"What? You know where the Graham Derby is?"
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On January 5 at
"Yes, sir. I have just received word from Jin-dono. He happened to find it in Florenz in the Kingdom of Elias.
"By chance, or ......?"
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Tomax Bartmann had guessed that it was a ruse. But he was not foolish enough to ask how they found it.
"They'll be in touch with you shortly with more details."
"I see."
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Tomax looked at the secretary.
He looked at Manon, the automata given to him by Makina III.
Manon had reduced Tomax's workload by half by managing his schedule and sorting out the paperwork.
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In the future, the manualization of the office work would make the administrative work even easier.
Tomax finally saw the light at the end of the long tunnel.
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* * * * * * * * * * *
"It's been a long time since I've been to Florenz.
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Last time I visited there was last October, just before the liberation of Kunlun Island.
"That's right."
Rhodes, who is accompanying him, nods.
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"We brought
There were ...... signs everywhere inviting people to join the
However, there seemed to be fewer of them than before, and some of them were dirty or broken.
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"It's only been a couple of months, but does this mean that the influence of the <
"It seems so."
Jin and Rhodes exchanged such words as they followed Reiko's lead.
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Reiko was in the lead, followed by Jin and Rhodes, with the white-robed
"This way, please."
Reiko turns a corner from the main street and heads toward a medium-sized street.
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Reiko heads for an old two-story brick house. It seems to be a healing center.
But...
"Where are you going?"
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Two men with short swords on their waists blocked their way.
"We're going to the healing center at the end of the hall."
Reiko answered, and one of the men said,
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"That clinic is not very good. If you want to be healed, you'd better go somewhere else.
He said, "No, I'm in the hospital.
Reiko reiterates, "No, I'm here to see a patient in the hospital.
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Reiko reiterated. A sword was thrust at her.
"Kut!"
The sword stops about five centimeters from Reiko's throat. Reiko stopped it with her left index finger and thumb.
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Whether the man intended to stop short, or whether he intended to keep thrusting, we don't know.
"I can't ...... move! Why not?
The man puts all his strength into the sword. But no matter how hard he pushed or pulled, the sword Reiko held in her hand did not move at all.
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But the other man pulls out his sword and swings it down at Reiko's brain.
"No way! ......"
But the sword was caught by Reiko's small hand.
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"If you interfere with me any further, I will show you no mercy.
Rhodoth speaks to the two pale men.
"Are you from the League of Magic?"
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Immediately the color of the two men's faces changed. He had hit the nail on the head.
"There is a man named Graham at the healing center, isn't there?
"Yes!"
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"How did you know that ......?
This reaction was the same as a confession.
"We're here to fix Graham."
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Jin, reading that the two were probably trying to protect Graham Darby, decided to take a chance and tell them so.
"What?
"...... Really?"
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The two men look doubtful. But he does not let go of the sword yet.
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"...... may not be trustworthy, but it's true."
"......"
The hostility has disappeared from both of them for the time being. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the hostility has diminished.
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"Reiko, let her go."
Jin put up a barrier just in case and then instructed Reiko.
"Yes, sir."
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Reiko lets go of his hand after seeing that he has put up the barrier.
"Whoa!"
The two were so surprised that they threw their swords out of their hands.
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"You see? We could have forced them to go to the healing center if we wanted to.
Jin insisted, "We're negotiating with them instead of going there.
"Hmmm... ......."
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He was still hesitating and groaning,
"Reiko, get rid of that sword," he instructed.
"Reiko, get rid of that sword," he instructed.
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"Yes, father."
Reiko picks up both swords, and slowly twists them together.
"Whoa!
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"You're a lazy b*tc*, aren't you? It's not well tempered, so it can be twisted like this.
"You can see that, can't you? You can see by this that we mean you no harm by not forcing our way through."
Rhodes negotiates.
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"Okay, okay."
Somehow he understood, and the two men gave way timidly.
"Thank you."
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Jin thanks them and walks away.
The two men watched in horror as Jin and the others passed by.
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The healing center was a rather tired building as they approached.
"Well, it's not what it looks like."
Reiko took the initiative to open the door for us.
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The place we entered was a small and spacious lobby, which was as ...... tired as it looked on the outside.
"It's pretty shabby ...... inside too."
Rhodes sounded a little dismayed.
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"If it's a healing center, it should be a little cleaner like a healing center.
As Jin says this,
"<
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and is quickly performing purification and sterilization.
"The air in the building was quite stagnant, so we cleaned it up.
"Yes, yes, thank you very much."
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Then a young woman in a white coat, who appeared to be a healer, came in.
She had short bobbed dark blond hair and steeple eyes,
"What's going on?
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She was surprised at the suddenly clean lobby.
"Well, I'm here to talk to a man named Graham Darby who is in the hospital.
Jin told him straight away,
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"...... who are you?"
The woman, with a look of alarm on her face, took a few steps back and asked a question.