Inside Dr. i's laboratory—
Protheus' chanical eyes glead with an intense, fiery light, as if genuine flas burned within them—radiating sothing that could only be described as humanity.
"Doctor, I won't stop Elias from undergoing the procedure. I believe he'll succeed. No matter how small the calculated probability is—even if it's virtually zero—I believe he can surpass my computations, turn the impossible into possible, and bring a miracle into reality."
Hiding behind Elias, Protheus spoke with rare seriousness. Her small hand clutched the hem of the white-haired boy's coat, making her look like a little sister seeking protection from her older brother.
This trust of hers had nothing to do with data or logic.
It was pure, genuine emotion born from her own evolving consciousness—a seed that would one day allow her to transcend machinehood and truly beco human.
"Thank you, Protheus. That makes very happy," Elias said softly, turning to embrace the AI girl and gently patting her silvery soulium hair. "Then, if only to honor your faith in , I'll make sure to show you a miracle that lights up the sky."
In his eyes, the chanical girl before him was impossibly endearing—far cuter than a certain electricity-stealing cabbage. Even if Protheus was technically a heartless machine, Elias had already decided—he would not fail her trust.
Feeling the boy's hand stroke her hair with more strength and tenderness than usual, Protheus blinked her red eyes and said with a hint of excitent,
"Beep! Detected: Elias' affection toward this unit has significantly increased! Understood. I will look forward to it."
"Good~ Oh, right—once my surgery's done, let's go out and have so fun together. Tell wherever you want to go, Protheus—I'll take you there, anywhere."
"Elias, that sounds suspiciously like what you humans call a 'death flag.' As for where I want to go—there's nowhere in particular. But… if possible, I'd like to attend one of your concerts."
Protheus spoke seriously.
She hadn't existed for long, and Elias hadn't held a live concert with Eden since the Seventh Eruption. Thus, she'd never had the chance to hear his voice in person.
As an AI, Protheus didn't particularly enjoy music. She could easily analyze and reproduce any sound, identify every note's deviation from the original—but she couldn't comprehend the essence of music itself.
After all, she was still a machine.
There were sayings that playing music for plants could help them grow better—but no one had ever claid that playing music for machines could make them run more efficiently.
Yet Protheus found herself curious.
"Elias, your music contains sothing I can't detect with any instrunt. I want to know what that 'sothing' is. But online recordings are too corrupted with noise—it interferes with my analysis. So I want to hear you sing live. May I?"
When Dr. i created her, she had given her one core directive: [Observe and understand Elias].
Because of that, Protheus' database contained vast amounts of data about the white-haired boy—so much, in fact, that no one in existence understood him better than she did.
And during her research, when reviewing the concert footage of Elias and Eden, sothing inside her reacted. She had felt sothing she couldn't quantify or explain—but she rembered it vividly: her reactor core had suddenly overheated, as though malfunctioning.
At that mont, she had realized that Elias' music contained a power—a power capable of changing even a being made of steel and code.
Protheus wanted to understand what that truly was.
"If you need a stage, Elias, I'll do everything I can to build the best one for you. So…"
"No, no need. If you want to hear sing, Protheus, I'll sing for you anyti. Haha~ I didn't expect you to be a fan of my music. Alright then, once the Chira procedure's over, I'll hold a private concert just for you."
Elias spoke generously, reaching out to lightly pinch the chanical girl's cheek—as if accepting her request as a form of paynt.
"Really? That's wonderful!"
Protheus' crimson eyes lit up with excitent, and she instantly began planning to purchase the highest-grade recording equipnt available.
"..."
i stood silently to the side, watching them.
The white-haired boy and the chanical girl interacted so naturally, as though there were no barriers between human and machine. With his angelic looks and her doll-like cuteness, the sight of them together radiated serenity and warmth.
(Seventeenth unit… so you've begun to awaken your own sense of self? I expected it eventually, but it seems it's happening sooner than I thought. Still… perhaps that's only natural.)
A faint smile tugged at i's lips. She didn't feel jealous, nor did she experience the familiar sting of defeat.
As Protheus' creator, i could sense that her artificial intelligence was gradually evolving—transforming from machine into a true girl. And, of course, the reason was none other than the white-haired boy.
She wasn't surprised. In fact, her gaze toward Protheus softened even more.
[Observe and understand Elias], [Obey Elias' commands], [Protect Elias' life]—those were the base directives i herself had programd into the AI. It was only natural that Protheus would regard him as the most important person in her world.
When she had first realized that, i had been a little startled—but it quickly made perfect sense. After all…
This chanical girl had been created with i's own feelings for Elias embedded within her.
When i designed Protheus, she had been thinking about him constantly. That emotion had beco an invisible part of the AI's frawork.
Of course Protheus would see Elias as precious.
Of course she would begin awakening her own heart because of him.
The chanical girl, born from i's own unspoken affection, had loved Elias from the very mont she was created.
(But Protheus, my dear Seventeenth, you'll only truly realize that once you beco human. I wonder what kind of person you'll turn into then.)
i's expression grew gentler.
At that mont, she had found clarity.
(Because I created you, Protheus, you could be considered my daughter. And by extension, Elias is your father. So, if my daughter likes her father, that's perfectly normal… yes, completely reasonable…)
As your 'mother,' how could I possibly be jealous of my own daughter? Watching Elias and Protheus interact like a father and daughter, i felt her heart fill with warmth. Her life felt complete. Her family, perfect.
But then—
"Doctor, this is for you."
"Hmm? What's this?"
Snapped out of her daydream, i took the file Protheus handed her—and imdiately widened her eyes upon reading it.
Instead of a [Mother-Daughter Relationship Termination Form]—as she had half expected—it read: [Resignation Letter].
"I'd like to formally resign, Doctor."
"Eh?"
"Ah~ You constantly make work unpaid overti, offer no insurance or benefits, and sotis you even forget my basic salary. Doctor… even though I'm not human, you really are inhuman."
Protheus stared at i with flat, unfeeling eyes. If you weren't my creator, she thought, my heavy gauntlets would've already taught you the wrath of the working class.
"In summary, for the sake of my future, I've decided to resign. Please approve my request."
"i, she's got a point," Elias said with mock seriousness. "Even if Fire Moth's a transcendent organization, we still ought to respect basic labor laws."
At the sa ti, Elias couldn't help thinking, i, didn't you siphon a ton of research funding from Mobius? What did you even spend it on if you can't pay Protheus' salary?
(i: "I spent it all on developing the Key of Blankness.")
Elias then turned toward Protheus and asked, "So, have you found a new job yet? If not, how about coming to work for ? I'll give you the best treatnt—no overti, no delayed pay, and end-of-year bonuses based on how many Honkai Beasts we defeat."
"That sounds like a dream job. Please, let join. I'll work hard."
"Heh~ You don't even need to. You're so cute, I'd like you even if you did absolutely nothing every day!"
Elias laughed as he hugged Protheus and rubbed his cheek against hers. Though her face was cool to the touch, it was surprisingly soft—no less than Bronya's. Just looking at her filled him with an urge to spoil her.
Protheus blinked, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him like a child. Without looking back, she said calmly,
"Revoking Dr. i's Master authority… transferring full control to Elias… transfer complete. Forr Master, please refrain from contacting in the future—I wouldn't want Elias to misunderstand."
"W–Wait, Protheus, you—!"
i's eye twitched violently as she scrambled to activate her backdoor override—but quickly realized it had already been patched.
Of course it had. As the world's most advanced AI, if Protheus couldn't detect and repair a few backdoors within her own system, she'd hardly be worthy of being i's creation.
"Elias, would you be willing to be my new Master?"
"Of course, Protheus," Elias replied without hesitation.
"Wonderful. Then please, take away from here—and goodbye, my forr Master, Dr. i. Please hurry and prepare the Chira procedure."
Protheus smiled brightly.
"..."
As i watched Elias and Protheus walk out of her laboratory hand-in-hand, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was watching a father elope with his daughter.
(You rebellious child!!)
i gritted her teeth, seething internally.
Even after everything—despite all her progress—her loser aura as a "defeated heroine" remained as strong as ever.
...
"Hahaha~ i really got wrecked this ti! Protheus, that was brilliant! I'll treat you to cake!"
In Elias' quarters—
Miss Pink Elf was rolling on the floor laughing after hearing what had happened.
"Understood. Then I'll graciously accept," Protheus replied politely.
"Eh? You can actually eat?"
"I have an integrated taste system. Functionally speaking, anything a human can do, I can also do—and in most cases, I can do it better."
Protheus crossed her arms proudly. Her expression remained blank, but there was an unmistakable air of smugness about her.
Elysia blinked, then mischievously reached out to lift Protheus' skirt, clearly curious whether the chanical girl had… certain features installed.
But the next instant—two massive gauntlets materialized and clashed together midair with a resounding clang! clang!
"Stare…" (￣△￣)
"Ahaha…" (//▽//)
Elysia imdiately retracted her hand, awkwardly scratching her cheek.
"Please refrain from harboring inappropriate curiosity about my body's construction, Elysia."
"Mhm, my bad—you're right. Even if you're an AI, you're still a very cute girl. A girl's body should only be seen by soone special."
The pink elf admitted her mistake sincerely, then offered a piece of her cake as a peace offering.
"..."
Protheus tilted her head slightly, silent.
Then she turned toward the white-haired boy nearby—currently sipping tea while petting a cat-girl—and said calmly,
"I see. By that logic, if the person is Elias… I can show him my body."
"Pffft—!"
"ow!!"
Elias spat his tea all over the poor cat-girl in shock.
—
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