Chapter 127: 80 – Heart of Copper, Part 6

[Ding-dong!]

Is that Fluffles? …Crap. I completely forgot to tell her that we succeeded-

“Intruder detected.” Ahrina spoke in a monotone, robotic voice at the same time as SlaughterBot turned towards the alcove to meet the newcomer. “Ex-ter-minate! Ex-ter-minate!”

“Woah-woah-woah, hold up!” Amara immediately shot up from the workbench, dropping the pieces of hardware for Ahrina’s new drone in the process. “You can’t just-”

“Ex-ter-minate!” Ahrina repeated, completely ignoring her as SlaughterBot marched with its bladed arms waving in sync with each step. “Ex-ter-minate!”

Amara watched as SlaughterBot exited through the alcove before shouting after it. “If SlaughterBot ends up broken because of your damn joke, I’m not fixing-...” Stopping herself mid sentence, Amara frowned. Why am I shouting? Ahrina is right…

Turning to look at the screen, she could see the catgirl covering her mouth with her hands as her shoulders shook.

Amara let out a sigh as she shook her head. “Very funny.”

“HYAH! HYAH! HYAH! HYAH! HYAH!” Ahrina burst out laughing.

As Amara expressed her disapproval with a snort, Ezme entered through the alcove. SlaughterBot stood frozen behind the corner, its bladed arm extended across its chest and to the side as if to welcome her in. 

The angel’s eyes were drawn to the screen by the laughter, her eyebrow raised. She momentarily glanced back at SlaughterBot, clearly skeptical about the unusualities before she finally looked at Amara. “Uhm…Amara? Did you…” Ezme gestured to the screen with her hand.

While Amara thought of how to break the news, Ahrina took the opportunity by pushing her chest out with her fists on her hips. “You must be Fluffles! I am Ahrina, the greatest AI there has ever been or will be! You may now present your greeting to me! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!” 

Ezme’s gaze went between Amara - who nodded with an amused smile - and Ahrina - who had a proud, toothy grin on her face - and then back again. “...It’s really an AI.”

“Of course I am!!” Ahrina retorted. 

“She really is.” Amara replied with a wry smile. 

A series of emotions flickered in Ezme’s eyes before she turned to Ahrina. “I’m Ezme. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Of course it is! Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!” Ahrina retorted before her grin rose higher. “Now, I permit you to strip!”

…Oh no.

Ezme’s expression had frozen as she stared at the avatar, her eyes blinking.

“Foolish angel, you dare ignore my command!?” Ahrina exclaimed. “Strip!”

Ezme turned her head to suspiciously eye Amara as she finally spoke. “...What’s with the perverted catgirl?”

Amara’s smile stiffened. Although Ezme’s tone was gentle and laced with faint amusement, her words were clearly spoken. Too clearly. 

“Well, uhm…” Amara rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as she avoided glancing at the avatar. “Turns out Ahrina likes catgirls?”

The smile on Ezme’s face finally faded away completely, her eyes turning to Amara. “And from where did she get that idea?”

“I’m innocent!” Amara blurted out reflexively as a chill ran up her spine when the angel’s cold gaze fell on her. “I didn’t tell her to like catgirls or anything!”

Shit! What if Ahrina mentions getting a harem?! I’m totally going to get blamed for that! 

Ezme’s eyes narrowed. “Really?”

“Really!” Amara replied as she nodded feverously. 

“What about the idea to tell me to strip?” Ezme asked suspiciously.

Amara shook her head to proclaim her innocence. “She did the same to me!”

Understanding momentarily flickered in Ezme’s eyes, yet they remained cold as they both turned to look at the catgirl. 

“Why are you looking at me as if there’s something wrong with me!” Ahrina pouted as she crossed her arms.

“Obviously because something is?” Ezme replied mercilessly. 

“Rude!!” Ahrina exclaimed with a shrill voice. 

“Telling people to strip the moment you meet them is not acceptable.” Ezme declared before she spun around, marching out of the workshop. “Amara? A word.”

Uh-oh. Amara let out a sigh as she watched Ezme disappear behind the corner before she muttered. “...Couldn’t you have gone a little easier on her in your first meeting?”

“Why?” Ahrina asked in a confused tone. “I think it went great! I’ve helped you immensely!”

“Now she’s angry at me!” Amara hissed as she glared at the avatar. “How is that considered helping?!”

“Because!” Ahrina immediately replied cheerfully. “Because, now you need to make up! Which means you get to kiss her!”

Amara stared at the grinning catgirl. When the words finally sank in, she exclaimed in frustration. “That’s not how it works!” 

“Isn’t it?” Ahrina cocked her head with a confused expression. “I think there is an idiom specifically referencing kissing as part of the act of reconciliation.”

“That’s only if you reconcile, and if you’re romantically involved!” Amara retorted. 

Ahrina’s ears drooped. “...Aren’t you and Fluffles romantically involved?”

“Well…yes.” (Amara)

SlaughterBot crossed its bladed arms as Ahrina continued. “And don’t you have the intention to reconcile?”

“Well, I do but- look, that is beside the point!” Amara exclaimed before she approached the screen and spoke in a strict tone. “I don’t need that kind of help! Putting wedges into the relationships of other people is bad! Get it?” 

Ahrina frowned. “But you want her, she wants you, and I want you to want each other. And Why shouldn’t I help you?”

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“We don’t need that kind of help, alright?” Amara insisted. “We can handle our relationship well enough on our own.”

“Hmm.” Ahrina tilted her head as she fell in thought. “Very well, I will limit myself to observing for now.”

 

Dreading what Ezme would say, Amara made her way to the living room where the angel sat with crossed arms as she waited. Sitting down next to her, Amara was silent as she had no idea how to start the conversation.

“So, you succeeded.” Ezme said neutrally. “You successfully created a real AI. The very first.”

Amara nodded as she glanced at the angel. “Uhm…yeah?”

Ezme glared when she turned to look at her, her voice cold as ice. “And you didn’t think to tell me?” 

…Oh. Right. “I…uhm…I’m sorry?” Amara scratched her head. “I considered telling you when I was about to launch her, but I…kind of didn’t expect to succeed? And the success was a mess anyway. The computers kept restarting on their own, and I couldn’t figure out why. Then I fell asleep, and when I woke she was…there.” Amara shrugged. “And after that, telling you about it slipped my mind.”

“...I see.” Ezme’s expression softened before she spoke in an annoyed voice. “Did you have to make her a pervert?”

“I didn’t!” Amara protested before proclaiming her innocence on the matter by explaining that the spell they had used seemed more potent than she had originally suspected. 

Ezme frowned as she listened. At first she seemed troubled by the news that Ahrina was somehow partly a representation of her, but after giving it some thought she seemed quite pleased with the theory. “Doesn’t that mean that if I think that mortals should be protected, then Ahrina will be thinking the same?”

“Pretty much.” Amara nodded. “She said she had about seven thousand subroutines, so…on average, three and a half thousand for each of us, give or take? I don’t know exactly what was included and what not, but considering some of her behavior, most of those are likely subconscious thoughts. So what we think of as important is probably something Ahrina has as a subroutine.” 

Ezme’s lips twitched. “...’some of her behavior’, huh?”

Amara gulped as she nodded. “Yes.”

Ezme tilted her head with a wry smile. “Must be very important to her if she asks it the moment she meets me.” 

At first Amara felt slight embarrassment by what Ezme was implying, as it felt like Ahrina had laid the depth of her desires bare. But when she was struck by a sudden thought, a grin spread on Amara’s face. “Well, she was far more relentless when she tried to get me to strip.”

Ezme’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

“I would never lie.” Amara’s lips rose higher as she met the angel’s gaze. 

The angel’s cheeks reddened as she quickly averted her gaze. “A-anyway, such behavior is completely unacceptable.”

Oh, Fluffles. Amara grinned as she wrapped her arm around the angel’s shoulders. Avoid the subject all you want. But I know you want me.

After an extended silence where Amara amused herself by watching Ezme’s embarrassedly trying to avoid her gaze, the angel suddenly spoke. “So…we have a real AI. One described in the stories from Earth.” Ezme turned to look at Amara with a serious gaze. “This is going to change everything, isn’t it?”

Amara pulled the angel closer while nodding thoughtfully. “Not overnight, but probably. She’ll need a lot of resources and infrastructure. I was thinking of helping Ahrina set up factories in your domain? For…well, you can probably guess?”

“You mean protection for the mortals?” Ezme nodded seriously as she fell in thought. “I’ll talk with the lewd princess about it. The sooner we get started the better.”

Amara raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you want to monitor Ahrina or something before we let her loose?”

“But we can do that in the process, can’t we?” Ezme tilted her head. “If you finish the drone for her, she can direct the workers herself. We can use that as a test run and see how she behaves. They only have a handful of computers on Ramay and there’s still no internet there.”

Amara raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You’ve thought this through, haven’t you?”
“What is with that implication!!” Ezme retorted angrily. “Are you saying I don’t think things through?!”

Amara shook her head with a smile. “Not at all. I just…hadn’t planned anything myself beyond the event if I succeeded in creating an AI.”

“Tsk. You’re a bit too careless at times, you know?” Ezme clicked her tongue. “Well, I know the stories from Earth and understand how big of a deal an AI would be. I know that Ahrina will be changing the state of this war, on her own, if given the opportunity. And of course, where else can we expose her to the mortal worlds quickly and efficiently other than in my domain?”

Amara nodded and hugged the angel. “I suppose you’re right.”

Ezme’s expression softened. “Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on you. After all, you achieved the impossible. Something that only you could have done.”

Amara fell in thought. …I guess only someone who can use divine power and has knowledge of computers and programming would have been able to achieve it, so she’s not entirely wrong. 

But somehow it doesn’t feel as…world-changing as she describes-

Ezme’s playful tone broke Amara’s train of thought in an instant. “I suppose your achievement should be rewarded.” 

Amara couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from rising as she turned to look at the angel. “Really, now?”

Ezme put her warm hand against Amara’s cheek, her lips curved into a playful smile as they moved to whisper. “Really.”

Just as their lips were about to meet, a sudden noise made them both snap their heads in the direction of the alcove.

SlaughterBot stood leaning out from behind the corner, its cameras directed at them. The sound they had heard was when SlaughterBot had stepped out further, seemingly to get a better view.

“Hyah! Hyah! Hyah! I told you!“ Ahrina’s shrill voice exclaimed, muffled by the distance to the other room where the speakers were. “Oh, don’t mind me! I’m merely observing! I will allow you to continue!” 

Amara felt how Ezme’s grip on her hip hardened before the angel whispered. “...She’s a peeper.”

Amara nodded and suppressed a sigh. And worst yet, a clam jammer.

“Oh, is SlaughterBot the problem? Hold on, let me set up a few cameras instead! …Amara, do we have spares somewhere?” (Ahrina)

“This is unacceptable.” Ezme whispered, a trace of anger in her voice. “Completely. Utterly. Unacceptable.”

“-....so ten should do it? Actually, maybe twelve to be on the safe-...” (Ahrina)

Amara nodded again as the thought of being watched killed her mood. “Agreed.”

 

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