"Done. Work's finished."
[Little Herta] dusted off her hands, even though there was no dust, and looked with satisfaction at the brand-new Svarog before her—the large hole in his chest was perfectly filled with precise new silver components, the dents at his joints were repaired, and even his outer shell had been wiped and polished, faintly reflecting the clinic's lights.
Except for his gaze (electronic eyes), which seemed a bit sluggish from just rebooting, he looked even more energetic than before he was beaten up.
She glanced at the small pile of remaining parts and materials on the workbench, her eyes brightening slightly: "Hmm... the specifications and surplus of these scraps... are just enough to give the galatron a basic upgrade, and by the way..."
She turned to Sampo, who had been rubbing his hands with an expectant smile on his face the whole time.
"Time to settle your payment."
Sampo's eyes instantly turned into the shape of Credit Points, his waist bent even lower, and his voice was so sycophantic it could drip honey: "Hehehe, oh wise and beautiful lady with hands that can alter destiny! You are truly too generous! I wonder what you plan to bestow upon old Sampo... uh, some little high-tech souvenir?"
"A treasure-hunting robot."
[Little Herta] replied without hesitation, as if this were the most natural payment in the world.
She didn't even stop what she was doing—while speaking, she had already picked up parts and micro-tools, her fingers moving so fast they left afterimages, picking and choosing from that pile of "scraps," welding and assembling.
The clinic quieted down, leaving only the faint sounds of welding and the light clicks of parts locking together.
Everyone stared at [Little Herta] in a daze—while distracted by talking to Sampo, she was assembling those seemingly ordinary parts into something with a complex structure and geometric beauty at a dazzling speed.
Just a few minutes later, [Little Herta] stopped and casually tossed something to Sampo.
Sampo caught it in a flurry, and upon closer inspection, he saw it was a silver-gray "spider" robot, about the size of a washbasin, with eight mechanical legs tucked against its sides and a flat, round body.
Its shell was smooth, and there was a simple indicator light in the center, currently emitting a soft blue glow.
"Here, your payment."
[Little Herta]'s tone was flat, as if she hadn't just built a high-tech robot, but had merely put together some building blocks.
"It has basic detection, terrain scanning, simple excavation, and danger warning functions. It's self-powered and the operation is idiot-proof. It's enough for your 'treasure hunting'."
Sampo held the spider robot, turning it over and over, the smile on his face becoming more and more exaggerated until it practically reached his ears: "Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! This craftsmanship! This design! This... this utilitarian aesthetic that shines through everywhere! My lady, you are truly a kindred spirit to Sampo! This deal is just—too worth it!"
He carefully tucked the robot into the inner layer of his coat, which seemed to have an unscientific capacity, afraid of damaging it even slightly.
"Old Sampo is going to go test out its capabilities now! The road to treasure hunting brooks no delay! Folks, see you later!"
He waved at everyone and slipped out of the clinic as if he had greased his feet, his retreating figure exuding an air of excitement that screamed "I'm going to make a fortune."
"Sister Herta... thank you."
Clara walked to [Little Herta]'s side, tilted her little face up, and bowed to thank her very earnestly; her eyes were still red, but they were sparkling.
"Small matter."
[Little Herta] waved her little hand without looking up, already focused on dismantling the outer armor of her three-meter-tall, yet somewhat blustering, galatron.
"Don't bother me; I'm going to upgrade my 'big toy.' Fixing that hunk of iron just now gave me some new inspiration."
Clara nodded obediently and turned to run toward Svarog, who was standing quietly in place.
She reached out her little hand with some trepidation, gently tugged on Svarog's cold fingers, and called out softly: "Mr. Svarog... are... are you still there? Can you hear Clara?"
As if activated by this call, the radiator inside Svarog's head emitted a slight "hum—", and the electronic eyes on his head suddenly lit up with a familiar, steady red glow.
He slowly lowered his head, his mechanical neck making a slight, well-lubricated sound as it turned, and the red light focused on Clara's face.
"Clara."
His deep, steady synthesized voice rang out, seemingly with a hint of a more gentle tone that was hard to detect.
He nodded, his movements smooth and natural.
"Wuu... that's great! Mr. Svarog! That's really great!"
Clara's tears welled up again, but this time they were tears of joy.
She rushed forward, hugging Svarog's thick, sturdy metal leg tightly, her little face pressed against it.
Svarog's processor seemed to pause for a fraction of a second.
Then, he slowly and extremely carefully crouched down his massive body, extended his huge metal palms, and with a gentleness completely at odds with his size, lifted Clara up, held her steadily in his arms, and stood up straight again.
Holding Clara, Svarog's electronic eyes scanned the people in the clinic, finally lingering for a moment on [Cocolia], who was watching with her arms crossed.
"Based on the experience of being repaired after being destroyed, and the observation and analysis of your subsequent actions..."
Svarog's voice echoed in the clinic.
"Logic recalculated. Now, I believe you, [Cocolia], and your companions, have not been bewitched or completely dominated by the Stellaron's power."
His reasoning was very "Svarog-esque": "You possess the power to cause large-scale destruction, yet you chose to repair rather than destroy; your goals are clearly directed toward resolving the Stellaron itself; and... you were willing to expend resources for the sake of a robot and Clara's request."
He paused, then added.
"These behavioral patterns have a match rate of less than 5% with typical cases of Stellaron erosion."
"Therefore, conclusion updated."
Svarog, holding Clara, took a step forward, his metal feet making a solid sound as they hit the floor.
"I, Svarog, and the resources of the mechanical settlement I control, agree to cooperate with you. We will go to the Upper District, confront the Stellaron of Jarilo-VI, and attempt to execute that... 'Hope Variable' plan."
Seele whispered to Stelle: "Good grief, does this count as being beaten into submission, then repaired, and then figuring things out along the way?"
Stella looked at Clara, who was being carefully held by Svarog and was smiling through her tears, as well as [Little Herta], who was already hammering away at the galatron and humming an unknown tune, and [Cocolia], who had an expression that said "wouldn't it have been better if it was like this sooner," and rubbed her chin.
"It seems that 'physical persuasion' combined with 'after-sales maintenance,' plus a little 'emotional offensive,' is... extremely effective against a seven-hundred-year-old Old Timer robot?"
Dan Heng nodded and summarized: "Regardless, the biggest obstacle in the Lower District has now become an asset. The plan can proceed to the next stage."
March 7th had already sidled up to [Little Herta], curiously watching her upgrade the galatron: "[Little Herta], after this upgrade, will it still creak when it walks?"
[Little Herta] didn't even look up: "No, after the upgrade, it will become an 'efficient and quiet creak'."
Everyone: "..."