Part-2 Ch-04 Ep-03

 Although my mental state had been thoroughly worn down by the previous day, today’s main event was the open campus visit. Maki and I put on our uniforms for the first time in several days, transferred trains, and arrived at the station closest to the university.

Looking around, I could see scattered groups of students wearing uniforms from various high schools. Judging by the way everyone was heading in the same direction, it seemed we were all bound for the same destination.

Just before passing through the university gate, the crowd began to thicken, and cheerful voices welcoming visitors could be heard from all around. Along the path stretching from the main gate to the campus buildings, tents and people were lined up on both sides, like stalls at a festival.

It really did feel like a fair.

We pushed our way through the crowd, receiving pamphlets for the day, university guides, club introductions, and various handouts.

“Hey, hey, it looks like there’s an orientation in the main lecture hall first. Want to go there?”

Following Maki’s suggestion, we read the signs and made our way to the main lecture hall. This was my first open campus, and it genuinely felt more like coming to play at a festival.

After listening to the day’s schedule and the explanation of entrance examinations in the main lecture hall, we were divided into science and humanities groups for tours of the campus facilities. Maki and I joined the science group, but since the tours were held multiple times in scheduled slots, I thought that if we had time later, we might also check out the humanities side.

“—Even something as simple as taking a single step requires the human brain to send signals to various organs throughout the body, coordinating countless complex movements. When attempting to replicate this with a robot, enormous computational processing and judgment become necessary.”

First, we attended a mock lecture in the information engineering department’s lecture room. The spacious room was packed with students in uniforms sitting shoulder to shoulder, all listening intently to the lecturer’s voice and the projected images at the front.

Because materials were being displayed on the screen, the lights were dimmed, casting the room in partial darkness.

“—In the past, merely creating a robot that could walk was considered a major breakthrough. But that era has passed. Today, not only bipedal robots but also machines capable of acrobatic movements that rival professional stunt performers have been developed. To varying degrees, robots are now being used in many industrial fields. These robots operate through programming, and this department allows students to specialize in robot control from an information science perspective.”

I stole a glance at Maki sitting beside me. Her profile, gazing seriously at the screen, looked dignified. Her skin, softly illuminated by the reflected light from the projection, seemed to glow faintly, and she looked beautiful.

Perhaps she noticed my gaze lingering, because our eyes met.

She tilted her head slightly, and I hurriedly returned my attention to the lecturer.

My knowledge is limited, so this is nothing more than speculation, but I think the level of scientific technology in this world is probably close to that of the world I came from.

Since this is a game world, the technologies likely reflect the era in which the game was developed. But then, what happens in the future as time continues to pass here?

Transportation is the same.

I remember traveling to other prefectures with my family when I was little. So there don’t seem to be restrictions on lateral movement. Is this an open world?

And then.

I stared down at my own arm, focusing on the faintly visible veins beneath my skin.

Am I, right here and now, human?

I pressed my fingernails into my arm. A sharp, light pain followed, and nail marks appeared on my skin. I pressed my nails in again.

If I get injured, blood comes out.

I have a heart too.

And yet this is a game world, and I still don’t understand why I’m here, or what this world truly is. Perhaps the day when I understand it will never come.

“Mari.”

A whisper reached me, and from just outside my field of vision, a hand gently rested on mine.

It was Maki.

“You’ll hurt your arm, so stop.”

She had noticed me digging my nails into my skin and was trying to stop me. The serious gaze that had been fixed on the screen only moments earlier was now directed straight at me.

“Stop.”

She repeated it softly, but firmly.

I nodded and returned my hand to its original position. After confirming that I had obediently complied, Maki gently traced the nail marks on my arm with her finger. For just a moment, her expression looked as though she might cry.

She let out a tiny sigh, so faint it was almost inaudible, and then turned her attention back to the mock lecture. I glanced at her once more.

It had been a long time since she had scolded me in such a serious tone, and the weight of it sent a slight chill through me.

Maki hates it when I get hurt. She denies it herself, but I think what happened when we were children must have left her with deep trauma.

Deeper than the marks on my arm, there must be wounds etched somewhere in Maki’s heart.

“—With the advancement of supercomputers, AI learning and training have also progressed rapidly. It is said that by 2045, artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence. When that happens, how will the world change? For now, all we can do is speculate.”

The lecture continued for some time after that. After touring the departments we were interested in throughout the morning, we decided to have a late lunch in the student cafeteria.

The spacious cafeteria had glass walls stretching from floor to ceiling, allowing sunlight to pour in and creating a bright, café-like atmosphere.

Amid the crowd, we somehow managed to secure seats and sat down to eat the lunch we had bought. Maki chose udon, and I went with curry.

As Maki leaned forward slightly to slurp her noodles, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. That simple gesture made my heart skip.

“You know, Mari, you’ve been looking at me a lot lately, haven’t you?”

My heart skipped again at her words. 

Realizing that my staring must have been obvious, I straightened my posture and tried to compose myself.

“…U-Um, maybe that’s just your imagination?”

“You’re really bad at lying.”

“T-That aside, this is the first time I’ve heard that you’re aiming for the medical department. You are smart, after all.”

“…Well, whatever. It’s not like I want to become a doctor. I want to do research.”

“Heh, what kind?”

Maki glanced at me, then averted her eyes.

“Research to make it possible for people to have children, no matter what form the partners take.”

“H-Huh…?”

I didn’t quite understand.

“Well, I want to do research that helps people who are struggling. The population is declining too. There are already technologies out there, but they still have problems. There are many legal issues as well, but before that, I think we need to establish more accurate and reliable methods…”

“Sorry, I don’t really have the basic knowledge or background, so I don’t fully understand what you’re talking about…”

As I watched Maki speak fluently, as though a switch had been flipped, I realized this was something she had been thinking about for a long time. Smart people really do think about different things, I thought.

“If we become university students, do you think we’ll eat lunch like this here every day?”

After finishing her meal, Maki stretched, looking slightly tired. After touring so many departments, my own head felt exhausted from all the stimulation.

“Ah, yeah. But…”

“But?”

“If we’re in different departments, we might not get to spend as much time together.”

“That’s true…”

After clearing the empty dishes to the side, Maki slumped forward, resting her face on the table.

“But it’s still better than going to different universities, Mari.”

With her face buried in her arms, she continued muttering. Her words made me realize once again that there are many paths after high school, going to a distant university, entering a vocational school, or starting work immediately. Choosing one of those would mean breaking my promise with Maki.

“Haa, seriously, won’t you live with me after we graduate? If we get part-time jobs, we could manage somehow, right?”

“I do plan to work part-time, but if we neglect our studies because we’re working just to cover living expenses, that’d be putting the cart before the horse.”

“That’s true…”

“You’d be even busier if you get into the program you want, Maki. You probably wouldn’t have time for part-time work.”

“That’s true…”

The way she propped her cheek on her hand and sighed made her look genuinely troubled, and that, strangely enough, made me a little happy.

“It’d be lonely to be apart.”

“That… I feel the same way, but…”

“Oh, that’s rare,” Maki said, her eyes widening slightly.

“It’s pretty unusual for you to honestly say you’d be lonely without me, Mari.”

What kind of contrarian do you think I am? I wondered. Still, it was true that I usually didn’t express my feelings so openly to Maki.

“Hmm.”

This time, Maki rested her cheek on her hand and studied my face. Unable to endure a gaze that felt like it was searching for confirmation, I turned my entire face toward a completely unrelated direction.

In the glass of the window I faced, I caught sight of my reflection, my cheeks faintly red. That only made me feel even more embarrassed.