Ch.9797. Charging.

1%.

2%.

3%.

The message I sent was incredibly slow, but it moved forward with certainty. I sat in my chair without any purpose, watching the numbers rise.

“I wish someone would tell me why I need to exist here or what lies ahead, just like this message.”

Looking at the message that was born into the world with a clear purpose, able to move forward without any worries, that thought suddenly crossed my mind.

The freedom that only humans can pursue, transcending the instinct of life, is noble and precious in itself.

But my current state—living by inertia without any specific goals or desires—seems more like wandering than being free.

When years of studying or non-stop work comes to an end. When you leave a workplace you’ve been at for a long time, creating a huge void in your daily life.

People experience great joy in that moment of liberation from roles that have made their lives and time difficult, but ironically, since happiness is closely tied to fulfillment, the happiness from emptiness doesn’t last long.

What could save humans who wander without clear roles or purposes, even if those roles make life difficult?

The best solution would be to find a new role that doesn’t make my life miserable but still brings satisfaction, before the happiness fades away and I feel the emptiness of daily life.

As you know, finding one’s role is more difficult than it seems because it depends not only on personal effort but also on having someone to acknowledge that effort and the timing being right.

“Everyone looks so happy. Even though their world probably wasn’t much different from now.”

Is it because they had people around them who shared the same purpose, unlike me?

Or is it because they genuinely believed in the possibility of survival beyond space?

I keep finding myself drawn to the people in the photos who still haven’t lost their smiles even in a world of swirling snow. With complicated emotions—longing, perhaps jealousy.

“If all I have left is this endless snow and robots… then what I need to do isn’t waiting for a miracle or relying on luck. It’s changing myself.”

I wish someone would appear and tell me why I need to exist in this world. These days, I don’t know what I’m living for. I’m just alive, and since I don’t want to die, I keep moving and watching—that kind of feeling.

If there were a special reason for all these seemingly meaningless moments, I could endure by constantly reminding myself of that goal. Just as I’m still alive, I’m still alone. Probably will be until the moment I die.

An ordinary human who can only wander without a clear purpose. All I can do is change my attitude toward life, since I can’t have external intervention or even form equal relationships.

Just as I decided not to give up even if this world repeats eternally, if I could see value in every moment—in these repetitive days and wandering times that enrich my life and soul—I wouldn’t feel so deflated just because I’m left alone or because I can’t see the future.

Unfortunately, it seems I’m not that strong a person.

Even though I know that maintaining a negative attitude only makes me feel worse without changing the situation, and despite trying to be positive about everything, I still find myself worrying about the future.

“I need some fresh air.”

Oof, how long has it been since I sat at a desk for this long? I think it’s the first time since I tried to fix the drone. Although I don’t get stiff from sitting in Alexander all the time, having a monitor right in front of my face made me feel stuffy.

A corridor filled with bright light. In contrast, the world beyond the window. The outside, darkened by relentless snow that seemed determined to cover all traces of humanity, was pitch black.

“It’s like being in space.”

Is it because I saw the photos sent from space? I stared intently at the window where only my hand and the light behind me were visible, then burst into laughter. If this were space, I’d be able to see stars or galaxies even in this darkness.

Humans can’t live in space. But as long as light exists there, we can find possibilities. Didn’t the people here leave for space in search of those possibilities?

But all I can see now are the remnants of human legacy that will soon disappear, snow, and darkness. Unlike space, this is still a planet where humans can live, but if you ask about its future, it’s hard to give a positive answer.

Still, if I only tell sad stories, I’ll end up going nowhere, so I try to think of witty thoughts like how I could make a huge snowman or how the streets look clean without needing to be cleared. But deceiving myself isn’t that easy, especially these days when my emotions fluctuate so much.

“I don’t think there’s anything left for me to do here, but this weather makes me really not want to go outside.”

I’ve accomplished what I set out to do. There’s nothing else I can or want to do. If every human action needs a rational reason, then what I should do now is leave this place and go back to the snowfield.

But that obvious course of action was blocked by snow and darkness. Even a blazing fire loses its strength against fierce snowstorms, and humans are no different.

“Maybe I should rest a bit until the sun rises?”

That was a kind of excuse. I didn’t want to wander aimlessly through a snowfield where nothing was visible anymore, and I didn’t want to belong to a world that gave me no stimulation and where nothing could be heard. If it weren’t for my friends, I would have gone crazy long ago. Though I can’t say I’m completely normal now either.

Even as I stand here blankly, time passes, and as time passes, I get hungry. The food that once seemed plentiful is dwindling again, and now there are no visible places to get more food. This is no time to stand still.

“…I can at least wait until the message arrives before leaving.”

But I refused to go into the darkness that way, giving justification to what I wanted to do. Bright lights, warm spaces, traces of people. As the things I could feel gradually diminished, I didn’t want to let go of the sensation that had come to my hands so easily.

Fortunately, it was a plausible reason, so I could deceive myself without any guilt, thinking, “This time it’s okay. It’ll be fine.”

“I said I’d come get you soon, but it took longer than expected.”

I’ll stay here until the message arrives completely and the snow stops. With that thought, I immediately went outside through the door that now opened and brought Alexander inside.

I brushed off the snow from the robot, which had been covered so completely in just a few hours that it was almost unrecognizable—a snow robot rather than a snowman—and handed it an apple.

“It’s okay. In sleep mode, I barely have any sense of time!”

“Really? That sounds nice. Is it similar to the feeling of being asleep?”

“Well, I’ve never slept before, so I’m not sure, but I suppose so? Anyway, it’s amazing that a facility like this is still intact! I was surprised when we visited the city too, but the upper levels really are different in many ways.”

“Right? I was surprised too.”

Was it because they were relatively prosperous, or because they had somewhere to escape to? When I think about the lower levels that became a mess from people destroying, stealing, and fighting for survival, the upper levels were definitely different, as the robot said.

“Let’s rest here until the snow stops. First, we need to create a space for us to stay…”

“That shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Right, it’s not difficult.”

The space had become quite cramped due to the equipment that appeared when power was supplied, but that wasn’t really a problem for me. After all, creations made solely by human desire could be removed simply by my wishing them gone.

I immediately selected one floor and began removing the machines there. No matter how complex and impressive a machine looks, it’s just scrap metal if it can’t be used.

“It must have taken a lot of effort and time to build these machines, and here I am removing them with just a gesture. I feel a bit sorry for the people who made them.”

Just as someone who doesn’t know what an elephant looks like can’t draw one, even with technology that can create anything you want, you need to thoroughly understand the structure and theory to actually implement it and make various machines work organically together.

Of course, they probably had some system or technological assistance, but even so, it was natural to feel uncomfortable destroying machines that I couldn’t even begin to replicate.

But I had no choice. If I explored the building again, I might find residential areas where the people who stayed here once lived. Nevertheless, creating a space I could use in this place was necessary.

“Wow. It became clean in an instant. But it feels both satisfying and empty at the same time. It’s definitely better than having useless garbage or debris left behind, but I wonder why I feel this way?”

“Well, I don’t really understand emotions either. Even my own mood fluctuates daily. Just wait, I have something I want to create.”

In the suddenly empty space, I began to furnish it based on my memories and experiences, with the help of the technology in my head.

First came a bed and sofa, a reasonably sized clothes rack, and a bathtub. Having only destroyed things since gaining authority and never having created anything until now, I decided to start with familiar furniture that I had seriously wanted.

“Wow. It’s perfect, absolutely perfect. That’s the sofa I lay on back then.”

Was I unconsciously missing those few days in the city? Even I was surprised by how clearly I remembered not only the shape of the furniture but also the detailed texture, resulting in a creation that was 100% identical to my memory.

“This is really fun. I feel like a god or a game protagonist.”

“That’s impressive. But did you remove all those machines just to make this?”

“Of course not. This is just a warm-up. Now that I’ve got the hang of it, I need to make something properly. Help me out.”

“Of course. What would you like to make?”

“Hmm… I’m curious about many things and want to make and experiment with various things while we’re here. But if I had to choose what I want to make first—it would definitely be a charger for you guys. You don’t have much left, right?”

Anyone who can see their friend’s lifespan and knows it’s running out would try to save them.

Similarly, my first priority was to create a charger to save my friends, now that I could see that both the Puppy and the Robot had battery indicators that had turned red.

“How did you… ah, I see you can see it now.”

The Robot apparently didn’t want to tell me about his condition. I could tell by the serious expression he made as soon as I mentioned the battery level. He probably calculated that it wouldn’t be good for me to know about their bad state, especially since I had become quite dependent on my friends.

“Woof woof!”

In contrast, the Puppy seemed delighted, wagging its ears and tail while running around. If battery level equates to fullness, it’s like finally getting food after being constantly hungry, so its excitement was understandable.

“I don’t know exactly what kind of charger would be perfect for you, but I’m not completely ignorant. I’ve been wandering alone, taking apart various machines… reassembling them, so I have some knowledge. With your help, I should be able to make one.”

“I’m touched that you care so much about us, Mori.”

“That’s what friends are for. Anyway, we don’t have much time, so let’s get started right away.”

I don’t know when the snow will stop, but with food being a limited resource, I couldn’t stay for too long. I tried creating food as well, thinking that would solve the problem, but all I got was something strange that looked decent but was inedible.

So to use time efficiently, I spent most of my waking hours creating and dismantling various machines and equipment, including chargers.

“I wonder if this is how it should be made. Can you hand me that wrench?”

“Woof!”

I might not know the specific structure, but I understood the basic principles and had a general image. Plus, this place was filled with machines made by people smarter than me, and the authority in my head helped fill some knowledge gaps.

I tried making things from scratch, taking them apart, referencing existing designs, and when I couldn’t create something from just an image, I made circuit boards and assembled them myself. Being unfamiliar with this work, I sometimes got minor injuries to my eyes or hands.

But as they say, practice makes perfect. After spending more than a week working with machines—sleeping, waking up, examining and creating machines until the smell of metal permeated my body—I was able to achieve my minimum goal.

“Mori! We did it!”

“Eureka!”

The Robot’s battery, which had been diminishing to almost nothing during our work, started charging properly. The robot charger was quite different in size and shape from ordinary chargers, so despite all the help I received, the finished product looked a bit crude. Still, I think I did well enough, considering I had never even seen a robot charger before, let alone touched one.

“Ah, finally… now I can sleep peacefully.”

Seeing both the Puppy and the Robot charging properly through thick cables, I flopped down on the sofa and looked at my hands and arms.

Arms bandaged from cuts from sharp metal, and hands covered in band-aids due to minor injuries. My body wasn’t much better, with aches in my waist, neck, and various other places.

But still. One problem that had been making me anxious was solved, so I decided to be content with that… and closed my eyes to the overwhelming drowsiness.