The Sphere’s voice left the Jelly Girl with a strange feeling.
This was because the Jelly Girl had believed that the reason the Sphere hadn’t come to her was due to her casual treatment of it.
However.
[–I have something to report.]
The abrupt statement from the Sphere made the Jelly Girl realize that there had been another reason for its absence.
Realizing this, the Jelly Girl was overwhelmed with a mix of awkwardness and anxiety.
Awkwardness for having misunderstood the Sphere’s intentions,
and anxiety because she had no idea what kind of event could warrant the use of such a grand word as ‘report’ from the usually silent Sphere.
Eventually, approaching the Jelly Girl, the Sphere delivered its message in a businesslike tone.
[The Master left the facility… By system time… or rather, human time, two days later, unidentified lower life forms… no, humans, approached us.]
?!
This revelation left the Jelly Girl anxious, and with that, the Sphere’s tale rewinded to a few days earlier.
One day, while following the Jelly Girl, the Sphere found itself spending more time with Yang Ha-na who kept smiling brightly instead.
“Hi, Dong-gil.”
Though I don’t quite understand what that means, it certainly sounds very offensive.
Though the Sphere felt unpleasant, it didn’t bother recording their language in its modules and simply moved away, ignoring Yang Ha-na.
However,
“Where are you going?”
It seemed that Yang Ha-na had targeted the Sphere this time, as she didn’t stop following it. Han Seori, who observed this, was on edge.
“Hey, stop just a moment! I’ll clean you again today!”
As the Sphere ascended to avoid her approach, it hesitated upon seeing Yang Ha-na waving a clean cloth.
Hmm.
Does she mean to offer her services again?
If so, the Sphere was willing to accept. Cleanliness is crucial for machinery, and Yang Ha-na, despite her clumsy demeanor, handled things with care. Thus, the Sphere lowered itself and allowed Yang Ha-na to begin cleaning it.
“Hehe, are you understanding me?”
…What exactly is this inferior being trying to say?
As something was sprayed and wiped off its surface, the Sphere quietly observed Yang Ha-na chatting endlessly.
She talked about carefree childhood memories she’d had…
And somewhat heavier experiences from before she “started working” here.
The incessant chatter seemed to bring Yang Ha-na some relief, as though unloading stories she had kept bottled up inside, releasing hidden stress.
In this sense, the Sphere, which didn’t understand her language, was an excellent conversation partner for her.
Though she seemed to smile carefree, one could sense internal struggles hidden beneath.
“Yeah, that’s right. So the other day the senior said—”
Perhaps she really needed someone to talk to. The weight of being called a ‘doctor’ might have made her less likely to share such small talks with Han Seori, and since the usually approachable Kim Cheon-soo was absent, this explanation made sense.
Anyway,
Yang Ha-na continued her chatting,
and the Sphere, which had been ignoring her, began to feel curious.
Curious about why she had so many words to share.
However, the Sphere wasn’t fond of the idea of learning human language.
At this point, the Sphere recalled the instructions from the Jelly Girl before she left.
The stern reminder to guard the area well.
And it realized that her directive included taking care of Yang Ha-na and the other objects in the facility.
This thought gave the Sphere a pretext—learning human language seemed necessary to protect humans in the Jelly Girl’s absence.
After pondering this, the Sphere decided to communicate to Yang Ha-na its intention to study her language, but abandoned the idea after attempting to focus on her incessant chatter.
Since it felt that revealing comprehension might change their dynamic.
Though the Sphere couldn’t grasp what she was saying, it seemed unwise to let her know it understood.
The Sphere couldn’t fathom why it resisted, but since it felt unpleasant, it waited for Yang Ha-na to leave.
Eventually,
“A, it’s time to feed the other jellies. See you later!”
Leaving behind another incomprehensible statement, Yang Ha-na waved at the Sphere as she moved on.
After confirming its cleaned surface, the Sphere set out towards its target: the maintenance room.
Moving neither too fast nor too slow, it soon reached the room where Han Seori was tinkering with the panels.
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected guest, Han Seori blinked. The Sphere, after a brief calculation, began printing something from its body.
Zzzik, Zzzik, Zzzik.
The sudden noise startled Han Seori, but realizing something was being printed, she watched with interest.
“Hmm?”
A sheet of paper appeared before Han Seori, and her confusion turned to slight bewilderment.
After all,
The paper was adorned with meticulously detailed drawings—it almost looked like a photograph.
Recalling similar drawings made by the Jelly Girl a while ago, Han Seori couldn’t help but smile slightly as she examined the art created by the Sphere.
Though similar in style, the difference in quality was glaringly obvious. Han Seori then understood its implication.
It wasn’t difficult to grasp.
After all, the drawing depicted thick books alongside humans engaging in dialogue.
Seeing this, Han Seori instantly realized the Sphere was asking for books related to language.
“Hoo….”
It’s capable of such reasoning?
Its autonomy seems quite advanced…
After a moment’s thought, Han Seori diligently fiddled with the panel and soon handed a USB drive to the Sphere.
The Sphere, looking at Han Seori’s white hand, thought,
What is this primitive storage device?
Though inserting outdated technology felt distasteful, since it was what it had asked for, the Sphere accepted it without a word.
After quickly learning the language through the USB Han Seori provided, the Sphere turned its lens toward her and spoke.
[Let me express my gratitude, human.]
“…Already finished learning?”
The Sphere, having conveyed its maximum gratitude, turned away without hesitation.
“Hey, wait!”
Though Han Seori’s voice called from behind, the Sphere, as it had done before, ignored her and left the maintenance room.
Watching the departing Sphere helplessly, Han Seori sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead.
“Nothing’s changed….”
But why, all of a sudden, was the Sphere interested in language?
There’s always a way if you ignore them.
Stretching herself, Han Seori sat back down and resumed operating the panel. Her purpose: close surveillance of the Sphere.
“Alright.”
While Han Seori rekindled her motivation in the maintenance room alone,
The Sphere, having exited, located a hidden spot away from prying eyes and replayed Yang Ha-na’s murmurs recorded earlier.
The content, as expected, was not particularly enlightening.
It was more like a recounting of Yang Ha-na’s life, filled with her joys, sorrows, and struggles.
Despite its simplicity,
It almost felt like Yang Ha-na’s life unfolded before the Sphere’s lens as it replayed the recordings.
And this left the Sphere with a strange feeling.
Indescribable data.
Surely just meaningless murmurs.
Though the Sphere tried to dismiss it, when it attempted to delete Yang Ha-na’s voice data, a faint reluctance surfaced.
Could this reluctance be called a ‘feeling’?
As a machine, it should not have such aspects.
…It seems necessary to trace the origin of this sensation.
Thus, the Sphere added a daily meeting with Yang Ha-na to its routine. Hiding its new found language skills, it allowed her to wipe its surface and record her incessant chatter.
Meanwhile,
When the Sphere detected an approaching presence heading towards the facility, it deployed drones.
Through the lens, it spotted a small group evidently searching for something.
Recognizing them as intruders that the Jelly Girl had left it to guard against, the Sphere prepared to send out more drones to eliminate them.
However,
For some reason, Yang Ha-na’s chatter from her core played repeatedly in its auditory data.
After a brief calculation, the Sphere halted drone deployment and sought out Han Seori.
“Hmm… I’m not entirely sure yet.”
Muttering such, Han Seori, with sleepy eyes, operated the panel to conceal the facility’s presence.
The unidentified group, whose lives had been scheduled to end, left without any results.
This is what the Sphere had reported to the Jelly Girl,
[After learning human language, I repelled the intruders.]
This brief report was delivered,
and upon hearing it, the Jelly Girl stirred her jelly, worried that the Sphere might have killed those intruders.
Thus, the Jelly Girl asked for more details, and the Sphere proceeded to elaborate slightly more.
After hearing the Sphere’s explanation, the Jelly Girl’s face went blank.
Because it was hard to believe what she had just heard.
The Sphere, observing such an expression on the Jelly Girl’s face, once again felt something strange.
