Chapter 645: He and She Seek the Answer

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"........."

"Hey, Saina, help me out here. This test is actually pretty hard."

Since it was a genuine test, it wasn't something I could solve using just the knowledge I already had on hand. Well, even so, I managed to figure out the answers to about two questions that were probably right, so I was running around trying to solve the remaining forty-eight... but Saina's movements were sluggish. It seemed being called a bug had really taken a toll on her.

"Emul, go fetch Volume 3 of this book called Basic Principles of Gunfire. You can probably find it if you search the console we were just at."

"Yes sir!"

Now then.........

"Saina, you don't need to worry about what 'Ivory' said."

"...Requesting an explanation for your reasoning."

"How many years has it been since you were manufactured?"

"...Response: Fifteen years and six months."

"Is that right? You're way older than me, then. Not even a year has passed since I was 'manufactured' inside Behemoth. Even if I look like an adult, ninety percent of my life was configured by 'Ivory.'"

Birth... Now that I know the origins of the Second Humanity, there probably isn't a more ridiculous default setting in existence. A baby only a few seconds old being ejected from that mechanical elephant and claiming, "I am a battle-hardened warrior"—what kind of joke is that? Even if you contracted Chuunibyou, you'd be a decade or so too early.

"However, you of the Second Humanity possess an 'individual'... That is something this unitI, who is nothing more than a reproduction of a person who existed in the past, can never possess."

"...No, that's what I don't get, Saina. The fact that you're even worrying about something like that."

"...?"

The whole "robot ego problem" is a trope I'm completely sick of seeing. I've saved a dime-a-dozen robots that awakened to their own egos, and I've destroyed just as many.

Normally, the standard game formula would dictate that the character goes through a turbulent series of events and eventually finds the answer on their own... but ShanFro doesn't have those strict game progression limitations. Or at the very least, because the NPC conversation AI is of an extremely high standard, I can pull off a reckless move like preaching to them right from the start.

"Elma Sakishima, was it? I don't know what era she's from, but did she ever fight Siegwurm? Did she ever crash-land in the Sigmonia Frontline Valley and run into me?"

"That is..."

"Listen, Saina. You seem to be agonizing over whether your personality is a copy or a knock-off... but when it comes down to it, biological personalities and character traits only have about twenty-five different patterns anyway. Out of a hundred people, you'll find at least four with the exact same fundamental nature."

"........."

"But even ignoring appearances, it's incredibly rare to find someone who reacts and behaves in the exact same way. Do you know why?"

Silence. I interpret that as an invitation to keep talking, so I let my tongue run loose.

"It's memories. It's memories, Saina. Accumulated memories and the sensitivity to comprehend them are what form a personality. Even if they have the exact same face or the same base personality type, do you really think a slave and an aristocrat will end up with the same personality?"

".........However."

Tch. I guess the event won't clear at this stage. It's a problem that goes beyond mere affection rating; words alone won't be enough to persuade her. Physical evidence... most likely, something left behind by Andrew Jitterdoll-shi on the Eighth Layer is what will prove the Conquista Doll's personality.

"No, it's fine. Don't say any more. Agonizing over things is a privilege of intelligence. Agonize to your heart's content until we descend six layers down... At the very least, you should be able to prepare yourself to receive the answer."

I deflect the topic for now. Deflection—a trait completely unique to overpowered mentor characters—is an element you'll encounter with a high probability if you play story-driven games. Well, reaching the truth in the early game would ruin the fun, so I can accept it.

But that aside, it's still really annoying. When a character deflects something that you, the player observing from a bird's-eye view, figured out ages ago, it tends to get under your skin.

I think the absolute worst offender was... what game was that again? The one where the masked enemy character (whose beard shape sticking out from his exposed jaw clearly matched the protagonist's father) kept deflecting with, "I cannot reveal my true identity yet..." all the way until the final chapter. I mean, his identity was completely compromised the moment we first met him, so dragging out the "Who could he possibly be..." schtick endlessly was just ridiculous.

Ah—I remember now. It was Rondo of Gods, Swords, and DragonsKami to TsurugiKen to Doragon no Rondo. Both the official title and the official abbreviation the devs pushed, "KamiKenDra," had such incredibly garbage flow that people just took the Ka from Kami, the tsu from Tsurugi, the do from Dragon, and the n from Rondo, and started calling it "Katsudon."

It was just a completely irredeemable trash game where absolutely everything was boring. But right after the company president changed, the producer—who desperately loved being in the public eye—was fired, and after that, they started pumping out a string of masterpieces. It was... how should I put it, you could really sense the darkness there.

When I heard that fired producer was going to release a new game at a different company, Takeda-shi and the rest of the community were waiting with bated breath, super excited... but then he got arrested. I forgot what the charges were, but still. Stop reinforcing the darkness.

"Anyway... hm?"

Oh, Rei-shi, and Akitsu Akane too. Looks like they cleared it safely. And... this is unexpected. The fourth group is The Professor and someone else. The player name is "Bishojo Bansai"... Wait a minute?

"Ah, Sunrak... ku-san."

"Oh my, it's only natural I suppose, but it seems you've been touring this layer before us."

"Good for you, Professor. The clear condition here is a written test. Word is this whole area is a library."

"───Splendid. Well, my background is in archaeology, so the focus of this placeBehemoth isn't exactly my main field, but someone of his caliber will surely be able to enjoy it to the fullest."

"No, no, Professor. Just because I'm in medical school doesn't mean I want to look at medical knowledge inside a game... Well, I am a bit curious, though. Like, in sci-fi settings, whether surgery or internal medicine ends up evolving more... Actually, I wonder how it really works? With cheat items like Recovery Potions existing, you'd think surgical operations would be completely obsolete."

Medical school.

"Those rumored nanomachine surgeries might unexpectedly be practical within this worldview, you know."

"Those are no good, Professor. They hype them up as being glamorous and cutting-edge! But in reality, since they haven't established a proper recovery method, they apparently just stretch a net across an artery to catch them. Talk about putting the cart before the horse."

Nanomachines.

"Perhaps finding it more sanitary than extracting them from excrement is simply a matter of sensitivity."

"In the end, it's meaningless if you still have to cut into the body with a scalpel. And really, what's the difference between organic nanomachines that you can't fully control and actual bacteria?"

"You're quite the analog traditionalist, which is rare for someone of your generation."

"Well, a healthy body doesn't experience bugs, after all."

Whoa, is that a high-education punch? Strange, does it have a defense-penetration effect? That hit suspiciously hard... In my gut? No, in my mental stability.

"What is a nanomachine surgery?"

"It's when they inject something like a baby water flea into your body to perform surgery."

"T-That's, admittedly, a bit... vague, isn't it?"

Humans aren't defined by their academic background; it's all about how simply you can convey information.

However, thanks to Bishojo Bansai-shi—who had overheard our idle chatter—we were treated to an incredibly easy-to-understand overview of nanomachine surgery. What do I do? This guy is an insanely overpowered character... in a lot of different ways, including his naming sense.

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Author's Afterword

I debated between three options: "Yuri BugyoMagistrate of Yuri KabeshimiWall-Stain", "Kawai RoriRiver HearthKawaii Loli MinomoriWatcher", and "BishojoBeautiful Girl BansaiBanzaiHurrah!", and ended up with this.