32 – Episode 32. In the Gold/Money/Land (2)
“Step aside.”
Thunk!
The six pieces of scrap rolled away. The area around the tidy door.
“Now, I’ll open the door.”
“Got it.”
The door is about 3 meters tall. The elegant sword patterns carved on both sides are quite impressive.
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Clearly, it was made by someone who knows a thing or two about “coolness.”
Kiiiiing-
I forcefully opened the door, grabbing the handle.
There was a strange magic circle drawn in the center of the door, but I didn’t feel any special energy from it.
Seems like it’s expired.
“Now, enter, ninja.”
I gestured to Orphe and Diana, who were standing dumbfounded behind me, to follow.
“Ah! Sister!”
Diana suddenly shouted.
Boooom-
Pieces of scrap metal behind Orphe floated in the air.
Clank. Clank.
They merged like a puzzle!
“Cyber-Underground Nation Battle?!”
Is he even Delvanas’ boyfriend?
[Who am I… How much time has passed?]
The scrap metal suddenly made a completely unrelated sound after returning to its original state.
Of course, I have no idea.
[And you…?]
Crash!
I kicked the jet kick again.
Thud!
The thing dismantled once more.
“What is this…”
“Resurrection, difficult.”
If it gets up again, it’s time for “Okonomiyaki Survival.”
After a moment.
[Calm down. I must have been mistaken. I’ve been stationary for a long time. My artificial brain isn’t functioning properly.]
A middle-aged man’s voice flowed from the guy’s head.
Was the crude mechanical sound from earlier a disguise?
“Eek!”
Surprised, Diana ran on all fours and hid behind Orpheus.
“Don’t you want to merge?”
[I am not dangerous. I have no intention of causing harm. I want to make that clear.]
Coming out in such a submissive posture is a bit off-putting.
Judging by their calm and rational demeanor, they don’t seem like typical monsters.
Are they in the same department as Laminar and Diana?
“From now on, you can’t say mean things. Got it?”
To protect her little sister’s happiness, I decided to spare her life.
[Apology expressed.]
It’s comforting to understand what you’re saying.
“Sure. Now leave. If you don’t leave within three minutes, I’ll really kill you.”
“I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t seem too threatening. Let’s leave the navigation to it. We don’t know what’s over there.”
That’s a good idea, right?
As expected, my external brain, Orphe, is useful.
“Guide us. If you mess up, I’ll turn you into a metal ball.”
[Understood.]
The reassembled tin can stood up.
[I have a few questions. Can I ask them later?]
“No. Guide us quickly.”
[Understood. I’ll ask slowly later. What do you want to see?]
“Just the essentials.”
I watch movies through 10-minute reviews on YouTube.
Or I read about them on Tree Wiki.
Honestly, doesn’t everyone do that?
Unless you’re a hardcore fan, no one meticulously examines every detail of a video longer than two hours and says, “Ah~ That was fun!” Everyone just watches roughly and moves on. That’s reality.
[Then you must want to know the ’cause’ behind the creation of this facility. Understood.]
The guy took the lead and started guiding us.
“This metal being. Unlike typical monsters, it can communicate calmly. It might be a spirit.”
Orpheus whispered.
“Metal human? It’s understandable if you don’t know about robots.”
“There are no scrap spirits that look like this.”
I’ve never seen a spirit before.
“It’s this way.”
The base was quite large. Even if the entire floor of the Golden Temple was dug up, it would be hard to believe.
“There was such a spacious area underground in the Golden Temple.”
“Did I play here with my friends from above?”
“Nin-nin.”
We walked for a few more minutes.
“We’ve arrived.”
“What is this?”
“Oops!”
“Nin?!”
All three of them were stunned.
Beep-beep.
A circular spaceship, about 40 meters in diameter, was parked in the underground parking lot (base).
“A spaceship designed by the Yokai-Nazi Alliance?”
Delbanus and Spirit-Yokai were Nazis.
Has the “Human Flesh Improvement Policy” been implemented even here?
It was not strange for Natsuni, who ruled over the Kingdom of Dalgiji and the Otherworld, to extend his influence to this world.
[It is the weapon of the Guardians’ war, the “Ton-Granten.” Only the Guardians and their subordinates can operate it. This base was built to hide it.]
“The Guardians… What exactly were they? Most of the information about that time has been lost.”
Orphe, who was so curious that he even used polite speech.
[They are spiritual beings from other worlds. They wandered through various worlds and settled in this world. And they passed on civilization to the people. The price of civilization was eternal domination.]
“Then, are the stories of ancient heroes real-“
“Orphe. Can we talk about that later? I don’t want to waste time.”
“…Alright.”
Clearly remnants of the Natsuni faction.
I don’t want to hear the delusional fantasies of a crazy scrap robot.
[I have answered your questions. Now, I have a question too.]
“No.”
[Just one.]
“Get lost.”
[…]
“Why were you here?”
[…]
“This guy doesn’t speak.”
1 second before the development of Okonomiyaki assassination technique.
[My- My built-in artificial brain is damaged, so my memories are uncertain. Perhaps I was tasked with protecting this area.]
“I see. Now go away. I’ll give you three minutes.”
Just by looking at him, I can tell he’s one of those idiots who waste my time with useless questions.
If he were into “Karate-Z” or “Jujitsu-V,” maybe I wouldn’t mind wasting my time on this scrap metal.
[…]
“If you don’t leave, I’ll really tear you apart. I’m not joking.”
Whing-clank. Whing-clank.
Seeing him obediently leave, he doesn’t seem like such a bad guy after all.
But still, it’s bothersome.
There’s only one thing left to do now.
“Do you have my axe?”
“The battle axe? Yeah.”
Orphe retrieves the axe from the large backpack, big enough for Diana to fit in.
This transformed axe was retrieved from the underground sewer after gaining the ability to move.
“That metal freak. It seemed like he knew a lot. Couldn’t we have asked him more?”
“His brain is unstable. Do you really want to have a conversation with a lunatic like him?”
Suddenly, Orphe glares at me intensely.
“…”
Diana follows suit.
“Why? Is there a problem with both of you?”
“…No.”
“No.”
“Alright then.”
He infused mana into the axe. The handle immediately grew longer.
“You’re not trying to break everything, are you?”
“I am trying to break everything.”
“We still don’t know exactly what it is. It might be something we can use, or even something that can help the people in need.”
“Hmph. Orpheus.”
How can he live in this harsh world with such fragility?
“The technology of yokai can’t help humans. It’s ultimately designed to destroy them.”
You can tell from the cursed swords and yokai clubs that often appear in history books.
They may be momentarily helpful, but in the end, they bring ruin to humanity through yokai technology.
After a brief explanation, Orpheus also agreed.
Crash!
The spaceship was sturdy, but it couldn’t withstand my strength.
“-It’s a demolition party.”
After that, it was a complete mess.
***
“Ninjutsu.”
Did I sleep for about three hours?
After smashing the spaceship like chopping firewood for a few hours, my body feels a bit stiff.
He headed straight to the living room.
“Are you awake?”
“Nin-nin.”
“What do you want to do? Are you going to leave right away?”
Orphe finished packing his luggage and even grabbed his backpack. He’s so capable, it’s really reassuring.
“Let’s do that. There’s nothing more to do here anyway.”
What if I’m not a Yakuzaslayer?
Orphe is my comrade, my explainer, my external brain, my housekeeper who takes care of meals, dishes, laundry, and more.
Listing them like this makes it seem like he’s a multi-role jack-of-all-trades.
Let’s focus on “comrade”.
“Ahem.”
Diana, who just woke up, yawned and rubbed her eyes.
Can I start entrusting Orphe with some of the laundry to help him with his luggage?
“Let’s go.”
I left the house where I had been indebted for a few months.
Perhaps because we had a farewell party the day before, there was no one to see us off.
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“I asked you last time too, but do you have any plans for the next step?”
“Of course.”
Honestly, I don’t.
For now, I think I’ll travel around the nearby territories and look for Asayo.
It was at that moment.
Slightly, slightly.
A tuft of pink hair, like antennae, protruded from the tree.
Restlessly, restlessly.
I’m going crazy, seriously.
The surroundings turned pitch black.
“Miss Muca?”
Orphe, who managed to keep his wits about him, called out the demon’s name.
“Hello~! I’m Muca~!”
The demon with strange instruments and a bundle appeared before us.
“So, are you leaving now? Where are you going?”
“It’s definitely a place much farther than what Muca imagines.”
“Well then~! I don’t really have a specific place in mind~! Adventurer~! It’s a request~! A request~!”
Muca handed me a piggy bank made of wood.
“It’s all the money I’ve saved up until now~! Now that my hard-earned money is safe~! I want to leave my hometown and go to the grand stage, Neo-Solitron~! I’ll apply for protection along the way~!”
“Talk to Celine first and leave.”
“She’s, um… how should I put it? She’s scary, you know?!”
Do I look like a fool?
Be grateful it’s not Yasayo.
“Neo-Solitron? Not Solitron?”
“What are you so curious about?” Orpheus asked.
“Just a moment, Solitron?”
– My name is Delamion. 300 years ago, I was known as the ‘Butcher of Solitron’ in the kingdom.
Is that right?
“Oh! You don’t know? It’s said that under the leadership of the Gyeomseong Society, it will be rebuilt as a metropolis! They invested heavily in the Red Whale Matap too!”
The Gyeomseong Society.
An SSS-class group of samurais.
Surely there will be people like Irene.
“Let’s go.”
“Robin?”
“It’s okay. Let’s go.”
Why didn’t I think of this before?
Capturing the trash around me won’t solve the situation.
To achieve paradise, I have to go into their den and finish them off.
Now I had the power to do that.
“Ohoho! Great! Let’s go! I’m so excited to sing my song to the people of Neo-Solitron! It makes me feel so good!”
Neo-Solitron became the goal.
So I just have to move forward from now on.
That’s the path of the runaway ninja.
***
On the night when everyone slept peacefully in Golden’s embrace, two guards chatted and patrolled.
“Your sister’s expression is really worth seeing.”
“I wonder what she’ll reply. Ugh, it’s dreadful.”
The chuckling guards were Yunis and John.
“Boss, I mean, Robin, did she leave this morning?”
“You still call her that? How long has she suffered for you to do that?”
“Just. It’s familiar.”
“Familiar, huh. I heard she left with Mukarang.”
“Mukarang… He’s a good person though…”
He wasn’t the type of poet that Golden liked.
John intentionally changed the subject.
“Oh? Who’s over there?”
Yunis, who was scanning the surroundings, narrowed her eyes.
“Hmm?”
“There, over there.”
John’s gaze followed Yunis’ pointing direction.
In Golden’s square, where there used to be a tree, one person was kneeling.
“…Should we report it?”
“It’s just one person. Let’s approach slowly for now.”
John and Yunis approached him cautiously, holding their lanterns in front of them.
The outline was revealed.
“Who is it?”
“It’s that kid who used to cry when cutting wood.”
“Oh, the little one. What are you doing? Aren’t your parents worried?”
A boy was praying in front of a human-shaped wooden sculpture.
It was painted black, as if with paint.
“I was praying to the guardian deity of the forest.”
The boy’s face was calm.
John and Eunice looked at the sculpture again.
It resembled the one that appeared during the siege.
“Should we pray too?”
Eunice asked playfully.
“Sure.”
“Huh?”
Serious as always, John knelt down and prayed.
“It’s my fault for speaking out.”
Hesitating, Eunice followed him.
“Please bring peace to Golddon.”
A normal prayer from an ordinary person.
That prayer was kept for a while.
“What is this!”
“This attire… it’s… the Dorun!”
“There are corpses buried in the underground vault!”
“Look here! Strange books are placed!”
“What are they implying?”
Until the discovery of a large number of corpses in the underground waterway a few days later.