“Apostle?” Thane said, confused. “I thought Lilly was a former cardinal?”
“It’s a pleasure, Thane Bauer,” the apostle said. “I hope your trip from the kingdom was pleasant.”
“So you really are someone else entirely. Lilly would never take such a tone with me,” he said.
“You’re too kind.” The apostle bowed like a stage actor might.
“Explain this, Claire. What is an apostle? What do you know?” Dole asked, seeming lost at sea.
Claire and I exchanged a look and nodded. It seemed it would be best if everyone understood this moving forward.
“They call themselves ‘the apostle,’” Claire said. “They claim to have ties with the Spiritual Church and also claim to manipulate the world from the shadows. I don’t know how much weight we can give those claims, however.” She sounded a little doubtful.
“Oh, but it’s all true, Claire François,” the apostle said. “I’m sure everyone is eager to learn more about the Demon Queen, so why don’t I answer any questions you might have?”
“Oh, well, isn’t that just so convenient,” William said in his usual idle tone. “Of course, we’re not going to blindly believe everything you say without question.”
“That’s fine by me,” the apostle replied. “But I swear I only speak the truth. The only concern I have is that the truth may be beyond what you can comprehend.”
“Are you questioning our intelligence?” Dole said a bit crossly.
“It’s not a matter of intelligence but a matter of your…cultural level? No, the level of your civilization, I suppose. Then again, this might not pose a problem, as Rae Taylor should be able to understand well enough for all of you.”
All eyes turned to me.
Guys, I swear I’m as lost as you are. I was getting tired of all this vague, cryptic nonsense. “Apostle, please, just give us some real answers already? Why are you and the Demon Queen giving Miss Claire and I such special treatment?”
“Oh, forgive me. Let me begin explaining in earnest. Let’s see, where should I start?”
“How about you start by answering my questions,” Claire said. “Is the one who calls herself the Demon Queen really Rae?”
“That’s a great question to start with, Claire François, but the answer might not be as simple as you’d like. The Demon Queen is Rae Taylor, but Rae Taylor isn’t necessarily the Demon Queen.”
Claire made no effort to hide her irritation. “Do you think this is a game? Take this seriously or else.”
“I am fully serious,” the apostle said. “Forgive me, but my specifications do not allow me to overlook logical inconsistencies.”
“Specify…cations?” Claire repeated, clearly unfamiliar with the word.
“It means something along the lines of design or configuration, Miss Claire,” I said.
“Huh. I’m surprised you know such a word, Rae.”
“It’s pretty uncommon, I suppose. But I could swear it was only used to describe man-made objects, not people.”
“Huh?” Claire paused. “Then, apostle, are you—”
“You’re sharp, Rae Taylor. Yes, I am not a living thing but man-made.”
A flurry of noise burst throughout the conference room.
“You’re not alive? That’s nonsense,” Claire said. “You act so human.”
“Such words are the highest praise I can receive, Claire François. But I speak the truth. I am, without a doubt, a man-made piece of advanced technology. Rae Taylor, I’m sure you’ve just about figured out what I am by now?” The apostle smiled at me.
Nonliving. Piece of technology. Resembled humans… Only one thing came to mind.
“You’re an AI. An artificial intelligence.”
“Correct, Rae Taylor.” The apostle applauded me.
That one answer only gave me dozens more questions.
“Eigh aye? What’s that supposed to be?” Claire asked.
“It’s the word for something man-made that has a humanlike mind,” I said. “While being completely artificial, advanced AI can surpass humans in cognitive skills.”
That said, no such AI had existed in my time—outside of fiction, at least.
“How do you know about all this, Rae?” Claire asked.
“Remember the past world I lived in that I talked about? This was common knowledge there. My world had made great advancements in technology, not magic.”
“That lines up with what the apostle told us,” William said, seeming fairly intrigued.
“Right. Basically, AI are things made through technology that resemble human minds.” This was the best I could explain the concept, but I was worried whether everyone would get it.
“I think I somewhat understand,” Claire said. “But if this eigh aye thing is here, does that mean there’s some manner of connection between Rae’s old world and this one?”
“Oh.” I hadn’t even considered that, but it lined up perfectly. Why else would a technological being exist here in this world?
“That’s correct, Claire François,” the apostle said. “The world Rae Taylor lived in—or rather, the world Rei Ohashi lived in—and this world are, strictly speaking, the same.”
“Huh?!” This was the greatest shock yet for me today. “Apostle, are you saying I wasn’t brought to another world?”
“Yes and no,” they said. “You have crossed into another civilization, yes, but you still remain on the same Earth.”
I didn’t quite understand what they meant, but it seemed I hadn’t just been randomly sent to another world à la isekai, like I had first thought. The world I had taken for granted up until now began to crumble around me.
“Then why am I here?” I asked. “Why did I, a regular old office worker, suddenly appear in this world?”
“To answer that, I would need to explain things from the beginning. But please calm down first, Rae Taylor. Your heart rate has reached abnormal levels.”
How could they tell me to calm down after revealing such things?
I drew closer to the apostle, but Claire’s voice suddenly brought me back to my senses. “Rae, calm down. You’re making a terribly frightening face right now.”
I turned around and saw her looking at me, her expression full of worry. What had I been thinking, making her worry so?
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I lost my composure for a moment there.”
“It’s okay, I understand. This involves you personally, after all.” Claire wrapped her arms around me in a hug. Her soft touch and sweet smell brought the turbulent waves of my heart to a standstill.
“Let’s see… Since I’ve explained this much, it should be okay to have everyone directly experience the rest. To save time, that is,” the apostle said.
“What are you getting at, apostle?” Still hugging me, Claire shot the apostle a sharp glare.
“Explaining the rest verbally would likely leave you all confused. I believe it will be more efficient to have you experience everything from the beginning yourselves.”
“Huh? And how would we do that?” Claire asked.
“Like this.” The apostle danced a finger in the air, tracing out a complex pattern with light. “I’m going to have you experience something called ‘virtual reality.’ Perhaps Rae Taylor would understand what that is?”
The moment they said that, my consciousness faded to black.