ch86

Tang… Tang….

Even the sound of her kicking off the floor seemed to betray her impatience.

With her eyes half-open, she scanned the repair shop… no, the assembly room inside the store. Her eyes met Zero’s, who was hanging from the assembly line, staring blankly back at her. She gave him a light wave.

He should be in self-anesthesia—power-saving mode—while they’re rummaging through his body, not staring like that.

No parent in the world would skimp on hospital bills when their child is sick.

Even if the doctor warned of unaffordable expenses, they would decide with their heart, not their head, and prioritize treatment first.

But… it’s not a lame excuse, but machine repairs…

Especially robot repairs, where parts can be freely changed or upgraded, are similar to buying electronics, which is a real headache.

“……”

“If you’ve changed your mind, you can tell me now.”

“…No, I’ll pass.”

It’s better to just install a new one than fix this. If I’m going to replace it with a new one anyway, it might be worth spending a little more and getting a higher-end model.

Instead of just fixing this part and throwing off the balance of the other parts, it’s more advantageous for performance improvement to unify the entire configuration to similar specifications.

If one Care Bot isn’t enough, why not take this opportunity to look into a full-fledged combat Droid?

I glared at the iron-masked manager who was spouting such sugar-coated nonsense, but all I got back was the smooth talk typical of service industry workers. There was no other reaction.

From the start, I just asked them to neatly fix the damaged hand and the smashed armor, but I don’t know what kind of crazy sales pitch this is.

The worst part of it all is that they never mentioned a specific amount.

Does this place not have any obligation to notify customers of service costs? …Damn it.

This is the ExaTech store where she bought him.

Still, it’s the store that delivered Zero a while ago. I revisited with a sliver of mutual trust and the expectation that they would have the right spare parts… but sadly, it might only be half right.

Clunk!

Click, click…!

“How is it?”

Zero, who had stepped down to the floor, moved his replaced fingers flamboyantly.

He was doing fine without them, but it seems he was the most concerned about the emptiness.

Synchronization and power transfer, all normal. Ready for deployment at any time. –

“Deployment, my ass, just departure! What, are you some kind of attack helicopter?”

I gave him a small scolding, partly to correct his bellicose word choice.

Even if my body is difficult to accompany at all times, I will quickly adapt if you wish. –

“I should just keep my mouth shut.”

…It doesn’t seem like he took it as anything more than a silly joke, let alone a scolding, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all okay as long as he’s back to his old self.

So, let’s summarize one last time.

The weather is a bit chilly, but it’s perfectly clear for a trip.

I don’t have any pending work or homework, and of course, there are no grudges to settle before leaving.

The stiffness in my neck from last night’s great descent has also improved thanks to the patches I plastered all over it.

Zero may have handled it a bit roughly, but I packed my luggage perfectly without losing anything.

So… what’s the remaining problem?

I turned my head.

I faced the ExaTech manager who had generously provided repair work, semi-forced product consultations, and even drinks and snacks for regular…? customers from early in the morning.

“…We don’t carry helicopters at our store, but would you like to see some infiltration drones?”

“Enough with the jokes, so how much is it in total?”

Now that I’m really cornered, I wish they would show me the bill in an easy-to-understand way.

They introduced a pre-payment system when buying things, but they were unnecessarily generous to people who were already on the customer list, which was actually troublesome.

They must have assumed that I had money, but my wallet is tighter than they think…?

Depending on the situation, a somewhat shabby negotiation might be necessary….

“Let’s see… 1.24 million for the ultra-fine articulated finger parts, 390,000 for the ruptured internal circuit board, 1.05 million for the replaced composite armor… and 230,000 for the re-plating of the scratched surface. That comes to a total of 2.91 million Credits!”

“……Cough.”

I nonchalantly wiped away the drink that was about to spill from my mouth.

I might have to spit out the refreshments I got…?

“Then, ma’am? I’ll help you with the payment.”

Shit. I see why those mercenary friends of mine looked at me with suspicious eyes, calling me a bourgeois or whatever.

The expenses, which were on a different level from general necessities, medicines, and ammunition, made me feel like I was about to have another muscle spasm.

How much more will it cost when I start rolling around in the gunpowder-smelling battlefield in earnest…? Ugh, let’s not even think about it.

Even considering the consumer’s fault ratio, is there no AS (After Service) that can be retroactively applied?

…Or is it just CS (Customer Service) here, anyway.

The manager, noticing my discomfort, added a few words as if he had forgotten something.

“Ah! I almost forgot. ExaTech is also running a year-end special promotion, so if we apply a 0.4% discount, the exact amount is 2,898,360 Credits.”

“That’s so touchingly kind….”

I glanced up at the ceiling.

Specifically, I wanted to glare at someone in a scenic high-rise office above the ceiling… but my timid resistance wasn’t over yet….

“Um… instead of paying in full, I’ll pay in a different way.”

“There aren’t many processing methods available under our regulations… what would you like?”

I’m glad that they don’t seem to doubt my ability to pay, but that doesn’t soothe my parched mouth.

They say you have to be careful of falling leaves in your old age, but is this really okay? What if I get rejected after spending this much?

……Ah, screw it, they called in the middle of the night and told me what to do, surely they won’t refuse to give a strategic partner travel expenses.

“Charge the full amount to Aaron Dreyfus, Strategic Planning Department, 48th floor of the Paradise Corporation Main Tower.”

“……”

What do they call this in commercial terms… a promissory note? Credit purchase?

I don’t know which expression is correct, but I can tell that the expression on the manager’s face under the mask is terribly distorted.

I was being too shameless after all.

It’s frowned upon to pay with in-kind (goods other than money or Credits), let alone an irresponsible verbal promise.

It would be better to just take out a loan, promise to fulfill the debt, and then remit the difference later.

Until this point, that’s what I was thinking.

“……Cross-verification with Paradise is complete, ma’am. Thank you very much for using our store today.”

“Uh.”

A polite. An exaggerated gentleman’s greeting that you might see at a ballroom came rushing in.

In that short moment, perhaps they tried to contact various parties and succeeded as soon as the company name came out? Scary, scary corporate connections, how much fierce infighting do they engage in beneath the surface?

Of course, it might not be my place to say that, since I’m trying to settle the bill with connections.

Anyway, the rich man who acts like hundreds of millions of Credits are pocket change was generous enough to save me this time.

Then, before anything else comes out, I should quickly eat lunch and head to the train station… head to….

“…Zero? Do you have that toy you wanted… ahem, sorry. Do you have a separate list of parts you’ve organized?”

It’s not like I’m going to embezzle hundreds of millions… isn’t it an overstatement to say that 3 million or 4 million is a similar number to Aaron?

They say that the most enjoyable company dinners are paid for with the corporate card, and that getting on board when the opportunity arises is part of social skills—excuse—I’ll argue.

★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

“Mr. Dreyfus, the General Affairs Department is asking if there were any public funds to be diverted to ExaTech….”

“Was there a budget proposal that was never allocated?!”

“Erase the records related to that. Didn’t they clearly specify? Aaron Dreyfus on the 48th floor. This is just my personal expense, not a corporate transaction. If you tell him that, Wiseman will shut up without complaint.”

His legs, crossed at an angle, tapped.

Aaron brushed aside the questions that poured out from various departments within the company at once.

That’s one of the advantages of operating an expensive AnDroid.

It can catch and respond to things that aren’t good to spread widely, and it can also increase control over departments.

In addition… there was no need to bring other employees into the office unless it was an urgent matter.

Whirr….

As if in a movie theater, the data that had been spread across the glass window shook chaotically and then settled.

The conflict with Enama, which has recently become more inclined to probe Paradise’s intentions, Elysium, which is requesting funding under the pretext of excessive network load, ExaTech, which is renegotiating satellite usage fees, and all sorts of suffocating tasks are all pushed into a corner.

Instead, the space was filled with a receipt from a mere robot store.

It was an act of deviation that was forgiven because Aaron’s entire 24 hours were practically work hours.

“Hmm…….”

If you reverse-calculate the discount applied by the store, the total payment amount is 14.62 million Credits.

His eyes, looking at that subtle number, shook anxiously.

Strictly speaking, this was the first contact Anastasia Valentine had attempted since the contract.

Then there must be something she means… but as dull as he is compared to her, it was difficult for him to figure it out at once.

Should I call an encryption expert in the company?

But Aaron didn’t like the idea of passing this message on to others, or of asking for help because he couldn’t solve it himself.

“…Oh ho?”

But it seems she didn’t want to bother her strategic partner too much.

The answer sheet was written in a more shy way than he thought.

The head of the politician and schemer, who confirmed the detailed breakdown of the receipt, the repair and replacement items, began to spin busily.

Two severed fingers of the robot, this is probably a symbol of himself declaring that he will solidify his position as the second-in-command of Paradise.

Communication parts and memory reinforced beyond the standard, is this a warning not to neglect contact and contracts even if he leaves for Neo Haven?

Above all, the stab wound on the shoulder right next to the head and neck is….

Gulp.

Excitement, anticipation, joy. A variety of emotions rush in and turn into a decision, settling in Aaron’s eyes and deeper within him.

“…The chairman has been standing by, telling me to settle it myself, but now she’s finally pushing me to end this hellhole.”

Hit to avoid the vitals. Cut out the rotten parts.

Step forward before you get hit.

The decision was just made that a bloodbath must rage to reorganize the power structure that had been in a long stalemate.

If everyone cooperates willingly… no one will die. Only the hierarchy will be clearly defined.

Moreover, Paradise will be shaken and weakened by the immediate internal strife, but after the storm passes, it will grow into a more solid giant tree.

And Aaron Dreyfus will be reborn as an even more indispensable existence to them.