Ch.7575. Icarus.

Icarus, fascinated by flying like a bird with a human body, soared too close to the sun, forgetting Daedalus’s warning not to fly too high or too low.

However, his wings made of wax and feathers weren’t strong enough to withstand the sun’s heat. Eventually, his wings melted, and Icarus fell to his death from the same height he had climbed pursuing his dream.

This story speaks of human’s fleeting desires and limitations.

If Icarus had been content with simply flying through the sky with wings, both he and Daedalus could have been happy.

But Icarus wasn’t satisfied with his present state and challenged an impossible dream. Blinded by the sun, he forgot his present reality, failing to notice his wings disappearing.

“The sky and ground are both just white. It feels like I’m in the afterlife.”

“Don’t say such ominous things. You were the one who said there’s no such thing as heaven or hell, and now you’re suddenly talking about the afterlife?”

“I’m just saying it feels that way.”

Like Icarus who flew high chasing his dream, I climbed The Tower pursuing hope and experienced a fall.

Wings made of wax and feathers. A friend made of metal and circuits.

I resembled Icarus in that I obtained something beyond my means in the worst situation, yet remained unsatisfied, climbing toward my dream until I turned my eyes away from reality.

The difference is that while Icarus fell into the sea, I fell into the negative emotions pooling inside me. Fortunately, I had a friend nearby to save me when I plunged in.

Haah.

I sighed out of habit and looked around.

The fierce wind and swirling snow made it difficult to see my surroundings. It was so bad that even Alexander’s tracks from where we had just passed were no longer visible.

“The snowstorm wasn’t this bad until just now… We’ll have to wait until it stops.”

I couldn’t distinguish front from back, up from down. While Alexander moves forward and we’re always in contact with the ground—so we can perceive direction regardless of whether we can distinguish it—there were too many risks to move Alexander with just that knowledge.

With such limited visibility, we might crash into snow-covered structures. We could fall into large cracks that were likely part of the drainage system. In the worst case, we might fail to identify collapsed ground and fall between floors or supporting platforms.

“Falling mentally is enough. Yeah.”

I’m still alive. I’ve lost my greatest hope, but I still have a goal. At the very least, I couldn’t die in a place like this.

“How is it out there? If you’re cold, you can come inside.”

“I’m fine thanks to the waterproof fabric. Besides, it would be cramped if I came inside.”

“Alright. But come in if it gets unbearably cold, okay?”

“Yes.”

If I reclined the seat, it wouldn’t be comfortable but not impossible for Robot to fit inside. Whether out of consideration or because Robot truly was fine, it seemed Robot had no intention of coming in.

“I wonder when the snow will stop. Surely it won’t pile up high enough to bury Alexander, right?”

I took my hands off the steering wheel and leaned the seat back. I stared blankly at the clouds visible through the window.

After turning off the engine to save fuel, silence descended upon the world.

In a quiet world where I could hear my heartbeat, with nothing to do, all kinds of thoughts came to mind.

Starting with the Icarus story I’d just mentioned, thoughts about the future, and wondering what happened to people from the past.

Usually, I would use messages from people as seeds for various conversations, but now all I had for thought material came from within myself.

“Maybe I should just sleep…”

Although I never got to have direct conversations with them until the end, it was unbearably boring trying to pass time alone after chatting with so many people.

But sleeping didn’t feel right. I hadn’t been awake long enough to feel sleepy, and more than anything, I didn’t want to fall asleep here. With nothing but white all around, reality felt thin—as if falling asleep meant never waking up again.

“What a waste of time, such a waste.”

Even while waiting patiently for the snow to stop, the food I’d eaten was being digested.

For someone like me who needed to reach Paradise before running out of food, time was incredibly precious.

“If only I had wings too.”

I looked up at the sky and muttered quietly.

Freely roaming the city, easily climbing tall buildings. I wouldn’t be stuck like this just because of snowfall.

Of course, flying through snowy skies would be much colder than just walking… but humans naturally covet what they can’t have.

“But you know, when he got close to the sun and fell, I wonder what Icarus was thinking?”

Icarus never reached the sun, but he did reach the highest place an ordinary human of his time could reach by his own power. In a way, he essentially achieved his goal.

I was curious. While falling after achieving his goal, did he feel happiness for accomplishing it, or did he immediately feel the fear of death and regret?

In all the stories I’d seen and heard, they only mentioned Icarus’s foolish actions and death, and Daedalus’s sorrow, but never Icarus’s feelings.

“Conventional thinking would suggest he sensed his impending death and felt regret. But what ultimately drives people is the goals they set for themselves. Having reached higher than anyone else in his final moment and achieved his purpose, perhaps contrary to what we think, he closed his eyes happily.”

But that would change the story’s meaning. A tale meant to teach a lesson would transform into a story about pursuing challenges.

Dying happily after achieving one’s dream is romantic.

But it’s not a story suitable for immature children.

Perhaps people concerned that children might prioritize dreams over their lives and act recklessly removed the personal aspects of Icarus’s story.

“Will I be happy when I reach Paradise?”

Thinking about Icarus, I returned to questions about myself.

In the past, I believed I would definitely be happy once I reached Paradise.

What I wanted then and now was simply to meet living people and live an ordinary, happy life. For me, Paradise was the place where I could surely achieve that dream.

But not anymore. Even if I struggle to reach Paradise, I can no longer be happy just because I’ve arrived there.

—What if I can’t achieve my dream even after reaching Paradise?

Perhaps Icarus, who at least died achieving his dream, was better off than me who has nowhere else to go.

While lost in these complicated thoughts, I heard a voice from behind.

“Are you asleep? That can’t be right.”

Hearing Robot’s quiet voice, I turned around. I thought it was talking to me, but Robot was looking at the drone, not me.

I had given the drone to Robot since it kept repeating that it couldn’t detect signals and Robot said it would monitor its condition until it worked properly again. Robot probably knew more about machines than I did… but its behavior seemed strange.

It felt more like Robot was handling a living being rather than a machine.

Using polite speech—well, people use that with puppies too—but covering it with a blanket and acting strangely respectful created an uncanny feeling.

Well… thinking about it, the drone did often move as if it were alive.

Like when I would do something silly like trip on flat ground, and it would circle around my face as if mocking me. Or when it would fly over at just the right moment without me controlling it and capture exactly what I wanted in the camera.

Though it couldn’t speak, maybe it had some kind of artificial intelligence inside, and the three of them were communicating behind my back.

“Hmph.”

I felt a little envious. I was already bored, and now Robot was chatting with the drone, making me feel even more bored.

As for Puppy… it’s warm and cute, but not exactly a conversational partner, so that’s beside the point.

“It would be nice if someone knocked on the window right now and asked why I’m standing in such a cold place.”

I know the chances of that happening are practically zero.

But there’s nothing more enjoyable than imagining possibilities that will never come true.

“Then I follow that person and find Paradise with lots of people, warmth, and delicious food…”

“Whine…”

“…Could you not look at me so pitifully?”

As I rambled on with fantasies that even I thought were excessive, Puppy looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, “The kid has finally lost it…”

And just as I felt awkward and tried to grab Puppy’s ears with both hands to wiggle them up and down.

—Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the window from outside.

Startled by the sound that shouldn’t have been there, I reflexively stood up.

This caused Puppy, who had been on my lap, to roll off and bite my leg in what seemed like revenge.

“Sorry, sorry!”

While trying to calm down the angry Puppy, I looked at the window. Through the darkly tinted glass, I could see something the same color as snow.

A fist…maybe? Whether it was meant as camouflage or not, the fist was incredibly large and barely visible unless I concentrated. Even with the fingers clenched, it was bigger than my head.

Knock knock. The fist knocked on the window again. Though it seemed like a gentle tap, the glass shook alarmingly.

Faced with this unknown entity, the thought of starting the engine and fleeing crossed my mind.

But driving Alexander in this weather wasn’t a good idea either.

—Creak.

So I grabbed Maximus from under the seat and got out of Alexander.

I didn’t want to get out, but the alternative seemed to be having the window broken, so I had no choice.

“…Who are you?”

“Ah. Hello there. Nice to meet you.”

After getting out of Alexander, I could see the robot was enormous. It was at least twice my height, with a bulky build.

It was my first time meeting a robot that moved normally up here, which was somewhat exciting, but the intimidating size was more overwhelming.

“Could you tell me why you’re looking for me…?”

Judging by its size, it probably didn’t do ordinary work. Surely it wasn’t a security robot?

Having climbed up here by blasting a hole in the outer wall, I needed to avoid security robots above all else.

If I got thrown in prison with no humans around who knew my circumstances and could pardon me, that would be the end.

If it said it was a security robot here to arrest me, I planned to jump on Alexander and flee without looking back.

The one fortunate thing was… despite its bulky body, its face looked incredibly innocent.

A security robot that fights criminals and threats wouldn’t look so innocent, right?

“Ah. I don’t have any particular business, but there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“A favor?”

“Yes. It’s a very small favor.”

Ah. That’s a relief. I should hear what the favor is, but just knowing it’s not a security robot is good enough.

“What kind of favor?”

I nodded, saying I’d help with anything as long as it wasn’t too time-consuming or difficult.

Seeming pleased with my response, the robot smiled and said:

“You’ll understand when we get there. So please accompany me to the station first.”

“…Station?”

Station… as in police station?

Sensing something was wrong, I looked back.

The robot’s massive hand was firmly gripping Alexander’s door.

As if threatening that it wouldn’t leave Alexander alone if I didn’t follow.

“The sooner the better. Let’s go right now.”

“Yes…”

I could only nod while trembling.