Full-Stop Office Fixer: Heathcliff's Story

That one's got a way with words, I'll give 'em that.

Sweet talkin' miserable blokes while wearin' those bizarre gears in their head...

How could anyone be convinced to willingly turn themselves into some meat-gear monster?

Meat Gears, Thought Gears, loads of wankers with gears shoved into their heads, all just to become... smarter or something, is it?

What a load of shite... I mean, I just can't believe how anyone could think that their lot in life is to be a piece of gear in someone else's noggin.

Eh... I don't suppose it's any of my business. Let's get back to work.

What was it that Hong Lu said? That it's a rare, lucrative opportunity? Yeah, this'll be good for us.

... Ah, this rifle.

I thought bossman was some madman when he decided to purchase these firearms.

I didn't even have a steady income then, and we were 'scouted' to the team like stray animals gettin' taken in by some charity Office after getting exploited to hell by other no-name Offices left and right.

Not that I don't deserve to be here. I was always confident in my abilities.

But still, that suggestion that we should use those expensive guns all of a sudden was so out of the blue that I couldn't help but think It was some shady shite.

I thought 'oh, this must be one of them scams where they buy me this expensive but broken gun and ask me to pay for its repairs and whatnot.' When I was just gettin' ready to smash the Office to bits, trying to get a single straight word outta the bossman...

... he showed me an entire box, the size of my head, filled to the brim with ammunition.

Didn't think the truth would be so simple, that the bossman's just a loaded man. Well, I suppose he did threaten us with no pay if we ever pointlessly wasted our bullets. A month of no pay for every shot missed, was it?

And I thought, thinkin' logically here, that it'd be smarter to get me a sniper rifle so there's less chance of me wasting bullets.

So that's how this gun became my partner through thick and thin.

I'm still quite fond of flippin' out, smashing everything to bits with no concern for what comes next, but... I think this fits me just as well. Maybe.

I guess there's a satisfyin' side to this, especially when I'm about to blast sods like 'em I'd rather not talk to.

... Ready, Heathcliff?

... Ready.

Once the worshippers are in sight, make sure your gun is loaded and wait for my signal.

Looks like I'll be hurtin' our wallets a tad more than usual today. Is that right with you?

Ohh~ Breaking out the Atelier Logic High Velocity Pulverization round, are we?

Yeah. Those gears in their heads... regular rounds'll just bounce right off 'em. Better to grind 'em down and pulverise 'em.

Hmm... that's true.

I'll be deducting your pay if you ever use more than a single round against the same enemy, though~

Shut it, mate. You'd be grumblin' all the same even if I were using the cheapest ammunition on the market.

You know how expensive these bullets are~ Atelier Logic Ammunition is pretty expensive, even for me.

Haah... understood.

Push the tactical sight forward, and the chamber reveals itself below.

I remove the topmost bullet from there and carefully replace it with a silver-plated, beautifully engraved bullet.

... Special round loaded. Ready to fire.

Beep, beep.

I hear two bleeps of the comms opening and closing instead of a worded reply.

That's the code for "roger that". He must be in their earshot. That's very close.

Then... I should get ready.

Beeeeeep -

The magnetic rail makes a funny noise as it begins to charge.

Goin' for the bullseye...

Gunpowder detonates, adding even more power to the bullet blasting forth from the barrel. I feel the recoil ram my shoulder backward.

Haah...

A sniper rifle that uses two different propellants in tandem? Now that's somethin' you don't see every day, even in most Workshops.

Of course, S-class Workshops can probably produce all kinds of fantastical items that'll easily trump somethin' like this, but... I'm sure I can count the number of S-class Workshops with my one hand. Doubt there's more than three, tops.

And their stuff's gotta be exceedingly expensive too, even for the bossman.

So, excluding those outliers, this gun's gotta be the best -

W-what the hell?

Heathcliff? You missed...?

No, what in the...? They've got to have some kinda foresight or something, dodgin' my bullet like that!

Well, I guess there are surprises around every corner in the City~

It's beyond me how this bloke can remain so bloody calm and flippant even in situations like these.

Aw, fuck this. Relocating! This nest's compromised!

Gotcha~ Looks like we'll have to do 'the thing'!

... I'll leave it to you, Hong Lu!

Okay, I've got this~

Bossman covers me whenever I'm on the move.

And whenever they've got 'im cornered, I identify the weak links and blast 'em with my sniper rifle.

We've done this together more than a dozen times; there's no muckin' up our teamwork.

... Well, unless the enemy is clearly out of our league.

But I can see that carefree grin of his all the way from here. ... Looks like we're going to be okay.

Oh, by the way! I'm deducting your pay for this month because you failed to kill them with a single shot, just like I promised!

... Saying stupid shite like that when they've got an advantage over us... he really is a piece of work.