Chapter 26: Bazaar

According to the Search Dog who served as the examiner, I had “technically passed.”

The reason it was only “technically” was because the way I took down the Armor Roll didn’t cut it.

Not very sniper-like, apparently.

I’m aware of that. But there was no helping it. I just didn’t have the firepower.

Still, I couldn’t exactly argue.

The reason my mentor bought me was for my sniping skills, and when it comes down to it, that’s the part of me I trust the most. Being unable to fight with the thing I believe in—it’s unsettling.

Five hundred thousand C.

Crushing that colony had paid well. I handed over 130,000 C to Rudo and the Monoz, and another 100,000 C to Eevee. With the remainder, I planned to upgrade my own firepower.

My eyes landed on a row of brightly colored tents.

The place was packed with people, and the energy matched the crowd.

Doggy House, the mercenary company I currently belonged to, was part of the Artisan Guild. Which meant the easiest gear to get my hands on was anything manufactured by that guild.

And if you were aiming to improve your firepower properly with a budget of around 300,000 C, then the Artisan Guild was both the best and worst place to do it. That’s just how it was.

Realistically speaking, it was impossible.

Weapons were expensive. That didn’t change, even in wartime with high demand.

But the guild had apprentices. Or more precisely, apprentices who were permitted to sell the things they made.

Unlike corporations like Tatara Heavy Industries or Arawn, where everything had to go through formal channels, the Artisan Guild allowed these apprentices to set up street stalls on their days off and sell directly.

Of course, most of it was junk.

There’s a reason they’re called apprentices.

You weren’t going to just stumble upon some conveniently talented prodigy.

Which is why I was hunting for rejects.

Gear that, for one reason or another, couldn’t be sold as standard issue. That’s what I was after.

***

“You mentioned this morning, but seriously—does stuff like that actually exist?”

“There are a few candidates,” Eevee replied, munching on something like an oversized pancake she’d bought at a food stall.

Passersby occasionally glanced at her strange right arm, but only for a moment. It didn’t cause any real commotion. Surprising, honestly—but according to both Eevee and the Search Dog, it wasn’t so unusual.

It was wartime, sure, and of course, there was discrimination. But diplomatic relations were still intact—that was the nature of things between humans and the Tooth. They were originally human too, after all. In a way, maybe it was only natural.

After all, this wasn’t like the wars against the Insectum or the Bubbles. This was a conflict between two sides that both understood the concept of “economy.” It wasn’t an all-out extermination war.

I hadn’t seen it myself, but apparently there were even Tooth warriors who believed in strength above all else and thought fighting weak humans was boring—so they signed on as mercenaries for the human side.

Which was probably why Eevee was walking around so casually, cheeks smudged with sweet bean paste.

“Okay, so—what are these candidates, exactly?”

“One of them is a ballista.”

When I wiped the red bean paste from Eevee’s cheek, she promptly bit my finger. Then licked it.

“Tastes good!” she said cheerfully.

“…”

It was less cheerful for me, as my finger was now covered in sticky saliva. With no better option, I wiped it off on her tank top.

Eevee didn’t seem to mind at all, continuing to munch happily on her next treat—a stuffed pancake from one of the stalls. It looked good, so I got one for myself. Custard filling. The moment I bit in, it squirted out the other end. Messy.

“…Well, this one would assume using Rudo alongside it.”

What came to mind was the MVP from the colony raid—a certain puppy. When I’d bought him a “cheese stick” as a reward, he became so obsessed with it he refused to go outside. That’s why Rudo was back at the inn today, keeping watch.

“Ah, yeah… that thing packed a decent punch. Still, I’d pass on it.”

“Same here.”

I learned later that Rudo’s power output varied—maybe because he was still a puppy, or maybe that was just how his species worked. It might change in the future, but at the moment, he couldn’t be counted on as a trump card.

And though I hated to admit it, I trusted bullets more than arrows. So…

“The next one’s a high-caliber, high-power rifle.”

“Now that’s standard. But it’ll cost you.”

“I heard there was one being sold cheap because of the design—it needed maintenance after every shot.”

“One shot, one kill… I mean, yeah, that’s the foundation.”

“I can do it.”

I said it like it was nothing. Probably because… I can.

“I don’t doubt it. I don’t know why, but with that kind of stuff, you never miss.”

“Appreciate it.”

“That’s what made me fall for you in the first place!”

“…”

Eevee grinned, flashing me a sharp smile.

I scratched my cheek and pretended not to hear.

It wasn’t anything special. I was just embarrassed.

***

As Eevee and I wandered among the stalls, a familiar set of spheres caught my eye. Monoz—two medium units and one small. Of course, Monoz were everywhere in this bazaar. Some belonged to customers, others were helping out shopkeepers. But those three—I knew them.

Matte black shells, cross-shaped optics—Monkey Unit, Rooster Unit, and Dog Unit.

The three were huddled together, staring intently at something laid out on a carpet.

Curious, I stepped up behind them for a better look.

They were inspecting Monoz bodies.

Ah… I groaned inwardly and held my head. I’d been supplying new, higher-spec bodies to the newer Monoz in the team. Rat Unit and Snake Unit had even scraped together the funds to upgrade themselves.

That left only four Monoz still using the outdated models issued back in the Double-C days: Ox Unit, Monkey Unit, Rooster Unit, and Dog Unit.

I’d been putting them off, figuring they were still good enough for their roles—A1 support and logistics. But now…

“…I’ve been taking that for granted. That’s no good.”

The moment I muttered it, all three turned around in sync.

—— pipipi!

Report: It’s not like we want new bodies or anything, okay?! Baka!

“…”

They wanted them. That much was clear. I glanced at the product they’d been ogling.

It was labeled as the Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto model. The sides were painted with icons of a dog, monkey, and pheasant. That jogged my memory—Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto was said to be the origin of the Momotaro legend.

“…A sleeper model?”

“Oh! You recognize that? You’re one of us, then, huh?”

The voice came from above. I looked up to see a shaggy-haired guy in overalls and glasses standing there.

“These Monoz yours? You into Gundam? This one’s inspired by the Black Tri-Stars, right? Ah—sorry! Forgot to introduce myself. Name’s Akito. I’m a Sleeper.”

The bespectacled guy rattled all that off in a single breath, then smiled and held out his right hand.

“…Touji. Also a Sleeper,” I managed, somewhat taken aback as I reached out and shook his hand.

“That girl with you, is she a Sleeper too? Whoa! Total knockout! Is she your girlfriend? Man, lucky you! I’m jealous. You’re wearing field fatigues, so you’re a soldier, right? I guess that means you get to meet all kinds of people. Me? I didn’t have the aptitude, so I ended up a techie. Spend all day in the workshop, y’know? Not a lot of opportunities. But hey, be careful, Touji—romance on the battlefield might just be a suspension bridge effect! Ah, sorry, I’m rambling! Hey, you too—nice to meet you!”

He held out his hand toward Eevee. The guy sure liked to talk.

Eevee was briefly stunned by the verbal barrage, but quickly recovered. Mimicking me, she reached out—only to pause when she noticed her right hand.

“I’m E.B., a Tooth,” she said, raising the arm slightly to show him. It was a gesture that meant I can’t shake hands with this.

“Awesome! Nice to meet you! Whoa, is that a muzzle? Looks like a Jabberwock or something!”

Without a hint of hesitation, Akito grasped the weaponized arm.

At the very least, the guy had more guts than me. That was my honest impression.

Still, the Tooth were a species who revered strength. Akito didn’t seem particularly smitten with Eevee. What a tragically dull race.

As I mulled over all this, I took another look at the Momotaro-model Monoz body that Team Momotaro had been admiring. Its long-range weaponry was nothing unusual—just a standard light machine gun—but its close-combat arsenal was customized: each unit had its own built-in melee weapon based on its motif. The dog had fangs, the monkey claws, and the pheasant a beak.

…Honestly, for Dog Unit and Monkey Unit, it made a kind of sense. But Pheasant Unit? That one was clearly chosen for the name. Rooster Unit wasn’t exactly known for excelling in close-quarters combat. There’s no way it could properly handle something like a beak-shaped drill.

“Oh, that one? I made it,” Akito chimed in. “See, I tried loading three different melee weapons into a single model—not as attachments, but fully integrated. But it didn’t pass the LineTact specs, so my master scrapped the whole project. Performance-wise, it’s pretty solid, though. The design’s based on Tatara Heavy Industries architecture, so it’s not great with optical weapon systems, but! I left room for customization so it can flex to fit a Monoz’s skill set! Looks like your Monoz really liked it; they’ve been staring at it forever. Come on, buy it! I’ll give you a discount!”

“I see.”

He said a lot, so I decided to just take away the core message: Team Momotaro wanted it.

I checked the price tag. Seventy-five thousand C per unit. A discounted three-unit set went for two hundred ten thousand C.

“…”

Nope. Out of my range. I slowly shook my head at the three Monoz units looking up at me.

All three of them drooped. Totally deflated. I really wished they wouldn’t look like that—it made me feel guilty.

“Buy it for them, Touji. I’ll give up snacks for a while,” Eevee offered.

“…No.”

Your snack budget wouldn’t even scratch the surface.

I turned back to Akito.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to pass this time.”

“Aw, too bad. Oh—but you should check out the rest of the stuff we’ve got! My workshop’s pretty big, so we make a bunch of things. We do weapons, too—and I’ve even got a centipede unit, just not here right now. Want a pamphlet?”

“No need. I can’t afford any of the regular products.”

“Ah, so you’re hunting for a bargain, huh? That’s rough… Actually, I just finished a centipede unit recently, but it made it to the final stage of the design competition, so I can’t put it out for sale here. But if it gets approved, I’ll give you a Sleeper’s discount! Ah—sorry, talking too much again. So, Touji, what are you actually looking for?”

“…A high-caliber, high-power rifle.”

If I were the type to say I’m not the most talkative salesperson, now would’ve been the time. But I didn’t. Pat on the back for me.

“Ooh… and why’s that?”

“My enemies are too heavily armored. I just don’t have enough firepower.”

“What about armor-piercing rounds?”

“I use them.”

“If even AP rounds didn’t cut it, what were you fighting?”

“An Armor Roll.”

The moment I said it, Akito’s eyes widened behind his glasses. He looked at me like I’d just confessed to eating lead paint.

“Wait—you used armor-piercing rounds against an Armor Roll? Touji, are you stupid?”

“…”

I couldn’t exactly argue, so I kept quiet.

“But hey, in that case I’ve got something that might work! What caliber do you use?”

“12.7mm.”

“Huh, okay then—ah, here we go. Take this. I’ll throw in a dozen for free. Give ’em a try. These are custom rounds developed by my workshop. They haven’t sold at all, but—ahaha!”

“That’s not something to be proud of!”

I wasn’t sure if I should laugh, but beside me, Eevee was already cracking up with Akito.

They looked like they were having a great time.

As I carefully avoided making eye contact with the pleading eyes of the Dog, Monkey, and Rooster Units, that’s what I found myself thinking.

***

—Next, you’re coming shopping with me.

As a Japanese person constitutionally incapable of saying “no,” I did the next best thing and made a disgusted face. A very obvious one.

Unfortunately, Eevee didn’t pick up on it. Tragic.

Which is how I ended up here, prying open a manhole cover in some back alley.

We were in the sewers.

And there was a shop down here too.

A full-on black market.

Not so much “shady” as it was inhuman. The shop was clearly run by someone not human. Just one shopkeeper, but business seemed decent. The clientele, also not human—entirely Tooth.

As the only human present among a swarm of Tooth, I probably should’ve been more concerned about the situation. But more than that—more than anything else—I just wanted to go home.

Because it stank. Overwhelmingly, revoltingly stank.

“What is this, red crystal?! Hell no, I said blue! I want blue! Out of stock?! Don’t screw with me, bastard! You just hid one, didn’t you?! You think you can pull one over on me, huh?!”

It didn’t look like Eevee’s shopping would end anytime soon.

I started to sigh—but stopped myself.

If I let that sigh out, I’d have to inhale. And if I inhaled too hard, I’d puke. Along with whatever wasn’t air in here.

I turned my eyes away instead.

This place seemed to be a weapons shop for Tooth who lived in human society. But the wares were bizarre: bones, eggs, and all sorts of things I couldn’t identify.

A Tooth I didn’t know was using a cutter attached to the shop wall to shave off pieces of a bone he’d just bought and was now eating them. It didn’t look tasty, so I wasn’t interested. But… that cutter—I kind of wanted to try it. I’d been meaning to reshape the point of my necklace.

“…”

That said, I’d recently gotten used to how that sharp point fit against my hand. Would it really be smart to change it now?

I was mulling that over when—

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Touji! Got it!”

Eevee came crunching back, chewing noisily on some bones in a paper bag.

Same as that other guy from before. I guess bones were like snacks for the Tooth? Their teeth must be ridiculously strong.

…Well, whatever.

“If your shopping is done, then—”

Let’s go. Let’s leave. Let’s get the hell out of here!

“What, it really bothers you? The smell?”

“I’m a hound, after all.”

Growl growl.

“Okay, okay. Got it. Let’s head back—oh! Hey, Touji, we’re going straight to the inn, yeah?”

“—”

I nodded silently. But before that, I probably needed to do something about this smell clinging to me. Seriously, what now?

“Then when we get there, you can hold me.”

“I’d rather not.”

What’s going on, Eevee? Did the stench fry your brain? Then we really need to get out of here. Right now.

“Knew you’d say that. Guess I’ve got no choice, I’ll just have to make a seedless one myself! Touji, I’m gonna be pregnant for like a week!”

“…What do you mean by that?”

That was the only question in my head.

But Eevee didn’t seem interested in answering it. Instead, she just said—

“If I had your seed, I could probably make a really strong one.”

And she laughed.