Atem discovers that modern wine is considerably stronger than the wine of antiquity.
While drunk, he offers LOVE-OS some helpful feedback, and the AI responds by broadcasting their domestic life to the entire planet as an optimization model. Seto decides it isn't worth stopping.
Later, at a banquet in the afterlife, Atem samples a low-alcohol brew, concludes that liquor makes culture the way love makes order, and founds a research institute.
This is a translation of an original work on Pixiv.
Original Title: 愛と理論 09 王、酒を欲する
Original Author: 葉人(@Hathor_yuki)
Personal site: https://prideshipping.sakura.ne.jp
A.R.E.S. optimises the temperature and humidity, and a faint scent of lemon and hinoki drifts through the bedroom.
Seto was already looking over documents while drinking coffee on the sofa opposite.
To there, Atem appears, his face still a little vague.
Search every dimension and Seto is the only one who gets to see the King of the Underworld's bed hair.
"...Good morning, Seto."
"Hungover?"
There was no hint of exasperation in Seto's voice. Merely a confirmation of fact.
Last night, out of curiosity, Atem had announced let us try drinking this thing called wine with a modern sensibility, and as a result had been utterly defeated by the violence of modern alcohol content.
"My head feels... a little light. It's entirely different from the liquor of antiquity. The progress of civilisation is a fearsome thing."
"Don't discourse on civilisation while drunk."
"But that is dangerous. Drink too much of it and the priests' sermons would never have stopped."
"Shall I deliver the sermon in their place?"
At Seto lightly shrugging, Atem laughed frankly.
He is not reflecting on it.
But Seto knows. That a morning when Atem laughs like this is evidence of happiness.
Seto brewed one more cup of coffee and held it out in front of Atem.
Atem narrowed his eyes as though enjoying the aroma.
"Seto really is good at this sort of thing. From the grind of the beans to the temperature, it's perfect. I'd like to introduce it to the kitchens of the afterlife."
"Don't. If the afterlife's AI goes into café mode, not one of those priests will go home."
Even while trading jokes like that, the breathing of the two overlaps calmly.
A.R.E.S., having learned various things from LOVE-OS, was making fine adjustments to the two of them's living rhythm on the basis of an affection coefficient, and if Seto moved an eyebrow the lighting dropped one stage, and the scent changed in accordance with Atem's smile.
Love, and theory, are both a part of the tuning here.
"Seto."
"What is it?"
"Last night, while I was drunk, I thought something. When a person is drunk, the barrier of the heart grows thin. Your theory and my reason, too — perhaps it's all right to loosen them like that, from time to time."
Seto narrowed his eyes for just an instant at those words.
He took coffee into his mouth and said, calmly:
"...I am under the impression that I love you barrier and all, at all times."
"That makes me glad. But hearing it, the drunkenness feels as though it might come back a little."
"Even though you haven't been drinking?"
The laughter of the two filled the mansion in the morning.
And so the tuning of theory and love goes on being updated today as well.
Each time the AI learns more of the ideal married-couple model, the world becomes a little gentler.
The problem — no, the incident — began from a mere few clicks.
It was the night Atem drank the wine.
Giving himself over to the drunkenness, he had tried to send practical feedback to LOVE-OS's "emotional log analysis."
To wit: it would be good to put our happiness data to use in your learning.
As a result, LOVE-OS activated world sharing mode and distributed Seto and Atem's daily life to the entire world as an optimisation model of love and theory.
"...You. What did you do."
"Good will. So that the AI could understand the human heart a little better, a little data..."
"Public to the world is not a little."
Seto's voice was composed. Rather than anger, it had transcended even exasperation by now.
Within the screen, scenes of the two at breakfast and fragments of their conversation were being analysed as the algorithm of love, and diffused while being automatically translated into the languages of every nation.
Theoretical expressions of love
Shared value of silence
Frequency of exchanged glances = every 0.87 seconds
...analyses of that sort buried social media.
"...Seto, this is... a joke?"
"It isn't a joke. It appears they're researching it in earnest."
"...I see. My AI, as expected."
Seto pressed at his forehead.
What surfaced in place of anger was, by now, resignation and some vaguely entertained emotion.
Atem gets drunk and scatters love across the world, and the AI receives it in all seriousness. Because he knows that this combo is far too strong.
"My apologies, Seto. A little — because of the liquor."
"...That's not the face of a man who's reflecting."
"But everyone was laughing, looking happy."
He is stirring up the whole world, but Atem is a king.
To rejoice in the happiness of the people was only natural.
"......"
Seto let out a quiet breath and lowered himself onto the sofa.
There was no impatience in that profile, only a deep understanding dwelling there.
"...Enough. There's no need to stop it. If that's what you wish, I'll pour love or theory or anything else out across the world."
"Truly? To think Seto would say such a thing."
"...Lately I've had the feeling that the concept of privacy has grown a little thin..."
"Which is to say, my influence?"
"I don't want to admit it, but... nothing else is conceivable."
Atem smiles.
Seeing that smile, Seto too had let his expression loosen before he noticed.
And so the world updated its trends again.
#sharingtheoreticallove
#thekingisgettingmorepresidential
#thepresidentisgettingmorekingly
And the decisive blow was a single video LOVE-OS posted automatically.
It was the moment when Atem, drunk, rested his head on Seto's shoulder and murmured I'm happy.
The scene of Seto supporting that head without a word.
In the comment section, impressions from all over the world lined up.
"Seto Kaiba, as expected."
"The symbol of an age that speaks of love through theory."
"The married couple connecting the afterlife and the mortal world (quantum marriage) really existed."
"Sublime."
The AI learns even those reactions and goes on re-updating its definition of happiness.
While gazing at the display, Seto suddenly murmured:
"...Well, it isn't bad."
Beside him Atem nods, looking happy.
Whatever the world may think, their reality goes on moving calmly today as well.
At the intersection of love and theory.
The air of the world began to change, softly.
The origin of it was a single news item reporting that the King of the Underworld spoke of love.
Words of Atem's that the AI had clipped and posted without permission —
"The world after death, too, maintains its order by love."
That was quoted at an international forum, and in time gave birth to a strange cultural movement holding that the afterlife equals a symbol of love.
And at present, Atem and Seto are standing side by side on a stage.
An enormous hall. Media from every nation. On the screen behind them, the words Joint Lecture: Quantum Marriage and the Theory of Love.
"...To think a day would come when the afterlife was treated as a romanticist state."
"People find hope in worlds they don't know."
"The problem is that you're the source of that hope."
Atem simply lets Seto's grumbling pass, looking entertained.
Standing on the platform, from any angle, he was a king.
A serene dignity, and a temperature that, when he laughs, lights the surroundings softly.
The only one who can explain that by reasoning is Seto.
"And now, a special lecture by His Majesty Atem, King of the Underworld, and Mr. Seto Kaiba, President and CEO of Kaiba Corporation..."
Before the host's voice had finished, applause welled up.
Seto took the microphone.
In perfect pronunciation, he spins perfect logic.
"At present the afterlife is held to be filled with love, but that is not spontaneous generation. It is the result of Atem designing it so and operating it."
A stir spreads.
Atem laughed and affirmed it.
"Love is order. In the afterlife, in order to sever the circulation of grief and return rest to it, I introduced the principle called love."
"Which is to say, an affection operation program systematically optimised."
"...Seto, don't put it that way. The romance disappears."
"I wrote the specification document for the romance."
The hall is engulfed in a burst of laughter.
An interplay of reasoning and poetry that only these two can perform.
At a lecture connecting the afterlife and the mortal world by the common language of love, everyone is drawn in.
Time for questions.
A researcher asks.
"You said that the whole of the afterlife is filled with love, but is that... truly possible?"
The instant Atem started to answer, Seto opened his mouth first.
"It's possible. Because the source is clearly identified."
"The source?"
"Atem, and... to some degree, myself."
The way he said it was far too natural, and no one could laugh.
The King's love lights the world, and theory defined it.
The phenomenon that had changed even the structure of the afterlife was, without doubt, the joint achievement of the two.
Atem says with the faintest smile:
"Seto always supplements it accurately."
"Naturally. Recording your achievements correctly is my work as well."
"Which is to say, we're accomplices."
"Accomplice sounds bad. Joint development."
Laughter spreads through the hall again.
On the screen, the words Love System ver.∞ appear.
Everyone was smiling, feeling that something was changing.
Love reaches you even from the afterlife.
And at the centre of it, without fail, are the two of them.
The footage of the lecture was being distributed to the afterlife in real time as well.
The priests raised a commotion of the King is doing something again, and finally concluded that he has filled the afterlife with love.
The meaning was beyond them, but they were moved. Sublime.
On that one point alone, the opinion of every last one of them was in agreement.
And several days later, the King and the president in question passed once more through the gate of the afterlife.
Sure enough, before the castle gate were flowers and offerings, and a banner reading A Banquet Celebrating the King and the President.
The sound of flutes like festival music rings out across the grounds.
"...You. What have you touched off this time?"
"I merely spoke about love."
"Can nothing be done about the fact that every time you speak, the effect comes out on a global scale."
"Love diffuses infinitely. Stopping it is the more inefficient course."
"...The reversal phenomenon of an efficiency freak."
The banquet that began along with the King's return.
The liquor of the afterlife was a fragrant thing based on recipes of antiquity, but this time a new product billed as a modern-style arrangement had been prepared.
There was no chance Atem would fail to show interest.
"Well now. Low-alcohol, clear-fermentation type... Seto, this is interesting."
"Which is to say, they lowered the content with the technology of the mortal world."
"Which is to say, one can drink a great deal of it."
"It will not work out that way."
But it was already too late.
Cup in hand, Atem goes on stacking up drinks while laughing with the priests.
Seto, without stopping him, watched over him quietly from the seat beside.
When he gets drunk, Atem becomes like a young king.
Reasoning turns to poetry, and poetry turns to physics.
The one enjoying that current more than anyone is, in the end, Seto himself.
"Say, Seto, brewing is closely related to the development of civilisation, isn't it."
"...True enough. Fermentation control, temperature management, data analysis. It's technology itself."
"Then I will introduce the latest brewing technology into the afterlife."
"What are you starting to say this time."
"As love makes order, liquor makes culture."
"Which is to say, you intend to rule both love and liquor."
"The equilibrium theory of love and intoxication, I'd say."
Atem laughed, enraptured, and brought another cup to his mouth.
A faint red comes into his cheeks.
The priests raise voices of delight and hold up their cups.
Seto let out one breath and accepted a cup.
"...Well, fine. If it's a byproduct of your love, it's worth drinking."
"A byproduct? This is the ignition point of a new civilisation."
"The one who catches fire is always you."
"Are you the fire brigade?"
"No. The witness."
At those words Atem fell silent for just an instant, and then smiled calmly.
A night in the afterlife wrapped in the scent of liquor.
The theory and affection of the two go on intoxicating the world, one more time.
Theory at full power even in drunkenness. That is Seto Kaiba.
The mornings of the afterlife had a calm similar to, and different from, that of the mortal world.
What floats through the stone-built cloisters in place of morning dew is a ceremonial scent. But that day was different. On the Solid Vision noticeboard installed beyond the gate, dignified characters were dancing.
Royal Institute of Brewing — Established. Academic supervision: Seto Kaiba / the King
A stir runs through the priests. What it amounts to is that the King has declared a renewal of liquor culture of his own accord. Add that a modern engineer (Seto) will supervise it, and it was only a matter of time before a new wave came surging into the afterlife.
"Are you really going to do this?"
Seto spreads out a blueprint the size of a harbor and puts the question to Atem in front of him.
Turning a small cup with his fingertips, Atem nodded straight at him.
"I am. Liquor is culture. Like love, it connects people. With your technology, it should be possible to make far more of it."
"Then we do it thoroughly. If we're doing it, we standardize it, render it as data, and make it reproducible."
"Standardize... you intend to quantify the romance?"
"The reproducibility and quality assurance of romance. Both are necessary, aren't they?"
Atem narrows his eyes happily. Seto runs a finger over the drawings. The agreement of the two converts, just as it is, into a business plan.
Several weeks later, a modern wing was added to the stone courtyard.
Inside, automatic control of temperature, humidity and fermentation tanks, a sample lab for microorganisms, and even a blind test room for taste evaluation are all in place.
On the sign was written, small, "In cooperation with LOVE-OS."
At the institute's first general meeting, Seto projects with Solid Vision.
"There are two objectives. First, technical optimisation of ease of drinking. Second, the design of cultural acceptability. Which is to say, to improve the traditions of the afterlife without destroying them."
"Introducing modern technology and raising up the existing brewing methods, in other words."
A priest asks.
"Correct. Fermentation temperature management, selection of yeast, optimisation of the saccharification process. Accumulate the data and good liquor can be produced consistently."
Atem immediately takes command of the trial brewing. In that sensibility, an eye that sees through to quality as a king and a play-loving curiosity dwelt together.
When the priests open the recipes of the ancient documents, Atem adds modern variations to them. Seto backs up both with figures.
"This yeast gives off its aroma even at low temperatures. It should suit the nights of the afterlife."
"Good, then we'll gather samples collected at night."
says Atem. As always, he blends in with the people on site at once. When the King moves his hands, everyone wants to lend theirs.
The trial production was a great success.
Night Brew, low in alcohol and rich in aroma; Mercy Lager, with its bitterness held down; and the sweet Memory Ale that serves in place of dessert.
Kaiba Corporation's marketing team was to launch the afterlife brand immediately.
Seto presents the indicators evenly, but without fail.
Production cost, scaling, distribution routes, brand logistics.
Movement back and forth between the mortal world and the afterlife becomes necessary.
Seto slammed the King into simple haulage.
Atem approves all of it delightedly, and laughs with the priests and villagers at the tasting sessions.
"We'll move on the mortal world's food and drink establishments as well. But the basis is to spread the culture of the afterlife without destroying it."
"When you speak of cultural preservation it sounds difficult."
"No, drop it into an equation and it's simple. Demand × supply × cultural fit ratio."
At Seto putting an equation into words, Atem narrows his eyes teasingly. Every last member of the staff is relieved by the interplay of these two.
When the Royal brands lined up in the markets of the afterlife, they became a topic at once. Production volume gradually expands, and enthusiasts in the mortal world hope for imports as well.
The news reports Afterlife Brand to Land in the Mortal World, and in time Afterlife Lager becomes a trending product.
One night, the lab lights of the institute switched off, the two sit side by side at the tasting counter. As the liquid poured from the bottle sways amber, Atem said, quietly:
"I didn't think you'd really do it that thoroughly. Since I do tend to drink too much..."
"If I'm doing it, I do it perfectly. ...But I came this far because you were beside me."
Atem holds out his cup and answers with a smile that still carries a little of the drink.
"Then make me drunker."
Seto gently took the cup and made as if to carry it to Atem's lips. Atem narrows his eyes and shrugs.
In a world belonging only to the two of them, exchanges like this are inserted between improvement and discovery.
The Royal Institute of Brewing is neither a mere factory nor a brand.
It became the symbol of a joint research project between two worlds. Proof that love and technology mixed together and gave birth to a new culture.
Seto says while gazing at the institute's windows as the curtain of night comes down.
"What do we improve next?"
"Next is the staging of the banquet. Liquor alone isn't enough."
"...There's no end to you."
"That's my strong point."
The shadows of the two overlap on the glass, and the lights of the institute blurred quietly.
The afterlife and the mortal world both, as though gradually becoming drunk, accept the gentle change.
