"Wh-What did you say?! Manon is an automata?!"
During the meeting held after breakfast the following morning, Duke Niestro Kirilo Jagus was astonished, just as expected, when Manon's true identity was revealed according to plan.
"Yes. I am an automata created by the Third Generation Magi Craft Meister, Jin-sama."
"M-Mm... I-I cannot believe it."
The Duke stared intently at Manon.
"...I truly cannot tell....May I touch your arm?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Manon stepped forward and offered her right arm to the Duke.
The Duke rubbed and pinched the arm, his skepticism lingering.
"I cannot tell at all....You are not playing a trick on me, are you?"
"Far from it....Then how about this?"
Manon raised her power output to the lowest level of her combat mode.
"O-Ooh?!"
Instantly, her arm turned as hard as steel. It was fundamentally different from a human simply tensing their muscles.
"M-Mm... So it is not a prosthetic?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Manon offered her left arm as well, but—
"Your Majesty, please step back!"
One of the royal ritters stepped between the Duke and Manon.
"If this woman is an automata, she might attempt to harm the Duke right here and now!"
Indeed, he was not wrong.
Manon was capable of killing not just the Duke, but every single person in the room within five seconds—both yesterday and at this very moment.
Or rather, saying she "could" might not be entirely accurate. More precisely, she possessed the physical capability to do so.
She could, but she would not; in practice, she simply could not.
Going on an indiscriminate rampage was strictly forbidden to Manon.
Her creator, Jin, would never desire such a thing.
Had he wished for it, this planet would have fallen under Jin's domination four hundred years ago.
That remained true to this day. Jin did not possess the slightest desire to rule the world by force.
Of course, that was something Duke Niestro Kirilo Jagus could not begin to comprehend.
"I would never do such a thing."
As an aside, Jin was familiar with the Three Laws of Robotics through his knowledge of manga and novels.
Namely, that a creation must not injure a human being, must obey orders given to it, and must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the previous rules (with certain exceptions); principles such as these were explicitly encoded into the control systems of his golems and automata.
"...So, what is your aim?"
What was the intent behind openly revealing that she was an automata? the Duke asked Manon, and then Gajue Tsuga.
"There is no ulterior motive. I merely spoke truthfully....Yesterday, you seemed to have taken an interest in the Magi Craft Meister."
"Hmph, I see....Then would you allow me to indulge that curiosity a bit further?"
"What do you mean by...?"
"Well, I understand that the Magi Craft Meister can create automata that look indistinguishable from humans. Now, I simply wish to know just how strong that automata is."
Before they could even bring it up themselves, the Duke had proposed a sham fight.
The arrangements for the sham fight between the Jagus Principality's combat golems and Manon proceeded without a hitch.
"...Now then, here are our nation's combat golems."
All relevant parties had gathered at the drill grounds within the Royal Palace.
Three combat golems stood waiting, entirely unarmed.
Manon, meanwhile, had changed into a tracksuit-like two-piece outfit she had brought along.
"One is a combat golem developed by our country. Another is a combat golem purchased from a foreign nation. The last is a combat golem seized from the Norha Principality."
Had Jin been there to see the golem developed by the Jagus Principality, it might have looked familiar to him.
The unit described as a combat golem purchased from a foreign nation was actually a general-purpose golem manufactured in the Shouro Empire.
And the one seized from the Norha Principality was indeed virtually identical to the ones they had seen there just days before.
"Now, Manon, which one will you face in the sham fight? Any of them will do."
From atop a makeshift platform erected on the drill grounds, Duke Niestro Kirilo Jagus spoke, leaning back haughtily.
"...May I choose?"
"At least that much, yes."
Manon gave her answer without hesitation.
"Then I shall face all of them."
"What did you say?!"
"As I said, I shall take on all three at once."
The Duke's face twisted into a scowl.
"You said it yourself, mind you....Do not complain if you end up broken, understood?"
"Of course."
"...Very well! We shall now commence the sham fight between Manon, the automata crafted by the Magi Craft Meister, and three of our nation's combat golems! The match ends when one side is rendered incapacitated!"
Hearing the conditions, Fione Fias gasped in surprise.
"What?!"
Yet the Duke merely looked on, entirely unbothered.
"Manon chose her opponents. It is only fair that I set the rules of engagement."
Before Fione Fias could voice an objection, the match began.
"Begin!!"
The first to move was the golem seized from the Norha Principality.
It lunged forward in an explosive burst, attempting to tackle Manon.
However, Manon evaded the charge with a sharp leap to the side.
Right on cue, the combat golem purchased from abroad lunged in to attack.
Though it possessed the bulkiest frame of the three, its movements were deceptively swift. Even so, Manon seized its right arm, twisted her body, and hurled it through the air—an arm throw, a martial technique originating from the Shouro Empire.
Yet the thrown golem skillfully broke its fall, rolled across the dirt three times, and rose to its feet as if nothing had happened.
(...As expected, it appears to be a golem made in the Shouro Empire.)
Manon deduced that was why a martial arts technique from the Shouro Empire had failed to finish it off.
Seizing the brief moment Manon's posture broke from throwing the second unit, the Jagus Principality's combat golem launched a flying kick straight at her.
Manon reflexively leaned backward to dodge the strike.
As the golem soared over her, she drove a rising kick upward into its underside.
It was not a particularly heavy strike, but taking a hit midair was an entirely different matter. Unable to recover its balance, the Jagus Principality's combat golem tumbled hard across the drill grounds.
Meanwhile, the combat golem seized from the Norha Principality capitalized on Manon's broken stance, successfully closing in from behind to lock her in a full nelson.
At that moment, the combat golem purchased from abroad closed the distance, poised to smash Manon to pieces.
Gajue Tsuga and the rest of the delegation watched the sham fight with bated breath.
They had cheered when Manon executed the arm throw on the opposing golem, and their eyes had widened in awe when she kicked away the Jagus Principality's combat golem.
Yet seeing Manon trapped in a full nelson by the Norha Principality's golem while the foreign-purchased combat golem closed in for the kill, they nearly looked away in terror... until something unexpected happened.
"She can do that...?!"
Gajue Tsuga shouted in disbelief.
Even with her upper body restrained in a full nelson, her legs remained entirely free.
Manon kicked hard against the ground and, with her upper body still pinned, whipped her legs out to deliver a horizontal kick straight into the approaching combat golem.
Because her torso was effectively anchored to the Norha Principality's golem behind her, the weight disadvantage was practically erased. In fact, combining Manon's mass with that of the Norha combat golem made them heavier than the foreign-purchased unit. Caught squarely by the impact of Manon's kick, the incoming golem was blown backward five meters through the air.