Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume3 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

Miyama Gouta was a man in his prime who would turn fifty this year.

He was a soldier who had never once set foot on the battlefield and yet the chest of his deep blue military uniform glittered with a great quantity of medals. He stood inside one of Government’s Anthills.

A number of conditions were necessary to construct an Anthill, but the most important was a facility that functioned as a miniature model of society. It could be any number of things: a school, a hospital, a prison, a military base, a casino, a theatre, a hotel, a prep school, etc. Any relatively closed facility that managed a group under a single system could be remade into an Anthill.

That meant Miyama was inside one such facility.

It was A Block’s international airport.

“What? Are you still falling behind on preparing for the evacuation operation? We’re pressed for time, so finish as scheduled no matter what it takes! I don’t care about trivial safety management! We need to focus on ensuring the core of the Anthill escapes!! Use your head, you fool!! They may be bloodthirsty murderers, but their skill is at Freedom’s 900 level. Do I really have to tell you that losing our valuable research results in an indiscriminate attack is simply unacceptable!?”

There was not the slightest doubt on his face as he shouted angrily into a cellphone. He truly believed that the scales of good or evil were entirely dependent on whether or not whatever it was would allow the entire project – ''including himself'' – to escape safely.

“Listen. Do not delay this evacuation operation even by a single second. I don’t care if it’s a hangnail or a mouth ulcer; even the slightest loss or damage is your responsibility. If you get that, then get those hands working! Yes, your hands! We don’t need your mouth or your brain!!”

The airport’s floorplan looked quite open, but it was cleverly designed so a full two-thirds of its space was off limits. Miyama Gouta swaggered past the strict defenses, ignored the guards who made sure to salute, and knocked on a waiting room door.

His expression made a complete about-face.

The middle-aged military officer put on an almost creepily bright smile and spoke sweetly to the young woman lounging on the sofa.

He spoke to the researcher who was a central member of the Anthill.

“I am so very sorry, Miss Heartocean. Our schedule has been delayed due to inclement weather. Once the conditions clear up, we can take off immediately.”

“Anything’s fine with me as long as you let me continue my research.”

Maria Heartocean did not bother looking in the soldier’s direction and stared at the back of her hand and her fingernails instead.

Miyama’s right temple twitched disconcertingly, but he managed to respond with a smile.

“Is there anything else you lack?”

“Everything.”

Maria said that with no hint of sarcasm. She made it sound like ''that was simply the truth.

She seemed to be displaying the colors of Government, the world police.

“I’d especially like for you to do something about the internet connection. I mean, nothing but Wi-Fi and only two antennae? Is that supposed to be a joke? Humans have a limited lifespan, so wasting time like this could lead to missing a major discovery. And can you take responsibility if that happens? How?”

“I will arrange for it right away. I was given strict orders to give you the best hospitality possible, Miss Heartocean.”

“Also, does this violate the safety standards?”

Maria pointed straight ahead.

This was the strictly guarded off-limits zone of an international airport.

This was an important Government base.

This was the core of an Anthill.

Nevertheless, a large knife was stabbed vertically into the cushion of the two-person leather sofa across from Maria Heartocean.

“''A boy wandered in here earlier and did that, but I’m not too familiar with the local slang. Do you think it’s some kind of message?''”

“Impossible…”

Miyama froze up for a moment, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Someone had carried a blade into the same room as their top priority personnel. And no one had noticed. It was just as unreasonable as finding unidentified fingerprints all over the inside of a nuclear weapons vault.

“Impossible!? Who!? How!?”

His extensive knowledge of the usual security setup robbed this feat of all reality.

He was utterly confused and turned toward the door to call for his men.

That was when Miyama Gouta saw it.

“Hi. Would you have preferred a box of chocolates?”

Alice (with) Rabbit spoke calmly with his arms folded and his back resting against the door.

“…!?”

The military officer was shocked speechless and Maria gave a casual wave.

“Yahoo. Now that I think about it, you’re still borrowing Isabelle, aren’t you? How’s she doing? Are you using her well?”

“At the very least, I’m treating her with more humanity than any of you did. I’m not entirely sure I should give her back.”

“Ah ha ha. Yeah, I guess you would figure that out. That isn’t good…”

After that quick exchange, Kyousuke turned back toward Miyama Gouta.

“Just as a warning, we didn’t use an Incense Grenade to get in. We simply used the fact that people forget all about summoners and vessels as soon as they look away. Do you get what that means?”

“Heh hehn(deadpan). I already super-sized get it.”

“That’s great, Isabelle, but I don’t think he understands just how serious the situation is yet. …And even if there’s a big event in the city, it’s probably not a good idea to have the airport workers wear costumes too. Their uniforms act as something like an ID.”

“Wha-…wha-…?”

Miyama seemed to finally remember how to breathe.

He saw Maria lightly waving at Kyousuke and realized they had gone over his head. The dirty reality of authority and hierarchy dragged his mind back to the colorful world.

He had been humiliated here.

To anyone with bureaucratic power, that felt more damaging than being stabbed with an actual knife.

“What are those lowly hired hands doiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!?”

“It might be unofficial, but you’re the man in charge here and yet you fell for it more than anyone.”

Kyousuke did not bat an eye as the man stepped closer.

They glared at each other from only a few centimeters apart.

“Listen. If I can do this, then someone else can too. Just to be clear, expert assassins are a lot better at this sort of job than expert bodyguards. …Liar Cat will go even further. Once you understand that, rethink everything you’re doing here. They’re Freedom Award 920. That’s higher than 903.”

“Don’t you talk down to me! Do you have any idea who I am!?”

“Good question. Who were you again?” Kyousuke continued leaning against the door. “Were you the optimist who honestly believes bullets will magically avoid him? Or maybe you were the narrow-minded fool who has lost sight of the approaching threat because he’s so busy figuring out how to corner Aika since he hates her so much? No, maybe you were the coward who was willing to abandon all 3000 of his men just to get the last seat on the ark. …People’s reputations are just like summoner names; they’re chosen by the people around them. So what does that make you?”

“You…!! You dare criticize me while ignoring your own failure!?”

“We were after Girl’s Backdoor in the first place. Without Aika and Lu-san’s help, the initial diversion plan would have caused much more damage. Plus, the targets would all have been innocent civilian girls. And let’s not forget that we didn’t keep what we learned to ourselves. We sent Government detailed reports including sample Girl’s Backdoors. Although the only people who did anything useful with that information were Aika and Academia here. You didn’t put together any kind of plan, you ignored the threat to civilians, and then when your precious world police were attacked, you shove all the blame onto us? Didn’t I tell you that people don’t get to choose their own reputation? That’s up to the people around them.”

Kyousuke pointed to the other side of the room with his chin.

The military officer hesitantly turned around in time to hear a relaxed comment from Maria Heartocean who was looking at her fingernails on the sofa.

“To be honest, I don’t really care either way.”

“M-Miss Heartocean…?”

“But Alice (with) Rabbit did a pretty good job of proving that I’m just waiting around to be killed under the current system. I’m not sure I like the sound of that. I can’t stop wondering why I should even listen to you when I can tell you’re going to fail.”

His career was dead in the water.

That simple fact burned through the last thread of rationality in the military officer’s head.

“I-I’ll kill you. I’ll beat you to death, you damn brat!!”

“Yes, yes. Thanks for playing.”

As the military officer tried to grab him, Kyousuke slammed the man’s face against the door, knocking him out in a single blow. Then he spoke indifferently.

“Now you won’t have to lose your life in your reckless evacuation operation, so I hope you’re at least a little thankful.”

“Nuuun(deadpan). I don’t think there’s even a small-sized chance of that.”

Kyousuke showed no respect for the organization or the slightest courtesy while intruding on someone else’s territory. It was true Aika and Lu Niang Lan had made a mistake, but he was essentially forcing Government to overlook it by threatening them. From beginning to end, he selfishly prioritized his own feelings, so he could never function properly in an organization.

But.

That was exactly why Shiroyama Kyousuke belonged to Freedom rather than Government or Illegal.

Those who praised freedom above all else and hated any kind of restrictions would meet some level of resistance from society. But some of those people would force through it with their own strength and those were the people who had naturally gathered together and built a loose framework around themselves.

In that way, he was the same as Liar Cat.

If he was to take advantage of those traits, he had to understand them.

“So.” Maria looked away from her fingernails and asked a question. “What should I do now?”

“If you want a 100% chance of death, feel free to continue with Government’s plan. If you would prefer something risky but with a chance of survival, then help us.”

Kyousuke explained the counter-proposal they had come up with. It would minimize the damage and ensure they could predict and intercept Liar Cat’s attack. There was only one enemy pair, so even if it was risky, there was nothing to fear once that pair was defeated. To do that, they had to drag the most important piece of the Anthill Project – Maria – to the front line as bait. All other personnel and equipment would remain on standby. There would be no diversions or body doubles. By bringing the biggest target out in just the one place, Liar Cat would definitely take the bait, knowing full it was a trap. And when they knew the attack was coming, it would be easy to fight back.

In a way, the plan would show its effects much more quickly. But it was also like throwing the president out onto the battlefield alone to draw out the guerillas or terrorists. The king in shogi had nothing on the underside because it was assumed the king itself would not move out to the enemy side of the board to be promoted. It was a plan that the Government world police could never agree to.

But…

“That’s fine.”

It barely sounded like Maria Heartocean had even thought about her answer.

In fact, she so casually threw out Government’s standard assumptions that Kyousuke was a little worried that she had not even considered the fact that this was her life they were talking about.

“I never really cared who was handling the evacuation operation’s security or how they were doing it. As long as a product works, who cares who made it? ''As long as you have no reason to worry about its quality, that is.''”

She was implying that the military officer collapsed on the floor had been inadequate.

Isabelle tilted her head.

“I’m medium-sized worried whether everyone will accept this.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Government is all about the vertical divides, so they have to obey no matter how selfish the people above them get.”

Maria laughed.

“And I bet no one really wanted to be the sacrifice to let some VIPs escape safely. They’ll probably breathe a sigh of relief when they hear that farce has been called off. Especially when the replacement plan lets them get back at Liar Cat.”

She waved her hand.

“Also, Aika-chan’s pretty popular around here. From what I’ve heard, she really looks after people in her middleman job, so she never leaves a summoner stuck in the middle of the battlefield and she acts as a buffer with Illegal and Freedom which helps them avoid needless killing. There must have been a lot of people with a hidden dislike of how all the blame was being shoved onto her. If we give a small push in the right direction, things will change a lot easier than you think.”

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“Then let’s do that. I’d appreciate it if you contacted us once those adjustments are complete.”

“Oh? You’re going to look after me to the end?”

“No matter how it happened, I do feel responsible for the leaked information ‘in my own way’.”

“''Are you sure it isn’t about Liar Cat?''”

“…”

Shiroyama Kyousuke briefly fell silent at her smooth reply.

There was no real sarcasm or irony in Maria Heartocean’s voice. She was simply ''stating the facts'' with a boldness unique to Government.

“Freedom Award 920, Liar Cat. An unusual summoner who binds a contract with her client and thoroughly supports their revenge. For that reason, her vessel changes every time and can be seen as identical to her client. …Don’t forget that we are Government. We’re going to do our research on the enemy trying to take a bite out of us.”

And Maria continued.

“That means the summoner is in charge. Or rather, her beliefs and specs form Liar Cat’s identity. Which leads me to a very, very, verrrry interesting fact about this summoner named Biondetta.”

She laughed.

“Apparently, her full name is Biondetta Shiroyama. Interesting, no?”