"Is our world real?"
After returning home, Haibara grabbed Fang Zheng and immediately asked him that question.
Fang Zheng merely glanced at her.
"Why are you asking that?"
"You know the answer, don't you? Tell me!"
Haibara gripped Fang Zheng's hand tightly, her face somewhat pale. Akemi stood beside her uneasily, not knowing what to do.
"That depends on what you think a real world is supposed to be like."
The twin maids had already gone to rest, so Fang Zheng took out three bottles of juice and set them before the two girls, opening a can for himself as well.
"To be honest, I don't really like philosophical questions like this. But I suppose you mean... whether your world was created, right?"
"..."
Haibara nodded.
"Then I can give you an answer—yes."
At Fang Zheng's reply, Haibara's face instantly went deathly pale, while Akemi stared at him in shock.
"So God really exists?"
"The one from the Bible? No, he doesn't. Look, just like I said before: if your world were a program, then we would be the programmers. We created this world and set it to run automatically, but that's all there is to it."
Fang Zheng spread his hands and looked at Haibara.
"You should understand what I mean."
"I... I can..."
Haibara seemed unable to catch her breath. She reached for a bottle of juice and took a drink, only then seeming to barely steady herself.
"Th-then why did you create us?"
"Summer homework."
"...Huh?"
"Summer homework. You see, the teacher assigned us a topic—Research on Primate Evolution and the Development of Civilization. So we created this world, then observed it, recorded everything, and wrote a report. You went to college too. How can you not understand that?"
"I understand!!"
Haibara slammed her fist heavily onto