[Mission – Help the Resistance restore peace to the city.]
[ * A hidden quest clear reward exists.]
I read the message before my eyes again.
I hadn't misread it after all.
The protagonist wasn't in Adeban, and because of that, the quest that should have progressed smoothly was broken.
In the game, even without the protagonist, a quest wrapped itself up automatically after a certain amount of time.
But not every quest wrapped up that way ended happily.
The Adeban quest was one of them.
'Then where is the protagonist?'
But I had no way of finding out where the protagonist was.
The system might know where the protagonist was, but there was no way it would answer my question.
If anything, the system was making me clear Adeban's quest.
The most realistic reason the quest had appeared was that I'd expressed my intention to join the Resistance, just like accepting a quest in the game.
But my decision to join the Resistance had been made on the assumption that the protagonist was around.
I'd had no intention of posing as the protagonist and taking on the whole job in their place.
But I'd already told Edith I would join the Resistance.
I couldn't exactly go back on my word now.
The one consolation was that the Adeban quest let you skip several chapters and head straight to the final quest.
That was possible because, in the end, the biggest goal was to bring down the Iron Factory.
'Even so, bringing down the factory is anything but easy.'
Above all, the Iron Factory was in the grip of Seren, the main boss who had created my body.
That meant facing the mechanical soldiers guarding the Iron Factory was no easy task.
Just as they'd stationed powerful soldiers there, the Iron Factory was also an important source of supplies for them.
In other words, bringing this place down could affect not just the dolls' paradise, but also the other bosses cooperating with it.
'Just doing that would buy me time to get away for now.'
Running away in the meantime was an option too, but helping the Resistance, getting a weapon, and building up the strength to survive was the better choice.
In the end, like it or not, saving Adeban worked in my favor.
"Mr. Enon, is something wrong with your body?"
"No, I was just lost in thought for a moment."
When I came to, I found myself staring past the message at Edith's face, awkwardly.
Luckily, Edith didn't seem particularly suspicious and brought up another topic.
"You heard what that man just said too, right, Mr. Enon?"
"Yes. He seemed to suspect you, Miss Edith. Has anything happened before that could have exposed you?"
In the original story, too, there was a scene where the agents' identities came under suspicion.
I remembered the rough content, but I acted as if I had no idea what was going on.
"Well. During missions we hide anything that could identify us, and we always check our bodies for trackers or other devices, too. So we shouldn't get caught easily...."
True, if she knew the reason, she'd have dealt with the problem long before getting exposed.
If she knew her identity had been exposed, she'd have no reason to show herself so calmly right now either.
"If you ask me, the arms smuggling side might be a possibility too."
"It might, but only a few people have gotten weapons from me. I've only done business with people unconnected to our city or the Iron Factory, so unless they know everything about who I am, there's no way they could pin it on me."
Edith wasn't wrong.
Even in the original quests, information had never leaked from the arms smuggling side, and there was no way anyone connected to the Iron Factory would secretly get weapons from her.
And at least among the buyers of her weapons that I remembered, there was no one who'd cooperate with the Iron Factory.
Of course, in an abnormal situation like this one, the existing information might not be reliable.
But unless some big variable had come up, things wouldn't have strayed far from the existing information.
"Let's think about what to do next before worrying about that."
"Let's. If they'd been sure, they'd have arrested me right away. First, let me get you your weapon."
With that, I followed Edith back down into the basement.
She strode over to one wall of the basement and pulled on a handle hanging on the wall.
Then, beyond it, all kinds of weapons were displayed in a wall cabinet.
'Gorgeous as ever, no matter how many times I see it.'
There was no decoration or paint on the outside, but if anything, that look made the weapons even cooler.
"From your face, it looks like you like a lot of them. Sorry, but only take one main weapon and one for self-defense. Carrying a lot of weapons just weighs you down."
Even if she hadn't said so, I had no intention of loading myself up with weapons anyway.
'Let's see.'
There weren't many weapons I could use anyway.
I should say most of them were off the table.
With my current body, going toe-to-toe with those things up close using a big polearm was hard.
Unless I could boost my Strength drastically or something, those were things to steer clear of.
Then that left firearms, more or less.
The most reasonable and good option, but a disappointing one for me, whose strength was using magic.
As I narrowed down the types one by one, what caught my eye were heavy weapons like flamethrowers and drills.
Anyway, Edith was really something too, modifying weapons like those.
She skillfully handled, and even modified, things an ordinary mechanic would have a hard time handling.
'For reference, heavy weapons like that belong to the other Resistance agents.'
They weren't things I could just take, even if I wanted to.
As I weighed this and that while choosing, nothing really seemed right when it came down to it.
But I had the ability to tell a good weapon apart.
When I closed my eyes for a moment and focused magic into my vision, I soon saw magic flowing strongly in one weapon.
[Low-Grade Mana Stone Magic Pulse Gun]
The moment I checked the part's name, my gut told me.
"Would this one be all right?"
"Are you really okay with that one? I happened to get a mana stone and tried making it, but it's hard to handle, so I just left it lying around."
"It's fine. I'll take this one."
Edith looked worried, but I gave her a smile.
[Attaching the Crudely Crafted Magic Pulse Gun.]
[The weapon's form is optimized to fit the user's body.]
The moment I gripped the pulse gun, the shape of the grip changed, and it turned into a pulse gun mounted right on top of my wrist.
"...What did you just do?"
There was still more to be surprised about.
[Activating the skill Part Enhancement.]
[The Mana Core is activating.]
Mana flowed through my mana circuits straight into the pulse gun, and soon the mana stone set in it began to glow blue.
[The weapon part has been enhanced.]
[High-Performance Magic Pulse Gun]
[ - The pulse gun's basic effect is improved, and the power of its basic wave attack is enhanced.]
[Its effect is further enhanced against machines, robots, and similar opponents.]
A skill effect far beyond what I'd expected.
At this level, I could handle fights with the mechanical soldiers without any trouble for a while.
"Now that I think about it, you could use magic too."
Edith made an expression of realization, then soon smiled.
"Congratulations. You got a weapon that's perfect for you, Mr. Enon."
***
After picking out a new weapon like that, we'd just returned to the repair shop when the door opened again.
Luckily, this time it wasn't Victor but a small boy.
"Auntie Edith! The bad mister came and left, are you okay?"
"Jayden, didn't I tell you not to call me auntie?"
The boy and Edith spoke casually, as if they knew each other well.
"Who's the uncle next to you?"
"Someone I got to know personally. He's decided to stay here for a few days."
"Hmm, he doesn't really look rich."
That bratty little-kid way of talking. Haven't heard it in a while.
"Call me Enon."
"Hello. Uncle Enon."
The kid called Jayden was one of the NPCs of the city of Adeban too.
His bratty way of talking was his defining trait.
"Um... doesn't it bother you, Uncle?"
"What?"
"Um, never mind."
Jayden looked disappointed when I didn't react to being called uncle.
"Here. These are today's deliveries. I wrote the addresses on here too, so check them and go. Got it?"
At Edith's words, Jayden grabbed the note in her hand as if he'd been waiting for it.
"You're having a little kid deliver goods?"
"He threw a fit asking me to teach him mechanic work, so I have him do deliveries at least. That kid's dream is to be a mechanic."
As far as I knew, he'd later throw a fit wanting to join the Resistance.
"If it bothers you that much, carry the goods for him."
"Me?"
"Security robots don't really patrol much during the day anyway, so you'll be fine as long as you don't pick a fight for no reason. Even if something goes wrong and they stop you, it won't be a big deal. And while you're at it, wouldn't it be nice to see a bit of the city?"
"......."
I wanted to say something about this sudden extra work, but she wasn't exactly wrong, so I picked up the boxes full of parts.
'Kind of heavy.'
Lifting them at first took effort, but I didn't lack stamina anyway, so carrying them the rest of the way was no problem.
"You're coming too, Uncle?"
"That's how it turned out."
"Yay, then let's go right now."
"Have a good trip. And watch out for the mechanical soldiers."
If she was going to warn us to be careful like that, shouldn't she not send us out in the first place?
Quietly swallowing my complaint, I followed Jayden out onto the streets of Adeban.
"Keep up. I'm not waiting for you just because you're slow."
He had the build of a kid of only about ten, so how fast could he possibly be even if he ran?
But Jayden was quicker than I'd thought.
"Hurry up!"
Come to think of it, during the Adeban quest, Jayden had even tried to take the Resistance entrance test.
I ran through the streets of Adeban after Jayden, who was dashing on ahead.
The streets of Adeban that I saw while going around here and there delivering parts were clearly different from what I'd seen in the game.
Just as a view feels more beautiful and striking when you go and see it with your own eyes than when you see it in a photo, so it was with the streets of Adeban.
It would have been nice if the people living in the city lived as peacefully as the streets looked.
On the contrary, the mood among the people on Adeban's streets wasn't good.
"Beep-beep. You are currently delinquent on tax payments. Prompt payment of taxes is required."
"Look, I don't even have money to buy food right now. It's because you bastards are demanding ridiculous taxes!"
"If you do not pay your taxes within the remaining payment period, you will be arrested on charges of tax delinquency."
A mechanical soldier was arguing with the owner of a run-down shop.
The residents around were watching the scene too, but no one dared to step in.
That scene right there represented Adeban's current situation.
All the city's residents resented the Iron Factory's tyranny, yet bowed their heads before its overwhelming force.
To them, the freedom and peace of the past were a story from long ago.
"Those nasty machines. They're picking on Mister Delorun again."
I saw the scene with my own eyes, but I didn't take any particular action.
The reason I was here right now was to stop their tyranny.
But for the sake of complete peace, I couldn't step in right now.
So for now, all I could do was hope that they'd grit their teeth and endure that injustice.
"First, let's finish the deliveries—"
"Hup."
As if he'd thrown one more than once or twice, the pebble Jayden threw hit the mechanical soldier squarely on the back of the head.
Whirr.
Then Jayden darted behind a pillar, and I was left standing there all alone.
Hah, this is why kids are the problem.
I soon locked eyes with the mechanical soldier, which had come right up to my nose.
"Beep-beep. Hostile actions against our city's guards are prohibited."
"Sorry, but I'm not the one who threw a rock at your head."
As I said it, I pointed toward where Jayden had been, but Jayden was already gone from that spot.
When I casually turned my head and looked around, I locked eyes with Jayden, far off.
He must have come out with me just to pull this on purpose.
This is why kids should experience society firsthand from a young age.
Then they wouldn't be able to act so irresponsibly.
'Be grateful this isn't Hell Joseon.'
No, if it were Hell Joseon, maybe he'd act up even more.
But just then, the mechanical soldier came right up to me, emitting a red light.
"Hostile actions against city guards are prohibited. Carrying out punishment for prohibited actions."
"No, seriously, I'm telling you it wasn't me."
I tried to protest the injustice, but the mechanical soldier's eyes were still glaring at me.
"Conducting identity check. Determining presence of a criminal record."
The mechanical soldier's red light scanned my face.
"Beep-beep. Your identity does not match any entry in the identity records. Please identify yourself."
...I knew it'd come to this.
TL Notes:
TL Note: Hell Joseon — Korean internet slang that mocks modern South Korea as a hellish, dog-eat-dog society, especially for young people.