“How on earth did you get this-yong?”
Not seeing him for a week was nice.
Chairman Paraya has a conscience, after all.
During the week of midterms, the lectures on noble etiquette were also on break.
Thanks to that, I slept quite well, too. It was a time to realize how important sleep is to a person.
So seeing him again now, it’s even more brutal.
Especially that sense of intimidation.
“Tickets to Rose Atelier are expensive-yong. It’s hard for a cadet to purchase one-yong. Maybe if you were at the level of a duke’s household, but otherwise, you’d have to be quite well-off-yong.”
“I received it.”
“You received it-yong? Either the giver is incredibly wealthy, or it seems things didn’t go well after they tried to court you at the ball-yong.”
Agh.
Joshua. I didn’t even know that was the case.
But did he think Soraya would accept it?
If so, that’s really shamelessly brazen.
“Anyway-yong, a formal suit for balls is essential if you want to start learning noble etiquette-yong. This could be called an incredible opportunity for Cadet Deep right now-yong.”
Chairman Paraya nodded, looking satisfied.
“Don’t mind the person who gave this to you-yong. If you’re a capable cadet on the level of Cadet Deep, there are definitely female cadets eyeing you-yong. Just go and seduce one-yong.”
“What?”
I can’t.
It’s not that I won’t; it’s that I can’t.
“T-they’re all nobles.”
Karina is, and so is Lucia.
There are definitely cadets who take an interest in me because of my skills, but even those people don’t seem to like me as a romantic interest.
Of course, it’s because I’m a commoner.
Honestly, up until now, being a commoner put my mind at ease.
Not knowing etiquette was okay, and since everyone I met wasn’t a noble, I could speak freely without watching my words. It was all pretty good.
If you exclude getting picked on at the drop of a hat, it wasn’t all bad.
Come to think of it, these days I barely get picked on at all.
I’ve proven my skills, and as I’ve bulked up, quarrels have pretty much disappeared one way or another.
Now, if someone picked a fight, couldn’t I beat them up?
No, let’s not. After all, I’m not Ian.
Chairman Paraya fell into thought for a moment, then picked up his smartwatch.
“Then try recruiting from your fan club-yong.”
“The fan club, um, I didn’t make that.”
I don’t particularly want to know who’s in my fan club, either.
Chairman Paraya glanced at me and nodded.
“Your body is quite solid and nice-yong. Women love a tailcoat on a man with a good body, so it’ll be fine-yong.”
Is it okay for a chairman to talk like that?
“You seem to be wondering if it’s okay for a chairman to speak like this-yong. If it bothers you, fire me-yong.”
I must never become that kind of adult.
Though I already am one.
“And I already posted-yong.”
“What?!”
“And a comment came in right away-yong.”
Chairman Paraya gestured to turn the hologram my way.
[Title: First Come First Serve, One Person Can Have Deep-yong]
Author: Chairman Paraya
Title says it all.
ㄴ Ailee: He’s mine-yong.
ㄴ Chairman Paraya: Who are you again-yong.
So the chairman uses words like “title says it all,” too. Shocking.
“Ailee?”
When I raised my smartwatch with a bewildered expression, Ailee shot out of it in hologram form.
“He’s mine! Tell them I said he’s mine!”
“What the heck now.”
Chairman Paraya flinched in surprise and stiffened his expression slightly.
“Chairman, y-you have to keep up your concept.”
“Ah, right-yong.”
The chairman blinked a few times, fell into thought, and then nodded as he was.
“I see-yong. Yes-yong. That makes sense-yong.”
“Huh?”
“There were parts that didn’t quite add up when I purchased the secondhand Ailee that Cadet Deep is using, but it seems my suspicions were correct-yong.”
“Your suspicions?”
“It was a used product, but there were almost no traces of a prior user-yong. Seeing how peculiar the AI is, it might very well be a case of someone escaping Luna Research Institute on their own-yong.”
Ailee and I looked at each other at the same time.
I’d never have thought I’d hear a story I didn’t hear on the western front right here.
Come to think of it, of course the buyer, as well as the seller, would know about Ailee.
“S-so? Please t-tell me more.”
“That’s all-yong? It was suspicious, but I bought it because the price was cheap-yong.”
Damn it.
As expected, do I need to find Charlotte Kertia or inquire directly with the Luna Clan?
The latter seems like it would be a disaster, so I should go with the former if possible.
“Well, anyway, I knew it was a very peculiar AI-yong. But an AI doesn’t have a body-yong. Unless it has a separate body, that is-yong.”
He’s right.
No, in the first place, there’s no way anyone sells bodies for transferring a Titan’s AI separately.
Moreover, to dress Ailee’s body in a dress, it would have to be a body that almost perfectly imitates human appearance.
Even if such an item were obtained, it would immediately hit the market, but the price would be enormous.
There’s no way someone would have such an item to spare and casually hand it over, easily giving it as a gift.
No way.
“There is?”
“Uh-huh?”
“That’s right! There is! There is one!”
Ailee grabbed my hand and bounced up and down, then immediately turned off the hologram.
“Chairman, I have somewhere I need to go urgently!”
“Suddenly-yong? The noble etiquette lecture isn’t over yet-yong. Is something more urgent than taking a lecture from me, who is both a member of the Imperial Family and the chairman-yong?”
“Yes!”
At my unhesitating answer, Chairman Paraya made an incredulous expression.
“Then at least tell me where you’re going-yong.”
“The maid café!”
Deep immediately ran out of the chairman’s office.
And he immediately came back, closed the door silently, and ran off again.
Chairman Paraya leaned back against the chair rest and propped both feet up on the desk.
“Sigh.”
So that AI brat made an appearance again.
This can’t end well.
***
The moment I flung open the maid café’s door, Senior Ayla’s eyes widened in slight surprise.
“What brings you here at this hour….”
“Please lend me a body!”
Senior Ayla startled and looked at me.
Ah.
I belatedly looked around.
Other customers were looking at me with puzzled expressions.
“L-let’s talk in the back.”
“Yes, that’s a good idea.”
Fortunately, Senior Ayla smiled without getting angry and went with me to the back of the café.
Come to think of it, it’s not a maid café, but the Employee Club café.
I need to stop mixing them up already.
“So, what do you mean by a body?”
“Ah, well. There’s something I need to ask first.”
Actually, I need to ask if she even has it.
“Do you still have the robot maid body that Lucia left behind at the café?”
Senior Ayla made a briefly surprised expression.
And soon her face turned joyful as she grabbed my hand tightly.
“Has Cadet Deep finally realized how wonderful a personal robot maid is?!”
“Y-yes? No, that’s not it?”
“Anyway, you’ve realized how wonderful a personal assistant maid is!”
“What? I’m telling you it’s not.”
Senior Ayla’s expression changed drastically.
It became an expression full of doubts, and she immediately took several steps back.
“…It isn’t equipped with an OS or parts that can pleasure men, though?”
“That’s why I’m telling you it’s nothing like that!”
When I raised my clasped hand, Ailee immediately shot out in hologram form and shouted.
“It’s me! I’m saying I’m going to use it!”
Senior Ayla was slightly surprised, her eyes widening.
Senior Ayla had already seen Ailee several times before.
Though not as often as Ran or Ian, because most strategy meetings were held at the Employee Club café.
She must have caught glimpses of Ailee just passing by, and she probably knew Ailee was a fairly autonomous AI.
She is indeed someone very close to the Luna family.
So we’ve known each other for over a semester now; maybe it was okay to show her by now.
“It’s the first time you’ve shown her to me so directly.”
Senior Ayla looked Ailee over with a fascinated expression.
“So you’re thinking of connecting an AI to a robot maid’s body to temporarily provide it a vessel. This would solve the OS issue, but the parts would still be a problem.”
She’s definitely out of her mind.
When I just stared at her without answering, Senior Ayla slightly shrugged her shoulders.
“It was a joke. Easing your tension is also part of a maid’s duty.”
“I know. Please take a look at this.”
When I handed over the Rose Atelier ticket, Senior Ayla’s eyes widened for a moment.
Is it really that precious?
“You received it as a gift from someone.”
“How did you know?”
“I can roughly gauge the level of sponsorship you receive, and that amount isn’t enough to buy a Rose Atelier ticket. You spend an enormous amount on customizations, don’t you?”
She’s not wrong.
“Anyway, you mean to have your AI inhabit a body as your partner to the ball. I understand perfectly.”
“F-finally, you understand.”
“I never imagined you were that much of a pervert.”
“Excuse me?”
Who is saying this to whom?
Senior Ayla nodded as if she had convinced herself of something.
“To think of a robot maid operated by AI. This is something truly amazing that surpasses my conceptions of hired help.”
Ah.
“Moreover, since artificial intelligence typically obeys only the pilot’s commands, a maid in the truest sense—one who moves solely for a single person—would be born.”
“Senior Ayla. I only need to borrow it this once, w-well, just for the ball. Can you send it to my dorm by tomorrow?”
“Aah, of course I can lend it to you any number of times! I’ll customize it so it can move by synchronizing with the pilot AI by tomorrow!”
I don’t need it that many times.
I didn’t say that.
The conversation was already impossible.