Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Emily Robinhood does not understand the emotions of ordinary people.
Still, she acknowledges that others are different from her and tries to learn how to be considerate toward normal people.
That’s why such bizarre behavior comes out of her.
It’s probably Stan Robinhood’s doing. Spoiling her as his little sister, calling everything she does cute and pretty, this is the result.
It really shows how important upbringing is.
“…?”
Emily, as if incapable of feeling even the slightest embarrassment, simply tilted her head in confusion while stubbornly maintaining the finger heart.
At this point, I’m the one who feels embarrassed.
“That’s enough, you can stop now.”
“Yes.”
At my words, Emily obediently lowered her fingers.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she resumed drinking her bubble tea.
At least now I understood how things ended up like this.
“Emily, why are you trying to get on my good side?”
“……”
Emily remained expressionless.
But strangely, I could tell what she was thinking.
A rare species these days.
Everyone I’ve been dealing with lately has been a master of psychological warfare, suffocating me. Compared to them, she’s practically innocent.
“I want to gain your favor.”
“Why?”
“……”
She didn’t answer, but it seemed she had something she wanted to ask of me.
And that request was probably related to what I was going to do moving forward.
I could already guess.
Thanks to her strange behavior, there was no way I wouldn’t.
Emily had seen my research and given me appropriate advice.
That was her way of showing kindness.
But there was one thing she hadn’t expected.
That I would get close to the truth faster than she thought.
Seeing me approach Tilis must have made her reconsider.
After all, she thought I was just an ordinary person.
Alright then, let’s test her.
Since her personality is so transparent, there’s a lot I can gain.
“According to Instructor Georg’s research, the metal used in Ex Machina’s mechanical devices is just ordinary iron.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not an expert, but given the structure of those devices, ordinary iron shouldn’t be able to withstand it. So the other researchers must have pressured Georg.”
“That’s right.”
“But it really is just iron, isn’t it?”
“……”
Judging by her expression, it is.
“It must be that some external factor, not technology, is affecting the iron.”
“If it were magitech—”
“If it were magitech, there would already be corresponding mechanisms in place. The fact that there aren’t is why the material itself came under suspicion, right?”
“…Yes.”
Before she could even finish her excuse, I cut it off at the source, and Emily slumped slightly like a drenched puppy.
Her face was still expressionless, yet her thoughts were strangely obvious.
“If it’s an external factor, what could it be? An ability? No. Abilities center around people. Even if you could apply them to external devices, maintaining them long-term would be impossible.”
“……”
It’s neither magic nor abilities.
But this world is filled with all sorts of powers.
Abilities and magic. Powers that manifest upon reaching certain levels in martial arts.
Even divine power, which only a select few priests and paladins blessed by Cult can wield.
And…
“Demonic authority.”
Some entities can even stop time itself.
With that assumption alone, most of the questions are answered.
An Ex Machina researcher holding a grudge against Tilis.
If they held a grudge, they must have faced a desperate situation, and those negative emotions would have been enough to summon a demon.
To borrow Tilis’s words, they summoned something “not good.”
“Just because they’re from Ex Machina doesn’t mean they can’t make a contract with a demon.”
Ex Machina and Lemegeton.
Both are massive organizations, so it’s hard to imagine someone belonging to both.
But strictly speaking, Lemegeton isn’t a group.
It’s closer to a qualification.
“Yohan oppa, you’re impressive.”
“I know.”
Emily looked at me with admiration, her face still blank.
Of course, I could tell she was genuinely impressed.
Well, naturally.
Anyone else might have noticed that Ex Machina was targeting Tilis, but connecting that to demons would have been difficult.
But I’m different.
I know Tilis’s true nature.
Demons aren’t something you see often, but around her, it’s a different story.
She attracts them.
She deliberately accelerates cycles of hatred, pushing vicious criminals toward making contracts with demons.
So now, I’ve figured out that the Ex Machina targeting Tilis this time is a demon contractor.
Then who is it?
Honestly, figuring out this much was already satisfying.
But surprisingly, I figured out the culprit.
“Koran Rekias. He’s the one from Ex Machina planning this, isn’t he?”
“…!”
For the first time, Emily’s expression broke.
In truth, she was the one who gave it away. Her carelessness made it possible.
Why else would she be trying to get on my good side?
She was the one who gave me the clue. And now she’s signaling for my help.
She didn’t leak information just to eliminate a traitor.
It’s because she knows him well.
“Which means you thought I could help Koran Rekias.”
“…Yes.”
After staring at me in shock, Emily readily admitted it.
It seemed she realized her mistake born of impatience.
If she hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have figured out that Koran Rekias was part of Ex Machina.
After all, he’s the head of the Imperial Technology Research Department.
Looking back, there were definitely suspicious points.
I just hadn’t noticed them early enough.
“Ha! No wonder his timing was too perfect.”
When Ariel tried to destroy the mechanical device, the first to appear and stop her was Koran Rekias.
With Ariel’s ability, she could have reduced it to dust in under a minute.
He must have been watching from nearby and stepped in.
“You must be close.”
Master and disciple.
That alone is enough justification.
Even if her emotions are different from ordinary people, it doesn’t mean she has none.
She could feel sympathy.
Or perhaps she has her own reasons for staying under him.
“Master sees me as his deceased granddaughter. He’s a pitiful person. So I want to help him.”
“…So it’s sympathy.”
“Is that strange?”
“No, nothing strange about it.”
A perfectly ordinary reason.
Her wanting to support my research, or calling Koran pitiful.
Even if her sensibilities differ, this shows how kind she is at her core.
Well, aside from her clumsy way of handling things.
If she had planned more carefully, she wouldn’t have been exposed by me so easily.
“I’ll say this in advance. There’s not much I can do to help.”
“Is there really no way?”
Emily seemed to have higher expectations of me than I thought.
Or rather, she trusts people too easily.
What exactly does she think I can do?
“If Master dies, your experiment will fail too, won’t it?”
“That’s true.”
So she had her own reasoning.
Right. For my own sake, I have to cooperate.
If Koran Rekias dies, I won’t be able to use the power of the demon he contracted with.
And it’s not like I can make a contract with that demon myself.
“But if something is given, something should be received, right? For smoother planning.”
You know. That thing.
Emily is, after all, a high-ranking member of Ex Machina.
There might be powerful devices even someone like me could use.
Since she’s giving something, couldn’t she throw in a nice self-defense tool too?
“……”
Emily tilted her head.
Was that too hard to understand?
Or was she still trying to hide that she belongs to Ex Machina?
“Ah!”
As if she was just slow to process, Emily nodded.
And then—
“Please help me, Yohan oppa♡”
“I’ve been meaning to ask. What exactly are you doing?”
“Aegyo.”
“Wow… you’re really something else.”
Just like before, Emily made a finger heart.
At this point, I can already imagine what the Robinhood family is like.
If even Stan Robinhood raises her like this, then even if Robelia becomes emperor, the empire won’t run properly.
In the end, I revealed Emily’s identity and stated my demand.
Yes, I boldly asked for something that could help me in combat.
Even after being exposed, Emily didn’t seem particularly surprised.
She just looked at me as if wondering why I needed it.
As I keep saying, that Robinhood family…
She doesn’t even seem to realize that being part of Ex Machina is a problem.
Maybe it’s because she’s a genius, or maybe she’s just naive.
“…Sigh. Since we’ve agreed to cooperate, let’s start with gathering information.”
Honestly, no matter what plan I make, the chances of success are low.
Unless Koran Rekias gives up the attack, there’s no way he survives a clash with Tilis.
She’s a true monster.
The only way to deal with someone like her, who is rigid and full of contradictions, is to not do anything that catches her attention.
Still, I’ve agreed to help, and if Koran dies, my experiment becomes uncertain.
I have to try something.
“Yuna.”
I called out as usual.
First, I need information.
With her ability, I should be able to get something useful.
“Yuna?”
But unlike usual, no matter how many times I called, there was no answer.
I don’t expect her to always be nearby, but she always responded immediately before.
Something felt off.
“Should I try again later?”
In the end, I moved on to other tasks.
I occasionally called for her, but she didn’t respond even once that day.
And by then, I couldn’t help but feel something was wrong.
“Ah…”
It had been such a storm of a day.
And I realized I had forgotten something critical.
“Am I being watched right now?”
Tilis had planted a suggestion in me.
She would be lingering nearby to observe the results.
Watching, hoping I would fall into darkness.
Because I showed desperation.
“I really shot myself in the foot.”
If Tilis is nearby, I can’t call Yuna.
Yuna has already been discovered by Tilis, so she wouldn’t come close.
Which means she can’t approach me either.
“…Hmm.”
Tilis is targeting me, but until I fully lean toward good or evil, she won’t act.
She’s the complete opposite of Cult.
Cult overthinks things.
They act strategically depending on the situation.
But Tilis is different.
If it’s evil, she kills it. If it’s good, she helps it.
Until I tip one way or the other, she’ll just watch.
“I feel like I can use this somehow…”
Tilis lingers around me.
Koran Rekias is constantly looking for an opening to attack her.
Which means—
“I can control where the two of them clash, can’t I?”
Ha! This is unbelievable.
It’s the perfect setup to stir chaos.
In my previous life, there was a saying.
“When whales fight, the shrimp’s back breaks.”
It means getting caught between monsters and suffering for no reason.
That’s exactly what my life has been.
An innocent citizen forced to endure endless misfortune, begging for mercy.
But now?
The shrimp has found a way to make the whales fight.
And honestly, I’ve been getting pretty fed up with all the unfairness.
“Ah! Senior! It’s been a while! Have you been well?”
“Yes, Dietrich. I heard you’re close with someone named Cult?”
“Ah! Yes! He’s my proud friend!”
“Could you arrange a meeting? I have something I’d like to consult, and I think his help would be useful.”
“Of course! I’m sure he’ll gladly accept!”
“Thank you.”
Let’s add another whale to the mix.