Chapter 162: Fatherly Love and Filial Piety
After Henriette had vented, her mood calmed down.
After a period of silence, she also said slowly, word by word, "When we were little... older sister was always very popular. Everyone would always gather around her."
"You said 'when you were little,' right? Now everyone keeps their distance from her."
"Older sister was always very gentle to everyone."
"Now she's prickly to everyone."
Thinking of the Tyrant Rex who made everyone clear a path the moment she appeared, he really couldn't imagine her being popular and exceedingly gentle to everyone. The difference was just too great.
It was possible that Charlotte's current awkward personality had only recently formed. After all, that tsundere girl was also shouldering the task of restoring her family's honor, so it was excusable for her to show a different kind of dignity.
His retort made her both angry and amused.
This man, in order to cheer me up, is deliberately badmouthing my older sister. Knowing that her admired sister also had an ordinary side, her closed heart gradually opened.
"...Henri."
"What?"
"Her name. My older sister and my mother both called me Henri. I think you can call me that too."
"Is that so. Then... Henri."
"Yes."
The girl revealed a smile.
It was just a pity that they were currently in a dim underground cave, and it was impossible to see her smile clearly.
At this moment.
Suddenly, there was a faint rustling of cloth, only a few meters away. Someone had appeared nearby.
He immediately pulled the startled and uncomprehending Henriette into his arms. RyuZU also instantly moved behind him, the scythes under her skirt extending in defense, parrying the incoming dagger.
Clang!
A crisp sound echoed in the silent space.
At the same time, the other party released a clear killing intent and questioned like a machine, "Answer briefly. Are you my master's enemy?"
He did not answer, but just slowly turned his head to look behind him.
It was a girl.
She wore a headdress full of frills, and her peach-pink hair, tied with a thin ribbon, was still bright and eye-catching even in the darkness.
Her face was covered by a white gauze.
If he wanted, he could also use X-ray vision to see, but her attire was enough to let him know who she was.
—Hotaru.
One of Tenzen Akabane's six dolls.
His ears twitched slightly, and he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the depths.
He greeted her very frivolously, "I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this. It's a little surprising, Magnus."
A figure walked out of the darkness.
A silver mask hid his features. He wore his usual formal attire. The mana circulating on his body was a latent danger that constantly provoked his nerves. He knew that the other party had already considered him an enemy.
Indeed.
His origins were unknown, and he was mixed up with his younger brother, Raishin. On top of that, with the place they were in now, it would be a problem if he wasn't considered an enemy.
But that mana...
It was truly astonishing. Stronger than Loki's, stronger than his own.
The tense atmosphere continued to rise.
A provocation naturally had to be met with a response. Just as the air was taut and on the verge of exploding...
"Oh? Is someone there?"
Suddenly, a rash voice cut in.
The one who had spoken was a stout man. His figure was burly. Even if you said he was a soldier, it wouldn't feel far-fetched. His face was tanned dark, he had a mustache, and there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
A truly familiar face.
"You must be student Kobayashi, right?"
"...I didn't expect the Headmaster to remember me. It is truly an honor."
"A student with such extraordinary potential... of course I would remember you."
The Headmaster showed a kind smile.
At first glance, there was nothing strange, but the force and pressure emanating from his body at this moment had not diminished in the slightest. On top of that, his huge mana, which could rival Megumin's, and his strong physique, which was on par with his own... if he were to face him head-on, he would very likely be defeated.
Not to mention the other party also had the number one ranked helper.
"What is it? Your expression looks as if you've seen a ghost," the Headmaster said, narrowing his eyes, his blade-like gaze putting pressure on him. "Don't tell me... you've seen something strange?"
Is he implicitly referring to the Great Sanctuary below? If I answer "yes," he will surely make a move in the next second.
With RyuZU here, he was confident he wouldn't be defeated, but Charlotte's trouble hadn't been resolved yet. For now, he could only back down a little.
"...No, I didn't see anything."
"That's good. Student Magnus is actually my guard. I'm sorry if he scared you."
"A guard... he really is a qualified guard."
As I thought, he's warning me with his words.
Then, he said cheerfully, "We are all companions who have been caught up in an accident. Let's unite and wait for rescue. Don't worry. My excellent secretary should be sending people to rescue us soon."
Then his eyes once again became as sharp as an eagle's, and he warned, "Avoid acting on your own. Do you understand, student Kobayashi?"
The implication was, don't wander around, or I'll kill you.
That threat made it impossible for him to move, especially with the dead weight of Henriette.
The conversation came to an end.
The group sat down on the ground and lit a bonfire for light.
During this time, he did not use magic, because the Headmaster before him was the strongest magician of the 19th century, possessing a vast, almost infinite amount of mana. Piquing his interest would only be playing with fire.
A man who could, under the pretext of treating his frail daughter's illness, transform her into a half-machinart body was definitely a ruthless man.
Of course, a daughter who used other family forces to disguise herself and help an outsider kill her own father was equally ruthless.
Truly a case of a loving father and a filial daughter.
But...
"It is very rude to interrupt the Headmaster's magic lecture, but this foolish me also has a question I would like to ask you. I wonder if I may?"
"Of course! The existence of an educator is to answer the doubts of the confused. I will do my best to answer any questions you have."
The Headmaster did not refuse.
Everyone has their own principles. Even the strongest is no exception. He himself was an educator. To answer the doubts of a student who was eager to learn was his nature.
"Well then..."
After a deliberate, short silence, he said slowly, "What in the world is a Divine Machinart (Machine Doll)?"
"Hmm?!"
This question immediately caught his attention. At the same time, Magnus also turned his gaze this way.
He continued, "An ordinary automaton does not produce its own mana and can only rely on a puppeteer. Even for a Bandoll, the one producing the mana is not the doll itself, but the human part installed within it. But a Divine Machinart is different. It is a completely autonomous automaton, is that right?"
"...You know quite a lot, don't you, student Kobayashi," he said, not answering, but offering a pointed compliment.
He, of course, did not fall for it. He said with a chuckle, "The wish of most of the people who participate in the Night Party and become the Wiseman is a Divine Machinart. No, in fact, almost everyone has such a wish, don't they?"
"Indeed."
He did not deny it.
Anyone with a little common sense would know this. And even if they didn't, after spending all day with the young lady of the Bellow (Count) family, they would come to know it.
"Well then, I was wondering what it is that student Kobayashi wishes to know."
"I already said it, didn't I? A Divine Machinart."
He looked him straight in the eye and probed, "Since a Divine Machinart is a completely autonomous automaton, can I say that an automaton that can move freely even without a puppeteer can be called a Divine Machinart? For example... a purely mechanical automaton."
"Oh? Reverse thinking? What an interesting solution," he said, clearly also intrigued.
Reverse thinking is a way of thinking about things or viewpoints that seem to be well-established in a reverse manner. For example, his just-now redefinition of a Divine Machinart in the opposite direction, from the solution back to the known conditions. Thinking about it in reverse might simplify the problem.
Everyone was thinking about this question.
After a short silence, he said, "Indeed. If we follow your line of thinking, student Kobayashi, this definition can also be established.
It's just that the Eve's Heart is the basic circuit that allows an automaton to have self-recovery, self-awareness, intelligence, and a sense of biological reality. And its operation relies on mana. At the end of the day, does a purely mechanical automaton really exist in this world? If it does, then it should also be considered a type of Divine Machinart."
This question was too strange and transcendent of common sense. He could only give an ambiguous answer.
You couldn't blame him for not being knowledgeable. It was the limitations of his perspective that bound him.
He, however, laughed. "Is that so? Then I'm relieved. As I thought, my RyuZU is the best in the world."
The Headmaster and Magnus felt there was a hidden meaning in his words, but before they could ask, they were interrupted by a sudden sneak attack.
"It seems we have an uninvited guest."
A powerful kick came towards the back of his neck. The immense force was almost enough to break a human's spine. If it connected, he would surely fall to the ground, unable to get up again.
"RyuZU, stop him."
"Yes."
She flashed and intercepted the kick, the long leg being blocked by her scythe.
Seeing its attack had not succeeded, the attacker disappeared.
Henriette let out a sharp cry a beat later and threw herself into his arms, seeking a safe harbor.
He comforted her while searching for the enemy's position.
A chill came from behind him, so he reflexively jumped forward, holding her and doing a forward roll to avoid the attack. The spot where he had been standing was hit by a kick, and fine sand flew in all directions like a fountain.
So fast.
Even he couldn't help but offer a word of praise.
The enemy's speed was faster than RyuZU's, and even faster than his eyes could follow.
[Spectator] was very powerful, but if it had a weakness, it was that it could not track fast-moving targets.
With the help of the bonfire's light, the group saw the attacker's appearance.
The other party wore a stylish shirt, had a head of golden, shaggy hair, and was in his twenties. Dark glasses hid the expression on his face. He was floating in mid-air, a thin line still separating his shining shoes from the sandy ground.
No wonder I couldn't hear a sound. So he's flying.
He moved through the air, rushing forward silently at an extremely high speed. His trajectory was a straight line, but he had no doubt about the other's mobility and explosive power.
He reached top speed in the blink of an eye and was right in front of him.
He was so close he could even see the smile on the other's lips, but he was not flustered, and just looked at him with an expressionless face.
Suddenly, with the sound of something cutting through the air, RyuZU appeared in front of him.
The girl-type automaton protected him, her huge scythe blocking the man's flying kick. At the same time, Tenzen Akabane's automaton finally made a move to help.
A kick from the side made the attacker immediately create distance.
"Get him, Hotaru."
"Yes, master. As you command."
Receiving his order, a wave of mana burst from the pink-haired girl's body. A fierce flame immediately rose, twisting the air and making it hot. It then kicked up the sand on the ground and rushed forward with super-high explosive speed.
A dagger that she had pulled out from somewhere was continuously slashing at the man.
The man, however, saw through her trajectory and was not afraid of her speed at all, and avoided the attack.
Kick, block, thrust. Every move the two of them made created a shockwave, causing a violent wind to blow around them.
Henriette huddled in his arms, not daring to look. The Headmaster, however, was unaffected as he watched the fight.
And RyuZU, seeing the grand battle, immediately said with a sharp tongue, "What a violent battle. Not elegant at all. Is she a hidden gorilla? Or are they fighting for the throne of the strongest gorilla?"
"Don't say that. You go and help too, RyuZU."
"Yes, Master Kobayashi."
Hearing the command, she also rushed forward.
Unlike the two who were full of momentum and radiating powerful mana, she rushed into the battlefield without any fluctuation and intervened. He had thought she would be instantly repelled by their powerful auras, but unexpectedly, in the ensuing struggle, she steadily gained the upper hand.
He was very interested in the attacker.
The other party's movements had no inertia at all, as if they were not bound by gravity, just like a great white shark swimming freely in the sea.
[Absolute Control Vibration].
It was a very powerful Magic Circuit that could interfere with the direction of the body's movement at the molecular level to enhance attack, defense, and acceleration.
A little tricky.
If he didn't want to expose his trump card, he would definitely use the Imaginary Switch to keep the other party here.
Most importantly—
I wonder if this will satisfy that unhinged chaos seeker.
At this moment, the battlefield took a sudden turn.
The man instantly burst forth with a powerful force. He kicked the dagger in Hotaru's hand, breaking it, and at the same time, flipped over and forced back RyuZU with immense strength. Then he rose into the air and, with the same instantaneous acceleration as before, disappeared into the surrounding darkness.
He must have escaped.
To be able to hold his own against two for so long... the other party's strength was not to be underestimated.
He looked in the direction he had disappeared.
Clap, clap, clap—
The sound of light applause came from behind him. The Headmaster showed a pleased smile and said, "Well done, student Magnus, student Kobayashi."
"You flatter us."
He and RyuZU bowed elegantly. Magnus and his automaton did the same.
"Mmm. The other party was a petty thief who came to attack me."
He emphasized his words. As if to stress it again, the implication was that this was the end of it and no further investigation was allowed.
But the other party's target was me?
...The corner of his mouth twitched.
"To think he managed to escape. But no matter. Are you alright, student Kobayashi?"
"...Ah, no problem."
"That's good. Look, the rescue team has arrived."
A bright light and the sound of messy footsteps slowly approached. A short while later, a beautiful blonde woman named Avril appeared before them with a group of puppeteers.
Her aura was icy cold, a bit like Kimberly's.
"Are you alright, Headmaster?"
"Ngh. As you can see, I'm fine."
"What a pity. Take the brats back to the surface. And take this old man with you."
"Avril..."
The beautiful woman gave orders to her subordinates with an expressionless face, which made the Headmaster cry out in a rather unpromising way.
By the time they returned to the surface, it was already three in the afternoon.
He was not injured and was in good condition, but Henriette was not doing so well. Her mental state was poor, and she was in urgent need of rest.
And at the time of parting—
The Headmaster called out to him. "Student Kobayashi, to continue our previous question. You asked me if that can be considered a Divine Machinart. My answer is no. One of the characteristics of a Divine Machinart is that it can autonomously generate mana, and only humans can do that. Do you understand what I mean?"
In other words, to achieve a Divine Machinart, it must be transformed from a machine into a human.
"...Lesson learned."
He gave a slight bow.
(End of Chapter)