The Maze (1)
District 3, close to the city's core, was one of those places where you could truly feel the splendor of this metropolis.
Endless skyscrapers lined every direction. Crowds thronged the streets. Multicolored electronic billboards blazed across the sky.
And at the very heart of District 3 stood the department store that was today's destination.
Sinel, who had stepped inside with me, began looking around with eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Everything looks so expensive..."
She said it while taking in the luxurious atmosphere of the place.
Sinel had always grown up without much. Someone who usually struggled just to make rent was hardly the type to have a hobby of shopping at department stores. If she did, I was definitely being scammed.
Most things she needed could be bought nearby anyway. There was no reason for her to come out to the central district often.
"Is there anything you want?"
"I want that."
I followed the direction of her pointing finger.
A large cat tower stood on display.
I looked from Sinel to the cat tower and back, put on an expression as if I hadn't heard a thing, and stepped onto the escalator.
"Apparently not."
"...Boss."
"What we're after is upstairs."
The smoothly rising escalator was on a completely different level from the ones out in the outer districts. Riding it up, an electronics floor filling an entire level came into view. New products from the electronics companies that thrived both inside and outside the city were on full display.
Among them were the Lesert Industries goods I'd come looking for today.
As I started toward the Lesert Industries section, a young man in light clothes and a bodyguard in a suit brushed past me.
"..."
The bodyguard who passed in front of me briefly met my eyes. He wore a badge on the upper part of his suit — a sword driven through a wing.
After looking at me for a short moment, he walked on as if nothing had happened.
I watched the young man and his bodyguard recede from view and spoke.
"Knighttail Knights."
A sword piercing a wing. Few people in this city wouldn't recognize that emblem. It was the symbol of the Knighttail Knights.
The Knighttail Knights were a security company that ranked among the top combat forces even within the city. There were even rumors that crime simply didn't happen near their headquarters.
"Knighttail?"
"A company that specializes in VIP protection. They only hire bodyguards whose skills have been verified."
"I've heard of them."
People even said trusting Knighttail was more reliable than trusting the city's security forces. Naturally, not just anyone could apply for their services. The mere fact that a Knighttail bodyguard was trailing him proved that the young man who'd just passed was of fairly high status.
This place was a world apart from the outer district where we lived, so seeing people like him wasn't strange.
I watched the young man's figure grow distant, then turned and kept walking.
"Best not to get involved if you can help it. They put credibility first — if things go south, they'll even fight the security forces."
"That sounds wise."
"They're literally crazy about security."
Thud. Thud.
The place I arrived at bore the Lesert Industries logo. Exploration gear. Communication equipment. Electronic devices under every kind of name lined the area. The cheap ones started at a few hundred credits; the expensive ones ran past tens of thousands.
As Sinel and I began looking over the merchandise, a nearby employee approached to greet us.
"Welcome to Lesert Industries. Looking for something in particular?"
"A portable communication device. Preferably one that can track location as well."
"A communication device — in that case, I'd recommend this display."
"I'll take a look."
The display the clerk guided us to was stocked with every kind of communication equipment. From fairly large satellite units down to compact radios capable of long-range transmission, the selection was broad.
Looking over the assortment, I spotted some small devices tucked into a corner. Compact earsets were on display, labeled as continuously emitting location-tracking signals.
"Earsets."
"Battery life of seventy-six hours. That's quite long."
"They're so small. Will they actually help?"
I picked up one of the boxes. Then I brushed the hair near the nape of my neck aside and held the earset close to Sinel's ear. It matched the color of her goggles. Peel off the packaging, slip it in, and it would look quite good on her.
"It suits you."
"...Does it?"
For some reason, I felt like her ears had flushed slightly.
I waved the item I was holding and called the clerk back over. He launched into the product's advantages and a detailed rundown of how to use it. From what I gathered, if you bought a terminal and linked a channel, it would relay the earset's current location to you.
The terminal ran seven thousand credits. Everything else was five thousand each. Not a small sum — but this was an investment in Sinel's future and mine. Without investing in growth, you never lasted long in this world.
"I'll take them."
I picked up a red earset, a green one, and a black one. One for Sinel. The other two were temporary units — one for myself, one for a future subordinate.
The clerk took the products and headed for the register.
"Thank you. Please come again."
The total came to twenty-two thousand credits, terminal included. The moment I finished paying, I tore open the packaging and handed one to Sinel. She took the green earset, examined it briefly, then slipped it into her ear to check the fit.
"It fits well."
"Carry it whenever you go out from now on. And don't forget to charge it at the office."
"Yes."
There was no urgent need to use the gear right this second. Linking the terminal and channel could wait.
After confirming Sinel had the earset on, I picked up the bag with the rest of the purchases. This was the first department store I'd set foot in since becoming Percival. Looking around to see what one was like in this world wouldn't hurt — and trying the high-end food at the restaurants wouldn't be bad either. I planned to take Sinel around a little more and enjoy the place for the rest of the day.
"So, Usher, as I've told you time and time again..."
But I stopped dead as I came face to face with an unexpected person.
A girl with brilliantly flowing golden hair was walking right past me. She was someone both Sinel and I knew well. The girl who'd been walking ahead seemed to notice me too — she stopped in place and looked straight at me.
"You..."
Ney Terdos. A special supervisor of the security forces was standing right here. And of course, behind her stood the protagonist of the original novel, Usher Hayes, wearing a face full of dissatisfaction.
When our eyes met, Usher's sharp gaze swept over me and moved on.
"What a remarkable coincidence. To run into each other in a place like this."
"What are you doing here?"
When I spoke to the flustered Ney, she collected herself, put on a composed expression, and asked me what business had brought me to the department store. Thinking about it again, it was a truly stupid question.
"I wonder what other reason I'd have for coming to a department store. Obviously shopping."
"Ugh. Right... of course..."
"What about you? What brings you here?"
"Security force business. No reason to tell you."
The moment I heard Ney's words, I realized something was wrong. The timeline of events had diverged from the original novel.
And as if to prove it, fire alarms began blaring from every direction.
In the ear-splitting noise, Usher lunged toward Ney.
"Ney! Get back!"
"Usher...?"
With a heavy thud, a concrete wall surged up from where Ney had been standing. The thick wall rose in an instant, reaching all the way to the ceiling and completely sealing the path. Fortunately, Usher had used Blink a beat faster — Ney wasn't crushed.
But the concrete walls rising from the ground weren't limited to just that one.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Walls rose one after another, dividing the interior of the building into sections, shaping it into a maze.
"Ney. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. But what's happening right now..."
There was only one mage who sealed off space this way.
Builder Nicholas. A 4th-circle Instant Mage who used Stone Wall. One of the perpetrators of the department store raid was here.
"...We've gotten into a troublesome situation."
Of all the rotten luck — it seemed we'd gotten caught up in the department store raid.
I sighed and looked at Usher and Ney.
Builder Nicholas. And Runaway Train Calvin. These two raiders had an extremely poor matchup against most mages who relied on weapons in combat.