"I do. Why?"
Elysia was actually a bit surprised when she first saw Pardo. This little one had actually left her house in Sundown Alley and joined Fire Moth. But after hearing she was looking for Lin, Elysia wasn't surprised anymore.
Should I say Lin is really popular now? Even a girl he only spent two months with would chase him all the way here.
To be honest, Elysia felt a bit of a sting. Especially today, after she had convinced both Eden and herself, seeing another girl appear to ask about Lin made her feel a little bit of annoyance deep down. But being angry about these things was pointless, and "Elysia" wouldn't be angry over such things. So she suppressed that nonsensical irritation.
"You don't know him? Then never mind—wah! Wait, you said you know Brother Lin?" Pardo was about to move on to the next person, not expecting Elysia to say she knew him before even hearing a name. The process was surprisingly smooth. She eagerly asked the next question: "Then where is Brother Lin now?"
Elysia originally intended to take her to him, but a mischievous thought suddenly popped into her head. "Hehe, I can take you to him."
"Then—"
"But." Elysia loved the expressions people made when they heard the word "but." It was quite fun. "But you have to pretend you don't know him."
"Why?"
"There's no 'why'~"
"Don't you think Dr. Mobius not wanting to leave after seeing you, inviting you to dance, and looking down whenever she speaks is strange?"
"No."
"Don't you think the assassin lady ignores everyone else but is willing to talk to you and acts like a normal girl around you is strange?"
"No."
"Don't you think Elysia always appears at just the right time and 'accidentally' takes advantage of you... I mean, stays by your side much longer than anyone else is strange?"
"No."
No matter what Vil-V said, Lin was like an unresponsive android, refusing to acknowledge anything.
"Fine..." Vil-V wasn't annoyed. She wasn't the type to give up after a setback; if anything, she enjoyed it. Just as a high-difficulty boss in a game ignites a player's spirit, Lin was the "ACE of ACEs" when it came to his twisted personality. Vil-V was more than willing to correct him.
"Look at this lovely Prometheus I." Vil-V grabbed Prometheus (ᗜ‸ᗜ) and pulled her forward, gently pinching her soft cheek. "A perfect figure designed by me, a great designer. A unique 'kuudere' beauty's face, and silver hair."
Her fingers slid down. Prometheus looked at Lin impassively, uncaring of Vil-V's movements.
"Look at these over-the-knee boots, these black tights, these silk gloves... don't you think it's very... 'lewd'?" Shameless, direct descriptions flowed from Vil-V's mouth. "A body made completely to your preference, and an AI who is completely loyal to you like an obedient little sister. Even if you want a 'forbidden' relationship, she can satisfy your kinks."
Vil-V slammed the table and asked seriously: "Don't you think No. 1 is a blessing from heaven... no, a perfect girl blessed upon you by Mei and me? Wouldn't you want to [Beep] her at night and then [Beep] again? You could do it as many times as you want a night, right?"
Even though everyone was used to Vil-V's shocking statements, her righteous-looking face combined with such morally bankrupt rhetoric made people keep their distance. Even Lin fell silent for a long time.
Prometheus remained silent, faithfully acting as an obedient AI who doesn't move unless the commander speaks—in reality, she wasn't that kind of obedient AI at all.
After a silence that lasted an entire song, Lin said flatly: "Prometheus is an AI."
"Eh? That shouldn't be a problem, right? The internet outside is quite into that trope."
"...Would anyone want to reproduce with a computer?"
"Well... wait! You're using a logical fallacy!" Vil-V was almost circled by Lin logic. "No. 1 has a complete personality and a body almost equal to a human's!"
"But she's still an AI, isn't she?"
"But I equipped Prometheus with everything a human has! From appearance alone, she's a perfect girl. Even her personality can be seen as a 'kuudere' type with a bit of a 'mischievous' side, right?"
Lin spread his hands. "But she is an AI."
"...Are you really that conservative in your views?"
"I suppose so."
Vil-V encountered the greatest setback of her life.
"Grand Dr. Vil-V actually wanted you to feel a bit better."
Prometheus, who hadn't spoken in a long time, suddenly spoke in her monotone voice as she walked slowly through the venue with Lin. Walking side-by-side with the physical Prometheus felt like something from a long time ago. Lin remembered that Prometheus seemed to always be there, yet her presence was faint.
She was an AI. Lin was right; her computational logic determined her actions.
"...I know," Lin replied coldly. Everyone he met today was doing the same thing: "comforting" him in their own way. Even if Vil-V's words sounded serious, she knew that Lin, who had lost his sense of touch, had basically lost most normal human functions, including reproduction. She was "joking," and Lin "responded" in his own way. One comforted, the other accepted. That was all.
However, Lin wasn't that fragile. He just had his own logic.
"Lin, what do you think of what Grand Dr. Vil-V said?"
Lin glanced at Prometheus. Was she going to copy Elysia and Vil-V too?
"You are just an AI." Lin view of Prometheus hadn't changed since she was born. It wouldn't change just because she had a physical body or a system upgrade.
"Lin."
Suddenly, Lin vision went pitch black. He instantly lost one of his remaining two important senses, and his body reflexively fell into a state of panic. It wasn't a problem with his eyes; the helmet's monitor had been turned off.
What's going on?
He suddenly remembered that the helmet's system always left permissions for Prometheus. Even with Vil-V's upgrades, the permissions likely weren't deleted.
Prometheus did this? What is she doing?
Without vision, only hearing remained. At this moment, his hearing was magnified to the extreme. He heard the people around him suddenly break into a commotion. But he couldn't feel anything. Aside from "hearing," he lost all perception of the outside world.
Ten seconds later, the helmet's monitor returned to normal. Prometheus was gone. He turned to look for the mechanical girl, but all he could see were the... indescribable expressions on the faces of the people around him.
What happened?