The top floor of Tagaden Tower, the tallest place in Tokyo. Mayuzumi Kirika, along with Rintaro and Samecchi, were visiting the Machinery General Tagaraak’s room.

「I’ve set the traps in all the places where mice are likely to appear.」

「Ooooh, you’ve worked hard, jattano. Here, your rewards, ja. I’ll rely on you again next time.」

Kirika accepted the envelope offered by the blonde young girl. If you just look at this scene without listening to the conversation, it almost looked like a silver-haired delinquent blackmailing a well-off young lady.

Rintaro interrupted this brief exchange.

「General Tagaraak, would you please refrain from using my men for convenience without my permission?」

「What, you are so stingy, no. You might as well just put a collar on that puppy, jarogai. Or should I turn her into a cyborg? Machines are great, they don’t complain and they don’t need to take a break.」

「It’s fine! That suggestion has too many drawbacks!」

The reason why Rintaro accompanied Kirika this time was to put a warning on Tagaraak. Or rather, to avoid his subordinate (Kirika) meeting alone with Tagaraak.

The members are what the Hundred Beasts Legion call a “family,” what the Strange Insects Army call a “pack,” and what the Machinery army call “pieces”. It would be unacceptable if they were to continue to be used as they pleased without the leader’s knowledge and called a “part-timer”.

Furthermore, when it came to bothering others unnecessarily, no one could match this young girl of unknown age.

However, despite Rintaro’s concern, Kirika shrugged her shoulders and fluttered the envelope she had received.

「Don’t worry, senpai. This is just a part-time job, a mutual interest, so to speak.」

「Listen, Mayuzumi, there are people out there who won’t hesitate to catch and eat you if you show them the slightest chance.」

「You make it sound as if I am a black-hearted villain, jano! Do you really think that such a lovely, beautiful girl would deceive and blackmail people?!」

「You have some nerve saying that with a dirty, criminal record covered face! Anyway, please stop showing your face to the members of the heinous legion (my people) without my knowledge!」

Kirika twisted her body in response to Rintaro’s words, who was determined to not let his subordinates be bothered.

「How can you say I am your wife (people), senpai, we’re not even registered yet……」

「Mayuzumi, could you please be quiet for a moment? You’re going to complicate things.」

「A collar…… let’s put it on.」

「Did you listen to what I said?」

Rintaro began to feel stupid for worrying about Kirika.

But how much did she actually receive? The envelope seemed oddly thick for a small part-time job.

Seeing Kirika fluttering the envelope, Samecchi, who was lying on the luxury sofa, shouted out.

「Kurara-chan, Samecchi wants an allowance too, ssu.」

「Oh, how much does Samecchi wants, ja? I think 1 million yen would be enough.」

「Don’t give away large sums of money so easily! Samecchi will grow up to be an adult with a distorted sense of money!」

They look like a grandfather spoiling his grandchild who had come home to visit the countryside, and a mother trying to stop him. Rintaro pulled Samecchi (grandchild) away from General Tagaraak (grandfather).

「Anyway Samecchi, what are you going to do with the allowance?」

「To buy a lewd swimsuit and seduce aniki, ssu.」

「Let’s not use words you’ve just learned, okay?」

Feeling a sense of crisis that the purchase of the deserted island has become a done deal, Rintaro makes Samecchi turn around. He then pushed Kirika, who was seriously considering the purchase of a collar while staring at her smartphone.

「Mayuzumi, I’m sure you’re done with your business. You two go back first, I have something important to discuss with General Tagaraak.」

「Anikii, Samecchi wants the allowance, ssuu.」

「Aniki will buy you what you want, so be patient now.」

「Senpai, I heard that dog collars have flea-repellent chemicals on them that can irritate the skin.」

「I have no plans to buy it for you, so you’ll have to be patient now and in the future.」

After they left the room, Rintaro faced Tagaraak again.

「You don’t understand a girl’s heart, nou.」

「General Tagaraak, why don’t we stop spending so much time on small talk.」

Rintaro put his glasses back on and sharpened his lightless, stagnant eyes. These are no longer the eyes of a struggling mother, but those of a wise and courageous general who plays a role in the Ark Dominion.

「What was the real purpose of the rat extermination? What did you go to the trouble of using Mayuzumi to do?」

「Hou, you are as perceptive as ever. I don’t dislike that shrewdness of yours.」

Rintaro knows very well that Mayuzumi Kirika is not the type of person to be swayed by threats or money. But she’s also not the type of good person who will easily take on tasks that are not in her own interest.

In addition, Tagaraak, the employer, is a general who leads a number of talented members. Rintaro believed that there must have been a reason why she had arranged for Kirika to take on this “part-time job”.

And that is something that probably cannot be carried out by the members of the Machinery Army. Otherwise, she would not have to go to the trouble of borrowing personnel from other sources, but would have her own people do it.

「……I found this planted in the server room.」

Tagaraak pulled out of a large desk drawer in the chairman’s office a machine that looked like a small black box.

「Is this a small camera? Also a wiretap?」

「Do you remember… your battle with Victor Black, Mayuzumi Kirika?」

「Yeah, of course.」

「At that time, it wasn’t just Victor Black that was a threat. Your “eyes” were also stolen.」

The “eyes” in other words, was the image from the small camera in Rintaro’s glasses. The hacking of this image allowed Ark Dominion’s activities to be leaked to the heroes’ headquarters, putting them in a tight spot.

By taking advantage of this problem, they set a trap and won a hard-fought victory.

「The server room was under constant surveillance, and the Machinery Army members couldn’t be trusted to take care of it… could it be…」

「We got hacked again. Tehepero noja.」

Saying so, the blonde-haired young girl stuck out her tongue and winked at him. It was a seemingly cute gesture, but Rintaro took it with a straight face.

「……When was this?」

「Two days ago, ja. Or, more accurately, there were traces of unauthorized access, ja na. Fortunately, no critical data was touched. But that may not be the case if there is a second attempt.」

「Why would they bother with surveillance cameras?」

「It’s possible that someone has sneaked directly into the server room. I also can’t rule out the possibility of it being a prank, but it’s better to be cautious.」

Tagaraak, as expected, could not stay in her goofy mode, so she crossed her arms and squinted her azure eyes. There was no longer any trace of the mischievous little girl on her face.

「Machines don’t complain and they don’t need to take a break. But can be hijacked in an instant, and it is not limited to servers. Therefore, it is risky to use the pawns of the corrupted army. I don’t trust my own people as much as you do.」

Tagaraak spun around in her chair and looked out the window. There she saw the endless streets of Tokyo, a silent metropolis.　

To her, a leader of mechanical mysterious beings, her subordinates are literally “pawns” and nothing more.

As the longest serving member of Ark Dominion and the don who controls both the public and private aspects of the Japanese business world, she probably has some thoughts about this.

「So you used Mayuzumi to increase the surveillance so that even the Machinery Army members would not know about it?」

「You and Kirika will not act unless it is in your own interest. In that sense, I believe you can be trusted, wai.」

As she turned around, the young girl’s face, with the corners of her mouth twisted in a grin, showed her career as a leader in an evil organization.

「Well, leave this matter to me. I’m the one in charge of the security and welfare of the Ark Dominion. I’m sure you have other things to do, jarou.」

「Oh, You mean? Are you trying to get me to do something too?」

Tagaraak sighed and propped her elbows on the large desk and laced her fingers together. As if this was more important than the hacking.

After watching Rintaro straighten his posture, Tagaraak opened her tiny lips.

「……I’m talking about Kenmochi Minato, ja.」

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<184: Rat Poison
186: Fatal Mistake>