Editing Sorcery Hacker:Volume2 Phase02 (section)

===Part 5===

With a delighted shout, a ball about the size of Ayato’s head flew through the air.

A cloth bag had apparently been inflated with air and then covered with a palm leaf to shape it.

In lieu of a net, a makeshift line was made by drawing a rope taut between two palm trees. Teleria and Mamilis were pursuing the handmade ball on either side of that. Instead of a real game of one-on-one beach volleyball, they were simply having fun by keeping a rally going.

The shape of Mamilis’s butt showed through the skintight leather and she remained expressionless as she pursued the ball.

“It feels weird not having any underwear on. The leather sticks to my skin.”

“Let’s focus on the game right now, okay!?”

Playing around might seem negligent given their situation, but it was actually important.

When forced to wait because the ball was in the other side’s court, the trick was finding a way to reduce stress. It was a sniper’s mindset. Forcing themselves to move around could help a lot.

The islander girl named Florence had disappeared, but they had several escape routes through the forest and cave in case she had contacted the adults and the adults came to surround them. They did not need to pack up and move elsewhere right away. Sensing anyone’s approach and choosing an escape route were simple enough tasks for Mamilis since she had an affinity for the great outdoors and was timid by nature. If the Dark Elf tried to escape from them, it was possible the city-dwellers like Ayato and Henrietta would be unable to track her down.

However, the Sorcery Hacker did not enjoy leaving things in the hands of an enemy for too long.

It was about time to go on the attack.

(Now, then. I can leave the girls with Miss Mamilis.)

“Hey, dangerous individual.”

When he slipped away from the girls without saying a word, Henrietta called out to him from behind. He shrugged.

“You aren’t going to join them, Miss Henrietta?”

“ ‘Play’ is not something I know how to do. People in the sky city always told me I was bad at taking vacations.”

She was straitlaced and a hard worker.

Her defenses looked impregnable, but people like that tended to collapse from stress fairly quickly.

“For that matter, what are you doing?”

“I have some minor business to attend to.”

“Planning to go fishing with that full set of Sorcery Hacking tools?”

Ayato pointed forward as he continued to walk.

“Sorcery Hacking is a lot like stage magic. You can’t steal data and hijack control of sorcery devices without setting the stage for yourself first.”

“And?”

“And investigations require advance preparations too. To be clear, you won’t find anything of interest if you follow me. Watching my preparations will be like sitting next to a fisherman without a rod of your own.”

“I am not following you to amuse myself. You must be monitored, so I will accompany you if you are going anywhere.”

“Don’t complain to me when you’re bored out of your mind.”

He sounded exasperated.

And he was telling the truth.

He did not sneak into any special facilities and he did not attack anyone from behind. He stayed within the tropical forest covered in white sand and he hid behind the trees when a winged Harpy girl and Siren girl flew by overhead squabbling over something, maybe a territorial dispute. He would occasionally check on the direction and his current location while paying especial attention to the ground. Finally, he stopped at a certain point, crouched down, and dug into the ground where he stabbed his Linkage Plug sword as if laying the blade down.

“What are you doing?”

“Like I said, boring stuff.”

He pulled the trigger to separate the blade, covered it up with sand, and brushed the sand from his hands.

“I’ll be going around the full perimeter doing this, just so you know. I doubt anyone will find us, but do keep your head low just in case. Your blonde hair will stand out in the forest.”

“I have no intention of stopping you, but a full perimeter of what?”

“Of the target I’m surrounding.”

“?”

He did not attack anyone or destroy anything. Henrietta had probably accompanied him in the hopes of catching him red handed in some kind of undeniable crime, so she must have been disappointed. She seemed fed up with it all by the time they had walked three or four times around the same course through the forest.

“Hey, can you at least tell me what you’re doing?”

“You’ll see tomorrow at around this time.”

“You’re going to keep this up until tomorrow!?”

“Of course not. Once the perimeter is established, I’m leaving. Good things come to those who wait. Once things are set up, the information will be gathered automatically.”

He continued working with such enthusiasm that he had to make a conscious effort not to hum cheerfully. But this was not an innocent act. He had the look of someone who enjoyed setting people up for failure.

“Miss Henrietta.”

“What is it, dangerous individual?”

“You should be used to the outside world by now, so how has it been so far?”

“…”

He likely did not just mean the world outside of the sky city.

Striker Henrietta crossed her arms and breathed from her nose.

“Were you hoping I would say it is more virtuous than I expected?”

“The thing is, I just know you would make an excellent Forward if you could find a way to compromise with yourself.”

“Me? A bounty hunter? Hmph. I will never become your vanguard for a handful of gold. For one thing, it is wrong for vigilantes without royal authorization to wield weapons and pursue criminals.”

“Even if you see someone in need?”

“Gh.”

“There will not always be a knight or other authorized peacekeeper available to come running. Miss Henrietta, remember that statue in the main square of that regional city that made your jaw drop? The one of the queen who became a protector of pub strippers.”

“Surprise is the normal response to learning that the queen ruling over an entire region was promoting sex work. Worse, everyone was praying to her and throwing money into the fountain like it was normal. None of them questioned it just because she was a queen.”

“You misunderstand.” Ayato smiled a little while toying with the grip of the sword at his hip. “If no one reaches out a helping hand for the strippers, they have no choice but to rely on criminal organizations to survive. So the kingdom supports them to ensure that does not happen. By accepting occupations you personally might find unsavory, you eliminate an opening for actual dangerous criminals to establish themselves.”

“…”

“Someone considered what could realistically be done to protect the rights of people who work those jobs. Instead of pushing them away out of moral outrage, that queen worked to actually help them. Which is why that openminded queen is so popular with the commoners. In fact, they’re told not to throw money in that fountain, but they do it anyway.”

Ayato explained it all while continuing with his work.

And then he returned to their initial topic.

“So what about you, Miss Henrietta? If you see some people in trouble but you do not agree with some of their life choices, what will you do? That is what I am talking about.”

“Hmph,” snorted Henrietta. She fell silent for a moment but then continued. “Be that as it may, I am a Striker. I will not do the work of a Forward.”

“Is that so?”

“I will not do things in an underhanded way. I will march in through the front entrance and save them with my head held high. I will always be able to do that as long as I never feel guilty about my actions. I will make the world a better place as a Striker. They might be a stripper or they might be cheating on their spouse, ''but I still want to be the first person that comes to mind when they need help.'' If I can do that, then there will be no work left for people like you who insist on working outside the law.”

“…”

“What is that smile for? I rejected your offer. I am saying I won’t join you.”

He chose not to answer that one.

Henrietta was hardheaded and uncompromising, but she showed great promise. At the very least, she would not become the kind of government official that divided people into categories to decide who deserved help and who did not.

Were they virtuous or sinful?

Were they human or demon?

The kind of person who limited salvation based on those questions could not be called straitlaced. Her path might never cross with Ayato’s, but they had the same destination in mind.

“Last one. I’m done now.”

“I still have no idea what you were doing.”

“You will see tomorrow. But not if we’re caught here, so let’s make ourselves scarce.”

“Tomorrow again?”

Ayato pressed a finger to his lips and started on the path back.

Henrietta turned to the side just once. Ayato had said he was establishing a perimeter, so she only had to look to the center to get a vague idea of what his target was.

Once back at their cave hideout while making sure not to leave any kind of trail behind, they found some furniture that had not been there when they left. A hammock woven from thin rope was hanging between two trees and swaying in the tropical breeze and a simple stove had been built by placing two parallel sticks over the firewood so a small pot could be set down on it.

However…

“Where did Teleria and Mamilis go?” asked Henrietta.

Yes, the pair who had been playing with the ball were nowhere to be seen. Their makeshift parasol and beach towel made of palm leaves were just sitting out.

And something was fluttering in the wind.

A blue blazer and faded leather pants were draped over the rope they had been using for their volleyball game.

They could also hear voices.

And splashing.

“Oh, c’mon. Did we really need to wash everything?”

“We didn’t have time to return for the rest of our clothes when we escaped out here. And with the tropical sun beating down on us, we need to wash everything thoroughly or it will smell. Besides, Teleria, you were the one who said leather takes a lot of upkeep, remember?”

“But like you just said, we have no change of clothes! What do we do until these dry!?”

“This is leather, so it needs to dry in the shade.”

“That’s not the point!!”

“We had to make use of this opportunity, though, don’t you think?”

“Um…”

“We have to do this now while Coach is gone. You know better than me this would never end well otherwise. I can already hear you screaming and calling him a pervert.”

Ayato Criminaltrophy nodded.

He had but one task remaining: find a good excuse for the straitlaced Striker who was silently drawing her bolt-action carbine from her hip.

They were a long way away from that amicable conversation just a few minutes earlier.

The boy had only one thing on his mind.

(How could I be so careless!? If I hadn’t so casually allowed her to accompany me, Miss Teleria and Miss Mamilis would have gotten Miss Henrietta to remove her armor and all three of them would be by the river and entirely defenseless! Life is so tricky. A single mistaken choice ruins everything!!)

And what had happened to the Dark Elf being a wild girl of the forest?

If that islander girl had called for the adults and those adults had showed up now, those two would have been helplessly surrounded (sans clothing). Clearly the only option was for Ayato to supervise. As a Sorcery Hacker, it was his job to take over their lax security job!!

So Ayato Criminaltrophy made a suggestion with a meaningful expression on his face.

“Listen, Miss Henrietta. I had nothing to do with this one. There is no conspiracy here. They did this on their own, knowing full well it could end badly, and I just so happened to return before they were done. My arrival falls within their reasonable expectations upon making the choice, so I more or less have their consent here.”

“Wait, dangerous individual.”

“I have won the right to hide in these bushes and watch! So unless you are looking for unnecessary conflict, leave me be!!”

“I will count to five. Either take back that absurd argument, or I will bludgeon you to death.”