After Ati’s first sortie, Siera, the team leader of the pilots, did not submit a separate report regarding her actions. Ati’s participation in the front lines was treated as part of Siera’s on-site instructions to the pilots, and no further mention was made of the matter afterward.
The personnel on the ship who monitored the scene and the pilots present at the time were amazed by Ati’s skills and spent days endlessly discussing the battle.
However, the words Ati had spoken right after she and A returned lingered in Siera’s mind, and she had not reported Ati’s solo actions because Ati’s way of thinking was significantly different from any Biroid she had encountered so far.
That said, she wasn’t constantly preoccupied with thoughts about Ati. She decided to treat it as a one-time incident, and both of them quickly returned to their usual demeanor.
“Morning roll call’s over. Why are you still sleeping in?”
“I got back late last night because of duty.”
While heading to the hangar, Siera scolded A for sleeping in.
“If you finished late, go to bed early! If you can’t even wake up when someone tries, what time did you sleep?”
“There’s a daily quota for dramas I have to watch.”
A’s excuse about staying up late to watch dramas again made Siera sigh in exasperation and shake her head.
“What time did you go to bed?”
“…4 a.m.?”
A had slept for less than three hours, and despite having a schedule today, she had stayed up until dawn watching dramas and slept in. Siera smacked A’s back with her palm. The loud slap caused A’s expression to distort.
“Ow! I admit I messed up! That’s why I’m not saying anything back.”
“Not saying anything back is enough?!”
The two, who had been arguing the whole way, soon arrived at the hangar. Sighed three times at the thought of being scolded by the team members, they opened the hangar door and went in.
“Stop crowding around, you idiots!”
As soon as the door opened, a loud voice echoed, drawing their attention. It was where the new model robot used by Ati was stationed. Engineers from other teams, still curious about the new robot, were poking around and inspecting it.
Normally, A would have thrown a wrench, hitting some part of the wall with a loud clang, followed by a stream of curses. However, when A arrived, that scene was already unfolding.
A Biroid—no, Ati—was cursing at the engineers gathered in front of the new robot and slamming a wrench against a tool box with loud bangs.
“Get lost, you idiots!”
Despite her loud voice, there was no intimidation in her tone, but it was enough to scatter the engineers gathered there.
Since there was no intimidation, the engineers who had been cursed at weren’t scared. However, the sight of a girl who looked to be in her late teens copying A’s swearing habits was terrifying in a different way.
It felt as if the most troublesome engineer, A, had been transformed into a girl’s appearance. The engineers, noticing A watching from behind, quickly scattered.
A was also surprised by the situation. Except for recent duty and after work, A had spent almost all her time with Ati, so this was the first time she’d seen Ati dealing with other engineers alone.
“Running late?”
Klugger, who had been doing maintenance elsewhere, approached in work clothes. Forgetting to apologize for being late, A stared at Ati and quietly asked Klugger.
“Why’s she like that?”
Unlike A, who was seeing Ati dealing with other engineers alone for the first time, Klugger had seen Ati alone often when A was on duty. He shrugged as if it were nothing new.
“What do you mean? It’s obvious.”
A and Siera listened to Klugger with blank expressions, then turned their attention back to Ati. Ati was inspecting the new robot’s external state, checking the optical panel.
Then, Theo, who had spotted the team gathered, approached with a beaming smile.
“Hey, A.”
“Yeah?”
Patting A on the shoulder, Theo pointed at Ati, who was inspecting the robot alone, and said one thing.
“That’s your handiwork.”
A had already caught on by observing Ati, but hearing Theo’s words turned her suspicions into certainty.
Ati’s actions were centered around her assigned officer. The reason Ati called A “senpai” was because Roy, her assigned officer, had referred to A as “senpai” out of respect.
The reason Ati spoke casually to Siera was because her assigned officer, A, spoke casually to Siera.
The entity that understood the surrounding environment was limited to the assigned officer, and A, who had noticed this early on, could see that Ati’s actions were mimicking her own behavior.
“Didn’t I tell you to watch your language?”
Klugger, who had observed A’s usual behavior firsthand, couldn’t hold back his laughter seeing A’s reflection in a child.
“Look at her swearing.”
Since Ati was A’s responsibility, Klugger and Theo had nothing to do. The two left A, who was looking at Ati in shock, and headed to their respective work areas, while Siera alternated between watching Ati working in the distance and A’s expression.
“Back then…”
“Huh?”
Siera tilted her head, confused by A suddenly bringing up the past. A kept her gaze fixed on Ati as she continued speaking.
“When our parents were still alive.”
“Yeah. What about your dad and mom?”
“Whenever they were about to fight, they always kept me in mind.”
Siera was about to become somber, talking about A’s parents who were no longer in this world, but she gave A a puzzled look upon hearing about their marital quarrels. A let out a deep sigh and finished her sentence.
“I think I understand why now.”
Slowly walking towards Ati, A left Siera with a brief “Go tend to your work.” while Siera, who had been standing still, nodded as if she understood the meaning behind A’s words and headed to where her fighter jet was.
“Ati.”
Ati, who was inspecting the robot’s external state through the optical panel, turned her head upon hearing a familiar voice from behind.
“Senpai A. You’re late.”
“Sorry. I overslept.”
Exchanging greetings, A stood beside Ati and examined the panel she was inspecting. After the last sortie, the robot had been checked and was in standby mode, so no specific issues were found.
“Since you were late, I had to disperse the engineers gathered in front.”
Ati proudly spoke of her actions, and A briefly praised her with a “Good job.” and patted her head.
“…Where did you get that wrench?”
Though A held the position of an engineer, there weren’t many occasions where she would use tools like a wrench. Most tasks were handled by the robot once programs were input, and the only reason A carried a wrench was to warn idling engineers.
So, it was puzzling to see Ati, who wasn’t even an engineer, carrying a wrench she didn’t use.
“I bought it after work.”
Ati confidently held out the wrench, which was the same model as the company’s, but slightly smaller in size to fit her hands better.
“Just so you know, I’m your life education officer, but not everything I do is the right answer.”
Ati listened attentively to A’s words, but her expression showed confusion as to why A was saying this. A began to explain step by step.
“You know the other team engineers hate me, right?”
“Yes. I’ve heard them curse at you, saying, ‘That bastard’s at it again,’ when you chase them with the wrench.”
The unfiltered response made A momentarily reflect on her recent behavior.
“So, if you act like me, you’ll get cursed at like that too.”
“Is that a problem?”
Seeing Ati, who didn’t see any issue with mimicking her behavior, A became worried. If it ended here, it would be fine, but a Biroid’s final life education would form the foundation of their personality when they become a fully-fledged individual.
In other words, if Ati repeated these behaviors and became exactly like A, she would also exhibit these traits when active elsewhere.
Fortunately, Ati absorbed her surroundings quickly, so if A behaved well, there was ample opportunity for change.
But first, it was important to explain why acting like her was problematic.
“Look, we live with other people, right?”
“Yes.”
“But if you yell at them, get angry, and swear at them every time, they’ll dislike you, right?”
Even as she spoke, A felt a pang of guilt, but she persisted to convince Ati. Ati began to tilt her head in confusion midway through.
“So, if you’re in a group but act alone, you’ll end up isolated and have no one to interact with. You’ll become a loner.”
“…But you do that too, Senpai.”
At this, A once again felt that she was the root of this issue.
“So, you’re trying to get people to dislike you by acting like this?”
The innocent question struck deep.
“I’m not the type to care about that, but, yeah. I’m trying to change little by little, so you should too. Got it?”
Despite A’s attempt to convince her, Ati still frowned and tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand.
“I don’t get it. Why do you have to change your lifestyle for others? Your way is your own way, isn’t it? Isn’t it fine to keep it as it is?”
Ati couldn’t grasp why A suddenly wanted to change her behavior.
A knew she couldn’t change immediately, but if she said, “Yeah, I’ll live my own way,” here, she feared it would only reinforce Ati’s stubbornness.
“Still, you have to be a little mindful when living with others…”
“I don’t understand. Why should you change your ways for others?”
“Because!… I’m doing it for your sake!”
Unable to find a way to persuade Ati, A half-sobbed as she admitted that her reason for wanting to change her behavior was because of Ati.
“!!!”
Ati’s eyes widened as she finally realized that the reason A wanted to change her behavior was because Ati was mimicking A’s actions.
The fact that Ati was the cause of her officer’s change was a significant shock, and she stood frozen in place as if she had turned pale.
“It’s not entirely your fault, but I think I have issues too. So, let’s both try to change slowly, okay?”
“…Understood.”
Ati, who largely acted like a machine influenced by her surroundings, showed signs of dejection for the first time. A tried her best to persuade Ati in a gentle tone until the end.
Fortunately, Ati seemed to understand A’s intentions and nodded obediently in response. That day, the two of them cursed at the other engineers 17 more times.
