NOVEL NEXT Chapter 186
There are things that cannot be hidden, even with a mask.
Those are emotions.
“Mayor! Our industry is planning to hold an elegant party this time, and we would love for you to attend and grace the occasion…!”
“I heard what you said at the city council. It was pro-megacorp policy. …By the way, is there any chance you’d consider relaxing the criteria a bit so that ordinary companies could benefit from that policy?”
“Funding for companies and city tax rebates were truly the right choice. Our chairman has praised it…”
Even while wearing a mask, everyone knew how to approach him. The area around Alexander Harding, who attended the party, was filled with numerous corporate figures.
After all, this party had indeed been organized with ‘that intent’. Alexander Harding did not show any signs of fatigue and welcomed everyone with a smile.
Due to the structure of Neon City, which was created by a democratic mayor system controlled by corporations, it was difficult for anti-corporate council members to be elected as mayor.
Of course, Alexander Harding was a pro-corporate figure as well.
“Haha, that’s right. Exactly.”
In this situation where high-nosed businesspeople were bowing their heads as they entered, it was only natural for Alexander Harding to respond gently.
However,
Alexander Harding’s mind was filled with another thought right now.
‘…Why am I feeling so anxious?’
It felt like someone was tickling his spine.
He desperately wanted to escape to the council building nearby.
In fact, Alexander Harding had experienced this feeling several times in his life.
The first time was when a hack was attempted on his heart implant, almost leading to his death, and the second time was when he heard news about tactical nuclear bombs being planted in the city.
Alexander Harding resolved within himself.
‘No way. I need to finish this event and then get out of this party first.’
As he looked at the ‘businessman’ approaching him, Harding forced a smile.
Usually, he would be the one to initiate greetings unless it was someone like the Executive Secretary of Monolith, who had attended a few parties.
So, he expected that this businessman had come to greet him as well.
“Excuse me, Mayor?”
“…?”
However, this businessman was a bit different.
The first words he uttered were strange.
Normally, it would be standard to call him ‘Mayor’ or ‘Mayor!’, but there was something slightly peculiar about the way he approached.
Moreover, there were two beautiful women flanking him, exuding charm even while wearing masks.
That was a rare sight in this party.
It was only natural for Alexander Harding’s expression to slightly furrow.
“…Which company are you from? This isn’t the kind of place for that.”
At his words, the man glanced around and pointed at himself. A smile appeared on his lips visible beneath the mask.
When Alexander Harding sensed something was off, it was already too late.
The man turned towards the women next to him and said with a grin.
“You heard the story, right? This isn’t that kind of place, so there’s no need to hold onto my arm….”
“……?”
Wait, he wasn’t flaunting these women around, was he?
Alexander Harding’s gaze naturally shifted towards the woman beside the man.
He locked eyes with a cold gaze beneath the mask.
‘…I feel like I’ve seen this gaze somewhere….’
As he rummaged through his buried memories, his head tilted for a moment.
Just then, a message popped up in his visual interface.
【Currently attending the party: ‘Taylor Blackstar’, chairman of the ‘Black Monolith Corporation’, and two other individuals. Mayor, please take special note─.】
He didn’t have time to read the rest.
Alexander Harding swallowed dryly.
‘…This report is way too late.’
It was a problem with a garbage reporting system.
The mayor’s eyes trembled like aspen leaves.
Given that he thought this wouldn’t be a place to see them, even after checking many photos, he hadn’t recognized them at a glance.
Slowly, the corporate figures around him seemed to sense the strange atmosphere, looking at Alexander Harding with puzzled expressions.
Alexander Harding sighed softly.
“Ah.”
It seemed today would be the last day of his term.
40. Party, Bella Vista (2)
Ugh, this guy is sweating a lot.
……
Well, he was picking a fight with the chairman of Monolith, who essentially ruled the world.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d given up on this life and moved on to the next in that situation too.
“Chairman, I’d like to apologize for not recognizing you at a glance.”
“……”
Even with the mayor’s words, the chairman clinged to my side… well, could you loosen up a bit now?
We needed to engage in conversation.
We had just moved to a small party room.
Considering that the topic was secretive, it would be difficult to discuss it in a public (although secret) setting.
People around the mayor looked puzzled at his sudden change of location, but the security personnel flocked in quickly, and we were able to move easily.
“I’m really sorry. I made a big mistake—.”
“You didn’t come here just to talk to me, right?”
The chairman’s firm voice cut off the mayor’s words instantly. The charisma in his voice felt like a dagger that could break the mayor’s heart implant.
Even if he hadn’t been by my side, he would still seem more charismatic.
Anyway, that statement made Mayor Harding turn his head toward me. Although we were wearing masks, it seemed he had already figured out who we were.
“…Ahem, you must be the ‘Unique Wizard’.”
“That’s correct.”
I subtly pulled down the mask I was wearing. After all, when talking to elders, my face should be visible. Otherwise, the Confucian dragon inside me would be noisy.
“Surely you didn’t come to see me for business purposes.”
“That’s true.”
Mayor Harding picked up a champagne glass left on the table.
He offered it to me, but I had already emptied my glass a while back, so I declined his offer.
I wasn’t sure how my refusal had been interpreted, but his complexion turned a bit pale.
Why does he look so tense?
Is it because he messed up in front of the chairman?
Well, this atmosphere wasn’t bad. It would be better for answering our questions.
“I’m sure you know why we’ve come, Mayor.”
I got straight to the point.
“We have already confirmed everything, including the agents who came to visit our building.”
At my words, the mayor whispered.
“Indeed… it’s Monolith, isn’t it?”
No, it was the Artificial Intelligence, actually.
Of course, there was no need to correct that misunderstanding.
The mayor quickly emptied the champagne glass he was holding, as if he’d spun up his thoughts rapidly.
Despite it being suspiciously strong, not a single change appeared on his face.
“…You must be here because of the ‘corporate terrorism’ issue.”
His tone was quite polite.
He shot a fearful glance at the chairman, who seemed ready to summon the Asymmetric Security Department to clear this place out.
The mayor raised his hands lightly. It was unclear if it was a gesture of surrender or a gesture for dialogue.
“Just to clarify, this isn’t something that was intended by us, that is, the city.”
However, it seemed he had some sticky tongue, as there were some things he seemed to have done wrong.
The mayor sat on a chair in the party room, loosening the tie that had been strangling him and continued speaking.
“Corporate terrorism caused by spirits…”
“Yes.”
“Is due to the power plant underground.”
“…What?”
At my sharp reaction, Mayor Harding quickly waved his hands.
“I’m not lying; it’s true. The facility near the incinerator is the cause. While there are many power plants supplying electricity to the city near Cloud Park, it’s still difficult to manage it for the entire Neon City.”
I cocked my head slightly.
It was a signal for him to continue speaking.
Seeing my expression, Mayor Harding inserted an electronic cigarette into his mouth, only to take it out again at the chairman’s fierce gaze and awkwardly cleared his throat.
“The reason for constructing it underground is that it’s not a publicly announced facility, and it has better efficiency with the incinerator’s waste heat processing facility.”
…Is he just saying whatever comes to his mind?
But it wasn’t a lie.
[Voice evaluation module running. Probability of lying assessed at under 1%.]
The real-time lie detector evaluated that accurately. Unless Mayor Harding were an actor capable of deceiving himself, of course.
“Is there related data available?”
“It’s classified at a high level, so not at this moment…”
At the chilling gaze I gave him, Mayor Harding avoided my eyes.
“…So what is it that the spirits are causing chaos about?”
“……Um.”
Mayor Harding, who had been speaking smoothly, momentarily halted his words.
He looked like he was deep in thought.
Could there be something he still needed to hide in this situation?
At that moment, a red-haired elf approached the mayor.
The fierce expression visible behind her mask was striking. It was definitely not the kind of face a famous singer would make.
Considering that I had experienced many accidents caused by spirits, I wondered if she was angry about that.
“…Are you not going to speak properly?”
Wow, she has no brakes.
The table corner Andrea grabbed shattered and fell to the floor. That grip might be headed towards Mayor Harding’s collar.
It seemed the mayor had thought the same, because before I could stop Andrea, he hurriedly continued to explain.
“…It’s mana.”
……
Excuse me?
“There’s a power plant underground that generates electricity by spinning a turbine with mana….”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was almost like mixing steampunk with a cyberpunk world.
Generating electricity with steam, gas, and nuclear wasn’t enough; now they were going to spin turbines with mana.
Honestly, it was indeed a facility hard to disclose publicly. Especially in a world where the perception of magic equated to scamming.
This matter would have plummeted the mayor’s approval ratings…
Mayor Harding was sweating as he gazed at the shattered corner of the table.
“…We haven’t fully understood the exact reasons. However, since constructing that facility, attacks by spirits on companies have sometimes occurred.”
“Why?”
“…Perhaps the spirits are aware that they are supplying electricity to the city due to the corporations.”
As he said that, Mayor Harding raised his voice slightly.
“I didn’t try to cover this up to particularly keep an eye on the megacorp.”
No, but….
“Wouldn’t it be better to announce that publicly?”
Upon hearing my words, Mayor Harding muttered as if feeling bitter.
“…Ultimately, it’s a mistake caused by the city’s choice. If a council member with anti-megacorp tendencies were elected mayor because of this, Neon City’s future would be even darker.”
It sounded like he was just worried about losing his position.
…Hmm.
I looked down at Mayor Harding, who sat there blankly scratching his head.
*
“It wasn’t as big a deal as I thought.”
“Right?”
[Agreed.]
In the grand scheme of things, it was no one’s fault.
Of course, Mayor Harding might still be hiding something from us, but as it stood, that was the conclusion.
He mentioned that adjusting the amount of mana used for the power plant’s electricity generation could quickly resolve the spirit incidents, so it was a matter to observe how the number of corporate terrorism cases decreased.
How trivial…
Then suddenly, a certain part came to mind.
The underground incinerator and the nearby mana power plant…
Naturally, it reminded me of the ‘wizard’ who helped Teddy and Dal.
What kind of connection might that have?
I ought to mention it to Teddy later.
Anyhow,
Mayor Harding, whose face was filled with exhaustion, sneaked out from the party.
However, with so many corporate figures gathered, it didn’t seem the party would end anytime soon.
I leaned against the windowsill and muttered to the chairman.
“I’ll just wait until Andrea sings. After that, I can go home.”
Having been in a lively crowd for the first time in a while completely fogged my mind.
I’d even delayed my raid appointment, and I was eager to get back home to game.
I closed my eyes, weary.
Had the chairman not held my hand, I would have kept them closed.
“……Chairman?”
“Shouldn’t we just dance in the meantime?”
“…Huh?”
What on earth was that strange thing to say….