EP.12 78-1



Playing Go is called hand talk. To explain it, it means a conversation with hands, which seems to be how one describes a game of Go.

Some might say it’s just an act of placing black and white stones alternately without saying a word, so how could it be a conversation? I used to think so too.

However, after learning Martial arts from Namgung Soyu, I realized that it is possible to have a conversation without saying a word.

The intricately intertwined sword paths replaced sounds, and the breath felt through clasped fists became words.

I could read the opponent’s thoughts with my eyes, and infer emotions from the shaking of weapons.

[You can convey your thoughts more clearly than with a hundred words.]

The one who claimed to be my teacher said, dusting off the dirt on her clothes.

She showed a bright smile and reached out her hand to me, who was sprawled on the floor. As I took her hand and got up, Namgung Soyu’s eyes sparkled, and there was affection for me.

[Saint’s words were right. I had to swing the sword with will.]

I remember Maria wielding a greatsword as big as herself, wiping the sweat beading on her forehead.

She trusted and followed me. She didn’t say it out loud, but her upright posture as she wielded the sword said so.

Go, where people fight with stones on a square wooden board, each asserting their own style, would be the same.

The habit of placing stones, the habit of timing, the method of overcoming crises, if there are a hundred people who play Go, there will be a hundred different styles.

However, Isis was not like that. Isis’s Go was purely about probability.

It might be because I lack knowledge of Go, but at least that’s how it looked to me.

For Isis, who had analyzed Go records accumulated over decades, or even hundreds of years, Go was simply an act of placing stones where the probability of winning was high.

There was no conversation in it, and no fun.

It seemed like she brought it to me because she needed something to pass the time.

Another week passed after Isis brought the Go board.

Perhaps because I spent most of my time looking at the Go board, except for meals and exercise, my skills, which were barely enough to make a house, gradually improved.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I could beat Isis.

“I lost.”

As I placed a Go stone in one corner and admitted defeat, Isis bowed her head and greeted me.

“Thank you for your hard work. You lasted considerably longer than yesterday.”

“You didn’t go easy on me, did you?”

When I asked Isis, raising one eyebrow, Isis shook her head.

“The difficulty is set to the same level as the beginning. Your skills have definitely improved.”

“I guess that’s a good thing… I’ve been playing so much for a week, it would be a problem if my skills didn’t improve.”

“If you practice repeatedly, most people’s skills will improve.”

I ignored the ambiguous compliment and lay down on the bed.

The feeling of the soft bed was felt on my back. Soft and comfortable. So comfortable that it’s unsettling.

Isis remained seated and began to organize the Go stones.

The sound of her slender hands picking up the stones one by one and putting them into the container rhythmically filled the room.

“Isis.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“When can I go out?”

“Safety has not yet been secured.”

Isis said, keeping her eyes on the stones.

“It’s been a week since you said that. I don’t want to go far. I just want to go out to the front.”

Although I couldn’t read Isis’s thoughts through Sudam, I did gain something.

“Let’s move the base instead. Back outside of Aaru.”

I make a suggestion that won’t be taken seriously.

“We cannot escape from here while evading the Ark’s eyes.”

I’m speechless when Isis says that.

“That’s true. But I really want to go out.”

Isis moves based entirely on probability.

For example, even if she is 99% sure that I know [Isis = the Ark], she won’t be able to pressure me because of the 1% possibility.

I have to pretend not to know as much as possible and make Isis complacent.

I wonder if it’s even possible to make an AI complacent, but I have a feeling that the moment Isis’s suspicion reaches 100%, this relatively free life will end.

Therefore, it is more important now to adapt to Isis appropriately and obtain the information necessary for escape.

At the very least, I need to know what kind of environment will unfold when I go outside this hospital room.

The scenery in the window is also a fake made with a display screen. I’m not even sure if this place is underground or above ground.

“Please wait a little longer.”

“I can’t stand that kind of talk. Promise me.”

“You want me to promise?”

“Yes, promise me that you’ll take me outside, even just a little, before the end of this week.”

I get up and look at Isis.

Isis, who is still putting away the Go stones, rarely doesn’t answer my words immediately.

Clatter, the Go stones placed on her white palm go into the container.

“…Sorry for being stubborn. But I feel like I’m going crazy because I’m so frustrated.”

I pressure Isis by talking as if something will happen to me.

“Okay. I will take you outside at the end of this week.”

According to NB, the Ark’s purpose is the reconstruction of humanity.

It is obvious that I am needed for the reconstruction of humanity.

Since there is a man, there must be a woman. Judging from the reaction, there is no one else besides me.

Are there frozen eggs or something? If that were the case, why didn’t they collect the seeds while I was sleeping?

Unsolved mysteries are intertwined like a tangled thread.

The more I try to solve them at once, the more tangled they will become.

“Yeah, and can you prepare something useful for self-defense? I think I need a weapon to protect myself so that the same thing doesn’t happen again. A metal bar would be good.”

I have no choice but to solve them one by one.