Chapter 42

Jiss, who had loaded Nightingale onto the cargo bed, approached with a smile.

“Riley, am I in there too?”

Riley pointed at beetle number two with a short, tiny finger.

“Mister.”

At the word mister, Jiss’s face looked as though the heavens had collapsed.

“Why am I a mister?”

Shuri comforted that version of Jiss.

“At least you have your head and thorax separated, Jiss. I’m just one single lump.”

“No, if you look closely at this, it’s a beard!”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Is the stubble that visible? I explicitly shaved yesterday! No, was it the day before yesterday?”

Massaging his scratchy chin, Jiss spoke downcastly.

“It has grown a bit long, I suppose. It cannot be helped. At any rate, since Nightingale is loaded safely, we may depart now.”

Jiss appeared to intend to transport Nightingale to Soul Garden himself. In truth, to transport Nightingale, who hid a massive medical machine beneath her abundant skirt hem, that was the only method. Shuri felt even sorrier toward Jiss.

“Jiss, I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve caused you trouble.”

Jiss shook his head.

“I told you, Shuri. This is all for the sake of little Riley, isn’t it? Please do not consider it a burden.”

Shuri slightly raised her head to look at Jiss’s mouth. Jiss’s lips were tracing an amicable smile.

He instructed in a soft voice.

“If you wish to express your feelings nonetheless, say ‘thank you’ rather than ‘I’m sorry.’”

Tracing a smile along with him, Shuri spoke once more.

“Thank you so very much.”

Jiss laughed refreshingly. It was an immensely crisp smile.

“Splendid. Then, shall we depart now?”

“Yes!”

Shuri also turned around while smiling brightly. Before anyone realized, Adam had come to stand beside Riley. He was speaking like this to Riley.

“Miss Riley, your new residence has been decided. In the future, you shall reside there together with Nightingale.”

Even while speaking like that to Riley, Adam was staring at Shuri. That appearance was identical to the picture Riley drew without fail.

Smiling brightly, Shuri pointed at the picture Riley drew.

“Adam, did you see this?”

Adam answered briefly.

“Yes.”

Without granting even a single glance toward Riley’s picture, he lightly lifted the child who extended their two arms toward him. As they were held in Adam’s massive hand, the tiny Riley clad in purple thermal underwear looked exactly like a single lump of red cabbage.

Just like that, he commanded frostily.

“Come here, Shuri.”

For some reason, Adam appeared to be in a not-so-great mood. Rendered awkward, Shuri nodded her head.

“Ah, understood.”

However, leaving the picture behind just like that was a bit of a pity. Shuri took a good picture of Riley’s drawing, at least with her phone. Afterward, she followed Adam.

Soul Garden greeted them with a slightly altered appearance. The greatest point of difference was that the rough existences had become two.

“Shuri, you’ve come!”

[Everyone, welcome.]

One was, of course, the Director of Soul Garden, Kamal, and the other was a Patrol Bot.
The Patrol Bot, which had once been cut in half by the Human Liberation Front and reduced to the status of a keychain dangling from a machine gun, had regained its original gallant appearance through repairs. And for some reason, it had just settled down permanently at the shelter.

Pointing at the Patrol Bot, Shuri asked.

“Everything is fine, but why is it in this state?”

The Patrol Bot was donning a yellow apron, and stickers were plastered haphazardly all over its armor.

The Patrol Bot answered seriously.

[It is to avoid giving a sense of incompatibility to the children.]

Shuri thought to herself.

‘This is scarier, though?’

Clapping a thick forearm friendlily over the Patrol Bot’s shoulder, Kamal laughed away with a ha-ha.

“Cute, right? Since we have Bokbok-i, it’s immensely reassuring!”

“Bokbok-i…? Why is the name like that?”

“Since it’s a Patrol Bot, it’s Bokbok-i¹.”

[Director. I belong to the CMB, code name PR-32F-A3-04107. Since my identification call name is F-2.07, if you must call me, I prefer you call me Seven.]

Kamal didn’t even pretend to listen to the Patrol Bot’s words.

“Shuri, listen. As you know, though I can handle a bit of close-quarters combat, I’m not good at utilizing guns, right? But our Bokbok-i is capable of covering fire! It’s immensely reassuring.”

“This is… a child shelter, right?”

“Ah, it performs shelter work well too! You have no idea how much the boys love it!”

Kamal appeared happy because the Patrol Bot was present, but Bokbok-i’s heart appeared a bit different.

Striking away Kamal’s hand draped over its shoulder, Bokbok-i spoke in a threatening tone.

[Director, do not touch me unless it is an indispensable situation.]

“Ery, how stingy. It’s just because I attempted to open your lid a bit, and you’re still like this.”

[It is not a lid. It is the Aegis Plate! If the Director attempts to force it open with that ignorant physical strength, it will be damaged.]

“Because I’m curious.”

[Do not harbor curiosity regarding my internal organs!]

Jiss, who had unloaded Nightingale from the truck, also approached them while smiling broadly.

“Oh-oh, it’s a Patrol Bot, isn’t it?”

Jiss slightly tipped his hat toward Kamal to greet him.

“Are you the Director of this shelter? I am the first-class inspector of the Robotics System Evaluation Bureau at UH, Jiss Walker.”

Beholding Jiss, Kamal’s mouth hung wide open.

“Shuri, this time you’ve truly brought a human male…!”

Shuri hurriedly ran over to block Kamal’s mouth, growling like a Chihuahua.

“Please don’t act like a fool…!”

Adam approached them. Smoothly grasping Shuri’s wrist to withdraw it from Kamal, he peered into Kamal’s face and spoke in a clear voice.

“Mr. Walker came to assist us. He assisted in transporting Nightingale all the way here.”

Regaining his freedom to babble, Kamal spoke a greeting to him while laughing affably.

“Adam! Have you been doing well meanwhile?”

“Of course. Thanks to your concern, I have been doing well alongside Miss Shuri.”

“I’ve been doing well thanks to you as well! I don’t know just how much I’ve been indebted. How do I repay all this grace?”

Shuri, whose anger had yet to fully dissipate, growled.

“If you are grateful, please never utter strange sounds!”

As if trying to calm that version of her, Adam firmly wrapped one arm around her shoulder and spoke mildly.

“I merely executed the measures I rightfully had to take. Although it’s a bit odd to phrase it as a substitute for that, is it alright for the medical robot to stay here alongside Miss Riley?”

At Adam’s words, Kamal glared with glare-eyes.

“What? Asking if it’s alright to place a medical robot in our shelter? What do you take our shelter for…!”

Startled, Shuri looked up at the Director with her two eyes as round as a rabbit’s.

‘Does it mean we cannot employ that many robots at the shelter?’

As if just thinking about it was heartbreaking, Kamal clutched his chest and let out a khuk sound.

“If I were to speak regarding our shelter… it’s a place where nobody comes even if I request hundreds of times to send additional personnel! But if it’s that kind of ultra-high-class labor, it’s a welcome thing as a matter of course!”

At Kamal’s words, Shuri swept a hand over her chest in relief, and Adam let out a light chuckling sound.

Kamal’s gaze landed on Nightingale, who was approaching them while cradling Riley.

“Ah, so it’s that fellow.”

Stepping forward vigorously, he shouted.

“Welcome! This is a shelter that has never blocked a coming child!”

Shuri covered her face with both hands out of embarrassment, but Adam went as far as letting out a low chuckle.

“Shuri, as expected, it was a wonderful plan.”

“You should have said those words earlier. It doesn’t fit with right now.”

Whether she was embarrassed or not, Kamal approached Nightingale and Riley while laughing grandly.

Nightingale bowed her head to greet Kamal.

“I look forward to working well with you in the future.”

“Oh-oh, pretty robot young lady! I look forward to working well with you too. And Riley?”

Riley, who had been shoving their own fist into their mouth and sucking smack-smack, looked up at Kamal with eyes as blue as a blueberry candy. Beholding Kamal’s face—which was nothing short of sinister—the large pupils of Riley wavered heavily from dread.

At that, Kamal rapidly pointed at the cat picture attached to the chest of his apron.

“Riley, look at this. It’s a meow-meow, a meow-meow!”

Riley’s gaze naturally shifted toward Kamal’s broad and thick chest. Beholding the cute cat picture, the corners of Riley’s mouth twitched slightly.

Kamal naturally lifted and cradled that version of Riley. The child ended up moving from Nightingale’s embrace to Kamal’s chest like a baby koala. Riley appeared tense at the touch of a stranger. Their plump cheeks, which were sucking smack-smack on their fist, heaved ceaselessly without rest.

Like a professional of child-rearing, Kamal tapped Riley’s back tap-tap and instructed in a soft voice.

“Riley, welcome to our house. Look over there, the friends are waiting. Shall we go say hello?”