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Chapter 46 – Landfill (2)

Chapter 46 – Landfill (2)

The nameless village beneath the ground.

Among the people living there, if I had to pick one peculiar individual, there was one ‘Orc’.

The only orc living in the village, he was known by the nickname “Four Eyes” rather than his real name, just like the other villagers.

Perhaps he earned that nickname because he stubbornly wore glasses with a cracked lens on one side that no longer served their purpose.

But there was another reason.

He was the most educated person in this underground village and the only doctor.

So, unlike his nickname Four Eyes.

He was one of the most respected people in the village.

He treated people at a low cost (bartering was the norm) and cared for children who roamed alone without parents.

Being an orc with a strong physique, he was also the first to step up whenever the village needed physical labor.

He even took charge of secretly siphoning domestic water from the city’s water supply, so it was obvious how highly the villagers regarded him.

But even he, Four Eyes, couldn’t maintain his composure in this situation.

“…So, you’re saying that’s really Vice President Kojaka? The guy sprawled out there?”

“You could say that.”

“Get out, you bastards!”

It didn’t take long for him to start throwing scalpels and bandages in anger.

The old orc, Four Eyes, slumped into his chair.

“…Hoo, hoo.”

A heavy breath escaped through his aged tusks.

Like other races, it was difficult to tell an orc’s age just by looking at their face, but his face looked years older now.

Well, it had been years since we last saw him.

It was natural that Four Eyes looked older than I remembered.

After a brief silence, I poked my head above the desk.

“Are you feeling better?”

I wasn’t asking to tease him. I was objectively assessing the situation.

A grinding sound filled the air as he clenched his teeth. His tusks met with a force that threatened to break them.

“…Ah, you…”

His words were clipped, indicating his anger had not subsided.

Hearing his tone, I ducked my head again, hiding beneath the desk to avoid any flying objects.

Perhaps due to my race’s naturally weak constitution, any projectile would send a shiver of pain through my bones.

Even as I hid, part of me was glad to see the old man still had so much energy, even if his anger was directed at us.

“…Hmph.”

Four Eyes chuckled, watching me, chuckled through his teeth.

He exhaled one last time.

“Keh heh heh… Alright, I’m calm now. Come here and show your face.”

Four Eyes beckoned with his large, orcish hand.

It was a gesture for us to approach.

Seeing this, I naturally rose from beneath the desk.

Catherine, who had been hiding somewhere, also quietly emerged.

I spoke with a welcoming tone.

“Wow, you’re still in good shape.”

“What are you talking about, how old do you think I am? I’m still in my prime!”

He laughed in his deep voice.

Perhaps his throat was parched from the unexpected exercise. Four Eyes lifted a dirty cup from the corner of the desk and gulped down the water.

Good, it seemed like his anger had subsided.

While I was cleaning up the lump of bandages that he had thrown on the floor, I continued speaking in a natural tone.

“So, how have you been?”

“You could have contacted me. Well, I’m always the same.”

The word is communication.

It was difficult to contact him.

Basically, the people living in this village had no identification, so they couldn’t even make phone calls.

Still, seeing him throw things earlier, he definitely seemed to be in good health.

Four Eyes.

Orc.

Doctor.

In this village, he was called by all these names.

He was the guardian of me, who had become younger after falling into the game, and Catherine who was already young.

In this world where hatred towards orcs was rampant, he was the only orc you could call respectable.

…Well, Mr. Smith, the No Answer security guard, wasn’t exactly someone you’d respect.

His actions seemed similar now as well.

Toys, worn from children’s hands, were scattered around this place, which served this place as the village’s “hospital,” “feeding center,” and “orphanage.”

After calming down somewhat with a drink of water, Four Eyes asked us,

“So, what’s going on?”

He lit the half-burnt cigarette butt with a match.

The smoke he exhaled, “Hoo,” rose into the air like a sigh.

I glanced at Catherine.

She didn’t speak, just gave me a silent signal with her eyes.

Roughly interpreting her gaze, it seemed she wanted me to handle the situation since she wasn’t good at explaining things like this.

“Well, from what you said earlier, you already knew that an airship crashed above.”

“That’s right… Don’t tell me you guys actually brought it down?”

I waved my hand in denial.

This part was really unfair.

“No, really. The airship was going to crash anyway, regardless of us.”

“…What do you mean it was going to crash anyway?”

It was the truth without a single lie.

Even if we hadn’t infiltrated the airship, the assassins who had already infiltrated Vice President Kojaka’s airship would have crashed it to achieve their original goal.

…Of course.

If he asked me if there was even 1% of charges, I would have no answer.

So, how should I explain this?

I briefly organized my thoughts in my head.

Too much information could be harmful to him in this situation.

Since we had brought the Vice President here, we would do our best to resolve things without involving Four Eyes or the underground village.

Anyway, it wouldn’t be good for the story to spread anyway.

I decided to summarize the main point neatly and talk about it.

“To put it simply…”

“Go ahead.”

“Due to some circumstances that required us to kidnap Vice President Kojaka, so we ended up kidnapping him.”

“…”

No further explanation was needed.

It was a truly perfect explanation.

[Are you crazy?]

I ignored Eve’s remark.

Four Eyes took another drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke into the air.

“…What exactly are you doing in the city that leads to the kidnapping of the Vice President?”

“…Well, I’ve been living my life diligently, and it just happened.”

I omitted a detailed explanation.

Honestly, I felt somewhat wronged.

Due to the cause-and-effect relationship of work.

To summarize briefly:

During a mission, I secretly took care of Eve.

Smile John found out about it.

Because of that, the terrorists started obsessing over me.

Since things had come to this, I decided to ask the person suspected to be Smile John (the Vice President) directly to find out his true identity.

If I explained it like that, wouldn’t he look at me like I was crazy?

Of course, since Eve’s identity was still a secret, there were things I couldn’t explain.

… …

A brief silence followed.

As someone who was quite perceptive, I could tell this was definitely not a good atmosphere.

I took the opportunity to reach into my pocket.

I pulled out the ‘bribe magic’ that I always carried for emergencies.

A ‘credit chip’ and handed it to Four Eyes.

“…What’s this?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I just wanted to give you some pocket money since I haven’t been here in a while. Use it to feed the kids you’re taking care of.”

Even in the underground village beneath the garbage dump, there were still uses for credits.

They could be exchanged for goods with merchants and used outside the village.

Four Eyes adjusted his glasses with his thick fingers.

His eyes gleamed with a sharp intensity.

“…I’ll accept it as pocket money, but this matter is too big to be settled with just credits…”

Four Eyes’ words trailed off.

He had just checked the amount on the credit chip.

“…Well.”

“Yes.”

“That could be possible.”

I nodded.

Magic was truly invincible and divine. It was worth the hard work I put into learning it.

“I’m sorry to ask this, but could we use one of the empty rooms inside for a while?”

“Hahaha, of course. Use it as much as you like.”

I bowed my head in gratitude to Four Eyes, who had suddenly become overly friendly.

…It’s not that I didn’t feel any guilt.

This was obviously a burdensome request.

Just in case.

If Kojaka Corporation found out about this and the existence of the underground village, it could lead to a major incident.

But in the previous situation, we didn’t have many options left.

We could only hope not to get caught.

Of course, I hadn’t come here with just optimistic thoughts.

This garbage dump, which had undergone privatization, didn’t have any surveillance cameras.

Therefore, even if we moved here, very few people would be able to track our movements unless they already knew about the village’s existence.

The fact that most people didn’t know about the landfills also supported my actions.

It would be strange for someone to realize that there was a village beneath the garbage dump.

I mentally rationalized it like that.

We moved to the inner room.

Although it was described as a room, it felt very different from a room in the actual city.

Since it was built based on the sewer system, the stuffy smell and confined space were unavoidable.

Catherine, who was still carrying the unconscious William Kojaka over her shoulder, asked me.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“We’ll do what I told Natasha earlier.”

“Nata… you call the boss by her name?”

“Ahh.”

Had I never called her that in front of Catherine before?

“Anyway, the plan remains the same.”

“…”

There was something about Catherine’s eyes that scared me.

I tried my best to ignore it.

The plan hadn’t changed, anyway. Only the details and location had changed.

Since our lie hadn’t been discovered yet.

There was a room at the very back that looked like an unused storage room.

I found a chair and placed it in the middle of the room, then sat Kojaka William on it.

The lighting wasn’t bad, and since it was inside the sewer, we didn’t have to worry about surveillance cameras.

Well, Eve would have told us if there were any.

I signaled to Catherine.

“I’m going to wake him up soon, so put your mask back on.”

“Ah.”

Catherine nodded and pressed the button on her mask. A holographic image appeared over her face.

With our faces covered, there was no need to delay any further. We decided to proceed with our original goal.

I briefly steeled myself and confidently tapped Kojaka William on the cheek.

When else would I get the chance to slap a megacorp vice president?

“Ugh…”

It didn’t seem like he would wake up, though. I increased the force of my taps.

Smack! He opens his eyes with a sound.

“Ugh! …What is this smell? It’s like I’m in the middle of a garbage dump.”

It was unclear whether he woke up from the smell or the slap.

I cleared my throat.

The voice modulator was back on.

《Are you awake?》

《…Where am I?》

《This is Cyber Force’s hidden safe house.》

It was a continuation of the lie I told earlier.

Since our identities hadn’t been exposed inside the airship, sticking to this story was the best way to keep our cover.

William Kojaka looked around.

No matter how you put it, this place didn’t look like a ‘safe house.’

But unless he was completely clueless, he wouldn’t point it out.

It was a situation where he had to stay quiet, even if it was strange.

After all, the only people here were us and William Kojaka.

Just the three of us.

“…Well, anyway, thank you for rescuing me.”

William Kojaka briefly assessed the situation and gave an awkward smile.

“…Thank you for protecting me. But why did you bring me here instead of Neon City?”

I shook my head silently, not answering his question.

Maintaining the concept was important.

《Smile John.》

“…?”

William Kojaka looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

…….

《You, ‘Kojaka William,’ is currently suspected of being the terrorist ‘Smile John.’ Do you have anything to say in your defense?》

He tilted his head in confusion.

“Who? What John? Who is that?”

I turned around and muttered quietly, so Catherine and William Kojaka couldn’t hear.

“Eve, is this right?”

[Running voice assessment module. I assess the probability of him not lying to be over 90%.]

《…》

So, the 21% probability was correct after all.

This meant our actions had been a complete waste of time.

I had said multiple times that we should investigate and kidnap him…

I let out a deep sigh.

…I guess we’ll just have to let him go.

But just then, another voice echoed through the room.

【Ha ha ha!! How can you not be fooled by this? It’s just surprising. It looks like Eve’s performance isn’t that good!】

It was the voice I had heard on the overpass.

Smile John.

I looked around to see where it was coming from.

The voice was emanating from the expensive watch Kojaka William was wearing.

What is this?

Is this connected or not?

I was about to ask William Kojaka about it, but he spoke first, muttering under his breath.

“…Chairman?”

Hmm.

The only chairman I know is the chairman of Monolith, and he wouldn’t be calling him that.

There’s only one ‘Chairman’ William Kojaka would be calling in this situation.

…But.

Wasn’t the Kojaka chairman a mascot character?

Now I don’t know what’s going on anymore.