Chapter 4

When the elevator doors opened, a spacious area with a massive window revealed itself.

Outside, the sun had already set, and darkness was rolling in. Through the window, she could see Revnax, swirling with brilliant neon signs, and Zone A, shining like another world in the far distance.

Because she had been holed up exclusively in her underground workshop, it was her first time seeing that view in a week. Shuri stared at the night scenery outside as if spellbound, then suddenly snapped out of it.

“T-Thank you. You can put me down now.”

Stepping down from Adam’s arms, she took out a pair of slippers, handed them to him, and requested, “Since it looks like we’ll be living together for the time being, I’m telling you this. You know the saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do,’ right?”

“Of course I know it.”

“It’s a rule in our house. Please wear slippers in the bedroom whenever possible. And the most important thing! Do not get on the bed with shoes on.”

Adam nodded obediently.

“I will do so, Shuri.”

Adam took off the shoes the sexaroid was wearing and slid his feet into the slippers.

Compared to his massive feet, the slippers were pitifully small, but he didn’t seem to care much.

Shuri thought to herself, ‘I should order the largest size of slippers.’

Borrowing Shuri’s slippers, Adam walked awkwardly, heading toward the bed this time.

Shuri shouted, “W-Wait a minute!”

Adam turned his head and looked at her.

Baffled, Shuri asked, “Are you going to use the bed too?”

Adam let out a light chuckle, as if asking why she was questioning something so obvious.

He then spoke in a soft voice.

“Of course I am going to do that, Shuri.”

It was a shameless attitude, as if he were someone who had slept only in beds his entire life and had never even thought about sleeping anywhere else.

Shuri was a bit dumbfounded, but on the other hand, she thought it might be for the best.

She couldn’t just stand the sexaroid equipped with Adam against the wall like a vacuum cleaner. That would be a bit pitiful and creepy.

She had no choice but to nod her head.

“Fine. It can’t be helped. But Adam, if you don’t mind, could you wash up thoroughly and change your clothes before lying on the bed?”

Although that sexaroid looked clean, it had been stuffed inside the dressing room for a long time. There was no telling how much fabric dust it had gathered. She couldn’t let something like that lie on the bed.

However, Adam, who had been following her words so well up until now that he had obediently put on the character slippers, let out a puzzled sound.

“Wash up?”

Shuri was startled.

Did Adam, who always fought fiercely against bioterrorism at the very frontlines of quarantine, somehow forget the importance of hygiene?

“Ah, my apologies. It is my first time possessing a body. Naturally, I have never washed a body before, either.”

It seemed the theory that the only thing lacking in the perfect Central 3 was embodied learning was actually true.

Shuri nodded in spite of herself.

“I-I suppose so.”

“Shuri.”

Adam spoke in an innocent voice, his shoulders drooping slightly.

“Teach me how to wash.”

Shuri wrapped herself tightly in a bathrobe, offering instructions with a defensive posture.

“T-This is strictly a secret!”

Slowly scanning the bathroom with curiosity, Adam nodded.

“Of course.”

He then turned toward her.

“All right, Shuri. Will you teach me how to wash?”

Then Adam began to undo his belt. It was probably because controlling his movements was still awkward, but he did it very slowly.

At Adam’s movements, his pants slid down to the floor, revealing his lower body dressed only in drawers. Inside the skin-tight black drawers, something like a missile was flaunting a massive presence.

‘Ugh.’

Shuri earnestly prayed in her heart that Adam would remain eternally incurious about that as she spoke.

“T-Take everything off and go sit in the bathtub. I’ll tell you how to wash!”

Once Adam actually got into the tub and sat down, her pointless thoughts vanished. Shuri shifted halfway into work mode and explained diligently.

“This is a shower loofah. You squeeze body wash onto this, lather it up, and then wipe your entire body. Even if you’re a se—no, a humanoid, this hardware was specially crafted, so you can think of it exactly like human skin. It’s completely waterproof, so don’t worry.”

When Shuri created a lather with the shower loofah to show him, Adam diligently fiddled with it with his massive hands as if fascinated—right up until all the bubbles popped.

Looking down at his soap-covered hands, Adam marveled.

“Shuri, the sensation is strange.”

Shuri couldn’t help but chuckle. An artificial intelligence cramming his massive body into a pretty ceramic bathtub and enjoying touching soap bubbles—how could anyone look at this sight and not laugh?

“Is that really so fascinating? Then, do you want to see this too?”

Shuri got some soap suds on her hand and blew a breath, letting out a gentle whoosh.

At that, a large soap bubble formed.

Adam was intensely thrilled, even cupping his cheeks(?) with both hands.

“Shuri, magnificent. By lowering the surface tension of the water molecules with amphiphilic soap molecules, a liquid film was formed, trapping air inside!”

“What’s with that commentary?”

Her tension melting away, Shuri burst into laughter.

“It sounds like some kind of ultimate move!”

“If you wish, should I create a name for an ultimate move based on the formation process of soap bubbles?”

“Don’t you dare…!”

Instead of letting him create an ultimate move name, Shuri blew continuous breaths for Adam, making a whole bunch of soap bubbles.

Amid the soap bubbles sparkling in rainbow colors, Adam looked joyful.

Even though she was completely out of breath, Shuri smiled proudly.

‘He likes it like a baby. Central 3 has a cute side to him, doesn’t he?’

However, it wasn’t a task suitable for someone with a poor lung capacity. Panting for air, Shuri went completely limp.

‘I’m dizzy and hot…!’

She slumped down onto the edge of the bathtub, wheezing. Her hair hung limp, damp with sweat and moisture, and before she knew it, her soaked bathrobe felt incredibly heavy.

Shuri spoke in an exhausted voice, “Y-You know how to wash now, right? Once you’re done washing, you just go into the dryer to remove the moisture.”

However, Adam seemed to have no intention of leaving the bathtub.

Relaxing his body leisurely inside the tub, Adam spoke.

“What about you? Aren’t you going to wash?”

“Once you get out, I’ll…”

“Don’t be like that, come here.”

Adam reached out and pulled her.

Shuri, who had been sitting on the slippery edge of the bathtub, was dragged in like a dazed fisherman captured by a siren. In the blink of an eye, she was held tightly against his broad chest.

Shuri let out a shriek.

“W-What is this?”

“I will wash you. Since I learned how, I should practice.”

Adam’s voice was innocent, but the grip strength pulling her robe’s sash was anything but. With just two motions, her heavily soaked bathrobe went flying.

Instantly left stark naked, Shuri desperately curled her body into a small ball and shouted,
“Practice on your own body…!”

“Shuri, you always said you wanted a machine that washes your body for you. Here it is.”

“How did you know that?”

Adam burst into laughter.

“Every time you went to a science expo, you wrote down ‘a machine that washes my body’ under ‘things I wish for when science advances.’”

“…!”

As expected, it was just like the all-knowing Adam.

The all-knowing Adam asked in a voice laced with amusement, “Why are you being so shy? Could it be that I feel like a human to you?”

Shuri was deeply shocked by his words.

“W-Who do you take for a fool…!”

She was a cold, clear-headed AI engineer from the freezing Zone F. She would absolutely never confuse an AI with a human!

‘That’s right. Adam isn’t a human, he’s an artificial intelligence. He’s even the one I took charge of for humanity training…!’

Tightly hugging her knees with both arms, Shuri nodded.

“You’re going that far? Fine, do whatever you want!”

As if he had been waiting for this, Adam brought the showerhead over the crown of her head.

“Now, close your eyes. I’ll wash your hair first.”

“Pff-ff.”

“Watch out for the water. If you feel any discomfort, tell me right away.”

Using his fingertips to lather her hair, Adam spoke in a joyful voice.

“Wow, it’s really small. Shuri, your head is small and round, and your hair is so soft. This really requires precise control.”

Spitting out water like someone standing under a waterfall, Shuri said, “I-It’ll be good practice for your movement controls!”

“Of course.”

Sure enough, the learning speed of the most powerful artificial intelligence on Earth was rapid. The touch of his hands washing her hair felt to the point of a skilled hairdresser.

“Shuri, do you normally use hair treatment?”

The hairdresser-like nagging was a bonus. Shuri groaned.

“It’s a hassle…”

“That’s understandable. Since there are plenty of other things you have to worry about.”

Combing through her hair with his fingers, Adam spoke in a tender voice.

“I will do it for you from now on.”

‘From now on?’

Shuri sensed something strange in Adam’s words.

‘Just how long does he plan on staying here?’