Odysseus stared at the bomb's alchemical formula that Pluto had sent over and tossed a remark at Flag.
"From the moment I go in there, I'm going to be 'a kid far too faithful to his intellectual curiosity.'"
"What?"
"I mean I'll walk the tightrope by a hair, so that from Pluto's standpoint the misunderstanding can arise that 'if we just satisfy his hunger for knowledge suitably, we could draw a betrayal out of him.'"
"C-can you do that?"
"Probably?"
At Flag's sour question, Odysseus waved the bomb formula.
"Look at them already laying the bait. Since failing wouldn't be much of a loss, they're poking at me openly."
"Hmm, riiight. If that is your judgment, I can't say anything about it. But what's your true intent in telling me?"
"Because if you misunderstand my intent, that's when I get into trouble. I'm not a moron who actually hopes to join Pluto."
"...Well, there's no need to go as far as moron, is there? Pluto is an expedition team with some standing in this trade."
"Fine. Then I'll amend it to bottom-rung lives with nowhere to go."
That's the same thing. Flag burst into a hollow laugh, but Odysseus did not retract his words. Pluto in the sunlight was one thing, but Pluto in the shade was not a very decent place.
"In any case, I don't want to spend my whole life clinging to narcotics. Compared with that, Captain Songha is merely a bit tyrannical, and she's a tremendously good person, the sort you could never easily meet in this trade."
"Are you still sulking about getting your cheek pinched?"
"If you've understood, then play along properly. Stamp your feet like a man worried I might turn on you at any moment."
"You really are... you always were, but your temper gets fouler by the day."
As Captain Songha had, Flag went to grip Odysseus' head hard. The captain was one thing, but he had no intention of submitting to a member of the same rank, so the boy quickly moved his head away.
The corner of the smirking Flag's mouth trembled slightly.
"Oh ho. You dodged, kid?"
"Because I don't want to be grabbed by you as well."
The only one who could touch his head was Penelope. He had unavoidably permitted it to Captain Songha, but he had no intention of offering up the crown of his head to other bastards too. This was a matter of pride before it was a matter of pretending to be a child.
Odysseus' body began a clattering game of tag with Flag.
"...What are you all doing?"
Migo arrived in the meantime. Perhaps conscious of going to a Pluto branch, her armament was more thorough than usual.
"Migo!"
But that was not what mattered now. Odysseus' body scurried behind Migo. The flustered Migo moved her four legs with a clop, but it was not at a violent level, so it was fine.
"Ah, that kid. Hiding somewhere favorable to him again."
Odysseus' small body could slip right between Migo's legs, but Flag could not. Giving up on the game of tag in the end, Flag snickered.
"Wearing yourselves out already?"
"The kid is making fun of an adult."
"I wasn't."
Odysseus, pressed close to Migo's flank, protested. He truly had not made fun of him. He had merely asked, as now, for a little cooperation with the role-play.
"To begin with, extracting Pluto's knowledge is a gain for Freedom too."
"What I take issue with isn't the act itself but your attitude toward it, you brat. You're not even dry behind the ears, and you go trying to play on top of adults' heads......."
"Children overrating their own intelligence is nothing new. You be the one to understand, Flag."
"What are you talking about. I've never overrated my intelligence."
It was true that he was cleverer and wiser than ordinary people, but he had never grown lax in the face of that fact. All the more so because his life had made him feel dozens of times over that most matters were not settled by wisdom alone.
He was, goddamn it, a man of ill fortune who always had to move with the worst in mind.
"Oh yes, and a brat like that thinks of walking a tightrope and skimming off nothing but his own profit? You think the other side won't know that thin little trick of yours?"
"And what if they know?"
"What?"
"They're not morons, so of course they'll know I'm testing the waters."
If they were stupid enough not to notice even that, that would be astonishing in its own way. Because it would mean one could become a mid-level executive of a power like that with intelligence of that sort.
"But would a human of a rank like a branch head of an organization be on guard against a twelve-year-old kid testing the waters?"
Given the shrewdness he had shown at the negotiation the other day, Pluto would display a minimum of caution. At the same time, because he had shown cunning only to that degree, they would be on guard exactly that far and no further. Because most people who consider themselves clever choose arrogance over humility.
And if the target was a child whose experience would be shallow, there was nothing more to consider. They would see Odysseus as exactly 'a kid who wants to play above adults' heads.' Perhaps they would even play along all the more in order to win his goodwill.
"I'm not assuming those people won't know me. I'm aiming at the point where they think they've figured me out."
An absolute misapprehension that could not help arising from his age. As he had done within Expedition Team: Freedom until now, Odysseus would exploit that part thoroughly with Pluto as well. Because it was the largest weapon he currently had.
"...Migo. Are all kids these days like this?"
"...Who knows. The trouble young Kentauros cause is mostly on the cigarette or narcotics side. I do not know much about this sort."
"This is maddening."
Flag rubbed his face with dry hands. It was about time to move to the Pluto branch.
***
"Hello."
"The young Magician has come. We meet again."
That the operation began in a week did not mean it was enough to gather only a week later. Because even a trifling force, once it took a stronghold and dug in, could inflict tremendous damage on an attacker.
So from the attacker's standpoint it was essential to investigate the opponent's strength and establish a suitable operational plan. Today's gathering was for precisely that.
"Come to think of it, we did not properly exchange names last time, did we? I am Lucen Akiten. Please call me Lucen."
"I'm Yul."
"Flag."
"Migo Khan. Call me Migo."
"Haha, a pleasure to meet you all as well. Pluto welcomes the members of Expedition Team: Freedom."
Of course, being a mere three people, they would not obtain a meaningful voice at the operational meeting. Had command been unified it might be different, but since Freedom had been guaranteed separate operational authority, that gap would tend to be wider still.
'Well, this part will have to be borne. If we handed over command and they tried to use us as meat shields, it would be a serious matter.'
Even Odysseus declined the state of being used one-sidedly by Pluto. What he wanted was others laid beneath his feet, not himself becoming another's footing.
"But Lucen, you're the captain... aren't you? Of this branch?"
"The details are somewhat different, but... put simply, that would be so. But is there some problem with that?"
"No, I was just curious. That even in an expedition team as large as Pluto the captain attends the operational meeting. I thought that with so many people, the captain would be taking it easy."
"Haha, so that was what you were curious about. Well, in fact it is rare for me to take part in operational meetings myself. There are separate people in charge of such things."
"Then......?"
"It is simply that this matter is of high enough importance to require my personal participation. The opponents are dregs whose names no one has even heard... but the part to look at carefully here is that worms like that dared to touch a person of Pluto's."
Since a magician tended to be treated above an ordinary member regardless of age or combat power, Yul stepped forward and conversed with Lucen. The other side did not make much of an issue of it either. What they were interested in was the one person Odysseus, not the other two hangers-on.
"We of Pluto promise absolute protection to those who come under us. Retaliation is a form of that protection. We never let go of those who touch our customers and our family. Not at any moment."
"...Befitting Pluto indeed."
"Indeed. It is possible because we are Pluto. Freedom's Sword Master does possess formidable force, but she is, after all, alone. It would be difficult for her to promise absolute revenge as we do."
At Lucen's not-quite-provocation, Migo, following behind, shifted her body. But in the end she showed no reaction such as opening her mouth, which was the correct judgment. Answering every such contest of nerve tended only to damage an expedition team's standing instead.
"Now then, the operations room is here."
In any case, the three followed Lucen into the operations room. Whether they had put some effort in for the sake of coaxing Odysseus, or whether they simply spent money on operations rooms as a rule, the room was very large and well equipped. Enough to compare starkly with Freedom's cramped meeting room.
"Kid, you mustn't fall for this sort of thing."
There was no need to play along already, but Flag whispered it with a snicker. Odysseus wordlessly struck his flank with an elbow. Agh. The man, who packed laughter even into the sound of complaining about pain, followed along with his waist bent.
"One moment, I will have another chair brought for you."
"Thank you."
In consideration of Migo's build, Lucen had a chair meant for Kentauros brought in. It took the form of a daybed but had no backrest and high armrests. Migo climbed onto it with satisfaction.
"Bwahaha. Look at the height of that cushion."
"Be quiet."
There were parts where the consideration ran so deep it was irritating. Odysseus wrinkled the bridge of his nose over the height-boosting cushion. At times like this his body's growing years irritated him.
"Coffee? Tea?"
"Ah, coffee for me."
"Water is fine."
"Grape juice for me."
"Pfft, understood."
Ill-mannered sons of bitches. What were bastards who gorged on rootless bean water and leaf-steeped water laughing so hard about?
Odysseus tugged the smile at his mouth crooked as he looked at the humans laughing together. A child angered at being treated as a child... it was half an act and half sincere.
"Sulking?"
"If you know it, then hand over non-alcoholic wine."
"Ah, no, that we cannot do."
Damn it. Grape juice and wine differ in scent itself.
Even as he took hold of the thing most familiar to him, Odysseus could not hold back a slight regret. Neither the difference between grape juice and wine nor the existence of synthetic flavoring in place of real grapes pleased him at all. It was the one complaint he held about this era of developed food culture.
"...I want to eat fruit."
"...Even for Pluto, wouldn't fruit be too much?"
In the land where he had lived in the past, meat and fish were the most precious things, but in the world after contamination, bread grew more precious than meat, vegetables than bread, and fruit than vegetables. For one who had picked grapes or figs whenever he was idle, there was no sense of a changed age quite like it.
The sweetness of refined sugar and the feast of oily foods were fine, but by now he missed the smell of natural greenery. Freshly picked figs and grapes, olives pickled in salt, olive oil that filled the mouth with a faint, fresh green scent when freshly pressed and taken by the spoonful... those were roughly the things he wanted to eat.
'Ah, but maza Μᾶζα is one thing I never want to eat again.'
Odysseus recalled maza, bread made by mixing barley flour and wheat and kneading it into a round lump. Maza, which was eaten mashed in water or with something laid on top, was, thinking of it now, something that could not possibly be called bread. If one had to name it... it was something along the lines of a rice dumpling or a fasting pellet.
"Haha, hardly. We keep fruit stocked as well. Shall I give you some?"
"...Really?!"
"I will have it brought at once."
Odysseus was excited enough at Lucen's words to swing his feet. Perhaps judging that Pluto's authority had been displayed, Lucen's expression too turned into that of a proud man.
"Separately, it is already time. Planning office, begin."
Lucen, who had deliberately taken the seat beside Odysseus, gave his subordinates an order with a gesture. It was passably impressive.
"Then I will begin the briefing."
Odysseus crunched away at the apple a secretary had brought as he listened to the Pluto planning office's explanation. A map of a particular district and Ironstick's mark appeared on one wall.
"The target's home base is a warehouse located in the harbor district of District 34."
When the man in the Ray-Ban sunglasses moved a finger, the map enlarged and drew a circle at one point. The blue circle was so vivid in color that its meaning was hard to mistake.
"The warehouse serves both to protect goods and to house and feed some of their members, and the resident personnel number twenty-three in total."
When he gestured once more, the map slid aside and photographs of people appeared in a row. They were not all frontal shots, but they were at a level that allowed facial recognition well enough.
"The head?"
"This bastard."
At Lucen's question the man enlarged one person's photograph. A broad flat face, round ears set high, thick fur, a build like a mountain. Plainly a Kallistidai Καλλιστῖδαι.
Which meant a descendant of Kallisto, the pitiable Nymphe who was violated by Zeus and then, on top of that, cursed by Hera so that her appearance changed.
"Kimberly Page. Of upper-district origin, with his mother's side registered in the military. However, the mother's rank is only captain and there is information that his relations with his family are not good, so the likelihood of retaliation from that side later appears low."
"In that case it will do. But judging by his appearance the blood seems quite thick. He is not of the Bear Folk side, is he?"
"No. Plainly a Kallistidai."
For reference, that clan was divided between the bloodline of the cursed Kallisto and those descended from the blessed beasts of the Eastern Continent. Though on the Eastern Continent, since they looked similar, both were lumped together as Bear Folk or bears and the like.
"Why do the people of the Western Continent insist on distinguishing the two?"
"The reason bastards who don't even keep genealogies fuss over founding ancestors is obvious. It'll be that pure-blood harping of theirs."
When he tilted his head toward Flag and asked, Flag giggled and drew a particular symbol with his finger. It was the moment the symbol of the figure who had harped on pure blood and caused the worst genocide in history appeared out of nowhere.
The apple in Odysseus' mouth nearly launched itself forward.
"That was a Second World War business."
Thinking it was well that they were conversing in Gauri, Odysseus struck Flag's back with a thud. This much Migo did not stop either.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, it's nothing."
"......?"
Lucen briefly showed curiosity in the middle of it, but the three of them absolutely did not tell the truth. The level of this was too strong to be dismissed as a mere joke. They could not stop the other side from looking into it later, but it was certainly not content to explain to his face.
"...The vice-captain, Sotiropoulou. Like Kimberly Page, an outstanding biomancer. It is known that after Kimberly Page received a dishonorable discharge some two years into his service, he applied for discharge himself."
"What thick friendship that is. Had it been me, I would have said farewell the instant my friend fell into a cult."
"...In any case, it is presumed that the two men's skill and records had an influence on their being able to gather people and found an expedition team in a short period."
"Unpleasant."
Meanwhile, whatever they joked about, the Ray-Ban sunglasses' briefing continued. It was mainly an explanation of Ironstick's head and his right hand, and there was a fair amount of unexpected information.
Especially that the bastard called their captain was stronger than expected, and that he was not from this trade.
"So some riffraff son of a bitch who rolled down from above got cocky trusting nothing but his own skill, and this mess came of it."
Odysseus agreed with Lucen's assessment. To think that the reason they touched Redwing was neither faith in a backer nor any plan, but literally recklessness born of ignorance.
It would be a lie to say he had not guessed at all, but the emptiness alone did not easily fade.
"So my brother died because of a bastard like that."
To a whelp who had only lived above and did not know what the bottom was like. To a worm of a son of a bitch who merely rampaged under the delusion that he was strong.
A truly worthless death.
"Yul......."
Yul propped his chin and listened to the rest of the briefing. Until the moment the Ironstick boss' face came down off the screen, the boy's gaze did not show a single point of movement.
"Next, the personal details of the bastards who informed Ironstick that members of Expedition Team: Freedom and the Sword Master were at Redwing. Personally, my judgment is that it would be good to catch and tear these ones apart first, thereby sending Ironstick a warning."
And when the new targets appeared, the boy tugged his lips up crooked.
"Quite good. When is the hunt possible?"
"It is possible right now. Their locations have all been established."
"Say, Bro Flaaag. Sis Migooo."
Ah. Since the captain had told him not to go causing trouble, this time he ought to ask first.
"Can't I join in killing them too?"
"What? W-wait—"
"Yul, you......."
"Ah, will Magician Yul be participating as well?"
For reference, asking in a language Lucen could understand was absolutely not deliberate. Oh, certainly not.
Beside Odysseus, Migo and Flag screamed without sound.