I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 54: Saya Guild of Nuong 3

Even someone like me, who has lived three lives without any connection to children, knows that growing children are the treasures of the world.

They are the sprouts of a new world.

Beings with infinite potential to lead the future.

Any adult with a basic sense of duty and responsibility would agree that protecting children should always come first.

In the past, the criminals I found most incomprehensible were those who abused and murdered children.

That sentiment hasn’t changed.

I still believe children should be cherished, like stars illuminating this harsh world.

-Thud!

“Gueek…!”

However, after being blasted into walls by the beam cannons of these innocent-looking children about 30 times, that belief starts to crack slightly.

The ordinary guild members of Saya Guild.

Girls with black hair and black eyes.

Their heights are identical, making them look like twins, but upon closer inspection, their features differ slightly.

As a guild recognized for its formidable strength and having received corporate approval, even these so-called ordinary guild members are exceptionally unique.

Naturally, their favorite pastime is hunting games.

One plays the role of the monster, while another plays the hunter who hunts it down.

And, of course, today’s monster is me.

-Tatatatatata!

-Crash!

-Thud!

-Bzzzz!!

I climb walls with tendrils to dodge beams, deflect sniper shots with the back of my hand, and hear the girls’ laughter in the chaos.

“Kya-hahaha!”

“Wow! Alice’s tendrils are so cool!”

“Give me those tendrils!”

“Tendrils are perverted.”

“Unnie, you’re amazing! Amazing!”

“Let’s cut off the tendrils and take them!”

“Kya-hahaha! Take this!”

“Unnie, you’re so sturdy!”

“Hehe! It’s my first time seeing someone endure my martial arts like this!”

I mean, seriously.

Shooting beam cannons with their bare hands and unleashing mana-infused sword strikes from afar—is this what we’d call normal kids?

Oh, and the one bragging about martial arts?

She blasts shockwaves with her bare hands.

My body’s internal screws were all torn apart and barely restored thanks to my automatic repair system.

“Damn it, they’re ridiculously strong…”

Usually, I control the tempo—quick, quick, slow, slow. But against these kids, it’s nonstop quick, quick, quick, damn it, quick, quick!

Still, grumbling is less effective than moving.

If I had been easier to deal with or provided them with other content like doll play or theater, or if I had indicated, ‘I’m weak!’, this ridiculous hunting game might not have happened.

But my pride got the better of me. Since the kids looked up to me with admiration, I declared, ‘I’m strong, come at me!’, which led to this mess.

Yeah, damn it.

I brought this on myself.

I completely brought this on myself!

At first, I smugly said, ‘I can handle this!’ But as the attacks grew fiercer, and even their strongest strikes left no damage on me, the kids got even more excited and began playing at full power.

And since I have no experience taking care of children, I can’t wear an apron and play house or read fairytales in a sweet voice.

I just have to endure it…

【Human, if you just surrender now and convince the children, they might stop…】

“A man has his pride! How can an adult, after confidently boasting in front of kids, admit he’s scared?!”

【You are neither a man, nor an adult, nor do you even look like one.】

“Shut up!”

Damn it, my mouth is my worst enemy.

Honestly, I regret my words even as I speak them, but since things are already like this, I’ll see it through to the end.

“…..Hoo.”

Even though I don’t have a body that sighs, a sigh escaped me.

At least, these girls don’t have even a shred of malice or intent to harm or kill anyone.

They are all innocent, pure, smart enough to understand and stop if reasoned with, and even doll-like in their beauty.

The problem is that there are over a hundred of these girls, and they can’t control the overflowing mana and energy in their bodies, meaning they can’t sit still without causing trouble.

And their idea of play often aligns with catching ants, tearing off their legs, and dissecting their bodies into pieces.

Even if they understand words, they don’t grasp the consequences of their actions.

It’s fortunate that I’m an android with a mechanical body.

As long as I have energy, I won’t stop or tire, making me perfectly suited to care for these tireless children.

Steel and gears.

Molten metal and screws.

These are what make up my body, and when I move, the things inside me dance.

Click, clack.

Step by step.

Like a waltz.

Like a tango.

I play with the children and dance with them.

As long as I have the energy to move, I might never stop.

If my body parts rust or break due to old age, I can simply replace them with new ones.

If energy runs low, I can absorb mana, electricity, or, in desperate times, even siphon the mana imbued in the atmosphere by torturing life.

Yes.

In some ways, I’m an almost immortal perpetual motion machine.

Under the right conditions, I could keep moving without stopping.

But to these children, I’m not some amazing perpetual-motion android; I’m just an entertaining toy.

Moreover, I mustn’t play with them at full power.

Unlike the Saya Guild’s children, if I use lethal weapons, someone might actually get hurt or worse…

“Kyaaa~!”

“Wooaah!”

“Unnie, this is fun!”

“You’re amazing!”

“Let’s dance one more time!”

Ugh, damn it.

Honestly, even if I whipped out my mantis blades and swung them around wildly, these kids would probably just deflect them and retaliate, wouldn’t they?

When these kids swing their swords, the scent of plum blossoms fills the air, and others are reloading bullets from afar.

For the record, all of those bullets are live rounds.

Frankly, it’s not a problem even if I get hit.

Ordinary bullets, not armor-piercing rounds, can’t even scratch my synthetic metallic skin.

But these kids coat their bullets in mana, essentially turning them into bullets with energy-infused force.

A few shots are manageable, but if I stop moving, the accumulated damage could eventually result in losing a limb.

-Ping!

Argh!

I think I’m getting a concussion…!

“I told you not to use armor-piercing rounds!”

“Oh, right!”

“Sorry, Unnie.”

“Kya-haha! But Alice is fine anyway!”

“Still, I said not to, so…”

When I checked what had hit the back of my head directly, it turned out to be an armor-piercing round designed for penetration.

On top of that, it was coated with mana-infused force, so if my body had been even slightly weaker, it would have gone right through me.

And so, being one-sidedly chased, engaging in neither overly aggressive nor entirely passive resistance, I dragged out the time until the sun began to set.

Sohi had introduced me to the children at 10 a.m.

I wasn’t sure what time it was now, but when I got blasted by the 31st beam and slammed into a wall, it was around 7 p.m., meaning roughly nine hours had passed.

Inside this space-distorted sanctuary, I had spent nine straight hours being a toy for over a hundred monstrous children without rest.

I now deeply understood why Saya Guild was willing to pay me such a hefty sum, equivalent to 0.3% of the guild’s total shares.

Not that I have bones to feel it in.

【Remaining energy: 19.7%】

For context, when I arrived at Saya Guild’s mansion, my energy level was at 98.7%.

When I fought Gaia and the Progenitor Virus, I used about 40-50% of my energy, but dealing with these kids drained me that much.

“Huff, huff…”

As the sun dipped below the mountain ridge and darkness fell, the children, seemingly satisfied, began to wrap up their “playtime.”

“That was fun!”

“Kya-haha!”

“Ahhh! Where did my bullet casings go?!”

“Ugh, no more casings allowed!”

【You’ve worked hard, Human.】

“You too… worked hard…”

To be honest, Theresa must have had a harder time than I did.

She continuously calculated and informed me of the optimal methods of resistance, staying within the boundaries of not upsetting the spirits of over a hundred girls.

Suppressing and playing along is much harder than simply defeating or killing.

One-on-one wouldn’t have been too difficult, but there are over a hundred ordinary guild members in the Saya Guild.

According to Theresa’s records, there were a total of 169.

If you include the girls who appeared and disappeared midway, it would be about 193, meaning Theresa had effectively handled and calculated for all of them.

“Hehe, Unnie. Thank you.”

“That was fun!”

“Wow, Unnie is soft too.”

“Her thighs are so soft!”

As I lay sprawled on the floor to cool my overheated body, a few girls crouched next to me and poked me repeatedly.

Even though my body was quite hot from overheating, they didn’t seem to mind poking me with their bare hands.

These are clearly not ordinary children.

Too tired to respond, I remained silent, and then I heard Theresa’s voice.

【Human, I have some positive news: we’ve collected sufficient data.】

‘What data?’

【Data on the ordinary guild members of the Saya Guild.】

Well, considering we played back and forth so intensely for half a day, it would be strange if no data had been accumulated.

【From now on, we will refer to the ordinary guild members as “the girls.”】

【During the “play,” your unit minimized the intensity of direct attacks on the girls. Based on the basic mana proficiency and strength they demonstrated, it is estimated that their capabilities exceed those of B-class Hunters in Ark. Thus, most standard attacks would likely be ineffective.】

‘And that’s a minimum estimate?’

【Correct. Additionally, while some injuries occurred due to accidental friendly fire among them, such wounds healed at a regeneration rate far beyond human limits.】

I had already suspected these girls weren’t ordinary humans, but the real question was whether they were naturally born.

Or if they were twisted biological weapons created through the malicious meddling of adults.

If it’s the former, there’s nothing for me to interfere with…

‘If it’s the latter, Saya Guild can’t be left alone.’

In the future, I’m destined to become a First-Class Overseer responsible for maintaining Ark’s order.

If these girls were born from the Saya Guild’s sinister secret experiments, I would need to crush them for both public and personal reasons.

But more than anything, the idea of using children for such monstrous purposes disgusted me.

If Saya Guild is creating biological weapons from children and sending them to their deaths, I will not stand by.

No matter how desperate Ark’s situation becomes, forcing children into harm’s way is something no adult should do or allow.

“Oh my, you’ve worked hard~”

“……”

Just then, Sohi arrived at the sanctuary.

“Guild Master!”

“Glowing Guild Master! Today was so fun!”

“Yeah!”

“Alice sis was soft!”

“She smelled nice!”

“She was super strong!”

“Hoho, is that so?”

However, there didn’t seem to be any trace of deceit or pretense on Sohi’s face when she interacted with the children.

Earlier, the children had genuinely followed Sohi, and her gaze toward them was filled with affection.

“You seem to have a lot of questions, Alice?”

“……”

Sohi smiled knowingly as if she could read my thoughts just by looking at my face.

“What exactly are you doing here?”

“……..Hoho.”