I love time travel the most!

She wore a headdress covered in ruffles, and her peach-pink hair, tied with a delicate bow, remained vibrant and eye-catching in the darkness.

Her face was covered with a white gauze.

If Kobayashi wanted, she could use X-ray vision to see through it, but her outfit was already enough to make it clear who she was.

—Firefall.

One of Akabane Tenzen's six dolls.

My ears twitched slightly as I heard footsteps coming from deep within.

Kobayashi greeted him rather flippantly, "I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this. It's a little surprising, Magnus."

A figure emerged from the darkness.

The silver mask concealed his face, and he wore his usual formal attire. Magic coursed through his body, and the ever-present danger constantly tested Kobayashi's nerves. He knew that the other party had already regarded him as an enemy.

indeed.

Kobayashi's origins are unknown, and he's been hanging out with his younger brother, Akabane Raishin. Given their current location, they'd be in trouble if they weren't treated as enemies.

But that magic...

It's truly astonishing; he's more powerful than Loki, and even more powerful than himself.

The tension continued to rise.

The other party's provocation naturally had to be responded to, and in that tense moment when the air was thick with tension and ready to explode...

"Oh? Is anyone home?"

Suddenly a rash voice broke in.

The voice came from a robust middle-aged man, very burly, who could easily be mistaken for a soldier. He had a tanned face, a mustache, and wrinkles around his eyes.

Those were truly familiar faces.

"You must be Kobayashi-kun?"

"...I never expected the Dean to remember me, it's truly an honor."

“Of course I will remember a student with such extraordinary potential as you.”

The dean smiled kindly.

At first glance, there is nothing strange about him, but the aura and power emanating from him are not diminished at all. In addition, he has immense magical power comparable to Megumin and a strong physique that is on par with mine. If you were to fight him head-on, you would likely be defeated.

Not to mention that the other side also has a top-ranked assistant.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." The headmaster narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze pressing on Kobayashi. "Did you... see something strange?"

Is it alluding to the cathedral below?

If the answer is "yes," he will probably make his move in the next second.

With Ryuu in the party, Kobayashi was confident he wouldn't lose, but Charlotte's troubles hadn't been resolved yet, so he could only back down for now.

"...No, I didn't see it."

"That's good. Magnus is actually my bodyguard. I'm sorry I startled you."

"The guard... he really is a qualified guard."

Sure enough, he'll remind me with words.

Then, he cheerfully added, "We're all in the same boat, caught up in this accident. Let's stick together and wait for rescue. Don't worry, my excellent secretary should be able to send people to our aid very soon."

Then his eyes sharpened again, like those of an eagle, and he warned, "Avoid acting on your own, understand, Kobayashi?"

The implication is that you shouldn't wander off, or they'll kill you.

The threatening tone rendered Kobayashi immobile, especially with the burden of his daughter, Anriet, present.

The conversation has come to an end.

The group sat down on the spot and lit a campfire for light.

Kobayashi did not use magic during this time, because the headmaster in front of him was the strongest magician of the 19th century, possessing enormous, almost limitless magical power. To arouse his interest would only be playing with fire.

A man who could transform his frail daughter into a semi-mechanical being under the guise of treating her illness is definitely a ruthless person.

Of course, using the influence of other families as a cover to help outsiders kill one's own father's daughter is equally ruthless.

It truly is a case of a loving father and a filial daughter.

but……

"I apologize for interrupting the academy headmaster's magic lecture. I also have a question I'd like to ask you. Is that alright?"

"Of course! Educators exist to answer the questions of those who are confused. I will try my best to answer any questions you may have."

The dean did not refuse.

Everyone has their own principles, even the strongest are no exception. He is an educator, and answering the questions of inquisitive students is in his nature.

"So……"

After a brief, deliberate silence, Kobayashi slowly asked, "What exactly is MachineDoll?"

"Um?!"

This question immediately caught the Dean's attention, and Magnus also turned his gaze in this direction.

Kobayashi continued, "Ordinary automatons don't generate magic; they can only be used by the doll itself. Even with forbidden automatons, the magic isn't generated by the doll itself, but by the human body parts installed inside. But divine machines are different; they are fully autonomous automatons, right?"

"...You know quite a lot, Lin-kun." The dean didn't answer, but instead gave a meaningful compliment.

Kobayashi, of course, wasn't fooled. He chuckled and said, "Most of the people who participate in the Night Party to become Demon Kings desire divine skills. No, rather, almost everyone has that desire, doesn't they?"

"really."

The dean did not deny it.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense would know about this. Even if they didn't, spending all their time with the Earl's daughter would make them aware of it.

"So, what would you like to know, Kobayashi?"

"I already said it, didn't I? Divine ingenuity."

Kobayashi looked directly into the headmaster's eyes and inquired, "Since Divine Machines are complete forms, fully autonomous dolls, can I say that automata that can move freely even without a puppeteer can be called Divine Machines? For example... purely mechanical automata."

"Oh? Reverse thinking? That's quite an interesting solution." The dean was clearly intrigued as well.

Reverse thinking is a way of thinking that involves considering things or viewpoints that seem commonplace and established from the opposite perspective. For example, Kobayashi just developed the definition of divine skill from the opposite direction, returning from the solution to the known conditions. Thinking in reverse might simplify the problem.

Everyone is thinking about this question.

After a brief silence, the dean said, "Indeed. If we follow Kobayashi's idea, this definition also holds true."

Eve's heart, however, is the fundamental circuitry that gives dolls their possession, self-regeneration, self-awareness, intelligence, and biological senses, and its operation relies on magic. Ultimately, do purely mechanical automatons truly exist in this world? If so, they should be considered a form of divine ingenuity.

This question was too strange and beyond common sense, so the dean could only give a vague answer.

It's not that he lacked erudition, but rather that his limited perspective constrained him.

Kobayashi laughed: "Really? Then I'm relieved. As expected, my Ryuu is the best in the world."

The academy president and Magnus sensed something was amiss in his words, but before they could ask, they were interrupted by a sudden sneak attack.

"Looks like we have an uninvited guest."

The powerful kick was aimed at the back of Kobayashi's neck. The force was so great that it was almost enough to break a human spine. If he were hit, he would definitely fall to the ground and die on the spot.

"Liu Zi, stop him."

"Yes."

Liu Zi dodged to intercept the opponent's kick, but her long leg was blocked by the scythe.

Seeing that their attack had failed, the attackers disappeared.

Anriette screamed a beat too late and threw herself into Kobayashi's arms for safety.

While comforting her, Kobayashi searched for the enemy's location.

A chill ran down my spine from behind, so I reflexively jumped forward, rolled forward with Anriette in my arms to avoid the attack, and was hit by a kick, sending fine sand flying like a fountain.

So fast.

Even Kobayashi had to give it a thumbs up.

The enemy was faster than Liu Zi, even faster than his eyes.

The "Five Visions" feature is very powerful, but its drawback is that it cannot track fast-moving objects.

With the help of the campfire, everyone could see the attacker's face clearly.

The man wore a stylish shirt, had short, blond hair, and appeared to be in his early twenties. Dark glasses concealed his expression. He floated in mid-air, his gleaming shoes barely touching the sand.

No wonder I couldn't hear anything; it was flying.

He moved through the air, rushing forward silently at an extremely fast speed, his trajectory a straight line, but Kobayashi had no doubt about his opponent's mobility and explosive power.

In the blink of an eye, it reached top speed and arrived in front of Kobayashi.

They were so close that they could even see the smile on the other person's lips, but Kobayashi didn't panic and just stared at him expressionlessly.

Suddenly, with a whooshing sound, Liu Zi appeared in front of her.

The girl-type automaton protected Kobayashi, and the giant scythe blocked the man's flying kick. At the same time, Akabane Tenzen's automaton finally stepped in to help.

The kick from the side immediately created distance for the attacker.

"Grab him, Firefall."

"Yes, Master, I will follow your instructions."

Upon receiving Akabane Tenzen's order, magical energy surged from the pink-clad girl's body, causing flames to rise instantly, distorting and heating the air, and kicking up sand and gravel from the ground as she charged forward at an explosive speed.

The knife, which had been unearthed at some unknown time, was repeatedly swung at the man.

The man, however, saw through her trajectory, was completely unafraid of the girl's speed, and dodged the attack.

Kicks, blocks, and thrusts—every movement by both sides generated shockwaves, creating gusts of wind all around.

Anri huddled in Kobayashi's arms, too afraid to look, while the headmaster watched the fight without being affected.

Seeing the massive battle, Liu Zi immediately remarked sarcastically, "A violent battle like this is anything but elegant. Is she a hidden gorilla, or are they fighting for the throne of the strongest gorilla?"