episode_0005
by admin“Crazy bastard!!”
“Smack!! Got it!!”
Shayella struck a few stems like a sandbag.
However, by controlling the force, it seemed she didn’t intend to kill me.
Well.
It is what it is.
The two of us survived.
Alberto, the owner of the spaceship, died, and we became allies.
However.
“Are you blabbering while dying? Can’t you assess the situation!? Huh? Ruining the mood with such disgraceful talk in a serious scene!… Argh!!!”
Smack!!
Smack!!!
Our relationship wasn’t great.
She seemed quite angry with me.
‘…How long are you going to keep hitting me.’
“Until I forgive you!!!”
‘Sorry.’
“Do you think I’ll accept that!? Ugh!!?”
Smack smack!~
Thanks to that, I could tell.
‘…You’re a good guy.’
“Huh? What, what are you saying!!”
Shayella is a good person.
She’s doing something foolish at her own expense.
In reality, I know she’s suppressing the anger of wanting to kill me by throwing a tantrum like that.
“Sigh… That’s enough. I’m tired.”
Thud.
Shayella collapsed onto the ground exhausted.
Although she survived the brink of death, it would take time for her to fully recover.
In that case.
Swoosh~
I nudged Shayella’s foot to lie down comfortably on the stem.
“What, what are you trying to do now?”
‘Climb on. I found what seems to be the cockpit, so I’ll move you there.’
“It’s quite creepy, isn’t it? If I climb on wrong, will my body melt away?”
‘If that were the case, I would have done it already.’
“I see~ It was just fiery.”
Swoosh.
Plop~
Shayella lay down on the stem.
“Well, it’s quite comfortable.”
Drip, drip.
We moved along.
I may not know how to pilot a spaceship, but perhaps Shayella knows a way I don’t.
Hopefully, we can escape this place.
*
Numerous hologram screens.
Unidentified input devices.
A massive energy sphere rotating at the center.
We arrived at the cockpit.
“I have no idea about this kind of thing.”
My hopes were shattered.
When I asked Shayella about piloting the ship, the answer returned was ‘I don’t know.’
She mentioned it was her first time with a spaceship too.
‘Doesn’t she know anything about being a god.’
Click.
“Do you really want to try piloting this thing?”
Shayella tightly grasped a stem in her hand.
The stem she held was a part separated from me, allowing telepathic contact even when detached like this.
Plop~
Ignoring me, she surveyed the surroundings.
Various control mechanisms unknown to me.
To avoid causing trouble, I only roughly understood the structure.
“…Alright. You’re useless. I saved you for nothing.”
“Is that what you have to say!?”
Swish~
Shayella lay flat on the stem bed.
Seemingly very tired, she fell asleep shortly after.
Her sleeping figure was surprisingly ordinary.
After watching her for a moment, I knew I had to find out how to pilot the ship.
*
“Still searching?”
I heard Shayella’s voice.
She had suddenly woken up and was looking beyond the large glass in front of the spaceship.
Earth.
Sun.
Space.
It was a beautiful sight.
To the point of making existence seem insignificant.
Looking at the stem spread throughout the cockpit, she chuckled as if she knew it would be like this.
“You won’t find anything by rummaging around.”
As Shayella said.
I couldn’t figure out the controls at all.
There were no books, and just looking didn’t reveal anything.
“Just give up and follow me.”
‘What do you know?’
“Think about why Alberto was the only one on the ship. What do you think?”
‘Because he’s insane?’
“That can’t be denied, but… most ships have artificial intelligence installed. They have portals that can invite guests at any time.”
‘Weren’t you supposed to be clueless about this?’
“I’ve wrecked a few before.”
‘Then how do you use a portal?’
“Ask the AI. Just trust me.”
Shayla approached the central energy sphere.
A transparent sphere rotating in mid-air.
Inside, lines of energy were tangled together.
Like one giant complex circuit.
And the writing below.
Shayla read it.
“Alphas.”
Then she heard the voice of the AI.
[Unregistered bio-sound. Please contact relevant personnel separately.]
“Huh… Bio-sound? I didn’t know that.”
‘I almost had something cool going on, but it’s useless after all.’
“You keep undermining me subtly, huh? Why are you so unlucky with your words?”
‘Is there no other way?’
“There is. It’s a functional old-fashioned AI. If you’re good, you might be able to deceive it. It only has minimal security. The spaceship is probably cheap too.”
‘How do we bypass the security then?’
“I don’t know.”
‘You don’t know?…’
“I just repeated what someone who knew said. Doesn’t it fit perfectly?”
‘…Sigh….’
“What, you sigh like you’re superior? Huh?”
‘Should I press the buttons one by one?’
“Do we have time for this nonsense? Fine, bring back plenty of fruits. Then maybe I’ll recover and help you escape.”
‘We’re screwed.’
“What? You don’t believe me?”
The conversation ended where it began.
The conclusion was simple.
We were trapped.
“Hey… Give me food.”
After a few days.
Shayla and I lived together on the spaceship doing nothing.
Despite having a food storage, Shayla insisted on asking me for food.
I’m not sure what her purpose is.
“Here.”
Swish~
Thud.
I mixed some nutrients into a small stem before separating and dropping it.
“This doesn’t taste great. Can’t you give me fruit instead?”
“Effects won’t be the same as last time if I give you fruit. But I’ll try if you want.”
“Um… What do you eat?”
“I eat soil from my room, chemicals from another room, bones, medicines, etc.”
“You glutton. Wasn’t this a buffet for you?”
“I can eat almost anything. Maybe even this spaceship.”
“Isn’t that… uncomfortable for your body?”
“I’m adapting.”
Squelch~
I bunched up part of the stem.
The tightly packed stem took on a human form.
“Ah… Ah……”
Mimicking vocal cords, I forced air through the compressed stem to produce a voice.
“Practicing that again?”
“Ah, Albe… rto. Phew, me.”
“…Imitating Alberto’s voice?”
I practiced the voice discreetly.
If I could mimic Alberto’s voice, maybe I could bypass the AI security.
But.
“Tell me honestly. Did you forget the voice?”
Shayla’s cutting remark left me no choice.
I couldn’t deny it.
Not only could I not imitate his voice, but I was already starting to forget it.
“Haha!!! No response means you’re right. You fool.”
“Shut up.”
“Huh? Was that pronunciation correct just now?”
“Shut up.”
“Ha… This guy? Is there a way to kill him if he keeps making me angry?”
“…Shut up.”
“…?”
I continued practicing.
There was nothing else to do.
And I noticed one change.
“What’s that?”
“…I don’t know.”
The stem that swallowed Alberto had swelled like a huge fruit.
What kind of phenomenon was this, left forgotten and neglected?
If I digested it, I could handle it, but instinctively, I felt that waiting would bring about a new change.
What could that be?
Uncontrollable curiosity.
I decided to leave Alberto alone.
A week passed like that.
“I see. You were just a commoner working.”
“No, we… Our statuses are equal.”
“You want to believe that. It sounds like you’re no different from a slave when I hear you talk.”
After talking about this and that.
Practicing speaking.
Talking with Shayla became more comfortable.
And at this point, a strange phenomenon occurred.
Rumble.
Swoosh….
A giant ripe fruit.
The fruit that absorbed Alberto wriggled, growing larger than an adult male.
Strangely, it was black in color.
Resembling Alberto’s hair.
“Is that the fruit? Did you create such a bizarre thing because of asking for the fruit? It looks rotten no matter how you look at it.”
Even Shayla showed curiosity.
“…That’s right. No.”
The main body responded with a human-like stem.
Decent pronunciation. Simple communication was now possible even without telepathy.
“Black… Ugh. Seems tasteless.”
“I never. Thought. About eating it.”
Observed the transformed Alberto for a moment.
Sensually perceived. This fruit demands mana, poison, and nutrients from me.
Curious.
What will happen?
Anyway, there is plenty of nutrients left on the ship.
There should be no loss.
Swoosh~
Supplied the nutrients.
Took more than expected.
Despite being a stem body, fatigue rushed in.
Waited for a long time like that.
Wriggle wriggle~
The fruit pulsated.
Something is happening.
The fruit increasingly feels like my body.
No, it’s truly part of my body.
What?
How?
Not a mistaken feeling.
A person has been conceived inside the fruit.
Someone with black hair absorbed mana and nutrients inside the fruit, wriggling. He unmistakably looked like Alberto.
Swish~
He is trying to hatch.
Part of the stem rapidly withers, losing a considerable amount of nutrients and mana.
Flash.
A spark flickered in his mind.
Alberto is the owner of the ship’s artificial intelligence.
Such Alberto is now part of me.
Could it be….
“Why are you withering?”
“I found a way.”
“Huh?”
Pop~
At that moment, the giant fruit split apart.
Crack~
It splits on its own.
Swoosh.
From there, Alberto stood up.
“What?…..”
Surprisingly, Alberto feels like part of me.
In other words, I can control Alberto like a separated stem at will.
No.
It’s a bit different.
Even though separated, the connection is strong.
No, no, that’s not quite right either.
This is….
A doppelganger.
Another me.
Controlled by will, of course.
Whoosh~
Consciousness shifted.
Entered Alberto’s body.
“Oh. This works.”
Stared ahead as is.
Sensed the degraded human senses.
In that narrow human vision, a bewildered Shayla appeared.
“Why are you….”
Even though he practiced his voice, it seemed futile.
I became a replicated Alberto.
*
Unknown space.
Inside a luxurious building.
“Earth still hasn’t been annexed. Alberto. The timing has passed, why haven’t you acted? Have you forgotten our deal?”
A red-haired man muttered.
The man’s name is Hailok.
One of the senior tower administrators who placed Alberto as a junior administrator.
“You were quick-witted and dignified, so I gave you a high position, but did you get too proud of it? Yes. You dared to ignore me….”
Hailok frowned as if angry.
Swoosh-
He immediately got up and moved towards a large oval gate.
Zing!!
Whoosh~
A blue circle appeared.
The man entered there.
“Make sure to pay the price.”
It was the ship where Alberto stayed.
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