CH 176

“Hmm…?”

“Oh, you’re awake.”

In a completely deserted back alley at night, John slightly slowed down his pace and spoke to the groaning voice he heard from behind him. There was drool dripping onto his shoulder, but he didn’t care about it now.

“Huh? John?”

“Yes, that’s right. It seems like you’re alright, given your condition.”

Canal, speaking with a sleepy voice, caused  John to let out a wry smile. Then, Canal tilted her head slightly and quickly remembered what happened just moments ago.

“Is there something wrong with my body…!? What about Ed!?”

“He’s fighting against the enemy in that building to save us.”

“Eh!? Is he okay!?”

“I’m not sure. But from my perspective, I think he’ll be fine.”

“Really? Well, he was fine last time too, and if John says so…”

Canal reluctantly agreed with John’s words, her expression showing a bit of anxiety. However, her memory only went as far as being surrounded by men with guns. If she had known that Ed was fighting against a military battle golem, she would have immediately urged John to turn back and would have hit him on the head.

“Still, why do you always get involved in such dangerous situations?”

“I’d like to know that too! It’s not like I’m doing this on purpose… Seriously, what’s going on!?”

“Hahaha, I’m not sure how to answer that.”

Canal, who became a detective with dreams of learning everything about the world, found that her work mostly consisted of mundane tasks like investigating infidelity, searching for lost cats, tidying up shops, and walking pets, far from what she imagined detective work to be.

Yet for some reason, Canal sometimes gets involved in such unexpected trouble. By sheer coincidence, John has now saved her from what would be a fatal situation for most people four times.

“Anyway, it looks like you’re alright now. I still have things to do, so can you go back to the office by yourself?”

John stopped completely and put Canal down from his back. She pouted with slightly flushed cheeks.

“Of course! I’m not a little kid! I can obviously go back to the office!”

“Alright then. Just go straight from here, and you should reach a familiar street. Well then…”

“I got it. So, uh, John?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks… for saving me.”

Canal mumbled her thanks awkwardly, and John restrained a smile from forming on his lips as he answered calmly.

“You’re welcome. I’m just helping because I wouldn’t sleep well if an acquaintance died, that’s all.”

“You always say that, John! Well, it’s like you, I guess… See you!”

Canal showed a bright smile and then started jogging away from the scene. Following behind her was  a familiar spirit, whose existence was completely concealed by a power fundamentally different from the magic technology of this world. John was the only one who knows about it.

“With this, Canal should be fine. Now then… how about you come out?”

“Heh, so you noticed me?”

Suddenly, about five meters in front of John, the world flickered, and a burly man clad in a powered exoskeleton appeared.

“My camouflage was supposed to be perfect!”

“Hmph, there’s no such thing as perfect in this world. More importantly, are you the only one pursuing me? I thought there would be a few more special forces members coming.”

“…How much do you know?”

“Who knows? I have no idea why a general who disappeared from the public stage three years ago would be out here.”

“Ha, I got tired of the life of flaunting my medals and decided to come here, and it seems like it was the right decision.”

The man, his body wrapped in a metallic frame, pulled a thin rod from his waist. A magically heated blade appeared on the rod, and the dust and debris floating around crackled as they touched it.

“The boss praised you, you know? He said no matter where or how he searched, he couldn’t figure out who your master was. But if I kill you here, it’s over!”

As the man stepped towards John, two drones hidden by magical optical camouflage fired live ammunition. John twisted his body to avoid the bullets, and the man slashed at him with his plasma blade.

“Tch!”

“YEAH, dodge, dodge! If you even touch it a little, you’ll be turned to ashes in an instant!”

“I see, close-range weapons can be quite powerful in situations like this. It makes it hard to underestimate him.”

“Haha! Once I’ve cut you down, I’ll go after that woman! I’ll scramble her brain, make her scream in agony, and kill her!”

“…”

“What, giving up? Then die!”

Contrary to the excited man, John’s expression disappeared from his face. The man was delighted to slash at the motionless John, but his expression turned to shock.

“W-what…!?”

“How disappointing.”

John grabbed the plasma blade, which was over 10,000 degrees, with his bare hand. With just a little force, the glowing blade let out a crackling sound and disappeared.

“I was in a good mood today and thought I’d play along, but… I see, you’re that kind of vulgar guy. Then it’s over.”

“Don’t mess with me! Fire, fire, fire!”

Bullets rained down on John’s back from the drones, but they were all blocked and disappeared by the black haze rising from his body.

“What the hell is that!? What kind of defense mechanism!?”

“You wouldn’t understand. I’ve never given you any knowledge about this.”

“Ha!? Then how about this!?”

The man stabbed a high-frequency vibrating knife at John’s bored-looking face, but it was also blocked by the black haze, and the blade never reached John.

“A stasis shield!? That’s ridiculous, there’s no way you can maintain that output with full jamming!”

“Didn’t I say it’s not something so vulgar? Well, whatever…”

John’s hand swiftly reached out and grabbed the man’s face. For some reason, the man’s body couldn’t move at all, and his face showed terror for the first time.

“What the hell is this!? Neurotoxin? Did you hack my powered exoskeleton? Or is it some kind of illegal mind control–“

“Silence.”

Upon hearing John’s words, the man’s mouth ceases to move. His wide-open eyes dart around frantically, but there’s no way this situation will improve just by doing that.

“Listen, General, I like humans. Not just the honest ones, but also foolish and vulgar ones like you. After all, it takes a mix of both to make humanity what it is, right? Justice and evil are just names given to the sides of a tilted scale, aren’t they?”

“…”

“But, if you’re going to lay a hand on her, that’s a different story. I can enjoy a little mishap, but anything beyond that is unacceptable. I can laugh and forgive a playful child for getting their clothes dirty, and if they fall and cry, I’d gently pat their head. If a mischievous friend comes along, I’d nervously watch over them. But those who clearly intend to harm are not allowed. She is mine, and I won’t allow anyone else to hurt her. In other words――”

“……?!”

“You are not needed in this world. Be gone.”

With a puff, a black flame materialized, and the man’s body, along with his equipment, turned to dust and vanished. At the same time, the drones flying with a crashing sound fell, and as John cast his gaze upon them, they too turned to dust and disappeared.

“Phew. Well, that’s it for now, I guess. It seems like things are wrapping up over there too.”

As if nothing had happened, John muttered and glanced at the building where Ed was fighting. If things continued this way, it would become quite a spectacle, which was not John’s intention.

So, John melted into the darkness of the night. A tremendous explosion echoes in the surroundings just one minute later.