I hacked the construction site's electronic lock and slipped inside.
There was a row of Humanoid Heavy Machinery units... but these weren't for construction. They were built for combat.
"This is an illegal robot battle arena!" Kevin shouted.
It was one of those dangerous places operated by the mafia or the yakuza.
"Should I report it?" Kevin asked.
"Kevin... I’d really rather not get involved with these people if I can help it."
"Too late, I’m reporting it."
And just like that, he did.
The police likely already knew about this place and chose to look the other way. Robot battles rarely resulted in actual fatalities, after all. Unless it was a particularly vicious or large-scale gambling operation, there wasn't much point in raiding it.
I had a bad feeling that if we reported this carelessly, the police might leak our personal information to the mafia, and we’d be erased. In Kevin's case, he’d probably be sold off to some shady adult club.
...I’ll have to ask my bride to handle this later.
"Fairy-san, are there any combat-capable machines here?"
"Considering your combat style, Leo-kun... I’d suggest that police machine with the glitched ID over there. It’s armed with a chainsaw, knuckles, and a shield. It also features a ballistic submachine gun and has a roller dash function!"
It was a black-and-white machine intended for the police. This was beyond illegal.
"...Wait, this thing was siphoned off."
It was literal evidence of corruption! The kind of secret where just knowing about it put my life in danger. I didn't want anything to do with this!
"But its specs are very high," the AI added.
High specs, huh? I felt nothing but malice from the fate that led me to this discovery, but if the specs were high...
"...Fine. It can't be helped. We'll use it."
Beggars couldn't be choosers. I had the AI hack the system and climbed into the cockpit. The OS wasn't a standard police version; it was a customized civilian open-source build.
"Oh? That's strange. Why is the fire control system the only part from the Imperial Army?"
Stop it! Don't go making more enemies for me in places I don't even know about!
If the discovery of these siphoned systems came to light, I'd earn the hatred of everyone from the development companies to the entire chain of maintenance crews.
"Stop digging up such dangerous evidence of corruption! I'm seriously going to be erased!"
The candle of my life was burning down at a record pace! However, Fairy-san simply ignored my shouting.
"Kevin-chan, please take the unit over there."
She pointed to a machine with a pop-style pink paint job. The design was surprisingly sleek. Kevin climbed inside.
"The owner is registered as the actress Sasha Domitrescu," the AI noted.
She was a young actress in her twenties. I remembered seeing her often in action dramas.
"What does that mean?"
"She’s the owner's mistress and a regular competitor here. Look, here are the two of them kissing on the surveillance footage..."
"Stop it!"
Even the film industry was neck-deep in this!
"By the way, the owner is a top official in the police force—"
"I said stop! I don't want to hear it!"
The Zorks were much easier to deal with than this. Having powerful people who felt the personal need to kill me was no joke. Once someone reached the top of the police force, erasing even a Marquis—while not simple—wasn't impossible.
...I'll have to beg my bride to save me and clean this up. It was kill or be killed at this point.
"Whoa, this machine is using a military system too!" Kevin called out.
The military was involved here as well?! This was beyond a joke! Was I actually destined to die today?
"Leo-kun... just look at the bright side: the condition is excellent because the military has been maintaining it."
"Fairy-san, you’d better move mountains for my sake later."
"Is it time for extermination? Why is it that humans cannot cast aside conflict...?"
"Maybe because it’s the only way to survive?"
We left the delivery truck behind and set off in the stolen machines. Finally, I had obtained units with both real combat power and high mobility. I sent a transmission to my bride.
"This is Leo. I've secured machines capable of combat. How are things on your end?"
"Lord Groom, we are currently transporting supplies into the palace. The front lines are being pushed back steadily. The palace itself might fall within a few days."
That was wrong. The progression speed shouldn't have been this fast. In the original "plot," there should have been enough time for Edge to grow stronger.
"Understood. I'll hurry to join you."
"I'm counting on you, Lord Groom!"
The two of us sped forward. We were on a standard national highway, but the road was deserted due to the martial law.
"What happened to the people who lived here?" I asked.
"It seems a significant number of them managed to flee through the spaceport. The news was reporting on it earlier."
"And the ones with nowhere to go?"
It was fine if they had relatives or friends on a safe planet, but many people born in the Imperial Capital weren't exactly wealthy. There weren't many places for people to evacuate to without a pre-existing plan. For instance, the Kamishiro Territory was always looking for farmers and soldiers, but for a citizen of the Imperial Capital, that lifestyle would be more grueling than a prison sentence.
The standard of living in the Imperial Capital was just too high! There wasn't a single other planet that could provide that same level of luxury.
"They’re probably evacuating to various underground facilities or the palace. The palace area is essentially a massive park, and I heard there are air-raid shelters beneath it."
I see. As expected, the facilities in the Imperial Capital were on a completely different scale. A park was a facility with the absolute lowest priority back in the Kamishiro Territory.
As we moved forward, I spotted a sign marking the boundary between Spaceport City and the Imperial Capital Special District.
"Wait, this place wasn't part of the Imperial Capital yet?!"
"Yeah, that's right. Though people from the provinces usually call all the adjacent cities the Imperial Capital as well."
"Fair enough."
To someone from a rural planet, the distinction between city districts was impossible to grasp. To them, the entire Imperial Capital Planet was "the Capital."
Once we crossed into the Imperial Capital Special District, the number of shops increased dramatically. There was a restaurant every few dozen meters along the highway.
"Everything’s closed."
It seemed no stores were willing to operate in defiance of martial law. A Beef Bowl Charge was out of the question. Well, that was only natural.
As we ran through the Special District, the atmosphere shifted.
"They're here."
These weren't high-stealth machines. We had likely already been detected by the enemy. I could hear the heavy thud of footsteps. Fairy-san noticed them at the same time I did.
"Leo-kun! They're coming!"
"Kevin! Get ready for combat!"
"You got it!"
Kevin deployed his ballistic machine gun. I revved the chainsaw.
The machine had a garish, brain-dead color scheme. I suppose destroying other competitors' machines with something this flashy would have been a hit with the arena crowds.
Wait... come to think of it, does my current combat style really look any different from an illegal pit fighter's?
...If I think about it, I’ve already lost.
Zorks emerged from the path ahead.
"I’m opening fire!"
At the sound of Kevin's voice, I charged straight into the fray.