Volume 10 - Chapter 13 – The Blue-haired Automata (2/2)

They looked around the room while feeling the soft sensation of the carpet under their feet. In the corner there was a crib, and beside it sat a silhouette.

“That’s…”

“…Ann?”

Jin and Elsa both spoke nearly simultaneously.

The one sitting there was a blue-haired Automata. At a glance you could tell it was the same model as Ann.

“Ann?”

The princess found some fault with what they said.

“That’s not her name. She’s ‘Tia’. My only… nanny.”

Jin didn’t miss the sadness in her voice. He then went to take a closer look at ‘Tia’.

It was unmistakably the same model of Automata as Ann. Her condition was many times better than Ann’s at the time of her discovery.

But, she wasn’t running. Before ascertaining the cause Jin threw a question at the princess.

“Your Highness Princess Lieschen, how did you come into possession of this Tia?”

Hearing him, the princess reacted with a twitch.

“Jin you’re asking not from who, but how? I see, you must know, right? Indeed, Tia isn’t something that was recently made. It seems she was found from some ruins.”

As I thought, Jin thought.

“Tia is an automata, but she was also my nanny. I’ve heard that when I was very young she even breastfed me.”

Indeed, if she was the same model as Ann then she probably also had nipples installed. The breastfeeding function may have been something custom.

“By the time I could understand what was going on, Tia could only talk and had become unable to move. Even so, she let me hear many stories and songs. But…”

The princess hung her head down.

“Three years ago, Tia suddenly stopped working. I tried showing her to the Magi Craftsmen of my country, but they told me that because her construction differs from the one current Automata use she can’t be repaired.”

Tears were glittering in her eyes.

“My country is undeveloped with regards to Automata and Golems. I’ve heard that Egelia Kingdom makes more use of Golems and Automata. Most of the Automata working here right now have been bought from Egelia Kingdom.”

While talking the princess softly touched the cheek of the unmoving Tia.

“I remember it. Tia was, Tia’s body was warm. The bodies of other automata aren’t cold, but they aren’t warm either.”

The princess then fixed her eyes on Jin, took his hand and said,

“I know that Tia is a special Automata. But, whatever it takes, I want to hear her voice again. Please, Jin! Please repair Tia!”

Seeing her desperation, Jin could tell just how serious the once-lively Princess Lieschen was.

“Onii-chan, listen to the princess’s request. Onii-chan, you can do it, right?”

Even Hannah said so and looked at Jin. Elsa said nothing, but just looking at her face was enough to tell what she wanted to say.

It made no difference as Jin himself wanted to repair her too.

“I got it, I’ll do what I can.”

Jin said and began examining Tia.

Although her condition was better than Ann’s had been, her Magical Skin had deteriorated and its elasticity had fallen and her Magical Muscles were torn to pieces in some places.

Her skeleton had deformations and her joints were also rattling quite a lot.

But the main cause of her becoming inoperable was the Ether Converter.

Jin’s diagnosis was that the Magi Crystal used as the Ether Converter had degraded, and with this era’s Ether concentration being too low, it had become unable to refine Mana.

That’s why there was no way that this country’s, or rather most of the current era’s Magi Craftsmen could repair it.

“H–how is it? Can you repair her?”

The princess asked worriedly, then Jin told her with a smile,

“It’s fine, I can repair her. But I need an all-attribute Magi Crystal though.”

Hearing that the princess began to smile.

“Got it! An all-attribute Magi Crystal! I’ll have one provided at once!”

She said, then gave some kind of an order to Jessica who was standing at the entrance. Jessica went down the corridor and soon came back.

She must’ve given orders to other servants or Automata.

While waiting for the Magi Crystal to be delivered, Jin began simple maintenance and had Reiko lay Tia down on the floor.

“Your Highness, to repair Tia I have to take off her clothes, is this alright?”

Jin tentatively asked for courtesy’s sake. Of course the princess agreed.

“Elsa, could you come here and take her clothes off?”

Sensing the cold gaze of Elsa who was watching, Jin decided to ask her.

“Mm.”

With a short reply Elsa began taking off Tia’s clothes. The clothes looked to be recently made as they weren’t worn out.

She took off the apron, the one-piece dress, and the slip-style underwear. As was usual in this world, there was no bra. The Automata was also wearing outdoor shoes tied with a string and bloomers.

“You can leave the bloomers for now.”

After having Elsa take off the slip Jin stopped her. If she was the same as Ann then that would be all sorts of perilous.

Then when Jin was about to tear off the chest’s Magical Skin his hand stopped.

“Your Highness, I’ll now be dissecting a part of Tia. I don’t know whether or not I want to show it to you. Your Highness, please decide it for yourself.”

Princess Lieschen looked down and thought about it for a while, but before long raised her face in determination and said,

“Please show me. It’s what I asked for, and more importantly, no matter how she looks Tia is Tia. I’ll see it with my own eyes.”