Chapter 327: Departure! The Secret of the Expedition Outside the Tower
"Yu, what exactly are you doing?"
"Ehehe~"
"The hell kind of 'ehehe' is that?!"
"Because she gave me way, way too much."
Amano Rei had never once felt this particular mix of speechless and furious before.
The final party responsible for the infinite debt had, through an Overkill transfer, changed over to Kikawayu.
In other words, the person Amano Rei was set to retrieve from outside the Tower next week had shifted from his former fiancee to the best friend he'd lived alongside day and night.
Not that the rescue itself was any less necessary. As far as Kaiba Corporation was concerned, the planned itinerary hadn't changed in the slightest.
But for Amano Rei personally, the pressure had suddenly become something else entirely.
Celestia might carry the title of former fiancee, but in practice, he and Celestia had only crossed paths a handful of times. At most she counted as a woman he was on familiar terms with.
Kikawayu was different.
His best friend wasn't simply a good friend to him anymore. She was someone he'd lived alongside for eighteen years, family in the truest sense of the word.
"Do you understand the success rate on this rescue is a complete unknown, Yu?"
"As long as it isn't a flat zero percent, I'll trust you, Rei!"
"This is no time for pretty words!"
"There's no other option left anyway~"
Kikawayu shrugged, looking every bit like a dead fish. As if she were lying on a cutting board, twitching once for every word he threw at her, but doing absolutely nothing useful about it.
"Look on the bright side, Rei." Kikawayu leaned in slowly, pressing close to Amano Rei's ear, whispering. "I've got Yubel right here with me, so at the very least you don't need to worry about my safety. Which makes me the perfect candidate for the job~"
"Yubel..."
Feeling the warm breath from Kikawayu's mouth against his ear, Amano Rei found himself calming down instead.
It was true. With Yubel's top-tier spirit power, even outside the Tower, her personal safety should be reasonably guaranteed.
Of course, that guarantee only mattered if there was actually danger to guard against in the first place.
When Amano Rei had asked Kaiba Chiaki what conditions outside the Tower were actually like, the answer he'd gotten back was: nothing at all.
At least within Kaiba Corporation's current explored zone, a 107,200 square kilometer area radiating out from Eden Tower, no trace of any living thing had been found.
If it really was a safe environment with nothing out there at all, then the success rate for a straightforward rescue after someone's exile should have been high.
But that was exactly the damned problem: this "nothing at all."
Kaiba Corporation's exterior exploration teams hadn't even found the remains of any of the vicious criminals exiled from the Tower over the past century or so.
Which was exactly why Kaiba Chiaki had given the answer that the success rate was unknown.
Since Kikawayu had taken over Celestia's infinite debt partway through, the final repayment deadline had been pushed back a week as well, giving Kaiba Corporation more time to prepare.
But even with that extra week, what had to come was still going to come.
Through that entire new week, Amano Rei couldn't even work up the mood to clear the newest Duel Chronicle.
Once everyone around them learned what was going on, they went out of their way to be considerate of the two of them.
Whether at home or at the Academy, everyone that week seemed to fall into a silent agreement, leaving Amano Rei and Kikawayu plenty of time alone together.
The whole atmosphere carried the same heaviness as if Kikawayu had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and was due to pass away within the week.
Even though the mood everyone else had created was a bit heavy, Kikawayu herself seemed happier than she'd ever been during this stretch.
Ever since coming to the Middle District, as Amano Rei had grown more and more "in demand," the time Kikawayu got to spend alone with him had steadily shrunk compared to their days back in District 32.
But this week, Kikawayu had finally gotten her wish.
"Here, your bento~"
During lunch break, on a bench in the Academy plaza, Kikawayu opened up an elegantly packed bento box.
Unlike Nanki'in Sakuya, who'd just shove two half-eaten rolls of bread at him, Kikawayu had carefully prepared an actual meal.
As for the taste...
"It hasn't changed at all. Tastes exactly the way it did back when you used to bring me lunch at work."
Back when Amano Rei had worked at the District 32 recycling plant, Kikawayu had often brought him food.
Something he'd once taken completely for granted, looking back on it now, maybe he really had just been that oblivious.
No, no, no, there's absolutely no way that was his fault. Even if she brought him food every single day, who could have guessed his male-presenting best friend actually had feelings for him?
"Hahaha, honestly I only know how to cook a handful of dishes anyway, so of course it tastes the same."
Kikawayu laughed without a care in the world, not looking the least bit like someone about to be exiled.
"Mm, but I love it." Amano Rei stuffed a huge bite into his mouth.
Given the poverty of District 32, managing to cook up a handful of different dishes at all already made his best friend pretty impressive.
Kikawayu's cheeks flushed faintly. "Rei, sometimes you really are... completely unaware of how aggressive you can be."
"Aggressive?"
"No, nothing. If you love it, eat more~"
After clearing out the whole bento in a whirlwind, Amano Rei finally noticed that Kikawayu, who hadn't taken a single bite herself, had just been sitting on the bench this whole time, head tilted, quietly watching him.
"Aren't you eating, Yu?"
"I'm already full. Thanks for the meal~"
Watching Kikawayu act like this, Amano Rei felt his own earlier worrying had been more than a little foolish too.
"Seriously, Yu, aren't you scared at all?"
"Nope, not scared in the slightest. Because no matter where I end up, you'll come find me, Rei."
"Why do you have that much confidence in me?"
"Because you've never once let me down, Rei. Except, that one thing with Finesse..."
"Finesse?"
"Heheh, just pretend I was talking to myself."
Kikawayu held her bento and looked up at the sky overhead. The sky she saw right now was a fake one, but the one she'd see tomorrow would be the real thing.
"So yeah, I'm just going to think of it as a little outing~"
"An outing? It's not going to be anywhere near that easy."
***
"The left bag has compressed rations and water storage capsules. The right bag has communication and positioning gear. Remember, both bags are matters of life and death. You can't afford to lose either one!"
Kaiba Corporation's exploration team logistics chief, Ms. Yukimura Sawa, an elite office worker around thirty years old, kept driving the point home again and again as she helped organize Kikawayu's supplies.
"Yes, yes, yes, I've got it. I'm not a little kid." Kikawayu nodded over and over.
"Once you're outside the Tower, if there's nothing especially dangerous around and visibility's decent, our recommendation is you just stay put. Sit down right where you are and wait for rescue."
Ms. Yukimura patted the chest of Kikawayu's protective suit. "In case you get bored, I tucked some sunflower seeds into your pocket. If you really can't stand the waiting, they'll help pass the time."
Why did this really sound like an outing after all?
Maybe framing it that way was also meant to ease Kikawayu's own negative feelings, clearing out some of the psychological baggage.
Then again, could you actually crack sunflower seeds while wearing a protective suit?
"One more thing. Open your mouth." Yukimura said.
"Ah, mmph!" The instant Kikawayu opened her mouth, something slick was pushed inside, sliding straight down her throat into her stomach. "Wh, what did you just make me swallow?"
"A small tracking device." Yukimura said.
"But isn't there already a tracker in the bag?" The sensation of the cold object sliding down her throat left Kikawayu feeling more than a little uncomfortable.
"That's only for our best case scenario. Don't forget, you're technically a criminal about to be exiled from the Tower." Yukimura tugged at Kikawayu's protective suit.
"Eden's very likely to confiscate your belongings. Maybe they'll leave you your clothes. Worst case, they strip you of everything, clothes included, and just toss you out bare. That's when this thing comes in handy."
If she really was stripped bare before being cast out, then it would be this small tracker sitting in her stomach that finally earned its keep.
Its signal accuracy couldn't compare to the proper tracking gear, but it was without a doubt the last line of insurance.
Proof that Kaiba Corporation really had spent the whole week in serious meetings, hashing out this unprecedented exterior rescue plan.
"Ms. Yukimura, I wanted to ask, what actually happens during the exile process?" Amano Rei asked, curious. "Does the whole person just vanish in a flash, and then you open your eyes and you're already outside the Tower?"
Yukimura looked at Amano Rei the way you'd look at a lovable idiot. "A teleportation-style device like that works well enough for transporting cards and supplies. But use it on a human being, and you're essentially breaking a person down molecule by molecule and reassembling them. That's a violation of basic human dignity."
"A violation of human dignity?"
"It's the equivalent of killing you, then using the exact same structure to create a new you somewhere else in the world. Even if no one else can tell the difference, the you from one second ago is already dead, and the new you isn't really you anymore."
"Somehow that sounds kind of terrifying."
The image of exile being some direct teleportation was probably something Amano Rei had picked up from playing so many Chronicles, constantly getting transported into another instanced world.
But that was ultimately transportation through a virtual consciousness network, nothing to do with transporting an actual physical body.
And the data-jumping that "Shigatsu Ichi" had once demonstrated was purely because the immortals of the Top Layer no longer had physical bodies at all.
"So even when it comes to exile from the Tower, Eva still uses a relatively traditional, gentler method."
"How gentle is 'gentle,' exactly?"
"Oh, time's up, ah!" Kikawayu, watching the debt repayment countdown on her Eva Terminal hit zero, lost consciousness and collapsed instantly on the spot.
Yukimura explained, "First, the Eva Terminal shocks you unconscious. Then an AI from the Security Bureau comes to take custody, and finally you're exiled through the border zone in District 36."
"Sh, shocks you unconscious." Amano Rei watched as Kikawayu, having dropped stiff to the ground just like that, was carried off by the Security Bureau's AI.
So it turned out what the Security Bureau had told him before, about taking quite a few shocks, had actually been true all along.
This terminal device, forcibly strapped to everyone's wrist from the moment they were born, had this kind of "dangerous" function built in too.
Made sense, really. His own system had already implied, indirectly, that the Eva Terminal could hack directly into the human brain. A little electric shock wasn't exactly a shocking revelation on top of that.
Looked at that way, if the mainframe Eva ever wanted to, it could strip every single human being of the ability to resist, all in a single instant.
No wonder it held the highest authority inside Eden Tower. A gadget like this, basically the "Dictator Switch" straight out of Doraemon, could only be trusted in the hands of an AI with no emotions, one that answered to pure order alone. Only something like that could resist the temptation.
"All right, we should get moving too." Yukimura reminded them. "The exile process takes roughly an hour. If we move fast, we might just manage a seamless handoff and bring your friend straight back."
A seamless handoff, meaning the moment Kikawayu got tossed out of the Tower, he'd be right there outside to catch her?
That really would count as the best possible outcome.
This time, Kaiba Corporation's exterior exploration team, Amano Rei and Kaiba Chiaki included, numbered twenty-three people in total, and they were already standing fully equipped at the edge of the Middle District, ready to depart.
Unlike an actual exile, which had to pass through the bottom-level District 36, the authority Eva had granted Kaiba Corporation let them head straight from the Middle District to outside the Tower.
Or rather, they were only permitted to exit from the Middle District at all.
"So why can't I come along, Kaiba?! I want to go too. With my skills, I wouldn't be a burden!" Rin Seiya was still pushing hard for it.
Kaiba Chiaki explained coldly, "You're not a Kaiba Corporation employee. Eva's exit authorization only applies to internal personnel."
"Then just let me join Kaiba Corporation already. You know exactly how much I love Blue-Eyes White Dragon, don't you? Just throw a few million a year at me and we're good."
Well, look at that. So this was senpai's real angle all along, using this as a chance to score herself a cushy position.
Unfortunately, Kaiba Chiaki's ice-cold glare might as well have spelled out the word "get lost" directly onto Rin Seiya's face.
Besides Rin Seiya, quite a few friends and family had also gathered around Kaiba Corporation to see them off.
Amano Shio said, concerned, "Big brother, you have to be careful out there, okay? Once you've got Yu, come straight back. No fooling around outside the Tower."
"I'd love to fool around out there, but there's nothing to even fool around with."
Celestia, who by all rights should have been the one exiled, had shown up as well. "Amano, please, bring Kikawayu back safely. She's a good woman."
"Woman?" Everyone looked puzzled.
"Cough, I mean... a good person."
Mizuki: "If it were possible, I'd really love it if Brother Amano could stream this live. But it looks like there's no way to connect to Eva's network outside the Tower. Such a shame!"
Kuroshio Nagi: "My oshi, at least bring back plenty of photos."
Nanki'in Sakuya: "I'm counting on you with Kikawayu, Amano. She's not just your best friend, she's part of Class 1-E too. She has to come back safe, no question."
Yui: "The District 32 Iron Foursome, we can't be short even one person!"
Meanwhile, over with the Kaiba sisters.
"Big sister, please be careful this time too."
Ever since the ice broke between them, the two sisters' relationship seemed to have grown even warmer than before.
At the very least, Chiaki now showed a reasonable amount of concern in return, instead of it always being Chiha alone acting unhinged over her sister.
"Chiha, this isn't the first time I've gone outside the Tower. If anything, you're the one I'm worried about. While I'm gone, don't go causing chaos at the company again."
"I'm not the same as before, big sister! You can leave the company to me and not worry a bit while you're gone!"
That's exactly why I'm not going to feel at ease, Amano Rei silently griped to himself.
Last of all, Finesse quietly caught hold of Amano Rei's wrist, her face flushed, and murmured, "Amano, once you're back, I'll tell you some good news~"
"Good news? Then why not just tell me now?"
"Because telling you after you're back is when it'll make you the happiest, obviously!"
"All right then. I'll be looking forward to it something fierce, my lady."
"Time's up. Everyone, prepare to move out!"
At the commanding sound of President Kaiba's order, every member of the expedition activated the specialized protective suits the company had issued them.
The steel gate that had sealed humanity inside Eden Tower for a thousand years slowly ground open, accompanied by a harsh, grinding mechanical roar.
Amano Rei's heart began racing without his even meaning it to.
Even though Kaiba Chiaki had told him there was nothing outside the Tower but ruins, Amano Rei still couldn't hold back the excitement welling up inside him.
Maybe longing for freedom was simply human nature.
Like a caged bird. No matter how real or how luxurious the cage that held it might be, only the instant it truly touched the open sky could the emptiness in its heart ever really be filled.
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