88 – Welcome to Yongjugal (7)
“Hey, are you asleep?”
Thwack!
I lightly hit the head of Treebo, who was pretending to be a rock.
There was no response. It was the same as when we first met.
“What happened? Don’t you have that? That necklace.”
Orphe had a necklace that could contact Treebo.
Originally, it was a communication device I used, but Orphe had been using it since I killed Jade and went to capture the Heavenly Demon Hitler.
“It’s at home.”
“Didn’t you try contacting me at least once?”
“…After capturing Nouvelle-Pierre. Once the task was completed, Tribot said there was no need for further contact. He said he had developed the cure and saved his kind, so everything was done.”
Orpheus wiped Tribot’s mechanical body with his hand.
“I used to send greetings whenever I remembered, but I never received a response… I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”
To think it would turn out like this. Is he saying that he lies here, lying like a dead bear, hibernating in a deep and gloomy space?
“I see.”
Normally, I wouldn’t care where this brat falls asleep.
It’s not because I’m ignoring the scrap metal robot, but because I respect him as a comrade.
From Noble mtl dot com
Didn’t this guy do more than his fair share in the final battle as well?
But this is my ninja village.
In my beautiful little village, there shouldn’t be any old, smelly, and ugly scrap metal cans.
“Tribot, get up.”
Thud! Screech!
He pulled out Tribot.
“You should sleep at your own place. Why are you sleeping here in my little village?”
Vroom vroom vroom vroom!
He spun the guy around in the air.
“Get up! Now!! Right this moment!!!”
If he doesn’t get up, I’ll have to dispose of him myself or throw him near the trash bin.
It’s a bit extreme to treat an old comrade like this, but I have no choice but to use a somewhat drastic method to wake him up.
“Ro-Robin! Hold on!”
Orpheus hesitated, trembling, trying to dry himself.
“There must be a way. Let’s try waking up Treebo like Diana did.”
“How? There’s no button to press on the floor.”
“…External temporary power source. Treebo mentioned it.”
“What does that mean?”
“If there’s an external one, there must be an internal one too. It’s only been about a year and a half, so there shouldn’t be any power shortage…”
Suddenly, Orpheus, who had turned into a ball, jumped onto Treebo’s body.
“Did you study robotics while I was gone?”
Sometimes, I can’t tell if she came from Earth or if I did.
Does reading a lot of books make everyone like this? I guess books and instruction manuals are better off far away.
“There must be a button somewhere to turn on the power. Somewhere… around here?”
Beep-
As soon as she pressed a button, a strange sound effect played, and a light entered Treebo’s eyes.
[Here… Ah… Orpheus?]
Treebo finally opened his mouth.
“I’m here too.”
[Robin. It’s been a while.]
“Greetings aside, why were you in my ninja village?”
[Ninja village?]
“Anyway.”
[…I fulfilled my role as the guardian of the Gogmagog tribe. I created a cure that could save the otherworldly species we fought alongside and awakened our dormant kin deep underground.]
“I see.”
[None of them were able to adapt to the new world. Instead, they believed themselves to be unnecessary beings in this place. They feared that the Gogmagog’s technological prowess would only lead to conflict.]
“Indeed.”
It’s not an incorrect statement.
If some lunatic scientist who got hold of the technology of the tin can robots can create the “Breath of the Whale MK2,” then couldn’t I do the same?
Of course, I’ll kill them before anything like that gets made.
[That’s why my kin decided to build a spaceship to leave this planet. They believed that there were things they could do in the vastness of space.]
“Even creatures like mosquitoes have a place in this world. There are no unnecessary beings.”
Buddha is merciful, allowing even the unemployed to live if they are not causing trouble.
What about the freeloaders or the parasites? As long as they don’t burden the world, it’s fine.
Anyway, over 99 percent of the people in the world are parasites.
As a super genius like me, who makes up less than 1 percent, keeps the world running smoothly, there’s no problem.
[We Gogmagog are not humans. We are a machine race created by a divine artificial intelligence residing in the Mother. We exist for no other reason than our necessity.]
“Then did you go and help your kin build the spaceship?”
[My artificial brain is too damaged. I can no longer be of any help to them. Quietly disappearing without leaving anything behind is the right decision for the sake of this planet.]
“Trevo…”
Orpheus wears a sad expression. I understand.
While I was fighting against the Heavenly Demon Hitler, Orpheus must have traversed countless battlefields with Trevo.
During my absence, they must have defended against the Red Whale Matap’s attacks, taking advantage of the opportunity and growing stronger alongside the resistance.
They could have been comrades who could fight and leave their backs to each other, or they could have been like a smartphone’s voice recognition secretary.
Robots (excluding Skynet) are like fragments of humans, no, not friends.
[How is Diana doing?]
“She’s doing so well that it’s annoying. She’s having so much fun and eating so much that she’s getting chubby.”
I’m worried that she might end up like the mascot of some website who ate tteokbokki and turned into a pig.
“That’s just average. Diana used to be so skinny.”
Orpheus immediately jumps to conclusions, thinking that someone is badmouthing Diana’s mom. But for yokai, the average weight of a human child is meaningless.
[I’m glad… I want to go back to sleep. Please.]
“…”
Orpheus quietly lowers his gaze. He’s probably not used to seeing off friends.
I have to step up in times like this. I summon the Taljoo Ninja Doll.
“Treebo, you were a useful robot. Thank you for protecting the world with Orpheus while I was gone. I’ll do my best to let you sleep peacefully.”
[Th-There’s no need for that. Just press this button again.]
“Farewell. It’s been fun.”
[Th-That’s the sword I made, isn’t it?]
The little guy seems slightly flustered, stuttering. Suddenly, he seems more expressive.
“Yeah. I’m satisfied with the product.”
I suddenly become curious. Does even a tin can robot dream of being an electric ninja?
Well, now he won’t be able to dream anymore.
“Sayonara.”
The runaway ninja infused mana into the ninja tool. Hoping for a one-shot kill.
“…”
Wait, I just had a better idea.
[Did you change your mind? Good. Just press this button and it’ll be done. There’s no need for you to do something like that to me-]
“You, can you make more weapons?”
[It’s difficult to make something as good as the weapon you’re holding right now.]
“Then can you make weapons that are urgently needed for ninjas?”
[If there is enough time, budget, and materials, it is possible.]
“Do you not know that excuses are sinful?”
This guy sure knows how to make a lot of excuses.
“Anyway, it means it’s possible?”
[Yes. But why…]
“Good. I’ve made up my mind.”
I put the runaway ninja tool back into the pouch.
“Robin?”
Orpheus must have caught on to my intention, as his eyes widened.
“Trebo, I will give you a role.”
[What?]
“From now on, you are the blacksmith of our Yongjugol.”
Trebo, a reason to live. Orpheus, a voice recognition secretary. Diana, a monster friend. And our Yongjugol, a blacksmith.
Eating the pheasant, eating the egg, and even roasting a passing wild boar, it’s truly killing three birds with one stone.
[Can’t you just let me fall asleep again? No, I want to fall asleep. Please.]
“Stop babbling.”
In this way, the blacksmith joined the village.
***
“Master Runinja! The major cleaning is complete!”
One by one, the candidates gathered in front of me.
The spider yokai has been wiped out, and the surrounding area was relatively clean, thanks to the cleaning candidates, including Heidi, doing a good job.
After giving a brief explanation about the tin can robot to the bewildered guys, we began scoring.
“Runox, you’re the first place. Excellent.”
I sent a thumbs-up to the haughty lady with chili paste hair flying.
She claims to have killed over 20 of the nearly 100 spider yokai by herself.
With overwhelming kill count, I think her combat power would be among the top tier of the runaway ninja ranking, maybe not the highest.
One day, she’ll become strong enough to turn Kakashi into snacks.
“It’s an expected outcome, Master.”
Runox, no, Runox bowed his head and knelt down on one knee.
But why “Master”? I don’t recall telling them to call me that.
In fact, titles don’t matter. After all, I’m the one who will leave after training the ninjas of Yongjugal.
Wise people would understand, but a runaway ninja doesn’t belong to any ninja village.
Not only the ninja village, but a runaway ninja doesn’t belong to any organization.
Fighting together like white dolphins was only temporary cooperation.
“Maximus, you came in second. Well done.”
“I’m disappointed that I couldn’t do better.”
Maximus, who had caught ten spiders on his own, gritted his teeth as if he were angry.
Anger towards weakness is a good source of nourishment, a good reaction.
Just don’t reach out to useless powers (tentacles, corruption, darkness, and other f*cking things).
“Big Bread, congratulations on third place.”
“Big… Bread?”
An unidentified woman holding a magic wand took third place.
I heard her introduction, but her name was so ordinary that I don’t remember it.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you…”
Giving nicknames based on physical characteristics is not harassment, absolutely not.
“Hook, well done.”
“Thank you!”
The rest was nothing special. As expected, all the candidates passed safely.
Oh, it’s a bit strange that these bastards passed too.
“Oculius~ We did it~!”
“Ew.”
Did I inject a nerve toxin with thorns on Oculius’ hind leg to catch it? What was that?
If you think about it, it was technically Oculius who caught him, but anyway, Duo did it, so I let him pass.
“Heidi, well done.”
“Thank you…”
Finally, I called Heidi, who perfectly handled the bone and the other candidates, and finished notifying them of their acceptance.
“Congratulations on becoming the first generation ninja of Yongjugal.”
From now on, the Ninja Village begins.
“Now you are all ninjas of Yongjugal. Never forget your mission and strive ceaselessly.”
“Nin-nin!”