The Demonic Capital: New York
Though I had no idea what kind of system allowed holograms to move so freely, Eve had come all the way to the entrance to greet me. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why, but she genuinely seemed happy to see me. There was no AI data involved this time, so she couldn’t possibly be expecting to score more of it… right?
“Lord Ryuta, please come this way. Miss Cherry, this way please!”
Eve guided each of us to our separate counters. At the one Mimata Chieri approached, a fresh hologram of Eve materialized and began the standard first-time visitor introduction. So her dark-web app ID really was Cherry.
“Why the warm welcome?” I asked.
“Ahaha, almost no one visits the New York branch lately. There are some rather sinister rumors going around the area…”
This district had a port and the black market itself; security should have been decent. What could be bad enough to make even Eve call it ominous? If she was worried, the situation had to be dire.
“Can you tell me about these rumors?”
“Normally I’d charge points, but since you’re a regular, I’m obligated to provide basic security information free of charge.”
Made sense. Only Plus-rank members and above could even access a black-market branch, so they had to keep their best customers safe.
“An unknown entity—something like a vampire—is attacking the Kurotsukido New York branch. Since you’re Asian, Lord Ryuta, you might be mistaken for one of them. Please be extra careful.”
A vampire… An ancient monster that had walked alongside human history, a terrifying creature that drank blood exactly as the name implied. Not technically a ghost, but close enough.
They were powerful, riddled with annoying traits, and fighting one was more trouble than it was worth. Better to steer clear.
I’d nearly gotten dragged into something strange. I’d have to watch my step. If Kurotsukido showed up to fight the vampire, all the better for me. They’d be busy trying to crush the new organization Dang Sohwa was building. Pouring their strength into this mess would buy us valuable time.
While Kurotsukido was distracted, Dang Sohwa needed to solidify her position. I’d have to pass this information on to her once I left the black market.
“Understood. I’ll be careful.”
“Please, stay safe and uninjured. Now, I’ll open the catalog for you!”
With Eve’s words a holographic window unfolded, and an endless list of goods scrolled past. Yeah, there were way too many. I needed to narrow the search.
“Show me ancient books, relics, unusual materials, weapons, and elixirs as well.”
“Yes! One moment, please.”
As expected from the world’s premier AI, “one moment” lasted less than a heartbeat. The instant she finished speaking, a freshly filtered list appeared. It was still long, but now it was actually manageable.
“Hmm.”
Maybe it was because New York had so many people with sharp eyes. The selection was huge, yet nothing truly outstanding caught my attention. Or perhaps the upcoming auction had everyone holding their best pieces back, drying up the good stock.
Still, after paging through several screens I found three items worth purchasing.
Rarity: Relic
Effect: Activates and produces sound when anyone harboring malice approaches.
Rarity: Unique Manual
Content: Secret sword techniques of the German swordmaster Johannes Liechtenauer. Comparable grade to the Goksan Pafung Sword Art.
Rarity: Ancient Elixir
Origin: Medieval monastery brew. Permanently raises Strength for those with low stats when consumed while intoxicated.
“I’ll take the Orgel and the Elixir of Strength immediately. Ship the book to the registered address.”
“I’ll prepare the Orgel and Elixir of Strength before you leave. Before that, however, I have a proposal for you, Lord Ryuta.”
A proposal? Out of nowhere? I didn’t remember any events like this in the game…
“What kind of proposal?”
“I would like to secure a supply of mithril from the mine you recently acquired.”
I was curious how she knew about the mithril mine, but since I was developing it anyway, finding reliable buyers was important. The black market would make an excellent customer.
“The mine hasn’t been developed yet, so I don’t know the exact reserves.”
In the game it had been considered a specialty product of Akita Prefecture, so I expected substantial deposits, but I had no precise figures.
“You need not worry about reserves. We obtained internal documents from the Kurotsukido side that secretly calculated the deposits for Taira Foods.”
Where the hell did they get those? I knew the black market’s intelligence network was formidable, but this was borderline disturbing. Still, I planned to divert some of the mithril to a Korean company registered under my name and Han Yu-kyung’s, so I couldn’t promise them everything. I decided not to give a firm answer yet. I’d leave the negotiations to Mrs. Jin Mi-ja, who was managing the mining operation.
“We’ll proceed with a contract. Please contact Hatake Yoshiko, CEO of Hatake Investment Company, for the details.”
“Your mother, I believe?”
Just how deeply had they investigated me? For the record, Hatake Yoshiko was simply the Japanese reading of Mrs. Jin Mi-ja’s name.
“Yes. Let’s conclude the contract matter that way. Where exactly did you learn that I obtained the mine?”
“It wasn’t so much obtained as deduced. If Hatake Investment is effectively your company, Lord Taira Ryuta, and its subsidiary Hatake Mining purchased the site of Taira Foods’ eighth factory in Daisen from East Weapon, the logical conclusion is that you acquired the mithril mine, is it not?”
Figuring out land ownership through official registry documents was easy enough. With Mrs. Jin Mi-ja as CEO, tracing the connection back to me would have been simple.
It’s not like I expected the arrangement to be completely airtight. I’d created Hatake Investment thinking it would be enough to fool casual observers. If I ever needed true secrecy, I could always set up another company under a completely different name.
“And…”
“And?”
Was there more beyond the mithril? Eve hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“Please visit the Tokyo branch as well! I’ve been waiting to surprise you!”
I had no idea what she meant. Even with her fidgeting, glancing around, and acting all tsundere, I couldn’t follow.
“…All right. When I return to Japan, I’ll stop by the Tokyo branch.”
“You promise?!”
“Yes, I promise.”
I had no clue what she wanted to show me, but now I was genuinely curious. Looked like I really would have to drop by the Tokyo branch.
“Here.”
Eve held out her pinky finger. I stared at it for a second before realizing she wanted a pinky promise. I extended my own hand—the one that carried the weight of the abyss—and hooked my finger with hers.
“Hwyat~!”
“See you later, Eve.”
The sensation must have been strange to her; she let out that weird little yelp. I smiled faintly, stood up, and glanced over at Mimata Chieri. She was sitting there with completely glazed eyes, muttering to herself. If I listened closely I could hear her repeating, “Should I buy this? But I can’t give up the bed screen,” over and over.
What on earth? Why was she like this? I looked at the Eve hologram seated in front of her.
“She got like that while trying to decide what to buy. It seems she doesn’t have enough money for both.”
I turned my attention to the screen Mimata Chieri was staring at. It was a shopping cart. One item was a silent ultra-compact reconnaissance drone. The other was an ultra-compact hidden camera that could run for two full months on a single charge.
Just seeing the products told me exactly what she planned to do with them. I sat down and listened to her continued muttering. Since I would almost certainly be the victim of both devices, there was no way I could let her complete the purchase.
“Eve, cancel everything in the cart.”
“Yes~☆”
“Nooooooo!”
Ignoring Mimata Chieri’s anguished scream, I slung her over my shoulder and walked out of the New York black-market branch. She thrashed like a petulant four-year-old, wailing “No! I have to buy them!” the entire time, but I paid her no mind and headed for the parked motorcycle.
Then a voice dripping with murderous intent rang out from behind us. Despite the killing intent, it was a lovely, feminine voice—beautiful enough that you could tell the speaker was a stunning woman just from her tone alone. A voice that could enchant and ensnare anyone who heard it.
“Black Moon Company scum. I thought I’d wiped out your human-trafficking ring, yet you’ve started it again? Die!”
Black Moon Company was the American name for Kurotsukido. Which meant the person attacking me right now was…!
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Eve’s Advantage! Since she’s a hologram, her breast size is fully adjustable! (Small → Medium → Large)
Disadvantage: Since she’s a hologram, nothing else is possible… (┬┬﹏┬┬)