Before anyone could press the red-faced Honoka for an explanation, the answer was provided from an entirely different source.
『That is correct. I was awakened by the resonance of her exceptionally powerful feelings for him.』
Pixie's lips moved, mimicking the mechanical articulation of human speech, but the words did not travel through the air. They resonated directly within their consciousness—a voice heard by the mind rather than the ears.
"Active telepathy?" Azusa whispered.
"It seems the residual Pushions weren't a magical signature after all," Tatsuya noted, stepping closer to Pixie. "They were a psychic one."
He stood directly in front of the machine, his expression unreadable. "Is verbal communication possible?"
『I can understand your speech perfectly. However, manipulating the vocal apparatus of this vessel is an inefficient process. Please allow me to use telepathy for the transmission of my intent.』
"It's hardware, not an organ, so that's understandable," Tatsuya replied. "You seem remarkably well-versed in our language. How did you acquire it?"
『I have inherited the knowledge of my previous host.』
"Then you are indeed the same Parasite from that incident?"
『Parasite—the "ones who dwell within." It is an accurate enough label for what we are.』
"So, your kind can simply hop from host to host. Tell me: how many lives have you sacrificed to get this far?"
『"Sacrifice." I must object to that conceptualization. As for "how many," I cannot answer. I have no memory of it.』
No one dared to interrupt the exchange. The room was deathly silent as the students watched the boy and the machine face off in a battle of cold logic.
"No memory? Or simply too many to count?" Tatsuya pressed.
『Neither. When we migrate between hosts, we can only carry over raw data—knowledge that is dissociated from the host's personality. Any memory tied to a specific identity is purged during the transition.』
"I see. So you know how to speak and act, but you don't know who your previous host was, whether they were one person or many, or what happened to them."
『Exactly. Your comprehension is precise.』
"You're capable of offering a critique as well as an answer, then. Do your kind possess emotions?"
『We possess the fundamental drive for self-preservation.』
"Meaning you possess a sense of 'like' and 'dislike' based solely on whether something is beneficial or harmful to your continued existence."
Tatsuya paused, letting the information sink in before shifting his line of questioning.
"I won't debate the philosophy of emotion with you here. How should we address you?"
『We have no names. Please use the designation for this specific unit: "Pixie."』
"Are you able to extract data from the unit's electronic brain as well?"
『I gained that capability upon seizing control of the frame. However, I learned the name "Pixie" because you used it to address me moments ago.』
"Then, Pixie. Are you an entity hostile to us?"
『I am subordinate to you.』
"To me? Why?"
At this, Pixie—or rather, the Parasite within—turned a gaze toward Tatsuya that was unnervingly fervent.
『I wish to belong to you. I was roused from my dormant state by her—the individual "Honoka Mitsui"—and the singular intensity of her feelings.』
A muffled, strangled shriek reached Tatsuya's ears. He glanced back to find Miyuki and Erika working in tandem, both their hands clamped firmly over Honoka's mouth to silence her.
『We are drawn to powerful mental fluctuations,』 Pixie continued, oblivious to the social carnage behind her. 『We use those fluctuations as a core to crystallize our own "ego."』
"Powerful fluctuations? Does the nature of the emotion matter?"
『Yes. Our ego can only be forged by thoughts of the highest purity.』
"By 'purity,' do you mean a thought-pattern driven by a single, unwavering desire?"
『Precisely. In your human tongue, the concept that most closely approximates this state is "prayer."』
Tatsuya decided not to dig any deeper into the specifics of this "prayer." He didn't have to; Pixie's unsolicited and overly detailed explanation had already pushed Honoka past her limit. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed in a heap of pure, unadulterated shame. Miyuki and Erika, still holding onto her, were dragged down as well. Tatsuya gave the trio a brief, passing glance before turning back to finish his interrogation.
"The fact that you possess an ego is surprising enough," Tatsuya mused, "but the revelation that you are an essentially passive existence is even more so. It implies your kind didn't choose to come to this world."
He continued with a series of technical questions before finally issuing a set of standing orders: Pixie was strictly forbidden from altering her facial expressions or using her psychic abilities without his express permission.
Later that evening, Tatsuya and Miyuki sat in the back of an automated town car, discussing the day's revelations as they were driven home.
"I never would have dreamed that a monster could possess a robot," Miyuki murmured, her voice still tinged with disbelief.
"It's likely because it's a humanoid model," Tatsuya replied, his tone suggesting he'd rather be discussing anything else. "A modern-day Tsukumogami—an object-spirit born of a machine."
He spoke with the air of someone who found the entire supernatural ordeal to be a massive technical inconvenience. The high-end car was part of their standard security protocol; as a daughter of a prominent family—an "Ojou-sama" of the highest caliber—Miyuki's transit was always handled with a mix of prestige and protection.
"So, Onii-sama... what do you intend to do?"
"About Pixie? I certainly can't bring her home. I'll have to come up with a plausible excuse to keep her at school and continue extracting information."
"...You aren't going to bring her back?" Miyuki asked, her voice small. "She clearly wished to be with you..."
"I can't allow her inside our inner circle. We know almost nothing about Parasite ecology or their true nature. There is zero guarantee that it isn't lying to us."
Tatsuya's gaze shifted to the passing city lights.
"The claim that it responded to Honoka's thoughts isn't entirely without merit—Mizuki saw a 'shape' that corroborated it. But everything else is just the word of an alien entity. I don't know the extent of its abilities. What if it can communicate with other Parasites? If I bring it into our home and it summons its kin while we're sleeping, the situation would be catastrophic. Until I can confirm whether it has a means of long-range communication, I can't even trust the answers it gives me."
"But if you don't trust it," Miyuki countered softly, "then how will you ever know if your interrogation is successful?"
"The same way you handle a human prisoner of war. You assume everything is a lie, and you use your own judgment to sift the truth from the chaff."
As Tatsuya delivered his cold, analytical verdict, the shadow of doubt finally lifted from Miyuki's face. She was still a bit tense, but the deep-seated anxiety that had clouded her eyes all afternoon had finally been swept away.
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