Chapter 48: You Must Remember to Smile More~
『 The day after Seed finished her mission, Magus told Belle about the incident, mentioning that Seed was in a very bad state and hoping Belle could come over.
"Proxy… you're here!" Trigger greeted Belle as she arrived at the hideout.
"…Oh, it's you, Proxy." Seed's voice lacked its usual vitality; it was lifeless.
"Did something happen, Seed? Magus said you went on a mission alone… did you run into any trouble?" Belle asked, looking at the dejected Seed.
"It's nothing… just that my Nitro-Fuel spilled," Seed replied.
"Compared to that… Proxy, what exactly is death?"
"Huh…? Why are you asking this all of a sudden… has someone mentioned this to you?" Belle was surprised at first, then immediately asked.
"Seed Sr. told me that life is a circle, and death is just a point on that circle. Flowers wither and return to the soil, and soon new little flowers sprout."
At this point, Seed turned to look at the withered flowers, her voice dropping a degree.
"But it doesn't seem to be like that at all. If he was right, why would those grave robbers be so afraid and hateful of death?"
"Why, instead of not understanding… is my most prominent feeling right now a kind of suffocation that makes it hard to breathe?" 』
『 ....』
〘Trigger〙: It seems Seed has realized it.
〘Magus〙: What about the radio? Can you save this?
....
『 Belle looked at the heartbroken Seed and comforted her: "Take it easy… this isn't a question that can be answered immediately; we can try to understand it slowly. But what's more urgent right now is that it seems we can hear Seed Sr.'s name on the military radio station!"
"Eh?! Right now?" Seed asked, surprised.
"Of course! For some reason, I hacked into the Defense Force's internal broadcast, and then I heard his name… This news seems to be looping for a while, so I rushed over to find you." Belle nodded.
"We can't listen to the radio inside the Hollow… but my brother is outside the Hollow now. We can call him and listen to the broadcast from his end!"
"I think I heard someone calling me. Is it about that broadcast message Belle mentioned?" Wise's voice came through Belle's phone.
"Yes, please." Seed asked.
The news from the radio station really did perk Seed up from her depressed state. Everyone gathered in front of the communication interface, holding their breath to listen to the carefully fabricated recording.
As Wise silently hacked into the Defense Force's channel, the recording began to play clearly on the radio…
"Next, we are synchronizing the progress of the next mission execution. The security clearance is top-secret; disclosure of information to non-Defense Force personnel is strictly prohibited."
"The following intelligent construct units have previously had their consciousness detached from their current chassis, entering the logic core offline maintenance and upgrade process until the core iteration is completed."
"The current core iteration has been preliminarily completed. Relevant personnel will temporarily use new bodies to operate and will be directly incorporated into the Deep Dive Operation long-term closed training project to execute multi-dimensional tactical calculations and cross-generational consciousness synergy missions."
"The list is as follows: Chromaconda, Tartarus, Seed Sr...."
"Special notice: During the training period, any form of unencrypted private external contact is strictly restricted. All content communicated with the outside world must be reviewed by security personnel."
After listening, Seed tapped her lips with her finger and said, "So Seed Sr. was secretly executing a secret mission? No wonder he hasn't returned for so long…"
"But… why didn't he tell me in advance?"
"That's probably because of the self-alert system that comes with military Intelligent Constructs… For intelligent constructs, they cannot disobey orders issued by the system, even if it's to those closest to them…" Trigger explained.
"But I believe that even if Seed Sr. cannot reply to messages in time, he must be concerned about how you are doing…"
"Seed… let's wait patiently together… until the day Seed Sr. finishes his mission and returns, okay?" Trigger said softly.
"Do I not have to do anything, and he will just come back on his own?" Seed asked.
"If that could really happen… that would be nice."
After Seed's words fell, the screen went black. When the screen lit up again, a line of white text appeared.
Those memories and that promise feel like they just happened yesterday. Yet in this haze, it all seems so far away. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Such an abrupt transition. Next is Seed's memory, right?
〘Hanabi〙: Not bad, you're quite knowledgeable now~
....
『 As Stelle said, all the following scenes had a past filter applied.
Seed Sr. looked at little Seed sitting on his lap and said, "You've grown taller recently."
Little Seed hummed after hearing this, seemingly dissatisfied with the fact that she had grown taller.
"What's wrong? Humans can only become stronger by growing in size, going to wider places, and doing more things… are you unwilling?" Seed Sr. asked.
"The cockpit is getting narrower and narrower," little Seed said.
"Haha, that's true! Should I consider renovating and expanding the space of the cockpit…" Seed Sr. laughed after hearing this.
"But growth is something every human must experience… just like when I go to the coffee shop to drink coffee, I have to ask Tin Master to drip a few drops of machine oil into it."
"I want to be an intelligent construct. That way, I won't grow anymore," little Seed said, touching Seed Sr.'s mechanical arm.
"Growing up isn't scary… or rather, I can only rest easy if you grow up a bit," Seed Sr. raised his other hand to stroke little Seed's head.
"Rest easy about what?"
"I… need to rest for a while."
"Go ahead. Then I'll go back to the cockpit to sleep. See you tomorrow." Little Seed thought this was the same as usual.
"No, no, it's not an ordinary rest… I should be sleeping for a long, very long time. During this time, you have to take good care of yourself," Seed Sr. shook his head.
"If I don't take good care of myself, will you wake up to lecture me?" little Seed asked.
"No. But if you do that, the time I wake up will be pushed back," Seed Sr. said dotingly.
"Alright… then I'll take good care of myself."
"When will you wake up?"
"Let me think… when you become stronger, strong enough to stand on your own as a member of the Defense Force, I suppose," Seed Sr. replied after thinking for a while.
"That's too abstract. Without a clear standard agreement, it's like a verbal promotion promise made by a superior at a meeting," little Seed retorted.
"When did you learn about this… forget it, anyway, I don't care how high my military rank is."
"In that case… then when you are taller than the flowers in that Hollow, okay?"
"That Hollow?"
"Haha… one day in the future, you will know… ouch, don't punch me…"
Little Seed punched Seed Sr. in front of her.
"Oh, right, don't forget the most important thing—remember to smile more~"
"Just smile? That's too vague… let's just wait until I'm stronger, then you come back. At least that's easier to achieve." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: So that's why Seed always has a smile on her face…
〘Belle〙: Because she became stronger, but Seed Sr. still didn't wake up.
〘Seed〙: I've even managed the smiling part now, but why haven't you woken up yet?
....
『 Seed Sr. fell silent after hearing this. Little Seed didn't know that this was the last time she would talk to Seed Sr.
Little Seed looked at the silent Seed Sr. and said, "Are you asleep again? Lately, you've been sleeping a bit too much. Anyway, it's a promise."
"Good night…" 』
『 ....』