Chapter 63 It’s your Freedom to Accept or Not

"Wah! Mr. Svarog, is the sky above going to collapse?"

Clara shrank behind Svarog, timidly tugging at his coat, her voice trembling.

Svarog also looked up at the top layer, where the Belobog greenhouse effect device was obscured by the residual steam from the machinery. His large mechanical hand gently rested on Clara's head.

"According to the inspection results, the core hub has not shown any abnormalities. The upper mechanical shafts and the geomarrow energy pipelines are still functioning normally. The probability of the upper district collapsing on its own is less than 1.15%. The likelihood of external factors causing the collapse is estimated at 77.85%, with other possibilities accounting for the remainder..."

"Hmm, external factors? In that case, will Sister Venti be okay?"

After realizing that the sky wasn’t falling as she had feared, Clara mustered some courage and peeked out, her expression filled with worry.

"She told me she’d be staying in the upper district for a while."

"The bard’s emergency evasion capabilities are strong, and he possesses keen insight. The base probability of him encountering an accident is only 0.600%."

Svarog analyzed the situation methodically.

However, this response stirred up a bit of resentment in Clara, though she hid it well. The way she suddenly let go of his coat and fidgeted slightly was enough for Svarog to notice.

After a pause, he corrected himself, "What I mean is—he will be safe. There’s no need to worry."

Hearing this reassurance, Clara relaxed a little and smiled softly.

"Hehe. Mr. Svarog sometimes says things that make people worry."

"...I will retain the conversation log and compare it with the results of the last fifty conversations. I will not edit the existing data for now."

Svarog’s mechanical eyes flickered briefly before he lowered his head and asked, "Clara, do you want to go look for the bard?"

"Eh? Look for Sister Venti? I am a bit worried about whether she might run into trouble, but everyone in the settlement, and Mr. Svarog, also need me."

Clara hesitated.

"What if everyone gets hungry or falls ill while I’m away..."

"The people living here all have their own skills, Clara."

Svarog’s gaze seemed to follow the network of the base, observing the people camped there. His synthesized voice was steady and deep.

"They can take care of themselves and don’t solely rely on our help. Moreover, the settlement’s supplies are still plentiful. With proper distribution, they can last for a month."

"But..."

Clara was tempted, but there were still invisible chains binding her.

Even though she had the courage to venture alone to Rivet Town to search for supplies, she was still just a child who had never left the lower district.

The upper district was more of a "fantasy land" to Clara, something she only knew from records and Mr. Svarog’s stories.

She couldn’t imagine how vast the sky there might be, nor had she ever taken a nap under the sunlight or experienced the scenery of the outside world.

These were all invisible shackles that made it hard for her to make a decision, so she turned to Mr. Svarog for help.

She muttered softly, "Does Mr. Svarog want me to go look for Sister Venti?"

"I will not interfere with your choice. Therefore, to put it in human terms—"

Svarog, who was always rational and seemed to act based solely on calculations, spoke in a gentle, fatherly tone at this moment.

" It’s your freedom to accept or not."

After his conversation with the bard, he had come to understand certain truths that seemed paradoxical to a machine.

Human actions are difficult to predict. There is no single optimal solution, and any possibility can give rise to new outcomes, gradually forming variables that cannot be reversed.

Even he could only continuously sift through and eliminate anomalies from these calculation results, repeating the process until he found the outcome that was infinitely close to the correct answer.

But this didn’t mean he would convey the anomalous calculation results to Clara. She should have her own thoughts and not simply live as an appendage to him.

Clara is a human, not an automaton. She deserves the privilege of "willfulness" that children her age should have.

Fostering Clara’s independence and supporting her in pursuing what she wants—that is what family is about.

This trusting response left Clara in a brief silence.

But the girl’s gradually brightening crimson eyes held a glimmer of something similar to the bard.

"...I understand. Mr. Svarog wants me to prioritize my own will, right?"

"Exactly."

Svarog nodded slightly.

A feeling that could be described as "pride" welled up within him.

This actually didn’t align with his original design principles. As an ancient relic from the old world, an automatic control unit left behind from the era of the Geomarrow Exploration Team, Svarog was different from most mindless machines that only followed commands. He possessed complex thinking abilities but, strictly speaking, did not have "emotional intelligence."

Yet now, he could feel this emotion that warmed his mechanical body and filled his core reactor as if it were "fully charged."

He couldn’t calculate the exact factor that had caused this change in him, but... he could temporarily assume the result was—Clara, his family.

While Svarog was lost in thought, Clara crossed the first hurdle and boldly asked, "...Hmm, in that case, can I invite Mr. Svarog to come with me?"

"—Request approved."

Svarog replied as calmly as ever.

At the same time, he uploaded his arrangements to the base’s internal network.

The Mechanical Settlement, formed around the manned shaft, was originally the scientific research base of the old Geomarrow Exploration Team, known as the "Core." Many of the facilities left behind had fallen into disrepair, but there were still many usable parts.

After years of repairs and modifications, the number of automatons in the mechanical network had exceeded a hundred, and most of the vagrants living here had grown fond of robots. Over time, they had also picked up some mechanical skills.

Additionally, the settlement was equipped with automated turrets to fend off attacks and an impenetrable base gate. Without a pass, breaking in would be extremely difficult.

Therefore, unless a leader monster led a horde of monsters to directly assault the Mechanical Settlement during his and Clara’s absence, the likelihood of the settlement falling was very low.

Currently, the Fragmentum erosion in the lower district was concentrated in Rivet Town and had not spread outward.

Even if such a possibility arose, the bard would surely notice. The wind that lingered here was different from ordinary air currents—it had a "spiritual" quality.

Although Svarog didn’t understand how the bard achieved this, he believed that with his abilities, protecting the people here would be simple.

As for how the bard would come down?

That question was never within Svarog’s calculations.

Although the manned shaft was the only way to reach the surface nearby when the upper cable car wasn’t operational, the bard had never actually used it to come and go. Clearly, he relied on his wind-controlling abilities to move freely.

In other words, all factors interfering with Svarog and Clara’s ascent had been eliminated. All that remained was to take the manned shaft up.

After all, aside from fulfilling Clara’s wish, he also wanted to see for himself the "big hole" in the sky that the automaton network had mentioned.