Translated by: Falions
Edited by: dothacktranslate
“How about it? Which one of you cockroaches is Flugel?” asked Urania.
“Uh, I am.”
Flugel presented Urania with the guest key bestowed upon him by Veronica Bain.
“You really saved us. Thank you very much. We narrowly escaped that. We were about to be burned cockroaches.”
“I’ve been told to bring you to our @HOME.”
Urania ignored both Flugel’s lip service and the guest key. Instead she looked Flugel up and down. Then she jerked her chin at Kusame and the informant.
“Who are these two? I wasn’t told about them.”
“I am NAB agent Kusame.”
Kusame took a step forward.
“We were investigating Net Slum with Mr. Flugel here. I’ve heard of you before. I’d like to have a chat with you after this if you don’t mind. How does that sound?”
Urania glared at Kusame.
“You’re with NAB?”
There was a fierce look in her eyes. While her face was stone cold, her eyes were filled with animosity. She let out a resigned groan.
“Do whatever you want. It would be an honor to work with an elite public servant such as yourself. And you are?”
The informant trembled.
“Oh, I’ve got nothing to do with this. I’m not even interested in this conversation. I just happen to be here with them. Really…”
The informant enthusiastically explained his standpoint, but Urania seemed to lose interest immediately.
“Come to Breg Epona.”
She turned towards Flugel.
“There you’ll find the ALGOS @HOME. The guildmaster is a man named K.K. He wants to talk with you.”
Then, seemingly having conveyed all she wished to convey, Urania turned her back to them. The other Sophias took her lead and also turned their backs to the three men. Their movements were precise and orderly, like a military formation.
“Wait, Ura,” called out Flugel.
Urania stopped and looked coldly over her shoulder at Flugel.
“Oh, can I call you Ura?”
“Sure, if you want me to shoot you in the ass.”
“Nevermind, then. Won’t you be coming with us? It’d be helpful if you showed us where to go.”
“I’m busy. There’re more rats to take care of. I don’t have time to hold your hand.”
“It’s too bad you’re busy. One more thing. How long have you been hiding in this square?”
“I arrived soon after you and the dog logged in. I saw you go into Flying Cap’s @HOME.”
“Wow, we didn’t notice you at all.”
“After that we estimated the time needed to wipe out those rats.”
Urania sneered like a cheerful shark.
“Since you all foolishly came to the square, it became easier to set a trap and save you.”
After she had finished speaking, Urania and the other Sophias silently flew up into the sky. At about ten meters in the air, she stopped and looked down at the trio below.
“See you. We’ll meet again. For now, be safe.”
The nine goddesses, glittering in gold and silver, flew off into the town.
“So, basically, we were used as decoys,” said Kusame.
“The @HOME…”
The informant watched the Sophias fly away and suddenly muttered to himself as though he had returned to his senses.
“That’s right. My @HOME…”
The inside of the informant's jazz cafe was painted a dark grey as though a graphics-related bug had occurred. The rats had bitten, scratched, chewed, and devoured all the data inside until they couldn’t eat any more. The cloud repositories that contained everything the informant owned were also destroyed. All of his stored data had been devoured and it was now useless.
His base, which had been destroyed by Orgel’s machine gun and soon after had caught on fire during the trouble in the Black Forest, was now left in complete ruins due to the rats. This was the third scene of destruction, but this time it was just unrelated collateral damage.
The informant was speechless.
“Ah…” said Flugel.
“I made copies copies of the files you sent me. Shall I return them to you? Yeah, I’ll return them anyway.”
Flugel placed a bunch of scrolls and parchment on the grey object that was once a counter.
The informant was still speechless, so Flugel kept talking.
“Oh… hey. If you look at it from this perspective, it’s like yakisoba with seaweed. What’s done is done. This ship has sailed. So why don’t you fight for world peace with us? The three of us could form a team. We could come up with a cool team name. For example, umm, goggles, glasses, the Glasses Trio.”
“Glasses? I don’t wear glasses,” said Kusame.
“Alright, then let’s go go shopping! We’ll go buy some now!”
“Please, just go,” said the informant.
Flugel nodded.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
The informant slowly sat down on a gray object that looked like it had been a stool.
“From now on, please don’t involve me in this anymore. Please don’t contact me again.”
He slouched and put his hands on his knees, then sat motionless. He only looked to be about 15 years old.
Flugel put his hand on the kid’s shoulder and gave him some encouragement.
“If you’re half the guy I think you are, you can rebuild this place in no time. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and cheer up! Once the dust has settled, I’ll come and visit you again.”
The informant lifted his head and looked at Flugel with an expression of such deep sorrow, the likes of which Flugel had never seen before. Flugel cast his eyes downward.
“That was a bad joke. I’m… sorry.”
Flugel and Kusame left the @HOME.
To their surprise, Net Slum’s residents started to reappear in the streets. The residents cautiously looked around at their surroundings as they filled the streets. They weren’t sure how, but they had escaped the giant swarm of rats. Net Slum’s citizens were tough and resilient, like weeds. The city had recovered from the unprecedented chaos faster than expected.
“Was the trojan successful?” Kusame asked in whisper mode.
“To prevent Seto from finding out, I set it to emit a signal after it’s determined his true physical location. I’ll need a little more time to determine if it will succeed.”
Flugel shrugged his shoulders.
“However… he might have been caught in the bombing by those cool ladies.”
“No, the timing’s all wrong.”
Kusame sneezed.
“But, if the Sophia Squad hadn’t shown up, the rats would have gnawed us to the bone. What awful creatures. I’m lost for words.”
“They’re troubling beyond belief. It should be impossible for one Schicksal PC to be able to demonstrate this much power.”
“He can manipulate millions of rats. More than enough to fill Net Slum.”
Kusame crossed his arms.
“If we can’t take Seto on by ourselves, then… how about multiple Schicksal PCs? For example, allies with the same abilities as him. Can you produce a lot of rats?”
Flugel shook his head.
A Schicksal PC reflects the player using it. The performance would be completely different. Flugel didn’t think there’d be anyone with the same abilities as Seto.
Even if there was someone who could control rats on the same level as Seto, at best they’d only be able to produce one thousand to two thousand rats.
However, Flugel thought of another possibility.
Facing Seto alone would be impossible, but what about using some other sort of ability?
“That’s it. Wait. Remember what we were talking about before the rats attacked the informant’s shop?”
Kusame quickly understood what Flugel was saying.
“The Black Forest? Oh, you mean, a type of special computer connected to human parts.”
“What if Yuri Seto uses this computer, gets more powerful, and produces a lot more rats?”
Flugel and Kusame were silent for a while.
“I feel like that could happen.”
“I have the same feeling.”
Kusame turned to face Flugel with a restless look.
“Alright, then. I’ll go to the Akasaka branch and look into this. If I leave now, there should be some people still there when I arrive. Perhaps I can even meet with whoever is in charge. Can I leave the Sophia Squad meeting to you?”
Flugel nodded eagerly.
“Of course. I can get through that easily.”
Kusame looked as though he was about to say something, but he didn’t say it after all.
“Well, I’m counting on you,” was all he said instead.
Dual City Breg Epona is a giant town embellished with high technology. In this town where tall skyscrapers stand, the gap between the rich and the poor is apparent. Rulers and socialites live in the gorgeous upper segments, while the poor people live in the slums below. This is how it was configured.
The ALGOS @HOME was located in the upper level, accessible by elevator.
Upon entering, Flugel was greeted by a system admin PC.
“Urania told us you’d be coming. Welcome.”
From the neck down he had the same look as a regular system administrator, but his headgear made him stand out. Instead of a hat, he was wearing a mask with a bird’s beak.
He had the appearance of a plague doctor found in medieval European artwork.
Flugel liked his sense of fashion.
“I am KK, the one responsible for this guild.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Flugel.”
“I heard there would be a member of NAB with you.”
“Oh, he recalled some urgent business he had to attend to, so he logged out a little while ago.”
“Is that so? That’s disappointing.”
KK gently nodded.
“By the way, Flugel, this isn't the first time we've met.”
Flugel looked right at KK’s face.
KK’s eyes and nose were obscured by the mask was wearing. The only way for Flugel to tell his expression was his mouth, which wore a smile.
“To be more specific, we met in the real world. At the Baketon Hotel. I took you to meet President Veronica Bain.”
Flugel remembered that it was about two weeks go. This was the man who led him to the penthouse. No doubt about it, he was the Secretarial Office Chief, Mr. Ogura.
“Do you remember? Allow me to properly introduce myself. In the real world, I am Kiyoshi Ogura. Please keep that in mind from now on,” said KK in a friendly tone.
KK invited Flugel in.
“Well, please come in. Let me show you inside.”
Flugel walked in, guided by KK.
“As I'm sure you've noticed, this guild’s name comes from the real life company ALGOS.”
KK began to explain as they walked.
“I work for CC Corp as a representative of the ALGOS Japan branch. I'm originally from ALGOS’ Odaiba division. I've been entrusted by President Bain to oversee the Sophia Squad.”
“I see,” Flugel interjected.
ALGOS is the Sophia development company that produces computer virus removal software, specifically the “Sophia System Security” software.
They passed through an automatic door and suddenly their surroundings went dark.
Flugel took a few steps into the darkness. All he could be sure of was the floor. The darkness enveloped him, extending outwards for what seemed like forever.
KK’s position was also unknown, though he ought to have been still right next to Flugel.
Suddenly, the space in front of Flugel cracked open with a bright light. The light ran across the wall and revealed a floating carving that looked like ancient ruins and a wall painting made of light.
“This is ALGOS’ monitoring room.”
KK stood in front of the previously unseen wall and seemed relieved to see his hands again.
Along with torrent of light, innumerable windows opened one by one like a tree of information.
Flugel was surprised by the pictures displayed in these windows. In several of these windows there were pictures of the rats with the purple hexagonal effect.
“This is live footage of various places in The World. We are taking control of all the areas that contain those rats,” said KK without trying to conceal his joy. He ran his left hand across the operations board and one by one the images changed. Each one of them displayed the sinister-looking rats.
“I see,” said Flugel.
“I thought Urania's arrival in Net Slum was timed a bit too perfectly. It's because she was monitoring the rats through this, right?”
KK nodded.
“In simple terms, it is like a real life satellite camera. It's a camera that has been installed outside the limits of the program, that is, far above the entirety of The World. It circles once every 14 minutes and shoots photographs of everything in this world. This camera has the ability to distinguish exact objects
on the ground with a success rate of over ninety percent. As long as the object moves, we can track it, even if it's a small handful of rats. This is true of hidden objects as well.”
KK again touched the operation board and the windows all closed at once.
However, the light on the wall continued to dimly illuminate the room.
KK turned to face Flugel.
“I think we can work together,” KK said.
“You have an advantage in this matter. You should have plenty of useful information, and as you can see, we certainly have the technology to find and eradicate the rats. Flugel, would you like to join us and fight against Yuri Seto together?”
Flugel stayed silent for a while. He had several questions running through his mind, so he didn’t to ask them.
“Before I answer, please answer a few questions.”
“About what?”
“How many rats are there now?”
“There are now less than a hundred dispersed in groups of about ten lurking in the deepest parts of several areas. In total there were eight hundred and three. After today’s battle, they’re almost completely wiped out.”
“Have you been able to determine the whereabouts of Yuri Seto's PC?”
KK’s eyes looked gloomy.
“Unfortunately not. We haven't been able to locate his true form either.”
“It seems like it’d be easy to find out with with the camera I believe you mentioned before.”
“The World is just too vast. Even with ALGOS’ cameras, it is impossible to photograph all areas at once. It is inevitable that there will be some delays and gaps in time. I think he probably finds his way into those gaps and disappears from view. It’s a little mistake. We should find him soon. No doubt about it.”
“I see,” nodded Flugel. I see, indeed, he thought.
“Well, this surveillance system is indeed amazing. I don’t think just one or two programmers could manage it. So, how do you manage it?”
“You make a fair point. This guild is operated and managed by a small team of programmers. These are the people I newly hired for this project. They are not logged in, but are still on duty. This interchange also does monitor checks in the real world.”
“Is it alright if I talk with them?”
KK’s mouth appeared to stiffen.
“I’m… afraid not. For the sake of maintaining confidentiality.”
“I just want to ask two, maybe three, quick questions.”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow it.”
“Then, can you let me have a quick look at the system side of things?”
“My earlier explanation is as much as I can tell you without breaking the rules.”
Flugel nodded. I see, indeed, he thought.
Just then, a buzzer sounded in the room.
“It seems Urania has returned,” said KK.
Just as KK had said those words, the automatic door opened and Urania entered. She was alone. The other members of the Sophia team were nowhere to be seen.
“Immunization operation status?” KK said to her, but his voice was cold and emotionless.
“Completed once and for all. We collected data from the rat remains in the plaza and then burned it all to the ground.”
Urania smiled and laughed joyfully.
“If this were real, the rat carcasses would have stunk to high heaven.”
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Yeah. I earned more than six thousand dollars today.”
“Your harvest will analyzed and judged by the result monitor. Please wait to be contacted by the person in charge.”
“I’ll do that. I’m satisfied with my work for today, so I’ll be signing off.”
The buzzer sounded again. This time it was louder and lasted longer than before.
“Please wait, Urania. I hate to send you back to the place you just returned from, but it seems the remaining rats have started to gather all in one place.”
After KK finished interacting with something in the real world, he spoke to Urania.
“They’re all gathered together and there are less than a thousand, but it can’t be left to chance. Please remove them.”
She did not reply.
“Urania?”
“Not interested.”
Urania faced downward.
“What–“
“The herd is too small. It won’t net me any money.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Making money is the Golden Rule. I’ll harvest when the pack of rats is bigger.”
KK took a deep breath and then spoke.
“I’m telling you to follow my instructions.”
As long as users are not in harm’s way, I have final say on sorties. Doesn’t it state that in my contract?”
“I am the guildmaster.”
“Is that so? Congratulations on becoming the class representative.”
Urania smiled.
“You’re a perfect example of a useful idiot.”
The conversation between them turned into English partway through. Flugel did not know whether it was because the conversation was getting very heated, or because he was a third-party, but he did not ask for the contents of the conversation. Either way, even though he did not understand their words, it was to clear to Flugel from the look of the two people standing before him that they were quarreling rather than having a conversation.
KK looked at Flugel as though he came back to his senses.
“I’m terribly sorry you had to see that.”
“Oh, no. A spirited workplace is a gift of a boss’ virtues,” said Flugel.
KK looked at Urania and cleared his throat.
“Let’s start over. CC Corp and ALGOS will never give in to malicious crackers. Our mission at ALGOS is to protect users by eradicating Yuri Seto’s rats. Flugel’s job is to capture Yuri Seto. I think we can achieve each goal efficiently if we cooperate. Would you be willing to join ALGOS?”
“I saw Seto’s little exchange with you in Net Slum.”
Urania let out a light chuckle and quickly shook her head.
“I don’t think joining forces with you is of any use to me. I will not be your goddamned shield.”
“Urania, please be quiet,” KK said in a stern voice.
“Yeah, she’s right,” Flugel said after a while.
“I will hand over the information I’ve gathered so far. Use it as you wish. However, I don’t get the feeling that joining ALGOS and working with you will work. As she said, we’ll probably just get in each other’s way.”
“I see. That’s disappointing,” said KK with a tinge of disappointment.
He gave Urania a side glance.
“I hope you didn’t refuse because the mood was soured.”
“Far from it. It was good to see your lovely facilities.”
“If you change your mind, please come back at any time. I’ll be waiting.”
As Flugel was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and turned to Urania.
“Your name, ‘Urania,’ does that come from Greek mythology?”
Urania glanced at Flugel.
“I don’t know.”
“Have the other members of the Sophia team also been given the names of the Muses?”
“Hey, I said I don’t know, didn’t I?”
“Now that I think about it, ALGOS is named for the Greek myth of Argos, isn’t it?”
Flugel kept talking regardless of KK and Urania’s reactions.
“Yeah, that’s right, there was a proverb about that in Greece.”
Flugel abruptly began to recite a verse from memory that sounded like a poem, but the words were not in Japanese.
It seemed that KK was taken aback by the poem that had suddenly been recited.
Urania was expressionless and did not react.
Flugel looked at each in turn and smiled.
“”Well, thank you. Sorry to have disturbed you.”
With that said, Flugel left the ALGOS @HOME.
Flugel got on an elevator and descended to the main floor and, once outside, sat down on a bench in the shadow of the skyscraper. The rows of houses were bathed in a gentle sunlight reminiscent of early summer, but when Flugel checked the time, it was nearly eight o’clock in the evening. What a surprise. He had overworked. I should have called Lilie to let her know I’d be late for dinner, he thought.
In any case, food would have to wait. Flugel sat on the bench for another thirty minutes to see what would happen. He was unsure whether his plan had worked.
“Don’t worry about anyone eavesdropping,” said Urania.
She shifted around as she sat cross-legged next to Flugel.
“I set up a barrier to prevent wiretapping in this area. KK and the people at ALGOS can’t detect that I’m here, and even if they realize where I am, they can’t hear our conversation on this bench.”
Flugel gazed at her face in profile.
“I see. That’s one of Sophia abilities, isn’t it?” he said.
“Could you not appear so suddenly again? You startled me.”
“I came because you called. Well, it was more than that.”
Urania groaned from the back of her throat.
“How did you know? I wasn’t trying to hide it, but why didn’t anyone notice it before?”
“It was the way you pronounced your words when speaking with KK. The accent sounded familiar to me. It was the same pronunciation a university professor of mine used when speaking English,” said Flugel.
“The professor was an Eastern European Jew. Then it clicked. Your signature phrase. ”Peace be upon you’ is a common Jewish greeting. Isn’t that right? So, I figured you are a Jew or of Jewish descent.”
“So, you spoke Yiddish.”
The words Flugel had recited before leaving were not a Greek proverb, let alone Greek. He merely said the following words in Yiddish.
Hey, sweetheart, why don’t the two of us go talk outside? I’ll be waiting at the Chaos Gate.
Urania looked at Flugel deeply.
“Despite being kind of a punk, you’re pretty crafty. Right?”
“I’m glad you think so. I figured someone would realize that one day.”
“Tell me what you’ve got. You called me out here alone to talk about things you don’t want ALGOS to hear, right?”
“I think I’d like to hire you.”
“What?”
“I’d like you to divert data on the swarms of rats through illegal channels. Things like the location, size and behavior of the swarms, among other things, in a way that KK and ALGOS won’t be able to interpret.”
“What are you talking about? Earlier KK said he wanted to cooperate, didn’t he? Wouldn’t it be best to ask them directly?”
Flugel shook his head.
“KK can’t be trusted. Neither his attitude not his abilities. I realized it as soon as he started talking. He lacks the power of imagination that is typical in The World.”
Why use a surveillance system that for some reason cannot locate Yuri Seto’s PC? While I can grasp that fact, I’m not trying to seek out the reason for it too deeply.
Also, KK said that ALGOS had several newly hired programmers. Can we be certain of their identities? Can we say with certainty that Seto’s Yuri Seto’s reach hasn’t extended to them?
And while he was willing to cooperate with Flugel, he was extremely wary of him knowing the systems interior. It was apparent that it was a scheme to take all of Flugel’s information.
“Urania, what do you think of KK?”
“I was a fool to not notice the crap he was tossing my way,” Urania said spitefully.
Flugel smiled bitterly as she said this.
“That’s harsh…”
“I didn’t think the rats were linked to the success of my career. If that guy is being commanded by that old Veronica bitch, I’ll gladly make his eat his words.”
“Don’t do business with such people. Isn’t that the Golden Rule of business?”
Urania gave a small smile.
“Hey, punk, it’s really fun talking to you, but why are you making me an offer like this?”
“Because you’re right in the thick of things. At ALGOS, only the Sophia team heads to the front line and engages with the rats. You can best understand the current situation,” Flugel said quietly.
“Earlier you refused KK’s instructions. By having a futile exchange of words, you were being careful to not give Seto an opportunity to analyze the Sophia team’s capabilities. Isn’t that right? You may be a fucking cracker, but I believe that I can trust your judgment.”
Urania sat very still on the bench and looked directly at Flugel.
“Will I get anything out of this?”
“Of course, I’ll pay you. How about in this place? It’ll have to be Japanese yen, though. Convert it to dollars on your end.”
Flugel opened a window, input a number and showed it to her.
Urania glanced at the number.
“Another thing. If you find Yuri Seto’s PC body, I will issue you a bonus.”
Flugel opened another window and entered a new number.
“Why can’t ALGOS’ monitoring system find Yuri Seto’s PC? Is it just a coincidence as KK says? Or is Seto taking precautions, and if so, what are they? I don’t know Seto well enough to tell if his intellect is outperforming both KK’s and yours-no offense! But, listen, don’t you think it’s a problem worth tackling?”
Urania did not take well to Flugel’s words. She spoke thoughtfully.
“If information is leaked, I’ll be in breach of contract with CC Corp and I won’t get paid by them. On the other hand, if I pay the penalty for breach of contract, my criminal record in San Diego won’t go away.”
“That’s if it happens, though.”
“If it happens, you’ll be in trouble too.”
Urania shook her head.
“I don’t know what to do. What do you get out of this? You’re also employed by CC Corp. Why do you seem to be working against them?”
“It’s not about money or advancing my career.”
“Then, why do it?”
“Because justice flows through my veins,” said Flugel.
Urania looked at Flugel with an expression that looked as though it had seen many incredible things, and scowled for a full minute.
“I’m shocked.”
Urania shook her head slightly.
“Completely shocked.”
Soon a nefarious smile spread across her face. She laughed in a way that made it look like sharks were jumping out of the sea and protruding from her chin. She decided to sink her teeth into it, metaphorically speaking.
“Very well, Flugel. I’ve taken a liking to you,” she said.
“I’ll join in on your plan. I’ll transmit information on the rats and I’ll help you capture Yuri Kazinsky Seto.”
After exchanging email addresses, Urania murmured in a self-deprecating tone.
“I’m a Cracker of Justice. This is the pinnacle of my career.”
“You’ve made it. You can write that on your resume.”
“I’ve got you to thank for it.”
Urania stood up.
“Well, see you. I’ll be going now.”
Flugel called out to her as she turned away.
“Be careful. Don’t take Yuri Seto lightly. Run away if you think things may get dangerous. You’re in charge of the most dangerous part of our plan.”
“I know. I don’t plan on being disposed of by CC Corp. I’ll earn as much money as I can. From them and from you.”
“Peace be upon you,” said Flugel.
“And peace be upon you.”
Urania returned to the bench. Then she smiled. Her eyes softened and her smile started to look somewhat charming.
“I want to meet you someday. I want to see your stupid face in the real world.”
As she said it, Urania silently flew off into the sky.
Like a shark that swims silently in the sea.