Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume6 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 5===

They had moved to the used tool store run by the modified China dress beauty in C Block’s Chinatown.

“Was it hard getting here with the containers everywhere? Sorry the entire area reeks of fireworks.”

“If it wasn’t you saying that, I wouldn’t be so worried.”

“Oh, there’s nothing to worry about this time. This job is above board. It’s just that everywhere needs some fireworks right now. Fireworks these days are pretty amazing. They come in containers as a single module that turns back and forth like a fan while launching fireworks according to a program. They can easily launch 10,000 of them a minute.”

“Why does Chinatown love fireworks so much? Especially during the largescale lux restrictions in place for looking at the stars during Tanabata.”

“That’s because we all want to go a little nuts the instant Tanabata is over and the restrictions are removed.”

Lu Niang Lan of Illegal had brought them some information.

She leaned over the counter and waved a report held together with a metal clip.

“I didn’t find anything on Claude Magentarain, but a search for 3A did turn up something. That stands for All-Around Armament, right? Is this her?”

Claude Magentarain. Kyousuke and the others had visited C Block’s Chinatown to pick up the “product” they needed to lure out that unseen opponent.

And while they were there, the modified China dress beauty rested her elbows on the counter of her shop, squished her large chest against the counter, and explained what she had found.

“Of all the things you could’ve run across, it turns out she’s like a later model of me. The Perfect Dragon was only unintentionally created, but this project analyzed me from a variety of angles and attempted to stably mass-produce more of me. That’s the Illegal-sponsored 3A project. And this girl seems to be a successful product of that.”

With her glossy black hair and clear blue eyes, Lu Niang Lan was not pure Chinese, European, Indian, Latina or anything else. She was one candidate for the creation of a truly superior race by mixing bloodlines from every race around the globe. She was an excellent vessel and she also had the skill to slay a top rate summoner without using the Summoning Ceremony. And she had in fact killed Government Award 1000 barehanded.

Between the three major powers, Government and Illegal were the most directly opposed to each other and they faced 2 major problems. The first was whether or not they could freely use Repliglass and other cutting-edge equipment. The second was the number of vessels they had. Government was increasing their number of summoners using systematic military-style training, but they were chronically short on vessels who were reliant on a certain type of inborn talent. That was what kept Government from relying on pure numbers.

That said, Illegal did not have an abundant source of vessels either.

In that case, what would they search for? For one, they would try to secure as many vessels as they could. But at the same time, what if they found a way to reduce their opponent’s numbers without using their own summoners and vessels?

If they had a great number of the 3As, a standardized and mass-produced unit of Lu Niang Lans, that would become possible. They would begin a new age in which masters of ordinary martial arts could exterminate the occult.

Of course, that was only if the technique at the foundation of the plan was complete.

“They have their overall theory, but it seems like they haven’t had much success. They’ve just had this one girl who developed more than the rest.”

“If that’s the best they can do, then I’m sorry to say the project might not have a future.”

“Oh, is that so? You could tell that much?”

“If that girl had really reproduced what you can do, I would’ve died at that zoo. She couldn’t even land a surprise attack, so she clearly hasn’t reached your level.”

He was not being figurative or modest. If he was unable to use the Summoning Ceremony, then he would be helpless against that modified China dress beauty. That was one situation he never wanted to plan for.

“Still, I’m sure Illegal will continue with this. Even if they know it’s all a farce.” Lu Niang Lan flipped through the report she placed on the counter. “Being a worthless child in the underworld is always a tragic thing. A lot of people mistakenly think it’s a kind adult’s duty to give them value. They’ll probably continue working and failing. Maybe they’ll make a breakthrough and maybe they’ll finally realize they can never break through that wall.”

“Lu-san…”

“I’m fine. My body was made entirely in the search of what was most logical. If Illegal is purely seeking power, there won’t be any room for more sleazy desires. They won’t keep people in animal cages like when I was in Government.”

Government Award 1000.

That tyrannical king had been nothing like Award 2799, Humanism, that Kyousuke had seen in the Queen’s Miniature Garden. He had been an incarnation of selfishness that had swallowed up the word “justice”. Just thinking about him made Kyousuke grimace. There was nothing positive there.

“…Let’s get back to 3A.”

“Right. Their stable mass-production project didn’t go as planned and the research group needed some extra funds, so they seem to have started renting out the relatively successful 3A in the name of field testing her. She was basically a mercenary. She did a fair bit of work, but she suddenly disappeared one day. Some other summoner crushed the organization she had been rented out to.”

“So was that Claude Magentarain?”

“The research group seemed to think she was buried below the rubble. They said she couldn’t be given any further commands without the Quartz Pendulum made from artificial crystal. And if 3A did start to regain a sense of self for some reason, I think we can all guess why that ‘miracle’ occurred.”

None of that conflicted with the Claude Magentarain Kyousuke knew. And that made it all the more confusing why he would be fixated on the Diamond Master Key and Golden Treasure Chest, be seeking the Founder’s Gallery, and be working with the White Queen in any form or fashion.

With that proper past and twisted present, Kyousuke could not get a firm grasp of who Claude was.

Had that oppressive charisma swallowed and remade Claude just as it had Azalea?

“If 3A is in Toy Dream 35, we should be able to search for her with a photo of her face. Unlike Claude himself, she isn’t a high Award summoner, so normal people can perceive and remember her. I recommend begging that shut-in girl to let you use her public agency.”

However, that was limited to the areas visible by cameras.

Modern analysis technology did not need a head-on shot. They could create a color palette for the area around the face and use the target’s gait to identify them, but if the target was aware of that in advance, there were countermeasures they could take. Even if they occasionally made a mistake, there would not be surveillance records for every moment of the day. It would be best to use that to narrow down the range of a search and then use something else as a finishing blow.

“Lu-san, do you have what I asked for?”

“This, right? Just to be clear, this was not easy to get ahold of. Ohh, I’m so glad I had a chance to reclaim my honor.”