Chapter 13 – #4 Black Twilight Infiltrates the City (2)
“Hello, Vice President Weg. “It’s been a while since I said hello.”
“Wow, it’s been a really long time, Mayor. Thank you for coming.”
It was a sudden, unannounced request for a meeting, but Vice President Weg welcomed the visitor with a sad smile.
The person who came inside was a large man with a chubby build.
His head was half bald, and he looked almost middle-aged. He was an eccentric who stuck to his current appearance even though he could freely change his appearance and undergo plastic surgery with the technology of [Mechrak].
Surprisingly, there are many monsters who prefer this type of appearance, so perhaps we should not judge them based on the universal aesthetic standards of Earthlings.
Anyway.
The man, who suddenly visited without making an appointment in advance, went to the sofa inside the Vice President’s office and sat down under Vice President Wegg’s guidance.
The sofa made of the highest quality material seemed to scream as it was pressed down by his weight.
Shortly after he sat down, coffee and refreshments were served by an elaborately made robot maid.
He refused coffee, but immediately took one and put it in his mouth.
However, considering his physique and appearance, the sight of him putting refreshments into his mouth with graceful movements was quite surprising.
“That… I was a little surprised. He was a person who had been difficult to meet even though I had requested to meet him several times…”
“Oh, yes, that’s right. As you know, I’m busy with work for one reason or another. Still, every time I turned down the vice president’s request to meet me, I felt troubled in many ways, so I ended up coming here…”
At the words of the vice president, a middle-aged man with a chubby build smiles and speaks.
This middle-aged man is the mayor in charge of managing the entire city.
At the same time, he is also the general manager of the ‘Hypnosis Factory’, which manages and processes the city’s magical girls.
This city is a 【factory city】.
In other words, as the name itself suggests, the city itself was built around the ‘factory’ and for the ‘factory’.
Therefore, in this city, the person in charge of the ‘factory’ was also given the role of ‘mayor’ in charge of the entire city.
Of course, this structural thing is different for each city, and there are many complex circumstances that lead to this conclusion… Anyway, to explain it simply, it is like that.
‘No matter how many times I asked to see him, he wouldn’t meet me… Are you busy? Isn’t there really nothing to do other than prey on the magical girls being processed at the factory?’
‘You seem like a raccoon-like spirit…’
Vice President Weg was gossiping about the market in front of him to his heart’s content, but he spoke knowingly without showing it on his face.
This is because there was something to guess about what Mayor Lee personally visited.
“That… First, he would like to express his sincere apologies for the Chimera matter that was previously entrusted to him. Because we were inadequately prepared…”
Chimera exclusively for anti-magical girls.
It is not something that can be produced infinitely, and each piece requires a huge budget.
Its production and management are handled by the “Factory,” And whenever necessary, the “Barracks,” To which Vice President Weg belongs, applies and leases it.
This time, at the request of a subordinate who had discovered a magical girl, I rented and dispatched such a chimera…
And the only result was that the entire unit, including the chimera, was brutally killed or seriously injured.
‘That’s also strange.’
‘There is no way a magical girl can defeat a proper chimera weapon… ! It’s clear that they gave me something that looked like a defective product… !’
There were many things I wanted to complain about, but it would be a big deal if I made the other person feel bad and the relationship worsened.
Above all, the fact that the ‘Factory’ is also in charge of managing the magical girls means that Er’s schedule is also adjusted by the ‘Factory’ and the mayor in front of her.
If he makes up his mind, Vice Chancellor Weg may no longer be able to see or touch Er…
With that in mind, Vice President Weg was flattering him, rubbing his hands, and watching him.
The mayor quickly threw up his hands and rejected his apology, saying it was okay.
“I think there’s nothing I can do about this because it’s because of ‘Pure White.’ For some reason, it seems that anti-demon chimeras are of no use to that magical girl. I guess you could say it was bad luck.”
“Is it 『Pure White』…? Is there really any evidence of her involvement? All the soldiers who had been deployed were dead, and all the video equipment nearby was disabled…”
“There was one soldier who survived, right? “She was torn to pieces and saw no hope of survival.”
“… “It was like that.”
One of the soldiers was still alive with that persistent vitality.
However, she had no idea that the thing that had been cut into pieces and writhing around like a piece of meat would be able to give a proper testimony.
“That soldier was a specially modified soldier. When I stimulated it in a special way, the pieces quickly connected to each other and recovered. Thanks to this, we were able to extract the data safely without damage.”
“If you say so…”
“Yes. I came prepared with a video that the soldier saw in person. “Let’s take a look together.”
The mayor said and snapped his fingers.
As if responding to his brain waves and gestures, a large hologram screen appeared in the air and a scene was played.
* * *
[That’s it!!]
[I am a magical girl, Pure White! I will protect this Earth that you are trying to take away… !!]
―It was a dark alley.
―There were chimeras and magical girls there.
―And then new magical girls appeared one after another in the alley, instantly killing everyone with movements that were barely visible even when the video was played at 1/10 speed.
Judging from the declaration made by the person in charge, it was clear that this intruder was none other than Pure White himself.
However, even when watching the video, the appearance of Pure White was vaguely hazy, so I couldn’t make it out properly.
“Magical girls use a variety of magic that goes beyond our knowledge… I think this is also a type of magic. To hide one’s identity.”
The mayor and general manager of the ‘Factory’ explained.
Of course, the identity of Pure White is still unknown… At least Vice President Wegg has seen that it always looks like this in the video footage of Pure White’s existence.
Anyway, there seems to be no mistake that Pure White is involved in this Chimera incident.
That’s right, but…
“First, let me thank you, Mayor. The fact that you saved our soldier who was thought to be hopeless, and the fact that Pure White was involved is also useful information.
As we continue to search for Pure White, we will use this video as reference material for the search…”
In this video alone, there was nothing of great interest.
In the first place, Pure White was a magical girl who had been giving them trouble all along, so she was already included in the regular search target.
There are already a lot of videos similar to this.
So, a video like this doesn’t have much meaning.
Did he sense the vice-chancellor’s expression of disappointment?
The mayor continued speaking while playing the video again.
From now on, as if we were getting to the point, his mood changed.
“One thing, the reason I came here today is to provide very important information to the Vice President.”
“Look, Vice Chancellor. Here is this part of the video.”
The mayor stopped at one part of the played video and enlarged somewhere in it.
It was the magical girl who appeared throughout the video and was being eaten by these strange soldiers.
A short-haired magical girl with deep dark circles.
The face of the magical girl who had been rescued with the help of the invading Pure White appeared in a magnified form.
With that, the mayor waved his hand in the air again and a new screen surfaced next to him.
It was data on ‘products’ handled by the ‘factory’.
“After watching this video, I looked it up and found that this magical girl’s record was already registered in our ‘Factory’ database. “She is a magical girl processed in our ‘factory’ and has been registered with all verification completed.”
“But it’s strange. “I remember all the magical girls processed in ‘Factory’ with this head.”
“In my memory, there has never been a magical girl like this.”
“I have no memories of processing or managing.”
“In the first place, this data was well decorated to look like old data, but… “From what I remember from reading and checking the data on a weekly basis, there was no data even last week.”
He poured out his words like rapid fire.
Even Vice President Wegg was surprised by the logical and quick speech that did not match his chubby and dull body type.
At least the image of the market that the vice president knew was always that of a relaxed one.
“That… It’s presumptuous, but those words… Are you saying someone hacked it?”
“I guess so. Moreover, considering the level of our security… It is clear that the person inside is the culprit. No, even the culprit has already been identified.”
If so, it becomes even more puzzling.
If the factory manager has figured out the informant on his own, shouldn’t the factory manager be able to handle the rest?
It was difficult to understand the true meaning of why he came to me and told me that.
“Okay, then, let’s get to the point. From here on, this is what I would like to ask you for.”
He said that and showed another screen.
It was a video of Pure White.
Still, the face looks blurry and unrecognizable.
“We… I will uncover the identity of this Pure White. Surely, if we rob this informer and this magical girl, something will come of it.”
“What I want to ask you is after we expose the existence of Pure White――”
He continued his explanation.
It didn’t take long for Vice President Weg to understand his true intentions as he continued his explanation.
There were various explanations.
However, to cut that lengthy explanation down to simplicity, there is something that only Vice-Chancellor Weg, the person in charge of the ‘barracks’ in charge of the soldiers and armed forces of this city, can do… It was like that.
“I cannot ask this of you, President. I can only ask the Vice President… !”
The mayor and factory manager spoke with passion and sincerity, and bowed his head in front of the vice president.
Certainly, as he said, the general manager of this ‘Barracks’ is a very knowledgeable person, so there is no way he would accept the expedients and other things that this man talks about.
Moreover, what Mayor Lee just mentioned would be ruined even if it were to be heard by others… No, it is a dangerous job full of risks from beginning to end.
No one in their right mind would listen.
I came to ask for such a ridiculous request.
‘Hmm…’
But at the same time, it was a plan that, if successful, would also bring great benefits to those who cooperated.
At least, he is no longer a vice-chancellor, but a president… Furthermore, you may be able to aim even higher.
‘He’s the president… What a happy sound this is… !’
Dreaming is good.
However, risks must also be taken into account.
Vice President Weg weighed things in his mind for a while, lost in thought, and the mayor and factory manager, who had lowered his head and made the request, looked at him with anxious eyes.
And after a while.
Vice President Wegg opened his mouth as if he had finally made a decision.
“… One thing, “Mayor.”
“Yes, Vice President.”
“There’s one thing I’d like to ask you… If you listen to this, I will cooperate with the mayor’s plan. How do you feel?”
Vice Chancellor Weg said with a faint smile, without realizing it.
That smile, It was the same kind of smile he showed when dealing with Er.
A smile full of dark desires.
A soggy smile, like a swamp in a deep abyss.
Vice Chancellor Weg stated his request, and the mayor readily agreed to the request.
Afterward, the two held hands and swore on the spot that from now on they would be comrades in the same boat…
