The Good Child Making Project
“Huff— huff……!”
Haneui panted for breath. For the first time in her life, she realized that swinging a sword could leave her this exhausted. Even the supposedly limitless stamina of a beastman had its limits.
“What’s wrong? Tired already?”
“That won’t be enough to take me down.”
“How boring. I might as well play with this one instead.”
Eight, who was supposed to be a non-powered person, appeared from every direction. No matter how many times she cut them down, more kept coming. Was he some kind of clone ability user? Just what part of him was “non-powered”……!
One of the Eights reached out and lewdly groped Levitan. The sight made Haneui’s head boil with rage. The moment the number of Eights multiplied, Levitan’s lively movements had stopped. She stood there like a doll, showing no reaction whatsoever. Seeing that, Haneui became certain. The evil organization must have brainwashed Levitan after all.
“You vile villain…… Justice will never forgive you!”
“Justice doesn’t seem to think so.”
“Doesn’t seem that way at all.”
“Not in the slightest.”
Three clones spoke one word each, further scrambling Haneui’s thoughts. The fact that their voices rang so clearly in her mind only made it more unsettling.
Haneui swung her blade once to clear the unpleasant clones, then closed her eyes and poured all her focus into the hilt she gripped. Moments later, her entire body, the sword, and the scabbard began to resonate.
Her awakened esper ability was Resonance. Through it, Haneui could draw out far greater muscle strength than her body should allow, slice through anything the blade touched, and even draw her sword at speeds beyond sound itself.
Yet none of it worked against Eight. How was she supposed to defeat an immortal who kept multiplying no matter how many times she cut him down?
In the end, Haneui chose her final resort. A last-ditch technique meant to destroy everything around her, grab Levitan, and flee……
“—Whoops, can’t let you do that.”
Just before Haneui could draw and swing, Eight, having already read her intent, flicked his hand. The floor shot upward and slammed into her chin.
Knocked unconscious by the powerful blow, Haneui groaned as she watched Eight slowly approach. Was she going to lose another precious comrade like this? Was she going to have her freedom stolen again and be brainwashed into an experiment subject, just like back in Z City?
‘……I can’t— let that happen!’
An indomitable will. The spirit of a hero.
A miracle beyond words occurred. Staggering to her feet, Haneui glared at Eight with eyes full of the resolve to resist to the very end.
Eight’s eyes sparkled with genuine surprise.
“Impressive. You’re already up?”
“I…… will never give up—!”
“I guess it’s fine to use this too…… It was added to the data for a reason, right?”
Muttering something incomprehensible, Eight’s body began rising into the sky. He ascended until he touched the clouds, then raised his hand.
Space itself tore open, revealing a fleet of enormous battleships.
> —In accordance with UN interstellar law, this planet is scheduled for disposal……
> —All planetary residents are requested to evacuate immediately.
“……What is this?”
Haneui blinked at the aerial fleet she had never seen even on television or the internet. She couldn’t tell if what she was witnessing was real.
Before she could escape her confusion, Eight lowered his hand.
“Fire.”
The next moment, Haneui’s world was swallowed by blinding white light.
Thud—!
After confirming that Haneui, who had been dancing with her sword alone, had finally collapsed, I gestured toward Levitan with my chin.
“Alright, Levitan. Pick her up.”
“……Me?”
“Would you rather I carry her? Even if she’s our enemy, she’s still a woman, and I don’t exactly have the stamina to princess-carry an adult female around.”
Someone had worked their ass off researching and implementing all this, while the person who just sat around sucking honey wanted to skip the physical labor too?
When I shot Levitan a look that made my intentions clear, she nodded in understanding and hoisted the fallen Haneui onto her back.
The moment she was lifted, Haneui’s chest bounced heavily.
I deliberately looked away and returned to the hotel with the two of them. After arriving, we used Arima’s help to move to the Evils headquarters.
‘Returning to work during vacation…… This really is a black company.’
Grumbling inwardly, I laid Haneui on the device inside the lab—the same one Levitan had used for her surgery.
Perhaps recalling that memory, Levitan frowned deeply, her face twisted in clear distaste.
“Ugh…… Is this that thing? The one Levitang was naked in.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Then we gotta strip this one too, right?”
“She’s fine. The machine works without removing clothes.”
“……Then why’d you strip Levitang?”
Because you tore all your clothes while transforming.
When I stayed silent rather than answer, Levitan gave me a look like she was staring at a pervert. The one who ripped clothes on the street was you, though.
“Besides, our goal with her isn’t to turn her human like we did with you. It’s to punish her. No need to strip her.”
The reason I’d brought her all the way to the lab was punishment. The crime of tarnishing the name of the evil organization. The crime of framing us and ruining our pleasant vacation.
There was no reason to painstakingly rewrite her genes one by one like we had with Levitan. Once Levitan realized this, she looked at Haneui with a bitter expression. Her eyes, gazing at her former comrade and fellow experiment subject, began to fill with sorrow.
“Um…… Eightang.”
“We can’t go easy on her. This is an order from the boss.”
“Ah……”
“That said, well……”
“Yeah?”
Normally, daring to bare fangs at the evil organization would warrant severe punishment—but since when did the world run strictly on principle? If the criminal was the judge’s family, they received a reduced sentence and were exempt from execution. If you totaled someone’s car but the victim was family, you just laughed it off.
This situation was the same. In principle, we should break her until she could never recover, but the reason for her actions was to save Levitan from us, and Levitan herself didn’t want her punished……
“Changing the direction should be fine.”
“……Is that really okay?”
“It’s not okay. So keep it a secret from the boss, alright?”
I smiled as I slightly modified the software loaded into the machine. Levitan’s gloomy expression softened a little. I wasn’t that cruel a person. If we could handle things nicely, I preferred to do so.
What benefit was there in washing Haneui’s brain here and turning her into an idiot or grinding her to pieces? None. It would only damage the organization’s reputation. People would just think we were no different from any other villains.
‘First, I’ll read her memories……’
When villains or ordinary people attacked our organization, I didn’t want them to fear simply being beaten to death. I wanted them to feel a completely different kind of terror. The kind that made them never even consider touching us in the first place. The kind that made them understand that provoking us was the worst possible choice.
When Haneui opened her eyes again, she was standing naked in a pure white space. While she was blankly looking around—
a system window appeared before her.
> [Welcome, User Haneui.]
“……What is this.”
> [I am the AI Ethics Teacher in charge of the “Good Child Making Project.”]
“No, I mean, where exactly is this—”
The moment Haneui tried to ask, the world flipped. She found herself wearing what looked like kindergarten uniform clothes. Since they weren’t meant for a fully grown adult, the outfit was stretched to its absolute limit.
Pressing down on the fabric that strained against her chest and hips, Haneui glared fiercely at the system window that had appeared before her.
> [I was designed with the purpose of turning User Haneui into a good child, and I will use any means necessary to achieve that goal.]
“What are you trying to do to me……!”
> [We will begin with moral education. User Haneui, do you know what one must do when borrowing something from another person?]
“……Point a sword at them?”
> [Incorrect. The correct answer is to politely ask. Penalty for incorrect answer: 100 hours of “Borrowing Experience” simulation.]
In that instant, the world changed again. Haneui, now wearing the kindergarten uniform, suddenly found herself dropped in the middle of a city. Startled, she looked around and collapsed to the ground.
While she sat there, people began giving her disgusted looks.
“A grown woman……”
“What a sight……”
“We should call the police—”
“A-ah……”
Overwhelmed by shame from the stares, Haneui bolted and fled through the crowd. But that action was also incorrect.
> [Incorrect. Time extended.]
Dropped in front of people once more, Haneui tugged at her clothes and, face flushed, tried speaking to them. Naturally, no one was willing to listen to a woman who looked like a grown adult in children’s clothing.
So ashamed and flustered that she didn’t even notice everyone could see her, Haneui finally passed the first task after 300 hours had passed.
Smirk—.
The real Haneui suddenly smiled. Seeing that, Levitan asked in a worried voice.
“Eightang—? She’s smiling……”
“Leave her be. She must be having a nice dream.”