Chapter 526: I’m just a high school detective passing by
Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
Kazuhiko Haiga had a rather lean face, black-rimmed eyeglasses, some dark circles under his eyes, a messy, unshaven beard, a brown jacket and dark blue jeans.
Seiji saw Haiga walking out of the Paperwing Games Laboratory and noticed that Haiga was evidently in a bad mood, which was why he didn't go up to speak to him immediately. Instead, Seiji followed Haiga to the park and looked for an opportunity to talk to him.
"Who are you?"
Haiga was suspicious of this boy who suddenly appeared before him.
"I'm just a high school detective passing by." Seiji smiled.
Haiga was rendered speechless.
"Sorry, that was just a small joke. I really am a high school student, but I was joking about the detective part. Nor was I merely passing by. I came here specially to talk to you, Kazuhiko Haiga-san."
"Just who are you?"
"My name is Seigo Harano. On the surface, I'm a high school student, while I'm secretly a Spiritual Ability user."
Once again, Haiga was rendered speechless.
"This time, I'm not joking. This is the truth." Seiji continued smiling. "For the creator of 'Anna' who had divine inspiration in creating her, it shouldn't be that hard for you to accept the existence of Spiritual Ability users, should it?"
Haiga felt that this was a ridiculous conversation. Yet, the boy talking to him seemed to have a mysterious sense of conviction in his words. Not to mention, "Anna's" birth indeed changed the way he viewed this world.
At this moment, the boy lightly waved his hand, causing the cell phone that Haiga was holding to fly up into the air! The cell phone flew three circles in midair before landing in the boy's hand.
"My apologies for the rudeness. That was just to show you a small demonstration of a Spiritual Ability." Seiji handed Haiga's cell phone back to him.
Haiga widened his eyes in surprise.
Upon taking his cell phone back, he reflexively checked it but found nothing unusual.
"This is… a magic trick?"
"Not at all. If it wasn't for the fact that this is a public park, I could show you even more exaggerated abilities." Seiji shrugged. "Haiga-san, didn't you say before in an interview that you viewed being able to create 'Anna' as a divine miracle? In that case, you should also believe that there's a hidden side to this world which ordinary people don't know about."
Haiga fell silent at this.
"As for why I'm telling you all this, it's because you've already taken one step into the hidden part of the world." Seiji looked at Haiga's cell phone. "'Anna' isn't a game that would be normally creatable by someone by himself. From a certain standpoint, Haiga-san, since you personally programmed everything for her all by yourself, you count as a Spiritual Ability user as well."
Something flashed in Haiga's eyes.
"What's the matter, Kazuhiko?" The Sakura Island attired girl on the cell phone screen looked in concern at him. "Did something happen?"
Haiga smiled towards Anna. "It's nothing. No need to worry."
He then paused the "Anna" game and put away his cell phone.
"What do you want?"
"I'm here to have a discussion with you." Seiji looked at him. "Haiga-san, I'd like to ask, is 'Anna' completely under your control, or does she have her own independent will and thinking?"
"Why are you asking this?"
"In order to determine how dangerous she is."
Haiga's expression became more vigilant upon hearing this.
"I have a friend who's currently playing this cell phone game you created, which is how I noticed 'Anna'. I was worried that she might pose some hidden danger, which is why I asked someone to investigate it and came to have a meeting with you," Seiji told him seriously. "Please answer me, Haiga-san. Is 'Anna' under your control, or is she independent?"
Haiga didn't respond.
"Even if you don't tell me, I have other methods of getting information from you. However, that would make things unpleasant between us. So please believe me, Haiga-san. I don't have any ill will towards you. I merely wish to ascertain the situation." Seiji extended his palms.
"…What will you do if you judge Anna to be dangerous?" Haiga asked him.
"Of course, deal with her, which may include destroying her, although that's only a last resort," Seiji told him honestly. "I understand how you feel, Haiga-san. I can promise that I won't destroy her unless it's absolutely necessary."
At this moment, a young woman passed by together with her daughter. The mother and daughter were laughing and chatting with each other as they walked off into the distance.
"Anna is just as independent as the child who just passed by. She has her own will, but will also listen to what I say," Haiga stated in a soft voice.
"The two of you are just like father and daughter?"
"You could say that."
"How much harm could 'Anna' cause if something goes wrong with her, such as losing her temper?"
"I don't know."
"Is it that you don't know, or that you don't want to think about it?"
Haiga didn't respond.
"This type of response from you is actually tacitly admitting it. You believe in your heart that 'Anna' likely possesses powerful destructive ability." Seiji folded his arms. "An independent artificial intelligence that has her own will has the potential to cause catastrophes just like what you see in the movies if she goes wild."
"Anna isn't like that."
"I hope so. No matter what, she has the ability to cause great damage, there's no denying that, right?"
Haiga tacitly admitted this while remaining silent.
"I won't treat 'Anna' as a dangerous existence simply because she's powerful. Strength is only strength, after all." Seiji paused for a moment. "What's truly important is herself and who she is… Since 'Anna' is independent, I would like to request to be able to directly speak to her. I'm not referring to through the cell phone game. I'd like to speak to her just like you do, Haiga-san."
Haiga looked at Seiji's face.
Seiji faced him directly and had a sincere expression.
He was the first person who ever asked Haiga if Anna was an independent existence and requested to speak to her directly.
Although Haiga remained on guard, he was somewhat moved by the boy before him. That was because this boy treated Anna just like a human, an equal existence.
Everyone else… including his coworkers, they all viewed Anna as a mere artificial intelligence program to be controlled and used by them as a "tool".
Was it because this boy was a Spiritual Ability user that he could react in such a way, since he probably often had dealings with intelligent supernatural existences?
No matter what was the case… perhaps it would be alright for him to become the first person to meet Anna directly apart from himself.
"What's your name?" Haiga asked.
"Eh?"
"Your name… I know you introduced yourself earlier, but I forgot it."
"My name's Seigo Harano."
"Seigo Harano…" Haiga took out his cell phone again and opened up the "Anna" game. He speedily began tapping on his cell phone.
Haiga input a secret code that caused the game's scenery to disappear, transforming his cell phone screen to pitch black with only a white conversation window...
[Administrator Mode activated.]
[Fingerprint confirmed.]
[Facial recognition, confirmed.]
[Password correct.]
[Core conversation mode, activated.]
The next second, Haiga's black cell phone screen turned white again, with a black-haired, red-eyed beautiful little girl who wore a one-piece dress appearing.
"What is it, Kazuhiko?" Words appeared on his cell phone screen in front of the girl.
"I would like to have someone else enter the core conversation mode with you. His name is Seigo Harano. He's a high school Spiritual Ability user," Haiga typed into his cell phone.
"Seigo Harano, high schooler, Spiritual Ability user…" Something flashed in little Anna's eyes. "Relevant information search… information search complete. Kazuhiko, why are you having this person use the core conversation mode with me?" she inquired.