The Ramirez Scramble (1)
Hmm.
I carefully checked the ssage in the hologram once again.
[You have received a mission proposal from the author]
Catch Capone! Defeat the man in front of you and absorb his organization.
It seed to have several implications, but the essence of it was basically one thing.
The author was making an appeal to solidarity or rather, he was requesting for help.
At first, I thought this was very surprising.
Because it was also an excellent condition for .
Without having to deal with that powerhouse Capone, Id been able to easily devour the organization he had built (although it was considerably reduced in size) and this city that was his base. Without any risk.
Although Capone 2 and his subordinates were facing right now, itd be a tad harsh to call them a risk.
Where did sobody like you spring from? Im asking who you really are, you Squatjaw. You better speak up quickly if you dont wanna taste a smacking!
Taste a smacking, huh.
I honestly found it a little disappointing.
In the original, Capone had been a character with a sense of style. Hed never spew such lines that made you sound like a low-level, third-rate villain.
I glanced at the guy.
It didnt seem like he had any unique ability, and even if he did, it was definitely not the sa as Capones.
Wait, wait. Let think about it.
Wh-, what?
I said, wait a minute.
I then looked at the text at the bottom of the ssage.
Are you sure you want to accept it?
Defeating Capone and taking his place.
This was just the type of plot developnt I was hoping for. There was no problem with the plausibility.
Moreover, there were also extra rewards that I hadnt expected.
But,
If I think about it a little
That was just how it looked on the surface.
The suggestion had indeed co unexpectedly, but looking back, it wasnt surprising at all.
In a way, this was nothing but the best possible choice from the authors point of view.
Pretending to be generous, while forcing to follow his plans.
For so reason, at that mont, I thought I could even faintly hear the authors voice.
Ill let you take all that Capones got, so why not just do a job for or two? Ill naturally compensate you. Isnt this a win-win scenario?
Win-win, huh.
But that wasnt the full truth. We werent negotiating from an equal position here.
It was truly to my benefit to accept. But not accepting it wouldnt really do any harm.
But the authors case was a little different. If I didnt listen to him here, the future plot would surely be irrevocably twisted.
No, isnt it twisted already?
The guy in front of right now was the proof. Judging that itd be difficult to introduce the original Capone in this situation, hed brought forth the much weaker and lesser version, Capone Mk. 2.
The mont I rejected his proposal, the author would face so real hard choices. There was no way this guy could take on Capones original role.
In other words, the author was the one being desperate.
How about I let him sweat a bit?
As soon as the thought occurred to , I slowly started to step back.
And then,
H-hey! You bastard! Are you trying to run away!?
Capone 2 roared in anger.
Ah, yeah. The real Capone, Ruler of Gibrante, showed up in person and with so many hangers-on in tow, to boot. Its natural for the copycat to run away.
What!?
Bye bye.
I imdiately turned around and ran.
I heard Capone 2s voice swearing at from afar, like an echo, but I cheerfully ignored it.
How far did I run like that?
When I thought Id completely left them in the dust, I wrapped the goblin silver screen around and climbed up to a high place. To take a look at what those bastards did next.
So? Whatll you do now?
Actually, I didnt plan to have a fight with the author.
I didnt want to be taken advantage of, sure, but my curiosity played the greater role.
I wondered how these idiots would react.
In fact, there were few characters who reflected the authors intentions as purely as this bunch. Werent they rely characters created to be subdued being handed to on a platter?
So I was curious. If they didnt achieve that purpose, what would happen to them?
But,
What is it Why are you all standing still like that?
Even after waiting for a long ti, they didnt even consider moving.
As if a screw was missing from their heads, they just stood there, stunned.
Three or four people tried to follow after , and one went back to the factory area, but that was all.
How odd.
This was quite stunning for too.
From my experiences so far, once a character was created, the author couldnt directly control the character. If he wanted to move the character towards a new direction, he had to attach a new character to give a push, or deliver so news.
In other words, what I was seeing now was the behaviour that reflected the core purpose and essential guideline theyd been given at the ti of character creation.
But no matter how roughly the authord made them, to have the characters repeat the sa actions over and over again?
Does this even make sense?
This ant that these guys literally had no purpose other than being overpowered by , here and now.
This was crazy.
What, did the author really make such one-dinsional and completely thoughtless characters? Like a wind-up toy?
They couldnt even be called characters at this rate. They were just backgrounds with no core impetus.
That was then.
Tiling.
Suddenly, a ssage arrived.
And it said
[An andnt to the rewards has arrived from the author]
It was so surprising that it made forget the absurdity of the past.
[Rewards]
If accepted, the current scene will be appended to the chapter.Authors favourability will increase by 100 120.Character points will be paid 100,000p 120,000p.Additional 100,000p 120,000p will be paid for each successful linked action.Once all actions are completed successfully, the characters strength will rise by 100 110
Ha haha.
It was disappointing indeed.
To send a ssage like this?
The author really was in a hurry. He didnt waste a minute in sending a revised rewards plan.
I didnt an to haggle
In fact, I hadnt looked down on the first set of rewards. Theyd been generous enough. There hadnt even been a penalty for failure.
But to receive sothing like this
Hmm.
I considered the mission proposal again. Strictly from the authors point of view. Why would he do this?
There was certainly no better situation for the author than playing the role of Capone.
Firstly, there was a huge advantage in that the burden of character distribution would be reduced, and the preceding plot wouldnt need any modifications.
And secondly, hed be able to tie up and block from doing anything outrageous.
No matter what I did, I wouldnt be able cause too much of a ruckus if I kept to playing a predefined role. It was that simple.
In other words, three birds with one stone.
Theres a reason hes acting so desperate.
Knowing this, my heart sank again.
Whatd happen if I rejected this offer outright?
One thing was for sure, it could make the author very angry.
Interesting.
As an author, hed fine it quite difficult to deal with the twisted developnt. His brain might explode trying to untangle it all.
But I had to keep in mind that twisting the future course of the story that I already knew, wasnt in my favour, either. I could never forget this.
And what I had to focus on more than anything else was how much profit could be obtained by refusing other than offending the author.
Right now, I had several configurations in my head for the upcoming chapters.
Then, assuming that all the circumstances Id planned ca true, could I profit as much as the promised rewards?
The answer was no.
Because the level of compensation the author had offered was enormous. It was more than the highest level of reward that could be obtained from the chapter.
In other words, no matter well I did, I wouldnt be able to match the profit. The author had to have known this while making the proposal.
However,
The question is, if therere any traps
So I had to be cautious. Even if he was feeling urgent and desperate, sending this kind of a proposal wasnt the authors style.
There were a few more points to consider.
Whether it was possible to obtain all the rewards offered by the author, and how much risk I had to take in the process.
Capones role that the author had suggested I perform, was as follows:
Betting on Ramirezs Treasure and declaring a winner-takes-all battleAttracting adventurers to the factory areaConfronting Kiriko from the Leo Adventurers
1 and 2 were no problems at all.
A winner-takes-all declaration? I was already planning to do that. Id even been thinking of a much more sensational way than what Capone had done in the original.
To lure the adventure teams to the factory area?
That was what I was hoping for. I was familiar with the topography and there were a lot of resources to use, so there was no reason not to.
The problem was the third item.
To have a fight with Kiriko.
There might be so pitfalls hidden here.
Of course, I wasnt afraid of losing. Kiriko simply wasnt that strong yet.
And the mbers of the Leo Adventurers were all subject to power balance adjustnts, so their strengths were also greatly reduced, like mine had been.
In terms of my current strength, there was no reason for to lose.
But it was still a burden, considering the original developnt.
In the original story, after awakening once, he finally defeats Capone the powerhouse. The original Capone that I thought was stronger than .
Of course, I now had Cormiers equipnt, so I wouldnt lose to that Capone either
But wasnt the developnt of the original story point to a victory for Kiriko?
This ant that, whenever I got the upper hand, the sanctions of the preceding plot could co bind .
I can already hear the sound of points going down the drain.
Moreover, this wasnt the only problematic point.
Would I only face Kiriko during this scramble?
I didnt think so.
Gronyan.
From the beginning, hed been the one coming after , not the Ramirez. The guy who I thought was the strongest right now, along with Karl Zayed.
After Kiriko, would I have to fight Gronyan as well?
Hmm its not going to be easy.
This was definitely risky.
I had no choice but to worry. Was it right for to accept this?
I was slated to get so equipnt from Cormier, but there was a bit of a hitch here too. Because the performance of it wasnt guaranteed.
What Id ordered from Cormier was an armoured cavalry, a piece of equipnt I was forcing him to produce, because of the rule of cool. Originally, armored cavalry had appeared in the Northland arc, not this early.
I wouldve felt a lot more relaxed if I were using equipnt Cormier could whip up easily
What to do
Just then,
Tiling.
[An andnt to the rewards has arrived from the author]
A new ssage arrived to make forget my worries.
[Rewards]
If accepted, the current scene will be appended to the chapter.Authors favourability will increase by 120 140.Character points will be paid 120,000p 140,000p.Additional 120,000p 140,000p will be paid for each successful linked action.Once all actions are completed successfully, the characters strength will rise by 110 130
Ha, haha.
My lips curved up into a grin by reflex.
The problem was already resolved.
Okay, fine.
I cant help but take this bait.
But just then,
Hm? Wait, wait a minute
Surprisingly, a new problem arose.
Should I try to haggle one more ti? Can I?
A day later.
After receiving another andnt,
Itll be a ss if I keep stringing him along, wont it?
I accepted the authors offer.
That was how my strange team-up with the author began.
Hey, there! See!
Finally, theyd arrived.
At Gibrante.
Kiriko looked at the factory chimneys in the distance with fresh eyes.
Ten days.
Itd been a long ti.
Also an embarrassing and uncomfortable ti.
Kiriko turned around and took a long breath as he watched the crowd of people following them.
Huff
Thinking back, it was incomprehensible.
Those who sought the sa treasure, not just adventurer teams, but a huge group of thieves and assassins, had walked together for ten days without a single clash.
The reason this bizarre camaraderie thatd started in Clone City was able to persist until now was because of a certain group.
Goblins.
Aside from the fact that they no longer took Squatjaws form, there was nothing to like about them.
Hey, sure, lets have a fight, why not?
They dont have any treasures, so whatre they fighting for?
Lets get along, get along.
Do people who dont have money have trouble keeping their temper? Im just asking.
Sure, you can go the other way. But this routes probably the fastest, right?
Of course, it wasnt like these words had so kind of magical deterrent effect.
The goblins revealed themselves one by one every ti and took action to prevent battles between people and groups.
For example, if two groups were about to clash, theyd imdiately turn into mbers of each group and intervene in the battlefield, which resulted in a situation where neither side could easily attack first. They couldnt even identify friend from foe, so who would they attack?
So, every ti, every fight was doused by the goblins before it could even start.
Kiriko didnt know why they were diating the fights.
They mustve gotten so kind of instruction, but he had no way of knowing why.
In fact, before Kiriko arrived in Gibrante, hed been thinking of reducing the number of these greedy idiots.
However, these goblins interference was so strong that hed had no choice but to give up in the end.
They even seed to enjoy this whole process, to the point where theyd shift into others forms and viciously hurt peoples feeling, then once there were enough people riled up and spoiling for a fight, theyd show up and interfere.
What are they even doing?
Kiriko didnt understand, and didnt want to attempt to understand either.
As for Leo, well, he seed to fit in with them to so degree.
Anyway,
Finally, this is goodbye.
This uncomfortable companionship was now over.
After all, theyd arrived in Gibrante.
Now what would these guys do?
With a sense of anticipation, he was about to look for the goblins.
Just then,
Hmmmm
One of them suddenly opened his mouth.
Co on, everyone, youve worked so hard to get here. It was a beautiful comradeship. We goblins also had a lot of fun over the last ten days. Did everyone have fun?
Yes, I understand how you feel. Then I wish you good luck. From now on, its up to you to fight or not, you cocky, violent bunch. Then, excuse !
And then,
Rustle.
Rustle .
In an instant, the goblins disappeared all at once.
And,
Wh-, what?
Where did they all go!?
Isnt this that ability those guys have? To turn invisible?
A commotion broke out in an instant.
It mightve been because of the sudden disappearance of the goblins, but it also mightve been because of the sudden feeling that everyone around them had beco an enemy.
And it was the sa for Kiriko.
Leo, lets step back for now.
Huh? Why?
Why Cant you see the situation right now
That was then.
Hey, there! Look over there!
Soones cry echoed through the air.
Kiriko naturally turned to look as well.
There, soone was standing near the entrance to the factory area.
A man in a black suit, wearing a retro-style fedora hat. There was sothing odd about him though. An unusually large jaw compared to normal people.
Squatjaw!
S-, Squatjaw!
Thats him over there!
You bastard! Wheres the treasure!
At that mont, Squatjaw raised his right arm up to the sky.
However, the shape of that arm was a little strange.
What is that a machine?
It was a machine. A strange machine was attached to his arm.
However, there was no ti to answer the question.
At that mont, Squatjaws lips were already moving.
Good job, all of you. You worked hard to co here. Then, from now on, its a fight!
And at that mont,
Fwoooosh-!
A crimson laser beam shot upwards from Squatjaws arm pointing up at the sky.
And then,
Look, there!
Up! Up in the sky!
Its a treasure!
Sothing appeared in the sky, splitting the red beam of energy in two.
It was a strange machine with steel wings, with a mirror attached to its front.
Ramirez.
Of course, it mightve been a fake or a trick, but at first glance it did seem that this was the treasure.
At that mont,
You all see it? Its easy to take it away. All you have to do is defeat everyone here. Then youll naturally get the treasure. Then let each of us, decide on an opponent here on this battlefield, and start fighting!
Squatjaw shouted loudly.
Then he imdiately started moving.
And my opponent right now is oh, there you are. Hey Kiriko.
But the place his footsteps were headed to, was none other than
?
Where he himself stood.
Kiriko blinked.
With slow, steady steps, Squatjaw was coming towards him.
Editors Notes:
None for this chapter.
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