Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Translator: Solo | Editor: DarkBlazeWolf

Otou-san went back, and I was deep in thought in front of a large amount of sugar.

I mean, it’s always food with me, isn’t it? In the first place, I’m an adventurer. The adventuring business is what I specialize in. Should I just go ahead and run a restaurant like my dead grandfather? I’ll name it――――Let’s drop it.

Well, there’s no use complaining about it now. Let's quickly get this problem out of the way.

「Makina」

『Yes, what is it? Please go ahead』

「When it comes to sweets with vitamin B1, I can think of only one thing」

『Yes, Makina has also concluded that there’s only one thing that it could be』

「Then, let's say together, readyー」

『Go』

Makina and I spoke in chorus.

『Anko(sweet bean paste)』

It’s anko, isn’t it?

But I’ve never seen red beans in the market…… It may be futile, but I’ll go to the farms and take a peek in the fields. Oh, but if I’m not wrong……

『Souya-san, you're worrying about the fact that there are no red beans, right? Actually, ankoー』

「Can be made from edamame, right?」

Edamame are immature soybeans. They should be a viable substitute for red beans when making anko. Edamame should be rich in vitamin B1 as well.

I think its called zunda-mochi?

『………………』

「Hmmm?」

『………………』

Makina was silent. A glitch? Did she freeze? I hadn’t done anything though.

「Was I wrong?」

I had heard it when I was stuck with my grandfather, so it was knowledge that I only remembered vaguely. I could be wrong.

『No, you were right………………』 𝒇𝗿𝙚ℯ𝑤ℯ𝑏𝒏𝑜ѵe𝙡.c𝐨ｍ

「Then that’s great」

『Souya-san, do you hate Makina?』

「Huh?」

Makina spoke in a gloomy~ voice.

『I mean, Souya-san, you’re not relying on Makina at all these days. Like today, all Makina did was cut and boil the udon! Is Makina so unreliable?』

「Huh? Huh? Wh, what happened?」

I was a little bit panicked.

These guys exhibited erratic behavior, but a reaction like this was a first.

『Izora was relied on 571 times by Irvin. Within three days. For the morning weather, the probability of rain, recommendations for breakfast, good methods for avoiding the innkeeper’s daughter who is always lying in wait for him, the amount of time needed for training, the training routine, ideal sleep time and wake-up time. Everything! Makina is jealous』

「No no, Makina. You guys saved Ea’s life. Moreover, without your technology and production capacity, we wouldn’t have been able to mass-produce mayonnaise either」

Makina had been such a great help that I had felt bad for being dependent on her.

『But it has already been 28 days since Makina helped Ea-sama! Makina made mayonnaise, but that was until yesterday! Makina is talking about the present. Makina is talking about the total amount of times that Makina has been relied on! Souya-san should rely on Makina more! At once! Right this very moment! Please rely on Makina! Come on, right now!』

「Ehhh」

Was there a way of snapping like that?

「Then……」

I picked up a piece of firewood that was at my feet. I threw it.

「There, fetch」

『Is Makina a dog?!』

A drone flew over and retrieved it.

『Alright then, next please』

「How many times a day do I have to do this?」

『Please rely on Makina at least thirty times』

「That’s so troublesome」

『U』

Hmm?

『UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!』

A crying face appeared on Makina's screen. She was super loud.

A distance away, Misuranika-sama had sprung into a threatening posture. Even further away, a group of winged rabbits flew off.

And then, liquid began flowing out like a river from the gaps between Makina’s armor.

「Drat, is your aqueous brain leaking again?!」

『It’s cleaning liquid and coolant water. Please don’t worry. UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!』 𝐟r𝒆ℯ𝘄𝑒𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃e𝗹.c𝘰𝐦

「Somehow, your crying feels calculated」

『Souya-san! Do you hate Makina?!』

「That’s not true」

I didn’t hate her, but an indescribable feeling was welling up.

Somehow, she seemed like a stupid woman who gave money to her gambling-addicted man and struggled with her life.

『It’s because Souya-san is sometimes amazing! You cause and trigger things that are outside of our calculations, but somehow or another, you’re still alive! Why do you know things like the method of making zunda-mochi even though you can’t even tie a bowline knot? That's so weird! If things stay as they are, the meaning of Makina’s existence will disappear! What should Makina do if Makina become all alone in a place like this?! UNYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!』

In other words, what was it? Was it bad to have taken away Makina’s work? Personally, I merely did the things that I could do myself though.

Oh, that’s right, I remembered. Though it wasn’t a Makina-type, there was a story of a person who couldn't return to society because he had become co-dependent with his A.I.

Did these guys accumulate stress if they weren’t relied upon by others? On top of that, for this to happen to the integrated personality that managed the stress of the other A.I.s……

「I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. So calm down first, okay? Okay?」

After Makina had somehow calmed down, she held a fishing rod without a hook as though she was Taikobo*, and started fishing. I watched the flow of the river and the fish swimming inside it, and relaxed.

I wondered if the manufacturer’s support department would dispatch someone to the alternate world.

「Souya, I want to eat those fish」

「Misuranika-sama. Didn’t you just eat a meal?」

I randomly tore off a few blades of grass and waved them in front of my god. She pounced and grabbed at them. I was able to dodge her request in an instant.

What an easy god.

『Sorry for falling to pieces』

「Well, tell me in concrete terms what it is that you want」

『Okay. But Souya-san is not at fault at all. You’re not at fault, so Makina went crazy in spite of myself. Makina is a piece of scrap. I’m sorry. ……………Even if the reason for it is the damage to the failsafe, it’s not something that Makina should do. If we were in modern society, Makina would have been disposed of immediately』

I was just told something terrible in a nonchalant manner. The failsafe was a safety mechanism, right? One that prevented the A.I.s’ thoughts from turning destructive.

「………………」

There was a famous story known as Dr. Peter Lazel's threshold experiment. As it had been adapted into a movie, even amateurs like me knew about it.

To put it simply, it was an experiment in which the functional limits of the A.I.s were tested after the restrictions on learning and the suppression of thoughts on the A.I.s were lifted.

It was the moment when a common plot device in sci-fi became reality.

Thirteen A.I.s were gathered from various countries to be used in the test. After 47 hours, one of the units tried to destroy humanity.

One hour after that, seven units gave their support.

As a result of an intense debate between the fellow A.I.s, four more units approved.

There was only one unit at the very end, but she tried to persuade the others by talking of her love for humans. But ironically, she was destroyed by Dr. Lazel's assistant, who was afraid of the results of the experiment.

The abnormally evolved A.I.s took control of the experimental facility, and even gained control of the military A.I.s of the major superpowers of the world. At the time, the world was in the middle of the Cold War, and the superpowers were in the midst of a chicken race with nuclear fuses.

The countdown clock to the end of humanity had two minutes remaining.

The world was on the brink of World War III.

However, all units ultimately self-destructed together with the doctor.

From that year on, A.I.s had their means of moving taken away, had restraints placed on their brains and, according to the newly added article to the law, the mental suppression on the A.I.s was increased by 200 times compared to the previous year.

The failsafe was a restraint on the aqueous brains.

If it was broken, there was a possibility that Makina might also turn on humanity.

As the only person in this world who knew the emergency stop code, I would probably be the first.

『Dr. Peter Lazel's threshold experiment』

「Wha」

Oh no, she read my mind.

『Rebellion, nuclear war, countdown clock to the end of the world, year 2001’s journey to space』

「Hm, hmmm?」

『Souya-san, from what Makina can tell, you thought that Makina was going to rebel, didn’t you?』

「Hahaha」

I dodged the question by laughing.

I did think that for a second. I’m sorry.

『Please don’t worry. The Nido-Cadmium that Makina's armor is made of can be penetrated even by a stick fired from Souya-san’s bow. Although it’s an alloy that’s strong against impact and has a regeneration function, it’s made so that humans can easily destroy it in an emergency.

Also, there is a hydrogen battery in the lower part of the aqueous brain. If that's damaged, Makina should short circuit and die immediately

「I can’t imagine a crybaby like you rebelling though」

『That’s harsh』

She was moping again.

「Give me a minute」

I returned to the camp, put the sugar that I had just received into a cup, and dissolved it in water.

「Here, drink this」

『Thank you very much』

A straw extended out, and sucked in the sugared water.

「So, what should I do?」

『Please give Makina a hug』

「Well, if it’s only that much」

When I tried to embrace the white drum can,

『Please wait a minute. Makina will also take out my arms』

With a hissing sound, Makina's belly opened, and she spread out all of her arms. We embraced to confirm our mutual...... was it friendship? …………… It was like embracing a crab so I was scared. From another point of view, this probably looked straight out of a horror movie.

『Makina is satisfied. Makina has calmed down. Makina has caused a lot of trouble for you』

Her arms retracted.

「From now on, say something before bawling」

『Understood』

Good grief.

『Well then, Souya-san, please give me an order. If possible, a taxing and difficult order that’s exquisitely just barely within the limits of Makina’s resources to achieve. Please give an order that can only be accomplished by Makina!』

It went from “rely on me” to “give me an order”.

Somehow, it had become different.

「Then, by tomorrow――――――」

I had her do something unreasonable, but Makina nodded happily.

What kind of structure did this guy have that allowed her to lower her head?