Chapter 236: Shirou

The inner part of Kuzusuhara ruin, the area under Tsubaki was surrounded by a wall that was disguised as a common mix of random rubble and wreckage. After Tsubaki made a deal with Yanagisawa, a part of that wall was renovated into a warehouse, in which she received and sent cargoes to and from Kugamayama city.

The area around that warehouse was mostly unmanned. Old-world drones were assigned to carry old-world relics to that warehouse, then an automatic transport vehicle would take those relics back to the city. So, there was no need for anyone to be there.

Further away from that wall, soldiers dispatched by Kugamayama city were guarding the area to prevent any intruders. Those who were caught sneaking in would be dealt swiftly and without mercy. Instead of putting up a half-baked identification system and risking a full-scale invasion or an infiltration, they opted for security that would ensure total annihilation against any possible intruders. The investigation could be conducted later after collecting what remained of the intruder. And finally, the usual security, which included the confirmation of those who were allowed to come in, was spread to the soldiers.

To further ensure security, many guards were equipped with powerful information gathering devices. Some of them even brought out powerful powered suits. Of course, they were not cheap, but after city management sold the relics transported from that area, they were still in the green. As matter of fact, due to their contract with Tsubaki, the better the security, the better the relics that she would give. Thus, city management continued its effort to further strengthen security. Because of that, the area around Tsubaki’s management was surrounded by abnormally strict and powerful security.

But that day, there was someone inside that unmanned region. It was Yanagisawa and a negotiation team under Sakashita Heavy Industry, Matsubara along with a few extra escorts. Yanagisawa was using his own equipment while the escorts were using equipment from Sakashita Heavy Industry. Only Matsubara, who was not armed at all, was wearing a formal suit.

The escorts were fully wrapped in armour. Even their faces were not shown. Judging from the fact that they were proceeding very cautiously and by how they spoke to Matsubara, it was easy to tell that they were all high-strung.

“Matsubara-san. It’s time… Though we might not be the best ones to say this, we do sincerely hope you can finish the negotiation peacefully.”

Matsubara was not as anxious as the escorts, but he still had a sharp and solemn look on his face. He understood the danger and how difficult the negotiation he was going to face.

“I know. We’re talking about the caretaker AI of Kuzusuhara ruin here. She is the beguiling ghost as well. It’s only right to be extra careful with her.”

Matsubara then glanced at Yanagisawa.

“To be honest, I would like to hear from you. Do you have any hints as to what I should be careful about?”

Yanagisawa exasperatedly replied, unlike Matsubara and the escorts, there was no trace of anxiety in his voice.

“What else is there for me to warn you? I did tell you that it’s very dangerous to meet her and I do not recommend you to do so but you ignored my warning which is why we are here now, right?”

“So, you’re saying that you can’t guarantee our safety, huh?”

“Even if you say so, if I could really fight against Tsubaki, my negotiation with her would have gone better, you know.”

“Well, you have a point there.”

“The only thing that I can guarantee is your safety until you meet her. After that, it’s completely out of my power. It all depends on her mood and your negotiation skill. But, if you still want me to give you a piece of advice to increase your chance of survival, then how about we turn around and go back home? Don’t worry! I’ll tell Tsubaki that we suddenly had a stomach ache or something!”

In contrast to Yanagisawa, who was joking around, Matsubara was still calm and serious.

“I’ll at least keep that in mind.”

“Is that so? It’s okay to take it, you know?”

Yanagisawa was still joking around, which did not suit the situation at all.

A few minutes before the meeting time, Tsubaki was still nowhere to be seen. The person who was responsible for watching the radar among the escorts scanned the area, but there was nothing

“1 minute left. In case Tsubaki doesn’t show up, I’ll judge that an unexpected situation has happened and we ask you to retreat with us… 30 seconds more… 10 seconds… 5, 4…”

Other than Yanagisawa, everyone there was expecting Tsubaki would not show up as the countdown continued.

“…3, 2, 1, 0.”

Right at that moment, Tsubaki appeared in front of Matsubara. She did not arrive at a high speed; she was there right from the start. It was just that no one was able to detect her. The person handling the information-gathering device was taken aback by the sudden change in his radar.

[…Camouflage!? No way!? How the hell did she not raise even the slightest signal when she’s this close!? Is it only a hologram!? No, this signal, it’s a real body! Just how in the world…]

The surprised escorts did not miss a beat and quickly stood between Matsubara and Tsubaki. The fact that they had not aimed their rifles at her was also proof that they were very well trained.

Tsubaki then calmly asked.

“Which one of you is the negotiator?”

Matsubara shifted around the escort and stood in front of Tsubaki.

“It’s me. I’m Matsubara from Sakashita Heavy Industry. First of all, let me thank you for coming here for this ne-”

“I see, so the rest are unnecessary, right?”

Tsubaki completely ignored Matsubara and wafted her hand. Yanagisawa noticed that and moved slightly faster than the rest. He jumped away with the full might of his augmented suit.

Yanagisawa was barely able to get out of the range as Tsubaki completely annihilated the escorts. Their heavy full-body armor as well as their soft inner body were all crushed with no discrimination. The area was quickly painted red from the entrails and the blood.

Other than Yanagisawa, Matsubara alone was completely uninjured. Although he was standing in the front and could not see what had happened behind him, he knew that something was squashed behind him. It was easy to imagine what just happened behind. Thus, cold sweat started forming on his forehead.

“…They are my escorts though.”

Tsubaki completely ignored his comment.

“State your business and please make it quick.”

Matsubara understood those short words also meant that if he kept silent here, then he would also be deemed unnecessary.

“…Very well. Sakashita Heavy Industry wishes to renew our contract with you, as for what we found unsatisfying regarding the last contract…”

Matsubara started his explanation calmly, Tsubaki locked her gaze toward Matsubara without saying anything. Eventually, Matsubara finished his explanation.

“…Including the negotiation for the compensation for the damages, we hope we can decide on a suitable place and time to negotiate about the new contract as well.”

“Is that all? Then, you’re unnecessary as well.”

“Wait!?”

Tsubaki did not wait and swung her hand. Just like with the escorts, everything from Matsubara’s neck and below was turned into mush. A second later, his head fell down and rolled over the ground.

That was when Yanagisawa finally returned and looked over the area, he then sighed and said.

“No no no, it’s true that I only asked you to at least listen to them. But like, can you, you know, be more merciful?”

Tsubaki ignored his jovial attitude and coldly replied.

“I warn you, never bring anyone that would worsen my mood again, otherwise, you’ll face the same fate as them.”

But as usual, Yanagisawa was still acting flippant.

“Well, I have my responsibilities too, you see. But just so you know, I did try to stop them.”

“It’s not my problem. As far as I know, it’s your problem.”

“Right, right, I’ll be careful.”

“I recommend you to seriously reflect and put effort to get better.”

Tsubaki then vanished. After that, the pool of blood on the ground started shaking. It was as if something just passed through but there was nothing at all.

Yanagisawa sighed.

“Good grief, she really won’t listen at all, or more like, she doesn’t have any tolerance at all. This is why I don’t want to mess with caretaker AIs… Geez, I guess I’ll just head back home.”

Yanagisawa picked up Matsubara’s head and headed back to the city.

The upper district of Kugamayama city was reserved for high ranking officials and the higher-ups from the Corporate Government. As such, it was also very strictly guarded. Currently, inside the area in the upper district where it was allowed to bring private escorts, Sugadome, a staff from Sakashita Heavy Industry was waiting.

Yanagisawa then entered the room to explain the situation. He was carrying a cylindrical case. He then took a seat across the table and put the case on the table.

“We do plan to give our full report in time, but I heard that you want to hear it from the person on the scene, so here I am. Would it be okay to ask for some of your time?”

“We’re the ones who asked you to come. Even if we were not the ones who requested for his meeting, such a question should not be brought out this late. Go ahead and start.”

“Very well then.”

Yanagisawa took the top side of the case and pulled it up. The cover slid and revealed what was inside the cylinder, it was Matsubara’s head, his eyes were closed and showed no movements.

Sugadome tapped his finger on the table. When he did that, Matsubara immediately opened his eyes, he then saw Sugadome and sighed.

“…I know that you’re in a hurry, but to think that you would drag me here only by connecting my head on a life support system, are you in that much of a hurry?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I see.”

Thanks to the life support system hooked onto his head, Matsubara was spared from death. He then sighed again to his superior who was demanding his report as soon as he recovered his consciousness. But in the end, he still gave his report.

“…So, that is what happened. Unfortunately, I was unable to even start the negotiation at all. I believe it will be difficult to ask for the contract to be renewed…”

“I see, it seems that it was a mistake sending you with the escorts, huh?”

“No, I believe that she killed the escorts just to show her position. I’m sure that she also deliberately let me live. Without the escorts, I’m sure that she would have killed me in order to make the same point. To be honest, I think the escorts served their duty well.”

Sugadome turned to Yanagisawa.

“But still, the more I hear it, the more I’m amazed that you were able to make a deal with her. As I thought, you should join Sakashita Heavy Industry and work for the Corporate Government.”

Yanagisawa gave a friendly smile and replied.

“I’m really happy that you think so, but I’m sorry, I have to refuse your generous offer.”

“I see, did you get a similar offer from Tatsumori, or Tsukisada, or maybe Senba too?”

“No no no, I haven’t gotten such an offer from those corporations.”

Then there was a short pause, Sugadome and Yanagisawa were trying to pry into what the other person was thinking. Sugadome was the first one to break the silence.

“…Well, I won’t force you. Let’s return back to the main subject then, it’s about the thing that you want to borrow. It is true that you’ll be able to negotiate with her smoothly as long as you can have that thing?”

“Of course. I can guarantee that you’ll profit from this too.”

“Very well then, I will give you the authorization.”

Yanagisawa seemed honestly delighted, which was rare for him. But his face quickly turned serious.

“Should I interpret it as I can hold on to that as a promise?”

“Yes. We have prepared all the necessary groundwork with the related companies, including the dispatchment for that powered suit as well. Moreover, we’ve already concluded the contract to purchase several drones to guard her area. If it ends up bringing in more from that area, I’ll have enough influence to grant you the authorization you seek. Of course, this is all assuming we can get more shares on your deal with her.”

“Don’t worry about that, just leave that part to me, and thank you.”

It was difficult for Yanagisawa to hide his happiness. Some of his real feelings leaked to his usual flippant smile.

“Although it might be too soon to ask you this, when exactly I might be able to get it? After all, I need to prepare my stuff to receive it.”

“In the best-case scenario, tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!?”

Even Yanagisawa could not hide his surprise, Sugadome then calmly continued.

“We already made plans to transport it here unrelated to this matter about loaning it to you, you see. It should be in Zegelt city at the moment, and it’ll arrive here tomorrow with the inter-city transport convoy.”

“I see. In that case, please allow me to excuse myself as I need to hurry up with my own preparation.”

Yanagisawa politely bowed and left the room, after that, he frowned and thought.

[…Those people were planning to bypass me and use it to directly negotiate with Tsubaki depending on the result of today’s negotiation, huh? I just can’t drop my guard against these people. I guess that is only to be expected from Sakashita Heavy Industry. Well, thanks to them, it seems that I can fast forward my plan though, so I guess I’ll let it slide this time.]

Yanagisawa could not hold back his delight as his usually calm face was completely ruined.

Inside the room, Matsubara tilted his floating head and asked.

“Are you sure about that? That guy is dangerous, you know?”

Sugadome still had his calm demeanour just like before.

“I’ve never met an abnormally competent but safe people in my life, you know. It’s the same with old-world knowledge. Our only choice is to understand that danger and handle them carefully. If there’s no other way to use them, the only other choice is complete destruction.”

“Complete destruction, huh?”

Sugadome slanted his eyes, a heavy aura was exuding out from him.

“That’s right. If we hesitate to move forward, the old-world will eventually crush us as well and we’ll join the ranks of old-world eras. That’s why our only choice is to gain old-world knowledge and use it to wrestle for victory. The old-world will be crushed by its own might. In order to do that, sacrifices are necessary. This is the exact reason why Corporate Governments exist in the first place. It has always been, and will always be.”

Seeing Sugadome reconfirm the reason why they exist, Matsubara felt his admiration toward his superior grow stronger.

“I see. If you already know, then it was my mistake for saying something so unnecessary.”

Sugadome’s heavy aura immediately dissipated.

“It’s fine, I don’t mind. It’s great that you are competent enough to point it out. Feel free to tell me if you have any concerns.”

“In that case, I shall take that offer immediately.”

“Oh, what is it?”

“Now that I’ve finished my report, it would be great if I can get back the rest of my body as soon as possible.”

“Whoops, my apologies.”

Sugadome quickly called one of his men and told him to get the preparations ready.

—*—*—*—

Inside the transport convoy in Zegelt city, the commanders of the escort team were having a meeting inside the officer room, which also doubled as a meeting room.

“Fortunately, there is zero death in the ambush on the route A of Kugamayama to Zegelt city… Though many were sent to the hospital.”

Most of the hunters who joined the escort team were veteran hunters. As such, many of them had emergency life support systems installed on them, so they could even survive wounds that would have been normally fatal. Some of them were sent to the hospital with nothing but their heads, of course, the treatment cost was not cheap, but at least they would survive.

“That attack was not normal. Normally, it is impossible to encounter giant bugs in that area. Those monsters should only be found further to the east. Are you telling me that they changed their habitat? There’s a limit on how much bad luck that we can get, you know?”

“Then, are you saying that it was intentional?”

“Well, I won’t go that far, but…”

Those in the eastern district would actively track the movements of the problematic monsters, but unfortunately, it did not give much meaningful result. Monetary-wise, it was cheaper and more reassuring to choose to eradicate them instead. There was also a choice to attack their nest and lure them out, but it was almost guaranteed to end with death. That was why people usually chose not to do that.

“There’s no point talking about that now. We have no other choice but to blame that on bad luck. Fortunately, we have enough firepower to deal with them. If those from Sakashita Heavy Industry were not onboard, we would have turned around and ran away.”

“They’re a part of the escorts sent by Kugamayama city to escort a certain executive back to the city, right? If those insects were actually lured by the Nationalists to attack that executive, they would have done so on our way back to Kugamayama city instead. So, it is most likely just bad luck.”

“Probably. Rather than talking about what has already happened, I think it’s better to talk about what we plan to do. We need to replenish our forces. Many of the escorts have been sent to the hospital. Does anyone have any idea where we can get more people? Personally speaking, I want to delay the journey back until we can get enough hunters.”

Many of the officers there nodded and concurred, but another person then said.

“Those from management request us to continue as originally planned.”

“Like hell if I care, just let them bark as much as they want. There’s no way I am going to force the passengers into a suicidal journey just because they told us to. We can’t go back unless we have enough manpower.”

Most of the attendees there agreed, but it did not stop there.

“About that, it seems that Sakashita will handle that part. They say that we can use the escort team already in the transport as much as we want. They will also pay for hiring more hunters from Zegelt city.”

Whispers spread across the meeting room. it was rare for something like that to happen.

“We are more than happy to accept that, but why are they willing to go that far…?”

“No idea, it might have something to do with their profit, or maybe their reputation. After all, it will leave a bad name if they can’t handle an ambush, even if it was completely unexpected, you know?”

“I see, that sounds plausible…”

Although Sakashita Heavy was one of the five great corporations, if they did not show off their power from time to time, other corporations would prey on them. Considering this as a cost of maintaining their authority as well as the Corporate Government’s authority, it was obvious that they would be willing to spend that much money. The people in that meeting thought so and did not pursue the matter any further.

“If we can get enough manpower, then our only choice is to go as planned. Now then, onto the next subject, we can’t go back using the same route. Since we just crushed a colony-scale giant bug swarm in that area, I bet another colony has already made that area into their own home. I don’t care if the city sends its soldiers to eliminate that colony or puts a bounty on those monsters. Either way, we can’t take that route right now. Route B also passes through a colony, so it would be wise not to use that route as well. This means we’ll only use either route C or D, but…”

The meeting continued to discuss what to do to maximize the passengers’ safety.

—*—*—*—

Hikaru eventually returned to the transport vehicle with Akira’s new bike. After taking the bike to the cargo manager department and getting it on board the transport vehicle, the responsibility was fully transferred to the transport vehicle.

That meant the escorts were no longer responsible for the bike. Nonetheless, their duty extended until Hikaru returned back to Akira. Once Hikaru saw Akira, she thanked the escorts and politely bowed. With this, their job was complete.

Akira was happily trying out his new bike. He sat on it to get a feel of it. Meanwhile, Alpha was also getting a feel of the bike through his information terminal, which was connected to the bike’s control device.

He then placed his LEO multi-rifle onto the bike’s multi-purpose arm and set it so that he could control it as if it was a prosthetic arm connected to him. This way, he was able to get accurate aim with the arm. The arm could also carry Akira’s AF anti-material cannon. By connecting the cannon to the bike’s extended energy tank and radar, he could increase the firepower and the accuracy of the cannon.

When he activated the forcefield armour projection, Akira was enveloped in a thin semi-sphere forcefield armour. Although it was not that powerful, it was enough to protect him from the wind. So, it was usable to reduce the drag force that usually pushed back against his body during high-speed maneuvers and stabilize his aim. Of course, it could even deflect bullets by increasing its output, but it would consume a lot of energy if he did that. So it was not recommended since it might exhaust the bike’s energy tank.

Akira wanted to try diving around the warehouse, but Hikaru stopped him. So, he regrettably stepped off the bike.

“Hikaru, can I use this bike for tomorrow’s job?”

“Eh? Are you planning to drive it around on the rooftop?”

“If it’s needed, yes.”

“I-I see. I’ll submit the permission request.”

“Thanks, I’ll leave it to you.”

The warehouse that also doubled as a hangar housed several powered suits. Even now, there were powered suits moving into the hangar. There were people getting in and out of their powered suits. Some tried to get in the hangar with their heavy augmented suits, but unfortunately, their equipment was too big for the normal-sized entrances.

Hikaru felt someone’s gaze and traced it back to a young boy next to a heavily armoured guy who was watching the surroundings. That young boy was looking straight at her and Akira. He was around the same age as Akira and her, but he was not armed at all. He seemed to be just a normal young boy.

As Hikaru thought that they might have garnered too much attention she urged Akira to return back.

“Akira, let’s go back to your room. Now that you have your bike, it’s your turn to keep your promise to stay in your room.”

“Hm? Yeah yeah, I know.”

Akira and Hikaru then left the room. The young boy still had his eyes fixed on them when another man in a business suit by the name of Hammerz called him.

“Shirou, what’s wrong?”

“…Hm? It’s just that I found someone in Kugamayama city staff’s uniform. This Kugamayama city is where I’ll be staying next, right? So I thought that she was here to welcome us or to pick me up. She’s pretty cute after all, so I would be really happy if that is the case.”

“I haven’t heard anything about that. I’ll try confirming it, so you don’t need to look around. We’ll attract too much attention if you do, you know?”

Even after that harsh warning from Hammerz, Shirou did not seem to be bothered and just laughed it off.

“Don’t say that. It has been quite a while since the last time I could get out like this. Not to mention that it’s been a long inter-city journey too. I can’t help but get excited. I’m just a young boy, so it’s to be expected that I will get excited to do some sightseeing. So like, can you just let this one slide?”

“It’s only to be expected for you to be not allowed to freely go out considering your job. But as compensation, they gave you a high-end VR device, right? If you want to just look around, you can use that.”

There were many such high-tech venues in the eastern district created during the old-world era. But because of the monsters, people could not enjoy those venues without hiring expensive escorts. Thus, only a limited number of people could go there. That was why the people who went there before, created a VR environment to experience them, it was a popular form of entertainment among the rich.

But as if he did not understand, Shirou shook his head and said.

“No no no, that thing is nothing more than a simple picture to me. The amount of information is just too small. It’s not like I’m mocking them but actual pictures are better since you can actually feel the paper with your hand. My point is that it is as boring as a dry raw image data sent to me.”

“If that’s the problem, you can just dial up the feedback effect on the VR device to be able to touch the scene, right?”

“I can, but it won’t come close to the real thing. Moreover, what I’m talking about is that it’s not enough for me. Cyborgs might be able to get back that realistic feeling by connecting their senses to VR, but there’s still a limit on how realistic that sensation can be.”

“Is that so? I heard that even the current era’s lower-end VR is already pretty good, you know…?”

“No no no, they’re still far from the real thing. Well, this might be unique only to me though. Well, doing something like that is dangerous, you know? It’s basically like allowing the VR to directly latch on your five senses. Ah, don’t tell me that you prefer VR devices with that kind of function for erotic use? I don’t recommend it. There have been accidents even when using everything from legal routes. Even if you use those from illegal routes, there are cases where people got paralyzed after just one use. If you really want to get something safe while equally satisfying your five senses, it’s better to get a copy of your five senses and use those five extra senses to enjoy it. Though, you have to be a weirdo to go that far…”

“Ahh, just shut up already!!”

Hammerz clicked his tongue and barked, somehow flustered.

Shirou just chuckled and did not say anything more. And just like that, the fact that he was closely watching Hikaru and Akira was forgotten.

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