Lost her companion? Of course, the person who "lost" him was off buying ice cream, having abandoned him.
"...She's buying ice cream."
"Oh..." Realizing she had been meddling, the pink-haired little girl looked down at her toes, feeling awkward.
Lin didn't say anything more, closing his eyes to rest.
After a while, he opened his eyes again and glanced at the little girl who was still standing there.
"...Where is your sister?"
"Huh?"
Lin raised his voice: "Why hasn't your sister arrived yet?"
The little girl was clearly a bit nervous. Her fingers intertwined, and she whispered, "She told me to wait here and said she'd be back in a little while."
"How long."
"Three minutes."
Lin looked at the time display on the lamppost nearby. Ten full minutes had passed since they started talking, and the sister the little girl mentioned still hadn't arrived. Even Prometheus was almost done waiting in line for ice cream.
Lost?
Lin certainly didn't plan to take her to find her sister. That kind of plot-driven, unintelligent action was wrong. It was best to stay put and wait for her sister to find her. If she didn't come back after too long, they could go to the broadcast room.
"What is your name?" Lin asked.
"Rin."
"My name is Lin."
"Oh?"
The pronunciation of Rin and Lin was similar in the common language, surprising Rin. Such a Accidental!
Lin's initiative in speaking eased the atmosphere considerably. And the high affinity Lin inexplicably had for children also took effect. Rin expression shifted from initial nervousness to calm.
"Lin... Gege (older brother), why are you wearing a helmet?" Ling, assuming Lin wasn't much older, used the term 'Gege' but immediately asked a key question.
"I'm cosplaying."
"Then why are you sitting in a wheelchair?"
"Because I need to sit in a wheelchair."
Rin realized she had asked the wrong question and quickly apologized: "I'm, I'm sorry..."
"It's fine." Lin shook his head good-naturedly.
It was evident that Rin was introverted, but having the courage to approach Lin, who was covered head-to-toe in suspicious gear, to ask if he needed help, indicated she was a quite kind girl.
"Hehe, Brother Lin doesn't seem as scary as he looks." Not receiving a scolding from Lin, Rin awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "Who did Brother Lin come to the amusement park with?"
"..." This question genuinely silenced Lin.
Who was Prometheus to him?
He couldn't directly answer "artificial intelligence," but he and Prometheus weren't exactly friends either. Overall, it was more like...
Lin said flatly: "My little sister."
"Brother Lin has a little sister too?"
"Yes, a somewhat naughty..." Lin stopped there, because he saw Prometheus, who was in line, terrifyingly rotate her entire head 180 degrees toward them the moment he said the word "sister."
Fortunately, no one was behind her, so no one noticed the chilling scene.
...Should he praise her for still being aware of her surroundings?
"Huh? Is that Brother Lin's little sister? She looks so cute." Rin, seeing Lin stop talking for a long time, looked in the direction his helmet was facing. Prometheus had just turned her head back, so Rin didn't notice.
Rather than cute, the AI's deliberate mistakes and certain unconscious behaviors could only be described as hair-raising. The adorable appearance Vil-V had created for her was, more or less, a cover-up.
While Lin and Rin were chatting casually to relieve her anxiety from waiting, Prometheus returned, carrying three ice creams.
"H-Hello, my name is Rin." Ling first introduced herself to Prometheus. Lin's sister was buying ice cream while she was chatting with Lin. She felt a subtle sense of guilt toward Lin's sister.
"My name is Prometheus. Here you go." The expressionless Prometheus handed an ice cream to Ling.
"T-Thank you." Rin, whose brain was slightly short-circuited, hadn't expected Prometheus, who was so far away, to specifically buy her an ice cream.
She just felt that this brother and sister pair seemed to be better than they looked—cold on the surface, but surprisingly kind-hearted.
Then Prometheus stood in front of Lin, holding the ice cream.
"..."
"...Stay away from me." Lin immediately warned, realizing this person was about to mess around again.
"Huh? Brother Lin probably can't eat with the helmet on, right?" Rin looked at the part of Lin's helmet where there was no opening to put food in.
Prometheus nodded in agreement to Ling: "That's right."
"I don't need to eat ice cream."
In this moment, Lin genuinely felt how wonderful Elysia was. Though she occasionally played tricks, she would never disrespect Lin's will. Conversely, the AI who claimed to never betray humanity was practically doing the opposite. If she didn't obey Lin's commands in certain crucial matters and battles, Lin would suspect her program was infected with a virus.
"Lin is such a headache." Prometheus stuck out her small tongue, picked up a tiny bit of ice cream, and pulled it back into her mouth, looking down at Lin. "As an older brother, causing your little sister to worry is highly unqualified."
Ling started to murmur internally. Was this really how a brother and sister talked?
"What do you want?" Lin asked calmly in return.
Prometheus immediately showed her fangs: "Lin cannot restrict my actions. (You are not allowed to restrict me from using my body.)"
"Impossible." How could Lin let Prometheus lead him by the nose? Now that he couldn't move, Prometheus was already being presumptuous. If he continued to indulge her, the drop in auxiliary efficiency would be too costly.
"Lin should listen to my advice normally."
"Impossible."
"Lin should acknowledge my human rights status."
"Impossible."
After the back-and-forth argument concluded, Prometheus, who received three consecutive denials from Lin, said nothing. She simply raised the ice cream.
"Hey... w-wait a minute, Prometheus, are you trying to force Brother Lin to eat it?" Rin, who hadn't understood the argument, only knew that Prometheus was trying to do something Lin didn't want to do. She quickly intervened. "Don't do that. If Brother Lin doesn't want to eat it, then forget it."
Prometheus said in her emotionless voice: "Lin must not be a picky eater. Doctor Mobius said so."
"Ice cream is not on the diet Mobius gave me."
"I have modified the diet."
"..."
Just as Lin was about to intervene to stop Prometheus's escalating insubordination, he suddenly frowned, looking in one direction. Prometheus also immediately stopped arguing. The monitor in her eyes switched to long-range mode, looking in the same direction.
The commotion started there.
"M-Murder!"
A terrifying scream caused the boisterous amusement park to instantly erupt in chaos.