And Veldora always wanted to test arts that he had learned.
“Like this?”
He said as he unleashed his fist towards Michelle.
It was the kind of amatuer punch where one pulled their fist back to their ear.
Or so it looked. But Veldora had converted some of his energy to vibrating energy.
Michelle was surprised by this, but she was not so supid as to be beaten by her own moves.
And so she parried it easily and muttered in an exasperated voice.
“You really are abnormal. I heard about the bending of the Neutron Launcher during the fight with Karman, but it seems that that was no joke. I suppose I will have to be serious if I want to win…”
As she said this, a black sphere appeared in her right hand.
At the same time, she raised her forefinger to her lips and sent the signal by looking at Veldora.
In spite of her words, Michelle no longer had any desire to fight Veldora.
She had finished inspecting him and had decided that this mysterious man was not from the Empire.
As for whether or not she could trust him, that was a different matter.
She hoped he would see her intention—as she turned around, completely exposing her back to Veldora.
If he attacked her here, well, it could not be helped.
It was this daring nature that had propelled her to the top.
Michelle looked at the stairs she had come down, and then she threw the black sphere towards it.
The black sphere then traveled up the staircase as if controlled by her will…
And with that, the upper floor was consumed by the flames of purgatory.
However, it did not affect the lower floors.
Gravitational field–space distortion–the isolation of specific topological spaces.
Michelle was utilizing a paranormal attack that gave a glimpse of her power.
Obviously, its purpose was to prevent eavesdropping.
As First Lieutenant Hiragi was monitoring from the sky, she had to create a situation where she could cover his prying eyes while making it appear natural.
“Ohh…?”
Veldora showed interest but did not move.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t, he didn’t want to.
He looked a little disappointed that it wasn’t an attack towards him.
Veldora was too thick-headed to realize the meaning of Michelle’s signal.
The only reason that he didn’t attack Michelle while her guard was down, was because he felt that it was something only a small fry would do.
Fighting boldly and upfront.
That was true beauty in Veldora’s mind.
And Veldora had no intention of killing his enemy now. He would stop her attacks with his overwhelming superior strength and wait for her to surrender.
By doing this, he would be showered with praise from all those who watched. That is what was going through his mind.
However, his plans were ruined when Michelle did something most unexpected.
Veldora had been waiting for Michelle’s next attack with an attitude of calmness, but everyone just took it as him not being capable of reacting in time.
No one could understand what he was thinking…
“Thank you. So you must have noticed my signal. Now we won’t have to worry about being monitored. We can speak honestly.”
Michelle said. The confusion of the others only got worse.
What? Veldora thought. But it was too late now.
In other words—it wasn’t that Veldora was so great, but Michelle had just been holding back. That is what they thought.
On top of that, Michelle clearly had no will to fight, as was proven by the explosion she caused on the upper floor. And with that, the tension seemed to leave the room.
All of it was Veldora’s miscalculation.
Zaza was the first to move.
“You are truly lucky! You would have been turned to ash by now if she hadn’t gone easy on you.”
He laughed as he slapped Veldora on the back.
“…Huh?”
“What!?”
It was not just Veldora, but Michelle was surprised as well.
Both of them realized that Zaza and the others had gotten it all wrong, but there was nothing they could do.
There was no malice in Zaza’s voice, he was just saying what they were all thinking.
“So that is the reason. Yes, there is no way a mere cyborg could take on the Machinery Four!”
“Really, I wondered what would happen when Veldora stepped out. But I am happy that he is alright!”
The other adults interpreted the situation in a similar fashion.
“Yes, yes, that woman really wasn’t fighting seriously…”
“Right? Still, I am impressed with him. Even standing in front of the legendary Bakusenhime would take real courage!”
“Indeed. It’s no wonder he is friends with Ramiris and Beretta. Is he an evangelist of Machinery Arts? Is that why he is called master?”
They had gotten it completely wrong and were now celebrating Veldora’s safety.
In just one day, they had all come to think of Veldora very favorably. His uninhibited, cheerful attitude must have been looked at warmly.
While he was not nearly as good as Beretta, he had probably taught Ramiris and Beretta the Machinery Arts.
That’s what the adults thought.
That would explain why Veldora seemed to think so highly of himself.
And since Ramiris called him ‘master,’ this assumption seemed to make the most sense.
(What!? After everything I have done, I did not expect this reaction. I don’t know, I thought they would pamper me and praise me to the heavens…)
Veldora was perplexed.
But Michelle no longer looked like she wanted to fight, so there was no platform for him to show off.
It was just as Veldora had given up. He looked around and saw that the expressions of dazzled amazement.
It was the children.
There was respect and awe there as they looked up at him.
“So coool!!”
“I want to get cyborg surgery so you can teach me Machinery Arts too!”
“You went out in order to save us, didn’t you? That was so cool!”
Words of passionate gratitude now rained over Veldora.
(This! This is the praise that I have been waiting for!!)
Veldora was moved.
It was unfortunate that the adults had not understood how amazing he was, but he no longer cared about it.
As long as he was popular, it did not matter if they were children.
“Kaa-ahahahahaha! You all have very keen eyes. Very different from these adults who know nothing! Good! I am feeling very generous, and wish to splurge! Now! Let the grand pancake party recommence!!”
Veldora’s excitement had reached a new high, and he prepared his grill once again.