Several moments passed yet the Loli heard nothing come out of Arthur's mouth so she snapped at him

"What are you waiting for? Release me this instant, I saved your life!"

The girl started speaking endlessly, she didn't even give him the time to speak so all he could do was massage his temples as he waited for a chance but when more than five minutes passed yet this kid was still complaining, Arthur shouted loudly in her face:

"SHUT UP!"

His voice was quite loud and surprising, the girl's face had a dumb expression when she was yelled at. Soon after, she started shedding tears, her face turned red and she started crying like a baby, which only made the situation worse.

Arthur didn't particularly hate kids but he strongly disliked this girl, she was about the same age as Saly yet their attitudes are vastly different.

"*hik* *hik* y-you don't have to be t-this mean... I,I saved your l-life...*hik*"

Her arrogant behavior vanished in an instant, she turned into a literal crybaby. Witnessing this scene, Arthur started having headaches, he didn't come here to please a kid but to find the AI controlling this office.

"You saved me and I cannot be more grateful but I didn't come all the way here to thank you, I came seeking the AI residing in this office."

The girl rubbed her watery eyes and her stuffed noise then replied

"I-It's gone. When I was thrown here, they deleted the original AI."

"Then who's the one controlling the System in this world?"

"It should be a more advanced AI, o-one that controls several outcast worlds close to each other and Astria just happens to be within its range."

'So Zodiak's notes were right, we just were too late and arrived only after it was 'deleted'.' Arthur stood there, absent-minded, as he pondered about this situation. With the AI gone, his trip to this place was fruitless and a complete waste of time.

With his current body, traveling to Earth is doable as he could rip space and make use of his Space Magic to create an appropriate tunnel.

It'll take a bit more time since he didn't have Earth's exact coordination, nevertheless, it's feasible. The reason he came here was to find more information about the Primordial Energy and its locations, moreover, he needed specific locations of an Ore called Dark Onyx and Night Crystals. The latter is easier to find since they grow in desolate lands and caves where there's no light but the Dark Onyx is a very rare metal that cannot be found anywhere, even Zodiak's storage didn't have it.

To fix Makaze and transform it back to its original form, he needs those two materials and along with his Maxed Blacksmithing, Enchanting, and Rune Crafting, repairing his partner would be an easy feat.

He so dearly missed his family and wants to meet them right this moment but he learned the hard way that he should never rush things again.

"Wait, Arthur. If she's the same from before then she should be some sort of AI too, although her being Human is incomprehensible, if we could get on her good side and use her knowledge then it's the same as getting a true AI."(Copy)

Arthur had already thought of such method, it's just that spending most of his time with her accompanying him is very tiresome and he wouldn't want to experience such a thing if possible.

Although unwilling, Arthur forced a friendly smile to this unlikable kid and said

"It's a bit late but what your name?"

as if she was waiting for such a question, the girl replied instantly

"My given name is Lolitta but I prefer the name Meredith."

"So, Lolittla, what say you leaving this place? I'm thinking about going to EARTH."

He increased his tone when he said the last word because he knew that she was a fan of the thing from Earth. The headphones, the movie from before and some of the furniture in this room all came from Earth, thinking logically, this girl is definitely loves that planet, or more precisely, its technology.

Lolitta was dumbfounded for a few seconds before she answered with a tone full of excitement

"Earth?! Did you say earth?! I wanna go! Take me there!"

The girl clung into his legs and didn't let go no matter how he tried to push her off. The moment she heard he was planning to visit Earth, she became super glue as he latched herself to his legs and resisted even when he used his hands to push her face, which had saliva all over it from all the drooling.

'As I thought, this was a very bad idea.'

"Hahahah, no need to be so pessimistic, short time losses for long-term gains, hahahaha."

As he watched what's happening, his copy rolled on the floor and laughed loudly, he was enjoying the look of despair and loss Arthur was showing when the girl was clinging to him and pleading him to take her. It didn't seem she was listening to his words, he already agreed to take her yet she repeated her begging as if she turned deaf, this further annoyed Arthur.

After things calmed down, Arthur came to understand why the girl was so desperate. First, any AI inside an office cannot leave it even if it wants to, not only would it notify the AI presiding over the whole region, it'll also inflict it with a weak Virus that acts like a tracking device, which allows the System to locate it and dispatch troops to kill it.

Secondly, as expected, the girl had long since yearned to travel to Earth. It could be said that the culture of the Humans there attracted her and picked her interest and since the moment of her creation, it was the only planet that was 'fun'.

What came to another surprise is Lolitta's real age, although her act and appearance were that of a kid, she, supposedly, lived for more than one hundred and fifty years.

When he asked why she's this childish, excluding the long phrases she spouted complaining, she explained that from the point of view of the System, an AI which is a century and half old is considered very, very young.

....

Arthur and Lolitta, who only brought a small teddy bear from her room, were at the top of the stairs from earlier, the same ones which led Arthur downward.

They were only a meter away from the surface yet the girl was reluctant to take that final step, she kept saying that she'll die and refused no matter how Arthur insisted.

Finally, the copy decided to house her temporarily inside the ARK. Since she was considered an AI albeit being human, she could be absorbed inside the endless space too.

The second she entered the ARK and saw a person exactly like Arthur but without the scars or the grey hair, the girl was startled but she regained her senses quite quickly and proceeded in praising his current appearance, saying that the him outside was scary looking and resembled those perverted old man lurking in the slums of poor countries on Earth.

Using this method, Lolitta was able to safely bypass the virus and the tracking, not only that, she finally escaped this office, which she came to dislike after spending a long time in here.

She also created a temporary acting AI that resembles her, it was only meant to fool the System for a while until she gets away. At least, if she stays inside the ARK, there's very little chance that she'll be discovered but if she pulls a trick like the one from last time and shifts a virus' target, she'll be immediately discovered.

"Oh ohh, this place is awesome, it's fully customizable."

Lolitta looked around and only saw white space, she sneaked a glance at the copy then used her powers to change how the world looked. Unfortunately, the second the world started turning pink in color, a strong and suffocating power was unleashed from the floating cube next to the copy.

This power dispelled all of Lolitta's effort, forcing her to her knees and make her pant heavily as she felt that the cube sucked her out of her power, leaving her practically powerless.

"Missy, when invited to someone's home, you must act modest and polite and not create havoc."

The girl looked at the copy in disbelief then pointed her finger at him whilst exclaiming

"Yyy-you're not Arthur!"

With his right hand placed on his chest, the copy performed a small bow and answered

"Indeed, I am not. You can call me his copy, I reside inside this world and would very much appreciate if you leave this place unchanged."

Unlike her usual stubbornness, Lolitta silently nodded her head. Although the copy was more than friendly and always had a smile hanging on his face, she felt some kind of unease when confronting him. With Arthur, she could afford to be unruly but when facing his copy, it's like there are limits she shouldn't cross.