episode_0060

“Hey, you beast. I hear you got beaten like a dog?”

“Shut up. I don’t want to see that damn tin head, so get lost.”

Ricardo, who had rushed over upon hearing the news that the Juworld boss had been subdued, swaggered in, looking like he was grinning despite his expression being completely hidden.

Was the news that his usual rival had been trounced by me really that good?

Bearhand grimaced at Ricardo’s appearance but showed no signs of trying to escape or resist.

He probably knew that if he pulled any stunts, he’d be attacked instantly, as he didn’t have a perfect alibi yet.

“Hahaha! Friend, how on earth did you catch that guy? He’s a dirty strong bastard, a savage who doesn’t even use cyberware!”

Ricardo laughed loud enough to make the hallway ring, not losing to the droning noise pollution of the concert shouts on the top floor, and slapped me on the back, thump thump.

Even though I was tough, it subtly hurt, so I considered crushing that tin head, but Luna poked me in the side, so I decided to hold back.

And so, the four-way meeting between Hellstream, the mercenaries, Juworld, and the Alley Foxes was established.

“Phew… Yuki, Kana. Your uncle told you to find a more beast-like man if you’re going to get a boyfriend, not some tinheads whose ultimate fate is becoming a chrome psycho…”

“Jun isn’t some radical machine-replacement advocate, and Uncle, you’re overreacting…”

“Besides, he is a beast-like man, isn’t he~”

With so many people around, Yuki and Kana were trying to assassinate me by embarrassing me, so I pressed down on their heads, press press, and pushed them into a corner.

They seemed to like it somehow, but anyway, the four-way meeting became a three-way meeting.

“Quite popular, aren’t you?”

“Are you jealous?”

“I have plenty of women at my hideout too, friend.”

Most of them would probably be heavily modified individuals with over 50% of their bodies replaced by cyberware, or sex dolls, similar to him.

Luna’s sharp glares from beside me were now familiar enough to be endured.

Or maybe the numbness from getting hit so much hadn’t worn off yet?

“Putting that aside… Jang Dae-geon, are you sure your Juworld didn’t send that death threat message? Unlike usual, I’m serious right now.”

Ricardo sat down on the debris of the shattered wall as if it were a chair, his eye cameras glowing with a red light, and looked at Bearhand.

His low, modulated voice was eerie.

“Don’t act tough, it’s not scary at all. Besides, no matter how close Closing Age is to you, would we be crazy enough to go around threatening to kill someone who isn’t even a gangster? And where would you find idiots who kindly reveal their identity when making threats?”

“I thought your brains were so bad that you’d write it down.”

“You bastard… I’m a graduate of Xenotech’s direct university. You damn tin head.”

You’re from a prestigious school, despite how you look.

But why aren’t you working for a corporation and instead acting like a gangster?

I wasn’t the only one thinking that; his wolf-headed and snow leopard-headed subordinates, the three tin-headed ones, and even Luna, who had been feeding me an energy block, all stared intently at Bearhand.

“Uncle, you’re from a prestigious school, despite how you look.”

“…Even you guys?”

At Yuki’s finishing remark, Bearhand’s head drooped, thump.

“Then why did you crawl all the way here?”

“Well, if we left it alone and the damn Closing Age really died, all eyes would turn to Juworld, wouldn’t they? So I came to catch the bastard impersonating us and stop them.”

Indeed, if I were in that situation, and an impersonator announced they’d terrorize a megacorp headquarters, I’d go crazy trying to catch them.

Whoever the culprit was, they wouldn’t come to a good end.

Ricardo watched Bearhand, still suspicious, his arms crossed.

“Couldn’t one of your subordinates have done it on their own?”

“I’m not an idiot; I’ve already checked everything. If you need an alibi, I’ll provide one.”

“Tsk. Fine.”

In the end, Juworld was not the culprit.

Ricardo, the boss of Hellstream, also acknowledged the evidence Bearhand presented, and so it was clear that the matter wasn’t over yet.

“Things are getting a bit bothersome, aren’t they?”

“Scheming is nothing special in Eclipse Point, but who would benefit from the widespread impact of killing a celebrity like Closing Age?”

“Of course, it wouldn’t be just a random gang or individual; it must be some profit-driven organization…”

There are quite a few entities that could benefit from Closing Age’s death.

Competing artist agencies, the agency that’s losing influence over Closing Age, conservative political parties who dislike his frequent radical statements, emerging companies trying to shift the security market, Living Dead AI companies that offer services based on deceased individuals’ data, or simply terrorists who just want to cause chaos.

The problem is there are too many suspicious places.

Of course, for us, it’s just about protecting Closing Age until the concert ends, no matter who the opponent is.

Ricardo, Bearhand, and their respective subordinates all had thoughtful expressions on their faces at Luna’s and my conjectures.

That was understandable, because if a corporation was determined to assassinate an individual, it was unclear if even skilled bodyguards would succeed in protecting them.

“First, I need to go back and continue the escort. Teasing this bear is fun, but my friend is more important. Besides, there’s no way to find a killer who may or may not even be here.”

Ricardo volunteered for close escort and headed back towards the top floor.

Trusting their cyberware eye performance and JQ’s drones, Luna and I contacted security and requested a detailed search of the Junk Palace.

And Bearhand, fully recovered, stood up, cracking his neck snap snap, lightly stretched, and moved as if nothing had happened.

“If we haven’t caught the culprit yet, I can’t go back either. If an assassination happens, I know you won’t have the loyalty to defend us, even if you believe it wasn’t us. I’ll cooperate with you too.”

“It was good we followed Uncle. Now we have an excuse to stick with Jun~”

“These damned girls…”

Naturally, Yuki and Kana joined my team, and Luna ground her teeth watching them, but she wasn’t as murderous as before.

Could this be considered a good sign?

***

1:17 AM.

The concert was officially set to end at 1:30 AM, and even at this late stage, no special movements were reported in the Junk Palace.

[“Floor 36, Row E: All clear.”]

“Confirmed.”

JQ’s voice over the radio was starting to show fatigue, and even Raleigh, who had been covering the largest area, was visibly slowing down her search.

Thanks to Yuki and Kana chattering endlessly beside me, I could somewhat bear it, but the unsanitary environment of the Junk Palace made my stomach churn just from looking at it for a few hours.

“Damn it… why are there dried-up used condoms in the hallway? Should I at least commend them for using condoms?”

“There’s a reason the Junk Palace is called one of Eclipse Point’s three worst eyesores. There’s been a lot of talk about demolishing it, but the EPSB is strongly opposing it, so it’s still standing.”

“This kind of building naturally worsens public safety in its surroundings, but the EPSB is actually insisting on leaving it be?”

“Yeah. The director from when you went on your first mission is part of the Junk Palace preservation faction.”

Come to think of it, I heard that former director was part of a faction friendly to the lower city.

I never thought he’d be someone who’d advocate preserving one of Eclipse Point’s seven wonders, though.

“Hmm~ Seeing as it’s almost over, maybe it’s just a common extortion threat? Let’s just play, Jun?”

“How about we rest a bit?”

As I, unable to adapt to this extreme environment, grumbled complaints, Yuki and Kana clung tightly to my sides, cling, seizing the opportunity while Luna was opening doors one by one.

Their breasts were of a modest size, certainly not large, but in contrast, their excellent hips, second to none, bumped against my thigh, thump.

Furthermore, their bushy tails enhanced their volume.

At the foxy twins’ gazes, which were now looking up at me with seductive, alluring eyes, unlike before, I naturally gripped their plump behinds.

“Hmph♥”

“If you can’t stand it, should we do it secretly?”

Who was the one who couldn’t stand it, acting as if *I* wanted to throw them onto a bed and vigorously thrust into them?

Yuki and Kana provoked me with impudent words, urging me to slack off.

“Haa… can you please stop trying to entice someone who’s working hard and interfere with their job? I brought you along even though I didn’t like it because you said you’d help, but are you planning sabotage?”

Startle! The fox sisters, who had been clinging to me and wagging their tails, swish swish, startled and stiffened their tails, trembling as if caught doing something naughty.

Well, it *was* naughty.

Luna returned with a grumpy face, pouting her lips.

“It’s the closing performance now, so let’s go back.”

“Okay.”

By then, it was 1:27 AM.

The approaching end of the concert could be subtly felt not just in the audience area but even in the hallway.

We slowly walked towards Closing Age’s stage, where the closing performance was ongoing.

Yuki and Kana seemed quite pleased about finishing work and hanging out with me; they walked with expectant eyes, sneaking glances at me when Luna wasn’t looking.

“But why go through all this bothersome trouble?”

With the mission seemingly ending without incident, I made a subtle expression.

It felt incredibly uneasy.

“I don’t know. But what method would someone try to assassinate a person on stage?”

“A sniper, maybe?”

“There wouldn’t be any higher sniper points in the lower city than that…”

In fact, if even Raleigh, an excellent sniper, and JQ, who deployed drones, couldn’t find anything, the possibility of a sniper is extremely low.

“Hmm. Since they used Juworld’s name to send the email… maybe they’ll send an assassin disguised as a Juworld member?”

“Nah. That’s too cliché.”

“Right?”

We delved into a philosophical debate about whether there truly was an assassin, and in a more relaxed atmosphere than when we started, we somewhat amiably grabbed the doorknob leading to the backstage.

Creeeak Opening the roughly plywood-covered door, which seemed to pay no mind to building codes, there stood a human of indistinguishable race, age, or gender, with bear claws made of matte metal, pulling back the curtain for the curtain call.

“Looks like it’s that cliché thing after all~”

“Indeed.”