Chapter 24

Chapter 24

“How was the report?”

That’s what Bryce heard when he returned to the waiting room after a hectic day, and he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Kim in person.

“Am I… seeing a ghost?”

“What are you talking about. You must have contacted the terminal. Isn’t that why you’re back here?”

It was the right call. Once back in Metropolis, Bryce had to keep busy traveling around the Lotus Company. For reporting purposes.

After a while, a message came from the crew in the waiting room. It said that Kim had returned safely.

“……No, ah, yes, but how on earth.”

“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to use me as a messenger.”

“Messenger? You mean you talked to him?”

“You said you were going to wipe out all the Kilikians. Oh, I thought you said Kilikia was just the beginning.”

“What the hell.”

“They called themselves the Legion.”

The Legion. Bryce swallowed hard.

The emergence of a new group was not unusual in itself. Kilikia was a wealthy city that piqued the greed of outsiders.

But no one has ever swallowed Kilikia whole. At first, they dreamed of doing so, but then they chose to live in symbiosis with the established powers.

The overly ambitious were excluded. Companies were allowed to share the pie, but not to take away the bowl.

But Legion?

“I wonder if we can rule it out.

A monster in knightly armor. The image, which had struck Bryce as ridiculous at first, was now etched in his mind as a figure of horror.

It was a monster. Bryce was skeptical, wondering if he could handle it if it had double or triple the power of Whitefang.

Most frightening of all, we knew nothing about them. We didn’t know their size, we didn’t know their purpose. We didn’t even know where they came from.

“They looked at me like I was crazy up there.”

“What about the recording?”

“I submitted it. It’s dark, so it’s not a great picture… but it’s enough to see what happened, and they’ll believe it when they see it.”

Kim was relieved; if he hadn’t been able to hand over the evidence he’d taken, there was a chance that the police might not have moved.

“In the game, it was.

In the game, four people were sent to LW-3. Three of them died and one survived. With only three casualties and no evidence, the lone survivor claims that there is a monster in the basement.

The only people who took him seriously were Whitefang’s companions, and so the underground stage continues…. By the time we reach the final “Battle for Kilikia,” Whitefang is wiped out except for Mary.

You don’t want to follow in the same footsteps.

“What do you think?”

Bryce asked weakly, drying his face. There was no trace of his usual cheerfulness; he was already exhausted.

“If he comes to the surface with the Outlaws and my men… what do you think will happen, do you think the Law Enforcers will be able to subdue them?”

“I don’t know. A legion is a legion, but I’ve never seen a riot squad before.”

“I guess so, too.”

After a deep sigh, Bryce gently gripped Kim’s shoulder.

“I’m grateful to you, and I’m sorry. If you hadn’t stepped in, I would have died there… and you’re basically involved in this because I asked you to come as a guest.”

“You sound like you’re about to die. I did both of those things on my own judgment.”

He smiles wryly, as if he knew you’d say that.

“You’ll probably be called here and there for listening. You’ll be busy, but think about it. Stay in Kilikia or leave.”

…… leaves.

Snowfield was also advised. In retrospect, that was an option.

How to give up on Kilikia and get ready for the next episode. Actually, it was the right answer if I wanted to keep my gaming knowledge useful in the future.

It was a no-brainer.

‘You can’t just beat them up and take them out.’

So what if it’s Snowfield instead of Mithril. It’s now realistically difficult to finish without damage… but the odds are in your favor.

“If it’s that bad that your friend died.

Even a snowstorm will send Shaggy along for the ride.

* * *

A lot has changed in the past week.

The quiet but active underground business has been suspended indefinitely. All stations except MetroCity have been completely sealed off.

The city’s security has been stepped up by the security forces without creating unrest among the citizens. There are reconnaissance drones flying around outside the city.

Bryce tells me they’ve found traces within the territory of the former Kilikian Federation. They believe it to be a Legion stronghold, and are focusing their search on the neighborhood.

“I’m glad they didn’t just send in the riot police.

Several military companies had sent scouts underground at the behest of Congress, and when they all lost contact, they realized how serious the situation was.

The basement was an uncomfortable place to fight, even as a security zone. Unless the enemy was very well organized, fighting in a place with limited equipment could be futile.

“They’ve decided to clean up at MetroCity Station.

It’s a loss, no doubt. It will take a lot of heart to rebuild, but with the Legion already underground, we have no choice.

Despite being called up here and there, Kim dutifully made her own preparations. Today’s outing was one of them.

“Please, please, please, find someone else!”

“Why? You paid me as promised.”

“For fuck’s sake, I almost got killed. Do you know why I beat the hell out of that bounty hunter?”

“I don’t know.”

“I knew I couldn’t live up to my name! Thank you for reminding me, and if you understand, get lost, you water ghost! Huh!”

Chelsea sprinkled salt where she learned it. Kim stood still and flicked her tongue. It was hard to describe, but it tasted artificial.

“Why are you eating that…!”

“I don’t understand. I’m the one who almost got killed, and you were stuck in the back, firing away. Three shots and ten million is a good deal.”

“That’s… but.”

Chelsea stopped her hand, a worm-chewing expression on her face as she recalled the memory.

“Anyway, it was scary. Was that really a person? If those horns weren’t just an ornament on the helmet, it’d be a pecatum, and the ones I’ve seen don’t look that monstrous.”

“That’s great, all three shots on that guy. I don’t know who else I’d recognize.”

“What? Hmm, hmm. I guess so.”

The corner of my mouth twitched, wondering if I didn’t hate the compliment. It was only for a moment. Chelsea snapped out of it, her eyes narrowing.

“That’s it, go home, I don’t want to get involved, what’s the point of making money and dying, I’ll make good on the money you gave me.”

“Well, let’s not gamble with that.”

“It’s not gambling, it’s investing. Nobody does the kind of research I do. I look at the player’s diet, I look at what’s going on at home before I bet.”

was the league’s prediction for the game. Kim swallowed hard. Here was a stalker invading the privacy of the players.

I said before the story got long.

“Again, the compensation is 10 million.”

Scared to say it, Chelsea snorted in disbelief.

“No work.”

“It’ll be easier than the dark and confusing basement.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“You just have to hold your position and fire one shot.”

“I see. When you’re done… hmmm?”

One foot?

Chelsea stopped herself from spitting out the words and thought about it. It was tempting to listen. Why not just hide, shoot, and come home?

Her head tilted more and more… and suddenly their eyes met. Her evil but good employer was staring back at her.

“…One foot?”

“One foot.”

“So it is,” he said.

* * *

At first glance, the options for Legion seem like a lot.

They can escape to the surface and pound Kilikia from the outside, or they can force their way through a blockaded station and attack in unison.

“If only the collaborator wasn’t an outlaw.”

The man in the seat next to Kim snorted. He was dressed in a suit with his shirt buttoned up to his chin. It was almost suffocating to watch.

“We don’t know the strength of the Legion yet, but they’ll eventually come in with Outlaws as their main force.”

“Aha.”

Kim propped her elbows on the armrests and set her jaw. He didn’t say it out loud, but the man’s words held a lie.

“I’ve got the numbers for the Legion.

A reconnaissance drone captured traces of a possible Legion encampment. Analysts put the number at around a hundred.

The information came from Bryce. After the platoon leader was killed in action, Bryce took over her duties.

‘A hundred. Not a lot, but… they don’t care about heads.’

I had a feeling that people outside of Whitefang underestimated Legion, which is to be expected since they hadn’t seen it.

So did this gentleman from Congress.

“They’re going to hit MetroCity, and you can’t take a group of criminals and run a complex operation that the military wouldn’t know about, regardless of their capabilities.”

He wasn’t wrong. The Outlaws are not unified. Not a single, unified force, but a collection of small groups.

The Legion is their center of gravity. By showing them strength, handing them weapons. By giving them a “purpose” to return to the surface.

You’re leading the mob, so to speak.

If you’re going to use the Outlaws with a shitty chain of command, you’re going to have to pick simple operations. You’ll also need to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t do anything stupid.

“But can you tell me that?”

“Sure. Information sharing should be seamless.”

Kim squinted at the seat next to him. The man was staring straight ahead with a businesslike smile.

This was a second division stadium.

The stands were fairly crowded, if not packed. Even with the crowds, one side of the officials’ box was deserted, as Asterique doesn’t have a sponsor yet.

“I didn’t realize you believed that. The sender kept bothering me, so I misunderstood.”

“If you’re just being yourself, I’m sure you won’t have anything to worry about? Or is there someone you need to see secretly?”

“I can’t even go to the nightlife.”

“Haha. You went, didn’t you? I’m guessing you weren’t there to have fun. If you’re going to meet an acquaintance, you might as well make an appointment downtown. It could be misunderstood.”

“What business is that of yours?”

One day, like Bryce, the man in the suit knew where Kim was. Even the time he went to visit Chelsea.

“Just think of it as a failsafe.”

“I don’t feel safe at all….”

“It’s meant to protect Kilikia, not you. You survived being left alone with the ‘Knight’, and they kept you alive. Wouldn’t that cause us unnecessary concern?”

Possibility that Kim was recruited by the Legion. Or maybe he had some sort of connection to Legion from the beginning…….

That was the idea of Congress.

“By the way, your friend is awesome.”

At the end of the game, the man clapped his hands in unison.

In its own way, the match was a feast for the eyes. Asterique’s opponent, wearing heat-resistant gear, charged her like a bull. Asterique dodged and ducked, then slashed with a spell to secure the win.

Undefeated so far in the second division. The points keep piling up. At this rate, they’ll be promoted to the first division in no time.

Awareness was also noticeably higher. The crowd cheered. But Asterike’s expression was not as bright.

“It’s getting late.

It was getting harder and harder to spell dash, and the gap between Asterique and Snowfield was huge, even for the same pecatomb.

It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the fact that Asterisk is a powerful and valuable hand.

“Pay for your ticket and leave.”

“Uh, wasn’t the official free?”

“Do you know her?”

“That… hmm.”

The man tidied up his clothes as if he were trying to be cool.

“As a substitute, but for your information, the call for troops to hunt down the Outlaws and Legion has been canceled. The bounty hunters we’ve gathered will be in charge of the front lines.”

“That’s a big one.”

It’s called taking a bullet. If the number of Outlaws is significantly reduced, Bounty Hunters will also become unemployed, i.e. useless.

On the surface, bounty hunters are dangerous people. They were paid to legitimize killing against the Outlaws.

The operation was also a cleanup of the basement.

“Then there are those employed by the corporations, including the Lotus Company. The riot police will provide cover for our brave citizens.”

“Horses are liquidators.”

It was also a wise decision on the part of the Hagia’s security forces. How could they leave their backs to bounty hunters and mercenaries?

“What are you going to do?”

“Oh well, whatever.”

Kim bounced on her butt in her seat.

Now that the game was over, it was time to go to Asterique. In addition to watching the game, I had a story to tell.

“I have to do my job.”