Preparation

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Rodin's activation of the Old World Automata was the result of multiple coincidences, basically his bad luck.

His friends had the opportunity to get information about the old world automata.

After finding four automata, Kurosawa decided that it would be impossible to get more automata in case something bad happened. So, to prevent any complications, he told his men to stop searching the area.

Thanks to the agreement between Akira Kurosawa and Togami's group, Akira and the others immediately left the area. So, if there are some left, it prevents them from finding any nearby automata.

Kurosawa explicitly asked Rodin to at least convey his warning to Rodin's other friends, but Rodin deliberately did not explain this to his friends. Therefore, everyone else in the team thought that Kurosawa would allow Rodin to go. So they didn't say anything, and left Rodin alone to search around.

That's why Rodin was able to get here. After leaving the room, he casually looked around, and came to the area by accident, where he discovered more old-world automata.

Rodin was captivated by the robot and smiled brightly.

Normally, he returns immediately to let the rest of the team know. Considering the risk-reward ratio, this is the best decision. But his smile was distorted, and he just stood there, seemingly seriously overwhelmed.

There are many relics in the ruins, which are dangerous. When hunters spot them, they tend to keep their fingers away from them and ask an expert to deal with them. Of course, there are many relics of the old world that are treated like this, it is common knowledge for hunters, and the old world automata is one of them, in fact, Kurosawa did just that.

But there is a big drawback to this process. The credit for finding a relic usually goes not to the hunter, but to the specialist whose service is expensive. Most of the time, these specialists receive a cut of the relics as soon as they sell them to some companies through their connections. Of course, this is not a problem at all for hunters who just want to exchange those relics for money, but for hunters who want to do it themselves, it is a big problem.

Rodin considered his options and reached for the container dock. Although he didn't understand what the balls were for, he began to push the balls randomly while checking the reaction. He cautiously pressed the button and flicked the switch on the touchscreen panel, only to find that there was no response at all, but that didn't stop him.

Rodin had always had a fanatical admiration for maid automata, and even more so for old-world automata. Thanks to their mechanical bodies, they retain their youthful and beautiful appearance, and as a machine, they have an unwavering loyalty to their master. It's as if these automata are just there to implement some kind of DS

, a paradoxical existence that has been turned into reality through old-world technology. When Rodin knew about them, he knew that he couldn't get these automata, but even so, he couldn't help but yearn for them.

While this is a very rare case, there have been reports of hunters somehow activating an old-world automaton that registered the hunter as its master by sheer luck.

Those super lucky hunters will explore the ruins with their advanced automata, so they can quickly succeed and become top-notch hunters. Such rumors are not uncommon in the East End. Although it is a rumor, there are also parts that are true. After all, even a short investigation can easily spot those hunters.

But even so, he decided to try his luck here, as he had met Shiori not long ago. Shiori's figure standing directly beside Reina, as if his admiration for idealism was awakened alive, caused his DS

。 What's more, the robot in front of him is already wearing a maid costume.

Although he understood that it was a dangerous offer, he could not pass up the opportunity to acquire the Old World Automata. Considering that this opportunity might never come to him again, Rodin couldn't help but try his luck there.

It was then that all the luck that had piled up on each other was even more prolonged. The container in front of Rodin, which was wrapped in dark clouds, suddenly hissed and opened.

Rodin unconsciously took a few steps back, the lid of the container was fully opened, and the maid robot inside finally opened its eyes. Then it pulls itself out of the container and stands on the floor.

Hey!

The robot turned to Rodin with a blank face.

The next moment, the robot's hand turned into a slash and stabbed at Rodin, directly impaling him. Its white-gloved hand easily pierced his enhanced suit and thrust into his wrist, all the way to its wrist.

Rodin raised his eyebrows in surprise, then smiled wryly and made a sad expression. Before all his luck brought him a good ending, he had already reached a bad ending. When he fell to the ground, he was overwhelmed with grief.

Just as Togami and his party were riding through the wasteland and setting off from the ruins, Akira thought of something and asked Togami a question.

By the way, you also said you didn't plan to spend the night in this ruin, did you? If we find the old world automata, is it still true? Those guys seem to be standing in that room for a long time, you know? I bet they've been there for over a day.

To be honest, even if we had found an old world automaton, I thought we would find it in a broken state, in which case we could bring it back normally.

Is that so? So if we get to that room first, we'd have to give up on bringing the automata back, huh?

That's not entirely true.

So, do you have another plan?

Although I don't really like it, I have two plans. The first is to contact D

kam and ask for their help. In that case, we will have to prepare automata that will guide them to the old world. I'm pretty sure we'll have a smaller cut if we do, and that's why I don't like it. Another plan is to sabotage the automaton to make sure it doesn't go on a rampage before bringing it back. If we can break it skillfully, we may be able to restore it later, but of course, this will also reduce the selling price. Honestly, it feels silly to break the relic you've worked so hard for, which is why I don't like the idea.

In fact, when they discovered the hologram of the Old World Automata, Ding and Shiori would even step in and destroy it without prior consultation if there were any signs that it might be dangerous.

While I'll only decide on a case-by-case basis when we find an automaton, it's basically one of those two plans.

Togami frowned as he imagined himself in that situation, and then he noticed that Akira was looking at him with a surprised expression.

What's wrong?

Nothing. I just feel like you really have some ideas.

Of course. After all, exploring ruins is basically gambling on your life. Just considering that I would at least consider this situation, even if you do it too, right?

Akira awkwardly looks away and makes eye contact with Alpha, who is jokingly smiling at him, and he also looks away from her.

Seeing this, Togami was surprised to find that Akira hadn't thought that far ahead. He wasn't sure if he should be angry about it, or if he should be impressed by the fact that Akira had survived to this point with such a childish way of thinking.

Back to Akira Kurosawa's team.

The hunter who was guarding the door of the room saw Rodin returning.

You're back, huh. Oh my God, what the hell do you think-

He was about to make a light joke to welcome Rodin back, but when he saw Rodin's condition, his face immediately changed. Rodin stumbled across the hallway with his legs in his wake, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Attacked!! Rodin is injured!! Ask for strengthening!!

As soon as he finished shouting in his room, he ran to help Rodin. The moment he rested his shoulder on Rodin, who was about to fall at any moment, Rodin fainted, probably because he thought he was finally saved.

Akira Kurosawa and the other hunters rushed out of the room. Kurosawa then told them to watch in the direction Rodin was coming from as they approached him. Immediately after meeting, Kurosawa lowered the folding turret and unfolded it. As the gun quickly unfolded, it turned into a huge gun with a barrel longer than the width of the corridor.

Kurosawa quickly glanced at Rodans' situation. Life-sustaining potions, an enhanced set that can move even with serious injuries, and the ability to explore ruins on his own allowed him to come back alive.

We can still save him!! Bring him in and heal his injuries!!

The guy holding Rodin hurried back to his room. Kurosawa and the other hunters slowly retreated into the room as well, their eyes still fixed on the hallway.

[He has an injury on his body, but what caused it?] Isn't it from a bullet horn? But I don't think we've found horned monsters in this area. ]

Kurosawa's thoughts were interrupted as he saw an old-world automaton coming towards him. Wearing a maid's costume and a girl's figure, at first I thought it was Ding or Shiori, but I immediately understood that it wasn't like this.

Active robots?! Is it blood on the glove?! So it came from that automata?!

Kurosawa immediately pulled the trigger. The explosion filled the hallway with smoke. He had preset the warhead to explode after a fixed time, making it explode before hitting the automaton.

When the smoke cleared, the robot was gone, and not even the remaining wreckage could be seen there. Kurosawa frowned and stuck out his tongue.

[It ran away, hehe.] I bet one didn't do much harm to it. The warhead seems to explode before it was supposed to explode, did it break the explosion timer? Or did it hack into the warhead timer? It's really advanced, as expected from an old-world automaton]

Kurosawa breathed a sigh of relief, leaving them alone, at least for the time being, so he put away his gun and continued to think.

[Maybe I should use rifle mode instead of cannon mode]

Kurosawa lamented his wrong decision as he retreated to his room.

He glanced at Rodin, who was being treated on the floor.

How is he?

Hell life. But he won't get up anytime soon.

Can you at least wake him up? I have a problem.

That's not going to happen. The injuries were severe, so he was basically at rest to make sure he survived. If we wake him up, it may cause his condition to deteriorate and possibly even die.

I get it.

Now Kurosawa has to think about another approach. The other hunters, who saw him at a loss, were also curious.

Is there anything I need to check as soon as possible?

Yes, I wonder what happened when he was attacked. It's just my guess, but I bet he was attacked by an old world automaton. I saw an automaton in the back and, unfortunately, it escaped.

The murmur is transmitted through other hunters.

So, are there more Old World automata?

Don't tell me Rodin activated the automata of the old world.

We're not sure yet, it might just be a humanoid robot, right?

Akira Kurosawa raised his hand to calm the other hunters.

That's what I want to ask this person. In the worst-case scenario, if he does wake up the old world automata, we may need to break the old world automata that we have now.

B-Break them?

There are 3 possibilities. The first one is that the guy finds an old-world automaton and activates it, but this would be a relatively better scenario. The question is whether the automaton will activate on its own, even if he doesn't try to do so. It would be better if it was because it would only appear when you were close enough, but it would be too bad if it activated itself to remove any unauthorized intruders. This means that the other four automata that are on guard may soon be activated. After all, that automaton might have been activated simply because the system was still in the middle of its activation sequence. A full-fledged old-world automaton is usually designated as a bounty monster, and we have four of them here. If we have to fight them, it will be very tragic.

The hunters looked at each other worriedly. While they understood that carrying four automata was a huge burden, they also didn't want to destroy the expensive relics they found if they could help.

B- But that's just your guess, right? It's not that we have to break them because we've considered the worst-case scenarios that are unlikely to happen, right? The experts we called will be here soon. We just have to wait until they get here

Kurosawa glared at the hunter who had said such childish thoughts, and immediately shut him up.

I'm sure some of you think I can do something crazy because I'm just getting paid to lead the team, so I don't care about the profits you guys make from this exploration and so on. I won't deny it, that's why you decided to do something. As I thought, the amount of money in line here is too large for an outsider like me to decide.

Wait, it's your job as a leader to make that decision, right?!

If it's up to me to decide, then break the automata. Do you agree?

When Kurosawa warned the hunters like this, they staggered back and fell silent.

I'm going to look at the hallway, so you can take your time and make your decisions. There are so many things we don't know at the moment. The longer we procrastinate, the worse it may or may not be. Maybe we can wait for the experts to get here first, or maybe it's too late by now. Remember, when you take the time to discuss.

Kurosawa turned and walked towards the entrance, and the other hunters behind him began to talk.

Just as the Togami team was heading out of the ruins to find relics that could be collected on the way out, Akira suddenly asked Alpha a question.

The thing I talked about with Shiori, it seems that I can buy an automaton with a billion gold coins, do you think it's good for me to buy one when I have time?

Alpha frowned.

I don't think it's necessary. But do you want one?

No, I just thought you could control my augmentation suit and my vehicle, right? So you can do the same with automata.

But I don't want to.

This short answer is full of rejections.

See you twice.

Aki

A was shocked because this short answer was more of an aversion to Alpha's suggestion than an impossibility. There was an awkward pause as Akira tried to change the subject.

It's just a simple idea and that's it. It's not like I'm going to force you to do that. It reminds me of Tsubaki when he was using an old-world automaton.

It was an old-world automata, and a pretty good automaton. Not to mention, it limits control to simple actions while ensuring that it doesn't affect the independent AI inside that automaton. So it's not the same here.

Oh, I see.

Yes.

Aki

A remembers the moment Alpha got angry when he called her an alarm clock. But this time, she was clearly angrier than she was back then.

I know you didn't mean anything bad when you made this suggestion, but don't bring it up again, okay?

All right.

Alpha then smiled and let Aki

A knew that her mood was back to normal. But Achillas' brow lingered for a while.

Even though the dress stretches to the ankles, the maid robots of the old world still shine in the ruins. It's not so much a decoration as it is a furnishing hair, often tangled here and there, but it moves around with agility while making sure it doesn't happen. All this is possible thanks to its advanced computing power as an old-world automaton.

Immediately afterward, two other automaton that had escaped from Kurosawa's side appeared behind the automaton. The other two automaton followed the other one, as if under its control.

While they are still running through the rubble, the maid robot grabs an object from under her skirt and throws it at the other two robots. Naturally, the other two automata took over.

The three automaton then finally collected the relics and left the building. Rena stretched and said with satisfaction.

Although we didn't find any old world automata, I think we did get a lot of valuable relics this time.

They have at least some relics to take home, and they can even fill several backpacks with them.

When he finally came out of the ruins, Togami himself breathed a sigh of relief. But when he saw Reyna and saw her let her guard down, he said to her, this is also a warning to himself.

Basically still exploring the ruins. So don't relax until we get to the city. Being a full-fledged hunter also means that we have to make sure that we can trade these relics for money later.

I know, technically, they are still in ruins after all. Ah, yes, Akira. Can we ask you to bring some relics? After all, our vehicles are a bit small compared to your APC.

Of course.

Thank you.

With that, Rena removed the somewhat embarrassing relic she was carrying with her and smiled happily, of course, she hid the smile in his heart.

Then, they quickly completed their preparations and got into their respective vehicles.

Move through the ruins like they're a team.

Alpha sighed heavily.

So, how much support would you like me to give this time?

It's enough not to kill me.

Roger that!

Akira gave only a vague answer, and Alpha didn't ask for more.

This is actually a killer move, and ordinary people simply can't dodge it, and it is cut off by the waves. But the female robot jumped away, as if knowing the nature of the blow, and used her blade to block the waves and disperse them.

Scattered particles of light shine on their faces. Contrary to Shiori, whose face is rather solemn, the robot has no emotion, as if it does not feel Shiori's danger at all. The difference in their expressions shows the difference in their strength.

The robot wields the blade to fight back, and Shiori, who trades its power for an accelerator that inhibits side effects and prolongs the duration of action, sees the incoming blade. Her goal is to parry its blade by using the sturdy part of her own blade, thus throwing the automaton off balance. But when she realized that there was a slight movement in the incoming blade, she immediately turned to avoid it altogether.

Without resistance, the robot's blade pierced through Theoris's blade, severing everything else. While her blade was undamaged, the blow left a charred crack in the ground and the plants it touched.

[That knife is the type that can change the physical existence at will!] It's getting more and more troublesome]

The blade used by the robot is a relic like a telescopic baton. It is using energy from the automaton to overcharge. Because of this, it has enough cutting power even in the retracted state.

The opponent is strong, and while protecting Rena, she doesn't have enough wiggle room to fight such an opponent, so she throws Rena to Aki

as APC。 And then in order not to let that robot destroy Aki

As APC, she also decided to stay in order to get Rena out of that place safely. She breathed a sigh of relief, it was the right choice, but at the same time, she frowned, feeling stressed that the robot was more powerful than she thought.

Shiori and the automaton swapped slashes in the heat of close-quarters combat. Every time he swung the blade, there was a glimmer of light in the air, which showed how intense the communication between the two was.

On the other side, the male robot was kicked by Ding. But as that kick hits it, it also jumps backwards to reduce the damage of that kick. While kicking its body away, its feet hit the ground as a brake, drawing a long straight line on the ground. When it finally stopped, it had fully regained its balance, aimed its rifle at Ding, and fired a few beams at her.

Ding accurately judged the direction of aim, and blocked the beam with the force field armor erected by the equipment in his right hand. The beam was deflected by the force field armor and disappeared into the wasteland in a straight line. The automaton then fired 3 more shots. This time, Ding blocked it with the force field armor of his left hand.

The robot then stopped, but its expressionless expression did not change. On the contrary, Ding smiled hideously, but suddenly sighed and muttered to himself.

Ah, it's not fun at all. Even if it's a humanoid robot, fighting with a robot still feels like a sandbag

The smile on her face vanished as her expectation that it might be funny vanished from her mind, and she let off a creepy icy aura.

I think I'll break it and fix this.

Ding said this in a cold and emotionless tone, quickly closing the distance between the two. Another beam shot at her, and Ding accurately predicted its target, but unlike last time, she dodged with minimal movement as if she had deliberately brushed the beam, and closed the distance between them in an instant.

As soon as he got closer, Ding threw a punch directly at the robot's torso with his right fist. Now that she's no longer fun fighting the robot and has lost interest in it, the punch is purely to break it. As expected, it tore through the durable Old World automaton torso, causing massive damage.

Deciding when to retreat was Togami's job, which included convincing Reina to obey his orders. Even if that command forced her to retreat. So, I won't accept any complaints about this.

Shiori sighed and smiled wryly.

Maybe next time I should hire you as a bodyguard.

Yes, you can do that. But either way, I'm sure Reyna won't be happy.

I get it.

Shiori smiled lightly, and Akira replied with a smile. At that moment, Ding returned to them.

Akira, you're on Anesan's side again. That's not good, you know.

Not really, it seems that you are doing well, so I went to help Shiori. By the way, how about another automaton?

Aki

A then remembered that he was in Kuzusuha

a Time spent fighting Old World automata in the ruins.

The other one escaped too, right? Well, honestly, I think that kind of enemy will come all the way until they're killed.

It's not like I can do anything.

You are right. Alright then, let's go back. Ah, I'm sorry, by the way, this bike is for one person only. So both of you need to use your legs.

Akira, you really don't know how to treat a lady, hehe. This is where you should let the ladies ride their bikes, you know? I'm sure if it were just me and Anesan we could somehow sit in that seat.

No!

Shiori almost immediately rejected the idea, and Shiori laughed, and Ganes looked annoyed.

Akira, stay vigilant.

Alpha, where is it?

From the ruins, there are a lot of them.

Akira glanced at the ruins and couldn't help but frown. A large group of monsters, including the plant-based monsters in the ruins, are coming towards him.

Wow, how come we didn't notice that group of people at all?

This may be because of interference from other plants.

So basically, those plants are the same as the plants inside the ruins, eh. It hurts, and it hurts so much. But what exactly is the size of that group?

That's just another guess, but I'm willing to bet the automaton summoned them. It's hard to spot monsters in this situation, but it's easy for monsters to spot us. I bet those automatics will signal them to know where we are. After all, the automata of the old world had the energy to do this.

Don't tell me that those automata are only retreating because they did their job to slow us down?

This possibility is not zero.

Killed some monsters. Just when Akira was surprised by this, Tokami's voice came from the information terminal.

Shake! Ding! Shiori!! Come back here now! The radar detected a whole bunch of monsters from that direction! Rena will take care of the incoming monsters, so ignore them and get in here quickly!

Before Shiori could let him forget about them and run away, Togami had already hung up the phone.

Milady

Go!

Shiori casually turned to the source of the sound and met Aquilas's gaze.

It's your job to convince Reina, right?

Akira is basically saying that this time he will be the bait, thus eliminating any hesitation in Shiori's heart.

Then Shiori said with a serious face.

I'll leave the rest to you.

Go ahead.

Shiori bowed to Akira, and began to run towards the Achillas APC, where Reina was.

As she said, Ding still maintained her usual smile.

You're on Anesan's side again. As I said before, that's not good, you know?

Save for later use.

It's so distressing!

Ding smiled amusedly and left without looking back.

Aki

A turn if you really don't want to fight, at least introduce yourself.

The robot bowed deeply.

Lio

Steels Universal AI, Olivia, is here for you. If you have fate, we look forward to your patronage.

Shiori and Ding couldn't hide their surprise.

Olivia pulled out a white card from her skirt and gently tossed it to Shiori. Shiori took the card and looked at it carefully. Once again, she couldn't hide her surprise.

This is?

It's not for you. If the boy wakes up, give it to him. Then I'll take my leave.

Olivia pointed at Akira, then bowed again, and suddenly disappeared. Shiori immediately glanced around, but she couldn't find Olivia anywhere.

Hologram!? Since when!?

Ding smiled happily and frowned slightly as he spoke.

Probably from the moment it threw out that card. I'm willing to bet it used some sort of camouflage device to hide while leaving a hologram and already out of the area. And, just before that hologram disappeared, I was able to feel its presence somewhere nearby. Even tricking my hologram, it's a very advanced decoy. I'm sure it's an old-world automaton. Uh, seriously, that's dangerous.

Ding used complaining to hide his disappointment.

Reynas's voice came from the APC.

Shiori! What's going on above!?

Now it's time to come down! The rest will be explained later! Miledi should focus on the monster horde! They will catch up with us at this rate!

Reina and Togami, who stopped filming due to surprise, started filming again in a panic.

Ding cast a suspicious glance at Shiori.

So, Aniesan, what are your plans for now?

Now, we need to come back from here.

Shiori understood what Ding was asking her and refused to answer directly.

Shio

i and ka

ae is back within the APC. Ding just threw the inactive automaton into the APC, and Shio

i then gently placed Aki

a Drop-off.

Shiori first appeased Togami and Reina, who were anxious about what had just happened.

Please calm down. Mistress Akira was just unconscious. First of all, ma'am, focus on the monsters. Togami-sama, please drive. Thanks to Aki

A Adults are unconscious, and we don't know how to change the autopilot right now. In the worst-case scenario, APC could stop altogether. Therefore, immediately approach the drive wheels.

Good!

Togami rushed to the driver's seat. Although since he was the leader, it would have been his duty to make decisions in that situation, he understood that it was an emergency and knew that Shiori was better capable in this regard. So he did not complain, but obediently obeyed her commands.

AE and I don't know what's going on there. We need to be in Aki

A grown-up asks him when he wakes up, so let's put any questions aside for now. Until then, ma'am, please take care of the monsters. Ka

AE and I will have to take a break, it's been quite a bit of time.

Huh? Am I alone?

Seeing this, Rena was confused, and Ding said to her jokingly.

Miss, now that we're back, are you going to be coquettish again?

I-I'll do it!

Rena replied in pure reflex, regretting it in her heart. Due to the absence of Togami and Minras, this is definitely not an easy job. Rena's face was hideous, and she began to shoot at the group of monsters that were getting closer and closer to the APC. Glancing at Ding and Xili, they were really resting, and even Ding was waving at her gently.

Well well, I will!!

This is definitely the result of them treating her like a full-fledged hunter. But Rena wasn't sure if she would be happy about it, and she gritted her teeth and kept shooting.

Shiori glanced at Rena and then at Hakuka. She is seriously evaluating her options there.

If you really don't want to fight, at least introduce yourself.