Episode 19

Odysseus had named the robot puppy ‘Argos’, the same name that he’d given his dog in the past.

“All right, Argos. Bark if anyone else but us comes into this room.”

After doing so, he turned on the power of the robot and connected it with his original device, inputting their scents into its system. It was the minimum indication to distinguish them from an outsider.

“Does this thing have a combat feature?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the point of it barking?”
“It sends an alert to my device.”
“Aha.”

Argos wasn’t going to do something extraordinary to the intruder. As he’d just mentioned, this tiny robot did not contain an anti-personnel combat feature.
Instead, Argos had a built-in feature where it would bark loudly if it recognized an intruder and sent a notification to the device it was synced to. It would also send a message when it was damaged and it was a genuine product. It had a serial number, meaning that breaking it and replacing it with a new one wouldn’t work.
It was practically the perfect item to prevent Pluto from touching their luggage.

“We should tell Migo Noona to put her stuff here too, just in case.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”

In addition to that, Argos was cute in appearance. Cute enough that it wouldn’t be suspicious for a twelve-year-old to carry it around like their favorite stuffed animal.

“But why name it Argos out of all things?”
“Just because. Why?”
“I mean…”

Flag scratched his cheek.

“In the myth, Argos was the first one to recognize his master when he returned home after twenty years, but died from old age without being able to reunite with his master properly.”
“…That’s a myth, though.”
“That’s true.”

Brushing aside Flag’s remark, Odysseus gently petted Argos. Actually, the reason he’d given the robot the name ‘Argos’ was greatly influenced by that story.

“And robots don’t die.”
“But they can break.”
“You can fix them, then.”

Would there come a day when he abandons this robot? He wasn’t sure. He usually wouldn’t throw away things that had become his, but who knew if something more important than his life was at stake?

“At least he won’t die waiting.”

However, this was a robot. This Argos could become worn or break down, but it wouldn’t die.
It would be different from the ‘Argos’ that did not receive compensation for waiting. At least, Odysseus hoped that would be the case.
May Hermes, God of Guard Dogs, protect you.

Knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
“I saw the message.”
“Ah, Noona.”

Carrying Argos in his arms, Odysseus went out to open the door.

[Bark!]

When it sensed a person and scent beyond the door, Argos showed movement for the first time. It had barked towards what it recognized as an outsider according to the programming he’d entered.

“Oh, it reacts pretty well.”
“I thought I just heard a dog barking… Did you bring that?”
“It’s cute.”

Odysseus tapped on the scent recognition window and added Migo’s scent to it. Argos immediately shut its mouth, and the messages that alerted it on a one-minute interval stopped.

“Here, Argos. Say hi.”

After adding the command to ‘act like an ordinary dog’ to Argos’s programming, Odysseus set the robot down. After a bit of loading, Argos began to hover around Migo’s legs, its tail wagging slightly.

“It is cute.”
“Yeah. I was wondering why people buy these things, but this does kind of feel worth it.”
“I’ll leave my belongings here, then.”

Carefully avoiding the small robot, Migo put down her bag in the corner of the room, which was quite large in size, probably because it contained weapons.

“How’s your room?”
“It’s fine. A little small, but it’s not bad considering that they remodeled a room that wasn’t made for Centaurs. Who knew that they would break down two Harmon rooms and combine them into one?”
“That’s a relief to hear.”

Depending on their homeland, the height of an adult Centaur ranged from 180 cm to 240 cm, and the length from their sternum to tailbone was at least 2 meters.
In other words, if the room was not large enough, it was bound to be extremely uncomfortable to move around. This was why, like Harpies, there were separate rooms just for Centaurs.

“Ah, right. Migo Noona. Do you really have a cousin who’s a hacker?”
“Hm? Yes, but why are you asking?”
“I was wondering if you could introduce me to them.”
“Do you have something you’re looking for?”
“Not really. I want to learn how to be a hacker.”
“Hm.”

Hearing Odysseus’s answer, Migo seemed to fall into deep thought for a moment.

“It won’t be a problem to introduce them… But I’m not sure if they’ll like it. I will try asking, though.”
“Thank you, Noona. Do you want something in return?”
“I can’t think of anything at the moment. I’ll tell you later when I have something I want.”
“Okay.”

What Migo gave was an uncertain answer, but that was still enough for the moment being. While sorting through the various things he was planning to learn after the Iron Stick hunt, Odysseus tapped away on the device from Pluto.

「Torture methods」
「Most painful torture」

Leaving behind records refined for Pluto to see, Odysseus continued his research. Half of the reason was for show, and the other half was out of necessity.

“…Wait, kiddo. What’s with those violent titles?”
“It’s for Iron Stick’s leader.”

If he were a member of Pluto, he would want to know why such a young boy had joined this hunt. That way, they could understand his unnecessary actions and make it easier to persuade him.
In that sense, this was an essential part of the act. It both explained the reasons for the boy’s actions while also planting the trap that there was room for persuasion.

“…Iron Stick’s leader is a skilled biomancer. She’s going to be hard to capture.”
“I know, but I can still try.”
“Yul, that’s too danger–”
“Don’t tell me that it’s too dangerous.”

Odysseus raised his finger in the air and drew some lines with mana.
With the calculations that he made based on the data that he obtained and the magick circle he made based on those calculations, he could create a combustive explosion immediately. It was a small, trivial explosion, one that could be used for shooting a bullet.

“If you’re going to say that, there’s no reason for the two of you to be here.”

It took him about ten seconds to reach that point. The time had been delayed due to him having to draw each line of the magick circle individually.

“…Yul.”

However, what would happen if he could concentrate his mana into a magick circle form without using his hands? If he could do that, then it would take less than ten seconds to activate the spell and would be practical to use in battle.
That would be his first step towards ‘quick casting’, the basic skill of a battlecaster, although it would require more experience and practice to apply the set formulas in the varying situations he’d be met with.

“Was that too harsh? Sorry. But at least I didn’t say I’ll try to fight them myself.”
“You, you’re so… Haaah.”
“Okay, fine. If that’s what you want, we’ll do it, I guess.”

Whether they knew it or not, this was what Odysseus was aiming for, and Flag and Migo eventually gave in to his stubbornness. They were practically being dragged in, however. Although, when has it not been that way since they got here?

“I’m glad we could get that out of the way.”
“You’re glad? I’m totally not glad right now.”
“Haha.”

Odysseus simply laughed in response to Flag’s grumbling. It wasn’t his business to know the characteristic irritations of people who were easily manipulated.

“More importantly, why don’t we look around Pluto if we don’t have anything better to do? I want to see how different it is from Freedom.”
“Yeah, yeah. If that’s what our almighty Magicks User wants.”
“I’ll also protect you.”
“Great! Argos, guard the room for us.”

After patting the robot on its head one more time, Odyessus headed out of the room with the two others in tow. The first thing they saw was a long hallway.

“We’ve already been to the restaurant, so let’s skip that… Should we go to the training grounds instead?”

Pluto had kindly gone through the efforts of providing them an internal map. It even had markings for places that they could and could not go, so it was easy to plan out their route.
They really did have a good sense for this, considering they were just drug dealers.

“Sure, I’m actually curious about the training grounds, too.”
“I’m curious to see how a place like Pluto operates.”
“Then let’s go right away.”

With the devices that Pluto provided in hand, Odysseus headed in the direction of the training grounds. It was easy to get there since it was not too far from their assigned quarters.

“It’s big.”
“Really big.”
“Indeed.”

Due to the limited land area characteristic of islands, even the most outer districts of the United City of Tessenia had high land prices. Despite this, Pluto had a considerably large training ground. Considering that Freedom’s training room was a little over sixty-five square meters.

“They have nice equipment, too.”
“That’s unexpected. I don’t know about Upper Earth, but I didn’t think the Lower Earth branches would also invest in this stuff.”

Considering that the branches in Lower Earth mainly dealt with criminal activities such as drug dealing, smuggling, and human trafficking, it was understandable why Flag would think that. It was a bit prejudiced, but it was still difficult to imagine criminals trying to do some actual constructive activities.

“Looking at how they have some signs of use, it doesn’t seem fake…”
“Hm, maybe that’s why everyone wants to get into Pluto.”
“Oh, Mister Magicks User?”

Just then, someone entered from the other entrance of the training grounds. It was Ray-Bans, who was in a suit but still managed to look sleazy.

“Ah, from the operations team…”
“Jax Louis is the name. You can call me whatever you want.”

Ray-Bans, otherwise known as Jax, smiled cheerfully and offered him to shake hands. Since there was no reason to refuse, Odysseus took the man’s hand. His skin had a few calluses to the touch but no scars.

‘He’s not a fighter.’

He could already tell that from the way he walked and the mana he sensed, but this made it certain. Jax had a role far from combat.

“Are you here to look around?”
“Yes. It’s my first time in another odyssia, after all.”
“Haha. That’s understandable.”

His personality felt similar to Flag in the way that he hid his expressions behind a smile and spoke casually based on his shamelessness.

“But I don’t see many people here. The facility is so nice.”
“Ah, everyone’s busy working around this time. It’ll only start to get a little livelier around here after dinner.”
“I see.”

It wasn’t completely a lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth either. Thinking of the people that had started to slink away before they entered, Odysseus glanced up at Jax.
Did he withdraw the others knowing that they would come here? If so, for what? There wasn’t any information to extract here except the exercise equipment they used.

“Is there anything else you wish to know? I am from the operations team, so I can probably answer most of your questions.”

If not, then did he just want to set the stage for a conversation?
After taking a look at the training grounds he no longer had business for, Odysseus grinned. If that was the case, then he had no choice but to go somewhere else.

“Ah, then I do have something to ask.”
“Oh, what is it?”
“The information here. I want to know who investigated this.”

It was a shallow trick, but it was still casual enough to be played along to.
Odysseus brought up the information on Iron Stick on the device. Its fluorescent light reflected off of Jax’s sunglasses, making it sparkle white.

“Oh… Any reason you want to know that?”
“From the way it’s so well-written and organized… I was wondering if there was a special trick to it.”

Putting on the mask of a curious child, Odysseus chattered away. He really was interested in hacking, so there was no need for him to act too much.
As he continued to speak, the corners of Jax’s lips gradually rose.

“Wow, it feels good to be praised by Mister Magicks User like this.”
“…Did you do it?”
“Haha. This is the entire reason I made it into the operations team. From the looks of it, you seem interested in hacking… So you want me to tell you a little bit about it?”

Odysseus’s eyes sparkled for a moment. The knowledge that he needed was just about to come to him without any other efforts.

“Yes!”

Of course, Jax was probably not doing this with pure intentions. It was ultimately in order to recruit Odysseus that they were being this nice to him.

“Then, let’s go elsewhere. This place is a bit unfit for conversations.”
“Okay.”

But even considering that, he had to take this chance.
Faking an excited expression, Odysseus followed behind Jax. Knowing what he wanted, Flag and Migo also followed without a word.

“What would you like to drink?”
“Grape juice is good enough for me.”
“Alrighty. What about you two?”
“I’ll take coffee.”
“Some cold water would be nice.”
“Noted.”

Leading them into the break room, Jax brought out their drinks. He must use this place regularly, as his way of making instant coffee and rummaging through the refrigerator was quite natural.

However, when the fridge was briefly visible as the drinks were taken out, it was packed with cheap synthetic drinks. It was drastically different from the proper grape juice drink that Jax had taken out for Odysseus.

“I heard these are expensive. How does Pluto always have these available?”

Checking where Odysseus’s gaze had reached, Jax laughed awkwardly. That was because he was also aware of just how ridiculous it would be to have such expensive drinks at bay.

“To be truthful, that isn’t always the case. We at Pluto do have good benefits, but it wouldn’t work out if we were providing real juice to all of our employees.”

Therefore, he answered honestly. It was definitely a wiser decision rather than trying to hide the truth.

“Of course, that’s a different story for more valued people, such as yourself… See, here. You can have as many of these as you like. These were prepared for you, after all.”

An opened can of juice was placed in front of Odysseus. Instead of the artificial scent typical of cheap drinks, his had the scent of real grapes.

“I see… Thank you.”

How would a child who is curious, clever, but arrogant react when given special treatment by an adult?
Making a rough estimation, Odysseus sculpted a smiling face. His narrow eyes curved into a sly shape, and his mouth seemed like it was unable to hold back a smile.

“I don’t know what to do. You’re all treating me so well.”
“Haha, I believe you are more than worthy to deserve this treatment. Isn’t it the same in Freedom?”

Wow, look at how he subtly rated Pluto highly and Freedom as inferior. Easily figuring out Jax’s intention, Odysseus shifted his smile into an awkward manner. It was the smile of a naive child who could neither confirm nor deny a difficult allegation.

“Oh, looks like I said something unnecessary.”
“It’s fine. But about what you were going to tell me…”
“Ah. I’ll start right away. First of all, the basics that you need to know are…”

This should be more than enough to have given the man a hint. Estimating an appropriate time, Odysseus then changed the subject. It was, once again, a shallow move, but Jax followed his flow.
It was the play of two fools who thought they were reading each other. Fortunately, Odysseus was the less foolish of the two.