The Ministry of Defense couldn't focus solely on me anyway.

What I needed to do before any surprise inspection was clear. First, create a dummy of Sonia, and second, deceive the government in the meantime.

I felt like a villain for deceiving my country, but what could I do? Sonia's safety was my safety.

The problem was how to accompany Sonia while fooling the government's watchful eyes.

Surprisingly, the solution was simple.

"Wow, it really suits you," Sonia remarked with a lifeless exclamation.

"Young master, you may turn around now."

"...Wow."

Ireh stood before me dressed in a maid uniform.

She had made her eyes completely white with contact lenses and temporarily dyed her hair from black to a slightly navy blue.

Identical.

There were two Sonias now.

Ireh trembled slightly, clutching the hem of her skirt.

"...Do I really have to do this?"

"You only need to do this until my dummy is made. This trick won't work for more than a month anyway."

"..."

Ireh silently bowed her head.

Zernya marveled, "They really look alike. If Sonia were a real person, they could pass as sisters without raising suspicion."

"Speaking of which, Miss Zernya, aren't you almost identical to Miss Seti except for your eye color?"

"That's because we're distant relatives."

"No, Sonia. I can tell Zernya and Seti apart. Seti is taller."

"Shut up, Rustila."

"I'm just stating facts. Did I hurt your feelings?"

Leaving Rustila and Zernya to their bickering, I examined Ireh from different angles while trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. This much is nothing..."

Ireh answered in a small voice, her face bright red.

"We did this before when we entered the Adelbein main house together. It's not your first time, so it's okay. This level of embarrassment is nothing compared to when you were tormented by the Outer Gods, n-nothing at a-all—ack!"

She even bit her tongue.

She must be incredibly embarrassed.

***

While Ireh disguised herself as Sonia, Sonia also disguised herself as Ireh. Sonia's makeup skills were so excellent that it was easy to confuse the two.

And one more thing.

To thoroughly deceive outsiders, we decided to call Sonia "Ireh" and Ireh "Sonia" when we were outside. Naturally, their roles were also reversed.

Ireh would pour coffee, and Sonia would read academic papers.

They were essentially acting as each other.

Yes, it's complicated. Without staying alert, it would be difficult to tell who was who.

Perhaps because of this?

The next day.

I made a small mistake as soon as I arrived at work.

"Sonia, did you see that paper?"

"Master, I'm not in a position to be reading papers."

"...Ah, right."

Ireh was currently acting as Sonia. But since she needed to continue her studies, she studied when no one was watching. Seeing this, I inevitably became confused.

Rustle, rustle.

Sonia turned a page and said, "You're just not used to it yet. The mistakes will decrease with time."

"What book are you reading, Miss Ireh?"

"This? It's a novel called 'Do Androids Dream of New Brides?' It's about love between artificial intelligence and humans. Quite interesting."

Seeing someone with Ireh's appearance reading such a book created a strange dissonance.

"And Sonia, don't you usually call Eidel 'young master' rather than 'master'?"

"...That's right. Young master."

"Be careful not to use different titles consciously. Those kinds of words are only for the bedroom."

"W-wait a minute! Such indecent talk...!"

"Shh."

Heavy footsteps could be heard from beyond the door.

We held our breath, only moving our eyes.

The footsteps gradually faded away.

Fortunately, it was just someone passing by.

"It's a good thing this is Eidel's private lab. If someone else had heard, it might have raised unnecessary suspicion. Don't say such things so openly."

"...Understood."

Ireh nodded and murmured. She stopped brewing coffee and made a small sound. "Oh, we're out of syrup. I'll go downstairs to buy some."

"Thanks."

Ireh left quickly, moving with the lightness of an assassin. It was definitely not the way Sonia would move.

But that might actually be good.

That level of skill might be necessary for the Ministry of Defense to mistake Ireh for Sonia.

As I was nodding to myself, Sonia stood up. She glanced outside once, then suddenly closed the door.

"Miss Ireh...?"

"Shh, young master."

Sonia, wearing Ireh's disguise, grinned.

"Honestly, wouldn't it be okay?"

"What would?"

"In this enclosed space, just the two of us, to act like lovers."

This is insane.

I should have known when I saw Sonia reading that romance novel.

"Priscilla also mingles bodies with her master, so why can't I?"

"Who the hell is Priscilla?!"

"She's the android from that novel."

Sonia straddled me, spreading her legs.

"Since taking this body, I haven't even held hands with you. I won't ask to go all the way, just a little..."

My mind went blank.

To be intimate with Sonia, who had become half-human, while Rustila and Zernya were elsewhere—it was practically one step away from committing adultery.

Moreover.

"Miss Ireh, you shouldn't do this."

Right now, Sonia was disguised as Ireh. If even our breath touched, I wouldn't be able to face her due to the guilt.

I desperately continued the act.

"It's about Miss Ireh and me. We're just research colleagues. This isn't good for either of us."

But Sonia paid no attention and brought her face closer.

"You know, don't you, young master? That I'm not Miss Ireh."

"..."

"People value inner character more than appearance. The same goes for robots. Otherwise, there would be no explanation for why you were so depressed when I lost my memories."

"That's not important. This is adultery! It's troubling when you act like this! I can't face Rustila and Zernya..."

"As long as we don't get caught, it's fine, isn't it?"

"Sonia, you...!"

My words were cut short. Sonia grabbed my chin with both hands and pressed her lips against mine.

A sensation clearly different from silicone. Soft skin accompanied by warm breath.

Sonia slowly wrapped her arms around the back of my head. Even if I wanted to push her away, I couldn't. No exaggeration—her grip was incredibly strong.

A sweet, flower-like fragrance filled my head.

"Haah..."

It was about twenty seconds before Sonia removed her lips.

"Regrettably, this is where we end today. It was a pleasant sensation. Thank you, young master."

While I was staring blankly into space, Sonia got off my lap. Just then, Ireh opened the door and entered.

"Huff, huff."

Ireh was panting. Her face was flushed. She held a bottle of syrup in her hand. After quickly closing the door, she expressed her frustration.

"So embarrassing. I want to die from embarrassment..."

"Sonia. Your manner of speech."

"Ugh... I apologize, young master."

Sonia winked at me behind Ireh's back.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Ireh didn't seem to notice anything.

In less than three minutes.

During that time, Sonia had stolen a kiss from me. And now she was sitting calmly in her seat, continuing her reading as if nothing had happened.

A little while later, Professor Feynman came in.

"Eidel, do you have time now?"

"Yes, Professor. Are you going on a business trip?"

"The site for the particle accelerator has been confirmed. I'm going early to check on the progress and meet with other scientists. Would you like to come along?"

"Of course."

This was related to my graduation thesis, so naturally I had to go.

I quickly packed my belongings and loaded them onto the spaceship. Although it was a sudden trip, I didn't mind. My schedule was flexible since I had already completed my coursework.

"I'll come along too."

Ireh and Sonia also boarded the spaceship.

There wasn't much to do during the journey. I just yawned while lost in various thoughts. Then I noticed Ireh watching the news on a screen and quietly listened in.

[Next is news from the west. A new cult has been gaining momentum recently.]

[They claim to be a group worshipping the Outer Gods and have been carrying out terrorist attacks across various locations, centered around the eastern Manus planetary system.]

"This is..."

"Young master, look. Some strange people have started moving."

With others around, we couldn't speak openly, but both Ireh and I knew the identity of this religious group.

The Dark Holy Spirit Cult, Megnus.

A group of fanatics backed by Shterm, the highest-ranking Outer God of the Maxwell system.

Bad luck.

Of all times, these guys had to rise up now, and near the place where we were building the particle accelerator.

"The Manus planetary system is in the southwest. The war just ended, so public authority is unstable. Maybe some weird religious group is trying to take advantage of the situation."

Sonia offered a plausible theory.

Sorry, but she was wrong.

The Dark Holy Spirit Cult consisted of genuine lunatics who worshipped the Outer Gods.

They were so firmly bound by their brutal beliefs that they couldn't be bribed with money or suppressed by Rheinland's authority.

[This emerging religious group is also known to be connected with local drug cartels, contract killings, kidnappings, and prostitution. We urge those planning to visit remote areas in the west to exercise extreme caution.]

My sigh deepened.

All I could do was hope that nothing would happen.