NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 114
“A human-sized android managed to warp through subspace without a gate!?”
Eri, who hadn’t said a word during my conversation with Minato, exclaimed in shock as she stared at KAEDE. Watching her reaction, Minato had the proud look of a parent showing off their child.
“KAEDE is the only unit capable of warping through subspace without needing a warp gate. She has many other functions as well… but if I were to explain everything, it would take until morning.”
According to Minato, in this era, warp gates were the primary method for traveling through the seemingly infinite expanse of space. The speed of such travel was astonishing—crossing from one galaxy to another could be achieved in about a week, and warp gates were mostly used for large-scale transport or military operations.
For this instance, the Sakura Empire had used a warp gate to send KAEDE from their galaxy, α12, to Zerad in α14.
“Impossible! There’s no way something as small as a human-sized machine could warp by itself…”
The downside of warp gates, however, was their immense size—Minato mentioned that a gate was almost as large as Zerad itself. Additionally, the energy required to operate them was astronomical. The empire even had Dyson spheres dedicated to supplying this energy, yet even then, the gates couldn’t be run continuously.
From what I’d gathered so far, it was clear that KAEDE, as a simple humanoid android, possessed capabilities far beyond ordinary expectations.
“This girl?”
In the midst of the still-buzzing room, I was the first to regain some composure, despite still not fully comprehending KAEDE’s abilities. After completing her post-teleportation checks, KAEDE silently stared at me with her ruby-like eyes. Then, without saying a word, she moved to stand where Eri had been earlier.
Seeing this, Minato grimaced slightly.
“…Yes, it seems the AI still has some catching up to do.”
When Minato apologized with a somewhat sheepish look, I found myself asking, “AI?”
“Originally, KAEDE was supposed to have a more expressive personality. However, as it’s a newly designed AI, its development hasn’t fully caught up yet…”
Apparently, they’d wanted to continue refining KAEDE’s development, but due to my sudden arrival on Zerad, they had to dispatch her ahead of schedule. Still, Minato assured me that her core systems were functioning perfectly.
As for her personality, though, it was still something of a blank slate, which explained her somewhat robotic responses. However, Minato said that over time, with more interaction, she would learn and develop a more natural way of speaking.
In the video conference with Minato, we primarily discussed three things: my role in this world, the upcoming events, and the dispatch of KAEDE. The invasion of Zerad was already scheduled to happen in five days, and the necessary forces were being prepared, along with a formal declaration of war.
Minato also mentioned that other agents were in contact with Nias and Rene, negotiating whether they would defect or remain on Zerad.
Meanwhile, I was asked to stay in Area 1 of the star capital during this time. If I needed to return using the Moon Gate, I was to take KAEDE with me.
“I look forward to serving you, Master.”
“Master, huh…? Can’t you just call me Allen?”
“The researchers who developed me instructed that I should refer to my master as ‘Master.’ Is that unacceptable?”
With such an innocent gaze, it was hard to refuse…
What exactly did those researchers tell her about me, though? Honestly, that piqued my curiosity more than anything.
KAEDE’s design also seemed oddly tailored, almost as if she’d been pulled straight from an anime. I wouldn’t be surprised to find a figurine of her in Akihabara someday.
“…Yeah, alright. ‘Master’ is fine.”
She looked a bit disappointed at first, but as soon as I gave in, a faint trace of happiness seemed to radiate from her.
“Thank you, Master.”
KAEDE’s voice remained flat and her expressionless face unchanged, but somehow, I could sense a hint of joy.