Android Town

It took some time to subdue all the downed enemy ships. Well, the

battleship was especially large after all. And since most of the enemy

ships were stripped of their ability to move, the independent fleet also

needed to set it up so they could tow the ships away.

Since we weren't of any use for that kind of work, we were just ordered

to stand by until they've finished everything. And so, we went back

inside the civilian(?) cargo ship Pelican IVs hangar and stayed put. We

did wait until they've taken full control of the battleship before we

revealed ourselves though.

And since there probably won't be any more pirate attacks, for the time

being, the Pelican IV along with the rest of the independent anti-pirate

fleet led by Major Serena went back to the Sierra Prime colony along

with the rogue military ships that persistently attacked us earlier.

Since the fleet along with the Pelican IV needed to dock for an extended

period in order to process the arrest and resupply, we were freed from

guard duty. And since the regular pay agreed upon was 80,000 Enels

per day, we received a total payment of 240,000 Enels for working as an

escort ship for three days.

[... What about the bounty rewards?]

[Unfortunately, they weren't pirates, so there's none.]

After confirming that the ships we fought were part of a rogue imperial

military unit, Major Serena displayed a delighted smile. Yeah, I kinda

expected this... Well, we really can't do anything about it anyway.

We were then questioned by the military police regarding the entire

fiasco.

We did record the attack perfectly, beginning with the Pelican IV getting

hit with an interdictor, to the subsequent attack on our ship, so they

were enough to serve as evidence of the other party's guilt. Or rather,

the guys from the military police kept saying things like 'What's with

those weird maneuvers?' or 'It looks kinda disturbing.' or even 'It's way

too freakish, man.'. I do admit my unorthodox maneuvers are kinda

weird-looking but don't call it freaky!

And so, we ended up staying at the Sierra Prime colony as well.

"We'll be off then."

Today, I and May headed out of Krishna for some business.

We were waiting for Chris's grandfather to arrive and take custody of

Chris, so we had to stay inside the colony until then. There was also the

option of coming back to the resort planet, but since we still weren't

sure if Chris's uncle and his men had given up on taking her life or not,

we decided it was safer to stay inside the colony.

And so, we decided to get May's upgrades, which was put off because of

Chris's uncle, over and done with today. Sierra Prime had an Orient

Corporation dealer shop available, and it also had a fully equipped

workshop, so it was perfect.

I was wondering if they had the materials for May's upgrade available

since all the parts I specified while designing her were pretty high end,

but it seems like the shop on Sierra Prime mainly catered to the rich

and famous, so there were plenty of high-end parts and materials in

stock.

"Well, I'm sure he can protect himself at least, but just in case, be sure to

keep an eye on Hiro, May."

"Yes. Please leave it to me."

May nodded crisply at Elma's request.

"She still hasn't gotten her upgrades yet, so isn't that a little

unreasonable?"

"Even if she isn't customized, she's probably still stronger than you are."

"Really?"

"Yes. I am approximately 1.5 to 2 times stronger than your average

human."

May flexed her arms as if to show off her supposed strength. But they

still looked more delicate than mine. Well, I don't think May is the type

to bluff, so it's probably true.

"Be careful out there, Hiro-sama."

"We still don't know whether or not my uncle's men are still lurking out

there, so please be careful."

"Yeah. I'll be fine. See you later guys."

After waving goodbye to three, I opened the hatch, extended the ramp,

and went down to the port grounds with May.

We've been able to procure enough food and water via Major Serena, so

we can safely stay inside the Krishna for a full month. We really owe her

one this time. I'm kinda worried owing her too much would come to

bite us back later on though.

"I'll be counting on you to guide me then."

"Yes. Please leave it to me."

May nodded briskly and led me out of the port area. We then went

down to the area where the workshop was located via elevator. Even if

she was mostly expressionless, I kinda felt that May was somewhat

excited today. It was very subtle, but I could still sense that she was

more cheerful than usual. It may just be my imagination though. But

seeing her like this made me feel all warm inside as well.

After a few minutes of walking, we finally arrived at the area where the

workshop was located. However...

"Haah. This sure is something."

"?"

May tilted her head in puzzlement after hearing me sigh. Well, it looks

like she has no particular opinion about the scene in front of us right

now, but it wasn't the same for me.

How should I describe it? Extremely decadent? Nah, that doesn't even

begin to cover it. Anyway, it was a real sleazy area.

There were lots of female androids, or should I say gynoids, walking

about. The place was overflowing with them. The display windows of

various shops all had different models of gynoids within them; from

young girl-types to mature onee-san types. There were very few male

androids on display.

They had everything; from the cute and cuddly to the risque and

provocative. There was even a live demo where several gynoids were

doing pole dances while wearing really skimpy outfits.

And furthermore, more than a few shops had gynoids trying to appeal

to potential customers just like the ladies working for red-light leisure

clubs back on Earth. Or rather, it was exactly the same. The only

difference is that they had gynoids working for them instead of human

women.

And it wasn't just gynoids who were doing such things. There were a

few male androids too. Now that I got a closer look, the customers

coming inside those shops weren't all males. There were quite a few

women as well. Heck, I even saw one guy booking an android that

looked female, but upon closer inspection, seemed like a male type…

Let's just pretend I didn't see that.

"Is there something amiss, Master?"

"Uh, n-no. It's nothing. Don't mind me."

May still looked puzzled at my reaction. It looks like she doesn't get

where I'm coming from at all. For AI that gained their official

citizenship by 'healing' lots of imperial young lads and men (in various

ways), this might be just like regular hometown scenery for them. Yeah,

it should be like that, I guess. For them, it was quite normal to meet and

get together with their potential 'masters' in places like this. Just like

birds raised in cages...

After leaving the android town with May, we finally reached the section

where the workshops were located. After coming here, the sleazy

atmosphere more or less abated.

But this was compared to the scenery earlier. The workshops still

advertised the latest gynoid models (loli-type) and hottest selling

models (dynamite-body mature oneesan-type) on their holo-displays

around the shop entrances.

They didn't even use mosaic censoring! H-How depraved.

"Um, awe should be arriving soon, right?"

"Yes. It's just over there."

I moved my gaze toward the direction May pointed at, and saw a huge

building with the company name displayed in big, bold letters out front.

I thought we were just coming to a small branch office, but it was

significantly larger than most of the other shops in the area. More

specifically, it was three times as big.

"It's huge."

"The Orient Corporation is one of the top android manufacturers in the

Sierra star system after all."

"I see."

Since it was a big company, it made sense that their facilities would also

be grand. This is probably due to the customer base being large in

number as well. So they needed a big facility to cater to all of them.

We finally entered the Orient Corporation building. Once we did, a

female receptionist turned her gaze toward us straight away. Hm? Oh,

so she wasn't human either. She was a gynoid too.

"Welcome! Welcome to the workshop directly managed by the Orient

Corporation! It's about May's upgrades, yes? Please follow me."

We didn't say anything yet, but the gynoid receptionist already began

guiding us while sporting a bright smile. The moment she left her seat,

another gynoid receptionist came out from a room at the back and took

over her duties.

"We don't really need to use words to communicate with each other."

"I see."

I nodded at May's explanation. I couldn't perceive it of course, but it

seems they communicated via some form of data exchange earlier. Well,

for androids like them, using words to communicate isn't exactly

necessary huh.

We were then led to another section of the building that looked similar

to a coffee shop. It looks like there weren't any other customers except

for me.

"This is?"

"Yes! This is a space for customers to relax while waiting for their

partner's upgrades to be finished! I shall prepare some drinks for you

right away!"

"O-Okay?"

"I will undergo my upgrades soon. Please take good care of Hiro-sama

while I'm away."

"Yes! Please leave it to me!"

May bowed her head toward me and walked away. Since I didn't have

anything better to do, I took up the receptionist gynoid's offer and sat

on the counter while waiting for May's upgrades to finish.

"What kind of drink do you prefer?"

"Oh, um, some chilled tea would be nice."

"Certainly!"

The receptionist gynoid cheerfully stepped inside the coffee shop's

counter and started preparing my drink. This receptionist gynoid sure

is bubbly. I set May's expression values at a low level, so she hardly

changed facial expressions and generally felt like a cool and composed

lady. I wonder what she would be like if her expression values were set

higher? I can't really imagine it though.

"Thank you for waiting!"

"Thanks. How long would the upgrading take?"

"Let's see. In May's case, she would need to be transferred instead of

receiving regular upgrades, so it probably wouldn't take long."

"Transferred?"

"Yes! For example, in the case of minor artificial muscle upgrades or

replacement of worn-out joints, we can keep most of the original body

and just replace the requisite parts. But this time, most of May's

components would need to be replaced, so it would be faster to transfer

her data to a fully prepared body built from the ground up instead of

tampering with her old one. That would be more efficient after all."

"I see."

So it's kinda like upgrading your PC. If you only want to add some

memory or replace the CPU's cooling fan, you can just swap the old

ones for new parts. But if you want to replace most of the parts

including the CPU, motherboard, and power supply, it would be better

to just transfer your data to a completely new PC rig. Pros would

suggest you do so as well.

"The data transfer would take approximately two hours. If you'd like, I

can give you some pointers regarding your future life with May-san!"

"That sounds good. Go right ahead."

While waiting for May, I spent my time listening to the gynoid

receptionist's lecture regarding maidroid maintenance and other stuff.

She told me about all the required tools and equipment for

maintenance. She also lectured me about troubleshooting as well as

where to contact if said trouble was already out of my league. This went

on for an entire two hours.

As a result, my Enel balance fell once more since I had to pay for the

lecture. But I guess I did learn a lot, so it was more or less worth it. It

kinda felt like I was taken for a ride again, but oh well.