The Demon King of the Anime World

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The sudden charge from the Mecha loli caught Riku completely off guard.

In that brief second of surprise, the girl pounced on him and tackled him to the ground—landing squarely on top of him.

Of course, Riku didn't resist. He knew she wasn't going to hurt him—otherwise, no way he'd let his guard down like that.

Still… getting knocked over like that felt kinda weird.

Now lying on the ground, Riku's golden eyes locked with the little Mecha girl's crimson ones, her tiny body straddling his stomach.

And honestly… his mind was a bit of a mess.

Still, this mech girl in front of him was going to be by his side for the rest of his life, so Riku quickly calmed himself down.

"Onii-chan, I can't hold it in anymore! Hurry up and make me a woman…!"She stared at Riku, and after several seconds of silence, the mech girl suddenly spoke. Her voice was crisp and childlike—but the words coming out of her mouth were absolutely jaw-dropping.

"No," Riku said firmly, staring straight at the mechanical girl in front of him without hesitation.

"[Question]Is it because I'm not attractive that Onii-chan doesn't want to accept my love?" the mech girl asked again.

"Why are you so sure I'd fall in love with a mechanical girl in the first place? And besides... you don't even have a hole, do you?" Riku said, facepalming and muttering under his breath. He did care about her deeply, but… this and that are two different things.

"[Affirmative]So Onii-chan really is rejecting me. [Question]But I've detected a friendly attitude from you—so why won't you accept me?" she said, resting on top of Riku as she spoke slowly.

Her tone was flat and mechanical, yet somehow... it didn't feel quite like a machine.

"Forget that for now. Answer me—why were you following me?" Riku changed the subject, not wanting to get dragged deeper into the awkwardness.

He already knew everything about her, but still had to ask. Otherwise, the conversation wouldn't move forward.

"[Answer]I want to decode the unique human language used for mutual communication," she replied without pause. "[Explanation]The language humans call the 'heart.'"

"[Question]You were just a normal human before… How did you suddenly get power that rivals beastkin? [Follow-up]Not just that—how do you have spatial abilities strong enough to shake me off?" the mech girl said calmly.

"That's classified—for now," Riku replied, completely unbothered.

"[Complaint]I gave you my explanation, but you won't give me yours. That's not fair," she said, sounding like a kid sulking.

"How is that unfair?" Riku rolled his eyes and looked down at her again—still clinging to him like she was about to jump his bones. "Can you get off me now?"

"[Denied]No. [Urgent Request]Please begin heart-to-heart communication immediately. [Request]Let's press skin together. I believe this is the unique emotional exchange method humans use—one unavailable to mech types. [Hypothesis]If I mimic the same act, I might be able to 'read' a heart too."As she spoke, she gently pressed her little hand to Riku's face, unhurried and calm.

"If understanding the heart was as easy as banging, then the heart wouldn't be worth much," Riku muttered, shaking his head.

"[Question]But my research says this method is correct…" she said defensively, as if pouting.

"Well, the thing is—even humans can't really understand their own hearts. You think you can do it by copying a few gestures? Still… if we're talking about the heart, I'd say you already have one." Riku's voice softened.

For a machine to want to understand and connect to a 'heart'—wasn't that proof of a soul already?

"[Confused]Why? I don't understand. It's exactly because I couldn't grasp the 'heart' that I was disconnected from the [core network]," she muttered. She was still expressionless, but Riku could catch a trace of doubt in those ruby-red eyes.

"[Urgent]I've explained so much. Let's have a deeper exchange already. If this place isn't good, I can find another spot," she insisted again.

"You're really persistent." Riku sighed. Clearly, she wasn't going to back down easily. Guess it'd be better to keep her by his side for now.His golden eyes shimmered, and he fell silent, deep in thought.

It'd be better than having her run around looking for him and possibly getting into trouble.

"——!"When he didn't reply, the mech girl suddenly lowered her head and—stole his lips.Riku's golden eyes went wide.

What the hell is happening right now…?

"[Confused]Even after making contact, I still don't understand the 'heart'..." she mumbled, poking her lips as she sat back up.

"I told you that method's not gonna work," Riku groaned, covering his face with one hand. Anyone else might be thrilled, but to him this just felt surreal and absurd.

"Whatever. I'm Riku Dora. Just call me Riku. So, what's your name?" he asked.

"..."

"..."

Unlike before, she didn't answer right away. She just stared at Riku in silence, clearly struggling with something.

"....."