Ch.7878. Hospitality.

The city where humans live is naturally filled with human sounds.

So what sounds would come from a city inhabited by abandoned robots?

I looked around. There were many robots visible on the streets, but no sounds could be heard.

The only sound coming from the city was the repetitive thud, thud of machinery in the distance.

But that didn’t mean this city was quiet at all. Rather, it was the most active and noisy city among all the cities I had passed through so far. It’s just that it wasn’t conveyed through sound.

Numerous shapes and lines. Flickering clusters of light.

Understanding that this was the robots’ language, I silently watched their conversations that endlessly appeared and disappeared.

Because our languages were different, I couldn’t understand what they were discussing.

But verbal expression isn’t the only form of communication among living beings.

I made eye contact with a robot that seemed to be observing me from a distance.

Its metal body and eyes with lenses instead of pupils were very different from those of humans.

Nevertheless, I could tell from its expression and behavior that the robots were quite bewildered.

I wonder if they’re saying things like “Is that really a human?” or “How did they get here?”

Yes, they must be confused. A human, whom they thought had disappeared from this world, has appeared and found their hidden city.

“Hello?”

In places where humans gather, more humans tend to gather. The same was true for robots.

I had intended to explore the robot city, but instead became a spectacle for the robots, unable to go anywhere.

I waved at the robots that had gathered around me.

Like a wave crashing, the robots moved dramatically—apparently I had startled them.

Numerous shapes and lines floated in the air all at once, then fell to the ground.

The language that fell to the ground remained there for quite some time before being covered by other language and disappearing.

It was a fascinating and amusing sight in many ways.

I decided to sit on a bench and wait while the robots finished making their assessment of me.

The bench creaked, probably from lack of maintenance.

Perhaps because no one used it? It even rattled when I rocked back and forth.

Still, it wasn’t too uncomfortable to sit on. I sat comfortably and let out a breath that had been somewhat excited.

In this city full of shapes and lines, there was a smell of oil and metal.

“First the ancient people, and now robots.”

I fell into thought while watching the bustling robots.

Despite having many beings around me, I was alone.

Well, I didn’t feel lonely or anything.

I was used to it, and though I didn’t belong to any group, I had friends in Puppy and Robot.

Putting it nicely, it was adaptation. Less kindly, resignation.

“There are more human-like robots than I expected.”

I quickly turned my head to cast my thoughts far away, then sat quietly looking around.

For someone like me with many idle thoughts, even the act of looking at something could be a trigger to fall deeply into my own thoughts, but right now I was purely enjoying what I could see.

Among beings with distinctive features that anyone would recognize as robots, there stood robots that looked remarkably similar to humans.

If you looked closely, there were features all over their bodies that revealed they were robots.

Things like what appeared to be product numbers or owner names written on them, or the lines at joint parts like shoulders and knees.

But those were only visible to me because I already knew they were robots.

In a place overflowing with humans, if I had seen these robots without any prior knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart.

At most, I might have thought they had unusual fashion.

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen robots that looked identical to humans while traveling through various cities, but seeing them actually functioning was certainly my first time, so it felt quite strange.

…I wonder how similar that robot is to me.

Even robots that obviously looked mechanical had thought processes and emotions very similar to humans.

It made me think that those robots that appeared human might actually be identical to humans.

“Excuse me.”

Perhaps aware of my staring gaze?

The humanoid robot who had been conversing in robot language approached me.

Even though it was underground, the temperature was still low, yet the robot’s attire was something you’d wear in midsummer.

Seeing the thin top and short skirt, I momentarily wondered what purpose this robot served, remembering another robot’s words about lifting skirts, but…

That would be neither polite nor something I wanted to know, so I shook my head.

The robot extended its hand to me.

Was it… asking for a handshake?

Blinking at this greeting method closer to human than robot, I slowly extended my hand.

The hand I grasped wasn’t as cold as I had expected.

“—Body temperature and life activity normal. Confirmed to be a real human.”

And… ironically, this human-like robot had the most robotic voice and speech pattern of all the robots I’d met so far.

Perhaps because it resembled a human, it was programmed to speak like a robot?

Or was this speech pattern also what its creator wanted?

“Nice to meet you. It’s been quite a long time since a living human has come here.”

The robot removed its hand from mine and smiled slightly while bowing.

Perhaps because of the angle that was almost perpendicular.

Though its smiling face and flowing hair were certainly identical to a human’s, all I felt was a sense of incongruity.

“Is it really a human?”

“It really is! How long has it been since we’ve seen one? At least 10 years, right?”

“Wasn’t the lower city shut down long ago? How has it survived until now?”

Perhaps because they confirmed I was a harmless human, robots that had been keeping their distance began to gather around me.

“Everyone seems very interested in me…”

Dozens of robots surrounded me, speaking in human language rather than shapes and lines.

I suppose they were created for humans after all—seeing them greet me so warmly despite meeting for the first time gave me a strange feeling. Not that I disliked it, but it seemed excessive.

With so many questions coming at once from all directions, I wanted to answer them but simply couldn’t.

I’m not particularly introverted, but this was too much.

“Hmm! A human in this era—living long enough, you see all sorts of strange things!”

Even just listening passively was draining my energy to the point where I was about to collapse sideways.

From the wave of many people… no, robots, came a booming voice.

“Make way, please!”

At the appearance of a robot whose voice alone exuded an extraordinary presence, the robots surrounding me backed away.

I didn’t know what kind of robot it was, but it felt exceptional in many ways.

“Hmm, a human has come?!”

And the robot that appeared among the others… despite its booming voice, was unusually small in size.

Even though I was sitting on the bench, I could look directly into its camera eyes.

“…You’re small.”

“Gasp!”

“It gets angry when you call it small!”

…Apparently the words I carelessly blurted out were a sore spot for the robot.

As soon as I said it was small, the surrounding robots collectively began to sweat profusely.

Did I make a mistake? I became tense along with the commotion around me, but a robot is still a robot after all.

“Hahaha! It certainly is a small body!”

Far from getting angry, the robot smiled brightly and extended its hand to me.

Seeing this, I chuckled at my needless tension and extended my hand.

“But having a small stature doesn’t mean one’s abilities are insignificant. Don’t you agree?”

“That’s true.”

The robot had thick, large hands that didn’t match its small body. My hand looked like a child’s in comparison.

Perhaps it was a robot that built or repaired things, as its blackened hands indicated it had done much work here.

“Indeed, you understand! Finding someone like-minded in this world is extremely rare, and all the more joyful for it! So tell me, how did you manage to get here? Surely the elevator must have stopped.”

“How did I get here? I spiraled up the Tower. My head was spinning so much I nearly fell several times. My spine still shivers just thinking about it.”

“Haha! You’re more spirited than you look! I like you much better than the humans who used to live here!”

Bang. Bang. The thick hand hit my back. Though it didn’t seem particularly hard, it hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

…I hope my clothes didn’t tear. This robot was more formidable than it appeared.

“So how long do you plan to stay? Seeing that you’ve come this far, you must be heading toward Paradise.”

“Well, originally I planned to help out and leave right away… but I’m not sure now.”

Although it was a city with only robots, seeing the city functioning properly and bustling with activity made me think it might be nice to stay for a few days.

Of course, I’d need to bring Alexander and Puppy up when the weather improves.

“Hmm? Help? What do you mean?”

“Huh? That big robot over there told me you needed help, so I came all the way here, but you don’t know about it?”

I pointed at the big robot standing in the distance.

The expressions of many robots who turned to look became strange.

“Well… that fellow has finally gone and done it.”

…It seemed the big robot and the other robots weren’t on very good terms.

Beyond simply not communicating with each other, they seemed to disapprove of bringing me here.

“Well, it was something that would happen eventually, something we needed to decide on. I suppose now is that time.”

Just as I was wondering if I should mediate this increasingly tense atmosphere, the robots nodded as if they had come to some understanding and smiled again.

Unlike the big robot’s bright smile, theirs seemed somewhat sad.