Made in Abyss Chapter 003

Former Detention Center, Riko's Bedroom（元置仕部屋, リコ私室）is the third chapter of the Made in Abyss manga.

Synopsis
After a strange child was found unconscious by Riko in the 1st Layer, he was brought back to the orphanage. Riko, Shiggy, Natt and Kiyui then attempted to awaken the child. As the boy neared consciousness, he heard the chatters of the four, apparently trying to use an electrical instrument attached to his helmet to wake him up, though he brushed off the voices and attempted to sleep again. However, he was then immediately and painfully jolted into full consciousness, screaming, Riko having mistakenly set the dial to 20 instead of 2.

The four cheered in astonishment at the child's awakening, Riko bombarding him with questions while the boy stared into thin air, wondering where he was. He then began speaking, to Riko's further astonishment, asking where he was. Riko, calling the boy "Robot-kun", replied that he was in her room, in the city of Orth, at the top of the Abyss. The boy then asked if Riko, Shiggy, Natt and Kiyui were torturers, and was told by Natt that they were actually apprentice delvers from Belchero Orphanage. Riko, rudely interjecting, asked "Robot-kun" to introduce himself. The boy answered that he himself was not sure of that, then asked Riko if he really was a robot. Riko, greatly excited, proceeded to explain her methods of confirming the boy's robotic nature, much to the shock of "Robot-kun".

As Riko and Natt wondered about the boy's memory loss, Shiggy hurriedly came to them, warning them that their misuse of the electrical device has caused an orphanage-wide blackout, and that their teacher, Leader, was coming to their room. The children hurriedly prepared for Leader's arrival, with Riko hiding "Robot-kun" under a sheet, asking him not to come out or Leader would punish them. Only a few seconds later Leader was already heard yelling at the door, asking for Riko to come out and explain. However, he rushed into the room almost immediately, ignoring Riko's explanation. Noticing something under the sheet, Leader immediately removed it, but only found the electrical device attached to a helmet, to Riko's surprise. The teacher then turned to Riko, asking about what she had to say. Riko replied weakly that she would not do so again. As Leader begin lecturing Riko, she spotted "Robot-kun" dangling from the ceiling, through a rope extending from his left arm, watching, though the boy quickly pull himself up the rope, disappearing into the ceiling again upon noticing Riko spotting him. Leader then noticed Riko not paying attention to him, thus pulled her away to receive her punishment. As Riko yelled "Sorry" weakly while Leader dragged her out of her room, "Robot-kun" nervously watched from the ceiling bars.

The boy, dropping down from the ceiling, began contemplating himself. He recounted his experiences, and then checked his body, trying to confirm if he really is a robot. He wondered if looking like a robot will actually make him one. A strange emblem appeared on his helmet's glass lens when he wore it, when Riko suddenly made an appearance, managing to make it back by slipping away when Shiggy, Natt and Kiyui were caught. As Riko inquired to what "Robot-kun" was doing, Leader was once again heard yelling at the door. Leader then furiously dragged Riko away to write her soul-searching apology while "Robot-kun" yet again watched nervously from the ceiling.

Transcript
"He is awake!" Riko shouts. They jump up to Reg in excitement, interested. Reg looks extremely confused with what is currently going on. Riko then spams him with a large amount of questions. "Hey, don't overwhelm him with so many questions..." Natt says. "Oh, sorry." She apologizes. "My name is Riko, but you can call me Onee-chan! (Big Sister)" "Were you the one who dissolved the petrified trees?" With no response, Natt states a theory, "Maybe it's because he can't understand us?" Riko then performs delver hand signals that say 'can you understand us?' "Where am I?" Says a faint voice. "Who said that?" Shiggy exclaims. "I'm sorry to answer a question with a question, but... Where am I?" Reg asks. "This place... Where is it?" "Here?" Riko responds. "This is my room! Welcome to Orth, Robot-kun! This is the city on the edge of the Abyss!" "This is the top of the Abyss!" Reg begins to wonder. 'That sinister instrument from before, and that pain.' "Are you guys torturers?" He finally asks. "Huh?!" Riko exclaims. "Riko's room was originally a torture room." Natt explained. "She got into too much trouble and got moved up here." Footsteps echo from the hallway leading to Riko's room. "Anyway, we're cave raiders, but we're just red whistles right now." Natt continues. Shiggy walks over to the door after hearing the footsteps. "Hey hey!" Riko says. "Robot-Kun, tell us about yourself!" Riko begins swarming him with questions. "Hey! What's your name? What are your functions? Who made you?" Reg stares at his hand. "I don't know much about myself, so I'd like your input. It's been bothering me for a while... But am I, a robot?" "YES! A ROBOT!" Riko exclaims in excitement and interest. "Electricity moved you! You're fire resistant! And instead of damaging you, you damaged the tool, and were left unscathed!" Reg looks confused. "What? You don't remember you're a robot?" "Did the shock damage his memory?" Natt asks. Shiggy slams the door open. "Guys! This is serious!" He exclaimed. "The entire orphanage's power disappeared! You overdid it with the output, Riko. You better hide! Leader's coming straight here!" "Huh?" Riko exclaimed. "How'd he find out?!" "No matter how you look at it, we're the ones always making trouble." Natt explained. Natt uncuffed Reg. "Can you stand?" He asked, then headed towards the window. "You better hide him, Riko!" Riko throws a tiny piece of cloth at Reg. Natt says, "Umm... That's no good." then covers Reg with a blanket of cloth. Riko peers under the cloth, and explains to Reg, "You can't come out! Ok? He'll give us hell to pay!" 'Worse than that pain?!' Reg thinks to himself. Leader (Jiruo)  knocks on the door, and shouts, "Hey Riko! Open up!" "Y-yes! Right away!" Riko responds as she runs to the door, then trips on the device used to shock Reg. "Gyaa!" Jiruo peers through the door as it opens. "What'd you do this time, Riko?" Riko begins to sweat, hoping he won't find Reg. "Uh... Nothing... I just hit my f-foot now... And at a good angle too..." Riko  attempts to close the door on Jiruo to block him from entering. "Rea-really! I just hurt myself..." Jiruo doesn't look convinced. Jiruo walks through the door, and notices a blanket of cloth covering something. Jiruo snatches the cloth off, to reveal Reg's helmet left behind. "This is Shiggy's handiwork, isn't it?" He asks. "I don't know why he's still doing this. Hey." He pats Riko on the head, "What do you have to say for yourself?" "So-Sorry, I won't do it again..." Riko responds. Jiruo looks down at Riko, "The cave exploration went badly the other day." Riko looks at Reg, hanging from what looks like a strong wire shooting from his arm, and soon ascends out of sight. "While I understand your frustrations, that's no reason to take your anger out on the whole orphanage." Jiruo faces closer towards Riko "Hey," "That's some nerve you've got to look away from me while I'm lecturing you." Jiruo pulls her towards the door. "First, Before I hear your explanation for all this, I think I'll have you write a long, soul-searching letter as an apology." He pulls her out of the door, into the hallway and slams the door shut. Reg  peeks over the ceiling beam he was hiding over, "Are they gone?" He whispers to himself. "I see, once you're caught, you're done for." He descends from the ceiling beam. 'Even so, my arm extended..' Reg  ungrips his hand from the ceiling beam, and his arm hits his head on the way down. 'Even though it's still numb.' He thinks to himself. 'A metal arm that extends.' He grabs his helmet from the chair, and stares at it. Reg looks back, and notices a slightly cracked mirror, and walks over it. He stares at himself in the mirror. 'What am I?' He looks at his body, to see if he truly is a robot. 'If I really am a robot, like that glasses girl said, shouldn't my name be written somewhere?' 'Let me think about this in order. First, an electric shock somehow wakes me. Secondly, they welcome me immediately, because I'm a robot? That being said, wouldn't anyone wake up from a shock like that? In the first place, does looking like a robot mean I am one? Third, why would my arm extend?' He adjusts his helmet, and touches the glass-icon on it, and an emblem appears. He flinches. The door creeks open, and Riko  appears, crouching at the door. "Shh." She whispers. Reg turns his head towards Riko. "You!" She stands up, and runs to Reg. "When Shiggy and the others got caught, I used the opportunity to escape!"

Character Appearances

 * Reg (unnamed at this point)
 * Riko
 * Shiggy
 * Natt
 * Kiyui
 * Leader