Cradle-3

Eyes were everywhere. It was always the case, but now it was even more blatant. The cameras, positioned as if there were no blind spots, were one piece of evidence.

In fact, even if there were no cameras in the room, it wouldn’t matter. Isis was always by my side, at least one unit on standby.

I didn’t think I could make the androids uncontrollable and escape this room.

The surprise attack like last time wouldn’t work twice.

Paradoxically, no permission was required to move around inside the Cradle.

In other words, I could indirectly see Isis’s calculation that sufficient preparations had been made for me inside the Cradle.

Even excluding the space where the main body of the Ark was located, there were many places for me to look around.

The Cradle was quite large.

The scenery of Aaru seen through the huge picture window was as sophisticated and elegant as the scenery of Western cities I had once seen in overseas travel brochures.

In the aquarium in one corner of the Ark, various species of fish managed by the Ark swam freely.

I followed the direction in which the beluga swam freely, taking them into my eyes.

At the end of the deep blue aquarium was a history museum that summarized the history of the city.

Entering the history museum, you could see another Isis who volunteered to be the librarian.

The Isis in uniform didn’t look at me, and periodically dusted the dusty miniatures.

“If you are curious about history, I can tell you.”

Isis, who was following me three steps behind, said to me.

Every time I came to the history museum, Isis repeated the same words.

“No thanks.”

I didn’t really want to hear it. I didn’t particularly like this city.

Especially since I was brought here.

As I was about to move my feet, Isis’s dry voice was heard again.

“It will be beneficial.”

I turned around at the unfamiliar words, but Isis just had her usual expressionless face.

“I know roughly. I heard it from NB.”

The miniatures meticulously depicted various facilities in the city.

I glanced at them perfunctorily.

“Then, is there anything you particularly want to know? Kang In-ho?”

My face was naturally distorted by the strange obsession in her words.

“Isn’t there anything you particularly want to explain?”

I felt a surge of annoyance at Isis, who was talking like NB.

“That’s not the case.”

Isis took a step back.

“What’s that?”

I took a big step and left the history museum, pointing to a miniature.

Unlike the square buildings of Aaru, the unique appearance with a circular roof caught my eye.

“That is the Human Reconstruction Research Institute. It is a building adjacent to the Cradle.”

“Human Reconstruction Research Institute?”

“Research on the reconstruction of the first humans was only conducted in the Cradle. However, as the research progressed, a separate facility was needed, so it was built at the Ark’s own discretion.”

“The Ark’s own discretion… In the end, you’re saying you did it.”

“………..”

“So, was the human reconstruction research successful? Ah, you probably haven’t done it yet. Because there’s only me.”

I ridiculed Isis for no reason with a twisted smile.

Even though I knew she wouldn’t be upset, I didn’t stop sneering.

I wondered why I was so emotional. Ah, maybe puberty had come.

“It’s a failure. And research on human reconstruction has been discontinued.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s no longer necessary.”

Isis moved and passed me. Swish, Isis’s finger lightly touched my sleeve.

“Next is the video room. As I say every time, you can watch any video you want. You have 3 hours and 12 minutes.”

“…No thanks. I want to go back to my room.”

Seeing her expressionless face made me sigh with annoyance.

I felt down. I just wanted to lie down without thinking.

“You ended your walk earlier than usual. Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“No, nothing like that. I just want to go back.”

“I understand.”

As I retraced the path I had walked, Isis followed me three steps behind.

“In my opinion, a walk means getting some fresh air and breathing the outside air. Walking around inside this building doesn’t count as a walk.”

As I passed the entrance to the history museum, I said without looking at Isis behind me.

“I understand.”

I don’t know what she understands.

The only place in the Cradle where surveillance doesn’t reach is the bathroom.

When I enter the bathroom, I am given a few minutes of freedom.

The reason why it’s only a few minutes is that if I exceed the designated time, Isis will forcibly open the door under the pretext of checking my safety.

10 minutes and 23 seconds.

That’s the only time I can be alone.

I think there was probably surveillance equipment in the bathroom at first.

[I’m asking just in case, but there aren’t any cameras in the bathroom, are there? If there are, I think I’ll be really angry.]

On the second day of living in the Cradle, I asked Isis.

[…There aren’t.]

Since then, Isis has presented me with the 10 minutes and 23 seconds rule.

I sat on the toilet with the lid down and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The cool temperature of the bathroom cleared my head.

It was a typical bathroom with a vent next to the incandescent light.

The only difference was that it was a little bigger than a normal house.

“Haa-“

I sighed involuntarily.

I didn’t know how to accept living here.

It felt similar to living as a landlord in another dimension. A battle between perfect conditions and psychological resistance.

I chose the perfect conditions back then, and the results weren’t very good.

Rationally, living in the Cradle is no problem.

Isis doesn’t antagonize me and has no reason to plot anything behind my back.

Resources are abundant, and the fact that there is no one other than me increases stability in that there are fewer factors for Isis to go berserk.

But I am hesitant to accept this life because psychological resistance comes first.

To be exact, someone’s face comes to mind.

Gray eyes, white hair.

The face of the grateful being who hid in tattered coats and roamed the junkyard with me.

NB.

It was the same face as Isis, but NB in my head came across as a different impression.

More pure, harmless, and unpretentious.

Whenever my heart leaned even slightly towards the Cradle, NB’s face came to mind, and the face of Isis, who had the same face, made me feel bad.

“NB, what should I do now?”

No matter which dimension I fell into, I had something to do.

I had a goal, and I ran to achieve that goal.

But I couldn’t see that goal here.

“Should I take revenge for you?”

Even so, it’s not certain whether the Ark played a decisive role in NB’s absence.

My refreshed head became complicated again, and just as the thoughts that filled my head were about to explode, the door opened.

“Master, are you okay?”

“…Uh.”

“I had to open the door to check your safety.”

“Can’t you knock first?”

“From now on, I will knock 2 seconds before opening the door.”

“…Thank you.”

I regretted the end of my short free time and left the bathroom, and Isis didn’t take her eyes off me.

Night. I lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.

The reason was that Isis, who would normally have left the room, was watching me from the bedside with strange eyes.

“Why?”

I looked at Isis, wondering if she had something to say.

“Can’t you sleep?”

“Isn’t it because you’re next to me that I can’t sleep?”

I was so dumbfounded that I laughed.

“I have considered that possibility, but other possibilities seem more likely.”

Isis got up silently. The huge shadow Isis made covered my body.

“Other possibilities?”

“As a result of analyzing the Master’s brain waves and the actions you have shown so far, your stress level is quite high. This will have a bad effect on the Master’s health.”

“…So? What does that have to do with why you’re doing this now? Are you going to give me a massage or something?”

“There is a more certain method.” Isis replied.

“The Master’s body is currently that of a male in his growth period.”

Another Isis appeared from behind the curtain and approached the bed.

“So?”

“Sexual desire is most active from the teens to the thirties in a man’s life cycle. As a result of inference based on big data, the Master has not resolved his sexual desire since entering Aaru.”

The door opened, and two Isis approached the bed.

“…Wait a minute.”

I got up, surrounded by a total of four Isis around the bed.

I don’t know who poured coolant on Isis’s head, but she seems to have made a big mistake.

But Isis’s two hands pushed my chest.

I fell back onto the bed, and the mattress shook greatly up and down once.

“We have determined that the stress level has increased because there has been no activity to resolve sexual desire, and from now on, we will begin activities to reduce the stress level.”

“No, wait… Mmph!”

The Isis on the right blocked my mouth with her lips.

Something slippery entered my mouth and skillfully swept through my mouth.

When the kiss that violated and trampled on my dignity ended, I could see the rapidly changing situation in the room.

Sticky red lights illuminated the room, and dozens of Isis around the bed were looking at me in the nude.

I reflexively pulled up the blanket and covered my body at the suddenly increased number of Isis.

“Basically, household androids are custom-made.”

The Isis who was wearing the uniform and next to me whispered.

“What kind of hair do you like?”

When Isis flicked her finger, another Isis’s hair turned blonde.

“Do you prefer large breasts?”

When she flicked her finger again, the breasts of another Isis next to her gradually grew larger.

“What kind of outfit do you like?”

Every time she flicked her finger, the number of Isis wearing various clothes such as school uniforms, military uniforms, and night dresses increased.

“What kind of expression would you like me to make during intercourse? A coy expression, an angry expression, a crying expression, or an ahegao are all possible.”

Isis, who had taken over my ear, blew air. I reflexively cringed.

“Everything can be chosen according to the Master’s preferences.”

Isis put her tongue in my ear and spun it around. For some reason, something sticky remained in my ear.

“In this Cradle, everything is entirely up to the Master.”

Isis laughed with a strange moan. It also overlapped with the image of a salesperson diligently introducing products to a buyer.

“Now, which one do you like the most?”

It seemed that the most dangerous night of the nights I had in the Cradle had begun.