Chapter 14.2. Outer Town
“That’s right. We’re floating in this crowd. Take a good look.”
These people wear clothes black with grime and mud, their hair shaggy and their faces dirty. They carry junk on their backs and have dark eyes. The people around them are all dressed similarly, and their body odors are heavy with sweat, grime, and smell of ammonia. No wonder they can’t take a bath.
In contrast, this man is neat and tidy, with shiny hair and fair skin. The kid’s clothes are old and faded but have been washed, and they wear a jet-black stole that looks brand new. And the stole is embroidered with the name Amatsugahara Corporation.
“Maybe they think the guys from the inner city are on a social studies field trip or something.”
I shrug my shoulders and look coldly at those around me. The people who had been paying attention to us, seeing us as a curiosity, hurriedly turned their faces away and changed their attitude to pretending not to know us.
“Are you sure you want us to stand out so much?”
They ask with concerned expressions. They must be anxious because they’re children who have lived and survived inconspicuously until now. I squint at him as I pat him on the head with a smile.
“We’re trying to stand out. We’ve got to sell our name. It looks like this outfit helped you early on.”
Grinning, I look at the gate and see two soldiers rushing toward us. They were curious about us.
“Just as well, I hate waiting in line.”
[You buy priority tickets.]
I nodded as Shizuku, her skirt fluttering in the air, gave a mischievous “huff” and nodded in agreement. Amatsugahara Corporation will give people special treatment because they have potential. Starting now.
The soldiers come up to us and stare at us. They have quizzical looks on their faces. They seemed to be wondering what to say to us.
I had a hunch that they were from the inner town.
I knew he was thinking we might be from the inner town.
People who enter the outer town from the abandoned town are either resident of the outer town or the abandoned town. They would not think that people from the inner city would try to enter in this way.
Normally.
[I see. Something is going on. There’s something that would cause the people of the inner city to go out into the abandoned town dressed like this.]
[I’ve never heard of it. Even if they go out, they’d normally be in an armored car and have guns.]
I laugh inwardly while exchanging thoughts with Shizuku. That’s right. Normally, yes. That’s why there is a reason. Perhaps a reason they don’t want the public to know.
[It’s a dungeon.]
[It’s a dungeon.]
We both agree. The people in the inner city are probably secretly conquering dungeons. It must not be a do-gooder. If that’s the case, it’s just a matter of entering the inner town’s dungeon. That’s why they can’t do that.
[I assume we’re attacking a low-level dungeon.]
[Even though there are no longer so many monsters, it’s difficult to approach, let alone enter, a low-level dungeon, or …… I see]
I can think of a few possible purposes, but let’s leave it at that for now.
“Doumo, doumo. We’re from Amatsugahara Corporation. We’re here to deliver bread.”
I’m an old man who has shaved off his stubble today. I don’t wear all black, just an ordinary, rough shirt and jeans. I have a stole over his shoulder.
I smile amiably, and the soldiers look at each other to see if they have heard him, so I sneak my mouth close to their ears and murmur.
“I’d like to give you a sample if you don’t mind.”
The soldier reacts with a twitch at the word “sample”. Not missing the reaction, Sakimori looks at the child.
“This is a sample. Please!”
From the clean, spotless cooler box on his back, the child pulls out two loaves of coupe pan and hands them to the soldier.
The bread is, by all appearances, puffy and delicious. It’s different from the bread in the outer town, which contains a mixture that’s not puffy enough. The soldier is a soldier from the outer town working for a low salary. He gulps unknowingly.
“Ahhh, the Amatsugahara Corporation. There it is. What’s with the new product?”
The soldiers grin at each other as they accept the bread in a somewhat barbed tone. So Sakimori squeezes the soldier’s hand and smiles at him. The old man’s smile doesn’t have much effect, but the touch of his hand seems to have had an effect.
When I pull my hand away, the soldier glances at my hand and is startled. There was a 10,000 yen bill there, which he had not expected. The soldier, who had thought it was only 1,000 yen at most, and the soldier next to him, who saw the amount of money, let their guard down and broke into a big smile.
“Sorry! If you had told me, I wouldn’t have let the employees of Amatsugahara Corporation stand in line. Mm, you can go through!”
“Thanks a lot. Well then, we’ll be on our way, and we’ll be back often in the future, thank you.”
“Oh, okay! I’ll let my friends know.”
Sakimori smiles back, waves to the soldiers, and dives through the door with the children, ignoring the people waiting in line.
The children squirm and look uncomfortable under the resentful stares of the people who have been waiting in line for so long, but that’s the rule of the world.
“…… Um, were you happy to give them that much money?”
The girl next to the leader must have sensibly predicted the soldier’s reaction to how much Sakimori had given him. She tilts her head slightly and asks.
“It’s fine. The soldiers will think we’re a good moneymaker. As long as they think that, they’ll give us some favors. It’s called the wisdom of the powerless.”
“The boss is powerful!”
The leader boy puffed out his cheeks in frustration, and the kids all agreed that he was right, but Sakimori shrugged with a wry smile.
“I’m weak. But I’m going to have power.”
With a chuckle, Sakimori and the children headed for the black market.
It’s a secret that he was grinning inwardly, thinking he was being hard-boiled.
