007 The Eight-Foot Widow (4)

#024

1.

There is no sea for the last of humanity.

The black dust that fell from the sky took all five oceans.

Much less here, in Necropolis, a city located within the moat surrounding the human fortress wall.

By common sense, there should have been no sea here at all.

Phew....

But surprise, there are no absolutes.

I looked down from the pier, a cigarette between my naked lips, at the waves lapping below.

This pier is a gap that has finished 'surfacing' into reality.

The oysters I ate at the casino also come out of gaps like this.

The winter sea always gave me the same feeling whenever I came.

It's fucking cold. I should've thrown on something.

As I was cooling off my body heat and feeling my righteous energy, I sensed someone behind me.

It was Ceres, with only a coat carelessly draped over her bare body.

Her usually neat updo was in disarray, and her cheeks were flushed with a healthy peach-red.

On top of that, even her always-straight walk was wobbling a bit.

A tall woman like Ceres was a first for me, so I was pretty clumsy the first playthrough....

But now I've got experience.

You're acting awfully cocky, running around like that.

Ceres stood beside me, lit a cigarette, and grumbled.

You told me to keep going, Lady Ceres.

...Me? Did I?

Yes, all three times.

......

After blankly replaying her memory for a moment, Ceres flicked me in the forehead like a bolt of lightning.

Don't get full of yourself.

Her slightly reddened ears looked like they were embarrassed too.

Now then, if this sight looks cute to you, pay attention for a moment here.

::: Challenge (NEW!) :::

- Become the mage's attendant. +1pt

When do you think this notification popped up?

It appeared when the suspension test was nearly over.

Meaning this crazy woman was still suspecting me of being a rat even after I poked at her eye with a fork.

I was really hurt.

And I learned a lesson.

Today's lesson is that all mages are honorary Kyotoites.

Anyway.

After smoking together while watching the night sea, we got back into the limousine.

Ah, I usually don't do stuff like this. Especially not with a subordinate.

Ceres, getting dressed piece by piece in the back seat.

A faint lemon scent drifted out every time she moved.

I don't usually do this either.

For something you don't usually do, you were awfully skilled.

She gave a snort, pulled her coat closed, tidied her hair, and returned to the usual Ceres.

From the hot widow to Ceres Cassian, director of Twilight Resource Development.

Don't read too much into it. That's better for you too.

With those words came three gold coins dropped into the passenger seat.

Three 100,000-value gold coins, so 300,000 Bios.

This is...?

Keep it. It's your fee.

A clean declaration that I shouldn't get carried away and should know my place.

Even the midnight drive.

And the hot night and the kiss.

All of it was just a one-night mistake, as if to say I was nothing but a gigolo.

In the face of this insulting treatment, I thought.

What a sweet deal!!!!!

Thank you for the donation of Arbel's 1.5 weeks' worth of treatment fees!!!!

As expected of our director! So generous!!!

Three hundred thousand Bios, three hundred thousand Bios!

I get why a woman who'd once worked in the red-light district can never go back to an ordinary life.

Why would I throw this away and go scrape by doing some shitty backdoor commission or mushroom-factory labor for pennies?

When I could be in Lady Ceres's arms going, 'Waaah, baby Cedric needs his allowance'?

Absolutely not.

...Yes.

You catch on fast.

I forced the twitching corners of my mouth and eyes down and put on a depressed act.

I have a fair amount of confidence in myself.

Once you've crossed the line, the first time is the hardest.

I remember Ceres's reaction all too well.

Like thinking of jjapagetti on a hungry Sunday.

From now on, Ceres would remember the irresistible chauffeur on lonely nights.

Please let that happen.

Please!!!

2.

'Arbel, listen closely.'

I sometimes think.

'Even without Mom, take good care of your little sibling. We're family now.'

What if I had said something else to Mom then?

'Don't forget the favor you received from the count.'

Could I have become a proper mage.

a little faster.

'Don't cry. Mom is fine. Remember this, Arbel......'

I...

...Cedric....

Could I have managed not to hate Cedric?

.

.

.

The moment I opened the front door, I caught Arbel as she collapsed and held her quietly in my arms for a while.

Even though I'd clearly come out after sharing a hot kiss at the start of this loop....

It felt like it had been ages since I'd seen her.

Even knowing we'd be able to see each other soon, when I actually met her I almost collapsed and bawled.

The reason I missed Arbel this much must be because I love bunny girls that much, right.

She's small.

So frail.

Her height is small, her frame is small.

She is clearly an adult, but when she's like this with her eyes closed in my arms, she feels less like an older sister and more like a little sister.

This is doing wonders for my emotional stability.

If a starter-model Arbel were distributed throughout Necropolis, I feel like the crime rate would plummet.

Of course, even if a budget Arbel appeared, I'd hoard them all.

......

Suddenly.

All the scenes of her dying in vain flashed vividly through my mind.

This time, I won't be getting that kind of ending.

Only authors with writer's disease like bad endings.

They were never fun or moving for me.

Arbel, this time I'll definitely make you wear a bunny girl outfit.

I whispered my firm resolve into Arbel's ear.

A bunny girl costume is a popular outfit that even gacha games only cough up at absurdly low rates.

Mmm....

Arbel seemed happy too, her eyelashes fluttering.

3.

I hoisted Arbel, who was on the verge of spoiling, and headed straight for Isis's clinic in Aquarium Street without delay.

It's a bit pricey, but her skills are rock-solid.

Honestly, if a mage is a hack doctor, I figure she's better than most real doctors.

Money wasn't much of a problem, either.

I had a whopping 800,000 Bios on me.

This loop's playstyle was set up brilliantly.

'Working for Twilight Resource Development and my success story began~ Working for Twilight Resource Development and my life changed~'

While humming my thanks as a song, I reached the clinic before long.

'We're closed for the day.'

'Emergency patient. She's going to die in three days.'

'...Show me the patient and the money.'

After a quick verification through the peephole, the iron gate opened.

Come in.

It's been ages, you shady doctor sis.

Deep green hair and green eyes, with a strangely gloomy yet intelligent air.

On top of that, she's stacked, in a white coat, wearing a sweater—a female doctor, no less.

If you put glasses on her, she'd have looks that would have men with a certain taste clamoring for a bunny-girl version.

Both Isis and Arbel.

Are all mages this pretty?

So you're a mage. A first-rank one at that. Your mana circuits are wrecked all to hell—how did you end up like this?

I explained the whole story.

Besides, Isis has an 'oath' too.

And if I explained the current situation, she'd be able to treat her properly.

Too long. So in the end, you got hurt during a fight, right?

Yes. And maybe I can watch while you treat her?

Isis nodded flatly, her expression utterly unruffled.

Don't get in the way.

Isis was pacing in front of the tanks surrounding the exam table where Arbel had been laid down.

Inside, ornamental fish with flashy fins—carp, goldfish, tropical fish, and more—were swimming leisurely.

What the? You're not seriously going to treat her with those, are you?

After carefully looking them over like she was picking sashimi at Noryangjin Market, Isis stopped in front of one tank and closed her eyes.

Cold beneath the water, like a winter carp breathing, the pain shall cease.

A carp in the tank began to shine along with the chant.

The white light radiating from the carp floated up into the air and seeped into Arbel.

...Wow.

I'm a modern man who even listened to turtle mating sounds on YouTube while eating....

But I have absolutely no clue how that works.

Magic is seriously fucking amazing! The chant is cool too! I want to use it too!

By the time the trickling light came to a stop, Arbel's condition was plainly improving at a glance.

'It's over. I'll prescribe medicine. Now pay up.'

'What's the principle behind this?'

'Magic.'

'No, I didn't ask because I didn't know that....'

I felt that last time too—she really has zero social skills. And she only cares about money.

Isis continued talking without even replying.

'What I'm doing now is emergency treatment. For a fundamental fix, we need to rebuild the mana circuits. Bring me a universalizer and 500,000 for the surgery... or pay 12,500,000 Bios for me to operate using my own universalizer.'

The invoice Isis handed me had the same amount written on it.

It's still an amount that makes my head spin, but it's the same as last loop too.

Seeing her quote the same price even though she's dressed much more neatly than before, it doesn't seem like she's overcharging.

Huh?

Come to think of it, last time we met, she was wearing clown makeup.

Could it be that this time...?

'How about this instead of treatment money?'

I loosened my shirt buttons to reveal a sexy Adam's apple.

If you're born a man, you have to see anything you start through to the end!

This time around, I'll become Necropolis's local bus!

I wanted to advertise it as a place endorsed by Ceres, director of Twilight Resource Development.

But I held it in, because if I got caught, it felt like I'd die.

'Human experiment? Sure, I'm into that.'

'I've changed my mind.'

'What, you're trying to seduce me just now?'

'It's just your imagination.'

Damn, she didn't fall for it. What a braised pollack of a woman.

Isis crossed her arms and sneered in a mocking voice.

'I thought you were dressed all fancy. So you're a gigolo, huh?'

'To save my sister in this cesspit, I guess I have to sell my body too.'

I shot back at her with a Talulla-style comeback.

Isis flinched when she saw Arbel lying there so still I couldn't even hear her breathing, then quietly looked away.

'...Ahem. Since the treatment's done, take her and head out.'

'Ah, hold on a second.'

Normally that would've been the end of it, but today I had another purpose too.

In the end, power is everything down here.

How long can I keep living as just a rank-9 fixer Gatsu?

So what I came up with was this.

'Do you also do augmentation procedures here?'

Augmentation procedure.

As the name suggests, it's a procedure that strengthens the mana circuits inside the body to raise your stats.

Augmentations are divided into levels 1 through 5, and they split into magic augmentation specialized for sorcery, and body augmentation that grants superhuman physical ability.

According to what I've found, even body augmentation level 1 already transcends the human realm.

At level 2, apparently you can pull off a Sandevistan like Sunming.

You might wonder why nobody does this good thing, but there are circumstances here too.

Money aside, mana circuits generally manifest as innate factors inherited through bloodlines.

Therefore, most augmentation procedures are based on weaving artificial circuits on top of that.

The problem here is this.

As with anything, natural is better, and artificial circuits are less stable than natural mana circuits.

Because of that, augmentations have very strong side effects, and rising to high levels in itself brings massive aftereffects.

But who am I?

Cedric Montlaven.

Thanks to being born into a noble family, I already have an excellent mana circuit ready to go.

That means I don't have to worry nearly as much about side effects.

'You're a noble, and you want augmentation?'

Isis frowned.

'You know the principle of augmentation, right? It's overclocking that forcibly brings out your potential. No matter how well it's done, augmentation cuts your lifespan and ruins your body.'

She wasn't wrong.

Whether it's magic augmentation or body augmentation, in the end they're just knockoff procedures to imitate a real 'mage.'

The whole thing starts with imitation.

Besides, when there are already perfect superior versions called 'magic' and 'inscription,' there's no need to mess with it.

'Besides, if I get augmented now, later on when I try to etch an inscription or learn proper magic, there'll be conflicts....'

I cut Isis off.

'The situation's urgent, so what can I do? I've got to do something.'

I know. I know.

But the overwhelming advantage of augmentation is this.

If you've got money and the right constitution, rapid progress is possible.

All you need to do is pump drugs and enhancers into the nervous system and circuits, then stimulate them.

Right now, I'm desperately lacking power.

And Cedric here is a total talentless scrub, isn't he.

When would I ever leisurely cultivate qi and learn the Three-Talent Sword Art?

I need to power up fast with magic.

'Well, it's not like it's any of my concern. Your circuits haven't awakened at all, have they? You haven't even been able to carve an inscription?'

'Yes. How much is it?'

'......'

The nerve-racking moment.

I focused on Isis's lips.

Assuming the circuit exists to begin with, the average market price for a level-1 procedure is 500,000 Bios—about what you'd pay for double-eyelid surgery and epicanthoplasty.

But that's ordinary quack-doctor pricing, and Isis's clinic is a good deal more expensive.

I still had 600,000 Bios left in my hands.

If I came up short here....

With tears in my eyes,

for the sake of my future,

I'd have no choice but to run to the mahjong parlor and make up the rest!

'How much do you have on you right now?'

'Why are you asking that all of a sudden?'

'Just answer.'

Why do you want to know? Does the surgery fee change based on what's in my pocket?

I cautiously quoted a slightly lower amount.

'400,000.'

'You have at least 500,000. I saw it earlier.'

'No, when did you see that? Can a doctor who's supposed to save lives really be that money-obsessed?'

'If it doesn't pay, why would I be a doctor?'

'...!'

I was at a loss for words.

As expected of a highly educated woman, extremely logical.

There's no way I can beat her with words.

'I have 610,000.'

Isis glanced at Arbel and said,

'Give me 410,000.'

'Huh? Really?'

Eh? Cheaper than the list price?

Avoiding my sparkling eyes at this unexpected windfall, Isis muttered,

'...Anyway, yours is a pure mana circuit, so it takes less effort, and you'll be someone who keeps bringing me money every time, and it's only a level-1 procedure, so....'

Oh-ho, so that's the kind of character she is?

A mage in Necropolis with actual sympathy and compassion.

She must be ridiculously well-off.

Thank you!!!

'H-hey. Get up. What are you doing.'

'It's my way of expressing gratitude for the discount!'

'I-It was the list price, you know?'

As I even performed a full dogeza to thank her, she looked flustered and scrambled around.

This big sis has an unexpectedly charming side!

Thanks to that, I can go off to mahjong without any burden!

That plan vanished soon after.

'Aaaagh!!! Aaaaaaagh!!!!!'

'Should I put a handkerchief in your mouth? You look like you'll bite your tongue off.'

'Wait, wait! Time out! Doesn't this have anesthesia? Anesthesia? General anesthesia or sleep anesthesia?'

'It does. That's an extra 200,000 Bios.'

'Fuck!'

'You want to add it?'

'What are you talking about, adding it!'

'Then at least keep quiet. Why are boys so whiny?'

'Whiny? In your eyes this looks like whining? Graaaagh!!!!!'

'Still, the circuit itself is remarkably pure. It takes augmentation very well. Another six hours should do it.'

That augmentation procedure, though.

It really fucking hurt.

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::: Challenge (NEW!) :::

- Reach augmentation level 1. +1pt

======