I was lost in thought for a moment.
How was I going to explain the existence of Eve?
‘Eve’.
The name I’d given to my Super Artificial Intelligence AI.
Initially, I had intended to name it ‘Adam’, but due to Eve’s strong objections at the time, it ended up being this name.
I stealthily rolled my eyes and looked ahead.
Catherine was watching me, waiting for an answer with an intense gaze.
It seemed I couldn’t just gloss over the explanation.
At this very moment, the pressure to respond was palpable in her eyes.
…Um.
Well, there was no reason to keep Eve’s existence a secret anymore.
The reason I initially hid Eve was not due to any special circumstances.
It was purely a matter of conscience.
I had brought an ‘AI’—which could pose a risk—along without telling any of my teammates during a mission.
Of course, that was a different story now.
After spending some time with Eve, I was quite sure this AI wasn’t a bad being.
I couldn’t deny that the stream sponsorship money coming into my account from Eve also positively influenced my view.
Anyway.
Ultimately, this was just my perspective and thoughts, and what my colleagues thought likely differed.
In the worst-case scenario, they might advise me to extract the Data Module and Neural Computer Chip for a Data Cleanse.
Naturally, I suspected that physical action would follow that advice.
I gathered my thoughts while Catherine waited for me.
Eve seemed to read the atmosphere and was quietly observing the situation without saying a word.
And in this scenario, the only person who could move freely was the Vice President of some Megacorp.
“…Uh, excuse me.”
In the silence, Kojaka William cautiously raised his hand to express his opinion.
“It seems like this explanation might take a while, so could I have a glass of water? The awful smell is getting to me, and I’m quite thirsty.”
Being addressed politely by the Megacorp Vice President felt unexpectedly good.
But I wasn’t flustered enough to voice that.
I silently nodded.
“Of course, that’s fine. We only rescued you for the sake of our objective, so we have no intention of holding you.”
Now that it was revealed he was not Smile John, there was no need to suppress the vice president’s actions or provoke him.
I added kindly,
“If you go outside, there should be an orc. You can ask him for some water, and he’ll likely hand it over.”
“…Got it.”
He would need time to gather himself.
Perhaps not fully calm yet, Kojaka William stumbled as he walked away.
Alright, that leaves just the two of us.
I decided to come clean with Catherine.
If I lied here, the lies would only breed more lies.
That would just complicate things even further.
Taking a slow breath, I opened my mouth to Catherine.
“To explain about Eve, first─.”
As I continued my explanation.
An orc and Four Eyes rushed inside from outside.
If my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, he had Kojaka William’s arm locked behind his back, clearly restraining him.
…What the heck.
Before I could fully grasp the situation, Four Eyes shouted in a frantic tone.
“Hey! How can you let a hostage wander around like this?! If you’re going to kidnap someone, hold them tight! Seriously, good thing I was guarding outside…”
Um.
Now that I think about it, I hadn’t explained the situation to Four Eyes yet.
I had only told him something like, ‘I had to kidnap the Megacorp Vice President for a bit.’
To him, it must have looked like a kidnapped hostage casually walking out asking for a glass of water.
For some reason, Kojaka William’s expression as he looked at me appeared to resemble rotten fish.
I barely managed to stifle a laugh.
—
After my brief explanation, Four Eyes gently released Kojaka William as if helping a frail person.
His movements were cautious.
Maybe it was due to their different races.
I couldn’t quite grasp the emotions reflected on the orc’s face, but it was easy to tell that he was sporting a ‘this is bad’ expression.
To lighten the mood, I casually spoke to Four Eyes.
“What does it feel like to be the only orc to twist the Megacorp Vice President’s arm?”
“…Shut up.”
Four Eyes replied while grinding his teeth.
From the way he responded, it seemed he hadn’t completely lost his sanity yet.
Compared to the difficult-to-read expression of the orc, deciphering the expression of Kojaka William, a fellow human, was exceedingly easy.
Sitting down after freeing himself from Four Eyes, Kojaka William quickly drank some tepid water.
He looked like he wanted to spit something out right then and there.
Sadly, without allies like his employees around, he was clearly trying to hold back.
William set down the empty cup and loosened the tie that had been constricting his neck.
Having already shown his true colors, it seemed he decided to throw formality away.
“So, can we now go over this? What situation we’re in, and what your identities are.”
It was somewhat impressive that, despite having his arm twisted by an orc, he still held such bravado.
Sitting in the chair across from him, I lightly tapped my fingers on the table as I replied.
“First of all, as I mentioned before, we’re only here to rescue you for our objective.”
“It seems some people are calling it kidnapping.”
Kojaka William muttered, presumably aiming at someone with green skin.
On one hand, ‘rescue’ could indeed be considered synonymous with ‘kidnapping’.
But I couldn’t just say that outright.
I wore a polite smile and continued.
“Well, it’s probably a communication error, don’t you think?”
“…”
Though it was indeed kidnapping at its core, in the end, it was also true that we saved him from assassins aiming for his life.
“To put it bluntly, we’re not blocking the way for you. If you want an exit, we can guide you out right now.”
“…Alright, then lead me to the exit─.”
“However, I can’t guarantee safety. According to what Chairman Kojaka said earlier, it seems a Ninja Unit is hovering over the Landfill.”
I took a brief breath and said,
“Are they allies of yours?”
“…”
Kojaka William fell silent, unable to provide an answer.
It was likely a question he couldn’t be sure about.
After all, the assassination attempt was said to have occurred because some security employees were bribed.
This was information he’d directly mentioned himself aboard the Airship.
Kojaka William seemed to be making an effort to maintain his composure.
“That’s a problem I can solve by calling my men.”
Perhaps he was starting to feel a sense of trust regarding safety.
His tone shifted from polite to his usual Vice President lingo.
Kojaka William busily moved his fingers in the air, apparently trying to interact with his interface.
But then, that action was short-lived.
“…The signal is outside? That can’t be right.”
His expression turned grim in no time.
“…Is there no reception here?”
“Impossible! Everything should be working fine.”
There was no way the signal wouldn’t work just because we were underground.
In fact, I had kind of anticipated this.
Ever since we entered the Sewage, the signal indicator had been showing that there was no reception on one side of my view.
The last communication I had received was from Natasha right after the Airship fell, and since then, the signal had been dead.
I suspected there might be a Jamming signal covering the entire Landfill.
With a smile, I proposed two options to the Vice President.
“Do you want to leave? What do you want to do?”
“…”
With no way to contact his staff outside and a Ninja Unit searching the Landfill for his life, there was only one choice he could make.
“…Alright then, can you protect me to the inner part of Neon City, specifically to the Kojaka Headquarters?”
The mercenary instinct within me woke up.
I jokingly said with a grin,
“How much could you find out on your own, sir?”
It sounded like a line I’d heard somewhere before.
Now was a golden opportunity to hire the strongest mercenary in Neon City (Catherine) at a low price.
This was a move that would benefit us as well.
If Smile John truly was the Chairman of Kojaka Corp, how to deal with him was a daunting thought.
If the Vice President could provide us aid in that situation, we would have many more options.
Moreover, the Vice President had enough motive to seek revenge against Smile John.
The atmosphere around us lightened considerably.
From this point on, I pulled my chair closer to devise a plan on how to proceed.
However.
At some point, Catherine quietly approached from behind and gently placed her hand on my shoulder.
I couldn’t bear to turn around to see her expression.
I heard Catherine’s voice in my ear.
“…You must explain later.”
“…Uh-huh.”
She was referring to Eve.
Thanks to the orc who showed up by twisting the Megacorp Vice President’s arm, I had managed to sidestep the topic.
But honestly, I couldn’t keep avoiding the explanation forever.
…I’ll definitely have to explain it when we’re alone later.
I thought to myself.
—
The route out to the surface, where the Ninja Unit was searching, was clearly the ‘worst option,’ and waiting for support from someone was merely a ‘middle ground.’
So, what would be the best ‘top-notch’ option?
I gathered everyone and explained.
“We’re going through the Sewage to enter the underground of Neon City.”
Kojaka William twirled the empty cup nervously as he replied.
“…Isn’t that dangerous?”
I casually nodded.
“Killer Drones patrol there, broken cleaning robots eat people, and there are plenty of Vagabonds and mutated anomalies.”
“…Then.”
“Still, it’s much better than facing a Ninja Unit above ground.”
“…”
It was true.
Surely they wouldn’t follow us down the Sewage.
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