Chapter 3

This is how I ended up making a toy robot. After waking up in a room that could rival a five-star hotel, I had a luxurious breakfast and was immediately called to see Regalia. It was only natural, considering the only reason I was allowed to stay in this mansion was because of her curiosity about me. In her room, I recounted stories of Earth, a world devoid of superpowers and other races, just as she had requested. Unfortunately, I lacked the eloquence to make my tales captivating, and to her, a world with only science and humans didn’t seem all that special. “Hmm… This is boring. Is there nothing interesting?” “Well… there was a time when the President almost got killed by a gunshot…” “A gun? The President could die from something like that? That’s ridiculous. Are all the people in your world weaklings? Or are their heroes just too weak to even stop a bullet?” “Both, actually…” “Ugh… I thought another world would be interesting, but it’s not special at all.” Regalia clicked her tongue like an old soul, clearly losing interest as she turned her gaze away. Seeing this, I began to panic. As her guard had mentioned the previous night, my stay in this mansion was purely contingent on her goodwill and curiosity. If she lost all interest in me, I could be kicked out by tonight… Fortunately, instead of immediately throwing me out, Regalia suddenly fetched a pile of toys from somewhere and said to me: “Hearing stories is boring. Let’s play pretend with me—!” “Uh, what? Ah, sure.” “You’ll play the role of a retired hero who lost his powers and is seeking revenge on the villains. Got it?” I glanced at the toys in surprise at the absurd role she had assigned me. Instead of the dolls you’d expect a girl her age to play with, there was an array of robot toys, the sort you’d find boys playing with. There was no way she could be a boy, though. I clearly remembered her guard addressing her as “Miss” last night. So, this meant her taste was inclined towards the robots that boys would typically play with. “Don’t you play with dolls?” “Dolls? Why would I play with something so weak? The trend these days is robots! Super Robots! Isn’t that great?” “Haha—My nieces are into playing with dolls, so I just assumed.” Indeed, after a few conversations with Regalia, I realized her preferences weren’t actually that unusual. After all, in a world where superpowers and heroes existed, it wasn’t strange for a girl’s interests to lean toward such things. I examined the robot she had handed me. It was small enough to fit in one hand, yet it was intricately crafted. Not only could its limbs move, but its armor could be detached, and its eyes even glimmered with a lens-like effect. It was far too well-made to be just a simple toy. “That robot has a sad story…” “Excuse me?” “Interested? I’ll tell you. This happened on the day of my 5th birthday party.” ‘…That was only a few years ago.’ I couldn’t help but let out a smirk at the sight of her reminiscing as if recounting an event from long ago, even though it was at most 2 or 3 years back. But I quickly concealed my reaction and focused on her story. After all, she was my only means of survival. “On my birthday, even government officials and heroes who usually only appeared on TV showed up to congratulate me. Some of them even brought gifts to win my favor. This robot was one of those gifts.” “A gift?” “Yes. Originally, it could shoot beams from its eyes and hands, but about a year ago, it stopped working. I didn’t want to throw it away, so I kept it, hoping to ask that person to fix it if I ever met him again.” “Oh… I see.” Only then did I understand why the robot was so intricately crafted and of such high quality. She was a young lady living in this grand mansion, surrounded by wealth and power. To win her favor, someone must have crafted this robot with meticulous, artisanal care, without worrying about cost-effectiveness. For a moment, I just stared at the robot. Then, recalling that it hadn’t worked for a year, I began to inspect it, turning it over and examining its structure. ‘Aha, found it.’ “So, what are you doing…?” “I was wondering if I could try fixing this.” “You want to fix it?” Regalia’s eyes shifted from skeptical to curious as she heard my suggestion. She looked at me with an intrigued expression. “If you break it, you’ll have to take responsibility, you know?” “I might not be able to fix it, but I won’t break it. Probably.” “Alright, fine. Kitty? Bring some repair tools.” “Yes, Miss.” Shortly after, I received the tools brought by her guard and began disassembling the robot’s armor to examine its interior. Sure enough, there was something that looked like a battery inside. Around the battery, I noticed some rusty circuits and dusty components. ‘She said it stopped working about a year ago.’ Usually, in cases like this, the battery would be dead, but fortunately, the battery seemed to still have some life left in it. It was more likely that the circuit had been damaged by the power output required for the beam. I used the nippers to trim and reconfigure the internal circuits so that they could function again. Whenever parts were missing, I scavenged from the exterior to make do. After working on it for a while… Whirr—. “Oh, it’s working.” “What? How…” After assembling the mended circuit and reattaching the battery, the robot surprisingly began to move on its own. Just as Regalia had said, it stood on its own and raised both arms, shooting beams from its eyes. Zzzzhhh—! “It, it moved! It’s moving!” Regalia exclaimed in delight as she watched the robot come to life. Seeing her so happy made me feel good as well. Not only was it nice to see a child smile, but if she recognized my usefulness, I’d be able to stay here a bit longer. But the moment I saw the beam fired by the robot cutting through the sky, my elated mood quickly plummeted. The beam split the clouds as it extended far into the distance. “Huh, huhhh…” “Hahaha—! Rdx-13! Fire again!” ─Fire. Zzzzhhh—! Watching the toy robot torch the garden at Regalia’s command left me speechless. I had only expected a toy-level beam… ‘Damn it, no wonder the powerless can’t find any work…’ As I stood there, dumbfounded and staring at the robot, the guard who had been watching us gasped in disbelief. “How on earth…” Why are you so surprised, too? The guard who stood by Regalia’s side, protecting her, frowned as she observed the man clinging so closely to the young lady. A mere vagrant of unknown origin sticking so close to her? ‘A useless, powerless man, at that.’ If the young lady had not been so kind-hearted, and if she hadn’t been so naturally gifted at reading people’s emotions, that wretched man wouldn’t have lasted a moment in her presence. If she had lost interest, she would have thrown him back onto the streets where she found him. But the kind-hearted young lady, knowing that the wretched man was anxious, was humoring him by playing with those old toys. “This one was from a long time ago.” “Oh, I see…” ‘Is he ignoring the young lady’s words?’ The guard’s frown deepened as she watched the man tinker with the robot, seemingly indifferent to Regalia’s story. He might be trying to fix it or something, but it was impossible. The robot was a handcrafted masterpiece, with every single part custom-made. It was also a supernatural weapon, created by the combined efforts of more than three superpowered individuals. Though it took the form of a toy robot, it was, in reality, a weapon. And this powerless man thought he could fix it? That was impossible. He’d be lucky if he didn’t get scolded for breaking the young lady’s cherished possession… “Oh, it’s working.” But to everyone’s surprise, the man succeeded in fixing the robot. No one could understand how he had done it. Even Regalia, who hadn’t expected much, blinked in astonishment. Ah, even the young lady looks adorable when she’s surprised. But the surprise only lasted a moment, and soon Regalia was smiling brightly, holding the robot the man had fixed. The guard then realized something with certainty—The young lady was never going to 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 fixing the toy robot, Regalia looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened. “Are you a Scientist!?” “Uh? No, not really…” I’m more of an engineer. But Regalia waved her hands dismissively, paying no heed to my words. “─The Eighth One! I bestow upon you the title of Eighth!” “What does that mean…” “It means I’ll invite you to join the secret organization I created!” I had no time to ponder what anization was or what “Eighth” meant. I had good instincts, and I knew exactly what to say in situations like this. “─I’ll do my best. Boss.” “Ooh—! You already know the drill!” How could I refuse an opportunity to secure free board and lodging? I couldn’t forget that I was a powerless, undocumented immigrant with no means of support. Smiling broadly, I asked my new boss: “So, what kind of organization is this?” “Humph—It’s an evil organization.” “What kind of organization?” “An evil organization.” Regalia wiggled her fingers back and forth as she answered. “It’s a villain group.” …Should I’ve thought about this more before agreeing?