CHAPTER 4

RACING THE CLOCK

The redevelopment area was once the site of the Jade Twilight Incident, an event without parallel in the history of Asterisk. At the time, the entire area was sealed off, and the situation was resolved thanks to the brave actions of Helga Lindwall, the leader of the Stjarnagarm. Still, the incident resulted in tremendous casualties—as the city dealt with the aftermath and questions of blame and accountability, allocation of the recovery budget was met with endless delays. Meanwhile, student delinquents—mostly from the Le Wolfe Black Institute—occupied it as their base of operations. As they engaged in occasional skirmishes with the city guard, the place became a gathering place for dropouts as well as criminals from outside the city. Now it was a full-fledged gangland.

Still, not all of the redevelopment area was a hotbed of violent crime. The Rotlicht, located on the outskirts, was relatively safe. As long as one avoided the slums, there was little immediate danger.

There were dilapidated buildings here and there throughout the district, deserted due to the risk of collapse. Claudia surmised that Flora’s kidnappers were using one as a hideout.

“They’re not in this one, either,” Kirin murmured with a stern expression, examining the map displayed in her air-window.

Several red points blinked on the map, indicating areas of interest. Claudia had previously made a list of all such buildings, and, once she’d repurposed the information for their present mission, had given them the data.

The map did help, but there were too many locations for two people to cover. Only Le Wolfe had a thoroughly detailed knowledge of this area, and the list they had was incomplete. And what was more, Saya and Kirin couldn’t split up, since Saya completely lacked any sense of direction.

But searching together was probably unavoidable anyway—if Flora’s kidnapper really was a special agent working for Le Wolfe, it would be too dangerous to face him alone.

“…We’ll just have to go through them one by one.” Saya walked beside Kirin. Her voice was slightly agitated, though her expression was as calm as ever.

“You’re right,” Kirin agreed. “Next, there’s— Ouch!”

Pain shot through her right leg. It was the injury she’d suffered in her fight against Ardy.

“…Don’t overwork yourself.”

“N-no…! I can handle this!” Kirin was hunched over in pain, but she forced a smile and immediately stood up again.

Not only was she injured, Kirin was so exhausted from the fight that she couldn’t move the way she wanted, and she was short on prana, too—if they did run into something, it would be best for her to avoid combat if at all possible. Although Saya didn’t show it, she had to be feeling similarly.

But a pair of young women walking in the redevelopment area attracted a certain kind of men. The ones they had encountered so far had not been too persistent, but it was only six in the evening. There was no telling what might happen as the night wore on.

Those men would be less likely to harass them if they knew that this pair were none other than Seidoukan’s Saya Sasamiya and Kirin Toudou, semifinalists in the current Phoenix. But per Claudia’s instructions, they hid their heads under their hats and wore the most nondescript clothing possible. They wouldn’t be recognized unless someone studied them up close.

And then, a call reached Saya’s mobile. “Hmm… It’s Ayato.”

“Saya, Kirin, what’s going on?”

“…Sorry. No leads yet.”

“Oh… Okay. Just don’t push yourselves too hard. Your leg is in pretty bad shape, Kirin.” It was almost as if Ayato had been watching their earlier interaction.

“D-don’t worry about me—I’m fine!” Kirin replied. But even though this wasn’t really the time for such consideration, she was still glad to receive it from him.

“By the way,” Saya said, “since you’re calling, it must be over already?”

“Yeah. We made it to the final, thank goodness.”

Saya and Kirin exchanged glances and smiled.

“We’ll get ready and join you over there as soon as we can,” he added. “Can you send us the data?”

“Sure.” Saya sent him the map with the cleared buildings marked.

“You shouldn’t push yourselves too hard, either,” Kirin said. “You have the championship tomorrow.”

“We’ll be fine.” Ayato laughed. “Talk to you soon.”

With that, he hung up.

Ayato and Julis joining them would help their effort, but it still wouldn’t be easy to find Flora within the allotted time. The remaining list of locations to investigate was immense.

“…Let’s go, Kirin.” Saya started walking again.

“Right.” She nodded firmly and continued beside her classmate.

There was no use agonizing over it. As Saya had pointed out, all they could do now was check the target locations one by one.

“Anyway, I’m glad they advanced.”

“I knew Ayato could do it.” Saya’s pride was clear in her reply.

“The next one is the championship…”

“Even for him, it’ll be hard to beat them without the Ser Veresta.”

“…Yes, I think you’re right.”

The two knew the strength of Ayato and Julis’s final opponents better than anyone. And considering how quickly the Puppets were learning, they would be much stronger in the championship than they had been in that day’s match.

“…”

Abruptly, Saya paused.

“Saya…?” Kirin turned to find her standing still, gaze fixed on the ground.

“Kirin…” Saya said her teammate’s name in a tiny, trembling voice. “I really wanted to win.”

Kirin’s heart filled with the frustration she had kept at bay.

“Me too,” Saya managed to answer, her voice quavering the same way.

The two stood without a word for several moments.

Finally, Saya scrubbed away her tears and raised her head. “Let’s go. There’s still something we can do.”

She broke into a run. Kirin nodded, still biting her lip, and followed.

“Nothing to report yet.”

“Yes, I could hear,” Julis replied to Ayato bluntly, leaning against the prep room wall.

Ayato had called Saya as soon as they returned to the prep room after the semifinal match. But the two girls had yet to find anything resembling a clue.

Ayato and Julis were skipping the winners’ interview again. They didn’t have the time, and someone would be sure to ask about the Ser Veresta. That was a line of questioning he couldn’t afford to answer badly—and he couldn’t think of a good reply.

“Well, they must be doing their best. We should go join them.” Julis seemed unable to stand still.

“Right…”

Ayato checked the time.

The final tomorrow was scheduled for noon, which meant that they had just eighteen hours left. Since the kidnappers had demanded they not forfeit the match, Ayato and Julis had to be back by then.

No—considering all the checks and procedures before the match, they had to be at the arena several hours before it. That meant they had even less time than that.

Just then, there was a soft knock at the door.

“Hey, congrats on advancing to the final… Wait.” Eishirou came in and looked back and forth between Ayato and Julis, detecting something odd. “What’s going on? You guys look pretty down in the dumps for winning the semifinal.”

“Um…something’s come up.” Ayato was evading the question, but that response was the only hint Eishirou needed.

“Huh. Well, I don’t want to pry or anything, but let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. Okay?”

Ayato and Julis exchanged looks. They weren’t sure about getting more people involved, but at the same time, they needed all the help they could get.

After a moment’s hesitation, Julis gave a small nod.

“Yabuki,” Ayato said, “before we tell you, I just want to get one thing straight…”

“Nah, I know. I won’t write anything without your permission.” Eishirou waved his hand to reassure them. “So? What happened?”

“Well…”

As Ayato gave a brief explanation, Eishirou sank into thought. Ayato had never seen him so serious.

“I see—I think our prez is right that Dirk Eberwein is behind this.”

“Do you know much about Grimalkin, Yabuki?”

Eishirou slowly shook his head. “Nope. Among all the schools’ intelligence agencies, they’re a cut above when it comes to secrecy. Jie Long has its Nine Children of the Dragon, for instance, and they’re known for taking extreme measures. And Queenvale’s Benetnasch is said to have a team of experts in intelligence manipulation. But having a reputation also means people know about them, right? About Grimalkin, there’s nothing.”

If Eishirou with his wealth of information could say that, this Grimalkin had to be very secretive indeed.

“So, that’s why I’d rather not mess with them if I can help it, but…given your situation, it sounds like there’s no way around it. I know a bit about the redevelopment area, so I can help you look for the girl.”

“That’s more than enough,” Ayato said.

“Right. If you can just find out where she is, leave the rough stuff to us. Actually, I’d appreciate it if you did,” Julis said with a dark smile.

Seeing her fervor, Ayato was afraid she might actually turn the kidnapper into a pile of ash.

“I’d like to thank you for that, but speaking as a delicate, ordinary student, I’m going to need more assurances,” Eishirou mumbled as he took out his mobile to look something up. “Let’s see, where’s that number— Huh? That’s weird; I thought I put it in here…”

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but we’re short on time,” Julis prodded. “If this is going to take a while, we’ll have to head out.”

“All righty. I’ll do what I can, but don’t get your hopes up.”

As Ayato watched the exchange, he had an idea. “I know. Julis, there’s a different tack I want to try.”

“A different tack?” Julis frowned dubiously. But then she seemed to pick up on what he was thinking and put her hand on her hip, unconvinced. “Well, try it—but I doubt she’ll have anything for you.”

“I know it’s a long shot, but maybe information from her could give us some clues. It’s worth asking.” Ayato, too, pulled out his mobile.

The specified meeting place turned out to be a cheerless diner on the outskirts of the commercial area.

Ayato took a seat in the back by the wall, as he’d been instructed to do. The voice that greeted him was quietly resonant—deep for a woman’s. “There you are. Don’t turn around.”

Doing as Irene Urzaiz said, Ayato thanked her with his back to her. “Okay. But you didn’t have to come meet me.”

“What are you, stupid? I can’t talk about this over a mobile. Think about my situation for a second.” She sounded stunned by his ignorance.

“S-sorry.”

“Whatever. I’ll get to the point. Ain’t a single thing I can tell you.”

“…I see.” Ayato was disappointed, but he hadn’t expected anything different.

Since Irene knew about the inner workings of Le Wolfe, it had occurred to him that she might have something. But she was still under Dirk’s control. Ayato understood that she was in no position to help them freely.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she went on. “It’s not like Dirk told me not to talk. It’s the opposite, actually.”

“The opposite…?”

“Dirk is definitely behind this. And you’re probably right that Grimalkin is involved, too. But it didn’t take you long to figure that out, did it? So it’s obvious that you’d come to me. I’m your only connection to Le Wolfe. Me cooperating is a different question, but that’s what you’d do.”

Irene was entirely correct, so Ayato only nodded.

“You think the Tyrant, our Devious King, wouldn’t have worked out that much?”

“Oh…” Now that she mentioned it, he understood.

There was no way that a man so adept in schemes and machinations would not have considered something so simple.

“And he hasn’t said a damn word to me. So he knows that I don’t have enough information to help.” A hint of anger came into her voice. “I told you before, I’m just a trained dog that Dirk keeps around. Grimalkin is totally separate. I have information on a few of the Cats, but even that’s not super-reliable.”

“…”

There was something firmly convincing about Irene’s words. He suspected that she knew what Dirk was capable of, having dealt with him closely.

Then the only thing they could do was to search on foot. He told himself that confirming that was worth the trouble.

“Okay,” he said finally. “Thanks. That helped.”

“…Amagiri, wait.” Irene stopped him as he began getting up. “I don’t have information. But I can share some speculation.”

“Speculation?”

“Pure speculation. As in, just a guess. No guarantees. Still wanna hear it?”

“Of course.” Right now, he would take any clue at all.

“You said you were narrowing your search to the abandoned buildings in the redevelopment area.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We’re focusing on the places Claudia listed for us. What about it?”

“Normally, I’d say that’s the right way to go. I’ve used that kind of place for some jobs, and I’ve heard of the Cats using them as a base. But…I’m not sure they’d do that for a kidnapping.”

“What do you mean?”

Irene let out a long sigh, then continued. “Even when they set up shop in a neglected area, they bail after a bit. Those places aren’t for long-term use.”

“Oh, because they could collapse?”

It stood to reason that staying in a run-down structure in danger of collapsing at any moment would not be ideal.

“If they were worried about that, they’d just reinforce the building. The biggest reason is the city guard,” Irene said, scoffing behind him. “I mean, the cops aren’t total idiots. They know criminals base their operations there, so they patrol them from time to time. Even if they don’t do a thorough search at every one, some cops have abilities for sniffing you out. Abandoned buildings ain’t the best place for a job that involves lying low for a long period of time. Y’know, like a kidnapping.”

Ayato had heard that Dantes and Stregas with powers of detection were highly sought after, due to their value to police and military units.

“There are ways to fool those investigation abilities, but it takes some effort,” she explained. “Cats typically work alone, so I’m not sure they’d go through all that.”

“So you don’t think the kidnapper is in a tenement.”

“I’m just saying there are other possibilities.” Irene chose her words carefully.

“Suppose you’re right. Where would they be?”

“Beats me. But I’d say that the worst place for you guys would be the Rotlicht.”

The Rotlicht.

The district on the outer edge of the redevelopment area was said to be a very lively spot. Ayato knew its reputation but had never stepped foot in it.

“You can search squats all you want, but the Rot is crammed with businesses, and not all of ’em are legal. You can’t just barge into those places and look around, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s true—but that would mean that there are people helping them hide out. You just said that the Cats usually work alone…”

“Sure. The one thing they can’t do is to be linked to our school. They wouldn’t be using the Le Wolfe name or anything that could be traced back to Dirk. But down there, anything goes if you can pay for it. Or, y’know, if you have a big enough gun.”

“Right…”

“Still…it’d probably be safer for them to use a tenement that works. It’s just speculation.”

Even so, what Irene said made sense.

They were short on manpower, but Ayato wondered whether they should include the Rotlicht in their search.

“Thanks. We’ll take it into consideration.” This time, Ayato did stand up to leave.

“Well, good luck. And one more thing…” As Ayato was walking past, Irene slid something onto the table. “That’s from Priscilla.”

Ayato took the small pail and left the shop.

After walking for a while, he peeked inside to find an assortment of snacks, with cheese and ham and vegetables.

“This is a big help…” He appreciated the gift, since it was unlikely they’d have the time for a proper meal until tomorrow. He would have to thank Priscilla later.

“First, I have to talk with Julis…”

If they had to include the Rotlicht as a possibility, they would also have to rethink how to allot their resources.

Ayato took out his mobile device and called Julis’s number.

“By the way, master…”

In Ernesta’s laboratory, underground in the research complex of Allekant Académie, Ardy lay amid a busy swarm of machinery. He addressed her gravely. “There is one thing I would most humbly ask of you— May I?”

“Huhn? You have a request, Ardy? That’s unusual.” From the other side of a fortified glass window, Ernesta replied, typing steadily away on several optical keyboards. “I have my hands full with Rimcy right now, so hold on a sec.”

Rimcy lay next to her brother, and at the moment, Ernesta was busy with her repairs. Compared to Ardy, the girl was badly damaged. Her left arm was all but destroyed and would have to be entirely replaced.

Camilla was in charge of the Ruinsharif, so Ernesta had left that part to her. She was probably busy in her own laboratory, fine-tuning replacement parts.

Ardy had not escaped with mere scrapes, either. At first, Ernesta had thought the wounds were only to his exterior armor, but on closer inspection, they ran much deeper.

The armor for the two Puppets was a new specially created alloy, the cutting edge of meteoric engineering, developed by the Sonnet faction. An ordinary katana shouldn’t have been able to even scratch it. Kirin Toudou’s skills were truly fearsome.

“We have to repair you both before the final tomorrow,” Ernesta explained. “Sheesh. This might be an all-nighter, even for me…”

“Ah, but my request won’t take any of your time, master. The cut on my face from the katana—I’d like you to leave it as it is, if possible.”

At that, Ernesta’s hands paused. “Well, it should be fine, if I do the necessary repairs on the inside…”

The cut on his head had damaged several sensors, but repairing those would be a relatively simple matter of replacing some parts.

“But I’m gonna do some internal reinforcement, okay?” she went on.

“Yes, that will do.” Ardy nodded with satisfaction.

“So, why do you wanna leave a scar on purpose?”

“Why, to mark today’s battle, of course.”

“Hmm, like a victory trophy?”

“Er, nothing so grandiose…” After thinking for a while, Ardy continued slowly. “Through this fight, I was able to learn many things. After being faced with my own imperfections, I looked beyond to find not a simple accumulation of data, but what humans call—yes, growth! I grew, I’m certain of it! I would like to let the evidence of it remain!”

“…That’s wonderful,” Ernesta found herself saying.

Because he was imperfect, Ardy sought perfection. But in this world, there was no such thing. That meant that he would never stop evolving.

Ardy and Rimcy were only prototypes, but already they were approaching the ideal form of autonomous Puppets that Ernesta imagined.

“Master, I also have a request, if I may.” Rimcy, who had been lying there without a word until now, spoke up in a calm voice.

“Oh, you too, Rimcy? Sure, just tell me what you want. Mommy’s in a good mood right now, so ask away!”

“Then I will state my insolent request. While I have no objections to parting with my equipment when transferring my limit control to Ardy…”

“Mm-hmm? Aaand?”

“I would appreciate it greatly if you could reduce the amount of exterior armor that is removed, or perhaps make the necessary adjustments for certain parts. I…find this embarrassing.”

Rimcy’s expression was as cold as usual, and her tone was clinical. But, upon closer inspection, Ernesta saw that her face was tinged ever so slightly pink.

After transferring all her exterior armor to Ardy, Rimcy was what humans would consider completely naked. There were technical hurdles to her request, however, and Ernesta would not be able to fulfill it immediately. “Umm, I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you.” Understanding this, Rimcy nodded in resignation.

Unlike Ardy, Rimcy was created with a more humanlike appearance in mind. She should have been more human in displaying her emotions, too, but Ardy’s expressions were richer in that respect.

I wonder if it’s because of that…, Ernesta thought. Still, she told herself, a request like this should have been seen as a welcome sign of growth. “I guess this is all thanks to Saya Sasamiya and Kirin Toudou.”

Apparently it was true that facing strong opponents encouraged progress. She hoped the upcoming championship match would bear the same fruit…

“But who knows what’ll happen?”

Recalling the Devious King’s surly face, Ernesta let out a heavy sigh.