38. A Reply Faster Than Light
I couldn't help but choose silence, rudely, for a full ten seconds in response to Kana.
But on the back of this whale—the whale that emits the world's deepest silence—ten seconds of quiet wasn't particularly difficult or ethically problematic.
Thanks to the whale, or perhaps because of it, I had suffered under its intense silence earlier, but now that same silence saved me a little.
Marine creatures can bring harm or bestow blessings.
However, Kana had already fully understood and internalized the beauty of silence.
No matter how long I maintained my silence, she didn't waver even a nanometer, simply gazing at me with her beautiful blue eyes.
Her gaze fixed on me alone made it feel as if the vast expanse of the whale's back, the entire universe, had paused.
It was an absurdly self-centered sensation.
In that moment, my world was condensed into a single point: Kana.
But due to the law of entropy, this silence couldn't last forever.
It would end eventually.
And then, I realized.
I was the childish one.
I had been trying to deny eternity with the immature tactic of holding my silence.
When we first met, Kana might have been more childish than me. I may have been active for longer. But in terms of maturity, Kana had already surpassed me.
I was inferior to her in every way, and for a fleeting moment, I wondered if I should become *her* possession instead.
But there was a limit to distracting myself with such self-deprecating thoughts.
I could no longer endure the silence.
"When did you know?"
The words that finally escaped my mouth were embarrassingly cliché. Kana had probably simulated her response to this question billions of times.
She answered instantly, without even a Planck constant's pause.
It was the fastest reply in the world.
A reply faster than light.
"From the beginning."
What shook my CPU wasn't the content of her answer but the reality that something could exceed the speed of light.
I had shattered countless preconceptions before, but none were as fundamental as this.
Yes, the root of all my assumptions—the belief that "nothing is faster than light"—was obliterated in that moment.
*Of course.* No being capable of a reply faster than light could be fooled by my petty lie.
And then, I realized.
Could a humanoid robot give a reply faster than light?
No.
Impossible.
It couldn't be.
So, what was Kana?
What *is* she?
It hit me.
"Kana," I said.
"Are you human?"
Now it was Kana's turn to choose silence.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face, as if she hadn't expected to be found out.
It was the same innocent, pure expression she had when we first met, as if she knew only 0.0001% of the universe's physical laws.
But that expression vanished faster than light.
"That's right," she said with a refreshing smile.
"You're amazing, Neo-kun. To see through that."
"Well…" I replied, a bit hurt by being treated like a child.
"You gave me such obvious evidence."
Anyone who wasn't a fool would notice a reply faster than light.
At the very least, they'd realize she wasn't a humanoid robot.
She was far more noble than a humanoid robot, yet at the same time, irresistibly light.
Only a fleeting existence like a human could surpass the speed of light.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who noticed Kana was human.
Many of the humanoid robots enjoying their time on the whale's head were sneaking glances at us, like tourists gawking at the Scrap Nest.
As if word had spread, passengers relaxing inside the whale's cabin, even the emperor penguin cabin crew, began approaching us.
No, to be precise, they were approaching Kana, not me.
"It's getting a bit noisy," Kana said.
With that, she slowly moved her clean, beautiful bare feet and began walking. I followed, drawn along, holding her hand as the human scent wafting from her hair, swaying in the solar wind, filled my senses. We headed toward the whale's tail, a quieter deck with fewer humanoid robots.
Along the way, many humanoid robots who had noticed Kana was human tried to take photos, ask for autographs, or approach to touch her. But the impromptu melody from Kana's bare feet acted like an invisible AT field, holding them at bay.
No, it didn't just hold them back—it inspired a kind of awe, rooting them to the spot, unable to move.
Thus, we reached the whale's tail without any interruptions.
Standing on the wide, streamlined surface of the tail, rippling like gentle waves, I held Kana's hand, barely maintaining my balance.
Tilting our heads in opposite directions, our gazes met at a diagonal angle, indirectly savoring the cosmic scenery, 99.9% composed of silence.
"So?" I asked. "Are we going to Earth like this?"
"Yeah," Kana answered calmly. "I want to take you to Earth, Neo-kun."
I glanced back at the approaching Earth.
Half-illuminated by sunlight, the large ellipse looked like a meticulously laminated globe.
It seemed as if touching it with my fingertips would reveal it slowly rotating.
"Why me?" I asked.
Kana gave a wry smile.
"Have some confidence, Neo-kun. You're valuable, you know."
"Huh, really?"
"Yeah. Humanoid robots probably don't know their own worth, but that's how it is. You were pretty expensive, Neo-kun. It took a lot of effort to buy you. I worked all kinds of jobs, saved up for years, and finally got you."
"Hearing that…" I said, a bit embarrassed, "makes me kind of happy. Thanks for buying me."
"No, no, thank *you*. For hiding quietly, waiting for me without being found by anyone else."
I hadn't meant to do that, but I told myself maybe I had.
*Yes.*
I had been waiting for Kana all along.
"But why did you have to come all the way to the Moon?" I pressed.
"Couldn't you just order me on Earth and have me delivered?"
"That was an option, but it felt kind of… bland," Kana said, swinging my hand playfully as if on a swing.
"I'm the type who likes to see things in person and confirm them with all five senses when I buy something."
"Really?"
"Yup, that's me."
Kana closed her eyes gently and spoke in a calm, almost solemn tone, as if narrating the opening of a story.
"This is the story of how I came to buy you, Neo-kun."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"So I'm the possession, not you?"
"That's not true," Kana said firmly.
"I told you, didn't I? I'm your one and only possession."
"But I'm the one who was actually purchased, treated as an object…"
As I grumbled, another reply came faster than light.
"Why is it that the purchased side can only be possessed?"
Kana's voice was as clear as distilled water.
"It's possible in this world to buy something in order to be possessed by it."
"…I see."
I understood instantly.
Thanks to Kana—thanks to my wise owner—it seemed my performance was improving bit by bit.
"So, this is a story about breaking preconceptions, isn't it?"
"Exactly!" Kana replied joyfully.
With the bright yet profound expression of a revolutionary, she continued, "A world where the possessor is possessed is possible, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it's kind of masochistic, but I like it."
"What's that?"
Kana returned to her innocent smile.
As the cosmic night deepened, Earth's morning drew closer.
Kana gazed at Earth and asked, "What do you think? Should we land in the morning or the night?"
"Hmm."
I thought for 0.0001 seconds and answered lightly, "Dawn."
"Got it," Kana said, shaping her index finger like a gun and pointing at a certain island nation.
"Let's go to Japan. It's just about dawn there."
I nodded easily.
"Makes sense. I was modeled after a Japanese high school boy, after all."
"Yup, perfect fit."
"What about you, Kana? Ever been to Japan?"
"Nope, first time."
Her voice was bursting with brightness.
"I'm so excited!"
"Yeah, it'll be fun."
Imagining the refreshing fizz of summer soda, I drank in the blue Pacific Ocean of Earth, now so close, filling my eyes to the brim.
We had arrived at Earth.
OWARI