibly complicated.
"Did Yutsuki-san... leave any ssage?"
[Received. Beginning search... One related audio file detected. Play?]
"...Play it."
After Kurumi answered, an audio playback window appeared on the computer screen.
[Ah——ah——mm... Is the sound all right... A-anyway... it's been a long ti, Kurumi.]
"Yutsuki-san?"
Kurumi could not help making a confused sound. The voice coming from the speaker was undoubtedly Ryougi Yutsuki's, but for so reason, compared to the Yutsuki in Kurumi's impression, the Yutsuki in the recording sounded sowhat hoarse and stuttering.
[How long has it been? Eight years? One year? Uh——no, no... For you... we only t a few seconds ago, right? Sorry. I've been so busy lately that my mory is a little fuzzy.]
(Eight years? Didn't I only co back one year later?)
[Well... anyway, let's get to the point. When you hear this recording... it ans you've already arrived in the future one year from then... I'll briefly report what happened during this year. To state the conclusion——]
Hearing this, Kurumi unconsciously held her breath.
[DEM has been destroyed. Ellen and Westcott, of course, are gone. And the Origin Spirit——Mio——has also been killed by .]
"——!?"
Kurumi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible! Even if it's Yutsuki-san, there's no way you could kill Mio!"
[Hearing this, you probably won't believe what I'm saying... but it's the truth. If you don't believe , you can investigate it yourself.]
"...Who is Mio? How did you do it?"
[Unfortunately, I won't tell you the details... The fact that I was able to defeat Mio was the result of various coincidences, and I paid a considerable price for it. If I had to fight Mio again... I would lose without question. Even if I told you... and you went back to the past to fight Mio, you would only be marching to your death.]
"Kuh..."
Kurumi clenched her fists in frustration.
It was not because she did not want to argue with a recording. Even if Yutsuki were standing here right now, she would not be able to refute her with a single word.
After all, it was precisely because she had chosen to escape that she had co to the future.
[In any case, at this point in ti... you no longer need to worry about being hunted by Mio... Tohka and the others' Inversion problem has also been solved by . Although I can't say the world is completely peaceful now, things have at least co to an end for the ti being.]
"End...?"
Hearing those words, Kurumi looked dazed, as if she had lost sothing.
In order to return to thirty years ago, kill the Spirit of Origin who caused all these tragedies, and change history, Kurumi had abandoned her loved ones, abandoned herself, and even shouldered the cri of killing tens of thousands. She had poured over ten years of her life into fulfilling that long-cherished wish.
And yet, when she escaped reality and ca to the future one year later, she was told that, in so place she did not know, at so ti she did not know, everything had ended completely unrelated to her.
Joy? Anger? Resentnt? It was none of those. What spread through Kurumi's body at that mont was a hollow sense of powerlessness. Obsession, hatred, madness——the emotions that had supported her had been drawn out from her very marrow, leaving her body limp and weak.
"What exactly... am I...?"
[If everything went according to plan, when you arrived in this era... you should be inside an underground facility. That is my gift to you... The surface of the building has been covered with a large amount of sand and soil to disguise it as a hill, and all employees who participated in the construction will have their mories erased by . There, you can live quietly without anyone disturbing you.]
[Naia was a program I developed along the way during another experint, so I'm giving her to you as well... Although she doesn't possess true intelligence, she is still very capable... If not for her, I probably would have even forgotten how to speak by now. I hope she can help you.]
[Of course, I won't force you to stay... If you don't like living in seclusion, you can also choose to leave.]
[I only hope that you won't go to extres... and that you won't seek death. Please live on properly.]
[Then, goodbye... my friend...]
The recording ended there. In the empty living room, only Kurumi remained, kneeling on the floor blankly like a lost child.
[——Now, master. I will introduce all functions of this underground facility to you.]
At that mont, the automatic door opened, and a small robot controlled by Naia entered, guiding Kurumi out of the living room.
[This is your bedroom. It is equipped with a bed, sofa, television, refrigerator, wardrobe, personal computer, and ga console. Snacks and drinks are stored in the refrigerator. If you finish them, I will automatically restock them.]
"..."
[This is the heated swimming pool. When you wish to swim, simply notify , and I will complete cleaning and water filling within ten minutes. All swimming equipnt is also provided.]
"..."
[This is the ga room. If you wish to relax here, each ga has a point system. Once you reach a specified score, you may exchange points for special prizes at the counter.]
"..."
[This is the cafeteria. I will prepare als based on your order, or recomnd a nu based on analysis of your condition. If you wish to cook yourself, you may also use the kitchen in your room. I will prepare the corresponding ingredients.]
"..."
[This is the small theater...]
[This is the fitness room...]
[This is the manga café...]
It had to be said, in a certain sense, this place truly was a paradise on earth.
Leaving aside the most basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter, when Yutsuki designed this place, it was as if she had been afraid Kurumi might suffer the slightest grievance. She had added every entertainnt and living facility she could think of. Cleaning, laundry, cooking——all housework was done by robots under Naia's control. Kurumi did not need to lift a finger at all.
However, faced with the dazzling array of facilities Naia introduced, Kurumi was completely absentminded. The words went in one ear and out the other, never entering her mind.
[This is the workshop where the teleportation Realizer is installed. If necessary, it can help you move quickly between facilities, or teleport you back to the surface outside.]
"Outside..."
Kurumi reacted slightly to that word.
Although Yutsuki had said everything had ended, sowhere in Kurumi's heart, a voice still told her that all of this was only Yutsuki's side of the story. What had truly happened in the future still had to be confird with her own eyes.
[Would you like to teleport to the surface?]
"...No. Forget it."
However, after hesitating for a long while, Kurumi shook her head dejectedly and spoke with a dim expression.
"The current ... no longer has the right."
After saying that, Kurumi turned around and walked back to the bedroom with sluggish steps, then collapsed onto the bed.
[Lights off. Entering sleep mode. Good night——my master.]
In the dark bedroom, Kurumi hugged herself tightly and closed her eyes in pain.
(Sleep... Don't think about anything... Just sleep...)
(If possible... I truly hope that once I fall asleep... I never wake up again.)
User Comments
0 comments from readers