Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume5 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

The next morning, Mariydi was wakened by a hard rock song she had downloaded being played at high volume. She silenced the alarm clock with a fist and sat up in bed with sleepy eyes. Her beloved alarm clock was covered in scratches and dents, but she knew it could be worse. She had gone only that far because it was playing a famous song. If it had simply been the standard electronic tone, she would have thrown the clock against the wall.

Mariydi yawned on top of the bed.

She figured she had escaped having her bodyguard shake her awake because she had locked the door’s chain lock and then pushed a chair and magazine rack in front of the door.

With the bottom of the hotel’s one-size-fits-all bathrobe dragging behind her, Mariydi walked around the room and drank some cooled carbonated water from the refrigerator. Once her mind cleared a bit, she headed into the bathroom. She took a lukewarm shower and lightly washed her entire body with menthol body soap to fully wake herself up. But she regretted it immediately afterwards. As she started to shiver at the strange chill she felt on her skin, she started her battle with the dryer while nude.

“Hot!? Dammit. How do you change the temperature…?”

She fiddled with the dryer, but could not find a switch that did what she wanted. She eventually gave up on the dryer and settled on lightly wiping down her hair with the bath towel. She then put on her usual yellow and black flight jacket and removed the chair and magazine rack blocking the door.

Mariydi opened the door and her bodyguard spoke to her with an expression that made it look like he could barely stand it.

“How could you do that?”

“If you want to enter my field of vision in the morning, start by shaving that half-assed beard.” Mariydi yawned while scratching at her half-dried hair. “So what are we having for breakfast?”

“The same as dinner yesterday. Now that the event has begun, the safety standards are set much higher. That pharmacist, Miss Stacy Palmetto, said she would do her best to make sure the food doesn’t interfere with your performance any. For a fee of course.”

“…I get the feeling any food she makes won’t exactly be normal.”

Meanwhile, Alicia Sloppyjoes walked towards them from the elevator hall. Her pace was as exact as the second hand of a clock and she was standing as straight as ever.

“Good morning.” She gave a bow so exact it looked like it had been measured out with a protractor. “May I confirm today’s schedule with you?”

“The second day of the shootathlon doesn’t begin until 4 PM, right? I thought I was free until then.”

“The second day is a combination of long-distance swimming and sharpshooting. To fine-tune everything for aquatic use, we need to test your sportswear, rifle, and methods of doping. Once noon arrives, think of all those things as locked in place.”

“So I’ll be swimming through some giant bathtub, hm?”

“The event itself takes place in the dome, but we cannot use that facility beforehand. The final test will be carried out in the swimming area outside the dome. In other words, in the ocean.”

“Understood.”

“Also, an offer to cover you has arrived from a television station.”

“What a pain.” A displeased expression immediately appeared on Mariydi’s face “So what does our sponsor think? Do they want to use it as advertisement for their new rifle?”

“The sponsor has given the okay.”

“In other words, I’m pretty much being forced to take part.”

“They assume this will give their new rifle more exposure. Whenever you are in frame, make sure you are holding the rifle. The company name is displayed on your flight jacket, but if possible, try to casually mention the company name or product name once every five…no, three minutes.”

Mariydi glanced over at her bodyguard. He simply shrugged. He was likely annoyed at the extra work this gave him as a bodyguard.

But it was the sponsor that was paying all of them.

And both Mariydi and the bodyguard were mercenaries.

“So what station is it?”

“Catwalk TV.”

“…Isn’t that an Information Alliance Net TV station?”

“It seems you caught their interest and admiration when you saved Erie Greenhat yesterday.”

“Do they really want to cover a representative of the Capitalist Corporations? And a soldier at that.”

“It is a report on the peaceful festival that overcomes the boundaries between the world powers, so that should not be an issue. What matters most is that we have permission from the sponsor.”

“Your top priority is advertisement for the new rifle, right? What good does it do to advertise a Capitalist Corporations product in the Information Alliance?”

“It is all about what is being talked about. Also, Information Alliance programs are distributed over the internet, so it is open for anyone to view.”

“Understood. I’ll leave the delicate power balance issues to you.”

“Then that is all I need to discuss for now.”

At that point, Stacy arrived pushing a room service cart.

She made a big show of displaying the food she had made.

“Tah dah! This will give you health and strength!! Even without using doping, you can do a lot with different types of healthy foods with things like vegetable and fish extracts added. Each of these dishes will have you running around like a wild beast. Which one do you want?”

“…I just want some normal food.”

“For your honesty, you get this gold axe!!”

When it seriously looked like Stacy was going to force her to eat some of that food, Mariydi frantically hid behind her bodyguard.