Ignis ran his hand over the wool fabric of his new suit, remarking that the thing felt truly comfortable and smooth.
Old Charlie's craftsmanship was indeed excellent; the clothes he tailored fit Ignis' body perfectly, making the giant appear even more broad-shouldered and powerful.
Old Charlie had also followed Ignis' instructions, leaving hidden space under the arms and at the hem of the suit. A Space Marine combat knife could be concealed under the arm, and in the hem he had tucked a lever-action shotgun with its barrel sawed short.
After all, the grenades he crafted himself were far too large and far too powerful to carry around. Ignis could tank light ranged fire with his own body, but the other members of the Cunning Hares definitely couldn't.
So he went to the black market, bought a batch of spent 30mm autocannon shells, crafted new primers, filled them with steel bearings as shot—single-slug rounds included. Then, using the materials in his workshop, he built a lever-action shotgun himself.
The reason he didn't make it pump-action was simple: Ignis personally preferred lever-actions. Ever since he was a kid watching the Terminator ride a Harley and spin-cock a shotgun with one hand, he had been obsessed with that motion.
Nicole watched her adopted son spinning the shotgun one-handed in the courtyard like some oversized goofball and let out a helpless sigh.
Today they were supposed to visit Rain for help deciphering the data disk passed along by Phaethon from Belobog Heavy Industries. But Ignis said he also had something that needed decoding, so Nicole simply decided to bring him along. She didn't expect that in just one or two days without supervision, he'd built himself an oversized shotgun.
Although Anby and Billy both said the weapon was exquisite and practically a work of art. Ignis had indeed used a great amount of brass to make engravings, even decorating the wooden stock with a gilding technique forming a winged skull. But Nicole simply couldn't appreciate such aesthetics; what was so good-looking about a skull?
But when Ignis flipped the gun around and revealed the silver-inlaid emblem of the Cunning Hares on the other side of the stock, Nicole's mood improved instantly, and she praised the Salamander for being skillful and clever.
What Ignis didn't tell her, however, was that inside the ammunition—aside from the basic steel bearings—he had mixed ether fuel, essentially turning them into dragon's-breath shells. If Nicole found out, her headache would only worsen.
"It's time to go," Nicole called out, shaking her head.
"Yes, boss." Ignis tucked the shotgun into the holster at the back of his waist, and Nicole noticed two rows of shells hanging from the leather holster.
"We're just meeting an old friend. There's no need to bring something this dangerous." Nicole rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "She's just a hacker without the strength to lift a chicken."
"It's precaution. You weren't exactly fond of Rain before, were you? So I prepared in advance. If anything unexpected happens, I can react instantly." Ignis gave Nicole a thumbs-up. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll get you back safely, boss."
The leader of the Cunning Hares was now slightly regretting taking Rain's job. Otherwise they wouldn't have been tangled with the Red Fang Gang, then run into this troublemaker, and now watched his gear become more extreme and more dangerous by the day.
"Rain is a girl. She's not dangerous…" Nicole sighed. "She acts as a broker sometimes. Last time I only complained a little, and she still paid the remaining commission in full."
But the Salamander didn't relax. He climbed into the cargo bed of the truck and pulled the door shut behind him.
"Boss, what I'm worried about is you being caught by other factions," Ignis said from inside, his voice muffled. "I have to protect you until everything is resolved."
"Wait—so what you're saying is that I rank lowest in combat ability in the Cunning Hares?" Nicole shifted gears skillfully, released the handbrake, and stepped on the accelerator. The machine-spirit of the truck awakened with a roar.
"They all have their own ways of escaping. You're a bit lacking there, boss." Ignis was honest, but the comment clearly irritated Nicole. She accelerated suddenly, and the inertia nearly sent Ignis tumbling.
Judging solely from physical ability, Nicole truly was the weakest of the group. Nekomata was a Thiren—extremely agile. Anby's origins were unknown, but judging from her combat performance, she had undergone extensive training. As for Billy, he was a robot; if he was determined to escape, taking a few hits wouldn't stop him at all.
Ignis sat in the cargo bed, scrolling through Inter-Knot posts and other sites. Recently the Mountain Lion Gang had suddenly gone quiet. Many Inter-Knot users were remarking that the vicious gang had finally calmed down. Others speculated that they might have messed with some formidable force, like the Defense Force.
Someone was trying to buy Fantasy on the Inter-Knot, but users despised that narcotic. After hurling insults at the buyer, moderators deleted the post. The shortage of the drug meant that the factory producing it had been unique. That facility had clearly been ritual-enhanced with the sorceries of Slaanesh; a second factory wouldn't appear anytime soon.
However, during this period, many problems would surface. Nobody knew what desperate addicts might do now that their supply had been cut.
Someone was discussing the incident at the Vulkan Quarter thermal power plant. A troublemaker posted a blurry photo, claiming they had captured parts of a Guardian mech being transported out that night. The cause of the blaze wasn't an electrical accident in the warehouse.
Soon others replied that the image was too blurry to see anything and accused the poster of stirring trouble.
Moments later, the entire thread was deleted.
Apparently, even the Inter-Knot knew certain things couldn't be spread.
With a screech of brakes, the machine-spirit settled into silence again. When Nicole opened the cargo door, Ignis realized that the meeting place was on Sixth Street. No wonder the boss didn't want him bringing weapons; nothing was likely to happen here.
After getting out, Nicole and her "good big son" headed toward a café. The residents around here were familiar with the giant, so they weren't surprised. But today he wasn't wearing his biker-style leather gear; instead, he wore a full business suit, and people seemed a bit unaccustomed to it.
Outside the café sat a table with a parasol. It was afternoon. A girl in a black hoodie sat there with her hood pulled low, focused on her phone. A cup of coffee sat untouched before her. From the edge of the hood, one could see she had pink hair similar to Nicole's. Was this the fashion of New Eridu, or did they simply share the same hair color?
Nicole dropped into the seat across from the girl, crossed her legs, and tapped the table.
"Rain, I'm here."
The girl lifted her head slightly, gave Nicole a look, then glanced at Ignis before placing her phone facedown on the table.
"All right, give me the thing, and we'll go our separate ways," she said quietly. "A lot of hackers have been tailed recently. Their methods aren't subtle; they always leave traces."
"But that makes it even more unsettling. Feels like someone's warning me not to mess around lately," Rain muttered, reaching into her pocket. A packet of tissues slipped out and fell near Nicole's foot.
Nicole understood immediately. She bent down, picked up the packet, dusted it off, and handed it back.
During that dusting motion, she had already slipped the two data cards inside the packet.
Rain looked mildly annoyed, stuffed the tissues back into her pocket, drained the rest of her coffee in one gulp, and walked toward the subway entrance without another word.
The transaction had been so quick—three sentences total.
"Buy two coffees. If we don't sit for a bit, Rain's departure will look suspicious," Nicole said as she took out her phone to send a message.
Ignis couldn't enter the store due to his size, so he shouted his order from the doorway. Both the money and coffee were passed along by helpful customers.
The café owner was interesting—a robot who had passed the Forbidden Fruit test. People called him Master Tinman. His most distinctive feature was his head, shaped like a coffee pot. Quite amusing.
If there was anything unsatisfactory, it was the size of the cups. Too small. Ignis took one sip, barely tasting it before it was gone. Yet even from that small sip, he realized the robot truly had skill in brewing; the flavor was excellent.
"Next, let's grab the discounted goods at the 141 Convenience Store," Nicole said as she finished her coffee and continued tapping on her phone. "All right. I've arranged it with her. Once the decoding is done, she'll contact us."
"But speaking of which—how did you find the Mountain Lion Gang's hideout?" Nicole asked with genuine curiosity. The giant tended to involve himself in too many matters. "People on the Inter-Knot are speculating they have their own set of Carrots—records of hidden Hollow rifts only they can use."
"One of my friends—she's…" Ignis paused, considering how to describe Jane Doe. "A very professional intelligence operative."
"With such an impressive friend, when will you introduce her to me? She might bring new high-value jobs to the Cunning Hares. Our reputation's skyrocketing recently—tons of people want to hire us."
The automatic door of the convenience store opened. Ignis ducked his head to avoid hitting the frame.
Discount season meant business was at its peak. The 141 Convenience Store was packed with people. Fortunately, Ignis was big and strong enough to push through the crowd and secure the large haul of discounted goods Nicole wanted.