Ch.225Outside. The Faceless Fixer’s Closing Ceremony (3)

I sighed.

“Hiya, life.”

Surprisingly, no one came.

‘Not really surprising, is it?’

I already had a face that was strangely misunderstood. Even when I spoke with genuine sincerity, being oddly misinterpreted was commonplace.

Still, I thought I had spoken clearly enough to avoid misunderstandings this time, yet somehow things turned out like this.

“Guess I have no choice but to set out alone.”

The area designated by the mysterious client was a place commonly called the “desert.” A place where dry northern winds howled.

Of course, the sand wasn’t ordinary sand. Soaked in extra-dimensional energy for ages, if I had to compare it to something, it would be like sand contaminated with radiation.

To venture into such a place, conventional transportation wouldn’t do. That’s why I told the other Fixers to meet at the “dock.”

Special equipment for desert navigation. A sand bike that hovers slightly above the ground. It has a function that releases wind in all directions to keep the sand at bay.

With some inconvenience, it could be operated alone, but the standard practice was to have separate roles: a helmsman to drive the bike and a guide to read the magical detection device and give directions.

‘I thought at least one of the four would show up.’

I sighed.

“The other three have already departed.”

An unexpected voice.

“Polyphemus?”

“…Yes, it’s me.”

A Fixer with a gloomy impression wearing an eye patch. One of the four Fixers I had gathered earlier.

***

“What do you mean they’ve already departed?”

“You announced the departure time yourself. The others tacitly acknowledge that you’re the best when it comes to extra-dimensional diving. They figured they’d need to move faster than you to claim more of the reward.”

Polyphemus knew Ortes well.

No, perhaps “well” isn’t the right word. The depths of Ortes’s mind remained unknown to everyone in this frontier city.

What he knew was Ortes’s achievements and reputation in the frontier.

When it came to extra-dimensional matters, he was the greatest Fixer of all time. In all other aspects, an unparalleled doomsayer.

His extra-dimensional diving skills were so exceptional that everyone kept their distance while acknowledging his abilities. However, Polyphemus also had a personal grudge against Ortes.

Though it was merely speculation without concrete evidence, Polyphemus was convinced.

Only someone like Ortes could have done such a thing.

“Anyway, I’m glad to see you! I thought I might have to go alone, but this is fortunate!”

Ortes naturally tried to guide Polyphemus to the sand bike hangar, but Polyphemus shook his head.

“Are you planning to be the helmsman? Considering your extra-dimensional diving experience, the guide role would suit you much better.”

Polyphemus naturally assigned roles, suggesting that he would drive while Ortes served as the guide. He also proposed using his own sand bike, which was more comfortable for driving.

Even though the sand bike uses air pressure to block extra-dimensional contaminated sand, it can’t filter out the finest dust. As navigation continues, contamination accumulates until eventually the outer armor must be replaced.

Preventing such equipment wear was appealing. Ortes simply agreed and headed toward Polyphemus’s sand bike.

***

Giiiiing—

The sand bike’s magical motor rotated, creating a strange vacuum sound. Ortes read the location information and approximate magical wavelength received from the client.

It’s a strange phenomenon, but the location where things drift varies according to the nature of the magical wavelength.

It’s well known that stronger magical wavelengths drift to deeper locations, but the idea that the nature of magic resonates with specific extra-dimensional spaces to determine the direction of drift is more like an urban legend circulating among Fixers who specialize in extra-dimensional diving.

Ortes’s eyes could clearly analyze this urban legend. That’s why he and Polyphemus were advancing toward their destination more surely than anyone else.

…or at least they should have been.

“Mr. Polyphemus.”

Ortes opened his eyes slightly wider. It was a subtle change that Polyphemus couldn’t notice.

“We’ve been going in circles for a while now.”

Polyphemus didn’t answer.

“Is it a malfunction? I carry emergency repair kits, so please wait a moment.”

Twitch. The corner of Polyphemus’s uncovered left eye moved. Yes. That was why he had obtained Galatea.

“If you’re experiencing sensory disturbances from inhaling extra-dimensional dust, we can take a break.”

…You know exactly what’s happening.

Polyphemus stopped the sand bike. However, it wasn’t the normal way to shut down. A special device installed in the guide’s seat that Ortes was sitting in restrained his body.

With a clanking noise, Polyphemus dismounted from the sand bike. In his hands were a reliable magical gun capable of firing hundreds of shots even in this harsh desert environment, and a multi-purpose tool for extra-dimensional exploration.

“So it was you who took Galatea away?”

“Haha, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Even in this situation, Ortes didn’t lose his smile. Polyphemus swallowed his rising anger and spoke.

“The woman I was protecting.”

***

Ortes wanted to sigh. With these eyes of his, he ends up seeing things he shouldn’t.

There were plenty of people who harbored irrational feelings toward him. But emotions are just emotions, and he didn’t want to be prejudiced against people who knew how to separate personal and professional matters just because they “had thoughts.”

That’s why Ortes generally didn’t preemptively attack people just because they had negative feelings toward him. Even the staff at the frontier sand bike maintenance shop disliked him, but they didn’t sabotage his work by neglecting maintenance or filling his fuel tank with bad fuel.

But Polyphemus was clearly different. He went beyond harboring hostility to expressing it, and even specifically targeting Ortes.

However, the few fragments of thoughts floating in Polyphemus’s mind weren’t enough to understand the source of his hostility.

“What woman are you talking about? I’ve found and brought back many people from the extra-dimensional borderlands.”

“Stop lying. You already know everything and have been mocking me, haven’t you?”

Polyphemus’s tone was calm, but his emotions were far from cold. His mental state resembled that of a detective who needed to interrogate and extract information from the vicious criminal who had kidnapped his family.

Ortes organized what Polyphemus was ranting about.

“So, you’re saying you were ‘protecting’ someone named Galatea from your Fixer office in some corner of the extra-dimensional space?”

“Yes. It was a necessary measure because everyone was after Galatea.”

Just like he had restrained Ortes now, he had used the sand bike’s functions to suppress resistance, made her mind foggy with extra-dimensional dust, and then implemented protective measures in a hideout only he knew about.

‘Is he insane?’

Ortes clicked his tongue. He tried to improve his impression every day by smiling, yet still got called suspicious.

Meanwhile, this genuinely twisted kidnapper actually had quite a fan base who said he had a “decadent charm.” Is this why they say you should look at a person’s inner self rather than their appearance?

Just as Ortes was about to tell Polyphemus “That’s your delusion,” something occurred to him.

He remembered once finding a drifter suffering from extra-dimensional dust intoxication while on an excavation request, and arranging for them to return home.

That person had mumbled something about it being dangerous if they saved him and that he should run away too.

At the time, he thought it was a warning about the extra-dimensional relic facility. When he said it was fine because he had already destroyed all the traps, the person’s expression became peculiar.

“Tell me! Where did you take Galatea?”

“Wouldn’t she have gone home? How would I know where your girlfriend went? I didn’t kidnap her.”

This was a plain statement of fact. Ortes hadn’t paid much attention to why he rescued whoever this Galatea was presumed to be.

“Who! Who kidnapped my Galatea!”

Ortes slowly shook his head. Having completely lost his mind, it seemed that Polyphemus was suffering from the occupational disease common among extra-dimensional explorers.

It was a symptom that frequently manifested due to the nature of their work, which involved regular contact with extra-dimensional contaminants.

A somewhat fastidious personality helps ensure safety during extra-dimensional exploration, but it’s a different story when it develops into genuine paranoia and persecution delusions.

If someone could still function as a Fixer in such a state, it meant their abilities, such as magical control amplified by extra-dimensional contamination, were not to be taken lightly.

Ortes read the surrounding environment while provoking Polyphemus’s anger.

“Well, I think No One (Ουτις) did it.”