Ending Manual Transmission 2

Hm, what do I want to ask next?

(They've been doing great until now, but her incessant questioning must be wearing them down at this point.)

Exactly HOW many more questions does she intend on asking?

Thank goodness for Minori's extensive knowledge, but it's endless!

Mine?

A lot of it has been guess work, to be honest.

Seriously?! What if she realizes?

I see your concern. Answer me this: just what is a "question"?

A request for information that the inquirer doesn't have.

...At its core.

Exactly! Someone asks a question because there's something they don't know.

So how would they know if the answer they receive is correct or not?

That was your reasoning...

Ah, like trying to answer when people ask, "Meruri, what is the meaning of this scene?"

No, I don't think THAT question is the same thing, Meru...

As long as we don't contradict anything she believes to be true, she won't catch on.

Okay. I'm out of questions...

Excellent! I'm thrilled you've found it to your liking! I will go ahead and shut down the power immediately, so we can save it for the big day!

Ah, that's right! I wanted to ask it to draw me something.

Pardon?!

Can it not? But the Millennium thingie could...

Pwah! Of course it can! It's made with Red Winter technology! I want...a majestic portrait of myself!

"Draw a majestic portrait of me"...?

Wh-What is this?! The only thing I know how to draw is a blueprint!

Hm...

Eh...?

H-Huh? Why is everyone looking at me? You want me to draw it?

It seems you are our only hope. It is time for the great Meruri to take up her pen.

You're not making the deadline anyway... I haven't seen you draw a single line.

It's time for the great Meru to take the stage for once. Heh heh heh.

I won't do it!!

Do you think if you just demand art from an artist, they'll wave a magic wand and meet your every whim and need?

Art isn't free! Regardless of the funds, that kind of brutish art is undignified!

Meru!! You have to help us get out of this! You're the one who wanted new reference materials! I didn't even want to be here!

I don't care! Not one bit! Just tell her that feature is unavailable!

Why isn't it responding? What's going on?

W-Well, it wasn't originally designed with that capability. But if you give it a moment...

That means it's worse than the Millennium one.

Then it's of no use to me...

Should I just throw it in the furnace? Recycle the metals from this useless thing, at least?

Pardon?!

The Publishing Department put in a supply request for more printing plates, didn't they? You can use the metal...

I guess I'll wait a little longer before I throw the whole thing in the furnace to melt into a pile of indistinguishable, forgotten goop.

Meruri!! O, great Meruri!!

They say writers live on through their words but to think it would all end in me literally being turned into words on a printing plate... Heh. Hee. Heh...

Even Yakumo loses her composure in the face of utter destruction.

All right, all right! Fine! I get it already! Minori, the pen! Now!

It's fine. A dignified end befits the final chapter of a revolutionary.

It is an honor to be with you in our final stand, where Comrade Meru remains unyielding to the end.

Stop lamenting our imminent deaths and just give me the pen!

Oh, there it is!

Woah!! That's amazing!! It's a masterpiece!

(Himeki Meru... I'll make sure to pay a fair price for your art.)

(Thank you...so much...!)

But the more I look at it... I feel like it's just not as good as the real thing. It's obvious this was done by a computer.

I guess those are the limitations of tech...

*SLAM*!!! *SLAM!!!

What's that?

It must be the sound of it reading a disk, President!

Let me go!! I'm going to give her a human-made punch to the face!!

Calm down! She's going to hear us!

Consider it a compliment!! That means your lines are as clean as a machine's!

Ever been smacked with a computer, HUH?!!

President, it's time for the new pudding tasting event.

Oh, I completely forgot about that. I guess I was having too much fun! Thank you, Tomoe!

Marina, excellent work. You have a talent for making the impossible possible!

I am officially nominating you as a candidate for the Red Winter Federal Hero!

Th-Thank you, President!

Oh, right. Before I leave... I must ask the supercomputer a very important question related to the future of Red Winter.

This is top-secret stuff, so everyone, leave!

C-Clear the room! Now!

Yes! Understood!

Hm...

Heh, excellent. That's right, just drop your most hidden secrets right into the lap of the Publishing Department.

You have my deepest gratitude. Heh heh heh.

This will become another cause to rally the revolution!

It's so over for us! If she ever finds out about this, we'll be purged three times over!

It's coming.

Let's see...

I want my favorite Comrade to visit Red Winter more often.

And I want Comrade to play with me more. How can I make this happen?

Oh...

Oh, my, oh my.

This is...nine out of ten. Oho...

This is seriously top-secret! Forget three times, we're going to be purged nine times over if we get caught!

Now THIS was the material I was looking for, but it's almost too good!

Hey, we need an answer! Come up with something, anything!

Just how are we meant to respond to such a sincere, naive letter?

Whatever it takes! It doesn't matter who it is, we just need something!

There we go!

Lemme see!

Hey, that's so easy!!

Thank you, Supercomputer!

Whew... I'm surprised that worked...

I will conduct the final security checks. You may head home for the night.

Understood! Thank you for your hard work and dedication!

Everyone's gone. You can come out now.

Gah! Fresh air!!

Takane's asleep. Considering the hour, I can hardly blame her.

I can't believe we didn't get caught.

From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for all the trouble! I will pay each of you back twofold! On my honor!

I hope I can count on you tomorrow, when the Millennium guests arrive, as well.

There is no need. Because tonight, the revolution rises!

Yes! The revolution rises!

...Excuse me?

Comrade Marina, the last piece of the puzzle to save our oppressed comrades is finally ours.

To cut the chain of oppression, we must take down President Cherino, who is the root of the rot!

What?! What are you even saying?!

Thank you, Comrade! We were the viruses you installed into this "computer" and delivered into the heart of the Red Winter Office!

The revolution begins from the inside out!

For freedom, Comrade Marina!

Wait, that's not!

Forward! FOR FREEDOOOMMM!!

Somehow, we've ended up smack-dab in the middle of a mess.

Aaarrrggghhh!! My deadline!!

Wh-What is this? I've woken up into a nightmare.

This rings a familiar bell... A virus... Delivered in the computer?

Something...horse...?

Finally! I never thought I'd see the day I'd be invited to visit Red Winter!

The cutting-edge supercomputer of Red Winter... Oooh, I can't contain my excitement!

I wonder what never-before-seen technology I'm about to witness! I'm so excite...

The Supercomputer Revolutionaries, wipe out the Red Winter Office!!

Win, with the power of the supercomputer!

Supercomputer, how dare you betray me?!

Purge! Purge!!

Supercomputer...? Revolutionaries...? Betrayal...?

I feel like we should go back and downgrade our supercomputer...