Chapter 39

Ayaho smiled awkwardly. Having someone she barely knew talk about Iroha’s behavior was embarrassing. “You know her?” “We watched the video. She’s supercute, huh? Does she look like that in real life, too? It’s not a filter?” “Yes, she looks just like that.” “Wow… Well, I’m jelly.” “Oh, no need.” Sumika was also beautiful, even if in a different way from Iroha. Actually, her mature way of speaking and carrying herself made her look even more attractive in Ayaho’s eyes. “Enough chitchat, Sumika.” Zen admonished her for not helping out while he carried an unconscious Wei over. “Gee, we were just getting started. How come you’re always like this, Zen?” Sumika shrugged. Zen threw Wei over to the armored car’s rear seats. His wounds weren’t light, but he didn’t look to be in immediate danger. Ayaho was relieved by the news. “Sorry, but would you mind coming with us?” he asked her. “Just…me? Why?” she asked back in confusion. Zen gave her a serious look. “We need you as hostage. Cooperate, and we won’t do anything harsh. I promise.” “Are you also after Iroha?” Ayaho tensed up on reflex. She knew Iroha was attracting attention from various factions after the video went public; many companies and organizations were after her. Yet Zen shook his head. “No, we’re not interested in Iroha Mamana. Only in Yahiro Narusawa.” “Yahiro? Why…?” Ayaho’s eyes widened. “He’s gotta pay,” Zen grumbled angrily. “I’ll have him pay for his crimes.” 7 “Hellooo… Are you open?” A small girl with black hair and orange highlights called from the entrance to the abandoned building. “Oh, hello.” A beautiful woman sitting at the counter of the once-café replied with a giggle. She found it funny that the visitor acted as though she was a potential client for the café. “Hey, we meet again, Giuli. How did you find this place?” Douji Yamase raised his head up from the computer to look at Giuli. He had given her only an email address, so it was surprising to see her visiting their hideout. “You’re not the only ones making a living out of selling information.” “Eduardo? Can’t trust that old man.” Yamase smiled wryly at the revelation. Eduardo Valenzuela was the biggest informant in south Kanto. Although he was the manager of a small imports shop, he had a surprisingly wide network, and dealt with a variety of people. He was a strange old man; it wouldn’t be a surprise if he knew where Yamase was hiding. “So, you came here looking for this?” Yamase asked Giuli while pointing at the cardboard boxes piled up by the wall. Small metallic tubes peeked out from the boxes. Vials used for syringes. The same containers for the F-meds that Josh and the kids found at the scene of the crime. “You said you were looking for ways to make money, but I didn’t expect the source to be the F-med instead of Iroha. You got me there.” Giuli chuckled. Ganzheit had made part of the F-med’s production method publicly available, but one needed a dragon medium’s Ichor to make it. The Fafnir soldiers were deemed useless for the cost of obtaining the crucial material, which wasn’t worth the results. However, if one were to obtain the help of a dragon medium and sell the F-med, they could easily make a profit. Yamase had Ira’s medium, Miyabi Maisaka, and thus was able to capitalize on it. “To be specific, the F-med is only half of our business,” Yamase replied with no remorse. Giuli glared at Yamase and smirked. “The other half being intel on the Galerie’s Japanese branch?” “I’m shocked. You figured out that much already?” Yamase looked genuinely impressed. It was already clear from the framing of Yahiro to keep Iroha in Yokohama that Galerie Berith had opposing forces. In which case, investigating Iroha wouldn’t be the only thing Yamase and Miyabi, as informants, would want. What they really wanted was a detailed analysis of Galerie Berith’s Japanese branch’s power: a head count of their members and intel on their security, as well as their weaknesses. Yamase made it look as though Iroha was their object of surveillance so they could research all of the above. “I knew your sponsor was looking for a fight with the Galerie, but you sure have taken the roundabout way about this. If you wanted to sell intel, then what was the need to publish that exposé on Iroha?” Giuli’s canines showed from behind her lips as she smiled. “Or was that also only half the story?” “Pfft… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-hah!” Yamase couldn’t contain himself. Giuli pointed out that, while they were selling intel on the Galerie, they had a different, real employer. “I see, so you aren’t here for the F-med. You’re here to check that out. I see. I’d heard the rumors, but you’re really something, Giuli. No wonder that bastard hates you so much.” “Bastard? You’ve met Andrea?” “Yes, actually…” He tried answering as he laughed, but Miyabi cut him off. “Douji!” In reaction to her desperate shout, Douji stood quickly and kicked the table before him. Then all the glass in the building shattered. A booming roar enveloped the café. Multiple machine guns fired at once. Bullets rained and turned the antique chairs and tables into rubble in the blink of an eye. Three pickup trucks were parked just outside, each of them armed with a military-grade machine gun. “Fuck off!” Yamase roared as he drew the knife on his side. A sudden shock wave and blast flew from where he stood, smashing down all the bullets and breaking the walls of the building further into rubble. Wood and plaster walls slammed against the trucks, crushing the gunners. The blast of air became a raging tornado, which vanished as suddenly as it appeared. The rubble in the air rained down, and mist formed due to the sudden change in air pressure. Their hideout was gone without a trace, as well as the buildings surrounding it. Nothing within a nine-meter radius of Yamase and Miyabi retained its original form. Only those two, as well as Giuli, who had escaped to a safe range, were unharmed. The pickup trucks were turned over and buried under the rubble. Clapping came from beyond the trucks. A silver-haired white man showed himself, his hair unruly in the wind. Everything he wore was obviously high quality, to a pretentious extent—and his face made him look pretentious, too. Operators holding bulletproof shields surrounded him. The man was observing safely from behind his subordinates as they attacked Yamase. “So this is Ira’s Regalia. Not bad, wind dragon,” the man praised insincerely. Yamase clicked his tongue and glared daggers at the man. “What is the meaning of this, Andrea Berith? Weren’t you going to take all the remaining F-med? You just leveled all the product.” “Don’t worry, I will pay for it. I will also pay for all your things that got blown up. No complaints now, are there?” “Add some compensation for the psychological damage of being shot full of lead.” “You got it. I will arrange for the payments as soon as I’m done with the minor business I’m here for,” Andrea said before looking at a spot beside Douji. Miyabi looked down in concern, and by her feet was Giuli, on her knees. “My…dear brother, Andrea.” Giuli called the man’s name with her usual insolent tone. She stood, and bullets fell from her jacket. The machine-gun barrage on Yamase’s hideout had been fired with the intention of taking her out. The bullets, weakened after flying through the obstacles in the way, got stopped just barely by her anti-bullet jacket. It couldn’t stop the full impact, however, so Giuli’s small body was damaged. Still, she shot the guy a grin and provocative glare. “What’s the head of the Oceania branch of the Galerie doing all the way out here? Did they fire you for poor sales, brother?” “Shut your mouth, doll! Don’t call me brother, Giulietta!” He exploded in anger. His impulsive reaction basically proved Giuli right. Andrea Berith was a member of the House of Berith. He was one of Giuli’s many non-blood-related older brothers. His role as member of the House was executive to the Oceania branch of Galerie Berith, but it was in the red after many business failures. Giuli, as a fellow executive manager, knew this. “I could help you out if you’re having money trouble, brother. Just get on your knees and beg your pretty dollface of a sister.” “Silence, Giulietta. You know why I’m here,” Andrea replied. His shoulders were shaking but he put up a strong front. Then a small figure appeared from behind him. A black-haired girl wearing the uniform of Galerie Berith. She had big combat knives in her hands. “I’ll give you credit for surviving that attack just now, but you can’t defeat her like that. Go,” Andrea ordered the girl at his side. The girl ran toward Giuli, the single green tuft of hair in her bangs swaying with the wind. “That face…?! Is that you, Enrica?!” Giuli’s eyes widened when she noticed the girl had the same face as her. The girl swung down a knife, and Giuli blocked the strike with the knuckle guards on her glove, but due to the damage she’d taken from the machine guns, she couldn’t stop the blow entirely and lost her balance. Enrica wasted no time and countered. “Yes. She’s the latest in the Marionetta series! The peak of the homunculus field, built on House Berith’s centuries of alchemical expertise!” Andrea howled in victory as he saw Enrica overpower Giuli. “Do it, Enriqueta! Show them you’re not a failure like those twins!” “Wasn’t it Enrica who got disposed of as a failure?” Giuli replied with annoyance as she warded off Enrica’s attacks. Andrea scowled furiously upon hearing that. “That was a mistake. Damn Berith geezers. I can’t believe they would give human education to some dolls, and even receive them as part of the House!” Enrica attacked even faster, responding to Andrea’s anger. Giuli could barely counter the knives coming in from both sides. Enrica kicked her right in the stomach and sent her flying. “You’re combat dolls, so just be weapons! Look! Enriqueta far surpasses your specs because she’s committed to being a tool! No superfluous emotions or intelligence!” Andrea smiled contently as he saw Giuli fall facedown on the ground. The reaction revealed the depth of his inferiority complex. The alchemist House of Berith had created superior descendants in the form of homunculi through repeated genetic manipulation and careful breeding. Although even Andrea himself had received the blessings of this project (while being of different lineage), his competence was far below that of Giuli and Rosé.