The lab, which I hadn't visited in a while, was overflowing with a sense of everyday life, somehow.
In one corner of the sterile lab, a small sleeping area had been set up.
A rabbit hutch...?
"By any chance, do you live here?"
"Recently, yeah."
Haiyan gave a wry smile.
A question suddenly occurred to me.
"Where do you normally live?"
"...At first, I bought a mansion. A massive three-story estate in the noble district — spacious, with a garden featuring a fountain and a hero statue."
"Huh."
"But it was too big for a rabbit to live in."
"That's fair."
A rabbit is perfectly fine in a rabbit hutch.
Incidentally, it was way too much space to live in alone, too.
"So I got rid of it after about three days."
"That's way too fast."
"After that, do you remember the first Haiyan Trading Company location?"
"It was on the second floor of a warehouse, I think."
"I live in that office now."
What a whiplash.
"So what is this thing you wanted to show me?"
"That thing is already behind you!"
"Huh?"
I turn around, and there... what is that? Something is floating.
It's white but not round. Two long... things like rabbit ears stick up from it.
A stylized rabbit head?
"Haiyan's final product?"
"What are you on about? That's Uniton. An exploration support unit."
"Support unit... Uniton?"
Is this some kind of mascot character?
"I'm thinking of doing a trial run during the next dungeon city exploration."
"Ohh, what can it do?"
"All the support you need for exploration. Light orbs, scouting, and mapping are the basics, but it can also start fires, set up tents, and cook."
"Cook?"
"But only simple stuff."
"How about rabbit stew?"
"Why that selection? It could, but I won't let it!"
"How about mixed meat stew?"
"It can make that."
"How?"
"I'll show you. We're moving to your room."
"Got it."
So, in my room.
I prepare the ingredients for the mixed meat stew in the kitchen.
Mixed meat. Seasonings. Water. Leafy greens. Root vegetables.
The leafy greens and root vegetables are already prepped.
"All right. First, hold the yuniton."
I do as I'm told and pick up the yuniton.
It's bigger than a bowling ball or basketball, but not too heavy.
"There's a lid on the top, right?"
"This one?"
"Open that."
I open it as instructed.
"Now what?"
"Put the ingredients in there."
"..."
I think about the order for a second.
First, I pour in the water, then the leafy greens and root vegetables.
Next, the mixed meat and seasonings.
"Close the lid and set the timer on the back."
About… ten minutes, give or take.
"Now just flip the panel switch below and wait."
That one. I flipped the switch.
It hummed to life with a low whirr. That's when a question popped into my head.
"You can set up a tent, right?"
"I can."
"How?"
"Let me show you. Do you have tent equipment?"
"Of course."
"Then let's set it up in the courtyard."
Honestly, things have been pretty hit-or-miss so far.
We moved to the courtyard and I pulled out the tent equipment.
Cooking's already been a thing. Could this really work?
"Alright. Let's do this. Tent setup. Setup!"
"Setup initiated."
"It talked!?"
"It also has voice output."
"And it's a woman's voice I've heard before, at that."
"It's synthesized from recorded voices of the Heyaan Girls, used as a sample."
"I see."
Then holes opened on both sides of the Uniton.
From them, numerous slender iron arms emerged.
Without wasting a motion, they drove in pegs, spread out the sheet, threaded the rope, and set up the tent.
Whoa... no, wait.
"How about that. Pretty amazing, right?"
"It's certainly impressive, but if they're that dexterous, couldn't those arms cook too?"
"......!?"
What was that shocked face, like they'd just realized such a thing existed?
They looked like they were about to say they hadn't noticed at all.
"They can't?"
"They can't."
"Can you make them?"
"......Another all-nighter, I suppose..."
Hayaan gazed off into the distance.
"Can they start fires too?"
"They can! If you prepare the firewood, it's instant."
And so we prepared the firewood.
At Hayaan's fire signal, a flame shot out from one of the Uniton's arms.
"Whoa!?"
I was startled. It was like a flamethrower.
The firewood carbonized and burst into flames.
—See? Pretty impressive, right?
—That's incredible firepower. With this, you could take down monsters too.
—What are you talking about? Uniton can't fight.
—Wait, no, but—
—It's strictly an exploration support unit.
With that firepower?
Thinking about how dexterous those arms are, it should be able to hold and wield weapons just fine.
—It's better to have some means of self-defense, you know.
—It does have decent durability, at least.
—That still doesn't make it foolproof. Besides, you should really make it capable of combat support too.
—Is that so... I suppose you're right.
Hayaan nodded, as if mulling it over.
—Oh, right. Can it do mapping?
I could do reconnaissance on my own, but mapping would be handy.
—Oh, I'll show you. Uniton. Mapping, GO!
—Search beginning... search complete. Mapping initiated.
A scroll emerged from inside Uniton.
When the scroll was spread out on the floor, a pen and ink bottle came out of it.
It holds the pen with its arm.
"......?"
It dips the pen into the ink bottle it had skillfully opened, pulls it out, and touches the nib to the scroll.
It starts to write. Unitan carefully fills in the scroll.
Slowly, slowly, as though a person were doing the writing.
"........."
"......"
We watch in silence.
And then a rough map of the area around the lab is complete.
<Mapping complete.>
"How about that. Fully automatic mapping."
"...I suppose so."
The finished map had crooked lines and pale ink — the quality was poor.
Like a doodle by a kid who's a little good at drawing.
"........."
It's impressive and all, but somehow...
Something's off about it.
<Cooking complete.>
"Oh, it's done."
"Come to think of it, it was making that, wasn't it."
"Well then, let's give it a taste."
The rough meat soup had turned out properly.
The taste was plain. Yeah. Well, plain.
But somehow, it was satisfying.