Chapter 117
Listening closely, I heard something... a sound like an argument, followed by bizarre mechanical noises.
At first, I tried to just ignore it.
Whatever sounds came from Outside, as long as they didn't interfere with my work inside the bar, were none of my business.
I figured it was the troublemakers I had kicked out of the Bar getting into a fight among themselves at most.
So I ignored it and kept taking orders, clearing glasses, Serving, and moving weapons...
Help me────!
A desperately wretched voice rang out.
It was an androgynous voice. If I had to specify, it seemed closer to a man's.
The peculiar thing was that it wasn't the sound of normal human vocal cords, but had electronic noises mixed in.
My ears aren't so exceptional that I can instantly identify a voice after hearing it once, so I couldn't be certain, but at least that's how it sounded in the moment.
It's a World where even replacing one's vocal cords isn't strange, so it wasn't anything particularly special when you think about it...
Anyway, whoever it was, the person Outside was making a Call for Rescue.
I couldn't know the exact situation, but it was a cry that suggested they were in a highly dangerous and urgent predicament.
My body even Flinched, unconsciously wondering if I should help.
But that was it. In the end, I didn't Step forward any further than that.
I couldn't just drop my work and run out thinking, “I can”t just stand by and Watch someone in a crisis!'
I'm not a Superhero, and my sense of justice isn't that strong.
Someone might argue that helping a person in danger isn't something so grand as to bring up justice or a Hero, but simply the natural thing to do.
At least, that isn't the case in Dusk City, the dystopian Future City of the Cyberpunk World.
In Dusk City, especially in a perilous lower-level Outskirts slum alley like this, if a stranger cries out "Help me!" and makes a Call for Rescue, most people would ignore it or try to get away from it.
And that is normal.
Rather, trying to help is abnormal.
And not just abnormal, but extremely abnormal.
Someone is asking for help?
Even without knowing the full story, it's certain that it's nothing good, and Recklessly trying to Intervene could cause sparks to fly your way.
It could be a robber or a Mercenary with a dangerous Tech Weapon, or members of a gang that rules the area throwing their weight around, so why would anyone interfere?
Far from helping, you would end up in huge trouble. You could get extorted for money, or in the worst case, your life could be in danger.
There's no need to bring up social psychology terms like individualism, mob mentality, or the bystander effect.
It's just the obvious choice.
In this city, being nosy about a stranger is a gamble in itself.
And a perilous gamble at that, with nothing to gain and everything to lose.
It was entirely possible that if I ran out right now to help the Owner of that voice, it would turn out to be a trap set by robbers using a pre-recorded voice as bait.
Or, I could struggle to save someone genuinely in crisis, only for them to suddenly shove a gun in my face the moment they escape danger and Threaten me, their Savior, to hand over my money.
I had heard that there were actually several similar cases.
It's a World where you can't be kind to others, a bleak and Cold World where goodwill has withered and died.
In a World like this, helping a complete stranger isn't being good; it's just being stupid.
It wasn't for nothing that I found the goodwill shown by Dragon President and the other employees of the bar so unfamiliar.
Though now I know it was because they were capable enough to afford to do so.
"..."
I looked around just in case, but sure enough.
I wasn't the only one staying still.
Among the Ronin swarming the Bar, not a single person lifted an ass from a chair.
At most, a few of them just cast their gazes out the window, wondering what was happening Outside.
Even that wasn't to help someone else, but purely out of self-interested curiosity.
As expected of mercenaries worn down in the City's Underbelly, they clearly knew that staying indifferent to others' affairs was the Way to Survive a long time.
I couldn't say anything, because I wasn't much different.
I was ultimately a Common Citizen too, and I didn't have the leeway to carelessly meddle in someone else's business.
Far from helping others, I was too busy taking care of myself, so it couldn't be helped.
Thinking that, I spurred myself back into work.
I figured the slightly uncomfortable feeling would wash away once I focused on my tasks.
And it definitely would have, if not for that damn voice.
Anyone, please help me!
"..."
I will reward you generously! No, actually, I don't have the Assets for that... but you definitely won't regret it!
"..."
You patrons over there! The patrons in the bar! Please save This Monk! Don't just stand by and Watch! It is truly a serious crisis!
This is driving me Crazy, seriously.
Why is that voice so booming?
Maybe because of the distance, it didn't feel like I could hear it perfectly clearly, but perhaps because of that, it was even more annoying.
It kept getting on my nerves, like a mosquito buzzing in my ear.
I was trying hard to ignore it and work, but with them continuously pleading like that, I couldn't keep pretending not to notice.
Are they even really in a crisis in the first place?
How can someone in desperate, imminent danger talk so much?
The more I thought about it, the more Suspicious it was.
It was way too Suspicious.
Instead of making me want to go out and help, it only made me think I should lock the shop doors completely.
No matter how I looked at it, I shouldn't get involved.
But as is always the case with the World, things didn't go my way.
Aigoo, someone is dying here! Ohhh, Buddha! Here, a Sentient Being fails to awaken to the Dharma and remains in the cycle of the Three Realms and Six Paths...
"That's so damn loud. Manager, didn't you put Soundproofing in here?"
I thought it would eventually quiet down if left Alone, but instead of quieting down, the voice grew louder and louder, bringing in a shower of complaints from the customers.
Furthermore, none of it was Troublemaker behavior; instead, those were completely reasonable grievances.
The people just wanted to drink, so it was natural To get angry because it was so loud Outside.
If anything, the fact that the hot-tempered Ronin had held back until now showed their respect for me and Dragon's Lair.
I bowed my head, apologized, and said I would check on it.
I hurriedly went to Tony and asked, and he said the Soundproofing was active. It had been there from the start.
Then what the Hell was that? How was it piercing through the Soundproof Glass and reaching our ears?
Maha Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, practicing deep Prajna Paramita...
Now they were outright chanting Buddhist scriptures.
At the voice that had somehow gone beyond a buzzing level and was now piercing straight into their ears, the Ronin got furious and shouted.
"Fuck this! Soundproofing or whatever! Can't you go out and handle it right now? Huh?"
"No, forget it. I'll just go out myself. I'm gonna go out and kill that derelict Monk or whatever bastard that is."
I found myself in a very Awkward situation.
I couldn't just abandon my work and blindly go Outside, but I also couldn't let the Ronin run out with murderous intent like this.
Having a Murder Case happen last time at the Bar was more than enough.
Just as I was scrambling to block the Ronin who were acting like they would cause an Explosion at any moment.
Thud────.
The noisy interior of the Bar suddenly fell silent.
As I turned my head to look, Sey was reaching her hand out over the Bar Table. Cheap metallic Cocktail Tools, terribly crushed, could be seen beneath that hand.
She pressured the Crowd with her swirling gray eyes and spoke Calmly.
"Everyone, please quiet down a little."
It was a highly polite and extremely honorific tone, but to those hearing it directly, it didn't feel that way at all.
It was an order. She was unilaterally crushing dozens of Ronin who feared nothing in the World, telling them to shut up.
And it worked.
Some kept their mouths shut, their spirits subdued, while others flared up and tried to stand, only to suddenly stumble and fall for Unexplained reasons.
Some tried to shout something, only to break into a Cold sweat upon seeing Sey's long, slender fingers digging deep into the Bar Table with just her grip strength, and others tried to ignore her and move, only to be restrained by Tony, who suddenly appeared beside them.
Those rough Ronin all ended up following Sey's words and her control like docile sheep, each for their own reasons, like this.
Seeing that Charisma-filled Display, I felt I understood all too well how just the two Bartenders had been able to run the Bar without me all this time.
It reminded me anew that they had only entirely entrusted the Management of the customers to me to test my capabilities, and that originally, even the role of Manager belonged to those two.
They had been hiding that power until now, but after the Truth Game and my transition to a Full-time Employee made us a Family, they were displaying their true skills without any hesitation.
Beckon, beckon.
In the silence that had fallen like a lie, Sey beckoned to me with her hand.
It was meant to come over.
As I hurriedly approached the front tables, Sey leaned her face in close. Her thin lips gradually drew nearer.
"...!"
I almost Flinched and stepped back because she came close enough to touch, but as I waited still, the corner of her mouth brushed past my cheek and headed for my ear.
As she turned her head slightly to the side, a whispering sound tickled my ear.
Sey spoke.
"We'll handle things inside the Bar. You go Outside and Resolve the cause."
"Excuse me?"
"It probably won't be too dangerous, so don't worry too much."
Then she turned my dazed body around and pushed my back.
Before I could even Process it, I was opening the door and heading down the stairs.
As I looked back, the door was already closed,
and as I looked forward, the half-submerged building floor welcomed me.
Swaaaash─
I stared blankly at the thick rain pouring Outside and muttered.
"...Resolving the cause is Fine, but I didn't bring an umbrella."
Right. I didn't have an umbrella.
I couldn't exactly go Outside and get completely soaked by that rain.
Just as I was debating whether I should go back up, the bar door burst open and a long umbrella came rolling down.
"Take this!"
Along with Tony's voice, the door slammed shut again.
I blinked my eyes and picked up the umbrella that had fallen at my feet.
As I opened it and prepared to head out, I felt a bit sad, somehow feeling like I had ended up in a similar situation to the troublemakers I had kicked out.
I was getting ready to get wet, looking at the chunks of plastic floating around as if the alleyway had become a riverbed and the flickering blue Neon Sign being swept by the water.
Form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness, emptiness itself is form. Sensation, perception, formation, and consciousness are also like this...
Once again, that Chanting Sound rang out.
Now that I was Outside the Bar, it was loud enough to make my ears ring, so I furrowed my brows and Ground my teeth.
Alright, since it's come to this, I might as well see the face of the person reciting those Buddhist scriptures.
I intended to see clearly why they were being so loud in front of someone else's Workplace, and what the Hell they were making a fuss about, and what they were asking to be saved for.
"Phew, let's go."
Filled with anger, I stepped Outside the building.
I glared around with vigilant eyes, but I didn't see anything in particular.
No robbers hiding to aim for the back of my head, no Troublemakers I had kicked out, or anything else...
The insanely pouring heavy rain was just pounding as if to Pierce the umbrella, obstructing my vision by turning it white.
I was feeling bewildered.
Patron! You have come at a truly good time! Hurry, come over here! This Monk is in need of help! Buddha will not forget the Patron's merit...
I heard that voice again.
Judging by the direction it was coming from, it was beyond the rain.
It was the alley on the opposite side.
As I focused my gaze in that direction, I saw something shining amidst the pouring rain, the water currents, and the Chrome Debris.
It seemed like there was definitely something there.
Of all things, 'that' was in that vicinity...
As if sensing my hesitation, the voice shouted urgently.
That way is correct. Please help me, Patron! This Monk will never forget this favor. Every moment is urgent!
"Urgent my ass, you've been blabbering on for minutes..."
I grumbled as I waded through the water and moved my feet.
It felt sketchy, but having come this far, I couldn't just turn back.
If you've drawn your sword, you might as well cut a radish.
Sey had also told me it probably wouldn't be too dangerous.
Thinking about it now, she seemed to have guessed something.
With her ridiculous Physical Ability and senses, she might have already figured out what was happening Outside.
It wasn't just anyone, but Sey who said it, so it was trustworthy.
I shouldn't completely let go of my tension and drop my Guard, but hesitating too much wasn't good either.
Making that Resolve, I prepared for a potential Surprise Attack and pushed through the noisy curtain of rain to go inside.
[Welcome, Patron! You are indeed a distinguished person who looks overflowing with blessings. Hurry and save This Monk. Please!]
I saw a Machine Monk struggling with his arm stuck in the Drink Dispenser of a red vending machine.