CHAPTER 30

A Strange Machine

“Seiya! That Killing Machine is different from the rest! His status says his personality is kindhearted!”

“Mmmm…”

Seiya, who was quietly taking notes while observing what was left of the Killing Machines that were blown up, turns his gaze to the Killing Machine in the corner without saying a word.

“It appears it’s the only one with a personality out of all the Killing Machines left.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“When mass-producing the same machines in a factory, there’s a small chance that a dud gets mixed in. That one’s probably a dud.”

Seiya returns his attention to the pile of destroyed Killing Machines, then continues taking notes.

What the…?! That’s it?!

I felt Seiya wasn’t acting like himself for a moment, but when I really think about it, I figure he was probably just gathering more information that could help him in battle. He’s clearly not interested in a “dud.”

Seiya eventually puts down his pen.

“All right, that should do it for now.”

“You’re finally done?!”

Jonde wears an expression of pure joy.

“Yes. All that’s left is to clean up the rest.”

When Seiya gives the signal, countless bomb boulders drop into the cavern with the Killing Machines. The machines launch into an attack, causing explosions all over the spacious cave. But even then, I can’t take my eyes off the trembling Killing Machine in the corner.

“Seiya…that Killing Machine is trembling…”

“…And?”

“And, like…I feel bad for him, y’know?”

“You feel bad for a weapon created for the sole purpose of murder?”

“…Yeah.”

Both Seiya and Jonde stare at me like they’re about to roll their eyes. Regardless, the Killing Machine trembling in the corner of the cave reminds me of a small child traumatized by the horrors of war. Seiya regards the unique Killing Machine with fleeting interest, but…

“A weapon with a personality… It could prove to be a valuable sample. I’ll keep it separate from the others just in case.”

A hole opens in the ground where the trembling Killing Machine is standing, and in the next moment, he’s gone. Not long after, the Killing Machine is expelled into a small cavern nearby while the bomb boulders simultaneously explode, destroying the remaining enemies. He was no doubt saved by the skin of his teeth.

In the narrow separate cavern, the Killing Machine looks around in confusion, but before long, a bomb boulder comes falling down from above with a loud thud. The machine falls back onto the ground like his knees have given way, which gives me a start.

“A bomb boulder?! Why?! I thought you said he was a valuable sample!”

“I’m testing it. If it does have a high level of intelligence, then it shouldn’t attack.”

I stare hard at the two monsters, but the Killing Machine doesn’t attack, as expected. If anything, he’s terrified.

“Seiya, he’s not going to attack. He’s ‘kindhearted,’ after all.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Seiya snaps his fingers, and out of nowhere, the bomb boulder adopts a wide, condescending grin.

“Hey, weakling! Come on—attack me!”

I’m taken aback by the monster’s deep voice.

“It talked! The bomb boulder just talked!!”

“I gave it the ability to compel nonaggressive enemies to attack.”

I know what Seiya means at once. The bomb boulder smugly smirks while continuing:

“Hit me, ya piece of junk! Don’t just stand there, loser! Show me whatcha got! I mean, a weakling like you isn’t gonna even leave a scratch, though! Heh-heh!”

Jonde clenches his fist by my side.

“Wh-what an aggravating rock!”

“Yeah, how annoying! I mean, it’s really annoying! I just want to punch it in its stupid face!”

The bomb boulder continues taunting the Killing Machine while rolling around in a manner similar to dancing, making it even more annoying. Jonde and I are clenching our teeth with rage when…

“…to hit you…”

I hear a voice, but it’s not the bomb boulder’s deep baritone.

“I’m not going to hit you!”

A high-pitched squeal, similar to a little girl’s, echoes throughout the cavern!

N-no way… But it has to be! That was the Killing Machine’s voice!

“Interesting. So there are types that can talk.”

When Seiya snaps his fingers, the annoying bomb boulder sinks into the ground and disappears, leaving only the Killing Machine in the narrow cavity. Seiya then brings an earth serpent to his mouth like a mic.

“Hey, you.”

The Killing Machine looks around, indicating that he can hear Seiya’s broadcast, then says:

“H-hello…”

The Killing Machine has the voice of a young girl.

“Why didn’t you attack the bomb boulder?”

“B-because if I did, it would have blown up… Plus, I can’t even imagine attacking someone…”

The Killing Machine voluntarily begins opening up.

“I was given orders to kill the humans today…as usual…but I could never do something as horrible as kill a living creature…”

Sh-she really is kindhearted! What a strange robot!

She doesn’t look any different from the other Killing Machines, but her innocent voice makes her seem so adorable. Seiya, on the other hand, is completely unmoved. He just asks her what he wants to know.

“How many others are there like you who can talk?”

“Th-there probably aren’t any others besides Father…”

“‘Father’?”

“Oh! I’m talking about the Machine Emperor Oxerio. I think he’s the only one who can talk…so why can I?”

“Hell if I know.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Her head droops, but before long, she lifts her chin back up with a spring in her voice.

“But I’m so happy I have someone to talk to now! The other Killing Machines only buzz and whirr whenever I try talking to them! So thank you so, so much for talking to me!”

“Shut up. I only want to know about Oxerio.”

“O-okay. I’m sorry. Please excuse me…”

H-how heartless can you be?! I’m having a hard time figuring out which one’s the machine!

“Well, um…Father has four arms and four legs. And, um…”

Seiya continues asking many things after that, but he doesn’t seem to get any useful information out of her. In an indifferent tone, he says:

“Okay, that’s enough. We’re done.”

“…I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help.”

Seiya moves away from the mic. I stare at the Killing Machine left all alone in the narrow cavern until a death worm suddenly pokes its head out of the ground.

“Eek!!”

She screams. Her panic is so adorable that my lips naturally curl into a grin. Seiya, however, shoots her a subzero glare.

“I don’t trust it. It’s probably an assassin sent by Oxerio.”

“A-an assassin? Her?”

“Yes, ‘her.’ It’s probably acting like a ditz on purpose so we’ll lower our guard.”

“But wouldn’t she have been killed by the bomb boulders if I didn’t randomly happen to notice her?”

“Hmm…”

Seiya thinks for a moment, but…

“Either way, it’s better to get rid of it now instead of worrying about it later. Are you going to dispatch it?”

“What?! Jonde, no!”

I shake Jonde by the shoulders.

“What do you think you’re saying?!”

“I have no objection to the idea. After all, that Killing Machine is a monster created by the Demon Lord,” says Seiya.

“But that doesn’t make her evil! Good monsters probably exist, too!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I encountered countless beastkin in Termine during their reign, but there wasn’t a single decent monster.”

“Jonde?! What about you?! You’re not an evil monster!”

“I’m not even a monster!”

I point at Jonde as I yell:

“Seiya! You don’t need to break her, okay?! If you’re worried, then just wrap a few earth serpents around her like you did with Jonde!”

“Don’t use me as an example!”

“We don’t even know when Jonde’s going to lose his sanity, so if we’re going to compare, then I’d say that girl is way safer to be around than he is! I mean, look at him! He’s already losing his mind!”

“No, I’m not, damn it! Tch. This goddess is really pissing me off right now!”

In the midst of our bitter quarreling…

“Enough already. Just shut up.”

Seiya heaves a deep sigh.

“For now, I’m going to wrap some earth serpents around it and keep it here.”

Right as I let out a deep breath of relief, Seiya turns a stern gaze on me.

“I’m only storing it as a rare sample, though. If it does anything even slightly suspicious, I’m dismantling it.”

“O-okay.”

Numerous earth serpents appear in the cavern with the Killing Machine at Seiya’s signal. However, the moment she lays eyes on them…

“Eeeeeek!”

…she screams. Unconcerned, the earth serpents wrap themselves around her neck, arms, and legs.

“S-snakes…! H-h-help!!”

She pitifully writhes on the ground, but Seiya gives the snakes more orders.

“I should stuff earth serpents in its Evil Laser cannon just in case as well.”

The Killing Machine cries and wails as the snakes even wrap around her face.

“Th-the poor thing…!”

Unable to watch any longer, I swipe the serpent mic out of Seiya’s hands.

“Hey, can you hear me?! You’re going to be okay! Those snakes won’t hurt you as long as you stay calm!”

“R-r-really…? C-can I trust you…?”

Seiya stares coldly at me.

“Rista, we have to go. We don’t have time to waste here. Now that we’ve defeated their first wave of troops, the enemy knows that humans have regained control of Termine. They’re going to come at us with everything they’ve got, so we need to make sure we’re thoroughly prepared.”

“‘Don’t have time to waste’? F-funny hearing that from someone who spent hours and hours analyzing the enemy!”

“Analyzing the enemy is absolutely necessary from a strategic perspective. All you’re doing is messing around.”

“This is serious. She—”

Jonde suddenly cuts in to the conversation.

“So what do you mean by ‘thoroughly prepared’? What exactly do you plan on doing?”

“I’m going to be focusing on preparing a defense against aerial attacks.”

…Seiya still seems to be worrying about flying-type Killing Machines, but I have to wonder if those even exist. I ask the Killing Machine:

“Hey, are there any Killing Machines that can fly?”

“I-I’ve never seen one before, but…”

“Rista, you’re wasting your time. That machine doesn’t know anything. Besides, you shouldn’t blindly trust what it says.”

“Seiya, weren’t you the one interrogating her just a few minutes ago?!”

“Yes, and I took whatever it said with a grain of salt. At any rate, we need to prepare for an aerial attack. Doing so will get rid of the remaining blind spot of the five-layered Iron Wall.”

“E-excuse me…”

Suddenly, the Killing Machine speaks up. Expressing a hint of interest, Seiya grabs the mic and asks:

“What’s wrong? Did you remember something?”

“No, it’s not that… Sniffle! It’s just…these snakes are really scary… Sniffle!”

Seiya tightly knits his brow.

“Let me give you one last bit of advice: Shut up. That is all.”

“Mn…! Whimper… Sniffle… Sniffle…!”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little too harsh?!”

I speak into the serpent mic and say:

“Don’t worry! It’s all going to be okay, so please don’t cry!”

In the middle of trying to cheer her up, I abruptly notice that Seiya is already walking an earthen staircase heading toward the surface.

“There is no reason for us to be here any longer.”

Jonde follows Seiya. I try going after them but stop when I hear the Killing Machine sob.

“Seiya, um…do you think I could stay here a little longer? I want to talk to her until she’s able to calm down.”

“You can waste all the time you want,” says Seiya as he walks away. However, he looks back one last time with a stern expression.

“You better not create a gate so you can enter the cavern with it. Got it?”

“I won’t! I’m not going to do anything like that ever again! I-I’m not kidding! I learned my lesson with Grandleon!”

“No matter what happens next time, I promise you—I will not help you even if your life depends on it.”

“I can’t believe you!!”

Jonde and Seiya leave after that, leaving only the kindhearted Killing Machine and me in the cave.