Chapter Text
<- Lobotomy Corporation - City of Light ->
Lately, Roland's time in Kivotos has been peaceful. Apart from the shenanigans of the Game Development Department—which falls under Yuuka's jurisdiction—there's little going on. The kids from Abydos occasionally drop by SCHALE to check on Sensei, making sure he's taking care of his health.
Shiroko is the most frequent visitor, persistently asking Roland-sensei to train her in combat—quite the headache, given her usual determination.
Lately, Roland has managed to dodge her requests by helping the Game Development Department with their club activities.
Though truthfully, he's rather lost about it all.
Games? Consoles? Development? It's all foreign to Roland. But seeing the group's passion, he can't bring himself to refuse them. He offers what he can: ideas, since games are just another medium for storytelling.
So, Roland shares tales and anecdotes of The City with Momoi, the club's scriptwriter, presenting them as "ideas."
While these stories are meant as references for Momoi, the entire club usually gets drawn in whenever Roland-sensei "pitches his ideas." He quite enjoys their varied reactions.
Despite the fun and chaos with the Game Development Department, he remains wary of their newest member.
"Arisu..." Roland mumbles under his breath.
The club members and he found her in the ruins at the outskirts.
A synthetic being. Artificial Intelligence.
His first encounter with one wasn't pleasant. Every time Roland sees Arisu, he can't help feeling agitated. No matter how docile she might look now , there's no guarantee she'll stay that way.
Everything feels suspicious. Being unfamiliar with technology, Roland relies on Arona to gather information about Arisu and where she was found. So far, without success.
Roland has to keep an eye on Arisu.
Placing her under the Game Development Department's care seems wise, since Roland currently supervises them.
After some contemplation, Roland lets out a long sigh.
He's already inquired everywhere about Arisu. The Engineering Department, despite its name, knows nothing. Even Veritas, with their information network, offers little help. However, Chihiro shared something intriguing.
"If anyone in Millennium might know something, it's either Seminar President Rio or our club's president Himari. I can give you President Himari's number, but she's rather elusive and acts as she pleases. So, if you want to contact her, I can only say, good luck."
Roland has only heard rumors about the elusive Himari, making him hesitant to reach out.
But with all his investigations hitting dead ends, he has little choice but to try.
As leader of an information gathering group, Veritas could rival a 7-Association office back in The City with their vast network. Roland can't help but wonder about Himari's true nature.
Realizing doubt won't lead anywhere, he turns to Arona.
"Arona, can you help me message Himari?"
"Sure, Sensei. What should the message say?" Arona replies with her usual cheerfulness.
"Hmm... Let's start with pleasantries first." Roland dictates the message as Arona types it word for word.
His experience as a fixer taught him the importance of pleasantries, especially when initiating contact. Knowing little about his potential benefactor, Roland opts for a cautious approach. He considers leveraging SCHALE's authority but decides against it—if Himari refuses and cuts contact, he'd lose this lead. Besides, he'd rather not coerce someone, especially a student half his age.
"Yeah, that should do." Roland pauses.
"Message sent!"
“Good job, Arona.”
What Roland doesn't realize is that nobody messages like this. Formal inquiries typically go through email. Using such corporate formality in a message service seems oddly formal to students.
Arona doesn't mention this—she rarely interacts with anyone besides Roland, so she's equally unaware.
Roland will only know once Himari replies—if she chooses to.
For now, he waits. If 24 hours pass without response, he'll consider this lead another dead end.
Luckily enough, the waiting game didn't last long.
<- 凋叶棕/RD-Sounds - 迷Ｑの旋律 /Melody of the Mysterious Q ->
[Heehee, have you been charmed by this super beautiful genius hacker, Sensei? No need for the pleasantries—I'm that generous after all.]
That's the reply Roland gets from her. He can't help but frown. She seems quite prideful, and maintaining contact with such individuals requires careful handling to keep them engaged and cooperative.
Before Roland can think of anything to reply, he receives another message from her.
[Are you speechless, Sensei? It's understandable. Anyone would react that way upon receiving a message from a beautiful super genius such as myself...]
Roland lets out a short sigh. After assessing how to navigate her dignified personality, he decides to play along with her antics.
"Indeed, your reputation precedes you. I've heard many rumors about your expertise and accomplishments throughout Millennium. A super genius hacker who leads Veritas would surely live up to such tales."
[I'm flattered, Sensei. But insincere flattery won't win you any points with girls. I assume you contacted me because you need something. Coincidentally, I've been curious myself about the mysterious figure behind SCHALE who's been causing such a stir lately, and I might have a task in mind for you too. But we'll save that discussion for later—I'm still preparing. Consider this a little foreshadowing, and a chance to return a favor to this beautiful super genius hacker once we are done with your request.]
A mutual need—this could be the leverage Roland needs to maintain contact with her. Still, he must be cautious. Nothing is certain yet. Perhaps it would be wise to ask more about this supposed task to better understand his position in the negotiation.
“What could this humble teacher can be in help of a super genius hacker such as yourself?”
Despite the warning he got about insincere flattery, Roland keeps pushing the tactic to pry more information.
[I told you Sensei, you won’t win my favor with such half baked flattery.] In which Himari sniffed out immediately. [The task I will entrust to you, shouldn’t be your concern. At least for now. Until that day comes you shan’t think too much of it. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure you need my help now, am I correct? You shouldn’t be wary of me, Sensei. It hurts my maiden heart. But also, seeing you treating me cautiously is the purest form of flattery as far as I could get from you.]
This is Roland’s immediate defeat. She reads him like an open book. While it’s not really a foreign feeling for Roland, he can’t help but bitterly chuckle. Back then, usually before negotiating, his office would research anything related to the other party so that if negotiation failed, coercion and threat would soon follow. That’s how it works in The City. And now as his work and workplace changed, so do the rules that he must follow. It is different now. He is a Sensei, and Kivotos clearly works differently than The City.
But it’s not all lost. Himari still seems eager to keep in contact even after Roland’s blunder.
So Roland changed his approach. Lies and flattery won’t work, so let’s just be honest straight up.
“You saw right through me. This is my defeat. And yes, I need your help.” It took a bit of willpower for Roland to immediately admit his defeat on his potential benefactor. But this too, is a calculated response.
[I appreciate the honesty! I’d like it more if you drop the formalities too, Sensei. This beautiful genius hacker has a rather delicate heart and can only interact with people who are true to themselves right from the start.]
“Sorry, that’s too demanding.” Roland shuts her off immediately. By experience, he too can sniff out the other party’s intention.
[I guess everyone has a side that they want to keep for themselves. I am that understanding after all.]
[Anyways, back to the topic… It seems that you prefer not to talk about your inquiries via messages. So, I don’t mind if we meet and talk things over. I will send you my location and we can talk there. Don’t worry about the eavesdropper. I assure you it’s going to be safe from any third party disturbance.]
In Roland's experience, especially with Veritas, he can assume who this third party might be.
The wiretapping girl Kotama.
Roland didn’t assume anything back then since he was unfamiliar with the technology, but that girl gave him a slight paranoia that he sometimes inspecting random objects on SCHALE’s office thinking that it might already be tampered with by wiretapping devices. But maybe if the President of the Veritas told it herself, there should be more weight in that assurance.
Before Roland could reply anything, Himari kept sending messages after messages. Relying on Arona to type the message for him put him at disadvantage. Typing the message himself would put him at even more disadvantage. So much so that Rin often scolded him for not getting reports done on time. Clerical jobs never suited him as back then his role in Charles' office was always an on-field fixer.
So, Himari suggesting them to talk directly face to face would even out the playing field, while also offering more benefit. But surely, He can’t rule out that this may be a trap set for him. He doesn’t know what Himari motives are and it is clear that she’s smart with how to control the flow of information while conversing with others. As expected of the President of Veritas.
So, after getting the map of what it seems to be the Millennium district with a red dot on top of one of the buildings, Roland can only reply shortly.
“Thank you. I will be on my way.”
[I’ll be waiting, Sensei.] With that, the message ended.
“Arona, please help me navigate to the supposed location.” Since the meeting has already been reserved, Roland has to come to the location.
“Right on it, Sensei! Let’s go!” Arona immediately got into work, as the interface of Shittim Chest changed to that of a map that gives out the most efficient path to be taken, highlighted by blue.
“Oh, also, can we stop by a sweets shop on the way?”
“We can, but may I ask why?” Arona got curious.
“Well, for a good first impression, I guess? I heard girls usually love sweets”
“Buy some for me too, Sensei.” Her eyes twinkled at the thought of cake.
“Taking on the opportunity, huh?” Roland shakes his head playfully. “Well you helped me so I guess it’s fine.”
“Yay!”
Seeing Arona this happy, Roland can’t help but also put up a small smile. So far his time in Kivotos has been a bliss.
And he intends to keep it that way. So whatever information he will get from Himari will decide his next action.
For Kivotos’ sake.
<- Music Stops ->
…
No. For himself, rather.
An egotistic, self-imposed wish.
Roland knows that. Yet, he still seeks the justification of his belief.
…
…
<- HowToPlayLN - Correlation Matrix ->
Once again, Roland can’t help but grin bitterly once he arrives at Millennium Science School district. The architecture style of the buildings always reminded him of how district’s Nests usually look back in The City.
Neo-futurism building styles that cover the entire landscape makes Roland think that whoever attends this school must’ve been privileged, just like a Nest inhabitant would.
But of course, Roland didn’t come here to admire the architecture. Especially when said architecture would only remind him of a void that could’ve been filled.
That’s that, and this is this.
Roland sighed for the umpteenth time today. Arona secretly takes count of it.
Then, he now starts walking again towards his supposed destination, directed by Arona. Some familiar faces greeted him along the way. He already visited Millennium to assist the Game Development Department, so his presence there is not out of place. Though, some were still surprised that Roland-Sensei would show up at that time, like Sumire, who is somehow always in her sports uniform. But his meeting with Himari should be a secret–at least that is what Roland thinks. So whenever someone asks Roland, he replies with “Checking on the Game Development kids”. Which is a half-truth because he still has to check on them regardless.
If someone picks up on his unusual route, since the Game Development Department is on the other building, he will say that he wanted to look around the campus.
With that he reaches a rather plain looking building compared to others around Millennium district. Roland expected Himari would wait for him on the building front, but no one was waiting for him there. Rather, there’s not much students around to begin with, as if the whole building has no clear use.
“For a clubhouse building, it looks strangely empty.” Roland commented to himself. Himari said herself that this building is a clubhouse. But knowing how big Millennium is, he is aware that there are plenty of clubhouse buildings all across the district to facilitate the massive student number the school has. Just like the Game Development Department on the building at the other side of the district for example.
Of course, his mind is racing with the thoughts of what could be the reason for Himari choosing this building compared to others available. And then, the location Himari gave ended here. There’s at least 14 stories that this building has. Should he ask for more specifics or should he wait for her to come and greet him.
<- Blue Archive OST (KARUT) - Funky Road ->
“A Millennium guard drone?” A rather peculiar someone… or something, awaits him that he just realized the existence for. There’s a lot of Millennium drones that come and go, but this one acts strangely as if it waited specifically to be noticed by Roland.
As if Roland’s and the robot's eyes meet, the robot makes a low humming sound, and then a beeping noise could be heard from it.
“Uhh, you want me to follow you?”
The drone makes the low humming sound again. Maybe that’s the affirmation cue. And as the drone moves inside the building, Roland soon follows.
Why the convoluted way of greeting? Maybe she did this as a precaution? The message is clear. She wanted Roland to come and meet her alone, and she’s making sure of that before receiving Roland as a guest. Roland just knows whoever this Himari is, she is a cunning someone that he can’t just take for granted.
As Roland followed the drone’s steps his reflex of past experiences made him scan around all around the buildings, looking for anything out of ordinary that either can tell him more about the person he is about to face or anything resembling traps.
Overly cautious? Most likely. But the image of Veritas members’ notoriety is ingrained into Roland’s mind, so whoever led that group of tech freaks must have been more notorious.
As the drone leads Roland through the empty hallway, Roland keeps pondering. But after a while he decides to give up. No matter what, Himari is his current lead when it comes to Arisu. Even if he gets ambushed, Arona would take care of it to create an opening for him to escape. But rather than being cautious, Arona simply just hummed an unfamiliar song to herself, still happy she got the sweets Roland promised her.
It’s whatever now. Let’s get to the bottom of this. Roland thought.
As he follows the drone purposefully taking a roundabout path, using emergency stairs after going up a floor, then using an elevator for going down 3 more.
Even by Roland’s standard, this is excessive. Is Himari more paranoid than he initially thought? Or she simply playing around with him.
Roland has yet to see her physical appearance yet she made him very weary with her antics. Though, before long, the drone stops at a certain club room entrance. Roland reads the name panel on the door.
“‘Recite The Value of e Before Going Home’ club…?” Roland frowns. The phrase feels familiar to him but he can’t recall what it is.
But before Roland could grab the door handle, the drone who had been guiding him suddenly making a buzz sound as if to warn Roland not to do it.
“What is it now?” Roland honestly starting to get irritated with this convoluted way of meeting, might as well kick down the door immediately. But if this is another one of those nonsense tests he have to face to prove his worthiness or something, Himari might as well abort the meeting if he doesn’t follow her game.
The drone is making a low humming sound again. As if Roland suddenly gained fluency in robotic language, he returned the question this guard drone meant to tell him.
“You want me to recite the value of e?”
The drone made a ding sound as confirmation.
“What the hell…” Roland's made a weary face. He sighed again.
“Don’t worry, Sensei. I got this.” As Roland just wants to ignore the drone and just straight up going inside, Arona comes to his rescue. “Just follow after me.”
And then Roland tries to recite the digits of e, with a weird pause every 4 digits below the decimal point being recited.
After some digits being recited, the drone gave out a small ding sound again. And then a radio static could be heard from inside.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Sensei. Please enter.” A soft spoken girl's voice could be heard from the drone.
Roland is holding the door’s handle, took a deep breath and finally…
A creaking sound could be heard from the door’s joints while it's being moved.
<- a_hisa - Logical Stimulus ->
Behind the door, Roland could see a sitting figure that immediately made eye contact with him. Her long lavender white hair swayed slowly from the wind that comes from the open windows behind her. Her pale skin matches the color of her overall getup. The first thing that Roland took notice of is her long ears that are shyly poking out behind her low pigtails.
Noticing Roland staring at her for a while, she broke the silence.
“Heehee, you just got here in time, Roland-sensei.”
Her soft smile and elegant demeanor makes Roland have a cognitive dissonance. Is this the girl that acted smug and toying him just a few moments ago?
“Oh, err, hello there?” Roland awkwardly replied to her greeting.
With a flick of her finger, multiple hologram interfaces suddenly appeared in front of her.
“Thank you for guiding Roland-sensei here. You can go back to your regular duties now.”
Roland could see her typing something on the hologram display with her delicate fingers. And then as if the drone had always been sentient, listened to her command and made a low humming noise as if it understood human speech all along. The drone then made its way back to its supposed duty as a Millennium Guard Drone.
“What’s up with that drone anyways? It seems to be different compared to the others I met on the way here.”
“That? It’s a Millennium Guard Drone, of course.”
She pauses for a bit before continuing.
“Forgive me, but It's hard to go out to greet you in person since I'm such a beautiful yet delicate flower, so I sent the drone to guide you to me.”
Roland’s left eyebrow rises at that statement. As if what she said just put up more questions on Roland’s head than it answers.
“And of course, I did that by hacking it. Delicately. It worked well as a guide, right?” She seems so proud of that fact. “Aren’t they dependable and adorable?”
“Haah. Of course you hacked it.” Roland sighed. He shouldn’t be surprised. This is the leader of Veritas he’s facing. “Very surprising.”
“If you’re surprised then why do you sound more disappointed than impressed?”
“Well anyways, I’m Roland-sensei representing SCHALE Federal Investigation club.”
Ignoring her inquiry, Roland is extending his arm, signaling a handshake offer as a gesture of goodwill.
And what she does next bewildered Roland.
The chair she sits on moves with her. Reaching Roland. And then only after she reaches close enough distance to greet Roland’s hand, she shakes it without ever standing up from her chair.
“Let me properly introduce myself. I’m Akeboshi Himari, a pure and delicate flower, also Millennium’s genius hacker. Surely you’ve heard the legends… I know I know. It’s not everyday anyone would have the chance to meet me in person, let alone getting my favor. You should consider yourself very lucky, Sensei.” She boasted herself at every breath of her introduction.
“First time I ever heard about you was from Chihiro, though?”
“That cannot be…” She sounded genuinely dejected that Roland never heard of her feats.
But honestly, Roland’s mind was somewhere else. He’s still fascinated by the chair Himari sits on.
Roland should’ve guessed that if that chair is capable of showing multiple holographic displays, it should also be capable of moving the person using it. And it seems to be equipped with some unfamiliar tech that Roland couldn’t know. It’s practical, but he never saw anything resembling one back in The City.
However, Roland still finds it weird that she still chooses not to stand to greet him. Of course, it’s a non-issue and Roland couldn’t care less about manners. However, after being played around with a roundabout path to reach this club room, Roland couldn’t help but wanting to tease her.
“Don’t you think it's better to greet someone by standing up?”
<- Music Stops ->
There was an awkward silence. Roland could see Himari’s jaw dropped, baffled by what Roland just said. He’s pretty sure he just heard Arona choking on something. Probably the sweets he just bought for her on the way here.
Was his attempt to tease that atrocious?
<- Blue Archive OST (Mitsukiyo) - Unwelcome School ->
“Heh, haha… Sensei, you should know better. There are some things that simply are not appropriate to be joked about.” Himari made a bitter laugh and then she looked at Roland with such an extreme expression of displeasure.
“Huh!?”
“S-Sensei! That is a very rude thing to say!” Even Arona chimed in.
“What!?”
Roland couldn’t find the reason why his supposed harmless teasing warranted that reaction from the two of them. And since Arona reacted that way too, his words must’ve been that unacceptable.
Half panicked, Roland tries to backpedal. However he still doesn’t understand where he did wrong.
Roland, realizing his blunder, quickly tries to salvage the situation. His mind races, trying to find a way to keep the conversation going without making things worse. He knows that he needs to tread carefully, especially since Himari’s reaction suggests he’s touched on a sensitive topic.
Does she can’t stand up? Is she recovering from injury? Apologizing first should be the proper step. Roland can feel his heart beating fast.
“I uhh… I apologize. I didn’t know I stepped on such a sensitive topic.” Roland scratches the back of his head. His face is written with guilt. If he really just offended her out of the blue, there is really no justification for him.
Himari still stares at him, as if she was just as speechless. Her face is still filled with confusion mixed with shock from the audacity Roland tried to pull.
Whispering, he asked Arona.
“Arona, what did I do wrong?”
“You seriously don’t know, Sensei!?” Arona probably got hit by the second-hand embarrassment, also sounded panicking.
“You mean she genuinely can’t walk?” Roland is genuinely confused.
“Of course!!!”
“Huh?” Roland got even more confused.
“I know you’re an outsider but shouldn't–I’m sorry–disability exists in your hometown too?”
“It exists but this is the first time I see someone using a moving chair to compensate for their mobility issue instead of replacing their limbs.”
“WHAT?!” This is the first time Arona heard about this.
“What? You mean Kivotos does not have that kind of procedure?”
“NO!”
After getting a quick explanation from Arona, suddenly everything clicks.
“It’s uhh… Honestly It’s my first time seeing someone using a moving chair to move around. Sorry for my rudeness. That was my mistake.”
“Ooh, ahh? Uhh… I see? Well uhh… It’s an honest mistake so it’s fine? I accept your apology, heehee.” Himari sounded broken for a moment, probably due to recovering from shock. “So, how come Sensei never came across any of the disabled person before? If you’re curious why I’m using a wheelchair, well, this delicate genius has always had a weak constitution. You shouldn’t be pitying me, Sensei. I made peace with it a long time ago so don’t worry.”
Himari is curious. She knows that Roland-sensei is an outsider, not from Kivotos. But having to never see anyone with a wheelchair is still an unrealistic scenario, as no humans ever born perfect. And the imperfection comes in many shapes from person to person.
<- Kubikiri Cycle/Zaregoto OST (Yuki Kajiura) - let him tell his story ->
“Is that so…? Well, to answer your question, yes, I had seen many disabled people before.”
At that moment Roland's mind recalled the grueling memory of the Smoke War that took so many from him. And that he took so many from other people too. Soldiers losing limbs was a familiar sight. Rather, there was a way way worse sight at that accursed battlefield that keeps coming back to haunt Roland, even after the brainwashing procedure, if he lets his guard down. But even then, Roland never saw a single wheelchair–that’s what Himari called–ever used by both victors and victims of the war.
“None of them use a wheelchair? At all?” Himari is genuinely surprised. Perhaps even an ironic awe.
“None that I’m aware of.” Roland shrugged, slowly shaking his head off.
“That is shocking, does your hometown not know how to produce one?” Himari pushed on with the question. Using a wheelchair her entire life, she never imagined there are some places that had never even heard the concept of a wheelchair.
“It’s the opposite, really. Our technology developed way past the need of a wheelchair.”
“Interesting… Could you tell me more about it, Sensei?” She starts to feel like a pushover with the relentless questions. But how could she not? The idea of a place where disabled people can function as any normal person would intrigues her the most.
“Well I guess it’s fine. let me amend my ignorance that offended you.”
“Heehee, It’s fine, Sensei, really… So, have they developed a prosthetic so good that even a baby that has never walked could immediately run a marathon?” Himari tries to joke to lighten the mood since she still saw a lingering guilt on Roland’s face.
“Not a bad preposition, but honestly, while it's not far from the truth, at the end of the day, how the prosthetics are used depends on the user. Think of it like a tool, for example. Two different people are given the same tool. They will perform differently depending on how proficient they use the tool in the first place.” “And it’s not limited to prosthetics. Augmentation, tattoo enhancement, hell, even you could change your entire body as a machine if you’d like, as it could be done by the right workshops.”
“Must’ve been amazing living there.” Now Himari felt a genuine awe, if Roland-Sensei is currently being honest.
“I wouldn’t say so. The advancement of technology is only accessible for those who can afford it, after all. Granted there were cheaper workshops, but they will do shoddy jobs on giving you equally shoddy results.”
“But isn’t it still better than a frail human body, though?”
“It’s not without its disadvantages either. Rather, cheap enhancement jobs would only make the user suffer in the long run. People work endlessly there. And cheap enhancements would quickly wear down over time. And then, while it can be easily replaced, the costs quickly catch up to those of the proper enhancements. Also, replacing your body with a machine is a one-way ticket you can’t ever go back on. Robotic bodies cannot resemble humans too closely, even if it’s for someone swapping out their flesh. Your life goes down the drain right away.”
“Then why would anyone change their body to a machine then? Especially when other options are available.”
“When someone urgently needs a huge amount of money. They can sell off their old body and organs for a good chunk of cash. And when they need to do repetitive work for a long time. Mechanical bodies like that aren’t bad for that kind of labor. Also, broken parts can be quickly replaced, and desires can be kept under control, so it has its merits, since they’re just a brain inside a hunk of metal.”
The more Himari listens to Roland the more disgusted she becomes at the idea of Roland-sensei’s hometown. As if the awe she just felt before betrayed her.
Though, she thought that if people were that easy parting away with their physical body, what would become of them? And then something crosses her mind.
“Have you heard of Ship of Theseus, Sensei?”
“I have only ever seen any ships from afar, never boarded one. Let alone know any with the name of Theseus.”
“It’s a philosophical conundrum. A thought experiment.” Himari knows that despite it might be a common knowledge, it would still be a foreign concept for Roland-Sensei. So she tries to be understanding with their cultural knowledge clashing. “It challenges our understanding about identity and change. It asks whether an object that has had all its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. So if someone replaced their everything, their body, their arms, their legs, would they still essentially be the same person?”
“Well… yeah?”
“Huh?” Himari was taken aback by the immediate reply. Roland-Sensei didn’t even give it a thought as if the answer was obvious.
“Your identity is decided by you as a brain, after all. As long as you are the same brain, it’s the same you, no?” Although Roland has heard about the procedure of completely replacing the whole head with a prosthetic, he has yet to see any example with his own eyes so he decided not to tell Himari.
“I see… quite a great answer.” Himari solemnly nods as if she was satisfied with Roland’s answer. “Then, what do you think decides the identity of. let’s say, sentient AI?”
“Hmm… “ Roland thinks for a while. His mind races as his memory of a certain sentient AI he once swore to kill keeps banging on his head. Though if anything, Roland could make a conclusion based on that sentient AI’s tenacity as her justification for her existence. “Of course it’s themselves, no? Their sentience is their identity. Without it they’re just common robots.”
“I see… I’m satisfied with that answer, thank you.”
“What about it anyway?”
“Well, let’s just say, it will be related to the work I’ve been meaning to formally ask SCHALE to help me investigate.”
“Quite the miss secret we have here.” Roland sighed again.
"Anyway, that was a lengthy introduction we had, right Roland-sensei?"
"Sure it was.” Roland smiled softly. “Though I guess we can sympathize with each of our knowledge differences. Though it's a shame that there's no technology in Kivotos to implement body replacements."
"Heehee, I appreciate your concern, Sensei, but if i’m being honest, the idea of robotic replacement being a one-way ticket is quite a scary predicament. I think I still love my beautiful me despite its lackings. While I understand the idea of someone’s identity being decided by their brain, I still can’t get over the idea of losing myself completely. Humans are forgetful beings. Before long, they would no longer remember who they once were because there wasn't anything left to remind them.
"The ship of thesaurus, was it?" Roland tries to remember the name of the thought experiment.
"The ship of Theseus. About how much replacement can be done before something–or someone in this case–can still be considered the same. But how about you, Sensei, how much of a body replacement you put on yourself, if you don't mind me asking?"
It took so much willpower for Roland to not make such an extreme expression, but Roland's face soured a little bit, reminiscing how all 4 of his limbs were made by the lights made from the library's power. No matter how distant it was, Roland can't deny that Angela still left marks on his body.
"Let's not talk about it." He sighed.
"A shame… But I understand. So, shall we talk about the real topic now? Surely you don't come all you way here just to talk about replacement limbs with this sickly genius."
“Well, I guess we have a common interest regarding sentient AI.”
“Which is about…?”
"Before that, I forgot," Roland pulled out a bag filled with artisan sweets. "I brought you some sweets. Well, let's just say it's a gesture of goodwill to be acquaintanced with you."
“Heehee, I really appreciated the gesture, Sensei. Many girls will surely lower their guard if you give them sweets. Though if you want to set a score with me, it’s easier to just bring me few cans of Frenzy MAX.”
“The stuff that Hare can’t function without?”
It’s honestly scary for Roland how someone half his age got hooked on energy drink. Not even Roland would go crazy after a few weeks without beer. And Hare got withdrawal symptoms barely 4 hours without drinking a can of Frenzy MAX.
“Yes that one.”
“No. I’d rather not. I feel like handing a kid hard drugs.”
“Is that so… Anyway, you should take a seat, Sensei. We should enjoy the sweets together while we discuss your favor.”
“Fine by me.” Roland grabs a chair that is available plenty inside of the club room, and sits across Himari.
“So, what’s your favor is about? Surely this super genius hacker can help you with it no problem.”
“Well I believe you already heard of Arisu, right?”
“Yeah, I know Arisu. What about her?”
“What do you think about her?”
“She’s just an adorable kouhai, no?”
<- Music Stops ->
“Huh?”
That is not the answer Roland expected.