...It seems Dante trusts me a lot more than I expected. No matter how I look at it, this feels more like Mr. Meursault's job than mine... Tch. If I'm told to do it, I'll do it. What else can I do? It's not even that difficult in practice.
Since I'm doing it anyway, might as well be thorough.
First, this isn't a short trip, so I should start with a disguise. My base Identity is Seven, and among my Identities, this is the only one that can carry a concealed weapon. I passed on DH, since that necklace mark is too famous and I might get exposed if I'm unlucky.
I borrowed a suit and lab coat from a reasonably intact corpse lying around—something K Corp researchers wear. Then I put on the rimless glasses the Seven Identity carries, adjusted my expression like this... and done! A little imitation of Dongrang's face, with some style! Hm, I look exactly like a K Corp researcher. I got a little excited and spun around in place.
"How is it? Don't I look a little like a researcher?"
"Oh... yeah, Sara really does have that studious look. It suits you. If we're not careful, we might not even recognize you."
"Doctor, you really do seem like a different person at times like this... though you're not all that different from the rest of us."
"Mr. Gregor? That's kind of annoying in its own way, you know?"
"Consider it payback for all the times you've been messing with me. What, did you think you could keep teasing me forever?"
"Kuh..."
Damn, I got one back. Maybe I really did tease him too much... I should promise to do it less... no, what am I saying? I should tease him even harder. Revenge.
"...This might not be so bad after all..."
"Huh? What was that, Ms. Ishmael?"
"No! I just said it suits you."
...Suspicious. Anyway, judging by the other prisoners' reactions, this disguise seems pretty high quality. If I just act like a researcher from Ms. Shurenne's team and check the data, I should be able to bluff my way through unless I have the bad luck to run into her people. They can't possibly inspect every little thing I do in a situation like this.
"Looks like the preparations are more or less done. Then, I'll be off."
"Tick. Tock. Be careful."
With a few casual farewells from the group, I set out to find Ms. Shurenne's computer.
Earlier I'd said I was copying Dongrang's expression and all that, but in this situation, a normal researcher making that face would look way too unnatural. If someone that eccentric existed, they'd probably be famous like Dongrang, so there'd be a high chance of suspicion. This side is better if I want to look like a cool researcher... but this is still work, so let's take it seriously.
Keep my expression a little darker than blank, with a subtle look that's hard to describe—confused, but not enough to be obvious. At the same time, I should run like a beginner, all rushed and full of wasted steps.
If I do that in the middle of a place that's being terrorized, even a first-time observer would probably let it slide. As long as my glasses wobble naturally with my body, it'll be perfect.
- thud, thud...
Even while I was doing that, the Technology Liberation Alliance members were avoiding danger by using the power of the "eye" and the terrain to their advantage. They weren't especially gifted in instinct or battlefield experience, so they could hide easily without much effort. As long as I kept my breathing steady despite the deliberately clumsy running form, there wouldn't be a problem.
At this rate, I wouldn't have to deal with any trouble from the K Corp researchers, and I wouldn't get caught by the Alliance members either. The preparations were done, so now it was time to begin the real search.
The first place I searched was, naturally, the direction the researcher who'd been looking for Ms. Shurenne earlier had come from.
...You might ask why I didn't just ask that researcher from before. Well... by the time I'd finished preparing, they were already gone. And asking for Ms. Shurenne's lab location there wouldn't have fit the situation very well either. I needed someone to guide me, inevitably...
Ah, a researcher. Since I happened to need someone who knew the way, maybe I should put on a little act.
"E-excuse me... h-hic... um, do you know where Ms. Shurenne's lab is? I-I forgot an important file there last time...!"
"I-it's over there. Go down that corridor and turn left..."
"T-thank you!"
I grabbed a few fleeing researchers, teary-eyed, and asked for Ms. Shurenne's lab. Even while their voices trembled, they answered kindly. ...The acting I learned back when I briefly got paranoid is actually helping me here. I never thought I'd use it this seriously in a place like this. Hm... not a very pleasant memory, so let's move on.
Then Ms. Shurenne's lab should be... there?
After slipping past a few wandering Alliance members, I darted into the lab and found a computer that was still on. Found it.
Just in case it wasn't the right one, I quickly typed in the password... "Iwanttoseeyousenpai" ...Good, it's the right one. The moment I confirmed it was Ms. Shurenne's computer, I rifled through its contents and filtered out every app that could be used to send mail.
...Tch, to be honest, I'd like to look into K Corp-related material too. No, a lot of it, actually... but if I listen to Dongrang from underground, they're probably already tracking everything, so it'd be better not to do anything beyond my orders. I should just look for the mail.
...Found it. The mail. The other messages were useless, so maybe this is the only one I need.
Judging by the scattered references to Ran and the Liberation Alliance in the contents, it's definitely worth taking. Printing it out would... probably bring all the Alliance members outside running over here. I'll just memorize it.
For memorization, I won't rely on my own head—I'll borrow the power of the "eye." More precisely, I'll imprint it onto this eye. This should be much easier and faster to remember.
If I treat it like a light scan... good, it's working. Then I'll just wait until the scan is done.
It's obvious enough to say, but this is no ordinary eye. If you think about it, aside from the fact that it can see, it probably has nothing in common with the eyes people are born with. According to the prisoners who saw my crushed corpse firsthand, it apparently looks more like a "glass marble" than a "real eye."
If I leave it to Faust, she'll probably figure it out before long, but still, that's a bit... Ah, it's done. Now I can go—
"So there was still a researcher left. I'm glad I came back."
...I've been found. What rotten luck, of all times to pass by when I was at my most vulnerable.
"Um... could you maybe just pretend you didn't see me and let me go...?"
"And why should I let you live?"
Damn it, there's not even room to negotiate. There are... two of them? That's rough to handle alone, and running away is... one exit is blocked by them, and the other direction... damn it, it's collapsed. I should've looked more carefully.
...At this point, I have no choice but to fight.
"If you don't do anything troublesome, I promise I'll kill you painlessly. Come here already."
"....."
Wait, did the disguise work...? That would make things easier. Maybe I should probe a little.
"...Y-you really will let me die without pain?"
"Yeah. If it's too much trouble for you to come over, should I go to you instead?"
With that, the Liberation Alliance member slowly approached. ...Seeing how careless he is, it's obvious. He's at least treating me as a noncombatant researcher.
Well, they're not K Corp employees, and if there's someone in a clearly K Corp researcher outfit who looks harmless at a glance or up close, they'd have no choice but to fall for it.
In that case, I should crouch a little like I'm protecting something...
"...Then die—"
- thunk, crack, squelch.
Suddenly I sprang up, and with a one-handed sword I pierced straight through his face, then twisted the blade as I pulled it out to ensure instant death.
As his body collapsed, brain matter and fragments of his face sprayed out in front of me. Objectively, it was grotesque beyond belief, but to me, who had grown fairly used to scenes like this, it didn't stir much at all.
To me, who had grown used to scenes like this, that is.
"W-what...?"
No matter how much of a researcher he was, it'd be hard not to feel fear when a comrade's face gets smashed in and he dies in a situation this far outside expectations. I used that to my advantage and leapt at the remaining Alliance member, who still hadn't fully recovered his senses.
- thunk
"Y-you... you weren't a researcher...?"
"It's a little late to realize that now."
The dazed Alliance member managed to react to the attack, but he couldn't stop it, and in the end the blade pierced clean through his heart.
"Ghk... Ran... sama..."
"....."
...The aftertaste is disgusting. I had no mercy for the enemy, though.
I wiped the blood off my sword with the cloth I carried. ...Time to go back.
When I returned, I ditched the acting and rushed back as fast as I could. Just in case something had happened to the prisoners. Of course, they weren't the kind of people who'd be wiped out just because I was gone, but... by the time I got halfway back, Alliance corpses were scattered everywhere, and it gave me a bit of a scare.
Calmly following the trail of corpses and moving quietly, I was relieved to find the Limbus Company group there.
They looked a little worn down, but not especially exhausted. Only after confirming that everyone was safe did the anxiety that had been creeping up on me finally disappear.
"Prisoner No. 14, Saramago, has just returned."
"Tick. Tock. You're back. Good work."
"So, did you find the mail?"
At Ms. Otis's urging, I began reciting the contents of the mail I had imprinted into my eye.
"Yes, there was one worth reading. However, the situation wasn't suitable for printing it out, so I memorized everything."
Right, it went like this.
"How have you been, senior? Open parenthesis, star tears tears and tilde symbol and squared symbol, squared symbol... close parenthesis."
"D-don't people usually skip that kind of thing when they read...?"
"If they're at the level of communicating with enemies inside a Wing, there may be some kind of code in the punctuation too... but even taking that into account, it doesn't seem like very useful content. I'll omit it."
...Hm, I didn't actually memorize it in my head—I just blurted out everything without thinking. It might really be a code, though... but from a quick glance, there doesn't seem to be any pattern that carries especially important information. At best, it's probably some indirect way of conveying something. And Dante gave the order too, so from here on, I should just filter things out as I read.
I once again slowly replayed the mail in my head and began putting its contents into words.
- beep