Chapter 42 - Underland

"What do you say? Feel like taking a business trip to Underland?"

Everyone turned to Ash. Under their gazes, he answered.

"I refuse."

"H-huh?"

Santa looked dumbfounded, as though a refusal had never even crossed his mind.

"Wait, uh, Ash? You understand the situation we're in, right?"

"Of course."

"Then why? This is our best option!"

"Indeed. I agree. I find your plan most satisfactory, Master Santa."

"Exactly! So why are you refusing?"

"Because duty comes first."

His voice was low, but the resolve within it was as firm as steel.

"My role is clear. I am the Assault charged with protecting Miss Akina, a Technomancer. I cannot leave her behind and go to Underland alone. All the more so when she is under threat, as she is now."

"Then the two of you could..."

Santa stopped short of arguing any further. Even he knew that sending Akina to Underland was absurd.

A Technomancer. A female one, at that.

And such a young girl, too—send her into that hotbed of crime? Only a lunatic could suggest such a thing.

Meanwhile, Ash continued.

"As I said, I approve of the plan. Why not commission another fixer? You are well connected, Master Santa. Surely you know a great many people?"

"... Damn it. For a second, I forgot what you're like. Forgot you were this sort of guy."

Santa dragged a rough hand down his face.

Ash was right. So right that it was hard to find anything to argue against.

A stifling silence settled over them.

The one who broke it was none other than Akina.

"Hold on!"

She scampered over and planted herself between Santa and Ash.

"Grandpa, about that job. How much does it pay?"

"... What?"

"The fee! The credits! A solo business trip to Underland? Wow! That's incredibly dangerous! So the pay must be hefty, right? My Mister's services don't come cheap!"

Hands on her hips, the girl stared Santa down like a businesswoman. Her boldness put a slight crack in the heavy atmosphere.

"Miss Akina. That is enough..."

"Mister."

Akina cut him off and looked up at him.

There was neither her usual mischief nor her sunny cheer in those blue eyes, but something utterly serious.

"You said your duty was to protect me, right?"

"Indeed."

"Right now, going to Underland is how you protect me."

She was adamant.

"Those people looked strong at a glance. What were they called? Ninjas? Anyway, this is something people like that are after. Can we really entrust it to someone we don't even know? What if they get greedy and take the chip to the client instead?"

"... Master Santa will find someone suitable."

"I can't trust them. No, I won't trust them. Not anyone but you."

"But..."

"Oh, come on!"

Akina clasped his steel hand tightly.

"Mister, you actually want to go."

Those few words brought every one of Ash's thought circuits to a halt.

The endless thoughts filling his main core, the seething whirlpool of emotion, the regret he had finally swallowed without letting it show—all scattered at the girl's words as though they had never been.

She had struck at the very heart of it.

He wanted to go.

The swordsmanship of Kunlun had been his everything. He wanted to follow its traces and see for himself.

It was almost an instinct—a primal yearning granted only to Ash Blade, who carried Kunlun's sublime clarity within his heart.

"..."

After a long silence, Ash spoke.

"... How did you know?"

"I told you. I can tell just by looking at your face."

At that, Ash felt his own head.

Still steel.

"Can you truly see something in my face?"

His utterly serious question sent Akina into a peal of laughter. Then, still wearing that playful smile, she said,

"Go on. Don't worry."

Now that she had seen straight through him, it would be ridiculous to keep looking for reasons to refuse. Ash lingered a moment over the warmth of the hand holding his, then raised his head to Santa.

"I have changed my mind. Opportunities to squeeze you dry are rare, Master Santa. It would be a shame to pass this one up."

"... You know I was standing right here listening, don't you? Isn't that a completely different reason?"

"You were eavesdropping on a private conversation? How disappointing."

Santa opened and closed his mouth a few times, then decided to just smoke another cigarette.

Meanwhile, Ash looked around until he found the person he wanted, then spoke in his electronic voice.

"My lady."

"Hm? Me? What is it?"

It was Ifrit he had been looking for.

"Would you be interested in a job?"

Ifrit grinned.

"You want me to come along?"

"Incorrect."

"... Huh? Then what?"

"I would like to hire you as Miss Akina's 'temporary bodyguard.'"

"Oh?"

The heart-shaped lights in her eyes sparkled.

"This just keeps getting more interesting."

"As I said, the job is 'protection.' Until I return. I was considering a fee of one million credits. What say you?"

"A million? You're loaded, huh?"

At that, Ash turned to Siren.

"More precisely, I soon will be."

"Oh, the money you shook her down for?"

"... That is a somewhat harsh way of putting it, but yes."

Ifrit gave Siren a nasty smile, then shook her head.

"Forget the credits. ROA and I have to protect Akina whether you hire us or not."

She tapped her own head.

"We haven't extracted it yet, remember? The data. We're planning to stay here at least until the download's finished, so don't worry."

Her words were full of goodwill, but Ash shook his head and answered firmly.

"I appreciate your goodwill, but it is not what I need right now. Goodwill is fickle. A contract is not. I want you fully committed to this, my lady."

Ifrit blinked. She stared at Ash for a moment, then shrugged and drained her beer.

"All right. I'll gladly take that contract."

"Thank you."

"That's my line."

Next, Ash turned to Siren. At his gaze, she hurriedly pulled out her Pathfinder License.

"I-I brought it! Three million credits..."

"I have a commission for you as well, Lady Siren."

"Uh... me?"

As Siren froze in an awkward pose, Ash's electronic voice sounded.

"As a native of Underland, surely you know how things work there?"

He wanted her to guide him through Underland. A simple commission.

"I would therefore like to ask you to be my guide. What say you? The fee would likewise be one million."

Siren considered his words for a moment, then shook her head.

"... Is the fee insufficient? In that case, one and a half million..."

"No. I don't need credits."

Her dark eyes turned to Ash. Along with an admiration she could not hide, they held a firm resolve.

"I'd like something else."

"Something else?"

Ash regarded her for a moment, then let out a low sigh.

"Swordsmanship, then."

"Yes!"

Siren's face lit up.

"Wow. Look at you, trying to wring something out of this even now. Oh, how frightening. You really are relentless."

Siren flushed bright red at Ifrit's jab, but raised her voice as though she could not afford to let this chance slip away.

"Your swordsmanship, Mr. Ash! I really want to learn it! You were so magnificent just now, too! If you'd teach me even a little, I'd put my heart and soul into..."

"Very well."

"...guiding you through Underland... Pardon?"

"I said, very well."

Ash nodded.

"However, I cannot teach you the sword art you asked to learn. To learn that... your foundations are still insufficient. Instead, I could teach you a sword art to strengthen those foundations. Would that be acceptable?"

Siren nodded with all her might.

"Yes! Of course!"

"Then we have a deal."

Ash held out a hand. Siren took it.

He tilted his head.

"... I was asking for the credits, not a handshake. I must pay this lady's hiring fee, must I not?"

Her face burned even redder.

Ifrit's uproarious laughter was an added bonus.

* * *

Before they knew it, dawn had arrived.

As though the commotion that had raged upon the earth all night meant nothing, the vast city of Sanctum was greeting yet another day.

Beneath that indifferent dawn, the Revenant parked in the rest stop's backyard let out a thunderous exhaust note.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Someone tapped on the driver's door.

Ash turned from the driver's seat to find Jack and Dullahan outside. Jack O' Lantern held out a data card.

"Big Brother! This should let you handle the basics! I put all the reference material on it, so you shouldn't have any problems!"

[Probably?]

Ash nodded.

"Thank you."

Taking the data card, Ash inserted it directly into the slot in his head unit. It clicked into place, and strings of green text appeared across his optical sensors.

[EXTERNAL DATA-CARD DETECTED. . .]

[DIRECT MEMORY INTERFACE ACTIVE]

[DATA INDEXING. . . DONE]

[DATA: Revenant Guide+Driving Skills]

[INITIATING DATA INSTALL. . . DONE]

[VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM. . . DONE]

All manner of knowledge about the Revenant flooded into his main core.

A short while later, everything that had looked like meaningless buttons and levers moments before registered as devices with distinct functions.

Ash's optical sensors flickered faintly.

[Well? Think you can drive it?]

In answer to Dullahan's question, Ash silently raised a hand and gave him a thumbs-up. Apparently satisfied, Dullahan returned the gesture and stepped back.

Ifrit, Santa, and Akina took his place.

Santa spoke first.

"Got the chip?"

Ash took the data chip from his inner pocket and showed him. It was the very chip at the root of the trouble, with the hologram [DREAMWEAVER] hovering over it.

"Okay. Have a good trip. I'll have one hell of a reward ready for you."

"I shall look forward to it."

Ifrit was next.

"Off you go. Don't worry about things here. I always give people their money's worth."

"I trust you."

"Oh, and..."

Ifrit looked at Siren in the passenger seat.

"... Well, good luck to you, too."

Siren made a strange face, one that clearly asked what had gotten into her senior.

Then Ifrit stepped back as well.

Last was Akina.

Ash and Akina looked at one another through the heavy armored doorway.

Ash spoke first.

"I shall be back soon."

Akina shook her head.

"Don't come back soon. Come back safely."

Then she grinned.

"I'll be right here the whole time."

A low chuckle escaped Ash's voice module.

"It seems our roles have been reversed."

"Hehe. They have, haven't they?"

They both raised their thumbs at the same time.

That brought their brief conversation to an end.

Ash turned to Siren.

"Let us depart."

"Yes!"

VRRROOOM!

The deep rumble of the engine split the dawn air.

And so the two swordsmen set off in the Revenant.

For Underland, where all of Sanctum's malice was said to pool.