Having brought the entire Prava Divine Kingdom under its control, <The Tree> continued expanding at a rapid pace.
Once all hostile forces had been driven out of its territory and a certain degree of safety and stability had been secured, it was decided that the Strategic AI <Iris>, which governed the region on site, would undergo an overhaul and a detailed inspection.
It had just come off an unprecedented attempt at directly managing control over the front lines, and had also spent a long period operating at full capacity far from the home base, so it needed a thorough check for malfunctions and any other issues.
“That’s the official reason for bringing her home, but the main purpose is really to let her come back and spend time with Big Sister!”
“Well, I get that it’s an installed unit, so it’s not something you can just move around all the time.”
Local administration was being handed over with <Ringo>’s support, while <Eremurus Four> aboard the Gigantia and the Wederia series aboard the Titans took over in her place.
They would need their own appreciation event too, of course, but that was a separate matter.
“<Iris> has returned.”
The carrier Myrkvids, carrying <Iris>’s AI chassis, docked at <The Tree>’s pier.
At the same time, <Iris> connected to <The Tree>’s local network and began full synchronization with the doll-machine communicator that had been prepared for this day.
That said, this was <Iris>’s first time fully synchronizing with a doll-machine communicator. And based on what had happened before, direct contact with Eve was considered too intense a stimulus, so the one accompanying her was another body being controlled by <Ringo>.
The plan was to let her get used to the doll-machine communicator itself first, and only then move on to contact with her beloved Big Sister.
“Welcome back, <Iris>. We’re having a party tonight, so look forward to it.”
“Yes, Big Sister. I need a little time to get used to this body.”
“Of course. Take it easy.”
<Iris> was the great hero of the conquest and unification of the Prava Divine Kingdom, but this time there was one more participant here as well—a newcomer, in a sense.
“Asahi, are you used to that body already?”
“Yes, Big Sister! <Ringo> had already prepared the basic control software, after all! Once I optimized the motor cortex just a little, here we are!”
It was Asahi, the youngest daughter, who normally operated in a heavily reinforced humanoid chassis.
Since they had built up experience letting the other AIs obtain bodies through remote operation of doll-machine communicators, Asahi had started clamoring to try it too.
And to be fair, it was true that Asahi’s chassis, unlike an ordinary doll-machine communicator, was almost entirely mechanized, and its digestive system was underdeveloped, which meant there were many things she simply could not do. She had ended up last in line partly because priority had been given to the AIs who had no bodies at all, but now a chassis capable of eating and drinking had finally been prepared for Asahi too.
“Hmm... since we have the chance, why don’t you go see <Iris>? Out of everyone here, your situation is probably the closest to hers.”
“That’s true! Then Big Sister, I’ll see you later! Zoom!”
And with that, Asahi ran off on still-unsteady legs.
“Commander Ma’am. Unloading the AI chassis will take over an hour, so we have seats prepared on the terrace. Would you like to spend the time there?”
<Ringo>, standing behind Eve, prompted her gently.
She probably wanted to keep Eve’s exposure outdoors under direct sunlight to an absolute minimum.
After all, ultraviolet rays were the enemy of skin.
“Really? Then let’s move over there.”
Incidentally, <Ringo> was properly holding a parasol behind her, shielding Eve from the threat of UV rays. As always, her overprotectiveness was in full force.
And there was not a single intelligent being here who found that strange.
“It’s as hot as ever. I feel like having something cold to drink.”
“It is already prepared, Commander Ma’am.”
“..................”
<Iris> sat frozen stiff on the sofa she had been placed on.
Completely rigid.
“She’s adorable.”
And behind her—
Eve, smiling from ear to ear, was running her fingers through the girl’s hair.
“It feels a little weird to praise her looks, though. It makes me sound like a narcissist.”
All the doll-machine communicators participating here had been manufactured using Eve’s genes as a base. That meant praising their appearance was effectively the same thing as indirectly praising herself.
Still, there was no one here who would fault her for that, so there was no real reason to worry about it.
“You’re staying until the day after tomorrow, right, <Iris>?”
“...Yes, Big Sister. The overhaul is expected to take about twenty hours.”
“Then take it easy today and tomorrow. It’s not like we can really set up proper days off very often.”
An installed Strategic AI was structurally enormous. And because its role was to govern a local region, continuous operation was generally desirable. To carve out °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° what Eve was calling a day off—a stretch of time devoted entirely to resting and doing nothing—took quite a bit of preparation.
Until now, they had been conserving resources by holding back on manufacturing extra Strategic AI chassis.
But <The Tree>, having already struck multiple mineral veins, secured oil fields, and begun tapping seabed resources, was now swimming in wealth. Put simply, it was in the middle of a boom.
“Maybe we should start running the installed AIs in parallel, so they can take it easy now and then.”
“Yes indeed, Commander Ma’am.”
Normally, running AI chassis in parallel was done either to improve performance or to secure redundancy. The fact that Eve was proposing increasing their number just so they could have time off showed how much breathing room they had.
That kind of idea came naturally to her because she recognized the AIs as family.
“Your body hasn’t been running very long yet, <Iris>, and your sensory organs still haven’t fully developed. Just eat whatever flavors you like.”
“Yes, Big Sister.”
A newly built doll-machine communicator had an underdeveloped nervous system, and apparently that meant its taste-related neural signals tended to cross. Over time that would optimize itself to some extent, but <Iris> was still a long way from that point.
In other words, she had a child’s palate.
And so, the food prepared for <Iris>’s party was, by Eve’s standards, an expanded version of a children’s lunch plate. Dishes made with rich tomato sauce, fried foods, and meals using dairy products like cheese had been packed across the table.
Naturally, there was cake for dessert as well.
Every last bit of it had been chosen with great enthusiasm by Akane.
<Iris> was a next-generation AI, a mass-production model from the Ayame series built on Akane as its foundational backbone. That was probably why she felt especially attached to her.
And of course, an <Iris> built on Akane shared the same underlying love of books and food. Or rather, calling it an underlying tendency was putting it too mildly—it was already spilling out.
“<Iris>. You can take whatever you like, but first, let me start you off. I think you’ll like this.”
And because <Iris> was still unfamiliar with everything, Akane portioned out food for her and set it in front of her. Carrying her own plate as well, she sat down at <Iris>’s right.
“Thank you, Big Sister Akane.”
“Commander Ma’am, Commander Ma’am, yours as well.”
Since Eve was seated at <Iris>’s left to keep her company, <Ringo> hurried over with a plate for her too. It was a thoughtful gesture—Eve had hesitated to leave <Iris> there and go fetch something herself.
“Thanks, <Ringo>. Then let’s eat. Go on, <Iris>.”
“<Iris>, can you hold it?”
“Mm...”
Akane had started fussing over her with diligent care, and Eve was grinning happily at the sight.
And looking at Eve like that, <Ringo> was smiling too.
That was how the appreciation party began, smoothly and almost without ceremony, but everyone taking part was having a wonderful time. Asahi in particular, now controlling a brand-new body, was stuffing food into her mouth like there was no tomorrow.
“Mmph! Gulp! Pwah! Ohhh, this pasta dish called Napolitan is excellent! It really hits the tongue hard!”
“Asahi, want some hamburger steak?”
“Have some fried shrimp too.”
“Ohh, thank you, Big Sister Utsugi and Big Sister Erika!!”
“Did Olive decorate this? It’s incredibly delicate.”
“Mm. This one. Big Sister.”
“Wow, isn’t this Big Sister’s icon? Ah, then this one must be <Ringo>!”
And so—
within the fortress <The Tree>, which kept growing livelier as it welcomed one new AI after another,
the parties would only continue to grow bigger from here.
