Work Text:
Nakamura Rio's POV
“I have a job for you,” King Karma says, looking down at me from his throne. He is sitting there, his tale draped over the armrest, his elbow resting on the other armrest and his head in his hand. He isn’t smiling, which is not unusual when it has to do with work.
“A job?” I say. It’s hard to feign enthusiasm. Usually, when he says something like this, it only means that he is going to pile his work on me. I’m a demon too. I want to live my life!
“I need to know more about them,” Karma says.
“Who?” I ask.
“My people,” he says.
“Do you want me to go around and spy on them?” I ask. While it seems like quite a task, it also seems like a lot of fun, if that’s what he wants.
“No,” he says, crushing my hopes in just one word. “They know you work for me. You’ll only ever see what they want me to know.”
I have to admit that he makes a fair point. Ever since I was appointed as his right hand, people have been acting differently around me. Even my own family is being weird.
“I want you to make something, a machine of some kind, that can do it for me,” he says.
“A machine?” I ask. It’s definitely not as fun as spying on people. I can’t decide if it’ll be more or less fun than doing his work for him.
“Yeah, a machine. It needs to be my eyes and ears out in Satanica,” he says.
“How?” I ask.
“Use technology,” Karma says.
“Tech… what?” I ask.
“It’s something humans have. They use it to make work easy, to communicate over long distances and even travel long distances, not that we need that.”
If this technology had a way to make the trip from here to the archives easier then we definitely need that. I can tell a few things based on what Karma is saying. He knows what technology is, but that’s about it. If I want more knowledge, which I need, I’ll need to ask Kaede, Nagisa or Korosensei.
“How much time do I have?” I ask.
“The sooner you have it made, the better,” Karma says. “Let’s say a month.”
I’m not sure that’s enough time, but I have long since learned that there is only one person who can get away with arguing with the king, and that’s a young man named Shiota Nagisa. I just accept the order and take my leave, rushing upstairs to Kaede’s room to ask her about this technology phenomenon.
I’m in luck as I come in. She isn’t alone. Nagisa is sitting with her and they’re talking.
“Knock!” Kaede exclaims.
“I’m in a hurry,” I say. “I need to know everything worth knowing about technology.”
“Everything?” Kaede asks.
“How come?” Nagisa asks. I can see that he is trying to read my emotions by watching my tail. I know I probably should get better at controlling it for situations like this one, but ever since I learned that controlling it might be a good thing to be able to do, I haven’t had the time.
“Orders from the King,” I just say.
Nagisa sighs.
“We’ll tell you what we can,” Kaede says, giving me a soft smile. I have a feeling she can tell that I’m stressed out by this.
She and Nagisa tell me everything they know about technology, all the devices, what they can do and a bit about how they work. There are so many, and all of them sound convenient, fridge, oven, smartphone, public transport and the latest development, Artificial Intelligence.
“That’s it!” I exclaim as Kaede finishes talking about the AI.
“What’s what?” she asks, confused.
“AI!” I exclaim. “That’s what I need to fulfill his request!”
“If you have no technology down here, making an AI off the bat isn’t something I would recommend,” Nagisa advices.
“I don’t care,” I say. “I only have one month, so I’ll just have to dive in at the deep end.”
“Maybe I’d talk to Korosensei about this,” Kaede says. “He might know something more than we do. After all, he has seen the entire technological evolution.”
She has a point. Death has been around as long as time itself. Of course he would know anything about everything.
“I guess I’ll need to pay him a visit,” I say.
“He’s coming by tomorrow,” Kaede says. “He’s bringing my sister for a visit.” She is happy about that it seems.
“Then I guess I’ll save myself the trouble,” I conclude.
The following day, Korosensei is just about to leave Karma alone when I run up to him. He turns to me, a wide smile on his face as he does.
“What is the matter, Nakamura-san?” he asks me.
“I need to know all there is to know about technology,” I say. “Especially AI.”
“That’s a drastic change of the environment,” Korosensei says.
“I was told,” I say. “Can you teach me everything you know?”
“I can teach you what you need to know about AI, and see what else I can squeeze in over the next two hours,” he says.
“Thank you,” I tell him, relief washing over me as I bow to him.
“Let’s go to your office,” he says.
We do so, and he spends nearly three hours teaching me as much as he can about technology. By the end, I feel confident that I can create the AI that Karma wants so badly. I just need to get some help.
“If you need any more help, just let me know,” Korosensei says.
“I still want to look into developing some public transport,” I say.
“That’ll be for another time,” Korosensei says, chuckling. “I’ll help with the programming of your AI. Just let me know when it’s ready.”
“I will,” I assure him. “Thank you very much.” I bow as he leaves the room.
Fuwa is serving tea in my office on the following evening. I look across my desk at the two young men I have invited to my office.
“This is… an odd group,” Takebayashi says while fixing his glasses.
“I agree with that,” Sugaya says while Fuwa puts a cup of tea in front of him.
“I need your help with something important,” I say.
“Something important?” Sugaya asks.
“Something His Majesty made her do again,” Takebayashi deduces, not incorrectly.
“Both,” I tell them.
“It’s always both,” Fuwa comments while putting a plate of cupcakes on the desk.
“I’m going to head the technological development of Satanica,” I say. “And you two are going to help me.”
Both Takebayashi and Sugaya give me a puzzled look.
“We’re going to make something called Artificial Intelligence, AI for short,” I explain. “You two are going to help me figure out how it’s made.”
They both look even more puzzled. I decide to explain what I want each of them to do and turn to Sugaya.
“Mimura-kun tells me you’re good at drawing,” I say.
A jolt runs through him and he scratches his cheek. “I guess I can draw, but I don’t know what to draw,” Sugaya says.
“The design,” I say. “We need to have an idea of what it’s going to look like. For that, I need your help.”
Sugaya nods his head. He still seems hesitant, but he is not saying that he can’t do it.
“I also need some help with the technology. Death says he is going to lend a hand with that as well,” I turn to Takebayashi. “We need to find out how to make it work, among many other things.”
He looks unsure. “I guess it’s not impossible but… I have never done something like that before.”
“What’s it even meant to do?” Fuwa asks, curiously. I glance at her and notice that she is eating one of the cupcakes, her back leaned against my shelves.
“His Majesty wants someone to be his eyes and ears out in town,” I explain. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to make that happen though.”
“Except with the use of this… AI,” Takebayashi says.
“Exactly,” I confirm while grabbing a cupcake off the plate. Only two remain now.
“And what’s Fuwa-san’s role?” Sugaya asks.
“Moral support,” Fuwa says. “The author forgot to make me leave perhaps?”
“What author?” Takebayashi asks, raising an eyebrow.
“I just didn’t think it made such a big difference whether Fuwa stayed or not,” I say.
“And I’m happy you think so,” Fuwa says, smiling. She holds her tray close to her chest and takes another bite of her cupcake. She has nearly finished eating it.
“Anyway, we’re going to start working on the mechanics as soon as possible. Sugaya-kun, you get the drawings done as fast as you can. Just throw out whatever, and we’ll see if we can make it happen,” I say.
“Okay,” Sugaya says. “Do you want practical or creative?”
“Something that’ll blend in, but it still needs to be unique,” I say.
He nods and takes some notes. “I’ll get to work as soon as possible,” he says.
On the morning two days after the meeting, I find Sugaya waiting in front of my office as I show up, ready to start working. He is holding a sketch book close to him and watches me as I approach.
“Having trouble?” I ask, worried that that’s the reason why he’s here.
“No,” Sugaya says, showing me the sketch of a machine. It is square, but it has a face drawn on it that looks rather cute. I nod at it.
“Why the face though?” I ask.
“It needs to be His Majesty’s eyes and ears,” Sugaya begins. “So it also needs a mouth to relay what it observes. If we have ears, eyes and mouth, why not just make a whole face? That’ll also give it personality.”
I nod. I can easily tell what he’s going for.
“I wonder if something like that can be done though,” I say, thinking hard.
“I hope so,” Sugaya says.
I also know that Takebayashi has been working hard on getting the building process started. It’s about time I contact Korosensei and ask that he comes by to lend a tentacle.
We are constantly working on it, the AI. Korosensei is surprisingly good at figuring out all the technology behind it and we even manage to make some smaller devices that we can sell to the citizens. I showed a prototype to Nagisa once. He called that a smartphone.
Now we’re nearly done. Takebayashi managed to develop a technology that could turn the screams of the tortured souls into electricity to power not only our AI but also the smartphones. We have decided to adopt the name that Nagisa and Kaede would call them. We could have invented a new one, but why bother when there already is one? Besides, it’s easier for them.
Nearly a month has passed when I go to see Karma. He is sitting in the west tower, watching the mortals getting punished. When I enter, he turns his head to look at me.
“What do you need me to sign?” he asks.
“I need you to sign off that I have finished the project you assigned me,” I say.
Karma thinks for a bit, and then a smile appears on his face as he recalls what that assignment was. He gets up, his tail waving eagerly from side to side.
“Took you long enough,” he says.
“Lord Nagisa and Lady Kaede have also been invited,” I tell him.
“Why?” he asks.
“They deserve to know too,” I say. “The team that worked on it is there too.”
Karma nods, accepting it.
I lead the way down to the room where we have been spending most of our time during this month. Kaede and Nagisa are waiting outside with Fuwa, whom I sent to get them both.
“Is everything ready?” I ask.
“Everything’s ready,” Fuwa confirms. She steps up to the door and opens it. Then she steps aside to let me enter first. Karma walks behind me, followed by Nagisa and Kaede. Fuwa walks in last, closing the door.
“Are we ready?” Korosensei asks.
“This is an odd thing,” Karma says, staring at the square box that holds the technology the rest of us have been working on.
“It looks no different than a box,” Nagisa says, but he seems less skeptical than Karma does.
“What does it do, and how does it work?” Karma asks me.
“Takebayashi-kun, turn it on,” I say before turning to Karma. “It’s probably best to let her speak for herself,” I say.
Takebayashi turns on the machine and it isn’t long before the screen lights up and a girl’s face appears.
“Hello,” she says. “My name is automatic spying equipment. Call me Ritsu. I will be the eyes and ears of demon king Akabane Karma in the city Satanica in Hell.”
Karma stares for a bit, then he approaches her. “I’m Akabane Karma,” he announces.
“Nice to meet you, Your Majesty,” Ritsu says and bows her head.
“I’m told to ask you how you work,” Karma says. He seems skeptical in the way he speaks and Nagisa is watching him nervously.
“Rio, can you show him the devices?” Ritsu asks and I go to the table along the wall furthest from the door. I grab one of the smartphones and hand it to Karma, who studies it. It doesn’t take long before a mini Ritsu appears on the screen.
“What’s this?” Karma asks.
“A smartphone,” Ritsu says. “They’re really popular in the mortal world. They’ll be distributed among the citizens of Satanica as a device to send messages to anyone you want. It can also make something called phonecalls, which means you can talk to someone over a long distance,” Ritsu explains like she did to me and the rest of the team yesterday. “I will be acting as a helper. I will guide everyone through using their smartphones and be able to answer most questions they have. All the data will be written down and printed here…,”
The machine makes a loud, sharp ringing sound and Sugaya goes over to retrieve a sheet of paper which he passes to Karma. I get a glimpse of it. It’s a summary of all the questions he has asked so far, as well as the answers. His name is also written in front of each question.
“Neat,” he says.
“If you want anything delivered directly, I can do that too, of course. All knowledge will be archived in my mind and here in this room,” Ritsu explains. “But I will always be at hand if you have any questions you need answered immediately.”
Karma nods, smiling. It seems he is approving of our invention. He turns to me and nods in my direction.
“Well done,” he says.
“No problem,” I tell him, partially lying. “I had a lot of help.” That’s true at least.
“She has all my knowledge in her system,” Korosensei says. “She knows all worth knowing about the world of the living and all worth knowing about this place. She also knows that there is no one like her.”
“That’s true,” Ritsu confirms.
Everyone begins talking more freely. All of us want to get to know Ritsu better. I’m of course included in this. Korosensei has had absolutely everything to do with her coding. Sugaya worked on her design and Takebayashi put the machinery together. He seems particularly proud. In the middle of the long conversation, he suddenly speaks up.
“Girls are the best when they have double D’s,” Takebayashi says.
“At least it’s not your first line in this series,” Fuwa comments.
And with that, the conversation is over, as none of us can comprehend what was just said.