Ch.4141. Growing Closer.

# 41. Growing Closer

“You’d better make a right turn here. There are buildings and various structures intertwined, so the chance of an accident is high.”

“Got it. By the way, even though it’s midday, the streetlights are on. Was it always like this?”

“Yes. It’s partly because of the shadows cast by that Tower, and the weather has been like this for quite some time now.”

“I see.”

A night of rest in a fully equipped house was incredibly sweet.

Sleeping in a soft bed for the first time without any guilt or worry made me realize I hadn’t slept peacefully even once during the past year.

If I had my way, I would have stayed a few more days to completely recover from my accumulated fatigue.

But I knew that if I kept delaying my departure, the habits I’d built up over a long time would crumble, so I painfully shook off any lingering attachments and left.

If the clothes I washed last night had still been wet, I might have used them as an excuse to rest one more day—but somehow they had dried completely while I slept, leaving me without an excuse.

They certainly weren’t thin clothes that would dry in a day, and they had been quite wet. How did they dry completely while I slept? I didn’t know for sure, but I decided to think of it as someone’s will telling me to keep moving diligently without rest.

“I wonder if there’s anywhere around here where I could find something to eat?”

“Well, spoiled food and old food were collected and incinerated as soon as they were discovered, so unless there’s food that wasn’t found, I don’t know of any specific places.”

“Hmm… that’s unfortunate. Aren’t there any factories or something?”

“There were, but the factories stopped operating long ago, so they’re empty now. The factory up there might have operated until relatively recently, so there might be something left.”

“Sigh, so this is another case of ‘we won’t know until we go up there.’ I understand for now. Looks like I have a lot to find—food, fuel, and more.”

I let out a deep sigh. The supplies I had gathered from the superstore and train station were gradually running out.

It wasn’t immediately dangerous, but I wasn’t in a position to be lazy—I needed to secure food as quickly as possible. This was actually a major reason why I hurriedly left that paradise-like house.

“I got Alexander, made a new friend. A lot has changed, but in the end, my life hasn’t changed much.”

Getting up early in the morning, moving while the sun is up, searching usable buildings for useful items, and loading them into my bag or cargo compartment.

Despite everything that had happened, my world hadn’t changed much.

How much further would I need to go to escape this hamster wheel of a life?

The collapse of daily routine could be interpreted as the collapse of peace, but for someone like me who never had a peaceful daily life to begin with, I just wanted this routine to collapse as soon as possible.

“Still, I no longer have to shiver in the cold. And it’s nice to have a friend to talk to, even if it’s a robot.”

Change inevitably creates new changes. Thanks to the various changes in my daily life—the drone, Alexander, the robot—I gained the strength to move forward. Because I didn’t give up on moving forward, I could smile more often.

Hoping that we would all be smiling brightly when this long journey ended, I turned the handlebar vigorously.

“By the way—I’m really glad Alexander has room for all of you.”

“What’s so fortunate about this! You’ve tied me up so roughly in the cargo compartment!”

“Alexander is a one-seater, so there’s no room for you too. You know that’s the only way, right?”

“I know that. But why am I the only one tied up here? You’re keeping Puppy so preciously on your lap! Why am I the only one being treated like luggage?”

I hear thumping sounds from behind me. The anger of the robot, tied alone to the cargo trailer, is transmitted through the vibrations.

Instead of turning around, I looked down. The puppy robot lying flat on my knees raised its head and wagged its tail as soon as it caught my gaze.

“…Cute.”

It’s strange. What’s in front of me is clearly a robot. It has the build of a dog and acts like one, but there’s no life dwelling in that body.

It doesn’t even look that much like a dog. While its skeleton is similar to a dog’s, its metal body has no fur, and its teeth are so sharp they’re eerie if you stare at them.

Why do I find this machine cute? Could it be related to whether I liked dogs?

Is it because I know about dogs’ behavior and appearance, so when I see a machine acting like a dog, I overlay my knowledge and find it cute?

If that’s the case, humans might be simpler creatures than I thought, I mused while stroking its strangely warm body.

“—Are you discriminating based on appearance?!”

“Whoa! You startled me!”

I had muttered in a very small voice, and there’s a thick wall between us—how did it hear me?

When I instinctively looked back through the window, I saw the robot with its face flushed red.

I thought since it was a robot, it wouldn’t mind being placed there—but that seems to have been a miscalculation.

Whether it was upset about being treated like luggage in the cargo compartment, or about me only bringing the puppy up here, I wasn’t sure.

But facing the clearly angry robot, I boldly said:

“To some extent.”

To be precise, I considered their appearance. Discrimination and consideration are clearly different.

They might both be machines, but unlike the robot that floats around on its own and is quite large, the puppy is small.

If I put it in the cargo compartment like the robot, even with a cover, it might fly off on steep uphill roads or during big jolts.

“Is that so? From my analysis, your expression becomes closer to happiness whenever you look at Puppy, which leads me to suspect that you’re keeping Puppy with you despite the limited space because you find it cute.”

“…Well, that’s part of it too.”

I feel an intense gaze on my back.

But what’s actually looking at me from behind is just a robot with lenses, like the drone.

No, even if it were a human tied up back there, human gazes don’t have physical force.

In other words, feeling a gaze is nothing more than my imagination.

“W-well, we should just keep going straight here.”

I decided to focus only on the road ahead to avoid falling into delusions.

After all, looking back or chatting while driving can cause serious accidents.

*

“I’ve been thinking since entering the city, but this city doesn’t seem that large after all.”

While driving Alexander toward the pillar visible in the distance, I mutter just loud enough for the drone to hear.

“It must be because of that pillar. Building that alone would have required enormous resources and technology.”

Whether the black pillar is located at the edge of the city or at its center, considering our approaching speed, we should reach the base of the pillar in about a week.

Even taking into account how Alexander has dramatically increased our travel speed, this city is definitely not large compared to previous cities that would have taken months of non-stop walking to escape.

Of course, considering the cities built above, the total area must be much larger.

[But the buildings are generally low here, it seems different from the cities we’ve seen so far.]

“That’s right. Compared to other cities, the buildings here are generally lower and smaller. However, that doesn’t mean this was a poor city or inferior to previous cities.”

The buildings in this city were so modest it was hard to believe they were built in the distant future.

But like the house where I stayed, most homes and spaces were designed for human convenience.

Moving away from practicality that maximized the number of people in minimal space, there was a genuine sense that this city was built with actual human habitation in mind.

“No matter how glamorous something looks on the outside, I think this kind of convenience is more important for spaces used by humans. What do you think?”

I wonder if the friends I’ve been talking with would think similarly.

Though we were born in vastly different eras, strangely enough, our knowledge, attitudes toward the world, and impressions often aligned.

“Ah. At times like this, I really resent the barrier of time between us.”

When I’m pondering difficult issues I can’t resolve alone, or when I’m curious about my friends’ reactions to my thoughts or words.

When I speak hoping for any kind of response and nothing comes back, I sometimes feel lonely, even though I know it can’t be helped.

I try to comfort that loneliness by looking at the camera, remembering what I said or the situation, and waiting for messages that come a day later.

Unfortunately, as an ordinary human, I can’t perfectly remember every word, situation, and emotion when speaking.

The context and emotions behind words are just as important as their content.

When I only get answers long after the moment has passed, they don’t resonate as much, even if I remember the content.

“I want to see you all with my own eyes, hear your voices with my own ears, and chat about trivial things.”

I express this small yet enormous wish while looking at the controller on my wrist, checking if any new messages have arrived.

But there were no new messages.

There’s no need to be disappointed. I know better than anyone that messages come one or two at a time at regular intervals.

“But… when I was receiving messages one by one, I didn’t notice, but it seems like I’m getting a lot of messages today?”

I placed my finger on the controller and counted the messages from the last one I saw before sleeping yesterday to the one that just arrived.

Indeed, there are more than usual. It feels like only half a day has passed since I woke up, but instead of the usual 20 messages, there are about 30.

—A new message has arrived.

And at that moment, another message arrived.

When I wasn’t paying attention, I didn’t notice, but the frequency of messages has definitely increased.

[Tonight’s dinner is preserved food again. Watching you, I’m getting curious about how it tastes.]

“…It seems like time is acting strange too. How long has it been since I woke up, and you’re talking about dinner? It’s still so bright out.”

Moreover, the time barrier between my friends and me seems to have lowered a bit.

Until yesterday, I would receive messages about lunch from two days ago during my lunch, and dinner messages during dinner.

Why have we grown closer?

Could it be that we’ve physically gotten closer, allowing signals to be transmitted faster?

“Hooray!”

It seems the path I’ve been walking wasn’t wrong after all!

With the thought that I might really be able to meet the people behind the drone if I keep going, I raised both hands high to express my joy.