Koozaka (2)
Koozaka (2)
The fact that Koozaka was training a 'ninja' squad wasn't officially disclosed, but it was something many people living in Neon City already knew.
Similar types existed.
For instance, the tactical operatives of the Heishukwoi (黑輸會) or Monolith's Asymmetric Security Department.
Among those megacorp special employees were the ninjas.
The captain of the Hato (鳩) Unit, who directly assisted Cozaka Kohaku, couldn't believe the reality he was currently facing.
He couldn't even move a single eyelid.
Even when he gathered all his effort and opened his closed eyes in that situation, all he could see was the tatami (畳) pattern spread across the floor.
To him, the current situation felt like a nightmare.
'Move......, I said move...!'
Even when he focused his mind and put strength into his whole body,
like a puppet with its strings cut,
his completely limp body wouldn't move.
Only one thing was possible for him.
Nothing but gritting his teeth in self-loathing.
Was his training lacking?
No, that couldn't be it.
He spent every day in a routine of vomiting and rigorous discipline.
He made every effort not to become a burden to his master.
Then was it a difference in technology?
Probably not that either.
The Koozaka family he served was one of the world's leading super-giant corporations.
Just looking at the implants installed in the lowest-ranking members of the unit, aside from the ninja captain, made that clear.
The 'anti-hacking countermeasures' received for information warfare numbered in the dozens alone.
Even counting just the types of implants received to block electromagnetic pulses, it was hard to tally on one hand.
And the result was.
This very moment: everyone, including the captain, collapsed on the floor and neutralized in an instant.
The captain closed his eyes and activated his vision interface. It was to check the last warning message that had appeared in the system notification.
《Hacking Risk Detected》
"......."
He looked at that warning message and thought.
'This, can't be called hacking.'
In fact, it was something impossible even for a hacker squad secretly operated by the city.
At least, within the bounds of common sense he knew.
'...Madam, they say you cannot catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den (不入虎穴 不得虎子), but who in the world have you brought here.'
The ninja captain couldn't even begin to imagine who they were.
Amidst that situation,
while the ninjas were still crawling on the floor,
their party member, Lee Si-woon, approached the spot where the ninja captain lay collapsed.
Lee Si-woon slowly opened his mouth.
"Where's the kitchen here? Some popcorn...."
.......
'Seriously, who in the world have you brought here.......'
Unable to open his mouth due to the hacking, the ninja captain couldn't answer Lee Si-woon's question.
Though even if he could open his mouth,
he wouldn't have answered anyway.
18. Koozaka (2)
What a shame.
I thought to myself as I picked up one of the refreshments.
There was no popcorn or soda.
But there was green tea and sweets.
"This is good." "I concur." "I know, right."
We filled our stomachs with the refreshments placed on the tray and shared brief impressions.
One reason was that Eve had said, 'No poison was detected,' just before we ate.
It was also partly because we were too relaxed.
But to be honest, even if I wanted to be tense,
it wasn't easy to stay on edge in this situation where a marital spat kept going on and on.
"I told you they were important people!" "......So I was just testing them once─." "Enough!"
Hororok, I took a sip of tea.
Just moments ago, the girl who was tearing at the middle-aged man's hair (after he'd walked in with his shoes on) and raising her voice was nowhere to be seen.
The girl couldn't do anything except carefully raise a counterargument in a very small voice.
Does the mind grow younger when the body does?
A shallow wetness lingered around Cozaka Kohaku's eyes. With her cheeks puffed up round and her lips protruding in a pout, she walked out through the sliding paper door.
That appearance could be seen as a girl matching her outward age.
...Hmm.
But thinking about it for a moment,
from what I remembered, Kozaka William's age was close to 80.
And she was said to be the 'eldest daughter' of Koozaka's founder, Cozaka Nobukuro.
If so, there was a problem.
Just how old was she, anyway?
Curious about that part, I had asked her 'how old she was' a little while ago, but I hadn't heard an answer yet.
Probably around the same as Kozaka William.
That was all I could guess.
Kozaka William, now looking imposing after winning the fight, turned his gaze toward us.
As if he had momentarily forgotten about our John Doe, his eyebrows slightly drooped into a figure-eight (八) shape.
He then walked over to us.
But the closer he came, the more his once-imposing shoulders began to shrink little by little.
Kozaka William let out a short, hollow laugh and spoke to us.
"Ahem, I'm sorry about this. Maybe it's because her body got younger, but my wife is being a bit immature."
Rather than immature, she seemed more like someone who didn't think much about the consequences of her actions.
But I didn't bother to refute his words.
"Well, it happens."
And even if, say,
a battle broke out here and now,
I had nothing to worry about.
Because just in case, I had been gathering mana and preparing.
After hearing my answer, Kozaka William's complexion brightened considerably.
He must have expected me to make things difficult.
Kozaka William straightened his necktie. He composed his voice and tidied his demeanor back to being proper.
Apparently, the fact that he had a marital spat in front of guests was only now becoming embarrassing to him.
"Anyway, I showed you an ugly sight."
"It was a spectacle, though."
"......."
I meant it as a lighthearted reply to tell him not to be embarrassed, but Kozaka William stared at me with narrowed eyes.
Well, it was true, wasn't it.
It was a sight hard to see even if you paid money.
Kozaka William sat down in front of us.
Maybe his throat was dry from the marital spat.
He gestured to the employee standing behind him and asked for fresh tea.
For reference, as soon as Eve ended the hack, all the collapsed ninjas had immediately gotten up and vanished somewhere.
The ninja I'd asked for the kitchen's location did look at me with an extremely intense gaze.
But I dismissed it as my imagination and averted my eyes.
Kozaka William took a sip of the warm tea and spoke.
"By any chance, while I was gone, did you hear an explanation about that person?"
"No."
"...Haah."
Kozaka William let out a light sigh.
The reason he had wanted to introduce us to Cozaka Kohaku was all so that we could hear an explanation about Smile Zone.
But when he heard we hadn't received any explanation at all,
he suddenly seemed to have developed a headache.
.......
Wasn't Kozaka William's own fault for barging into the house without taking his shoes off also significant?
I quietly pondered this point.
While we were drinking tea like that,
while we were waiting for Cozaka Kohaku, who had left, to return,
I suddenly felt the air change.
Living a long life as a mercenary had taught me that 'intuition' wasn't a fake thing.
I could smell a body odor different from usual.
And I felt the sensation of each and every hair on my skin standing on end.
To put it in one word, it was an 'ominous premonition.'
I wasn't the only one who felt it.
Catherine put down the snack she was eating too.
She hardened her expression and adjusted her posture so she could dash out at any moment.
Eve, who had checked Catherine and me suddenly changing our expressions, also seemed to sense something strange and looked around.
It was then that Cozaka Kohaku walked out from beyond the sliding paper door.
Her hair disheveled from the marital spat, and the wetness settled around her eyes remained unchanged.
"......Um."
She started to speak, but unable to continue, she lingered around tepidly.
Noticing that atmosphere, Kozaka William spoke to her as if he felt something strange too.
"...I was too harsh earlier, so hurry and wash your face and come back─."
"We received contact from Cozaka Nobukuro."
"......."
Cozaka Nobukuro.
The girl's father.
Furthermore, the mascot character Pit Mac.
To us, the terrorist Smile Zone.
"He said for 'everyone' to come up together right now...."
It meant that he was looking for us.
Having heard up to that point, I rose from my seat.
Following me, Catherine and Eve also stood up. Eve, seemingly quite unaccustomed to the sensation of legs falling asleep, stamped her feet this way and that.
"Well, if we're being summoned, we should go."
I spoke while preparing to move.
In fact, I had expected this to some degree from the start. If anything, it was rather overdue.
Because we hadn't disguised ourselves, nor had we come secretly while avoiding cameras or people.
I thought there was no way Smile Zone wouldn't know we were coming, cutting straight across the amusement park.
"......Wait."
Kozaka William tried to say something to us, but I waved my hand to stop him.
"No. If that guy already knows we're here, then there aren't many options left anyway."
"...Be that as it may, this is Koozaka's headquarters. But what are you going to do if he's prepared a trap."
I turned my head and looked at Catherine and Eve.
.......
With Eve (a super AI)
and Catherine (the game's protagonist) here together,
there wasn't much to be afraid of.
"It'll be fine."
It meant 'even if we have to fight,' it would be fine.
However, Kozaka William, who seemed to have understood my words differently, slowly nodded his head.
"...Alright, I'm sure you have some idea."
My idea was to fight if things went south, but since smooth sailing is best, I didn't bother to explain it to him.
"For now, let's just go and hear what he has to say."
At my words, Kozaka William took a deep breath as if steeling his heart.
Catherine stretched her arms wide and yawned, and Eve quietly approached my back and prepared to follow me.
The only one who didn't know us
and couldn't grasp the situation
was Cozaka Kohaku, who just looked around with tender eyes in bewilderment.
Whatever the case,
I didn't stop gathering mana.
* * *
Beyond the massive monitor,
A character that anthropomorphized a mouse moved.
【I lost! I surrender!】
"?"
What the hell.