After walking forward for several dozen meters, following the direction of the voice, I found a small room ahead.
It was a simple room—just a chair and a desk. Sitting behind the desk, facing me with an arrogant posture, was a staff member in the same uniform as the one who had greeted me at the gate.
They said it was a product of an advanced physical civilization, but structurally the room didn't seem all that different. The chair and table were made of metal, though.
As I took my seat, the staff member spoke in a haughty tone.
"Now we'll begin citizen registration for Code. The city system here is different from the outside world—you'll be confused at first, but you'll get used to it quickly. Present your passcard."
What was he going to do? I obediently handed over the card.
The staff member glanced at the card, snorted, and asked: "Hmph… Name?"
"Klye Andrich."
…Maybe I shouldn't have told him my real name?
By the time I realized that, it was already too late.
Placing the card I'd used to enter on the desk, the staff member recited: "Citizen registration—Klye Andrich. Class assignment: Class 1."
"!?"
The pattern etched onto the surface of the metal card suddenly writhed, forming letters.
Next to the name Klye Andrich, a single star appeared.
I stared wide-eyed and froze. The staff member said with an annoyed look: "Different from the outside world, in Code, all citizens are assigned a class in accordance with city regulations. Citizens have the right to access the city system, and the higher your class, the more advanced the city system you can use. Those arriving from outside are assigned either Class 1 or Class 2 based on their ability. That judgment is entrusted to the immigration officer—in other words, me. Your ability is low, so I set you to 1. Any objections?"
"I see… No objections."
As expected of an advanced physical civilization—the rules were quite different from the existing cities I knew. If the Explorer's Guild had possessed the same level of advanced technology as Code, they never would have assigned someone like me to Level 8.
I wondered what city system functions I'd be able to use.
My answer seemed to catch the staff member off guard for a moment—he had a blank look on his face—but he quickly cleared his throat and continued.
"When dealing with someone of a higher class, be careful. If a Class 1 and a Class 2 get into a conflict, the city system sides with the higher class in every way. Classes are indicated by the number of stars. You have one star, so you're Class 1. I, as you can see, have four stars, so I'm Class 4. Immigration officers are composed of Class 4 and above due to the importance of the role."
"I see… Understood."
Now that he mentioned it, the cards worn on the chests of the staff members near the gate had been inscribed with several stars.
"…In this city, anyone below Class 1 is Class 0—not recognized as citizens by the city system, just lower-class residents. Don't get cocky just because you were given a card. In this city, you're at the very bottom. You may have already noticed, but Class 1 doesn't even have permission to use magic within the city."
"I see… Thank you. How kind of you."
Permission to use magic, huh? This sounded like a pretty troublesome city.
Would someone without permission get arrested immediately if they used magic? I couldn't use magic anyway, so it didn't really affect me, but still.
While I was idly pondering this, the staff member clicked his tongue openly and spoke in an intimidation-filled tone: "…Tch… Right. I've been teaching you all sorts of things. A thank-you is only natural, isn't it? Hand something over."
"Huh? …Um… Then, how about this?"
Oh well. I'd brought it all this way, so maybe I'd just hand over the short sword.
Fortunately, there seemed to be a reasonable amount of order within the city. This had been a bit of a nuisance to carry around.
I detached the short sword from my waist and placed it on the desk. The staff member's expression twisted.
"…You'd hand over a weapon without hesitation? What are you planning to fight with if you're unarmed!?"
"Um… You're the one who said you wanted something…"
"…Damn it. You're throwing me off. Forget it—put it back. If word got out that I confiscated the weapon of someone we recruited as combat power, it'd blow back on me!"
His reasoning was completely unreasonable, but come to think of it, he had a point.
And the rumor that they'd been gathering people lately to secure combat power turned out to be true.
I scratched my head in mild irritation and asked: "By the way, there's something I'd like to confirm… What am I supposed to do from here?"
"!?"
I did have a rendezvous with the client somewhere inside, but I didn't have a map of the city or any money. Well, I had some Zebrudian currency, but that probably wouldn't work in Code.
Ideally, I'd like someone to teach me how to use this city system thing, too. It seemed different from Treasure Weapons, but I was a little curious about what it could do.
"How should I know! …But well, basically, I've heard that the people brought into Code this time are going to be assigned as personal guards for the royal family. Some of the more capable ones seem to have had prior arrangements made… Didn't you hear anything?"
Personal guards for the royal family…? The information I'd gotten from the Guild hadn't mentioned anything like that.
But I see. I'd been wondering how to get close to the royals even if we were protecting them, but apparently the path was already laid out. It was probably true that the client was someone in the upper echelons involved in Code's management.
"…Now that you mention it, I did hear something along those lines."
"Well, I do feel sorry for you. Being sent in here with an Overall Rating of 4—just pray that a strong royal takes a liking to you. Though, with a rating as low as 4, you might actually have a better chance of surviving. If you were competent, you might be seen as a threat, but with that number, you're not even worth worrying about."
"…??? Huh? A strong royal?"
I couldn't follow the conversation at all. I'd heard the royals were being kept in confinement—what did he mean?
For that matter, what did a personal guard even do? Code seemed to have plenty of powerful Mechasoldiers—if you were comparing them to high-level Hunters, sure, but surely the Mechasoldiers were stronger than random street thugs.
And what was this "4"?
Overwhelmed by the flood of new information, the staff member suddenly widened his eyes as if something had occurred to him and grinned.
"Wait. Right—I've got a good idea. I was told to send over anyone with a low Overall Rating, someone nobody would want. You're a perfect fit. Let me contact them."
"Huh? Ah, yes. Please do."
…I wasn't sure what was happening, but this was actually convenient.
It was almost as if they'd known I was coming.
§ I was directed to a room to wait until my escort arrived. Through a thick window, I surveyed the city of Code.
I hadn't intended to go above ground, but it seemed I'd ended up inside the city at some point.
The cityscape of Code, said to have been separated from the Treasure Hall of an advanced physical civilization, was completely different from Zebrudia.
The countless refined buildings lining the streets were each about as tall as the Clan House of the Beginning Footprint.
On the wide roads, metal spider-like things scurried at high speeds, and some even ran along the outer walls of buildings. Perhaps those served as this city's equivalent of horse carriages.
There was no doubt that this city bore the heavy influence of an advanced physical civilization.
Even a single one of those metal spiders would be worth a fortune if brought to the Imperial Capital. Since they were running around everywhere, there might be a production factory or something nearby.
To think a city like this existed in the world—this was no time to be talking about wanting Treasure Weapons from advanced physical civilizations.
With something like this, I could definitely get my hands on a smartphone. If I had time, I'd love to go searching for one.
Come to think of it, had Kaiser and the others made it into Code safely? Well, if even I'd gotten in, they'd manage somehow.
Their ratings were higher than mine too—they'd surely be hired by strong royals (even after thinking about it again, "strong royals" made no sense).
We'd planned to regroup as appropriate, since we didn't know what situation we'd be placed in after entering.
Once we had freedom of movement, Saya or Kaiser would make contact from their end. At the latest, we'd be able to meet up when rendezvousing with the client.
As I was thinking about all this, the door to the room suddenly slid open.
"The personnel matching your request. I've worked in immigration for many years, and an Overall Rating of 4 is unquestionably the lowest. Hehe… Permission to enter Code is normally only granted to capable individuals, you know. He's a rather clueless man, but he has enough wits to hold a conversation."
"Hmm… That will do. It's fine as long as they're somewhat competent and know their place, but the more incompetent, the better. This will bring us to the required number for the 'Royal Guard.'"
The one who entered was a woman wearing a classical, long-skirted maid outfit. She had a somewhat stern expression and honey-colored hair. Embroidered on her chest were five star insignias.
The woman strode into the room without hesitation, looked me up and down with an unreserved gaze, and clapped her hands twice.
"!?"
A black, board-like panel suddenly materialized in the air before her eyes.
I couldn't see what was on it from where I was standing, but she seemed to be reading something. After checking it for a while, she gave a large nod.
"Splendidly incompetent. His face is passable enough, so there should be various uses for him. I'll take him."
At her words, the staff member clenched his fist tightly.
"I'm glad to hear he's to your satisfaction, Lady Olivia. So, the… payment—"
"I know. I'll have it transferred. Report to me if anything comes up."
I'd really like an explanation soon. As I stood there dazedly, the woman called Olivia spoke to me.
"Come. You will serve as a guard for the Second Princess. Refusal will not be permitted. Is that clear?"
"Ah, yes…"
!?
I didn't really understand what was happening, but I'd suddenly been made a royal guard.
I didn't know the details, but maybe my luck had turned around this time.
Whether I could actually serve as a guard aside, being close to the princess would at least give me opportunities to protect her.
I might not be up to it myself, but surely I could at least pass along the information I'd gathered to Kaiser and Saya.
Maybe this time around, I'd actually be of some use?
"By the way, how many royals are there?"
My question made Olivia's eyes widen, and she immediately put on a suspicious expression.
"You really are a clueless man… Very well. The current King of Code has six children. Four princes and two princesses. You will be serving as a guard for the youngest daughter—Her Highness Princess Alisha."
"I see, I see, six… That's a lot. Does the King of Code have any siblings?"
"…There were seven, but all have since passed away. Why do you ask?"
"That's all the royals in Code have?"
"…What exactly are you talking about?"
"Oh, just wondering…"
Apparently that was really it. So the mission would be considered complete if we got the King of Code, the princes, and the princesses—all seven of them—out of the city. That made a total of seven to extract.
I didn't know if that was a lot or a little, but getting three people to evacuate seven others from this unknown city sounded incredibly difficult.
It would depend a great deal on how much support the client provided.
Olivia pondered for a moment, then shook her head.
"…I'm not sure what you're thinking, but very well. Klye Andrich—additional prohibition: you are forbidden from making statements or taking actions that would be detrimental to me."
"!?"
At the same instant she spoke those words, a slight tingle ran through my entire body.
I was wearing my Barrier Ring, but nothing had activated.
Looking confused, Olivia said with a triumphant expression: "In Code, class is everything. The right to impose prohibitions belongs to Class 5 and above. Regardless of what you may be scheming, you are incapable of making statements or taking actions that would disadvantage me. This is the city system that governs Code."
I couldn't make statements or actions that would disadvantage her?
"…Olivia, you're stu—"
"!? That's not—I didn't mean it like that!"
Olivia kicked the floor in frustration.
But this… could be a problem.
The city system, huh. If those words were true, completing our mission was going to be far more difficult.
I didn't understand the logic, but for instance, if attacking was prohibited, I might not be able to attack at all, and if approaching the royals was prohibited, protecting them would become even harder.
The earlier thing about not being able to use magic—it might not be that there was a penalty, but rather that casting was simply impossible.
Selene… I'm really glad we didn't swap positions.
As I fell silent, Olivia spoke: "Come. I'll take you to Her Highness."
Well, whatever. In a way, the fact that they could bind me meant I wouldn't be suspected. It wasn't like I could do much of anything useful regardless.
The mission felt further away than ever, but my chances of purchasing a Treasure Weapon were getting closer. No point worrying about it—things would go the way they were going to go.
I steeled myself and hurried after Olivia as she briskly walked out of the room.