“…Swing your sword. You won.”
Said Spirito, sounding resigned.
Obviously, that would hurt her, even if the blade was dull, but despite the dismay in her eyes, she was ready for it.
“Rejected. That option is wrong.”
The blade pointed at her throat was not moving, and Spirito’s eyes became bloodshot as she looked at it.
“Don’t underestimate me… You think I’m not ready to get hurt?”
“Damaging you brings no benefit.”
He lacked knowledge about the pride of a swordsman and the ability to take responsibility as a human, but still, he stuck to his most optimized solution.
He would not attack Spirito.
“Qualia’s goal is to make you say ‘I give up’. Incapacitating you is neither the goal or the right action.”
Blood dripped from Spirito’s lip as she bit into it.
And then a small stream of tears mixed with sweat ran down her cheek.
“…Honestly, I can’t beat you… I have to accept that… But I can’t say that…”
She closed her eyes tightly, feeling worried about her sister, who was acting in a way she did not approve of.
Her nails dug into her fist, showing her disappointment and spiritless feeling over being unable to admit her loss.
“If I say that… My sister…”
“Request answer. Are you not at the ‘I give up’ stage?”
“…”
Spirito responded with silence, and a distressed expression.
“In that case, Qualia requests another mock battle tomorrow.”
Qualia casually pulled the sword away from Spirito’s throat.
Spirito looked up, seemingly troubled by how Qualia lowered his sword and spoke so plainly.
“Aren’t you going to complain…?”
“Error. Word ‘complain’ not registered.”
“Even you understand, don’t you!? You grew past me! It’s unbelievable, but… Not one of the techniques I learned throughout my life can reach you! I know you’re stronger, so I’m asking if you have any complaints about me not saying ‘I give up’!”
“You are wrong. You are stronger than Qualia.”
“Then… Eh?”
A noise escaped out of her mouth, as an awkward smile put dimples on her face.
“No, no no… My Kaitou Ranma didn’t work…”
“Pure strength, movement speed, operating speed. Your specs are higher than Qualia’s. Qualia can calculate optimal solutions to incapacitate you, but that premise has not changed.”
“But…”
“Your lack of acknowledgment is not wrong, under these circumstances.”
Still, her lack of acknowledgment was within Qualia’s calculations.
His most immediate task was to receive that acknowledgment from Spirito, and this situation was not desirable.
Still, he stayed focused on his goal beyond that. Create smiles, ‘tasty’ faces.
And so, Qualia kept on learning. His objective was not to win.
Strictly speaking, protecting smiles and being ‘the strongest’ intersected in some way, but that concept was not registered in Qualia’s memory.
“Your combat abilities are much higher than Qualia’s, and you have a lot of data about this world stored in yourself. You are a good model for Qualia. Your approval is a good basis.”
And so, Qualia needed battle data from Spirito, and her approval, since he deemed her to be superior in power and ability.
“Thus, Qualia will continue to learn, and achieve the battle quality you can approve of.”
“…You really are weird. I was trying to use the relationship of teacher and pupil to back you into a corner, you know?”
“The actions to hinder Hello World’s creation are wrong, but the reason why you oppose Lobelia’s founding of Hello World carry a high degree of trust. It is information to be used as feedback for Qualia’s future activities.”
Spirito was perplexed, and Qualia continued.
“Eliminate threats that take away ‘tasty’, That is recognized as Qualia’s goal as a member of Hello World. Thus, Qualia will calculate the optimal solutions against threats to Lobelia, and you.”
Both Lobelia and Spirito’s smiles were seen as targets for his protection.
“…”
But Spirito’s face stayed the same, in anguish because she could not relent.
She knew she should say ‘I give up’, but she could not. The words would simply not come out.
And so, Qualia was unable to detect ‘tasty’.
“But it is not recommended to keep fighting today.”
“…You’re very perceptive.”
Spirito fell to her knees.
“Analyzing situation. Detecting heavy burden in your body. The recoil from using Kaitou Ranma twice is the cause of your inability to continue fighting.”
“…I know my own body.”
Qualia stopped talking and moving for a moment.
He received information through hearing and sense of touch.
A slight, but clear distortion in the atmosphere. The sound of friction in the air. The quiet sound of an arrow cutting through the air.
“Threat detected.”
He raised his left hand, and suddenly made a fist. At the same time, an incoming arrow was caught.
“Eh!?”
Spirito was shocked. If the arrow had not been stopped, it would have hit Qualia in the top of the head.
She traced the arrow’s trajectory with her eyes, and saw armed knights.
“Humans detected. One hundred individuals.”
Leading the knights was a middle-aged man with green hair, who appeared to be a noble.
Qualia likened him to Arrows or Wannacry. The type that would take ‘tasty’ away from people.
“I am Viscount Edwin Ortgray, the commander of the fifth division of the Troy guard knight chivalric order! You over there! You defied our fifth division, and sullied our honor, and you will be detained for that crime!”
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