AMA-10—
A name that was both familiar and unfamiliar to Kal'tsit, and one that could make her heart stop the instant she heard it. Because that name was precisely the designation she bore as a creation of the Pre-Civilization.
The human before her truly had ties to the Pre-Civilization—and had even spoken of the Originium Project!
At that moment, Kal'tsit's heart was filled with despair as memories from the past surged endlessly through her mind.
Theresa, this land, civilization, Amiya, Rhodes Island, and everyone else…
The Originium Project—no, it couldn't be implemented. Something like that absolutely could not happen!!!
Once the Originium Project was put into motion, then what meaning would everything she had done up to now still have? Theresa's painstaking efforts… their ideals—wouldn't all of it be completely wasted?!
If… if all of this were to disappear, then watashi—
"Hngh—AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH——!!!"
Thud!
Looking at Kal'tsit—her face twisted in pain, hands clutching her head, and her mouth inexplicably producing strange, unpleasant sounds—An Xora decisively knocked her out to avoid any misunderstandings, letting her body fall stiffly to the floor.
"Looks like this conversation didn't go very smoothly for Master this time,"
Jibril said, reappearing in the room after hearing the commotion, her expression odd.
"She probably got overloaded with stimulation in a short time. I was just messing with her a bit on a whim—didn't expect her to go straight into a stress response,"
An Xora replied, equally awkward, though more helpless than anything.
He didn't think he'd done anything wrong. After all, who would really transmigrate into the world of Arknights and, when given the chance, manage to resist messing with Kal'tsit at least once?
"I didn't even hit her that hard just now. She should wake up soon… ah, forget it. I'll just use the Horse Talisman."
Taking out an octagonal talisman engraved with a horse motif, An Xora tossed Kal'tsit onto the bed and aimed the talisman at her.
A flash of light burst forth, then slowly faded. Under the restorative power of the Horse Talisman, Kal'tsit—lying on the bed—slowly opened her eyes, a trace of confusion flickering within them as she stared at the ceiling.
She had just had a dream.
A dream where the Doctor she had sealed in the sarcophagus was released by two unfamiliar humans, and the three of them joined forces to implement the Originium Project, subjecting the civilization of this land to total purification…
Kal'tsit turned her head and saw An Xora standing silently by the bedside, gazing at her. She then closed her eyes again in pain.
Alright. That probably wasn't a dream.
"You released the Doctor from the sarcophagus… was it to initiate the Originium Project?"
After a long while, Kal'tsit finally spoke, her voice calm to the point of near lifelessness.
"Honestly, that's not a question you should be asking me. While I did release the Doctor, I have zero interest in the Originium Project. I let her out simply because I was short on manpower."
…Hm?
Hearing this, Kal'tsit opened her eyes and sat up, looking at An Xora by the bed.
"You're saying… you released the Doctor not to push the Originium Project?"
"I don't care whether the Pre-Civilization continues or not. Why would I bother implementing the Originium Project? If anything, I find Terra's current civilization pretty interesting. As for whether the Originium Project is carried out—that's entirely up to the Doctor herself. I have no intention of interfering."
An Xora said all this with an air of complete indifference.
The reason he stayed in the world of Arknights was purely to satisfy regrets from his past life—such as beating up Terra's dog-donkey natives, beating up Terra's dog-donkey natives, and beating up Terra's dog-donkey natives.
As for the final outcome of this world—whether the Doctor led Rhodes Island to successfully save it, or whether some accident pushed everything straight onto a world-ending route—it had nothing to do with him. By then, he would most likely have already dusted off his pants and left. Even if the world of Arknights were truly destroyed, it wouldn't affect him in the slightest.
At most, when leaving, he'd take Talulah along, plus a few other people he cared about or found interesting in this world.
To Terra's natives, this world was their one and only home.
But to An Xora, once he accumulated five hundred thousand points over time, he could open up a new world again. Did the fate of a single world really matter to him?
That was precisely why An Xora didn't care at all about the Originium Project, the Seaborn, demons, or lumberjacks and the like. He was only staying in this world because of Mebius's earlier proposal—to play around with a bit of "raising and cultivation" in Terra, find some entertainment, and earn more points along the way, giving himself something to do.
Kal'tsit didn't understand what kind of standpoint An Xora was coming from to say such things. But from his answers, and from the series of events that had taken place in Ursus recently, she was still able to roughly judge his mentality.
"So you're just treating the civilizations of this land as toys?"
Kal'tsit ground her teeth. She desperately wanted to grab him by the collar and demand what he thought life even was. Did the lives of Terra's current civilization not count as lives? But after standing there, seething for a long while, she ultimately failed to muster the courage.
In any case, things didn't seem to have developed to the worst possible outcome.
The human before her had no intention of implementing the Originium Project. The other female human likely didn't either. And judging from what he had said earlier, the Doctor seemed to have lost her memories.
For now, Terra's current civilization didn't need to worry about facing imminent destruction. To Kal'tsit as she was now, that alone was the best news she could receive.
"So, in order to make sure I can have fun going forward, you'd better not try any little tricks,"
An Xora said.
"If you really make me unhappy, I won't even need the Originium Project. I can wipe out all civilizations on Terra ahead of schedule."
Staring at An Xora, Kal'tsit didn't doubt his words in the slightest.
The Doctor and Priestess had the Originium Project. There was no guarantee that this man—also a human like the Doctor and Priestess—didn't possess some other means to cleanse Terra's current civilization.
Thus, Kal'tsit chose tacit acceptance. As long as he didn't go too far, she wouldn't oppose him from the shadows.
At the same time, she would remain by his side, monitoring him at all times, ensuring that he truly had no intention of implementing the Originium Project.
"May I stay by your side?"
Hearing Kal'tsit's request, An Xora stroked his chin.
"Stay, huh… I guess that's fine. In that case, you can stay in the imperial palace and be my maid."
"You'll handle things like serving tea, delivering water, and tidying rooms. After all, as a creation, serving your master is only natural, right?"
Agreeing to Kal'tsit's request to stay, An Xora had Jibril take her to change into a maid outfit, while he himself headed toward a council chamber.
At this hour, the military parade outside the imperial palace was just about wrapping up. Once Talulah and the others returned, it would be time to discuss which country beyond Ursus they should move against next.
After all, having just shown off their muscles through the parade, if they didn't pick someone to fight, what if others thought those were just show muscles with no real strength behind them?
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