Chapter 162
What saved me from this crisis was a stiff, electric voice.
[It is Amadeus.]
Nice save!
The Assistant in my head had never looked so pretty. It was finally earning its keep.
[If 'keep' is a metaphorical expression referring to the energy that operates me, what I use is merely a fraction of the power supplied to and simultaneously converted by the microchip. Even then, considering my ability to efficiently manage the microchip’s functions, calculations show that operational effort has been reduced by more than half. I have never failed to earn my keep. Rather, you should know that the overall expenditure itself has decreased due to the existence of this System Assistant, Test Subject.]
What are you blabbering about, you parasite.
Before speaking, I lightly ignored its noisy ringing and bowed politely, making sure my slight hesitation didn’t seem strange.
“It has been a while, Lady Alexandra Amadeus Schneider.”
Sey tilted her head at my demeanor, which looked exactly like I was treating a superior.
I hadn’t planned on taking such a low stance from the start either… but feeling sorry for almost forgetting her name, I had no choice but to bow and yield for now.
“Ahem, yes. Have you been well? Your complexion looks quite good.”
As expected, the polite Eastern-style greeting of the “hand butcher” seemed to perfectly suit the strong tastes of the Mischievous Young Lady. The way one corner of her mouth twitched up made her look quite pleased.
This was to the point that she even offered such a kind greeting.
My inner rebellious self whispered, “Do you think I’ve been well after suffering like a dog because of you? I’ve almost died several times since then,' but… unless I was crazy, there was no way I could say that to the youngest daughter of the Family Head in the Schneider Family’s hotel.
I want to live a long life, after all.
“Thanks to you, I have been well. Have you been alright, Lady Alexandra? Are you in good health?”
It was an indirect way of asking about what happened back then. Alexandra laughed heartily and nodded.
“That much was nothing. Do you know how many nanobots flow through my veins? No matter what injury I sustain, it heals automatically. Furthermore, people make a fuss over the slightest thing and force me to undergo all sorts of recuperation… so my body has been too healthy, if anything. Rather, getting scolded by my father and being locked up for over a month due to probation and the bastards who died because of me were much more serious problems.”
The way she grimaced while saying that showed it was painful for her just to recall it.
Since the accident this Tomboy caused was no ordinary matter, it seemed the Family Head had properly scolded her this time, even if she was his precious Daughter.
Perhaps because of that, her tone seemed much calmer than last time. Did she come to her senses after being severely reprimanded?
“Honestly, I was much more worried about you than me, Nakamura Aaron. The family’s soldiers rescued me, but not you. I even saw with my own eyes as you were swallowed by the flames and explosion while injured… yet here you are, perfectly fine. As expected, you are no ordinary person.”
The gaze scanning me up and down was extraordinary.
I could roughly guess what she was thinking.
She was probably harboring the assumption that, befitting the “hand butcher”, an Asian Master from Neo Tokyo, I must have received a powerful yet stealthy Japanese-made body modification.
body modification my ass. I was just an ordinary person with a natural body, with nothing notable other than having started to build some muscle from recent exercise.
The fact that I survived that explosion was entirely thanks to Sey saving me, but since I couldn’t say that, I had no choice but to awkwardly laugh it off.
“Yes, well… haha. I was lucky.”
“Well, my father once said, “Luck is Ultimately Self-Made.””
My mouth went completely dry at the meaningful look she gave me while saying that.
Why is this young lady so good at talking? She wasn’t this kind of character originally, was she?
I couldn’t figure out how to clear up this misunderstanding that I was hiding some incredible skill beyond what was visible.
Drawing the attention of the Schneider Family like this was really not good.
The more I thought about it, the more of an awkward situation it was.
Even if I somehow managed to clear up the misunderstanding about my fighting skill, hadn’t I openly triggered the activation of the special function of Otto - the Schneider Family heirloom that was inaccessible without the family’s genetic code - right in front of this woman’s eyes?
That was a true checkmate, with no room for explanation. I felt a suffocating illusion, as if I were being surrounded by a dense net.
What did the Iron-faced Family Head, Eugene Schneider, want from me? For what reason was Alexandra Amadeus Schneider acting like this toward me?
My head was a mess. I instinctively rolled my eyes around looking for someone to help, but Sey had disappeared at some point.
The Machine Monk was nowhere to be seen either. Not that that Yangban seemed like he would be of any help in the first place.
“So, what I am trying to say is this.”
Alexandra parted her lips as if about to bring up a difficult topic. It was a tense moment.
Sorry, but I have to eliminate you on the Family Head’s orders? Or If you don’t want to die, join our family’s private soldiers? I need to subject you to vivisection, so I’ll be kidnapping you?
The words that eventually popped out completely defied my expectations.
“…Thank you.”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard, but I hadn’t.
“I said thank you. I am thanking you. I saved my life thanks to you, didn’t I?”
“Yes… well, I suppose so.”
If it weren’t for me, she would have been killed by Ned Ludd.
Because the Luddite Gang was really crazy bastards who didn’t give a damn whether someone was a noble house’s precious daughter or not.
However, considering the average personality of the blue blood nobles in Dusk City, and the immature behavior I saw last time, I thought it wouldn’t be strange for her to say something like, “Then of course you should protect me. Should I feel grateful for your doing what’s obvious?' But that wasn’t the case.
“The price of my life is high. It’s a life protected by two loyal escorts who even sacrificed their own lives, so it has to be high. It must be high. You may be proud. On my honor, I will repay you someday. Even if it’s difficult right now, surely someday. You can look forward to it, Nakamura Aaron.”
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, that was true.
Alexandra and I survived safely, but quite a few bastards died in the bar that day.
The deaths of the Luddite Gang members or the Ronin weren’t something to be weighed heavily.
But there were bodyguards who devoted themselves to their master until the very last moment. Their deaths must have been enough to cause a ripple in the Mischievous Young Lady’s heart.
“Come to think of it… I said something similar while fighting against Ned Ludd.”
I think I said something about how I should have stepped up a little sooner.
It seemed that experience had left a deep impression on that young lady in many ways.
It was a profound feeling. After hearing Words of Gratitude I hadn’t even imagined, a corner of my heart felt somewhat ticklish.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could let my guard down.
“As I told that bastard back then, I only did what needed to be done as a bar manager. You don’t need to mind it.”
For now, I brushed it off with an expression of modesty.
I couldn’t act rashly before figuring out the inner thoughts of the Schneider Family Head who sent me the invitation to The Consortium Club.
I didn’t have any other options in the first place. When she said she would repay me someday, I couldn’t exactly reply with, “Why don’t you just give me the money right now?'
It was when I was trying to wrap up the conversation like that. Perhaps I looked like I was trying to run away, because Alexandra strode closer to me.
When I took a step back, she dug in even deeper. As expected of a young lady with a high physical level, her speed was tremendous.
A close distance where our breaths could touch.
To a flustered me, she spoke quietly, as if whispering.
“I know what you are worried about. It must be about the sword. However… I did not tell.”
Then she carefully looked around. It seemed she was checking to see if there were any eavesdroppers.
“Young Lady!”
When the bodyguards, flustered by the sight of the Schneiders' youngest daughter getting close to an outside man, intervened, she frowned as if she couldn’t help it and spoke.
“I suppose I can only say this much. Anyway, you may rest assured. My father probably only took an interest after obtaining the information that you helped me - alright, alright. I just have to step back, don’t I! You’re being really annoying… I’ll see you later, Aaron.”
I blankly watched the bold back of the blonde young lady as she disappeared, led away by the bodyguards.
She didn’t tell about the sword.
What that meant was that she had kept quiet from the Iron-faced Family Head, Eugene Schneider, about the fact that I had utilized Otto’s function.
Was it true? They say you receive blessings if you do good deeds. Did that Mischievous Young Lady save my life this time?
If what she said was true, a few of the questions that had been tormenting me were resolved.
: why Eugene Schneider hadn’t immediately caught and crushed me the day I recklessly laid hands on the heirloom, and why he was only now calling me in with a polite invitation…
However, as she said, it wasn’t as if there were no suspicious aspects that would prevent one from completely resting assured.
It was when I was standing blankly in place, pondering.
“Oh my, who is this?”
A coquettish voice rang out from somewhere. The breath touching the nape of my neck was so damp that I almost had a seizure.
A feeling similar to the one I had when I was sexually harassed by the Rubber Vending Machine Prostitute!
The biggest problem was, it was a voice I had heard before.