“That can’t be. I’ve never heard of Amicus working as electronic investigator aides. You just do the chores—”

“True, Amicus in investigative organizations usually manage evidence-storage rooms and security. Humans and analysis automatons handle the investigations themselves. My title isn’t official, either.”

Since their productivity didn’t match that of industrial robots, Amicus were usually charged with routine tasks. As AGI—Artificial General Intelligence—they stressed human appearance over efficiency. Back when AGI was still a theoretical concept, scholars dreaded the possibility of them becoming a hyper intelligence that could overshadow humankind. But once they actually came to be, they didn’t amount to anything more than “clever but obedient robots” that served as reliable partners to humankind.

The Amicus traced their origins to the height of the pandemic. They were developed by the England-based Novae Robotics Inc. as a humanoid machine. Much like the Your Forma, the fields of robotics and AI research had made great strides during that time. With risk of infection discouraging physical contact between people, investments were made into robots that could work in their place.

And so the English government sunk vast funds into Novae Robotics Inc.’s research, allowing them to make their humanoid machines a reality. The first androids were supplied only to medical institutes. Though they were the spitting image of humans, they were also incredibly expensive.

Not only did the robots perform their assignment well, but they also behaved the way people sought; they comforted, encouraged, and sympathized with them, caring and relieving the stress of both the patients suffering from the virus and their healthcare providers.

The machines were later rebranded and put on sale as Amicus, and they soon spread throughout society, both in home and business environments. It only made sense that at present, clashes between the Amicus sympathizers and the luddites were creating frequent problems in society.

Yet as “human” as the Amicus were, and despite how flexible and capable of adapting to different situations they could be, they were jacks-of-all-trades, masters of none. Their depth of understanding of any specific field was shallower than industrial robots.

That was why analysis ants were preferred over Amicus when it came to specialized tasks like criminal investigations. And yet the Amicus gazing at her had nevertheless introduced himself as her new assistant.

“If you really are my aide, then why didn’t you tell me you were when we met?”

“Oh.” Harold retracted his hand in a carefree manner. “My apologies. It’s just that I wanted to observe what kind of person you are… Did you happen to watch a movie on your flight?”

“Huh?” She had. “So what if I did?”

“It was The Third Cellar, correct?”

Echika blinked a few times. He was dead-on, but how did he know that?

“No way. Who told you?”

“Oh, no one told me. I assumed you were taking an Étoile France flight. And if you check their home page, The Third Cellar is highlighted as one of their recommended in-flight pictures.”

“…And?”

“If you’re someone who isn’t particular about their tastes, you’d likely pick the recommended title. And given your profession, only a very thrilling story would draw you in. Your eyes are congested on account of you blinking less, and your lips are dry because you lick them more when you’re frightened. Meaning the movie was likely a psychological-horror thriller, and the only recommended movie of that genre in their catalog was The Third Cellar.”

“What the hell are you…?” Echika muttered, taken aback.

“Which makes me think that you’re something of an indifferent person, aren’t you, Investigator? I’m picking up the scent of an electronic cigarette’s flavor on you, too. And if I may be so bold, a very cheap flavor, at that. That makes me think you don’t have any preferences when it comes to smoking, either—you only do it to distract yourself. People like you don’t usually have any interest in their daily lives. You care little for fashion or romance, and you’re married to your job.”

She was speechless. And as Echika stared at him, stunned, Harold regarded her with a satisfied smirk.

“It’s basic human observation. I think that demonstrates my aptitude as an investigator, don’t you?”

This isn’t funny—what is this thing?

Amicus knew how to read people’s emotions so they could communicate effectively, but this level of accuracy was abnormal. Just what was going on?

“Investigator Hieda,” Harold whispered, his lips curled into a soft smile that left no room for argument, “I will do my utmost to be a suitable partner until we solve this case.”

Give me a break.

An Amicus investigator aide? With skills so honed, they could violate her privacy?

“I, hmm… I need a minute,” Echika managed somehow. “Let me call my superior.”

<Holo-call to Ui Totoki>

Stepping outside the Care Center, Echika immediately called Chief Totoki. The temperature was as low as it had been earlier that morning, but for some reason, she couldn’t feel the cold; that was how shaken she was.

Holo-calls, or Holographic Telepresence, were one of the Your Forma’s features. It used holographic models to make it feel as though you were standing directly across from your conversation partner.

“Oh, good morning, Hieda.”

The call connected, and Chief Totoki’s image appeared before her eyes. She had sharp facial features, so she gave a rather stern impression despite being a woman. Her black hair was bound and reached down to her waist, and her gray suit didn’t have a single wrinkle on it.

This woman in her midthirties led the team that managed all the electronic investigators. Totoki’s official title was senior police investigator, and she’d worked her way up the ladder through a different route than electronic investigators and their aides.

“Do you have any idea what time it is right now here in Lyon? Eight AM. People are only getting out of bed this time of day.”

“My apologies.” Echika held back the urge to snap at her. Keep your cool. “Did you stay quiet about my partnership with Benno being annulled because my new partner is an Amicus?”

“Not at all. I was just busy, so I forgot to get around to breaking it to you.” Lies. Totoki wasn’t above tricking people like that. “I get that you hate Amicus. It’s just that we only have a limited number of investigators. And with you causing your aides to go kaput and sending them to the hospital every so often, we’re starting to have holes in our investigations.”

“But that’s because—”

“Yes, I know. No aide can match you, and I’m also to blame for turning a blind eye to the disparity in your abilities. But we finally found you a better partner.”

“And they’re an Amicus?” How is that better? she almost asked. “Besides, the Your Forma and the Amicus’s AI operate on completely different standards. He probably can’t connect to the Lifeline anyway.”

“We’ve prepared a special Lifeline with an HSB to USB converter for him. He can definitely connect to it.”

“And if his processing speed doesn’t match mine, I’ll just end up frying his circuits regardless.”

“He’s a special model, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

“What, because he’s bespoke? Don’t tell me you had that thing made to order.”

“Originally, he was working for the Saint Petersburg police’s detective division. He was put in charge of this incident and assigned to our office instead, that’s all.” Totoki said it so matter-of-factly that the more Echika listened, the more she doubted this was true. “He’s a special model, but we didn’t order his production. As you well know, we don’t have that kind of budget.”

“But you just said you had a special Lifeline prepared for him.”

“Because that’s a necessary investment. We’re not just doing this for you; this could end up benefiting many electronic investigators in the future.”

Was she saying she wanted Amicus handling the aide duties in the future? Absurd.

“Hieda, his computation rate is a match for your data-processing speed. The numbers don’t lie,” Totoki insisted, trying to persuade her. “There was talk of sacking you in the general meeting, you know. But I fought tooth and nail to reject that suggestion. You’re a rare talent, and the fact that you’re the world’s youngest electronic investigator is proof of that.”

The world’s youngest electronic investigator, a prodigy. Thinking back to the time when the media had made a big deal out of her and kept calling her that made Echika quite bitter. She’d entered this job three years ago. She was sixteen at the time, having skipped grades to graduate high school early. People calling her a genius had put quite a bit of pressure on her, but at least when they called her that back then, it didn’t reek of sarcasm like it did today.

But all that changed when she unintentionally fried her first aide’s brain.

“Besides, this method won’t end up hurting any human aides.”

She couldn’t deny this was good news. That one point alone seemed to drown out any other counterarguments.

“And if you have any other complaints, figure out how to Dive in and escape by yourself.”

“That’s impossible. No one can do that, which is why we have the partner system in the first place.”

Divers like Echika specialized in data processing alone, so when they’d begun Brain Diving, they couldn’t control it. It was like skydiving in the sense that once she plunged in, she could only continue plummeting straight down. This was why she needed the Belayer to hold on to her Lifeline, carefully monitor her condition, and pull her up in time.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Totoki clearly wasn’t going to budge on this. Echika didn’t think she could really refuse, either. More than anything, the fact that the chief had covered for her in the general meeting was big. Any normal person would feel grateful and indebted after that.

But the price for that was partnering with a machine.

Echika apologized to Totoki for the sudden disturbance and hung up, then ruffled her bangs. She understood now that she had no choice but to give in. That Amicus would break before long anyway. Totoki seemed convinced that his abilities would match hers, but it wasn’t like his compatibility with her had ever been tested.

And it couldn’t possibly be as simple as letting an Amicus robot take over that role.