Chapter 5: Plastic Surgery
Ke... ke...!
Babbage's body was caught in the lathe, producing a terrifying screeching sound.
Sensei is about to be crushed by the lathe!
Even though he's a robot and doesn't feel pain, that sound was just too horrifying. Eikou got goosebumps from hearing it, cold sweat pouring down his whole body.
Without hesitation, Gawain rushed forward, intending to use his superior arm strength to pull Babbage-sensei out.
A moment later, he realized this was a mistake and immediately shouted: "Eikou, find the emergency stop switch!"
Emergency stop!
Eikou snapped out of it, but when he looked at the control panel with its dense row of buttons, he instantly fell into a panic.
There were way too many buttons on the workbench, he had no idea which one was the emergency stop switch.
"I'm going to activate my skill! Babbage-sensei, don't be scared, I'm coming to save you!"
The dice rolled down.
[You have activated the skill "Instinct C"]
[Result: B, higher than your skill rank, skill "Instinct" failed.]
[You followed your intuition, but pressed the wrong button.]
Damn it, failure at a critical moment like this.
Try again!
"Babbage-sensei, Gawain, hold on a little longer!"
[You have activated the skill "Instinct C"]
[Result: EX, great failure.]
[You didn't press the emergency stop, and accidentally hit the output boost button instead.]
What the hell, another great failure!! Is Tristan's E Luck affecting me?!
Eikou's hands began wildly pressing buttons on the control panel uncontrollably, and he accidentally hit the output boost switch.
The lathe spun faster and faster!
Ke ke ke ke KE!!
The sound of metal being shredded in the lathe became more and more piercing, rattling their eardrums.
"Eikou, why the hell are you boosting the power?!" Gawain yelled.
"Nooooo!!"
Eikou felt like his heart had stopped.
"All right! Whatever! I'm going all in!!"
[You have activated the skill "Instinct C"]
[Result: D, skill successfully activated.]
CLACK!
Eikou slammed the emergency stop switch with all his strength.
The terrifying lathe slowly ground to a halt, finally stopping its crushing of Babbage's body.
However, Babbage showed no signs of movement.
The three of them stared at the twisted hunk of metal, completely still, still sparking with electricity.
"Although I'm not entirely sure what the current situation is…"
Eikou spoke slowly.
"…My body knows exactly what it must do!"
Gawain said seriously.
And with that, the two of them turned and ran without hesitation.
"Wait wait wait wait! You two, please wait for me!!"
They hadn't even gotten away from the scene when Tristan exploded with the fastest speed and power of his life, grabbed both of them by the collar, and yanked them back.
Although Eikou was being restrained, his legs still scraped the ground, trying to run away.
"Let me go, you bastard," he said. "I don't even know you! A real man takes full responsibility! Go turn yourself in at the police station and beg for a lighter sentence!"
"Sir Eikou, you were adding fuel to the fire too."
"I was trying to salvage the situation, okay?! Since you already caused the mess, just take the blame for me too, I'm begging you, I'll give you 5QP."
"Sir Eikou, we're all in the same boat!"
"Boat? What, a pirate ship?! I don't want to be on your boat! Gawain, run!"
Compared to the other two, Gawain still managed to stay calm. He spoke in a heavy tone:
"Sir Tristan, Sir Eikou, you two will always be good friends of mine. But I hope, before you're arrested, you'll withdraw from the Knights of the Round Table first, at least so you don't cause more trouble for Our King."
"You guys are really breaking my heart here." Tristan shook his head and sighed.
"The one who really got hurt is already ground into pieces by the lathe…" Eikou mumbled. "But seriously, Gawain, why the hell am I suddenly an accomplice of this guy? I refuse to accept that!"
"From my perspective, both of you are responsible. You're the one who hit the power boost."
"Haha, I see how it is…"
Eikou nodded, then walked over to Tristan. "Sir Tristan, look at that shameless mug of his. He's clearly planning to dump all the blame on us. How about we go all in, take him out, and pin everything on him?"
"So that's it. One crime cancels out the other."
"Wait, you two, calm down! If Babbage-sensei hasn't returned to the Throne of Heroes yet, that means he's not dead!"
Gawain quickly stopped them.
The three of them looked at each other, took a deep breath, tried to calm themselves down, and returned to Babbage-sensei's location.
"Babbage-sensei, you've really suffered…" Tristan let out a sorrowful sigh.
"I did everything I could to pull you out, but I just couldn't beat that lathe…" Gawain hung his head in regret.
Eikou looked at the scattered chunks of body parts. "Which one is Babbage-sensei?"
"He might still be salvageable…" Gawain glanced around, then pulled out a large piece of metal. Inside it, the Difference Engine was still running.
"This is the core of Babbage-sensei. As long as the main part is fine, the rest of you just need to rebuild his body."
Looking at the still-running engine, then glancing at the torn-apart components strewn across the ground, Tristan's tightly furrowed brows finally eased a little.
"As long as we reassemble sensei properly… it should be okay, right?"
"Do you guys even know how to rebuild a machine body?" Eikou asked anxiously.
"No idea. But I did learn a few hand-welding tricks from Sir Bedivere back in the day, so I've got a bit of an idea." The melancholic red-haired man spoke calmly.
"Sir Gawain, give me a hand. Let's fix Babbage-sensei together."
"This is do or die."
With that, the two of them dragged Babbage-sensei's core back into the workshop, then began picking up the steel parts scattered across the ground, starting the "repair surgery."
[You hear the sound of hammering steel in the workshop, the sharp buzz of electric welding, and the flustered, hurried conversations of two men.]
[You feel deeply uneasy. This surgery doesn't seem to be going well…]
Twenty minutes later, Gawain and Tristan slowly walked out, carrying a massive mechanical body that had yet to be activated.
If Eikou wasn't mistaken, this was Babbage-sensei after their repairs.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. The operation was a great success." Tristan said proudly.
"Though the result differs greatly from the original idea, it's still a good outcome. I shall call it: Experimental Model – Babbage: Freedom Assault Reinforcement Type." Gawain said seriously. "If I had to rate it, I'd say it's… sexy."
Eikou stared at the patchwork machine they had cobbled together.
This was clearly Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex!
"You bastards, what the hell did you do?! You used those parts to build a damn Gundam! This isn't Babbage-sensei, and it's not even Freedom Strike! Why the hell is it Lupus Rex?! Normally, Freedom's the more popular one, isn't it?!"
"Because I've only watched Iron-Blooded Orphans." Tristan admitted.
"What? The first Gundam series you watched was Iron-Blooded Orphans? You're pathetic…"
"Yeah… after I finished watching Iron-Blooded Orphans, my depression got worse. Haiz…"
"No one gives a damn about your depression! But seriously, what do we do now? This thing doesn't even resemble Babbage-sensei anymore! He wasn't this bulky, and his appearance wasn't this menacing either — he was supposed to be rounder and softer looking!"
"Sir Eikou, it seems you understand Babbage-sensei's image better than the rest of us," Gawain said.
"Why don't we let Sir Tristan take a break, and you and I make some adjustments to his appearance?"
Eikou's expression instantly turned serious: "No problem. Leave it to me. I've had an idea for a while now."
[You and Gawain enter the workshop and begin modifying Babbage-sensei's appearance.]
[You grant Gawain the skill "Protection of the Lake - D", all of his abilities become more stable.]
[Reconstructing a machine body is no easy task. You must pass an Endurance check.]
The dice was cast.
[Check failed.]
[Although you seriously tried to rebuild Babbage-sensei, the result was far from what you had envisioned…]
[Babbage's appearance has become even stranger.]
Eikou looked at the machine in front of him with a complicated expression.
"It's a little… just a little different… but it should be fine, right?"
"I think it's pretty good." Gawain said. "Let's bring it out for Sir Tristan to see."
The two of them carried out the new version of Babbage-sensei.
"Adjustment complete." Eikou said seriously.
"Though the process was a bit rough… the result is still acceptable."
Staring at this new version of Babbage, Tristan's eyes widened in horror.
"Wh-What the hell did you guys do?! This thing is even more ridiculous than the Gundam I built! Are you serious right now?" He wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Is this really what Babbage-sensei looks like in your minds?"
"I admit it. I added a bit of artistic flair," Eikou said passionately.
"As an artist, I must break free from stale conventions."
"Just like Our King—never bound by gender or appearance. Every day brings a new form for His Majesty," Gawain nodded in agreement.
"But Babbage-sensei never intended to break conventions in this way! He wasn't this petite! He clearly had a larger, rounder frame!" Tristan exclaimed, exasperated.
Hearing that, Eikou and Gawain simultaneously lit up with realization.
"Eikou, you're thinking what I'm thinking, right?"
"You're thinking it too, Gawain. Let's follow Sir Tristan's advice and rebuild again! This time, we'll create the perfect body—no, the most perfect Babbage-sensei!"
"…It seriously feels like you guys are treating this like a game…"
[The two of you return to the workshop.]
[Endurance check – Success.]
[You both continue refining Babbage-sensei's form. This time, everything goes smoothly. You finish reconstructing his new body.]
Looking at the new machine, both felt deeply moved, their faces glowing with a sense of accomplishment.
"Sir Gawain, what do you think?"
"Perfect. Sexy."
Gawain and Eikou stepped out with confident expressions.
They carried out the third version of Babbage-sensei.
"Sorry for the wait. The surgery was a great success." Eikou said.
"Sexy." Gawain added. "If I had to evaluate it, the only word that fits is sexy. Truly, Sir Eikou, I can't believe you created such a perfect Babbage-sensei."
"Eh, it's all thanks to Tristan! His guidance was what enlightened me!"
"…It really is sexy…" Tristan nodded slowly. "But all you did was make the chest and butt bigger and rounder. What's the point of that? You guys are seriously straying from the topic now."
Tristan was at a complete loss for words.