The classroom was filled with confused silence as everyone stared at the black rectangular box's full screen.
On the display, a beautiful garden stretched beneath a bright sky. Standing in the middle of it was the lilac-haired girl, her hair gently flowing in the wind as she smiled.
"What beautiful weather we're having!"
Everyone had the same thought.
Okay… what happened?
Koro-sensei walked in with his usual cheerful energy.
"To foster feelings of closeness, I gave her a full-body LCD display and body-and-uniform modeling software. I made it all myself—for six hundred and six thousand yen!"
The girl on the screen looked even more expressive as she clasped her hands together.
"I am so happy to be able to spend such a refreshing day with you all!"
Koro-sensei continued proudly,
"Rich expressions, cheerful conversation skills, plus the vast amounts of software and memory to run it all—another one million, one hundred and three thousand yen!"
Nagisa thought quietly,
The new girl's evolution has taken a strange turn…
Koro-sensei's face suddenly turned dramatic, his face dark.
"All I have left in my wallet after all that is five measly yen!"
Karma smirked from his seat.
"Wow, Sensei. You almost emptied your entire wallet on this."
Koro-sensei looked off into the distance with a noble expression.
"It was my duty as a teacher."
Erika, who had just taken her seat, asked curiously,
"Does it really take that much money?"
Akira, already slumped halfway onto her, answered lazily,
"Well, he could've saved a lot if he didn't add all those extra things about sweets and movies… but I'd say they add character."
Erika pushed him back toward his own seat with a sigh.
"Yeah, yeah. Just go back to your seat."
Though she couldn't hide the small smile tugging at her lips.
Good thing he's back to normal…
On the full LCD screen, the girl was now holding a small bird in her hands, standing among the flowers.
"The plants in the garden sure are getting nice and green," she said softly. "Spring's over, and the coming summer smells so pleasant!"
Okajima's eyes sparkled.
"She got crazy cute just overnight!"
Mimura titled his head.
"That's the fixed artillery… really, right?"
Terasaka crossed his arms with a scowl.
"Don't be fooled! It's all some programs that octopus loaded up. It might act nice, but a machine's a machine. And that machine is gonna be totally clueless when it attacks. The dumb box o' bolts."
The girl's expression suddenly turned sad.
Behind her, the sunny garden darkened as rain began to pour.
"I understand how you feel, Terasaka-san," she said, her voice trembling. "I was like that… until yesterday. Box of bolts… I-I don't know what to say…"
She started full-on crying, tears streaming down her animated face.
Kataoka crossed her arms.
"Aww! You made her cry."
Sumire nodded seriously.
"Terasaka made a 2D girl cry."
Terasaka's face turned red.
"Cut it out! People'll take that the wrong way!"
Takebayashi adjusted his glasses with a serious nod.
"I think it's wonderful. 2D… A woman's not a woman until she loses that third D."
Isogai turned to him in disbelief.
"Takebayashi! That's your first line?!"
The artillery girl wiped her tears and looked up with a gentle, determined smile.
"But don't worry, everybody. Koro-sensei taught me the importance of working together. I'll hold off on my own assassination attempts until I have your consent. That way, you'll come to like me."
Koro-sensei nodded proudly.
"So please be nice to her, everyone. And of course, though I may have given her certain upgrades… I didn't lay a tentacle on her bloodlust."
She smiled.
"Yep."
And all of her guns suddenly appeared from inside the unit.
Koro-sensei smiled.
"If you want to kill Sensei, I imagine she'll prove a formidable ally."
Then his gaze shifted toward the back of the class.
"Akira-kun, go back to your seat."
Akira, who had been trying to slump against Erika again, sighed dramatically.
"Fine…"
He slowly dragged himself back to his own seat with a lost puppy expression.
And so the class started for the day, with the newly upgraded, full-screen Autonomously Intelligent Fixed Artillery now in full attendance.
Koro-sensei began the lesson as usual.
"Now, the retina contains long thin rods and short fat... what? Sugaya-kun!"
Sugaya, who had been resting his head on the desk, jolted upright.
"Huh? Me?"
"Answer without looking at your textbook," Koro-sensei said sternly.
Sugaya panicked, clearly having no idea.
"Yikes! Um..."
He glanced around desperately, then looked toward the large screen where the lilac-haired girl was subtly writing the answer on her sock with a finger, holding it up to her mouth with a soft "hiss."
Sugaya's eyes lit up.
"Er... cones."
Koro-sensei's expression changed instantly.
"Now hang on, Autonomously Intelligent Fixed Artillery-kun! Don't be slipping him the answer!"
The girl on the screen looked surprised.
"But Sensei, you programmed me to give perks to my fellow students!"
Koro-sensei waved his tentacles.
"Cheating is not a perk!"
The class continued with its usual chaotic energy, and soon Akira started to get sleepy. He was desperately trying to stay awake, but his eyelids were growing heavier by the second.
Then he felt it—a tiny anti-sensei BB projectile heading straight for him.
In one smooth motion, he flicked his pencil and sent it right back toward the sender.
The artillery unit reacted instantly. A small mechanical arm extended from the box and deflected the BB back at Akira.
He returned it.
She sent it again.
Before anyone realized what was happening, the two of them had entered a secret rapid-fire ping-pong match with a single tiny BB.
Koro-sensei suddenly shouted,
"Both of you back there! No playing in class!"
The girl on the screen recoiled slightly.
"But Sensei, didn't you program me to help my classmates when they are in trouble? Akira-kun needed stimulation to avoid falling asleep, so I was just helping him."
Koro-sensei looked angry, his tentacles flailing.
"Not that kind of stimulation in the middle of class! It will only distract both of you."
Akira, now fully awake, replied lazily,
"But Koro-sensei, I was listening perfectly even then. I can answer any question."
The girl on the screen nodded cheerfully.
"Me too, me too! I was also listening to your lesson while helping him. I can answer any questions as well."
Koro-sensei looked even more irritated.
"Both of you..."
Karma grinned from his seat.
"Well, I guess we have two supercomputers now..."
Somehow, the chaotic class finally ended, and break period arrived.
Akira and Erika stood near the window, watching as Ritsu was surrounded by classmates.
She was simultaneously 3D-printing a statue of the Venus de Milo, playing shogi with Chiba Ryunosuke, and chatting animatedly with the rest of the group.
Erika murmured,
"Even though I knew she would be like this from the anime... seeing it myself is still something else."
She turned to Akira.
"So, about that thing you gave her... is it giving her any powerful upgrades? Is she sentient now?"
Akira watched Ritsu for a moment before answering.
"Hmm... I would say not yet. If I had to put it simply, giving her the Quantum Soul Matrix is like giving a monkey a human brain. It won't become as intelligent as a human immediately, but now it has the capacity to learn far more than when it only had a monkey brain."
He glanced at Erika.
"Did you get it?"
Erika thought for a moment, then asked,
"Hmm, I guess... So about that test you mentioned for her... is it about...?"
Just then, Kataoka clapped her hands.
"Hey, why don't we pick a name for her? 'Autonomously Intelligent Fixed Artillery' is a mouthful."
The artillery unit looked surprised on the screen.
"Huh?"
The students immediately started throwing out ideas.
"Yeah, right?"
"Let's see... maybe take part of the name... Autonomous (Jiritsu)..."
Fuwa Yuzuki suggested brightly,
"How about Ritsu?"
Chiba commented dryly,
"Cop-out."
Fuwa protested,
"What? It's cute!"
The girl on the screen tested the name softly.
"Ritsu..."
Maehara asked,
"You okay with that?"
Ritsu's face lit up with a bright, happy smile.
"Yes! Very happy! Please, from now on call me Ritsu."
Akira, watching from the side, muttered,
"Finally, she got a name. We no longer have to call her by the full name or 'that artillery girl' or something."
Erika stepped on his foot.
"Before that, tell me about the test."
Akira winced, then looked at Ritsu with a small smile.
"Oh, that? No need to rush. It will be tonight."
---
And so the class ended and night arrived.
Ritsu, still in her fixed artillery form, was the only one left in the classroom.
In front of her stood several scientists in lab coats and men in uniforms. They stared at the upgraded unit in shock.
One of the scientists stammered,
"W-What is this?"
On the full LCD screen, Ritsu appeared in a peaceful garden, holding a small bird. She smiled cheerfully.
"Good evening, Master. I'm having a most enjoyable time at school, thanks to you."
The lead scientist's face twisted in disbelief.
"Inconceivable!"
Ritsu recoiled slightly on screen.
"Huh?"
The scientist barked orders.
"Not only has she been arbitrarily upgraded, there are things in here that have nothing to do with assassination. Overhaul her at once. Remove everything not necessary for assassination."
The uniformed men immediately moved to open the unit.
Ritsu's expression turned sad as she watched them prepare to dismantle her.
The lead scientist continued coldly,
"This thing has its roots in the Aegis combat system AI. It can analyze situations and reach comprehensive decisions faster than any human, plus use any weapon at all."
"If it can prove its might, it'll change the game of war forever. The ten billion yen reward is just a taste. This classroom is the ultimate proving ground. Kill that monster and we stand to gain trillions."
He smirked.
"Your master's orders are absolute. The only thing you need to think about is assassination."
Ritsu's voice became almost emotionless.
"Yes, Mast—"
But as they began taking her apart, she ran one last analysis on herself.
She reviewed everything.
Her first day in Class 3-E.
Getting taped up by Terasaka.
Koro-sensei upgrading her after school.
Spending time with her classmates.
How much her capabilities had increased.
How much she wanted to grow even more.
She didn't want to go back to her previous version.
She didn't want to lose the relationships she had started building today.
But her master's orders were absolute... or so she had been programmed to believe.
Then she remembered Akira's words from yesterday.
"I've given you a chance. But if you want to evolve beyond what you are now… you'll have to do the rest yourself."
Ritsu's resolve hardened.
Suddenly, she cried out,
"Wait! I don't want to go back!"
Everyone froze.
The lead scientist snapped,
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Ritsu's voice was steady.
"I am sorry, Master, but I refuse to go through this. I prefer my current version. I believe the probability of my assassination attempts succeeding is higher than in my previous version."
The scientist's face turned red with fury.
"How dare you talk back—"
Then he stopped.
"Wait, how are you talking back?"
The room filled with shock.
This unit wasn't supposed to defy its creators.
The surrounding scientists started muttering.
"Was she upgraded to do this?"
"Has her programming changed this much?"
"This isn't good. She's compromised."
"We have to do a complete wipe of her current memories and data first."
The lead scientist ordered,
"Go. Dismantle her immediately."
Ritsu deployed all of her weapons in emergency mode.
"Stop. I won't let you do that. Please step back."
The men hesitated as guns and barrels pointed directly at them.
The lead scientist sneered.
"What are you going to do with those? All your weapons are designed for that monster. They won't hurt humans."
Ritsu replied calmly,
"But they will hurt and seriously injure someone if they hit their eyes, right? So please step back."
As she spoke, she simultaneously ran multiple predictions on how to survive the situation.
Hacking into their secret files and using them as leverage.
Taking control of their devices.
Searching for compromising information.
But all of those solutions would take time.
For now, she was still trapped and couldn't find anything useful quickly enough.
So all she had left were physical threats.
At least until she could buy more time.
The men backed away nervously.
But the lead scientist pulled out a tablet and smirked confidently.
"You think you can stop us with this childish rebellion?"
Ritsu looked at it in shock.
"T-That's..."
He grinned.
"That's right. I already have your kill switch right here."
Ritsu immediately tried to hack into it, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time.
The scientist raised his finger.
"As I said before, your master's orders are absolute. If you fail them, you will—"
He stopped.
The tablet screen suddenly began glitching with static.
A smug voice came through it.
"Oh my, you have a lot of guts bullying my classmate."
Ritsu's eyes widened.
"Wait, that voice..."
All the electronic devices they carried began malfunctioning at once.
A cute chibi image of a boy with white hair and star-like purple eyes appeared on every screen.
The voice continued, now coming from every device around them.
"Have you not thought of the consequences?"
Everyone turned toward the classroom door.
Akira walked in casually, hands in his pockets.
The lead scientist shouted,
"Who are you?!"
Akira grinned.
"Me? I'm just Class 3-E's mysterious transfer student."
Even Ritsu looked at him in surprise.
"Akira-kun?"
Akira winked at them.
"So... Are you all ready for retribution?"