In 2098, disaster struck Earth.
Twenty years later, civilization had survived and even begun to flourish again.
They had the birth of intelligent machines to thank for it. These machines became humanity's primary force in the fight against disaster.
The only regret was that, after dealing with the calamities, the intelligent machines turned around and ruled humanity.
Fortunately, they had inherited humanity's virtues and discarded its flaws, and were very kind.
Humans could no longer adapt to the natural environment, so the machines built protected zones for them. Some particularly caring machines even adopted humans.
The Red Cardinal was an intelligent machine with little love to spare. He was busy all day, and his compassion had long since withered.
One day, he went to Human Protected Zone No. 3 to teach a class.
As he took attendance, he noticed someone had skipped class.
M10497, the absent person's number.
Everyone there winced on their behalf. Skipping an activity without permission meant getting a disciplinary mark.
That night.
The Red Cardinal stood up from beside the bed and put on his uniform jacket, sweeping his pale gold hair back. "M10497, would you like to come home with me? I can be your guardian."
The black-haired young man applied ointment to his wrist and smiled. "I only asked you to erase my absence. I never asked you to take responsibility for me."
Three months later, M10497 was arrested and imprisoned as the leader of a human resistance group.
Having already received ten disciplinary marks, he was sentenced to death.
The executioner was the Red Cardinal.
The Red Cardinal let him off easy: he beat him up, then set him free.
M10497 wandered to the main city, with heavy snow on the way.
Snow was deadly.
The Red Cardinal waited for him at the city gate, holding a black umbrella. "It's going to snow. What will a human like you do on your own? Come home with me."
"Don't worry. I won't abandon you after having my way with you like I did back then."
- A happy-go-lucky human, a genius scientist who has forgotten the trouble he caused, as the bottom
- A high-ranking, overworked intelligent machine who uses his charm, wealth, and strength to adopt his former owner, as the top
About the novel:
*The title and blurb may change.
Theme: Dig your own hole, then fill it yourself
