I am a mindless machine.

The so-called classroom was actually just a large cave in comparison, containing a large wooden table and several chairs for people to sit on. The room's lighting also used rare materials, and the overall arrangement showed that this room was highly valued.

This is also where Teacher Yunyou is responsible for teaching knowledge to the children in this settlement.

When Yunyou first proposed at the weekly discussion meeting (she was granted special permission to attend once a week because her fabricated identity was that of the daughter of a chief from another settlement), "I can be responsible for teaching knowledge," she was met with refutation and ridicule from many. They thought Yunyou was making up such a lie to make herself valuable. Even Bart, who had been kind to her since she arrived in the settlement, gave her a rare serious look before suddenly laughing and saying, "Haha, Yunyou is really amazing! You actually want to be a teacher. You'd better study hard!"

Barth's words were actually an attempt to save face for the girl, but he didn't think she was stupid, because her behavior along the way had been truly admirable. The reason she was saying such things now was probably because she was still unsettled by the destruction of her homeland.

Bart gave Yunyou a calm smile, wanting to tell her through that smile, "Don't be afraid."

Yun You returned a graceful smile to Bart. Her delicate face, which had been cold and icy for the past week since she had wiped away her tears, suddenly blossomed with a smile so captivating it made Bart's heart skip a beat. Just as he was about to say something to change the subject and move on...

The girl then uttered a string of words that most of those present couldn't understand. Only a few listened, their expressions growing increasingly shocked, their jaws agape as if they might fall off—the clear voice spoke the language of the Forest Elf race, and at first they could understand the vocabulary, simply thinking the girl was incredibly skilled. But after just a few seconds, they were completely dumbfounded… My God, what is all this?! Moreover, the syllables and symbols subtly contained patterns, clearly not just made up…

Thus, Yun You rightfully became one of the teachers in this settlement, and the most powerful one at that. She also gained the qualification to participate in every discussion conference and the right to speak.

She also got the title of "loli prodigy"... but that's irrelevant to the main story.

...

...

Sizzle~

The old wooden door made a worrying sound and slowly opened behind it, revealing the scene behind it to the two girls.

"Huh? Dad? What are you doing here?"

Funa was the first to exclaim in surprise, her eyes widening as she stared at the man who appeared behind the door. Apart from Bart, none of the children who were expected to fill the classroom and make a ruckus preparing for class were there; instead, there were many adults who held important positions in the community.

"Haha, sorry Funa. Classes are canceled today, so go play with your friends instead."

Bart's face still bore his signature cheerful smile. After speaking to Funa, he turned and gave Yunyou a wink. Yunyou didn't need to find an excuse to send him away; Funa paused for a moment, then vaguely understood. She smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, I understand, Daddy~ Well then, Yunyou-chan, see you later~" The girl waved and ran off happily. She'd only run halfway when she started calling to her usual playmates, still as restless as ever.

"Yunyou..."

"The investigation team found something, right? I understand. Don't panic, calm down. We can talk inside." Yun You said calmly. She immediately saw the panic hidden beneath Bart's cheerful smile. Besides serving as a classroom, this room also served as the venue for the weekly discussion meetings (resources were scarce in this settlement). The fact that they would urgently summon these meeting participants at this time, disregarding their usual schedule, suggested something serious had happened that even Bart couldn't calm down.

The girl's calm yet powerful voice calmed Bart down. He looked around after she went inside before closing the door.

...

...

"Yesterday, we discovered human footprints again, just like last time in Yunyou's settlement... Uh... I'm sorry, Yunyou, I didn't mean to bring up your sad story." Bart was explaining the situation when his voice suddenly stopped halfway through. He realized he had said the wrong thing and immediately apologized to the girl.

Yun You shook her head slightly, a disappointed expression on her face, and said softly, "No... I'm fine. That's all in the past. We must look to the future." Sad things? If it were possible to be sad, I'd love to be... We must look to the future.

"Well... I'll continue then. In short, as usual, we sent out a search team today to investigate the terrain around there..." Since the person in question indicated everything was alright, Bart didn't waste any more time with unnecessary pleasantries and continued concisely, as this matter was extremely important to them (the settlement): "As we observed, there are traces of a completely wiped-out settlement in that area, with a population of over five hundred—the cause of death is presumably a stray bullet (fragment) produced during the battle between the Dragon Spirits and the Skywings..."

At this point, a heavy atmosphere filled the entire conference room. A sense of shared sorrow, like that of a rabbit mourning the death of a fox, pervaded everyone's face.

In such a world, such things happen all too often. No matter what efforts humanity makes, when faced with such an irresistible meteorite (sudden event), life can only vanish meaninglessly from the world.

"So—what else did the search team find?"

The crisp sound shattered the somber atmosphere in the conference room without regard for the situation, but no one glared at the girl. On the contrary, many offered her forced smiles. The girl had done the right thing; there was no time to mourn the deaths—just remember them.

Because by doing so, their deaths are given meaning—and that is enough.

"We discovered the ruins of a forest elf near that destroyed village, and we found something in those ruins."

Bart's expression was grave, but his barely suppressed excitement was palpable. He carefully took a small, dark brown, round object from his pocket and said, "This plant fruit can rapidly increase the growth rate and size of livestock. The search team found rats there that were five times larger than normal. After finding this, the search team retreated as quickly as possible—and if our deduction is correct, the ruins should contain the fruit of this crop and its cultivation methods!"

He looked at Yun You, and what he was about to say was the reason why he had urgently summoned Yun You at this time.

"But all those languages ​​are written in the Forest Elf language. The search team members all have some understanding of the languages ​​of various tribes, but they can't understand those languages ​​at all—it's probably because they contain advanced vocabulary or they've been encrypted... Yunyou, could I ask you to go and take a look?"

Chapter Ten: Talking to Oneself in the Bathhouse

"call......."

As her body (the somatosensory device) was immersed in the warm steam, Yunyou closed her eyes and let out a soft breath. In the steamy bathhouse, water droplets slid down the wall to the rounded corners of the stone decorations, and then, guided by gravity, gracefully leaped into the water.

Tick.

The girl stretched her delicate body languidly, her snow-white body displaying perfect curves. Her smooth silver hair, reflecting light after being wet, hung down with water droplets, and her cheeks were slightly flushed, making her a feast for the eyes—but the mechanical devices that were everywhere on the girl's body highlighted the fact that she was not human.

Yun You raised her right hand, looking through her slender, dripping palm at the dim, warm light emanating from the cave ceiling, and murmured softly:

"A race that can withstand water, dust, frost, fire, bullets, explosions, magic, and even elves, yet can't resist dirt... What kind of bizarre setting is this..."

As a result, she has to spend unnecessary calculation units every day to prevent Funa's ambushes. So far, she has experienced things like hiding in piles of old clothes, hiding in the water with a reed pipe pretending to be a ninja, and rushing in naked shouting "Yu-chan~! I've come to take a bath with you~!!" If it weren't for the fact that the machine armor can automatically detect life signs within a certain range, it would be impossible to defend against.

Yunyou grabbed the two tails hanging behind her and tried to position them so that they could fully contact the surrounding air—a move that greatly stimulated the girl. Her cheeks, which were already flushed from the heat (causing changes in her body's adaptive mechanisms), became even redder, like apples about to drip with water.

Those two freely moving cables (tails) with blue crystals at their ends—the full name being the Pseudo-Elf Corridor Connecting Nerves—are essential chargers for the Machine-type creatures. Theoretically, they must always be exposed and unobstructed.

However, that's only in theory.

Unlike Shubi, who was vouched for and protected by Riku in the original work, Yunyou found it difficult to gain the trust of others in the first few days after arriving in the settlement. Under such circumstances, if she had two tails trailing behind her and insisted that they were just decorations, the possibility of being suspected would be too high.

Yunyou's body is different from other Mechs; in terms of pure attributes, it's almost on par with the Winged Mechs—which is why she can store energy, something other Mechs can't do. This allows her to maintain the energy needed for movement without extending her tail (combat aside).

...Although she intended to use the entire night to recharge, the settlement was so small that it couldn't even provide her with a private room; even the chief had a shared room, so she couldn't avoid it.

Left with no other choice, the girl resorted to using her private bath time to plunder spirits from her surroundings in an almost violent manner to replenish her extremely high energy requirements (after all, the ability to calculate is a passive ability of the Machina species).

However... such a crude method has an unavoidable side effect (aftereffect).

"—Mmm!"

The girl's petite body trembled slightly, emitting an unusually soft moan. Her tender voice, carried on the misty bathhouse, was quite alluring, and a hint of bewilderment seemed to flicker in her clear eyes. Fortunately, she had anticipated this situation and had already leaned her limp body against the stone wall, so she didn't suffer the embarrassing fall she had the first time.

[Retelling] - The tail of the Machina is used to connect the Pokémon of this world, which means it is the place where the most Pokémon gather.

In other words, that's where the nerves in the whole body are most densely distributed; to put it simply, it's... the erogenous zone.

If you normally acquire Pokémon 24 hours a day, there won't be any problems. But if it's a one-time, violent plunder like Yunyou's case, the result is self-evident.

However, for Yun You at this moment, it was merely a simple physiological reaction. Although she had experimentally tried to arouse related sexual desire after discovering this phenomenon, she had failed. The specific feeling was as if her body and mind had been torn apart and separated by a wall, which was extremely uncomfortable.

The shackles of forced calm are so strong that they evoke a sense of despair.

"............."

The girl leaned against the wall, gradually getting used to the tingling sensations spreading through her body. She began her daily calculations. After today's rest, the search team would set off for the ruins early tomorrow morning to investigate the fruit's details.

"First and foremost, the most important thing is the increase in feelings over the past three months... I still can't quite feel it." The girl repeated the same words she said every day, which were almost unchanged except for the change in the unit of time, but she didn't show any disappointment, since this was all expected.

Today's focus is on the details regarding the seed.

"Growth hormone fruit (tentative name) - presumably an experimental crop created by the Mori-sei species to test the twistability of biological genes, non-toxic to human species - and has a significant impact on increasing the survival rate of the species."

Detailed data, analyzed and measured, appeared on Yunyou's retina, arranged from top to bottom, awaiting the owner's inspection.

"(That's indeed an extremely useful item for this settlement, no wonder Bart, who always knows how to hide his true feelings, was so excited... although he probably doesn't know the specifics.)"

The girl thought to herself silently.

—In fact, the moment Batou took out the fruit, the girl had already successfully learned everything about it through observation and analysis... including the cultivation method and even the manufacturing process. For the Machine Race, these are basic operations.

However, she couldn't reveal this information, as the probability of exposure would be too high. Even if she secretly passed on the information, it would easily arouse suspicion from the settlement—and more importantly, Yunyou had no reason to do so (help humanity).

the reason is simple.

"(This also gives me a good opportunity to observe up close the various ways humans cope in this wartime environment... and what emotions they show when facing death (shining).")

Yunyou judged that for a homebody like himself who lived in a peaceful environment, the emotions, judgments, and determination shown by people in the face of life and death during war were very important information, especially the brilliance that shone in the last moment of life—it might be able to slightly touch the shackles on his heart.

So even without Bart's suggestion today, Yunyou would have found a suitable time to join the search team and observe humanity.

—For her own purposes.

".........Hmm." After a moment of inexplicable hesitation, the girl nodded again, as if trying to convince herself, and muttered to herself, "[Conclusion] Even if I help them now, their fate won't change; at most, they'll just live to a ripe old age. But that would be meaningless for the entire human race. So, compared to this superfluous sense of justice brought about by past memories, the most important priority right now should be observing humanity."

Past memories don't evoke emotions, but merely preconceived notions. Because these notions, formed over a decade, are contradicted by the present self, after only three months—this doesn't even constitute guilt, but merely a sense of contradiction arising from a logical conflict. It's less valuable than data.

"I must... retrieve my heart first."

Gently wiping her body and long hair with a dry towel, the girl put on a plain-colored hooded jacket she had brought from her hometown, pulled on stockings, and strolled out of the bathhouse.

"Well then, all that's left is to wait until tomorrow morning... I'm kind of looking forward to it."

Will my emotions be affected? — We'll only know for sure tomorrow.

Chapter Eleven: The Hunter in the Shadows

There was no sun in the sky.

Only a dark, blood-red color, as if mixed with sewage, and snowflakes (highly poisonous) that filled the entire sky and emitted a beautiful light.

This scene stretched as far as the eye could see, without end—encompassing the entire field of vision.

It's as if... these are the only things left in the world.

"What's wrong? -- Stop spacing out! Snap out of it!"

"...Sorry, I was a little distracted. I'll be more careful next time."

"Hmph, that's for the best. Otherwise, you can just wait to die."

Just as Yun You stepped out of the settlement, which was disguised as a wild animal's den, she paused for a few seconds, slightly stunned by the scene that came into view. A middle-aged man with a deep-set face, who was also a member of the exploration team, immediately reprimanded the girl. She readily apologized.

"Alright, Daniel, Yunyou hasn't been on the ground for a long time, so it's normal for her to be a little dazed—besides, we don't have any extra time to waste, do we?"

"...You're right—then let's go, we need to get back before dark."

The brown-haired boy, Forrett, who had met the girl once before, quickly came over to mediate and offered a very reasonable point of view. Daniel paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Although he felt somewhat disdainful and even contemptuous of Yun You, who was a petite woman, it was the leader's (Bart's) order, so he couldn't let these feelings interfere with the mission. Without even glancing at Yun You, he took the lead and ran towards the destination quietly.

"I'm sorry, don't take it to heart. Daniel is just that kind of person. Besides, he rarely sees you because of hunting, so he probably just sees you as a little girl who's become arrogant because she has some talent." Forret could only give Yun You an apologetic smile and explain, "But he's the most experienced hunter in our settlement after Bart. As long as we don't encounter other races, we can rest assured about our safety."

The team exploring the forest elf ruins consisted of Daniel, who would serve as both combatant and guide; Forrett, the explorer; and Yunyou, the translator. Having more people would only increase the risk. Actually, with Bart present, the mission's success rate could have been much higher—but the settlement couldn't afford the combined deaths of Bart (the leader), Yunyou (the knowledge transmitter), and Daniel (the hunter of food). Such a scenario would surely lead to the destruction of the settlement.

Human beings have developed an instinct to imagine the most pessimistic scenario in everything they do. Whatever decisions they make, they will always base them on this, striving to minimize any potential damage. However, this mindset also makes it impossible for them to achieve the greatest success.

However, they were subconsciously aware of this. But—it was something they couldn't change...

"Oh, by the way—if you're tired, just say so. Don't let my size fool you, I'm actually quite confident in my stamina." Forrett smiled kindly at the girl and teased, "Besides, being able to carry such a cute girl is incredibly lucky for me, so please don't hesitate to give me that opportunity~?"

"Okay, thank you. I'll trouble you if I get tired. But not for now." Yun You looked at the boy's muscles, which weren't exactly thin but not strong either, and understood that he was just worried that she, a girl with a high sense of pride, would force herself because of her stubbornness. She shook her head and leaped forward to catch up with Daniel.