The Banker Who Sees Potential 35
"...This damn kid, making a fuss and embarrassing us in front of the customers."
Unable to hold back any longer, Elama flung open the door to his office and stormed out. Naturally, it was to smack the back of Kim Jian's head one more time.
"Kim Jian!"
"No, really, it was totally unavoidable!! Look here!! A weird bug that size popped out of my water cup—"
Whether flustered by Elama's fury or not, Kim Jian waved his palms frantically and pointed at his desk.
"...Hm?"
There lay a bright silver object, flattened and squished. About half the size of a fingernail. Kim Jian must have slammed it with his palm, thinking it was a bug, but to Elama, that shape looked extremely familiar.
A sinister premonition flashed through his mind.
"...From now on, if anyone so much as takes a single step, I'll kill you."
At Elama's warning, Isaac and all of Pluto's clones nearby froze in place.
"What's this, Branch Manager? Suddenly—"
"Shut it."
Kim Jian clamped his mouth shut at Elama's sharp retort.
"......"
Elama carefully picked up a nearby magnifying glass. Peering at the squashed object on the desk revealed a familiar emblem. An artificially dried micro-machine. Covered on its surface was the insignia of the Nanoi Federation.
-Pssshhh
Only after confirming the identity of the tiny spaceship spewing faint wisps of smoke as it broke down did it hit Elama.
"Customer."
A VVIP emergency loan consultation was scheduled for this afternoon.
Less than five minutes remained until the appointed time.
"...Customer?!"
The VVIP's species was so minuscule it was invisible to the human eye.
"You can't die here, Customer!!!!!!!"
The customer's spaceship, which had crossed dimensional walls to reach the Kikiwai Multidimensional Branch, had been shot down by the hand of the giant Kim Jian.
And the person in charge here was his boss.
"...Fuck."
Slick Elama himself.
* * *
Yeah, we're screwed.
That was the conclusion I'd reached after much deliberation.
"I recommend previewing the dumpster beforehand. It's where you'll soon find your peace."
"......"
I shrank back involuntarily under Elama's murderous glare, unable to muster a reply.
Quietly examining my right palm—the one that had swatted what I thought was a bug—revealed tiny metal dust finer than rice grains stuck all over it.
To think this was all machine parts. Unreal.
"I'm sorry..."
"Apologies won't cut it. Once this gets reported, firing will be the least of your worries. Well, same goes for me as the responsible party."
Elama muttered, and I caught sight of Deputy Managers Bishuti and Razma, who had been sneaking peeks our way, abruptly whipping their heads in the opposite direction.
"I had no idea it was the customer's spaceship."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever now, though. Be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"To buy some sturdy rope that can hold a person's weight. On a whim. Might as well grab two while I'm at it—one for you too."
"......"
No, but seriously, this is so unfair I'm going insane.
Who could look at something floating in their water cup and think, "Oh, that's a spaceship from the hyper-advanced 0.01 dimension"?
Not me, that's for sure.
"Damn mutt..."
If it's a spaceship, make some mechanical beeps or something! Appeal to us!
The rider inside is smaller than an ant—how's an average-sized human like me supposed to spot that?!
It's a "super massive flying fortress" by their standards. One collision with a hummingbird and they'd be filming a disaster movie. With that durability, what do they expect?
Not that I have zero remorse for the people inside, of course.
It's just that this whole thing feels so detached from reality, I can't process it yet.
Most importantly, apologies only work if they're still alive.
"Ah, please."
What happens if word gets out that a banker accidentally killed someone on the job? Horrifying just to imagine.
Human nature is sly like that—the guilt toward the victim mixes right in with worry for my own future.
Like hitting someone in a car crash and seeing their head smashed against the horn in the driver's seat. This must be that feeling.
Am I headed to prison, never to return?
What does a Dimension 6-2 jail even look like?
What'll my charges be? What sentence?
My grim imaginings spiraled infinitely until, just like Elama said, I started wanting to hang myself.
Right then.
-Vrrr!
"I wasn't expecting a huge welcome, but this is a bit much."
The air vibrated, and green holographic letters shot into the empty space. A scene straight out of a sci-fi flick.
I'd seen plenty of wonders already—like the World Tree—but this was novel in its own way.
No, that's not the point—
"Aigoo, Customer!!! I've committed a mortal sin...!!!"
They're alive!!! Customer!! I believed!!
"Underestimating Nanoi's scientific prowess."
"Yes?"
"That squashed thing over there? It's just external armor that peeled off the ship. What you hit was a decoy with mass."
"......"
What, is your ship a Gundam or something?
"Not knowing this... Even if this dimension's tech is two centuries behind Nanoi, that's still..."
"......"
"Guess I'll have to explain it simply, accounting for your knowledge level."
Glad they don't seem badly hurt, but man, this feels unlucky no matter how I slice it.
"As you can see, the main body evaded and is now flying in stealth mode."
Stealth mode? "As you can see" my ass—we can't see it, Customer.
It's not mad about the slap; it's outraged at having its science underestimated. What's with that pride?
"Don't sweat it. Happens all the time."
"Ah, yes..."
Elama had said the engraving on the ship was the crest of the Nanoi Federation or some planetary nation. Given the VVIP status and putting a national emblem on a spaceship, they had to be someone important.
Thinking that way, their thought processes might just be beyond a commoner like me. Not that weird.
Anyway, since they weren't blaming my mistake, we could talk calmly now.
Probably a magnanimous big-shot customer who doesn't sweat the small stuff. Or maybe just used to this kind of thing.
Makes sense... They're tiny, after all.
"C-Customer. I get that safety is paramount. But if I can't see where you are, I might bump into you by accident or commit another faux pas. Could you please turn off stealth mode...?"
"Sigh, no helping it. I'll accommodate you."
"Thank you...!"
The hologram message—delivered in that characteristically grating tone—flickered into existence, then morphed into an arrow.
My goodness, the tip pointed at—my water cup again.
Peering through the magnifying glass revealed a pristine, round white spaceship design. Barely half a fingernail in actual size, impossible to spot with the naked eye. But with the silver outer armor detached, it looked way cooler now.
Made me feel kinda bad for mistaking it for a bug earlier.
"...But why are you in the water?"
I hadn't sipped from it yet, but still, weird feeling.
"Refueling. To cross from our dimension, we pass through a Dimensional Gate. The gate's far larger than our planet, so it takes considerable energy to maneuver."
The hologram text contained details I couldn't quite grasp. Water as fuel? Straight out of sci-fi novels.
Dimensional Gates are plenty big for regular folks like me to pass through easily.
"So your planet is smaller than a Dimensional Gate?"
"Affirmative. Positive. That's correct."
Is that even possible? I heard if Earth shrank to thumbnail size, it'd become a black hole.
Maybe theirs was compressed from the start—no, probably just naturally tiny, so no issue.
"Dimensional Gates float in space far from our planet. If too close, our whole world gets sucked in by gravity."
So they flew their ship through space to the gate. Small size, but tech worthy of Dimension 0.01's reputation.
"I see. I don't know much about 0.01 dimension... Sorry."
Curiosity bubbled up, but you can't pester customers with questions. Better shut up and do the job.
"Anyway, sorry for the late intro. I'm Kim Jian, handling loans. And really sorry about earlier. If you want to chew me out, I'll take it gladly..."
"Forget that. Our ship wouldn't break from something like that. I shouldn't have rambled without proper intros either. I'm Levi Sau, director of the Nanoi Planetary Defense Research Institute."
"Dr. Sau is a renowned robotics authority. Don't commit any more blunders."
"Yes, sir!"
Elama glared at me murderously, like he'd developed PTSD from watching the ship's armor shatter under my "flyswatter block" earlier.
"An esteemed guest. Shall we hear the details upstairs, then?"
I'd heard this VVIP was here specifically for Elama, but somehow, I found myself heading to the second-floor consultation room with them.
Sau's ship trailed obediently behind me and Elama—a bizarre sensation.
In a world full of every race imaginable, who'd think I'd meet an intelligent being too small for the naked eye?
No voice, just projecting hologram text for communication. Felt like dealing with a spirit.
But they were human, same as me. Just a 0.01-dimensional lifeform, tiny as hell.
Director of a planetary defense lab—sounds grandiose, but Sau was still a human engaging in economic activity.
Even VVIPs come to banks for loans. Of course.
"Normally, Pluto would prepare refreshments, but not today. What kind of loan are you seeking?"
VIP talk had my chest swelling with anticipation. Maybe an insane amount.
Too much for a newbie like me, but I'd handled 130 billion gulden somehow. This'd be fine too.
"I instructed my assistant to brief Mr. Elama ahead of time, but it seems communication failed."
"Oh dear. I had no idea. Could you explain once more, if it's not too much trouble?"
"Very well."
Sau began projecting neat holographic font into the air, line by line, detailing the purpose and amount of the loan.
"The galaxy containing Nanoi Planet and neighboring stars faces an unprecedented crisis. Giant space monsters are threatening us even now."
"Giant... space monsters?"
What? Translation glitch?
"We plan to mass-produce a series of colossal guardian robots. Projected budget minimum: 40 trillion gulden. Repayment method—"
I glanced at Elama's face. He was utterly still, like Del Monte with a blown fuse.
Who the hell paid real money to use a species change ticket on Elama?