༺ Ta-da! I’m Back ༻
All roads eventually came to an end.
It was the same for the Meta Conveyor Belt that endlessly circled the Military State. There would come a time when even it must stop, as there was no destination in aimless wandering. Just maybe, the purpose of a road was to walk towards a moment where one could no longer move forward.
This place was Amitengrad Terminal. It was the city with the most people in the Military State, as well as a form of insult to the old kingdom’s capital.
When I looked up, the city appeared like a moment frozen during a massive bomb explosion. Grey and black concrete grew chaotically and massively, just to fill empty spaces. The concrete haphazardly clung together, gradually increasing in mass.
In the midst of this, those who couldn’t keep up with the Military State sank deeper in misery and were pushed out. Buildings, people, equipment, trash, and more piled up on the outskirts, resembling the remnants of an explosive.
In fact, they actually were remnants. After all, they were shattered and fallen parts from the explosion that was the Military State.
Ahhh. Military State. You shitty, damned country.
The Magician has returned.
It was when I was newly lost in such sentiments.
The Captain, who had finished the immigration process, followed me. Drivers emerging from a line of automaton carriages eyed us as we alighted at the terminal. Some more proactive drivers even approached us directly.
“Captain, welcome. It’s quite a distance from here to Amitengrad. Don’t you perhaps need a carriage?”
Before the Captain could speak, I raised my finger and spoke.
“Four people. Will we fit?”
“Of course! Shall I prepare it?”
“Quickly.”
The driver, beaming, led us to his automaton carriage. The other drivers, looking disappointed, waited for other passengers or left to load baggage instead.
The Captain, noticing the mother and son who alighted with us, asked.
“Four people? Are you perhaps planning to take them too?”
“Yes. Since this must be fate too, shall we go together?”
I made the offer to the mother and son. The mother, a bit wary at first, gratefully accepted my offer after seeing her child tired from the long trip.
The excited driver took us into his automaton carriage. Through the carriage window, I saw large cranes and laborers dragged along, busily moving. Some were captured by the Military State to work and others joined the labor to make ends meet for the day. After all, the terminal always needed more hands for work.
As soon as we got into the soft and quiet carriage, the son fell asleep as if fainting. The mother placed his head on her thighs and stroked his hair. A loving smile, putting aside all worries and troubles for a moment, appeared on her lips.
With the child asleep, the Captain and I ended up sitting next to each other.
The automaton carriage shook softly. As we followed the neatly paved road and the cityscape that was once far away gradually became clear, the Captain glanced at me.
When the automaton carriage reached my destination…
“Ah! Please let me off here!”
I raised my hand to call the driver. The carriage stopped and the driver, a bit grumpy at letting me off so soon, only poked his head out from the driver’s seat.
“Is this really alright? This is District 15, far off from the center.”
“That’s not an issue. I have business here.”
“Then, the fare is….”
“Ah, the others will continue. Captain Bbey, please take care of it!”
Normally, the last person to get off paid the fare. So, the awareness to tactfully read the atmosphere before getting off early was needed.
It was when I was about to turn around, leaving the responsibility of payment to the next person.
“Wait!”
As I gestured goodbye, the Captain suddenly grabbed my sleeve. I asked, feigning ignorance.
“What in the world? What’s wrong, Captain Bbey?”
The Captain hesitated briefly before speaking.
“…Well. You are still under suspicion.”
“So, because of that, should I burst into the Military Police Corps with my own two feet? I can’t do that, right? Wait, no way, were you actually expecting me to do that?”
“Eugh.”
“We only agreed to go to Amitengrad together, didn’t we? The Military State or you may not be willing to recognize it, but I have faithfully completed my labor duty. If you want to imprison me further, bring a warrant.”
“But, still!”
“Why? If not, is there a different reason?”
｢I have to deal with you. Or, you must be dealt with. I cannot let someone who knows my identity roam freely. However….｣
“…It is confidential.”
“Huh? What in the world? Do you perhaps want to keep being with me?”
“…! Negative! Why would I ever! Again, if I could, I would erase all memories of ever meeting you.”
“Then it’s better we part here, right?”
“Euuuugh…!”
｢But, I don’t want to die. I don’t want to kill. I just want to live on peacefully, pretending not to know. If only our relationship solely consisted of meeting you occasionally as a golem…just like in that prison. That would have been nice.｣
“…It is confidential!”
What to do with this faithful, earnest model student?
Hmm. There’s no helping it.
There was this saying that existed since the olden times.
He who touches pitch shall be defiled therewith. It meant one would be influenced badly when hanging out with bad friends, thus they should always try to make good friends.
So, blame yourself for befriending someone bad like me, Captain. I shall be the one to corrupt you.
After all, for both of us to survive, you need to be bad enough to lie without missing a beat.
“There’s no helping it then. I’m a man who treats commitments lightly, so I can’t just let this opportunity pass by after receiving such temptation.”
“When did I ever tempt you!”
“Isn’t your reluctance to part ways a form of temptation? You still have a week’s grace period, right? Let us enjoy a short vacation during that time. Now then, come this way.”
I pulled the Captain’s arm and led her towards the exit. The only ones left were the mother and son.
No matter how much I abided by my frugal mindset, I couldn’t possibly pass my fare onto someone who had no money. That would be fraud, you know?
I took out alchemic gold from my pocket and handed it to the driver.
“Mister! I’ll pay in advance, so please take these people to their desired destination.”
“Oh my goodness. Yes, yes. I understand. Just leave it to me.”
The driver, pleased with the extra money, beamed. As I led the Captain out of the automaton carriage, the mother and son bowed in gratitude.
“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to repay this kindness….”
“Pfff, don’t mention it. It’s okay.”
I waved my hand and smiled at the mother who was delighted by the good fortune.
“Consider it the balance you were supposed to receive. After all, your plans got botched because you couldn’t get the full amount from them.”
The mother asked dumbfoundedly, unable to follow my words for a moment.
“…Excuse me?”
“Oh, look at me, blocking the way! We’re getting off now! Take care!”
I closed the door of the automaton carriage. The mother, who realized too late that her secret was exposed, tried to follow me out, but her world’s heaviest load was sound asleep on her lap. In a way, to her, that burden was probably heavier than even Jizan.
The mother, unable to move or do anything, leaned out the window and called out.
“Wait…! Please, I’m sorry! Forgive m…!”
But, in any case, the automaton cruelly moved on. The mother’s desperate cries faded away.
The Captain, not understanding the situation, was overcome with questions.
“Question. What did you mean by balance?”
“It’s nothing much. That woman was actually an accomplice of the Resistance, you see.”
I serenely stated that fact. When I did so, the Captain flinched in shock as she watched the distancing carriage.
“Question. How can you prove that’s the truth?”
I can’t. Because all I did was read her mind.
However, I could roughly piece it together. I walked leisurely, explaining as if I was the detective of the century.
“The containers on the Meta Conveyor Belt come in three sizes, but their design is all the same. After all, they need to be uniform for the cranes to lift them.”
“Affirmative. I am well aware of that information as well.”
“But how did the Resistance recognize the right cargo to ambush while hanging by a rope on the cliffs? They could risk landing incorrectly, you know. How dangerous of them.”
When hanging from a rope on a cliff to get onto the Belt, one wrong move could be fatal.
Since they couldn’t traverse against the Meta Conveyor Belt with some new style of running exercises, the Resistance needed to accurately identify the target cargo.
Now then, this was where a point of curiosity arises. How did they distinguish their target? Did they use a signaller? If not, did they outrun the Meta Conveyor Belt?
Of course not.
Realizing my point, the Captain’s mouth fell open.
“…Accomplice. Did that mother and son send a signal from beside the cargo?”
“To be more precise, only the mother. Probably using a lamp as the signal.”
When overloading a lamp in some specific way, it emitted a bright red light visible from afar. The Resistance must have taught her this method in order for her to signal them with that light for the ambush.
The Captain, who was now aware of the truth, spoke in dismay.
“However, they said they lost their lamp….”
“It’s not that it was lost, but that they placed the lamp on the target cargo. Originally, they were supposed to guard it, but it seems they retreated to a windbreak because the child was way too exhausted.”
After all, the warmth of a lamp could be borrowed, but not a windbreak.
Like the model signaller that she was, the Captain pieced the information together in a calm and orderly manner. As she silently organized her thoughts, she suddenly found a hole in my explanation and asked.
“…It doesn’t make sense. If that is the case, then why did the Resistance attack us?”
Ahaha, you see, about that…
Actually, I read her mind and overloaded my lamp. Then I placed it slightly away from the windbreak.
To make sure the Resistance, waiting somewhere, could see it clearly.
I never expected them to come down the mountain though!
But I was too lazy to explain, so I just smiled good-naturedly.
“It’s a secret.”
“Tell me!”
“I don’t want to. I don’t like bragging about myself.”
Ahhh, Miss Mother. Your concern for your son really is quite nice, but…
The lamp you placed without any form of support couldn’t have possibly stayed upright in the wind and vibrations.
Had things continued as they were, the mother would surely have faced retribution from the Resistance. After all, not only would it have been a form of dine-and-dash, but there was also a high chance that the mother could have tipped off the Military State.
In the end, I had basically helped the mother.
You ten Resistance members ended up dead, but it really couldn’t be helped. That was just how the situation unfolded, you know? Well, please understand. That truly was just your bad luck. Perhaps you would have succeeded if the Sunderspear wasn’t there?
The Captain, who realized she had just been sitting next to an accomplice of the Resistance, clenched her fist and glared at me.
“You mentioned a balance just now. Does that mean you financially supported an accomplice of the Resistance?”
“What are you going to do about it if that’s the case? If you get on an automaton carriage right now and chase after them, you could catch one of the Resistance’s collaborators. Will you do that?”
“That is the law and the rule. Rules must be followed. Breaking the law warrants punishment and breaking the rules warrants sanctions. It is a promise made to set the nation right.”
The Captain spoke as rigidly as the Military State Standard Font used for the text in the manual.
“You are the same as them. Financial support for an accomplice. The moment your gross negligence is recognized, you too will be punished!”
“Then what about the child?”
The Captain paused for a very brief moment. The image of the child, asleep while oblivious to the world, flickered in her mind. Pain and guilt momentarily crossed her face.
This was why the Windowless Room was necessary. If they directly faced someone…even a signaller, infinitely close to pure, could be contaminated.
But the Captain was accustomed to this already. She even endured the pain in her own heart and spoke coldly.
“There’s no issue. The Military State operates orphanages for children without guardians.”
You’re talking about the orphanages where they make children start working from the age of six under the guise of vocational training, right? I know it well.
And so did Captain Abbey. That was why she couldn’t say anything more and remained silent.
I, who had returned to my hometown, waded through the familiar streets with ease. The Captain, lost in thought, silently followed behind me.
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