I love time travel the most!

That's right, it was the original base. But after they moved into a mansion, this place was used as a warehouse.

"Aqua, why did you come here?"

"So, what are we doing here?"

Kobayashi and Sato Kazuma exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes; clearly, neither of them knew what they were supposed to be doing here.

however--

Aqua stood outside the warehouse, looking smug yet mysterious, and said, "We're here to get things, of course. Don't be scared, though, the things inside are pretty outrageous!"

"Heh, I'm not surprised at all, because you always exaggerate." Kazuma Sato curled his lip in disdain.

Aqua, unusually, didn't argue with him, but instead slowly pushed open the warehouse door.

hum-

A strange sound entered my ears.

As the door opened, sunlight streamed into the dim room through the crack, and as the door swung open, the room grew brighter, revealing what was hidden inside.

Xiaolin unconsciously widened her eyes.

Sato Kazuma, who had initially scoffed, gradually widened his mouth and became increasingly shocked after seeing what was in the warehouse. He murmured as if groaning, "What... what is this... No, no way, if my eyes aren't deceiving me, this isn't—!"

Aqua was pleased with Kobayashi and Sato Kazuma's reactions, and opened her arms to introduce it: "Let me introduce it. It's a powerful weapon that I personally modified, and it's my proud masterpiece—Aqua!"

That's right!

Hidden inside was a mecha!

No, it didn't fail to update yesterday. I initially thought I had set up automatic updates, but then I realized I hadn't, which is why it didn't update. I'm sorry, it was my fault, which made everyone mistakenly think I failed to update.

Chapter 180 The Mecha Era: Boiling Anticipation

No one could have imagined that such a stunning treasure would be found in a simple warehouse in the remote suburbs of a town.

"Wow!!! A mecha, it's a mecha! Yay—!"

Kazuma Sato excitedly roared and shouted in the warehouse, running around the mecha, constantly stroking its cold but exhilarating steel body, and yelling at the smug Aqua:

"It's a real mecha! Aqua, are you a god? You must be a goddess!"

"She's already a goddess!"

Aqua retorted loudly and angrily, while covering her mouth to deliberately provoke him, saying, "Kazuma, really, you start yelling and running around like a baby whenever you see a mecha. Are you a child? It's so funny."

However, Kazuma Sato had no time to argue with her; he was completely absorbed in the excitement of seeing the mecha.

It's no wonder he was so excited, waving his arms and running around like a child; the mecha in front of him was so awe-inspiring that even Kobayashi was speechless.

Creating a mecha in another world is no less impressive than a playboy hand-crafting a tin man in the desert.

The mecha is entirely black.

With his left knee bent and right knee kneeling, left hand on his waist and right hand on the ground, he was in a single-knee kneeling position with the hatch in front of his chest open.

Without any paint, it doesn't feel simple or dilapidated; instead, it gives off an ancient, heavy, and mysterious feeling. In addition, without the wide and ugly cloak of the [Supreme Throne], it is replaced by a huge, streamlined humanoid mecha that reflects light and has a gorgeous design.

The transformation from "Demon King" to "Knight" is magnificent, and his appearance is more than ten times better than before.

When it comes to aesthetics, you can always trust Aqua.

Kobayashi suppressed his excitement and shock and asked, "Aqua, can you guarantee that it can stop the Destroyer?"

"Of course! If it can start normally, it won't have any problems with either the Destroyer or the Shatterer!" Aqua assured her confidently.

...The prerequisite is that the computer starts up normally.

Suddenly, I remembered that when we were in the guild, Aqua whispered that there were some minor problems that hadn't been resolved, probably because the mechs weren't fully debugged yet.

In that case...

Kobayashi glanced at Sato Kazuma, whose eyes were shining, and a sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Sato Kazuma, who was still excited, suddenly felt a chill and rubbed his arms, feeling that someone was plotting against him.

Sato Kazuma, whose excitement had subsided slightly, approached Kobayashi and said happily, "Kobayashi-senpai, with this we can definitely stop that Destroyer! Let's go, take it to the battlefield."

“Yes.” Kobayashi nodded, then pretended to think for a moment before saying, “In that case, we need to choose a driver.”

"Driver?"

“That’s right. Since it’s a mecha, someone has to pilot it, right? How about… Sato-kun, you pilot it?”

"I?!"

Kazuma Sato was taken aback.

He had assumed that Kobayashi would be piloting the mecha, since Aqua's modified frame was the giant mecha that Kobayashi had brought back.

Moreover, Kobayashi is more capable and experienced than him, so no matter how you look at it, he is the most suitable person.

“But that’s precisely why you should do it, Sato-kun.” Kobayashi shrugged and explained, “I have other Imperial Arms and I’m a bit stronger than you, so providing cover is no problem at all. Therefore, it’s most suitable for you to pilot the mecha between us.”

"……is that so?"

Kazuma Sato felt that something was off.

“That’s right. Besides, didn’t I promise you before that I would let you pilot a mecha if there was a chance? Don’t you want to? If that’s the case, then I can do it.” Kobayashi stepped forward, making a move to enter the mecha.

Kazuma Sato rushed forward immediately, saying urgently, "Wait, wait! The Destroyer's strength is not to be underestimated. There will definitely be great danger waiting for us. A slight mistake could lead to death. In that case, let me pilot the mecha. No, please let me pilot the mecha!"

His resolute posture, with his chest out and head held high, resembled that of a soldier preparing to bravely face his death.

"Kazuma, you're a complete scumbag." Aqua, who knew Kazuma Sato's true nature, looked disgusted, but still waved her hand indifferently and said, "Whatever, I can bring Kazuma back to life even if he dies. Just go ahead and die without worry."

"What do you mean by 'go to your death without a care'?!...Wait, I think I understand now. Could it be that you, Kobayashi-senpai, were afraid of getting into danger, so you gave me this opportunity?" Sato Kazuma finally discovered the truth.

"W-What are you saying? How could I do such a thing? You have to believe me, Sato-kun."

Kobayashi turned his head slightly away, not daring to look at Sato Kazuma. However, his guilty look completely confirmed that this was indeed the case.

Kazuma Sato wailed, clutching his head and yelling, "Aaaaah! I should have known! Is there ever a time when Aqua's work is without its unexpected problems? She's an idiot! I shouldn't have trusted her!"

It seems he has already regretted it.

Aqua retorted, "What do you mean there's no chance of something going wrong with what I make? I'm a goddess, the goddess herself! At least trust me a little!"

"I don't trust you because you're such a stupid goddess!"

Instead, Kazuma Sato angrily berated Aqua, causing the silly goddess to pucker her lips in grievance and tearfully seek comfort from Kobayashi.

Kobayashi scratched his head and said to Kazuma Sato, "I'm sorry, Sato-kun, I forced you. Since you don't want to, let me drive."

Kobayashi understood the principle of "Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you," so rather than forcing the other person to drive and causing an accident that resulted in the destruction of the town, Kobayashi decided to drive it himself.

Even if something unexpected happens, with Aqua who can revive infinitely, there's nothing to be afraid of.

"...Never mind, I'll do it."

Kazuma Sato sighed, as if resigned to his fate, and said, "Just like Kobayashi-senpai said, I was originally a useless guy, but now that I can help out and even become a key player, I'm quite happy."

"In the end, don't you still just want to pilot a mecha?" Aqua's sharp words exposed his excuse.

Kobayashi shared the same thought, and even felt a bit of admiration. He had never seen anyone so dedicated to risking their life to pilot a mecha.

Aqua's words were a bit harsh, and Kazuma Sato immediately blushed and retorted, "I...I'm being nosy! I do have a tiny bit of a thought about piloting a mecha, but only a tiny bit, really only a tiny bit!"

"Yes, yes, so can you go up now? Time is running out, we need to hurry to the town gate."

Aqua waved her hand, indicating that she didn't want to listen to Kazuma Sato's excuses, and urged him to hurry up and die.

Kazuma Sato clenched his fists, looking quite angry. But in the end, he held back.

Under Aqua's instructions, he stood on the right hand of the mecha that was kneeling on one knee, and was slowly pushed into the hatch on the chest by the mecha's right hand.

then……

There's no after that.

There were no crimson eyes, no clicking sounds, and not even the steam of startup.

"Huh? It's not running?"

Xiaolin blinked, somewhat puzzled.

At that moment, Kazuma Sato shouted from inside, "Aqua! I'm in now, how do I activate it?"

Aqua scratched her head, equally puzzled, and said, "This is so strange. Normally, my setup is that it will automatically activate after someone enters, and then they can naturally pilot the mecha. Why didn't it activate? Is something wrong?"

Kobayashi looked at her speechlessly.

Here we go again. Every time, it falls apart at the crucial moment. Powerful tools are created, but accidents happen for some reason.

But that's just her style, and Kobayashi is used to it.

But suddenly, he remembered a crucial issue: this mech, which was modified from the Supreme Throne, might require a certain key condition to activate.

—Royal bloodline.

"Aqua, have you forgotten about the bloodline restrictions? I remember telling you about this a long time ago!"

"That's absolutely not the problem! I already solved it with my purification skill! I even added new restrictions, so that anyone who isn't a follower of Axis cannot activate this mech!"

Aqua seemed to say something strange.

"Wait, Aqua, what did you just say?"

"I resolved the bloodline issue long ago."

"Not this one, the next one."

"If you're not a follower of the Axis, you can't activate this mech. What's wrong with that statement?"

Aqua doesn't seem to realize the seriousness of the problem.

Kobayashi looked up at the sky and sighed; he was completely speechless.

And then there's Kazuma Sato. Even though we can't see his expression through the thick iron wall, he must be just as speechless as Kobayashi at this moment.

Kobayashi couldn't help but ask, "Why, why is it set up so that only Axis cultists can pilot this mech? And what's the reason?"

"Reason? Look, this mech is incredibly powerful. Wouldn't it be terrible if it fell into the hands of other bad guys, or even the Demon King's army? That's why I specifically set this condition that only Axis cultists can activate the mech, so it won't be used by bad guys. What do you think? Isn't that a brilliant idea!" Aqua said excitedly.

You are so smart.