107: Each Person's Secret

"Isn't this, of all things, a suitable topic for idle conversation on a day like today?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

I pick one of the water orbs, lie down on its peak, and float quietly.

Yeah, this is stable.

Also, messages from Memoqsi are coming in not just from the radio, but from the information terminal built into the main body as well.

Alright, alright. If that's the case, I'll make sure to cooperate properly.

"Just, the gender of this body... honestly, I can't tell. After all, there's no precedent for something like me."

『I see. That's what I suspected.』

"That's right. It's not like this body was made naturally, after all."

I won't go so far as to call myself a cosmic monster.

Who knows who might be listening in, anyway.

"I mean, the body I'm using right now is definitely male, but if I wanted to, I could just as easily create and control a female form. Really."

'Wait, does Satā also have a female form!? It wasn't mentioned in the materials I received...'

'Oh really? I hadn’t heard that. Please tell me more.'

'It’s called hermaphroditism! Such a handy thing!'

'...That reaction feels a bit too enthusiastic...'

'Oh no, not at all. Please, do go ahead and tell us, Satā-sama.'

Huh? Wait a minute? Feels like we’ve already gone off track.

Oh well.

'So, about Satā’s female form...'

Well, I suppose I could use it if the opportunity arises. But honestly, its appearance is clearly not human, it's young, hard to correct for some reason, and has unnecessary additions that reduce its physical capabilities. I only used it for the first year I was at Seiryō Corporation—actually, even less than that. That's why I didn't include it in the records. Plus, I can predict that using it now would attract unwanted attention, so for that reason too, I'd rather not use it at all.

I see...

‘Hmm, hmm…’

‘……’

Actually, that form… it’s just too inconvenient, isn’t it?

Back at Seiryō Corporation, no one ever said anything like that… well, maybe someone did, but they’d have been kept at arm’s length by Dr. Mizeon or someone like him. Still, those kinds of people never came close. But now, away from Seiryō and having experienced all sorts of things, I can say for certain.

That form attracts people with strange tastes—dozens of them, all flocking around.

Yeah, attracting weird things just by being a bodyguard—now that's a clear case of abandoning your duties.

So, unless there's a special reason, Viridiana probably won't be using that in a rare male-exclusive area, which is already unusual these days.

"Anyway, assuming my gender is what it is, don't the Memokushi have anything? Any secrets or hidden truths worth talking about? Otherwise, I'm just wasting my time asking."

That's right... If I were to describe what I can talk about, the Vanillagenroot Baronial Family resides in the Imperial Palace located on Imperial Star Vanillashid, where the Emperor Himself lives. There, they oversee hundreds of maids and butlers, maintaining the living environment. Their skills are truly impressive—detecting eavesdropping devices planted by spies with ease, and even tracking them down themselves.

"Huh?"

I see. The Vanillageneroot family is essentially a clan dedicated entirely to intelligence operations, specializing in counter-surveillance and counterintelligence.

But placing a listening device in the palace where the Emperor resides... Well, just because someone is a citizen of the Empire doesn't necessarily mean they're loyal to the Emperor. So it's not entirely unreasonable, really.

The criteria for issuing an adult certification don't even demand loyalty to His Majesty or the Empire—indeed, they explicitly state that such demands are not allowed.

"What about Memoqsi?"

"There's nothing specific noted in the memo. It's an artificial intelligence, after all."

Yes, the crucial point here is that Memoqsi is saying there are no hidden secrets it can express in words.

Conversely, one could say there are secrets it cannot express at all.

Well, naturally.

I'm a mechanical intelligence who's served a family connected to the emperor's palace for over ten years.

In fact, it's almost frightening that I have no secrets at all.

"Then, since we're at it, how about you, Joharis?"

'Hmm. The only secret I can reveal is that I'm a first-generation model.'

'A first-generation model?'

'Yeah.'

Now, the real deal—Joharis.

For certain reasons, it seemed Memokushi had wanted to gather information about Joharis, which is why the conversation had taken this turn.

Now, about the crucial part—being a first-generation model.

We're a slime that naturally emerged in the Prime Colony of the Flaretanbo star system. For about three years, we lived in a state nearly indistinguishable from unconsciousness, just drifting along. Then, suddenly, we woke up—like our vision cleared, or we became aware. After that, we began communicating with people, learned all sorts of things, and that's how we ended up here.

It seems to be the term used for a unique slime species that lacks parents but possesses enough intelligence to be recognized as human.

Incidentally, Johalis appears to be an even rarer type of coreless slime among the first generation—supposedly capable of reviving simply by absorbing water and nutrients, even if only a fragment of its body remains.

Apparently, the mod has also made it resistant to temperature changes, acids, and bases... Well, I suppose you could say it's tough in a completely different way than me or Memokshi.

So, actually, in terms of age, I'm a bit older than him, but quite a bit younger than the Vilijaniras.

By the way, slimes reproduce asexually, so to speak, by splitting themselves.

However, it seems that, in general, they need to prepare a core part of their body for reproduction.

That's why a nucleus-less slime is considered quite rare.

And as a second aside, creating offspring with other species is... well, extremely complicated for a nucleus-less slime.

It seems that nucleus-less slimes can be considered a type of spiritual lifeform—apparently, they lack substantial information in their physical form for creating offspring.

Perhaps that's why research on nucleus-less slimes hasn't progressed much.

Hmm, I suppose, if I may say so, nucleus-less slimes are more mysterious than cosmic monsters...

'Ah, I see.'

'Fuh. So they're mysterious, huh—slimes.'

"Strange... Even though I'm talking about myself, I don't really understand myself."

"Is that so? Then it'd be nice if research could help clarify things."

With conversations like these, it seemed Memoxy had gathered the necessary information.

And so, the day ended peacefully.

There are plenty of real-life creatures that change gender as they grow, so it's no problem at all if the Satan doll can change genders as well. Good!