Ch.109109. Arrival.

# 109.

The cargo compartment rattled as I made a firm resolution while lying there.

I don’t know when I’ll get another chance to drive again.

But if I ever get to drive Alexander again—I won’t let go of the steering wheel.

I won’t give it to the Robot even if it insists on driving.

“♬♪♬——”

It wasn’t that the Robot couldn’t drive.

It was actually doing quite well despite this clearly being its first time driving, as if to prove it wasn’t just boasting about being perfect. It was even humming some strange tune while driving.

But the situation itself—lying in the cargo compartment unable to do anything—felt uncomfortable to me.

A remote road without even guardrails.

One slip from whoever was behind the wheel could send us plummeting to our deaths.

Was it because I’d already come close to death once? I could vividly picture myself dying that way, even though I didn’t want to.

This sensation of my life being in someone else’s hands in such a dangerous situation… I couldn’t say it felt good, even as a white lie. Even though I trusted the Robot wouldn’t cause an accident.

As I nervously fiddled with my gun—loaded with just one remaining bullet—the Puppy started licking my cheek frantically, as if telling me to stop.

“…Alright. I’ll just keep it beside me. Happy?”

“Woof!”

I was just holding it, not even keeping my finger on the trigger. Did it really hate that so much?

As soon as I put the gun down, the Puppy wagged its tail vigorously and circled around my head.

…It’s almost like it’s telling me I’m crazy, but that’s just my imagination, right?

“Hey now. Don’t climb up. Stay beside me today.”

“Whine…”

“You know it can’t be helped. I’ll let you climb all over me later.”

When I gave it a suspicious look, the Puppy stopped circling and tried to climb onto my stomach.

I often let it sit on my lap while driving, so it was probably trying to do the same now. But the situation wasn’t good. My lower body was in serious condition, and the upper part wasn’t exactly fine either.

The bandages and multiple layers of thick clothing provided some protection, but there was no reason to deliberately put weight on me. Even hugging earlier had been painful.

“Stay within reach. I’ll pet you.”

“Woof!”

I didn’t want to be harsh to the Puppy I hadn’t seen in a while.

The Drone and the Robot could move around freely on their own, and they were tall enough that I could see them face-to-face even while lying in bed. But the Puppy couldn’t do that.

While I was chatting with the Robot and the Drone, the Puppy had been guarding Alexander all by itself. It must have been very bored and lonely. I know that feeling well. I could completely understand why it wanted attention after not seeing me for so long.

Well, I’m not sure if “wanting attention” is the right term for a robot, but who cares? It’s cute.

“Hmm. I wonder if Paradise has wheelchairs? I really hope they do.”

After petting the Puppy’s back—it had positioned itself perfectly within my reach—I glanced at my tightly bound legs and sighed deeply.

It was already a miracle that I was still alive after everything I’d been through, and that I’d received proper treatment… but just because something good happens doesn’t mean all the inconveniences disappear.

Yes, it was inconvenient. Having to lie still without moving was uncomfortable. A person can’t just stay in bed forever. Like when you need to use the bathroom… Maybe it would be different for someone who had replaced all their organs with machinery, but that wasn’t me.

I’d gotten somewhat used to being carried in the Robot’s large hands, using it as a wheelchair of sorts, but it felt… degrading. Like my human dignity was being completely destroyed. Like my freedom had been taken away.

Whenever I said something like that, the Robot would imply that I should feel privileged to have such an intelligent machine at my service.

Well, to me, the Robot was closer to a living being. An independent entity that could think and move freely like a human, just with certain limitations. If you think about it, humans are bound by laws and rules too, so is it really that different?

That’s why I didn’t like my current state of depending on the Robot for everything from eating to all other necessities of life.

I wasn’t expecting to heal overnight, but it would be nice to move around a bit more freely…

“A self-propelled wheelchair or some kind of rideable robot would be great. I wonder if they have something like that in Paradise? Or maybe even a machine that heals injuries instantly?”

I glanced up at the Drone. Come to think of it, it seemed like whenever I needed something and mentioned it while looking at the Drone, it somehow happened. Maybe if I talk about it now, it’ll help me find what I need!

[I feel like I’ve seen something like this on TV before… but strangely I can’t remember.]

[If something like that happened, it would definitely be on the internet. Maybe it’s some kind of game marketing?]

…Even though we’ve been able to talk again for quite some time, they’re still saying weird things that don’t inspire much confidence.

“The sky is white… and there’s nothing to do. This is really boring.”

I checked the message window to see if anything had come in, then quickly relaxed my neck and arms, lying like a scarecrow. All I could see was the sky. White and white and white sky. We hadn’t been traveling long, but I was already bored.

“Doing nothing and staying still is harder than I thought.”

Come to think of it, when I was younger, even though my body was sick, I was always playing games at home. And since coming here, I hadn’t stopped moving for a single day.

Even when hiding from the weather, I was drawing maps or organizing supplies—always doing something.

I’d always thought of myself as a quiet, modest boy, but I guess that was a misconception.

I may have been confined to my home, but I lived quite actively within those confines.

If I hadn’t been sick, I might have been out and about all the time.

“It’s a good thing the Robot was behind me.”

“Suddenly?”

“If it had been a human back there, they would have gone crazy from boredom by now.”

“What are you talking about…”

I chuckled as I said this, and the Robot expressed dismay at hearing such strange remarks. The Puppy, which had been lying down, got up and started spinning in circles again. So it was making fun of me after all, the little rascal.

“Yaaawn…”

After playing around with the mischievous Puppy for a while, I yawned slightly and blinked my eyes.

While I tend to talk a lot even when I’m alone… I’m not the type who can keep chattering when there’s nothing to do and nothing around me.

When driving, I need to keep thinking to stay awake, and those thoughts lead to plenty of conversation topics.

But lying down like this, my thoughts didn’t flow from one to another.

“I’ll just take a quick nap…”

Thinking that perhaps the Robot had gone into sleep mode not just because of battery issues but also out of pure boredom, I closed my eyes.

The distance wasn’t that far, so we should be almost there by the time I wake up…

* *

“Ms. Mori. I think we’re almost there.”

“…Ugh.”

I woke up to the Robot’s voice telling me to get up and the stiff sensation of the Puppy’s tongue on my cheek.

“Hmm… I slept quite a while.”

I rubbed my slightly frozen cheek and looked around. The sky that had been completely white earlier was now splattered with ink. How long had I been asleep?

“You were sleeping soundly. I thought you might have activated sleep mode too.”

“…Shut up. But it’s pretty bright around here, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s much brighter inside than out here.”

Lying in the cargo compartment, I couldn’t directly see the scenery the Robot was looking at, but I could already feel the brightness around us. It meant we had arrived at a place touched by human hands trying to overcome the darkness.

“Phew. That’s a relief.”

It’s always better to be in a brighter place than a dark one.

Staying too long in a place without light makes your mood drop, you start talking to yourself more, and strange sounds begin to echo in your ears.

As I was genuinely thinking how fortunate this was while rubbing my eyes slowly…

“Huh?”

Something magical happened to me.

“It’s warm?”

The wind that had felt cold just seconds ago suddenly became warm.

Was it my imagination? No. The snow that had accumulated on me while I was sleeping was melting.

How could this be happening when we hadn’t even gone inside yet?

“Ah.”

As I rolled my eyes in surprise, I soon recalled having a similar experience before. More precisely, I had a similar device.

A heater that warmed an entire room just by pressing the power button.

The range and temperature of this heat was incomparably wider and warmer than the heater I had owned, but the sensation itself was very similar.

“Hey! Help me untie these!”

What would Paradise, created by the last of humanity, look like?

Overwhelmed with curiosity, I started struggling to undo the ropes binding me.

“I’ll untie you soon, so please stay still!”

“Alright…”

Of course, I was immediately scolded by the Robot.