Chapter 64

For the time being, I showed the guest to the mess hall.

"I'm Ivan. Call me Eve."

Childish features, small build, white-haired ponytail. She probably falls under the "loli" category, but... her downcast eyes, hunched back, and calm demeanor keep her from seeming that young. A cigarette hung from her tiny mouth. A first-year middle-schooler smoking—what a jarring sight.

"Sh-Shiki... pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

Her voice was unusually low for a woman.

"Sorry I startled you. I was told that back in Japan that kind of greeting is the best."

"W-where'd you hear that!? That's what you do when you're making the ultimate request, or when you're apologizing from your very soul..."

"Mm? Then I wasn't wrong. Shiki, I've got a favor to ask. The ultimate favor."

"A favor... of me? And—do you know who I am?"

"I watched the last Rank Match—your fight with Tsubasa. Your skill is absolutely first-rate. Top tier among everyone I've seen."

His Majesty Rikusen, Eve—ever since that Rank Match I've become a minor celebrity.

Rank Matches are broadcast, but I'd heard almost no one watches C-rank matches. Yet that one had unusually high viewership. Probably because Tsubasa-san and Sheena-san, two former top-team members, were competing.

"Please! Just once. I want you to escort me on a job."

"Your job is...?"

"I'm a courier. I haul cargo too big for TW pouches."

"TW?"

Come to think of it, Rikusen-san had also said "TW." What is that?

"With skills like yours and you don't know TW? Well, if you're focused on Rank Matches it's not weird. TW stands for Tactics Weapon—tactical arms. Twin Legs, fixed gun turrets, fighters, stuff like that."

Ah, so we've moved from anti-personnel to anti-army weapons.

"Any cargo brought into the colony from outside that exceeds the size limit gets stored in the capital Asia's warehouse. After military inspection, it's shipped to four cities, including this Jolly Roger. The army's job ends there. From there to farther cities—that's the courier's work."

"So you haul TW and such from here to other cities, Eve-san?"

"That's the basic job, but I also move weapons made right here in town. Problem is, a bandit gang showed up in the nearby desert lately. I've had my cargo stolen nine times in a row."

"Whoa..."

"My reputation's in the gutter. I'm broke from compensations. I own a rare mine's exclusive mining rights, so I'm scraping by, but one more failure and I'll be branded a criminal—game over."

I get the gist.

"In other words, when the bandits show up again, you want me to shoot them down."

"That's right."

"Sorry, but—"

"Wait. Don't answer yet. I've prepared a proper reward. See it before you decide."

Light suddenly streamed through the window—dawn had come.

"Come to my workshop. I've got something cool."

"?"

From the pier to the scrapyard. From the scrapyard to a street full of empty houses, then to the main road.

"Why'd you live in a backwater place like that, anyway—on a battleship, no less?"

"Well, there were... circumstances..."

"You're not some terrorist, are you?"

"No, no! Just an ordinary civilian!"

"An ordinary civilian living there? Whatever. Anyway, this is my baby."

A truck. Base color green, bed white. Scars and dents, probably from bandits, stood out.

"Sorry she's a little banged up. Only a brute would scar a cute little girl like this."

I got in the passenger seat and we drove down the highway.

Three minutes later we arrived.

"This is my place."

A two-story steel-frame building. Looks like a town factory. First floor's the workshop, second floor living space. Eve-san hit a remote and the first-floor shutter rose. We ducked under and entered.

"Whoa~"

Inside was near-futuristic, unlike the exterior. Electromagnetic screens, rows of PCs, autonomous machines whirring everywhere.

Eve-san operated one device. The floor slid aside, revealing stairs underground.

"This way."

Cautious, I followed.

Downstairs—mountains of weapons and arms. Some had plates with what looked like addresses—clearly deliveries.

One plated weapon caught my eye.

(Whoa. A mounted gatling gun.)

A tank's treads attached to the gun platform, which even had a cockpit. You'd sit there and operate it.

(Six barrels, four single-muzzle guns. That's serious firepower.)

Long, sturdy-looking barrels—means heavy recoil and impact. No ammo space—definitely laser. Skip the loading and ejection and you can design for pure power. Ugh... I wanna touch it. But it's merchandise, so no.

"I mentioned I hold exclusive mining rights to a good mine."

Eve-san unlocked one steel safe after another.

"That mine yields an ultra-rare metal called 'Growmetal.' Weapons forged from that ore... grow—just like Space Girls."

"Not like custom weapons?"

"Different. No upgrade parts needed. All you need is the life of your prey. Machine World Beasts, Space Girls, anything strong. Shoot powerful foes and the bullet's power, speed, range—everything grows. I don't fully understand the mechanism, though. Beings that have lost the will to fight or don't resist won't trigger growth."

A leveling weapon! Handy, depending on its cap.

"Found it."

What she pulled out was a long rectangular case.

I could tell at a glance—it was a gun case.

"Here. This is your reward. Finish the escort and it's yours."

She opened the case.

Inside lay a sniper rifle. Unique color scheme: green upper, black lower.

"I forged this from Growmetal. Name's 'BeanStalk V1'—like the beanstalk."

"From Jack and the Beanstalk?"

"Yep. When you say 'growing,' that's the story. I love that fairy tale. Lots of versions, but I like the one where nothing's left in the end. Teaches 'no effort, no reward.'"

Jack and the Beanstalk—the tale of a boy and an endlessly growing beanstalk.

The name fits a growing gun. Though "beanstalk" in Japanese sounds kinda lame.

"Let's just call it Stark for short. Please! Take this and escort me!"

"May I... hold it?"

"Of course!"

I hefted Stark and took aim.

"Max charge: twelve shots. Charge time six seconds. Almost no recoil. Semi-auto. Max range 1.2 km."

(Want more range, but that'll grow. Scope variable 3–9x. Nice, but I'd like higher max zoom. Oh, but the scope's detachable. I can swap it. Grip feels good, length's right. Weight's perfect. Center of gravity's ideal. Trigger position, length—perfect.)

"Almost no muzzle report, and the laser's blacklight. Great for stealth shots."

"Blacklight? What do you mean?"

"The laser's black. Regular laser flashes when fired, right? Blacklight doesn't. At night the round blends into darkness, hard to see."

Muzzle flash—the most annoying thing about lasers.

"Eve-san, let me be blunt."

"What?"

I tapped my forehead with the rifle barrel.

"...Love at first sight. I want to journey with this rifle."

"Yes! So—"

"Yes. I'll take the job. Bandits or meteorites—whatever blocks your path, I'll shoot it down."

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