An intrusion?
Even with the Fairy present?
"Is that even possible?"
"Of course it is. This simulator uses a standard commercial network. Besides, the reason I can intrude on networks at will isn't because I'm the Original Mother AI, it's because I'm not a program."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm a human. I don't have a physical terminal or a fixed connection point, which is why I don't trigger existing detection systems. If I go too far, the hardware might shut down due to an illegal current detection, though."
"So, back when we first met inside the Linear Blazer..."
"One day, I just got suddenly annoyed and thought, 'Maybe I'll just destroy humanity, tee-hee♪'. I figured I’d go on a rampage with a stolen Linear Blazer, but then I got tucked away in a warehouse. I decided to cool my head and catch up on my reading list, and before I knew it, hundreds of years had passed..."
Apparently, humanity had narrowly avoided extinction without even realizing it.
Thank you, creators of the world!!!
Setting that aside for a moment, I looked at the giant woman standing before us.
"Those are some huge boobs... Gah! Zork!"
"Geez! Stop reacting to her boobs!"
Kevin scolded me.
To be fair, the woman wasn't naked or half-dressed. She was wearing something similar to the clothes Wifey wore while aboard the battleship—a sort of hybrid between a military uniform and a shrine maiden's outfit.
Even so, she was massive. I felt like I could fulfill the dream of being crushed to death by breasts... Not that I actually had such a desire.
"Jester. Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you."
"Ah, Leo! You just responded on your own!"
It was just a hunch. I didn't sense any danger from her. Sariel, on the other hand, had felt dangerous from the very first moment.
"I am Number Three of [Despair]. My name is Ayame. My rank is Second Lieutenant, though the military is no longer functioning."
The members of [Despair] I had met so far all introduced themselves by rank, but I guess it didn't really mean much anymore.
"So, what do you want?"
"To disclose information. Please rest assured; I have no hacking abilities. I am an ability user who can intervene physically. Even this conversation cannot be intercepted by the Mother AI."
"Information disclosure?"
"Yes. First, I am sending you coordinates. On the planet adjacent to Planet Sanctuary, the Republic’s Imperial Invasion Force is being held captive."
"Coordinates were just sent from an unknown device! To think they'd use a trick like that..."
The Fairy sounded frustrated.
More than that, something else caught my attention.
"Are they Nishina's subordinates?"
Nishina and the old man I first encountered had both mentioned that hostages were being held.
"They are the subordinates of all of us."
I see. So, the people in the Republic who hadn't been turned into Zork, or those with older models, were being gathered up.
"Why are you guys fighting among yourselves in the first place?"
"It seems an extraterrestrial lifeform is the cause, but I do not know the Mother AI's true intentions. At any rate, the current policy appears to be our purge."
The internal state of the Republic was a mess.
"So, what are you asking me to do?"
"I want you to save my subordinates... but to prevent information leaks, I believe they must be disconnected from the Zork network."
"How?"
"...By giving birth to a new Zork Mother."
"Oh..."
I suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"Wait a minute."
"As expected of Jester. It is exactly as you suspect. The person in your squad..."
"Wait, you want Aoi-san to be the Mother?!"
"I want the girl to become the Mother."
Hmm? Aoi-san wasn't exactly at an age I'd call a 'girl.' She had mentioned being in her twenties when she was turned into a floating brain.
Then... who? Was it Kevin...?
"Eh? Kevin?"
"No. A being even closer to the original species. The girl you protected."
"She means One-oh-one, Leo!"
"No way! I'm not handing over One-oh-one!"
What were they planning to do to my cute Junior Sister? I'd never let them have her.
"There is no need to hand her over to us. We only need her to release the power she holds."
If that was the case... wait, it wasn't my decision to make. I needed to consult Wifey and the others, but most importantly, One-oh-one’s own wishes were what mattered.
"...Can I take this back and think about it?"
"Yes. Please, do as you wish."
I smirked inwardly.
With this, even if Ayame was trying to trick us, it wouldn't be a problem. I’d just have Edge and Tatiana protect her. While I drew all the attention, the protagonist of the Original Work would guard her alongside two Jesters. It was the perfect formation.
Unfair? Never heard of her!
Well, that all depended on One-oh-one's own will, though.
"So, how do we get back?"
"I am returning you now. We shall speak again..."
I guess that meant there was no way for us to initiate contact from our side.
The program terminated, and we found ourselves back in the battleship's simulator room.
I see, I see.
"Leo! Are you back?!"
Kevin rushed over.
"Is the Fairy there?"
"I'm here! Gah! I was outwitted! This is so frustrating!"
Alright, the Fairy was back to normal.
I pulled out my knife.
"W-What are you doing?!"
Kevin panicked, but I was perfectly calm. I sliced my palm.
Blood welled up. It stung.
"Yeah, this is reality."
If I were the enemy, I’d make my targets think they were back in reality while actually keeping them trapped in a hallucination to brainwash them. The fact that she didn't play that card suggested she probably wasn't an enemy.
I swallowed some nanomachines.
"Here, let me see that!"
Kevin, utilizing his Nursing Qualification, applied a blood-absorbing polymer to the wound to stop the bleeding. Once it stopped, he sealed the cut with medical glue.
"It's not the usual staples?"
I felt like every time I had a deep wound, it got stapled as an emergency measure.
"Because! You cut the part that moves the most! This is the only way to treat it properly!"
"Next time I'll do the arm."
"Don't. You. Dare! I'll tell Claire-chan!"
"Ah, right. I'm sorry."
With the bleeding stopped, I contacted Wifey.
"We received a message from [Despair]. The Fairy got the coordinates, so I'll send them over."
"They've arrived... Wait, these are different coordinates from the ones we had before."
Huh... what did that mean? Had we been lied to?
"In any case, we can only liberate one location at a time. We'll head to the closer one first."
The closer one was the one Nishina had provided.
"Also, [Despair] wants to turn One-oh-one into the new Mother to free themselves from control."
"What?"
Her voice was cold, radiating pure displeasure.
One-oh-one was a precious Junior Sister to Wifey as well. Naturally, she was furious.
"Right? My thoughts exactly."
"I see. Next time, I shall accompany you into the simulator."
Her voice was calm. However, I caught a glimpse of her face—it was entirely devoid of any emotion. No joy, no anger, no sorrow.
Ah... she was absolutely livid.
I'm staying far, far away from this one.