In the end, Mizuki and I didn't leave the training hall until close to evening. Worn out and exhausted from those "training sessions," we said our goodbyes and went to our respective homes, agreeing to meet the next day.
First, to continue our rabbit games, and second, to visit Genus's laboratory together. The girl's interest in the place had been sparked the moment I mentioned in passing that there was a way to very precisely measure the current combat potential of almost any living being...
So, meeting at my place in the morning and not leaving the bed until after noon, we headed off toward the base of the former House of Evolution.
"Fair warning..." — on the approach to the destination, I decided to prepare my companion for what she was about to encounter. "Try not to be surprised by what you see. I mean all the residents there, and Genus himself too. And keep in mind — not everything I set out to do turned out the way it was intended."
"Ooooh!" — walking alongside me with considerable energy after our morning activities, Mizuki was in excellent spirits. "Sounds intriguing!"
"Consider yourself warned..."
Before long we were at the doors of the small above-ground portion of the laboratory, and then at the gates of the underground complex. And there, as always, the familiar sight awaited me...
"Master, Master! You're back!" — Mosquito Girl, who had for some reason put thin white underwear on her usually bare body, was already standing on the threshold. Seeing that I wasn't alone, her face drew into a somewhat puzzled expression — as did Mizuki's own, at the sight of an actual monster standing before her. "Mmm? Who is this? An intruder? No, this individual arrived with the Master... and she carries his scent! This is a female specimen meeting most criteria of human attractiveness! Master?! Surely... surely this is your mating partner?! You preferred her over me?!"
"Right... allow me to introduce my biggest headache." — with a quiet sigh, I placed a hand on my shocked girlfriend's shoulder. "Mizuki, this is Miss Mosquito Girl, though I usually just call her Mari..."
"That's the beautiful name Master gave me!" — Mosquito Girl confirmed proudly.
"Don't interrupt."
"Oh! I'm sorry!"
Sighing again, I continued:
"So, as you can see, she's not entirely human..."
"She's a monster!" — this time it was Mizuki herself who interrupted with her surprised exclamation.
"Yeah, an artificially created one, to be more precise." — I gave a calm nod. "There's a whole story behind all of it, but the short version is that Mari isn't quite an ordinary monster. At the very least because she has no desire to kill people, unlike all the other creatures."
"B-but..."
"And even so, I'm still not allowed to go outside." — theatrically hanging her head, Mosquito Girl complained. "Your society seems thoroughly saturated with racism!"
"B-but you're..."
"I did tell you to try not to be surprised." — taking Mizuki by the hand — she was still in shock and had no idea what to say or do — I led her deeper into the complex. "And as for things not always going as planned — here's how it all came about..."
As we made our way deeper into the laboratory, I told the heroine the story behind this place's creation, along with Mari's birth and the reason she behaved the way she did. To my relief, having overcome her initial shock, Mizuki fairly quickly stopped staring at the Mosquito Girl darting about here and there and only occasionally glanced at her cautiously, as if reassuring herself she wasn't imagining things.
After I reminded her once again that in all of Mari's not particularly long life she had never harmed a single person — not counting the brain cells she had personally killed in me — the girl seemed to make her peace with reality entirely. For a while, her full attention was absorbed by the Simulation, in which she could test her combat skills against the monsters Genus and I created. At present, Mizuki was dispatching any creature that fell under the "Demon-level threat" definition without much difficulty, and also had some chances against the weaker end of the Dragon spectrum. Of course she was still far from the middle ranks of S-Class in terms of power — but the progress was genuinely impressive.
For the next couple of hours, Mizuki practically didn't leave the virtual trainer, testing herself again and again until her brain grew exhausted enough to force her back into the real world. She made a show of blaming me for hiding such a great toy from her.
Having said goodbye to Mari and Genus and promising to stop by again sometime during the week, we headed back toward the city.
"That Mari..." — having left the underground complex's territory, the heroine awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "Did you two ever..."
"What?" — I raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Well... did you sleep with her?"
"Women... always the same one thing on your minds..." — closing my eyes for a moment and sighing, I shook my head. "No, we didn't sleep together. Though I'll admit the thought crossed my mind a time or two over the past couple of years... you know, especially when you were sending me those photos and I wanted somewhere to release the tension..."
"I get it!" — turning red as if it hadn't been me she'd been sleeping with for nearly two days straight, the heroine turned her head to the side. "But just so you know... I wouldn't be against it if you did!"
"What?!" — this time I actually stumbled. "Mizuki... let's go back, we should have Genus take a look at you, I think the Simulation fried your brain..."
"I'm completely fine." — the girl shook her head vigorously. "It's just... well... she looked so sad. Locked up in that place... I feel sorry for her! And besides, I'm not blind — you're literally swimming in female attention..."
"Am I really?" — curling my lips skeptically, I gave a quiet grunt. "Well, you know, aside from you, the only half-naked people I usually see are two old men..."
"You're too busy trying not to plateau to notice the obvious." — laughing, the heroine shook her head again. "There are too many girls circling around you. Fubuki, Suiko... there's even a whole fan club. I... am honestly surprised I was your first. But I made my peace long ago with the idea that I won't be your last... and since Mari is a monster, it doesn't really count as cheating..."
Concluding that I had apparently been right in my assessment and Mizuki's brain had gotten slightly overheated, I suggested putting this conversation off until at least tomorrow. Not that — back on that very first day I arrived in this world — I hadn't already been daydreaming about a harem of beauties, but firstly, that had never been my primary goal, more of a pleasant bonus in the "if" and "maybe" category. And secondly, the idea that this harem would take shape so quickly and — most importantly — so suddenly, and at my first girlfriend's own initiative... too good to be true.
So before taking any action, I needed to think it all over carefully and look for hidden catches. Especially since my needs for love and intimacy were, in the near term, fully satisfied by my relationship with Mizuki. And as for what came after... well, we'd see.
Defeating a monster not in battle but in bed did sound kind of fun...
Having seen the girl off to the station where she boarded a high-speed train to her home city, I headed back toward my own place. Having no desire to take a taxi or bus, I decided to walk. I was moving slightly faster than an ordinary person, so none of the fans who invariably appeared on the streets managed to stop me and ask for an autograph. Having covered roughly half the distance, deep in my own thoughts, I stopped at a red traffic light — and a moment later, a frightened shriek reached my ears:
"KYAAAAAAAAA!"
Immediately followed by others, far more specific:
"A monster!!!"
"Save the children!"
"Oh lord... it's huge!"
Sharply turning in the direction from which the numerous screams were coming, I saw an enormous robot walking toward me. Judging by the small depression in the asphalt behind it, it had just landed after falling from somewhere above. For a metal tin can, its design was excessively ornate. Its entire stocky humanoid body was generously decorated with gleaming ornaments and paneling, something resembling a fur cape hung from its shoulders, and a golden crown sat on its head.
Without touching any of the civilians, the robot walked straight up to me and stopped.
"I am G4 — combat robot of the Machine God, created by the Organization." — a loud and naturally mechanical voice resonated from somewhere inside its torso. "You are Garou, S-Class hero rank 17. I have come to destroy you."
With those words, the pile of metal before me pulled an enormous broad-bladed sword from behind its back and leveled the weapon directly at my face.
"Look! That's Garou!" — a male voice came from the side, carrying unmistakable notes of relief. Immediately followed by others:
"Ha! Then we're all good!"
"Garou?! Thank God, a hero!"
"Give him what he's got coming!"
Life never teaches these spectators anything — they should be running as far away as possible, who knows what might happen...
"Don't get distracted!" — apparently noticing that I had glanced toward the crowd frozen at a short distance away, the robot swung its sword. "Our battle will help me test my artificial combat intelligence! Killing you with a surprise attack would not allow me to gather the necessary data. Fight me at full strength!... If you need incentive, I can start killing the people around you! Try to run, and I will reduce this city to ruins..."
"Oh, give it a rest." — walking past the blade pointed in my direction, I delivered a powerful kick that sent the robot's head flying straight upward. "I was just deciding whether to contact my recent acquaintance now or leave it until tomorrow... probably today, actually."
Catching the settling metal carcass with one hand before it could crash to the ground, I pulled out my phone and dialed Genos's number. The guy himself wasn't what I particularly needed — but the person responsible for his repairs and improvements was a different matter.
Doctor Kuseno was his name, if memory served. A genius of genius-level genius in the field of robotics and all that goes with it. A combat robot sent by some mysterious "Organization" — a perfectly good reason to establish new connections. And if I could somehow bring them together with Genus and combine the intellectual firepower of two brilliant minds...
Suddenly I sensed some movement inside the mechanical body. Since, unlike Genos, G4 was a pure robot with nothing human about it, it had no "aura" of the kind I was used to sensing. All its power resided purely in the durability of the materials it was constructed from and the energy-manipulation methods its creator had built into it. In simpler terms — having knocked off its head and watched the carcass begin to sink to the ground, I had been certain I had already won. The largely unchanged energy reading I had attributed to the still-active reactor... well, turns out I was wrong.
In the next instant, a good dozen laser beams burst out from inside G4, completely destroying its enormous body and revealing something far more compact — a black, rounded robot, slightly shorter than the average human. Remaining in the same spot, this now clearly genuine body of the mechanism spread its arms wide and planted its legs apart, then raised its "head" and fired somewhere in the range of a couple dozen blindingly bright beams in my direction.
Despite the fact that this volley looked considerably less impressive than any attack from my cyborg acquaintance, the power contained in each of those thin beams was substantially greater.
Though still not enough to cause me any real problems. Concentrating, I deflected all the lasers fired at me back toward the enemy with several quick movements. And to make absolutely sure the robot had no chance of resurrecting again, I lunged forward and simply yanked the reactor — in the form of a small sphere — straight out of its chest.
"Hey, Gennady?" — pressing the phone to my ear again, I heard the beeping give way to the familiar voice of the cyborg. "Not busy? I have something for you..."