kscans

Chapter 73 - Descent! The Machine God That Cleaves Shinjuku!

About two hours, I'd say. After going around to various places, the kids had gathered a full set of equipment. Rika-chan got the hefty Gatling gun she'd hoped for. Since it's the type that converts elemental power into bullets, it's perfect for Rika-chan. It saves on ammunition costs too. Well, since it's a firearm, it needs regular maintenance, but the Mutual Aid Society does that at a discount. That counts as a necessary expense. She didn't want any other weapons, so after buying a bodysuit-type armor that could be worn under clothes, we were done. The total came to about 600,000 yen.

Meanwhile, Hikaru. Surprisingly, this kid bought right up to his budget limit. First, weapons. In addition to the light saber he was so excited about, he also bought a sword as originally planned. It wasn't your typical Japanese sword, but more like a high-frequency blade you'd see in cyberpunk stories. The appearance was that of a Japanese sword, or rather, something that might be called a "samurai sword" (good pronunciation), with a somewhat chunky look. "S-s-s-so cool, I say..." were Hikaru's words. I understand the feeling all too well. Adding to that, his armor was also the bodysuit type, plus gauntlets that wouldn't impede movement, bringing the total to just under a million yen.

(...He's usually frugal, but this time he has the justification that it's a matter of life and death.)

His purse strings must have loosened up. I think there's also some pent-up desire from his usual restraint. Well, seeing the kids with such happy faces makes me happy too.

"Alright then, let's go grab some food somewhere."

They'd matched their schedule to my work hours. Neither of them had eaten dinner yet. Hikaru had apparently told Yuri-san that he'd be late today and would eat out.

"..."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Rika-chan?"

"Oh, no, I was just wondering if Mama and Takahashi-san and Suzuki-san are okay."

Ah... I'd forgotten about that.

"Satou-san, you're not worried at all. I don't understand the situation well, but you had a fight, didn't you?"

"That's right. But Chika-san and those two idiots are just dragging around their guilt."

There's no hatred or hostility there. So if they face each other and talk until they're satisfied, the resentment should disappear.

"Those guys probably feel indebted to Chika-san too, one way or another."

The incident in Shibuya that led to them stepping into the supernatural world. Even though they fought back with all their wisdom and courage, we would have collapsed if Chika-san hadn't come. She's both a friend and a benefactor.

"What were Mama and the uncles like when they were in the supernatural world?"

"Hmm... do you know Journey to the West?"

"Yeah. The one with the monkey, pig, and kappa, right?"

"Saionji-san. That's not wrong, but it's way too simplified..."

"It was exactly like that. Chika-san was Xuanzang, I was Wukong. Takahashi and Suzuki were like Bajie and Wujing."

Except all the disciples were like delinquents. Wukong (party-boy delinquent). Bajie (tough-guy delinquent). Wujing (serious delinquent). Looking back, what a shitty bunch of disciples. The master, Chika-san, was also naturally airheaded back then, so there was no one to stop us...

"Oh, speaking of Journey to the West. I actually swindled the staff from the real Wukong."

"Wait, Sun Wukong actually exists!?"

"Well, gods exist too, so naturally... Besides, he's also a divine being."

He was probably originally classified as a magical beast or something, but at the end of his journey he was recognized as a Buddha. Victorious Fighting Buddha, that's his other name, though it's not well-known in Japan.

"So Uncle, you extorted from a Buddha...?"

"I said I swindled it, not extorted it."

He used to be mischievous in the old days, but now... well, it's questionable whether his behavior in heaven can be called mischievous. Anyway, he used to be rebellious, so if someone like me was around, he probably would have messed with me. But now he's like a funky old man, takes good care of people, and is one of the guardian deities who watches over the human world.

"I won it fair and square in mahjong."

It was the spring when I was twenty-nine. Just as I was feeling a bit sentimental about approaching thirty, an invitation arrived.

"An illegal mahjong tournament gathering troublemakers from around the world."

Everyone except me was non-human... but it was fun. The rule was that if you couldn't detect cheating the moment it was used, it would pass, so everyone was doing whatever they wanted. Wukong especially was a skilled technician with mastery of immortal arts, so he was quite formidable. I laughed when I realized there was a tile he'd transformed. The winning tile I glimpsed for a moment had turned into a monkey and vanished into illusion. Satou's painful chombo...! Something like that. But anyway.

"The rule for participating in that tournament was to submit something valuable. The winner takes all."

"...So that's how you got the staff?"

"Sun Wukong bet his signature weapon?"

"Well, that wasn't originally a weapon anyway."

It was used to measure water depth in some river or sea, and Wukong just thought it was cool and swiped it. After using it for a while, they apparently said he could keep it.

"And it's not like it's something that can never be made again."

Now he uses a second-generation staff made by Taishang Laojun. Though he doesn't use this one as a weapon either, but as a back-scratcher or by transforming the tip to grab distant objects like a magic hand.

"Merlin from Britain was there too... oh, do you know Merlin? From the Arthurian legends."

Excalibur. You've probably at least heard the name. He had fairies prepare something called Excalibur II for the tournament. It was valuable, but he wasn't betting something truly unique. Most items like that become symbols of entire myths and legends, even if they belong to someone. No matter how much you own them, you can't just bet them freely.

"I see... um, could I see it?"

"Sure."

I retrieved the staff from subspace and showed it to them.

"O-oh wow..."

"Want to try holding it?"

"I-is that okay!?"

"Ah, that's not fair, me too!!"

"Alright, alright. Oh, when you extend it, imagine roughly how long you want it in your head and say 'extend.'"

I warned them not to extend it too much because the weight becomes incredible, then handed over the staff.

"Extend, staff! Whoa, it extended! It really extended, Akatsuki-kun!"

"N-next, me! Me too!"

"Hahaha... oh, an incoming call."

I took out my smartphone and checked it. Apparently they were finished over there too. Since an invitation to go eat came, I calmed down the two excited kids and left the dark market. They said they were waiting in front of Alta, so we headed there and met up with Chika-san and the others.

"Mama, I'm glad you could make up."

"Yes, thanks to you."

"By the way, Satou-kun. Who's that boy? I still haven't even heard his name."

"Ah, my apologies. I'm Akatsuki Hikaru! Satou-san has really been taking care of me..."

"...He's serious. I smell a genuinely serious kid, not a fake like Suzuki."

The atmosphere was harmonious, but,

"Mm."

"!?"

I noticed, and a little later, Chika-san and the others did too.

"Satouuu!!"

"It's already started."

Something enormous was trying to appear through teleportation. Detecting this, I immediately separated whatever was trying to emerge from ourselves. A few seconds later, it appeared in Shinjuku, which had become like a shadow play...

≪...A robot?≫

It was unmistakably a giant robot.