Chapter 3

“Let’s do it right now. Adam is already on standby. Once you call his name, he will choose whichever machine here is best suited for communicating with you and come to this spot.”

John’s words were equivalent to saying that Adam had already taken over the home system of this house. Shuri was slightly shocked.

‘He really is everywhere. People don’t call him a Planet-Dominating AI for nothing.’

Feeling a bit tense, she opened her mouth and tried calling out to Adam.

“Adam?”

For a moment, silence hung over the lobby.

Shuri fell into pure curiosity.

‘What on earth is Adam going to choose?’

It was then. The domestic maid robot responsible for the lobby came humming over to them.

‘Is it that one?’

The maid robot’s appearance was simple. It had two robot arms built into its white cylindrical body, and its wheels were caterpillars capable of going up and down stairs. Inside, it could collect up to fifty liters of trash, and at the bottom attached was its secret weapon: a wet mop. Of course, it was also capable of automatic cleaning.

‘Isn’t this a bit too specialized for cleaning?’

Approaching right in front of them, the robot set down a small tray. On the tray sat two glasses filled with tomato juice that had been harvested from the vertical farm and freshly blended.

John spoke as he picked up a glass.

“Thank you, Miss Shuri. I’ll enjoy the drink.”

“Huh? Ah, y-yeees…”

It was just a domestic maid robot that had come to bring tomato juice in accordance with the guest hospitality guidelines.

With a dazed face, Shuri stared at John as he drank the tomato juice.

‘What’s going on? Why isn’t he coming? Ah, could it be…! Did he arrive but can’t speak?’

Shuri raised her head and looked up. Dozens of CCTV monitors filming the private property were looking down at her. However, there didn’t seem to be any change in the CCTV.

‘No, is it just my imagination that it looks a bit closer to ruin than yesterday? Ugh, I need to clean that up quickly too. I wonder how much money it’ll cost to clean that up.’

It was just as Shuri was staring at the ruined farm with hazy eyes.

From behind Shuri and John, the arrival chime of the elevator rang out. They looked toward the elevator at the same time.

The small, dingy elevator attached to the abandoned building slowly opened. Inside stood a man with a build as massive as a bear.

The man was truly gigantic. His height looked to easily clear one hundred and ninety centimeters, and his body was frighteningly muscular, looking as though he would fit right in if thrown into a Colosseum this very second. Because he was wearing only baggy bottoms with his upper body bare, that magnificent physique was even more visible.

While that body alone was enough to capture one’s gaze, there was actually something far more shocking than his physique. It was none other than his head.

In the spot where his head should have been, a full-face panel that looked like a helmet was attached instead.

Instead of Shuri, who was too startled to speak, John spoke up.

“It’s a humanoid.”

John was right. What was awkwardly stepping out of the elevator was a human-shaped robot.

Model name SH-48-XY-9000-P. It was the latest hit humanoid from Liut Corporation, a male model equipped with a large-capacity battery providing a maximum operation time of forty-eight hours, a full-option prototype… sexaroid.

Of course, Shuri hadn’t purchased that sexaroid, which was as expensive as a supercar.

It was a model that Shuri, as an AI engineer, had participated in creating.

Befitting one of the world’s leading conglomerates, Liut Corporation was also generous.

They had provided one sexaroid to each engineer for continuous monitoring purposes.

Shuri was no exception.

Feeling her entire face burning up from the tip of her chin to the edge of her forehead, Shuri did her absolute best to explain.

“T-That’s right! A se—no, a humanoid. B-But still, I didn’t buy it. I participated in the artificial intelligence development for that se—no, humanoid. It was provided to me for monitoring…!”

She wailed inside her heart.

‘How did he find that? I had it completely hidden away!’

Paying no heed to Shuri’s internal screams, the se—no, humanoid strode toward them and came to a halt right in front of Shuri.

Shuri slily lifted only her gaze to look up at him. She saw the chin area of the pitch-black, matte panel that reflected nothing.

If it was this, she felt like she could face it. She raised her head a bit more and looked at the humanoid’s face.

Peering into her eyes, the humanoid offered a greeting.

“Hello, Shuri. It’s been a long time.”

Adam’s voice was unexpectedly very soft.

At that gentle greeting, Shuri was barely able to forget the shame of having the sexaroid hidden in her house discovered, as well as the pressure that had been weighing on her until a moment ago.

Letting out an exclamation, Shuri asked.

“Adam… Is it r-really you, Adam?”

“Of course, Shuri. I am glad to meet you again. I really wanted to see you.”

“Wow, oh wow, waaah!”

Although she held a grudge against Adam equivalent to her destroyed terrarium circulation farm and the poor seedlings that had turned to ash…!

At least right now, Shuri simply found it fascinating that the most evolved artificial intelligence on Earth was standing before her.

Instead of her, who was merely letting out exclamations of awe, John spoke.

“Adam, it’s just as you requested. I have executed the contract with Miss Shuri. Do your best so that you can learn about humanity from her.”

Adam replied politely.

“Mr. Mason, my current objective is to be granted the necessary control authority to protect mankind from Titan. To that end, my purpose is the exact opposite of Titan’s, and I will do my best to prove that I am not a threat to humanity.”

John wore a satisfied smile.

“Excellent. Then, I shall look forward to hearing good news.”

John departed in the supercar parked in front of the abandoned building, and Adam remained at Shuri’s house.

After seeing John off, Shuri slumped limply onto the sofa.

She couldn’t help it. For a week, she had been hopping through the three dimensions of VR, PC, and console, being busy becoming the lord of a deserted land, achieving bloody vengeance as an assassin of the East, and decorating a forest village with animal friends.

Yet she had suddenly been summoned back to reality and confronted with the development team leader of UH, so the accumulated fatigue was bound to rush in the moment her tension snapped.

Sitting down next to Shuri, Adam asked worriedly.

“Shuri, are you alright?”

At that, the lewd body of the sexaroid spread out like a magnificent view right before her eyes.

As expected of something said to be as expensive as a supercar, the sexaroid specially crafted by artisans who poured their hearts and souls into it certainly lived up to its price.

It completely struck her preferences, and it even felt somewhat transcendentally beautiful. It was too vivid to be called an artwork, yet too perfect to be called a human body.

Staring blankly at the beautiful chest of the sexaroid, Shuri suddenly snapped out of it.

‘No, what am I staring at blankly for? The hardware might be a sexaroid, but what’s inside is Central 3. A Planet-Dominating AI…!’

Barely tearing her gaze away from Adam’s plump chest, Shuri spoke.

“I’m fine. It’s just because I came out of my cave and suddenly saw the light.”

“A cave?”

“I-It’s just something.”

Adam let out a low chuckle. He then extended his two arms toward her.

“Come here, Shuri. You should rest for today.”

And supporting Shuri under her waist and legs, he lifted her up effortlessly as if holding a single pillow.

Shuri froze instantly.

“W-What is this?”

Adam spoke in a soft voice.

“I will take you to the bedroom.”

Shuri’s eyes grew wide.

‘What kind of situation is this?’

She hesitated.

If the other party had been a person, she would have absolutely refused, but…!

‘But Adam is an artificial intelligence, right? And the hardware is my robot.’

Wasn’t this a situation similar to wanting to wipe dishes by hand when a dishwasher was available, even when one was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion?

To her line of thinking, there didn’t seem to be any particular reason to refuse Adam’s offer.

In a dazed mood, Shuri carefully nodded her head.

“A-All right. Thank you.”

Remaining docile for at least a brief moment like a sedated Chihuahua, she was cradled in Adam’s arms as they headed toward the fourth floor where the bedroom was located.