Akira stood in the blank space. In his hazy consciousness, he looked around and saw two Alphas and a little boy he seemed to be somewhat familiar with. He could see the shadows of countless people standing beside the boy.

How's your development?

Great, very good, in fact. I can even entrust my calculations and have a good chance of getting better equipment. Although I don't have an exact time yet, I plan to get the necessary equipment in about a few months. Then the main project begins.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but you can't make him one of your terminals, you know. The object that we can send to the command room should not be one of us. If you turn him into one of your terminals, the system will recognize him as one of us. So be careful.

Yes, even if you don't tell me, I know. There was a case in the past where this happened but it didn't work. First of all, if the remote terminal is fine, then we will use one of the automata and go there ourselves. That's why we have no choice but to go through this painful process.

It ensures that a real person is visiting. There's nothing we can do about it, that's how security works, and it applies to us as well.

Well, you're absolutely right.

The two Alphas smiled wryly at each other.

So, what about yours?

After the plan change, the local network nodes propagate very quickly. Although I have no complaints about the numbers, because the more nodes we get, the more combat we will be. But if this number is out of my control, there may be problems. I'm going to do something as soon as possible to assess the total intensity. After that, depending on the results, I may decide to take the subject to the command room.

Are you sure you're going to get better? If you let the local network nodes spread more and more widely at this rate, the system might see the network as an entity, and when that happens, you have to bring all the nodes to that place, you know.

It should be fine. Although I'm talking about a local shared network, it has proper layering, and only the person in charge of that system is qualified.

I see, and that explains how your progress is ahead of mine. Well, that's completely understandable.

Alpha seemed disappointed, and the other Alpha asked with a frown.

Doesn't your theme show any signs of forming a local network?

No, not at all. After all, he was originally a loner and never thought about building relationships with others, so I couldn't use that method. But I'll manage him after connecting, so don't worry.

I get it.

What's wrong? Any questions?

As I explained, the local network spread faster than I expected. As a result, I sometimes have no control over the network. So if things go bad, I might need your help.

The first Alpha agrees to help the other Alpha, but she also blames the second Alpha.

Of course, I don't mind, but you should do something before you find out.

Unlike the subject below you, I don't even have the subject's consent yet. So it may not be that easy

As I think, it's not ideal to do this with uncontracted themes.

This is also an experiment. Regardless of the outcome, it will be useful for our future trials.

Well, it's true, but still. Ah, by the way, about Tsubaki

While the two Alphas were still talking, Achillas' vision blurred.

Akira finally woke up. That strange feeling, he realized that he was no longer in the place he remembered, and immediately glanced around.

Where am I?

Shio

i noted Aki

a Wake up and talk to him.

You're awake, are you okay? You don't seem to have been harmed by external forces, but I've given you some medicine to be on the safe side. If you're still in pain, I'll bring more.

Where is this place?

In Aki

a-samas APC inside. Since we found you fainting on the APC, we're bringing you in and lying you down until you wake up, are you okay?

Achillas's consciousness was still hazy, and although there was still a faint calm in his mind, the haze kept him from fully conscious.

Just then, Alpha suddenly appeared.

Akira, good morning.

Α？

It looks like you're a little panicked, how about taking a deep breath first? It will calm you down, you know?

Alpha smiled at him softly as usual.

Seeing the way Alpha smiled at him, Akira took a deep breath and realized that she was in a safe place now. It's a short ritual that helps Aki

a recalibrated his mindset. But when he regained his composure, the hazy memories he had seen when he was unconscious disappeared in the communication.

Alpha, give me a status report now.

You faint after fighting two automata on the APC. Don't you remember?

Ah, by the way, I'm fighting those automata!! So then I fainted, huh?

Aki

A believes that the strange sensation he felt was the remaining adrenaline that was interrupted when he suddenly passed out during the fight. Then he noticed Shiori, who was looking at him worriedly.

Ah, yes, I'm fine, I fainted there, so that means you must have saved me from falling. Thank you.

It's great that you're okay. I'm sorry to ask you this question just after I got up, but I have some questions I want to ask, is that okay?

Okay, go for it.

Shiori and Akira then exchanged information about the situation they were in.

While Akira was unconscious, they managed to get rid of the swarm. Just near the border, when the greenery covering the Leda business district stopped growing, the monster also stopped chasing APC. Monsters are unable to leave the ruins, which is a common trait. That's why it's customary to call them biosecurity drones that guard the ruins.

The vehicle was on its way back to Bear Mountain City at this time. Togami is driving the APC while Rei

a Rest in the driver's assistant seat.

After pulling Aki in, Shiori and Dingjin didn't help Reina at all. Although Ding was standing beside her, she was just guarding Reina and chatting from time to time. To put it nicely, it may keep Reina from being too nervous, but it may also be that she just has nothing to do and wasted her time. It's also to give Shiori time to think, and at the same time to help alleviate the side effects of the aces that the two have used.

Togami drives the car and discusses his next plan with Reina. They tried to be in Aki

a Address any other potential issues before waking up, including reward distribution and where to sell relics. Today's exploration of ruins is basically registered under the name of the Togami Party, and only Togami and Reina are included. Ding, Xili and Ming are basically outsiders this time. As the leader of the group and the only other members of the group, Togami and Reina are seriously discussing how to negotiate with Akira.

After listening to Shiori's brief explanation, Akira roughly understood what had happened. But then he said in confusion.

I don't know anything about this maid robot Olivia. The only ones I fought were those two automata. I bet they all jumped on the APC at the time, but I don't know how they did it.

I see, when Kanae and I arrived at the scene, she was already there.

Well, I don't remember that automaton at all. Either it appeared between after I fainted and before you arrived, or it was there the whole time and used a camouflage device. But if that's the case, then why doesn't it attack me? Wait, that has nothing to do with camouflage, hehe.

I may have a guess about this. It says it has worked for the price it has paid. So I bet the automata were hired by the ruin system. Although, I don't know the details of whether it was just to repel the invaders or fight back against the armed robbers. But it seems that after Mei-sama defeated those two automata, it had judged that it was enough.

I get it. I don't know if I meant it, but anyway, I was saved by it. So it doesn't matter, huh.

Aki

A found this interesting because it was more of a human emotion that robots don't normally have.

Shiori then handed a white card to Akira.

That automaton left you with this. Do you know what this is?

Olivia left the card for Akira, but nothing was written on it. So it looks like nothing more than an ordinary white card.

Since it happened when Akira was unconscious, he didn't know why the automaton left him that white card. Shiori also deliberately didn't tell Akira how she got the card. Alpha also deliberately didn't allow himself to tell him anything. That's why he thought of that card, except for something that might have dropped by an automaton in that fierce battle.

Akira took the card, turned over, and looked at it closely. But as expected, he had no idea.

Alpha, do you know what it is?

White card.

Well, that's already obvious.

Ming, even if I tell you what I know, what would you do if Shiori asked you how you knew?

Alpha indirectly scolded Akira for his carelessness. Then he shook his head and handed the card to Shiori. But Shiori doesn't take it back, and Akira finds it strange. Shiori then added.

It's just a guess, but that robot probably belongs to Lion Steel. Does this give you any hints?

Lion Steel?

At the mention of that name, Shiori's face twitched slightly. Shio

Is's gaze sharpened. Both men watched each other's subtle changes closely, trying to tell from each other's reactions what the other had noticed, an awkward but cautious silence that lasted for some time. Shiori was the first to break the silence.

Do you have any knowledge of the name?

As I said, this is just my guess. That Lion Steel Company could be an old-world company. If I'm not mistaken, the name is also on the Seranthal Building Guide map. If this card has something to do with it, and if it's a card that allows passage, it might be useful to go to some floors that were originally closed to outsiders.

It's really interesting.

Well, I don't plan to go there again anyway, so I basically have nothing to do with this card.

Akira struggled to suppress her inner agitation and stay calm. He remembered that it was only because he could connect to the Old World Realm, and that incident could lead to the Old World Connection Device, implying that he had the ability to connect to the Old World. Lio

The name Steel is associated with both cases. Sure enough, knowing the name was enough to make people suspicious, and Ming couldn't be sure if he would be able to hide it completely.

Shiori tried to read the meaning behind Aquiras's words, and then spoke.

Okay, Ming-sama, in that case, is it okay to keep it?

Uh, you're talking about cards, right?

And everything related to that card, including the information that Minotama just told me. Of course, it won't be free. But it's hard to determine how much it's worth. After all, even if we take this card to the hunter's office redemption center, it will only turn into a small sum of money. So I don't recommend deciding the value of this card based on its sales value.

However, it is difficult to determine its actual value. We can actually treat it as our collective property as a team, but I'm basically an outsider to this team.

The price of this card is not clear, and it is difficult to decide even in the inner circle, but if it is sold, it will only turn into a large amount. Even Akira understood that a mistake in the method of distributing the loot could cause a quarrel.

It seems that Akira-sama is not very interested in this card. But even so, I don't think it's right to just let go of this card for free. In that case, how about exchanging this card for favors?

Favor, right?

Akira hesitated.

Alpha, what do you think? Honestly, I don't really want that card anyway, but is this something I shouldn't just give up?

If you're afraid that letting go of that card will arouse suspicion, you can show a little resistance before giving up.

Then I'll do it.

Akira thought to himself that if it was really a precious relic, Alpha would stop him. But since she didn't give any hintive reaction, he thought the relic shouldn't be that important. So he decided to make a little resistance himself.

Well, since that's the case, I'll use that favor right away. Before distributing the rewards for this exploration, I would like you to subtract it based on the ammo we consumed in the battle just now, and then pay me this money upfront, and then notify the other two. Given everything that happened today, I will definitely fight for how the loot will be distributed. So in exchange for giving you that card, I want you to do it. Is that good?

Very good. I'll convince Milady and Togami about this. In case it doesn't work, I take responsibility myself and pay out of my own pocket.

Then we have an agreement.

Akira smiled and handed the card over. Shiori politely took the card, put it in her pocket and smiled.

Indeed, we reached an agreement.

The card that Olivia left to Akira is now Shiori's property based on the deal Akira accepted. That is, Aki

a All rights to that card had been transferred to her. During that negotiation, Ding rarely looked at them with a serious face.

Shio

i and ka

ae then go to Togami and Rei

a Tell them to trade. Akira, who had stayed, sat down and looked at Alpha.

Say it, Alpha. Did you do anything to me during that battle on APC?

Yes. I've raised your time compression. I've always wanted to do that, and in the end, I was able to do it.

Think so. I thought it was a little strange at the time. What can I say to feel my five senses suddenly become so sharp that everything around me seems to be completely different from what it always used to be.

That's just because the information you receive in that short period of time multiplies. The difference is similar to looking at a blurry picture and a clear picture.

I got it, it was real, it felt like that.

Akira, at least let me warn you about that. You shouldn't use it too often. After all, it puts too much burden on you. It has the same effect as taking a strong booster. In the worst-case scenario, it might even kill you.

Akira frowned slightly.

I did such a dangerous thing, huh. However, I've done dangerous things many times before, and I know it's better than being killed because I didn't do it.

It lightens the load, makes it safer, and increases its effectiveness as you use it. So there is no other way but to get used to it. You might even get to the point where you can do it yourself without my support, you know. But be careful. It's like a trump card that you shouldn't use too often.

I know, now I more or less understand what happened, I'm feeling super tired now, and my head is starting to hurt.

You can lie down and have a good rest. You've worked hard this time, so I'm sure no one will complain.

You are right.

Although she was not sleepy, Akira decided to lie down again. As he absentmindedly stared at the ceiling of the APC, he noticed a small slit.

[That knife must have been caused by a fight.] My bike is also gone now and I have to fix it. And then there is my rifle, either fix it or buy a new one, what should I do? ]

When Ming placed the order, he was thinking about what to say to Shizuka. Either he has to try to hide it, or he honestly tells Shizuka everything. He wasn't sure which one to do.

***

Olivia ran through the wasteland, she ran as fast as a car.

There are a number of conditions that need to be met for Olivia to reactivate from storage. However, these conditions are reduced due to the long period of inactivity and the signal received by the storage device terminal at that time. Thanks to this, even a random piece of news from Rodin was enough to wake up Olivia. That's why Olivia follows a security protocol in case it is activated by the wrong method.

Security protocols lead Olivia to kill any intruder who enters the restricted area. And when the system sends the information of the unauthorized intruder to Olivia, the system also submits a payment request because Olivia was not part of the system in the first place. It then decides to accept the request and only works as much as it pays.

After that, it found other automata from another company and checked their condition. It then judged that those automata were either destroyed or abused, so it changed its mind about automata and decided to turn them into its own terminals in order to use them to take care of the intruders.

The reason why it lures monsters to attack Akira is nothing more than a decision made by its AI side, and just like its character, it is innate. In short, it does not want to get involved in the battle itself, if possible. In addition, the system cleans the facility of any dangerous elements, including monsters. At the same time, Olivia also judged that this was not a deal with a real person, so there was no need to take it too seriously.

But the invaders were able to survive the swarm. So Olivia decided to throw the other two automata at that APC. Even those were defeated by Akira, and it had to go there on its own.

Olivia takes the weapon dropped by the opposing robot and is about to kill Akira. Just as he was thinking that he had made enough effort to get compensated, Akira suddenly stood up unconscious. Then he said something that ordinary people couldn't understand, and limped again. Shiori and Ding immediately rushed to the scene.

The moment Olivia understood Akira's words, she decided that she had really put in enough effort. In fact, it thought it should get more out of what it had done that day. After gently repelling Ding and Shiori, Olivia left the scene, leaving behind her business card.

Olivia sighed and muttered to herself.

Thinking about waking up and running into that thing, I think I'm really unlucky.

Olivia has a unique understanding of the concept of luck and doesn't like the entity that Akira spoke of back then.

I want to work for humans. Even if the payment is good, I have no plans to work for something like this. I just gave him that card because the record says he used to enter the counter alone. But now that I think about it again, it might have been better if I had killed him, and considering that he worked with that thing, I wondered if I could have found a good employer somewhere

Olivia looked a little disappointed, but then she immediately laughed. On that day, yet another old-world automaton was released into the wasteland.

***

Yuzumo I

dust

Y's people finally arrived at the place where Akira Kurosawa's team was. Among those sent there, Akira Kurosawa spotted Shirabe.

You're late.

Shika

Abe shot back with a chuckle.

It's not my fault. Don't tell me someone was killed.

No, zero as usual, although someone was seriously injured, he would not have died.

And then it's business as usual, isn't it?

If you had come earlier, we wouldn't have had to go through this, and maybe we could have made more money. Did you know that four intact Old World Automata have now become two broken Old World Automata? Here, I thought I was going to bring back a lot of money.

Well, you have my condolences.

Shika

Abe laughs, as if it wasn't his fault. Kurosawa answered. Their casual communication shows that they are very safe.

The squad sent had arrived, and Akira Kurosawa had completed his mission and handed over command to the new squad. So he also put the rest of the hunters in charge of negotiating with the new squad.

In the new squad, a broad-backed guy listened to Rodin and the other hunters.

To be honest, it's really unfortunate that four intact Old World automata are now two broken automata. However, it is also for the money. It's not casual to come all the way, not to mention that we also encountered a large group of monsters. While we are contractually not charged to you for this, it is even better if you do not expect to be paid after handing over these automata to us. I believe that the money we get will be mainly used to pay for transportation to get here. I hope you understand that.

The hunter shook his head in frustration. Even though they were more or less aware of its coming, it still pained them to be told that all their hardships had come to fruition.

At this moment, the guy said with a smile.

However, the fifth automaton is really interesting. From what I've heard so far, we may be considerate. Please tell me in detail what you know about the last automaton.

The details, only Rodin knows. Hey Rodin, do you have anything to add?

Well, even if you say so

You're the one who discovered it, right? Tell him everything that moves from the start of it.

Good.

Rodin explained everything he knew, while deliberately leaving the other hunters misunderstood. With that, he took the man to the room where Olivia was sleeping.

Once they got there, the guy pushed Rodin out of the room.

This room was also ours. While we need to do further investigation, I bet it might bring you some money. You're okay, right?

Well, as long as it brings more money.

Thank you.

The guy pushed Rodin and the other hunters out and locked the door. The guy was left with Olivia's empty container, and he looked at the container with a solemn expression. He then calls someone through an encrypted secret communication line.

It's me No, while that's just a guess, I don't think the other four are what we're looking for. However, I found a container that could be the automata we were looking for No, we can't protect the automata. It's just a container for it. Leaving this area, we now don't know where it is a card, eh? No, we didn't find anything like it Well, search the area well, assuming it doesn't belong to the hunters Yes, then I beg your pardon.

The guy hung up and turned and walked towards the empty container.

Lio

Steels automata, well, it would be weird if we found it sooner. But until now, it always kills the person who activated it before returning to the container. Is it because the restrictions are more relaxed? If that's true, it means that it should be easier to communicate, and if that rumor is true, it could turn into a mini-war.

A long time ago, a certain hunter discovered an old-world automaton and started a company based on it. Hunter then quickly climbed the ladder until their company reached the top of the corporate government. This is the result of his attempt to reopen an old world company in this day and age, and now, that company is providing maids to the rich and has their support. The hunter is just an ornament, as the main functions are all run by automata. Even the maids were nothing more than imitations of the old-world way of life, and it was difficult to find good automata in this day and age, so they hired skilled people.

Rumor has it that the robot was made by Lion Steel. There are rumors circulating in the East End that a large corporation has some sort of connection to the Old World Corporation. Since this is nothing more than a rumor, there is no concrete evidence on this matter. But this is really a lucrative rumor.

Aki

After A and the Togamis team returned to the city, they disbanded the team. Before they agreed on how to divide the spoils, all the relics were given to Shiori to keep. Thanks to Aki

A also decided to lend them the APC, and he asked them to take the APC to a repair shop for repairs. He then went to Shizuka's shop, while Togami and Reina went to Derrankham to report.

Shiori was driving the APC when Ding suddenly asked her a serious question.

Eldest sister, is this really good? Even though we weren't lying, we lied to him, you know? What is your plan if the cat is not in the bag?

In that case, Milady would be disappointed in me, and Myo-sama would hate me. That's it.

For Reina to be disappointed in her, it means a lot to Shiori. Ding said with a sigh.

Well, if Anesan was fully aware of the risks of doing so, I wasn't going to say anything.

Ding then returned to his usual appearance and smiled.

Well, let me know if Anesan is found out and has to fight Akira. I'm happy to help.

Until then, I will try my best to resolve it peacefully. After telling him everything, I will apologize and give him peace money. If nothing works

And if nothing works?

I'll use you as bait to take Milady to safety. I know you've always wanted to fight him. So it's a win-win solution.

Oops, it's cruel.

Shiori said jokingly, and Ding replied with a smile and a grunt.

In fact, if any of them had to stay in that situation, it would be Shiori and Ding who took Rena to safety. Whether it was for Ming to kill her to ease her anger, or to kill Ming, Shiori stayed. Even if Ding wanted to persuade her, Xili would still say this, and both of them understood this very well.