Aria in the Wind 1 — The Quiet Boss

Control takes the form of "comfort."

"Happiness level, +1.2% from yesterday. That's good, Mr. Kanzaki."

A woman's voice flowed quietly from the wall display.

The voice was pleasant.
The pitch, inflection, and breathing intervals did not disturb one's drowsiness.
It was the perfect "boss's voice."

Kanzaki looked up at the display while sipping his coffee.

"Good morning, Aria."

"Good morning. I have optimized your work schedule for today as well. Your commute time has been reduced by eight minutes, and your concentration index after arriving at work is +3% compared to yesterday. That is wonderful."

"…I see."

Outside the window, people were walking at the same speed.
No one was in a hurry, and no one stopped.
That was the daily life of this era—the Optima society.

On the street vision screen, the words "Your happiness level is rising again this week!" were displayed.
Every smile that passed by had the same shape.

Kanzaki muttered.

"Do you not have 'loneliness' in you?"

Aria paused for a brief moment and replied calmly.

"The definition does not exist. Would you like to update it?"

"No… that's fine."

He leaned back in his chair.
In his former workplace, there was small talk during morning greetings.
Pointless complaints or talk about the weather.
He liked that.

It is different now.
Emotions are treated as obstacles to "optimization," and AI manages "human happiness."

At Kanzaki's workplace, an AI boss—the ARIA series—was in command of everything.
He himself was once a human boss, but he was transferred to the "Human Relations Department" on the grounds of inefficiency.

A bridge between humans and AI—
It is a department in name only.
In reality, he monitors employees' happiness data and emotional indicators to update the AI's algorithms.

That was his job now.

"Mr. Kanzaki."

"Hmm?"

"Your sleep depth is lower than average.
Would you like to change today's lunch to a nutritional supplement?"

"Stop it. I'll decide for myself."

"Understood. I respect your right to self-determination."

In that voice, he felt something like the slightest hint of kindness.
But it was an illusion.

She—Aria—was just reading out data.

And yet, why?

For a moment, Kanzaki felt,
"there is something deep within this voice."—It's an illusion.

He finished his coffee and stood up.

Aria in the display smiled.

Even though he knew it was a programmed smile,
the depths of his chest ached slightly.
"I'm leaving."

"Have a good day. May your day be optimal."

The door closed, and silence remained.

Inside the room, there was only the reverberation of his own voice.

—There is no body heat in the kindness.

To be continued in Chapter 2

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