One small ship slowly enters the dock of the Space Station, which is present outside the Enzio Alliance territory. Compared to the latest, nearly two generations old, it was once a popular merchant ship used throughout the Empire and can still be seen in many places. The original Spaceship Universe company had already closed its production line for that type, but there were still times when the equipment for that old type of ship sold better than the sales of the latest model.
"Welcome to Ottonestation. I'll have the contents tested."
One of the station's stewards leaves unlike Taro and the rest of the ship's owners. Taro said, "Aye. A little bit but yorosik!!" Answering it vigorously, he walks out on a fast foot to the lobby to hide his inner tension.
"Haha, I know you're anxious, but you should calm down a little bit. Nature, Nature"
Phantom in a lighter tone than usual, probably to relax Taro.
"No, no, I can't. I mean, blah, blah. I want to go home already."
From the anxiety of being in enemy land, Taro looks back in a squeaky move. To Taro like that, Phantom laughs bitterly.
"I won't find out. Your ID, your registry information, everything is well forged. I was confident in these things too, but apparently he's going up there."
Phantom taps his fingers and sticks an ID stitched to his chest. "I hope so," Taro said of his anxiety, "the person responsible for the forgery. In other words, send prayerful thoughts to Alan, who stayed in Plum II.
- "ID matching...... green. Please pass through the gate." -
Taro collapses according to the bench that was nearby as each person finally walks through the narrow screening gate they can get through. Phantom is finally giving Taro a sigh of relief, with an irresistible grin. Then came Marr, who also held Xiao Plum, and sighed as if he was frightened.
"You show a lot of nerve in a business place, but you're so weak for this. I'm a little surprised."
When Marr says so, he walks out with a flat face that doesn't seem to do anything. Taro said, "Sister, don't leave me!!" And when he lifts his pitiful voice, he begins to chase after Marr with all his souls. Behind it, Tyki, the escort of Taro and the others, was shaking his shoulders and laughing.
"Then we shall be dissolved here as planned. The rendezvous doesn't concern me here, and I hope it's at your discretion to head to the sailing gate. I'm going to make it in time, but you don't mind leaving me at the worst. If so, we'll do something about it."
Fantom drops his eyes to the back of his hand and sums them up so in a light condition. At the end of his gaze, the time that was digitally displayed on top of a transparent seal was precisely marking the hour, and when he stroked it a little, it disappeared.
Taro gently penetrates him like that, "Do something... no, no," but it was also true that there were no more experts in these things than him.
"Well, I get it. But it sounds a little good with undercover, but you're not actually gonna do it. I have a stomach."
Saying so, he waves and drops off Phantom in work clothes used by the average worker. Taro and Marr wore popular personal clothes quite a while ago, and the two had come to the station's commercial district and "supposedly the place" entrance.
"Steady, well... it's really a commercial district here, isn't it?
A barely popular, lonely arcade. The stores, which were supposed to have originally been stores, seemed to have a significant number of them closed. Whatever you think in time, you should be starting to open, and it was hard to believe that it happened to be closing time. The first thing that came to Taro's head was the word Shutter Street.
"I miss you a lot. It's kind of dark, and it doesn't have a nice vibe."
Is it to save power, Marl, looking up at the lights dropped every other time. Billa and some kind of rubbish and crap rolls all over the ground, and a sparse passerby with a tired look walks away from it.
"Um, recession. Do you feel superb here? It's a station on the border with the EAP, so maybe the blockade had a huge impact."
The companies present here should undoubtedly have done business with the peripheral systems, and if that had been broken down, a significant number of corporate bankruptcies would not have been spared. There is usually no such thing as a company that can survive even if its counterparty is half.
"When this happens, you avoid noticeable behavior. But even if I say gather information, what about the actual problem? Are you sorry to interrogate me?
At Taro's feet, an alert-faced tyke emits. When Taro answers "No" to it, he wonders what's wrong.
"Mr. Phantom is our destiny, so let's get to the supporting role. Even if the amateur handles it, I don't know what's wrong with me... let's just go into the store around here."
Phantom, a former special unit of the Imperial Army, gathers information, and Taro and the others confirm the atmosphere of the town and people, etc. There was no way the Taro and the others could do anything better than Phantom and Alan in terms of gathering information, but there was also the possibility that if they weren't corporate people, there would be something they wouldn't notice. It is also necessary to ascertain how certain the information is. If we can get the same answers from separate sources, we can see them as fairly reliable information.
"It's just lunch time... I wonder where it is. Looks like there's a lot of people in and out."
Marl pointing to a larger restaurant a little further ahead. Taro had no particular reason to disagree, so he decided to turn his back.
"... this is going to take a while"
Taro whines when he sees a long queue, taking him inside a restaurant. The dining room is apparently upstairs, and guests who fulfilled their orders on the ground floor, like a hotel lobby, can be seen boarding an escalator with something like a ticket in their hand.
"No, no, I think it's more of a short one. Yesterday, we had double the line."
A good-looking man of someone who was lined up in front of Taro emits toward Taro as he looks back. Taro stays with Vikri for a moment, but decides to continue the conversation as it is a good opportunity.
"Oh, yeah. Something like that. It's a very popular store... do you come here often?
"Lately, well, I have no choice. It's two blocks beyond the workplace, so there's no way to get through it."
"Two blocks? You'll be walking long enough, won't you?
"Um, I wonder if it'll take about twenty minutes. But it looks like some people are walking almost five blocks, and you can't even tell them how extravagant they are."
"Ugh, seriously...... walking!? No, no, no, no, no. Stay tight."
"Haha, that must be tough. But I can't help it. The high-speed moving car stays stopped, and this is the only place you can use your voucher around here."
"Distribution voucher...... Distribution!? Distribution somehow this!!?
Surprisingly, Taro shouts. Then the gaze of the people in line gathered, and they panicked terribly when they got inside. But weary of their expression, they immediately took their gaze off without interest.
"Sorry for shouting...... itete, so meh abe fu"
Taro is clawed to the toe by Tyke and then put his head on Marl. A man who laughs haha when he sees things like that.
"That's a tough baptism. But it's like this around here, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't make a scene. Mass cafeteria... you okay?
"Aye, it's the usual. Why is it okay? I'm sorry to bother you...... but seriously, rations or something? I only have cash."
"The usual... oh. Really? No, I don't know if I can buy anything without a ticket... or now I think."
When the man says that with a slightly surprised face, he just glances around and then turns to Taro.
"Maybe someone from somewhere else?
Hissing, little voice. Though thrilled inside, Taro returns a pre-prepared answer.
"No...... well, I'm sure you're not raised here. Actually, we had frozen sleep until yesterday, so I have no idea what happened recently. What's wrong with rations? Ten years ago, you could normally buy them for money, right?
What do you mean, Taro? To Taro's voice like that, a man who breaks his expression in such a way that he is convinced to say, "Ah."
"I see, Iceman... if you ask me, it's definitely quite an old fashion. I haven't seen anyone wearing sleeve clothes up to those wrists lately."
Man looking out at Taro and Marr's outfit and nodding yeah. Taro exhales with relief in his heart at the way the man looks, "Haha," he shows with his head.
"This used to be fashionable... but rations are limited, so it looks like we'll have to put it back out. Thank you. Thanks to you, don't embarrass yourself with accounting."
I got it through work, Taro with a refreshing grin. That's what he says and tries to step outside the store, but "Oh, hey," the guy pulls me over.
"Then use this. The deadline is tomorrow, so I was just out of time."
A man offering a small chip about two centimeters in size to Taro. Taro said, "Are you okay?!?" and surprise me with exaggeration.
"The company performed well, so I paid a lot. But I don't have a family, I don't have someone to invite to dinner... I'm a little sad to say it."
A man who laughs bitterly and flatters his shoulders. When Taro receives the chip in awe, he says thank you many times.
"No, it really helps. Thank you...... uh, that. If it's not inconvenient, may I have your seat? I don't know the right or the left, so I'm glad you could teach me everything."