Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume14 Chapter 2 (section)

===Between the Lines 2===

The silver-haired and brown-skinned female officer named Lieutenant Colonel Lendy Farolito had arrived in Central Park while moving from cover to cover with a handheld, ultra-high resolution CCD camera.

She was disguised with glasses and a lawyer suit instead of her usual military uniform because her target was the top idol girl who was also the Pilot Elite at the core of her unit.

The girl wore cyclewear that included skintight bike shorts and she was riding a bicycle that was a little large because it was rented with a prepaid card. While she took a break by resting one foot on the ground, her disguised commander was completely locked onto her.

“(Kyaaahh☆ No matter what she says, that kitty’s body craves the greenery of nature! I just love how she insisted she wanted to go to New York, but she’s already gotten sick of the crowds. Oh, and she’s so defenseless! Her armpits are wide open!! Ah, ah, ah, no! Don’t stick that extra-thick hot dog in your mouth right here in the public park! That’s too much!! Too wonderfully much!!)”

“Lieutenant Colonel, you have moved too far forward. We can monitor the target with drones and satellites.”

“(Shut up. Ruin this moment and I swear I will kill you. How can we rely on a soulless machine to capture the courageous image of that girl pretending to be calm but still arriving 20 minutes early to meet her parents for food!? Besides, footage from overhead would only show the top of her head, which would be entirely pointless! Are you trying to tell her fortune from her hair whorl, operator!? Hm? But isn’t that extra-thick thing a bit much before such an important meal? Oh, she just couldn’t resist the delicious aroma, could she!? She’s just so cute I can’t stand it!! Kyah, kyah, kyah!!)”

“Lieutenant Colonel, I have to compliment you on your ability to blend so perfectly into the background despite acting so bizarrely. Do those rumors of a ninja unit have anything to do with you?”

With its green grass and bountiful fruit trees, Central Park was an area of preserved nature measuring more than 4 kilometers from north to south in Manhattan, which was the center of New York. But no matter how much greenery it had and even though it contained a zoo, an art museum, an outdoor theatre, and other facilities, it was still basically a public park. It provided little cover and was only slightly better than a golf course on that front. That made it a challenge for the bodyguards who either wore suits and neckties or who wore sportswear while carrying yoga mats, but Lendy had moved in closer than any of them. A lot of the professionals clicked their tongues at being on a mission and thus unable to look down at their notes while seeing such incredible skill displayed before their eyes.

Lendy knew everything about their target and their target could not see her.

The woman was a concentrated form of the Information Alliance’s structure of influence.

“Lieutenant Colonel, we have a warning from Martini Extradry who is in charge of Manhattan security.”

Lendy did not seem to care as she snacked on some fried gyoza in a paper container she had bought from a popular junk Chinese food truck.

“I don’t like them. They’re like mass-produced products with no life in their eyes. They’re not cute like an Elite.”

“The flow of data shows an unknown approaching our target. I suspect it is a recruiter for an entertainment agency. He seems to be using a cheap pickup technique where he creates an opening for a conversation by sending several unlisted phone calls to her smartphone and bumping into her when she checks her phone.”

“Now that is the kind of report I need to hear. I will kill him. That Martini is a good Martini. Tell her our battalion will do her one favor on the battlefield. As long as it does not sully that girl’s hands.”

“Lieutenant Colonel.”

“Not to worry. I really will kill him.”

“No, my worries are in the exact opposite direction. You are in charge here, so please come back to your senses.”

The media criticized people who looked at their smartphone while walking as much as people who smoked on the roadside, so the way people faked accidents had changed. Anyone would prefer to bump into a soft girl instead of risking their life running out in front of a high-speed deadly weapon. Unlike with bicycles or cars, contact between people did not require intervention from an insurance company, so it was a lot easier to have a one-on-one conversation and various demands could be made in secret.

Had this man thought an amateur pickup artist’s trick would work in the realm of fierce professionals?

Lieutenant Colonel Lendy Farolito was in charge of more than just the formal military. As a staff officer from the Vital Wartime Public Relations Strategy Room, she was involved in the overall creation of a top idol, from the stage costumes to the added CG!!

…The fact that such ridiculous oppression was filed away as dull paperwork was a sign of just how far the Information Alliance’s privileged class would go in its drive to rule everything with data.

“Not only is he going to ruin the mood just as she is preparing to make some enjoyable memories with her parents, but he is going to set her up as the one at fault? He really is scum. This is my chance to change the very history of our military…”

“Are you seriously going beyond a simple crime and turning this into a revolution!?”

That dollhouse queen was already making international tours on her own, so if a competing agency made a pass at her, it could easily lead to a legal battle between giant corporations (if not an actual battle between Objects), but the culprit was probably ignorant of what he was walking into here. That was hardly surprising when the public image of the idol was only CG data created from the girl’s motion data. She truly was a sinful little devil if she could draw in a pro recruiter with her unrecognizable real face as well. In the age of photo-editing, it was rare for an unmodified face to look like a goddess.

“Okay, time to get to work,” said Lendy. “I can use this to improve her opinion of me even more.”

“Lieutenant Colonel, this is a covert mission, so you can never brag about it to the target.”

“…Oh, that sounds nice too. I really shine when I protect her smile from the shadows and demand nothing in return. Kyaaahh☆”



In a distant location, the young female operator failed to keep her stress at bay by sipping at a sweet and honey-filled chain store coffee and chowing down on a custom Island Nation-style bagel that had thin-sliced salmon and tofu paste inside. She finally switched off her expensive headset and screamed.

“Do you look at ''everything'' in a positive light, you idol-obsessed freak!?”

“…I heard that. Do not underestimate the Information Alliance’s privileged class, little girl.”

To repeat, she had switched off her headset.

It was like a supernatural phenomenon.

Lendy was probably also aware that the fear had loosened the young operator’s bladder a little.

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