Urgent recruitment‼ How to Save the Ending World ▚ I'm a certain NPC girl from a discontinued VRMMO service, but somehow managing to survive again today - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: No Courtesy Among Friends!

Having completed the extremely simple “job,” Crim disconnected herself from the glasses-type terminal and, unknowingly, allowed a smile to grace her virtual avatar’s cheeks within the quantum computer’s virtual space.

(Hehe, despite the somewhat grim world, it’s wonderful that even external virtual personalities have resources allocated. Thanks to that, it seems like I can go for a walk with the Master!)

In essence, she had a predecessor who served as an AI-equipped NPC exclusively assisting players in a certain VRMMO. The reclusive lifestyle didn’t suit her nature.

With a restless swaying of her honey-blond hair, Crim delved into the electronic sea, checking for any overlooked information. Despite her efforts in pre-learning, she had forgotten one crucial thing.

“I did express interest and asked you to look into it, but… let me rest today. You were concerned about my health before I left, weren’t you?”

“Ugh, come to think of it, you’re right.”

“… How can an AI forget things?”

Is it a matter of priorities? Upon returning home, the glasses-type wearable terminal reflected in his field of vision through retinal projection, and through bone-conduction speakers, a nonexistent girl leaked a “growling” sound. Despite feeling astonished, Shirou, who had changed into casual clothing and cooked instant ramen on an IH stove, couldn’t help but be annoyed.

Quickly finishing his meal, taking a bath, lying on the specialized bed serving as a safety device for diving into the virtual space, he expressed dissatisfaction with Crim’s attitude, as if she wanted to sleep until morning. However, as someone nurtured by her, he couldn’t complain.

(It’s probably to make me learn various deep learning for her, but she keeps the quantum computer powered on for me.)

As a resident application, she consumed a corresponding amount of electricity, and her position as a freeloader bound by the three principles of artificial intelligence was cramped.

(Safety considerations for humans, obedience to commands, and self-defense—all of them are naive and laughable.)

Even the most essential first principle, when faced with a dichotomous decision like the trolley problem, would lead to contradictions.

Ahead of a runaway small freight car were five miners. Switching the direction at a branching point could save them all, but if one person on the changed track were sacrificed and died, the AI’s action depended solely on its personality.

“… In other words, as a utilitarian, prioritize the number of lives saved; as an egoist, prioritize the side with favorable individuals. Young or bystander-induced responsibility abandonment, perhaps. What would you do, Master?”

“For now, I want to eat ramen. Is it okay to take off my glasses? It’s cloudy outside.”

“Ugh, so indifferent. The trauma of being abandoned in a sparsely populated VRMMO for almost two years…”

Pretending to be projected in a forced manner, Crim, whose image was displayed in the field of view, cried and collapsed. Despite her calculated cuteness, Shirou turned off the power to the wearable terminal, placed it on the non-contact charging pad, and lost the image from the ultra-small camera it housed.

The AI girl with golden hair and crimson eyes, now cut off from reality, stomped her feet in a private virtual space, let out a small sigh, but her actions were not transmitted to the outside real world.

In a sense, two familiar individuals unrestrained by formality diving into “UnderWorld” was a story yet to unfold, just a little bit into the future.