It was a variation small enough that a normal person wouldn’t notice. Even with his reduced power, the Demon Lord’s aether sensitivity hadn’t lost its edge.

He turned to see a girl with a strange outfit—although as far as he was concerned, everyone was wearing strange outfits.

Her black hair was cut short, and a tuft of her bangs was dyed red. She was wearing a red qipao with golden embroidery and a short-sleeved dwarven jacket along with a pair of comfortable-looking shoes. On her head sat a pair of round sunglasses.

Her black hair, brown eyes, rounded ears, and peachy skin were characteristic of humans from the East. She looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. Her graceful features, strong eyes, and general poise gave her an energetic aura.

The girl was leaning against an iron fence and staring straight at the ad playing on the holographic display.

The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.

Suddenly, the screen went black. A funky logo of a bunny’s skull appeared for a split second before the screen turned black again. Then it started playing something entirely different from before: an ad for a pornographic video site.

“Ahn! Mmm! Ah! Ahhh!”

Sensual moans echoed throughout the city at full volume accompanied by uncensored nudity.

Passersby couldn’t help but stop and stare because of how sudden it had been.

“Whoa, what’s up with that?”

“What’s with the porn? Did the video bug out?”

“I think it got hacked.”

“Mommy, what are they doing?”

“Don’t look!”

The crowds were astir.

Meanwhile, one person in particular wasn’t watching the video but clapping and laughing at the resulting confusion: the girl Veltol had just glanced at.

He approached the girl as she grabbed her sides in laughter, then addressed her in elvish with a strong Elderish accent:

“Hey, lady.”

“Huh?” Her shoulders twitched, and she looked around.

“You, with the black hair.”

“M-me?”

“Indeed.”

She pointed at her face, and Veltol nodded magnanimously.

Her eyes darted back and forth as she asked, clearly very wary, “Wh-what is it?”

“What did you just do?” He crossed his arms and motioned to the screen with his chin.

“Huh? Wh-whatever could you mean? I have nooo idea what’s going on! It’s probably just a bug or something.”

She put her hands behind her head, crossed her legs, and gazed into the distance whistling a dull tune.

“Do not utter such falsehoods in my presence. That video changed following an aether disturbance in your vicinity. You were the only one whose surrounding aether wavered, and the only one directing your attention to that screen. Of course you must have done something.”

The girl looked even more suspicious and shocked. “…You could tell I hacked it from an aether disturbance…? No way. Not even wizards can sense that much… What exactly are you?”

“Hmph. Is it not obvious? Ignorance is a sin, but I’ll forgive you. Today is a national holiday—the celebration of my rebirth.”

“Uh, pretty sure it’s just a regular weekday…”

“Therefore, I grant you pardon.”

“Okay, okay, whatever. Just tell me who you are,” she demanded, obviously very annoyed.

Veltol paid no attention to the way she glared at him. He raised his arms to the heavens, eyes closed, and announced:

“I am the Demon Lord.”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Surely you at least recognize my face.”

“Uh, nope…”

Veltol looked at her in disbelief, then immediately sighed and shrugged.

“So are you gonna report me to the City Guard?” the girl asked. “Save yourself the empty sense of justice. Those bastards won’t give you anything in return.”

“I’m not quite sure I follow, but rest assured I won’t hand you over to any sort of law enforcement.”

The girl seemed relieved to hear that. “Then what do you want?”

“What kind of magic was that just now? I can tell you used the aether to change the image projected on that screen, but I don’t understand the principle involved. You used a magical technique beyond my own comprehension, so you piqued my interest. You must be quite dexterous for me to be unable to discover how it works at first glance. And I can tell you’re confident in your skills by how you conduct yourself.”

The girl’s cheeks relaxed into a dopey smile, pleased by Veltol’s praise.

“Aw shucks, it’s not thaaat big a deal. I just did a li’l hacking!” she chirped.

“Hacking…?”

“Yep. Aether hacking. This may come as a surprise, but I’m actually an aether hacker, which means I’m always risking my life for my job. Anyway, those IHMI holodisplays are super common here in Shinjuku, and they all have a fatal security flaw in their technic’s logic barrier. I just took advantage of that to swap the video with some porn. The actual trick is real simple—what’s hard is finding that vulnerability in the system ’cause you’d basically need to be a genius like me, y’know? Oh, but don’t get me wrong, I didn’t just do it outta curiosity or boredom or as a prank or whatever. Thing is, IHMI’s always trying to censor the net or put filters on it, and me, I think the net’s the only truly free place out there, so IHMI’s basically my enemy. I mean, yeah, I do this stuff as part of, like, a bigger social protest. I’m pretty much the embodiment of punk, rebelling against this rotten society we live in.”

“I—I see…”

“Yep. So like I said, your average hacker wouldn’t find this weak spot, but this super genius hacker babe was able to spot and exploit it. Plus…”

The girl kept on rambling at full speed. Veltol was getting more and more confused, so he tried to interject, “Oh, by the way—”

“Then the technic fluctuation algorithm… What? I was just getting to the good part.”

Veltol had to make her stop, otherwise she would never shut up.

“Do you know of a man named Marcus?” he asked.

“Marcus?”

Considering the whole Immortal Hunt situation, Marcus could still be in hiding somewhere if he was alive. Not that Veltol had high hopes that this random girl he’d just met would know about the man.

Then, against all odds, he received an unexpected answer:

“Oh, you mean the director of IHMI? Yeah, I know about him.”

“What…?”

“Look over there.”

She pointed to a large limestone tower of neo-elvish architecture in the distance.

“That’s IHMI’s headquarters. You might find him there. I mean, he’s head of the company, so he’s a pretty famous guy.”

*

IHMI—Ishimaru Heavy Magical Industries.

Formerly Ishimaru Heavy Industries, the megacorporation IHMI started as an arms dealer during the City Wars before expanding at breakneck speed.

It was one of the biggest companies not only in Shinjuku but the entire world. Construction and administration of the aether reactor, the core of the city’s infrastructure, fell under IHMI’s jurisdiction. The company also excelled at magicalectronics and communications. It even had strong sway in the Shinjuku City Council. IHMI was the city’s de facto ruler.

“Technology is the spark of a new era” was its slogan, and its logo was based on a torch, displayed proudly on the second-tallest building in Shinjuku.

And Veltol was about to enter that very building.

He wanted to ask Marcus for help. Their world had been destroyed, the Immortal Kingdom had fallen, and Veltol’s own power had weakened—he needed a new direction.

It would be easy to decide a new objective if he had great social status, authority, and assets in this world. That’s why he needed Marcus.

Veltol arrived alone, without Machina. He’d kept this visit a secret from her since she seemed to be hiding something from him and would have very likely stopped him from even going.

The question is whether this is the Marcus I’m looking for. It’s a bit of a puzzle how he managed to nab such a lofty position while this Immortal Hunt was going on.

The automatic double set of vertical and horizontal doors opened, and Veltol entered the lobby.

The lobby was spacious, with a color palette and interior somewhat similar to the furnishings in Marcus’s past manor. There were a few people in suits here and there.

In a corner was a bizarrely prominent presence: a mysterious, short and chubby, pink costumed character.

“What is that strange rabbit…? Or rather, that literal insult to rabbits…”

The character noticed Veltol’s stares and waved at him, but Veltol ignored it and looked away.

He headed straight for the elf woman standing at the circular reception desk by the entrance.

“What can I help you with today?” she asked with a smile.

Veltol felt something was off about her facial expression and, indeed, her entire aura. Her voice was also flat, lacking any real humanity.

“Tell Marcus that Veltol has arrived. He’ll know what to do.”

“…Unable to confirm any previous visits. I’m afraid we cannot allow any visits without a prior appointment,” she answered in a polite yet direct manner, her voice just as flat and a smile still on her face.

“Never mind that; just tell Marcus I’m here.”

“I’m afraid we cannot allow any visits without a prior appointment,” she repeated with the same expression and tone.

“Sigh… For goodness’ sake, does no one in this day and age know who I am? So be it.” Veltol decided to use magic to get done with it quickly. “Rexagino.”

This spell made it possible to manipulate a target’s mind through their mana. A type of charm, it temporarily attracted the target to the caster. In the hands of the Demon Lord’s magitech, the spell was almost as powerful as a geas.

“Call Marcus.” So the Demon Lord demanded.

This was an absolute command a mere elf receptionist shouldn’t be able to resist. Shouldn’t being the operative word.

“B-level mana assault detected against this unit. Suspect designated a threat. Authorities have been contacted. Now entering combat mode.”

“Wha—?!”

Veltol was shocked. The elf woman appeared unfazed by his mindjacking, and not only that—she was now on top of the desk taking a fighting stance.

“Wh-what’s happening…?”

“What’s that guy doing…?”

The people in suits, startled as well, turned to look at the sudden commotion happening at the entrance.

Did she block it…?! How?!

Veltol immediately reconsidered the situation. It didn’t feel like his magic had been blocked—it was as if it had never taken effect in the first place. Like trying to use mind control on a tree or a rock.

So that means…

Between his feeling that something was off, the elf’s reaction to the magic, and even her motions when getting on top of the booth…

It’s one of those things Machina was talking about…an automaton!