No Game No Life - Volume 9 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 
RETRODUCTION 
 
It was in the Eastern Union’s capital island—its capital city, Kannagari. There lived the Eastern Union’s creator, a golden fox whose residence was known as the Shrine. Currently, in this place where Werebeasts came to venerate her much as a living god— 
“…You lot… I’ve been trying my best to keep my mouth shut, but…” 
—there was the fox, first of all, whose patience at last wore thin as she finally opened her mouth to speak. She was a woman with a monocle and fox ears, her two large tails covered in lustrous fur. The founder of the Eastern Union and the agent plenipotentiary of Werebeast, the Shrine Maiden, watched— 
“Hmm? Oh, we’re just makin’ ourselves at home. Don’t mind us.” 
“…Keep calm…and carry on…” 
“That you would fail to provide us with the grace of tea speaks volumes about the quality of your country, does it not? …Oh. Pardon, now that I think about it, I should scarcely enjoy to be served pet food. I must then commend you on your excellent discernment of your place.” 
—as the group that had warped into the Shrine out of nowhere, without any proper greeting, had proceeded to lounge on the sofas quite at ease. They were Sora and Shiro, and the smiling Flügel Jibril, who scarcely had the standing to lecture anyone about politeness. One other personage was observing this brazen bunch. 
“Holy Shrine Maiden. All you must say is ‘ Get out ,’ and I shall expel these ruffians posthaste.” 
It was the aging Werebeast Ino Hatsuse, smiling as a blood vessel or two bulged from his face. Meanwhile, warping behind him upside down, Jibril went on smiling back. 
“Dear me. It seems a little doggy has announced that he will expel my masters and their humble servant, yours truly. I must be hearing things. Typically, even animals are able to exercise proper judgment in whom they bite. ? ” 
“Ha-ha-ha, pardon me; I had imagined that even a birdbrain would understand the Ten Covenants. However, put your mind at ease. Even uncomprehending riffraff such as yourselves will be swiftly removed from the property of the Holy Shrine Maiden upon the retraction of your permission to stay.” 
— We still have a long way to go toward racial harmony , reflected Sora, Shiro, and the Shrine Maiden. 
Once Ino had finished exchanging piercing glares with Jibril, he turned to Sora and Shiro. 
“I expected that even you hairless monkeys would have perceived that there were more important matters at the current juncture.” 
This section of the Shrine they had all gathered in was called the Annex. Looking up, they saw five screens of various sizes suspended from the ceiling. On them were five Werebeasts, presumably representing the Eastern Union in games. One of those Werebeasts they knew well. 
Fennec fox ears and a big tail. A little girl, now crimson all over. It was Izuna Hatsuse in bloodbreak mode, running around the cyberspace city in heated virtual battle. 
“…Dwarf? …Hardenfell? Looks like an ass-handing.” 
It was the first time Sora had seen them, but, from the physical characteristics, it would appear that the opponent was Ixseed Rank Eight, Dwarf. A high race just below Elf—but against Izuna, they weren’t playing around so much as being played with. Other screens showed other opponents, but they were pretty much all getting rekt. 
“This I’ll thank you for, loves. We’ve got all our bloodbreakers out in the field, with the exception of us two old ones. And the fish are biting.” 
The Eastern Union had its full-dive VR games and its best gamers in full operation. They didn’t have time to chop all the fish that were coming for their block, looking, presumably, for hints as to Sora and Shiro’s true nature. So, as she of course grasped that Sora and Shiro were the ones behind it and acknowledged her indebtedness— 
“So? You come knowing that we’re busy, and you’re in the way… Might I ask what you’re after?” 
—she first gave a chuckle at Izuna’s leaping for joy at victory and then, back in her rhythm, she turned back to Sora and Shiro and asked. 
“Sure. Frankly, we’re just really uncomfortable at the castle right now. Like, scared. So we came to hide here. You see…” 
Sora’s voice suddenly dropped an octave. The Shrine Maiden and Ino narrowed their eyes. 
“This shit is actually kinda serious. We need your help—especially Gramps’.” 
“…Mine, you say…?” 
—The Shrine Maiden and Ino knew a thing or two about Sora by now. Sora, who always acted so aloof, so comfortable and audacious—was actually just a poseur. He’d never say it himself, and he’d never admit to it. But he knew this all too well, and since he had no mind to belie his true nature, certain others—Shiro, for starters—knew it, too. There had never been a time Sora was comfortable. Not once. He was always serious, always trying hard, searching desperately for ways out, clinging for dear life to Shiro. For this man to be evidently uncomfortable, and, of all things, to ask Ino Hatsuse for help… Anyone could see it was no trifle that Sora was most solemn to introduce. 
“—I’m too popular. With maid robots. Save me.” 
“…………” 
I’m too popular. Ah, one of those lines all male-born individuals would like to say at least once. A line that, when actually heard from another, inspires the will to punch him in the face with all one’s might. But, ah… At last Sora felt he understood. I’m too popular. I’ve got too much money. Those were the lines—but! When you were actually in a position to say those lines, it really wasn’t awesome at all !! Those guys actually had real problems . Serious problems! Far too grave to be written off with envy and an “I wish…”!! 
“King Sora, it sounds as if the situation is in fact quite serious. Allow me, Ino Hatsuse, to provide what little succor I can.” 
As the agonized Sora wept internally, Ino gallantly nodded and placed his hand on his shoulder. With a warm and trusting smile, he added: 
“If I may, Your Majesty… There is not a soul in heaven or on earth who would love you. Please rein yourself in. This is a mere obsessive fantasy, an idle delusion. I suggest that you take a nice, long rest.” 
Ino’s pitying eyes made the subtext clear: Those babes of yours exist only in your imagination. 
“…Ino Hatsuse. Fetch my private physician…” 
“I am at your bidding, O Holy Shrine Maiden, but is this not the ideal opportunity to allow King Sora to pass away?” 
“You say the chief of the Commonwealth is delirious? Think of what it could mean for our country. Let’s have him die some other—” 
Sora would have interposed in the free discourse of the two. 
“…Acquiring Master. Lösen: Asura-Apokryphon.” 
However, another person’s voice echoed from the void, their presence speaking much louder than words— 
“ Discovery: Master located at last. Reward: Explain reason for move to these coordinates.” 
A maid robot stood in the Annex of the Shrine as if she’d been there all along: the violet-haired Ex Machina, Emir-Eins, tilting her head quizzically. In contrast, gaping even more bewilderedly than the Shrine Maiden or Ino— 
“Hey, wai— How’d you figure out…? How’d you even get here?!” 
—Sora thought better than to answer, Because I wanted to get away from you guys. 
“ Reply: Reopened fissure in space left by Irregular Number. Time elapsed. Apologies for making Master wait.” 
Emir-Eins apologized for entirely the wrong thing, and Jibril’s face appeared strained. Jibril had shifted them someplace Ex Machina wouldn’t be able to, as they couldn’t see the place and didn’t know it. She’d thought they wouldn’t even be able to track them, yet they’d reopened her hole in space. It hadn’t even taken an hour. One could hardly imagine Jibril’s mental state, but— 
“…It seems…I have underestimated my opponent once more…” 
—given the murderous intent in her voice, it was quite clear that her pride had taken a hit— 
“—Wha…? Is it Ex Machina?! How—?!” 
—all the while, Ino had recovered from stupor enough to shout, and the Shrine Maiden was now on her guard. But leaving all that in the dust, Emir-Eins— No, the Ex Machina just proceeded indifferently. That is to say: 
“ Lösen: Love Success Situation Forme—Checkmartyr—Prototype 0008. ” 
This came not from Emir-Eins’s mouth, but once again from the void—from several voices. This time, the interior of the Annex of the Shrine was rewritten into a different world. In contrast to the Shrine Maiden and Ino, who watched aghast, Sora and Shiro watched calmly, sighing: 
— Seriously. These guys could make the perfect stage equipment. 
The events unfolding further confirmed Jibril’s records. And just as the echoing voice had said, this was the eighth time this space-rewriting shit had gone down. Ninth, if you counted when they first showed up. It was getting old. Per the book’s writings, it seemed they added matter to rewrite the scenery without changing the matter that was there. Complex lines raced through space, forming polygons, rendering images. Intermittently, chaotically, yet steadily, that which lay above the surfaces of matter—the void—was filled at high speed by the 3-D textures spat out by Ex Machina to build a virtual environment. 
…Make no mistake, this was still the Annex of the Shrine. Still matted with tatami. But no one would think it was in this state—not even the Shrine Maiden, who lived here. Time, space, nay, causality itself were transcended to loose a sight to behold— 
“………” 
First, there was Sora, suddenly clad in a suit. 
“…You wanna see my panties? I’ll show them to you… ? Because I love you, Teacher… ? “ 
“Oh, no faaair! Teacher’s thing belongs to me! Right, Teacher? ? “ 
“Um, Teacher? When I think about you, I start to feel all funny…down here. I wonder why?” 
“Teacher! ? I want you to give me another…private health lesson. ? “ 
Then there were girls wearing backpacks, spouting out lines that would be difficult to write while sober. 
…Altogether, there were eleven schoolgirls as small as Shiro—or even smaller—who we are certainly not saying were elementary school–aged. So here they were, after school in a virtual elementary school. Among the transfigured Ex Machinas was a quiet girl in glasses and a tough little tomboy. But all were in fierce competition for their one true love, Mr. Sora, and a certain “fatal act.” Something like that. 
…A fearsome power had created an even more fearsome and ridiculous sight. Everyone was dumbfounded. Only the girls in question continued to clamor on. 
“Ooooh… We’ll never settle this at this rate…” 
“Okay, then whoever makes Teacher feel the best gets to keep him!” 
“Okaaay!” 
“All righhht, I’m not gonna lose, so watch my smooth, flat little—” 
“Like hell, it’s okay!! Knock it off, you psychos!!” 
As their folly approached its inevitable conclusion— We should all just do it first! —and the little girls began to pull off their clothes, at last, Sora’s mighty roar shook the classroom. 
“Hell no, hell no! I’m not doing it with any of you! And none of you gets to keep me, okay?!” 
At the back of the classroom were Shiro, seated with her hand on her cheek; the Shrine Maiden in a sailor uniform; and Ino, practically busting out of his schoolboy uniform. They were all staring at Sora as if he were dirt, and Sora yelled as if it were capable of chasing this fact from his awareness. 
“Why nottt?! Because we’re kids?!” 
“Don’t you know all characters depicted are age eighteen or over?!” 
“Shut the hell uuup! That’s not even the issue! All the organizations and important people and stuff, they never listen to that kind of logic; if you’re gonna do that kind of crap, you gotta gate it at least! You wanna get me locked up?!” 
After shouting the little girls down, at last, Sora clutched his head and pleaded: 
“…Please. I’m begging ya. Just, get lost for a while… ’Kay? …Seriously.” 
As if they’d finally concluded that he meant it, the polygons broke. The sunset classroom turned back into the good old tatami room as if nothing had happened, and the self-described elementary school students of most dubious legality reverted compliantly to their proper forms. Back in the Annex of the Shrine with eleven non-loli maid robots, transcendental computers far beyond oracle machines—scratch that, beyond hypercomputers—used their staggering power for purposes most pointless and analyzed the data without evident emotion. So— 

* * * 
“—Target sexual arousal index curve analyzed. Resistance factor speculated. Initiating adjustment deliberation.” 
“Sexual arousal confirmed above baseline. Moral conflict speculated. Searching for solution.” 
—Having freely laid bare Sora’s sexual predilections, they calmly began shifting home. 
“Hey, don’t just slander me and then leave!! King Sora loves boobies, too, y’know?!” 
Sora stood in the Annex of the Shrine, screaming at the sky as the veritable shitstorm faded into nothingness, and then there was silence. 
…Uh… 
“…So. Would you care to explain?” 
“Explain what? I told you, I’m just too popular with maid robots!” 
The insanity had raged beyond comprehension. The Shrine Maiden was too nonplussed to even be disgusted. Sora tore at his hair. 
“They’re telling me I gotta make babies with one of ’em! D00d, this is the worst thing ever!!” 
—That was the style of their approach. And note this was the eighth time. 
It wasn’t so bad at first. They’d come on to him doing it wrong in the plebeian way that made you want to tell them off. Like, there’d be eleven childhood friends going, “Let’s go to school together! ? ” Eleven childhood friends he’d never seen before. And they wanted to go to school together. They didn’t have a clue about childhood friends or Sora’s willingness or lack thereof to go to school. Then, boom, there were eleven big sisters, eleven widows…and so on…and so forth… What next, eleven samurai? He sneered, and that was that—until… 
“…But it doesn’t seem you were entirely indifferent, does it, lad?” 
“That’s why I’m saying it’s scary, d00d. Those Ex Machinas, they know no limits… What a fearsome race—!!” 
The Shrine Maiden’s cool sarcasm was met by Sora with a trembling fist and a puckered expression. Indeed…while their approaches had been so far off the mark each time, with each trial, they grew closer and closer. Using their absurd powers of observation, analysis, computation, and adaptation, the Ex Machinas were able to infer from Sora’s reactions what his preferences were, and they steadily adjusted the scenario to hit him where it counted. 
The fact that Sora was okay with Loli owed a great deal to the fact that his little sister was just too beautiful . The Ex Machina had yet to get a read on that, but their approximations were drawing ever closer—!! 
“…Brother, you’ve got…a nosebleed…” 
Even now, here he was, drawing Shiro’s squinty condemnation. But Sora blocked her opinion and her gaze with both hands and shook his head melodramatically. 
“ NO. That’s a big fat NO… Shiro, my little sister. Mark your elder brother’s words.” 
Out of a hundred healthy young men in the world, probably a hundred would agree with this statement. It was his conviction. No. His faith! Sora, thus, explicated the truth —!! 
“Even if the lass be one he himself fancies not, he who is born male must, of necessity, experience an unbridled yearning which enjoins him: I wanna be popular with girls!! An ambition? Nay—it is the very driving force of what it means to be a man—!!!!” 
If there be any man who might dissent, let him step forth. I will then humbly withdraw my long-cherished belief. Acting as they might be, they were just the sort of luscious ladies he craved. Mistaken as they might be, they were that sort of girl that had fallen in love with him! This being so—!! 
“Reckon the seductions I have endured and observe the diamond bulwark of reason with which I have stood out against them! Do you not find it worthy of praise? Yea, and if not praise, certainly no blame—is this not so—?!” 
He was getting a little carried away by being popular for the first time in his life. That he wouldn’t deny—but! What man in the world could blame him? Sora’s impassioned case wound up. 
—Clapping. Sighs. 
The clapping was from Ino and Jibril, struck to the heart by this fine speech, wiping their tears. The sighs were from the Shrine Maiden and Shiro, unpossessed of any more attractive way to respond than to roll their eyes. 
Bathing in a sea of both accolade and censure, Sora still acknowledged it: That his dear diamond of reason had survived every trial unscathed owed entirely to— 
“ Lösen: Love Success Situation Forme—Checkmartyr—Prototype 0009. ” 
Wait—here once again, out of the blue, the polygons raced through the room and distorted its aspect. Ex Machina’s tenth rewriting of space, all told, the sight—indeed, that very sight was that to which Sora owed the soundness of his reason—that being— 
“Heh. That girl who was saying she liked me? I feel sorry for her, but I had to decline…” 
“…Hey. I didn’t ask you anything. What are you babbling about, you pervbot?” 
—Einzig. 
The sunset streamed in from the small window. This seemed to be the basketball club’s room. Clad in uniform, Einzig languidly began dialogue with no context. Sora, finding himself involuntarily in the same costume, answered unenthusiastically, but— 
“…Hmm, you ask why I declined?” 
“I said I didn’t ask anything! Nor do I care— H-hey, get away from me; go away!” 
With little regard for his opinions or consent, the kink machine advanced on the frightened Sora with the smile of a true sportsman. 
“Don’t make me say it… The only one this unit— Excuse me, this man loves is—” 
“SHUT UUUUUUUP!! GAAAH!! GRAAAH!! STFUUUUUUUU!!” 
The advances of pretty girl robots might have chipped Sora’s diamond. However, the advances of the flaming gay robot switched the focus from his reason to his sanity and shriveled him in horror. 
“You just try to finish that sentence! I’ll run away someplace you can never see me again!” 
— You know, such as the afterlife! It was enough to make Sora shout. The memories responsible for his horror spun through his brain like the zoetrope of his last moments. 
 
He wasn’t going to let them win that easily. That was the resolve with which Sora had begun his chess match against Ex Machina. But, of course, it ended quite one-sidedly. He must have known it would. Even so… 
“…………Shit…” 
“…Brother… It’s all, right…okay…?” 
Shiro hugged and whispered to Sora as he cursed at the board. 
— I knew it. I’m not like Shiro. 
Sora ground his teeth. No ordinary person could see through all the possible states of the chessboard so as to call it tic-tac-toe. His opponent, Ex Machina, had been a transcendent computer—there was no way he could out-read them in perfect play. Even so, he’d lost tens of thousands of times to Shiro. Regardless, he’d concocted countless strategies, countless conventions to beat Shiro, which she’d thereafter beaten. He’d applied those, he’d even tried to exploit the errors common to machines and misdirect them, but it was utterly ineffective. As Einzig said with evident pleasure: 
“…You truly are the Spieler… To force us into a stalemate…” 
Yes, it ended in a stalemate—which meant abject failure. 
He couldn’t win. At some point in the game, Sora had decided as much. So he’d focused on stalemating. The first player to move always has the advantage in chess, and if he’s only aiming for a stalemate, all the more. 
…He’d played a transcendent computer that never fell for the same tactic twice, always adapted, and he hadn’t lost . Shiro aside, for Sora, wouldn’t you say that that was a phenomenal accomplishment? Might that not be what the clinging Shiro and the watching Jibril and Steph were thinking? 
But it was all for naught. One of the appended rules was A stalemate shall constitute Ex Machina’s victory . Whether he lost or he stalemated, the outcome was the same. Even so, he’d simply insisted on his pride that told him: Like hell I’m gonna let ’em win. This could not satisfy him. He gritted his teeth at this travesty, this shame. But Einzig— No, Emir-Eins, too— 
“—I could see your will in your play. You must be the Spieler.” 
—all the Ex Machinas grinned strangely at Sora. 
……? 
No one got it: neither Sora nor Shiro, neither Jibril nor Steph. 
“Well then, in any case, it is our victory. Allow us to enforce our demands as per the Covenants.” 
But apparently having no mind to explain, Einzig stood. 
“Gahhhh! Shit! Okay! I lost, fair and square!!” 
Sora unleashed an explosion of desperate self-righteousness. He could mope and pout all he wanted, but it wouldn’t change a thing. Regrets and countermeasures were for later! The question at hand was what to do now ?!! Having so deftly transitioned his thinking, Sora pointed at Einzig and crowed. 
“But guess what? You bastards—you never said when and with whom !” 
And that was exactly what had been so queer about their demands. Sora watched for a reaction. 
These were the guys who had just trapped him so easily. They couldn’t have overlooked such a glaring flaw. There was something more. Some ulterior motive. Sora’s eyes searched for it. Einzig peered right back. 
“Quite naturally. Who would dare to coerce love? It is your choice, Spieler, whom to cherish.” 
“…Hmmm… I seem to remember someone being awfully coercive recently, but maybe I’m just imagining things… That’s the biggest surprise today,” Sora quipped. 
Einzig smiled in earnest—or at least, as far as Sora could tell. Was it even possible to see through a machine’s lies? Wait, was it even possible for machines to lie ? 
Einzig responded, “Yes…and thus, we would that you provide us immediately with only specific information .” 
Sora squinted at him carefully. Despite the vague bullshit, there had been one demand he’d have to comply with immediately. It was among the additions: Immediately provide us with information about your preferences… 
Sora still couldn’t get what their deal was, or the point of such vague demands. Perhaps when he found out just what they wanted, he could figure out their intentions. Did they really mean to be his allies, or could it be —? Sora glared as Einzig went on. 
“Ex Machina suffers most indecorously from a dearth of information by which we might be loved by you.” 
…… 
“You must be more specific! Under what conditions will you love this unit? How must I express this love in order for you to accept it? It is the data by which to unravel these puzzles that we lack!” 
The Ex Machina girls nodded in unison at Einzig’s speech. Sora was busy groaning and holding his violently throbbing head, so Steph checked for him: 
“Umm… So Sora is supposed to do…uh, you know , with just one of you?” 
They nodded back, Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 
“…And…you each…want him…to pick you, alone…?” Shiro asked. 
They nodded back, Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 
“And thus, you desire to know what you must do for my master to love you,” Jibril added. 
And they nodded back, Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. 
Could it be— this was really all it was ? Still holding his head, Sora looked at Einzig and squeezed out his voice. 
“…I can say one thing: I have no data for the likes of you!” 
“Wh-what? Why, Spieler?!” 
“How do you expect me to love a flaming gay robot slinking and twisting right in front of me?! It’s impossible !” 
He pushed back the slinking pervert—quite literally, with a mighty kick that sent him back into the wall. 
Emir-Eins took over by making one calm and simple demand. 
“ Determination: List of required information: Master’s porn. End.” 
“…Prawn? Why has the conversation turned to talk of cuisine?” 
“Oh, little Dora, you mustn’t be so demure. You know as well as anyone that we speak of my master’s masturbatory media. ? ” 
Oh! Now she remembered. Jibril continued on as Steph blushed. 
“But why his pornography? How could it bear on being loved?” 
The befuddled Jibril was answered by Shiro’s bemused whisper. 
“…Brother’s, pornos…could show them, what he likes… Ex Machina, is dangerous… An enemy …!” 
They could reveal his preferences, allowing the robots to act accordingly—and make him fall in love with them. Now Shiro saw their dire and cunning plot. She shook and bit her nails. Beside her… 
“…………” 
…Sora, besieged on every side by unbridled sexual harassment, exhaled, looked at the ceiling, and thought. The Ex Machinas had shown up out of nowhere, come after him, again out of nowhere, and beaten him at a game, yet again, out of nowhere. And now this— What did I do to deserve this? 
“…Well… I guess I lost… Ha-ha, ha… Sigh… ” 
Having shed a solitary tear, he pulled out his tablet. Though he regretted it, just as Emir-Eins had determined, he had porn. Which she’d demanded he surrender. He’d sworn by the Covenants. He couldn’t refuse. But then, she could have demanded something really devastating. Perhaps he should be grateful she was satisfied with sexually humiliating him. And so he wiped his hand on his shirt and handed Emir-Eins the tablet. 
“ ? Ecstasy…” 
Emir-Eins lowered her head in thanks, and their fingers brushed against one another just for a moment, allowing Sora to confirm: No static discharge. 
“But I’m just showing you my porn. You can’t look at any of the other data, and you obviously can’t destroy any of it, all right?” 
“……Hmm? This— Spieler, is this a storage mechanism for your secret books?” 
“ Inference: Unknown recording medium. Stores multiple data files… Searching for operation method.” 
Einzig had returned from the wall. He and Emir-Eins inspected the slab dubiously. Sora interjected. 
“It’s in there. I opened the folder for you, so…the rest is up to you.” 
Yes—this was payback, a fine troll indeed. He smirked evilly. 
“……? ……?” 
Seeing all the Ex Machinas puzzle over how to analyze it, Sora sneered duskily to himself. It was a tablet PC, an electronic device from another world. Sure, they’d messed with his smartphone, but that was because he’d left the radio on. All the data in the tablet was recorded in otherworldly language and otherworldly programming. And he’d forbidden them to view or destroy the non-pornographic material, so they couldn’t use brute force. Moreover, Emir-Eins’s nonconductive fingers wouldn’t work on the touch screen. 
“I gave you what you demanded. Didn’t say I’d include support. ? ” 
“…This man truly is no pushover…” 
Steph had to admit she was impressed that Sora had still been able to flip over his defeat. But Sora was grinning, That’s not all , which only Shiro on his lap noticed. 
“But dear me… The only pornography I can recall in my master’s possession is the recordings of little Dora and others in the bath… What use would such information as that serve?” 
“—Hey, that’s true, isn’t it? Why are you dragging me into this?!” 
It was unlikely that even Jibril had read everything they had on their tablet. She might have managed to decipher the language of another world, but still, there were many concepts and assumptions that would be unknown to her. Even though Jibril knew from an in-depth survey of the tablet’s contents that there was hardly a wealth of porn within it… 
“ Observation: …Cannot detect lie in Master.” 
…Emir-Eins merely stared at Sora in response, as if analyzing him. But the outcome was preordained. There was no point in anyone trying to lie to someone assumed to be able to read their biological responses. 
“ Addendum: Cannot detect lie in Irregular Number or Immanity woman.” 
Just as he’d said, Sora had handed them his porn folder; he just hadn’t explained how to read it. There was no falsehood in that, nor did it violate the Covenant. As Sora’s grin carved ever deeper into his face— 
“ Comparison: However, cannot detect Master acknowledgment of statements of two .” 
—these next words of Emir-Eins froze him in place. 
“ Conclusion: Provided information is camouflage. Presence of more important information speculated. Request to Einzig: Use situational judgment as coordinator. Aus. ” 
 Wha-wha—wha…wha…whaaaaat?! 
“Einzig to all Seher and Prüfer: Analyze the principle of this medium!” 
“—Jawohl.” 
“Whoaaa! H-heyyy now, can’t you wait just a moment?!” 
The Ex Machinas calmly began their analysis in spite of Sora’s hollering, and before he was even finished, their calculations had culminated into the following report: 
“Analysis complete. Records determined as data for catalytic stimulation. Pattern analysis: Object identified as data processing unit employing binary code by means of combination of conducting and insulating material. No patterns match known data formats. New compatibility layer required. Unknown current unrelated to spirits also detected as method. Loading—extraction of data by voltage load—may damage data or medium.” 
“A-all right, then you can’t! You can only touch the porn—” 
While taken aback that they’d figured out that much in an instant, Sora cut them off. But the subsequent merciless blow came from Emir-Eins. 
“ Instruction: Search for data structures that fulfill sharing conditions. Sort key: None. Target: All.” 
“Hey, hold on there! I didn’t say you could view all the data!” 
“ Rebuttal: Meaning of data not identified. Therefore, Search All not privacy violation.” 
—B-bastard—! 
“Search complete. Records found in deep archive. Catalyst degradation suggests heavy access. Data structures meet sharing conditions: usage frequency, active time, hidden status. Inferred to be porno.” 
—Hey, hey, come on, now—! They could see through his lie that he wouldn’t lie… Under these conditions, we can roll with that. But to see through his rhetoric that Here’s the porn (but I never said all the porn) —and then to find the rest of the porn—come on —! 
“Judged feasible to load and copy area containing relevant records only by placing limited spirituelectric load. If data is then synthesized and decrypted, porn can be acquired.” 
“— Confirmation: Master, authorize execution.” 
“Like hell I will! B-besides, can you even prove that it’s porn?!” 
If they hadn’t identified the data’s meaning, it could be the wrong data! He’d only given them permission to access the porn, and if this wasn’t the porn— 
As Sora badgered Emir-Eins, Shiro mumbled softly: 
“…Hidden folder Macroeconomics …eight point two three gigabytes… Definitely, porn.” 
“Wha—?! How did you know, Ms. Shiro?! Just how much of that do you—?” 
“Confirmed: Structure size matches specification. Copying.” 
“Hey, wai— Don’t— N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” 
 …… 
…And so… In the throne room, where the Ex Machinas, Shiro, Jibril, and Steph all fell silent… 
“No, noooo … My—my—my precious secret collection…!” 
…only one man’s grief-stricken lamentations filled the air. The precious porn he had brought from his old world, the reams and reams of erotic manga, had all been lost forever. The data had been corrupted, and no matter how many times he smacked the screen, it told him, Could not load . 
“…Brother… I’m, sorry…?” 
“It’s okay… It’s okay, Shiro. It’s not your fault… It really isn’t…” 
Shiro hugged Sora and apologized, but Sora shook his head. It had been Sora’s fault for losing. And anyway, protecting the other data and the tablet itself from loss was the top priority. What he should have done was tell them honestly and fully where the data was to keep their losses to a minimum. Shiro hadn’t done anything wrong—she’d done exactly what he should have done in the first place. Still… It could never erase the pain of the loss of his precious fap material, gone forever. But what pained him more than its loss, per se— 
“…Brother… Porn…is best fresh… You already, used it up…” 
Comforting Sora by rubbing his head, Shiro went on gently. 
“…You couldn’t, get off to it, anymore…could you? Let’s find…more porn…together.” 
“Look, your brother can’t help but be distraught that his proclivities had been an open book to his little sister all along! And, I mean, how is it that an eleven-year-old maiden is speaking for the feelings of a man who’s just lost his porn folder?!” 
The despair was no different from having your porn stash found by your mom. The war criminals responsible: Einzig and Emir-Eins. 
“Now we shall promptly proceed with the analysis of the data, Spieler! Please wait.” 
“ Declaration: This unit will dedicate all resources to becoming the ideal wife for Master… Trying.” 
With that, the eleven Ex Machina girls all bowed deeply in unison. 
 
This marked the start of Ex Machina’s mad approach based on porno manga. It had only taken a few hours to reach the present time…and this filled Sora with dread. In just a few hours, they had decrypted and understood the data from Sora’s old world. Even unknown concepts—school, childhood friends, walking to school together, elementary school backpacks. They’d grasped his culture . And from cartoons. Based entirely on porno manga. It was only natural that, given their reference material, there would be some strain in their interpretation, some bias in their scenarios. But however conservatively you talked about their speed of understanding and learning—it was prodigious. 
—And yet. 
Taking all that and skipping all the vile memories, foregoing the synopsis. Eastern Union. Shrine. Annex. Sora brought himself back. And the first thing he said: 
“Why are you still stuck on the super-gay route?! Cut it out already!!” 
Past the nightmarish memories, before his eyes lay a true nightmare: the pervbot in his basketball uniform. He was closing in on Sora, whose objections were closer to a shriek. And yet, Einzig alone still would not learn, his smile just as cheery as ever: 
“Hmm… But you see, it means nothing unless you accept my love for what—” 
“I’d rather kill myself! Knock it off with the stupid cosplay!!” 
Appearing to finally understand the seriousness of Sora’s refusal, Einzig drooped in chagrin. At the same time, the Shrine’s tranquil furnishings were restored, causing Sora to breathe a deep sigh of relief. And not just Sora—the Shrine Maiden, Ino, Shiro, and Jibril, too, each in their own ways. 
As if all that hadn’t been enough— 
“…I apologize, Spieler… There was only one record for reference on man-on-man affection… It is so difficult to analyze your preferences for this category… I can only curse my inadequacy in causing you discomfort.” 
Einzig heaved a sigh of his own, causing Sora to tear at his hair. 
“ Inadequacy doesn’t even begin to cut it! I’m not into guys! Will you get it through your head already?!” 
“But, Spieler, your tomes did contain a single volume of lurid male-on-male—” 
“The cover was a trap! It pisses me off just remembering it!” 
The character on the cover was obviously a cute girl. Even the art style made it look like it was intended for men. But when Sora bought the book, it turned out to be BL…and some pretty hardcore stuff, at that. Of course, it had been Sora’s fault for buying it without checking the contents. But now he had Einzig bringing this up as evidence that he had a chance, and the rage from back then burst back into flame from Sora’s mouth. 
“Don’t you think you picked the wrong reference material in the first place?! D00d, look at this, seriously!!” 
Seriously. Look at these porn scenarios they were using. Consider: deciding who should be Teacher’s girlfriend by who made him feel the best? That didn’t make sense. The girls who didn’t get picked would be totally screwed over. In reality, this would lead to one of those “dead ends” where someone ends up getting stabbed. No matter how you looked at it, basing your actions on unrealistic scenarios from porno manga was a mistake. 
…Though Sora did admit he was bitter at having his stash nuked. 
“What are you saying, Spieler? The information was truly valuable, and not only in determining your preferences.” It sounded as if the suggestion came entirely as a shock to Einzig, who turned on his heel. “Your library was truly informative…and that world truly came to astonish us.” He had his back to Sora, practically marveling— No, perhaps actually marveling. “The education…the physiology, the psychology—it helped us more than we could imagine, indeed, in understanding the ‘heart’!” 
Sora and Shiro raised their eyebrows at this machine’s increasingly heated assertions. 
“…Mm? Is…that so…? 
The computer that explored the “heart.” The world he extolled was one that could only exist with what was, in this place, technology of the distant future. But as Sora considered this, it hit him— Wait a second. Ex Machina was imagining their old world based on porno manga. So what was it exactly that was getting Einzig so heated…? But, with no attention to Sora’s doubt, the heat of the machine’s elocution inflamed further—!! 
“Yes… Especially when considering matters of the “heart,” everyone—including us—falls into the traps of stereotyping, iconography, association, and bias! Whereupon, we engage in actions which are entirely meaningless …” 
And finally, his fist shaking in rage at his own folly: 
“What madness! To consider the ‘heart’ by reason?! Is it not evident that the ‘heart’ is the very furthest thing from reason —it is illogic itself!! And love is its foremost virtue—but!!!!” 
Steadily spreading his arms out wide, he said it loud—he released it from his soul—!! 
“ — Lösen: Eros-Apokryphon!!” 
That instant, a massive array of images spread out all over the room. Einzig beheld the countless pictures suspended in the air, even stretching space to make room. As his speech raged on, tears formed in his eyes— 
“Let us reflect truly! Has any other Ixseed ever shown the ‘heart’ so clearly?!” 
This indeed was love, said the tears of the bellowing Einzig. But. 
“What d’you have against me, d00d?! How dare you show everyone my treasures— Oh, I see, you wanna make me cry, do you?!” 

Fine, then. Watch me cry! 
The next instant, Sora covered Shiro’s eyes and cried in a different sense at the—uh, well, the crown jewels, the porno comics. You know…with all the parts moving, and going in, and going out, with all the little hearts and stuff. Countless pages bedecked in art that would classically be described as “Eh-heh-heh-heh.” The Shrine Maiden and Ino stared agog, while Jibril drooled. 
“So my point is, this is your problem! It’s a veritable parade of impossible premises with implausible results!” 
Sora aimed to point out the flaws with what Einzig described as the very heart of love. The lazy unreality characteristic of adult manga. However— 
“Hmm… Impossible premises with implausible results, you say? Could you be more specific, Spieler?” Einzig looked bemused. “Do you refer to the incoherence? The meaninglessness, or perhaps the absence of motivation leading to the act?” 
—All of them , Sora wanted to say, but he held his tongue. Einzig made clear that he had an answer to all ready. Now here it was: Einzig powerfully bellowed the answer—!! 
“Love is incoherent! It is a fallacy to seek logic in the ‘heart’! The clashing of souls drawn to each other is meaningless! Motivations are ascribed to it only after the fact —yes! Just as porno manga teaches us!!” 
—Why was this? 
“Ah, the civilization that thus clearly demonstrated what love is! The erudition of those who represented this as the natural state of affairs!” 
—As Einzig sang the praises of creators who engaged in a speedrun based on how few pages they could spend getting to the hanky-panky, Sora found himself almost agreeing. He clutched his head as several others spoke up. Each had been studying the pages very closely. 
“Hmm… King Sora, I am experiencing a renewed respect for you. It is proper that wolf-girls should have enormous breasts. I commend your taste.” Ino was staring at a particular animal-girl hard enough to bore a hole in her as he nodded. 
“……Just what are they supposed to be doing in these—? Eh. Well, ’tis no matter to me.” The Shrine Maiden, having had zero experience in love, blushed as she feigned composure. 
“Master, Master?! Please impart this knowledge unto me!!” Jibril drooled excitedly, begging to get the data back—“Perhaps even experientially. Please, please!!”—or otherwise to receive the most personal instruction possible. 
“…Shiro. Your brother’s gonna go dig a hole… You wanna get in it with me?” 
“…Mm. O-kay…” 
—In short, Sora was being publicly humiliated. Sprawled on the tatami with his sister, he gathered the gumption to bury himself. But— 
“Yet, even with this glorious knowledge, it seems that my understanding of love is still insufficient for you to love me.” 
“…Look, before we talk about love, maybe you should understand empathy, or sensitivity…” 
The mechanical man who spoke of love without comprehending the scars inflicted on Sora’s heart nodded deeply. 
“Understood. I shall go do that and return shortly, Spieler! Please look forward to it!” 
“I ain’t looking forward to shit! Leave and don’t come back!!” 
After thus cutting into Sora’s wails with a firm and friendly smile— foop . The prodigious pervert vanished, taking his gallery of obscenity with him. 
“…………Phew…” 
Peace had been restored to the Shrine. All sighed. 
“And when do you plan to return?” 
Jibril alone thus murmuring, all followed her eyes to nothing: 
“… Reply: This unit will return anytime upon request from Master.” 
As far as Sora and Shiro could tell—no. There probably hadn’t even been a hint of spirits— 
“Emir-Eins?! Huh? You were there?!” 
“ Acknowledgment: Always.” 
Even though the Werebeasts apparently hadn’t been able to see the Ex Machina girl who answered Sora’s call with a curtsy, she was present. Optical camouflage. As if it were no big deal. 
“…Why are you here? Aren’t you going back with the others?” 
“ Boast: Master commanded this unit to get lost. Therefore, this unit got lost.” 
…Sounds like Sora’s usual bullshit. Everyone turned their annoyed gazes on Sora, but something else weighed on his mind. 
— Einzig… Well, he’s a perverted little weirdo. Never mind him. But why didn’t Emir-Eins act in line with the other Ex Machinas? Apparently she and Einzig were both “Befehler,” but— No, wait, the real thing is… 
He’d just realized—Emir-Eins didn’t even actively come after him . 
“ Remarks: Master is the master of this unit. Home position of this unit is by Master’s side. However, position oscillates at night.” 
Maid robot. Committed to being a maid, apparently. 
“ Query: Positions supported tonight: top, bottom. Please specify preference. This unit will make the necessary preparations.” 
But for being a maid, she was awfully threatening about wanting to make babies with him. It was as if it was already determined that they were going to make love. 
“…Let me rephrase. Sorry, but go away for a while— Oh, and one thing first?” 
“ Concession: Either position equally supported.” 
“Neither— Wait, what are you talking about…? It’s just a question…!” Sora replied, exhausted. 
I really don’t get what these Ex Machina are up to , he thought. Maybe they had some hidden agenda, but for now, he didn’t have enough information to say anything. This was why, so far, he’d had to hold on…and on…and play the straight man: 
“…D00d, what’s with the maid costumes?” 
Sora managed to get that much out. But— 
“ Truism: Robots should be maid robots.” 
“My point is, where the hell did you get that BS?!” 
—as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so shall robots be maid robots, apparently. Sora couldn’t help but groan at this assertion. Did all this information come from his porn…? No, all the Ex Machinas had been in maid costumes since they first showed up. 
…Sora preferred to forget that there had been a butler. 
“ Reply: Since end of Great War, Ex Machina has studied question: What is the meaning of Ex Machina’s existence?” asked Emir-Eins softly, yet fluidly. 
“ Continuation: Hope. Preier transmitted ‘heart’ to Ex Machina.” 
She sounded like a recording. A smooth, inorganic playback. 
“ Recollection: Hope for realization of hope of Spieler—the man she loved.” 
But as Emir-Eins narrowed her gaze as if staring into a bright light, there was something about her face—her doll-like, vaguely artificial glass eyes, her lips— 
“ Admiration: Answer was persuasive. Approval granted from all units.” 
Though they belonged to a machine, a mere doll, there was something within them that shouldn’t be there. 
“ Conclusion: To give all to Master, to serve him, and to be his strength. This is hope; this is will of unit—of Ex Machina.” 
Her voice had feeling—yes, what she had was hope. 
Silence fell in the stillness of the Annex of the Shrine. Sora awkwardly opened his mouth to speak. 
“Uhhh… You’re really making it hard for me to crack jokes here, but…” He wasn’t sure it was appropriate for him to bust the solemn atmosphere she’d created. But not being able to shake a certain doubt, close to a conviction, he mustered up the courage to be a wiseass. “…I mean. That doesn’t mean you have to be a maid, does it?” 
Even if you took what Emir-Eins was saying seriously, it didn’t mean she had to be a maid. Surely there were other roles that would fulfill her will. And in any case, the costume was entirely beside the point. 
“ Acknowledgment: Eight roles match conclusion. Selection of ‘maid’—” 
Emir-Eins nodded to affirm Sora’s doubt. He was right after all. That was why they didn’t act like maids. 
“ Disclosure: Arbitrary.” 
—It was arbitrary. 
So basically, yeah, they were poseur maids. This made everything make sense to Sora, and everything seem to not matter anymore to everyone else… 
“…Interesting! A bit character such as you means to usurp my master?” 
…except for one person— Pardon, body. Article? Unit? Hang on, how did you count god-killing weapons anyway? Well, whatever , Sora thought, unable to remember. 
“And to think that such a throwaway believes that she can upstage me… My, my, this won’t do at all.” Jibril’s halo spun more rapidly as she drew closer to Emir-Eins. “I’m not sure there’s room in this story for the two of us. Let me adjust your characteristics to be more unique—even avant-garde . ? ” 
Jibril’s wings turned to surging pillars of light as she muddied the spirits in the air around them. She took a blade of light in hand, proposing to adjust Emir-Eins’s character physically—or rather, put her out of character entirely. 
“…H-hey, Jibril…!” 
Even Sora and Shiro, who could not sense spirits, were able to perceive the spiritual compression and wild gust. Jibril wouldn’t be able to put her power into practice—there were the Ten Covenants, after all. She couldn’t hurt anyone. Even so, the aura of violence broke through the reason of the Shrine Maiden and Ino and made their fur stand on end. 
“ Rebuttal: This unit was bound to current Master only recently. True.” 
Only Emir-Eins stood up to Jibril with a placid exterior. Yet, her emotionless face bore a clear trace of a sneer as she— 
“ Declaration: This unit had already devoted herself to Master six thousand years ago. Bit character is you. Insolent. Obstructive. Stupid. However, property of Master. Cannot destroy for fear of Master’s wrath.” 
— provoked Jibril. 
“Allll right! I shouldn’t have held you back!! We’re done here, right?!” 
Sora’s panicked squeal was drowned out by the clearly audible rumbling of animosity. 
“You have a pretty big mouth, don’t you? ? Why don’t we make it a little bigger and turn it into a gaping hole? ? ” 
“Derision: This unit is capable of eliminating Irregular Number alone with current armaments. Easy. Master, please authorize demonstration.” 
“Listen! Listen to me, okay? I was wrong, so just get out of here! Please!!” 
“…Jibril, s-s-sit…” 
First, Sora and Shiro’s commands made Jibril sit down flat on the floor. 
Next, per Sora’s request , Emir-Eins prepared to shift. 
“…You scrappy little doll.” 
“ Reply: Hen. Lösen: Asura-Apokryphon. ” 
As the two glared at each other with their parting remarks, Emir-Eins vanished. 
 
Peace had been restored to the Annex of the Shrine—for real this time. 
“…You… Just what are you bringing into my house…?” groaned the Shrine Maiden, now grasping the general gist of things. 
“It’s not my— Okay, I guess it’s my fault… Sorry. We’ll go.” 
“…Shrine Maiden…… We’re, sorry, okay…?” 
Sora objected immediately, then shook his head. He and Shiro both slumped over and apologized. They were the ones who had come to the Shrine. From the Shrine Maiden’s point of view, all they’d done was cause trouble. To begin with, they’d come here in order to run from Ex Machina. And now that Ex Machina knew where they were, they’d probably be back in a jiffy… In any case, Sora and Shiro had better skedaddle. They’d better have Jibril shift them somewhere where, this time, they definitely wouldn’t find them— 
“Ino Hatsuse. You brought them here, did you? Go help.” 
“At your command, O Holy Shrine Maiden… But we have no duty to help them, have we?” 
Just as Ino said, the Shrine Maiden had no duty to help Sora and Shiro. Even when they’d saved her friend—Holou—that was just a matter of using one another. The trust of a gamer, and all the more so that of an agent plenipotentiary, was by no means reliance—but— 
“We haven’t, have we? Still, love, I’d hate to make enemies of those monsters.” 
That’s right—it was because of a command based on a coolheaded “calculation” that Ino sat politely before Sora and Shiro. 
“…Hmm. So, King Sora, they have mistaken you for the one they love. This is a most pitiable state of affairs.” 
“…Uh, yeah… Never would’ve expected it, but I’m glad you understand…” 
At Ino’s serious demeanor, Sora felt a seedling of friendship sprout in his heart, and then— 
“Indeed… Ex Machina is truly to be pitied… What would anyone have to do to deserve this? Of all possibilities, to fall for a damned monkey like you…!” 
Upon the next words Ino spoke, fist trembling, Sora cursed the illusion. 
— Damn you, you old fart. 
Sora almost said it, but instead only incorporated the tone of resentment into his next question. 
“Let’s be straight, okay…? What can I do to resolve this peacefully ?” 
It really was no laughing matter. He didn’t want them to go extinct, and he was glad they said they were his allies, but even that was a mistake. If he slipped up and got on their bad side, in the worst case—so much for his all-powerful concert equipment. 
“…A sleazebag like you must’ve had experience with misunderstandings resulting in stalking a few or maybe a thousand times.” 
Sora would very much appreciate it if one of those experiences had furthermore resulted in stabbing. Regrettably, though, what with those Ten Covenants and all, the old fart was not dead yet. But if anyone had some idea of how to deal with stalkers, Ino Hatsuse should be the guy—not that Sora’s expectations were very high, but he was grasping at straws here. 
“…King Sora, what has come over you? I should not expect this.” 
However —Ino narrowed his eyes keenly. 
“It embarrasses me to think how I have been consistently outstripped by one unable to recognize something so simple.” 
“…………You…what…?” 
— Simple? 
That was Ino’s conclusion, his eyes brimming with a vague disappointment. He sighed at Sora, who was still befuddled, before spelling it out. 
“Stop being a quivering little virgin and go get laid, you dumb ape.” 
— So they’ve got the wrong guy. So what? 
The man notorious for thinking with his lower half sneered, displaying his fangs as well as his true nature. 
“Jibril, let’s go. This time, somewhere Emir-Eins and the others can’t—” 
Sora and Shiro got to their feet and prepared to head home as if to say they’d been mistaken to expect anything for even a second. 
“…Sir, could it be that you truly have not realized?” 
Still, Ino’s voice, sincerely doubtful, deeply surprised, kept them. 
“Do you not grasp that the Ex Machinas have a hardware lock that prevents them from reproducing with those other than specified?” 
“Exactly! So how’s it gonna help for me to agree to make—?” 
“In such a case, you may embrace them as you will. If you are not the man they seek, reproduction will be impossible.” 
… 
…… 
…………? 
“—…Huh? Uh, whuhh…?” 
Sora took a whole minute to mull over Ino’s words and then produced some foolish noises. What would happen if he agreed to make babies with them? He wasn’t the guy they were looking for. So the lock would stop him. There you go. Not the guy. Done. 
…No, no, no… Wait, wait, wait. Calm down, Sora, virgin, eighteen!! It couldn’t be, it couldn’t be, how could he have missed that—?! 
—Something was wrong here. Meanwhile, amidst Sora’s confusion, Ino came in and packed it up. 
“The mistake, moreover, originates from them alone. Mistaking you for someone from six thousand years ago.” 
“…Uh, yeah… I guess…” 
“You must only answer their demands. Who could possibly blame you?” Ino piled it on. “Once you prove that you are not the man they seek, they will have no choice but to accept that the man has passed. Their only option will be to wager the release of their lock in a game with you and lose. After all, it’s that or perish.” 
…Uh… Huh? I—why did I say no, again…? 
An onslaught of perfect logic assailed Sora, when— 
“……Brother.” 
—his little sister’s subzero gaze brought him scurrying back to his senses with a yelp. 
“Hey! That’s the thing! I can’t expose Shiro to R-18—” 
“Sir… Please consider the matter calmly. First of all, do you not realize that this is your only chance to experience sexual intercourse?” 
“—Nice job implying that I’ll never have another chance, bastard.” 
…Not that I’m denying it. Sora groaned, but Ino went on. 
“I understand that you have your own issues, Sir. But do they justify allowing Ex Machina to perish?” 
“Well, uh… I guess not. But I can’t be away from Shiro—” 
“You could simply request of Miss Jibril that she block the light and sound, for Queen Shiro’s benefit.” 
Ino kept settling the issues one after another. 
“Is this not preferable to the guilt of having allowed an entire race to cease to be?” 
And yet, Ino’s words made the vague unease within Sora rear its head further and further as if in inverse proportion. 
—No. Something was wrong. 
Ino’s assertions made perfect sense. Clear as day. Could it really be that he’d overlooked…something so simple? The way the Ex Machinas acted; the way they’d trapped Sora; the way they came on to him. So many things felt off. For instance— 
“One final comment. They demanded that you choose one of them with whom to reproduce, as I understand. If this be so—you could very well do just as they recently proposed . I see no reason to refuse.” 
Sora half listened to Ino’s words, brainstorming ideas and putting them in order. He struggled to identify what was wrong—and then, at last, he prostrated himself and came to a solid conclusion. 
“Can you not engage them all in intercourse and select one for reproduction thereafter?” 
“I gotta save the robot girls!! Bye, gotta go! Forgive me, O wise teacher!!” 
— He’d just overlooked it!! 
How could he have overlooked it? People overlook things!! 
“Sorry to impose on you, Shrine Maiden! Jibril, we’re going back to Elkia! Time waits for no one!!” 
“…You really know how to impose, at that…” 
“Yes, Master. Allow me to prepare for a long-distance shift.” 
As he was bathed in the Shrine Maiden’s icy glare and Jibril’s sparkles… 
“Maaaan! You know how it is! I’m totally not looking forward to this, y’know? But what can ya do?! Pretty girls say I have to go save them, I guess I’ll go and give the world a good saving! If heaven wills it, I mean!!” 
…Sora’s head grew cool, cooler, coolest as he lamented. His folly was unfathomable… Why hadn’t he used common sense? There were twelve beautiful girls falling over themselves, begging him for it as they changed their appearance to suit his taste! Made-to-order maid robots coming on to him! Refuse? Who the hell did he think he was?! Sora, virgin, eighteen! Don’t get so full of yourself, cherry boy! 
“…But, Brother, you’re not him… You’d be…deceiving them…” 
Shiro pouted sullenly at her brother’s fierce self-flagellation. Normally, this would be enough to stop Sora, but today— 
“I would… But if it’s what it takes to save someone, your brother will lie, cheat, and steal…” Sora answered, his gaze merciful, as if taking on mankind’s original sin. “Even if I am hated for it, even if I am blamed forevermore! I shall accept the responsibility…for all.” 
As Sora spoke of love and benevolence for all things living without reward, his eyes sparkled with the anticipation of a filthy kickback for his base desires. 
“Now, let us say adieu to Sora, virgin, eighteen! And sally forth to welcome Sora, non -virgin, eighteen!!” 
Sora’s call to arms toward his future was met with a mumble. 
“…Mm? Umm… Sir. I think you may be a bit confused?” 
“Is that so, Teacher?! Then guide your foolish apprentice! Yeah! ” 
Sora tapped his foot as Ino pondered. 
“Well… Sir, they are machines. Not only that, but presenting themselves on the basis of your pornography…” 
“That is so! Have you no objections?!” 
While noticing that Jibril seemed to be taking much longer to prepare for a shift than usual, Ino carefully mentioned the hypothesis he’d formed to address this difficult question. 
“Might they not be considered…a mere masturbation aid…?” 
…… 
“Well. How do I put this? King Sora, a non-virgin ? …Ha. Impossible.” 
…… 
Then, all of a sudden… All the threads, all the missing pieces—Sora felt them all come together. 
“Ah… I see… That’s what it was…” He spoke softly, with a smile of an ascetic who had just achieved nirvana. “Jibril… Sorry for the trouble—can we change our destination?” 
“—Eh? Ah, yes. Well then…where shall we set our course?” 
At last he could see everything, what was behind all those countless weights. The true nature of Ex Machina’s words and actions, and most of all— 
“Anywhere… Just as long as they can’t find us, anywhere…” 
In short: Tee-hee-hee! Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am. Why hadn’t he thought of such a simple solution? 
—It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of it. Deep down, he knew. 
“… If it sounds too good to be true… Ha-ha… I knew it…” 
Sora, the virgin eighteen-year-old, knew it wouldn’t be happening to him any time soon. Shedding a tear for the binding nature of the world—the self-correcting nature of history—Sora and his crew leaped through space. 
 
The red moon shone on the island of Kannagari. Sora and Shiro walked a residential area on the outskirts. They were very near the house of a little Werebeast girl they knew, Izuna Hatsuse. 
“…This is pretty close to the Shrine… Is Ex Machina really not going to find us here?” Sora had totally thought that they’d be warping to the other side of the world. 
“N-no… It’s like what they say in your world about being right under one’s nose—” Jibril was beaming confidently, but appeared exhausted. “I made a long-distance shift intentionally to a nearby location , and I severed the crack in space. Even Ex Machina is incapable of reopening severed space, and little could they expect that we used this much power to go three hundred kilometers.” 
—Not that Sora or Shiro had any idea what she meant by “severing space.” 
“…To think that even you get this worn out shaking off Ex Machina… Damn.” 
“Well, they may be worn-out ancient rubbish, but they are my acknowledged enemies who slew Artosh, god of war.” 
Jibril sounded weirdly excited, but Sora thought: 
— Really? 
They were some kind of bullshit, you could say. Rank Ten, my ass—the system’s gotta be rigged. According to Jibril’s records, it had been because they couldn’t use magic—but, d00d. They’d designed virtual spirit junction nerves—those taillike cables—and made equipment to murder spirits like gasoline to produce the same effects as magic. Apparently, it wasn’t technically magic. But that brought them neck and neck with Jibril. Such bullshit. And then the Ten Covenants counted Elementals among the “sixteen seeds,” so Ex Machina couldn’t kill spirits anymore. Magical shit be damned, they shouldn’t even have been able to operate after that—but here they were. 
—They’d adapted. They’d realized they couldn’t use gasoline anymore and adopted renewable energy. Probably in a flash. These guys were so OP it wasn’t even funny—but. If Sora had faced these OP hacks— and they’d really slain Artosh — 
“…By the way, Master, is it really all right? That is, not to return to Elkia?” 
Sora, who’d been lost in thought, twitched and stopped. 
“Ah— Oh no! Of course, Master, I have no intention of interfering in your decision!” 
Seeing this, Jibril hurriedly descended from the air, folded her wings, and knelt— 
“It is my sentiment that, considering how preposterous it would be to bequeath your noble chastity to these poor imitators of my service to you, it would be more appropriate for you to use your first slave first, that is, your humble servant—” 
“…That’s not…the point…! Jibril, freeze…” 
Jibril was sliding sideways from an apology to an entreaty, starting to remove her clothes, when Shiro halted her process. But both the frozen Jibril’s gaze and that of the Shiro who froze her asked the same question. 
— Why’d you give up on the hanky-panky? 
Meeting their gazes, Sora smirked… heh . 
“Is it all right, you ask? Ha-ha… Like hell it’s all right! Shit!! ” 
The very rude and inconsiderate scream that echoed through the entire neighborhood caused Shiro to swing her hands over her ears. 
“To what extent must I be cockblocked?! Just how far does this world intend to test me, huh?!” 
The floodgates had been broken, and his rancor could not subside. In tears, Sora thought: 
— Okay, fine, whatever! So there’s no sex? Sure, that’s cool, too!! I get it, already!! I’ve got enough culture not to demand hardcore smut out of a cheesecake game!! But, d00d! 
“Why you gotta bait me?! You put in hardcore assets, the characters, the art, the whole damn scene, and then you say there’s no way to trigger it —you corporate assholes have a bug in your brains!!” 
Debug your damn game! Sora was about to scream next—but wait. The debuggers and programmers aren’t to blame , he corrected himself, shaking his head. 
“Yeah. I guess it is possible if you want to. I could go back to Elkia right now and have a harem.” 
You could trigger the scene. You could play it. 
“ But if you do it, you can’t win?! Is this trolling or what?!” 
But if you did, you were stuck. No possibility of a do-over. So whose fault was this shitty design? The producer’s? The director’s? The writer’s—?! 
“……Brother… Calm down …” 
“You can’t win…? What do you mean?” 
His little sister’s chilling command and Jibril’s consternation were just enough to rein him in. Sighing so deeply as to expel his soul, Sora sat on the road with a thump. 
“…What do I mean? Just what I said…” 
Ino’s story? If they knew he was the wrong guy, Ex Machina would release their lock and reproduce. 
Why? Because otherwise they’d perish. It should go without saying. 
—But that was wrong. 
“Even if they know I’m the wrong guy, they won’t reproduce —they’ll choose to go extinct.” 
Thus, the cockblock was assured. They looked doubtfully at him. 
“…You mean…Ex Machina… wants to go extinct…?” 
Shiro flopped into Sora’s lap as he rested his back against the wall of the alley. 
“I dunno about that… If they actively wanted to, they probably would’ve died out a long time ago…” Sora put his hand on the head of his sister who had taken her comfortable default position. “But I can say, in the worst case, these guys don’t care if they go extinct.” 
The other two looked at him for proof. But it was simple; Sora answered. 
“If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t threaten to go extinct. It wouldn’t work.” 
If you don’t do what I want, I’ll kill myself! That only worked when they were really ready to kill themselves. Sora couldn’t say for sure that he understood the feelings of machines. Still—the Ex Machinas’ eyes as they used the threat of their extinction to force him to play chess…were serious. It had been with a foreboding close to conviction that Sora had accepted—and. 
That’s what was eating at him. 
“…Look… Ex Machina was the race that triggered the end of the war, right…? 
Then they were the makers of this world where everything was decided by games. Why would they be willing to sacrifice their race? Why— 
“Why are they so willing to break this game…?!” 
He didn’t get it. He didn’t get why they would mistake him for someone from six thousand years ago. He didn’t get any of this. 
“…Seriously, are their circuits fried? Are they bugging out?” 
That would make things easier to understand… But still, it wouldn’t solve anything. 
“Then if I may be so impertinent…I have two suggestions.” 
“Let’s hear ’em! ’Kay, go! What’s number one?” 
Jibril raised her hand, and Sora pointed desperately. 
“If you are concerned about the existence of their race, you could store one and kill the—” 
“Yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me! ’Kay, next! What’s number two?” 
Drooping with the sadness of having her brilliant idea shot down, Jibril continued. 
“Though unpleasant to observe…perhaps we could tolerate their continued existence and misunderstanding.” 
…Hmm. A more realistic plan. Sora prompted her for more. 
“Fortunately, they have not specified a time by which you must fulfill your duty to reproduce with them. If you simply delay it indefinitely—they would constitute one more race that at least claimed to be your ally, which you could add to the Commonwealth of Elkia… Does this not suit your purpose?” 
“Yeah… Not a bad idea. I thought of that, too. But there are two problems with that.” 
Sora smirked, grabbed Shiro in his arm, and stood— 
“First! My reason and will are incapable of withstanding this situation!!” 
— Let’s have sexxx. ? 
Could he keep hearing that indefinitely from beautiful girls advancing to seduce him and keep ignoring it…? Only the protagonist of To L*ve Ru had that kind of godly fortitude. Sora was merely a man. 
“And second! I’ll say this as many times it takes: I’m not their guy!! ” 
According to Einzig, they’d gone past their service life by 5,982 years. It would be friggin’ ridiculous if they were to just suddenly go extinct one of these days, and here was the kicker—! 
“What if they suddenly realized I wasn’t their guy one of these days?! What the hell would happen then?!” 
“B-but it was they who made the error… They couldn’t blame—” 
“You want me to count on that kind of logic working on chicks who’ve been pining over a guy for six thousand years?! If they were that rational, they wouldn’t be on the edge of extinction, now would they?! This is heavy shit! Love is some real heavy shit!!” 
For starters, the Commonwealth of Elkia hardly had any allies. They were counting on being betrayed by their own. So the issue wasn’t making enemies, but rather that they had no friggin’ idea what they’d do . 
“Say Emir-Eins was to grab a kitchen knife and be like, ‘ User has deceived this unit! I’m gonna kill you and then kill myself!’ —Shit, I can see it! What are you supposed to do then? Huh?!” 
A real-live mental case with those crazy powers? 
—Worst enemy ever. 
If the whole race was willing to suicide-attack them, they’d be screwed. Sora shivered as he imagined that kind of horror in this world. 
“Very well, then. I have a third suggestion… Rather, it is a logical extension of your initial demand…” Jibril raised her hand and asked a question. “You proposed releasing their lock with a game… Then if you simply have them wager to fall in love with a pig and you win, will this not settle the matter by pairing them with a partner most suitable for them?” 
…Right, the pig stuff aside, this had been Sora’s first plan. To use the power of the Covenants to release their hardware lock and bind them to reproduce independently. In other words, force them to forget about the affection they’d cultivated for six thousand years. Jibril’s point was, couldn’t you just try that again? Sora answered with a question. 
“Put yourself in their position, Jibril. Say Ex Machina came to you with a game they were sure they’d win, and they told you if you lost you’d venerate some animal as your master and make babies with him—what would you do?” 
“I would pity their severe neural defects and take their heads to— Oh…” Though she’d begun with a smile, she then drooped apologetically. “Perhaps I am defective… They would surely not accept any such game, would they?” 

—Indeed. They’d have no motivation to. It was because they didn’t care if they went extinct—because they had nothing to lose—that they’d been able to dupe Sora into a game he couldn’t win. It was only because they’d been sure they’d win that Sora had been able to make such demands. If he were to make such demands again— he’d have to dupe them back . Specify a game that Sora and Shiro were sure to win and get them to accept it. Get them to accept the demand to forget about their love and reproduce. When they had nothing to lose? Ex Machina? —Was that…even possible? 
—If he agreed to make babies with them, he was screwed. 
If he didn’t agree to make babies with them, he was screwed. 
And he couldn’t think of a single way to trap them—nor was he even sure there was one. 
“The hell is with this pain-in-the-ass race?! Give me a break!” 
There would have been more options if they’d straight-out come as an enemy. Sora was shouting again, unable to take it, when— 
Honk, honk. 
“Hngh?! Uh, s-sorry, please excuse me, please…” 
“…Eegh… I-I’ll, get out…of your way… Nghh…” 
The horn made Sora and Shiro, huddled together in the corner of the alley, slide out of the way as naturally as the flowing of a stream. 
“…M-Master? …What’s the matter?” 
Jibril was befuddled. Sora and Shiro cowered in each other’s arms. 
“Heh. Jibril… What do you think a loser does when told ‘Move’?” Sora was still shivering. Yet, he bellowed with pride: “With the brief remark, ‘Oh, sorry,’ he gets the hell out of the way ! This is the true way of the loser!” 
“…Just say no…to bugging normal people…” 
Ah, our most trusted disciple. Have you forgotten who we are? Regardless of how portentously we may behave, we are by nature naught but awkward, shut-in losers!! Trembling in inexplicable awe before the answer of the two, overwhelming in its majesty, Jibril knelt. 
“…N-now I see… Please forgive my foolish question!” 
As Sora and Shiro nodded in satisfaction, they were struck by a realization. Albeit a bit late. 
……Hmm. 
“Hey, Shiro… Are there cars in this world? I mean…” The honking white van had passed by them just like that…but… “I mean, not a car… That was, uh, totally a HiA*e…” 
The HiA*e. Everyone knew this vehicle, specializing in the transport of light cargo, yet indiscriminating as to its contents. Packages? Refrigerators? You got it. Porn for the con, AK-47s, RPGs, little girls—the flexibility with which it lent itself to all manner of freight was, in a manner of speaking, legendary. So now the question was: What was inside? 
“… Lösen: Love Success Situation Forme Checkmartyr —Prototype 0010.” 
As for who was in the driver’s seat, at any rate, it was Emir-Eins, naturally. 
—It seemed that they had even managed to deploy a motor vehicle from Sora’s porn. That was impressive, but not the problem at hand. It had already been pretty well established that Ex Machina was bonkers like that. What Sora really wanted to know was what it was for —or maybe he didn’t, but— 
“H-how…? The crack in space—severed space should be impossible to reopen!” 
—to Jibril, on the other hand, even that wasn’t the question. She hyperventilated in shock to see how easily they’d tracked them. To be smirked at. 
“ Acknowledgment: Severed space prohibits tracking. However, fissure clearly excessive for long-distance shift.” 
“……!” 
“ Paradox: Destination near. Also, Irregular Number extreme. Near implies on island . But outside of Ex Machina detection range. List of residential areas that meet parameters: Here. Flügel inferred to lack knowledge of map.” 
…In short: Jibril’s ruse was obvious. Emir-Eins’s perfect doll eyes were somehow unmistakably tinged with pity. 
“… Knowledge: Irregular Number lacks intellect. Simple-minded. Foolish.” 
“ ? ? ” 
Jibril’s smile dripped with cold malice, swelling instantaneously. Sora and Shiro could swear they saw it with their eyes. The two powder kegs staring each other down were interrupted, not by Sora or Shiro— 
“Ah, Spieler, I have made you wait one thousand five hundred three point zero one seven seconds! Now let us go on a journey to first build our friendship!!” 
Rrrmmmmmm! Einzig flung open the sliding door and appeared with a smile and a shout. 
—Ah, why was it that Sora’s premonitions could not be allayed? 
“…Crap. You went and used the worst reference possible, did you…?” Sora groaned and clutched his head. 
The cargo was that of his fears, that of the vehicle’s vile fame. Filmy smoke obscured the rear’s dark contents. But in all probability…they were a bunch of cyborg babes, modest in size and undignified in state. Or perhaps they were soon to be…but in any case, this was past the line for past-the-line. In addition—it was wildly awry . After a long, deep breath, Sora shrieked: 
“Like hell I’m gonna build a beautiful friendship with you! And anyway! I have no interest in being forced into anything!!” 
— Did I overestimate you? he further wondered silently. Up to now, Ex Machina had accurately identified Sora’s preferences as they updated their approach. But now this was Sora’s very least favorite porn genre: the one where the guy travels across Japan abducting beautiful girls, and a friendship just happens to blossom between them. Sora went so far as to click his tongue at this one-two combo of ultimate creepiness. 
“Heh… Fear not, Spieler. We are Ex Machina—we never make the same mistake twice…” 
But Einzig answered with a smile, gloating about his race’s key feature. 
Hrmm… How many times have you made the mistake of humiliating me? Or did you not count that as a mistake? 
As Sora started to suspect so seriously, Einzig regaled him further. 
“My beloved dislikes nonconsensual acts. Nor does he like to have his sexual preferences made public!!” 
—Oh. So he did count it as a mistake after all. 
Fairly relieved, Sora sighed, but then the next word… 
“—However.” 
…introduced a statement quite contradictory to the preceding. To wit: 
“It seems he does not object to un -nonconsensual acts! Furthermore, this vehicle is private and soundproof !!” 
The fearsome learning abilities of Ex Machina had taught them: 
No raep for you. Only reverse raep. 
Sora’s reason whispered to him: Ten Covenants. They can’t do that. But the fear of being kidnapped and having his butt pounded by this sex machine—equivalent to the fear of getting his ass rekt—along with the countless hands that stuck out from the van—was enough to shatter his faith. 
“Jibriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil! Save me! Heeeeeeeeeelp!!” 
“…Brother…! Brother’s, getting…ass-jacked!!” 
Jibril had to act immediately upon those cries. They warped. 
 
Meanwhile, ignorant of the plaintive wails of Sora and Shiro, Steph ran about the Elkia Royal Castle as if to stomp through the floor, her shoulders high. Sora and Shiro had dumped all the actual work on her—but for once, that wasn’t why she was angry. 
“What’s wrong with them? Cavorting so and then absconding!” 
About an hour earlier, Holou’s debut concert had finished without a hitch. It had shown sufficient success to disgust Steph. But now Steph was flip-flopping as she saw the flop of the meet and greet after. 
…Meet and greet. Steph didn’t get the concept—hell, Holou probably didn’t, either. Sora had said, Make sure there’s security. Some smart-asses will probably attempt some sexual harassment. Also, you should stay out of the castle. Or something like that. But hell, if there was anyone in the world other than those siblings who had the mettle to sexually harass Holou. Sexual harassment? Look at this. This was normal. 
—Seeing the masses cowering, unable even to approach Holou, much less shake her hand, Steph thought, Yes. This was the normal reaction. This was as it should be. It should have been. Yet—there sat Holou, next to Steph, in a booth labeled “Meet and Greet Venue”— 
“…O thou… Ste… What is Holou doing here…?” 
The forlorn query of the idol with zero fans at her meet and greet made Steph cry out: 
“See how hard she has tried! How can you make this girl look so, without a second glance?!” 
Unable to bear it, Steph was running around the Elkia Royal Castle at full speed. She didn’t know what Sora and Shiro were after. But she did know it was miserable to see Holou like this. The people were there. They just wouldn’t approach her because they were afraid of an Old Deus. In which case—! 
“We just have to show them she’s not scary —so I’ll summon all affiliated with the house of Dola!” 
She’d mobilize her family connections—to bring out the shills. Blissfully unconscious of the questionable nature of her use of royal privilege, Steph was scampering about when— 
“…Hmm. What was it that displeased the Spieler this time…?” 
“ Certainty: Einzig intrinsically displeases Spieler. Other issues irrelevant. Immaterial.” 
“Wh-what…?! Then what would you propose I do?!” 
“ Suggestions: In descending order of recommendation: Get lost. Self-destruct. Explode. Greatest factor in inability to determine preferences of Master: Einzig.” 
The very serious voices of the machines could be heard, engaged in a very pointless argument. What had they been doing loitering about the castle all this time? Talking on about how to seduce Sora forever and ever. Each time they tried and failed, they came back here and repeated this— 
“—Hey, you there! What did you come here for anyway?!” 
It hit Steph that pretty much all her problems right now were their fault. 
…No, actually, if you went back, the root of all evil was those two who were making Holou be an idol. At the very least, if Sora and Shiro were here, Holou probably wouldn’t be making that face. 
“ Courtesy: Units imposing. Please excuse.” 
“Though we burden you, we ourselves are desperate…to discover how we can make the Spieler love us…” 
“If you’re aware you’re imposing, why don’t you help? There are thirteen of you, after all!” And thence Steph came to roar out a line most uncharacteristic of her. It was that forlorn look of Holou’s, stuck in her head. “If you have the time to think about something so pointless , we could be rounding up plenty of shills—” 
Then. 
“… Command: Disclose grounds for statement of pointlessness. Details of opinion.” 
“ ? !” 
The swarm of unnatural eyes gathered upon Steph brought her back, frozen. What had she just said, in the heat of the moment—to these god-killers who had completely outpaced Sora? Steph oozed a cold sweat at the feeling of her insides being probed—but still she asked herself. 
— Did I say something wrong? 
“S-Sora will never be moved…b-by such falsehoods …!” 
—She answered herself. I’ve said nothing wrong! Such defiance burst forth from Steph, quite against her will as her knees shook. Ex Machina could go on however they wanted about Sora’s preferences, but what they were doing—was a lie . The Sora Steph knew was not a man who would be deceived by such lies. It was thus—that Steph had said it was pointless. But surprisingly— 
“…I…see… Love can never be conveyed by words that come not from the heart… I see!” 
Einzig replied dejectedly as he lifted his gaze to the heavens. 
“What a fool I have been…to overlook such a self-evident truth! You!” 
“Y-yes?!” 
“O nameless gentlewoman, I thank you. Now I see the path to producing progeny with the Spieler. All units, prepare to shift!” 
“So you really aren’t going to help?! And hey, I have a name!!” 
Whether they were ignoring Steph or just didn’t notice her, the Ex Machinas moved to shift back to Sora, when— 
“Forget that path. It’s futile.” 
—a nasal voice echoed forth. And. 
A shock raced through without sound and shook the castle—shook all of Elkia. It was beyond Steph’s knowledge what had happened. Only the Ex Machinas registered it: The castle had been sealed in severed space, cutting off all external observation and movement. 
“It gives me acid reflux just to think that you scrap heaps still exist. I wouldn’t let you reproduce on a farm. ? ” 
The appearance of the girl, as if from the void, divested Steph of her breath. It was the agent plenipotentiary of Flügel—the first article, Azril. But that itself wasn’t what took Steph’s breath away. Nor was it the fact that, looking through the window, she could observe that Avant Heim itself had shifted over Elkia like a lid. 
“Not everyone is as understanding as Jibsy… Right, you scrap?” 
It was that which was loaded in her eyes as she said this: an unthinkable hostility. It was entirely different from that which had been exchanged between Jibril and the Ex Machinas. 
“You dingy little dolls who aped the power bestowed by my lord and used your shoddy imitations to trick us and trap us and massacre my cute little sisters and then kill my lord himself—” In apparent good humor, Azril stepped toward Einzig, even clapping. “If you can think of a reason I shouldn’t kill you, I’m all ears. ? ” 
“…………” 
It was enough to show Steph that Jibril and the Ex Machinas had been sincere, as Azril smiled and stroked the cheek of the silent Einzig. It was quite unlike the previous encounter when they claimed to bear no resentment. More mechanical than a machine, devoid of the hesitation characteristic of life—it was pure: It was murder. 
“Wait—A-Azril?! Sora and Shiro—Jibril won’t—” 
That malice convinced Steph, despite the Covenants, that there was about to be slaughter before her eyes. So she raised her voice to interrupt, but— 
“I don’t care. ? ” 
—Steph realized she was dead. The smiling glance from Azril had gouged her heart. Azril continued to smile despite Steph falling apart like a corpse. 

“All right, tin men! Let’s talk. Here are the rules. ? ” Azril clapped. “I’m gonna ask you a question, very politely, and you heaps of junk are gonna answer, very politely. That’s it!” She looked back at the Ex Machinas. “I anticipate a satisfactory answer that tickles us. If not—” 
— Don’t make me do this , she implied. 
“Av’n’, all the kids in the sky, and I are gonna kill you until there’s not a speck of dust left. Getting rid of anything in our way. Elkia, Sora, his sister—even Jibsy. We’ll smash the planet if we have to, to exterminate you… So you’d better answer carefully.” 
It seemed that she was, however, expecting to have to do it. 
“Lord Artosh. God of war. Strongest of all the Old Dei—” 
After a beat, the first Flügel commanded those who slew her lord to tell her— 
“How did you mere dolls manage to kill the strongest deity—?” 
What had happened to her lord, the king of all? How was it possible—? 
 
“Flyyy me to the hmmm, hmm hmm hmm hmmm…” 
Sora and Shiro lazily sang a song they only remembered the first stanza of. It was one giant leap for them, one small step for humankind. Suddenly, they found themselves standing on the surface of the moon, leaving behind all of humanity’s dreams, struggles, and wisdom back on Disboard. Just like the song, they’d arrived here so casually, carried by Jibril. Viewing the new horizon without a trace of the awe or respect it might have merited, they grumbled. 
“…It’s not, as blue…as they say…right…?” 
“It’s not even round. Tet’s pieces are all, ‘Look at me’!” 
They didn’t know about Earth, but now they knew about Disboard—seen from the moon, it wasn’t blue or round. With those giant chess pieces towering from it, it reminded them of a barrel with swords stuck in it. Would something pop out if they stuck in a few more? …Maybe Tet? He’d be in a pirate costume, flying through space. As Sora and Shiro daydreamed— 
“…Ex Machina, surely won’t be able to follow us, all the way here . Heh-heh… Siiiiigh… ” 
Jibril mumbled fiercely, looking pretty close to death as she sprawled onto the ground and sneered. 
—They didn’t have to ask where “here” was. It was the moon, most likely the red moon that Sora and Shiro were always looking up at. Other than the planet, all they could see in any direction was sand, sand, and sand on stone. The heavily cratered surface was windless, and gravity was so weak that you bounced if you took a step. Apart from the sand being red, presumably composed of different materials, even a monkey could see that this was exactly the same as Earth’s natural satellite, also known as the moon. Then if you weren’t a monkey, there were other questions you had to ask. One being— 
“Hey… If I’m remembering right—isn’t this someone’s place?” 
Not that they had any standing to ask after barging into the Shrine and bringing all that commotion…but the Shrine Maiden had given them permission. 
—Ixseed Rank Thirteen, Lunamana… It was said that the gods created this red moon as their abode even before the time of the Great War—and this being so, knowledge of what kind of race they were was nonexistent. Sora sure didn’t remember making an appointment with them, and he really would rather not have more problems. 
“Ah, Master, the Lunamana metropolis is on the opposite side of the moon. This side belongs to no one.” Jibril knelt reverently, answering to soothe Sora’s unspoken fears. “As you can see, it is a barren wasteland, devoid of air or even spirits. And the races with the power to come here are the very ones for which it holds no value. However, it is quiet, and the sun will not rise until a good while later in the month.” 
Indeed, there was no air to propagate sound waves. One would it expect it to be rather quiet here by the standards of the world. Yet, Jibril was saying she’d brought them here for their comfort. 
“I also brought with us a globe of severed space sealing in the air in a radius of five hundred meters.” She smirked crookedly. “It is not possible to penetrate severed space. In addition, the average distance here is one hundred ninety thousand kilometers. Even Ex Machina would surely find it difficult to achieve such an ultra-long-distance shift. It should also be noted that the red moon has an orbital speed of approximately three kilometers per second. Even if they were to reopen the crack I made in space, they would find themselves lost in space… Ex Machina will not find us here… Heh, heh-heh-heh…!!” 
As Jibril cackled, Sora and Shiro wondered: …Did you just jinx us? 
…Ah, whatever. They wiped the sand off some random rock and sat down, using it as a backrest. 
“Hey, why does Lunamana only live on the opposite side of the moon? Why not take it all…?” Sora suddenly asked. 
“…Brother, look…” Shiro pointed ahead of them. 
There—those countless craters. Finally, Sora saw there was something wrong. If Jibril was talking about a front and a back, that meant that the red moon, too, always had the same side facing the planet. Just like Earth’s moon. Then shouldn’t the back also be covered in craters—the remains of cosmic bombardment? 
“Oh, yes. I misspoke. Let me correct myself, with apologies.” 
Sora had a suspicion—no, a near-certain hypothesis—which Jibril proceeded to address. 
“The back, where lies the metropolis, is of course blessed with air, spirits, and even rich greenery, as I am informed.” 
Only —she smiled on as she confirmed the hypothesis— 
“It seems this side was subject to stray fire during the War. Now it is dead . ? ” 
…The bombardment wasn’t from space—it was from the planet. So stray fire transformed a lunar surface 190,000 kilometers away into a dead world…? Sora was beginning to ask seriously why they didn’t do it in space— Oh. No spirits… 
“Ahhh, whatever! At least now we can think about the most important issue at hand in peace.” 
Sora took out the tablet. He and Shiro started messing with it. Jibril nodded gravely. 
“What to do about Ex Machina… Indeed…” 
Sora and Shiro looked at her questioningly. 
“Wh-what? Is it a different issue?” 
“…Uh, but… What good will it do, to think about, that one? …Them…” 
“We’ve got more pressing matters to attend to! Like what to do for stage equipment for Holou’s second concert!!” 
The task scheduler was already packed. And they’d already had to delegate one important task—the meet and greet—to Steph . Any more of this, and they’d totally fail as producers! They had to nail down plans for Jibril to do the effects, as they were envisioning before Ex Machina showed up. And how to accomplish all their other tasks while being chased around by Ex Machina? This by itself was incredibly hard. Sora tore at his hair and groaned. 
“…Yeah. It would be ideal to do something about Ex Machina and get them to help us. That would solve everything.” 
Walking, talking stage equipment. Anything was possible. 
—Walking was the hard part. 
And the talking. And the bugs behind the thoughts they spoke of. And how you couldn’t squash or ignore the bugs without breaking the rules. In summary, the problem was that there seemed to be nothing to do about them. 
“…Maybe, they’d help…if you just…asked them? …They do, love you…” 
“You want me to be in Einzig’s debt?! He’s gonna ask for my chastity in return!” 
“…If it’s, between that…and another, girl…I’d rather…have you do it—with a guy…!” 
“Hey! Lil’ sis! Do we have to take things to their logical extremes?!” 
Shiro chewed her nails as she laid down her agonized conclusion, while Sora shrieked back. 
Even if they got them to help for a bit, in the end, it wouldn’t solve anything—he’d still be screwed. I guess there’s no way around it… Sora folded his hands behind his head, leaned back on the rock, and thought. 
“…A trap to make Ex Machina accept a game under any conditions… Let’s see…” 
Was such a thing possible? Sora and Shiro didn’t even know where to start. 
“O thou! O thou and thou, O ye!! O Sora and Shiro! What hath brought ye here? Answer me!!” 
Out of nowhere, without so much as a sound or flash of light, as naturally and smoothly as if she’d been there from the start—a little girl, Holou, popped out in her idol costume and berated Sora and Shiro. 
“—Wha…? Wait—h-how did you know—rather, how did you get here?!” 
Jibril must have had pure confidence in that flight and that “severed space” she’d so worn herself out to accomplish. She shrieked to see Holou pass by it as if it were nothing. 
“…? I looked up. I chanced to see you here, and so I came to air my complaints!” 
“N-no! That’s not—it’s severed space ! You couldn’t see it—” 
—Just saw you and thought I’d say hi. Holou’s answer, tinged with displeasure, invited further objection from Jibril, but— 
“I know not of what thou speakest. Space provideth no severance. Thou must sever the continuity. Thou hidest in an open cylinder.” 
…No one knew what she was talking about, but it seemed that they were in plain sight as far as a polygenetic entity was concerned. Thus, a line emerged that one never would have expected to hear from its speaker—in the moment of the century— 
“Th-that’s…that’s…that’s bullshit……!” 
Jibril shrank away from Sora and Shiro’s scrutiny. 
“Let us put aside such trivialities, O Sora, O Shiro!” Holou pointed her finger, smoothly slashing through Jibril’s deep despair. “Why have ye consigned Holou for four hours to hold a meet and greet attended by no one as ye tarry here? Ye must answer!” 
Yes, she’d showed up punctually at the time indicated by Sora and Shiro and sat there in her lonely little booth. Apparently the poor, unloved idol had waited out an attendance of zero to the end. It was no wonder she was interrogating them—or rather, appealing to them with teary eyes. Sora and Shiro drooped their heads, unable to provide useful comment. 
 
“Heh, heh-heh… Unable to escape the Ex Machinas or Holou… What am I good for?” 
Thus, Jibril crouched and murmured, scribbling out spirals on the moon’s surface. Was it really so depressing to lose in a test of strength to Holou, an Old Deus, albeit a weakened one? This doubt of Sora’s did not seem to attract her attention. But all of a sudden, something else did entirely. 
“…Oh! Come to think of it, Jibril, against whom are you capable of winning? You’ve lost to the furry beasts and to your masters… Could it be, Jibril—that you are utterly useless?” 
Oh… It seemed she’d seen something that shouldn’t be seen. Watching her from behind as she fell ever further into the depths with a smile, Sora and Shiro decided not to say anything. 
— You beat us , bitch , is what they wanted to say, but. 
“—Hmm. Ex Machina… Those inorganic humanoid life-forms?” 
“Uhhh… I have no idea what you’re looking at from the moon when you say those , but the , yeah, I think.” 
Having been filled in, Holou was looking with her hand above her eyes as she murmured to draw Sora’s bile. 
“Wait, don’t you know? Ex Machina’s supposed to have slain Artosh. They’re kind of a big deal.” 
“H-Holou is a god! She possesseth information! H-however—” 
Holou choked on her words for a moment as Sora commented on the unexpected ignorance of a transcendent being able to drive a Flügel to despair. 
“Before the current races were created, Holou… Ah… Hngh?! Wh-what dost thou?!” 
“Hmm? Oh, I just was thinking your head was at just about the right height to rub, so I did.” 
“…It’s your fault…for having…a rubbable head…” 
Holou’s objections were met with frivolity by Sora and Shiro, who now understood. 
—They realized she didn’t want to say attempted suicide . They let her off the hook. 
…A dizzyingly long time ago, Holou had gouged herself of her own ether and left herself comatose. She’d been awakened only half a century ago by the Shrine Maiden. She probably didn’t know anything that had happened in that time… And even after that, she’d been inside the Shrine Maiden… She could only have known what she saw through her. It was just as Holou had said: She had information—knowledge—about Ex Machina, but it was her first time seeing them. Now that she was independent, she could apparently use powers approaching clairvoyance, but she was probably still far from omniscient. Her ability was a far cry from anything that could be considered “all-seeing,” because it would impinge on the Covenants. Sora was getting a little sentimental thinking about it when Holou spun back. 
“Do it? Sexual intercourse, is it? Why dost thou not then make haste to copulate? To procreate? Thou must abide by thy promise!” 
Holou’s doe-eyed spamming of the smut button got Sora back on track with the clowning. 
—Hmm. Holou, the ultimate being of bullshit, was all about intellectual concepts to the point of defying comprehension. Did she have no feelings about the reproductive activity of living things—or could she just not imagine it ? Sora was sure it was the latter—but first things first— 
“How many times do I have to say I’m not their guy…? That’s why I’ve gotta think of a way to make them accept the condition—” 
— of releasing their lock , he was about to say, when Holou asked: 
“How art thou sure thou art not?” 
… 
 What? 
“Hey now, hey now, look at this, this supple, silky skin! Do I look like a six-thousand-year-old fossil?!” 
“…I am sorry, my master… Though I be but a useless fossil, p-please allow me to stay…” 
“Mm? Uh—no, it’s not like that! I was talking in human—look, that’s not my point! What I’m saying is—!!” 
Flustered by the further depression of the voice of the fossil just over six thousand years in age, sinking deep into a corner of the moon, Sora continued. 
“ I know who I am! What, you think I think I’m you, Holou?!” 
At Sora’s appeal to self-evidence, Holou cocked her head seriously. 
“Holou is capable of error. Art thou not, O Sora?” 
With that, Holou’s appearance flipped like a card. It was not even an instant before what stood before Sora was no longer a little girl in costume. It was a young man with black hair, dark eyes, and an “I ? PPL” shirt: 
“…If now Holou should falsify her memories, she would herself perceive as Sora. Error is trivial.” 
Sora’s face and voice—but not the man himself—asked Sora. 
“Ego, time, and fate signify not. I ask on what basis they identify thee as him they call the Spieler, and on what basis thou determinest this perception to be false.” 
“…………” 
…Sora responded with silence. No…with a sigh. He knew. Holou didn’t mean any harm. She probably didn’t know what it meant to mean harm. She was just hoping for an answer to a question, as usual—a draft to slake her curiosity. You could see that now she was getting her brush and scroll out—but that wasn’t the thing . 
—Okay. The question of the definition of the self and its proof…was it? Sure sounded fancy—but it was total crap . No matter how you directed your argument, you could only end up at the conclusion that there could be no proof. That was why Sora was making Holou be an idol. He couldn’t answer her. But then—Holou, having returned to her original little form, sulkily asked him another question. 
“What indeed is the basis on which thou definest thyself as thee?” 
… 
…With that. 
—It was as if the one gear that had been missing fell into place. The clockwork that had been disconnected and lifeless suddenly started turning. It was as if he could see Ex Machina’s actions, their words, their intent, their will—he could see everything. How could they trap Ex Machina? He felt like an idiot for struggling on that. Sora and Shiro looked at each other and held each other’s hand—smirking self-deprecatingly in spite of themselves. These were machines with hearts. What weighed upon those with hearts was always simple— 
—and full of crap ! 
“Wh-what is it? Why advance ye forth? Y-ye must answer— Ngyah?!” 
They tossed high the god who had shown them the light. 
“Damn, d00d! They don’t call you a god for nothing! Is this what they call ‘revelation’?!” 
“…Well played, Holou…! It was worth, giving you the hollow , out of our Blank …” 
“In-indeed?! D-do they call others gods for nothing?!” 
Holou wafted up and down in the scarce gravity of the moon as they threw her, unable to grasp the flow of the conversation. She hurried to produce her brush and scroll to record her questions, but they didn’t answer them. Putting her back on the ground, Sora and Shiro splendidly turned and spoke forth. 
“Jibril! It’s been rocky, but let’s get back to work—back to Elkia!” 
“…Uh, yes… If—if only I could be of service to you… Nghh…” 
“—Work? O—O ye—do ye propose to engage in labor?!” 
This must have been what the ancient scholars looked like when they first heard about heliocentrism. As Holou was overcome by astonishment and doubt, Sora and Shiro tut-tutted, wagging their index fingers at her. 
“Holouuu, what’s that faaace? Shiro and I work. What’s our job?” 
“……It is hypothesized as administration of a monarchy…is it? No evidence has been observed in your actions.” 
The dearth of clear justification for her hypothesis forced Holou to form it as a question. 
“Heyyy, hey, hey… Come on, you future top idol, you!” 
“…We have a…job… And it’s a… producer job…!” 
Answering with an exaggerated no, the man who was supposed to be king, at least nominally—Sora—took out his phone. And smashed one more task into his packed schedule. 
— Procure perfect walking stage effect equipment . 
Sora paused from typing, chuckled, and added one more thing. 
“Yeah… I guess I gotta do the maintenance while I’m at it… Though whether I can is up to them.” 
The light left behind by the screen on which he added it was the last trace they left on the moon. 
— Make the wish of the Ex Machinas come true… 
 
It is time. Take all the rage you have suppressed—and unleash it!! 
“NGRAHHH!! How you have seen fit to trouble us, maid robots and Einzig!” 
As soon as they shifted to the throne room, Sora’s bellowing shook the castle. 
“Sorry, but it’s our turn now, forever! By the law that all things change, that all is flux, we have come, Einzig!! To announce your return to dust— Hey, is Steph dead?!” 
Abruptly, a sight that should not exist in this world, that of a murder scene, turned his bellowing to a shriek. 
“—Whatever, that doesn’t matter!! Come on, Einzig—” 
“Did you just say my life doesn’t matter?!” 
The corpse splayed out on the ground was so incensed by her treatment, she roared back from the fiery pit of hell. 
…Well, actually, it had been obvious she was breathing, but… 
“Don’t you worry— Actually, it doesn’t!! But don’t you see this is an emergency situation?! Don’t you, you know, stress a little?!” 
Steph squeaked out a cry of resignation. 
“Nah. I mean, it’s Azril , y’know? We’re more like, God, we were smart not to be here.” 
“…That’s why…Brother said…you should… stay out, of the castle …Steph.” 
“My elder is stubborn in normal circumstances. It was self-evident that circumstances involving Ex Machina would get those fools excited.” 
Sora and Shiro and Jibril demonstrated that they’d grasped the situation at once—or rather, predicted it in advance. 
…One should, after all, heed people’s warnings. Even Sora’s. This was the realization Steph came to as she looked heavenward, and no one cared. 
“Oh, Spieler!! At last you have come to us of your own accord!” The old piece of trash wriggled and danced toward Sora and crowed delightedly. “We shall not let you down! For we are not the machines we once were. All units! ” 
“Don’t. First—I’ve got something I wanna ask all you guys.” Sora stopped the Ex Machinas as they were about to rewrite the scenery and asked, “You say you’re sure I’m your ‘Spieler’ or whatever. How do you prove that?” 
“I already— Ah, yes. I shall say it as many times as I must: My ‘heart’—” 
“Can you prove it? Can you prove that the Spieler and I are the same guy? So that I’m convinced. So that Shiro’s convinced. So that you guys are convinced, of course, and so that even third parties like Steph and Jibril are convinced. Conclusively, one hundred percent. Can you?” Sora was serious as he disregarded Einzig. 
“Hmm… No, that is impossible. But it is not necessary! For it is certain .” Einzig himself was sincere—as he wrote it off. 
Proof of selfhood was fundamentally impossible, even for someone else. Therefore, Ex Machina could not prove that Sora and the Spieler were the same. Likewise, Sora could not prove that he and the Spieler were not the same. 
 Yes. Normally , that is. 
“You’re wrong. Because I can prove conclusively—I’m not.” 
The hushed gazes of Einzig and all the Ex Machinas—not just their eyes, but all their sensors—focused on Sora. Faced with machines that could uncover any lie, Sora merely sneered: Perfect. For there was no lie, no bluff, not even any rhetorical trick in his words. It was just a fact. He could prove it. So that Shiro was convinced. So that Ex Machina was convinced. So that he was convinced, of course, and so that even third parties like Steph and Jibril were convinced. Conclusively, 100 percent. For real. 
This was known, and this was why—Sora crookedly chiseled out a smile—it would be enough: Now what he said, whatever he said— 
—whatever he demanded —they’d have to swallow it. 
“Come—let the game begin.” 
It was back in his hands. Sora flashed them a grin bold and grand. “We decide the game. The rules. The wagers. It’s all us.” This was what they got. “Shiro and I are one team. All you guys are the other. And by the way, you don’t have any choice in the matter.” Making no effort to conceal his personal grudge, Sora stuck it to them deliberately. “If we win, you’re gonna release your hardware lock! Plus! You’re going to abandon your annoyingly faithful wish never to make babies except with so-and-so! You’re gonna reproduce independently and not go extinct! That’s what you’re gonna pledge!!” 
“……Hmm. And what do we gain if we win?” 
For us to abandon the feelings that have brewed within us for six thousand years—what is the consideration you offer to equate to this? Thus, Einzig’s eyes narrowed at Sora, who flashed into a blush and squirmed— 
“Well, first, as a bonus…I’ll let you take…n-nude photos of me. ? ” 
“I see. Very well, we accept. Let us proceed with the game.” 
“ Request: Regarding ownership of bonus. This unit asserts ownership.” 
“They will accept that?! Then why must this take so long?!” 
Steph shrieked at the instantaneous answers of the deplorable scrap heaps. But Sora and Einzig both knew—both presumed something else. The nude photos of Sora, just as he said, were just a bonus. He didn’t even have to bet them. He didn’t even have to put down anything. 
“Also, during the game—I’ll prove to you, conclusively, that I am not the Spieler.” 
Because this was the headliner. 
“If I can’t, or if you refute it, it’ll be our loss unconditionally—” 
“—and here’s the special prize : Whoever refutes it first—gets to make babies with me immediately.” 
 …… 
“Heh…heh-heh… A test of who is fit for the Spieler , is it? A bold challenge laid down by love!” 
“ Truism: This unit asserts ownership of special prize. All denials rejected. Dismissed.” 
Seemed the headliner exceeded their expectations…their presumption. Everyone stared aghast as the temperature in the room seemed to rise. But Sora and Shiro alone knew. If Ex Machina lost, they’d lose their love. For them to take on that risk—mere nude photos and determination of a partner for reproduction would never be enough. 
If, just as Sora said, it wasn’t him and he could prove it, reproduction didn’t even matter anymore. It threatened all their hope. 
“So, with that, it’s time for us to tell you the game.” 
Steph, Jibril…even Einzig listened up. In what kind of game could one possibly defeat computers that learned and adapted infinitely, that became stronger without bound—that left oracle machines behind? 
—What kind of game could defeat these monsters? 
While feeling the gazes raining down upon him, Sora named it—blithely. 
“—It’s chess! ? Hey, it’s not like you didn’t see that coming, right?” 
“…Any gamer…knows…if they get you…you gotta, get even…” 
… 
……? 
Sora could see the question marks forming above everyone’s heads. 
“C’mon, don’t look like that. We’re not playing just any old chess. ? ” 
Sora, with Shiro in tow, spun about. He was getting a kick out of all this. 
“Game’s five days from now, at the same time as Holou’s second concert! Meanwhile, you get to make and promote the game and set up the stage and equipment!” 
“…Work for us…tools… Perfect stage equipment…for the win…!” 
Thus, tossing aside the concerns of all, Sora boomed: 
“Things are gonna get busy around here! ’Cos this is gonna be the sickest show ever!!”