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RESURRECTION OF THE PLATYPUS

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

Near the bow of the armed luxury liner, the Interworld Train was docked at the large Magitech machine launch bay. The vessel had already been secured by Neil’s organization, and Rob, who had essentially been holding court in the residential district all by himself, had already boarded the train.

「――As promised, we will submit a report regarding this incident to the Alliance, and you will be compensated accordingly.」

Standing in front of the crew-only boarding gate in the lead car were Cubas, the slime-type conductor, Arcelia, and Neil Flags. The negotiations regarding the incident had already concluded between the Alliance and Neil’s faction.

***

The hijackers who had taken over the Interworld Train had obtained the coordinates for the station, disguised their hull to look exactly like Neil’s armed liner, and even intercepted the communication codes beforehand.

Because the codes and standard procedures were followed faithfully—and the welcoming party had been disguised as well—the Interworld Train had made contact without a shred of suspicion, allowing the hijackers to storm in.

Once the train's systems were compromised and the passengers taken hostage, the security guards couldn't make a move. To make matters worse, Rob, the Demon King Slayer who had been traveling as a passenger, had been left stranded in the wasteland.

Since the armed liner’s faction wanted to conduct business with the Alliance, they had dragged things out by pretending Cubas was still in negotiations. That had bought enough time for Neil and his team, who had been delayed by a separate attack, to finally catch up and execute the rescue operation. That was the long and short of it.

It had all been triggered by a spy who had infiltrated Neil’s organization.

However, the agreement regarding station installation concluded between the Alliance and Neil clearly stipulated where liability lay in the event of an emergency. Neil, who hadn't detected the spy, held no responsibility; in fact, he was actually entitled to a reward for the rescue operation.

「By the way, how do you intend to settle the score for the killing that the 'Hero' of yours did?」

Neil stared at Cubas with green eyes that looked like the toxic, murky swamps of a dark forest, all while puffing on his cigarette.

「While we are endlessly grateful to the soldiers who rescued us, our contract does not include compensation for damages incurred during a rescue operation, outside of the agreed-upon reward.」

「...It was friendly fire. There is a moral responsibility. There are plenty of moneyed pigs out there playing around on Interworld Trains; surely you can scrape together a donation for a hero, right?」

It was essentially extortion, but Neil held back nothing.

Neil intended to live out the rest of his days in this world. He had zero intention of returning to his home world. It wasn't just that he couldn't cut the ties of gratitude, duty, and fate he had forged here; it was that he didn't trust the Alliance.

Over twenty years ago, the Alliance claimed they hadn't tracked Neil’s location after he was caught in a random mass summoning. In reality, they had supposedly grasped the existence of this ruined world before Neil had even defeated the Commander and restored communication.

*The Alliance does not interfere in local conflicts or struggles for survival.*

Based on that principle, they claimed they hadn't rescued him because, by the time they discovered this world, Neil was already leading a local organization to defeat the Commander.

Neil, an investigator, had broken protocol to lead the local forces, but that was deemed an emergency evacuation and ignored. However, because it was ignored, Neil was abandoned. He was treated as a local.

Neil only found out about this when he finally made contact with the Alliance to check on his parents' safety.

Ultimately, he became known as a heroic investigator who had saved and revitalized a ruined world on his own, but he now harbored deep distrust toward the Alliance. Both because of how things had transpired and because of his current position.

At the mention of "friendly fire," a large bubble gurgled inside Cubas’s gelatinous body.

「...It is believed that Rob was not in a situation where he could accurately distinguish between friend and foe. Besides, was it not you, Investigator Flags, who gained the most from this incident? Or perhaps, could it be that you are the one who killed your own allies...」

The incident had been concluded as being the fault of a spy who had infiltrated Neil’s organization. However, Cubas hinted, couldn't it have been Neil who leaked the information to that spy? Perhaps Neil himself had leaked the intel, lured the hostile faction out using the Interworld Train, and then annihilated them?

「I have no idea what you're talking about. Keep the accusations to a minimum.」

「Yes, indeed. There is no proof. And naturally, there is no proof that Rob intentionally killed allies. It was a tragic accident, truly.」

Neil glared at Cubas, but then abruptly looked away and crushed his cigarette butt under his heel.

The relationship between the Alliance and Neil was one of mutual dependence. Neil had no intention of engaging in negotiations that would break that bond. The two parties traded Magitech Beast samples for food.

Neil had intentionally left the "Mother" that spawned the Magitech Beasts alive, which was why wild beasts ran rampant in this world. But in a world where almost all biological life had perished and ancient technology was lost, those beasts were the only resource.

Whenever the beasts spawned by Mother were hunted, she would produce new ones. Through that cycle, the world was flooded with diverse Magitech Beasts. The structures and magic born from the beasts at the end of their struggle for survival often produced specimens worthy of research, even from the perspective of advanced worlds, and the Alliance coveted them.

***

After Neil ended the conversation and Cubas returned to the train, Arcelia finally spoke up.

「...Investigator Flags, are you really not going to come back?」

The words she managed to squeeze out held several layers of meaning. Arcelia couldn't shake the memory of the cruel acts she had seen Neil’s subordinates commit inside the armed liner. She understood that it was arrogant to judge the people of this world by her own values and ethics.

But Neil Flags was not a native of this world.

He was from "Femgraden," a world formed by the fusion of five others—the same world Arcelia called home and where the Alliance headquarters was located. He was still an investigator by status. There was no doubt that he should have held the same ethical values as Arcelia.

「'Come back'—that's an awfully arrogant way to put it. No matter how much of a saint someone pretends to be, everyone's the same underneath once you peel back the skin.」

Neil lit another cigarette, took a long drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

「...Going through the trouble of becoming a lapdog is a lot of hard work. I think you would've lived a much better life just staying a clerk.」

The investigator, cloaked in a jet-black coat as if he had severed all ties with the white uniform of the Alliance, muttered this and walked away.

***

After returning to the passenger car, Arcelia didn't start making her usual report. Instead, she sat lost in thought.

*“There is no justice or evil. The strong devour, and the weak are trampled. The victor is the only one qualified to dictate justice and history.”*

These words, from a man hailed as a hero among investigators, shook Arcelia to her core.

「...Is there no such thing as unwavering justice?」

She had lived her whole life believing that there was.

「Justice, huh... I'd like to think it exists, but that's a tough one.」

Rob, who had been relaxing in the passenger car, answered as if talking to himself.

People have to survive. As long as that premise exists, people will steal and kill. It is a fact that there is no "good" or "evil" in that.

However, once that premise is fulfilled, humans stop being beasts.

Because they are no longer beasts, they nurture affection that transcends their species and seek righteousness. Because, regardless of species, stealing, killing, and violating others are wrong. That much is universal.

「――Well, I believe it exists.」

There are many things in this world that can't be judged by good or evil. But that doesn't mean good and evil don't exist.

*“It doesn't exist.”* Arcelia had felt dejected after being told that by a legendary investigator.

*“It exists.”* After hearing that from Rob, who was, for all intents and purposes, a Hero, she felt as though she had seen a tiny glimmer of light.

「Alright, with that said, I'm heading to the lounge.」

But Rob said that with a lazy grin and went off to get a drink. Arcelia, who had been left dumbfounded with her mouth agape for once, didn't get angry or annoyed, but instead just offered a wry smile.

***

After a while, Arcelia started on her report, and when that was done, she pulled up the database on her book-shaped terminal.

Information on this world. Investigator Neil. And the Alliance.

What was there was certainly only the surface level, but given everything that had happened, she felt she could see something else entirely. Whenever information beyond her current clearance popped up, she began to ponder the significance of that fact as well, and Arcelia buried herself deeper and deeper into her terminal.

***

Who knows how much time had passed.

The train had already begun to speed toward the next world, and the time inside the train indicated the middle of the night.

Only the blue light of the terminal glowed, illuminating Arcelia, who had fallen asleep with her forehead resting on the table.

Then, Rob’s backpack, which had been left on the opposite sofa, began to move.

It wriggled around, and out popped the Mecha-Platypus.

The bullets embedded in its head shone brightly, like eyes.

But that was all. It was just flailing about, barely making any forward progress.

Arcelia, jolted awake by the noise, stared at it with an indescribable expression.

—*Clack-clack-clack.*

The Mecha-Platypus shook its bill in a panic, as if to say, "I've been caught!"

「...That looks painful. Though I'm not exactly fond of it.」

Arcelia muttered this, picked up the Mecha-Platypus, and began researching the mechanics of Magitech machines on her terminal.

...The eyes are stuck due to the bullets. What should I do?

The Mecha-Platypus was terrified by the ominous phrases she muttered, but it couldn't resist.

Moreover, since the inside of the train was within the Alliance’s magical sphere, the Golemification magic used on the Mecha-Platypus—rudimentary though it was—was of a different system. There was a rule that magic of other systems weakened within a specific magical sphere, so since Arcelia was bad at magic, one could guess the effect of her using a different system within the Alliance’s sphere.

Still, it was probably better than having Rob, who was even worse at magic than Arcelia, do it.

Arcelia muttered unsettling things as she struggled to rebuild the golem.

Holding the finished product, Arcelia let out a soft sigh.

「...I wonder what species this is modeled after. It's not a dog, and even with a bill, it's not a bird.」

Calling it a "dog with a bill" was a stretch. Since it wasn't even in the database, Arcelia had no choice but to tilt her head.

—*Clack-clack-clack.*

The Mecha-Platypus clacked its bill as if to say, "I'm a dog!" but Arcelia didn't notice. 「Could it be a chimera?」

It’s a common train of thought to label something you don't understand as a "chimera."

Just then, Rob returned, thoroughly drunk from the lounge.

「Oh, Patrasche is moving.」

He had never actually named it, but fueled by the alcohol, Rob spouted off the first thing that came to mind.

「Patrasche? You mean 'Pashe'?」

Arcelia looked satisfied with her handiwork, but the Mecha-Platypus—or rather, Pashe—was crying on the inside.

「Still, that's amazing. It looks halfway decent, at least.」

It wasn't a perfect biped, but the strange, puppy-sized Mecha-Platypus was lumbering across the table. It even stood up on two legs occasionally, which was a nice touch.

Rob exhaled a boozy breath and patted Arcelia on the head.

「...That is sexual harassment (se-ku-ha-ra) .」

Arcelia’s cold, dead stare pierced through Rob.

Rob, still drunk, made excuses.

「No, see, it’s just at the perfect height...」

「That is also harassment, mocking physical and racial characteristics.」

Rob realized he had pushed Arcelia’s "educational instruction" switch, but it was too late.

「It seems I must help you acquire the proper etiquette of a Hero, Rob. A Hero cannot be sued or arrested for harassment.」

*Ah, I'm not going to be able to go to the lounge for a while now,* Rob thought, his shoulders slumping as he collapsed onto the sofa.

「...However, if a bond of trust has been built with the other party, that may not be the case.」

Rob, passed out drunk, didn't hear Arcelia’s whisper.

*****

Pashe in a nutshell,

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