Chapter 23: Petty Cash Job 2

I grab the marksman’s barrel—and swing it down with all my strength.

The spot where it comes down dents with a satisfying thunk, and whether from the impact or from a circuit getting smashed somewhere inside, the thing spits sparks and falls silent.

"…You’re as rough as ever with your fighting style. I’m honestly impressed the gun didn’t break."

"What? You want to get hit with this too?"

"How on earth did you arrive at that interpretation?!"

Keeping to cover and minimizing our engagements with the enemy—and even then restricting ourselves to close-quarters combat without using guns—we move forward through the desolate ruins.

Why not use guns?

Firearms could hardly be called anything less than a Kivotos resident’s closest companion. With their overwhelming destructive power and their ability to eliminate enemies quickly and efficiently, they possess advantages that far surpass those of melee weapons.

Their downsides are limited—mostly loud noise and bright muzzle flashes. The pros clearly outweigh the cons.

But in this situation, those minor drawbacks turn into fatal flaws that completely erase all of those advantages.

Simply put, there are way too many enemies. If we make even the slightest noise, we’ll be noticed. The moment an alarm sounds or the noise of combat rings out, reinforcements will start crawling out of the ruins like cockroaches, pouring in through every gap to eliminate us. Even for Problem Solver 68, handling that without Sensei around would be brutal.

That’s why the ones selected for this job were me—someone who can handle close combat without issue—and, as a bonus, Homura.

"Nice work, Como… ahem! The Cleaner! And Homura!"

"…Hmph."

"P-p-praise from Lady Aru… wow…!"

"…Homura."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Is this really the Cleaner? She’s nothing like the dignified figure we met before…"

"You're noisy, mutt. Want me to tear off those ears of yours?"

"Why are you only so harsh with me?!"

The mutt should shut up.

Still… this really is a pain.

Sure, this abandoned area is filled with rubble and debris—countless obstacles to hide behind. But at the same time, it’s crawling with patrolling mechanical soldiers. We keep getting bogged down by constant trash fights and can barely make progress. To be honest, it’s incredibly annoying. On top of that, one small mistake could lead to total annihilation—complete with a complimentary mental exhaustion package. What a deal. Yeah, no.

"Up we go… there."

"Mm, my apologies. I missed that."

"No problem. We’re coworkers right now. Helping each other is only natural."

"Thank you."

"…Why do you treat Homura normally…?"

"Quiet, mutt."

"Why—?!"

I’m starting to get bored. Watching Homura pull her red-hot blade from a mechanical soldier, that thought crosses my mind—and so I decide to play a little prank.

"Lady Aru~"

"Huh? What is—"

As Lady Aru turns around, I point the mechanical soldier I broke earlier straight at her—

"Bang!!"

"Kyaa!?"

"Uwah!?"

"Hm…"

"What’s going on?"

With a playful shout, it emits a flash of light toward them.

"W-what are you doing?!"

"Oh, I was just… getting bored. And I found something interesting."

"Something interesting?"

"Yes. This. A photo."

"Ooh!"

Yes—a photo.

A perfectly timed shot of a startled Haruka, and Kayoko with her eyes tightly shut. Mutsuki, for some reason, looks like she’s having the time of her life…

"Why am I rolling my eyes back?!"

And, inexplicably, Lady Aru herself is caught with the whites of her eyes showing.

"D-delete it!"

"Nopeee. Already saved it to the archive."

"I-I’m giving you a direct order as the president!"

"Down with power harassment. I’m never letting go of this adorable photo."

"…Could you please keep it down? We’ll get spotted."

"Shut it, mutt."

"Isn’t this crossing the line?!"

We’re in the middle of a small scuffle over Lady Aru and the broken robot when it happens.

"…Hey. Kuroshou. What’s that?"

"Yeah, yeah, what is it, Kayoko—oh?"

Where Kayoko is pointing—on the other side of something like a connecting walkway—we spot a blinking mechanical object, along with several unfamiliar-shaped items scattered around it.

"Yes… that seems right. The signal is coming from there as well."

…Which means—

"Target located."

That pile of junk—that’s our treasure trove.

…Data match confirmed. Several items correspond with existing OOPArt records. There’s no doubt about it: it really is a mountain of treasure. If we sell them through the proper channels, they’ll fetch a hefty price. Especially the massive OOPArt placed at the center—it’s still active. Whatever function it serves is unknown, but there’s no question that it’s valuable.

But then—

(I feel a sense of unease.)

How should I put it? Let’s say… like this. Imagine a lush forest, rich with greenery. Trees grow thick, and though faint traces of civilization remain, most of it has been swallowed by nature—bricks wrapped in moss, vines creeping everywhere. And yet, among all that, there is exactly one brick: pristine. Not a speck of moss on it, no vines clinging to it. A brand-new brick mixed in with the rest.

Well? You’d feel something was off, wouldn’t you?

That’s it. That exact feeling is what I’m sensing right now. It’s not something blatantly obvious, but to someone like me—someone who observes things with proper knowledge—it stands out as wrong.

In other words—

"Lady Aru, approaching recklessly is danger—"

"Let’s go, everyone! Hurry up and take it home so we can each eat a bowl of Shibaseki Ramen together!!"

"O-oooh!"

"Yay~♫"

"……Huh?"

"…Sigh."

By the time I try to warn them, their backs are already far, far away, sprinting across the connecting walkway.

"Give me a break…!"

"…At this point, we have no choice but to go."

Muttering with a sigh, Kayoko and I both break into a run. This is no longer a situation where we can debate traps or precautions. If it comes to that, I need to stay close enough to protect them.

Truly… Problem Solver 68—no, Rikuhachima Aru as a person—possesses undeniable charisma and an incredible ability to draw people in. That’s a fact, even from my perspective as the Cleaner. …But if I set aside the viewpoint of “Amari Komori,” who was saved by her and looks up to her, then how should I put this… she’s impossible to leave unattended. Very rude of me to say, but she’s the sort of person for whom the word “hopeless” fits a little too well.

Which is exactly why Kayoko and I have to support her with everything we’ve got, but—

"How am I supposed to warn her if she just charges ahead like that…!"

There’s nothing we can do. You’d agree, wouldn’t you? …Huh? You’re surprised because you thought I worshipped her blindly? …It’s not blind faith. I respect and trust her just as much as I do Sensei. But that’s a separate matter. Losing someone because you trusted them too much would be putting the cart before the horse.

"…This might be bad."

"—That is…!"

While running, I glance sideways—no, down beneath the connecting walkway. What stands there isn’t the small fry we’ve dealt with so far, but a single, massive, multi-legged tank.

—Codename: KETHER—

One of the “threats” I encountered in the past while collecting parts, and the most brilliantly shining supreme crown. One of the Sephiroth—a Decagrammaton bearing the name Keter, the First Prophet.

I don’t possess detailed information myself, and even the meaning of the unfamiliar term “Decagrammaton” is something I only vaguely understand from intelligence I once received during a job involving Kaiser PMC.

Even so, I understand well enough how dangerous Keter is—its advanced AI, diverse armaments, and tactics adapted to terrain and enemy strength.

(If I were alone, I could manage it at worst. But fighting together with everyone else would be difficult. It’s not that they’d be dead weight—it’s just that this is an opponent I want to avoid engaging without solid intel.)

To repel it, proper preparation is essential. That’s how much of a “threat” it is.

Which is why—charging in without a plan is absolutely out of the question!!

"Kuroshou! I’ll bring Lady Aru back! You provide cover in case we’re spotted—"

And then I realized.

"………"

They hadn’t moved a single step from where they were.

And then—the true source of the unease I couldn’t shake, even after analyzing everything. It wasn’t just that blatantly obvious pile of treasure.

"—Damn it!"

It was the artificial feel of the very connecting walkway we were standing on.

And the way Kuroshou deepened the smile plastered on her face as she lowered the muzzle of the gun in her hand toward the ground.

"Baaang!!"

A mocking imitation of a gunshot—followed by a real blast. Cracks raced outward from the bullet hole, and the footing beneath us shattered, collapsing in an instant.

Only then did I fully realize we’d fallen straight into their trap—and that it was already too late.

"—Tch! Damn it!"

"Don’t take it personally. This, too, is just part of the job."

The wire fired from its right arm is knocked aside by Homura’s dagger, sailing uselessly through the air without ever finding purchase.

"Kayoko! Grab on!"

"—Got it…!"

From somewhere nearby come familiar screams—Haruka calling out for the boss, laughter mixed in with it all. With a strong sense of see, this is exactly what I warned you about, and an equally strong if you knew this was coming, you could’ve stopped them, directed squarely at Mutsuki, I pull Kayoko into my arms and entrust us both to gravity.

"Benedictus System, deploying! Shock posture! Impact in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—!"

"Cough, cough!"

A jolt violent enough to rattle the display—followed by the dull, heavy crash of impact as we slam into the ground.

Checking unit status: no issues.
Checking Kayoko’s vitals: no abnormalities.

"Are you hurt?"

"I’m fine. How about you?"

"No problems. Lady Aru and the others are—"

"It huuuurts!"

"A-are you okay?!"

"We really walked right into it, huh~…"

"What do you mean, walked into it?!"

"…Looks like they’re fine."

Honestly… they still hadn’t realized it yet?

"Ahahaha!! I—I can’t—this is killing me…!"

"…Sigh."

"What exactly are you trying to pull, ‘information broker’?"

"Hahaha. So scary. Really now, don’t glare at me like that."

Standing at the edge of the connecting walkway above us, looking down, Kuroshou meets my glare head-on.

"We received a request too, you know?"

"A request?"

"Yes. The ‘Cleaner.’ Even if you’ve fallen from grace now, you were once a big name in the underworld. Some idiots get the wrong idea—but just because your credibility took a hit doesn’t mean your skills have dulled. Your ability is still very much intact."

"…"

"And because of that… there are plenty of idiots who’d rather see you gone. That’s all there is to it."

…In other words, my defeat at the hands of Problem Solver 68 tanked the Cleaner’s reputation, sending demand into decline. But people who truly understand the danger I pose—or idiots who think now is their chance, or old enemies I’ve made along the way—put out a hit. And the information broker accepted it.

"Well, dragging Problem Solver 68 into this is regrettable… but you’re business rivals anyway. Being able to take care of you all at once is really just good luck."

"You think the likes of you can kill us?"

"Oh no, no, no! Not at all. That’s precisely why I went to the trouble of luring you into a trap like this."

As she says that, she points past me—toward Kether, and toward the others running this way in a panic, trying to flee from it.

"I’ll kill you, you little shit."

"Eek, so scary! Help me, Lord Kether~!"

"—!"

"K-Komori! This is bad! Wh-what do we do?!"

"……"

With thunderous thud, thud footfalls, the gigantic multi-legged tank—Kether—advances toward us.

"L-Lady Aru! I’ll blow it to pieces—!"

"Wait."

"W-why?!"

"O~h? You’ve got a plan?"

"…Yeah."

I stop Haruka, who’s raising her shotgun, with one hand and do nothing but stare straight ahead. My grip on the controller is slick with sweat. Cold perspiration runs down my cheek. Tension dominates my body—yet at the same time, I feel a very real confidence.

"……"

One more step. If it brings its front leg down, it could crush us where we stand. From this distance, I can feel its multiple sensors raking over us, as though tasting us with their gaze.

"……"

"Hiiiii…"

One second. Two. Three…

And when ten seconds have passed, it finally looks away from us—

—and tilts its head upward, as though it has completely lost interest.

"—Huh?"

As it turns out, the First Prophet of the Decagrammaton—the guardian of the ruins, one of the Sephiroth—KETHER, does not regard us as enemies.

"W-why…?!"

"K-kukuku… kuhahahaha!!"

—Just as planned.

"…Did you know? The mechanical soldiers in these ruins possess a small communication line that allows them to exchange information between individual units."

"…Huh?"

"One of the things they share is data used to identify friend or foe."

Naturally. Friendly fire between allied units would be a disaster.

"And in addition to the individual identification codes I’m currently spoofing and transmitting, there’s another factor involved in that judgment: an image recognition system."

"An image recognition system…?"

"That’s right… aaaaand then? What do you think this is?"

With that, I pull out a single photograph—a print produced by one of the machines installed in the Cleaner, an onboard developing unit.

"It’s a group photo of everyone from Problem Solver 68."

"W-what?!"

"Ah! That one from earlier!!"

That photo—the one where Lady Aru is rolling her eyes back. Taken using the camera function of the mechanical soldier we disabled. By applying a bit of tampering and injecting it into the inter-unit network… well, the results speak for themselves. That’s why I had to keep it, even if it meant disobeying Lady Aru’s orders. Though, to be fair, I planned to archive it permanently even after this was over.

"And now then… the one who fires guns loudly and can’t be authenticated by either the spoofed ID or the image recognition system—just who might that be, I wonder?"

"—You…!"

"Aim! Grab on!"

【Vrrrrrrrrrrnn】

An electronic whine rings out as motors spin up. A massive energy signature leaks from the tip of the giant turret, and the gun barrel swings upward—aimed directly at the two silhouettes standing on the connecting walkway above us.

"You little—BASTAAAAARD!!!"

A compressed mass of energy is fired.

"Alright! Let’s get out of here!"

"Huh?! Are you sure?! What about that?!"

"They’ll live. Come on, let’s move. Our opponent’s a high-performance AI—spoofing won’t last forever."

"R-right! Everyone! The mission isn’t over until we’re home!"

"Yes, ma’am!"

"Yeah!"

"Okaaay!"

"Roger!"

…Wait. What did we even come all the way here for again?