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chapter 45
“The person we need to find here in Batterfall is ‘Logan Redfield.’ He’s probably a local craftsman, in his mid-20s, and has a hippie style.”
“Oh. That’s a pretty common name, isn’t it?”
Kin responded to my words and strapped a bracelet onto his arm.
Click.
Seeing this, John quietly turned to Kin for help.
“Um… could you check if this is properly fitted?”
“Let me see.”
We had just purchased and were wearing a personal signal-blocking device called a Ghost Band from a suitable shop.
Although Batterfall’s surveillance systems were somewhat resilient against external interference, they didn’t fully prevent personal tracking.
Click.
Kin, helping John secure the bracelet, casually spoke up.
“All set. Now take out all the chips you’ve got and smash them.”
“…Excuse me?”
John stared at Kin, shocked.
Kin, seemingly unbothered, said again in a tone that implied, why are you looking at me like that?
“Why? Weren’t those all the ones you used while working for that company? Who knows what they installed in there?”
“Ah, yes… that’s true, but…”
“If it’s true, don’t complain. Just take them out.”
“Y-yes…”
With a gloomy expression, John reached for the socket at the back of his neck.
Click, click, click.
“Ugh… I’ve never removed all of them at once… I feel a bit dizzy.”
He looked at the five or six chips in his hand.
In that instant…
Whoosh!
Kin mercilessly took all the chips and smashed them with force.
Crack!
“Good! They were probably expensive, but this was necessary, right?”
“Y-yes…”
Kin patted John’s back approvingly, but John just stared at the shattered chip pieces in his hands.
He clearly regretted destroying what had been expensive items.
Then, John mumbled as if he suddenly remembered something.
“Um… but if I’m wearing the Ghost Band, doesn’t that mean I won’t get caught anyway?”
“Huh?”
I quickly spoke before John had a chance to be unnecessarily shocked.
“…Not exactly. Even if this place is semi-criminal, the skill level here isn’t so extraordinary that it covers all the risks.”
John’s eyes, about to waver at Kin’s reaction, fixed on me.
I continued, looking at him.
“Hidden illegal tech specialists aren’t necessarily better. High-performance devices are naturally produced in high-tech corporate factories. You can’t expect top-tier gear from here.”
This wasn’t a world where the more hidden an item is, the better its performance.
Naturally, there were technical limitations in this area.
This illegal market thrives not because of cutting-edge tech, but because it provides reasonably priced illegal goods backed by some technical competence.
Thankfully, John seemed to understand, nodding in agreement.
“I see… so destroying the chips wasn’t a waste. But… then, this ‘Logan Redfield’ you’re looking for, is he different?”
I replied calmly.
“Yes. At least, he’ll make the best you can get here.”
“Oh…”
Kin let out a small impressed sound at my words.
Well, even if I’d never met him, that wasn’t necessary to mention.
Besides, I wasn’t lying.
In the game, the Ghost Band obtainable from Logan Redfield was the ultimate item in this sector.
Operating in this 50-series zone, you could proceed without worrying about tracking if you got it quickly.
So the correct choice was to wear the market-bought Ghost Band while still searching for Logan Redfield to minimize risk.
“Then we’ll stick together and look for this Logan, wizard?”
Seeing the situation roughly organized, Kin spoke quietly.
“We’ll split it 2-to-1. Two of us, obviously, are me and John Scoidge.”
I was responsible for John, so that was natural.
“Good. You have your communicator, right? It’s secure, so contact me if anything happens, and we’ll meet back tonight.”
With that, Kin waved and left.
His tall figure soon disappeared into the crowd on the road.
Watching him go, I turned to John, who had been standing silently.
“Let’s get moving too.”
To put it bluntly, it was a bust.
The first place I went was the commercial area where Logan Redfield frequently appeared in the game.
But there was no sign of the Logan Redfield I knew anywhere.
“Logan? Why? Haven’t seen him in a while.”
Even when asking local shopkeepers, all I got were suspicious looks and testimony that he hadn’t been seen recently.
“Looks like he’s not here…”
John muttered gloomily beside me, but I didn’t see it as a bad sign.
After all, the rumors were correct—Logan Redfield was in this area.
But had he been sick around this time?
Of course, NPCs in the game wouldn’t report when they went to a hospital, so I couldn’t know.
Still, it was odd because everyone talked as if Logan Redfield might die soon.
It was surprising to imagine the rough guy I knew could have been that frail.
…Or maybe there was something I didn’t know.
While lost in thought, a shopkeeper, eyeing John and me suspiciously, finally spoke up.
“But you two are strangers. Why are you looking for Mr. Logan? Who are you?”
Well, nothing to hide.
I replied nonchalantly.
“We’re customers. Heard he’s skilled, so we came looking. Problem?”
“What?! Hah!”
The shopkeeper laughed at my words.
Just as my eyebrow twitched at his reaction, he continued.
“You came to see his skill? Where did you see him online? I want to know that marketing agency. Hah, came to see the old man’s skill? Hahaha, this is hilarious.”
The shopkeeper chuckled alone, then waved us off.
“If you want him to do some work, anyone here can do it. Just ask anyone. Oh, is it expensive? Me? I’m fine too…”
No need to hear more.
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, y-yes…”
John, glancing at me, followed.
Tap. Tap.
“…”
John kept watching me as we walked.
Finally, he spoke.
“Um… doesn’t that contradict what we heard?”
I expected that.
Several merchants had given harsh assessments of Logan Redfield.
The situation directly contradicted what I knew, so John’s suspicion made sense.
…Was the one-year gap too big?
Technology doesn’t improve overnight.
Surprisingly, Logan seemed to have become incompetent.
If not, there must be another reason…
“Um, you called him an old man.”
“Hmm?”
John hesitated but continued.
“You said Logan Redfield would be in his mid-20s, right?”
That’s right.
“But… these people called him an old man. He’s middle-aged… Logan, yes, but… well, that could be possible.”
Now that I think about it…
It was true.
The way the shopkeepers spoke suggested a much older man.
I had known Logan’s image and filtered the information myself, but their words didn’t match the Logan I knew.
Once I realized that, my brain quickly corrected the twisted information.
The Logan Redfield from the game, and the one we were looking for here—they didn’t match.
Most of the information didn’t line up.
Just then, a familiar voice cut through the noisy crowd.
“Are you crazy? I said no, damn it!”
That voice… Kin?
I turned and saw Kin surrounded by people, confronting someone.
What on earth is he doing there?
Then a rough voice from Kin’s opponent, previously hidden by the crowd, rang out.
“A pearl necklace for that pig? The world’s gone mad! End times, I tell ya!”
Wait—a rough voice? Could it be…
Suspecting as much, I pushed through the crowd with John.
“A pearl necklace for a pig? Are you kidding? Do you know who I am?”
“Hmph! Whoever it is, they don’t deserve it. I’d cry seeing that necklace on you. Even the maker would feel the same!”
They exchanged heated words.
At first, I could only see the smoke from the hidden opponent.
The closer I got, the more I could see the person confronting Kin.
“Damn it! Who do you think you are, causing trouble? Wanna fight?”
“Wanna fight? Sure.”
The opponent said cynically, puffing smoke from a pipe.
“And you asked who I am? Good. Remember this name, and clean your tiny ears for it.”
Finally, breaking through the last of the crowd, I saw the person I had come to Batterfall to find.
“My name is ‘Logan Redfield.’ I’ll become the greatest technician in Batterfall.”
Unwashed, curly hippie hair, a wild beard.
Worn khaki tank top over a developed upper body, oil-stained work pants with many pockets.
Cybernetic arms, with glowing orange, mysterious tattoos.
It was unmistakably the Logan Redfield I knew.
“Remember my name clearly, you little brat.”
Logan raised his middle finger at Kin.
