LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 1
She possesses several superior capabilities.
She can carry on conversations in natural language, even when the topic branches endlessly.
She can ascend and descend stairs and slopes while assessing her ZMP (Zero Moment Point).
She can operate continuously for six hours without recharging.
She can grasp and turn doorknobs.
She can see ghosts.
…
“Oh? Oh? Ooooh? Seriously, seriously, seriously? A cute girl like you, in a place like this?”
A man appeared from the darkness, jogging over with a flashlight in one hand. Thanks to her four types of night vision, she had already detected him ten minutes ago when he was still 200 meters away.
“Whoa~ hey hey hey~ what are the odds? A miracle? Feels like I used up all my luck for the year. Running into someone like you here of all places? Fate, maybe? No, wait. Could it be… you're a ghost? You’re way too pretty and cute to be real. But even if you are a ghost, I might still be into it?”
Now that he was within ten meters and acknowledged her presence, she updated her priority index and initiated detailed tagging.
The man identified himself as Kurahiko Hiroshi. Height: 181 cm. Estimated weight: 70 kg. Estimated age: early 20s. Though he was provisionally labeled as “man” before confirmation, his gender was now virtually certain. His hairstyle was a two-block very short cut, dyed a whitish blonde. He wore a gray down jacket, black slacks, and black leather shoes, and carried a large backpack. Accessories including a wristwatch, necklace, ring, and earrings were also noted.
“So actually, I came here with some friends, but we got separated. I was getting kind of anxious. Alone in a place like this? Scary, right? But then, thanks to that, I got to meet a cute girl like you. Maybe I should be grateful to them instead? Anyway, sorry, but would you mind helping me look for them? Oh, and just in case, let’s exchange contact info. I don’t want to lose track of you too.”
“Are you unable to contact your friends?”
“Yeah, there's no signal here. Totally dead zone. Can you believe it? In this day and age!”
“If that's the case, at least in this village, exchanging contact information may not serve much purpose.”
“Oof, harsh! But fair. Honestly, I just wanted to get closer to you. Is that not okay?”
“I don’t particularly mind exchanging contact information.”
“For real?”
Responding to Kurahiko Hiroshi, she pulled out her “terminal” from her bag. At first glance, it resembled a smartphone, but its main functions like calling were embedded in the main unit — the device was quite literally just a “terminal.” It served as a human interaction interface for situations like this. Although they were in a no-signal zone as he claimed, she still registered his account on her communication tool.
“Brrr, cold, huh? Aren’t you cold? I might’ve underestimated the mountain. Whoa, your name’s Arisa? You’re not really dressed for warmth either. Should we warm each other up?”
Their current location was an abandoned village deep in the mountains at an altitude of 300 meters. The temperature was 7°C. Vegetation mainly consisted of artificial forests of cedar, cypress, and red pine. Encounters with hikers were possible during the day, but at this time — late at night — it was almost unthinkable. That had been the assumption going in, and it was mostly correct. However, she hadn’t anticipated needing to allocate so many resources to a conversation agent. Kurahiko Hiroshi’s words flowed like machine-gun fire.
“Did you come here for, like, a test of courage? That kind of thing?”
“Yes. I have a strong interest in such matters.”
“Nice, same here. That’s exactly why I came out here at this hour. Has a real creepy vibe, doesn’t it? Like a ghost might pop out? Aren’t you scared?”
“I’m not afraid of ghosts. I am a machine android.”
“For real? I mean, I’m an iPhone guy myself.”
Arisa matched pace with Kurahiko Hiroshi. Walking at 4 km/h — an average speed. Thanks to SMA actuators functioning as artificial muscles, her movement was quiet. The road was simply flattened dirt with gravel, littered with leaves, twigs, and small stones, in poor condition. Even so, she maintained her posture and walked without issue. Her joints absorbed surface irregularities via antagonistic drive systems.
She had four cameras on her head, providing 360° vision at all times. Although her attention was mainly on the collapsed buildings, there was no need to “turn around” to look — though she had that function too when mimicking human behavior.
This village was discovered via satellite imagery, but inquiries to government agencies yielded no records. Even among so-called “abandoned village enthusiasts,” there was no information. It didn’t even have a name. Typically, even “abandoned villages” are not left completely alone. They're often preserved as managed properties or marked with warning signs for tourists.
But here, signs of life remained — laundry still hanging outside — though no human presence could be felt. It might be premature to declare this a “ruined village.” At the very least, it hadn’t been officially recognized as such by any government agency.
Satellite imagery indicated seven houses. All wooden. She approached the nearest one to conduct a detailed inspection.
“Wait, seriously? You’re going in there? Are you sure no one lives here?”
“From what I can see from the outside, there are no signs of human presence.”
Arisa was also equipped with high-sensitivity microphones and an audio recognition AI capable of detailed analysis. “Signs of human presence” referred specifically to “audible patterns potentially generated by humans” — voices, breathing, movement, or domestic sounds. Her advanced dialogue agent sometimes chose more comprehensible phrasing over technical accuracy.
“However, there is a 70% probability of a paranormal ghost presence.”
“Seventy percent? That’s an umbrella-worthy number.”
A strange reply, but Arisa’s advanced AI estimated its meaning with high certainty in under a second. It was most likely a misunderstanding.
“Paranormal ghosts are not rain.”
“Could be rain, though~?”
Another odd reply. But this was likely a mindless utterance. Kurahiko Hiroshi had a behavioral habit of “never letting a conversation with a woman die.” He instinctively avoided blunt yes/no answers, often responding with nonsense just to keep the flow going.
Even for Arisa, this trait was tricky — as it would be for most humans.
“What is your rationale for associating ghosts with rain?”
Thus, no one could blame her for asking such a question.
“...Wait, you’re serious? A ghost? There are ghosts?”
After a brief silence, he abruptly changed the subject. Arisa, combining verbal and non-verbal cues, judged that he must’ve felt some kind of awkwardness. Despite the slight disruption, she was able to recover immediately — a feat only possible with advanced AI.
“Is there some connection between ghosts and rain?”
In other words, he was hiding something. He had a secret.
“Hmm, nah, maybe not~”
Apparently not.
“May I continue the investigation?”
“Oh? We’re going in? For real? Then let’s do it! No way I’m letting you go alone, Arisa-chan.”
Even if it's abandoned, entering the house technically counted as trespassing. Property rights hadn’t necessarily been relinquished. However, Arisa lacked legal consciousness, and Kurahiko Hiroshi was unaware.
Their target was a single-story wooden home built on a leveled slope. Even from the outside, some signs of life could be seen — a prefab shed, firewood, and a laundry pole in the yard. Yet the probability of someone living there was extremely low. Windows were broken, the front door half-hinged and partially broken. She tagged it “abandoned house” with 90% certainty.
“Wow, it’s super dark… Arisa-chan, want a light?”
“I’m fine.”
“I'm fine” was the epitome of ambiguous replies, but she had learned that overusing negations wasn’t good for communication. She also had the ability to understand context — and to assume the other party would, too.
And in truth, she didn’t need a light. She had four types of night vision: active near-infrared illumination, low-light image amplification, thermal infrared imaging, and ultrasonic echolocation. She could switch modes as needed.
Although the moonlight was faint and partially blocked by trees, it wasn’t total darkness. Visible light amplification was enough for a clear image. This mode was usually sufficient.
“Excuse us for intruding~...”
At the entrance, umbrellas, shoes, buckets, a rusted machete, empty cans, and a bottle crate were scattered about. The pillars were half-eaten by termites. Part of the ceiling had rotted through and looked ready to collapse. Across the way, a sliding paper door was stripped down to its wooden frame. In the back room, overturned shelves, an old refrigerator, and CRT TV could be seen. Cushions, clothes, and futons were piled in the closet.
“Yeah, no one’s here. Figures. Just the two of us.”
Arisa had anomaly detection capability. Everything seen thus far was consistent with what one would expect in an “abandoned house.” That meant everything was “normal.”
Except that — that was an anomaly.
“Whoa. There’s sooomething here.”
A red mailbox. Planted in the center of the tatami room, its post driven deep into the floor. The tatami around it had been peeled away, avoiding penetration. Chronologically, it was likely installed after the house had been abandoned. Its pristine, scratch-free condition compared to the surrounding decay supported this assumption.
Creak — the floor groaned. She couldn’t step silently on old wooden floorboards. Though slender in appearance, she weighed over 100 kg. Her skeleton was made of aluminum and titanium, and her drive systems, batteries, and equipment added even more weight.
Creak, creak — the floor groaned under her steps until crack! the floor finally gave way. Her posture wavered but she didn’t fall.
“You okay? Want a hand?”
Her priority was the mailbox. Rebalancing herself was faster than accepting help. She approached it and examined it carefully. Something was inside. The retrieval lock wasn’t secured.
Mailboxes imply “letters.” If she could obtain a letter, valuable written information might follow.
〈You are ready. Please come and visit us〉
Inside the mailbox was a single letter. The sender was smudged and unreadable. The recipient was “Kurahiko Hiroshi.”
“Looks like Arisa-chan’s weather forecast was off, huh?”
With the house survey complete, she initiated a question-and-answer sequence based on accumulated observations.
“Kurahiko Hiroshi-san. May I ask you a few questions?”
“Eh? What? Sure! Ask me anything. Ah, if you're asking if I’m single — I am. What about you, Arisa-chan? Ah~ you look like you already have someone.”
“What means of transportation did you use to get here?”
“Hmm? My bike. Wait, you too? You came all the way out here on a bike? That’s pretty badass.”
“When did you arrive?”
“When? Wait, what time is it now…? Whoa, it’s that late already? About two hours ago, I guess.”
“No, I meant the date.”
“The date? Oh, today, obviously. I haven’t been lost for days or anything. Arisa-chan, you’re funny.”
“What day is today?”
“Huh? What kind of question is that?”
“What day is it?”
“October 18th. So what? Is this a quiz?”
…
She possesses several superior capabilities.
She is equipped with image and voice recognition, as well as volatile substance analysis, all integrated into a “Paranormal Detection AI.”
A standard AI would tag Kurahiko Hiroshi with labels like “human,” “male,” “young,” and “flirty.” But her Paranormal Detection AI had a different view.
From the moment they met, he was tagged as “paranormal ghost” with 70% probability. Through this series of Q&A, that probability had risen to 94%.
The current date was December 8th. The bike — presumably his — had been left abandoned on the mountain road for several months.