episode_0137

Hijikata expressed satisfaction, saying he’d felt the rewarding sensation of cutting something for the first time in a while. Perhaps to cool his intensely heated, boiling body, he left in an outlandish outfit, wearing only a fundoshi.

The equipment of the captured Fifty Star individuals was sent to Rossmore for disassembly and analysis. Their bodies were sent to headquarters for interrogation.

And thanks to my declaration to the Superintendent General that Ayakashi would provide compensation, Ayakashi’s official statement was all over the news.

Multiple orders to summon me came from Ayakashi, but thanks to Hiko handling them on his own, I could comfortably lie down, sip a calorie drink, and watch Ayakashi’s CEO explain with eyes practically seething with malice.

Though it was an act of quick thinking amidst the chaos, by claiming it was President Nozaburo’s order, I must now be perceived as a loyal direct subordinate aligned with President Nozaburo.

If so, from now on, even if I run wild and act like a ruffian, corporations will think it’s President Nozaburo’s will, and cast disapproving glances at that old man.

If attention is concentrated there, it will be difficult for President Nozaburo to carry out his patented shady behind-the-scenes manipulations. This marks the first stage of Luna and Hiko’s strategy.

Although I’ve been continuously entangled in one major incident after another, I suppose I’ve cleanly gained everything I could from them.

“Lying around lazily, aren’t you living the good life?”

“I really almost died this time, you know? My combat eye even burst, so I need another implant, and I’m so emaciated my skin is practically clinging to my bones.”

“Can’t you hear the eight pizza boxes next to you screaming to be put out of their misery?”

“Hmm.”

Watching Luna’s exasperated expression as she called to check on me, I smoothly pushed the empty pizza boxes aside.

This place uses fake cheese made of plastic, but it seems they spent a bit on it because it’s biodegradable, so it’s actually quite edible.

“Ugh… Anyway, how can you get caught up in trouble everywhere you go? At this point, it’s a talent, a true talent.”

“It’s better to have a talent than not, isn’t it? Thanks to this talent for getting involved in incidents, I’ve gained a lot of what I wanted, haven’t I? I even saw that old man, Nozaburo, almost collapse from high blood pressure.”

“Heh heh. Indeed, it was the first time I’d seen Nozaburo so utterly infuriated. It was quite a delightful sight.”

Perhaps he was tending to his bonsai in the communication channel, Hiko, who was rustling the fresh green branches with scissors, intruded.

“However, upon hearing that this lady’s brother was deeply injured, I had a hard time suppressing the urge to round up all those lowly fallen ones.”

Although they shared communication codes as they were in the same boat, Luna, whose eyes showed exasperation at Hiko casually joining the conversation, subtly checked her fingers, then quickly calmed down.

“Enough with the pleasantries… It seems the last transaction log for the Goliath operated by Fifty Star was with an Ayakashi subsidiary. So, Ayakashi’s offer of compensation has led to rumors that Ayakashi is trying to cover up its ties with Fifty Star, and the situation is starting to get complicated.”

“As expected, you just have to pass the buck.”

Befitting the famous saying that with great power comes great responsibility, Ayakashi had to bear the responsibility for accommodating a being like me.

And to be able to just laze around under a roof that takes proxy responsibility… What a wonderful life it is.

Of course, if it were an utterly ordinary affiliate or subsidiary, the moment they committed such an act, enforcers would come and rip down their sign, but since there’s Hiko acting as a breakwater, there’s no such concern.

As time passes, I will likely exceed the level Hiko can protect, so I can’t expect protection forever. But when that time comes, I’ll just make it too difficult for them to even care about this.

“The plan is progressing splendidly, but be careful. Since you’re masquerading as President Nozaburo’s direct subordinate, some schemes to keep him in check will be aimed your way.”

“Got it.”

“Even if it’s not those kinds of schemes, your notoriety has started to rise, so there will be gnats swarming you, trying to gain some fame.”

To list my public titles…

Nozaburo’s Most Loyal Hound, The Madman of the Rossboard Great Struggle, Vampire Hunter, Stage Dancer, Titan Slayer, David, and so on.

The very first epithet is enough to make President Nozaburo clutch his neck and collapse if he heard it, but the rest are all nicknames for cringe-worthy achievements that, for a mercenary, even having just one would be enough to be hailed as a legend.

The fact that defeating such a person once means becoming a legend immediately is like a sexy prostitute shaking her hips for mercenaries whose baseline is a death-wish.

“So, rest up carefully. I’ll call you if I need you.”

“That’s too difficult a mission. It won’t be worth it unless there’s extra compensation.”

“You’re the CEO who gives that compensation, you know?”

“Aha!”

After this, along with more casual chatter, the call ended only after we exchanged news such as Martina still not having woken up, perhaps from overexertion, and that a martial arts monk had shown interest and made contact.

After that, while recuperating at the game center, K.I.T.S.U.N.E’s hideout, I truly spent a lazy time.

The voice of the Giga-AI that always nagged in my head was silent, and Yuki and Kana were hard to meet, except for when they occasionally came to rub against me, perhaps because the absorption of the Black Market was so demanding.

Furthermore, these fox-loving club members, except for Furida, considered me the boss’s man and difficult to approach due to my flashy reputation, so they didn’t even come close.

All I did was take ice baths every day, and stuff high-calorie food into my mouth.

“Ah… I’m bored.”

I don’t think I’ve ever thought this before, but now that I’m actually given a chance to rest, I’m bored to death.

If only Giga Martina were still in my head, I could at least pass the time by talking nonsense.

Even if there were people to hang out with, Luna and the team are busy working at the company, Ricardo is working because I threatened him with a gun, and going up to the upper city involves troublesome procedures.

‘Is this the life of an unemployed person who can’t get a job alone…?’

I, who was experiencing in real-time the powerless and pessimistic feeling of an unemployed person feeding pigeons alone in a park while everyone else was at work, felt my head getting hot, and decided to go downstairs to play a game for the first time in a while.

The arcade center was filled with the chaotic electronic sounds of various games, mixed with laughter soaked in dopamine.

Furida, who was sitting at the counter watching niche porn of fluffy creatures rubbing against each other, noticed me and stood up.

“Ah! Hyung-nim, is there something bothering you!”

“I just came down to play a game because I was bored. And who watches porn during work? Your bones will rot.”

I gave him a whack on the back of the head, then yawned and looked around at the arcade machines.

Arcade games were already a retro genre even in my original era, so what would they be like now, nearly 70 to 80 years later?

Still, since a hardcore enthusiast base remained, this genre also continued to evolve, becoming more refined than what I remembered.

They’d unlock 4DX upscale if you inserted extra credits, or issue paid game cards that stored your previous play data…

Among them were arcade machines that, in their sole focus on raking in credits, had convergently evolved with slot machines, giving nothing but high-score dopamine rushes.

In truth, rather than feeling like a pure arcade center, it strongly felt like Yuki had just crammed in everything that looked fun. Not only actual gambling-type pusher games and slot machines, but also bowling lanes, screen shooting games, and poker or mahjong tables were partitioned and present. Wouldn’t it be closer to an analog multi-entertainment facility?

Normally, I only met Yuki and Kana for work, so I rarely came down to the store, and thus didn’t know, but it definitely felt more like a playground than a business establishment.

‘Well, if they crammed everything in like this, they must get a lot of customers.’

Then, I found a familiar type of game machine in one corner.

If you touched and pulled out the prize inside by controlling a crane, you could take it as a reward. It was a claw machine.

“They still have these nowadays.”

As if flaunting it as the first-place prize, a life-sized holographic figure stand of a virtual idol was located in the innermost claw machine.

It seemed everyone had spent quite a few credits trying to get it, as the consolation prizes that should have been neatly arranged around it were in a complete mess.

“Can you get it? If you can’t, I can try.”

“Ah, no! I think I can get it with just a little more…!”

As is common, the prior customer who had claimed the claw machine seemed to be struggling to win the first-place prize.

The two prior customers seemed to attend a prestigious school sponsored by Ayakashi, a fragile-looking boy with red hair wearing an expensive-looking school uniform, and a neatly composed black-haired girl.

But strangely, their appearance was familiar.

“…Aaron? Seira?”

The two prior customers reacted to the names I uttered on a whim.

Aaron, a typical ginger who turned to look at me with wide eyes, and Seira, who I didn’t know why she was with him, but casually bowed her head.

“Oh, Hyung, why are you here?”

“Hello. It’s good to see you here, Mr. John.”

Thud— The crane missed the stand’s hook.

“The first prize fell.”

“I thought I might get it this time, but it’s a shame.”

“Uwaaagh!!!”