Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Hachiman Hikigaya was at a loss. He had no idea that the leaders of Academy City were planning to slip away to the Sea of Quanta to lure the Honkai into creating a new Herrscher in this world.

He felt as though he'd been abandoned by the higher-ups. Little Bronya used to give him work to do, but now she had completely let go of the reins.

He had suddenly, inexplicably, been granted full personnel authority over the City Guard. While the supervisory powers remained out of his reach, a chief with hiring and firing power was a completely different beast from one without.

"Ayanokoji, the burden on my shoulders has grown heavier still. The ice beneath my feet grows ever thinner."

He shook his head with a sigh, leaning back in his large leather chair without another word.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was lost. All his previous tutorials on theoretical politics were useless now.

He simply couldn't understand why Hachiman Hikigaya, who couldn't seem to do anything right, was skyrocketing through the ranks, his power and position growing like he was riding a rocket.

Was there no justice? Was there no law?!

"Chief, you are correct. But the Kengan Association is still waiting for your response. You know they are the largest producer of diverse genetic information in all of Academy City."

Ayanokoji had no choice but to try and get Brother Hachi to focus on work. Otherwise, as a mere secretarial gofer, he'd be in for a rough time.

'Are you sure you haven't been bribing the leadership?'

Looking at Brother Hachi's cybernetic body, Ayanokoji fell into deep thought.

"Ugh... ah..."

The mere mention of that woman gave Hachiman a headache. He couldn't figure out how this had landed on his plate. With something so important at stake, the tone of his superior on the phone sounded like she'd been caught embezzling and was about to make a run for it.

So young, yet already picking up the habits of an old bureaucrat, huh?

"I don't know. What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know either. I'm not the Chief. The personnel authority is in your hands now. You've theoretically become the de facto Chief. I'm just a clerical worker."

Ayanokoji wanted nothing to do with this dangerous business.

What if, just what if, Hachiman's lucky streak was about to end? When the ship went down, who would take the blame?

"Then do you have a way to stall? I mean, stall for as long as possible. I'm just a guy who didn't even graduate high school. How am I supposed to handle such a huge responsibility? Who knows if some big shot is behind those small research institutes, raking in the cash?"

Hachiman wasn't just talking nonsense. After all, they still hadn't caught the guy who took a potshot at him back then.

If he got shot again this time, there was no guarantee a powerful benefactor would be around to rebuild his golden body.

"..."

Academy City was truly full of talent. Ayanokoji could see it now. This Brother Hachi was probably just a lucky guy who got pushed to the top.

He had assumed Hachiman was a wolf in sheep's clothing, but who would have thought he was actually just a puppet on a string?

'Whatever, I'll help him come up with a way to muddle through this for now.'

"I believe we can temporarily ignore this issue. Why don't we first inform the small research institutes about the content of this meeting? After all, this is an important matter concerning the tax revenue and livelihoods of many people. It wouldn't be out of line to give them a warning, would it?"

Hachiman stared blankly at his subordinate. He'd never realized the kid had such potential. This move of borrowing a knife to kill someone was truly... unethical.

"You're right. We should definitely inform those small institutes ahead of time, especially the members from institutes with powerful backers."

Hachiman nodded in understanding, his eyes lighting up. He had clearly found a solution.

'I'll never admit I was the one who said it. Looks like I need to prepare my resignation letter.'

Ayanokoji wasn't worried about his own future; he was worried Hachiman would make him the scapegoat.

What? You say Brother Hachi saved him from the "White Room"?

What a joke. Now that they were officials, how could they still believe in that sort of thing?

The life-saving grace was one thing, but whether this would succeed or not depended on Hachiman's own actions.

Hachiman said with renewed vigor, "I may not have much else, but I have a lot of friends and a wide network. I know someone who will definitely know the situation with these small institutes."

Research institutes also had their own hierarchy. The high-level ones controlled key technologies, the mid-tier ones handled supporting processes, and the low-end ones were little more than assembly workshops, likely spending most of their research on aesthetics and color schemes.

Ayanokoji was a little surprised by Brother Hachi's boast. Could it be he had underestimated his boss yet again?

Without hesitation, Hachiman dialed Shirogane Miyuki's number.

"Hey, Shirogane... wanna get dinner tonight!"

But the moment the call connected, something unexpected happened. Hachiman heard a familiar voice on the other end.

"O-Onii-chan?"

"Ko-Komachi?"

A storm of question marks erupted over Hachiman's head. He was shocked...

'Why... why did Komachi answer Shirogane's phone?! Has my best friend betrayed me?!'

In Ayanokoji's eyes, Hachiman's face became a kaleidoscope of colors.

He couldn't help but marvel internally. Truly the finest mechanical masterpiece of Academy City. Even his facial expressions have an order of magnitude more variety than a normal person's.

"Komachi, where are you?"

Komachi subconsciously glanced at Shirogane Miyuki, who had just come to visit her new home to discuss work with Hachiman.

Shirogane was currently in the kitchen, helping Hachiman's parents cook.

"I'm at home, Onii-chan. When are you coming back?"

Tears began to stream down Hachiman's face.

The beast! A true beast!!

"Komachi! You're only in middle school! You can't possibly... Damn it... I'm coming home right now!"

He forgot all about the Kengan Association's demands. He had to get home as soon as possible!

"Quick! Call the boys, get the car! We have to bring that bastard to justice! It's over! It's all over!"

Hachiman's mind was shattering. The thought of those strange online survey reports about the virginity loss rates of Far East middle schoolers sent a chill down his spine.

Shirogane must have done something to Komachi. He had to bring this scumbag who preyed on minors to justice!

"Chief, Chief! Didn't you say he was your friend?"

Ayanokoji couldn't understand why Hachiman had suddenly broken down. He kindly reminded him that the person on the other end was his best friend!

"What friend? From now on, he's my enemy!"

Hachiman gritted his teeth, hissing, "Can we use a flyer to go arrest that bastard?"

Ayanokoji said with a deadpan expression, "With all due respect, if you make such a big scene, no matter what happened, the whole of Academy City will know about it by tomorrow. Do you really want to do that?"

Brother Hachi slumped back into his chair, sighing as he looked out the window. "My life..."

'Here we go again, right?'

Ayanokoji felt it was a miracle he hadn't had a breakdown himself.