act9mini

After I made a few mistakes and got yelled at by the spokespeople a few times, I started to get the hang of things, and, just barely, I'm finally a decent Platinum.

If I could quit, I would hand in my resignation to the K.G.C.C. the first opportunity I got.

With so much responsibility and risk, plus how exhausting it is, who'd want a job like this?

But, you know, I don't have a choice here.

*Sigh*...

One thing that sucks about being Platinum...

You never know when you'll get a call from the K.G.C.C.

From their headquarters in the center of the Grand Knight Territory...

...to the edges of the nomadic city, at the plates' bridging points.

It's like a ghost that wanders the city.

You can always find a poor soul called Platinum wherever you are.

You just dial her number, have her take the call and make her listen to the K.G.C.C.

And Platinum can't refuse whatever it is they want.

Which is why—

Go ahead.

Hello, Platinum. We have a secret mission for you. Please see to it immediately.

Hmph... Go ahead.

We want you to make sure that Glorious Shield Industries' Chairman doesn't attend the General Chamber of Commerce's board meeting tomorrow.

Y-You mean...?

Right, and we would prefer that he has no more involvement in Glorious Shield Industries' affairs in the future.

I don't think I'm allowed to go after someone that high up.

This mission was originally meant for the Lazurites, but they recommended you for the job.

That's why your phone rang.

Here is the mission authorization passcode—

Please confirm.

Confirmed... It's a match.

Very good.

Do not disappoint us.

It's easy to make a regular Joe disappear, but it's no simple task to have a K.G.C.C. director die under mysterious circumstances.

To make sure, I gave Lazurite a call.

He told me I just had to pay a visit to the Chairman's lounge at Glorious Shield Industries headquarters.

Apparently, this isn't going to be very difficult. Everything is already in order, and no one will be there to stop me.

After he hung up, I breathed a long sigh.

If that's what Lazurite says, what else am I supposed to do?

There are only four hours until daybreak.

To make sure the Chairman has no way out, I stationed an Armorless Union squad around his children before heading to the company.

Then, I waltzed in through the front door.

Just as Lazurite said, Glorious Shield HQ is all prepped and ready.

The lobby doors are wide open. The security guards are away, all the detectors are undergoing maintenance, and there's a temporary card key in the most conspicuous spot on the front desk counter. And that card key—

It has access to the top floor, where the Chairman's lounge is.

As soon as I walk into the room, or should I say the floor, I spot the Chairman, still working tirelessly in front of his large terminals.

Before he notices me, I have already broken his neck.

After I check his vitals and make sure he's gone, I report to Lazurite.

Per the usual procedures, I would get a phone call from the K.G.C.C. right away, so I'm not in a hurry to get out.

It's a phone call. Why does it matter where I take it?

I pull the curtains open. Through the giant floor to ceiling windows, I gaze out at the brilliant lights illuminating the Grand Knight Territory's night sky.

When I was still a student, I admired the knights.

After I became a knight, I learned the secret of the Knight-Assassins.

These days, as one of the Armorless Union's leaders, I still have to listen to every word the K.G.C.C. directors say.

And now, by pure coincidence, I've offed one of their directors.

My parents once said. My sharp eyes will bring honor and glory to my family.

But what am I seeing with these eyes now?

I see the vast, dark wilderness beyond the borders of the Grand Knight Territory.

I see the colorful neon lights emblazoning the whole Territory.

I also see the General Chamber of Commerce headquarters in the dead center, towering above everything.

And the radiant night sky above it.

As long as I can see, I can understand.

Still...

Above these pillars of capitalism and beneath the earth that the city drives over, there are a pair of invisible hands puppeteering the directors.

Compelling them to stack bricks, tiles, and steel to the tops of those buildings, adding ever more to the tower called Kazimierz.

But like the puppets they are, if they don't keep their masters happy, they get replaced.

He's not the first, and he's definitely not the last.

Through the General Chamber of Commerce, this pair of hands can reach anywhere in Kazimierz.

And you can never escape them, so long as you walk the world.

Hmph...

*Sigh*... Can't I at least get a little time to veg out...?

I'm so tired...

I want a vacation...