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"I can't believe it, I just can't believe it."
"Riku, you're a lolicon. You've truly let your big sister down."
At the entrance to the settlement, Riku was met by Couronne, and he could only stare in confusion as she berated him. He had no idea what was happening.
Why was he being called a lolicon?
"Wait a minute, Couronne!" Riku quickly cut her off, wanting to explain the situation. But he was worried about the consequences of revealing Schwi's true identity.
Couronne didn't have a defensive item like he did. In Schwi's hands, she wouldn't last a second. So, to prevent any accidents, he had to stick to the story he and Schwi had concocted.
"Stop talking nonsense. This child's name is Schwi. I rescued her from a destroyed settlement. It's not what you think," he said, trying to sound firm. "She's been through enough. Don't make things worse."
"Oh, is that so?" Couronne put on a look of feigned remorse and looked at Schwi with concern.
This was, of course, an act.
Through the screen in Mika's room, Couronne knew everything about Riku and Schwi's encounter.
This little scene was all Mika's idea.
Mika, the eternal prankster. At his urging, Couronne had been eager to play along. It had been so long since she had seen any expression on Riku's face other than cold stoicism, especially since he became leader. Though he had been more expressive since meeting Mika's group, she wanted to see more.
So, after confirming that Schwi posed no danger, she and Mika had planned this little farce.
Looking at Schwi, who was hiding timidly behind Riku, Couronne couldn't possibly associate her with the legendary "most vicious race." With her mechanical parts covered by clothes, she looked like any other young girl.
If she hadn't known her true identity, she would have been completely fooled.
"Is what Riku said really true?" Couronne asked, crouching down in front of Schwi and looking her in the eyes.
"Yes," Schwi nodded timidly.
Seeing that Schwi was keeping her promise and sticking to the script, Riku breathed a sigh of relief. He had narrowly avoided the brand of "lolicon" and the social suicide that would have come with it.
Catching Riku's relieved expression out of the corner of her eye, Couronne smirked internally. Under Mika's guidance, she knew exactly how to break through Riku's defenses.
You're relaxing far too soon.
She then leaned in and whispered gently in Schwi's ear, "Did Riku force you to do anything?"
Hearing Couronne's sudden question, Riku's pupils shrank. He sensed the impending danger, but it was too late to stop it. He could only watch in horror as Schwi, in a very timid voice, replied, "Riku said that no one but him is allowed to see my body."
"I knew it! Riku, you really are a lolicon!" Couronne, who had been prepared for this, immediately shot Riku a look one would give to the scum of the earth.
This turn of events left Riku speechless.
"Wait, Couronne, it's not like that! I just told her to put on some clothes, and she took it that way! It has nothing to do with me!" he sputtered, waving his hands frantically.
And he was telling the truth.
To help Schwi pass as human, Riku had simply told her to get dressed before they left the ruins.
Humans didn't run around naked, after all.
But Ex-Machina didn't care about such things. They were machines, after all. The suggestion was bizarre to her. But since she wanted to pretend to be human, she had agreed, which led to her famous line:
"I won't let anyone else see my body. I will only show it to Riku."
Riku never thought that line would become the trap that would plunge him into the abyss of being labeled a lolicon. He really didn't want to die a social death.
"Is that so? Then why was Schwi naked in the first place? You're not going to tell me you found her that way, are you?" Couronne's gaze grew sharper.
"Or did you do something that 'made' her naked?"
Faced with this line of questioning, Riku fell silent. He finally stopped trying to defend himself. He just looked up at the sky and said with a world-weary sigh, "Ah, I really wish I could just die right now."
—————
"HA! HA! HA!"
Back in Mika's room, peals of laughter were echoing off the walls. It was unrestrained, uproarious laughter. Even the normally elegant Athena and Yahweh couldn't help but laugh.
But Mika and Couronne were the main culprits. As the masterminds of the prank, their laughter was the most intense.
They were even clutching their stomachs, rolling on the floor.
Watching this scene, Riku, the one who had been played, was covering his face in shame, sulking in a corner.
Have I been too relaxed lately? To fall for Couronne's trick...
This was an absolute humiliation for Riku. And the fact that Couronne was still laughing her head off at him only made it worse. His face shifted through various shades of red and white.
Seeing this, Couronne only laughed harder.
"Alright, alright, that's enough everyone," Athena finally said, trying to restore order. "Especially you two, Mika and Couronne. If you keep laughing, Riku might actually punch someone."
Hearing Athena's words, Mika and Couronne slowly suppressed their laughter, holding their mouths as they sat up. Riku, his eye twitching, finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.
The room finally fell silent.
Once everyone had recomposed themselves, Yahweh was the one to speak.
"So, now it's time to decide what to do with this Ex-Machina girl, Schwi."
At Yahweh's words, all eyes in the room turned to the small mechanical girl. Schwi was currently nestled in Yahweh's arms, her cheeks being affectionately squished.
It seemed Yahweh had taken quite a liking to her.
"Dispose of her?"
Couronne asked, surprised. Looking at Schwi's pitiful expression, she felt a pang of sympathy. Although humanity had suffered at the hands of the other races, she doubted the Ex-Machina were to blame.
After all, they were a race that never attacked without provocation.
"Of course," Yahweh said with a light smile, not looking away from Schwi. "In a way, she's our enemy, isn't she? Our plan is to take on all the other races, after all."
Her gaze then shifted to Riku, waiting for his response.
Feeling the weight of her stare, Riku felt the burden on his shoulders grow even heavier. He looked at Schwi, at her innocent, questioning eyes, and found himself unable to make a decision.
If he were acting as the leader of the settlement, the cold, calculating strategist, he wouldn't have hesitated. He would have made the logical choice, just as he had been prepared to order Ivan to his death.
But he wasn't in that state of mind now. Mika didn't like that version of him. So, he had to face this choice as himself.
And as himself, he hesitated.
He wasn't the kind of person who could sacrifice others without a second thought, especially not an Ex-Machina who had shown him no hostility from the very beginning.
"Alright, Yahweh, stop bullying Riku," Mika interjected with a soft chuckle, cutting through her mischief.
"Riku, since you're the one who brought Schwi back, she's your responsibility now."
Mika pointed a finger at Schwi, then at Riku.
In that instant, Riku felt a strange connection form between them, a link that hadn't been there before.
"I've made a few adjustments to her," Mika explained.
"She can no longer harm you. I've also linked you two together, so you can communicate telepathically. And, if you ever grow tired of her," he made a sharp slicing motion across his neck and gave Riku a playful wink, "you have the power to kill her permanently."
"So, she's all yours now."
"I understand." Hearing Mika's words, Riku made his decision. He would accept Schwi as his assistant. He had already experienced her usefulness firsthand.
With her help, he could accomplish so much more.
"Good," Mika nodded, then turned his gaze to Schwi. "But that's for later. For now, let's have her tell us everything she knows about this world."
Mika was determined to understand this world completely, and humanity's fragmented intelligence could only get him so far.
But the Ex-Machina were different. As the "most vicious race," capable of infinite evolution, their position was undeniable. They had the power to gather intelligence on a global scale.
Furthermore, their collective consciousness and analytical prowess made them, without a doubt, the most skilled information brokers in the world.
"What do you wish to know?" Schwi asked, her voice flat and inquisitive.
"Let's start with the cause of this Great War," Athena said suddenly, her interest clearly piqued.
"Understood." Schwi nodded and began to recount the origins of the conflict.
—————
"So that's how it is?"
When Schwi finished her explanation, a stunned silence fell over the room.
The truth was more shocking than any of them had imagined.
"It was for such a simple reason?" Riku muttered to himself, his voice filled with a bitter anger. The idea that the Gods had plunged the world into an endless war, all to determine the "One True God" by a process of elimination, was abhorrent to him.
According to human records, the world had once known peace. Humanity had even built its own civilization. This divine war had destroyed it all.
According to Schwi, the Gods were fighting for the throne of the One True God, a position granted to whoever obtained the Star Grail.
This was the catalyst for the war.
From this, Riku could infer that the Gods undoubtedly believed in the power of the Star Grail—otherwise, they wouldn't have started the war in the first place. He didn't think the Gods were so foolish as to be swayed by mere rumors.
But if they believed in its power, why weren't they trying to obtain the Star Grail itself?
Why this endless, brutal war?
Was it simply because they trusted in their own strength?
Riku couldn't understand it. It was simply too foolish.
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