Chapter 622: Ex Machina (9)

Even with four Enforcers making their move, they couldn’t even touch a single wheel of the scooter.

The unidentified shadow, which had been right before their eyes, slipped away as if mocking them.

The incident they had just experienced was so bizarre that the expressions of the failed Enforcers seemed closer to bewilderment than anger.

“…I’ve been doing this for over ten years, and this is the first time I’ve encountered someone like this. I’m not even sure if the target is another superhuman.”

Meanwhile, another Enforcer, having received a call, reported to Pylo.

“We’ve safely recovered the assassin’s body and the identity replica from the scene.”

“We’ll need to find out which district is on the other side of the barrier. The location of this Workshop District changes so frequently…”

Pylo and the other Enforcers immediately opened their respective communication networks and began to rapidly gather information.

Each Enforcer possesses independent investigative authority, so even when acting as a team, their methods for gathering information and reaching conclusions vary.

Before long, the other Enforcers quickly began to share the information they had uncovered.

“It seems to be an ordinary residential area. A space that accommodates young residents attending educational institutions.”

“Then we should contact the police department first.”

“Damn it, cooperating with them will take ages…”

Another Enforcer grumbled, then subtly glanced at Pylo and asked,

“It wasn’t a coincidence that he chose this direction for his escape, was it?”

“…No. He almost certainly aimed for it.”

Pylo, his expression grim, drove his harpoon into the ground beneath his feet and replied,

“Despite having combat capabilities strong enough to contend with the Sidesquad, he focused solely on escape. It’s proof that he had his route planned from the start and moved according to a scheme.”

“I didn’t expect to encounter someone of that caliber in a Lower Workshop District…”

Looking back, even though the target had the ability to fight the Enforcers, they ultimately avoided direct confrontation until the very end.

That was probably because the target’s objective was simply to deal with the Sidesquad assassin.

Uzart asked,

“Since the Branch Manager dealt with him directly, it might be easier to make an inference. Which type do you think he is?”

“Well, if I were to think of the most immediate possibility…”

Pylo tilted his head askew.

“All I can say is that he’s a resident who has lived on the outskirts of Machina for at least several decades.”

“You mean he’s not an outsider?”

“He knew the traffic conditions and local flow of the slums outside this Workshop District incredibly well.”

“…”

“Not even twelve hours had passed since Narcissa Solmer decided to visit the Lower Workshop District. And within that time, he learned all the systems and transportation of the entire Workshop District, pursued and killed the Sidesquad assassin, and then planned his escape?”

Watching the dumbfounded expressions of the Enforcers, Pylo slowly shook his head.

“It’d be easier to believe that we just fought Maiya Lonsdale.”

The other Enforcers shook their heads at such an absurd hypothesis, but Uzart nodded with a serious look.

“Indeed, if it were her, escaping like that wouldn’t be impossible. Wasn’t she rumored to know every street and every piece of terrain in Machina like the back of her hand?”

“And now she’s been exiled from Machina, her biometric information blocked from all of the Machine City’s security systems.”

The Branch Manager replied indifferently, then pulled out his harpoon, slung it over his shoulder, yawned, and turned away.

“I’ve said something useless. I’ll have to find a suitable excuse for the higher-ups.”

“Is it alright not to pursue? Reopening the barrier itself shouldn’t be difficult.”

Enforcement agencies have the authority to move freely within the Machine City’s internal barriers, regardless of whether they are open or closed.

If they wanted to, they could temporarily request the opening of a closed barrier and ask for a space to be opened for people to pass through, and there would be no problem.

However, Pylo shook his head with a sullen expression at the other Enforcer’s question.

“If there was any chance, I would have tried. Didn’t you all see it too?”

“Hmm…”

“That’s not something you can catch by chasing its tail. We need to go back and gather more information on lawbreakers with similar abilities.”

The other Enforcers also understood the meaning of his words and grunted in agreement.

It was an opponent they had lost right in front of them, within the same district, without even managing to graze their clothes.

They knew there was little chance of catching him by opening the closed barrier and giving chase.

Uzart, understanding the Branch Manager’s thoughts, also nodded silently.

“That’s not wrong, but I wonder if we need to at least make a pretense. Ex Machina might find fault with us.”

“If there were no results, it would be a problem, but we’ve at least secured physical evidence, so it should be fine.”

Pylo said, then immediately turned and walked away.

“We’ve secured both the culprit of the Narcissa Solmer assassination and the replica of the strange idol that’s been appearing lately, so we have at least a minimal justification.”

He took out a new cigarette, put it in his mouth, and took a drag, then grinned at the Enforcers.

“Let’s think about the rest when we get back to headquarters.”

“…Understood.”

Only then did the Enforcers accept the Branch Manager’s opinion, and one by one, they began to follow him.

The Enforcers naturally chatted as they walked off into the distance, disappearing from view.

In front of the chilling mechanical barrier, only vendors selling their wares and those who hadn’t yet crossed the barrier waited anxiously for time to pass.

At the outermost edge of the Lower Workshop District. A quiet street with almost no people coming and going.

Among them, a young man, resting his chin on a food stall selling dried meat skewers, quietly murmured,

“I was hoping they’d pursue me all the way to the barrier…”

Lennok, his iron mask and shadow removed, his bare face calmly munching on a skewer.

He hadn’t fled beyond the barrier to escape the Enforcers’ pursuit.

He had used the moment the barrier opened to trick his pursuers, naturally remaining within the Lower Workshop District.

‘If I cross over to the residential area, it’ll be difficult to return for half a day. Given the assassination, I also need to be careful about my alibi.’

Since Narcissa had visited the Workshop District to meet Lennok, being away for too long would be detrimental to him.

In the worst-case scenario, Lennok, who had killed the culprit attempting to assassinate Narcissa, might be framed.

Lennok was well aware of this, which was why he intended to finish the job without leaving the Workshop District from the moment he decided to escape.

Despite the strange texture, like chewing on both scales and chicken skin, Lennok patiently sat and slowly ate the ordered skewer.

As he chewed and swallowed the skewer, he naturally chatted with the food stall owner.

“This has quite a unique flavor.”

“Isn’t it delicious? It’s lizard skin stewed in rich broth, sprinkled with iron powder. It replenishes iron and nutrients.”

“…Cough.”

“Young people nowadays dislike it, calling it bizarre food, but you, you seem to know a bit about flavor!”

“…”

Despite having learned a truth he didn’t want to know, Lennok managed to maintain his composure.

He needed to return immediately to deal with the Narcissa Solmer assassination and discuss future plans with Mouser.

Even knowing that staying away for too long could make his alibi suspicious, Lennok didn’t rush.

Because he knew that the gazes of the Enforcers, who seemed to have just left, were still clearly lingering, watching the vicinity of the street.

The Enforcers might have seemed to have made a decision among themselves and returned, but that didn’t mean they had completely forgotten what they needed to do.

They too were retracing their steps, investigating the path they had pursued in search of any potential clues or traces as they returned.

Lennok had known this early on, so he didn’t rush to move away from the barrier.

Any hasty movement would increase the likelihood of being detected by the keen senses of those excellent Enforcers.

Only after confirming that the sharp gaze that had lingered above him for a long time slowly faded and completely vanished, did Lennok slowly stand up.

“You’ve left some, don’t you want more? Should I sprinkle more iron powder on it?”

“…”

After politely declining the food stall owner’s unsolicited kindness, Lennok immediately began walking towards Mouser’s workshop.

Lennok took out the Furnace General’s pendant he was holding, gazed at it for a moment, then quietly put it into his pocket.

“It’s not without gains, but… it’s ultimately made things troublesome.”

During the course of this incident, he had acquired the Furnace General’s automated production tools, the casting method for Armadelta Alloy, and confirmed traces of Pandemonium.

He even had concrete circumstantial evidence that The Doctor was clearly involved with Ex Machina’s upper echelons.

However, at this point, with Narcissa, who had decided on the transfer to the Superior Workshop District, collapsed, even Lennok couldn’t predict how things would unfold.

He would only be able to do anything after returning to the workshop where the incident occurred and checking on Narcissa’s condition.

Lennok continued to think about what he needed to do next, then boarded a small streetcar operating nearby.

“The bullet precisely penetrated her lung, making voluntary respiration impossible.”

Beep, beep, beep.

The regular sound of a monitor.

In a private hospital room, cold sunlight streamed in.

Lennok quietly looked down at Narcissa’s face, lying with her eyes closed, hooked up to a respirator.

Beside Lennok, a doctor in a white coat, holding a medical chart, spoke quietly.

“Life support is impossible without the aid of a respirator, and a caregiver will monitor her condition 24 hours a day.”

“…”

Mouser, instead of the lost-in-thought Lennok, asked,

“Is her life not in danger?”

“By sharing the impact of the bullet with the bodyguard standing beside her, she avoided immediate death, but…”

The doctor explained in a cautious tone,

“The bullet used in the assassination attempt seems to be an extraordinary object, so she probably won’t regain consciousness for some time.”

“…”

“Still, the emergency treatment was quick, so she passed the critical point relatively easily. If the bullet’s impact had extended to her spinal cord, she would have already…”

He heard that the bullet itself was imbued with a spell close to a curse, containing a sinister power that amplified injuries and led to death.

The negative assertion was that Narcissa, as well as the soldier whose pistol Lennok had personally worked on, would likely not be able to get out of bed for some time.

Perhaps the fortunate thing was that both of them had passed the most critical stage, and as long as a caregiver was present, the possibility of sudden death was low.

Since Lennok and Mouser were not Narcissa’s or the soldier’s guardians anyway, the two simply received a brief explanation of the situation and immediately left the hospital room.

As if understanding the distress of the patients’ guardians, a smoking area was set up on the rooftop.

Following Mouser, Lennok naturally took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, leaned against the rooftop railing, and tilted his head back.

“Are you alright?”

“Hmm?”

“She’s Master Mouser’s peer, isn’t she? Though your relationship didn’t seem too good.”

Of course, Lennok had no feelings or ties to Narcissa, so he had no particular thoughts, but Mouser was different.

After all, they had learned their craft together under the same master, the Furnace General.

Judging by their conversations, even if they didn’t particularly like each other, they didn’t seem to actively dislike each other either.

But Mouser, in response to Lennok’s words, widened his eyes in surprise and turned to look at him.

“I didn’t know you were capable of such concern. Aren’t you… famous as a mad wizard in the city?”

“…”

Mouser, too, seemed to have heard rumors about how the wizard known as Adamant Thunder was regarded in the mega-city.

Lennok, looking bewildered, waved the cigarette, stirring the smoke.

“I still don’t think I’m crazy enough to be called that, though.”

“Heh heh heh, that’s right. Rumors aren’t really to be trusted in the first place.”

Mouser chuckled and took a drag from his cigarette.

“That’s why I wasn’t too bothered when I was expelled from Master’s workshop. I thought my fellow disciples, who went through thick and thin with me, would respect my decision.”

“…”

“But they didn’t. To Narcissa, I was just a craftsman who abandoned his responsibilities and was negligent. So, I…”

“Are you still talking about something that happened decades ago?”

A clear voice echoed from behind them.

A man with thick glasses. The man, who appeared to be in his thirties, pushed up his glasses when he saw the two of them.

“I looked for you for a long time after you weren’t in the hospital room. Fortunately, you’re still in the hospital.”

“Ibert.”

Mouser called the man’s name, his face slightly hardening.

“It’s been a long time.”

“The last time we met was ten years ago at the Supreme Council, Brother. Have you been well since then?”

Ibert smiled and extended his hand.

“I heard you were chosen for a delegation and assigned to tour magic towers, and it seems you’ve been unharmed.”

“…I made a deal with the committee members.”

Mouser replied with a bitter smile.

“I haven’t been unharmed, but I’m still alive and well. What brings you here?”

“As you know, I work in Sister Narcissa’s workshop, don’t I?”

Ibert said with a calm expression.

“While Sister Narcissa is absent, I’m taking over the workshop and acting as the administrator for the Superior Workshop District.”

“I see. So you are…”

Mouser seemed slightly surprised, but surprisingly, he appeared to accept the fact.

Perhaps this man, Ibert, was also a highly skilled Meister comparable to them, or someone with a strong standing.

Ibert took out a small memo pad from his pocket and adjusted his glasses.

“Sister was part of the War Hammer faction, and since it’s been revealed that the Sidesquad was involved in this incident, the repercussions will be considerable.”

The Sidesquad is, strictly speaking, a military force created for the benefit of Ex Machina and other Machina authorities.

The fact that they, of all people, attempted to assassinate Narcissa Solmer, a fellow Ex Machina committee member, was an event significant enough to cause a stir within the Supreme Council.

“Therefore, I too will likely have to appear before Ex Machina for some time, so I intend to take care of what needs to be done beforehand.”

“What needs to be done? With Narcissa unconscious, this matter is practically…”

“Sister had already decided to relocate Master Lyman’s workshop to the Superior Workshop District and had even notified the higher-ups in the interim.”

“…”

She had handled all those matters and even completed the notification in the brief moment she left the workshop?

Her efficiency was so quick and precise that even Lennok, who had only just met her today, was inwardly impressed.

However, Ibert’s words didn’t end there.

“However, the Furnace General’s pendant, which was supposed to be used as circumstantial evidence for this incident, was lost during the chaos, and thus the basis for Sister’s notified relocation decision has disappeared.”

“…So?”

“Before visiting the hospital ward, I contacted the Ex Machina leadership and adjusted the agenda.”

Ibert said,

“The relocation to the Superior Workshop District itself will proceed according to procedure. However, they said that to verify it, you must respond to Ex Machina’s summons. But–”

Ibert subtly looked around, then quietly whispered so only the two of them could hear,

“There’s talk that the location of that summons… might be the Heart-Star Vault beneath the Underwater Barrier.”