Chapter 238
The duty of Security Team 4 of the Secret Security Bureau under Schneider Electronics is to safely escort the family’s youngest daughter, the Noble Young Lady Alexandra Amadeus Schneider, by preemptively blocking any and all risk factors that could harm her, ensuring she doesn’t suffer a single scratch or even a moment of surprise.
Up to this point, it was an obvious fact.
And because of this obvious fact, their work was inconsistent, fluid, and hard to predict.
It was because everything was determined by the actions and movements of the escort target, that capricious and unruly precious daughter of Schneider. The difference between each instance was vast, like heaven and earth.
For instance, according to Ms. Kali, last April was a truly easy month. Even though she had been doing escort duty continuously without a break, it felt like she had gone on a long vacation.
It was because at the end of March, our Young Lady Alexandra had caused a truly spectacular major incident, resulting in the family head ordering her to recuperate (written as recuperation, read as probation) throughout April, keeping her quietly locked up in the family’s fortress, Eisern Schloss, the Iron Castle, without a single outing.
“Normally, she would have made an escape attempt about once a day, but back then, the Young Lady must have known she was in the wrong because she stayed completely still in the castle. Thanks to that, it was almost too comfortable.”
Ms. Kali told me as much.
She didn’t tell me what the “Major Incident” Young Lady Alexandra had caused was, but it would be stranger not to know. It was likely the terrorist incident involving the Luddite Gang, which I was also deeply connected to.
Come to think of it, the attendants moving with Alexandra Schneider must have been from Security Team 4 here back then.
In my hazy memory, the human bodyguard with a hand transformed into a hand cannon and the Ladam bodyguard wielding a silver saw blade came to mind.
How must they have felt when Young Lady Alexandra came all the way to the Outskirts' Dragon’s Lair, claiming she wanted to see a samurai from Neo Tokyo and drink a cocktail from the lower levels without knowing what might be in it?
It was certain that it hadn’t been an easy duty, at the very least. If anything, it would have been a Hell of Hells. Furthermore, of all things, they had gotten tangled up with the vicious person Luddite Gang…
“Come to think of it, both of them back then…”
The Human Bodyguard’s death was already certain when his head was cut off, and I had wondered, 'perhaps?' about the Ladam Bodyguard, but seeing as he wasn’t here today, it seemed my guess was right.
Since the delicate memory of a Ladam, which possessed intelligence and consciousness, was designed so it couldn’t leave its designated machine body, it must have met its end right there when its body shut down.
Come to think of it, when we met at The Consortium Club, Alexandra Schneider had said something like that.
'My life is expensive. It’s a life that two loyal bodyguards protected even at the cost of their own, so it has to be expensive. It must be expensive.'
…I couldn’t help but think that the spot I had come in to fill as a substitute might be one of those two empty seats today.
Anyway, the point was that, as could be seen just from the difference between the perfectly safe Schneider Fortress / Citadel and a street bar, the difficulty of escort varied vastly depending on the schedule of the Escort Target, Alexandra Amadeus Schneider.
And today, the Young Lady’s schedule was…
“Stay sharp. Today’s assignment is extremely important, and there cannot be even a single mistake.”
Was it just my imagination that Team Leader Hank’s eyes seemed to be glaring at me as he said that?
“Young Lady Alexandra has been invited to a banquet held at the castle of the Meredith Family, the owners of “Enatomia Corporation”, the famous Android Development Corporation.”
Several sighs leaked out.
“Of all places, another Family…”
“Wait, if it’s the Meredith Family?”
“Come to think of it, Enatomia Corporation is supposed to make a major announcement soon…”
Taking advantage of the noisy atmosphere, Ms. Kali leaned toward me and explained in a whisper.
“Cases like this, where we have to enter another family’s castle, are the trickiest. If it’s outside our territory, the basic principle is to thoroughly investigate and control it, but since it’s another family’s place, we can’t even do that.”
It’s hard for a lot of security personnel to tag along, and if it’s a family we’re not on good terms with, or if there’s a competitive spirit among the noble scions, it gets even more annoying. Sometimes they even try to start a battle of nerves using their bodyguards. It’s especially the worst at banquets like this where multiple nobles gather.”
From the annoyance evident on Ms. Kali’s face, it seemed she had experienced all of this firsthand. As expected, bodyguard work wasn’t easy in many ways either.
“Quiet! I’m sure I told you to shut your traps!”
Godfather, forcefully calming the boisterous atmosphere.
“Most of you are not applicable anyway. The Meredith side limited the number of companions to four or fewer, calling it a private banquet. So only four from the team will go directly to the scene. The rest will all stand by outside the castle. So that we can immediately make a Forced Entry if a problem arises.”
This time, a sigh of relief could be heard from all over. The four who had to go in directly would suffer until death, but everyone was probably thinking, “as long as it’s not me.'
“Those four already know that they are the field agents for this mission. They formed a separate team in advance and did augmented training using the prior information we obtained about the Meredith Family’s private estate, “Mirror Castle”. I’ll send the related content to the rest of the standby personnel as well, so make sure to familiarize yourselves with the information about Mirror Castle during the intermediate standby and travel time.”
“The team is already predetermined,” huh.
Beside me, Ms. Kali said, “Still, you’ll have an easy first assignment. That’s a relief.'
Just as she said, naturally, I wasn’t a field agent.
I had just come in as a substitute for the first time today, so there was no way I could have done training beforehand with the team that would perform field entry.
Meredith, Mirror Castle, and all that were completely a first-time hearing for me today.
And the chances of Team Leader Hank suddenly taking a huge liking to me now and trying to squeeze me into the team were zero…
Normally, it would be something to be happy about.
Being assigned as standby personnel without having to perform Field entry and just twiddle thumbs was exactly the Easy Duty that Ms. Kali had talked about.
If I could just do that Easy Duty and get away with avoiding the contract with the Schneider Family Head for free, it would truly be a fantasy.
And a fantasy is a fantasy because it’s impossible in reality.
Was Eugene Elijah Schneider an ordinarily thorough person?
What needed to be done wasn’t simply being a one-day substitute bodyguard. There were other details attached to it as well.
To faithfully fulfill the contract including that, my just standing by outside didn’t seem sufficient. I felt like I needed to go to the scene too…
The problem was the method. I had gotten on my superior’s bad side from the first day, so by what means was I supposed to get in as a Field Agent for an incredibly important mission?
Could this be some sort of test prepared by Eugene Schneider?
If that was really the case, it was extremely awkward. I couldn’t think of a solution right away…
“The field team will, naturally, be led by me. The other three - Gregory Raman, Eres Shore, and Kali Haywood - will board the vehicle the Young Lady will ride in with me. The standby personnel will divide up and follow behind. Understood?”
The list of Field Agents that came out of the Team Leader’s mouth was announced. Seeing everyone nodding, it seemed they were three of the best experts handpicked, who wouldn’t look out of place on the front lines.
Following where the gazes were directed, I saw one man with a blunt and tough impression that brought to mind the protagonist of a Hollywood Action Blockbuster Movie.
Next was a man yawning and stirring, draped in various electronic equipment like Techky-style drones, a Hacker Tool, and a Cyberdeck.
And finally, there was the Kali Haywood that I knew. That made three.
At the sound of Ms. Kali being included, an exclamation of 'Oh…' naturally slipped out.
She looked like she had skills just at a glance, but it seemed she was indeed considered a top talented person even within Schneider’s Security Team 4.
It wasn’t for nothing that Team Leader Hank had said to me, “If you can fight well without a weapon, your whole body must be a deadly weapon, huh? Like that Kali Haywood over there?” She was an owner of force acknowledged even by the strict Team Leader.
No wonder she had a face that seemed full of worry and concern while talking about today’s assignment. Since she herself was a Field Agent, she couldn’t help but have a lot on her mind regarding it.
'Even if I’m not, Ms. Kali is a field agent. Could I use this?'
It seemed difficult. For that, my acquaintance with Ms. Kali was far too shallow.
“Even if you’re not Field personnel, you never know when or what kind of situation might occur, so the standby personnel need to stay sharp too. You remember the mess from last time, right? The Head of the Family is watching Security Team 4 attentively. We’d better do well.”
The Team Leader’s words to stay sharp somehow felt directed at me, who was distracted, so I ended up straightening my back while reading the room.
“That’s it for the briefing. Until the Young Lady finishes getting ready, all of you must completely familiarize yourselves with the materials and finish your work preparation for your assigned duties!”
After that, there was nothing to do. Ms. Kali, who had been looking out for me, seemed busy preparing since she was a Field Agent, and Team Leader Hank was the same. They didn’t seem to have enough leeway to pay attention to me.
The standby personnel each had their own assigned roles, but a one-day substitute like me was treated as an outsider… Idly watching what others were doing, I just kept putting information about the Meredith Family into my head.
And not long after, the surroundings became bustling.
Alexandra Amadeus Schneider had finished her preparation for going out.