[I came] (Bird)
"Whoa! ...Hey, that's the little mechanical bird I met a long time ago!!" (Mile)
A few days after Mile met the mechanical wolf, something familiar appeared in the Crimson Vow's room of the inn.
...From the window.
Yes, it was the small bird-shaped support robot that had appeared as a messenger a little over half a year ago, before the final battle with the monsters that had invaded from another world, and guided them on the way to meet the Slow Walker.
Its blocky metal body, exposed rivets, and mismatched eyes that made it hard to tell where it's looking were unsettling.
Those who know about it would all recall the name Chika, a creepy little bird that would likely be traumatizing to young children and cause them to cry at night if they saw it.
...Yes, it was a liaison officer with the same concept as the mechanical wolf that Mile met the other day.
(Maybe the development department, or rather the design staff, are the same...) (Mile's mind)
Mile was thinking about such trivial things.
The other three didn't seem to be bothered.
Everyone was acquainted with this little mechanical bird and classifies it as an acquaintance of Mile, so they probably recognize it just like the ancient dragons, Slow Walker, Scavenger, Golem, and other non-human creatures.
Among them, she was the cutest.
...Mainly in the sense that they didn't have the ability to kill humans.
However, that's just what Reina and the other two would think.
If it was inheriting the technology of the ancient civilization, then with a volume this large it should be no problem to fit a beam weapon into it.
It might also have a technique where it covered its entire body in flames and charged at their opponent.
Perhaps that was why it had no wings or feathers on its body.
"Did you take the trouble to fly all the way from the other continent? How far could it travel across the ocean with such a small body?" (Mile)
When Mile raised this question...
[The body was created here. The thought routines and memories were transferred and transcribed. It is impossible to think of us as the same individual.] (Bird)
"Eh… So, you remember everything that happened with us on the other continent, and your personalities are all still intact. However, the one from that time is still on the other continent..." (Mile)
[Yes] (Bird)
"So robots can use those kinds of techniques... Little Mecha Bird is not the name of a single individual. The one who uses the techniques of Little Mecha Bird is in fact a Little Mecha Bird...? A kind of immortality, an eternal existence... And since there's no problem with this child being with us, and we have a track record of working together, albeit for a short period of time, I guess that's why you were chosen to replace the mechanical wolf... Well, it won't alarm other people and you can hide it in your pocket or bag. It must be boring to put it away, so I feel bad for that..." (Mile)
Since storage magic caused time to pass inside, the person inside would likely have a lot of free time.
It's pitch black, so you couldn't even kill time by reading.
...Although this little robot bird probably didn't read books.
With this body, it's not a problem to hold a book open or turn the pages...
Since it was a robot, unlike living things, it would not die from running out of water or air, so there was some relief...
Even for a living thing, even Mile's capacity would be able to hold a fair amount of air, and it would be fine to replenish water and food and change the air along the way, but the Mile's storage space was so large that it would be difficult to tell where the water barrels or food were in the pitch blackness, which would make things quite difficult.
...Well, when Mile stored living things, she didn't use storage magic but put them in a time-stopping item box, so there's no problem. As long as the other person didn't mind if they found out about the item box...
"Oh, what about the communication?" (Mile)
[The communications network has been established. A small built-in communications device can be connected to the internet via a repeater.] (Bird)
"I see... but, that means, I just need a communication device, right? If there's a repeater, the wavelength is short and the output is small, so we don't need the mechanical bird, right?" (Mile)
[...I am not needed...] (Bird)
"Oh no, that's not true! You're not an unwanted child!" (Mile)
[......] (Bird)
Mile hurried to help the dejected Little Mecha-Bird.
Somehow, the way it reacted was quite different from when it was a dog... a wolf type.
Maybe it's because they had known each other for a long time, or maybe it's because it looked weak...
By the way, she hadn't told Reina and the other two about the dog that made contact with her the other day...the wolf type.
"Even so, the conversation routine seems to have improved a lot compared to last time... …Wait, an internet connection?!" (Mile)
The Little Mecha-Bird said earlier that "It can be connected to the Internet via a repeater."
The wolf was standalone, but that was possible because of its volume.
With a mechanical bird of its size, it would be impossible for it to have that level of performance on its own.
However, if an internet connection was available, assistance from a server was possible.
Maybe they kept it constantly connected to something that walks slowly (Slow Walker)...
(...and even though it is being directly controlled by Slow Walker, it behaves as if it is a standalone in order to create a sense of familiarity...) (Mile's mind)
Mile was thinking about this, but even if she told Reina and the other two, they probably wouldn't understand.
And even if that was the case, it didn't have any ill will towards Mile and her party, it just probably wanted to interact with Mile in a natural way, so Mile decided not to worry about it.
Mile didn't really care who the other person was.
Not the identity of the other party, but whether they had ill will towards them, and whether they would just keep it to themselves or act on it.
Mile's response to others was determined solely by what they had done and what they would do in the future.
Everything else was irrelevant.
(No, maybe that’s not the case. Maybe the Slow Walker wouldn’t even think of trying to deceive me. To trick the administrator… Ah! Nano-chan...) (Mile's mind)
[Huh? Whaaaaat? You're getting the blame and damaging our reputation, Mile-sama! We would never deceive the existence of level 7 authority...] (Nano)
(What? It's like you're saying that those with lower authority levels will be deceived...) (Mile)
[Ah...] (Nano)
(And even if you don't lie, you may intentionally omit necessary information or mislead...) (Mile)
[...] (Nano)
(Look, you're quiet!) (Mile)
[......] (Nano)
"...le! Mile!" (Reina)
"Ah……" (Mile)
"Put your conversation with your imaginary friend aside for now and find out what this creepy bird is here for this time! It's gone out of its way to chase us all the way to the Western Continent, so surely it can't be that it's telling us that monsters are attacking again, right!" (Reina)
As expected, Reina had no idea what the Little Mecha-Bird was talking about being a separate entity, and it seemed to go in one ear and out the other.