372 – S7. The Fixers of Omelas -3

Tension spiked. No matter how benevolent Marco was, would he extend his mercy to those who had breached his company’s security and trespassed?

Unknown.

“……..”

Finn, his entire body tensed, cautiously scanned his surroundings. Should something untoward occur, he would need to escape, but no route seemed viable.

Finn and Vecchio had only just stepped out of the elevator, and they were already surrounded.

Even the soldiers on perimeter kept a terribly sharp watch. The slightest glance from Finn sent their hands instinctively toward the triggers of their submachine guns, a stern warning.

“Don’t let your eyes wander. Any suspicious move, and we fire-“

“No. No matter what, do not shoot. Absolutely not.”

Marco halted them, his voice firm.

He approached Vecchio slowly, deliberately, like one might approach a frightened cat, then crouched down before him. Finn braced himself, ready to defend should the need arise, but it seemed to matter little.

Finn swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. He needed to defuse this, somehow. Beg, plead, pay – anything was better than endangering the little Pope.

“…Uh, Boss? Allow me to explain. This child has nothing to do with any of this. It was all me, entirely…!”

But Marco acted as if Finn didn’t even exist. No flicker of acknowledgment, no turn of his head, not a single reaction.

He was being treated as utterly invisible. Marco’s gaze remained fixed solely on Vecchio.

“You’re the one who hacked our company, yes? If I may, in exchange for the… vulnerabilities you exposed, I’d like to know the little sprite’s name.”

“V-Vecchio… I’m sorry. I just wanted to deliver his lunch.”

At this answer, Marco’s face broke into a wide smile. A genuine smile, full of pure delight, with not a trace of artifice or deception.

“Oh, no. Not at all, don’t worry about it. I’m not here to demand reparations, but rather to offer a resolution. And admiration for such exceptional talent. Ta-da.”

Marco performed a simple magic trick right in front of Vecchio. His hands blurred, and in a flash, a large lollipop appeared. He must have been hiding it up his sleeve.

“Thank you for pointing out the security flaws in our main system. I came to reassure you that no one will be punished for this, so you can go home without any worries.”

“… … … …!”

“But, Boss. They clearly violated the laws of Omelas…”

“Shhh.”

Marco raised a finger to silence the soldier chattering beside him. Then, he offered the lollipop to Vecchio, speaking gently. His expression, to Vecchio, seemed close to ecstasy.

“The talented are allowed to. The city thrives because of them, so the law shouldn’t stand in their way. You’re a gem in this world… I hope you live happily for a long, long time, little sprite.”

“Ah, um, yes…”

“It doesn’t matter which company you work for when you grow up. Your brilliant talent will contribute to the city’s development in some way. But… I would be delighted to see you at our company someday.”

With that, Marco concluded the matter and rose to his feet. He waved his hand dismissively at the soldiers, then turned and began to walk away.

Vecchio clutched the lollipop, hesitated for a moment, then called out belatedly to his retreating back. He had received a gift, after all, so he needed to say thank you.

“Th-that is to say… Th-thank you. I’ll enjoy the lollipop!”

Marco waved a hand lightly in acknowledgement and continued on his way. There was no talk of fines for breaking the law, or interrogations for potentially stealing company secrets. It ended, astonishingly, peacefully.

Finn and Vecchio watched him go. Only when he was completely out of sight did Finn release a relieved sigh.

“…Whew, thank goodness, Pope. It seems Boss Marco took a liking to you. He’s a good man, after all. I thought he’d at least fine us.”

“D-Do you think so…?”

Unrestrained benevolence.

It was an almost blatant display of pure goodwill. There was no trickery, and Marco genuinely forgave them.

But that goodwill wasn’t directed at Vecchio the human; it was solely for the genius hacker’s talent. The Little Pope could sense it, however vaguely.

Just like the former cardinals had only ever looked at his access privileges, not at him.

…More than anything, Marco ignoring Finn as if he were invisible kept gnawing at him. Even with a far more impressive hero standing right there, why was he only being amiable towards him?

While Vecchio was lost in thought, Finn, relieved that he had gotten away with the incident so smoothly, spoke of their next plan.

“We were lucky. Let’s head back, Your Holiness. We completed the commission, so ‘Drunken Mama’ will break out a tin of expensive saury for us.”

“Is that the name of a dish, Finn?”

“It’s a fish you can chew up, bones and all. It’s quite delicious.”

“I’m looking forward to it! Truthfully, I’ve never actually seen a fish bone before…”

Of course. By the time a fish dish made it to the Pope, every single bone would have been meticulously removed, leaving only the flesh.

“Then next time, let’s eat fish with bones. Removing them is a hassle, but that hassle is what makes it even tastier…”

As the conversation began, Vecchio pushed all those troubling thoughts to the back of his mind. He wanted to focus on the pleasant conversation with Finn, for now.

And so, the two returned, chatting amiably.

—

Thump!

The wad of bills was so large that the sound of it being set down echoed loudly.

Finn’s eyes widened, and he froze, staring at the payment for completing the commission, given by ‘Drunken Mama.’ This was enough money to buy a car outright and drive it around.

Vecchio, ignorant of the world’s exchange rates, didn’t know how much it was, so he quietly whispered to Finn, noticing his expression.

“…Is it a lot?”

“In Imperial gold coins, about… this much…”

“Hwoo-eeck.”

Now Vecchio’s eyes widened, his mouth agape, and he froze as well. Was this much money really being spent on delivering a single lunchbox?

Finn and Vecchio exchanged glances. And they both thought at the same time: This is far too much money for what we did…!

Their thoughts aligned, the two began waving their hands, trying to push the stack of bills back. But ‘Drunken Mama’ stopped them.

“I know I’m being unreasonable.”

“Unreasonable…?”

“I already know that the『Utopia』company is incredibly strict about bringing in items. So I didn’t even expect the delivery to actually work. I just wanted the kid to see a big building.”

‘Drunken Mama’ spoke, waving an unlit Kiseru pipe in her hand. She was in high spirits, her long-held wish finally realized.

“I only made the request with the feeling of buying a lottery ticket, but who knew the lottery would actually pay off? I have no idea how you did it… but if you win the lottery, you have to pay the lottery price.”

“Even so, this amount is too much──”

“If you don’t answer, you’ll be seeing a rent hike.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

Finn clamped his mouth shut. He couldn’t let the rent go up.

What should he even do with this colossal sum of money? If Vecchio wasn’t around, he’d have secretly ticked off items on his bucket list, visiting those sorts of shops. The ones where the employees supposedly wear *vinyl* clothing, no less.

But taking a kid there would be insane, and leaving him would be just as crazy. He’d have to let go with a heavy heart.

Then what about those high-end restaurants that the city’s upper crust supposedly frequented? Sure, the Pope’s meals were lavish enough as it was, but experiencing something like molecular gastronomy felt…special.

Vecchio, of course, would be happy just buying a lousy roasted rat off the street if he was with Finn, a fact that Finn was entirely oblivious to.

Just then, ‘Drunken Mama’ added another tidbit.

“If this money is too much of a burden, I have a favor I’d like to ask. Interested in an extra assignment?”

“⋯⋯What sort of assignment?”

“There’s a girl I know, and it seems like something’s happened to her. But she got burned last time, hired a real low-grade fixer who screwed her over. So she can’t just grab anyone, and she asked me if I knew any trustworthy solutions specialists?”

And finally, one appeared right before her eyes. A trustworthy solutions specialist.

“I was thinking of introducing you⋯⋯as it happens, Finn, you know her.”

“I know her?”

Finn crossed his arms and thought hard. Having just crash-landed in this world, Finn didn’t know many people in Omelas. If he had to pick someone…

The bunny girl who pulled Finn out of the nightclub crowd when he first appeared.

“Mary?”

“That’s right.”

He’d crossed paths with her a few times since that day. If they happened to bump into each other, they’d share a cheap cup of coffee and complain about the hardships of life, so to speak. The bunny girl magazine tucked away beneath Finn’s bed was also a gift from Mary.

Vecchio, hearing the decidedly feminine name, asked ‘Drunken Mama’.

“⋯⋯Mary? Is she a woman?”

“Heh heh heh. A very s*xy woman.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”

s*xy!

That was a power one could only grasp after a good ten years had passed. Only time could make it possible. Vecchio spun in place, seized by a strange sense of unease.

“As it happens, Mary’s coming by for a drink today. Why don’t you hear her out?”

“Yes. I owe Mary a debt.”

If one received a favor, one had to repay it. Unless it was an incredibly difficult task, he wanted to help Mary as much as possible. Looking back, Finn’s crash-landing in that club was rather dangerous.

If he’d just stood there dumbly, the junkies might have grabbed him and sold his organs. And if the women had grabbed him, who knew what they would have done to him. Omelas was not a city known for its kindness to strangers.

In a way, you could interpret it as having saved his life.

As Finn and Vecchio sat side-by-side at the motel lobby’s small bar, sipping on milk (Finn had come to enjoy liquor, but chose milk lest Vecchio take notice),

*ting-a-ling*, the door chime announced Mary’s arrival, with a bright and breezy greeting.

“Mama, I’m off! Can I order a Ramos Gin Fizz today?”

“I told you, unless you’re gonna attach a motor to my arm, don’t order that goddamn thing!”

A shake of the head.

She was still in her scandalous bunny girl outfit, likely fresh from work. The costume, which tightly hugged her figure and revealed a deep cleavage, could only be described as visual assault.

Finn considered shielding Vecchio’s eyes, but missed the opportune moment. If he intervened, stopping him from seeing ‘such things,’ he feared being sunk by the question: ‘Then what about Saint Tara…?’

Yet, if he did nothing, he’d surely be met with, ‘Why is that woman so cold wearing so little?’—an equally impossible question to answer. Finn agonized.

“Wow, a bunny!”

Thankfully, Vecchio’s reaction was one of fascination. The tiny Pope watched Mary, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Oh my, whose child is this?”

“Finn’s. Says he’s a cousin.”

Mary, too, widened her eyes at the sight of the adorable Vecchio. The children of Omelas were usually full of malice, their gazes focused on separating passersby from their wallets.

This child looked like an angel descended from heaven. She crouched down in front of Vecchio, meeting his gaze, and put her hands on her head, imitating bunny ears.

“Yep, I’m a bunny. *Boing boing*.”

“Ah, hello. My name is Vecchio. Finn and I are cousins, and, um… I’m a fixer!”

“A little fixer, huh? I never knew Finn had someone like you. Say, can this sister give our fixer a hug? Huh? Just once.”

“Ah, uhm…”

Vecchio was slightly taken aback. He had never been exposed to such a high concentration of maternal affection before. It felt unfamiliar, a little ticklish, and even a little embarrassing.

Finn stepped in front of Mary, blocking her from doting on Vecchio. He waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.

“Alright, alright, back off the Pope, Mary.”

“The Pope?”

Ah.

Finn’s mind raced.

“Role… playing. We’re role-playing. Right?”

“Ah, yes! Um… I like the job of being a Pope!”

Vecchio awkwardly chimed in.

Mary narrowed her eyes, casting a suspicious glance. Finn, in order to escape this situation, increased the flapping speed of his hands.

“Anyway, just back off. Don’t show the Pope anything weird.”

“Hmm. Anything weird? Then why does fixer Finn keep looking at that ‘weird’ thing? You like weird things?”

“⋯⋯It’s bad for their education!”

“So what? Isn’t it good to study in advance how to raise a woman’s appeal? They’ll have to love someone someday.”

Vecchio tilted his head at the contents of their conversation. Judging by the context, Mary’s outfit seemed to be considered attractive as a woman. ‘Drunken Mama’ had also said she was a very s*xy woman.

But⋯⋯ it was a little different from what he had vaguely known. Vecchio had thought that ‘s*xy’ was something akin to a mad movie of the Saintess Tara in her prime.

That bunny pajamas are so alluring?

“Um, Finn. Do adults⋯⋯ perhaps like things that are furry?”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯?!”

A thousand thoughts flashed through Finn’s head. Mary was startled and had to check her own outfit. And immediately after, she realized. There was a slight disconnect between them.

“Um, Pope. Could you perhaps describe what Mary looks like?”

“Well. Umm⋯⋯ fluffy. She’s wearing something that looks very warm, and it’s shaped like a bunny. It even has a tail on its bottom.”

Different.

The Mary in Finn’s eyes and the Mary in Vecchio’s eyes were different!

Mary grabbed Finn by the collar and quickly moved him to the corner of the shop. Then, lowering her voice so Vecchio couldn’t hear, she asked.

“Where did you get him? If he’s got a porn-blocking filter installed in his brain, he must be one of the city’s upper-class kids. Only the rich get stuff like that implanted. So⋯⋯ did you perhaps kidnap him? To get ransom money?”

“No, it’s not like that⋯⋯!”

“I knew it, you’re not calling him by his name, you’re calling him ‘Pope’ like a keyword! Because if you said his name, the police would hear and find out about the kidnapping⋯⋯!”

“That’s not it!”

Crazy mage.

When he sent the little Pope to another world, perhaps the mage took measures to prevent the young Pope from witnessing strange things. That possibility was the most likely.

But there was no way to explain it in detail. Saying, “I’m actually a hero from another world, and that person is a Pope from another world, and the mage who cast the dimension-crossing magic also cast some kind of illusion magic…”

Then she’d just tell him to stop doing drugs.

Finn vaguely glossed over it.

“⋯⋯He’s a person of high standing, that’s true. But he’s not involved in any crime, and I’m looking after him because of circumstances. Just know that.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“Let’s get to the point. You said you had a request. Did something happen?”

“Alright. I’ll just know that much and won’t dig any deeper. The request, you said?”

Mary went back to her seat and began to explain her situation.

The thing is──.

—

I lost my necklace at the club.

“Lost it, I said, but stolen is more likely. There’s a dressing room slash break room at the *Harmony Club*, where I work, you know?

Lockers lined up all along one wall, and the bunny girls working at the club, they keep their personal things there. You know how it is. Plenty of men with sticky fingers at the club.

Especially necklaces, those vanish in the blink of an eye if you wear them. A bunny girl with a necklace, it’s too noticeable, and they swipe them while pretending to brush against your chest.

So when I work, I keep my clothes and wallet together in my personal locker, and when my shift’s over, I take the necklace and head home. But about three days ago… it was lifted.

No matter how much I searched, the necklace was gone.

I asked the other bunny girls, but nobody knew anything. I even suspected them for a second, thought maybe they stole it, and interrogated them, but I don’t think so.

That necklace, it’s worthless.

It’s made of plastic. My mom bought it for me when I was a kid, a cheap trinket, something a fence wouldn’t give you a penny for. The only value it has is sentimental.

I can’t understand why anyone would steal it.

And, there’s something even stranger.

My clothes and wallet were still there, untouched. What’s more, that day I’d gotten a really generous tip, my wallet was bulging. But the thief only took the cheap necklace.

The day the necklace disappeared, I asked some other fixers to look into it. But, those guys, they just thought about making a replica of the necklace with a 3D printer.

It’s not an intricate piece of craftsmanship, it’s just cheap junk. They thought I wouldn’t notice if they made something like that and presented it to me. They even got mad, asked why I’d even bother looking for such a thing. Idiots.

It’s been quite a while already, and maybe it’s already in a landfill or a shredder…

Could you find it, Finn?”

—

Beccio clenched his fist and jumped to his feet.

“I’ll find it for you!”

“Oh my. The little fixer will find it?”

“Yes. If Finn and I work together, surely… we can find it! I even delivered your lunch!”

“Mmm. If you’re smart enough to run lunch errands, finding a necklace should be easy-peasy. Still… don’t be disappointed if you can’t find it. Okay?”

Mary, with a look of utter fondness, gently stroked the top of Beccio’s head. Beccio’s motivation rose by about 50%.

That’s right. I even received a favor from Mary. The Pope wants that to happen.

Then it’s time for the fixer to be active again. Finn took a long gulp of iced milk and declared.

“I’ll take the case.”

“………….!!”

Beccio gulped down the remaining milk as well, and with a white mustache on his lips, declared confidently.

“I’ll take the case too……!”

“Oh my. It sounded cheesy when Finn said it, but it sounds so cool when the little fixer says it.”

“…… Shut up!”

[Assignment 2: Locate Mary’s lost necklace at “Harmony Club” and return it to its owner.]

Start.