[At that moment, in the White House, USA.]
“Hoo.”
An A-rank Hunter who once participated in the S-rank [Panama Canal Tower] raid, the Hunter known as [Coin Dealer], fiddled with a casino chip in his hand and took a deep breath.
“The President is inside.”
“Yes.”
The President had summoned him.
He didn’t know the reason yet, but among so many Hunters, the fact that he had been specifically called—he would understand once he walked through that door.
President Luigi.
With less than two years left in his term, it was already clear who the next president would be—unless something drastic changed.
Was that why he called me?
Recently, a major blow had hit the opposition party due to a large number of villains they secretly operated becoming ‘Ironblood-ized’.
And at the forefront of that Ironblood-ization was none other than the Master.
If one were to trace the cause, it was the villains who interfered in the Master’s Tower raid or attempted to assassinate him. But they likely never imagined they’d vanish inside the Tower and never return.
Some have called the Master a murderer because of it, but no one dares say it officially.
The Master is the hero who saved America.
And the man James was about to face was the one who enabled such a hero to cross into this unknown land—not China, not Russia, not Europe, but straight into America.
“Excuse me.”
Creaaak.
As he opened the door and entered, a large man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out the glass window.
Gulp.
James Flenders, the [Coin Dealer], gave a brief bow toward President Luigi—whose physique looked more like a superhuman than his own.
Any Hunter would feel the same—there was a pressure to this man that even Hunters found daunting.
That was one of the reasons he was elected.
There was a strong belief that the President must not be at the mercy of Hunters.
If President Luigi had become a Hunter, he would’ve surely been America’s representative Hunter.
“Mr. President, what did you call me for?”
“Mr. Flenders.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s skip the formalities. You’re the one with the most Tower Coins, aren’t you?”
“…Why the Tower Coins, all of a sudden…?”
At that question, James’ mind raced.
Even though Tower Coins held significant value as a type of virtual currency, the general consensus on Wall Street was that they wouldn’t be used as a national reserve or strategic asset.
They weren’t blockchain-based like cryptocurrency, nor were they available to the public. Only Hunters could use them—and only for cosmetic purposes inside the Tower. So what was the real value?
“Most people saw Tower Coins as speculative. But you’ve always treated them as an investment—and amassed quite a bit, haven’t you?”
“Yes, well…”
“The world is changing. Humanity has begun to challenge Babel. Soon, the global order will be completely transformed.”
President Luigi still gazed out the window.
“If the government suddenly starts aggressively buying Tower Coins, wouldn’t that raise suspicions?”
“…”
James processed quickly—then in the blink of an eye, reached his conclusion.
“Has the time come when a large volume of Tower Coins is needed?”
“……”
“Ah, I see now. The government needs at least one Tower Coin exchange that can represent its interests. But since only a Hunter can do that, you picked me.”
“…Mr. Flenders.”
“No worries, sir. I may not have been ready before, but ever since the Panama Canal raid, I’ve been reborn.”
James placed his hand over his chest and tapped it lightly.
“There’s no need for the government to offer me incentives in advance. Just send the request, and I’ll move. You can compensate me appropriately afterward. Whether that’s feasible or not—we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
“The government spares no expense for the Master. But Tower Coins are limited.”
“For the Master.”
James’ smile deepened.
“Yes, I understand. You want me to be some kind of Central Tower Coin Bank of America for the Master, don’t you? Haha.”
“Do you think it’s too much to entrust this to just one person?”
“Not at all. In fact, I welcome it. Because… I’ve always believed that Tower Coins would someday be used for humanity’s benefit.”
James flicked the chip in his hand into the air.
“I thought my investments would make me the richest man in the world, but to think it’s actually to support the Master… that’s quite moving.”
“Do you have any requests?”
“Only one.”
James pulled out his smartphone and played a video.
“I want to ride on that giant’s shoulders—just once.”
A giant of light rising toward the sky—toward Babel.
“One selfie of me flying on top of a 60-meter mecha is all I need.”
He couldn’t resist it.
* * *
Boom, boom, boom!
The ground trembled.
Like a quake caused by a giant sprinting with all its might, the entire plain shook violently.
It was the kind of fear people must have felt when the giants appeared at Wall Maria—the ones sprinting at full speed.
The people rushing past us wore dazed expressions as they watched Justice’s charge.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Yui Otohara was screaming.
From where?
Right beneath me—in the space under the cockpit’s orb, curled up like someone wedged between cliffs, desperately clinging on to avoid falling.
‘S-rank, as expected.’
Any regular Hunter would’ve already been thrown off by the force of Justice’s dash. But Yui Otohara held on.
‘Still, I can’t let her into the cockpit.’
Normally, when a pilot is carrying a girl while operating a mecha, you’d expect her to be either standing behind the pilot inside the cockpit or held in a princess-carry position up front.
But that’s impossible here—this cockpit is already filled with others.
To Yui Otohara who could only see the glowing blue orb from the outside, it would seem empty. But from the moment they first appeared, the entities attached to either side of the cockpit had been holding their breath in complete silence.
Now, however, it seemed like they were starting to want to speak—some of them shifting, reacting, making small movements.
Because—
“Hey! We’ve got incoming—those are the Newbie Slaughterers!”
“Filthy trash.”
As Yui Otohara shouted, figures had begun catching up to Justice, sprinting across the plains at insane speeds.
“Wahahaha! If a newbie’s here, he should pay his respects to me!”
“That giant mecha—I’m taking it!”
“Judging by the mechanics design… Tsuruya Production?! Must be Japanese! I’ll be claiming all things Japanese for myself!”
A martial artist in a People’s Army uniform, sleeves flapping wildly as he ran.
A shaggy-haired man on a motorcycle with a massive greatsword on his back.
A young man in a white taekwondo uniform with a yellow belt—nationality unknown, but presumably Korean.
‘A yellow belt? Not even black?’
“W-Watch out!”
Something’s weird about Korea on this Earth… but if Yui Otohara was panicking like this, that meant they were far stronger than they looked.
“Those guys are scum who rob newbies of their Tower Coins just to farm mana for themselves!”
“Absolutely scum. Real lowlifes.”
Even if this space called Babel wasn’t exactly an MMORPG, there were still some basic moral rules to uphold.
“Miss Yui Otohara. Do you like games?”
“W-What? G-Games? Uh… aside from Nintendo stuff, not really…”
“When someone says Newbie Slaughterer, usually they’re referring to a certain boss or mob, right?”
Like a knight who charges on sight, or a master of off-timing attacks.
“But that’s only for mobs. When a player is called a Newbie Slaughterer—it means they’re trash. Worse than even the Ironblood.”
“Ironblood? What’s that?”
“It’s a term we use. For the scum of our world.”
Should I really be spreading Earth’s unique culture—Ironblood—to Babel?
Then again, why not?
Because Ironblood isn’t a label for one person anymore.
Everyone who acts like trash—like those scumbags right now—are Ironblood.
And I have more than enough strength to punish them.
“Yui Otohara. The path to the frontlines—”
“STOOOOOP!!”
Nearly 4 km ahead, a monstrous teddy bear-like creature suddenly appeared, massively enlarged.
“Give me your Tower Coins and I won’t eat you!!”
A towering beast nearly 300 meters tall.
And it was talking. Asking for Tower Coins.
“Elaine.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Can you strike down the three following us with sword aura?”
“No problem.”
At my request, Elaine immediately slipped out from the cockpit’s glowing blue orb.
“H-Huh?! A m-maid?!”
Yui Otohara shrieked in shock, frantically pointing ahead.
“I-If we keep going like this—!!”
“Break through.”
Justice’s outstretched right hand was already spinning.
“Be it Ironblood scum or S-rank Hunters from another world—no one can block my advance.”
“A… drill…?”
Justice focused his magic on the tip of the drill that was spiraling back.
As Justice concentrated magical power at the tip of its spiraling drill arm—
Elaine, standing on its shoulder, drew her blade and took aim at the trio following behind.
She slashed three times. Precisely.
“I seem to have cut down something useless.”
As Elaine sheathed her sword—
KABOOOOM!!!
Justice drove forward with a leap, piercing through the giant creature’s abdomen.
It could’ve kept running if it wanted—
But hey—an industry promise is sacred.
Turning your back and walking away without watching the monster explode?
That’s just bad manners.
