episode_0323

***

It’s been a week since NB showed me CLBS-1283.

As always, I had to adapt to this new dimension I had entered, and I decided to help NB with his work as a way to adapt.

There wasn’t much I could do to help since I was so small.

The majority of the repair work was done by robots attached to the base (that’s what NB called the place where the dimensional navigation ships were located).

Perhaps because humans had the foresight to anticipate that the Ark would take over Aaru, the robots at the base were kept offline.

Because it was offline, simultaneous work could not be done, so the work speed was slow, but for NB, which had infinite time, the slow work speed was not a big problem.

He said that with my joining, there was a small positive news in that there were now two robots that could be operated at once, which boosted my self-esteem.

– When I give a signal, you can press the button.

NB spoke to me in a businesslike tone, and I had no desire to feel any warmth from him.

– like this?

– Excellent.

NB gave a thumbs up, wondering where he saw and learned it.

It was a little funny to see him with a dull face and just a thumb up.

Repair work at the base was usually carried out at night. After dinner, we spent about 2 hours at the base, and I asked if it would be better to set up a base here if this was going to be the case.

NB then said that if the weather gets colder, he would consider sleeping on base.

After repair work, I go to bed, and when the sun rises at the end of dawn, NB quietly comes near me and wakes me up.

After rubbing my sleepy eyes and eating a simple breakfast prepared by NB, I enter Aaru with the bright sunlight on my back.

As if playing a stealth game, you enter the city by evading drones with perfect timing.

At first, my heart was pounding like it was going to burst, but after following NB for about 2 days, I got used to it.

It was a secret that only I knew that the secret practice I learned while attending a teacher helped me adapt.

I go through alleys and alleys, and side streets and side streets, and pack the necessary things in my backpack.

I also packed my daily necessities with fern-like hands.

We spend time like that, and when the sun rises high, we have lunch at one of the few remaining bases in Aarunae.

I cleaned up after eating a chocolate-coated energy bar and throwing the waste into the bushes near the base.

The schedule after lunch was flexible depending on the farming status that day.

If my farming was bad, I would take a walk around the garbage dump and return to base A-11. If my farming was good, I would go to the library and look for books on dimensional theory.

Otherwise, we talked on the spot until the surveillance drone changed.

-Why is Kang In-ho helping me?

– There is a place I want to go back to.

– Contrary to appearances, you seem to know a lot about dimensions.

NB looked my small body up and down, and I thought it looked really human.

– The probability that the dimensional sailing ship will go to the dimension that Kang In-ho wants to return to is very slim. CLBS-1283 only has the ability to open dimensional passages and explore them.

-There is a probability.

I pretended to be a positive person.

It was not optimism without measures.

However, it was clear that the curse of the damn goddess on my soul would work in some way, and I was trying to break that curse by making an exception.

How will this curse work if you travel through dimensions with a human body, rather than a soul?

I was very curious about that.

– Challenging odds that are close to impossible. Can we define this as ‘humane’ behavior?

– Not necessarily.

As he smiled and waved his hand, the aperture in NB’s eyes moved.

– for a moment.

Then he came closer to me.

I took a step back when I saw NB rushing in, but I wasn’t able to gain much distance.

– It looks like it’s scratched.

NB folded his hands over my right hand.

As NB said, there was a red line on his right hand, as if he had been scratched somewhere.

There wasn’t any particular bleeding, but when NB pointed this out, a stinging sensation suddenly came.

– There is disinfectant at base A-11, so we will disinfect it when we return. Since there is no medical module, treatment will be somewhat limited.

– It’s just a little scratched, so I just need to disinfect it.

Although the body is different, it is a body that has been stabbed with a knife and had its head cut off.

A scratch of this magnitude cannot even be considered a cause of injury.

The wind that was moving around Aaru also reached the base where we were hiding.

The cool wind blew across my forehead, and NB’s neat hair was also tousled.

I closed my eyes and felt the wind.

It didn’t feel that bad to be in the last city in a ruined world.

***

The most perfect and safe place in the world, blocking all unnecessary contact with the outside world.

The deepest part of Aaru. cradle.

Contrary to the name of the place, there was a huge rectangular device placed in the center of the cradle.

On its body, which was as tall as a three-story apartment building, loud lights were turning on and off repeatedly.

It has many names.

Integrated System of Identification Saving, Ark.

[Check special information. Analyzing]

An orange light came on on the body of the ark that managed everything in Aaru.

The Ark began calculating while looking at the screen captured by the reconnaissance drone.

[The last time waste was thrown into the dump was 15 minutes ago.]

[Confirmed that some of the trash was landing abnormally.]

[97% probability based on simple weight]

[3% chance due to uncontrolled wild animals]

[All populations of Aaru must be maintained at specified levels]

[Start tracking wild animals]

[Start deploying 132 drones nearby]