Chapter: 2
Here’s how I came to make a toy robot.
After waking up in a room that rivaled a five-star hotel, I finished a luxurious breakfast and was promptly summoned by Regalia. It was only natural that the reason I could stay in this mansion was due to her curiosity about me.
In her room, I began to spit out stories about Earth, a pure world devoid of superpowers and other races.
However, unfortunately, I lacked the verbal charm to enthrall anyone, and it seemed that a world filled only with science and humanity didn’t sound particularly special to her.
“Hmmm… this is boring. Isn’t there anything interesting?”
“Well… there was an incident where the president nearly got shot…”
“A gun? You mean the president can die from that? Ridiculous! Does everyone in your world have some sort of weak constitution? Or are heroes so pathetic they can’t even block a bullet?”
“Both, actually…”
“Ugh… I thought another world might be interesting, but it turns out there’s nothing special.”
Regalia clicked her tongue like an old-timer and started to lose interest as she turned her gaze away. Seeing that, I began to panic.
As her guard had mentioned last night, my stay in this mansion was entirely due to her goodwill and curiosity. If she lost all interest in me, I could get kicked out of the mansion tonight…
Fortunately, instead of immediately throwing me out, Regalia suddenly arrived with a pile of toys and said to me:
“Listening to stories is boring. Let’s play house together—!”
“Uh, wh-what? Ah, okay.”
“You’ll play the role of a powerless hero who’s retired and getting revenge on the villains. Got it?”
I glanced at the toys, bewildered by the absurdity of the role she’d assigned me. Instead of the dolls you’d expect a girl her age to have, there were tons of robot toys that boys would usually play with.
There was no way she was actually a boy. I distinctly remembered her guard calling her “Miss” last night, meaning her tastes inclined towards robots typically favored by boys.
“Don’t you play with dolls?”
“Dolls? Why would I play with something so weak? These days, it’s all about robots! Super robots! Isn’t that cool?”
“Haha—! My nieces love playing with dolls, though…”
Indeed, after chatting with Regalia a few times, I realized her tastes weren’t that unusual. After all, we were in a world where supernatural beings like heroes and superpowers really exist. It wasn’t strange for a girl’s interests to lean that way.
I looked at the robot she handed me. It was small enough to fit in one hand but intricately detailed enough to be considered quite impressive. Its limbs moved, the gloves could be removed, and its eyes even sparkled like some sort of lens effect.
It was far too well-made to simply be a toy.
“This robot has a sad story…”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you curious? I’ll tell you. It’s about what happened during my fifth birthday party.”
‘…Wasn’t that just a few years ago?’
I couldn’t help but chuckle at how she was recalling something that had happened two or three years ago as if it were an ancient tale. Nevertheless, I masked my smile and focused on her story since it was essentially my only lifeline here.
“On my birthday, even government officials and heroes who usually only appear on TV came to congratulate me. Among them were some who brought gifts in hopes of winning my favor. This robot was one of those gifts.”
“A gift?”
“Right. Originally, it could shoot beams from its eyes and hands, but for the past year, it hasn’t been able to move. I didn’t want to throw it away, so I kept it in hopes of asking that person to fix it if I ever ran into them again.”
“Oh… I see.”
It was then that I realized why this robot was so elaborately crafted and of high quality. She was a young lady living in a grand mansion; she surely had plenty of wealth and power. To win her favor, the creator must have poured craftsmanship into it without caring about the price.
For a moment, I examined the robot, then remembering that it had ceased functioning a year ago, I began to flip it around, checking its insides.
‘Ah, found it.’
“So, what’s going on here…?”
“Can I try to fix it?”
“…You want to repair that?”
Upon hearing my intent, Regalia’s eyes transformed from skepticism to curiosity, sparkling with intrigue as she looked at me.
“If you break it, you’ll have to take responsibility, understand?”
“I might not be able to fix it, but I probably won’t break it. Maybe.”
“Alright, then. Kitty? Bring me some tools.”
“Yes, Miss.”
A moment later, I received the tools brought by her guard and started to pull off the robot’s gloves to investigate its insides. Sure enough, there was something that looked like a battery inside.
Around the battery, I spotted rusty and dusty circuits and components.
‘She said it stopped working about a year ago.’
Usually, in such cases, the battery would be dead—however, luckily, it seemed the battery still had some life left. It was probably the circuit that had shorted due to the output required for the beams.
I got to work, using cutters to trim and reshape the internal circuits to get everything back up and running. Whenever I lacked parts, I borrowed bits from the outer casing. After fiddling with it for a while…
Bzzzzhhh-!
“Oh, done.”
“Wait, what is…?”
After reconnecting the repaired circuit to the battery, to my surprise, the robot began moving all on its own. Just as Regalia had said, it stood upright, raising its arms and firing beams from its eyes.
Zzzzzt-!
“It, it moves! It’s alive!”
Regalia exclaimed happily as she watched the robot come to life. Seeing her excitement warmed my heart too. Not only was it gratifying to see a child smile, but if she appreciated my usefulness, I might be able to stick around a bit longer.
However, the moment I saw the beam shot by the robot streaking across the sky, my previously raised spirits plummeted. The beam sliced through the clouds, extending far ahead.
“Uh, uhhhh…”
“Wahaha—! Rdx-13! Fire again!”
─Fire.
Zzzzzt-!
As I watched the toy robot torching the garden at Regalia’s command, I was left speechless. I had thought it would only produce a toy-level beam…
‘Damn it, this is why the powerless have nothing to do…’
As I stood there, dazed, staring at the robot, the guard watching us let out a gasp of disbelief.
“How is this even…?”
Why are you surprised too?
*
The guard next to Regalia, who was protecting her, frowned at the sight of this random man clinging so closely to the young lady. A mere street punk was getting so close to her?
‘And he’s a useless, powerless one too.’
If the young lady hadn’t been kind-hearted and didn’t have a natural talent for reading others’ emotions, that man wouldn’t have lasted a second in her presence. If she lost interest, she’d have tossed him aside just like she found him.
But the soft-hearted young lady knew that this unfortunate man was anxious, so she played along, bringing him old toys to interact with.
“This one is from back then—.”
“Oh, I see….”
‘Is he ignoring the young lady’s words?’
The guard frowned deeper as she watched the man fiddling with the robot, clearly disregarding Regalia’s story. He was just trying to fix it, but that would be impossible.
This robot was a handmade craft, with each part custom-made. It was even an extraordinary weapon created through the combined efforts of more than three superpowered beings. Despite its appearance as a toy robot, it was practically a weapon.
And this powerless man thought he could fix it? That was obviously impossible. It would be fortunate if he didn’t end up damaging the priceless item treasured by the young lady…
“Oh, it’s working.”
But remarkably, the man succeeded in repairing the robot. No one could fathom how he managed that. Look, even the young lady—who hadn’t expected it at all—was blinking, astonished.
Ah, how cute it was to see the young lady surprised.
Before long, Regalia smiled joyfully, holding the robot that the man had fixed. At that moment, the guard instinctively realized one truth: the young lady would never let this man go.
*
Name: Rdx-13
Superpower: Crystal Energy
Description: A model of the giant robot from the TV animation “Battle Daidisen.” Unlike the original, it shoots beams from its eyes and hands.
*
After repairing the toy robot, Regalia looked at me with shining eyes, as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“Are you a scientist?!”
“Uh? No, not exactly…”
I’m more of an engineer.
However, Regalia waved her hand dismissively, ignoring my words.
“─The Eighth! I hereby grant you the title of Eighth!”
“What does that mean…?”
“It means I’m inviting you to join the secret organization I’ve created!”
I didn’t have time to think about what this so-called secret organization was or what being the Eighth meant. I usually had a decent instinct and knew exactly what to say in situations like this.
“─I will do my best, Boss.”
“Ooh—! You know the drill, huh?!”
How could I refuse a chance to stay and eat for free? I mustn’t forget that I’m a powerless, illegal immigrant without any means to live.
With a grin, I asked my new boss:
“So, what kind of organization is it?”
“Hmm, hmm— It’s an evil organization.”
“…What kind of organization?”
“An evil organization.”
Regalia said, shaking her finger side to side as she answered.
“It’s basically a group of villains.”
…Maybe I should have thought it through a bit more before accepting?
End of Chapter
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