"...So, you understand, right?"
"Well, probably." ×5
Everyone nodded.
After receiving their response, Riku visibly relaxed. He couldn't help but wonder, Why do I even have to explain this to these people? Yet at the same time, he felt an odd sense of relief: Ah, finally someone understands my situation. At least they don't think I'm a pervert.
Though the two ideas seemed contradictory and strange, both were undeniably real.
"Big brother, I understand now. Anyway, little Schwi suddenly appeared and made a super romantic confession to you, right?" Merlin teased, a grin spreading across his face as his eyes twinkled mischievously.
"...I always feel like your description is off, but let's just leave it at that." Riku nodded reluctantly.
"Guhehe~ A defective machine cut off from the collective, super rare… worth a platinum-level collectible." Jibril, grinning perversely, completely forgot she was a captive. She edged closer to Riku with dangerous excitement, despite his disdainful glare. And then—
Fou kicked her away.
Riku naturally didn't bother answering her.
He had already explained himself clearly.
"I remember it distinctly—it was about reproduction. But in the end… there was no hole! Haha, it was hilarious. Riku, you must have been so moved at the time, right? You even asked me to call you 'brother.' Even a cold machine without holes is no problem for a virgin… Hahaha! I can't take it anymore, I'm dying of laughter!" Merry cackled, slapping Riku's back as if mocking him were the height of comedy.
"I didn't—! That's not even—! What's wrong with being a virgin?! Did a virgin eat your rice? What's the big deal?!" Riku roared, grief and rage boiling over.
It seemed Riku was particularly sensitive about that subject.
"Interracial love," Think murmured, her cheeks flushed as her eyes drifted toward Arthur. "That's wonderful, Riku. I support you."
"If you support me, at least look at me when you say it! And besides, Schwi and I are not in love!" Riku's forehead veins throbbed as he lost all semblance of composure.
What is wrong with these people?!
While the four around him were bizarrely thrilled, and Riku burned with frustration, Arthur was actually studying Schwi carefully.
"Hmm, I see. So this is an Ex-Machina."
"...Affirmative... Schwi, Ex-Machina." Schwi replied slowly.
According to Schwi, this demeanor was simply his chosen "personality," based on Riku's request. His tone and mannerisms were adjusted specifically to avoid arousing suspicion.
Still, looking at the timid Schwi now, one couldn't help but feel a protective urge.
"Then let me ask you a question, Schwi. Do you think I'm human, a dragon, or an Old Deus?"
A small test.
"…Human."
A direct—no, rigid—yet perfectly accurate answer.
As Riku had mentioned earlier, Schwi's victory in chess came from his impossibly precise calculations. Very few could ever defeat Riku. It was truly like facing a supercomputer that fused magic and technology.
Machines like this, able to pierce through the essence of things and act with brutal precision, could not be deceived by ordinary means. Manipulation would never work on something devoid of emotion.
Arthur felt a headache just imagining an entire race of beings like Schwi.
After all, Ex-Machinas were his natural enemies.
Troublesome indeed.
"By the way, Riku," Arthur continued, "you said Schwi approached you in order to obtain—or rather, according to the Ex-Machinas, to analyze—your 'heart,' correct? That she intends to stay by your side until that analysis is complete?"
"That's right." Riku suddenly quieted.
Finally, someone was speaking sensibly.
"Then, if we can complete the analysis of the 'heart,' it means we can negotiate terms based on that," Arthur said.
Riku stiffened. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing much. Just helping Schwi complete the analysis of the 'heart.' It will benefit you too." Arthur's smile was gentle, almost harmless.
He looked so kind, as if he held no ulterior motives whatsoever.
But Jibril, upon seeing that smile, immediately bolted upright as if shocked by a physical jolt. With a scream, she flapped her wings and smashed herself into the rock wall.
She remembered vividly—yesterday, before Arthur beat her senseless, he had worn that exact same warm, polite smile.
The Flügel do not fear, but in the face of Arthur, they tremble.
"···Is it okay···heart." Schwi tilted his head, clearly not understanding much.
"Don't worry, it's fine," Arthur assured confidently.
To the emotionless Ex-Machinas, the "heart" was something foreign, yet profoundly significant—something that could induce a qualitative change in their kind. In other words, once Schwi completed the analysis, there was a high probability he could reconnect to the species network and share the concept of a "heart" with all Ex-Machinas.
But here lay the problem.
What if that "heart" was not pure? What if it became a virus?
"You've got to be joking!" Riku snapped. "Giving an Ex-Machina a 'heart'? Do you realize what that means? No—there shouldn't even be a way to do that!"
Indeed, even the elves had never created such magic.
But just because it didn't exist in this world didn't mean Britain couldn't produce it.
The only reason the "heart" could not be transmitted was that no other race besides the Ex-Machina had perfected the fusion of magic and technology. And in this brutal era, where survival was the only priority, no one had the luxury to research such abstract matters.
But Britain was different.
Manaka, connected to the Root itself, could freely draw upon all magic and technology—past, present, and future. Merlin, who fed on emotions while claiming not to understand them, had long since developed spells to mimic human personality.
Therefore, with British magecraft, it was entirely possible to replicate a person's "heart," encode it as information, and transmit it to Schwi—and through him, to all Ex-Machinas.
And if the donor of that "heart" happened to be a fanatical believer, utterly loyal to Britain and King Arthur—
Then that "heart" would function as a perfect virus.
"Don't worry," Arthur said calmly. "I can record your thoughts in the form of information."
"That's not my 'heart'—that's someone else's!" Riku shot back, face taut with solemn anger.
"Why are you so worked up, Riku?"
"No… I—" Riku faltered, then caught himself. "Sorry. I lost my composure."
He pressed a hand against his chest. A faint click seemed to echo within, his expression hardening once again into cold calculation.
But that mask—
Schwi, who had been watching him the entire time, suddenly shook his head. "No… Schwi… wants to know… the 'heart' that Riku knows."
-End Chapter-
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