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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The Landfill.
The nameless village beneath it.
Among those who lived there, if one had to pick a particularly unusual individual, there was an Orc.
The only Orc living in the village, he, like the other villagers, was called by a nickname, “Four-Eyes,” rather than his real name.
The nickname likely stuck because he stubbornly wore glasses with a crack in one lens, rendering it useless.
Another reason was that he was the most educated person in this underground village and their only doctor.
Therefore, unlike the implication of his nickname, “Four-Eyes,” he was one of the most respected people in the village.
He treated people at low cost (bartering being the norm), and cared for children without parents.
Also, being an Orc, with their inherent physical strength, he was the first to step up whenever the village needed heavy lifting done.
He even took charge of secretly siphoning domestic water from the water supply headed to the city. It went without saying how highly the villagers regarded him.
But even he, Four-Eyes, couldn’t maintain his composure in this situation.
“…So, you’re saying it’s really Vice President Ko-ozaka? That guy sprawled out over there?”
“You could say that.”
“Get out, you bastards!”
It didn’t take long for him, enraged, to start throwing scalpels and rolls of bandages.
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The old Orc, Four-Eyes, slumped into his chair.
“…Huff, huff.”
He breathed heavily through his aged tusks.
Unlike other races, it was difficult to tell an Orc’s age just by looking at their face, but his face now looked several years older.
Ah, it’s true that it’s been a few years since we last saw him. It was natural that Four-Eyes looked older than I remembered.
After a brief silence, I poked my head over the desk.
“Are you calmed down now?”
I absolutely wasn’t asking to tease him. I asked to objectively assess the situation.
A grinding sound, wooduk, could be heard. His tusks met with bone-jarring tension.
“…Ah, you…”
Judging by his clipped speech, it seemed he hadn’t calmed down yet.
Hearing his voice, I lowered my head again. I hid under the desk to avoid being hit by anything he might throw.
Perhaps due to my inherent physical weakness as a trait, even being grazed by a flying object sent a chilling pain through my bones.
Even while hiding, a part of me was happy to see that the old man still seemed to have plenty of energy after all this time.
Even if his anger was directed at us.
“…Huh.”
Four-Eyes, watching me, chuckled through his teeth.
He let out one last ragged breath.
“Khukh… Alright, I’m calm now, so come here and let me see your face.”
Four-Eyes beckoned with his large, Orc-like hand.
It was a gesture for us to approach.
Confirming this, I naturally rose from under the desk. Catherine, who had been hiding somewhere, also subtly emerged.
I spoke with a feeling of welcome.
“Wow, you’re still looking well.”
“What, at my age?! I’m still in my prime!”
He laughed in a deep voice.
Perhaps his throat was parched from the unexpected exertion. Four-Eyes picked up a dirty cup from the corner of the desk and gulped down some water.
Good, it seemed like his anger had completely subsided.
As Four-Eyes tidied up the rolls of bandages he had thrown on the floor, I continued speaking in a casual tone.
“So, how have you been?”
“You should’ve contacted me. Well, I’m always the same.”
Contact. It was difficult to contact him.
Basically, since people living in this village lacked official identities, they couldn’t be reached by phone.
Still, seeing him throw things earlier, it was clear that he was in good health.
Four-Eyes.
Orc.
Doctor.
He was called by all these names in this village.
He was the guardian of me, who had become younger after falling into the game, and Catherine, who had always been young.
In this world rife with Orc prejudice, he was the only Orc one could call respectable.
…Well, Smith, No Answer’s security guard, wasn’t exactly someone to be respected.
His actions seemed similar even now. Toys, worn from children’s hands, were scattered across the floor of this place, which served as the village’s “hospital,” “cafeteria,” and “orphanage” all in one.
Four-Eyes, somewhat calmed down after drinking water, asked us,
“So, what’s going on?”
As he spoke, he lit a half-smoked cigarette butt. The smoke he exhaled, like a materialized sigh, rose into the air.
I rolled my eyes and looked at Catherine. Catherine silently signaled to me with her eyes.
Roughly interpreting her look, it seemed she was asking me to handle the situation, as she wasn’t good at explaining things like this.
“Well, I heard you talking earlier. You know about the airship that crashed above, right?”
“Right. …Don’t tell me, you guys really brought it down?”
I waved my hands in denial.
This part was truly unfair.
“No, really. The airship was going to crash anyway, regardless of us.”
“…What do you mean ‘going to crash anyway’?”
It was the unadulterated truth. Even if we hadn’t infiltrated the airship, the assassins who had infiltrated Vice President Ko-ozaka’s airship would have crashed it to achieve their original objective.
…Of course, if asked if we were 1% innocent, I wouldn’t have an answer.
So how could I explain this?
I briefly organized my thoughts. Too much information could be detrimental to him in this situation.
Now that we had brought the Vice President here, we would somehow resolve the situation so that Four-Eyes and the underground village wouldn’t get involved, but regardless, it wouldn’t be good if the story spread.
I decided to explain only the main points clearly.
“To put it simply…”
“Go on.”
“We had a reason to briefly kidnap Vice President Ko-ozaka, and so we ended up kidnapping him.”
“…”
A truly perfect explanation that required no further elaboration.
[Are you crazy?]
I ignored Eve’s remark.
Four-Eyes took another drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke into the air.
“…What exactly are you doing in the city that leads to a situation where you have to kidnap the Vice President?”
“…Well, living life to the fullest. It just sort of happened.”
I omitted the detailed explanation.
Honestly, it was somewhat unfair. That was the cause-and-effect relationship of the events. To summarize it simply:
During a commission, I secretly took Eve.
Smile John found out.
Because of that, the terrorist started obsessing over us.
So, to find out his identity, we decided to directly ask the person we suspected to be Smile John (the Vice President).
If I were to explain it like that, he would probably look at me as if I were crazy.
Of course, since Eve’s identity was still a secret, there were things I couldn’t explain.
…
A brief silence followed.
From my perspective, which was fairly perceptive, this was definitely not a good atmosphere.
I took the opportunity to slip my hand into my pocket. I took out the ‘Bribe Magic,’ the ‘Credit Chip’ I always carried for emergencies, and handed it to Four-Eyes.
“…What’s this?”
“Ah, it’s nothing much. Just a little something since it’s been a while. Use it to feed the kids you’re looking after.”
Even though it was an underground village beneath a garbage dump, there were still uses for credit. They could trade it with merchants or use it outside.
Four-Eyes held the bridge of his glasses with his thick fingers. His eyes glinted sharply.
“…I’ll accept it as an allowance, but this matter is too big to be settled with just credits-”
Four-Eyes stopped mid-sentence. After checking the amount in the credit chip.
“…Well.”
“Yes.”
“I guess that’s possible.”
I nodded.
As expected, magic was invincible and divine. The hard work I put into learning it had paid off.
“I’m sorry to ask this of you, but could we use an empty room inside for a while?”
“Hahaha, of course. Feel free.”
I bowed my head in gratitude to the suddenly very friendly Four-Eyes.
…It wasn’t that I didn’t feel any guilt. It was definitely an imposition, no matter how you looked at it.
Even if, by any chance, the Ko-ozaka Corporation discovered this fact and the existence of the underground village later, it could cause a huge problem.
But in that previous situation, we didn’t have many options left.
I just hoped we wouldn’t get caught.
Of course, I hadn’t come here with just such optimistic thoughts.
Basically, this Landfill, which had undergone privatization, had no surveillance cameras. Therefore, even if we moved here, very few people could track our movements unless they already knew about the village’s existence.
The fact that most people were unaware of the Landfill’s existence also bolstered my actions. It would be strange for anyone to realize there was a village under the dump.
Rationalizing it in my mind like that, I moved to a room inside.
Although I called it a room, it felt very different from a room in the actual city.
Since it was built based on the sewer system, the enclosed space and foul odor were ever-present.
Catherine, who was carrying the still unconscious Ko-ozaka William over one shoulder, asked me,
“So what do we do now?”
“Just like I told Natasha.”
“Natasha…? You call your boss by her name?”
“Oops.”
Had I never called her that while with Catherine?
“Anyway, the plan is the same.”
“…”
Catherine’s gaze was somewhat intimidating. I tried my best to ignore it.
In any case, the plan hadn’t changed. Only the details and the location had been altered.
And since our lies hadn’t been exposed yet…
There was a room at the very back that looked like an unused storage room.
There happened to be a chair there, so I brought it to the center and sat Ko-ozaka William on it.
The lighting wasn’t bad, and being inside the sewer, there was no need to worry about surveillance cameras.
Ah, if there were any, Eve would have told me, wouldn’t she?
I signaled to Catherine.
“I’m going to wake him up soon, so put your mask back on.”
“Ah.”
Catherine nodded and pressed the button on her mask. A holographic image appeared over her face.
With her face covered, we decided to proceed with our original objective without further delay.
After a brief mental preparation, I confidently tapped Ko-ozaka William on the cheek. When else would I get the chance to slap a Megacorp Vice President?
“Ugh…”
It didn’t seem like he’d wake up. I increased the force of my slaps a bit.
With a smack! he opened his eyes.
“Ouch! …What is this smell? It’s like I’m in the middle of a garbage dump.”
Whether he woke up from the smell or the slap, I didn’t know.
I cleared my throat. My voice modulator was back on.
《Are you awake?》
“…Where is this?”
《This is Cyber Force’s hidden safehouse.》
A continuation of the lie from before.
Since our identities weren’t revealed inside the airship, sticking to this story was the best way to conceal ourselves.
Ko-ozaka William looked around. Even in the best light, this place didn’t look like a “safehouse,” but unless he was completely oblivious, he wouldn’t point that out.
He had to keep quiet even if it seemed strange.
In the end, only we and Ko-ozaka William were here.
Just the three of us.
“…Well, thank you for saving me anyway.”
Ko-ozaka William, after briefly assessing the situation, gave an awkward smile.
“…I appreciate you protecting me, but why did you bring me here instead of Neon City?”
I didn’t answer and silently shook my head. Maintaining the persona was important.
《Smile John.》
“…?”
Ko-ozaka William looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
…
《You, ‘Ko-ozaka William,’ are currently suspected of being the terrorist ‘Smile John.’ Do you have anything to say in your defense?》
He tilted his head, puzzled.
“Who? What John? Who’s that?”
I turned around. I muttered softly, so that Catherine and Ko-ozaka William couldn’t hear.
《Eve, is this right?》
[Running voice evaluation module. I assess the probability of him lying is over 90%.]
《…》
So, the 21% probability was correct after all.
This meant that all our efforts had been for nothing.
That’s why I said we should check before kidnapping him…
I let out a very deep sigh.
…I guess we just have to let him go.
But then, a different voice echoed from within the room.
【Hahaha!! To be fooled by this! I’m astonished. It seems Eve’s performance isn’t that great after all!】
The voice I had encountered on the overpass. It was Smile John.
I looked around to find the source. The voice was coming from the expensive watch Ko-ozaka William was wearing.
What is this? Is there a connection or not?
I was about to ask Ko-ozaka William about it, but he spoke first in a murmuring voice.
“…Chairman?”
Hmm.
The only chairman I knew was Chairman Monolith, and he wasn’t referring to that person.
The only “chairman” Ko-ozaka William could be referring to in this situation was one person.
…But.
Wasn’t Chairman Ko-ozaka a mascot character?
Now I was completely lost.
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