Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume14 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 5===

“Hey, it’s the sheriff!”

“It’s the sheriff who’s gotten all fat without any work to do!”

After buying the usual donut and coffee set at the usual place, he heard the children teasing him. His stomach had gotten quite fat and his fingers had swollen too much to wear his old ring. That was why he instead wore it on a thin chain as a necklace. When he glared their way, the children vanished into the alley, but he did not have time to worry about them.

Thomas Goldenclipper did not dislike the atmosphere of this city.

This silo city was called Giant Pizza.

Focusing just at the surface, it looked like a truck base made up of a large gas station surrounded by supermarkets and lodging facilities. But that did not lead to stable income because they had to rely on the caravans traveling north or south across North America. There was a huge difference between the good times and the bad times and it was the Faith Organization’s food and temporary employment that saved them during those desperate bad times. In addition to paying them, the Faith Organization would select people as a technician or factory chief if they picked up the proper skills, so everyone was focused on them. The position of authority must have come with a heavy burden because anyone who stuck with it too much tended to get sick, but the Faith Organization had apparently built a hospital to care for those who worked themselves too hard and grew ill. It was a disaster for the people affected, but as long as they survived, they could laugh it off as a long vacation eventually.

This place was built on the Faith Organization’s good will.

The deeper underground you were, the greater your status in this city.

On the surface, you could not protect yourself from the intense sunlight or sand clouds, yet you still had to give your all to your work and smile pleasantly for the drivers who arrived from elsewhere. And yet Thomas felt more at home on the surface than with those of high enough status to ignore the seasons and even whether it was day or night. He preferred the terrain up here and he also preferred the type of people up here. This city was made of people who had gathered at an old missile silo when they had nowhere left to go, so what meaning was there in building their own hierarchy and looking down on others? The muscular macho men who had been chosen as temporary Faith Organization factory workers were eating burgers larger than their heads at a diner, a waitress was smiling as she watched them, housewives and a souvenir stand owner were setting aside business and enjoying a conversation, and children were running around and playing wherever they could find a small space and a ball.

He saw something here far more worth protecting than those high-status people who had slimy skin like some kind of nocturnal reptile.

That was why Thomas Goldenclipper kept to the surface as a sheriff and went around watching everyone live their lives. And he much preferred not having anything to do.

But reality was cruel.

If he had been a little denser, he might have entirely overlooked the oddity.

“…?”

He grew curious about an asphalt-paved area larger than a soccer field.

It was a drive-in theater. It must have been too old-fashioned even when the city’s primary customers were truck drivers because it did not get much business and the screen, which looked like a giant blank billboard, had grown stained from all the sand and direct sunlight.

People had actually gathered at that forgotten entertainment facility.

In fact, the drive-in theater was outdoor and could not project a movie until night fell. There was no good reason to gather a bunch of rough four-wheel-drive vehicles there under the hot sun.

Thomas thought this was an ultra-rare case of illegal parking. In a desert city, not many drivers would risk having their ride taken from them.

Since he tilted his head and approached, his antenna’s sensitivity was apparently one level too weak. Even when he saw the blatant khaki-covered paint jobs, a certain possibility did not occur to him.

And just as he prepared to call out to them, he felt someone grab his shoulder from behind. Then he felt a shock on the back of his right knee. From there, he had no idea what happened. His vision spun around, his back slammed into something, and both his surprised lungs forgot what their job was supposed to be.

Only after struggling to breathe for a bit did he realize he had been thrown to the ground.

Some boys in military uniforms he did not recognize were peering down at him. They had looks of complete and utter annoyance.

“…What do we do with him?”

“The city doesn’t have much time left. It’s done for if we don’t solve all its problems with the Faith Organization and the hexavalent chromium. We have to save everyone even if that means being a bit rough with some of them.”

“What was it we needed again? The police station, the traffic control center, the broadcast station, the telephone switching station…”

When he heard the list of facilities, Thomas forgot all about his trouble breathing and widened his eyes. He had a feeling this was very bad indeed. The list sounded very dangerous to him.

They were not with the Faith Organization. Those were Legitimacy Kingdom uniforms!

And they had one more thing to say.

“This is a disaster on all sides, but don’t worry because we’re not obligated to sympathize with you. We’ve got to occupy those facilities and gain control of the city’s functions. Sorry, but we’ll be getting a bit of help from you.”