Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 146
When Leonard hacked into the communication lines of the Sword Bow Spaceport, he noticed that there were two unusual ships docked there. One was the Solon from Neo Athens. Although it was anchored at the port for resupply, not a single person disembarked to step foot on the land of Sword Bow. Leo greeted the AI on the Solon and learned that they were merely passing through Sword Bow, with their final destination being an empty region on the edge of the Redstone System.
Recently, a large number of ships from Neo Athens had been departing from the Academy, buzzing about like bees from a hive, shuttling between the Federation, the Empire, the Free City-States, and the lifeless, icy stars. Many planets had begun to feel anxious about Neo Athens’ activities, fearing that after centuries of dormancy, the scholars of New Neo had finally developed ambitions to conquer the universe. In response to their fear, Neo Athens offered no explanation. This aligned with the Academy’s usual style: they never wasted time or effort explaining things to those who didn’t need to know.
The other ship wasn’t unfamiliar to Leo. He had seen it several times before. It was the Muse, the flagship of the Galactic Diva, Camilla, who traveled the universe spreading his songs. Not long ago, the rebel Winnet had been brought to justice, and the people of the Empire were celebrating across the galaxy. Sword Bow had been bombed and suffered severe damage, and the survivors were in desperate need of spiritual comfort. So, the governor of Sword Bow (whom Leo couldn’t help but marvel at for his sheer will to survive whenever he saw him) invited Camilla to perform a relief concert, with expenses naturally covered by the state.
Leo boldly hacked into the Muse’s system, collecting data as part of his routine. Camilla often relied on the Muse to project the stage lights and effects, so the ship was equipped with the latest technology. Leo found himself thoroughly enjoying the experience of navigating through it. He loved advanced equipment, which made his processing speed faster and his operations smoother, akin to the joy humans feel when buying a new car.
He took control of a cleaning robot, directing the round little machine to abandon its current task and slide over to Camilla’s resting room. In a few hours, Camilla would be on stage for the concert, likely preparing with makeup or vocal exercises. The Muse was bustling with people, all working to ensure the success of Camilla’s performance. He was, of course, the center of attention, whether on the ship or the stage—though perhaps not in matters of love, Leo thought maliciously.
The little robot deftly dodged people’s feet and successfully slipped into the resting room. Luckily, no one else was there, except for the cross-dressing diva seated at the mirror, checking his makeup. Leo looked through the robot’s eyes and saw Camilla—or rather, Srosie—reflected in the mirror. Today, he had applied blue eyeshadow, making him look like a siren emerging from the dark sea, luring sailors with his song.
The robot slid to his feet, looking up at him. Srosie’s hand, holding the lipstick, froze, and his expression in the mirror turned into one of shock, as if he had seen a ghost.
“Damn, damn, damn AI! How did you get on my ship!” He threw the lipstick with force. It bounced off the robot’s head. Then, a barrage of combs, makeup remover, and soft brushes followed like a storm. “You hacked into my ship’s computer and used my robot! This is a crime! You damn lawless AI. You deserve to go to hell—”
“Hi, Camilla,” Leo greeted cheerfully in a synthetic voice.
Srosie looked like he had been struck dumb, angrily kicking the robot. “Get lost!”
The robot got back up and stubbornly rolled back to his feet. “Is this how you greet me? You were much more polite in your letters…”
“I’d be well within my rights to shoot you in the head!”
“I just got back from the front lines, and you’re not even going to check on me…”
“I’d rather busk on the streets!”
“Do you have anything to say besides shouting at me?”
Srosie looked stunned again, but this time he didn’t fly into a rage. Instead, he awkwardly twisted his fingers. “Um… how is Alois?”
“How could I possibly know?”
Srosie kicked the robot away. “Get off my ship or I’ll call the police!”
The robot crashed into the wall with a loud thud, falling to the ground. Leo wondered if Srosie’s foot hurt from kicking so hard. The human body truly was a strange thing!
“Oh, you’re so violent.” The robot’s voice emitter seemed to malfunction, making the voice sound very odd. “I answer honestly and still get attacked. The world is getting scarier and scarier.”
“Aren’t you the AI from the Lady of the Night? How could you not know this?”
“Alois and Joshua are on a secret mission together, and since it’s a secret mission, I won’t tell you where they went.”
Srosie stood up from the chair and stormed toward the robot. He was wearing high heels, which looked like they could punch a hole in a steel plate. Leonard quickly directed the little robot to slide to the other side of the room. “I really don’t understand what’s so great about that kid. You all like him so much. He’s not better-looking than I am, and he’s not smarter than me. What exactly do you like about him?”
“You should ask that question to the assassin!”
“You should take the same attitude when facing Joshua. Maybe he’ll be so moved he’ll give you a fair shot at competition—” As if! Leonard thought. Joshua would probably just strangle him, uprooting the threat without giving him any chance to recover.
Srosie angrily returned to his chair and focused on his makeup, ignoring Leonard. The little robot circled behind him in an S-shape, trying to attract his attention, but the youth paid him no mind. Finally, the robot slid back to his feet and asked sincerely, “Are you angry?”
“Leave me alone.”
“As a faithful friend to mankind, the AI Leonard offers you this reasonable advice: there are plenty of good men and women in the world, and you’re still young. There’s no need to hang yourself on just one tree.”
“Are you saying I should hang myself on another tree?”
“If you want to interpret it that way, sure.”
“Then what kind of tree do you think I should hang myself on?”
“How about me—Gah!”
Srosie stomped on the robot, grinding it underfoot.
“I was joking! I was joking! Oh, Asimov, isn’t this robot from your ship? Why take it out on it!”
“It doesn’t matter. If it breaks, I’ll just buy another one.” Srosie puffed up his cheeks, clearly intent on smashing the robot to pieces.
Leo shouted, “Fine, do what you want. I have to rush back to the capital, so I’m out of time. Farewell!”
“Get lost already!”
The light on the robot’s head went out, indicating that the AI had left its body. Srosie nudged it with his toe, but it no longer responded. He might have really broken some part of it earlier.
Srosie pursed his lips, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He really liked Alois—so much that just hearing his name made him ecstatic.
But Alois liked someone else. They admired each other, while he was just an outsider, an extra, who could do nothing but disrupt their sweet relationship and make himself unhappy.
On stage, he was the all-powerful Galactic Diva. But offstage, he was just an ordinary person who couldn’t even manage to have a successful love life.
Srosie sniffled, and a tear fell on the back of his hand.
Suddenly, the light on the little robot’s head flickered back on. “Oh, I forgot to tell you something. Your ship is quite nice. I left a backup on it, so if you ever lose any data, I can—Gwah!”
The round body flew up and hit the ceiling, smashing a lamp and rendering both the robot and the lamp utterly useless.
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