“Well, no matter how you look at it, it’s your staff who scammed us, so shouldn’t you be the one to resolve this?”
The cult member argued.
“Eh?”
The Governor Pastel flinched, “Well, um, that’s just a personal mistake! The main office is blameless! Please settle it with the involved party!” she exclaimed.
Meanwhile, the team leader was staring intently at the patent contract.
What the heck is this?
I don’t understand the Governor’s intentions.
Another cult member approached and whispered.
“What do you think the Governor is up to?”
The team leader, being cautious enough that a person nearby wouldn’t hear, whispered back.
“I don’t know either. Why are they giving this? Are they seriously suggesting a pure patent trade?”
Or is there some shady scheme mixed in? I don’t think the fact that we’re a cult has been exposed, but I wonder if we’re going to unnecessarily get tangled up for another reason.
“Have we applied for the patent?”
“Do you think we did?”
We’re not exactly a legitimate business here.
The visibly agitated cult member made the trembling Governor Pastel flinch. Suddenly, her head whipped around to stare at them with an expression of surprise. Then a completely sinister thought crossed her mind, and before she realized it, she exclaimed, “Hah!” and shook her head.
The Governor Pastel trembled again as if nothing had happened.
“Hiiie! We aren’t at fault! However, I’ll consider your circumstances, so please calm down!”
The whispering cult member fell into a daze.
“What was that just now?”
“Did you hear our voices?”
“In this street, with this tone? We’re not beasts, and humans shouldn’t sound like that, right?”
The team leader thought about the voices sounding like ants from a distance and nodded.
“Well, they do say geniuses think chaotically.”
“Boss.”
A timid subordinate cult member approached. It was the one who had almost complicated things by aiming a gun at Pastel on the train and got hit by the team leader.
“Um, yeah. How’s your lip? I may have been a bit too rough earlier, right?”
“True, I accept your apology, but I hope it won’t happen again next time.”
This guy…
“But more importantly…”
The subordinate rubbed their scraped lip with their tongue and turned serious.
“I think we’ve fallen into a trap set by our Craft Governor.”
“Really?”
The team leader’s expression turned skeptical.
The subordinate went on fervently.
“Just look at our situation. We’re trapped in Craft territory. There isn’t an immediate visual, but they must have surrounded us with their forces!”
The team leader scanned the surroundings. Trains and railroads were visible, and they were surrounded by walls or buildings.
Even though it’s a wide-open space with a station, it looked like they were cornered. Even if the railroad is at the outskirts, the fact that they entered the inside of the merchant headquarters means that the surrounding area is completely merchant territory.
Sure, they could surround us, but…
“Why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why would the Governor go through all that trouble?”
“What do you mean?”
“If they wanted to surround us, they could have done it earlier. The Governor showed up before we even reached the coastal station. If they wanted to do it, they would have done it then.”
At that time, they were worried about being exposed as a cult, but considering the Governor’s actions after that, it seemed likely it was a coincidence.
The subordinate hesitated and then countered.
“No, that’s not right. It’s better to catch us alive in this environment, so they lured us here.”
“Huh? Is that so?”
The unexpected rational statement changed the team leader’s expression.
“That could be possible… So, if capturing us was the objective, they changed their location as a ruse?”
Unconsciously, their hand fiddled with the wooden box concealed in their coat.
If the Governor was informed that this was an artificial spirit, even if they didn’t know it was something valuable, they might want to capture the transporter to gather more information.
“Exactly. If it was according to the Governor’s plan, we shouldn’t have even come here! It’s like sticking our heads into a tiger’s den!”
“Is that so?”
The team leader crossed their arms and hummed.
“Yet, even though some time has passed since we arrived here, the Governor hasn’t called for reinforcements, which makes me think otherwise.”
If that wasn’t the case, moving now would be an even bigger problem.
If the Governor is mistaking us for innocent engineers and their party, the best course would be to mingle and sneak away.
“I understand your opinion, so you stay quiet. I’ll slowly confirm things.”
Though the rookie almost messed things up earlier, it seems like they gave an insightful suggestion this time.
The team leader now focused on the cowering Governor Pastel, who was being overwhelmed by the protesting cult member.
Suddenly, the subordinate’s expression twisted.
“Are you trying to steal my credit? I could have taken down the distracted Governor, but you’re trying to take that away from me because you disrupted it and fell into a trap, aren’t you?”
“What?”
The team leader was left speechless in disbelief.
“Had you just escaped with the wooden box, everything would have been fine! Yet, you tried to act while hiding it and ended up like this. So now, are you really trying to take my credit to cover yourself?”
“Hey. How did this become that?”
The team leader attempted to explain their position and duties.
“Ouch!”
Governor Pastel suddenly toppled over from the side.
“You’re still responsible, and the merchant has to take responsibility! Are you alright?!”
“Ugh… I’m fine.”
Governor Pastel staggered to her feet. She shook off her white garments and checked her pink hair in horror.
“Ahh, my hair’s all dirty. Give me a moment to shake it out and tie it again.”
The small ponytails she had came undone. The governor shook her hair and began tying the left ponytail first.
The team leader watched the Governor. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, they turned back to the subordinate cult member.
“I understand your misunderstanding, but what do you mean it’s my fault? That was the best I could do at that moment. Stop with your nonsensical complaints!”
“Are you trying to avoid responsibility right now?”
Their argument continued.
As both faces flushed and the dispute threatened to turn into a fight, a group of individuals rushed towards the station-cum-open area.
“Everyone, stop!”
It was the merchant members, blatantly showcasing their former Knight Order’s armor.
“Things are uneasy these days with terrorism, so how dare you come and go as you please!”
The team leader flinched.
“What’s going on?”
“Aren’t we supposed to escape?!”
“Just stay quiet for a bit.”
The team leader pinned the subordinate cult member down with their body and quickly checked on Governor Pastel.
“Oh?”
Governor Pastel’s eyes widened.
“What’s happening here, everyone?”
The former Knight member saluted with a stern expression.
“Given the recent tensions with the radical group’s railroad terrorism, even if you are the esteemed Governor, it would be problematic to let outsiders in recklessly.”
“Eh? Oh no. Then do I have to go through a body search? I guess it’s dangerous if someone brings explosives. Ahh.”
“Body search? Yes, that’s correct.”
The former Knight member looked over at them.
“We will conduct a body search. Originally, outside visitors must undergo checks every time they enter, so we expect your cooperation.”
The team leader suddenly became confused.
What’s happening here?
The engineer and his team began whispering among themselves and complied readily with the body search.
The engineer stepped forward with a nervous expression.
“We have no intention of terrorism.”
“Yes, it will be over quickly.”
The former Knight member examined the engineer’s body and pushed his clothing down from above. Even though it seemed casual, the semi-knight was thorough.
“Whoa, whoa.”
So this is the body search of the Knight Order.
Pastel curiously peeked around the busy former Knight members.
“What’s this wooden box? It’s a perfect size for holding explosives.”
The former Knight member retrieved the wooden box from the engineer’s grip. The lock on the box rattled.
The engineer, with an anxious expression, calmly replied.
“It’s a valuable belonging of a customer. Normally, I would have transported it with the cargo.”
Wow, a valuable item.
The former Knight member turned to Pastel.
Pastel bounced over eagerly, hiding behind the semi-knight and peeking her head out.
“What is it? What is it? What kind of valuable is it?”
I wanna know!
The engineer was flustered. As he pondered the value of the item, Pastel answered for him.
“Could it be that it’s too valuable that you don’t even know, Engineer? We sometimes have customers who won’t disclose what their items are.”
“That’s right. I have no clue, so we must handle it more carefully.”
“Whoa, then you can’t just leave it like that!”
“What do you mean?”
“It might not be our responsibility, but since your staff acted out of line and scammed us, we will specially consider it and have the Craft Merchant deliver the valuable for you!”
That’s the responsible Craft Merchant for you!
Right? Right?!
The engineer waved his hands in a panic.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“That’s okay! Our merchant started delivering items because we wanted to provide supplies for those in need, so we can’t just overlook this situation!”
Pastel received the wooden box from the former Knight member.
“I’ll move it to a special valuable container for now! We are going to double-box it right on top!”
Oh so professional.
“Continue with your body search!”
“Wait?! You really don’t have to do that…!”
Pastel hurried away, skipping along.
A little tune escaped her lips.
Today, Pastel is doing a good deed~.
Beep beep ba-pam ba-pam~.
Suddenly, the wooden box shook.
Oh?
Pastel stopped in her tracks and looked down at the wooden box. The lock rattled chaotically and the box vibrated.
Oh dear.
The surface of the wooden box that was securing the lock shattered, and the lid burst open violently, releasing a rush of black energy.
“Uwaah!”
A pitch-black, round shape emerged from the energy. The small ominous mass charged directly at Pastel.
“Ahhh!”
Pastel screamed and collapsed.
Pastel, save me…!
As she felt her chest being pierced, she halted.
“Oh? I don’t feel anything.”
She thought something grave had transpired, but it turned out not to be the case.
There were screams heard from behind her.
When she turned, the black energy that had passed through her was now piercing the bodies of the engineer and his crew one by one, seeking revenge on those who had trapped it.
The engineer screamed. The clothes covering his body rotted away, exposing his skin. The flesh had cracks, turning black and decaying.
Ew?
The engineer’s companions scratched at their bodies and screamed in succession, collapsing as their limbs twisted in agony, blood splattering.
Ew?
As the black energy had its revenge, it hesitated before attacking the former Knight members. Upon stopping, one could discern amidst the swirling energy that there was a small form that looked somewhat human but was not.
The figure looked panicked and rushed over.
After a moment of staring blankly, a voice rang out.
―Why are you fine…?
A chilling scream resonated. The engineer’s body decayed and rotted, and unable to withstand it any longer, it burst apart, creating pools of blood and scattering bits of flesh across the ground.
Ew.
Pastel’s mind slipped a gear.
A being that had limbs but was not human.
“Huh, is that a Fairy?”
Silence fell.
The dazed fairy turned around. The scattered bits of flesh soaked in red blood darkened as they decayed.
The fairy looked back at Pastel. Then it glanced at the sky before returning to look, rolling its eyes and covering its mouth with its small hands.
―That’s right!
The fairy appeared startled.
