35: Sata's daily life

"Then, Sata, memo. Good night."

"Good night, Vee."

"Good night, my lady Vee."

Having left the restaurant and returned to our room, we each completed our respective tasks and, when the time came, Villigianiela headed toward her own bedroom.

And if I were to pretend to be an ordinary human, I'd head to my bedroom now... but...

"Master Sata. How is the surrounding situation?"

"Currently, there's no disturbance at a level where my main body could be detected—neither around the hotel nor throughout the entire First Prime Colony. If I can get a bit more time, I'll also check on the Second Prime Colony and Planet Grogrobeta, if you don't mind?"

"Please do. In return, I'll handle the cybernetic aspects myself. I'll search as thoroughly as possible within the limits of the memo's specifications."

"I'm counting on you."

There's no one here who doesn't already know my true identity, so there's no need to worry about it.

Rather, we should focus first on investigating the threat that Vilijanira detected.

If something's already happening and we failed to sense it, that would be a complete failure on the part of the guards.

"Speaking of which, Master Sata. I'd like to ask just in case—how much do you require sleep, bathroom breaks, and food? Both Memo and Vee have noticed the differences from ordinary humans over the past few days, and depending on how these differ, we may need to adjust our approach accordingly."

"Hmm? Ah, I hadn't mentioned that. I can technically sleep, eliminate waste, and eat, but there's no real need. If I wanted to, I could stay awake for thousands of hours, I don't need to go to the bathroom at all, and I don't even require food. After all, I'm a cosmic monster."

"Truly impressive."

Incidentally, there's a solid reason why I don't need sleep, waste elimination, or food.

First, sleep—since I'm a doll here, if I feel drowsy, I can just be remade.

According to researchers from Seiryō Corporation who investigated the matter, the main body is said to possess over ten brains, allowing it to rest one brain at a time while keeping the rest of the body active continuously.

As for waste elimination, the food I consume here is apparently transmitted to my main body located in phase space.

Thanks to the effect of my mod, waste products and metabolic byproducts are 100% broken down and made reusable.

Therefore, excretion is no longer necessary.

As for food... it's inherently impossible for a human-sized meal to satisfy a monster-sized colony.

But thanks to the effect of my main body's mod, this issue is also resolved.

Incidentally, and as a side note, I even design my clothing at the same time as crafting my doll, meaning that, in the most extreme case, I don't actually need anything at all for food, clothing, or shelter.

Even so, I still enjoy eating, so I eat; I want a quiet place to rest my body, so I take a room; and since I sometimes feel like dressing up a little, I occasionally remake just my clothes.

"What about you, Memoqui? Even androids need at least some basic rest, don't they?"

"That's correct. Even I require at least minimal rest and replenishment. Specifically, I'd like about an hour of maintenance and data organization roughly once a week."

"I see."

"Nevertheless, I'm designed to operate continuously for about 100 hours without replenishment. While the Empire is fundamentally peaceful, it's never completely safe."

"Well, I suppose some preparation on that scale is necessary. If there's a truly dramatic incident, it's not uncommon to have to work nonstop for three days and nights."

"Yes."

Apparently, Mekoshi, while not quite as resilient as me, also doesn't require rest.

That's truly impressive for a mechanical body, I suppose.

Biological bodies may outperform machines in long-term stability, but machines have the edge in short bursts.

"……. With this, the article should be ready."

"Is this the article about Hotel 'Edible Crescendum'?"

"Yeah. With the sudden start of the Groglobeta star system section, plus a patron named Vee attached, and the fact that it's a high-end hotel with a high-end restaurant, there's plenty of delicious material for a compelling article. It's also one of my main income sources, so I need to write and send it properly whenever I can."

Well, while I was doing that, I managed to finish the article about the meal at the restaurant earlier, so I'm posting it now.

"Do you think there'll be a reaction to the threat Vee-sama made in this article?"

"Not right away. It'll probably take time—someone has to come out into the open and respond..."

"I see."

Incidentally, my article is stored on the Hira Tora Tsugumi star system's server, from which buyers around the world—primarily residents of the Hira Tora Tsugumi star system and the Seiryō Colony—download it.

And even with faster-than-light communication technology, the distances between star systems still require time that feels like an eternity.

So... well, purchases probably arrive at buyers' hands a few days later, at best.

Likewise, reader responses to articles likely reach me with the same delay... Hmm, yeah, it really is a hassle being from a different star system.

Then again, it's hard to imagine there'd be absolutely no movement. With a maid named MeMokushi by Vee's side, and an artificial human clearly running a mercenary business joining in, someone with even half a brain would likely consider adjusting their plans. If we can anticipate the resulting changes in their actions beforehand, we'll gain the upper hand...

Is there any guarantee that this connects to the threat your highness mentioned?

"That's true. If they're already changing things now, they might no longer be a threat. Anyway, I'm their guard. I'll stay ready to step in no matter what happens."

"Please."

Also, Villigianira has already agreed to have her face and name featured in my article.

It was deemed effective both for boosting the article's sales and for serving as bait to draw out Villigianira.

Meanwhile, as I was doing all this, night continued to deepen.

Even if food, clothing, and shelter were merely adequate, it would still get by.

This is the quality of a cosmic monster.