Against a Perfect Sniper

by Shiden Kanzaki

  “I’m serious. Even you know that Saitake has had seventeen assassination attempts by Osaka Area citizens, right? Anyone would be angry at having such heavy taxes levied, but that guy doesn’t care. Anyway, Lady Seitenshi, the heads of Sapporo Area, Sendai Area, and Hakata Area are like that, too. Those first-generation guys are the real deal, the ones who rebuilt their areas from the devastation of the Great Gastrea War.

  “You know how people say the shogun’s council of elders got younger after Perry’s black ships arrived? During times of peace, it doesn’t matter who is in charge of Japan, but when things get really bad, the ones who crawl up are the really capable and dangerous guys. All the area rulers are guys who can say nonsense like ‘I am the representative of all of Japan’ with a straight face. Saitake is the worst of them. Be careful.”

  “I-I understand. I appreciate the warning.” The Seitenshi looked a little overwhelmed and nodded gravely.

  Partway through, Rentaro had started talking as if to convince himself, as well. He lifted his gaze to glare at the highest floor. Even if this was unofficial, the other side wouldn’t be so dumb as to set a trap in the conference location, but anyway, Rentaro was thinking of how he could successfully complete his job.

  The Seitenshi looked nervously at Rentaro. “Please do not leave my side.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Rentaro, a little insolently.

  She looked put out, and stuck her index finger in his face. “Also, you have a short temper, so please keep yourself under control. If you hit Saitake and start a war between our areas, I won’t be able to bear it. Also, you must not use impolite phrases like ‘Shut up’ or ‘What the hell?’”

  “Dang, I wouldn’t say stuff like that.”

  The indicator finally stopped on the top floor, and the door opened gravely. Unexpectedly, the first thing they saw was the blue sky, and Rentaro’s stomach sank. The reinforced hexagonal glass that formed the half dome above them was transparent, and looking out from there, the world seemed to spread out forever. Instead of feeling like they were in a room of the hotel, it seemed like a set of office furniture was placed in a private room of the observation deck on the top floor of a high-rise building.

  Standing by the side of the elevator, bowing deeply once while standing erect were Saitake’s guards. Brawny and muscular, it was obvious that they were extremely skilled. There was also a white-haired man with his back to them, sitting on a designer sofa and looking down at a six-page flexible paper display.

  Rentaro knew who it was just by seeing his back. After a while, the man stood from the sofa and turned around. “A pleasure, Lady Seitenshi.” He seemed to notice Rentaro then, and the tone of his voice dropped suddenly. “And is that the boy taken in by the Tendo family?”

  “You’re still alive? You should just die already, old man,” said Rentaro.

  “Watch your mouth, civsec officer! You know where we are!” His voice roared like thunder, and next to Rentaro, the Seitenshi trembled in surprise.

  The man looked majestic, with his mustache curled at an acute angle, and his beard and hair connecting to look like a lion’s mane. His eyes were sharp, and his tall height was clothed in a suit. He was supposed to be sixty-five this year, but he always seemed to be overflowing with energy, not seeming his age at all. He was Kikunojo Tendo’s rival and a cunning politician who had buried one political rival after another: Sougen Saitake.

  “Rentaro, I have heard rumors about you. Tempted by that Tendo vixen and running away… You acted foolishly. Now, you are not a Tendo politician, you are a civsec officer at the same level as a worm crawling in dirt. I will treat you as such, and you shouldn’t forget how low you are!”

  Rentaro stuck his hands in his pockets and approached Saitake with dangerous eyes. “What the hell are you talking about, old man? Social status? Pedigree? If you can’t be satisfied in a conversation without those things to lift you up, then you should go back to Osaka Area and stay there! Whether or not I’m a Tendo, I’m me.” Rentaro closed in on Saitake until they were almost nose to nose and glared at him.

  Unexpectedly, the one who relaxed his mouth and stepped back first was Saitake. Apparently, Rentaro had passed for now.

  Looking at the Seitenshi, Rentaro saw that she had paled at the threats and stood holding her lace gloves.

  Rentaro wanted to hide his face. Come on, Lady Seitenshi. Stuff like this is just a warm-up.

  Saitake jerked his chin. “Is that Buddha sculptor doing well, Rentaro?”

  Buddha sculptor surely referred to Kikunojo Tendo. Sougen Saitake’s rival, Kikunojo Tendo, separate from his role as a politician, had an unexpected side as a Buddhist sculptor, carving images of the Buddha from wood. Kikunojo, who had been made into the youngest living national treasure of Japan at age sixty-two, was required to raise a disciple after receiving the title.

  When Rentaro’s thoughts reached that point, they dredged up bad memories, and he shook his head to get rid of them. “He hasn’t been carving much lately, ever since his incompetent disciple ran away.”

  “What, do you regret what you did?”

  Rentaro glared at Saitake, who was looking at Rentaro with unconcealed scorn. “Do you wanna fight, pal? You’ll look smarter if you keep your mouth shut a little, you know.”

  The Seitenshi blinked her eyes in surprise. “Satomi, you…were Kikunojo’s disciple…?”

  Apparently it was the first she had heard of it. “So what if I was?”

  Rentaro said it so distastefully that the Seitenshi hurriedly covered her face and said, “It’s nothing…”

  Saitake offered her a seat, and the Seitenshi sat down on the sofa on the other side of the glass table, and Rentaro stood behind her. Rentaro thought for sure that they would start political discussions now, but Saitake raised his gaze to look at Rentaro. “Rentaro, when you defeated the Stage Five Gastrea, you used the railgun module, destroying it beyond repair in the process, didn’t you? Do you understand how important that was?”

  “Huh?” said Rentaro.

  “In war, according to Sun Tzu’s Art of War, whoever is in a position of higher ground wins. The army who shoots arrows from the top of a hill wins, the army who drops bombs on an enemy from above wins, the army who figures out the enemy’s position using a satellite wins—so then, what’s next? That railgun you destroyed was a next-generation weapon that was supposed to be transferred to the moon to shoot down Gastrea on the ground from the surface of the moon. And you…”

  Rentaro frowned. “Wait a minute, old man. Even if you could get the railgun onto the moon, would you really just use it for Gastrea?”

  Saitake scoffed with contempt. “Of course not, idiot. It’s just as you’re imagining. It’s a next-generation deterrent as part of the groundwork to push Japan into becoming a great world power.”

  “Do you plan to threaten other countries with violence?” The Seitenshi couldn’t bear it any longer and interrupted.

  However, Saitake just laughed slowly and stood up, spreading his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture. “Lady Seitenshi, you have no vision. We must be thinking of the world after we exterminate all the Gastrea. Japan should reign as one of the world superpowers. I’m sure you have noticed as well. Ten years ago, right before the major powers of the world stopped functioning, many things were taken away and destroyed by the Gastrea. And now, ten years later, whichever country recovers from this unprecedented disaster first will have the right to be the leader of future generations. And Japan should aim for that. This is my grand strategic design! If I must, I will eliminate every obstacle, every incompetent, and everyone who will not do as I say!”

  Rentaro was at a loss for words. This could be taken as an implicit declaration of war against the heads of state of all the areas besides his own. There were many other heads of state who secretly plotted to get the drop on the other areas, but this man was probably the only one who would say it out loud.

  Rentaro was stunned. He didn’t know where he should start in poi
nting out this man’s mistakes. The world’s mathematicians and statisticians had calculated a devastating number for the likelihood that mankind would be able to exterminate all the Gastrea, and yet Saitake wanted to kill more people this late in the game.

  If Sumire Muroto were here, she would have said with a triumphant look on her face, “Humans are foolish creatures who, when they get tired of peace, turn to war, and when they tire of war, they want peace.”

  Saitake suddenly stamped his feet in anger. “And you—you turned the railgun into scrap iron by making it take too heavy a load. You deserve to die a thousand deaths.”

  “Well, sorry. You should be glad I tested it for you. Besides, the wreckage is still there in the Unexplored Territory, so you should go and retrieve it if you want it so bad.”

  “Hmph. But, well, given my flair for leadership, I wouldn’t mind allowing you the opportunity to make up for it—”

  “Huh?”

  Saitake sat down on the couch and leaned forward. “I heard you defeated a pair that formerly had an IP Rank of 134. Rentaro, a vulnerable city like Tokyo Area will be destroyed eventually. If you do not want to be a citizen of a ruined country in five years, come with me. Let’s take over nations together, you and I. To watch the creation of a new world together with a wineglass in one hand—I’m sure it will be a sight to see.”

  The Seitenshi paled and started to stand, but Rentaro stopped her with just an arm. “What the hell? Go back to your own area!”

  Saitake’s eyes blazed with spite, and he waved his arms as he frothed at the mouth. “I won’t give up. I will gather all those with power and make them part of my plan! My will is Japan’s will! Japan’s will is my will!”

  The Seitenshi quietly put her hands in the lap of her dress and sat up straight. “President Saitake, may we move on to the matter at hand?”

  Saitake looked dumbfounded as he clucked his tongue and waved his hand saying, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  Two hours later, the first unofficial conference was over. The only thing to come of this conference was that the Seitenshi and Saitake both realized that they were incompatible, mortal enemies.

  6

  By the time they got in the limousine to go home, a thick curtain of darkness had fallen. Though Enju had spent a long time waiting in the car, she was now fast asleep on Rentaro’s lap, drooling and hanging off him. Jeez, you’re a great guard, he thought. Once the car reached the Seitenshi’s palace, the first day of their job would be successfully concluded. He knew he should be glad nothing major happened, but…

  When he lifted his face, he saw the Seitenshi sitting prettily across from him with her hands folded neatly in her lap, looking out the window at the darkness outside with a slightly melancholy expression on her face.

  “Don’t be so depressed,” Rentaro said.

  The Seitenshi responded to Rentaro’s voice and slowly shifted her gaze. “I’m not depres—” Stopping midsentence, she quietly shook her head. “You’re right, I am a little… Generally speaking, I always believed that if I spoke sincerely, the person I was talking to would understand where I was coming from, no matter who it was, and I believe that even more now.”

  “It’s not like it’s your fault, you know. Even Kikunojo would have trouble with someone like Saitake. You did a good job.”

  The Seitenshi gave a mischievous smile as she place her hand on her chin. “You’re unexpectedly kind, Satomi. Even so, you surprised me today. From a budding politician to a Buddha sculptor to a soldier of the New Humanity Creation Project, it seems you’ve had a complicated past.”

  Rentaro shifted his gaze with a start. “Hell, those are all parts of my past that I’d rather forget. Don’t make me think about them.”

  “Will you carve something for me sometime?”

  “No way.”

  The Seitenshi put her hand to her mouth and chuckled. The atmosphere inside the car seemed to relax slightly. “But you’re amazing, Satomi. You didn’t back off one bit against Saitake. I think it’s that part of you that I like, Satomi.”

  “Like?”

  “Yes, everyone I come into contact with, from my tutors to Kikunojo, speaks to me with respect. There isn’t anyone around me who tells things to me straight like you do, Satomi. It’s very refreshing.”

  Ah, now I get it, Rentaro thought. During the Kagetane Hiruko terrorist incident, Rentaro had not said anything to make the Seitenshi like him; instead, he had snapped at her constantly. He kept wondering why the Seitenshi would nominate him for this job, but now it made sense. “But why a civsec officer? You have your own personal guards, don’t you? You know, like that guy that looks like a military police officer?”

  “Yasuwaki? He… He’s too dazzling. It’s a little scary to be with him.”

  Even as Rentaro responded with an indifferent grunt, inwardly he thought it served Yasuwaki right. Yasuwaki seemed to be trying to shrewdly attract the Seitenshi’s attention, but it looked like his ulterior motive wasn’t gaining much traction.

  The Seitenshi took out some peach juice from the mini fridge and poured it into a glass. She offered some to Rentaro, as well, so he took it. He was only planning on taking a sip, but when he swallowed, the cold sweetness penetrated his internal organs, and he downed the glass in the blink of an eye. Apparently, he was thirstier than he thought.

  When the Seitenshi lifted her face from her cup, for some reason, her eyes looked like they were clouded with the resolve to drink poisoned sake. She looked at Rentaro. “Satomi, it is rumored that President Saitake has been fostering relations with foreign countries.”

  The car approached a curb, and Rentaro’s body swayed a little to the right. On his lap, Enju murmured something in her sleep. The city lights shone on the glistening metal car top, slipping away as they drove past.

  “Keep going…,” he said.

  “I’ve heard that America and other foreign countries have been secretly contacting Saitake, providing him with capital and weapons.”

  “What’s the benefit for the foreign countries?”

  “Varanium.” The Seitenshi stopped talking for a moment and lifted her face. “Varanium is the material used for the weapons and ammunition of civsec officers and the Monoliths that separate humans from Gastrea. All these are essential in the fight against the Gastrea. A small country without that much land like Japan is still okay, but large countries like Russia and America need a large amount of Varanium to take back the land stolen by the Gastrea. And rough estimates of the amount of Varanium left in the ground indicate that even if we scraped together all the Varanium in the world, it would not be enough to take back all the world’s continents from the Gastrea. Do you understand what that means?”

  Rentaro understood what she meant so well it was almost painful. Different natural resources around the world were distributed unevenly. The Middle East was rich in oil, and South Africa was plentiful in gold and diamonds. Varanium was found on volcanic islands. Even if the islands were separate, it could still be said that the bulk was found on Japan.

  Rentaro had recently met a boy who ran away from working in the mines, and he had been shocked at their terrible working conditions. Illegal mining of Varanium in the Unexplored Territory might seem like a failure at first when looking at the risk and return, but taking into account that there was a constant stream of illegal miners, as long as one bore in mind the risk of being crushed by a whole mine, it was still possible to find some reasonable profit in it.

  Rentaro’s thoughts came one after another. Now that he thought about it, the bulk of the conference seemed to involve Saitake thrusting unfavorable conditions on Tokyo Area and the Seitenshi refusing them. Because of what she had just said, it seemed like Saitake was looking for an excuse to start a war.

  “Then, what Saitake wants to do so badly that he would get help from foreign countries is…” Rentaro’s voice trailed off.

  “Yes. He probably wants to unite the military power of Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai, and Hakata Areas. I
n return, he would provide them with a stable supply of Varanium.”

  “Is Saitake being controlled by the larger countries?”

  “I do not know.”

  Rentaro put his hand on his chin. “I don’t think he is someone who would just do what he’s told.”

  “I do not think so, either. The foreign countries probably think they have tamed Saitake, and Saitake is probably planning on forestalling them.” The Seitenshi straightened and continued with a clear voice. “In the ten years that have passed since the end of the war, each country has been holed up inside Monoliths in order to just recover their national power. However, it is now the time to look outward and take back the land that was lost. Whoever recovers their national power first will be the world leader of future generations. That part of Saitake’s thinking is not incorrect. In other words, whoever controls Varanium will control the world.

  “Satomi, from now on, countries around the world will contact the different areas of Japan either cooperatively or with hostility in search of Varanium. And the next generation of wars will not be flashy with ballistic missiles or bombers, but will be focused on assassinations carried out by civsec officers with high IP ranks who are strong enough to rock the world’s military balance.

  “In no time, all the strongest civsec officers will come to Japan, the country bound by the curse of natural resources. Satomi, in the previous terrorist incident, you defeated Kagetane and Kohina Hiruko and drove away a Zodiac. Unfortunately, Tokyo Area cannot afford to allow one of its capable human resources to play around right now. I will have to ask you to work continuously from now on. For me, and for our country.”

  Rentaro stamped his foot with irritation that he could barely hold back. “You just decided that yourself. You really will decide everything based on whatever’s convenient for you, won’t you?”

  “I recognize that.” Then, the Seitenshi put both hands on her lower abdomen with a sorrowful expression. “I may also collapse in the whirlpool of turmoil. Because I can now have children, those around me keep telling me I should hurry up and bear a successor. However, instead of bearing a child with the best genes using mechanical means, I would rather bear a child through love, even if it is prideful.”