According to Himari's proud explanation, as long as one followed idiot proof plan, this drone programmed personally by her could even breach the seminar server's firewall.
Although I did not really understand what she was saying, I could clearly read the way Rio's face darkened rapidly after hearing it. That alone was enough to prove that, just as Himari claimed, this drone was indeed a formidable piece of hardware.
"If that AI shows any signs of aggression, don't hesitate. Use the drone immediately and try to hijack it."
That was what Himari told me back then. "But if it fails, then just eliminate it in the physical sense. If even that's impossible, then run. We'll pick you up outside the ruins. Right, Rio?"
Rio snorted coldly. "You don't need to remind me. That was my plan from the start."
Pulling myself out of those memories, even though I was fully prepared, I still hoped things would unfold the way Momoi imagined.
Before long, we once again reached the depths of the factory. No enemies appeared along the way. Everything we saw was still as desolate and ruined as it had been the first time. In the final room we arrived at, a single computer waited there quietly.
As we approached, the computer detected the intruders and emitted two beeps, then the screen lit up.
[Welcome to the Divi:sion System. Please enter the item you wish to search.]
Momoi stepped forward. "Kei, long time no see. We came just like we promised!"
A large amount of meaningless garbled text flashed across the screen, then condensed into a neat line of words.
[AL-1S, are you here?]
At this point, it was completely clear. What Kei wanted was Aris.
"So you really do know Aris," Momoi said as she pulled the still bewildered robot girl closer. "Aris, come say hello to Kei, okay?"
Aris stared at the text on the screen and hesitated. "AL-1S… but Aris is Aris…"
Momoi explained from the side. "That's your real name, Aris."
The text on the screen changed again.
[Qualification confirmed via voice recognition. Welcome back, AL-1S.]
"Aris's… real name… the real me…"
The amnesiac android girl murmured softly, then asked Kei, "Do you know about AL-1S?"
[Yes.]
"Then, can you tell me?"
[That is my duty. Before that, according to our agreement, as an exchange for bringing AL-1S here, please connect a storage device so that the G.Bible data transfer can proceed.]
Momoi cried out, "Eh? A storage device? Why didn't you mention that last time?"
A line of ellipses appeared on the screen, as if Kei had crashed for a moment.
After quite a while, the following sentence appeared.
[According to my database, connecting a storage device is required for file transfer. This should be common knowledge.]
Momoi looked awkward, realizing that this was indeed the case.
Since it was not a particularly large file, and as members of the Game Development Department usually carried data cables with them, it did not take long. A file named "G.Bible.exe" was soon downloaded onto Momoi's game console.
"Finally. We got the Game Bible!" Momoi shouted, holding the GameGirlsAdvanceSP high.
"T-this is it!?" Yuzu swallowed nervously.
Beside them, Aris clapped her hands excitedly.
Up to this point, everything had gone extremely smoothly.
That was, until Momoi said impatiently, "L-let's open it right now and try it! We have to confirm if it's real!"
"Execute program!" As slender white fingers pressed the confirm button, "Ah, something popped up… what? It needs a password!? What password, Kei, what's going on here!"
[I do not know what the password is.]
"You're kidding, right? It's clearly stored inside you!"
[That is the truth. The contents of our transaction only included delivering the G.Bible to you in its complete form.]
"Damn it!" Momoi clenched her fist. "You're messing with us, aren't you?"
Just as Momoi's anger flared, Midori tugged on her sleeve.
"…It's okay. If it's just a normal password, we can probably ask the Veritas Department to crack it…!"
Yuzu nodded vigorously.
Momoi still grumbled about Kei's behavior. "That's true. I'm just worried the file might be fake."
[There is no need for me to deceive you.]
After thinking it over, the girls of the Game Development Department felt that was reasonable, and they all sank into dreams of the future.
"With this, we'll be able to make a truly interesting game… we can make Myth Legend Chronicle 2…!"
"Yeah, we should be able to do it. That's great!"
Momoi declared loudly, full of ambition. "Wait for us, Millennium Club Competition… no, the Kivotos Game Awards! Our new title this time will bring a positive, uplifting impact to the Kivotos game industry!"
Will it really work? I hope so, but I cannot say for sure.
At that moment, Kei spoke again.
[Since you have achieved your objective, you may now leave.]
"Huh? Just like that?" Momoi asked blankly, then looked at Aris. "Well, I guess that can't be helped. Aris, let's head back for now, okay?"
Aris looked hesitant, but still nodded obediently. "Mm."
However, a line of bold red text rapidly appeared on the computer screen, making my heart jolt violently.
[Why are you taking AL-1S with you?]
"Huh? What are you talking about? Aris is one of us," Momoi said, glancing around. "Wait, don't tell me you want Aris to stay alone in a dangerous place like this?"
Midori added, "Um, Aris-chan is already an official member of our Game Development Department. We could never do something like that."
Sensing that the atmosphere was turning bad, I reached into my briefcase.
[AL-1S is merely AL-1S, not Aris.]
"I… I am Aris."
I pressed the power button.
[Are you going to leave with them?]
Aris did not speak, only nodded gently.
The hacking drone was starting up at maximum speed.
[…I see.]
No more text appeared on the screen.
Aris closed her eyes, her body beginning to tremble, and Yuzu, the first to notice something was wrong, called out anxiously.
I took out the prepared drone. The hacking program activated automatically, attempting to hijack the computer before us.
But it was already too late.
"…Startup complete."
In the next moment, "Aris" opened eyes that had turned a purplish crimson and spoke in a voice cold to the bone.
"Code name AL-1S startup complete. Executing protocol ATRAHASIS."