In the depths of darkness, someone's voice drifted in.
[We were neither ambitious men nor greedy men, merely children who loved technology.]
I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but something faintly nostalgic rose from those words.
[Do you remember the day we first felt as though we were breathing?]
I could tell at once whose low, gentle voice that was.
[Back then, that breath alone was enough.]
Yi Sang's voice. It was unmistakable.
[Or perhaps... the air was simply unusually clear that day.]
With those words, consciousness surfaced.
I had clearly left the darkness behind, but all I could see was hazy smoke and dust.
Once I pushed through that obstruction, the first thing that came into view was... the K Corp street in utter chaos.
The moment I registered that horrific sight, screams, ringing in my ears, and all manner of unknown noises slammed into me.
Through that racket, I could make out Dante and Yi Sang nearby.
"It is time to... turn the clock back."
Hearing Yi Sang's words, I understood.
We'd lost. Everyone was dead except me and Yi Sang.
Calling it alive when I could barely even open my mouth was probably a joke, but still.
How had it ended up like this... Ah. Right, an Abnormality.
An Abnormality had suddenly appeared right in the middle of K Corp's Nest.
We'd only been stunned by the absurdity for a moment... then fought however we could, and got wiped out.
An Abnormality appearing in the middle of a Nest is strange, sure... but Abnormalities are also the property of Wings, and there was that whole mess with N Corp rampaging inside K Corp's Nest too... So yeah, something was definitely rotten here.
Hah... really, what a goddamn...
*
...What was that just now?
For a moment, while I was drifting in and out of sleep, it felt like a ruined K Corp Nest district had flashed past my eyes.
Had Sinclair, who'd recently dragged out an N Corp identity, finally fried my brain?
...Considering how my condition had been in the dumps for days, that seemed possible.
Anyway, what a grim dream.
It had been a little over a month since we started repeating the insane act of moving through a Nest by road.
So it made sense that I'd be having weird dreams like this.
Setting that aside, when were we supposed to arrive at our destination?
"Where are we going this time?"
Apparently I wasn't the only one thinking that, because Hong Lu asked Faust about our destination.
"No. The starting point of this operation is not a place, but a person."
"A person, you say?"
"We have a client."
Oh... that was unexpected. I thought the last request, the chicken one, had been the end of it.
"Does that mean... we're taking requests from outside, like a Fixer office?"
A Fixer office, huh. That sounds like someone here would react to that, Ishmael.
"Oh-ho, are requests already pouring in? Splendid! We may soon become a famous Fixer indeed!"
...My ears hurt. We'd barely woken up, so could they show a little consideration?
"Quiet. I will answer the question."
Oh... that low voice was exactly what I wanted to hear. It had been a while since I'd felt grateful to Vergilius... I could probably half-doze and listen.
"As you all know, the existence known as the Golden Bough is a relatively recent discovery."
Yeah, yeah. I know. It hadn't existed at least until two years ago.
"Fortunately, the J Corp and D Corp we passed through earlier showed no particular interest in the Golden Bough. So alleyway thugs would loiter around, or some half-baked group would form and take over."
So that means K Corp is interested in the Golden Bough and is cleaning up the thugs, then?
"But there are also Wings that noticed the existence of the Golden Bough early on. Like K Corp, where we are now."
Bingo. That's the answer.
"Hmm? But the Golden Bough in K Corp was already obtained by us, wasn't it?"
"I don't recall anyone ever saying there can only be one Golden Bough per Wing."
Vergilius gave a simple answer to Gregor's question.
Come to think of it, a company as huge as Lobotomy Corporation could easily have more than one branch in a single Nest.
"A Lobotomy branch is more complex than you think. It spreads out everywhere, like branches on a tree."
"Like how it was connected to my house's basement..."
...Then why the hell was the mansion basement connected to a Lobotomy Corporation branch?
"Ownership of the Golden Bough has not yet been clearly defined. So we're only applying a primitive rule: ownership passes to whoever discovers the Golden Bough first."
"Well, a sleeping treasure belongs to whoever claims it first~"
"So... you mean we took on this request on the condition that we'd get the Golden Bough?"
At Gregor's words, Vergilius corrected him with a faint smile that seemed oddly satisfied.
"More precisely, they proposed a trade."
...The way he put it makes me uneasy. A Wing like K Corp subcontracting work to some unknown company, Limbus Company, and just one department at that?
"For us, a request involving a Golden Bough leaves us with no room to choose..."
"Yes... I suppose not."
Before Vergilius could even finish, Ishmael cut in and brought it to an end.
Hmm... the next thing he was going to say was...
"So, you're saying we should handle the request properly without getting on the client's bad side?"
"Hmm... you do understand. I do hope this time you'll act on that understanding."
Good, I guess I got the gist of it.
"Now then, until we reach our destination, keep your mouths shut. As usual."
<...>
Ah, Dante's mouth snapped shut.
"It seemed as though Dante was trying to say something."
<...Thank you, Faust.>
"Ah, my apologies, Dante. It is not exactly easy to respond every time one hears ticking."
"..."
Faust fell silent for a moment after hearing Dante's words.
...What?
"He is asking about the use of the Golden Bough."
So she was just translating?
"...Oh. So at last, Manager Dante is engaging in reflection. How curious, to show such interest in the company's movements."
Reflection? That means to mull something over, right?
Still, with that tone, it sounds like he's actually going to explain it.
"In that case, this guide must also assist the Manager with a kind explanation."
Oh, oh. Really? She's telling us?
"A Golden Bough is..."
Ooooh...!
"Exactly what it sounds like. If there is a part that wishes to extend from a stem, we call that a branch. And that branch shines gold."
"Ohohoho... indeed..."
...Only Don Quixote nodded along with real enthusiasm.
Suddenly Dante was the idiot who didn't even know what a branch was.
He's doing this on purpose, isn't he?
"Verg, the road's blocked. Should we turn back?"
"..."
Wait, the road's blocked? In the middle of a Nest?
Nest roads are absurdly complicated and full of traffic, sure, but they shouldn't be blocked off like that, should they?
"Blocked?"
Ishmael also seemed to notice something odd in the wording and raised a question.
"A dead end is strange. More importantly, in the middle of K Corp's Nest, there shouldn't be anything causing a disturbance..."
Thud! Screeeech──!!
Before Ishmael could even finish, something heavy slammed into the bus window.
"...That thing that just hit the bus and got bounced off... was a person, right?"
Ah, that annoyingly high-performance eye caught it exactly. It was definitely a person.
"Male, appears to be in his early forties. Looks like he suffered severe damage to the back of the head. He was already dead before impact."
...Monster.
"Yes, this does not seem to be a simple disturbance."
By then, having judged the situation to be serious, Vergilius opened the bus door and said, "Get off. If it is a problem that can be solved, solve it and return."
"...And if it isn't?"
"Then the clock will keep being turned back until it is solved."
Hah, if it was a fight we couldn't win even with endless rewinds, he'd help us anyway, so why scare us like that?
"When have I ever not? If you're told to strip, you strip. That's all there is to it."
<...>
What, don't stare at me like that. I'm right.
"Hmm, then..."
Hm? Now Rodion has something to say?
"Everyone, disembark."
"Pffft!"
"..."
Ah, damn it. I lost it.
"Why? That's what you were going to say anyway, wasn't it? I just said it for you~"
Aside from Rodion brushing it off with easy charm, I could feel Vergilius's sharp gaze.
...Am I still alive?
"I'm looking forward to it. What sort of adventure awaits us this time?"
Really... he's so out of place.
With Hong Lu's words, we all got off the bus.