The Micro-Robot Drink and the Sky Above

“So, I’ll be imposing on you two for a while,” Mao Mingdao admitted, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed look as he addressed Leidi and me. “I’ll be sure to pay rent.”

“Oh, Mao Mingdao, there’s no need to be so formal,” Leidi replied with a smile, though I couldn’t shake the feeling that her smile carried a subtle implication of ‘I’m certainly not short on money, you know.’

“That’s right, that’s right, it’s absolutely fine,” I readily agreed, offering a supportive smile.

“Just make sure you do a good job, and don’t get too muddled!” Ruka playfully warned, patting Mao Mingdao’s shoulder.

Mao Mingdao had now become a tenant at the Chrysalis Pavilion. The reason for this arrangement, it turned out, stemmed from a thoughtful decision made by Liliya.

With the enemy’s movements completely unknown and Mao Mingdao having inadvertently tipped them off, our situation resembled Schrödinger’s cat: perhaps perfectly safe, yet simultaneously incredibly dangerous. To ensure the safety of Leidi and me, who were currently incapable of defending ourselves, it was deemed necessary for either Ruka or Mao Mingdao to serve as a personal bodyguard, constantly by our side. After much deliberation, the plan was set: Ruka would be responsible for our safety during school hours, while Mao Mingdao would accompany us at all other times.

And thus, the preceding conversation had come to pass.

‘Hold on, did Mao Mingdao not have anywhere to live? I had assumed he would be staying at Ruka’s place… No, perhaps he simply didn’t have the nerve to do so.’

“Now then, let’s begin our training,” Ruka announced, extracting two small, iron rod-like objects from her waist, which seemed to lack any fabric covering. “The sooner you two master your powers and the Gate, the better our overall situation will become.”

“Ruka, what are these?”

“I was about to ask the same thing.”

Leidi and I inquired, utterly bewildered, as Ruka snapped the two ‘iron rods’ in half and poured the pink, powdery substance from inside into our teacups.

“They’re micro-robot drink sachets, strawberry flavored,” Ruka explained, pouring black tea into the cups before handing them to Leidi and me.

‘Leaving aside the fact that there were robots in it… I mean, if it has a flavor, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to mix it with flavorless warm water? Strawberry-flavored black tea… I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would taste like.’

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen these,” Mao Mingdao remarked, a nostalgic expression on his face. “I remember mine was apple-flavored.”

Mao Mingdao seemed to have tried this stuff before. Given his reminiscent look, it must have been quite a while ago.

“You have the nerve to bring that up,” Ruka chided, giving Mao Mingdao a small glare. “Liliya only invented these because of you! You complained that the first generation of drinks had no flavor…”

‘This stuff clearly has a dark history. I really want to know more.’

“Bai Ping, do you want to hear what happened back then?” Mao Mingdao asked, glancing at me, perhaps noticing my intense curiosity.

“Yes!” I nodded emphatically. ‘If you’re willing to expose yourself, I’m entirely on board. In fact, I welcome it.’

“Back then, I had only recently become the inheritor of Number Two’s Gate,” he began. “My power of inducement was also physical enhancement, just like yours, though the extent of it wasn’t quite as outrageous.”

“Huh?!”

This was utterly unexpected. Had Mao Mingdao once been like me? Seeing his wry smile, I suspected he must have suffered greatly due to his incredible physical abilities back then. A sudden sense of kinship welled up within me.

Mao Mingdao pointed at the black tea in my cup, or rather, at the invisible micro-robots within.

“Those robots are used to collect various human body data. Originally, they entered the body via injections. However, I was ‘rock-hard’ all over back then, and no syringe could penetrate me. Liliya even angrily tried to shove needles into my mouth and eyelids! Can you imagine?! It was absolutely terrifying!”

“Eek?!!!” Leidi and I involuntarily shivered in unison.

“Number Two, don’t scare them,” Ruka interjected with a wry smile, looking our way. “Though it is indeed true…”

‘How did this suddenly turn into a horror movie? Liliya actually did something like that?! How terrifying! Scientists are terrifying!’

“After that, a helpless Liliya had no choice but to invent this special robot drink for Number Two to consume… after all, he could still drink water. It’s said that the production cost of these things is like diamonds. Looking back, it’s a good thing Liliya never made us pay for them…” Ruka murmured, scratching her cheek with another wry smile. ‘Needless to say, that was definitely a sum Ruka could never afford.’

‘Unbelievable… I’m currently drinking strawberry-flavored diamond black tea! Though, regrettably, the combination of strawberry and black tea truly wasn’t very palatable.’

“Once you’ve finished, sit quietly for a few minutes,” Mao Mingdao instructed. “After the robots have spread throughout your bodies, we’ll enter the ‘Corridor’ for training.”

‘Mao Mingdao, even though you’re smiling, could you please choose a different way to phrase that? It sounds utterly terrifying.’

“Ruka, what about the things you asked me to prepare?” Leidi prompted, likely referring to those stacks of paper from earlier. I hadn’t understood them then, nor what they contained.

“I’ve received all of them,” Ruka replied with a proud grin. “They’re all waiting in the ‘Corridor’ now.”

“Is that so…” Judging by Leidi’s expression, the items must have been both numerous and heavy.

However, thinking of Mao Mingdao, who had once packed ten thousand monsters into the ‘Corridor,’ this was hardly surprising.

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s begin~”

As Ruka’s voice, tinged with a hint of delight, rang out, the surrounding scenery began to violently warp. The ceiling, the cupboards, the hanging pictures—everything in our field of vision seemed to melt and drip down like candle wax.

“Ugh—” I quickly shut my eyes. This was making me incredibly nauseous.

“Done!” Ruka’s voice announced.

“Huh?!” I had barely closed my eyes for a second.

Slowly, I opened them.

“Wow!” Leidi and I exclaimed in unison, utterly awestruck by the incredible sight before us.

The first thing that greeted our eyes was an endless expanse of blue sky, adorned with long, white clouds as sheer as gossamer, and a sun that radiated a brilliant, golden glow.

Looking down at our feet, we saw… clouds! Thick, boundless clouds, like a vast winter snowfield.

We were now, incredibly, above the sky!

“Alright,” Ruka said, clapping her hands to draw our attention back.

“First, let’s help assemble the generator~” Ruka declared, her face still radiating cheer.

“…” Mao Mingdao’s expression was frozen.

“…” My expression was frozen.

“…” Leidi’s expression was frozen.

“What kind of mood-killing line is that?!” I cried out, tilting my head back with my eyes still closed, completely lost in the moment.

All that profound emotion from earlier had vanished instantly!