The next morning.
Jawed left the dilapidated lodging flat together with the Mecha girl, heading toward the Mecha human association facility.
Along the way, he noticed the girl quietly observing the surrounding streets, her gaze vacant, cold.
She seemed restless, yet also anxious.
Sensing that something was off with her mood, Jawed spoke up worriedly, "Hey, are you okay? Is something wrong?"
"A.... ah, mn...." Hearing Jawed's voice, the girl flinched slightly, as if she had just been pulled out of a daze.
She lowered her head, her hands tightening around the hem of her clothes, and replied in a soft voice:
"I..... it's just, I've been walking around here for an entire week already, but this place still feels too unfamiliar. I don't remember those people, I don't know what those machines are. I don't remember anything at all. I'm lost, I'm alone." She spoke, her voice trembled.
Hearing that, Jawed fell silent.
Her feelings, he understood all too well. After all, he himself, a transmigrator, had once felt overwhelmed when witnessing the fantastical things of this world.
The sensation of everything around him being new, alien, and frightening had made him feel utterly out of place among the crowds.
Right now, the girl closed her eyes, as if wished to vanish from this space entirely.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth spreading over the top of her head.
She looked up in surprise, only to see a large hand gently resting on her hair.
That hand was rough, covered in calluses, yet incomparably warm, softly stroking through each strand of her hair.
Jawed reached out and patted her head, his voice warm and reassuring as it rang out: "Don't worry. You're not alone, and you're not lost. I'm here." He paused for a moment before continuing, "And later on, you'll have your rider by your side as well."
His words were firm, like a consolation, and also like a prayer.
Feeling that gentleness, the girl's emotions gradually settled. She softly spoke, her voice light, as if dissolving into the wind:
"Thank you....."
***
The two of them continued forward, eventually arriving at the gates of a large building. Right above the entrance, a 3D sign floated in the air, projecting the image of a blazing wheel logo.
Along with it, were bold letters printed clearly beneath:
MECHA HUMAN SAFETY AND RIGHTS ASSOCIATION: MSR
Once inside, at the very lobby, they were received by two association staff members.
They were two blond young men, wearing identical business attire. At first glance, they looked like twins, so alike they might as well have been mirror images.
But when Jawed looked more closely, he noticed that one of them bore an engraved mark on his neck, similar to the one on the girl's wrist. This time, the mark carried the symbol of a blue mechanical gear.
He was a Mecha human.
"Greeting, welcome to the Mecha Human Rights Association, Sanctuary of Genesis branch, Golden city area. How may we assist you and your Mecha human?"
Both of them spoke at the same time, each word matching the other so eerily that both Jawed and the girl flinched.
Jawed instinctively took a small step back before speaking up: "Ah, no, she isn't my Mecha girl. We came here to—"
"Ah, so today you and her came here to sign a Rider–Mecha Human contract, then officially begin the journey of comrades, of kindred spirits together?"
"Haa?"
"Then are you planning to sign a temporary contract, a lifelong contract, or a perpetual contract? I highly recommend the perpetual one. It comes with two, no, three whole years of complimentary premium Mecha Human maintenance services!"
Before Jawed could even finish speaking, the eyes of the two staff members lit up, their tone suddenly becoming overly enthusiastic, exactly like salespeople aggressively pitching products.
No, perhaps even more than that, like men offering up their entire fortune to a beautiful woman.
"Ah, no, we're not—" Jawed waved his hands, trying to explain. But the two of them no longer seemed to be paying any attention to him.
"Oh, Johndo, lookad that! Another Rider and Mecha Human pair about to be matched! Being able to witness moments like this is exactly why I chose this job! I love this job so much~"
"That's right, Jamedo. Every time this happens, I feel like I'm witnessing a couple getting married. Ah, though if both the Mecha Human and the Rider are male, calling it 'marriage' sounds a bit.... well, never mind. This moment is just too beautiful! Too dazzling! I want to work overtime so badly!"
"We're not here to sign any contract," Jawed cut in.
Hearing that, their expressions instantly turned cold. They looked at him with indifferent eyes, their voices emotionless:
"Oh, so it's just a heartless bastard who came here to terminate the contract and abandon a Mecha Human? How disgusting."
"I hate this job, I'm quitting and going to sell MCPronal instead."
Jawed: ....
After a round of explanations, the two staff members finally grasped the general circumstances surrounding the girl.
The solution they proposed was for her to become a Mecha human of the Residential Mecha Human Center, located right next to the association building.
This was the place where riders came to look for and acquire Mecha humans.
"Will there really be a rider who chooses her? I mean, she said that her performance is very low, and that many riders have already rejected her before," Jawed asked.
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that. Amateur riders are often short on funds, so they tend to look for low-performance Mecha humans at affordable prices. That's why we're certain someone will choose her."
Hearing that, Jawed frowned slightly. He still couldn't bring himself to view Mecha humans being offered up like commodities to riders as something normal, even if that was simply how this world worked.
All things considered, it wasn't much different from what old man Trunks had intended to do, just a legalized version of it.
Still, this was probably the best way to help the girl.
He turned to look at the Mecha girl, only to see her lowering her head, her expression dimming slightly.
"Is something wrong? You'll definitely get a chance to race, aren't you happy?" he asked with concern.
"It's not that. I..... I just feel sad. Because after this, I won't be able to see you anymore, and I won't be able to enjoy that delicious minced meat again," she replied, her eyes filled with sorrow.
Hearing her words, Jawed smiled helplessly. He fell into brief contemplation, then finally spoke, his voice low and warm:
"Don't worry. In the future, whenever you and your rider participate in races, I'll definitely come watch and cheer for you. By then, I'll bring canned meat for you, though maybe you won't like it anymore."
Hearing those words, the girl lifted her head to look at him, her eyes shimmering brightly.
"R-Really? You.... you absolutely can't go back on your word. You must come watch me race, and you have to bring lots of canned meat."
"Mn, I promise," Jawed replied.
He was lying. After all, he himself didn't want to witness the racetrack anymore, even if only as a spectator.
But telling a small lie to make the girl happy was fine too. In any case, before long, she would soon forget him, someone who was nothing more than a passerby.
The two of them smiled, looking at each other for a long moment. Then, the man's gentle voice rang out:
"I hope that, you will find yourself."
"Mm."
***
The Residential Mecha Human Center, a few days later.
In the vast lobby, amid groups of Mecha humans chatting animatedly, the maiden stood there alone, isolated and lonely.
At this moment, she was once again alone.
But at the very least, this time, she no longer felt so cold. Because now, within her empty memories, there was the taste of minced meat, there was that gentle pat on her head, and there was the young man's warm voice.
Unconsciously, she thought about her future rider. She wondered, whether that person could be as gentle, as warm as that man.
She hoped so.
"..."
The girl stared blankly at her surroundings, unable to grow accustomed to the unfamiliar scene, no matter how long she looked.
She couldn't blend in with the groups around her, even though they were all Mecha humans.
Maybe she never would.
Suddenly—
"I want some low-performance Mecha humans, as low as possible. The more useless, the better."
A voice rang out without warning, cold and disdainful.
...