LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 66
“Something’s off.”
Iris said while looking up at the people.
“Usually, they pull out everyone nearby…”
“Are there cases where they don’t?”
“If there are too many people inside because the building is too large, or if it’s a government office and there are necessary personnel… Usually, there’s a logical reason.”
Iris frowned.
“But there are almost no cases where it’s simply a mistake. I can understand if it’s one or two people, but that many?”
“Mm.”
I looked up at it too.
“I don’t think that’s a professional broadcaster.”
Considering that they’re holding a smartphone.
The world had changed a lot over the past five years. Since Earth had encountered the Federation, it was unrealistic to completely reject that technology.
Bringing in all that technology at once would cause too much social chaos, so unless you join the Federation directly, you’re gradually acquiring that technological power, mainly in the form of “technology transfer.”
That’s also why the relationship between Noir Corporation and the government isn’t that bad.
However, even with all that technological power, there are aspects of the physical laws that cannot be resolved, even with alien technology.
For instance, ‘bigger electronic devices work better.’
Or, ‘a bigger glass can reflect and refract more light.’
The image sensor of a smartphone is much smaller than that of a broadcast camera, and the lens attached to it is no different. No matter how much you can magnify optically by ten times, it’s still not as good as proper broadcast equipment.
A professional broadcaster would likely have something better than a smartphone in hand.
“Or, maybe it’s a situation where they need to look that way.”
Rose said.
“Perhaps the Federation, the government, and Noir Corporation are trying to maneuver public opinion without interfering recklessly?”
“I wonder how effective it would be for us to show the video of us defeating the monsters instead of the police.”
Isn’t it just creating a counterproductive effect?
Until now, the police, not to mention the monsters, have failed to catch anyone.
Even according to alien standards, the existence of a monster is considered a non-standard being, but given that the attacks from Magical Girls work, they should be able to kill them if they really intend to.
Noir Corporation was already ‘controlling’ the monsters in their own way.
“Don’t you have anything that comes to mind?”
When I asked James, the drone that had been hovering silently until then turned towards me.
“Well, I have some thoughts, but…”
“And?”
“It’s still in the realm of speculation.”
James’s voice was flat. It seemed he wasn’t particularly scared in the current situation.
Mm.
I glanced back down.
In the corner of my field of vision was a girl with pink hair.
From the way she had been staring at my face, it seemed she was really interested in me. After all, if she wasn’t interested, she wouldn’t have suggested taking a bath together.
Should I try saying something?
I thought about that, but then realized I didn’t really know anything about the current situation.
How long had it been? I hadn’t properly checked the clock since the loudspeaker warning a while ago, so I didn’t really know how much time had passed.
From the feel of it, it had been about ten minutes.
Just as I was starting to get a bit bored—
A tremendous noise came from afar.
It didn’t sound like something exploding. Rather…
“Helicopter?”
Rose muttered.
But it was somewhat different from a helicopter. I had already seen helicopters before.
It sounded like it had more than one propeller.
I stood up and grabbed the hammer handle, looking towards the source of the sound. Something was flying towards us from a distance.
It was quite elongated both front and back, with four propellers. At first glance, it looked like a large drone.
But unlike drones, it wasn’t just carrying a camera. Between the two pairs of propellers was a container.
I heard the police murmuring.
And then—
Thud!
The drone, avoiding us, dropped the container it was carrying from a significant height.
I could’ve dodged, but it didn’t drop it close enough to actually crush us, so we didn’t bother running away. Neither did the other Magical Girls.
“Hmm.”
James muttered.
His voice conveyed a sense of understanding about what was inside.
There was no need to ask, as the container opened right away.
Instead of simply opening a door like you would expect from a normal container, the walls on all sides unfolded.
Thunk!
As the cube-shaped container opened up, it made a clanking sound.
What was inside—
“…Huh.”
I let out a hollow laugh without even realizing it.
What was there was a large robot.
No, it was ‘something that at least looked like a robot.’
Inside it were the monsters.
That giant robot, resembling a bear, was clad in heavy white armor. Its surface was polished smoothly, almost like it was made of ceramic.
In other words, it seemed the government and the Federation were meaning to choose differently than us.
If I had to put it into words, it was akin to saying, ‘there will be no negotiations with terrorism.’
I raised my head and looked again at the people filming us.
They were holding smartphones, elevated quite high. Although they could zoom in on us, they wouldn’t be able to hear us shouting.
Even if we went up and started talking, they could just cut the communication in the meantime.
“I see.”
But they wouldn’t completely alienate us. After all, the generator was a major concern.
The generator using the Hope Circuit was still under development, but the Federation didn’t have any Magical Girls. That unfinished generator wouldn’t work without hope to power it.
I had stolen the generator used in the company.
I couldn’t tell how much time and cost it took to create that high-dimensional equipment, but if there was someone ‘essential’ for building it, or if there was some core technology only the former chairman would know…
The chairman had gone missing, and probably the one who designed it, James, was with me.
So maybe a ‘warning’ was necessary.
It wouldn’t mean anything to resist needlessly—
Vroom—
A sound came from near the robot.
That sound was due to me.
The robot looked different from the last time. Of course, I had seen several robots before. The monsters inside them were living beings, not mechanical parts, so their appearances varied; but at least robots of the ‘same model’ were similar enough.
What was different from that time was that this robot had two circuits.
The circuits on both shoulders were glowing. At first glance, they looked like the bright lights of the circuits used by Magical Girls, but the edges were a pitch-black color that seemed to swallow everything. Similar to the ‘blackest paint in the world’ I had seen on the internet before.
Did they install LEDs? If so, it seemed the brightness was a bit lacking.
Creak.
The robot’s eyes lit up, and that bear-like head turned upwards.
Then it moved somewhat awkwardly and looked towards the monsters.
I could understand again why the camera was positioned from such a distance. If it were too close, people would notice that the robot was working oddly.
…Now I understood a little.
“It’s a controlled situation, isn’t it?” Iris said.
Yeah.
What appeared to us as the cameras directed toward us might not look that way to those watching only the broadcast.
The direction the camera was pointed is not where it was shooting.
If they were sneakily filming, that would be that.
And if the robot goes berserk or has a malfunction and ends up being unusable, they could just cut off the video at that point. They could say, ‘they just got caught at that time.’
No matter what choice we make here, that side can pick and choose anything.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Right?”
Seeing Ha-yoon respond, I finally turned my head that way.
Ha-yoon, incredibly rarely, wore an angry expression.
It must be due to the thought of using the monsters.
The monsters… Strictly speaking, they were just suffering creatures. To properly neutralize them and send them back to space, we would have to resort to violent means, but for now, they were merely victims.
That made the job of subduing the monsters even harder.
“We should have shown the situation as it was last time we broadcasted.”
“Well, we were quite busy back then. It couldn’t be helped.”
James replied to my mumbling.
“You don’t seem particularly worried, do you?”
“As you can see, that thing only works properly with the other side present.”
“……”
“Why do you think it only arrived here after the other side got here? If they could have activated it and defeated the monsters from the beginning, they would have done so long ago.”
“So what kind of guts do they have to act like that?”
“Well, in the end, it seems there’s a willingness to negotiate on their part. If there’s a mutual benefit to be gained, they could possibly make a deal, right?”
As I glared at the drone, it swayed slightly from side to side.
“I know that side doesn’t want to deal, but you know, people tend to waver when faced with considerable conditions. Isn’t that right?”
“Why would they judge that I would react that way?”
“Because you’re someone who became a combatant for money.”
That’s… a story I couldn’t deny.
Even if I say that all that money went to the orphanage, it allowed me to lead a much more comfortable life. The money I received as pocket money was enough for me to enjoy hobbies and occasionally dine out.
“……What should we do now?”
“If we fight the monsters, it’ll probably look desperate. They might think we’re fighting to prove our value before taking down the robot. If we attack the robot instead, that would be seen as an act of terrorism. Exposing the contents wouldn’t mean anything, as they would cut the video before that.”
“So, just watch and do nothing?”
“Anyway, if neither side has any benefit to this side, staying idle while wishing the robot acts properly isn’t a bad method.”
“Huh…”
I looked over at Ha-yoon.
Even in such a situation, Ha-yoon was still glaring at the robot with an angry expression.
Creak, creak.
The robot slowly turned to face her.
The monsters were beings incapable of communication. However, they had the instinct to want to destroy what was in front of them.
Sometimes, like the monster resembling a fish gently moving, they could be cautious, but there were plenty of monsters that would charge in and rampage senselessly.
So what would that ‘robot’, which was holding the destructive instinct inside it, do in response?
If it could just specify the ‘direction’, it would surely end up fighting whichever was in front of it, regardless of whether it was a monster or not.
“Whoa!”
The robot shouted.
That sound felt more like a distorted electronic noise than a real sound coming from a living being. Well, if the idea of using monsters spread, it would be troublesome anyway.
Judging that action as an ‘attack’, the opposing monster started to move as well.
Fast.
It was almost like I only saw a gray afterimage for a moment.
Bash!
But that didn’t mean the robot was easily defeated.
“……”
The robots using the monsters attacked us all that day in the corridor.
Now I understood the reason. During that time, things were so chaotic that I didn’t have time to grasp the situation accurately, but the movements of the robots were far more unnatural than I expected.
They likely would have stopped if they tried to attack each other. Normally, even holding the monster’s power down would gradually damage the device, but if they received my energy, that would be a different story.
The exchange of blows was quick. The monster, thinking the white robot was the greatest threat, swiftly circled around it and attacked.
Similarly, since the robot also perceived the opposing monster as the biggest threat, it focused its attention there.
While it mainly appeared defensive, it wasn’t completely without attacks—when it quickly moved its hand with a sharp artificial claw, it left only an afterimage at that moment.
Ugh!
I stood up from my spot.
And grabbing a hammer, approached Ha-yoon.
“So, what are we doing?”
When I spoke, Ha-yoon turned towards me.
There was a hint of perplexity on her face.
If Ha-yoon… was still a Magical Girl, she would have probably rushed in without hesitation and fought with both of them.
No matter what others thought of her, the situation in front of her would be her priority.
Her not stepping up was likely because I was next to her. She might be worried her situation could be seen oddly because of her.
“I’ll move according to your choice.”
I looked back up.
No matter how we moved, our movements would only be conveyed in a favorable direction for that side.
No matter how incorrect a claim, once a person accepts that fact, their thought process halts immediately. Even if the truth comes later, they won’t easily be able to accept it. If they still have something they said before, that’s even worse.
So, the moment I was accepted as a ‘terrorist’, whatever actions we took could just confirm that notion.
I had broadcasted to divert public attention, and even if the formerly popular Magical Girls decided to stay by my side…
“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea, but…”
James chimed in next to me, but I pushed the drone aside with the tip of my hammer.
“You decide.”
After all, I hadn’t completely reconciled with Ha-yoon yet.
Maybe it would be a bit difficult to move as I did until now. Our relationship might remain the same as before.
But even so.
Ha-yoon was the protagonist, wasn’t she?
Even if it’s not a traditional Magical Girl story, she is still the protagonist in a way, doing everything she could to break the clichés of a Magical Girl.
At the very least, Ha-yoon was a Magical Girl.
Truly shouting for love, justice, and peace.
At least, I still believed that.
So when thinking rationally, it felt that in this situation, the choice of the protagonist was necessary rather than the actions of an extra like me doing something strange.
“Are you okay with this?”
Ha-yoon asked.
Her voice seemed to carry a subtle expectation, making me feel uneasy.
“……If we’re going with majority, it’s easier to move the way you want.”
In the end, I brushed off the situation with that remark.
“……Okay.”
Yet in response to my words, Ha-yoon smiled instead.
“Good. Then let’s fight. Both of them… We have to send them away from Earth.”
Ha-yoon said that, looking at me and the other Magical Girls.
Everyone had a determined smile on their faces.
I couldn’t even force a smile, such an expression.
Why was that?
Even when we were using the same energy, they found hope with those faces. It was a thin thread of hope, an imperfect solution, but always better than the worst.
And even in such a situation, they didn’t lose hope. The Hope Circuit proved that. Their Magical Girl outfits proved that.
In this moment, they were still not letting go of hope.
That struck me strangely.
It didn’t sit well with me, but perhaps because of that, I felt relieved.
Ultimately, what I cared the least about was myself.
“Let’s go.”
As soon as Ha-yoon said that, she shot forward.
We followed behind.
In the previous encounter, all the monsters had directed their attacks towards me, so I felt less pressure, but slipping between the two fighting monsters felt more stressful than I expected.
It felt like squeezing through a press that was supposed to collide quickly. If I didn’t concentrate, it seemed threatening only as a gray afterimage against white and gray.
So, I chose the least pressured method.
Instead of pushing in, how about I ambush them?
Click.
The back half of the hammer opened wide. I maxed out the booster, launching my body upwards.
Then, tracing a parabola, I fell down with the head of the hammer onto the white robot’s head.
Bam!
The robot quickly raised its hand to block my hammer.
Creak.
The head turned towards me. The only visible thing was a camera in its eyes, but there was surely a person’s eye behind it.
A person’s eye that has gone insane for some reason.
I opened the front booster of the hammer.
“Argh!”
The robot quickly pushed its arms out, but my hammer’s output was strong. There was small auxiliary output from the front, but compared to the maximum output shooting from the back, it was nothing. It was merely a small propulsion function added to brake and change directions.
But even that was handy in times like these.
A small flamethrower. No, you could even call it a very hot gas range. I pointed it back at the rocket still attached and pushed it up against.
The robot’s arms started to swell in heat.
Was it alloy and not ceramic?
As I thought—
Bam!
Something collided with that white robot.
It was the gray monster.
Right, those two were still fighting.
But whether neither side could consider the situation, the robot was pushed back a little and the monster tried to dodge my hammer, but it ended up scraping against the ground.
Naturally, once the propulsion that was holding back the hammer disappeared, it dropped down.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I began hammering the monster that had fallen to the ground.
I reduced the rear propulsion a bit, split the front booster into a quick, but strong burst. With the added strength of my arms, it became a threatening maneuver.
However, the monster didn’t seem willing to just take that. It quickly rolled to the side and tried to escape—
—No, it tried to escape.
Ha-yoon blocked that monster with her shoulder. It was a clash not just of metal, but of flesh against flesh; it wasn’t a simple clanging sound.
Seeming unfazed, Ha-yoon immediately followed the monster’s movement and swung her sword. Though she didn’t cut it, she at least posed a threat. The monster couldn’t easily approach or escape.
Bang!
A loud sound came from beside me.
Rose had blocked an attack aimed at me from the robot.
Thud, thud!
As the robot’s head endured Iris’s focused fire, every time it was hit, the control circuits in that section seemed to fail, and its white gloves shattered into pieces, revealing the machinery underneath.
It seemed they were intent on cutting off the video as quickly as possible.
Since they considered using it, there wouldn’t be any benefit to us.
…
Collaboration was surprisingly good.
Or maybe they were just adjusting to me.
In any case, it didn’t make me feel good, but well, since they had already moved, there was nothing to be done.
For now, let’s handle the situation in front of us and think about what to do next.
…Should I just rob a convenience store and leave?