My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

Chapter 12: Serial Number Initial-Y01, the Automaton Girl Named RyuZU

"Phew—, that scared me to death."

Still shaken, Kobayashi gasped for breath, wiping the nervous sweat from his forehead.

That black container had almost turned him into a little pancake!

Fortunately, he had a flash of inspiration in that moment of crisis and managed to dodge, but in his haste, he had also subconsciously chosen to leave that world.

Looking at the familiar ceiling and Aqua's dopey face, he felt a sense of relief for some reason.

Oh well.

Although his first world-crossing was something of a failure, just seeing the scenery of another world had left him quite satisfied.

"Kobayashi-senpai?!"

Satou Kazuma saw Kobayashi suddenly appear on the floor and hurried over. "Kobayashi-senpai, you're back?"

"Yeah, I'm back."

Kobayashi half-leaned up into a sitting position and asked, "Kazuma-kun, how long was I gone?"

"Less than 10 minutes."

"Is that so? Is the time flow about the same?"

His biggest worry had been the flow of time. If different worlds had different time flows, it was very possible that by the time he returned, Kazuma and the others would have already defeated the Demon King.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

Satou Kazuma stated that there was no way a group of problem children like them could defeat the Demon King on their own.

"But I didn't expect you to have a harvest in such a short time, Kobayashi-senpai. I'm really surprised."

"...What are you talking about?"

"Hmm?"

The two looked at each other, confused.

Kazuma pointed at the container behind Kobayashi and asked, "Isn't this thing something you brought back, Kobayashi-senpai?"

Hearing this, Kobayashi quickly turned his head.

It turned out he had been leaning not against the wall of the room, but against the outer wall of the container.

It was called a container, but it was styled somewhat like a vampire's coffin. Coupled with the many gear-like mechanisms floating on its surface, the whole thing was filled with a mysterious, technological feel, very much in a cyberpunk style.

"What is this thing?!"

"Isn't it a souvenir you brought back?!"

"Of course not!"

Kobayashi and Kazuma questioned each other while quickly moving away from the container. Even if they didn't know what it was, it was always right to be cautious.

But they had forgotten about the existence of a certain idiot goddess.

Aqua patted the box and said to the two cautious boys, "Hey, I said, how do you open this thing?"

"Wait...! What are you doing!"

Kazuma cursed, "Get away from it, quickly! It's dangerous, you idiot goddess!"

"Huh?! Stop calling me an idiot goddess, you useless Kazuma!" Aqua seemed very angry and slapped the box hard.

Click!

A soft sound was heard.

It seemed Aqua had hit some kind of switch. The container received the impact and began to transform.

"Hiss—! I told you not to touch it! You idiot goddess!"

"It was an accident!"

"Not good! Not good, not good, not good!"

Kazuma cried out that this was bad and threw his arms around Kobayashi. Aqua was also startled and quickly ran over to hide behind Kobayashi's back, peeking out from over his shoulder.

Kobayashi had been quite scared himself, but seeing how scared the two of them were, he paradoxically calmed down.

As the box fully opened, no bizarre or terrifying creature emerged from within.

They waited for a moment.

Seeing that nothing strange was happening, the three of them cautiously approached.

Inside the container, there was a beautiful girl.

Screws, cylinders, wires, springs, gears—a plethora of mechanical parts surrounded her like funeral flowers.

The girl appeared to be around 15 years old. Her delicate features were as lovable as a doll's, and her rare silver hair was as beautiful as silk. She wore a classic black dress, her limbs were slender and long, and the cool-toned clothing made her exposed skin look even fairer and more translucent.

The only regret was that her eyes were tightly closed. If she were to open those lively eyes, she would surely add a vibrant color to the world.

"...Who is she?"

"I don't know," Aqua answered in a low voice. "Although I don't know who she is, she has no heartbeat, no breath, and no soul."

She gently caressed the face of the girl in the box. Her touch was compassionate, gentle, and full of holiness.

Kazuma hurriedly stopped her. "Hey, don't touch her! What if she... wait, did you say she has no soul?"

"Mmm, she is a deceased person. So, Kazuma, you should be quiet and not disturb the rest of the dead." At this moment, Aqua once again had the air of a proper goddess.

To prevent her from turning into a zombie, she had even begun to draw a magic circle, preparing to purify her with holy divine power.

However, Kobayashi suddenly spoke up:

"She's not human."

Aqua's movements froze instantly.

"Hey, Aqua..." Kazuma looked at the goddess speechlessly. "What was that just now? What are you pretending to be a goddess for?"

"I am a goddess in the first place!"

"Heh, 'goddess'."

"Hmph."

Kazuma's sarcastic sneer dealt real damage to Aqua. She puffed up her cheeks and glared at Kobayashi with watery eyes, as if blaming him for not letting her show off properly. She had no idea that she was the one who had gotten it wrong in the first place.

Kobayashi closed his eyes and used a skill to investigate. He found that the inside of the girl in the box was not flesh and blood at all, but was constructed from countless interlocking gears. Just like the scene he had witnessed when he crossed worlds.

"She is a mechanical automaton."

"Really?!"

Kazuma was shocked. He had never seen such a realistic doll before.

"Kazuma-kun, although I don't know what you're thinking, it's definitely not what you think."

"I get it, I get it. I would never touch your doll, Kobayashi-senpai. I have principles."

You don't know a thing.

Looking at his lewd expression, he had definitely misunderstood.

"Hey, come quick, come quick, you guys, come and look!" Aqua called out to them, pointing at the automaton girl and exclaiming, "Look, it's really all gears!"

Huh???

In a moment of inattention, Aqua had opened up the automaton girl.

Literally.

She had actually opened her up. Her body unfolded, revealing the precise components inside.

"What are you doing, you idiot Aqua!"

Splash + Iron Head

Furious, Kobayashi leaped from the doorway, crossed a distance of 3 meters, and slammed his head hard against Aqua's forehead.

"Owww—!" Aqua clutched her forehead in pain.

Kobayashi relentlessly pinched her tender cheeks. "Why did you open her up, you idiot!"

"It hurts, it hurts! I wanted to fix her!" Aqua said, whimpering. "Look, when you see something that needs repairing, don't you get a strong urge to fix it?"

"Are you serious? You're the Goddess of Water, right?! You should know what happens when water and iron come into contact, right?! Even a child knows that kind of common sense!"

Kobayashi's pinching grew stronger.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Aqua immediately begged for mercy, saying pitifully, "But I really did want to help you fix her."

Kobayashi didn't deny her good intentions, nor did he doubt her versatility in areas outside of her goddess duties. But based on her thoughtless and clumsy nature, her good intentions often led to bad outcomes. Especially with her inherent bad luck, she could genuinely cause the automaton to be scrapped with the slightest carelessness.

But he couldn't just leave her be.

After thinking for a moment, he sighed. "I have no choice. You give the commands, I'll do the work. Is that okay?"

"Mmm..." Aqua nodded in agreement, rubbing her swollen cheeks.

"As for Kazuma-kun... wait, where are you going?"

"I'll wait outside."

After the automaton girl was opened up, Satou Kazuma had very gentlemanly turned his back and walked towards the door. "I said it before, I will never lay a hand on Kobayashi-senpai's doll, so I will leave."

Why are you trying to act cool at a time like this? And I told you, she's a mechanical automaton, not a lifelike doll! You've really misunderstood!

Kobayashi really wanted to retort, but he held it in.

After Kazuma closed the door, Aqua officially began to direct Kobayashi in repairing the automaton girl.

"See that little hole?"

"Mmm, I see it."

"Poke it in."

"Eh?"

"I suspect the core is broken. Poke it (the screwdriver) in and open her heart."

"O-okay."

When Kobayashi had used his investigation skill, he had also noticed the abnormality in her chest area. Combined with what Aqua said, it was highly likely that a part in her heart was the problem.

After opening it up.

"See that gear that's stopped turning?"

Following Aqua's finger, Kobayashi saw a tiny gear hidden in the very center of her heart.

"That's it. Just wind it up again."

"It's that simple?"

"Trust me, I'm a goddess."

Kobayashi also understood the logic of "drawing the line costs $1, but knowing where to draw it costs $9999," so he didn't doubt Aqua's skills in areas outside her goddess duties.

"But the parts inside are very precise. Absolutely do not touch them."

"I know."

Kobayashi tremblingly inserted the screwdriver. He was concentrating so hard that his forehead gradually beaded with nervous sweat.

This time, it was Aqua who got impatient.

"Can you hurry up?"

"What do you want me to do? It's my first time, okay?!"

A young man's first time is always so careful.

When he successfully reached the center and gently turned the gear, it began to operate as if it had been re-energized, setting the surrounding stagnant gears in motion.

Her "heart" began to beat.

The opened chest and abdomen automatically restored themselves, the precise components hidden by the girl's beautiful, delicate curves. A breath of life appeared in her.

The automaton girl was alive!

"It's fixed! Yay!" Aqua cheered.

Perhaps in her eyes, the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment from fixing things was far greater than that from being a goddess.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Kobayashi quickly adjusted his expression into a friendly smile to make himself seem non-threatening.

The automaton girl opened her eyes.

He said softly, "Good morning, Miss Automaton."

"206 years. It took a full 206 years to repair me. It was just a small malfunction. Has the skill of today's clockmakers regressed to this extent? It truly makes one worry about the future of the world."

The girl's cool voice rang out beside his ear, but it didn't seem very friendly.

Meeting his gaze, the automaton girl stood up.

"Allow me to introduce myself."

She held the hem of her skirt, striking an archaic yet elegant pose, and bowed slightly. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Initial-Y Series 1, RyuZU. Thank you very much for repairing me."

(End of Chapter)