Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume4 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===

The Legitimacy Kingdom, the Information Alliance, the Capitalist Corporations, and the Faith Organization.

The clean wars of the modern era were skirmishes between those world powers that each owned several Objects. The core of these wars was the clash between Objects that possessed overwhelming firepower. All other forces were used to keep the Objects running smoothly.

The Legitimacy Kingdom was completely ruled by a monarchy.

The Information Alliance determined good and evil by the amount and quality of information.

The Capitalist Corporations let economic activity surpass even human life.

The Faith Organization controlled society with religious faith.

The conflict between these new collective organizations that appeared upon the collapse of the UN showed absolutely no sign of ending. It was unclear if this was due to no one knowing how to bring it to an end or if there were those who did not wish for it to end.

Now…

Since Hyena was active on the Loyauté islands which had been used as a foothold for the destruction of the Oceanian military nation it would be easy to assume otherwise, but they were not affiliated with any of the world powers that owned many Objects.

They belonged to an area that barely had a government. Such areas were commonly referred to as blank areas.

As the area was not dyed in any of the colors of the world powers, the coalition army had decided to use it as a foothold.

In other words, even though the area had cooperated with the destruction of the Oceanian military nation and was being used as a relay point for the resources being brought from Oceania as it was restored, the people living in the Loyauté district were hardly friends of Quenser and the rest of the Legitimacy Kingdom.

With all of that in mind, Quenser and Heivia had their hands bound behind their backs and their heads stuck in burlap sacks as they were brought to some unknown place.

The bags were taken from their heads, but they could not tell where they were just by looking around.

“Bhah!? Dammit, these bags were originally used as sandbags, weren’t they!? My mouth was so full of dirt I couldn’t breathe!!”

“You have guts to put a bag over our heads when we aren’t the type to put a woman’s stockings over our heads!!”

The two immediately lashed out vocally, but they calmed down once they had rifle barrels jabbed into their chests.

“Why the hell do we have to be captured while we’re on leave of all times?”

“I think we should just be grateful this is some different organization from Hyena. If these were the remnants of Hyena, we would have been treated as outlets for their anger.”

Dawn had come.

As soon as the sun came up, they were wrapped in humid but cool air.

However, the rain had yet to stop, so they could still hear a percussive noise coming from the ceiling over their heads.

Quenser and Heivia were in a wooden house made of logs and large leaves that was different from a Western European log house. The two boys sat in the center with a ring of swarthy-skinned men encircling them. The men all possessed rifles of an outdated model.

“If I’m gonna be surrounded, couldn’t it be by girls in palm leaf bikinis?”

“Open your eyes to reality, Heivia. Also, wouldn’t those hard leaves tear some delicate areas to pieces?”

“Can we get down to business?” asked a quiet voice.

A man who seemed to be their leader sat down directly in front of the two idiots who had had all of their equipment confiscated, from their weapons to their disgusting rations.

It was possible the man was not their leader but instead the only one of them who could speak a language those of the Legitimacy Kingdom would likely understand.

“We hope you can see our sincerity in the fact that we have invited you here in one piece.”

“If you’re thinking of ransoming us, give it up now,” said Heivia immediately. “Unfortunately, I am a noble where bloodline and honor trump all else. If you try to ransom me, my family will certainly abandon me. They will simply say I died in the line of duty. So let’s not waste either of our time.”

“I’m a commoner. I don’t think I’m worth much more than a 3000 Euro a month salary.”

“We know very well who you are. And we know how impudent you can be,” said the leader smoothly. Their comments had not bothered him at all. “Quenser Barbotage. Heivia Winchell. You both belong to the Legitimacy Kingdom’s 37th Mobile Maintenance Battalion and have destroyed several Objects without using an Object yourself.”

“…”

“…”

Quenser and Heivia sighed heavily because they had a good idea what the men likely wanted of them.

“Let me warn you: About 80% of what you read in the newspaper and on the gossip sites are utter lies.”

“If all of that was true, it would mean we had destroyed Second Generation Objects with nothing but our clenched fists.”

The leader continued nonetheless.

“We have one demand,” he said flatly. “The Capitalist Corporations have a Second Generation Object stationed here in the Loyauté district. I believe you call it the Deep Optical. We would like you to destroy it.”

Quenser’s lips twitched.

He had wanted to get a look at the Deep Optical once even if from afar, but he had not thought it would turn into something like this.

“Wait, wait, wait,” said Heivia to cut off the man. “I don’t know what crazy rumors you people have heard, but we’re just flesh-and-blood humans!! If you just drop us in front of one of those monstrous weapons, no miracle is going to occur. You aren’t mistaking us for androids made out of some kind of special alloy, are you!?”

“…”

“Also, don’t just assume the enemy of your enemy is your friend!! And once you’re taking on an Object, you have a war on your hands! The two of us can’t just start a war between the Legitimacy Kingdom and the Capitalist Corporations!!”

The leader snapped his fingers.

One of the men surrounding them pressed his rifle barrel against Heivia’s cheek.

“The enemy of your enemy is…?”

“M-mwy fwiend! P-pwease wet us do thwis!! E-eh heh heh…”

Heivia was putting on the world’s ugliest fake smile and seemed to be completely useless, so Quenser tried not to look at him.

The leader said, “The Deep Optical is a Second Generation Object specialized for naval battles and will likely become active around Oceania for the Capitalist Corporations’ own interests once its current maintenance is complete. In other words, you have a reason to defeat it now.”

“…And what is your reason?” asked Quenser. “If you just can’t stand to have an Object stationed nearby, you would have the same complaint with our Baby Magnum. Why are you targeting the Deep Optical first?”

“Blank areas have their own issues to deal with,” said the man. “I do not care if you believe us or not, but we have no reason to attack the Legitimacy Kingdom or the Baby Magnum. That is why we are asking for help. You can see our good intentions in the fact that we are not simply ordering you.”

(Asking, hm?)

If anyone truly believed they were being asked while surrounded by a dozen men with rifles, they were either honest to a fault or they had some kind of fatal flaw in their personality.

“So has the Deep Optical done anything to make you want to attack it?”

“Explaining it would be simple enough.” The man looked away from Quenser for an instant. “But it would be even simpler to show you.”