“Hey, you. There’s something I wanna ask you.”
“Do you know the girl in this sketch? Know anyone that fits the bill?”
“Let us know if you spot a girl you haven’t seen before. We’ll make it worth your while.”
“You sure you don’t know her? Just look how much she’d stand out.”
The men had been going around, probing for information here and there. They’d show people the sketch, pile on the questions, and poke around, determined not to let even the slightest sign of the girl’s presence escape them. But even then, the inhabitants’ reactions had all been less than they’d hoped for. They merely gave the men ambiguous grins and let them know they didn’t know the first thing about the girl. With a mounting pile of wasted time under their belts, the men were still unable to find any sort of decent clue.
“What’s the deal with this? Is she even in this city?”
“Coming up as empty-handed as we are, there’s a chance the information we received was wrong from the start.”
The men grew more and more irritated, feeling that their time had been wasted. They felt like downing buckets of booze, but they held back, since getting sloshed in the middle of a mission wasn’t the best idea.
“We come all the way out to the boonies, and for nothing! I can’t stand it!”
“What do you want to do? Should we report that to the squad?” the younger man asked, addressing his superior. The older man thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“The higher-ups must’ve been sure about their info to give us this order. Our only choice is to stick with it a while longer.”
With heavy steps, the men set out walking again. Still, it was apparent that searching blindly was terribly inefficient. They’d received a certain amount of funds for their mission, so perhaps they’d be better off setting aside prize money for the search.
“No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen her!”
Just as the man was considering the situation, their latest interview had once again ended in failure. That’s when it happened.
A flash of red stole gracefully past the disheartened men. The girl had poked her head in the restaurant, peering inside.
“So, about dinner tonight, auntie...”
“No! Wait!”
The restaurant owner rushed to stop Anna, but she was a moment too late. The men’s eyes opened wide. Noting the gentle wave of her red hair and her jade-colored eyes squinting as she smiled, the men couldn’t help but shout.
“Anna Turris...?! You bastards—you were hiding her!”
Shocked to hear her name called so suddenly, Anna spun around. One look at the men’s attire was all it took to understand the situation, however. Their clothes weren’t from the city—their whole air smacked of the capital that Anna had long cherished.
“Run, now!” The owner sprung into action before anyone else. She suddenly toppled over the restaurant’s counter, sending the piping-hot soup flying through the air and onto the men’s heads as they screamed.
“Um, I’m really sorry!” Anna cried.
“It’s fine—now go!”
Anna hesitated for a moment before spinning around in the opposite direction. The owner herself wasted no time in running off in a different direction as fast as her legs would carry her.
“Dammit to hell! These damn hicks don’t know who they’re messing with!” the man howled, wiping the soup from his face. It wasn’t clear whether his face was red from the heat or from anger—likely both.
“You’re not getting away!”
The men dashed out after Anna, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. They looked around the surrounding streets but gave up immediately. They didn’t know the first thing about the lay of the land, and the incident just now had made it clear that the city’s inhabitants were less than cooperative.
“What should we do, Centurion? Do you want to split up?”
“There’s no point in it! It’s clear asking questions is getting us nowhere. Too many of these lowlifes don’t know their place. This is why I hate it out in the sticks! They’re going to pay for this...in blood!” The older man gave a sinister smile, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
“You’re going to use that, then?”
“This city’s too cramped and gloomy for my tastes—I’m just going to let a little more of a breeze in. Let’s go!”
The men dashed away, heading outside of town.
✦ ✦ ✦
Watt was at the station carrying around freight when the assistant from one of the city’s bars came to meet him. Why from a bar? Can’t remember racking up a tab, though... Watt thought to himself. After hearing out the assistant, however, his expression stiffened.
“There are people looking for Anna?”
“From the look of them, it seemed like they weren’t from around here!”
So they’ve finally come. Should’ve known. Honestly, that was the first thing that had sprung to Watt’s mind. They’d taken action far quicker than he had anticipated, but the circumstances surrounding Anna were enough to convince him.
“Appreciate it. I’ll work something out here for the rest of the day. Tell the owner thanks for me.”
Sending off the assistant, Watt swung his arms and popped his shoulders.
“Welp, looks like today’s gonna be busier than I thought. First things first...I’ve gotta ask to leave early!”
Even though it was an emergency, as chief, just chucking off his duties and leaving wouldn’t cut it. Now, just what sort of excuse would get me out the door as soon as possible? While he was thinking about just that, without so much as a warning, part of the wall that surrounded the city went flying before Watt’s very eyes.
“What?”
It wasn’t just Watt either. The other station workers and passengers were all standing in disbelief with their mouths agape. With all eyes on the wall, a massive figure slowly came into sight, passing through the enormous hole.
There, distinct from the cloud of dust hovering in its wake, the figure’s full frame was revealed. The first noteworthy thing that came into view was its abnormally robust build. Standing at twenty meters tall in full, its massive frame was supported by limbs like gigantic trees. The heavy armor wrapped around its body was the very definition of sturdy, with the skull of a rhino monster embedded in its chest.
“It’s a Mechsteel! This must be a new model...!”
Not only was it a Mechsteel—it was a model that Watt, despite knowing his fair share about Mechsteels, had never seen before. A moment later, the mysterious Mechsteel swung its muscle-strapped limbs and started to walk, shaking the ground as it went.
“You dumb hicks! It’s time I taught you a lesson—and it won’t be cheap! I’m gonna make you pay up...with the help of my Tyrant Rhino!” the man shouted excitedly, as the Tyrant Rhino began to charge forward. Leveling anything and everything in its wake, the Mechsteel made a beeline for the city center.
“C’mon now! You’ve gotta be kidding!” Watt gasped. “Those damn knights... What sort of idiot did they send over?!”
Dumbfounded, Watt watched the Mechsteel advance for a moment before snapping back to his senses and running off. He didn’t have any time left to think up an excuse.