You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!!

The true form of what had been nudging my back was revealed.

It was the robot I had been fiddling with just moments ago.

And then, the robot began to move again.

A beast towering over even the largest elephant, with fangs and claws reminiscent of a hunter, a predator, its eyes a mad crimson.

The realization that it wasn’t manually operated but entirely automatic erased my excitement in an instant, and a second later, I was imagining either being squished into mush or slashed open by those sharp claws.

The first thing that came to mind was my own life.

Fearful of the suddenly activated robot, I frantically thought of a strategy to escape this perilous situation.

Then, what caught my eye was the…

(Can I do it? No, I have no choice but to go for it!)

A breakthrough idea came to mind, and slowly, I reached out my right hand to grab the white board-shaped weapon, E.

Then, I took a white ball in my left hand and swayed it from side to side.

Seemingly intrigued by the ball, the glowing crimson eyes followed its movement.

And then,

Crack!

“I hit it! Is this a center field fly!?”

I swung E with all my might, sending the ball soaring into the air, just as the commentary by Haruna would suggest.

“…”

“…GAU?”

The robot showed no signs of change, still motionless.

It was a strategy devised imagining a dog chasing after a thrown ball.

To a third party, this plan might seem more foolish than effective.

“…”

(Please, turn around!)

Still, with no other option, I raised my right hand holding E, pointing towards the direction the ball rolled.

“…”

(Please!)

“…GAU”

Whether my intent was understood or not, the robot slowly began to walk in the direction of the rolling ball.

Seizing the opportunity, a shadow darted towards the door on the opposite side.

Of course, I was alone.

“Someone! Please help me! It seems like the robot’s power is on!”

A volume incomparable to before burst from my throat as I desperately screamed, banging on the door with E, but no response came.

“Please, I don’t want to be squished! Somebody!”

What flashed through my mind was a traumatic scene from my childhood. In a movie I watched as an elementary school student, there was a humanoid robot of the same color as the beastly robot in front of me.

It was supposed to help humanity but turned into an enemy after being infected with a virulent virus, and the protagonist’s humanoid robot gruesomely destroyed it.

Recalling that gory scene, old traumas resurfaced, and nausea and terror took hold of my heart.

“Damn it! Open up, open up, open up, open up!”

While turning my palm red, I continued to hit with E desperately.

(I’ve got the ball, but…)

(He’s banging on the door) (What’s he doing?) (Looks fun!) (I want to hit too!) (So noisy) (What’s he saying?)

The black mouth clamped the white ball, remaining stationary.

In the line of sight was his back, waving the white board.

Watching this scene, an immediate internal conference was held.

(Shall we go?) (Yes!) (We’ve got the ball, let’s go) (Then let’s go)

(Yes… it’s okay, right?)

(It’s okay!) (We’re fine!) (It’s alright!)

Despite the lingering unease, encouraged by everyone, it slowly turned its feet towards him.

Slowly, very slowly, as slowly as possible not to alarm him.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

(…What’s that sound…)

Stopping my hand, my eyes trembled greatly.

I knew the answer all too well but didn’t want to accept it.

It was approaching step by step, slowly, not just walking but pausing with each step.

The movement, the sound, the pause, all intensified Hiroki’s fear.

It’s said that in moments of terror, one’s thoughts accelerate.

Hiroki imagined the cruel fate awaiting him in those brief moments.

Like a scene from that movie, being crushed, gouged, head smashed, and insides scattered.

Thud…

Then, the sound of impending doom from behind ceased.

My world was engulfed in the shadow of the beast behind me, imagining what was to come, my eyes losing their light.

(It’s over…)

The light fading from my eyes reflected acceptance of death.

Without futile resistance, I prayed for a peaceful end and closed my eyes… and then, a soft thud.

“!”

Something dropped in front of me.

Peeking through my nearly closed eyelids, I saw a white shadow.

Fully opening my eyes, I realized what it was.

“…Did you bring this back for me?”

“GAU!”

The terror vanished in an instant, whether because it brought back the ball or responded to my words, the exact reason was unclear.

However, Hiroki’s heart, which had been solitary until now, felt fulfilled at this moment.

For the first time since arriving here, he found someone who would listen to him.

“…Shall we go again?”

“GAU!”

Raising the white ball with my left hand once more,

“Come on, Hiroki! What will you show us now?”

(Hey, what are you doing?) (Yeah, it’s a bit strange, isn’t it?) (Miss, why don’t you tell us the truth?)

(Ugh, so annoying! This is to get along with him! It’s not like I’m just playing around!)

(Ahh, yeah, yeah.)

(Yeah, yeah, not playing at all.)

(Hey! Hey! Can I be Onii-chan’s dog right now?)

(No, no, you’re a pet, right? Oh, same thing!)

(Exactly!)

(Hey Airi, do you want to call him ‘Master’ or ‘Onii-chan’?)

(It’s not like that at alllll!)

Despite her desperate assertion, everyone grinned, and I felt my cheeks flush with heat.

(I’m getting petted by him right now, but it’s just so he won’t be scared! Yes! The important thing is to get along with him first!)

Outside this space, being brought a ball meant getting petted.

This signifies that he is gradually opening up to us.

I barked in my heart as much as I could, thinking that this was necessary to escape from here.

(So, we should start moving soon, huh?)

One of the grinning friends suggested it was time to act.

But Airi looked a bit anxious and wavered.

(…Just a little longer…)

(…)

(Hey, can’t we take control of this body from Airi?)

(I’m sorry! I’ll do it right now, so don’t do anything!)

In a panic, she backtracked on her previous statement.

(But what do we do now?)

(First of all… Ah…)

(What’s ‘ah…’ about?)

(No, I just realized I haven’t told him our names.)

(Is that necessary?)

(If he doesn’t know how to call us, it might be inconvenient for him.)

(I see your point.)

(And hey! I’ve got a great idea! We can also show off how smart we are!)

(Oh!)

(What are we going to do?)

(Using our claws…)

“Airi…”

The robot scratched the floor with its black claws, and from the scratches, the word seemed to emerge from its mouth.

“What do you mean?”

It’s unclear if the question was understood, but the robot responded by pointing at both the scratches and its own face with its front paws.

“What are you trying to say?”

No reply came back, just continued pointing.

The robot’s crimson eyes seemed to be desperately trying to communicate something.

And then, a word escaped its mouth,

“Airi…”

“GAU!”

The robot reacted strongly to the softly spoken word.

I understood what it was trying to convey.

“Airi.”

“GAU!”

I realized this robot’s name was Airi.

Then, something else dawned on me. To confirm, I voiced another question.

“Do you have intelligence?”

“GA!”

Scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch!

In a flurry, Airi scratched at the floor as if realizing something urgent, carving an English sentence into it.

We have been kidnapped!

Airi wanted to quickly communicate something.

“We have been… huh?”

But here stands a high school freshman from Japan, understandably unable to read it.

“Sorry, no, English…”

(I’m sorry, I don’t understand English. I even sing songs without knowing their meanings…)

“GAU…”

Airi seemed to deflate in disappointment. Nonetheless, I proceeded to gently pat its lowered head.

“Sorry, really sorry.”

“GAU GAU”

Patted, Airi seemed to accept the apology, as if saying it was okay.

“Anyway, we need to get out of here soon.”

I was reminded of my goal.

And now,

“Airi, can you break that door?”

With Airi here, perhaps I could use this robot’s strength.

“…GAU?”

Airi tilted its head, signaling it didn’t understand.

“It’s not getting through, huh?”

I started to seriously think about how to proceed. The only weapons at hand were two guns and an “E”. My hidden umbrella was left in the entranceway’s umbrella stand and my smartphone was still out of service. The surroundings were dimly illuminated by green lights.

And next to me sat the beast-like robot Airi…

“Hey, that cord of yours, it’s bent at the connection. Is that okay?”

There was a thick cord stretching from Airi’s crotch to the middle of the room’s floor, which due to its sitting posture, was almost bent at a right angle.

“I’ve had issues with my smartphone charger because I kept bending the cord. That could be bad for you too.”

As I reached out towards the cord at Airi’s crotch to touch the connection…

Beep beep beep!

An alert sounded suddenly, and Airi stood up abruptly.

“Eh!? Was it because I touched it?”

Then, the floor where the cord was connected began to sink slowly, pulling Airi down with it.

“Hey, hey, hey!”

(What the!? I need to cut the cord quickly!)

(No!)

(If I do that, they’ll definitely notice!)

(But at this rate! I’m being pulled down!)

Despite struggling with all four legs, the cord kept pulling Airi towards the sinking floor.

(What do I do! What should I do!)

Panicking and losing the ability to think clearly, my crimson eyes caught sight of a person.

(Onii-chan!)

Not wanting to be left alone, I instinctively wrapped my long tail around that figure.

“Wait! What!?”

Despite the screamed protest, I carried the figure on my back.

The body fully sank, revealing a dimly lit vast space filled with variously shaped robots inserted into grooves here and there.

(So many of them…)

The floor continued to sink until the cord connected to my lower half detached with a whoosh and split in half, placing me on a conveyor belt that moved us along.

(Where are they taking us…)

(Everyone’s expressions changed drastically.)

Fear. Anger. Resentment.

All these emotions filled the space.

(Could it be…)

(Everyone muttered words that parents and teachers said we shouldn’t use.)

The conveyor belt stopped. In front of us was a massive door that was closed.

(There… Air… ah…)

The emotions and memories of everyone invaded my mind.

The pain they had been through, the hideous faces, the creepy voices, all merged into a single emotion that dyed my heart black.

A buzzer indicating the door was about to open sounded.

The massive door began to open, revealing a bright space filled with dazzling light.

The first thing I saw were people in black clothes fighting against shadows.

Despite bleeding, they widened their eyes upon seeing us.

But there was an existence there that stimulated our hearts far more significantly.

(Found… it… What do… Decided… Unforgivable…)

(Ah… ah… AAAAAHHHHH!!)

“OhーO”

“ーーーFull baseーーGoodbyeーー! PrincessーーChangeーーーPitchーーComing outーーHirokiーー!”

“OーーOhー”

Something streamed by my ears, but I was no longer in a state to discern the sound.

I couldn’t hear anything anymore.

I swayed my body, slowly bending my knees to lower my center of gravity.

My mouth opened as wide as possible, concentrating light that seemed to be either flame or lightning – the answer was all of it. It was a mass of hatred, the darkness of the children.

And then I fired.

“GARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!”

A beam of light was unleashed.

“ーーーーーー”

Everyone present squinted at the blinding light as a massive beam soared over countless shadows and the battered ones.

The faces of those at the receiving end of the beam were filled with terror.