A Rider Doesn't Need a Youth Romantic Comedy [19]

Flexing his wrists a bit, Rōma strode towards AO-6264.

In the end, it was just a moving sculpture.

It had neither the light-speed movement of "Peanut," nor any incomprehensible abilities.

AO-6264, knocked flat on its back, struggled back upright, flapping wings composed of polyester fabric and scrap metal. The earlier shockwave had smashed it directly from mid-air to the ground.

From its speaker, the music continued quietly.

One man and one sculpture faced off like cowboys in a western duel, a melancholy melody underscoring their confrontation.

Leaves blown by the wind drifted gently; when they hit the ground, it would be time for the gunmen to draw and shoot.

In the end, only one would be left standing...

Yeah, right.

With a fierce stomp, Rōma burst forward like crimson lightning.

To ordinary human eyes, he was merely a flash of red, too swift to react to.

“Gahhh—!”

AO-6264 rapidly flapped its wings, attempting to evade Rōma’s sudden assault.

Its body wasn't as durable as it appeared—if anything, it was relatively fragile.

“Get down here!”

Just as AO-6264 had risen a mere meter off the ground, a pair of black claws slammed down on the roots of its wings.

Rōma forced his arms downward with overwhelming strength, pinning AO-6264 firmly against the ground.

Crash!

AO-6264’s body made intimate contact with the concrete.

Frantically thrashing beneath Rōma’s grip, it tried desperately to break free.

Talons and beak glinted sharply in the sunlight, swinging wildly, trying to injure Rōma.

But due to the restrictive hold, most of AO-6264’s counterattacks missed completely. The few strikes that landed only created small sparks off Rōma’s armor, not leaving even the slightest scratch.

“Tch, what a pain.”

Watching AO-6264’s continuous struggle, Rōma had the sudden urge to smash it to pieces.

After all, this particular containment item wasn't unique.

He knew of at least two branches currently housing variants AO-6264-7 and AO-6264-14.

However, destroying it remained only a passing thought.

Chaldea’s stance toward anomalies generally emphasized containment rather than destruction.

Exceptions, like Kars, were rare. At the time, no one expected Joseph’s Hamon to burn Kars completely into ashes.

Since Kars was gone, bringing Joseph into Chaldea seemed like the next logical step.

At least, that’s how they had reasoned it out back then.

As Rōma mulled over this, orderly footsteps sounded nearby.

“Investigator Rōma!”

A squad of Chaldea Task Force operatives in full combat gear swiftly entered the clearing. Their captain approached at a jog, promptly reporting:

“Containment procedures for AO-6264 are ready. Permission to proceed?”

“Begin containment.”

With a nod, Rōma signaled the squad to proceed.

Receiving authorization, the squad leader immediately commanded his team into action.

Two operatives began memory-wipe procedures on the factory staff; those previously hospitalized had already been dealt with separately, so there was no worry there.

“You brought the new memory-wipe spray, right? Use it this time—forget the old method.”

“If anyone resists, proceed with Class-A memory wipe. (Physical.)”

“Understood.”

Orders flowed clearly and efficiently.

Meanwhile, a large box was brought next to Rōma.

“Investigator Rōma, please place AO-6264 inside.”

According to Chaldea’s research, AO-6264 would remain inert if buried under more than half a meter of soil.

In other words, containment was as simple as digging a hole and burying it.

Rōma had already reviewed AO-6264’s containment protocols on the way here, so he knew exactly what was required.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Rōma lifted AO-6264 with both hands, swiftly placing it inside the box.

The operatives quickly began filling the box with dirt.

Soon, AO-6264 ceased all activity, returning to its inert state.

“Done.”

Dusting off his hands, Rōma canceled his transformation.

Compared to genuinely dangerous anomalies, containing AO-6264 was trivial. Aside from a few injured workers, the incident had caused minimal trouble.

“We’ll transport AO-6264 back to base now. Investigator Rōma, will you be joining us?”

After securing the container, the squad captain turned to Rōma.

“Yeah. Thanks for your help.”

Rōma readily accepted the captain’s invitation.

They were all Chaldea personnel—no need for unnecessary distance.

With a slight smile, the captain returned to supervising cleanup operations with his squad.

Throughout this, Rōma merely observed from the side. Like he always said, these people were professionals.

When everything was finished, the squad gathered around AO-6264’s container and tapped a few buttons on their combat suits.

In moments, their skin-tight battle uniforms began rapidly shifting as if alive. What had seemed like futuristic combat gear transformed seamlessly into ordinary delivery uniforms, complete with ID badges and photographs on their chests.

Despite being something you'd only expect in sci-fi movies, the operatives behaved as if this was entirely normal.

“Speaking of which, when will the next-gen suits finally roll out?”

“Who knows? I heard they passed testing already.”

“Then it shouldn’t be much longer, right?”

“Not necessarily. Knowing those maniacs from the Equipment Division, if they aren’t satisfied with even one detail, they might scrap the whole thing and start over.”

“I’m actually looking forward to it, though.”

Their casual chatter clearly conveyed their anticipation for the new equipment.

Those mad scientists from Equipment Division would never accept mere incremental improvements. A new generation had to be a qualitative leap forward—otherwise, what was the point?

If all it did was change the color or shave off some weight, it hardly qualified as "next-generation."

As they carried the container outside, the operatives’ conversation gradually shifted from combat gear to ordinary small talk: breakfast that morning, daily wages, or drinks at the local izakaya.

They looked indistinguishable from ordinary deliverymen. Passing pedestrians barely gave them a second glance before moving on.

After loading AO-6264 onto the vehicle, Rōma climbed in alongside the squad members.

Along the way, their conversation touched briefly on Joseph’s current situation.

“Is that so? Already?”

Rōma asked, mildly surprised—though thinking about it more carefully, considering Joseph’s abilities, perhaps it wasn’t surprising after all.

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This is a fan translation of 骑士不需要青春恋爱物语 by 青琮 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!