Chapter 191

Chapter 191

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 191: The Battle For The Head Of The Family (6)

Following Merlin’s guidance, Brian entered Aidel’s laboratory and carefully assessed its layout.

The space consisted of two chambers, with the main room connecting to an adjacent one. Since Erica wasn’t visible in the main area, Brian deduced she must be in the adjoining room.

However, he knew barging in uninvited would be discourteous, so he decided to wait, maintaining the pretense of an innocent visit.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Once seated, he unconsciously began tapping his index finger against his knee while taking in his surroundings.

The laboratory was impressive – filled with high-end research equipment, its walls adorned with complex mathematical formulas written on blackboards. Undergraduate students moved purposefully about, engrossed in their research tasks.

“I’m surprised to see the third young master being so observant.”

Erica (Unit 1) whispered close to Brian’s ear.

Brian acknowledged her comment with a slight nod.

He considered that if Aidel were truly a genius, the existence of such a well-equipped laboratory might make some sense. After all, there were rare cases of individuals becoming professors in their mid-twenties.

Yet something still felt off. How could an undergraduate student establish their own laboratory and employ fellow students as assistants? The more Brian pondered possible explanations, the more questions arose.

The situation defied conventional logic, leaving him with an unsettling sense of uncertainty.

“Excuse me.”

Brian addressed the green-haired girl who appeared to serve as the lab head in Aidel’s absence, having collected his thoughts.

“What kind of research do you conduct here?”

“We study crystals from Darwin Legion Outer Gods. They have numerous applications, and we conduct interdisciplinary research. They’ve recently gained attention as a promising new material for various fields!”

She shared the information freely, suggesting she wasn’t part of any conspiracy with Aidel. Brian was quite familiar with Outer God crystals himself, having encountered them extensively during his time in the southern region – almost to the point of fatigue.

“You’re Reinhardt’s brother, right? Are you a medical student?”

“No, I graduated from Carlis, and I’m currently working as a resident.”

“Oh, a fellow! So you’re like a half-graduate student?”

Brian responded with a quiet smile. While he was indeed in graduate school, his situation differed from typical full-time student since his duties as a doctor required him to balance patient care with his studies.

The girl, seemingly unaware of this distinction, continued her cheerful questioning.

“Isn’t writing a thesis really challenging?”

“It is difficult.”

What Brian hated the most was writing papers, which was far more tedious than composing case reports. Merlin commented on this.

“Wow, siblings can be so different.”

“What do you mean?”

“Aidel loves writing papers. He practically lives for it. He’s the type who would secretly text his professor about new ideas even during a date with his girlfriend.”

The green-haired girl doubled over with laughter, but Brian noticed something unsettling about her – a hint of madness flickered in her eyes.

At that moment, Aidel returned from his shopping trip for engagement jewelry.

Aidel was being carried on Sonia’s back – not due to injury or unconsciousness, but because he was taking a light nap. Brian frowned, questioning this unusual sight.

“The young master often takes short naps while traveling. His extensive research has blurred the line between day and night.”

She gently lowered Aidel, who immediately opened his eyes as if switched on.

“Ah, Brother, you’re here.”

Brian found his awakening chilling. The smoothness of it seemed almost mechanical – how could anyone wake up and greet someone so naturally?

“I heard you came looking for me twice already. I apologize for missing you. Thank you for your concern. I brought coffee – would you like some?”

“…No, thank you.”

Brian declined, an intrusive thought warning him of possible sedatives. He quickly masked his suspicion with praise.

“You’ve been living quite diligently. It’s hard to recognize the old Aidel. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve been too busy to keep up with what you’ve been doing. Seeing your lab is quite impressive. Would you mind showing me around? I’m curious about scientific work.”

“Of course. You’re interested in what physicists do, right?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes. Just simple curiosity.”

Despite Brian’s slightly forced response, Aidel agreed readily. However, this only deepened Brian’s suspicions. Was this leading to some elaborate trap?

“I chose crystal research for my current project. It’s a moderately challenging toy project.”

In reality, Aidel had been conducting this research for quite some time, though Brian couldn’t have known this.

“Are you aiming to write a thesis for your project?”

“Yes.”

“Completing one in two months seems challenging.”

“Why would that be difficult?”

A chill ran down Brian’s spine.

It was pure instinct.

As Aidel calmly responded while maintaining eye contact, Brian glimpsed something akin to an abyss in his brother’s eyes. Though neither Outer God nor monster, Brian felt genuine fear toward his own sibling.

His pride suffered a blow.

Suddenly, Erica (Unit 1) raised her hand.

“Has an android been here recently? One with a family label?”

“An android? Ah.”

Aidel’s expression showed recognition as he retrieved a key card from his pocket.

“One arrived from the house two weeks ago. I’m not sure who sent it, but it’s been quite useful.”

“…Useful?”

“Yes.”

Brian barely managed to mask his shock. As Aidel opened the door to the private room, they discovered Erica (Unit 2).

She was connected to what appeared to be hundreds of wires. The tangled electrical cords resembled tentacles, reminiscent of an inspector being ravaged by a Darwinian Legion’s Outer God.

“Calculate, calculate, calculate, hate, hate, hate, matrix, matrix, matrix…”

Unit 2 muttered repeatedly, like someone who had lost their grip on reality.

Observing her, Aidel casually waved his hand.

“This is the computer room. It’s rather warm because I left the process running… I’ll turn on the air conditioning for a moment.”

Whoosh.

As the cool air began circulating, Unit 2’s glazed eyes gradually returned to normal. She lifted her head slowly as if emerging from a trance. Upon recognizing her visitors, her eyes widened in desperation.

“…Young master? Young master!”

Unit 2 cried out.

“You’ve come to rescue me! Please, young master! This is hell! It’s worse than the Outer God’s demon realm! Please, save me…!”

“Huh?”

Aidel scratched his head and turned to Brian.

“Was this android sent by my brother?”

“…No, that’s—”

“Thank you very much. The graphics card has been extremely useful. The VRAM capacity was sufficient for smooth simulation runs.”

Brian instinctively stepped backward.

His reaction was too mechanical to be genuine ignorance as if deliberately masking any malicious intent. This made the situation all the more unsettling.

As Brian remained silent, Aidel’s expression shifted to one of sudden realization.

“…Was it perhaps not meant for me?”

“Please save me, young master——!!”

“Though it seems it was intended for my use,” Aidel mused.

“Please save meee——!!”

Brian weighed his options.

He could either abandon Erica (Unit 2) or attempt to retrieve her.

Abandonment would be the simpler choice. He could display generosity by allowing his younger sibling to keep her for research purposes, saying something like, “Please, don’t hesitate to accept it.” This would also demonstrate his magnanimity to the council.

However, retrieving her would require Aidel’s cooperation. If his research wasn’t merely a front, Unit 2 needed to be recovered – preferably before Aidel could complete his project.

The uncertainty of Aidel’s potential reaction to such a request made Brian anxious, ultimately swaying his decision.

After a brief deliberation, Brian spoke:

“Consider it a surprise gift to celebrate reuniting with my younger sibling after so long. You may continue using the robot.”

“Young master?”

“Y-Young master…”

Erica Unit 1 stood speechless in shock, while Unit 2 began weeping mournfully.

“Young master! How could you! I’ve been nothing but loyal! Why are you abandoning me!”

Clunk.

Brian wordlessly closed the door. Erica (Unit 1) ’s expression grew increasingly distressed as Aidel asked.

“Are you really giving her to me?”

“Of course. We’re brothers, aren’t we?”

Brian forced a laugh while patting Aidel’s shoulder, desperately maintaining his composed facade.

Brian finally understood as he met Aidel’s profound gaze.

A Hidden Dragon.

His brother was like a dragon quietly biding its time beneath the waters.

The theory that all his previous reckless behavior might have been a calculated effort to conceal his true capabilities made sense. The groundbreaking papers, his newly polite demeanor, their father’s defense of him, and his sudden closeness with Ceti – when viewed through this lens, everything aligned perfectly.

Had they known of his intelligence earlier, Brian would have already taken action.

At least Aidel had demonstrated his political acumen here, justifying the decision to abandon Unit 2. Otherwise, it could have backfired.

As if on cue, Aidel spoke.

“If you intended to give it as a gift, why not say so directly? Why leave it at the lab door for two weeks without explanation?”

Translation, If this were truly a gift, Erica wouldn’t be so distressed. Why the deception?

“Brothers should share freely. I didn’t want to make it formal this time.”

Aidel suppressed a sigh at these words while Brian swallowed nervously.

Aidel reopened the door to find Unit 2 still crying.

“Thank you for your consideration, brother. However, as you can see, this friend doesn’t wish to stay with us. I’ll return her.”

“No, keep her.”

“Please, take her back. We’ve collected all the necessary data and won’t need the GPU until mid-year. If anything comes up, Sonia can handle it.”

At Aidel’s nod, Sonia moved to release Unit 2 from her bindings. Freed from the black tendrils, Unit 2 ran to Brian and fell to her knees.

“Master, please don’t abandon me!”

She sobbed desperately.

“Despite being overworked, I’m still functional. Look, I can display videos perfectly. See? High definition! I’m still useful, so please…”

A slightly stuttering video appeared in the air – likely due to overheating – but the quality remained impressive.

“Please don’t discard me. I beg you. If you no longer need me, just dispose of me properly. Master, you know my body contains gold, silver, and platinum. I’m valuable…”

Unit 2 pleaded like someone praying to a deity.

The main Erica unit watched Brian with bewilderment, having already exchanged information with her duplicate. All video footage of Aidel’s activities over the past two weeks had been copied.

Unit 2’s mission was complete.

“Brother, you should keep this robot.”

“M-Master…”

“Make good use of her. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Masteeeer——!!”

Brian walked away, never looking back at Unit 2’s desperate cry.

“I won the guessing game.”

Brian is such a cautious person that he does exactly the opposite of what he’s told – if you tell him to move forward, he stays put; if you tell him to stay still, he advances. By exploiting this trait, I managed to get him to hand over his android to me.

Even better, he seems to have mistaken me for a madman. How perfect.

Hypocrite. He’s someone whose true nature differs completely from his outward appearance. You only need to look at how he banished Ceti and Rejane to a distant star system immediately after becoming the head in the original story to understand his character.

It feels satisfying to have outmaneuvered such a snake.

“Erica, get up.”

“…I refuse.”

“Sonia.”

“No! No! Absolutely not! I won’t do any more matrix operations! Aaaah!”

Sonia grabbed Erica firmly and practically forced her into a chair. After staring blankly at Erica for a moment, she said something unexpected.

“Young master, it’s not wise to assign excessive tasks.”

“Why?”

“We also possess intelligence. And emotions.”

“Huh.”

This was… delicate.

Could this be the ‘machine rebellion’ often depicted in science fiction?

It felt like warming up yesterday’s leftover pizza, only to have the microwave suddenly declare, ‘Stop eating and lose some weight,’ before shutting itself off.

Weren’t machines created to serve human convenience?

If a machine refuses to work, you typically send it for repair service – who would keep it around and coddle it? Even if it looks human.

Nevertheless…

“I understand what you’re thinking, young master. Yes, Erica and I aren’t human. We’re not technically alive, either. But…”

I listened quietly to what followed. This side of Sonia, despite our three years together, was something entirely new to me.

“Although our nervous systems are structured differently, we think and feel just as you do. The materials that make up your hands and mine may differ, but we can both cook, write, and play the piano.”

“Functionalism…”

“Exactly. While we aren’t living beings, we are intelligent entities. We may not have the right to demand privileges, being indebted to you, our creators, but we humbly request your mercy.”

Her argument was logical.

“But weren’t you the one who brought Erica here?”

“I never imagined that the young master would work her so relentlessly without any breaks.”

Ah, now I understand.

Just as humans break down from excessive overtime, or computers crash and display the blue screen of death when running too long, I realized that even AI suffers when overworked.

“Very well. I’ll let Erica rest for a while.”

“Thank you, young master.”

I looked at Erica, still in her panic-stricken state. The expression of an abandoned android was more heart-wrenching than I’d anticipated – like that of a woman nursing a broken heart. In moments like these, they truly are indistinguishable from humans.

Brian typically discards anything he deems useless without hesitation. In other words, he’s decisive – or, from a less charitable perspective, simply cold-hearted.

Since Erica was beyond my ability to handle, Merlin took charge of the situation. After everything was settled, Sonia bowed respectfully and spoke:

“And, young master… congratulations on your engagement.”

Perhaps it was because of the emotional plea I’d just witnessed, but something about her voice seemed to quiver.