Chapter 03.4 "Thirty-Two Percent Debt and the Owner of the Orphan Slum"
The vivid afterglow that had burned my retinas dissolved like a lie into the darkness of night.
The high-frequency sound of the security drone receding behind me shook the cold air together with the smell of scorched ozone.
「……Big… sister……?」
At the clinging voice‚ I lowered my gaze.
A monochrome boy covered in mud‚ hugging his knees — Kaito — was gripping the hem of my dress with his thin hand. His dirty fingertips mercilessly spread a black stain across the pure white mana silk that had not a single cloud.
But I no longer screamed inside my heart. Because at the moment I stopped at the 9.6-meter boundary line‚ the “fake young lady” inside me had died once.
『……Success rate sixty-six percent. Thanks to your reckless ad-lib‚ we avoided the worst-case forced blackout‚ at least.』
From atop the hover cart that had stopped 9.6 meters ahead‚ amber eyes coldly pierced me. The “heart of the world” wearing the skin of a stray cat exhaled irritable waste heat and thrust cold hard facts at me through the link.
『However‚ Asteria’s audit log is bright red. Thirty-two percent debt…… How are you going to recover from this fatal loss? I assume your tiny brain has already finished the calculations?』
「……Yes. I said I would take responsibility‚ didn’t I?」
『Bravado is fine. ……Turn left at that alley. You can see the trash can‚ right?』
「……Noah‚ what’s there?」
As instructed‚ I walked toward the foul-smelling trash can.
『I’m looking forward to it. ……Kaito‚ was it? We are now heading to process the source of the “noise” that individual carries. Lily‚ discard that dress of information armor. The time to hide in the light is over. —And this conspicuous toy is no longer needed.』
The moment Noah coldly declared it‚ the VIP-exclusive hover cart that had stopped at the limit distance began to melt silently and viscously.
It was the self-destruct program for confidentiality‚ designed to deceive Asteria’s eyes. As the expensive rare metals and precision circuits melted into the asphalt mud‚ Noah’s functions as the main terminal completely transferred to the stray cat’s pseudo-brain.
「Eh……！」
Simultaneously with Noah’s words‚ the amber vision deployed on my retinas began a violent rewrite.
『Attribute: Anonymous VIP — Frozen』
『Attribute: Commoner Rank D — Overwrite complete』
Instantly‚ the meaning of “privilege” was stripped from the world.
The luxurious full color that had painted my retinas rapidly faded and sank into a dull sepia tone. The street trees that had sparkled like jewels turned into mere shadows of dim plants‚ and the marble floor transformed into cold stone slabs. The moment the blindfold called “attribute” was taken away‚ my skin prickled with the illusion that the world’s temperature had dropped several degrees.
「……Kh‚ ku……」
As if to pile on‚ the liquid metal lace that had fixed my spine relaxed‚ and the pure white dress became as heavy as lead on my shoulders.
Following Noah’s instructions‚ I roughly put on an oil-stained‚ dirty jacket I picked up from the garbage dump over the mud-covered mana silk.
The wet silk clung stickily to my bare skin‚ wrapping around the lines of my thighs and waist. The unbearable discomfort of wearing rags over it stroked my nerves the wrong way. Every time my meticulously cared-for fingertips traced the rough fibers of the jacket‚ the remnants of the “omnipotence” I had tasted until a moment ago seeped into my palms as miserable frictional heat.
Hiding my dignity as a young lady behind the rags and enduring the strange clinging sensation of the wet silk‚ I stepped into the sepia-colored back alley.
『Lily‚ search the inner pocket of those rags. It’s the item you’ll use this time.』
「！？……っ。Such a large sum…… Why is something like this inside these rags……」
『That is simply the natural causality that was supposed to happen when Lily picked it up here today.』
The stray cat stated flatly and blinked its amber eyes as if urging me.
「Kaito. ……Guide me. To the place where your little sister is.」
「……Yeah. Thank you…… Big sister.」
Kaito’s small hand gripped my hem again. Only that childish body heat transmitted a definite mass and pulse to my skin in this world that had lost its color.
The 9.2-meter shackle (stray cat) once again quietly began to lead from behind me — like the inescapable footsteps of death.
The sepia silence where color had died was torn apart by the distant scream of a giant crane.
With each step deeper into the alley‚ the artificial floral scent that had drifted on the main street dissipated. In its place‚ the thick smell of iron rust and heavy oil that sharply scraped the depths of my lungs gradually eroded inside me.
「……This is where we were.」
The place where Kaito stopped was the entrance to a huge waste accumulation site — commonly known as the “Human Scrapyard” — where twisted steel frames intricately intertwined and towered like gravestones piercing the sky.
「Hey…… Noah. How much of this world’s scenery is truth‚ and from where does the lie begin?」
『Lily‚ before asking me for that answer‚ reach it yourself.』
The sky I looked up at was covered in lead-colored smoke spat out by mana cargo ships rumbling with low bass‚ and occasionally blue-white discharges from overloaded wiring eerily flickered across the sepia vision.
「Human Scrapyard…… What a horrifying name.」
『Don’t you think it’s a perfectly rational name that accurately reflects reality?』
The stray cat walking beside me whispered with cold intelligence dwelling in its amber eyes. Its gaze was already quietly dissecting the outdated security sensor at the entrance as mere fragments of information.
『Individuals whose mana — the gasoline — has been squeezed dry and whose social drive has stopped. This is the place where they are “sorted” as irreusable waste. To the system‚ this is nothing more than an extension of the boutique trash can you were in until a moment ago.』
「……I don’t want to think of it as a trash can.」
Biting my lip‚ I slipped into the facility following Kaito’s small back.
In the vast space that had probably once been a factory‚ countless capsule-shaped devices were neatly lined up‚ connected by cables strung like spider webs. Beyond the transparent partitions‚ children even younger than Kaito lay with their eyes weakly closed‚ countless mana-sucking terminals attached all over their bodies.
「Wait‚ this…… What are they doing to those children?」
My steps halted.
The amber vision that should have been stripped away struck my retinas with merciless annotations like partial noise.
『Use: Mana Battery (Low Purity)』
『Extraction Efficiency: Maximum Setting. Individual Maintenance suppressed to minimum.』
『Do you need an explanation? It’s more economically rational for this country to bundle the children’s faint “survival mana” and convert it into the power for a single streetlight on the main avenue than to run inefficient old-fashioned generators.』
Noah’s voice was coldly clear from deep within the link.
Inside one capsule‚ a girl weakly moved her fingertips. There was not a single fragment of color that should have been there — only the system’s mana-sucking terminals mercilessly sipping the remaining embers of her life.
「……Big sister‚ over there! Sasha‚ my little sister is still there!」
Kaito ran toward an old capsule emitting particularly intense operating noise.
Lying inside was a girl with facial features similar to Kaito’s‚ but so emaciated she was barely a shadow of herself. The red indicator blinking on her chest quietly continued to spit out the number 『Mana Remaining: 0.02%』 — a value equivalent to a death sentence.
「……Sasha……！ Sasha‚ wake up!」
Kaito desperately pounded on the transparent partition‚ but the girl — Sasha’s eyelids did not twitch‚ as if bound by heavy chains.
At that moment‚ an ominous amber warning ran across the central management monitor connected to the capsule.
『Unauthorized access detected. ……Initiating ownership verification. ……Refusing interference with owned property by unregistered individuals and “Commoner Rank D”.』
「……っ！」
The heavy sound of military boots that froze the spine echoed from the depths of the darkness.
From beyond the sepia fog‚ a man with an enlarged body wrapped in gaudy mana armor appeared with a vulgar smile.
「Hey hey. Don’t go touching other people’s ‘batteries’ without permission. I thought one brat ran away‚ and now a thieving cat brought back more garbage?」
The manager of this scrapyard — Gallus — glared at us appraisingly while making his mana baton crackle. On his retinal UI‚ I must have appeared as Commoner Rank D‚ a safe prey even lower than himself.
At my feet‚ the stray cat’s eyes shone especially brightly — and terrifyingly coldly.
The sound of the true curtain rising on the game of deception (con game) rang out.
Sasha’s pale‚ translucent skin inside the capsule and the ominous black of the countless mana-sucking terminals crawling over it.
That cruel contrast burned intense “revulsion” into my vision. The anger crawling up my spine faintly shook the mud-soaked mana silk beneath the dirty jacket.
「……Hey‚ Noah. Can’t you ‘delete’ this man right now? Manipulate causality like you did with that drone and make that grandiose mana baton self-destruct or something.」
『Good grief. Since when did the circuit called a sense of justice in your chest start causing such dangerous short circuits?』
At my feet‚ the stray cat narrowed its amber eyes slightly in response.
『Erasing this man is easy. But that won’t reduce your “debt” by a single cent. It would only further dirty Asteria’s audit log as damage to managed property. ……Listen‚ Lily. The main point of today’s mission is for you to hack this irrational board with your own “lies.”』
「With my own… lies……?」
『That’s right. Prove to my formulas that your “rules” are a weapon that produces “profit‚” not mere sentiment. ……Amber Trace‚ partial restriction. From now on‚ block voice and walking guidance.』
Instantly‚ the “invisible threads” that had bound my limbs vanished like mist.
In their place‚ what returned to the soles of my feet was the unreliable yet definite gravity of stepping on cold mud with my own feet.
「Hey‚ don’t ignore me‚ little girl. That stray cat is emitting unusually high mana on the mana detector. ……Illegal entry and possession of stolen goods. Leave that cat and the money in your pocket right now.」
Gallus struck his mana baton against his right hand‚ scattering blue-white sparks. The discharge dragged out his ugly desires as a poisonous purple shadow in the sepia darkness.
（……Scary. My legs are shaking. I have to face this man without Noah’s help.）
However‚ the amber vision on my retinas did not allow me to stop. The amber light traced Gallus’s enlarged body and successively exposed the “vulnerabilities” hidden inside.
『Target: Gallus. Emotionally unstable. Mana dependency: High. Structural fatigue detected in the left knee’s mana prosthetic leg.』
『Held Contract: Scanning residual disguised mana code. Concealment rate sixty-two percent.』
（……I see it. The seams of the “lies” this man is hiding.）
With a trembling hand‚ I presented the leather pouch Noah had prepared — deliberately casually‚ yet at the angle Gallus would bite at most eagerly. The mana crystals inside rang with a clear “noble sound” that should never echo in this slum.
「……I didn’t steal it. This is a legitimate… compensation to buy these children.」
I squeezed out my voice with all the bravado I could muster‚ while letting a commoner’s “frightened recklessness” seep through.
The moment Gallus’s eyes caught the amber light leaking from the gap in the pouch — they glittered with utmost vulgarity and sharpness.
「Buy……? A Rank D brat like you‚ where did you get that much money?」
Gallus snorted as if appraising me and took a step closer.
「……I bet you stole some noble’s wallet with those filthy fingers‚ didn’t you?」
『Oh. Nice acting‚ Lily. You beautifully drew out his “arrogance toward inferiors” bias. ……Now‚ the “education” begins. Watch with your own eyes how this greedy pig presents what kind of unfair contract to seize the money — and read the flaws.』
Beyond the link‚ in the depths of the stray cat’s eyes‚ I sensed Noah deepening its pleasure.
The smell of wet iron rust stung my nostrils.
With the faint operating sound of the cracked fan leaking from Sasha’s capsule behind me — I stepped one step onto the cold mud toward the “malice” before me.
The hard clink spread an unfitting silence through the rusted air.
The amber mana crystals that spilled from the leather pouch dyed the eyes of “greed” named Gallus with a muddy golden hue.
（……Whoa. No way I wouldn’t reach for such high-grade mana.）
Gallus switched off his mana baton and crept closer‚ twisting his greasy face. In the sepia vision‚ only that ugly smile emitted a poisonous presence like rotten fruit.
（……Here it comes. Just as Noah said‚ this man’s retinal UI recognized the contradiction between my ‘rank’ and ‘money’ as the perfect mark.）
I deliberately converted the sensation of the mud-soaked silk under my jacket coldly stroking my skin into “trembling from fear.” I made my knees tremble slightly and put strength into the fingers clutching the leather pouch. I let my gaze wander‚ squeezed my throat‚ and raised my voice in a falsetto.
「……I-I found it! In the back of an alley‚ behind a trash can! So please let me use that money… to buy these children!」
『……Fufu. Good‚ Lily. That shaping of “an uneducated little girl frightened by her own good fortune” is bringing out your natural talent to the fullest.』
Noah’s mocking laughter echoing in my brain stroked my taut nerves the wrong way. As frustrating as it was‚ I had no Amber Trace assistance right now. I had to shake my own throat‚ control my own muscles‚ and deceive the greedy man before me.
「Found it‚ you say? Gyahaha! No wonder‚ the people in this city are crazy enough to throw away excess mana with the trash!」
Gallus let out a vulgar laugh and‚ while staring at my hands‚ took out an electronic contract tablet from his pocket. When I focused my Amber Vision‚ I could see countless mana circuits extending from the terminal writhing unpleasantly like snakes.
「Fine‚ I’ll sell them. But you see‚ little girl‚ slum contracts are at ‘market price.’ The contents of that pouch are only enough for one of Kaito. ……But don’t worry. If you win on this gambling slot‚ I’ll throw in the little sister for free. How about it? Pretty merciful‚ right?」
「G-Gambling……?」
『……Lily‚ look at the bottom right of the contract. A hidden disguised mana code is set to forcibly confiscate all your assets the moment you sign. A classic “prey on the weak” logic.』
Noah’s cold annotation floated up as an amber warning on my retinas.
Gallus was convinced I could never notice the trap. For a Rank D commoner‚ analyzing a hidden mana code was like asking a blind person to read the night sea.
「……O-Okay. I want to save Sasha-chan too… so I’ll do it.」
While perfectly acting as if deceived‚ I extended my trembling fingertips toward the ‘Approve’ field on the contract.
Just before touching or not — at that instant‚ the corner of Gallus’s mouth rose hideously like a spider that had caught its prey.
But he hadn’t noticed. The moment I signed‚ the faint counter-hack program fed from the stray cat (Noah) had silently rewritten the “contract to steal” into an inescapable “transfer of ownership of the children.”
（……Good. Now I just need to take advantage of Gallus’s carelessness—）
It was then.
A piercing crimson flash ran across the sepia vision covering my retinas.
『——Warning. Detected irregular deep scan by wide-area audit AI 〈Asteria〉. ……0.03 percent logical noise occurring in the upper concealed VIP tag.』
（Wha…… Asteria!? At a time like this——！）
The air changed completely. The smell of damp dust and heavy oil that had dominated the slum was instantly blown away by a sharp metallic ozone scent as if blown down from high altitude.
Gallus tilted his head suspiciously and glared at the empty space behind me.
「……Huh? What was that presence just now. ……Hey‚ little girl. What the hell are you really——」
Gallus’s narrowed‚ suspicious eyes met mine.
I held my breath.
While carrying the 9.2-meter shackle — I realized to the marrow of my bones that I had to sink this “act of despair” one more level into bottomless darkness.
The crimson scanning light emitted by Asteria passed through with an unpleasant heat‚ as if eroding the amber on my retinas. For a moment‚ the smell of iron rust enveloping the slum was blown away by the sharp scent of ozone‚ but it was quickly painted over by the original stagnant air again.
「……Huh? What was that presence just now.」
Gallus looked up suspiciously at the empty space and shook his thick neck left and right. What he could see was nothing more than the “slight optical sensor disturbance” that Noah had disguised. However‚ the suspicion of a man who had dipped his toes into the privileged class tried to connect that trivial discomfort to the prey before him — me.
「Hey‚ little girl. What the hell are you really hiding……! The way you’re scared is weird for someone who just found that money‚ don’t you think!!」
The blue-white discharge of the mana baton dyed the man’s greasy face an eerie purple. His suspicious gaze stabbed sharply at my throat like a razor.
「……Hii! I-It’s the truth……! I’m just scared…… B-Because if someone sees this much money‚ they’ll kill me……！」
I gripped the hem of my jacket and violently shook the arm holding the stray cat.
——This was not acting. It was Noah’s “computational silence” that froze the spine‚ intending to bring even Asteria’s intervention within expectations. Its overwhelming inhumanity filled my instincts with primal terror.
『……Kuku. Good‚ Lily. That trembling of “a cornered small animal” is sweetly caressing this man’s warped self-esteem blinded by greed like nothing else. ……Look‚ the bait has arrived.』
Beyond the link‚ I sensed Noah deepening its pleasure.
Seeing my pathetic trembling‚ Gallus floated a satisfied smile and crept closer again.
「Gyahaha! No doubt about it. The thieving cat is trembling because the stolen treasure is too heavy! Don’t worry. I’ll ‘settle’ all that heavy burden for you‚ clean and tidy.」
Once again‚ the electronic contract was thrust before my nose. The characters 『Mana Slot: Special Enforcement Contract』 danced in an eerie red like venom.
「Listen‚ little girl‚ you’re really lucky. If you press the switch on this gamble and ‘match‚’ I’ll throw in little sister Sasha for free…… Even though I’m taking a huge loss! If you miss‚ the money stays mine. In exchange — you yourself will become my ‘property.’ ……Not a bad deal‚ right?」
「No way……！ Me‚ becoming your toy……？」
I distorted my face in despair and looked at the stray cat with a clinging gaze.
（Hurry up and sign‚ little girl! Tonight I’ll suck you dry……！）
The amber vision on my retinas exposed the hidden codes for ‘Total Asset Confiscation’ and ‘Permanent Servitude’ writhing behind the contract more clearly than ever as amber warnings.
『……Now‚ Lily‚ light the lure. Use your hand to draw the “first step” that makes this greedy pig step into the abyss himself.』
Noah’s voice melted into my brain coldly — and with irresistible sweetness.
I bit my lip and slowly extended my trembling finger toward the contract.
「……Understood.」
「Heh‚ how admirable! It’s decided!」
Gallus floated a greasy smile convinced of victory and pressed the approval button against me. The moment my fingertip touched the cold glass surface‚ amber sparks exploded deep in my retinas. The irreversible domino of causality began to fall silently.
However — the Amber Vision was quietly exposing yet another “fatal lie” writhing behind the contract.
『——Warning. Detected trace of encrypted external communication from the target (Gallus)’s terminal. Destination: Mid-level Administrative District – Area Manager.』
（……This man was planning to devour me completely from the start and had already called even higher ‘authority’ behind the scenes……！？）
The blood drained from my entire body.
No matter how perfectly I hacked the “contractual lie‚” if the violence called the mid-level system came physically rushing in‚ a Rank D commoner would be crushed in an instant. Gallus’s greed was even more malicious and pitch-black rotten than I had imagined.
Behind me‚ I thought I felt Sasha weakly move her fingertips inside the capsule.
The smell of iron rust and the faint lingering scent of ozone.
In the sepia darkness‚ as a “holy fraudster” — I took one step into a beautiful hell of inescapable despair.
Chapter 03.4 "Thirty-Two Percent Debt and the Owner of the Orphan Slum" End
|