Inside a luxurious room… perhaps not to the extent of the one in his own house or the upscale suite at the previous hotel, but luxurious nonetheless, with its quiet comfortableness. Christian, who had been asleep for more than ten hours now, finally opened his eyes on the king-sized bed.
He groggily looked around, slowly adjusting to the gentle illumination of the room, and found that Alpha was standing quietly by the side of his bed. Then, his gaze drifted to the other side—where there was no one. Neither his sister, nor Eva, both of whom were now at the house.
And he couldn't help but feel how lonely and cold sleeping alone had become for him.
In the end, knowing that he was flying back today, he tried to invigorate himself, brushing away the lingering weight of sleep, while finally turning his gaze back to Alpha at his side.
At that moment, she gently opened her mouth and said, "Good morning, Master."
Alpha, unlike Zero, who had to maintain a human-like behavior pattern at all times, didn't need to simulate such behavior when it was just the two of them. Usually, during the night, she would enter a stand-by mode without needing rest.
Even now, though she had already activated her operational state this morning, she wouldn't have entered his room unless it was something important.
So, narrowing his eyes slightly and suspecting something must have happened, Christian finally returned the greeting with a quiet, "Morning…" Then, after a short pause, as he fully woke himself up, he added, "Tell me what happened."
"Just some time ago, an individual with a confirmed Danger Level Three was reported to have entered the city by Iris," Alpha replied calmly. "And so, after having finished preparing everything, in case you deemed it necessary to run, I came here to inform you."
Danger Level Three… meaning someone Christian couldn't take head-on.
Escaping was still possible, but direct confrontation was out of the question.
Was this bad luck? That someone of this level would suddenly arrive in the city just when he happened to be here? Or was it… a mere coincidence?
Because, before making the decision to come here and upgrade Zero, he had already verified that there were no individuals in this city who could pose any serious threat to him.
This city, while indeed filled with people involved in essence, some of them even possessing strength above his own, it was still considered manageable.
After all, not a single one of them had a Danger Level exceeding one, at least by his own standards.
So now, hearing that someone with a Danger Level of three had arrived, Christian couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly, his mind beginning to spin rapidly as he tried to make sense of this unexpected situation.
He checked the time, and there was still some time left until his flight. So, should he go with an earlier plane immediately… or just wait?
After all, it was merely a few hours.
With the information still remaining so little, Christian finally turned his gaze to Alpha and asked, "What about his identity?"
"It's a high-level member of the Liberation Front," Alpha said, while handing him a tablet with more information.
Christian's first reaction upon finding out the identity of this man was one of surprise, but then he couldn't help but breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
If the man from the Liberation Front had been a low-level member, there was a chance he could act recklessly, but even then, Christian wouldn't have been too worried.
If he were the leader, someone whose strength was likely on par with the Principal of the Academy, Christian would have naturally run away immediately. Regardless of what kind of behavior such a person had, Christian didn't like facing people who were far stronger than him, after all.
So, when he found out that this man was just a high-ranking member of the Liberation Front… someone whose stage they couldn't even confirm for certain, whether second or third, Christian felt that the situation was still manageable.
But… why was he coming in this direction?
Christian felt like cursing when he saw the path this man was taking, and how it led straight toward the hotel he was currently staying at. In the end, he just handed the tablet back to Alpha and decided not to make any changes to his schedule.
Even if the man came to this hotel, even if they ended up crossing paths...
Anyway, the high-ranking members of the Liberation Front were known to act carefully, so… it's not like he would actually try anything in the middle of the city, under the bright midday sun… right?
Having freshened up and changed his clothes, Christian was now sitting in the lounge of the hotel with Alpha in front of him, and breakfast on the table.
He ate his breakfast normally while conversing with Alpha, occasionally glancing at the tablet beside his plate, which was displaying the man's current location.
"Master, I have something I'm a little curious about. May I ask?" Alpha suddenly said.
Her tone made him feel like there was something important behind the question, and so, taking his eyes off the tablet, he replied seriously, "Ask away."
Alpha didn't hesitate once she heard his permission and asked, "Why don't I have as many weapons installed in me, like Zero?"
Christian blinked at the question, and his gaze turned a little strange before he asked, almost amused, "It can't be that you've been thinking about this since yesterday, right?"
Alpha timidly nodded before replying, "Actually, yes. Moreover, after conducting some online research, I compiled nearly fifty possible answers. Even after cross-referencing the sources and comparing patterns across different models, there remained a high degree of uncertainty. I could not isolate a singular, definitive conclusion."
Christian was genuinely intrigued by what she had found, but knowing that asking about her full report might lead to a lecture that could stretch for hours… possibly not ending even by night, he decided not to go into it.
Instead, feeling was a minor issue, he simply asked, "And you didn't ask Iris?"
Alpha nodded again before saying, "She told me the reason was actually because I'm a female android."
"But I know that the reason can't be that superficial, and this time… Iris is wrong. Right?"
Hearing Alpha's words, Christian couldn't help but wonder what kind of idealized image she had built of him inside her head. And without even pretending to deny it, he shamelessly said, "Unfortunately, you're wrong. And your master is that superficial."
"The reason you don't have that many weapons installed in your body, just a few lethal ones?"
"It's for aesthetic reasons, obviously!"
Christian, who was now completely absorbed in his amusing conversation with Alpha, didn't notice anything around him. But then, someone with silent steps approached his side and spoke:
"Excuse me, would you mind if I join you for a moment? I'd like to have a word, if that's alright."