"So, what is it you want to ask?"
Settling into a seat inside Dorothy's repair shop, I heard her out.
"Um, it's nothing much. A while ago I got a request to repair a part, and I still haven't been paid. So I'd like you to go collect the money for me."
"Going to collect money for you is the favor?"
The condition for the contract was just some debt collection on her behalf.
It was fine by me, but I hoped it was just my misunderstanding that it looked like it reeked of something fishy.
"All right, for now. Then please direct me to where the person who owes the fee is."
"Ah, about that, couldn't you go by yourself, Mr. Enon? They're someone I'd rather not meet in person.... Hehe."
"...You say you'd rather not, yet you took the job without a second thought?"
"Considering any request if it's possible is the mark of a first-class mechanic, you know. So I had no choice but to put my personal feelings off for later."
"...Was there some kind of friction while you were carrying out the request, by any chance?"
As far as I knew, even in the game, Dorothy Agriche was one of the best mechanics in Revendale.
So it was safe to say she almost never botched a job.
"No, not at... all? However childish I am, I don't fight with people or anything."
"...Then fine; tell me where the client is, and I'll go collect the fee."
"You'd really do that for me? Thank you!"
Dorothy clapped and bounced up and down on the spot as if truly delighted.
No matter how I looked at it, there was clearly some problem, but I had no way to press her further.
I'd just have to hope it wasn't a big problem.
Maybe worried I'd change my mind, Dorothy drew a rough map on a piece of paper in no time and handed it to me.
Truth be told, I knew all the roads to Revendale's major areas by heart, so I didn't really need it.
I took the map anyway, if only for form's sake.
"Then may I make a request of you too?"
"What kind of request? For you, Mr. Enon, I'll do it right away, no matter the waiting list!"
Nice to hear, even now.
I put the large case I'd brought along with my luggage on the table in front of her.
"I wonder what kind of thing you brought... what on earth is this?"
When I showed her the inside of the case, Dorothy's face, which had looked excited, turned serious.
[Butcher's Genocide Alloy Blade]
She seemed overwhelmed by its size, as big as her own body, but if anything, there was a deep gleam in her eyes.
"Where did you get something this incredible? This is totally... a thing that embodies the very essence of engineering!"
The essence of engineering; I wondered if it really went that far, but I decided not to argue.
I didn't want to pour cold water on Dorothy, already completely worked up.
Dorothy's reaction went beyond positive to the point of satisfying.
Because Dorothy reacting like that meant she'd been truly hooked on this thing.
"As you can see, it's in bad shape, so I'd like to leave it with you for repairs. Can you do it?"
"Absolutely! Just getting to touch something this special is a huge honor!"
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Um, would it be all right if I tinkered with it a little while repairing it? I'd like to check out the structure a bit...."
Saying she'd tinker with it a little meant she'd try everything under the sun.
Like I said earlier, Dorothy wasn't going to break the thing.
If anything, it was bound to have been upgraded in some other direction.
Of course, how it would be upgraded, I'd only know once it was finished.
"If you like, go ahead. I've heard a lot about your skills, Miss Dorothy."
"Kyaa~ thank you! Then I'll work on it while you're out, Mr. Enon!"
How happy was she, to be screaming like that?
I really hoped my choice wasn't a mistake.
***
Leaving Dorothy's repair shop, I stepped out onto a street in District 4 and checked the map.
'The Little Boum organization in District 8, huh.'
Sure enough, it was just the kind of place Dorothy would be reluctant to collect a fee from.
Revendale's districts were broadly divided into two or three categories.
First, the surface zone, including District 4, where I was.
It was the most common image of Revendale that outsiders had, and where Revendale's ideal form showed best.
And the second category, the middle zone.
The middle zone, classified from District 7 onward, was where Revendale's true face was laid bare.
The area formed along the deep cliff dividing the outskirts of the city's surface zone from the heart of Revendale, together with the parts around it, was called the middle zone.
And that middle zone was where the stark reality of every mix of legal and illegal was on display.
District 8, where the Little Boum organization I was headed to was located, was there.
'Not a place you'd bother going if you came for sightseeing, though.'
District 4, where I was, and District 8 were located quite far apart.
On foot, it'd probably take a good two hours.
Of course, that was the time calculated on the assumption that you passed through every district in order.
If I meant to give Dorothy some breathing room, I could do that, but the blood of my people flowing in my spirit wouldn't allow it.
The various districts were organized by number, but just because they had numbers didn't mean you had to cross every one of them.
And District 4 was the part of the surface zone closest to the middle zone.
Leaving the main road and entering the alleys again, before long I could take in the view of Revendale's interior.
All kinds of structures lining both sides of the long cliff, and at the end of it, a large bay-shaped lake.
It was a sight worthy of being called the most beautiful backdrop in the game Akris.
'To think I'd get to see this with my own eyes.'
Passing through a small plaza with that backdrop, I went down a narrow staircase leading below, stopped about halfway, and checked below the railing.
"Hup."
Without the slightest hesitation, I vaulted the railing and threw myself down.
THUD!
Landing on a large pipe, I didn't stop there and kept breakfalling onward down toward the ground below.
Now and then I nearly slipped and almost got hurt, but I managed to get all the way down quickly and safely.
'When the road's long, take a shortcut.'
Like the one I'd just used, Revendale was full of all kinds of shortcuts.
Some of them were far from ordinary roads, too.
The shortcut I'd used was one of the routes that went from District 4 to District 8 in a single go.
I knew where Little Boum was located anyway.
I put the map in my pocket and followed the road toward my destination.
Among the middle districts, District 8 at least didn't have bad public order.
Thieves and pickpockets were rampant, but at least attempted murder and kidnapping were infrequent, so it was fair to call it not bad.
Bump.
Sure enough. A passerby coming from the other way bumped my shoulder as he passed, and I grabbed his wrist.
"Wh-What."
The pickpocket, who'd come at me thinking I was an ordinary sucker and been caught red-handed, made quite a face.
Trying to snatch the purse I'd prepared as bait, thinking it was a good catch.
"Give my stuff back. And take me to where the Little Boum bastards are."
"L-Little Boum? Why would I go there?"
"So you know where it is. Then keep quiet and lead the way."
At the words "Little Boum," the pickpocket's face stiffened.
That was because the Little Boum organization ran part of District 8.
"Then shall I go there myself and tell them you tried to pick pockets on their turf?"
"N-No, sir. Not at all. I'll take you there right away."
No organization would just sit and watch while someone else operated on its turf.
Knowing that, the pickpocket got scared on his own and, bowing and scraping, went ahead and began leading the way.
"H-Here it is."
The place the pickpocket led me to was a door at the end of a narrow staircase leading down from a corner of the street.
"Right. Good work. Now get lost."
"P-Please don't mention me."
"......."
"I-I'm sorry."
When I just looked him in the eye without a word, the guy, his legs shaking, vanished from the spot.
-Little Boum Tavern
Without hesitation, I opened the door and went through.
As I walked inside, there was a small space, and a few gang members were playing cards around a table.
"Who's that bastard?"
Among them, a guy with a menacing face reacted to me, and all the other gang members around turned their eyes toward me at once.
'Striking a pose for nothing.'
A silence fell for a moment, and I saw a few gang members go on guard and put their hands on their tools.
"I guess you haven't opened for business yet. Seeing that you're all gathered here playing games."
"You, who the hell are you to crawl in here? Don't you know who we are?"
"I do. That's why I came here in person. Otherwise, why would I bother crawling in here?"
As if dumbfounded by my attitude, the guy who looked like the gang members' boss let out an incredulous laugh.
"You, what outfit are you from? Never seen your face before. All you've got going for you is your mug, so what, you're going around as some pretty face? If so, go on down there; there are plenty of places that'll take you."
At the man's diss, the underlings around him started snickering and sneering.
"As expected, this neighborhood sure has a lousy way of treating guests. Should I take this to mean you can handle the consequences of treating me like dirt, without even knowing what I came to talk about?"
At my answer, the mood in the tavern suddenly sank.
"Heh, a nobody throwing his weight around, trusting in some backer. Sit."
When he gestured for me to come over in his crooked posture, I took the chair an underling had vacated and faced the boss.
"Then talk. Let's hear what great personage came to talk to our organization."
"It's nothing like business or anything that big; it's just that the fee you owe hasn't come in yet."
"Fee? We've never gone begging to another organization?"
"Ah, I'm not from an organization; I came at the request of the person you commissioned. You gave a job to a certain mechanic a while ago, didn't you?"
After talking a little, the name of the man in front of me suddenly came to mind.
'The boss of Little Boum, Bout.'
Hearing me out and searching his memory, Bout raised his eyebrows as if he remembered.
"Don't tell me you're talking about that mechanic, Dorothy?"
"Yes. The person who took the commission asked me to collect the fee on her behalf. So unless there's some particular circumstance, I'd appreciate it if you'd pay the fee."
It was a very simple, easy job, so I had no intention of starting a dispute.
It was obvious that if I stirred up trouble for nothing and caught Deputy Commissioner Kalian's eye, things would get messy, and they wouldn't want to make trouble for no reason either.
"Honestly, after pulling a stunt like that, she has the nerve to try to get paid. No, wait, she sent someone else, so maybe she's got a shred of conscience."
"Well, she's so busy with work that she doesn't have time to come here."
"What are you talking about? Last time she took the job, then only came a few days later, said she'd handle it her way, and built some bizarre thing before she left, I'm telling you!"
Some bizarre thing; with Dorothy's skills, there shouldn't be anything you could call a failure, at least.
"Excuse me, but may I see the item the person you commissioned made?"
"No need to go anywhere or bring it over. You'll see it if you just turn your head."
As Bout pointed to one side of the tavern, my gaze followed his finger there.
At the end of my gaze was a beer tap.
It was meant for simply pulling the handle down to fill a glass with beer, but....
A lot of flashy things had been added to the form I knew.
-Random Booze Gacha Machine!
Along with traces thickly stamped with Dorothy's personality.
"That mechanic, Dorothy, made it so a random drink comes out every time you pull the handle, you hear me?"
"...Random, you say?"
"Yeah! We just asked her to make it pour a bunch of different drinks separately, and now every time we pull the handle, even we don't know what we're drinking, you get it? She even added a menu item on her own, so sometimes seawater comes out!"
Only at Bout's story did I notice that the glasses on the table were all different colors.
"Because of that thing, customers who poured drinks without knowing any better got mad, and half of them left, I'm telling you! And after pulling that, what? She wants her fee? Tell her to come fix that thing right now!"
"Please calm down a moment and hear me out."
I'd known she'd make some mistake, but I hadn't expected her to change the terms of the job however she pleased.
At least I suppose I should count it a blessing that what she'd been commissioned to make wasn't meant for killing.
Either way, Dorothy was definitely the one at fault.
That didn't mean I could leave without collecting the fee, though.
That would be no different from failing to properly carry out the job.
"First, I can confirm that you suffered business losses because the work strayed from the terms of the request. And I understand you're very upset about it."
"Right! At least you're a guy with some common sense."
"But I'll maintain my position of requesting the fee. Instead, let me tell you an idea that could make up for your losses."
"An idea? What are you talking about?"
I got up from my seat, pulled down the handle of the Random Booze Gacha Machine, and drew a glass.
"What are you doing—"
"Judging by the aroma, it's a beer with orange in it. That's a pretty rare drink around here, isn't it?"
When Bout flared up and tried to rise from his seat, I handed him the glass instead.
"Take this chance to use this thing as a business item. Keep the basic menu as it is, and charge a cheap price to use this random handle."
"...Who the hell would pay to drink out of that?"
"Probably most of your customers. At a reasonable price, if you're lucky, you get to drink the finest liquor; who wouldn't give it a try?"
"That... does make some sense."
At my suggestion, not just Bout but the other gang members reacted positively too.
"If you do it that way, there'll be people who get lucky and draw expensive liquor like I did, but there'll also be people who draw ordinary drinks, or something like seawater."
"Wait, what if everybody just draws the expensive stuff?"
"Then you can adjust the odds yourselves. Hook more cheap liquor up to the machine so the expensive liquor comes out less and the cheap liquor comes out more."
"...That makes sense."
"And with a little trick, it'd also be good not to say what can come out. Not knowing what'll come out stirs up curiosity all the more."
After mulling over my idea, Bout soon pushed off the table, got up, and came over to me.
"Good idea. I'll try running the business just like that, so come by later and see how it's going."
"In that case, I'll pass on the glass. I don't really drink."
"Hah, you live a boring life. Anyway, I'll pay the fee as originally agreed. It's the price for a good idea."
"Of course. Thank you."
I put on a textbook business smile.
Before long, one of the gang members handed me a small envelope of money.
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
"Hold on."
"Is there some other business?"
Stopping me, Bout shifted into a crooked posture and spoke.
"Join our organization, and I'll pay you as much as that fee you just got, every month. How about it?"
He'd pay me this much money every month?
For any other ordinary middle-zone resident, it would have been an offer worth considering, but I answered firmly.
"I'm sorry, but I'll decline. I already have an employer."
"Heh, you're pricier than I thought. Who the hell is your employer, anyway?"
To Bout, who looked genuinely curious, I answered with a smile.
"You'd be better off not knowing."
***
Heading back to the surface zone with the fee, I reached the checkpoint leading to District 5.
The checkpoint was like a highway during the holidays, with people crowded on one side and the other side completely quiet.
But just because the line was long didn't mean I could go out to the surface zone through the other side.
Because the passage on the other side was the entrance into the underground zone, and where I was standing was the exit.
'At this rate, I'll be here all night.'
People from the underground zone were always searched when they came to the surface zone.
The reason was simple. Criminals swarmed in the underground zone.
You were searched going into the underground zone too, but it was mostly waved through.
After all, no one who'd committed a crime was going to walk openly through a checkpoint in the first place.
It happened while I was waiting like that for my belongings to be searched.
"Mr. Enon!"
As luck would have it, Dorothy had come out to meet me.
She said something to the police at the checkpoint, and soon they pulled me out of the line where I was standing.
"You made it back safely! You're not hurt anywhere, right?"
So she did know she wouldn't come out of it in one piece if she went herself.
Still, I suppose it was a relief that she could at least tell that much danger apart.
"One, two, three... it's exactly the amount we talked about. Great work! On that note, dinner's on me tonight. How about it?"
"If you'd do that, I'd be grateful, but I'd like to check on what I asked of you this afternoon first."
"Oh, right, I forgot. The repairs are all done, but... I tinkered with it a bit more on top of that; is that okay?"
"Yes. It's fine. Please show me."
She'd already done everything she wanted, and now she was asking permission.
Not that I'd made any particular requests, leaving it up to her anyway.
Arriving at the repair shop on a hover kickboard, we went straight inside.
"I left it in the back, so let's go see it together."
I followed Dorothy into the workshop behind her building.
"Where is it?"
The workshop was cluttered with all kinds of parts and tools blocking the view.
"Ta-da~ here's the thing you asked for. What do you think?"
Striking a flashy pose, she showed me the Genocide Alloy Blade her hands had worked over, and my jaw dropped.
"...Is that really the thing I asked you for?"
Because its imposing heft and sense of pressure had vanished, leaving only a gaunt skeleton.