Paradox-Roid | Chapter 7

[healingbonds]

Chapter 6 << | index | >> Chapter 8


Cain brings us to a maintenance shop: a cosy place nestled on the outskirts of town.

Cain: We’re here! This is my friend Rustica’s shop. Chloe, are you there, Chloe?

Bursting out of the shop at the sound of his name, Chloe turns out to be a young man with a cute smile, bright red hair and purple eyes.

Chloe: Who is it? Oh, it’s you, Cain!

Cain: It’s been a while, Chloe! Where’s your master? Is he awake?

Chloe: He is. Rustica stays up all night. He’s usually asleep before noon though.

Cain: His days and nights sure are flipped around. Sounds just like an engineer.

Chloe: Who are these people with you?

The young man called Chloe turns towards Owen and me. For a split second, I feel like his eyes glow.

Chloe: Ah....... How unusual. You don’t have a handler registered. Are you a prototype?

Owen: I don’t know what you’re talking about. I only came here for my CBSC.

Chloe: Do you like the CBSC? Isn’t it delicious? I’ve had it seven times.

Owen: Huh? Are you bragging?

Chloe: I’m Chloe. Rustica’s Assist-Roid, Chloe. What about you guys?

Owen: I’m Owen.

Akira: I’m Akira.

Chloe: Hello, Owen, Akira! I hope you get your handlers registered soon. It’s fun having an owner.

Owen: Why?

Chloe: Because you get to be treasured by the person you love most, and you get to take care of them too. Rustica, you have customers!

Chloe calls out, and a young man walks out from the back of the shop.
He exudes an air of sophistication and elegance, but he looks only at Chloe without meeting any of our gazes.

Rustica: So Cain came, Chloe. The other two behind him are........

Chloe: They’re both Assist-Roids.

Cain: There’s an Assist-Roid with an ID the system can’t process. It’s Owen, I mean, the red-eyed one.

Owen: Don’t point at me.

Cain: I thought that if anyone could help me get a read on the data, it’d be you. Can I trouble you, Rustica?

Chloe: Cain, I’ll convey the message to him, so don’t worry. Hang on just a moment.

Chloe carefully explains the same thing to Rustica. Rustica nods as he listens.
Taking deep breaths, Rustica looks warily at Cain. He offers an awkward smile.

Rustica: Good evening, Cain. It’s been a while.

Cain: Sorry to barge in out of the blue.

Rustica: It’s fine. Please come by anytime. I know that you’re a kind person. I’m happy to see you.
It’s just my body that can’t get used to it. I reflexively get nervous and stiffen up.
I’m sorry it always takes me a while until I can make eye contact while we talk, but....... Okay, here.

Slowly, Rustica slides his arms around Cain and hugs him. It’s a heartfelt, if slightly awkward, gesture.
Grinning widely, Cain firmly returns Rustica’s embrace.

Cain: I know. I love both you and Chloe.
Owen...... That red-eyed guy. I can’t get a read on his ID. I thought you might be able to.

Rustica: You can’t get a read on his ID...... And yet he’s still moving around? Is he moving without a signal?

Cain: That’s right. He doesn’t seem to possess any weapons, so he probably isn’t meant for criminal activity, but.......

Chloe: Leave it to me! If anything happens, I’ll protect you!

Chloe strikes a quirky pose, halfway between cool and cute.
I laugh in spite of myself, and my eyes meet Rustica’s. He smiles gently, as if in relief. His gaze reminds me of the spring sunlight.

Rustica: I see you’re an Assist-Roid as well. I got all nervous because I thought you were human...... I’m sorry.

Akira: Ah, not at all.......

Rustica: Chloe has been obsessed with spy movies lately. Have you ever watched one? There’s one based on the president of Bennett Wines.......

Cain: I know that one — the owner of the bar is a former spy, and his pipe can turn into seven gadgets. Rutile said it was interesting.

Chloe: I’m going to cosplay from that movie with Rutile and Mitile! They said they’d lend me Mithra, too!

Cain: You mean that giant Assist-Roid, huh. It’s rare for a working class family to have an Assist-Roid, so I’m sure they must treasure him greatly.

Chloe: He did some work for the Hart Foundation’s welfare institution too. The Flores brothers volunteer there, you see.

Cain: That’s right. Mitile was chosen for some award, and even got to have his picture taken with Lord Riquet.

The three of them seem to be good friends. Rustica turns towards us and bows courteously.
From that point onwards, he no longer averts his eyes. He smiles gently, like he’s welcoming us.

Rustica: Good evening. I’m Rustica, an engineer. I do maintenance for family robots.
I also handle Assist-Roids occasionally, but I mostly work with Pet-Roids.

Akira: Pet-Roids...... Are there cat or dog robots too?

Rustica: Yes. There are cat, dog, even sheep models. Some can even shift from their humanoid form into dog form.

Cain: Rustica is really skilled, so he gets requests from even the upper class. Owen, come here.

Cain beckons at Owen, while pulling out a chair. Owen walks over agreeably.

Owen: What?

Cain: Sit here.

Owen: Okay, I sat down.

Rustica: Well then, I’m going to take out your battery and suspend your functions temporarily before I remove your IC chip.

Owen: Huh!? No way, I don’t want that.

Owen flies into a furious rage. I can understand his resistance.
If we’re robots, our batteries are like our hearts. Once you remove them, we’re as good as dead.
Rustica blinks, taken aback. But he continues speaking to Owen, his expression unchangingly pleasant.

Rustica: If I remove your IC chip while your battery is still inside of you, it could trigger a malfunction.
I’m doing it only to protect your functions. It’s all right, it’ll be over before you know it. It won’t even take fifteen minutes.

Owen: I don’t trust you. I might never wake up again. This guy said he was going to turn me into scrap metal, after all.

Chloe: Did he? Cain......

Cain: It wasn’t me! My colleague said that. If I were going to do that, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of bringing him here.

Cain murmurs convincingly, holding Owen down by his shoulders as he attempts to rise from his seat.

Cain: You’ll only be unconscious for fifteen minutes. It’ll be over in a blink. We’re going to eat the CBSC after we check out your ID, remember?

Owen: But, but.......

Akira: (This is like persuading a child to get his shot with the promise of ice cream......)

That’s when a new voice rings out from the back of the laboratory.

Chapter 6 << | index | >> Chapter 8