Part 1
The hallway creaked beneath their steps as Kaito and Seri carried a glass case larger than the two of them combined.
—Are you sure this will fit through the door? —asked Seri, panting as she pushed with both hands.
—I'm not even sure this is a good idea —grunted Kaito, pulling on the rope they had tied around the base.
With one final effort, they managed to get the case into the room. The glass lightly bumped against the wall with a clang and settled in the center, gleaming under the dim glow of the magic lamp.
Inside, the metallic figure of a girl with lavender hair stood motionless, her eyes closed and arms crossed as if she were asleep.
Her maid outfit only made her seem more like something from another world… or another fandom.
Kaito stood in silence for a few seconds… then raised an eyebrow.
—…This looks like a life-sized Akihabara collector's figure.
—Huh?
—You wouldn't get it, Seri. It's superior culture.
She looked at him like he'd just spoken in another language.
—Are you sure you're not sick?
—Very possibly.
Seri approached the case and placed her hands on the glass. She studied the serene face of the automaton.
—She's kind of creepy… Do you think she'll wake up in the middle of the night?
—I have no idea, but if she does, I hope she's not dangerous —said Kaito, crossing his arms.
—And how do you plan to activate her?
—Heh… just watch —Kaito replied with a confident smile, striking an overly dramatic pose and extending his hand toward the crystal case.
—Eve, I activate you!!!
Nothing happened.
—And what was that supposed to be? —asked Seri, raising an eyebrow.
Kaito turned red instantly.
—N-nothing… pretend you didn't see that.
She shrugged casually, as if she were already used to it.
Kaito then approached the display case and noticed something sticking out of the automaton's apron pocket. A folded piece of paper.
—Could these be the instructions? —he murmured, carefully pulling it out.
When he unfolded it, he found a small card with writing on it. As he read the first lines, his expression shifted to a mix of disbelief and frustration:
Hi! I'm Francheszca Zarakov, the greatest genius in all of Estelaris. If you're reading this, you're probably some dimwit who has no clue how to activate the E-V11n automaton. It's super easy: just touch her nose and she'll activate instantly.
Kaito growled through clenched teeth, but followed the instructions anyway. He reached out and tapped the automaton's nose with a light tap...
Nothing.
—What's wrong, Kaito? Not working? Is she broken? —asked Seri, approaching with curiosity.
Kaito, frowning, flipped the paper over… and his face twisted into pure, restrained hatred.
Dumbass. Of course you touched her nose without reading the back first. To activate the automaton, just say the magic words: "Eve, wake up." That's it, idiot.
—I hate you with every cell in my body, Francheszca Zarakov… —muttered Kaito, taking a deep breath.
Seri was already laughing silently behind him.
—Eve, wake up! —said Kaito firmly and clearly.
A soft click echoed from within the display case.
Immediately, a mechanical sound filled the room, like gears grinding after centuries of stillness.
Subtle steam hissed from the vents on her back, and ancient dust fell from her shoulders like ash from a forgotten memory.
In her chest, the Luminite core lit up with a soft purple glow beneath the glass.
INITIALIZING…
ZARAKOV PROTOCOL ACTIVATED…
SCANNING ENVIRONMENT…
DETECTING: HUMAN SUBJECT…
RELEVANT INFORMATION: ASTRAL AURA DETECTED…
STATUS: ANOMALOUS SUBJECT — POSSIBLE EXTRADIMENSIONAL ORIGIN.
SECOND SUBJECT: FIRE ELF RACE — HIGH-LEVEL SORCERESS.
INTELLIGENCE INDEX BELOW AVERAGE.
…
STANDBY…
…
RECOGNITION PROTOCOL COMPLETE…
The figure moved slowly. Her eyes lit up with an intense violet glow. She opened her lips with a clear, robotic voice… yet soft.
—Recognition of new master, complete...
—E-V11N… activated and ready for service.
Kaito and Seri froze.
—Huh? Master? —he said, confused.
—What did you do this time?! —shouted Seri, grabbing her head.
Eve turned her head slowly toward him, then knelt gracefully and placed a hand on her chest.
—Greetings, Master. Would you like tea, a bath, cleaning… or the extermination of the human race?
Kaito stared at her, stunned.
—Wait… what was that last part?
Eve brought a hand to her ear and pretended to clean it.
—I don't understand your question.
—Did she just ignore me...? —murmured Kaito, bewildered.
—Yep. She's pretending not to, but she definitely ignored you —commented Seri, crossing her arms.
—Note recorded: The new master does not appear as dumb as he looks… logging for future interactions.
—Argh! You'll pay for this, Zarakov…
—Heh. Come on, don't get mad at the thing —said Seri, trying to hold back her laughter.
—Affirmative. The elf child is correct. Anger will only increase your stress levels, Master.
—Hey! Who are you calling child?! I'm a young, healthy elf girl still growing!
Eve tilted her head.
—My apologies. I must have omitted information from my database.
She placed both hands over her chest with exaggerated dramatics.
—I believed all female beings should look like me, but I see now my perception was flawed.
—ARE YOU CALLING ME FLAT?! —shouted Seri, a vein bulging on her forehead.
Eve blatantly ignored her and turned her gaze back to Kaito.
—Master, you haven't provided your name… nor the child's—excuse me, the elf's. Could you input them for the record?
—I say we toss her into the incinerator for being sassy —said Seri with a twitchy smile.
—Come on now, don't be like that. She'll get used to us —he said, glancing at the little elf—. Or we'll get used to her. Whichever happens first.
Then he turned to Eve calmly.
—My name is Kaito Amakawa. And yes, I'm not from this world.
—And I'm Seri Flames —added the elf proudly.
—Kaito and Seri. It will be a pleasure to serve you —said Eve, beginning to look around the room.
—Is this the master's residence? It looks like a pigsty. Would you like me to demolish it and build a new facility?
Kaito smiled with a guilty expression.
—No, Eve. We're at an inn, so please don't destroy anything… my budget couldn't handle it.
—Confirmed. So what shall we do now? Sit and stare at each other? That is a top-rated Zarakov protocol activity —she said, winking and raising a finger as if confirming something important.
—I think my hair's about to fall out…
—Tomorrow we head to Aldoria by carriage, so we need to get everything ready. About your box…
—No need to worry about my box, I'll take care of it —Eve replied in a neutral yet resolute voice.
She approached the large glass case, closed her eyes, and extended one hand.
—Shrink!
With a flash of light, the case shrank down to fit in her palm. Then she tucked it into her apron pocket, where it simply… vanished.
—Well, that was handy —said Seri, visibly surprised.
—My pockets are magical. I can store up to one hundred items per pocket.
—Well, I guess that settles the box issue… —murmured Kaito thoughtfully.
—Ah, and one more thing… This is for both of you, so memorize it —he added seriously, and both girls focused on him intently.
—According to the Church, my family is from Verdalis. My father is Baronett Josua Amakawa, and my mother, Silvia Amakawa. We're a farming family. Got it?
They both nodded in unison, understanding this wasn't a time for jokes.
—Alright, let's go have dinner. Tomorrow, first thing, we head to Aldoria —he said, like he was rallying a sports team, and the three of them headed down to eat.
Dinner passed without incident… except for the minor soup accident, courtesy of Eve, who insisted she'd followed a recipe "enhanced with gunpowder essence."
Seri nearly spit out her first bite, while Kaito tried to mask his despair with a forced smile.
After some laughter, light conversation, and vague plans for the trip, the three retired for the night.
Kaito dropped onto his bed with a long sigh. For the first time in days, the world didn't feel so heavy.
There were no grand quests, no monsters, no oracles. Just a roof over his head… and the promise of moving forward.
The next morning...
—Kaito! Wake up, we're gonna be late!
The door slammed open without warning, and Seri burst in with her usual explosive energy… just in time to freeze in place.
Kaito was sleeping peacefully in bed, covered up to his chest.
Beside him, nestled casually, Eve rested with her eyes closed in an almost perfect position… if you ignored the fact that one leg was draped over him and her hand rested right in the center of his chest.
—...Huh?
Time stood still for a second.
—What kind of shameless novel are you trying to act out, you brazen automaton?! —shouted Seri, her face blazing red.
Kaito jolted awake.
—Huh? What's going on? What's happening?
Eve opened her eyes slowly, as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
—Good morning, Master. Your body temperature was optimal last night for shared hibernation mode.
—SHARED WHAT NOW?!
—Kaitoooooo! You perveeeeeert! —screamed Seri, hurling the nearest pillow at him with lethal force.
A new day had begun… and chaos seemed to be the daily breakfast special.