Creak, creak!
Babbage, caught in the lathe, was emitting a terrifying, metallic shriek.
The teacher was about to be ground into pieces by the machine!
Even if a robot doesn't feel pain, the sound was terrifying.
Ei felt the hair stand up on his arms just listening.
Gawain charged forward without hesitation, trying to use his powerful arms to pull Teacher Babbage out.
After a moment, he realized this was the wrong approach and yelled, "Ei, quickly find the emergency stop switch!"
Emergency stop!
Ei instantly snapped out of it, but staring at the dense row of buttons on the workbench, he completely froze.
Which one was the emergency stop switch?
"I'm activating my skill! Teacher Babbage, don't be afraid, I'm coming to save you!"
The die fell.
[You activated the skill, "Instinct C"]
[The result is B, higher than your skill rank. Instinct failed.]
[You followed your intuition but did not press the emergency stop switch.]
Damn it, it failed at this critical moment.
Try again.
"Teacher Babbage, Sir Gawain, just hold on a little longer!"
[You activated the skill, "Instinct C"]
[The result is EX. GREAT FAILURE.]
[You did not press the emergency stop; instead, you pressed the switch to increase output efficiency.]
Why the hell is it a Great Failure again! I'm as embarrassing as Tristan now!
Ei's hand uncontrollably began mashing buttons on the workbench, hitting the output efficiency switch.
The lathe spun with even more vigor!
Creak creak creak creak creak!!
The sound of grinding steel from the lathe became even more deafening.
"Ei, why are you increasing the intensity!" Gawain yelled.
"No!!"
Ei felt like his heart had stopped beating.
"Forget it! Since it's come to this, I'm going all out!"
[You activated the skill, "Instinct C"]
[The result is D. Instinct succeeded.]
Bang!
Ei forcefully hit the emergency stop switch.
The terrifying lathe slowly ground to a halt, finally ceasing its assault on Babbage's body.
However, Babbage was also completely still.
The three stared at the mangled, motionless lump of steel that was even sparking.
"Although I'm not entirely sure what's going on right now..."
Ei slowly began to speak.
"But my body knows exactly what to do now!"
Gawain said seriously.
With that, the two unhesitatingly ran toward the exit.
"Wait wait wait wait wait wait! My Lords, please wait for me!"
Before they could escape, Tristan burst forth with the greatest speed and strength of his life, grabbing their collars and forcibly yanking them back.
Although Ei was caught, his feet were still desperately paddling outward.
"Let go, you bastard," he said. "I barely know you! If you're a man, take full responsibility! Go turn yourself in to the police immediately and negotiate your sentence!"
"Sir Ei, you added fuel to the fire yourself."
"I was trying to fix the scene! Anyway, since you caused the trouble, just take my crimes too. Please, I'll give you five bucks."
"Sir Ei, we are good friends on the same ship!"
"That's just accomplices on a criminal boat! I don't want to be on your boat! Sir Gawain, let's run!"
Gawain, who was relatively calmer than the two, said in a heavy tone: "Sir Tristan, Sir Ei, you will always be my good friends. But I hope that before you go inside, you will first resign from the Knights. At least don't cause trouble for Our King."
"My Lords, your words truly wound me," Tristan sighed, shaking his head.
"The person who is truly wounded on the scene has been shredded by the lathe..." Ei griped. "By the way, Gawain, how did I become his accomplice? I absolutely deny that."
"In my view, both of you are responsible. You pressed the acceleration button."
"Haha, I see..."
Ei nodded, then moved next to Tristan. "Sir Tristan, look at his shameless face, trying to frame us. How about we just finish him off and pin all the crimes on him?"
"I see. Wrongdoings and wrongdoings can cancel each other out."
"Wait, my Lords, please calm down! Since Teacher Babbage has not yet returned to the Throne of Heroes, it means he must still be alive!"
Gawain quickly interjected.
The three exchanged glances, took a deep breath, and, having somewhat calmed down, returned to Babbage's side.
"Teacher Babbage, you have truly suffered..." Tristan murmured sorrowfully.
"I tried my best to pull the teacher out, but I couldn't fight the lathe..." Gawain also lowered his head deeply.
Ei looked at the wreckage scattered everywhere: "Which piece is Teacher Babbage?"
"There should still be hope..." Gawain looked around, then dragged out a large chunk of iron scrap. Inside, the Difference Engine was still operating. "This is Teacher Babbage's core. As long as his main body is fine, all you need to do is repair his physical shell."
Looking at the still-running engine and the ripped-apart remnants of the mechanical body, Tristan's tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
"As long as we put him back together completely... everything will be fine, right?"
"Do you know how to assemble a mechanical body?" Ei asked with a worried expression.
"I don't know, but I did learn a few tricks of bare-handed welding from Bedivere, so I know a little," the melancholic red-haired man mused. "Sir Gawain, lend a hand. Let's put Teacher Babbage back together."
"Success or failure depends on this one attempt."
With that, the two dragged Babbage's core into the workshop, then lifted the scattered steel parts and began the repair surgery.
[You hear the sounds of hammering metal, the sharp sizzle of welding, and the urgent, frantic discussion of the two coming from the workshop.]
[You are very unsettled by what you hear; the operation does not seem to be going very well...]
Twenty minutes later, Gawain and Tristan slowly walked out, carrying a large, unactivated mechanical body.
If Ei understood correctly, this was the Babbage they had repaired.
"Apologies for the wait. The surgery was a great success."
Tristan said, his face full of pride.
"Although it's not what we initially envisioned, the result is positive. I'd call it the Prototype Strike Freedom Babbage," Gawain said seriously. "If I had to rate it, I'd say 'sexy'."
Ei looked at the mechanical body they had put together.
That was clearly the Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex form!
"You bastards, how did you manage to build a Gundam out of these materials! That's neither Babbage nor Strike Freedom! And why Lupus Rex? Strike Freedom is usually more popular!"
"Because I've only watched Iron-Blooded Orphans," Tristan admitted.
"Your first Gundam series being Iron-Blooded Orphans... that's truly tragic..."
"It's true. After watching it, my depression worsened considerably. Alas..."
"Who cares about your depression? What are we going to do now? Teacher Babbage doesn't look like this at all! He's not that bulky or ferocious-looking; he's a much rounder type."
"Sir Ei, it seems you know Teacher Babbage's appearance better than we do," Gawain said. "How about we let Sir Tristan rest for a bit, and the two of us fine-tune Teacher Babbage's appearance?"
Ei's expression instantly sharpened: "No problem, leave it to me. I've had an idea for a while now."
[You and Gawain entered the workshop and began modifying Teacher Babbage's appearance.]
[You applied the skill "Protection of the Lake D" to Sir Gawain; his overall abilities steadily increased.]
[Modifying a mechanical body is no easy task. You must pass an Endurance Check.]
The die fell.
[Check failed.]
[Although you diligently repaired Babbage, the result was poor. The actual product is completely different from what you envisioned...]
[Babbage's appearance has become even stranger.]
Ei looked at the mechanical body before him with a complicated expression.
"It's a little different... but it should be close enough, right?"
"I think it looks quite good," Gawain said. "Let's take it out for Sir Tristan to see."
The two collaborated to carry the new Babbage body out.
"Modification complete."
Ei said solemnly.
"The process was a bit bumpy, but the result is acceptable."
Staring at this new Babbage, Tristan was so shocked he opened his eyes.
"T-this... how did you manage this? This is much more outrageous than the Gundam I built! Are you serious?" He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Is this really how you see Teacher Babbage?"
"I admit I added a bit of artistic license. Artists have to break through worldly stereotypes," Ei said passionately.
"Just like Our King, who is never troubled by gender or appearance. We see different versions of Our King every day," Gawain agreed.
"Teacher Babbage didn't intend to break stereotypes this way! My Lords, please try modifying it again. He is not that petite; he is clearly larger and much more round in shape!"
Hearing Tristan's complaint, Ei and Gawain had an epiphany.
"Ei, you thought of it too!"
"You thought so too, Gawain! Let's listen to Tristan and modify it again! This time, we'll build the most perfect mechanical body... I mean, Teacher Babbage."
"I feel like, My Lords, you've started treating this as a game..."
[The two of you returned to the workshop.]
[Endurance Check succeeded.]
[You refined Teacher Babbage's appearance once more. This time, the modification process went smoothly, and you successfully perfected Teacher Babbage's look.]
Looking at the new machine, both were profoundly impressed, their faces filled with a sense of accomplishment.
"Sir Gawain, what do you say?"
"Perfect. Sexy."
Gawain and Ei walked out confidently.
They carried out the third version of Teacher Babbage.
"We apologize for the wait. The surgery was a great success," Ei said.
" 'Sexy'," Gawain echoed. "If I had to rate it, I'd say 'sexy'. You truly are remarkable, Sir Ei, to be able to create such a perfect Teacher Babbage."
"Oh, all thanks to Tristan! His guidance was a real eye-opener!"
"It certainly is sexier, yes... but what good is having 'bigger' and 'rounder' shapes for the chest and backside? Your theme is getting way off track!"
Tristan was speechless.