“Hey, Lydiko. Have you thought you could go on exploration leaving me behind?”

Upon the moment of Lydia exit the emergency vehicle nigh the Kunagi Woodland, Noah declared thus.

“Eh?”

Being surprised from the depths of her heart, Lydia widened her eyes.
She can not recall bringing Noah along. Lydia and Ohan reached here by emergency vehicle.

“I was created for the sake of exploration, aye? And you wouldn’t take me along on exploration, are you stupid.”
“Noah, why are you here?”
“Is that bad?”
“It is, eh? Ah, it is not, I don’t think it’s bad. I only wondering why are you here.”

Lydia could not keep up with such unforeseen event.

“I’ve been courageously chasing after you. I mean, weren’t you too fast? Even though I didn’t have any luggage, I just barely managed to keep up.”
“Ah, uh-huh. For it should have been one hundred and fifty kilometres per hour.”
“I know right?”
“Ah, so that’s how it is. You’ve been chasing us. Or rather, did I forget to take Noah off-line?”
“Oh- I’ve been online since yesterday. I was so lonely, stuck in the garage, aye? These working AD were coming in, to use a simple Parts Maker, but they weren’t talking.”
“I’m sorry, for that.”
“It’s okay. Okay, Lydiko. I forgive you. Let’s see, Woodland exploring. I’ll find the esplanade and map it. Then I’ll be waiting here again. You’ll ride home on me, right?”
“Uh-huh! I will return home on you!”

Delighted, Lydia was driven by urge to embrace Noah. However, could not decide on how to hug them, so she stopped.
For Lydia, emergency vehicle was deadly boring.
It did not shake; did not slide the tires, for it having no tires; speed was limited; and, truly, was no fun.
She didn’t have much of conversation with Ohan, who was riding with her, either.
The mere thing they talked about was that Yuuyami and Lydia had different views.
Yuuyami’s opinion— Rapha is favour of Ohan.
Lydia’s opinion— Rapha has no special feelings towards Ohan.

“Noah is the best motorbike! The best in the world!”

At first, Lydia was but surprised for Noah chased her; at present, however, there is nothing but rapture.
Motorcycle is the best vehicle, judged Lydia.
Given that emergency vehicle has an autopilot, it can return to the library without Lydia, so there was no problem riding a motorcycle on the way back.

“Oh- I’m the best bike ever! So I’ll ask then, don’t mend me, aye?”
“I will not! I will not, Noah! Never!”
“That’s good.”

Whew, said Noah, in relieve.
For Lydia, it is indefinite how Noah escaped Rapha. Of course, nothing was actually done.
They came along in favour of self-defence, for they fear to be disassembled by Rapha, during Lydia’s exploration.

◇

Lydia and Ohan halted upon the spot Apricot was being gathered.
Lydia took the tablet from her backpack, and marked the place on the Kunagi Woodland local map.
It was in four hundred and twenty meters south-west the entering site.

“Now, let’s proceed due the west from this point.”
“Understood.”

Upon Lydia utter, Ohan begin to walk in the lead.
There is no particular reason for heading to the west. Just for some reason, as usual.
During Lydia stroll, for a while, she observed Ohan’s back.
Thereafter, she recalled to keep an eye on surroundings. Thus in order to exclude overlooking something intriguing.
Thence, when she walked for about one hundred meters in such manner,

“Ah, something wriggling there.”

Lydia halted, Ohan peered over his shoulder.
The thing—that was crawling upon the surface, to the Lydia right—being of considerable length, narrow, weird object.
Tawny in hue, olive brown​ pattern. Length cannot be measured by eye properly, but the impression was that upon stretch it out, it would be as tall as Lydia.
Wriggling thing noticed Lydia, and stopped its travel.

“It’s living creature, right. It’s not running away, is it friendly?”

Lydia took out the tablet and pointed the camera at wriggling organism.
By utilizing a pattern-matching, whereafter, she performed a search for that creature within the database.
The hit was - a snake.
Data stated it’s timid, and escaping afore long.

“However, it’s not running away–.”

Lydia crouched down, and observed the snake.
Snake was scampering about its tongue. Cute, thought Lydia.
Whereupon, she reached out a right hand, so to touch it.
At that instant, snake stretched its body out and attempted to bite Lydia’s hand.

“Wah!”

For Lydia being surprised, she withdrew her hand and, just like that, toppled over.

“Confirmation of hostile activity. Eliminate the target.”

Said Ohan; thud, there was banging noise of trample the ground.
Lydia immediately got up to see what had occurred.

“Hostile beast eliminated.”

Declaring that, Ohan raised his foot.
Whereunder, could be found crushed, flattened corpse of the snake.
Lydia thoughts ceased in an instant.
Until a moment ago, snake was wriggling around, scampering about its tongue.
At present, it was crushed.
Life of the snake has came to the climax, reckoned Lydia.

“Say, Ohan.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you kill it?”
“It showed hostile intent towards Lydia. I decided the warning would be meaningless, because I could not communicate with it, so I dealt with it.”
“Does Ohan properly understand what he done?”
“Yes. The enemy eliminated.”
“It’s different! This child is not enemy! It wasn’t enemy!”

Reverberated voice of Lydia, shriek as though.

“But, it tried to attack Lydia.”
“That’s, because I tried to touch, it probably did that for self-defence!”

Just as snake was not yet known creature for Lydia, Lydia was an unknown creature for the snake.

“Attack is attack.”
“It’s different! It’s menace! Actually, it haven’t done anything to me! I only tripped, for being surprised!”

Lydia, an unknown creature, reached out her hand. Accordingly, snake gave a warning, in panic. We do not hitherto know each other enough to touch one another; such warning.

“Menace​ means aggressiveness.”
“But! Wasn’t there another way!”

Snake doesn’t understand human language. Likewise, humans can not understand words of the serpent.
Hence, it used menacing for mere conveying the feeling that it do not wish me to touch them.

“If so, it should have left immediately.”
“It was interested in me! Just like I was interested in snake!”

Little by little, we could get on good terms, which might have concluded in mutual understanding. Even us cannot communicate by words, we might able to communicate with hearts.

“I simply did my duty. Why Lydia-sama crying?”
“Eh?”

Upon being told, Lydia touched her face.
It is wet.
Ah-, that is true, I’m crying.
Since I am awfully sad for snake died, considered Lydia.
In addition, sad of Ohan does not understand what he have done.
Lydia wiped her tears.

“Don’t do it again”
“Do not do what?”
“The deeds that stealing lives.”
“That is not allowed. My program prioritises elimination the enemies. It does not related if they stay alive or not.”
“Then relate it!”
“Can not. It is important program. To change it, you need to rewrite the firmware directly.”

The program for Ohan to be Ohan.
If I rewrite it, he will no longer be BD series.

“Then learn. I beg you.”
“Learn?”
“Right. Learning. Repeat. The snake was alive.”
“The snake was alive.”
“Don’t murder creatures thoughtlessly.”
“Even if it, enemy?”
“For instance, if you only wish to incapacitate your enemies, you don’t have to snatch their lives away. Even snake should have been gently picked up and dropped away from me.”
“I think the efficiency would be very poor.”
“Quicker to crush it?”
“Yes.”
“Right… For Ohan, life is insignificant.”
“I simply did my duty. I do not understand the magnitude of life.”

Indeed. Ohan a military AD and is faithful to his mission. The current mission is to guard Lydia. Thus he was doing it efficiently.

“All right. I understood it well. Ohan has no consciousness after all, huh.”

Upon saying such, Lydia began to dig a hole in the ground.

“What are you doing?”
“At least I’ll bury this child, so it can return to nature.”
“Why?”
“Because such is life.”
“I do not understand.”
“I guess so.”

For it to be Yuuyami, she would certainly understand.
Yuuyami would never murder the snake, in the first place.

“Do you need help?”
“Mm—mm. I’m good. Ohan, please, repeat after me. Don’t kill living creatures thoughtlessly.”
“Don’t kill living creatures thoughtlessly.”
“Repeat it all the while I’m digging a hole. Please.”
“Understood.”

Ohan repeated the words, as he was told.
Notwithstanding that, I don’t know for these words shall be veritable for Ohan hence.
Although without knowing, Lydia wished for that to be truth.