※ This is seen from Claire François’s point of view (the first loop・・・) .
“I’d be troubled if Rei left now . I have to stop her no matter what it takes . ”
On the way back from the director’s office to the laboratory, I ruminated over the director’s words .
Even without him saying anything, she was still absolutely essential for the research and planning .
It’s true that I, Lene, and Rei all played the biggest role in creating the eternal loop system, but among us, the most important person was unmistakably Rei .
There were already many parts of the projects that only she could understand, so the plan couldn’t proceed without her .
Rei might have said that we would be all right alone, but in practice, that was unlikely .
“However, how can I persuade Rei…?”
For better or worse, Rei was an independent person .
She wouldn’t listen to half-hearted persuasion .
While racking my brains as I walked through the corridor, I casually looked outside .
I could see countless city lights below .
In the past, this would be described as a stunning nightscape, but now it was different .
Without being protected by the power of science, you couldn’t make it through the night .
A ray of light for humanity full of such hopelessness – that’s the loop system Rei came up with .
(I have to stop Rei no matter what it takes… But, how?)
While at a loss, I opened the door to the laboratory .
“Rei-chan said that she’s leaving the institute today!”
“!?”
When I took a look, Rei was carelessly packing belongings from her desk into a cardboard box .
“W-Wait a minute, Rei! No matter how you look at it, it’s too sudden!”
“I’ve prepared documents to help you with taking over . You two will be fine . ”
My words didn’t stop what Rei was doing either .
I was impatient .
“Rei . This plan isn’t as easy as you think . There are too many things that only you can understand . ”
“I’ve outlined the difficult aspects in the take-over materials . You’ll be fine . ”
So this is what it means to reach the end of the rope .
“Rei, why do you want to quit so much? Do you have some reason?”
“… Not really . I simply decided to quit since my work here is done . ”
I felt like I had an idea .
She seemed to be hiding something .
“Rei, come here for a moment . ”
“… Claire-san?”
“Just come . ”
I dragged Rei with me to the longue .
“Please sit down . I’ll brew coffee . ”
“There’s no need . I have nothing to talk about . ”
“Just sit down . ”
I forced Rei to sit down and switched on the coffee maker .
“When I think about it, we were so focused on our research that we’ve hardly talked privately . ”
“There’s no need to . ”
Rei sulkily turned her face away from me .
Her words were unfriendly too .
“I wonder about that . I want to know more about you . Rei . Especially about your philosophy . ”
“It’s… not really something grandiose . ”
I grabbed two cups of coffee that finished brewing and offered one to Rei as I went to sit down .
Rei reluctantly accepted it .
“Before our research started, you said that you wondered if humans need physical bodies, haven’t you?”
“… You have a good memory . ”
“I couldn’t forget that . It was the first time I’d heard it seriously outside SF . ”
I laughed while pouring milk into my coffee .
Rei looked uncomfortable .
“In the end, physical bodies became a part of this plan . ”
“They did . Only the bodies at the beginning of civilization will be artificially prepared, and the rest will be left to natural reproduction . ”
Rei stubbornly insisted on shifting humanity to quantum beings to the end, but the US government didn’t approve that .
“Why do you hate physical bodies so much? Do you have some reason?”
“… Not really . ”
“Is it related to your sexuality?”
“!?”
A clear shock appeared on her face .
I saw Rei shaken up for the first time .
“W-Why…!?”
“Of course I would understand after we’ve spent so much time together . You are a lesbian, aren’t you?”
“…”
Rei didn’t answer, but her silence confirmed it beyond any doubt .
“If you like, you can talk to me . As I said earlier, I want to get to know you . ”
“… It’s a boring story . ”
Although Rei said that, she started talking little by little .
“My homeland – Japan – is a conservative country . ”
“Is that so? My image of it was that it was a sexually open country . ”
“Sure, polls show that it’s close to liberal . There’s no discrimination . Homosexual people have rights . However…”
“However?”
“That’s only towards homosexuals who are unrelated or are in the entertainment industry . The reaction towards an average person that is part of a sexual minority is surprisingly conservative . ”
“It might be connected to the Japanese culture of honesty and facade,” added Rei .
“Of course, not everybody is conservative . Some people understand it properly, but it’s difficult having to explain it to everybody one by one . ”
That must be an unavoidable pain for sexual minorities .
“That’s why I’ve been wishing for so long that humans didn’t have physical bodies . If humans only consisted of their hearts, I wouldn’t have to suffer so much . ”
For the first time, I empathized with Rei’s views .
Rei didn’t want humanity to ascend to the next stage or head towards the end of evolution, or anything like that .
The shackles of owning a body were bothering her, so she wanted to be released from it .
With that in mind, she continued her research in the field of soul quantization .
“Rei…”
“I don’t need sympathy . I’m not even asking for you to understand . I can only live this way . That’s all . ”
It was painful for me to see how self-deprecating Rei was .
I couldn’t help but feel sad seeing somebody who I’d spent a lot of time in the past six months smile like this .
But–
“If that’s the case, why are you removing yourself from this project? There’s no better environment for you if you want to study soul quantization, is there?”
A high-performance arithmetic unit is absolutely necessary for soul quantization .
TAIM should’ve been perfect for that .
“…”
The conversation suddenly came to a pause .
“Oh?” I thought to myself when Rei unnaturally averted her eyes .
“Rei?”
“… It’s nothing . As I said earlier, I’m retiring because I completed the research needed from me . ”
“It’s enough, right?” Rei said and tried to stand up .
“That’s a lie . You’re hiding something . Right?”
“Isn’t it enough!? Please leave me alone!”
Rei raised her voice in an aggressive, yet weak manner .
Even so, I continued to press her .
“I can’t leave you alone . We’re friends, right?”
Saying that, I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to me .
Rei was smiling mockingly .
“Friends? Haah, you don’t understand anything . ”
“I won’t understand if you don’t tell me . ”
“Then let me tell you . I desire you . ”
“!?”
This time, it was Rei’s turn to grab my shoulders .
There was something dangerous yet desperate in her eyes .
“Me?”
“You didn’t notice? Since we were both women, you showed me your defenseless self, didn’t you? I thought you were tempting me . ”
While saying such vulgar words, Rei embraced me .
“You want me to stay here? Very well . You just need to become mine . ”
“…”
“It’s impossible, right? It’s revolting, right? You don’t want somebody like this near you, right? That’s why I’m quitting . ”
Rei laughed dryly and let go of me .
“That’s how it is . Are you convinced now? Now then…”
Rei turned around and tried to leave .
I–
“!?”
I hugged her from behind .
“… Claire-san?”
“Very well . ”
“Hah?”
“I’m saying that I accept your condition . ”
Rei made an incredulous expression upon hearing my words .
“… Are you insane?”
“I’m very much sane . It’s a cheap price to pay for keeping a talent like you . ”
“… Are you selling yourself for the project?”
“Is that wrong? Or what, do you want my heart?”
When I spoke provokingly, Rei’s face turned sad for a moment .
However, the expression on her face soon turned to self-mockery .
“No, just your body is fine . Your nature aside, I’ll at least be able to enjoy your body . ”
“Then we have a deal . ”
I brought my face close to Rei’s face .
“You’ll regret it . ”
“I won’t . ”
“If you turn back now–”
“Be silent . ”
I blocked Rei’s lips .
This is how my distorted relationship with Rei began .