Chapter 95
"It is clear she is trying to hide something, but what could it be? Perhaps..."
Eugene Schneider took another drag of his cigar and spoke.
"...the assassin of the terrorist Leader. I do not know why, but she must be trying to keep her Identity from me."
The Complex flavor of the long filter cigar, made from the highest quality tobacco leaves, lingered thickly in the air.
The remote voice rang out once again in the ear of the silent Family Head.
[All the witnesses at the scene testified that the Bar Owner, a person named Sasha Dragon, subdued the Luddite gang. This person named Sasha Dragon is said to be a former Ronin, but upon checking the Database...]
"You must have received a notification from the Dusk administration that it is classified information with an access lock."
[Yes. We could have Net Divers breach the firewall to obtain the information, but...]
"Leave it. It is someone I already know."
There was no need to poke a hornet's nest.
Muttering so, he rested his cigar on the ashtray construct naturally attached to the spot where he extended his arm.
"So, do you think the testimony that the Bar Owner subdued the Psycho gang is true?"
[We have not confirmed everything, but... nine times out of ten, it is perjury. They are telling lies as if they had planned it together.]
"Right."
Eugene Schneider merely stroked the edges of his blue-shimmering eyes with his hand, seemingly uninspired by his subordinate's words.
He had no choice but to be.
"Sasha Dragon was not at the bar at the time of the incident. Another person intervened."
Because his eyes were looking back, he was reconstructing the past of Dragon's Lair.
[Shall we investigate everyone who has a record of entering the bar that day?]
"Yes. The Surveillance cameras and drones Outside the bar would not have been affected by the Electromagnetic Pulse, so it shouldn't be difficult."
The Iron-faced Family Head said so and moved his steps.
After walking a few steps in place and shifting his vision a few times, he narrowed his eyes and raised his arm.
"Hmm."
Cutting, pasting, and rotating the visual information with hand gestures that only one person in this place could see...
He reached a brief conclusion.
"Make sure to check thoroughly, targeting the bar employees especially because they are Suspicious."
[Understood.]
He cut the connection.
The Iron-faced Family Head rubbed the cigar that had been placed on the stand against the floor, then put it back in his mouth.
He turned his body to face the back and moved.
Down the metal stairs, beyond the wall of Iron samurai, there was an empty space.
In the center sat a transparent Display case.
It was a vault equipped with a security system featuring strict Security, one of the best in the Mansion.
Swish.
He reached past the barrier through a flowing fluid, accessible only to the Schneider bloodline, and grasped the handle inside.
He pulled out the Schneider Family Heirloom, the Jet-Black Katana that his tomboy daughter had carelessly Taken Outside the Family.
The blade, which never rusted and maintained its sharpness without maintenance, was eerie.
The deformed surface of the sword, which seemed to suck in light, was deeply reflected in a person's eyes.
This was the sharpest iron that made the current Family what it was.
His father's most trivial yet heaviest legacy.
Eugene Schneider activated the symbol of the Family Head, which only he could properly handle in the World.
[Bio-ID recognition complete. Welcome, Mr. Eugene Elijah Schneider.]
[overall Physical Condition satisfied. You are confirmed as an existing user. Would you like to Activate the built-in Technology?]
"No."
He answered the stiff voice of the Program.
The small nuclear reactor inside, which was splitting into a heterogeneous shape and revealing the void within, stopped Activating at the halfway point.
The Over-Technology of Old Japan, which had enjoyed its heyday decades ago and was always marvelous to see, briefly emitted a dangerous and wicked color before subsiding.
A black blade that bewitches people... true to its name.
The Iron-faced Family Head held his cigar with the hand not gripping the handle and spoke.
"I want to check the usage log."
[Request confirmed... Impossible with General user authority. Administrator authority is required.]
He knew this Answer would come out.
In truth, there was no need to check the records.
Only two people in history had Ever been qualified to use this sword, and the recent contents remained in his own memory vividly without needing to view the log.
Nevertheless, Eugene Schneider opened his mouth after a pause.
"Then I will view the user list."
His voice rang out in the vault filled with cigar smoke.
The Artificial Intelligence of Kokuyōtō answered.
[There are a total of two suspended users. #1, overall production authority user, Shinjo Akira. Reason for suspension: By own request. #2, Administrator authority user, Otto Wolfgang Schneider. Reason for suspension—]
"Skip the suspended users."
That was not the information he wanted.
He needed the information about users who currently possessed authority.
[Request confirmed. There is one General authority user: You, Eugene Elijah Schneider.]
One person was there.
There was no change. It was exactly as he knew.
The sole Family Head of Schneider smoked his cigar again without a Change in Expression.
Stroking the wrapper held between his Thumb and Index Finger, he brought his finger to the sword hilt.
It was the moment he was about to press the power button again.
[Lastly, there is one special authority user, User ID Aaron “Jo Nakamura” Schneider.]
"..."
The iron face stiffened hard. His black pupils dilated.
"Hah."
The Family Head of Schneider let out a breath that could have been a laugh or a groan and gripped the handle.
The tip of the blade... stood straight up.
* * *
The company Dinner was in Full Swing and Bustling with noise.
There were still no new customers, as if we had rented out Dragon's Lair, and the conversation topic had long since shifted from my bleak future entangled with the Schneider Family to something else.
There was no point in dwelling on bad news that wouldn't change with Armchair theorizing anyway.
Right now, our Mr. Sasha Dragon, who is an embarrassment to bring anywhere, is drunk and flushed, once again spinning heroic tales that could have been bluffs or the truth.
If you asked how I could see his face flush when he was wearing a helmet, I could only say that I just knew.
"So why did you arrive late that day?"
I asked the President, who seemed to be in very high spirits. It was about the day the Luddite gang trashed the place.
It was retrospective thought, but if the President had been there that day, those bastards might not have gone so far.
It was a thought that occurred to me because the reputation of the man named Sasha Dragon in the underworld seemed to be greater than I had expected.
No matter how blind the Psycho gang, those bastards, were, they would have probably backed down a Step to avoid casualties.
Flipping that thought around, it made sense why those bastards went Crazy this time.
To the gangs, the simple news that the President was absent must have sounded like a Promotion saying,
“limited-time special sale! free opportunity to trash the bar! deadline approaching!”
It must have been very tempting, like a home shopping phrase.
How could those hot-tempered terrorist bastards resist that?
This was why the existence of the Dragon Totem, which suppressed the violence of all sorts of troublesome customers, was important.
Just stepping away for a moment caused an incident to occur, after all.
Of course, even with a totem, an unpleasant incident could still occur, but even in that case, if the President was there, it meant there was at least a last resort left.
Last time was exactly the kind of moment that required a last resort. The Luddite gang, Ned Ludd, the EMP...
If the Gym Rat Dragon, a Veteran Soldier fully clad in Powered Armor without a single gap, had been there at that time, a mere bar Manager like me wouldn't have had to put on a desperate SHIT-show trying to deal with Ned Ludd.
"Do you understand?"
[Uh, so the conclusion is Dakara (Therefore)... that I did something wrong?]
"Exactly. You finally understand. I'm saying the incident would have been resolved much more easily if you had just been here, President. From now on, don't be late and come in early!"
At my relentless barrage, the President almost nodded in a daze before pausing.
[But I'm the President...? It's my own shop that I run, and I can't even Step away when I want to? Something's weird—]
"Because you're the President, you should have even more of a sense of responsibility! It's your shop, President, but at the same time, it's the Workplace for all of us!"
At my refreshing retort, Sey nodded from across the table while tearing into some Tandoori Chicken.
Tony, sprawled out on the dining table next to me, also twitched a barely raised finger to show his agreement.
cornered, the President admitted defeat and raised a white flag.
[Got it. I'll make sure not to be Jigoku (Late) from now on... but was this our original conversation topic? I feel like we got sidetracked.]
"Oops."
Come to think of it, he was right.
What was I originally going to ask?
"Ah, right. I was asking why you came late that day."
[It seems like you're speaking more and more informally, Nakamura-kun. I like that we seem closer than when we first met, but... it feels a bit strange.]
At the President's grumbling, I scratched my cheek and said.
"Well. I wouldn't know about that. Perhaps it's just your imagination."
[Right? It's Zettai (Absolutely) not like you're showing a disrespectful attitude to me, the President, or anything—]
"So hurry up and Answer, will you? I asked why you were late."
[...]
Sasha Dragon sadly muttered to himself things like, “The President”s authority is falling more and more... I need to set it straight!' before opening his mouth.
[The thing is...]