NOVPUBB8017913 decided to follow the optimal plan it had just calculated.
"I'm not paying. This is all BS-Rita's earnings. I manage the money at home."
The little gingerbread man manning the popcorn stand suddenly moved with practiced speed. With a sharp jab, he popped a whole bucket full of popcorn — so full it peaked above the rim, easily 30% more than usual.
Nearby players who'd just bought their snacks or were mid-munch all turned to look.
Rita and Nivalis both lit up at the sight of the overflowing bucket, voices rising in unison:
"Waaah!"
B8017913: "...Don't mind us."
D62492: ...Seriously?
After paying, Nivalis carried the popcorn and drinks, while Rita picked up B8017913 and gently placed it on her shoulder. This was family. A VIP. It had to be protected.
D62492, watching everything unfold:
"Is that how high a contract pet's rank goes once you team up with a player?"
They managed the finances… didn't have to walk on their own…
B8017913 couldn't exactly admit that BS-Rita just liked having something alive perched on her shoulder. Now that it was being carried further and further from the popcorn stand, it had no real way to explain. It simply said:
"...It's all about the bond."
D62492: What does that even mean???
B8017913, seeing D62492's confused expression, let out a quiet laugh and gave a small wave to the little gingerbread vendor.
…
Rita and Nivalis munched on popcorn as they walked. Every so often, Rita would hand a piece to B8017913. Though it was powered by energy, that didn't mean it couldn't eat.
Nivalis, curious as ever, asked:
"Didn't you say mechanical races don't really have emotions? Then why do all the ones we've met have distinct personalities and moods?"
After all, B8017913 could get posted at the #1 claw machine, and could even get extra popcorn. That didn't sound emotionless at all.
But B8017913 often claimed it didn't feel much.
At the moment, it was gnawing on a piece of popcorn about the same size as its head. Back when it met Rita in the junk zone, Nivalis hadn't been there. Before, it never brought it up on its own — but now that Nivalis had asked, it was happy to explain.
"We're built with preset personalities. Emotions and decision-making are based on logic derived from that personality."
"When we encounter something that should logically trigger a reaction, our personality defines which 1–2 emotions we 'generate.'"
"With full settings enabled, our systems tell us what emotion we're supposed to feel at any given moment. Our emotion pool generates that feeling. We might know that we should feel happy… but we don't understand why we feel it."
What B8017913 wanted… was to understand why.
Like how everyone knows 1 + 1 = 2 — it's universally accepted. But B8017913 wanted to know why that answer existed.
Nivalis: "Then why aren't you like the others… uh…"
She paused, struggling for the right word. Lively? Authentic? Neither felt right.
After a pause, she said:
"Didn't you say you awakened? Why do you seem less emotional than them?"
B8017913 began by explaining what "awakening" meant:
"It's when something — a moment, or a player — causes us to break from our preset programming and feel something that wasn't coded."
Then it answered her question:
"When I left the junk zone with BS-Rita, I gave up half of my preset programming. I severed the link between my emotion pool and the soul simulation protocol."
"Now, I can mimic any emotion I want. But every emotion generated inside my pool — is real."
"You could say… I don't need 'lively.' I just need 'real.'"
After saying all that, it looked at her and asked:
"Do you think all this stuff I'm doing is boring?"
The question came out of nowhere — but Rita knew what it really meant.
It was asking her: Is wanting to know why 1 + 1 = 2 boring?
Truthfully, Rita already knew some of this. But today, B8017913 had explained it far more clearly than ever before. Some details, even she hadn't heard until now — like the fact it had sacrificed half its original settings.
Nivalis didn't answer right away.
To a dragon overflowing with emotion, it was impossible to imagine what B8017913 had gone through.
Like someone with perfect color vision trying to understand the world of someone born blind — all definitions of color would come from secondhand descriptions.
Because she couldn't relate to B8017913's pain, Nivalis didn't try to say anything.
Rita, sensing B8017913's gaze, simply shook her head.
"Not boring at all. You said once, the gods don't allow things that are pointless. So I can promise you — they definitely hate boring."
"If the gods thought your awakening was boring, then something they created — like the mechanical race — would never be capable of feeling anything outside their programming."
"Sure, you guys get thrown into the junk zone — but elimination happens to everyone. Players get weeded out all the time. Just like panning for gold in sand, those who awaken among mechanicals also have to prove themselves."
"And more importantly… awakening without a price? That's meaningless."
Rita didn't claim to fully understand B8017913. But she could speak for herself:
"A program can tell me what I'm supposed to feel. But even a god can't force me to feel something without asking. That's not me."
B8017913 understood her perfectly. It leapt to its feet, popcorn flying, and shouted:
"It's a bond! It's light!"
Then launched itself into a hug, wrapping its arms around Rita's Block-shaped head.
Rita: "…"
The popcorn was good — slightly crispy on the outside, just sweet enough. After finishing a bucket, neither Rita nor Nivalis felt weak or hungry, but they were still a bit hungry.
They lined up again — this time for grilled fish.
As usual, B8017913 stepped up to order. The little gingerbread vendor opened a mini freezer on the spot and pulled out three of the biggest fish it had.
While munching on grilled fish, B8017913 suddenly said:
"I don't hate the gods anymore."
Rita: "Huh?! You were carrying around emotions that dangerous?!"
B8017913: "Being a mechanical isn't so bad. If I weren't one, you wouldn't have contracted me in the first place."
Rita: "Fair point."
…
"What's Deceitful Bloom doing right now?"
"Still setting up the automatic watering system in their flower cloud."
"Still not done?"
"I just checked — the magic irrigation device is actually a Block player with Fiery Wings of Flow…"
"I saw that too — isn't that the one who was swinging their head while shouting 'No, I wasn't wrong'? The same one Deceitful Bloom laughed at earlier?"
"Yep. They fly around inside the cloud, holding their head, wobbling back and forth while watering the flowers. Every time they finish a section, they yell 'No, I wasn't wrong.' It's… surprisingly high-tech."
"…"
Sometimes, Deceitful Bloom's sense of humor was scarier than their power.
