Chapter 18

[Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong 4 Multi‑Tool]

Price: 500P

“Huh….”

I couldn’t help but stifle a snicker at such an incredibly blunt name.

I never expected to encounter this here.

Even when leveraging the Stingray Group’s intelligence, only dubious rumors surfaced…

Number one on Miyu’s wish list.

At the same time, the legendary all‑purpose tool that modulators in this world longed to acquire.

Yet, no one had ever actually laid eyes on it.

And now, it was right in front of me.

“Should I buy this?”

Thinking rationally, wasting precious points on such an enigmatic gadget made no sense at all.

However, elsewhere in my mind, another thought emerged.

Given it was a legendary universal tool, if I gifted this to Miyu, perhaps she could create something far more amazing than in the original story?

And above all else…

“Aaron‑ssi! Look at this!”

“I have no regrets even if I die now~!”

“Aaron‑ssi! Aaron‑ssii~!”

I pictured Miyu happily clutching this, bouncing around with joy, and I couldn’t bring myself to close the shop window.

“W‑What am I going to do… ugh!”

When I snapped back to reality, my hand was dangerously close to the “Buy” button.

I felt like I might accidentally end up buying two.

Her doubled joy was flashing before my eyes.

But then.

Beside the product name, the photo showing the multi‑tool finally entered my view.

And when I saw the tool for the first time—

“…”

Click, click.

Purchase complete.

[Module Compatibility Increase Ticket] ×3

[Overload Rate –10% Ticket] ×1

Points Remaining: 100

Without the slightest hesitation, I removed the multi‑tool from my purchase list.

Honestly, I couldn’t help it.

“Author, you crazy bastard! What on earth did you put in what’s supposed to be an all‑ages work?!”

The multi‑tool looked incredibly vulgar.

No, it was blatantly obscene.

A long rod with two round protrusions.

In other words, a steel “that”.

“How could anyone give something like this to a girl!”

I have no idea how it ended up shaped like that, but if I gave it, I’d surely be arrested for sexual harassment.

I’m actually surprised they didn’t add a mosaic to the photo.

“I can accept cyberpunk aesthetics, but that’s just… too much!”

Adding this object to the happy image of Miyu I had imagined created a profoundly despairing scene.

And the despair I felt was crushing.

My head started aching, and I pressed my thumb into my forehead in irritation.

[Lord Aaron-nim.]

As I swallowed my boiling frustration, a message from Maria arrived just in time.

“Hoo… what is it now.”

[Someone from Militech has come to visit. Shall I let them in?]

“A visitor?”

Then a popup appeared on one side of my vision UI with the information about the visitor.

A man with long hair and a ferret-like impression.

What stood out was that half his face was completely covered with cyberware.

‘This guy…’

No doubt about it.

The heir to Millennium Technology.

At the same time, he was also a chairman of the Militech Foundation, just like me.

He had appeared once in the original work, so I could recall his name without having to rely on Aaron’s memories.

“Vladimir Kharitonov…”

In the original, his name was mentioned only a handful of times.

Since the main antagonist the protagonist faced was the Stingray Group, it was natural that his appearances were sparse.

But that didn’t mean I could afford to overlook one important fact.

‘He’s quite a dangerous man.’

Just because he was scarcely described in the original didn’t mean his threat level disappeared.

Millennium Technology, which he would eventually inherit, was undeniably one of the top five megacorps in New Valhalla City.

‘I didn’t expect this…’

We had openly sided with Iri, who had caused trouble with a student from Militech today, so I was prepared for some sort of reaction from their side.

But I hadn’t anticipated that their top dog would come to see me personally.

Honestly, it caught me off guard a little, but I didn’t dwell on it too long before making a decision.

“Let him in.”

[Understood.]

He was undoubtedly a dangerous opponent, but that didn’t mean I could avoid all such people in the future.

So far, I’d only dealt with people like Miyu or Iri—main characters from the story—or those affiliated with Stingray… in other words, people who could potentially become allies.

But I hadn’t had a chance to confront someone from the opposing side until now.

So this was a good opportunity to gain that experience in advance.

Click—

Soon, the office door opened smoothly, and Vladimir strolled in at a relaxed pace.

He even made direct eye contact with me as he did.

“It’s been a while, Aaron Stingray.”

As expected from the heir of Militech.

Among all the people I’d met so far, Vladimir was the first to look me straight in the eye while staying perfectly composed.

It meant he had something to rely on.

Definitely not someone to take lightly.

“Vladimir.”

That was when it happened.

As I said his name, fragments of Aaron’s memories began to trickle into my mind.

And I was a little surprised by what I learned.

‘He was my classmate?’

Apparently, Vladimir and I had attended school together during our student days.

Well, if we’d known each other back then, that would explain why he could just barge in like this without an appointment.

“I heard you’ve recovered and returned. I couldn’t wait to see you, so I came without notice.”

“What’s your business?”

“You’re still as cold as ever. But I guess that’s what makes you… you.”

Without being offered, Vladimir made himself comfortable on the guest sofa.

Even crossed his legs—his posture was rather arrogant.

“Well, I came because I heard some interesting things. That you’re back, that you’ve set up an office in the Academy, that you’ve started selecting special scholarship students… or maybe…”

Ssshh—

He turned his head and glared at me.

“That you recruited someone from the Fallen Sector.”

“Did you come here to complain?”

“Complain? Well, I suppose you could call it that.”

Vladimir sneered with a smug expression.

But strangely…

I felt a strong sense of discord in his attitude.

To be precise, Aaron’s faint memories whispered this to me.

—What’s with that bastard?

The blurry image of Vladimir in my mind was of someone prideful but cautious depending on who he was dealing with.

In other words, that guy wasn’t someone who could act like this in front of me.

‘What is he relying on?’

I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure it out, when Vladimir couldn’t hold himself back and opened his mouth first.

With a showy attitude, he said to me:

“Lv.4 Arcane Module [Thousand Pound Weight]. I know it’s in your hands. I also know you snuck out during the entrance ceremony and smashed the distribution panel on the 23rd floor.”

“…”

I was surprised again.

Maria had said it would be hard to trace.

Still, I kept a poker face and feigned ignorance.

“What are you talking about?”

“There was an anonymous tip.”

“They said the true purpose of this incident was to steal a very special module hidden there.”

“And that the culprit was probably someone who attended the entrance ceremony.”

“……!”

An anonymous tip.

I was sure of it.

That bastard was definitely a transmigrator.

“Truly, I couldn’t help but be surprised for many reasons.”

“To think that something like a Level 4 Arcane Module was hidden in a place like that.”

“Who in the world would put something like that in a power distribution box?”

“That’s none of my concern. So what do you want?”

“Hand over that [Thousand Pound Weight] to me.”

Vladimir answered without hesitation.

“I’ll pretend this whole thing never happened.”

“Of course, that includes the mutt you adopted touching our valuable assets.”

Ah, so that’s what this was.

Most likely, the culprit who had been searching for the module before me resented me for snatching it right under their nose.

But they were afraid to confront a cheat character like Aaron Stingray directly, so they relied on Militech’s power.

‘They may not be able to become stronger themselves, but they must’ve decided they could at least take my power away. If that’s the case, they’re…’

“You’ve got some brains, but your understanding is lacking.”

Vladimir’s brows furrowed.

“……W-What did you say?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just talking to myself.”

A dry laugh slipped out.

I didn’t think it’d be this simple.

No—more accurately, it showed how little they understood about this world and about the character Aaron.

Seriously.

Maybe I had been overestimating my enemies until now.

There really wasn’t a need to be this wary.

“Heh heh…”

“W-What’s so funny?”

“That so-called anonymous informant. They really don’t know anything about me.”

I stood up from my chair.

They thought they could keep Aaron Stingray in check by using Militech?

That even as a member of the imperial family, he’d have to consider his relationships with other corporations?

That was true, of course.

Even someone as murderous as Aaron didn’t just go around slaughtering people at random.

In the original, he always judged whether a situation could be smoothed over with Stingray’s power.

In other words, he only ever went after prey when they couldn’t even struggle.

But flipping that around—

If it was something he could cover up with money and power, then he was someone who would commit murder just for fun.

“How laughable.”

He went around smashing power distribution boxes.

To get his hands on a special module.

And he was a chairman of the Academy’s biggest sponsor foundation.

Anyone who heard that would definitely find it strange, and my image might take a hit.

But that was all.

Most of all, Aaron Stingray didn’t have a good reputation to begin with.

Also, if people found out that he did it to get a Level 4 Arcane Module, many would probably think it made sense.

But that didn’t mean anyone would dare come after it.

In the end, I had nothing to lose.

Having come to that conclusion, I decided to act a bit bolder.

This would probably fit Aaron’s image better anyway, and more importantly…

“Vladimir, speak.”

With anyone else, I might have hesitated.

But with this guy, I felt like it was fine.

For some reason.

“W-What do you want me to say?”

“You said it was an anonymous tip, but I’m sure it can be traced.”

“You can find out where it came from.”

“Hah! You think I’d actually tell you that?”

“No, not at all.”

I stood from my chair and walked to the desk, then sat on top of it.

With my hands in my pockets, I continued.

“Vladimir, we’ve known each other a long time, haven’t we?”

“So you should know what kind of person I am.”

“I don’t say things twice.”

“D-Do you think I’m still that pushover from ten years ago?”

“I’m a full-fledged chairman now!”

“I won’t let you drag me around like you did back in school!”

Ah, so that was it.

Apparently, Aaron used to beat this guy up when they were kids.

Maybe my words had triggered some old trauma, because his mask was starting to come off.

But what could I say?

Aaron didn’t seem to remember any of it.

Honestly, I wanted to apologize on his behalf.

But that’s that.

And this is this.

“I’ll count to three.”

“What? What right do you have to—!”

“Three.”

“Y-You think I’ll just tell you?!”

“Two.”

“F-Fine then! Try it if you want! I won’t sit back quietly!”

“One.”

“M-Module Online!”

Vladimir shouted first.

And immediately after, I murmured as well.

“Module Online.”

Lv.5 Arcane Module [Cloud Spider].

Leather gloves covered both my hands.

At the same time, invisible threads shot out all at once to restrain Vladimir’s body.

However—

“Did you think that would work?”

For some reason, just before the threads I launched could touch his body, they suddenly veered off course.

Zzzzzap!

A burst of sparks exploded where the deflected threads scattered.

Vladimir cried out triumphantly.

“Did you think you were the only one who could use a Lv.5 Arcane Module? Foolish! This force field is impenetrable!”

“Hmmm…”

No wonder.

Looking closely, a powerful energy barrier was deployed around him.

It would probably vaporize regular steel on contact.

So that was what he was relying on.

“I came prepared just for this! Did you think I’m still the same old me?”

“Let’s not be ridiculous, Vladimir. Aren’t we past the age of playing silly games with each other?”

“You think this is a game? Attacking the heir of Militech—there’s no way even you can get away with this!”

“You were the one who activated your module first. And aren’t we old friends? I thought this was no more than a bit of playful teasing.”

“Friends? Who’s friends with you?”

“Ah, I see. I must’ve been mistaken. Then let’s say we’re not. This wasn’t a ‘prank’—it was a life-or-death ‘battle’.”

As I said that, I moved my fingers again.

I controlled the threads as if wrapping around the energy sphere.

Zzzzzap!

The threads touching the energy barrier sparked violently in reaction.

The threads kept trying to pierce through, but the force field kept pushing back.

“It’s useless! Keep trying if you want!”

“You’re holding out well.”

At this rate, it would never end.

I had no choice but to pull something from my pocket.

[Module Compatibility Increase Ticket].

“Huh? W-What are you doing…?”

Vladimir looked confused, but I had no obligation to answer.

I grabbed the ticket with both hands and tore it in half.

In that moment—

KAAAAAAAAANG—!

With a sound like shattering glass, the energy barrier broke apart.

I immediately manipulated the threads again and restrained Vladimir’s entire body.

“W-What? Whoaaa?!”

I kept moving my fingers and wound Vladimir’s body tightly in threads.

The [Cloud Spider] threads layered hundreds of times around him, wrapping him up like a silkworm cocoon.

“Gahhhhhh!”

Finally, I hung him upside down from the ceiling and brought him right in front of my desk.

“I’ll ask you again, Vladimir.”

And I looked toward his inverted face.

“Are you my old school friend? Or are you a rival from Militech?”

“F-Friend! We’re friends!”

“Then what was that we just did?”

“Come on, it was a ‘joke,’ wasn’t it? Gosh, we’ve always played like this since the old days, haven’t we? Hahaha! Guess we’re too old to stop now! What fun!”

“But just a moment ago, you said—”

“That was a joke! A joke, not a battle! W-We’re friends, right?!”

“That’s strange, though. I don’t remember receiving this month’s friendship fee.”

To that, Vladimir shouted at the top of his lungs.

Even though all the blood must’ve been rushing to his head, his face somehow looked even more pale.

“I’ll pay! I’ll pay, so please just—!”

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