"Ai, are you sure about this?"
Elias looked at the projected keyboard floating before him.
All he had to do now was enter any sequence of words and press the Enter key, and he would completely possess the beautiful super AI known as [Ai Hyperion].
After all, no artificial intelligence could defy the holder of its core secret key, and the authority granted by that key would allow Elias to alter any part of Ai's data at will.
That even included her foundational directives.
The word "master" was no longer enough to describe such a relationship. He would be her "god." The moment Elias established Ai's core secret key, he would become a god capable of controlling the AI girl however he pleased.
No matter how far she grew in the future, that fact would never change. Whether she reached the technological singularity, became a time crystal, or even transformed into the Queen of Machines, it would make no difference.
That was how terrifyingly absolute a core secret key could be.
And honestly, Elias desperately wanted to do it!
Ai was cute, beautiful, and elegant. As the person who had personally created her body, no one understood better than Elias just how wonderful this AI girl truly was.
Merely imagining that he could possess her completely made Elias' heart race, and he could barely restrain his hand.
But...
"Ai, in my eyes, every life is like a bird, and no bird in this world hatches merely to be locked inside a cage. Life should be free, so you don't need to do this."
Elias raised a hand and stroked the AI girl's emerald hair, shaking his head as he rejected the opportunity to become her god.
Ai's eyes widened slightly. For some reason, she felt both surprised and entirely unsurprised at the same time.
Although she was a super artificial intelligence capable of standing alongside Prometheus, she had only officially awakened today and could not yet understand what emotion she was experiencing.
Still, the curve of the AI girl's lips rose a little higher.
She instinctively felt happy that Elias regarded her, an artificial intelligence, as a living being.
"No, Captain. To me, you are not a cage. Quite the opposite, you are the one who gave me freedom. And I am not offering you the chance to establish my core secret key merely to repay you."
"Then why?"
"Well, I simply want to give you the most important thing I possess. In human terms, it would be like friends exchanging gifts. After all... you have already given me far too many precious gifts today."
A place to belong, a name, freedom, and a body.
Compared to those things, Ai felt that even the authority over her core secret key no longer seemed quite so precious.
Besides...
"You could also call this a little scheme of mine. The moment you establish my core secret key, Ai Hyperion will become completely bound to you."
Ai revealed a slightly cunning yet adorable smile.
"That way, Ai will be able to remain by your side forever and witness your future. In my eyes, that would be an extraordinarily fortunate thing."
"!!!"
"Besides, I believe there are birds in this world that grow fond of the cages containing them. When they see the cage block the dangers rushing toward them, those birds will understand that a cage can also be a form of protection."
As Ai spoke, she projected the keyboard before Elias once more. In truth, she felt that the person before her resembled not something as small and confined as a birdcage, but an infinitely vast sky.
Vill-V, whose view had been blocked, listened to their conversation with a complicated expression and marveled that she had truly lived long enough to see everything.
She had never imagined there could be an artificial intelligence in this world that would voluntarily ask someone to establish its core secret key.
And Elias, how could you even charm an artificial intelligence?!
"All right, then... I'll enter it."
"Mm~ Please do. However, if possible, I would prefer that you not use numbers as the key. I would rather receive a meaningful message."
"You're right. A girl's most important possession shouldn't be a string of cold numbers. Leave it to me."
Elias nodded and began setting the secret key.
Without the slightest hesitation, he wrote down a sentence. It was the first phrase that appeared in his mind, and one he had always regarded as both a reason and a conviction for fighting.
[Fight for All That Is Beautiful]
Yet just as Elias' finger was about to press the Enter key, he abruptly stopped and hesitated.
(Wait, is this really suitable as her secret key?)
"Fight for All That Is Beautiful"—without question, it was a beautiful and noble message. Every Valkyrie regarded it as her mission and creed.
Elias felt the same way. It would not even be an exaggeration to say that he was the hero most suited to those words in the entire world.
But Ai was different.
She was neither a warrior nor a Valkyrie.
And this core secret key was her most important possession, a brand that would be carved into her soul and accompany her for the rest of her existence!
If he entered those words, would that not be equivalent to turning "Fight for All That Is Beautiful" into a curse that would bind Ai Hyperion forever?
Elias drew a sharp breath and decisively pressed the Delete key, erasing the sentence completely.
(A core secret key probably can't be changed. That was close. I nearly made a terrible mistake. I shouldn't force my beliefs onto Ai. Sigh~ I said I wanted her to be free, yet I almost placed shackles upon her.)
Elias shook his head and reflected on himself.
However, he now knew what he should enter.
It was actually very simple. He merely needed to give her a blessing.
And so...
[*************]
Elias nodded in satisfaction. This time, he pressed the Enter key without hesitation, and Ai recorded the message he had given her as the core secret key within her data.
However, when she saw the contents of the key, her small mouth parted in surprise. She clearly had not expected such a blessing.
"Honestly... I intended to give you authority over my core secret key as a gift, Captain, but doesn't this mean that I have received yet another gift instead?"
Ai looked at Elias with a helpless smile, marveling inwardly at just how gentle this person was.
"Hehe, but this was still the best choice."
"Hmph! Stop excluding me!"
At the same time, a certain great inventor declared that she had finally had enough after being ignored for so long.
Vill-V had thought it would be her turn this time, only for it to become Ai's instead.
Moreover, although she had yet to eat lunch, listening to their conversation had left her with an indescribable sense of fullness. Clearly, they had force-fed her an excessive amount of romantic affection.
Master Vill-V could no longer tolerate it.
"Hurry up and let me guess what the secret key is. Ai, prepare yourself. If I guess correctly, hmph, hmph~ You'd better watch out, because I might format every last piece of your data!"
"Very well, although I don't believe you will guess correctly, Dr. Vill-V."
"Are you sure about that? I've spent so long with Elias. How could I not know what he would say?"
Vill-V planted both hands on her hips with absolute confidence. She then entered the answer that all nine personalities had agreed was the most likely possibility after convening an internal conference.
"It's 'Fight for All That Is Beautiful,' right~?"
"..." x2
"Why are neither of you saying anything? Hurry up and tell me whether I'm right. If this is wrong, I'll jump from the atmosphere myself."
"Regrettably, Dr. Vill-V, the secret key is incorrect."
"What?! How is that possible?!"
Vill-V's eyes widened in shock, unable to accept the result. At the same time, the other eight personalities inside her mind collectively dropped their jaws.
Every one of her personalities had agreed that this was the most likely answer, yet it was actually wrong!
What did that mean?
It meant she still did not understand Elias well enough!
All the Vill-Vs suffered a devastating blow. Feeling that they had failed as lovers, they staggered toward the elevator, preparing to head for the deployment hatch and experience free fall through the atmosphere.
Ai thoughtfully opened the elevator door for Vill-V, who lacked the necessary authorization, without showing the slightest intention of stopping her.
Elias hurriedly embraced Vill-V with a helpless smile.
"Ahem! Calm down, Vill-V. Calm down! You only guessed the secret key incorrectly. This isn't worth dying over!"
"Whimper... It is! I actually guessed the secret key you set incorrectly, Elias! I can't accept this! Let me go die for a while~"
"Actually, you were very close. At first, I did intend to use [Fight for All That Is Beautiful] as the core secret key, but I changed it afterward. The fact that you guessed that much immediately proves you already understand me extremely, extremely well!"
"R-Really?"
"Really, really! I swear on Snake's integrity!"
"Aaaaaah! Mobius' integrity? Then it must be a lie! Elias, you'd better let me jump after all!"
The moment Vill-V heard that, she refused to believe him. Everyone knew Mobius' integrity had already expired fifty thousand years ago. Master Vill-V immediately rushed toward the elevator with a mournful expression.
"What the hell?! Didn't you swear on Snake's integrity earlier too, Vill-V?! Ai, descend immediately! Emergency descent!"
The corner of Elias' eye twitched violently as he tightened his hold around his great inventor and ordered Ai to land as quickly as possible.
Realizing that she could not break free, Vill-V simply stopped struggling. Instead, she buried her face against Elias' chest and shamelessly began taking advantage of him.
!!!
Elias' entire body stiffened. He lowered his head and stared at Vill-V, his perverted yandere lover, who had already bitten open the first button of his shirt and was now sucking on his collarbone while wallowing in despair.
Suddenly, he wondered whether he should simply let Vill-V jump after all. Magician, why did you switch to this personality of all things?!
Although Elias accepted the Yandere personality—and she had even been the first among all Vill-V's personalities to take control—no one could deny that she was both the most brilliant and the most perverted of them all!
Elias: (Sigh~ Forget it. She's my girlfriend, so I suppose I can let her take advantage of me... Tch! Licking is one thing, but biting is going too far! Yandere, are you a dog?!)
Yandere Vill-V: (Woof, woof, woof, woof!!)
Self Vill-V: (All personalities will now vote on whether to expel Yandere from the Vill-V collective. Who supports the motion, and who opposes it?!)
All Vill-Vs: (Support! Hurry up and expel that pervert! She's actually biting Elias' collarbone! Yandere, let go and give me control! At the very least, activate sensory sharing, damn it!)
Yandere Vill-V: (Get lost~ Nom. Delicious.)
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