CH 26

By Effugium July 6, 2022

‘Machinery general Tagaraak’

The oldest member of the Ark Dominion, she is an SSS-class wanted Mysterious Being along with Dragius III. The total of hero teams that had been destroyed by Tagaraak is in the double digits nationwide.

That’s all Rintaro knew about Tagaraak as a hero. There was no information about her ‘appearance’ in the documents of the Hero Headquarter.

Because to her, or him, gender, age, race, etc. were not so different from clothes.

The current face of Tagaraak was Miss Kurara Taga, granddaughter of the Tagaden Group chairman.

She has the lovely figure of a French doll. She is skilled at playing the piano and violin, and her hobby is collecting stuffed animals. Her favorite flower is the primrose, and in the language of flowers, it means ‘pure heart’.

「Wahaha! How is it, Rintaro? I am extremely cute, aren’t I?」

「As long as you don’t laugh like an old man, I think you’re cute, yeah.」

「Hey, don’t say that! Come, pat me on the head! This is a special service!」

「Waah cute, it’s like a doll!」

「Muhoho, That’s right, That’s right!」

He never imagined that he would be forced to stroke the head of a blonde girl on the top floor of the tallest building in Tokyo. You really never know what will happen in life.

「No, did you call me up here just to make me do this?」

「Ooh it’s that. I was thinking of making you into a Mysterious Being. Aren’t I kind?」

「Mysterious Being? Me?」

「The villainous Mysterious Being Death Green will become a cyborg Mysterious Being and join my machinery army!」

Tagaraak, a.k.a. Miss Kurara, thumped her flat chest like a master craftsman. To convey that, she had even sent her own men to summon Rintaro.

「I see, so that’s what you are after.」

「Of course, you aren’t thinking of refusing, are you, human?」

Tagaraak had a vicious smile on her face that looked like it’s pushing a sinner into the pits of hell which is unlike that of a young girl’s. Yes, Rintaro has a fatal weakness in the hands of this demon in the form of a young girl.

A heavy silence fell between them.

For Rintaro, Tagarak’s proposal meant abandoning humanity. It was not a decision to be taken lightly, even if threatened.

「What’s there to be confused about? Isn’t it a good thing? Listen, Rintaro, I’m not saying this to be mean. Being a cyborg has three advantages for you!」

Said Tagaraak as she sat down at the uselessly large chairman’s desk.

「The first is your body. You also know the toll that the Death Green Transformation Gear put on your body, don’t you?」

Rintaro was aware of what she said. It was the Victory Transformation Gear that Tagarak had modified. It’s called the “Death Green Transformation Gear,” and it far surpasses the performance of conventional gear.

But of course, there is a reason why the conventional gears could not do so. The Victory Suit’s dramatic improvement in physical ability comes at the cost of placing a heavy burden on the body.

The Death Green Transformation Gear removes that limiter and raises the suit’s performance to the limit. There was no way that a flesh and blood human body could withstand the continuous use of such a thing.

「It is designed to be used only with the strong body of a Mysterious Being. If you were a human, your body would fall apart after wearing it for 10 minutes at most. But if you have a mechanical body, everything will be all right!」

「If you have a body of a robot, you don’t really need the suit anymore right?」

「Mugh, that’s also true, but… No no! As long as do maintenance, you would never grow old or get sick! It’s almost immortality! Isn’t that amazing?」

Tagaraak snorted, put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest as if to say, ‘How about that?’.

「The second is your position. If you become a mechanized Mysterious Being, you will truly  be recognized as a member of Ark Dominion. You know better than anyone how dangerous your situation is right now, don’t you?」

Naturally, Rintaro had thought of that as well. Now that he had turned against the Victory Rangers and parted ways with the Hero Headquarter, Rintaro had only the evil secret society Arc Dominion to back him up.

If Rintaro was going to live his life as a Mysterious Being as it is now, it is the most realistic and reasonable thing to do, even though he is extremely unwilling to do so. It is also true that Rintaro’s humanity is the Achilles heel of his current position, as Tagarak said.

The mysterious being awakening, which would normally be a clear demerit, is not necessarily a meritless story for Rintaro.

「It’s certainly as you said. But you can’t really prove that I am not a Mysterious Being in the first place, can you? I only have to say that I don’t want to be in my Mysterious Being form.」

「Funuu! It’s what you call a devil’s proof huh… You’re quite something aren’t you…!」

But Tagaraak didn’t miss the hint of hesitation that flashed across Rintaro’s face for a split second.

Tagarak smiled wickedly, as if she were certain. Then he continued his words to deliver the killing blow.

「Then listen carefully! This is the third one!」

When Tagaraak snapped her fingers, like an unexpected plot twist, the wall of the chairman’s office spun.

「This is!?」

「Uhyahya, I wanted to see that face!」

There were about 20 dolls lined up on the wall.

The dolls were so elaborately made that few people would have recognized them up close.

But the problem is not the precision of the modeling.

「This one is …… a professional baseball player named Otaki! And this is the idol Morimoto Nerika……! And this one is the Cabinet Secretary [1]……!」

Dolls fill the wall. They are all representative of the entertainment industry, politics, and other aspects of Japan. It looks like a Japanese wax museum.

「That’s their spare. You’re smart, so you should know what this means?」

The don of the business world, Taga Kuranosuke, and other dolls created by Tagaraak. Or those who had voluntarily become ‘Tagaraak dolls’, have already become a part of the lives of countless people throughout Japan.

That’s the true identity of the Ark Dominion, one that Hero Headquarters has been unable to grasp for years. It was the reality of the Machinery Army led by Tagaraak, the iron shield that this mysterious underground organization is proud of.

「You can even ‘switch places’ with the real thing. Being able to be who you want to be is your greatest desire, isn’t it? Tell me what you wish for. What do you want to be? The center of an idol group? A genius musician? Or a hero of justice?」

The young girl who smiled so wickedly was, by all accounts, a magnificent Mysterious Being of evil. Since ancient times, demons have been able to fulfill people’s desires in exchange for a price. No matter how ugly it may be.

「What do you think, Rintaro? Body, position, desires. Follow me and you’ll have it all. I’ll make all your dreams come true! That’s right, I’ll find you a body. How about this lively, beautiful girl with short black hair, ‘Merara-chan,’ who is my counterpart? I recommend her.」

「I refuse.」

「That’s right, that’s right. I am sure you also want to be a babiniku[2] in real life………… What did you say?」

Tagaraak, who was stroking the spats of her beautiful girl doll, couldn’t believe her ears. She looked back at Rintaro’s face in surprise, and the momentum generated caused Tagaraak’s head to rotate 360 degrees.

「Y-y-y- you refused? What are you talking about, Rintaro? Are you telling me that you’re going to miss this chance? Your dream is about to come true.」

Tagarak jumped off the desk and ran over to Rintaro while returning her overly rotated head to its original position.

Tagaraak had been “recruiting” the humans she liked one after another.

And she have never had a proposal rejected. Being rejected isn’t something that should happen.

「All right, all right, a sudden sex change was a bit much for you! Then how about this super handsome guy, Tatsuya-kun? Or would you prefer the blonde-haired shota-body “Clio-kyun” over here?」

Tagalak showed Rintaro a variety of different bodies, as if he were an apparel store clerk selling clothes. Rintaro, however, just silently shook his head.

Rintaro put his hand to his forehead and thought for a moment, then crouched down to meet the shorter Tagaraak’s eyes.

「With those suggestion, there is no way my dream would be fulfilled.」

「T-t-t- that’s absurd! You’re human, aren’t you? What more can you dream of?」

The dreams that Tagaraak showed are the very desires of human beings. There is no way that anyone could refuse this temptation. In addition, this time, she even approached him with his weakness in her hand. There was no way she could be turned down.

「It’s not really a dream, but I’ve been wanting to try something for a few days now.」

A lot has happened since he came to the Ark Dominion. He had been enshrined as a Mysterious Being by the Mysterious Beings. Moreover, he had even fought with heroes from his former home.

He thought that there must be something that only Rintaro, who was neither a human nor a Mysterious Being, could do in the complicated relationship between humans and Mysterious Beings. Rintaro had a vague idea in his head, but it was so vague that even the outline was still ambigious.

「Is it greater than the desire of mankind?! Then answer me, what is your dream?!」

Rintaro decided to make up his mind. He stroked the blonde girl’s head gently, unlike when he was forced to do so earlier.

「In the spirit of peace-loving green light, how about ‘world peace’? It’s Heinous Mysterious Being-like answer, isn’t it?」

When Rintaro said this, he spread his hands exaggeratedly, and with a distorted smile, the edge of his lips curved up into a smirk.

「I’m going to go now, then. And one more thing, only the ribbon looks good on you.」

It was a bit of a shame, he thought. Rintaro turned on his heel to leave the chairman’s office with a stunned Tagaraak behind him.

–Ka.

「Wait! I will not give up, Rintaro!」

As soon as she shouted that, Tagaraak jumped on Rintaro.

「Eeeeeeh!? But, I thought that was a very cool way of ending it!?」

「Shut up! That was invalid! That was fake! Mukii!」

Rintaro is pushed down on the soft carpet by a blonde-haired girl who spews steam from her head. Although, her weight and arm strength is that of a young girl, just like Tagarak’s appearance.

「You will become a beautiful girl, and you will play Prechure[3] with me! Since I’m a fair-skinned, innocent young lady, you’re going to be an energetic tanned sports beauty!」

Tagaraak screamed out her desires while mounting Rintaro and punching him in the chest. Just when Rintaro was at a loss for words.

「That’s enough, Tagaraak.」

A voice echoed from the depths of the earth, and at the same time, the space broke into dark colors. An old gentleman clad in black appeared from the gap, darker than night. He stood in front of Rintaro and Tagarak without a sound.

「It seems like I won the ‘bet’, huh.」

Dragaeus III said with a triumphant look on his face.

[1] The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan is a Minister of State who is responsible for directing the Cabinet Secretariat. The main function of Chief Cabinet Secretary is to coordinate the policies of ministries and agencies in the executive branch. The Chief Cabinet Secretary serves as the government’s press secretary, conducts policy research, prepares materials to be discussed at cabinet meetings, and, in time of national crisis, coordinates ministries and agencies of the executive branch.

[2] creation and use of a virtual female avatar ​Internet slang

[3] The title of an anime that appeared in the anime ‘aho girl’ on episode 5, probably a parody of pretty cure.
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