Chapter 47 – Landfill (3)

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]

Chapter 47 – Landfill (3)

James William.

No, changing his name to ‘William Kojaka’ he shouted, his voice full of nerves.

‘Why the hell! I can’t become the chairman!”’

‘That’s—.’

He cut off the female secretary’s answer.

His words were filled with the F-word.

‘It’s just a mascot character for marketing, so why on earth!

Even if that’s the real reason, it’s not a reason that can’t be changed!’

The secretary bowed her head silently without answering.

She was an employee of the ‘Ninja Force,’ known for their loyalty only to the Kojaka family.

‘I got married because they said family ties were important, and I showed them results because they wanted performance.’

After scattering the items on the desk, he lamented in a calmer voice.

‘Does it make sense that I can’t change the chairmanship even with the approval of the majority of the board? You answer me!’

The secretary did not raise her bowed head.

She answered in her usual relaxed tone.

‘Please be careful with your words. The chairman is watching.’

William Kojaka scoffed.

‘Chairman? That mascot character is nothing.’

‘And this, this is from the chairman.’

The secretary took out a small case from her pocket.

Inside the case was a watch with a luxurious design.

Was he angry again after seeing the watch?

William Kojaka brushed off the watch case the secretary was holding with a nervous gesture.

The watch and case were tossed around and fell to the floor.

‘Cut the crap, I’m going to move from tomorrow to get rid of that damn Chairman character.’

And then.

It was after Kojaka William had said those words.

All the electronic devices around him flickered. Monitors on the desk and walls are switched on, revealing a ‘mouse character’ against a red background.

It was the famous mascot of the Kojaka Corporation, the character known as ‘Mr. Pete Mac’.

He was also the ‘Chairman’ whom William Kojaka had been complaining about.

The sudden change in the atmosphere made William Kojaka stop what he was doing.

This was his living space, unrelated to the Kojaka Corporation.

In other words, it was a situation that could only be interpreted as a security breach.

The secretary picked up the fallen watch and handed it back to William Kojaka.

‘Still, it would be best if you accepted it.’

‘……’

He could have asserted his pride here.

In the end, he accepted the watch from the secretary.

‘And as I mentioned before, the Chairman is watching. Please be mindful of your words.’

The secretary bowed and walked out of the room.

Even after that, Kojaka’s mascot character, Pete Mac, was still watching William Kojaka from the monitor.

‘……You, no, what are you?’

He asked the monitor, still holding the watch.

It might have been his imagination, but he felt that the character could hear his actions and words.

As if to confirm his suspicions, the character on the screen spoke.

【Me? Of course, I’m a friend to children! I’m Mr. Pete Mac!】

“You’re telling that now─.”

【But actually, I have a different real name.】

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]

Voice, tone, speech, even the slightest inflection.

Everything about it changes.

【Yes, I didn’t see you at the meeting (お顔合わせ).】

He spoke from beyond the monitor.

【I am─.】

***

I swallowed hard.

The situation was becoming stranger than I had expected.

William Kojaka, the Vice President of a prestigious megacorporation, asked in a trembling voice.

“…Chairman Nobukuro, what is the meaning of this?”

【Oh, this is Smile John now. Please call me ‘John’ with some affection!】

“Let’s stop with the jokes. Did you also orchestrate the attack on the airship I was on?”

【No, that was done by your brother-in-law, um… Koichiro Kojaka. I guess he really wanted the vice president position.】

“…Such a thing.”

At Smile John’s, Pete Mac’s, and Nobukuro’s response, William Kojaka fell silent for a moment.

He seemed to be organizing his thoughts.

Watching him, I quietly took a step back.

I wasn’t thinking of running away.

It was because Smile John had appeared.

I remembered the first thing I needed to check.

Carefully, I placed my hand on the ground.

Gathering mana, I used magic.

It was a spell to detect heat sources in the vicinity.

It was the same spell I tried to use at the entrance when I went looking for Maya recently.

But I couldn’t use it because Andrea broke down the door.

It was for the purpose of exploring the surroundings.

Normally, I could have asked Eve to find out.

However, in the underground village called the ‘Sewer’, where there were no surveillance cameras or internal map data, it was difficult to get Eve’s help.

I focused for a moment to survey the surroundings.

Various heat sources, large and small, could be felt through my palm on the ground.

After a moment, I lifted my hand from the ground.

Hmm.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Kojaka’s Ninja squad was about to attack us immediately.

That gave us some time.

I decided not to run away immediately and watched William Kojaka and the hologram of Smile John floating above his watch.

Even without me asking questions, I could gather enough information just from their conversation.

…But.

I muttered softly.

“Nobukuro.”

Since Smile John had appeared, there was no need for the voice modulation function, so I had turned it off beforehand.

If it’s Nobukuro, does that mean ‘Nobukuro Kojaka ‘?

It was definitely a name I had heard somewhere before.

Eve responded to my muttering.

[I inform you that it is the name mentioned by the President of Monolith Corporation at the ‘Quantum Nexus’ party.]

Oh.

[Checking the remaining information in the database, it was also said to be the name of Kojaka’s founder.]

He was indeed a person who seemed likely to hold the position of Chairman.

…But someone like him…

Wearing a mascot character or a smiling emoticon mask and doing crazy things?

Anyone who didn’t know him would think it was a joke. I couldn’t understand it either.

Seemingly having gathered his thoughts, William Kojaka looked at the hologram floating above his watch and spoke.

“…So what is this situation, and why did you suddenly appear?”

It was a reasonable question from his perspective.

Earlier, when I asked about ‘Smile John’, he reacted as if he had never heard the name before.

So, it was natural that he didn’t understand what was happening now.

【Well, as I said before.】

The hologram answered nonchalantly.

【Honestly, it has nothing to do with you. Let’s just say I was casting a fishing line.】

He continued speaking.

With each word, the pitch and tone of Smile John’s voice changed.

In small ways, the timbre shifted, and in larger ways, even the gender changed. I wasn’t the only one who noticed Pete Mac’s voice mixed in there.

【Haha! For me, such data transformation is simple.】

William Kojaka, still not understanding the situation, let out a frustrated sound.

“So what is─.”

【To put it simply, you’re just bait on the fishing line, and you are not the fish I was aiming for.】

Was it just my imagination, or did Smile John’s hologram from the watch seem to be looking at me?

But it seemed my intuition was correct.

【Shun! Lightning was quite thrilling! Of course, I was fine, but my subordinates were a bit unfortunate. Well, such things happen in life, don’t they? Haha!】

“…So what’s your point?”

【Second warning for informal speech. Just so you know, we have a three-strike rule, including the informal speech I heard on the overpass. Well, you should know by now, given my name, there’s quite an age difference, isn’t there? Haha!】

…Then at least drop the act.

I almost said those words but held back with strong self-restraint.

Since it was revealed that he was the Chairman of a megacorporation, it would be unwise to antagonize him recklessly.

I asked with the most basic politeness.

“What do you want?”

Using formal speech wasn’t that difficult.

【Hahaha! Then let’s get to the point.】

The small hologram of Smile John spun around.

From the conversation, it seemed there was a separate living body, but I wondered how it could express such strange movements.

The hologram spoke as if it was nothing.

【It’s not some planned trap or any other trick.】

“…?”

【Well, if there’s a reason, it’s simply that, as I mentioned before, I was curious about how far Eve could act and move. I didn’t want to come looking again and get struck by lightning, so let’s say I conducted a large-scale experiment.】

I had heard something like that before when I first met Smile John.

He had mentioned being curious about the superintelligence, Eve.

【Of course, part of it was because I thought it would be quite entertaining, hahaha!】

…Hmm.

Instinctively, I felt the latter reason was the main one.

Well, it’s pointless to expect logic from a madman.

【So that’s why. The reason I spread information about appearing at the corporate party and created Smile John’s voice data using William’s voice.】

Meanwhile…

William Kojaka, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, briefly questioned Smile John.

“…Why did you do this?”

【Just because.】

“…”

…Not the kind of treatment someone like him usually receives.

Leaving the abruptly silenced William Kojaka behind, Smile John’s hologram changed into ‘Mr. Pete Mac’, Kojaka’s mascot character.

Accordingly, the voice changed to the falsetto often heard in advertisements.

【I did attend the party in person, but it’s a bit disappointing you didn’t notice!】

The mouse character shrugged slyly.

Even the way of speaking had changed.

【Even as a superintelligence, it seems your data mining needs improvement! Keep trying!】

Personally, I really wanted to punch him just once.

【Anyway─.】

At that moment, the hologram flickered. Pete Mac’s voice also began to fade.

Pete Mac, aware of his condition, continued speaking as if it were nothing.

【Ah, it seems the hologram is draining the battery. I’ll take my leave now! By the way, the Ninja squad on the surface wasn’t sent by me─.】

With those final words, the hologram shut off.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three of us—Catherine, William Kojaka, and I—remained silent.

…I couldn’t make sense of the situation. I tried to suppress a sigh that was about to escape.

After seemingly understanding the situation, William Kojaka cautiously asked me.

“…First of all.”

I listened intently.

“You don’t seem to be from ‘Cyber Force’.”

…That was the cover story.

From the crazy hologram’s words, he could infer that much.

No matter how brazen I was, continuing to lie here was impossible. Besides, I had already turned off the voice modulation.

“…That’s right.”

“Then who exactly are you?”

…Hmm.

How should I explain this?

Originally, the mission was to kidnap, but we ended up rescuing the Vice President as passing mercenaries.

I showed him my palm, gesturing for him to wait a moment.

I turned around and approached Catherine, who was leaning against a wall.

I intended to discuss this issue with her.

“Hey, how should we explain this?”

…However.

Catherine seemed more concerned about something else than this issue.

With a somewhat irritated tone, she glared at me.

“…That ‘Eve’ Smile John mentioned, who is she? Sounds like a woman’s name.”

“…”

Ah.

[Translator – Late Dreamer]

[Proofreader – Seeker]