"Artificial intelligence? There's such a thing? And when you say they're searching for it, does that mean someone else has it?"
"You should know well how tricky it is to handle automatons."
Osian nodded.
An automaton is a mechanical doll that moves automatically.
While they're used for moving heavy loads, tedious tasks, or simple repetitive labor, special units are so versatile they can even be used in combat.
'But the drawback of such automatons is that they can't think flexibly.'
Automatons are only faithful to their given roles.
For instance, with cleaning, they can only do things like putting away items or removing dust.
Even for those roles, detailed coordination is needed about when, where, and how to do them.
'Though they're dolls made to increase convenience, conversely, various tricky conditions are needed to handle them.'It's true that they have overwhelming merit in that they don't eat, don't sleep, and follow orders without complaint.
That's why most factory assembly line component assembly is handled by automatons.
In this aspect, they were similar to undead workers.
However, undead zombies had the drawback that only dark magicians could handle them.
Though temporary transfer and rental is possible, they're not very pleasing to look at, so people naturally mainly use automatons.
Even though they're tricky, there's a good reason why they're used so much.
"Don't automatons vary in level according to grade?"
From the lowest grade automatons used for general housework, as the grade goes up, the price, specifications, and work performance capabilities all increase together.
As a result, some wealthy people use automatons instead of hiring people for household duties.
At least for those with money, automatons aren't tricky dolls to handle.
Though maintenance is needed, that's supported by the manufacturer and it's enough to just hire a professional equipment technician.
"The higher the grade, the more diverse and sophisticated movements and actions become possible. But that's limited to very small humanoid forms."
"So it changes when you make them bigger."
"With steam suits, the larger they get, the more the machine can't keep up with the pilot's reaction speed. Conversely, with automatons, the larger they get, the more they can only perform simple movements."
Of course, that alone would be enough to achieve simple purposes.
After all, you just need to give a massive machine one powerful weapon and have it aim and fire at the enemy.
But companies aren't competing to make such 'simple things.'
What they can do, their competitors can do too.
To win in competition, they had to create an overwhelming gap.
"The artificial intelligence they're looking for is something that can decisively break this endless balance."
"No matter how I think about it, it's strange. If it's a major corporation that makes automatons, wouldn't they have been constantly working to increase automaton utility since long ago?"
"They are now. And they will continue to do so."
"Yet they're looking elsewhere for this artificial intelligence that they still haven't been able to invent?"
"There's one urban legend."
Urban legend, huh.
At that familiar term that came out of nowhere, Osian almost let out a hollow laugh but he had to consider that this was the mega-city Tirna, and that the person saying this was Kudan.
Though his words couldn't be trusted 100%, they were worth listening to.
"In the junkyard full of discarded machines, they say there's an automaton that converses naturally like a person."
"Is that such a strange thing?"
"Automatons cannot converse. What they do is just repeat pre-recorded lines."
But that automaton was different, they say.
Its appearance isn't known well because it was covered in rags, but it was definitely humanoid in form.
And it was quite old, in poor condition to the point where it made creaking sounds when it moved.
So that's why it would be in the junkyard.
"Couldn't it be a modified human rather than an automaton?"
"If a regular person said they saw such a thing, that might be the case. But the witness was a scrap collector who roams the junkyard. Scrap scavengers always carry detectors to roam such dangerous places."
"What kind of detector? Is it a metal detector for finding machines?"
"The opposite. It's a detector for finding people. Close to an artifact."
He didn't ask why they look for people.
He got the general idea just from hearing about it.
'Because people are the most dangerous thing in a junkyard.'
It would be ridiculous to carry a metal detector in the first place when everything is covered in metal.
Places where things are discarded inherently have poor public safety.
Murder, robbery, looting, and such probably happen regularly.
Those who venture out to find possible pearls in such places would naturally have made such preparations.
A people detector. More precisely, a machine that detects living beings.
Its performance itself wasn't so all-powerful.
It was just an item that sends a signal when there's a living being.
Of course, just being able to know that someone is hiding somewhere was enough.
"So you're saying it wasn't detected by that person-finding artifact?"
"No matter how modified a human is, part of their body must still be human. Even if everything else is changed, organs needed for life functions can't be replaced."
That artifact reacts to and sends signals for life signs but at that time, the witness scrap scavenger said the artifact didn't activate.
It wasn't broken either. When checked later, it still performed properly.
"So literally, it was something that wasn't human but spoke like one."
"Yes. Moreover, it apparently talked a lot like it was blabbering, then suddenly vanished somewhere. That's why it's an urban legend. They say it's a ghost-possessed automaton. The reason this rumor spread is that there were quite a few witnesses after that."
If one person said such a thing, you'd dismiss it as seeing things, but the story changes when there are multiple people.
Though still not very credible, it creates a possibility of "what if."
"So now people from the automaton company are searching the junkyard. I hear they frequently clash with people trying to make a score there and local gangs."
Osian recalled the junkyard gangs.
He remembered seeing them very long ago when he went to receive Ena's asylum request.
They had a chase with the North Blinders while riding monowheel bikes that rolled on single wheels as big as a person.
Their unique punky style and indiscriminately aggressive methods were still vivid.
"Whatever happens, I guess the automaton side won't go down easily either."
"Right. But if the balance breaks, it's not a very good thing for us."
They went from being at odds with Dead Dagger who sponsored them, to ending up making Carbel, who could be called their crystallization, like this.
No matter how positively he tried to think, he couldn't envision a good future.
"They left just now so people who noticed the commotion will come soon. Let's go first."
"What are you planning to do?"
"It'll be annoying if they come and collect this for recycling."
Kudan clenched his fist and approached Carbel who had now become scrap metal.
Osian shrugged and stepped back.
When he had put some distance between them, muted explosions periodically rang out through the fog and the guards' whistle sounds followed.
It was a loud yet secretive event that occurred in the quiet fog.
*
-Ding.
When Osian returned to Violet Fox, Loraine was there to welcome him.
"Hey. What were you doing coming back so late?"
"I just went for a short walk."
"That's quite a long night walk. Ah, could it be? Did you meet a woman?"
To Loraine who asked teasingly with a lewd smile, Osian replied in his usual tone.
"Not a woman. It was a man."
"Huh?"
"Hmm. I met two of them."
"Huuh?"
"Ah, come to think of it, there was one woman too."
"Huuuh?!"
"Ah, more importantly."
"W-what is it?"
Loraine's voice trembled because the response was beyond what she had imagined.
"Do you know about urban legends?"
"Ah, Ronan would probably know about that well..."
"I see. Ah, the talk with Diolan went well. Thanks for waiting. Go rest now."
Loraine blankly stared at Osian's back as he went up the stairs.
Just as Osian knocked on Ronan's office door, a shout of "What do you mean?!" rang out from the first floor.
-Knock knock.
"Yes. Come in."
"I'm coming in."
When he opened the door and entered the office, he saw Ronan sitting quietly with just one small lamp lit.
That appearance was exactly like that of a shadowy mastermind who would say "I've been waiting for you."
"...Why aren't you turning on the lights?"
"I need to save on gas fees. When I'm alone, I spend my time with just one small light like this."
"You shouldn't be short on income."
"It's true we've earned a lot lately thanks to you, but that doesn't mean it's good to carelessly increase spending."
Osian sat across from Ronan.
Sitting face to face with just one lamp on the desk between them gave a feeling of being at a secret meeting.
Maybe it felt more so because the counterpart was Ronan with his squinting smile.
"So what brings you to see me? It seems you have something you want to say?"
Ronan showed no signs of displeasure despite having his private time interrupted.
Rather, knowing that the other party had come with some purpose, he took on the proper posture of a listener.
It must be because of someone like him that Violet Fox could come this far.
"On my way back from talking with Diolan, something interesting happened."
Osian calmly told about meeting Mayor Deliphiros, and subsequently encountering the Blood Brotherhood and getting caught up in Dead Dagger's fight.
Ronan listened attentively to everything Osian said.
And when the story ended, after a moment of silence, he opened his mouth.
"You have quite a talent for attracting eventful incidents, Mr. Osian."
"If that's your first impression, I think it's a rather generous expression."
"Huhuhu. Is that so? Though I may not look it, I pride myself on being quite surprised."
For someone who said they were surprised, his voice and behavior were excessively natural but the fact that those words were truly sincere was characteristic of the person called Ronan.
"Mayor Deliphiros. He's a capable person. At the same time, he's also dangerous. Many people follow him. However, his followers are, as people commonly say, those in radical fields."
"After meeting him, I think I understand why."
"A fixer having a private meeting with the mayor. That alone would be a rare occurrence in the industry, but for it to be Deliphiros is not very welcome. He's a person overflowing with ambition, not someone who would be satisfied with the position of mayor."
"You know him very well."
"Clear and diverse information is essential for a broker but I especially had to know about him because this wasn't the first such case."
"Don't tell me he made a similar proposal to you?"
Ronan shook his head.
"Not to me. But it was someone close to me."
"Who was that?"
"Ah, Mr. Osian wouldn't know since you haven't seen them yet. You know. The person you haven't met even once while coming and going to our office all this time."
Osian immediately arrived at the answer.
"The person who made the first fixer contract with you."
The number one contributor who brought Violet Fox to this position, a founding member with Ronan and a fixer who received the highest special grade in the industry.
At one time, they were considered a powerful contender vying for first place in the fixer industry.
"Though they don't show themselves much externally these days, when they were at their peak, they showed their face in many places. That's when Mayor Deliphiros approached them. Ah, of course he wasn't mayor then. Come to think of it, you're the first to meet him since he became mayor."
"So his greed for talent overflowed even then."
"He approached Mr. Basilio trying to bring him to his side, but Mr. Basilio refused. He's not the type who likes being tied down to something."
Not liking being tied down.
It was a point that conveyed some longing for freedom.
"What kind of person is he?"
"Strong, charismatic, righteous, and above all, mysterious."
While focusing on Ronan's words something caught Osian's senses.
When he turned his head, Seren Gracia appeared like a mirage in mid-air.
She gave Osian a light eye greeting before speaking to Ronan.
"Sorry to suddenly interrupt your conversation, but I felt I had to tell you."
"What is it?"
"Uncle Basilio is back."