Chapter 85: Good Night, Sweet Dreams
“An empty…doll…”
I thought I had lost my memories of the past.
“The technology to create artificial humans was already an established technology in Orchestra. However, a higher level of perfection was required for the one who would become the princess. The king at that time seemed to place emphasis on ‘[perfectly recreating and perfecting his daughter’s body]’…well, except he couldn’t do anything about [the fifth attribute] of magic power. That’s why you can’t use magic power.”
No, that was wrong.
“However, even with Orchestra’s technology at the time, they could not achieve the level of perfection the king desired. After a mountain of failures, the king built this workshop. A fully automated workshop that would continue operating even after his death. An experimental lab with machinery that would automatically conduct research and development, trying every possible pattern until the ideal specimen was created.”
I had nothing.
“After starting up this workshop, Orchestra met its demise at the hands of your mother. But your father managed to separate and seal just this palace underground right before the country was destroyed. And this masterless workshop continued operating. For thousands, millions, billions of years. After such an endlessly long time of repeated experimentation, they finally succeeded in manufacturing the ideal specimen. That is Makina…you.”
From the start, nothing……
“The transfer of memories was supposed to happen automatically, but due to the damage from your mother’s attack, or perhaps the effects of forcibly separating and sealing it, the memory transfer function stopped working, and due to a malfunction, your body was expelled to the surface…are you listening?”
Nothing…then…I am…
“Ah, did you break down?”
“Brea…king…down…?”
What’s that supposed to mean? Talking like that, it’s as if I’m…
“Oh, does the way I talked about handling things bother you?”
“………..!!”
“You are a vessel to have the princess’s memories implanted, to revive her. A vessel. A doll. Nothing more, nothing less. That is your existence.”
Lucille smiled with an entranced look.
“Oh, oh, oh! Isn’t it wonderful! You were originally meant to be just a doll! But through your love for Alfred, you who are just a doll became a human being! Ahah! Ahahahahahahahaha! This is the power of love! The miracle of love! Oh…love truly is wonderful!”
“A…human being…”
Could I, an artificial life created, really consider myself human?
I want to think so. I want to cling to that idea. Because if I don’t, I won’t know if it’s okay for me to love Al sama.
“No…no! No no no no no! I was never a normal human! With this body…I can’t tell Al sama I love him…With this…”
What my eyes see are the countless [me], countless [Makinas], contained within the machinery.
It’s disgusting. Just looking makes me nauseous.
But this disgusting thing is [me].
“How can…this disgusting monster…with what mouth can I say…I love you, please love me…?”
There’s no way I can say that.
It’s too outrageous for a lump of flesh created by a machine to seek love.
If Al sama found out…ah, I see. I’m afraid.
Afraid that if Al sama knew the truth about me…he’d find me disgusting.
“It’s okay.”
The demon slips into the crack in my shattered heart.
“You can say you want to be loved. Makina, you’re not some disgusting monster. You’re a admirable human being with a heart capable of love. Nurturing love is a privilege of being human, isn’t it?”
“Such nice words…the real [Makina], the real human [Makina-Orchestra] is just…one person…lying there dead, just a corpse…”
“Then you can become the real [Makina-Orchestra].”
“Me…?”
“Yes. It’s easy. If you’re troubled by being an artificial human, then acquire a human body.”
“There’s no way I could…”
“Isn’t there a [human Makina-Orchestra’s body] right there?”
Lucille pointed to the machine’s coffin in the center of the room.
Inside slept my original – the real [Makina-Orchestra].
“All you have to do is the opposite of what your father planned.”
“The opposite…?”
“Implant your memories into that corpse.”
Thump. My heart skipped a big beat.
“First, use Orchestra’s technology to restore that body to perfect condition. Then, after the memory implant, you transfer yourself into that body and move it. Just like that…there, you’ve become a real human. Not an artificial human, not a created life. A true, genuine – [Makina-Orchestra with a human body].”
“…………”
“Isn’t that fine? You’d be able to love Alfred boldly as a human, just like him.”
Lucille gently embraced me from behind, enveloping me in melting affection.
“…………Really, it’s okay? I can…love Al sama?”
“Yes. It’s true. It’s okay. You must do so – because love is what makes you you. If you lost love, you’d just revert to being a doll. Isn’t that sad?”
“……………………”
Those words gave me relief from the depths of my heart. They saved my heart.
A melting sweet poison. My whole body enveloped in honey, drowning in the feeling.
“Makina. You should live for love.”
When my consciousness that had sunk into darkness finally returned, I was back at the Garland estate, the day of the purification operation.
By then – my heart had already decided.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
☆
I learned about myself. That I was an empty doll.
I learned it.
An artificial life. A manufactured existence. Not even a normal human.
So I wanted it.
A human body. A real human form, not an artificial one.
“It took some effort to grasp Orchestra’s technology, but…I’ve restored this [Makina-Orchestra]’s body to perfect condition. All that’s left is to implant your memories into this empty corpse.”
[Makina-Orchestra] sleeping in the coffin.
Her body looked more beautiful than when I first saw it, with a healthier color.
She looked like she could wake from her slumber and move at any moment.
…I see. So this is what a human is.
“With this body, you’ll be able to wield the power of [the fifth attribute] too. The [fifth attribute] power you once yearned for – the qualification to stand by Prince Alfred’s side as royalty.”
—Rest assured. This body already possesses the power of [the fifth attribute]. It’s simply dormant for now. You could say it’s sealed, or frozen.
Those words meant…that
[Makina-Orchestra]’s body already possessed the power of [the fifth attribute]….Not [me] myself.
Just dormant? Sealed? Frozen?
Call it what you want. It simply means [sleeping within a preserved corpse].
…………Whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore.
“……It doesn’t matter. Just tell me what I need to do.”
“My apologies. Please step into this, Makina.”
Lucille indicated the coffin-like machine in the center connected by cable-like objects to a capsule.
“Get into this coffin and close your eyes. That’s all you need to do.”
“…Just that?”
“Yes. There are some seals placed on the functions within your body. But they’ve likely been undone by [the Knight] and are gradually becoming attuned to your body.”
[The Knight] currently waiting outside the room.
He may have played the role of a [key] to prevent this body from being misused by third parties while it slept.
“One of those is the mana pathway for memory implantation. Now that it’s connected, all that’s left is to use this device to automatically perform the memory transfer.”
There was no lie in Lucille’s words, this [body] recognized.
While likely not envisioned for memory transfer from an artificial human to a corpse, logically it understood that it was [possible] from a technical standpoint.
If it’s logically possible, then all I have to do is…entrust this form.
“Makina.”
Lucille gently embraced me, whispering in my ear.
“When you wake up, you’ll be a real human at last.”
With those sweet caresses, she began undoing the maid outfit I received from Al sama, the rustling of cloth echoing in the dim research room. All my clothes fell to the floor, baring my pale skin.
…The same. This skin, this body, exactly the same as the countless [me]s slumbering in coffins.
Ah, disgusting. I’m utterly disgusted by this body of mine.
As if to escape that revulsion, I laid my unclothed form in the empty coffin.
“Good night, Makina. Sweet dreams—“
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
.