Ch.281Work Record #040 – Faith Alone (1)

Sweetness is always tempting. I originally thought that not everything sweet should be put in one’s mouth, but… gradually taboos become lighter, and fears become something to laugh off.

Little by little, I feel the reins loosening. After receiving Mr. Günter’s permission, it feels like nothing can stop me anymore. The sweetness deepens. That intense sweetness… seems to push me forward a bit.

I needed to get my head straight. Otherwise, I might get intoxicated by what I want and end up doing something I don’t want to do. All taboos and principles divide where one should go and where one shouldn’t.

Those who stray from that path could go anywhere… but wherever my feet could reach, I might just follow that intense sweetness I just felt and keep moving forward.

I need to recapture the fear and worry that slip through my fingers like sand. It might be better to repeat to myself several times what name I gave to my bolt-action railgun.

Los Angeles was covered in uncharacteristic peace. Perhaps because Belvedere had done some weeding, there was no sign of gang activity in this apartment complex.

Not wanting to let these peaceful days continue, I was planning to visit Panaceia Meditech to talk about Belvedere’s potential for change, but that day I received a familiar yet unexpected contact.

It was Mr. Enzo. It wasn’t his usual working hours at the night market… Did I perhaps forget to settle some payment with him? I had already paid for the cash magician’s trick I saw when escaping from Madeline’s Lot.

It wasn’t about money; I wanted to give the maximum compensation I could to someone who helped me make the best choice in a situation where I was already being suspected and about to be backstabbed. I hadn’t forgotten.

I accept the call with some tension. I was grateful that my sense of gratitude toward my benefactor hadn’t slipped away. Let’s not be stingy with words of thanks and apology.

“Ah, Mr. Enzo. When I contact you first, it’s always expecting the cash magician to work his magic, but you’re always the one to reach out first. What should I do? I’m feeling a bit guilty.”

Laughter came from across the communication channel, followed by Mr. Enzo’s voice.

“If y-you’re already feeling g-guilty, that’s fortunate for me. I had something to ask of you. Are you f-free today by any ch-chance?”

“Of course I am. I feel like I could do three or four personal requests for you for free, Mr. Enzo. What’s the matter?”

“N-nothing too serious… There’s a t-technology ex-exhibition I’d like you to attend with me. Plus, I have s-some quite decent information to share with you.”

If it was information from Mr. Enzo, there was no reason to refuse. The cash magician Enzo I knew was always reliable. He was capable enough to create a deBorg in the middle of Nationalist territory.

Fortunately, I was already dressed up to visit Panaceia Meditech. I put Hubris in a long gun case again, with only Small Evil strapped to my waist, and headed to the address.

It seemed he had invited me to his place. It was an apartment that stood particularly tall among the apartment complexes, as if boasting of being luxurious despite being just another collective housing unit.

I naturally drove into the parking lot and met Mr. Enzo who was waiting near the entrance. He still looked fragile, but I already knew that fragility was fake.

After naturally getting off my bike and giving a light bow as a greeting, Mr. Enzo shook his head slightly at my appearance and said:

“You sh-should get a car s-sometime. Appearances m-matter for freelancers. It would be good to invest in a high-end vehicle… You should discuss it with Ms. Eve.”

How fortunate it felt to have someone nearby who could review and advise on what I had pondered over. A bit foolishly, I immediately nodded.

“It makes me regret not asking you earlier when you can so easily give me the conclusion that took me two hours of contemplation after just a glance. Should I be your daily driver instead?”

“N-no need. Please take the passenger seat. I’m sure you c-could handle driving and g-gunfights simultaneously, but still… I can’t help but worry a little.”

At those words, I naturally drew Small Evil from my waist and got into the passenger seat. This time too, I placed my heavy Small Evil in the gun holder that replaced the cup holder in the middle of the seat while joking around.

“Only my former night market colleagues worry about me. Everyone else just sees me as someone who can solve all their problems.”

“In r-reality, you can solve about… 37% of all the world’s p-problems, can’t you?”

“That’s nothing compared to someone who can mentally calculate the outline of 100% of the world’s problems. So, what kind of technology exhibition is this?”

I naturally placed Hubris between my legs. To fire Hubris, I would need to get out of the car. Even for me, it had enough power that without using all my strength, the shot grouping would scatter and recoil would leak out.

“We’re not going to see ex-excavated technologies, so don’t worry. Just… an exhibition about today’s technologies that have caught up with many of the old era’s technologies. There’s something that interests me…”

Mr. Enzo, who naturally stuttered, didn’t stutter when saying those words. Gripping the steering wheel as if making some kind of resolution, squeezing it several times… he started the car, seeming a bit tense.

I felt something was off but decided not to show it. The information Mr. Enzo was going to give me might be dangerous even for the great cash magician. Though I doubted he would be tense even if that were the case.

The car naturally started heading toward the exhibition hall along the road. Mr. Enzo casually asked a question that was too big to be casual. It was a question I had an answer for.

“Is morality a principle for you, Arthur, or just a suggestion? In other words… do you think it’s okay to do something bad for a purpose?”

“If it’s worth it. There’s nothing in this world that’s always right or always wrong, is there? Just like I have skill in killing people but no hobby for it.”

Mr. Enzo’s uncharacteristically tense voice continued. I mentally listed what could make this cunning man, who only resembled a fragile accountant but was actually shrewd and capable of making others let their guard down, so nervous.

“Then… I shouldn’t feel guilty about bringing you to this exhibition… Changing the subject… do you know why the Las Vegas Strip hasn’t failed and continues to thrive?”

The Las Vegas Strip—I had definitely dealt with it when working at the night market. For something that survived while opposing Fitts & Morrison… it wasn’t that impressive. Rather, it was on the weaker side.

“Although they didn’t show much prowess in the low-intensity conflict with us… perhaps they have some trump card they can use in high-intensity conflicts?”

Mr. Enzo let out a shallow laugh. He slowly shook his head. His hands on the steering wheel were still tensely… no, trembling with something unidentifiable, squeezing repeatedly.

“Many misunderstand that… it’s because it’s profitable but difficult to manage. Fitts & Morrison… if they wanted, they could raid the Las Vegas Strip and take over the business rights.”

“You said it’s very profitable… so it sounds like there are many other megacorporations that would resent Fitts & Morrison devouring the Las Vegas Strip and making money from it. As for being difficult to manage…”

They themselves don’t want to take it, but they also don’t want Fitts & Morrison to have it. So it’s ambiguous, and despite some problems that might arise, the Strip must remain the Strip’s.

“The Las Vegas Strip has a strange tradition. The criminal organizations banded together to survive… complex, specialized, lacking mutual communication… the image of a city that’s fragmented in every way.”

I couldn’t quite understand what he meant, but it seemed like the organizations that came together to run the Strip were creating irreplaceability to ensure their own survival.

If he meant that they were making it so that if even one of them dropped out, the entire system would collapse, making it appear as if only they could run the Las Vegas Strip… then organizing all that would be troublesome.

“From the way you’re telling me this, it seems like that flow is starting to change.”

“That’s right. Even to Fitts & Morrison… the existence of a rival that’s not even a real rival, scooping up money with only the gangs of the Las Vegas wasteland as competition, has become burdensome.”

This seemed to be the information he wanted to share with me. Then was the emotion he showed me not tension? Looking again… Mr. Enzo also appeared somewhat excited. As if he was looking forward to something.