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Why did I realize this now?
Even if everyone survived the storm,
popping champagne, laughing, and dancing the night away,
everything would be meaningless without him.
Ulrich wished he could spend a third of his day sleeping like a human. For the first time in his life, he forced himself to shut down his body's power source, but his mind still floated in the air, and returning to the surface seemed a distant prospect. At first, he devoted all his time to his work. He pushed back deadlines, multiplied his workload by 1.5 times (it would have doubled if a horrified colleague hadn't intervened). He was shocked to find three logical holes in a single page of his work. Until, unable to bear the flickering fluorescent lights and power outages caused by Ulrich's current, his colleagues sent him out to get some fresh air.
He didn't know what the point of getting some fresh air was, or how it would help, but with no other options, he signed out and trudged through the lobby empty-handed. The weather was perfect, with just the right amount of sunlight and temperature. In a normal day, he would have dragged Adler out of his dark room and stood him in front of the wide window. Then, grumbling, he would have opened the window himself, leaned against the window, crossed his arms, and said,
"Ulrich, I'm not a plant. Even if I synthesize vitamin D for this short time, it won't make a dramatic difference. Getting a capsule from the bio department and swallowing it would be much more helpful."
He chuckled slightly at the brief recollection. Then a long sigh followed. As expected. Going for a walk wasn't going to help, so he should probably go back.
And then he detected an electrical signal. While biological signals couldn't be handled the same way as electronic devices, the distinction between the two was easy. Ulrich's on-sensor immediately responded. With a sliver of hope, he ran in that direction. A branch made a shallow scratch in the fish tank, but he didn't care. He didn't care if his shoes sank into the mud. Still, he had to be aware of what was beneath his feet. Ulrich barely managed to stop himself. The electrical signal had cut off just then.
Below his feet, he saw two brown furballs, one large and one small. What was this? Mud, sand, and… blood. The blood had clung together, making it difficult to discern their shapes. He stared at them for a long time before he could finally discern that they were cats. The larger one had likely died protecting the smaller one. The smaller one survived, but it seemed unlikely that one could expect much from life or death. In this case, burying them would be the right thing to do. Feeling somewhat uneasy about burying a body in the mud, Ulrich dug a hole in the sand and buried the large cat. Once the sand had completely covered it, the small lump he had been holding in his arm for warmth stirred slightly. It seemed as if it was saying goodbye.
The awakened being ran the same way he came, bypassing the lobby and jumping through the second-floor window. (A tactic he often uses.) A young researcher, standing in the hallway taking a break, screamed in shock.
Hey. What do we do to save a cat? It weighs about 100 grams—…
Uh, uh, first, we should regulate its temperature and feed it, right? It's a mammal, after all… Sorry. I've never raised an animal before. Wouldn't it be okay to give it something like milk?
No. It can't digest lactose, so it could be in serious trouble. Let me correct that misconception.
You seem to know better than me!? Why are you asking?
The researcher protested with a frustrated expression, but he had already run away again.
"Medicine Pocket, You've raised a dog, so you can raise a cat, too."
"Huh? You're entrusting me with raising a cat, not a dog? You're taking up my precious time with that? Get out!" A voice filled with discontent shouted, but Ulrich didn't back down.
"No. I'll raise it. Just teach me how to raise it. No... Just keep it alive. I'll take care of the rest."
The other person continued to grumble, presumably swearing. He had something to offer—
"You can add any features you want to the next prosthesis. Just one thing." A smile played on the other person's lips, as if to say, "No regrets?" The negotiation was over.
"Keeping it alive is easy! Come back in a few dozen minutes. I don't like the idea of a cat, though."
Ulrich went out the door and sat down on a folding chair. Time passed by like nothing. He said a few dozen minutes... It must have been about 20 minutes. Only 18 minutes and 30 seconds left. Ulrich.
Only 15 minutes…
Only 10 minutes left.
Eight minutes…
“Damn it. Just stay inside. What the hell is making an Awakened One tremble?! This is insane! And don’t touch anything.”
Under the light lay a small, blind creature. Its blood-matted fur was evenly groomed and twitching faintly. Ulrich turned his head to Medicine Pocket and stared at him.
“Ugh. Right! I left it to someone else! Okay? But the promise—”
“Thank you so much.” Ulrich grabbed Medicine Pocket's wrist and hand, which were covered in an unidentifiable liquid, and shook them vigorously up and down several times.
“Huh?”
Ulrich’s vacation days, which had been unable to be displayed for more than three digits, were finally displayed properly. The storm team leader had taken an extended leave due to a malfunction, and since he wasn’t staying at his residence, the file clerks had many questions. Adler Hoffmann's private office? Ulrich himself was the only one who didn't realize everyone was thinking he was crazy. Some thought he'd finally lost his mind, while others wrote novels about him trying to take over as the replacement manager.
Anyway. Ulrich was now sitting next to "Researcher Adler," reading a contemporary newspaper. Researcher Adler, Is that spot sunny? It was worth remodeling the window to increase the sunlight. Why did they leave the food? Should they replace it all with wet food? What a picky eater. Why the name, Adler Researcher? Because Ulrich had heard the ridiculous rumor that he was going to be the replacement manager. Adler Hoffmann's office was the only one that belonged to Adler. It was a perfectly natural logic to Ulrich, who had skipped several levels.
Meowing, Ulrich nodded contentedly and settled down next to the cat, resting his chin on his hand. This waiting for the one who hadn't returned had become a new routine. (Researcher Adler might not think so. Is this human empathy? Ulrich thought.) From morning till night. Maybe even after evening. News of the replacement's return would be immediately relayed to the entire center, but Ulrich wanted to see for himself.
From the moment he brought Researcher Adler in, he had never assumed he'd be waiting forever. He would return. Whether it was holding him accountable for remodeling the office into a mess (in fact, it was closer to tidying it up than it was originally), questioning him for bringing in some furry animal,
or chastising himself for daring to leave everyone behind and disappear. Whatever it was, he would return and put it into action… That thought was enough to make him live his long life regularly again.
The small cat, with its bloated belly, shook itself, its brown fur flying everywhere. Cats certainly regenerate their fur infinitely. I need to brush more.
Months passed, and the temperature dropped, but the scenery outside remained unchanged. As Researcher Adler, with a beige ribbon tied to his tail, slid between Ulrich's legs, playing tricks on him as he sat by the window, Ulrich deftly picked the cat up. At this weight, it must have grown as much as the other cat he'd buried before.
The cat, usually snuggled up quietly in his arms, was scratching at the fish tank. "Researcher Adler. What are you doing? You're going to hurt your claws. Let's see."
At that moment, Ulrich's field of vision caught a familiar electrical signal, along with a large, black silhouette. The cat trapped in his arms squirmed and thrashed in frustration.
Ulrich opened the window, stepped outside onto the veranda, and closed it tightly. Researcher Adler might get hurt. Cats fall to their deaths from high-rise buildings are more common than you'd think. Anyway.
He jumped.
"Ulrich. Are you out of your mind?! That's the sixth floor. Damn it. You did worse than me! Storm Team Leader. Lost your mind and jumped from the sixth floor. It'll be all over the intranet tomorrow—"
"You're too late, Adler." Ulrich hugged Adler. The pounding of his human heart nearly broke him with relief.
Adler patted him and took him in.
"...Yeah. But I'm back... What's that? Fur?"
Haha! Ulrich's laughter, mixed with tears, filled the air. Ulrich grabbed Adler's hand, held it up, and waved it at the cat by the sixth-floor window.
"Let's say hello. Let's go up. Adler."