Chapter 86 81 - Helping Seed Sr. Adjusting to the New World

Later

"I hail you, the Monarch of Myriad Machine! The greatest miracle all Intelligent Constructs could ever receive, the one who brought life back to the living world! All Hail-!"

"What are you doing, Billy?"

After witnessing the awakening of Seed Sr., everyone had left him and Seed alone to let him catch up with everything that had happened. Then, out of nowhere, Billy suddenly acted like a member of a cult and started bowing to Caelus like he was the messiah himself.

Which, by Billy's logic, isn't exactly wrong. Like Billy said before, all Intelligent Constructs had truly believed the logic core isn't something that can be fixed. It can be replaced, but the previous construct's consciousness is no longer there and is replaced with a new one. It's like how a baby possessed a new body via Manhwa-Isekai style.

What Caelus did is similar to dragging a soul from the afterlife and shoving it back into a still-functioning body. No one in this world has yet able to pull such feat, until Caelus arrived.

So, it's pretty understandable if Billy suddenly starts worshipping Caelus as if he's a god.

"Billy, cut it out; you're embarrassing us," Nicole deadpans.

"But crying ugly with zero shame isn't?" Billy retorts, causing Nicole to freeze before she starts raising her suitcase.

"I dare you to say that again; I double dare you," Nicole says sweetly, causing Billy to whimper.

"I'm sorry, boss. I was dumb..." Billy says meekly.

"Oh, you're sorry, alright..." Nicole says sweetly before she starts bashing Billy with her suitcase. "You're going to be sorry once I'm done with you!"

"I already did, boss! Have mercy!!" Billy begs.

"Hell no!"

Caelus sweatdrops as he watches Nicole brutally beat the living shit out of Billy while Anby watches next to Caelus.

"Shouldn't you go and help him?" Caelus asks.

"I may know how to fight, but getting in between Nicole and her prey is like fighting a Dead-End Butcher with nothing but a rock," Anby deadpans.

"..." Caelus looks at her before glancing at Nicole, who's still beating Billy without any mercy, and looks back at Anby. "Fair enough."

"Monarch of Myriad Machine, help this foolish sheep!" Billy begs, causing Caelus to groan in exasperation.

"First, Manager's Twin, now this? How many nicknames is he gonna give me?" Caelus complains. "Also, did he even know what that title meant?"

"It's a title Zandar gave to his first failure, Nous, right?" Anby asks as Caelus looks at her in surprise.

"Yeah," Caelus mutters in shock. "I'm surprised that you remember..."

"..." Anby says nothing, simply giving Caelus a questioning stare.

"...the last time I asked about Path, you told me you didn't remember despite I tried my best to explain..." Caelus deadpans.

"...oh," Anby replied, before she looked away.

"...I can't help but feel out of place," Alice mutters, watching Caelus and the Cunning Hares from a distance.

"Then that means you're the only sane person in this room," Phil says as Alice frowns a bit.

"Hey, don't be rude to your friends," Alice says sternly.

"...we mostly interacted by insulting each other," Phil mutters.

"...are you sure you guys are friends?" Alice sweatdrops.

"I can confirm Caelus and I are friends. As for the Cunning Hares, that's a different story..." Phil mutters. "They're more like Caelus' friends than mine..."

Before Alice could respond, they all heard the door open and turned around to see Seed and Seed Sr. entering the cafeteria. Thankfully, the door was built large enough for someone like Seed Sr. to enter.

All of a sudden, Seed rushes towards Caelus before pulling him into a hug, surprising the young man.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Seed exclaims before she lets go of the hug, giving Caelus the most innocent smile she could muster. "You have no idea how happy I am!"

"...happy to help, Seed," Caelus says with a smile, causing Seed to smile wider before Seed Sr. approaches him.

"Young man...so, you're the one who brought me back..." Seed Sr. says, and Caelus responds with a nod. "Thank you...I owe you one, kid."

"Don't mention it. I'm simply returning the favor to your daughter for helping me save my friend," Caelus waves it off.

"D-daughter-!?" Seed Sr. makes a noise akin to clearing his throat. "...I never had anyone call Flora that...still, I think you did too much for just repaying a favor."

"That, and I believe Seed- I mean Flora- needs her guardian by her side, teaching her things and watching her grow," Caelus explains. "Losing parents sucks, and Flora doesn't deserve that..."

As he said that, the Cunning Hares look at Caelus with pity, while Seed looks between surprise and gratitude.

"...you are a good child," Seed Sr. says honestly. "Still, thank you..."

"Again, don't mention it," Caelus waves it off.

"...sorry to ask, but do you know a being called Nous?" Seed Sr. asks suddenly, catching everyone off guard as they all look at Seed Sr. in shock. "I take it you all knew?"

"It's thanks to him that we knew about the existence of Nous and the other Aeons," Phil says dryly, pointing at Caelus, who looks sheepish.

"So, you're the Informant?" Seed Sr. asks curiously, causing everyone to look at him in confusion. "This being, Nous, had mentioned the Informant several times and told me they are the one responsible for my 'resurrection.' From what Flora told me, I assume it was you."

"...I thought Billy was going to be the only one giving me random nicknames..." Caelus groans. If Seed Sr. has a pair of optics that work like how humans' eyes are, he would blink owlishly.

"From all the things I told, that's what concerns you?" Seed Sr. asks in disbelief.

"Nous isn't exactly a hostile cosmic entity; THEY desire gathering knowledge the most. Anything else besides that is irrelevant to it," Caelus explains. "It's what Path of Erudition represents: seeking knowledge. Nous desires to seek them to satisfy THEIR curiosity."

"Ah...it seems I am being worried for nothing...." Seed Sr. says sheepishly.

"Well...you should still be wary of THEM,' Caelus says, confusing everyone. "The moment Nous learns everything in this world....yeah, I don't think I really want to explain that."

"..." Everyone stares at him in silence as Anby suddenly gets up, pulling a fork out of nowhere and slowly approaching Caelus. The poor man looks at Anby in alarm before catching her arms.

"Gauge your eyes out, Caelus," Anby says seriously. Upon hearing that, Nicole and Billy try to pull Anby away in panic, but Anby wouldn't budge and manages to slowly overpower the trio,

"NOT YOU TOO!!!!" Thankfully, Phil, Seed, Alice, and Seed Sr. lend them a helping hand and restrain Anby. Suddenly, Nekomiya enters the cafeteria, and she blinks in confusion as she witnesses the bizarre scene.

"...what's going on?"

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Later

"...how?" Trigger mutters in utter disbelief as she watches Seed Sr. standing in front of her, waving his hand awkwardly while Seed is standing on her hover-scooter next to him.

"Caelus woke Seed Sr. up!" Seed exclaims happily.

"...of course it's him, but how-?" Trigger asks in disbelief before realizing her mistake of revealing the truth to Seed. Thankfully, Seed Sr. notices this and decides to explain.

"I've told Flora everything, Trigger. You don't have to worry about it," Seed Sr. explains. If Trigger's eyes were still working and weren't covered with a blindfold, they would see her widening her eyes in shock. "In fact, she knew already that I...died. She just chose to live in denial..."

"I knew when Seed Sr. texted me through the Knock-Knock; it doesn't sound like him," Seed explains with a sad smile. "I knew it's not Seed Sr., but...I choose not to accept the truth and simply live in the lies everyone made for me..."

"...I'm sorry, Seed," Trigger apologizes. "I...should've told you the truth..."

"It's okay. In fact, I am happy you guys cared so much," Seed says with a smile.

"...thanks, Seed," Trigger says with a smile. "But still, how is it possible?"

"...it's a very complicated process that I'm still having hard times processing," Seed Sr. admits, which surprises Trigger. Unlike his brethren, Seed Sr. is smart enough to calculate Hollow Frequency Change, which allows him to predict the emergence of Hollow in the Ballet Twin, something that should be impossible given Seed Sr's model was merely made as an expandable but destructive soldier.

So, if Seed Sr. thinks the process is difficult, then it must be too much for him to handle. Or maybe because of his recent resurrection, his 'mind' isn't fully recovered.

"Caelus uses his Eyes of Nous to analyze Seed Sr's AI algorithm, and using the power of Remembrances to gather Seed Sr.'s lingering memories, he combined both methods to recreate Seed Sr.'s old logic core with new materials but Seed Sr's consciousness," Seed explains casually, causing Trigger to tilt her head in utter confusion.

"...as I said, very complicated process," Seed Sr. says with a nervous laugh.

"No kidding..." Trigger mutters. "But how does Caelus know how to recreate Seed Sr's 'consciousness'? To do that, he would at least need the knowledge of creating AI."

"The answer is simple: The first day I got the power, it absorbed information about Fairy," Caelus says as he approaches the Defense Force squad. "Despite getting overloaded with information, it was still safely stored inside my brain and Nous' memory data. No offense to Seed Sr., but Fairy's algorithms are so complicated that they made yours look like a reading book for a 5-year-old."

"..." Seed Sr. can't help but clutch his chest as he feels his pride getting shattered to pieces.

"To think such an accident would lead to Seed Sr.'s awakening," Trigger says before looking at Caelus. "...as a member of the Defense Force, I would like to thank you for bringing back our old comrade, Caelus."

"...I think a thank you would suffice; no need to go formal," Caelus sweatdrops, earning a chuckle from Trigger.

"Only you would say something like that," Trigger says while shaking her head. "...so, how much do we owe you? First, giving me a chance to re-experience of how it's like to have sight, now this?"

"Again, no need," Caelus says in exasperation. "Can't you all please just accept it as a friend returning a favor?"

"No friends would go this far to repay a small favor, Caelus," Trigger explains.

"Well, I do," Caelus says seriously. "So, please stop thinking like you guys owe me something."

"...very well," Trigger says with a smile before glancing around. "...so, where's the Cunning Hares? I assumed you guys were hanging out with each other at this time?"

"Oh, today's Perlman's trial day, and they act as the Canvas Street residents' lawyer," Caelus explains.

"Oh, it's today?" Trigger asks in surprise.

"Yup," Caelus says with a nod.

"Perlman? Canvas Street? What's going on?" Seed Sr. asks in confusion.

"We'll fill you in later, Seed Sr," Caelus says as he lightly taps Seed Sr's chest. "Now, how about we make sure your logic core is working completely fine?"

"I thought you said it's good," Seed asks in confusion.

"Yeah, but sometimes, something unexpected could happen to him. So, just to be safe, we'll make sure there's no bug in him," Caelus says before gently patting Seed's head. "Don't worry, I'll make sure your daddy is in top condition."

"...I am still getting used to people calling me Flora's dad," Seed Sr. mutters while scratching his head.

"To be fair, you are one,"

To be Continued