BAD ENDING 002: OL Drone Sonia 1
"Could you… could you please check just one more time? My status is still registered under my name as an adventurer of Sky City. This body of mine is… ahem… I beg your pardon, but I must request a reconfirmation."
Barely restrained fury and a chill of bewilderment tangled together in the Knight's voice as she pressed on.
Her white armor gleamed with a soft, pearl-like luster, delicate vine patterns flowing across its surface — a dignity fundamentally different from the crude, utilitarian gear of Sky City.
Yet the clerk seated beyond the thick soundproof glass at the Adventurer Guild reception desk showed not the slightest flicker of emotion. Her indifferent eyes remained fixed on the cold text displayed on the data pad before her, giving no sign that she even recognized the lofty knight in front of her as a person.
Beside her, the restless advice of her party leader Luce cut through her mind like a blade.
This world got rid of class systems ages ago! Go around calling yourself a noble or a knight and they'll just treat you like a weirdo and call the cops!
The Knight was feeling, bone-deep, the reality that the absolute authority of knighthood in her homeland was nothing more than an anachronistic delusion here in Sky City.
Barely suppressing the emotions boiling up inside her, she put on the most courteous manner she could manage and asked once more, with careful politeness.
"Even so… your account has already been frozen, and a warrant has been issued for you."
The female receptionist recited the facts displayed by the system in a mechanical tone. There was neither sympathy nor condemnation in her voice — only the typical office worker of Sky City, like a terminal outputting input data.
"The requesting agency for the warrant is listed as… the Lily Knights, ma'am."
The lobby of Sky City's Adventurer Guild was always thronged with people.
Dimensional gates had opened, the first generation from the fantasy world beyond had borne children, and now even their grandchildren were coming of age. A girl born in Sky City joining the guild with dreams of adventure, a beastfolk or elf from the fantasy world knocking on the Hero Association's door — all of it had become everyday scenery.
Cases like Luce or this Knight — originally active as adventurers, then re-registering with Sky City's Adventurer Guild — were not uncommon either. For those who had lost their memories to the aftereffects of dimensional travel, or who sought to abandon their old identities and start new lives, Sky City was a land of opportunity.
"The Lily… Knights, you say…? A recall order…? Show me the contents. No — show me."
Of course, a case like this Knight's — a solid defensive tank from Luce's party who overnight received a cancellation of her adventurer registration and found herself on a criminal wanted list — was by no means common.
With trembling hands, the Knight accepted the data pad the receptionist held out. The cold metal seemed to sink through her bare palm and straight into her heart.
The reason for the warrant, displayed in stark clarity on the screen. Those letters were sharp and vivid, as if gouging out the Knight's pride itself.
"The charges are… default on debt… exploitation of local residents… and plunder…?"
Under the laws of her homeland, such charges were unthinkable — no, incomprehensible. For a knight to claim spoils of war and demand corresponding compensation from her subordinates was a natural right.
The laws of Sky City were different. She could almost hear the sound of her world collapsing.
THUD! THUD! THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
"Soniaaaaaaa!!!"
"W-wait a second! If you think about it, we're the ones who messed up!"
THUD! THUD-THUD! The old iron door of Unit 102 in Sky City Complex 32 howled as if it would shatter. The Knight, formerly of the Lily Knights, was pounding on it with all her strength.
Because she was striking with her armored gauntlets, deep dents were carved clearly into the peeling paint of the door.
There was a backstory — the Knight had come to Sky City under the consideration of her order's commander to broaden her horizons, and had joined Luce's party as a member of the Lily Knights from the fantasy world's kingdom. But in this moment, that trivial background meant nothing at all.
What mattered was the formal letter of protest, drafted by a lawyer from a mid-sized firm under the charges of "default on debt" and "exploitation of local residents," and officially transmitted through Sky City's Diplomatic Office.
That document had been formally received by the knight order to which she belonged, and by the nation to which that order belonged.
For the crime of staining the order's honor, the Knight had been dishonorably discharged, and all her assets frozen.
"Sonia! Are you in there?! Sonia! Open this door!"
"You really can't do this…!"
"Out of my way, Luce! Even I have no desire to be driven from the order under the disgrace of exploiting local residents — under such a false charge as this!"
The Knight's voice trembled thinly with desperation.
Thud… thud… click.
Sonia's front door, which had seemed only a few more blows from having its hinges split apart, opened from the inside with a soft mechanical sound. The sound of the door opening was strangely calm and still amid the uproar until now.
"…What on earth is all this noise so early in the morning. Honestly… how rude. Good morning, Luce. And you too, Knight."
From inside the home of Sky City Hero Sonia, a head of yellow hair and a pair of golden eyes peeked out.
Ordinarily, Sonia would have been sprawled about in nothing but a worn-out dress shirt — a freeloader, or as she herself put it, a hero enjoying a peaceful morning.
The Sonia who opened the door now was dressed as neatly as an office lady about to head to work. Her immaculate appearance created a sense of dissonance utterly at odds with the morning's chaos.
Sway.
Her pure-white blouse could not contain Sonia's ample bust; the buttons strained open between them, and the faint imprint of lace underwear showed through the taut fabric. The black office jacket draped over it hung wide open on both sides, as if fastening it had never even been an option.
"Uh… huh…?"
(Sonia's chest feels… bigger than before… No, that's not what matters right now!)
"Luce? Is something the matter?"
It was a look so deliberately composed — so thoroughly different from the usual lazy Sonia — that it almost seemed overdone, a touch too earnest.
Sonia did not so much as glance at the huffing Knight. She looked down only at teal-haired Luce, with a soft smile as if she found her adorable.
"Sonia. Forgive me, but might we come inside to talk? There is something I wish to ask of you."
"Of course. Please do."
Luce, who had followed out of worry over how things might turn out, could not lift her head before the golden-eyed hero — for her party was not without responsibility in this matter.
The Knight was shameless. Even after personally reviewing the official protest document that had passed Sky City Diplomatic Office screening, she had come to threaten the very party involved.
As if to provoke her, Sonia flung the door wide open and welcomed Luce and the Knight inside.
Unlike its usual clutter, the apartment was neatly arranged, and a faint scent of coffee hung in the air.
With practiced ease, Sonia took two cold canned drinks from the refrigerator and set them only in front of herself and Luce — a perfect erasure of the Knight's existence.
Sitting across the table and looking more carefully, Luce could see that Sonia's bust had indeed grown larger. When Luce had measured it as a joke before, it had been just shy of an E-cup; now the shirt was screaming in protest.
The buttons looked ready to burst at any moment, and the office jacket draped over them rested only on her shoulders, blocked by the overwhelming volume of her chest.
"Uh… um… Sonia… I'm sorry."
As if feeling the pangs of conscience, Luce kept her head bowed low, hiding her face beneath the table.
The Knight, by contrast, brazenly pointed a finger at the name "Sonia" written on the protest document and demanded an answer.
"Was all of this truly necessary? Sonia of Sky City? Do you even understand how things stand right now—"
"Ahh. So that's why you've come, Knight. However… I distinctly remember asking Luce to pass along a message. [I'll be away for a month on company training, so make sure you pay everything back in that time.]"
The words Sonia had asked Luce to deliver.
Through a chain of connections, she had arranged to undergo a company aptitude training program and would be absent for a month; during that month, she expected payment of the rightful compensation — the proceeds from selling the rare items. Luce had relayed those words exactly as spoken.
Sonia had been away for a month on "company training," and during that month the Knight had been frequenting the Succubus Salon and massage parlors. And so this whole mess had come about.
"But I had my own schedule to keep…!"
"I'm sure you did. At the brothel they must have been calling you 'my lady knight' — but it seems you won't be hearing that fine title anymore. When do you plan to return that fine armor of yours? Lady Knight of the Roses? Ah, was it the Lily Knights? Judging by your conduct, Knight… I can already imagine what the others must be like… Ah!"
As if a realization had struck her, Sonia opened one palm and set the fist of her other hand lightly upon it.
Watching this, the Knight's face flushed redder and redder. Every single word from Sonia struck precisely at her pride.
Beyond the wide-open balcony window of Unit 102, Sonia could see Sky City security officers waiting for a signal. They were lying in wait as quietly as if they were part of the scenery.
"Could it be… is that it? Was that order of rose knights or whatever actually more like a band of thieves, and this was simply natural behavior for you…? In that case I really ought to understand… I'm sorry. You looked so much like a real knight on the outside… I misjudged you. I'm so sorry!"
The Knight's excuse — that she simply hadn't been able to pay because she'd been away — carried no weight whatsoever.
Office-lady Sonia kept attacking with nothing but logical words.
Luce thought these were words the usual timid Sonia could never have spoken — but when it came to money, even the Sonia from before her "company training" would have snapped back just as hard, if not harder.
"Y-you… you don't actually think this scrap of paper is going to protect you, do you?! If you quietly submit a cancellation request, I swear that someday I will—"
"Ah… I understand. I think I understand now, Luce."
Sonia turned her gaze to Luce, who sat with her head bowed under nothing but apology and guilt.
Luce had come this far out of fear that the Knight, having lost all reason, might attack Sonia. Sonia understood that feeling, and so she looked at Luce with only a warm gaze.
"So that was it. Luce and this thief are from the same hometown… and this thick-headed thief-bitch probably didn't come here on her own. The knight commander who dotes on this thief wrote a letter of recommendation, or asked Luce as a favor, and she had no choice but to take her into the party. I've figured it out. You must have had such a hard time too, Luce… sniff… sniff-sniff… heh-heh…♡ kikh… kikh…"
"Y-you… you big-titted, filthy, lewd udder-cowww…!"
The Knight finally could not endure Office Lady Sonia's dazzling provocations, built on precise facts. Having lost all reason, she smashed the dining table with a heavy crash and lunged at Sonia.
Thud.
In that instant, Sky City civil servants who had been concealed on the balcony outside slipped silently inside.
They struck the nape of the charging Knight's neck with practiced speed, and she crumpled to the floor without so much as a scream, her legs giving out beneath her.
This was not their first time. Naturally, they produced a black blindfold and restraint wires and bound the Knight tight without a single wasted motion.
Before Sonia or Luce could even finish marveling, one of the officers handed Sonia a paper document, then casually dragged the subdued Knight away and vanished.
The Sky City Collection Team. When it came to matters of tax, they were more thorough and swift than anyone.
"Wow. That was incredibly fast. Did you see that, Luce? The way they went invisible without a sound and then whoosh, whoosh — right on top of her! So they're taking 'this one' as-is, right? Still, it's a relief. The Succubus Salon she frequented so often is apparently offering a rather high price for her… and Sky City is handling the entire sales process for them… Ah, right! Luce!"
"Uh… yeah!"
(It's already ten o'clock… I have to go to work and report to Master…♡)
"Sonia. What did you just say? I didn't catch it… sorry…"
"Ah! It's nothing. Just, um… where was it again? That person — the one who asked you to put that pervert knight in the party. Tell them I'm sorry, and give them this! See you later, Luce!"
As if something were terribly urgent, Sonia left only a single letter behind and stepped outside without even locking the door.
Luce stood there blankly, still unable to grasp the situation. It would take more time for her mind to accept the unreal turn of events — the Knight seized before her eyes and about to be sold off in an instant.
Sonia left Luce behind in her own nest and departed.
