A group searching for something, chased by enemy forces and fleeing into a mysterious location, encounters a beautiful sleeping girl.
This kind of development is practically straight out of a classic RPG.
Of course, if there were a massive sword stabbed through the girl's chest, that would be a different kind of story altogether.
"A g-girl?"
"This person… is she asleep?"
After a brief shock, the members of the Game Development Department finally snapped out of this startling turn of events.
The Saiba sisters whispered to each other as they cautiously approached.
Even after getting close, nothing unusual happened.
Momoi murmured, "...No reaction at all, it's like a corpse."
"Eek...!"
Yuzu shuddered in fright, her face turning pale.
Midori also felt a chill run down her spine and quickly scolded her. "Don't say things like that! And rather than a corpse... look. She isn't injured at all... it feels more like she's not connected to a power source?"
At those words, I finally noticed the oddity I had subconsciously overlooked earlier due to my excitement.
She was far too perfect.
Her beauty was rare even among students, and although she lacked any extra visible organs, she felt even more inhuman than a student, like a flawlessly designed doll crafted with meticulous care.
"Is that so? Now that you mention it, she does feel kind of like a doll. Let me take a look..."
Curious, Momoi reached out and poked the sleeping girl's cheek, then could not help but marvel. "Amazing, her skin is moist and soft... huh? There seems to be something written here."
She then read the string of characters one by one, falling into confusion.
"A, L, dash, I, S... Aru, is? Eh... Yeru, ei, es? I don't know how to read this. Is this her name?"
After thinking for a moment, Momoi hesitated. "Alice?"
There is absolutely no way that Momoi just read it like that.
"Wait, if you look closely, it's not all Roman letters... AL-1S, right?"
"Eh? Is that so?"
I was doubtful as well.
Doubtful as to how Momoi managed to pass Millennium's entrance exam.
If this string of characters truly referred to this being, who we would tentatively call a girl based on appearance, then it was likely some kind of serial designation.
AL probably referred to a model type, the initials of two words. As for 1S, maybe it was an abbreviation for First?
In other words, AL series unit number one?
That was my speculation.
Meanwhile, the girls of the Game Development Department continued discussing.
Midori asked in confusion, "What exactly is this... and where is this place anyway?"
Momoi offered a completely unhelpful suggestion. "Wouldn't it be faster to ask her?"
Yuzu said worriedly, "But she doesn't look like she's going to wake up at all..."
"Anyway, leaving her like this is too pitiful. Let's put some clothes on her first."
As she spoke, Midori opened her backpack and took out a neatly folded set of uniforms.
Millennium's uniforms were all based on the same standard design, with students making personal modifications to suit their tastes.
The one Midori brought had not been lengthened at the hem, nor had the colors been changed to Midori. It looked brand new.
However, there was one important thing not included with the uniform.
"Eh, you even brought spare clothes... wait!"
Momoi saw Midori take out a familiar piece of mysterious fabric. "That's my underwear!"
Midori frowned in irritation. "No, it's mine. The cat's expression is different, see?"
She even brought ones with cartoon patterns?
Yuzu relaxed and smiled. "The kitty is very cute."
I nodded in agreement. Indeed, very cute.
For some reason, Midori seemed even more displeased. She ordered Momoi to keep watch and make sure I did not peek, then began helping Yuzu change the sleeping girl's clothes.
The rustling sounds behind me soon came to an end, and Momoi's small hand moved away from my eyes.
I straightened up and turned around with slight regret, examining the girl now dressed in a Millennium uniform.
To be fair, the size fit her quite well.
"All done. This should be fine now."
Midori looked at her handiwork with satisfaction, feeling she had once again shown her maturity.
At that moment, however, a beeping alarm suddenly sounded.
"Hm?"
"W-what's that sound?"
I had already noticed first that it was coming from the girl herself.
Faced with this sudden development, I was not afraid at all. Instead, I felt excited.
Would the General Student Council President really harm me?
This was clearly a benefit she had specially prepared for me, who had been working so diligently until now.
[State Update. Authorized contact detected. Exiting sleep mode.]
A mechanical electronic voice emerged from the girl's body, clearly marking her as non-human.
Then, a pale cyan blue halo composed of several interlocking squares lit up above her head, and the girl opened her blue eyes, devoid of any emotion.
She scanned her surroundings expressionlessly, saying nothing.
"Y-you're awake..."
Midori cautiously tried to speak to her.
After another stretch of silence, the girl finally spoke. Her tone was strange, with almost no inflection, and upon careful listening, faint electrical noise and synthesized traces could be heard.
"Situation comprehension, difficult."
Her manner of speaking was also unlike that of a normal person. "Attempting dialogue... could you please explain?"
She could understand intent, but it was like the logical language used by a computer AI.
And she does not recognize me?
I could not help but frown in thought.
At the same time, the mysterious girl's question drew different reactions from the Game Development Department.
Momoi was dumbfounded. "Eh, eh? Explain? Explain what?"
Midori asked uneasily, "W-we're the ones who need an explanation! Who are you? What is this place?!"
Yuzu added warily, "Um, you're not going to attack us, right..."
After receiving and analyzing all the questions, the girl answered them one by one.
"This unit's self, memory, and purpose are all confirmed to be in a vanished state. When encountering authorized contact subjects, this unit will not initiate hostile intent."
The situation grew ever more obscure.
Key, who proposed trading G.Bible for something found here. The General Student Council President, who disappeared yet somehow arranged things here. And the mysterious girl who claimed to have lost her memory.
Too many unresolved mysteries, too few known clues.
"Wow, that's amazing. Even though there are lots of robot citizens in Kivotos, this is the first time I've seen a robot so similar to us."
Momoi exclaimed in admiration, while Midori looked to me and asked for guidance.
"Um... Sensei, what should we do?"
After a moment of thought, I asked the question most likely to yield an answer.
"I'd like to ask, what do you mean by authorized contact subjects?"
Perhaps she still remembered this part and could provide information about the one who set her restrictions. I held onto a bit of hope.
The girl replied, "Response unavailable. Estimated to be the first reaction generated within this unit's deep consciousness."
"Deep consciousness... what does that even mean...?"
Midori looked confused by the term the girl had used.
Although the general idea was understandable, its specific definition here warranted deeper consideration.
Yuzu murmured softly, "Then... what should we do..."
I, too, began to hesitate.
First, it could be confirmed that this mysterious robot girl was very likely a being the General Student Council President deliberately left for me to discover.
Perhaps the President originally intended to convey some message through her, but something went wrong along the way, leading to her memory loss.
Or perhaps even without her memories, this girl could still serve a certain purpose.
Then there was Key's intention.
Although Key had not launched any attacks, whether it was friend or foe remained uncertain.
And within this abandoned factory, the thing Key most likely wanted us to bring to her was probably this robot girl right in front of us.
One conclusion naturally followed.
The General Student Council President and Key stood on different, perhaps even completely opposing sides.
Given the military force the President possessed before her disappearance, enough to completely seal off the ruins, she could certainly have explored deep within and found Key, who was intricately connected to the robot girl.
Yet judging from Key's attitude, she seemed completely unaware of the President's arrangements.
The reason behind this was even more worth pondering.
But at the very least, compared to Key, whose attitude, purpose, and origins were all unknown, the GSC President, who entrusted me with the Shittim Chest, the authority of the Sanctum Tower, and the position of Schale's overseer, was far more worthy of my trust.
And besides, I was thinking that maybe even the GSC President herself secretly admired me...
In any case, under these circumstances, I had no intention of handing this girl over to Key for now.
Even setting aside all the scheming, wasn't this beautiful girl originally meant for me, the authorized contact subject?
An AI stuck in place, clearly lacking the same level of authority as me, and only offering a single G.Bible in exchange, was obviously trying to get something for nothing.
I was thinking about what kind of justification would convince everyone.
However, Momoi spoke up first. "Hmm... underground factory, a nearly naked girl, and memory loss..."
A confident smile spread across Momoi's face. "Hehe, I've got a great idea."
Midori's expression turned strange. "Uh... based on what you just said, I can only think of bad things..."
...That does seem to be the case.
"Sensei, can we take her back with us first?"
Momoi asked me, which was exactly what I wanted to hear.
I nodded in approval and added, "After that earlier conflict, those robots have probably heightened their alertness. Going deeper toward Key's factory would be too difficult. Let's retreat back to Millennium for now and check again in a few days."
No one objected, including the robot girl herself, who still did not understand the situation.
In the end, carrying this single harvest, we safely left the ruins.