[Real life has been so busy that all the things I want to write just keep piling up.]
[Could Metagross learn Double Team again????]
Chapter 491: Resound, Grateful Legacy — The Ooka Rabbit Judgment
There are just some characters you instinctively don't like, and logic has nothing to do with it.
They say if you hate the monk, you'll hate his robe too, but if you don't need a reason to like someone, then you don't need a reason to get pissed off at someone either.
Put simply, I don't really know why, but this guy pisses me off!
Something about how, if nobody stops him, it feels like he'll seize the initiative from everyone around him and force his own way through just really pisses me off!
Sunraku: "Oi, oi, oi. I'm the actual party involved here, aren't I? Mercenary, deadbeat, whatever the hell you are, moving this whole thing along without my say-so doesn't exactly follow proper procedure, does it? Hm?"
As far as I know, D’Artammeow is the only Jeweler around.
In other words, he's valuable.
If this keeps going and he ends up having a finger chopped off or something, I'll lose my connection to a top-tier accessory-crafting Job.
Evelle: "Haaah? What the hell're you lookin' at, huh?"
Sunraku: "I'm telling you to get the damn story straight, dumbass. You think I handed these guys a mountain of gems because I had no idea they were light-fingered? You think I honestly expected them to make me ten or twenty pieces out of the whole pile?"
Sometimes a gesture can provoke someone's emotions more eloquently than words ever could.
Body language is a universal language that surpasses even English.
With one finger alone, it can completely cover everything from first person to third person. The Tower of Babel could collapse and humanity would still survive. Too bad.
And precisely because there are no words involved, it can become the ultimate taunt:
"Even an idiot like you who can't understand when I talk should at least be able to understand this much, right?"
According to Takeda, in the good old pre-full-dive days, gestures themselves were apparently used specifically for taunting.
Sunraku: "Think. Use your head... right, Evelle-kun? Everything's been right here in the palm of my hand."
I tap my temple with one finger, then deliberately crouch down to meet him at eye level.
The deadly combo lands.
Kukuku...
Get mad.
Go on, get mad.
Vash is right here.
If you start throwing punches without thinking in a place like this, you'll be branded a two-bit punk for the rest of eternity.
But the instant the corner of Evelle's mouth curls upward, I realize this isn't settled yet.
Evelle: "Hah. Call yourself 'Bird Person' and strut around all you like, but when it comes down to it, you're still just a freeloader here, ain'tcha?"
Sunraku: "Haaah?"
That's not sour grapes.
He's got some kind of basis for that comeback.
Evelle: "Who gives a shit about what's in your palm? I ain't interested in your damn handprint. What this 'two-bit punk' did was drag Rabituza's name through the mud, didn't he?"
Sunraku: "Mm."
Tch...
He hit somewhere painful.
He's right.
Even if I'm technically a guest, I currently belong to Rabituza.
Which means disrespect toward me could also be considered disrespect toward Rabituza itself.
What do I do?
If you look at this from the political side of Rabituza as a nation, it wouldn't be strange for Aydward to side with him.
But on my side, I could bring in Bilac, who was the one who told me about the nature of Cat-Siths in the first place.
No, that won't work.
Having Vash here hurts way too much.
As long as Vash can hand down an Ooka-style judgment right here, the only outcome that'll let me claim the high ground is a complete and utter verbal demolition...!
Emul: "Why did you two suddenly start fighting, waa...? I don't understand this at all, waa..."
Both Evelle and I ignore Emul's muttering.
Logic has nothing to do with it.
It's like that weird feeling when you thought you were the only person using something, then you see someone else using the exact same build with the exact same recipe...
Multiply that feeling by about five, and that's what's constantly swirling around inside me right now.
But this game doesn't have a pause button.
Once the gears start turning, they don't stop.
Sunraku: "So your answer is 'settling accounts,' huh?"
Evelle: "Damn right. If those sticky fingers keep causin' trouble, then you gotta put a stop to 'em."
Sunraku: "Hmph... How shallow."
Idiot.
You left yourself wide open!
I've already got exactly the statement I needed out of you!!
Sunraku: "If you were really thinking about what's best for the organization, then surely, surely you couldn't possibly do something that would ruin a rare Jeweler, could you?"
Evelle: "Guh."
Sunraku: "Skill is treasure, you know? Guess it'd be wasted on somebody who doesn't understand its value..."
Getting him completely acquitted is impossible.
In that case, what I need to do is push for a reduced sentence...
In other words, take the punishment D’Artammeow receives and whittle it down as far as I possibly can.
And then I want to establish dominance over this delinquent rabbit and grin smugly in his face!
What a strange feeling.
It's the exact same feeling I had back when I wanted to beat Sylvia...
Aydward: "Don't the two of them seem unusually lively all of a sudden?"
Emul: "Aydward-onii-chan, those two aren't water and oil, waa. They're oil and oil. They're just fighting over which one ranks higher, waa."
Both Evelle and I ignore Emul.
I KNOW THAT ALREADY!!
I've been drowning in déjà vu this entire time!
This is that feeling!
It's like when you queue into an FPS multiplayer match using a class you're pretty confident with, only to get matched on the same team with another player using the exact same class!!
Of course I'll cooperate with him because we're allies, and if he's in trouble I'll go help him.
But that is a completely separate issue!!!
Even as teammates, superiority still gets decided through K/D.
You think I'm just gonna go, "Wow, you're really good! Good game, nice match!" and leave it at that?
Even losing by a single kill would piss me off enough to die!!
Sunraku: "In his case, paying for his crime should mean contributing! And at least as far as reaching a settlement with the victim goes, that was settled ages ago! I'm the one he wronged, and I've already forgiven him!!"
Evelle: "Don't go soft on me! Havin' a valuable trade don't mean you get forgiven for any damn thing! This ain't about one person—it's about a country!! The moment people think they can disrespect you, you're finished!!"
Ghh.
That's a completely valid argument.
But I've got logic on my side too.
If my prediction is right, the highest ranks of the crafting Jobs are basically national-treasure class.
If we were talking imprisonment or something along those lines, maybe I wouldn't have had much chance.
But if the goal is to avoid a punishment that would destroy that talent, then his role gives me leverage.
He keeps talking about the nation's reputation, but if I attack this from the angle of what benefits the country, victory is right in front of me!
I'll establish dominance, then wear that smug grin all the way to the end of his bloodli—
Vash: "You two... settle down, would ya?"
There isn't any actual physical destructive power behind those words.
And yet both Evelle and I freeze as though we'd just taken a heavy punch directly to the gut.
Vash: "I understand what both of you are sayin' just fine... But ain't the two of you forgotten somethin' important?"
Sunraku: "Something..."
Evelle: "Important?"
What...?
A bribe?
No, that's not it...
What is it???
Vash: "D’Artammeow."
D’Artammeow: "Y-y-yesss!!"
Vash: "Right here, right now... don't you go feedin' me some pathetic lie, got it?"
D’Artammeow: "O-of, of c-course not!!"
Every bit of Vash's pressure is bearing down directly on D’Artammeow, and the poor guy looks ready to collapse at any second.
I don't know the exact nature of their relationship, but this is basically like some employee who screwed up being dragged directly in front of the CEO...
No.
The head of the entire conglomerate.
And given the civilization we're dealing with, there's even a chance he could be cut down on the spot.
Compared with Evelle and me playing lawyer and prosecutor, this is an absolute judge whose authority isn't even in the same dimension.
Slowly, but very simply, Vash asks him a question.
Vash: "—Tell me why you did what you did."
D’Artammeow: "Ah... uh... um............ Th-that... was..."
No way.
There's no grand reason behind pocketing something.
And I can't imagine this guy has the guts to honestly confess that it was just a moment of greed.
What do I do?
How do I cover for—
D’Artammeow: "I-I... p-putting it into my own pocket... th-there is n-no excuse for that...! B-but! But!! Wh-what is sealed inside this amber...! It's far, far too dangerous...! I-I thought that if anything were to happen to Bird Person because of it... it would affect Cazzeria's honor and prestige...!"
Silence.
Everyone falls silent.
Without either of us saying a word, Evelle and I look at each other.
We both shrug in exasperation...
Sunraku & Evelle: "THEN SAY THAT FIRST, YOU BASTARD! WE'LL KNOCK YOU FLYING!!"
D’Artammeow: "HIIIIII!?"
So there WAS a grand reason!!