After finishing our breakfast, Xara and I began looking around the house with one of Sirin’s robots acting as the guide. Why am I not doing the guiding, you ask? Because like I said before, I don’t know this place up and down. Hell, I haven’t even seen the upper half of this place at all since everything I ever need is already here on the lower floors.

Arriving at a set of stairs, we climbed them one by one until we found ourselves on the second floor.

Surprisingly enough, the whole place was absolutely spotless. Making it clear that despite none of the other floors getting any use, Sirin still had her robots working hard to ensure everything looked as clean as possible.

As for the second floor itself, there wasn’t really much to go into other than it was just another floor to the house with its own bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and dining areas. It was actually a pretty anti-climatic reveal overall.

“By the way, how exactly are we paying for the extra water used in the bathrooms on this floor?” I asked Sirin quietly who responded with a monotone voice.

“I simply use magic stones that produce water my creator had procured and left with me.”

“Um…Are we allowed to use those?”

“Of course. I’m sure my creator would be fine with it.”

“That’s…good to hear I guess?”

I wasn’t actually sure if it was okay since that implied either this creator was a bit too lenient or Sirin was a total liar. Either way, it left me feeling a bit conflicted.

Exploring the second floor a bit more, there hadn’t really been anything of note. That is, except for one room that had a rather sweet smell coming from inside.

“What’s that smell,” I asked Sirin.

Sniffing it herself, Xara seemed to be lost in thought.

“I don’t know why, but it smells familiar.”

“That is a room filled with incense using a special material known as Aphrostia.”

“Aphrostia? What’s that?”

I never heard such a name in my old world. Did that mean it was some kind of special material that was only available in this one?

“Aphrostia is a special form of stone that, when ground, can be used for a multitude of medicines and meals. However, there’s one thing it’s most commonly used for.”

“What’s that?”

“It can make an incredibly powerful aphrodisiac.”

“Aaand just like that, we’re leaving!”

I immediately grabbed Xara’s hand and pulled her away with Sirin following close behind us.

Heading to the third floor, I was surprised to find it was completely different from the first two.

“What is all this?” I asked Sirin.

In front of us was a massive pile of robot parts that cluttered the ground. Making it impossible to move around them.

“This is where robots that were either destroyed or scraped go.”

“Really? How are there so many?”

“You would be surprised just how easily it is for one of my robots to be destroyed.”

“Oh…Is that so?”

“Yes. It is.”

Even if that’s the case, there were still way too many around here.

I think there was supposed to be rooms on this floor. Just like the the other two. However, it was impossible to access any of them since the piles of robots blocked any way for us to pass by.

“Can we even get to the fourth floor from here?”

“Sadly that will not be possible.”

“I see. Well, what're we supposed to do then?”

I wanted to give Xara a tour of the whole house, but right now that seemed impossible.

“Hey, how about we clear these metal robot things out of here? That way we can get to the next floor,” suggested Xara.

“That’s easier said than done. This pile is massive.”

“But it’s not impossible. Come on! Let’s do it!”

Xara had a lot of enthusiasm, but I really wasn’t in the mood to play housekeeper.

I tried to explain as much to Xara, but instead of listening, she was already starting to pick up some of the parts and was dragging them down the stairs.

Letting out a sigh, I walked up next to her and touched her shoulder.

A moment later, we were outside the house.

“Whoa! How’d we get there!?” she shouted in surprise. Dropping the robot parts she’d been carrying.

“It’s a teleportation spell. This should speed things up a bit. So should we get back inside to take care of the rest?”

Realizing I was forcefully on board with her plan, Xara grinned and nodded her head.

“Yeah! Let’s get this done!”

Letting out another sigh, I teleported us back inside and we got to work.

As I said before, I didn’t wanna play the role of a housekeeper. But even so, I knew Xara would keep going without me. And since I’d rather not force my girlfriend to clean up my own house, I knew I didn’t have a choice.

Thus, we got to work on cleaning up giant piles of metal.

“Grrr! Why is this so heavy!?” I shouted. Attempting to move some of the robot parts myself only to find myself unable to lift them.

Walking over, Xara picked it up with ease and let out a sigh.

“You don’t need to pretend. If you wanna leave things to me, go ahead.”

“I-It’s not that! I’m just…not that strong.”

Well, it was more like I couldn’t be that strong.

Ever since coming to this world, I’ve been unable to gain any muscle. It’s the one thorn in my side I still haven’t gotten past as much as I hate to admit it.

With no other choice, I used wind magic to make the metal float and put it in a smaller pile that I'd teleport outside once I was confident it was large enough. All while teleporting Xara outside whenever her hands were full.

It was the most I’d ever used my teleportation skill in such a short amount of time and honestly, I think I’ve found one flaw to this spell.

“Hmph!”

After returning with Xara once more, I fell to my knees while clutching my stomach.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Xara asked concerned.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine.”

I was lying. My stomach was hurting like crazy and I felt like I could puke at any moment.

“Hm. I guess this is only natural considering how many times you’ve used your teleportation spell,” Nia said to me telepathically.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

“Well when using a teleportation skill, you’re basically forcing your body to travel between the dimensions of reality. In other words, it’s like your body is moving at a speed so fast that you’re suffering from something akin to motion sickness.”

“I-I see. Dammit. And here I thought I could just teleport however I pleased.”

Forcing myself onto my wobbly feet I looked at how much work we still had left.

We managed to clear out about eighty percent of the robot parts and could even make it to the next floor if we want. Even so, Xara looked ready to keep working.

“Please. You both have helped enough. Allow me to take care of the rest,” said Sirin who had brought in some robots to clean up what was left.”

However, Xara shook her head.

“No! We started this, so we’ll finish it!”

“Is that so?”

“Of course it is!”

Sirin processed what Xara said and turned to me to hear what I had to say. However, I still felt a bit sick so all I could do was nod my head.

“I see. Alright then. I leave this to you.”

Xara smiled when she heard that and started grabbing more parts with me following in tow.

Once she had enough parts in hand, I teleported Xara outside and let her drop the stuff she had in her arms down into the pile of robot parts we had taken care of up to this point.

When she was done, we teleported back.

“Alright! Just a bit more to go!” she stated. All I could do was nod as we headed toward the remaining pile of metal.

Xara immediately tried picking up some. While she was doing that, I felt myself getting a bit dizzy.

“Maybe I should’ve accepted Sirin’s help after all,” I muttered as I felt my vision get hazy.

Trying to recollect myself, I took a step back. And then, as if it had been set there on purpose, my foot landed on a robot part that looked just like a wheel.

And as I rested my foot on it, the wheel slid forward. Causing me to lose my footing and fall onto the robot parts.

When I did so, I heard a small click under me, and a few moments later, my mind grew too fuzzy as my body ached in pain. And then, before I knew it, I couldn't think anymore.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Axel!”

Noticing Axel had collapsed, I rushed over to see what had happened.

For some reason, he looked pale and was foaming at the mouth. Like he was suffering from motion sickness or something similar.

“What happened?” I muttered in confusion while looking him over.

He didn’t seem injured in any way, but it was clear he wasn’t in good condition.

Turning to the cube thing Axel had been talking to up to this point, I decided to ask for her help.

“Excuse me Miss cube thing! Are you able to help Axel!? He seems sick!”

Floating over, the cube thing looked at Axel for a moment before speaking.

“It appears he’s suffering from the constant shifting of one's self. In other words, he's suffering from a motion sickness caused by mass teleportation.”

“Wait. You mean that due to all the teleporting, his did…”

The cube nodded.

“It seems this took quite a toll on his physical body. I had theorized this would happen, but seeing as you rejected my assistance, this is what we’re stuck with.”

He ended up like this because he teleported too much? That meant…

“Are you saying…because I wanted to clean all this up, he ended up pushing himself too far?”

“That would be the best description for this situation. Yes.”

“Oh no!” I thought as I sat down and rested Axel on my lap. His face was more pale than usual and it looked like he was suffering. All because I wanted to clean all this up.

“Well, I wouldn’t entirely blame it on you. Had Master just moved the items regularly then this wouldn’t have happened. But he insisted on using teleportation. So he is merely weeping what he’s sown.”

Even so, he only did it to help me with the cleanup, so I couldn’t just say it was all his fault.

“Leaving whose at fault for later, are you able to help him?”

The cube thing nodded her head.

“A bit of medicine should heal him up. I’m currently bringing it here as we speak.

“I-Is that so? That’s good to hear.”

Hearing the good news, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

So, all I had to do was wait for the medicine to arrive.

As I did so, I looked down at Axel who was still pale-faced and bubbling at the mouth.

Despite the rather vulgar appearance in front of me, I couldn’t help but smile as I looked down at him.

Just a few months ago, I was nearly consumed by a curse that would’ve caused me to harm a lot of people. And it was only thanks to Axel that I avoided such a horrible situation.

After that, he taught me what it meant to be more open-minded and now I found myself in a club where I’m friends with several of the members. All thanks to opening my mind to trying new things and letting go of trying to be so clingy.

Although, I can’t say I’ve completely recovered. Despite improving myself considerably, I still find myself having selfish desires when I’m around Axel.

I didn’t like having such desires since I knew that was the opposite of what he wanted, but I just couldn’t help myself. And while I’ve been able to hold off so far, I don’t know how much longer I’d be able to keep myself at bay.

Looking down at Axel, I noticed he was starting to breathe a bit more normally than before. Which meant he was probably recovering little by little. Even so, I figured it’d still be a bit before he actually got up.

Seeing this reminded me of just how far Axel would go to watch over those he cares about.

“You really do push yourself too hard sometimes. Though, I guess that’s one of your better qualities,” I mumbled as I leaned down close to his face and kissed him on the cheek.

As I did so, I found the scent of Axel’s aura entering my nose.

It had the same strange smell I’d known before, but these days, it was more comforting than repulsive.

It filled me with a wave of relief as I let the smell sink into my body.

However, what followed was probably my own desire letting itself show as my hand slowly started moving its way down his body. Stopping at his waist.

“It wouldn’t hurt to get a little intimate…right?” I muttered. Trying to come up with an excuse for my own desires.

However, not even moments after I started making a move, a noise entered my ear.

BEEP BEEP!

A loud beeping sound rang loudly and a few moments later, something rose up from the pile we still hadn’t cleaned up yet.

“Unit 69…Online…Activating offense protocol! Target’s confirmed!”

“What the-? I thought this was where all the destroyed robo-things were piled?”

That’s what the cube thing had said. So what was a fully functioning one doing here?

Before I had time to process what was happening, the cube thing appeared in front of me.

“Please take Master and go Miss Femashito!” said the silently panicked cube.

“Huh? I don’t understand.”

“As I said earlier, this spot is where both destroyed or scraped machines go. The one you see before us is one of the latter.”

“I…see.”

I didn’t actually. But one look at the cube thing somehow made it clear this was a bad position we were in right now.

Turning her attention to the strange robo-thing in front of us, the cube thing raised its voice.

“I command you as your creator to shut down! Right now!”

The door-sized machine was silent for a moment before responding.

“Command received…and denied.”

I could almost hear the cube thing let out a clicking tongue sound.

“It’s as I feared. This hunk of junk still ignores my commands. This is why it was scrapped.”

She turned back to me.

“Hurry up and get out of here Miss Femashito! Before that unit-!”

The cube thing failed to form its sentence in time as the tall robot reached out and crushed the cube.

“Target three eliminated. Two remaining.”

Sensing the urgency of the situation, I tried lifting up Axel.

“Come on! We gotta get aw-huh?”

Thinking I’d be met with a bit of weight, I was surprised to find Axel was incredibly light. Almost like I was simply carrying a bag of groceries. This made me think that maybe I should help him improve his eating habits.

“Wait a minute! That’s not important right now!”

Remembering the urgency of the situation, I carried Axel down the stairs just as the robo-thing tried to charge at us.

“Ack!”

Ducking just in time, I avoided the robot who crashed through the wall above me. Giving us a chance to escape. Rushing toward a room on the lower floors that I figured the robot wouldn’t find for a while, I shut the door tightly and rested the still-dazed Axel on the ground.

Standing up straight, I remained silent. Hoping the robo-thing wouldn’t find us.

And after a few minutes, I breathed a sigh of relief having realized we could relax a bit.

Sitting down on the ground, I rubbed my eyes.

“What is that thing? It looked ready to kill us.”

I knew there wasn’t anyone there, but I couldn’t help but say that aloud.

At least, I thought nowhere was there. However, moments later, that cube thing appeared in front of me. Startling me slightly.

“I apologize for all this, Miss Femashito. I had planned to dispose of that unit in a few days, but it appears the power core I had installed still had some energy left inside.”

Huh? Power core? What was she talking about?

“I-It’s fine. Well, it isn’t actually. But what the heck is that thing? And also, what’s a power core?”

I figured I might as well ask in order to clear things up. I had just accepted these things before since they were on Axel’s island. However, it seems there’s more to these robo-things than I previously considered.

“That thing is known as Unit 69. Is was designed to be a fighting machine that protected the island in Master’s absence if I was unavailable to do so. However, I didn’t consider just how difficult it would be to create such a machine so the whole thing was scrapped.”

“Really? How come?”

“The coding just didn’t merge well with my own. Making it hard for me to have control over it. In other words, it wouldn’t listen to me.”

“I see.

Well, I didn’t actually. Words like coding and fighting machines kinda went over my head.

But if I were to hazard a guess, she was saying that this robo-thing was a form of knight that guarded the island while Axel was away and this cube thing acted as its commander that issued orders. However, it went rogue and was acting on its own right now. Meaning it abandoned its post.

I’m not sure how close I was to what she was saying, but that was the best I got.

“As for your other question, power cores are a form of magic stone that I use to power all of the robots you see here in the mansion. They run for about a week before needing to be replaced and are best described as a form of battery.”

“A battery?”

Like the small gadgets that power most of the lights in the school? The ones that are created using steel and lightning magic? If that’s the case, I think I kinda understand what these power cores are.

“Yes. A battery. Although, as I said before, it seems to still have some power left in its core. I hadn’t planned on such a thing occurring, but as things stand, it is what it is.”

“I see. So what are we supposed to do now?”

“Well as much as I’d like to say we could just wait around until the battery ran out, we have no idea how much longer that’ll take. And with my Master incapacitated, I highly doubt he’ll be able to take it down himself.”

“You’re saying Axel could beat that thing?”

“I’d certainly believe so. He’s not exactly a weakling after all.”

She wasn’t wrong about that. But also, she was right about him being knocked out right now. Which meant that thing could just go on a rampage around the place until he recovered.

“I guess we can only hope for the medicine to get here without that unit noticing. Though considering the path here, it's unlikely.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Wasn’t that thing on an upper floor right now? If that’s the case, a robo-thing on a lower floor could easily deliver medicine to us.

“I just took a look at the security cameras around the mansion and it appears Unit 69 is scouting each and every floor. And any time it comes across a robot, it destroys it immediately. In other words, the robot with the medicine would find itself getting destroyed on the way here.”

Really? Dang it! And here I was hoping we could bring back Axel and have him kick that thing's butt!

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I scratched my head while trying to think up a solution.

That’s when I looked down at Axel. The boy who, despite looking like a pale white prune, still shined as brightly as ever as he laid there practically motionless.

This boy, who despite finding himself in situations like this, still put his best foot forward when it came to saving me from my troubles.

Not only that, but he taught me to be more open and less possessive. Even if, as I said before, I’m still working on it.

With all that in mind, I knew that had he been in good condition right now, he wouldn’t hesitate to fight that robo-thing.

It’s because of that bravery and selflessness that I know what to do now.

Holding out my hand, I started muttering a spell to myself, and a few moments later, a reddish-black pitchfork appeared in my hand with hearts pointing out on top of each tine.

“I have a plan. You make sure Axel gets his medicine. While you do that, I’ll keep that robo-thing busy.”

The cube thing didn’t have any expression but for some reason, I felt like it was shocked.

“Are you certain? You would have to hold that thing off for at least twenty-five minutes. And despite being scrapped, Unit 69 is still a tough opponent.”

Slamming the bottom of my pitchfork against the ground, my wings rose from my back and I smiled awkwardly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. It’s just twenty-five minutes.”

“I wasn’t worrying. I was just confused about how stupidly spur of the moment your choice was.”

“Er…Oh. I see.”

“Well I say that, but considering you're someone who Master holds dear, I can’t exactly treat you harshly. So, if you do wanna go through with this, there’s something I must ask you first.”

“What’s that?”

“Are you certain you can hold it off, as well as not die?”

Hearing her ask that, I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

“Um…I guess I can try my best.”

I wasn’t confident in my fighting skills since I only really got the chance to train during my time at school. So even if I knew what I was doing, I hadn’t really fought against anything strong. So I had no idea how things would actually go out there.

Perhaps realizing this, the cube thing let out a mechanical sigh.

“I see. Well, good luck. I’ll be sure to send Master as soon as he’s recovered.”

“I appreciate that. Well then, let’s do this.”

Taking in a deep breath I stepped out into the halls and spread my wings.

Thankfully the halls were wide enough for me to move around, which made it easy to thrust myself forward at rapid speed toward my target.

“Don’t worry Axel. I’ll be sure to protect you until you’re better. So when this is over, you better treat me to a great meal.”

As I muttered this, I continued rushing forward. Ready for the fight ahead of me.