Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume5 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 6===

And with no unofficial interference, the result was as clear as day.

Once the award ceremony was over, Mariydi had stood in front of the cameras and microphones for a while with her pure gold medal and her trophy modeled after a globe. She had tried to get Alicia to put an end to such annoyances, but that woman merely stood tall, said “What do you think this competition is for? Go and advertise that rifle as much as you can”, and then left.

As a result, Mariydi was sitting in the back seat of an off-road vehicle feeling more intensely exhausted than after the event itself and rubbing her eyes to recover from the strobe light effect of all the camera flashes.

Mariydi pressed the heavy trophy into the hands of the bodyguard sitting next to her and spoke into the piezoelectric receiver still in her ear.

She was speaking to Alicia who had already returned to the hotel.

“Happy now?”

“Yes. First place in the women’s shootathlon is not bad at all.”

“I think this is when you’re supposed to say ‘good job’.”

“It is still too soon for that. You still have a photo shoot for advertisements in specialty magazines, an interview for a military website, a gathering of medal winners, and other places to show up and smile. You need to speak the sponsor’s name at least once every three minutes and keep the rifle in the frame at all times.”

“What a pain. The PMC never taught me how to train my facial muscles. I think I’m going to have some muscle pain tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the off-road vehicle Mariydi was in headed out.

And it was not alone. It was part of a convoy made up of 6 vehicles. As soldiers holding light machineguns had their upper bodies sticking out from the roofs, it was certainly not how one would expect an athlete in a “peaceful festival” would travel.

The inside of the vehicle had not had enough space for Catwalk TV’s large cameras, so Director Lucas Westernrose was filming Mariydi from the side using a small CCD.

While fiddling with the globe-shaped trophy Mariydi had tossed him, the bodyguard said, “Your safety is more or less assured for the time being.”

“Yes, yes, yes. I had thought you were just an unlucky draw that might be able to just barely make ends meet, yes, yes. I never thought you would make it this far! Since you also saved Erie Greenhat of the Information Alliance, yes, you should draw in plenty of viewers, yes!!”

Mariydi folded her arms and glared at her bodyguard.

“…Your contract isn’t over yet. Don’t let your guard down.”

“I will of course do my best, but the shootathlon is over. No one would gain anything by attacking you now, so no one’s going to try it. For all intents and purposes my bodyguard duty is over.”

“So the event is over,” muttered Mariydi as she watched the scenery outside the window.

The bodyguard grinned and said, “Are you going to miss all this?”

“I’m just sad my time off is coming to an end.”

“You’re at least going to stay in Olympia Dome until the closing ceremony, right? You can enjoy a pure vacation until then. Eat as much delicious food as you like and just lie out in the sun. With the event over, you’re freed from Miss Stacy’s dietary restrictions and your sponsors are paying for all your expenses. I’m sure they won’t turn anything down after you won the gold.”

“…Maybe I should try the world’s three greatest delicacies all at once.”

“You’re quite a childish ace pilot if you think the more expensive the delicacy, the more delicious they are.”

“Hello? I will be using that, yes. Those surprising faults in an otherwise perfect person can score a lot of points, yes, yes.”

“I’m just so used to the battlefield that I have no idea how to live extravagantly,” commented Mariydi offhandedly.

Since she had won the gold medal, she could spend her remaining time as a hero. Drawing all the unwanted attention was exhausting, but she would at least be given excellent service without having to bother with being courteous or tipping.

(In the camera frame at least, I’m being idolized as a well-liked mascot that is worth more than just jacking off to. I guess I should at least live up to that.)

Mariydi stretched her arms up to stretch her back and said, “Then how about we go around to a few restaurants once we get back to the Technopic Village.”

“If you’re up for that, you must be healthy enough.”

“Since the sponsors are paying for everything, maybe I should go find a casino.”

“Call me if you’re playing roulette. I’ll give you some good luck as long as I get a 10% cut.”

As those two members of the Capitalist Corporations spoke, a fairly serious look appeared in their eyes.

“Hmm, but filming is not allowed in casinos… Hello?” muttered Lucas Westernrose, but they ignored him.

Just as they began working up a plan to get around Alicia who held the purse strings, something happened.

The off-road vehicle in the convoy driving directly in front of Mariydi’s was blown directly to the side.

At first, an orange light was burned into her eyes.

The sound of an explosion rang out and the supposedly bulletproof windshield had countless cracks run through it. The pressure Mariydi felt in her chest stopped her breathing for a short moment.

The off-road vehicle that had exploded in front of them continued on and struck a coconut tree on the side of the road.

Mariydi’s senses could not keep up with the fact that her own off-road vehicle had come to a quick stop.

Despite how much Lucas Westernrose had wanted something exciting to happen, he lost his cool and dropped his camera as soon as it happened while he was in the middle of it.

Mariydi gave voice to what had happened…no, what was still happening in front of her.

“Was that a recoilless rifle!? Is this an attack!?”

The bodyguard used a hand to cover Mariydi’s mouth and spoke harshly into his radio.

“Second was taken out. First, Third, calculate out where the attack came from and begin a barrage! Fourth, Fifth, get between my Zero while we get out of here!! Can you hear me, First, Third!? Dammit!!”

Another narrow trail of smoke cut in a straight line through the air and struck the side of the leading vehicle. Sinister explosive flames spewed out as the off-road car’s frame and the lives within were blown apart.

Mariydi immediately made up her mind.

“I’m getting out.”

“Are you crazy? It may not look it, but this vehicle has the bare minimum of bulletproofing. Surely all your time in the Northern European Restricted Zone was enough to tell you how dangerous it would be to get out!”

“Can that bulletproofing stop an anti-tank recoilless rifle!? A half-assed shield is nothing but a restraint. And they’re trying to find the vehicle I’m in. At this rate, all of your men will be taken out in the confusion of this preemptive strike!!”

“Your sentiments are moving, but we aren’t going to use the person we were hired to protect as a decoy after getting paid. That would be too disgraceful.”

“Your sense of duty is admirable, but I can’t let innocent lives get caught up in this. Even if he loves nothing better than the misfortune of others, this man from Catwalk TV is still from a safe country. If I don’t get out, every single vehicle will be blown to pieces. And this one is no exception!”

“Sorry, but our job is to keep you alive and nothing more. If you are trying to blur the line between professional and amateur, give it up.”

“I see.” Mariydi turned off the safety of the handgun she was holding. “Then I’ll just have to do this on my own. You can say you took the best action as a bodyguard, but that it failed because I panicked.”

“Shit!? Not again. When did you swipe that from my holster!?”

Mariydi ignored the bodyguard and opened the bulletproof door. She crouched down while quickly moving away from the convoy on her own.

The enemy reacted immediately.

Smoke from the recoilless rifles was still floating in midair, but she could see the face of a man holding an assault rifle peering out from the thicket the smoke led back to. However, Mariydi fired the handgun again and again before he could fire.

“Leaving a spot after firing is one of the basics, you idiot.”

She could tell multiple people were moving behind cover. Before those people could send bullets her way, Mariydi quickly leapt into a nearby building.

She knew she could not defeat all of them with just that handgun.

She had two options.

She could focus on running away without worrying about defeating this enemy.

Or she could acquire more firepower somewhere and begin a counterattack.

The real problem was that the decision did not entirely lie in Mariydi’s hands. Unlike a certain island nation, civilians were allowed to carry guns, so finding one would probably not be too difficult. But even so, the idea of a counterattack was out of the question if she could not find any nearby.

Suddenly, the deep sound of gunfire repeatedly stabbed into Mariydi’s ears. At first she assumed the enemy had brought out a light machinegun, but she was wrong.

The bodyguard had gotten out of the off-road vehicle and was running her way. He had removed the light machinegun from the roof of the vehicle and was firing it from the hip to hold back the attackers.

After he charged into the entrance to the building, he tossed his assault rifle to Mariydi and wiped sweat from his brow.

“I’m going along with your plan, so how about a tip?”

“…You’re still focused on making money?” commented Mariydi in annoyance.

She lowered the zipper of her yellow and black skintight flight jacket, revealing some white skin, and reached a hand inside. Mariydi usually only used cards and electronic money, but she always carried a bit of change for the time when she had to tip someone. In the Capitalist Corporations, it was common knowledge that a customer who did not tip would not even be told where the exit was.

Meanwhile, the bodyguard lightly shook his head.

“To be honest, this is well beyond my normal business operations. A bit of change isn’t going to cut it.”

“Then what ''do'' you want?”

“A magic incantation.”

“?”

“Something like ‘Chichin Puipui’. You can think of it as an activation password if you like.”

When the bodyguard whispered that magic incantation into her ear, Mariydi’s expression grew all the more dubious.

But they would end up surrounded by the attackers if they stayed where they were for too long.

She lightly clenched her right fist, brought it up to her mouth, and spoke in a delicate voice while looking up at the bodyguard.

“Big brother, will you stay with me to the end?”

“That’ll do it. I’ll set one foot inside hell for that!!”

Mariydi sighed and returned to her normal voice.

“Sigh. After all this time, it turns out you’re just a pervert.”

“No, you’ve got it all wrong. I actually have a little sister who is quite a bit younger than me. We were separated thanks to our parents’ divorce, and you remind me of her a bit.”

“That’s hard to deal with in a different way from a pervert. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what to say…”

(But it does seem to have given him a boost of motivation, so I’ll work him like a horse.)

After that added thought, Mariydi said, “Anyway, what happened to your men?”

“I told them to start a barrage to buy time and then retreat. Their fate is up to luck and their own skill now.”

That sounded coldhearted, but one could not get through a battlefield on guts alone. Ordering them to fall back at their own individual discretion gave some hope to those men who were at a horrible disadvantage. Whether they could make use of that opportunity literally was up to luck and their own skill.

“What about the man from Catwalk TV?”

“It seems my men are surprisingly overflowing with customer service. For a fee of course.”

“Did they force some exorbitant price on him during those explosions?”

“There are some businesses that only pay well in situations like this.” The bodyguard fired a burst of light machinegun fire out of the building’s entrance. “The bigger problem is you. What is even going on here? The event is already over. Even if they kill you now, it won’t change the results.”

Mariydi then heard a familiar voice over her piezoelectric receiver.

It was Alicia who had returned to the hotel ahead of them.

“I have heard what happened. Can you determine the identity of the attackers from the weapons they are using and their method of attack?”

“The recoilless rifles looked like a Legitimacy Kingdom base. But there is a precedent of the Faith Organization using plundered weapons, so we can’t trust that. I think they did even have anti-tank weapons made to match the Legitimacy Kingdom caliber.”

“So are they Legitimacy Kingdom? Or are they Faith Organization?”

“I’m saying I don’t know! It could also be the Legitimacy Kingdom using Faith Organization weapons!!”

“…That will make it difficult to figure out what is going on.”

“Why am I being targeted now? The results of the event have already been decided!”

“We have a guess.” Alicia had to have been able to hear the gunfire and explosions, but she replied as if it was completely unrelated to her. “Generally, the shootathlon results cannot be overturned once they have been announced, but there are a few exceptions. The results of a doping test after the event or inappropriate conduct at the award ceremony are two examples.”

“They take the medal from you?”

“I do not know if it is actually possible, but some idiot might still try it as a last resort. They might be planning to kidnap you and torture you in front of a camera so the entire world can see you pathetically begging for your life.”

“…Seriously?”

“Well, I doubt they would actually strip you of your medal for that, but it is possible. So please try not to get captured. And please do not beg for your life. At the very least, face your fate bravely as a true representative of our nation. That should at the very least preserve the results of the event. If any of the sponsors’ names or the rifle appear in any of this, we will go as far as to rip out your organs or your genetic code to compensate for the losses.”

“To hell with that!! How fucked up is this sports festival!? I’d rather head right back into the battlegrounds of the Northern European Restricted Zone!!”

“What are you going to do?” asked her bodyguard while he swapped out the box magazine for the light machinegun.

Mariydi looked around grimly.

“I thought any interference would only be during the event, so I thought I just had to make it through these few days. But if they’re trying to strip me of my medal after the fact, the danger could continue for months. That’s why I want to crush the source of the danger while I can see it.”

“My personal suggestion would be to run away, but I’ll stick with your recklessness as long as my contract lasts.”

“Heh,” laughed Mariydi as she pulled the cocking lever of her assault rifle. “Well, I at least have a proper weapon now. That means I can choose the other option.”