Chapter 128: SS46 – Ezme – Just Another Day As A Glorious Goddess, Part 1

“Hey, Ezme…” (Amara)

“Yes?” Ezme replied as she looked up from the ordered mess of coiling wires of gold.

Amara looked between Ezme and the object the angel was working on. “I know this is…important, but…”

Ezme frowned as coldness entered her voice. “But what?”

The black-haired woman’s mouth tilted into a conflicted expression. “I…well…”

Ezme crossed her arms carefully not to mess up the self-imposed project in her lap as she waited for Amara to find the right words.

Amara let out a sigh. “Look, I know you well enough to know you care about protecting the mortals and all, so…haven’t you been away from that for a while?”

I’m well aware! But this is important! Ezme’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I’m a bit worried that you’ll regret spending so much time on…” Amara glanced at the object in Ezme’s lap. “...that.”

“How dare you, insolent human!! It is the most important part!” (Ahrina)

A smile tugged on Ezme’s lips as she tilted her head. “You heard her. It’s the most important part.”

“It’s purely cosmetic! It serves no function!” Amara retorted. “A robot doesn’t need hairdrills! It doesn’t need hair at all!” 

Ezme frowned in displeasure. “Amara. This isn’t about need, this is about want. Ahrina wants it, and I want to do this. And that is that.”

“Well, I get that, but…” Amara hesitated for a moment. “...you’ve spend two days on it already, and-”

“If you’re worried about my duty to protect the mortals, then you can help me by completing Ahrina’s new body as soon as possible.” Ezme cut her off with grumpy finality as she turned her eyes back to the object in her lap. Lifting and poking the mess of gold wires, she pretended to be engrossed in working at head for Ahrina’s new robot as she felt Amara’s gaze on her.

A faint sigh was heard as Amara turned back to the workbench that the rest of Ahrina’s new body rested on. “...Alright.”

....That was uncalled for. Ezme secretly glanced at Amara who was leaning over the workbench as she was trying to fit in a small, green plate with wires attached into a frame. After a period of gentle struggling, Amara seemed to succeed as she reached for a pointy tool that was used to attach it. 

Only for a small rattling to be heard soon after as a tiny metal piece fell down, followed by Amara’s swearing. “...Crap. Where did it go…”

Ezme let out a discrete sigh as her eyes returned to the helmet in her lap. However, it was more accurate to call it a head than a helmet, since most of the ‘electronics’ was already fitted inside of it, but it had the appearance of a helmet. 

The choice of making her head look like a helmet was not by accident. Since Ahrina didn’t actually need facial features, it would likely only creep people out if they tried to mimic a humanoid face. And without the need to spend days, weeks or months to get it to look good enough, they could spend that time on more important things. 

But there were still a few things that made the helmet look different from what mortal knights usually used; it had a speaker at the chin and a colourful, reflective visor that shielded the cameras behind it. There were also plans to potentially add other kinds of sensors behind the visor for the later versions, but for the prototype it only had two regular cameras. 

At the top of the head were the golden cat ears, as well as the golden wires that were attached to mimic Ahrina’s digital avatar. The ears held microphones in them, so they weren’t purely cosmetic, but the same couldn’t be said for the hair. 

Ezme knew that she had spent a ridiculous amount of time on making the hair look good. It wasn’t hard for her to melt the steel and gold to attach them together, so technically she could have finished the task in a few hours at most. Rather, she had chosen to keep working on it until perfection, because…

…I want to help. And this is the only way I can even feel remotely involved.

“Alright, it’s attached. What was next?” (Amara)

“We should connect what we can to the PSU. It will be harder to do later on.” (Ahrina)

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“Alright…” (Amara)

Ezme eavesdropped as her dark emotions resurfaced. Holding the helmet in her hands, Ezme stared at it as she tried to figure out what her feelings were.

…I’m useless when it comes to making Ahrina’s new body. I have no idea what all those things are, other than that the wires act as blood vessels. So this is the only thing I can do. The only thing I can do to…

…form a connection with Ahrina.

Not being told that Ahrina had come into existence had been a harder blow than Ezme had initially expected. Not just because she was the first artificial intelligence that had ever existed. Not only because her mere existence had the potential to end the war, which Ezme was certain of after reading and watching the stories from Amara’s homeworld. All it would take was time.

Rather, the greatest reason why Ezme was upset was because Ahrina was created without her knowledge.

…I’m being childish, aren’t I? Ahrina awakened while Amara was asleep. And of course she would be occupied with finding out whether Ahrina was sentient or not first. 

I need to stop blaming her. Ezme glanced at Amara and SlaughterBot - which was piloted by Ahrina - as they were leaned over, trying to fit wires into a black box without bending anything to the point of breaking. I just…wish I had a connection like that. After all, Ahrina is our… 

As far as she knew, her siblings had never made children - or if they had, they had kept quiet about it. With the unfavorable view of mortals dominating the discourse between angels, it was quite obvious that if any such offspring existed, they would be kept secret.

Amara and Ezme had never talked about the matter of having children. Not that they wouldn’t be able to if they wanted to, because Ezme suspected they would one way or another manage if they chose to with the help of magic - or through the knowledge from Earth. 

But Ezme had also been unwilling because of the simple fact that any offspring they produced would have a difficult life; it would be born as a mortal, with two parents burdened with their duties related to the heavenly war. And then there was the matter that they would both outlive their offspring’s mortal lifespan.

But Ahrina was different. Ahrina had been made by her and Amara. Mostly by Amara, but her as well. Not only was she immortal like them, but she had the potential to play an integral part in the war.

And the fact that Ezme intended to use her for the war filled her with guilt. 

Do I even deserve to be called a…when I intend to send her to war?

Ezme stroked the cheek of the helmet in her lap before she made up her mind. Standing up, she put the helmet on the workbench as she glanced at the screen where the catgirl was already looking at her. “Ahrina. I need to have a word with you.”

The catgirl tilted her head curiously. “You can come to my room.”

Ahrina’s room. That was what they called the room where all the computers were that housed Ahrina’s soul. 

Leaving with a nod, Ezme felt Amara’s gaze on her. Feeling disgusted with herself, Ezme let out a sigh as she was out of sight. 

…I’ll need to apologize to her later. She hasn’t deserved my recent behavior. 

Arriving at Ahrina’s room, the fans were humming as loudly as always. Ezme took in the sight for a moment before entering the room, as she had a sudden revelation. 

Ahrina is more akin to a spirit than anything else. She can move between computers, or live in several computers at once. The more computers she controls, the stronger she is. 

…What would it say if I tried to appraise her?

Ezme thought for a moment before she eyed the computers inside Ahrina’s room. Appraisal.

[Ding!]