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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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People react in various ways to unexpected events. Some might just stare, mouths agape, while others might pinch themselves, thinking they’re dreaming. In my case, I was a bit of both.
“…You’re…”
I was simply stunned by the unexpected situation.
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Inside the sewer, Catherine, having returned, looked surprised to see Drek and Andrea. It was an expression only she, who had spent a long time in the sewers with me, could make.
She knew how difficult it was to find us in this vast underground space. That’s why Catherine reacted just like I had earlier – a mixture of surprise and relief, though not quite to the point of gaping.
Catherine then explained about the ninja she had chased. As I suspected, he had fled to relay information to the surface.
I nodded and briefly explained the current situation to Drek and Andrea: that this person (the Vice Chairman) wasn’t Smile John, that the real Smile John was the chairman of Ko-ozaka Corporation, and that we were being pursued by a ninja squad, all thanks to Ko-ozaka Koichiro, the Vice Chairman’s brother-in-law.
“Wasn’t there a separate actor playing the Chairman character?”
That was Andrea’s response.
“Things have gotten ridiculously twisted.”
That was Drek, after hearing that the kidnapper had taken control of the airship before we did.
I continued explaining to Drek, who was laughing in disbelief,
“Anyway, that’s how we ended up escorting the Vice Chairman to his destination.”
“So, what about the reward?”
Drek asked, flashing his gold tooth.
“We haven’t decided on the specifics yet. We’ll discuss it after dealing with Smile John… or rather, Ko-ozaka’s chairman.”
I turned my gaze to Ko-ozaka William. Drek’s gaze followed.
Ko-ozaka William adjusted his mask and replied,
“…That’s right. We’re in the same boat now.”
It was only natural for the Vice Chairman, who had been used as bait by the Chairman, to be angry with him.
A trustworthy smile spread across Drek’s face. He walked over to the Vice Chairman and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder. However, due to Drek’s large size, the Vice Chairman’s shoulder dipped under the weight.
Drek’s voice boomed,
“Then shall we discuss the details of the contract?”
This was the part Drek always handled when we took on a request: negotiating the details and finalizing the reward.
I tuned Drek out, figuring he’d handle it well. Our priority was escaping the sewers.
…But at that moment, a large, monstrous shadow appeared from the opposite direction.
“…!”
I shouted, trying to assess the surroundings. If I hadn’t immediately realized that the monstrous shadow was already dead, I would have screamed.
It was a lizard large enough to easily swallow a grown man whole. Unusually, it seemed to have eight or more legs.
Andrea spoke casually,
“Ah, this is what I was talking about earlier.”
Then she calmly walked past the lizard’s carcass.
…
I awkwardly scratched my head, swallowed my embarrassment, and moved on.
A short while later, we saw a giant robot blocking the sewer waterway. Having almost yelled at the lizard carcass earlier, this time I calmly observed the fallen robot.
With a sizzle, sparks flew from the robot’s surface. It remained motionless, the intermittent sparks the only indication that it was still powered on.
Drek’s voice came from behind me as he walked with his arm around the Vice Chairman,
“Oh, this is that cleaning robot I mentioned. There’s no signal here, so I had to directly connect to its circuits to hack it.”
The numerous sharp saw blades extending from beneath the robot were quite impressive.
…
Just what kind of fight had they been through? It seemed their claim of taking down everything strange they encountered while searching for us was true.
Catherine kicked powerfully, shattering the thick metal bars of the sewer grate. The entire frame of the grate flew back and bounced haphazardly across the sandy ground.
“Phew, finally out.”
I took a deep breath in celebration, feeling alive as I inhaled the (relatively) cleaner city air compared to the inside of the sewers.
The city’s neon signs, obscured by the concrete barrier in the wasteland outside the city, shimmered faintly above the buildings.
Fortunately, we were able to infiltrate the city without any further problems. We’d stopped the ninja from relaying information, and Drek and Andrea had cleared the path of monsters.
A notification appeared on my visual interface, indicating a signal connection.
[Signal restored. Current location is near Cloud Park in the lower levels, I inform.]
Cloud Park…
…
Did I just say the air was cleaner? I take it back. I could already smell the thick city smog.
Cloud Park, Neon City’s largest industrial zone. I hadn’t noticed because it was dark, but seeing the sky covered in gray clouds confirmed it.
…At least it wasn’t a crowded area.
I looked at the others who had emerged with me. As if noticing the restored signal, they were all busy. Drek appeared to be reporting to Natasha via radio, while Catherine and Andrea were staring blankly at their messages, muttering about wanting to wash up.
I turned and approached Ko-ozaka William. He, too, was busy on a call as soon as we exited the sewer.
“Hmm, yes. Uh. It was an assassination attempt, yes. …Ko-ozaka Koichiro.”
Judging by the conversation, it seemed he was talking to an employee. It wasn’t a hologram call, so I couldn’t be sure, but I assumed it was.
I waited quietly for Ko-ozaka William to finish his call.
Perhaps noticing me, Ko-ozaka William ended the call with a final instruction,
“Hmm, please investigate what information has been leaked.”
I addressed him,
“So, Vice Chairman.”
“Hmm.”
“Shall we escort you to headquarters as we initially discussed?”
“…Please. I don’t know who I can trust right now.”
It wasn’t a difficult task. I nodded.
[Proceeding to headquarters, I confirm.]
Eve’s words bothered me, but I ignored them. She was probably just gathering information.
Brushing the dust off my clothes, I continued,
“Should we head to Center Plaza in the middle levels?”
Since it was a megacorp headquarters, I naturally assumed it would be in Center Plaza.
However, Ko-ozaka William slowly shook his head.
“…No, the corporate headquarters moved a while ago.”
“Oh, then where should we take you?”
For some reason, he hesitated before answering.
…
After hearing his response, I asked,
“Why is the headquarters there?”
“…I opposed it.”
This was truly baffling.
The headquarters of Ko-ozaka Corporation, the second-largest megacorp in this world, was, for reasons unknown to me, located smack-dab in the middle of a theme park operated by Ko-ozaka.
Of course, since there were city-specific headquarters in cities around the world, it wasn’t particularly strange.
Since it was a corporation with a mascot character as its chairman, others probably just saw it as another of their eccentricities.
Come to think of it, I vaguely remembered seeing an advertisement for a Ko-ozaka theme park while riding the monorail.
In any case, it didn’t make sense to me.
“…As I said, I opposed it.”
Perhaps he sensed my incredulous stare. Ko-ozaka William offered an embarrassed explanation, not looking like a megacorp Vice Chairman at all.
We had gotten out of a driverless taxi and were walking deep inside the theme park after passing through the entrance. I’d considered waiting for the vehicle Natasha was sending, but I wanted to resolve this quickly.
But one thing was strange. Even considering it was a weekday, there wasn’t a single person around, unusual for a theme park run by a megacorp. There weren’t even any employees.
I had Eve search the news for information.
[Checking NCB24 news: 《An unexplained incident has occurred at ‘Pete Mac Land,’ the theme park operated by Ko-ozaka. With all visitors evacuated, experts are investigating the cause of the incident—》, I provide.]
…
Well, it could happen. But naturally, I had a bad feeling about it.
Regardless, we had to escort the Vice Chairman to the headquarters. We made our way through the silent theme park, prepared for a potential fight.
And then, we heard applause.
It came from a man wearing dazzling, ostentatious clothing, as if flaunting his wealth. His rainbow-colored mohawk stole our attention.
…What an outrageous fashion sense.
I had a feeling he wasn’t just an ordinary eccentric. I slowly opened my mouth to ask,
“Who are y–”
“Ko-ozaka Koichiro…! It really was you!”
But Ko-ozaka William cut me off, his voice filled with resentment.
…Sigh. My bad feeling was right.
Well, if they’d cleared out the theme park on a weekday, it was a 99.9% certainty.
The man called Ko-ozaka Koichiro made a grand gesture and said,
“Hahaha! You’re actually alive!”
His tone was grating.
Ko-ozaka Koichiro… if I remembered correctly, he was Ko-ozaka William’s brother-in-law… Meaning he was the son of Ko-ozaka’s Chairman, Smile John.
…That would explain the similar speech patterns.
“You wanted my position that badly?!”
Ko-ozaka William shouted, but that wasn’t my concern right now.
“…Eve.”
[I await your command.]
“How many are there around us?”
After a brief pause, Eve responded,
[49 biological signals detected within a 50-meter radius. Signals match the ‘ninja’ designation encountered in the sewer, I inform.]
As expected, he wouldn’t have come alone.
Ko-ozaka Koichiro… what a lunatic.
It was easier said than done. Clearing out all visitors during peak weekday hours, sending employees home, and waiting for us… it was beyond my comprehension.
What if we hadn’t come today? What if we had gone somewhere else?
…Trying to understand a madman’s thinking was a mistake.
But then again, it made sense. It seemed plausible coming from the son of that crazy Smile John.
I swallowed hard. We were in serious trouble.
Even if we were the best in the mercenary business, even if Catherine was the protagonist of the game based on this world, there were limits to what we could do.
…Should we run? Or should we at least try to fight?
The argument between Ko-ozaka’s Vice Chairman and his brother-in-law intensified. At the same time, the ninjas Eve had detected began to emerge from their hiding places.
Hmm. It seemed like I’d have to start this with a lightning strike.
I needed time to gather mana. I was thinking this when…
…At that moment, something fell from the sky.
I glanced upwards. A delivery drone of familiar design had arrived unnoticed. Whatever had fallen must have been quite heavy, judging by the loud thud that resonated.
…What was it? I looked at where it had landed.
There, in a superhero landing pose, was a person.
“…?”
As soon as the person landed, all the surrounding ninjas collapsed. Some sparked, others’ limbs twisted unnaturally – clear signs of hacking.
Drek, whose expression was usually cheerful, frowned and muttered,
“…Hacking? Impossible. That level of control should be computationally impossible.”
The Vice Chairman and his brother-in-law, now silent, stared blankly at the person.
…
But for some reason, the person’s, or rather, her outfit caught my eye.
…I’d seen that outfit somewhere before.
It was a unique outfit resembling a maid uniform. Where had I seen it? …In Eve’s streaming videos…
Hmm.
Hmmm.
“…You’re…”
Before I could speak, she, Eve, stood up.
[I have arrived, I inform.]
“I have arrived, I say.”
…
I had anticipated ninjas, but this was completely unexpected.
Eve had appeared!
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Finally Eve has a body!