The combat golem came to a halt as it crumpled the fence.
The impact was absorbed by the barrier, leaving the machine with virtually no damage—though the spectators just beyond the wire flinched in terror.
"H-Hey, that golem's actually not half bad!"
"As an opening entertainment, this is getting pretty interesting!"
The crowd chattered heedlessly.
(At least its sturdiness is up to par.)
Watching the combat golem stand back up as if nothing had happened, Hope pondered how best to deal with it.
Just then—
"!?"
At the sound of footsteps, Hope glanced back to find that a second combat golem had entered the ring.
"Now then, that little golem is certainly quick on its feet, but how will it dodge and weave against two opponents?! Stay tuned!!"
(It wasn't a fair-and-square fight to begin with, after all.)
Even with their numbers doubled, the difference in speed was so vast that neither could lay a hand on Hope.
Instead, Hope pecked away with calculated strikes, toying effortlessly with the two combat golems.
"Hmm, those golems really do have a Forming drive inside."
"Yes, My Lord. There is no mistake."
Their movements were sluggish and unrefined. If anyone had managed to make them move that awkwardly using an Adriana-style or ball-joint style mechanism, it would almost be impressive in its own right, Jin thought with a wry smile.
"Since they are disposable units, they likely took simple Rock Golems and fitted them with off-the-shelf armor."
"Probably so."
There was no way they would treat expensive models as expendable, Jin agreed, nodding at Laojun's assessment.
"Either way, the only advantage they have over Hope is weight."
Even that difference in mass was hardly an issue, Jin thought, gazing at the magi-screen.
"My Lord, what kind of outcome do you desire?"
"Let's see... Arresting everyone involved in the underground gambling here, just like you mentioned earlier, Laojun... might be a bit much, wouldn't it?"
With only two investigators on the scene, rounding up five hundred people simply wasn't realistic, Jin fretted.
"No, as it operates on a membership system, a complete roster of participants exists."
"Ah, so we just need to get our hands on that. And then arrest only the organizers on-site."
"I have already located where it is kept. A dummy has also been prepared; anyone unaware would likely seize the decoy instead."
"I see, quite meticulous of them."
Even so, they couldn't fool Laojun.
"There are eight individuals affiliated with the organizers, so the investigators should be more than capable of handling them. The male counterpart is an automata, after all."
"I knew it."
He was taciturn, and they hadn't heard his voice once up to this point.
The woman, on the other hand, was undoubtedly human.
"All right, let's go with that plan."
"Understood. I shall issue instructions to Reiko-san and Hope. As for My Lord and Elsa-sama..."
Laojun laid out the operation to Jin and Elsa.
"Fight properly already, damn it!!"
"Just fight and get smashed to pieces!!"
Jeers rained down from the spectator stands.
Hope wasn't reacting to the crowd's heckling, but that was the exact moment instructions came through from Laojun.
"Oooh!?"
For the first time, Hope met the charging combat golem head-on.
A fourfold difference in body weight posed no problem whatsoever.
Catching the unit cleanly, Hope hoisted it aloft and hurled it straight toward the second combat golem closing in from behind.
With a thunderous crash of metal, the two machines tumbled over together.
Taking advantage of the opening, Hope backed away from the pair.
"Well then, I shall get serious now."
With that, he tapped into his true power... raising his output to 50 percent.
Up until now, he had only been operating at 10 percent. A sudden fivefold increase.
Five times the speed, and five times the power.
"W-What the?!"
Hope intercepted both charging golems simultaneously.
Then, unbelievable as it seemed, he hoisted one in each hand and hurled them backward.
Because they were driven diagonally downward rather than horizontally, both units shattered the arena's stone floor and became embedded in the rubble. Portions of their outer armor broke apart and went flying.
Still, true to their nature as simply structured Rock Golems, they could still move.
"Destroying them outright would be simple, but... that would only please the spectators watching."
"Get 'em! Smash it to pieces!!"
Vulgar cheers echoed from the stands.
"...This calls for that, I suppose... Magic Canceller, activate."
Using his built-in Magic Canceller, Hope deoxidized all the mana serving as the combat golems' energy source back into free ether.
Because golems of this type operated on mana stored within a mana tank rather than an ether converter, once their mana was depleted, they could not wake up on their own.
The two combat golems ceased all movement on the spot, collapsing limp onto the arena floor.
At that exact moment, Jin D and Elsa D sprang into action at a speed far beyond what human reflexes could track.
Naturally, the one piloting them was Laojun.
"Y-You bastards?!"
Jin D pinned down the ringleader.
"Are you all right?"
Elsa D swiftly untied the ropes binding the female investigator.
Meanwhile, Reiko burst forward at 20 percent output.
"Guh!"
"Gaaah!"
"Geh-heck!"
In the blink of an eye, the three men who had been guarding Jin D and the others were knocked unconscious.
Silence fell over the waiting room.
"T-Thank you....Are you two intelligence operatives from somewhere as well?"
The female investigator asked, to which Jin D simply replied:
"No, we are merely travelers."
"Well, fine. Let's leave it at that."
Meanwhile, the arena was in an absolute uproar over the massive upset.
Opening entertainment or not, a seemingly frail domestic golem had just run circles around two dedicated combat golems.
The announcer desperately tried to regain control of the venue.
"Ladies and gentlemen, did you enjoy the match?! Now then, it is finally time for our main..."
"Hold it right there!"
The female investigator's commanding voice rang across the arena.
"I am a crime investigator reporting directly to the King of the Franz Kingdom! Every single person in this venue is going on the blacklist, so consider yourselves warned!"