"Just imagine it," Cid continued, lost in his act of playing a naive kid totally fooled by their story. "Imagine me getting on that ship smoothly, joining the church, becoming the Holy Son! Maybe even get a bunch of girls to fall for me, build a harem, reach the peak of my life, yeah!"
He hadn't grasped what Astarte had just hinted at.
'Imagine it,' Astarte processed. 'Is 'imagine' a command?'
Based on her memory banks, 'imagine' or 'think' was a verb. Therefore, 'imagine it' was a command.
As soon as Astarte reached this conclusion, she began to follow the command, thinking along the lines Cid had just laid out.
Normally, even if an artificial lifeform's master ordered it to imagine something, it should reply with "Unknown" or request a new command. Artificial lifeforms lack emotions, and emotions are considered a basis for imagination. So, Astarte's response should have been...
"Command acknowledged," Astarte stated flatly. "Astarte judges that Master cannot board the ship smoothly. This is because Master does not believe he is 'blessed by God' and views this situation as a scam. Therefore, Master will not board the ship tomorrow night to leave this island."
….
Cid's footsteps faltered on the path. Underneath his clothes, black slime began to seep onto the surface of his skin. The constant 1x magic forging he maintained inside his body silently dropped to 0.95x.
"Ha, ha," Cid forced a laugh. "Astarte, you're pretty funny. You actually made me laugh."
Astarte just kept looking at him. Without a new command, she wouldn't move or react.
Cid didn't say anything else either. He acted as if nothing had happened, but he subtly guided them onto a smaller, less-used path.
The sun had set long ago; it was morning for vampires now. The longer Cid and Astarte walked down the narrow path, the fewer people they saw. A dark, windy night... perfect for killing someone...
...
Why hasn't she made a move yet? Cid thought nervously. We're almost home. What did she mean by what she said earlier? And what does she mean by just following me now? Was she... actually just joking?
With that thought, Cid subtly glanced back at Astarte, still walking behind him. He scanned the surroundings again. Just a few hundred meters more to his house. If she was going to attack, this was pretty much the last chance.
The short distance was covered quickly. Cid couldn't be bothered to guess anymore. He decided: forget waiting until tomorrow night, he'd follow her tonight and take care of things himself.
The door lock clicked open. Cid stepped inside, and out of sheer habit, he muttered automatically.
"Want to come in for a bit?"
"Command acknowledged!"
Before Cid could even react, Astarte walked right into his house.
Seeing this, Cid could only stay silent as he walked over and sat down on the sofa.
"Alright, Astarte," Cid said, dropping the act. He couldn't keep pretending anymore. This girl clearly knew he didn't believe their scam. "What are you really after?"
Even if, by some miracle, what she said earlier was a joke...
His own reaction right after saying an artificial lifeform could joke proved he didn't believe her act. That itself showed he knew she wasn't really an artificial lifeform.
"Command identification error. Please restate the order."
Seeing the girl still playing dumb, Cid felt his fists tighten.
"Stop pretending. I haven't met a real artificial lifeform, but I've heard they don't have emotions."
"You're good at acting, almost like the real thing. But you're not. I can still see hints of emotion flicker in your eyes and hear it in your voice."
Astarte absorbed the information in Cid's words, trying to find a command based on her usual protocols.
I... have emotions? What are emotions?
After confirming Cid hadn't actually given her an order, Astarte's mind logged a different piece of information instead.
"I know that scammer uncle sent you to watch me," Cid continued, trying a bluff. "And you probably have some skills. But maybe you don't know which academy I go to. I'm not bragging, but if I don't show up at school tomorrow, Natsuki-chan will storm your base and drag me out by noon."
So just do something already! Cid thought. Report back, try to snatch the necklace back, whatever. Stop just sitting there.
"So, let's make a deal," Cid proposed aloud. "You don't tell the scammer uncle that I know. I'll act like I didn't figure you out. Tomorrow night, I'll still report the scam to the guards, but you can leave before then. I won't tell the guards anything about you."
Liar, he thought. There won't be any guards tomorrow, just a kind soul looking to redistribute some wealth. And you're not getting away. I've already memorized your aura. A quick magic radar scan, and I'll know exactly where you are.
"Command acknowledged."
Astarte stood up and walked towards the door. To Cid, this looked like she agreed to his proposal. As for whether she was lying, Cid didn't sense any deception from her.
Once Astarte had left, Cid pulled out his phone and checked the ship schedules for the next night. Hmm, yep, there was one heading to Western Europe. Leaves at midnight.
….
The next morning. Monday. Time for school, and worse, magic class with Professor Rossweisse. His least favorite class.
Cid glanced at the teacher standing at the front of the room supposedly a former Valkyrie guard for Odin from Norse mythology then went back to focusing on his internal magic forging.
He had to admit, the professor was beautiful. Long, silver-white hair, green eyes, a stunning figure, plus the cool, icy attitude she showed in class. Combined with her professional teacher's outfit, she looked like a capable modern woman.
It was a shame, though. Even though students secretly called her "Little Rossweisse," she wasn't nearly as popular as Natsuki-chan. Maybe because most of the students at this school preferred younger-looking girls?
Of course, he personally preferred Rossweisse. He could create a magic puppet like Natsuki-chan anytime he wanted. Having a real soul? That automatically put Rossweisse way ahead in his book.
And don't ask why a magic swordsman like him had to take magic class. The school's official line was: "You might not need to use magic, but you must understand it."
He actually thought that made sense. But just because it made sense didn't mean he paid attention in Rossweisse's class. He found it totally boring.
Not that Rossweisse was a bad teacher, but her magic level felt weak to him. She was still stuck at the stage of just usingmagic. To get stronger, people at her level usually just tried to learn more spells, instead of improving their actual control over magic itself.
"Mr. Cid, could you please explain the principle behind this spell?"
Looked like his daydreaming got him caught. Rossweisse had called on him.
Cid glanced at the formula on the blackboard. Easy stuff for him. Mentally stripping away all the parts that looked useful but were really just support functions, he could easily see the core conditions needed for the spell to work.
….
Next chapter on my discord:
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