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Ulrich's discovery of the room was a simple accident. That was all he could say. The room was lined with thin wallpaper of various materials, as if trying every insulator in the world to prevent Ulrich from finding it.
A room filled with cushioning and soundproofing materials that Ulrich would normally be undetectable, not even a vibration escaping. But the room Adler Hoffmann overlooked, the scent of his tears lingering everywhere, making it possible to find— - the room where Adler was preparing for his death.
In the center of the room, with its white walls and white tiles, stood a simple device with a small monitor. A chair stood at the end. The device consisted of a single button, seemingly intended to block any further interaction. Ulrich hesitated before pressing it, but unlike the simple button, it felt considerably heavier.
"Hello. Ulrich. An explanation would be best at the beginning. Let's see... Where should I start?" The monitor, which had been flickering, soon flashed with images of his companion. Adler awkwardly touched the corner of his mouth, and his left ring finger glowed with the same light as the one inside his glove.
"This is a message I've set to play once a day during my 'long absence.' Of course, the message won't disappear just because you haven't seen it. The maximum number of messages per day is one." He paused.
"It won't take up much of your time. I wish I could take up your time forever, even after I'm dead. That would be the exact opposite of my purpose. This is essentially a project to restore your normal life after my death. You'll definitely be clueless after my death, won't you?"
"Oh, this is getting long. It's my first day, so forgive me. You know I'm not very good at this kind of thing. Anyway, I'm going to accumulate as much data as possible. If there's enough training data left, an AI will be created that's trained just like me. It's an unsolicited, useless feature, and it's not what I want. That's why I've set a specific goal. I want you to be able to—ultimately, permanently—delete that AI."
"It's better if you forget me before that." He laughed, but one eye was squinted.
"Still, there's still something left to explain, so come back tomorrow, Ulrich."
And then the screen went black. Ulrich stumbled back down onto his chair, unsure whether to be angry, sad, or react to this foolish act in some other way. Yes. Yes. If Adler Hoffman was right about one thing, it was that he didn't know what to do when faced with the eternally unsolvable riddle of death. He'd been putting it off, running away from it, or trying to ignore it, but the time had come for him to face it. Much sooner than he'd expected.
If anything, it was the thought that I had to finish. He opened his enchantment, but as if he hadn't discovered this room, he felt a choking sensation. The machine was lined with layers of thaumaturgical safeguards, as if they had anticipated his arrival.
Adler Hoffman. You've been seeing me sporadically.
He wielded such force on the machine purely out of consideration for the device that served as his auxiliary brain. That icky machine had absolutely no reason to do so. There was no chance of it being an awakened being. Finally, Ulrich forcibly dismantled the safeguards, and yellow electricity surged through his body. The next record continued.
"Hello. Ulrich." The second record began with the same greeting as the first. "I really hope you don't force to play this. If you do, be patient. If not, I guess I've been misreading you all along. Haha." He smiled, his eyes quirking with genuine amusement, but his gaze was devoid of light.
"I figured you'd be staring at this for 360 hours without resupply. If you try to force to move past Part 3, this room will explode. Oh, it won't cause you any physical damage. That would be terrible even if I were dead. You understand?" Judging by his expression, it was clear he was disguising his deep resentment as a joke.
"You know. I wasted eight years just learning about the concept of a storm. I always think about that. If I hadn't locked myself in my room back then, if I had spent more time with my sister, if I had gotten out of that corner of the room and talked to you more—it might have been difficult for me back then. But... I wouldn't have regretted it more than I do now, would I? I always think about that." The ring on the hand cupping her left cheek was no longer visible.
"I hope you don't regret something similar. If you were stuck somewhere like me, go out and get some sun. Ulrich."
... Next entry.
"Hello. Ulrich—did you enjoy your walk? Of course not. You're just sitting there. Of course I know." If his outfit hadn't changed, I would have looked around. Those clothes... were the ones I forced him into when he attended a conference after a long time, and the date was exactly—
-two years ago.
Ulrich pressed the button to pause the video. Damn it, Damn it, Damn it! He's been doing this for two years? Even in the midst of the storm, living with the daily prospect of death was not normal for a human being. And yet, Adler Hoffmann outside looked so perfectly fine. He might have been rotting inside, unable to notice. He couldn't play the recording any further. He had to meet him outside. He was still alive and moving. He stumbled to open the door, but immediately tripped on a piece of cloth
The man outside sat down, hugging his knees, and said, "Hello, Ulrich. That wasn't a very pleasant recording. If I had known this would happen, I would have strengthened security. This has derailed my plans."
You call that a speech?
What were you thinking?
Why did you do that?
The words that escaped him, squeezing through all the questions, were an agonized plea. Ulrich collapsed beside him, clutching his head.
"Don't do this, Adler." Don't let me imagine your death. Don't tell me not to hold on to you after you die. Don't live with the thought of your own death—don't die. That last wish was an impossible wish.
Ulrich felt Adler leaning his head against him. His stiff hair flowed gently into the fishbowl.
"Don't go. Ulrich."
Even though it was the right thing Ulrich to say in this situation, Ulrich nodded and said.
"Okay."