A 15-meter-tall giant robot immediately captured the children's attention. The fact that its design resembled the famous protagonist robot from a popular anime only added to the excitement.

“W-whoa-!”
“It’s the Great Bot! It’s so huge!”
“I want to touch it too!”

The children rushed to the windows, and the more energetic ones even left the classroom to run outside to the playground. It didn’t matter that they were in the middle of a class, let alone a parent-observed session. The sight of a giant robot made everything else seem unimportant.

While the whole school buzzed with excitement, even the parents were too bewildered to process what was happening. They stood there, unsure of what to make of the situation.

Soon enough, children began to gather under the giant robot’s feet, and finally, the parents, snapping out of their daze, started taking pictures of the robot with their phones.

“Dad, Dad—can I have one of those too?”
“…Sorry, son.”
“Why not!? That man over there says he’s just a regular office worker, and he has one! You’re important, so you can get me one, right?”

A few parents wore troubled expressions as they overheard the child’s whining. They discreetly glanced at Eight. The mere sight of this man, who was anything but ordinary, calling himself a regular office worker made it difficult for the parents to explain the situation to their children in a way they’d understand.

All they could do was expose their inadequacies and leave their children feeling disappointed.

While Eight was unknowingly causing disappointment and envy among the children and parents alike, he himself stood there with an oblivious look, unaware of the situation he’d created.

“Mister! Can you give that to me? Or maybe sell it to my dad?”
“That’s not possible.”
“Why not!? My dad’s rich!”

Hearing the innocent plea of the child, Eight thought for a moment about how to gently explain the situation in a way that wouldn’t hurt the kid’s feelings. Carefully, he patted Regalia’s head and spoke softly.

“This is a gift for our Lia. It’s a one-of-a-kind present.”

“Wow… I’m so jealous.”
“I wish I were born as their son…”

As remarks like that popped up here and there, Regalia, who had been smiling since the moment the giant robot appeared, slowly took hold of Eight’s hand as he continued to pat her head.

To everyone else, she looked like a child moved by a precious gift from her father. Of course, the reality was quite different.

…Boss?
—We’ll talk later.

Eight let out a small groan as he felt Regalia’s grip tightening on his hand like a vice. He hadn’t anticipated that his young boss could possess such overwhelming strength.

But, as he was in front of the children, he couldn’t afford to show pain or discomfort. He just smiled brightly, meeting his boss’s gaze. Regalia smiled back at him.

The tender smiles of the “father” and “daughter” filled the classroom with warmth.

The appearance of a 15-meter-tall robot at an elementary school quickly spread across the internet and news outlets worldwide. While strange occurrences in E City weren’t unheard of, this incident was particularly exceptional.

Anonymous: A 15-meter-tall robot? Is E City trying to start a world war or something???
Anonymous: According to the video, someone just brought it out during a parent-teacher session at school?
Anonymous: What the hell does that even mean???
Anonymous: Right??
SteampunkIsTheBest: A super robot… in real life? Is this for real?
Anonymous: Didn’t other cities try to make one too but failed?
SteampunkIsTheBest: Yeah, they did. And the amount of money they wasted on that was more than a warship lol.

Giant robots and super robots have always been the stuff of dreams for many. Even if they weren’t practical, they represented a romantic ideal. After all, this was a world where 1.8-meter-tall superhumans walked around—so why not a super robot?

Of course, everyone knew that a giant robot like that would just be a massive target in any actual conflict.

Still, despite knowing that, people continued trying to build super robots. The problem was that all attempts had ended in failure.

For those chasing after that dream, the appearance of a functional giant robot in E City was like something straight out of a fantasy. Unlike the 1:1 scale replicas that only looked the part, this one actually moved on its own.

“No way—! I was almost done!”

And, of course, where there’s a first, there’s always a second.

For every dreamer, there’s someone actively working to make that dream a reality.

“Who the hell beat me to it…?!”

Steelstone—his name roughly translating to something like "Iron Ox"—was a brilliant engineer. As he watched the video of the giant robot from E City, he was livid. Sure, the robot was massive, and it moved on its own, but he couldn’t accept it as a true super robot.

There were no visible signs of the energy it would need to move such a large body, no exhaust, no wear. Something didn’t add up.

“This has to be fake, right? It’s CGI, isn’t it?”

But there were too many videos from too many different angles for it to be a mere fabrication. With hundreds of eyewitnesses, he couldn’t just dismiss it as a hoax.

If only he could head to E City himself and see the robot in person, but he was restricted. The rulers of his city wouldn’t allow him to leave.

Instead, all he could do was watch videos uploaded by influencers and journalists who had visited E City. Even so, none of them managed to catch another glimpse of the robot.

The robot had either flown into the sky or sunk into the ground—it had completely vanished.

I knew it…

Steelstone became convinced that the robot was a fake, and the creators were hiding it because they feared being exposed.

That had to be the explanation. Why else would they hide such an impressive creation?

Yet, even as doubts filled his heart, Steelstone hurried his work.

I need to finish this, and fast.

CLANG!
Steelstone hammered another sheet of metal into place and gazed up at the enormous machine looming before him, its end barely visible from where he stood.

This was his dream—the war machine he had spent half his life building, with investments from countless business tycoons.

His giant robot, the first that would be revealed to the world.

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t do anything wrong. Honestly, I’m still not sure what I did this time. But that’s not the answer the boss wants.

“I told you not to cause trouble! Not to ruin my normal school life…!”

“I thought that much would be okay…”

“And what kind of normal household brings a giant robot to school?!”

“I couldn’t let them think you were lying, Boss.”

“It doesn’t matter! And no one would think you’re a liar just because that toy wasn’t real!”

I stayed silent for a moment and then bowed my head at just the right time. The big data in my head told me this was the perfect moment to apologize.

Sure enough, seeing me bow, the boss let out a frustrated sigh and started to calm down, just like all the professors I had successfully pacified with this method before.

“Should I erase the kids’ memories? Just say the word—”

“Do you think I’m a psychopath? Just because I want a normal school life doesn’t mean I’ll order you to erase kids’ memories.”

“As expected of you, Boss. I knew you’d show great mercy. The people of E City will know of your greatness one day.”

I smoothly steered the conversation away from the giant robot and toward memory erasure, slowly diverting the topic so that the boss would forget why she had been mad at me in the first place.

After a while, even she seemed to forget why she had been angry and looked a little puzzled.

“Hmm… yes, maybe it wasn’t such a big deal after all. You can go now. You did well today.”

“It was an honor to be of service to you, Boss.”

“Next time, I won’t ask for your help… got that?”

Leaving the boss sighing behind me, I returned to the lab, where Arima was waiting. Seeing me enter, he grinned playfully.

“All done? Did the boss get really mad?”

“To some extent, yes.”

“Figured as much. I knew she’d be upset.”

“...And you helped anyway?”

“Huh? Didn’t you know?”

Annoyance flickered through me as I looked at the cheeky grin on Arima’s face. If he knew she’d get angry, why hadn’t he warned me? Wasn’t he a magician? It couldn’t have been that hard to send me a telepathic message.

As I stewed in pointless frustration, Arima held out his hand.

“So, can I have it now?”

“Have what?”

“The potion to turn me back, of course.”

“Oh, that—”

I nodded, then extended my hand toward him.

“I’ll make it for you. Just bring me the ingredients.”

“...Huh?”

“You turned into a woman, so you no longer have any Y chromosomes left. Without the original DNA sample, I can’t turn you back.”

“Wait, hold on… you’re serious?”

“Absolutely.”

Arima’s face twisted in shock as he stared at me. I looked back at him, feigning ignorance. He wiped the sweat from his brow and stammered:

“...You see, I, uh… cleaned my room this morning.”

“You’re very tidy. But so?”

“Well, I use magic to clean, and... it's very efficient, you know?”

“No way.”

“I cleaned the room with magic this morning.”

There was no need to think too hard about what that meant.

Arima had no material left to return to his original male form. In other words, he was stuck as a woman.

“...Good luck.”

“E-Eight! You can figure something out, right? You’re brilliant!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please, just this once!”

Watching Arima cling to me desperately, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Serves him right. Let him suffer a little.

Maybe after a month, when he starts dealing with period cramps, I might take pity on him and make an antidote.

But then again, I’m an evil scientist.