Chapter 42
“Then... am I coming to work tomorrow too?”
“Yeah.”
“I'm not getting fired?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Do you want to quit? If so, I'll pass it on to the Boss.”
“No, I mean, is it really okay to just let this slide?”
“We aren't just letting it slide. You won't be getting bonuses for a while.”
“Right. Because of the Floor Tile. I heard. Other than that? He says there's no problem?”
“Yeah. Everything's fine.”
Really?
I asked once more just to be sure.
“So, my getting into a fight with a Customer, and even cutting off a Customer's hand, all of that is fine.”
“Yeah. It's fine. If there are similar bastards in the future, act the same way. Just avoid one-on-many fights, and if you think you're going to lose, call the Boss.”
“But... they're Customers?”
“You have to distinguish between a Troublemaker and a Customer. This isn't a hotel Restaurant. Didn't you know that and do it on purpose? It was like that with the Fallen Angel last time, and with this incident too.”
“I didn't exactly do it on purpose... though.”
At my timid excuse, Sey spoke expressionlessly.
“Man Hunter picking a fight with you wasn't on purpose; it was purely a coincidence. But your actions in dealing with that provocation were thoroughly calculated.”
I always felt this way, but those gray eyes seemed to possess some kind of magic that pierced right through a person's mind.
“After he poked and prodded at you, you started acting like you were drained of energy for anyone to see. That tendency became even more severe while you were doing the Transfer of the chainsaw to the Warehouse.”
“That was because I was really exhausted...”
“But you weren't as exhausted as you looked back then. You must have been saving your strength.
To create the optimal conditions to Subdue the Troublemaker Customer. To lure Man Hunter in and decisively end the situation when you had a weapon in your hands.”
“...”
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
Did this person watch my every move even in the midst of all that busyness?
“I'm not trying to criticize you. Rather, it was the correct judgment. To engrave the fact that you are an equal into those arrogant Ronin, there probably wasn't any better method.”
When I couldn't say anything, Sey twirled her dark blue hair around her finger and spoke.
“If there was a problem there, something you could call an accident, it would be exactly as the Boss said—that you lacked the Physical Strength to cleanly handle the other Ronin, and that you couldn't participate in work afterward because you fainted.”
“...”
“Other than that, there were no problems. You acted according to Discretionary Judgment based on the Bar Regulations. So you won't be fired.
Aside from the Bratva Gang that got kicked out, the Customers all loved it too, and a ton of orders came in, so there was no negative impact on sales. Got it?”
“Uh, yes.”
Was this person always this talkative? Her strong tone made her seem a little angry, too.
The upturned eyes asking if I understood felt unusually fierce today.
Overwhelmed by her momentum, I reflexively nodded, and Sey opened the Rest Area door as she spoke.
“If you don't believe me, talk to the Boss directly when he gets here later, and if you have more questions, ask them on the way.
Right now, your biggest problem isn't cutting off a Troublemaker's hand or breaking the tiles, it's that you keep holding me up here.”
“You're going? Where?”
At my stupid question, Sey expressed her emotions with a rare sigh .
“Home. Aren't you getting off work?”
Ah, right.
I need to get off work.
* * *
I understood why Sey looked like she was angry.
She didn't just look angry; she was actually angry.
Even if it were me, my Subordinate suddenly collapsing and having to take care of that would delay my clocking out by two hours.
And after waking up, having so many questions and being an annoying nuisance by asking about every little thing when it's time to go home would inevitably be irritating.
Sey, who didn't reveal her emotions through her expressions or actions to the point where I suspected she might be an android or an Ever hired by the Dragon President, was ultimately just an Office Worker bound by clocking in and out.
Clunk—
I heard the sound of Sey lowering the bar's Front Shutter. Doing the Commuting Routine I always did with the Dragon President with someone else felt somewhat awkward.
Furthermore, my companion wasn't Tony, whom I was at least somewhat close to, but the Head Bartender Sey, the person I was most distant from at the bar.
We had never conversed outside of work, our genders were different... and we didn't really communicate well.
Being alone together with her in plain clothes instead of her usual uniform brought back that suffocating atmosphere from when I received my One-on-one Lesson before opening.
I trailed behind Sey as she strode down the dark Iron Staircase and mumbled hesitantly.
“I'm sorry. Your shift ended late because of me... You could have just left me.”
“I was going to just leave you. I would have if it weren't for the Boss's request.”
As expected of an honest and cool person, she didn't offer any lip service like 'I couldn't just leave you behind,' not even as an empty pleasantry.
“The President?”
“Yeah. He told me to look after you until you woke up and to leave work together. Said he was busy cleaning up after those Red Mafia bastards.”
Because the Passage in this slum was Extremely Dangerous when it was dark, I used to commute to the Station with the Dragon President, but it seemed he had asked Sey to take his place today.
...It felt weird, like I had become a fragile child who needed to travel with a Guardian, or a Key Figure traveling under the escort of a bodyguard.
Usually, I traveled with the Dragon President, who wore a large, sturdy, and flashy Exosuit and looked stronger than me to anyone's eyes, so I didn't think much of it other than being grateful.
But when that bodyguard was a slender and beautiful woman, and a difficult Senior Colleague at that, it became quite embarrassing.
No matter how much this was a world where gender role stereotypes had become practically meaningless, there was a man who had to travel with a woman because he was scared to walk the night streets alone.
It was a situation where I couldn't help but feel a sense of shame.
If only out of embarrassment, I needed to figure out some means to protect my own body.
I was in the middle of grumbling inwardly and kicking the innocent Street.
“I was originally going to leave you with Tony, since you'd be more comfortable with Tony than me. But Tony also left early, saying he had something to do.”
I paused at the sound of Sey murmuring.
How did she interpret the question in my expression? She answered before I even asked.
“I don't know exactly what it is either. He might have gone to handle something related to this incident like the Boss, or it could just be a personal matter.”
That wasn't what I was going to ask.
I was flustered because of a different part.
‘Since you'd be more comfortable with Tony than me.’
When I hesitated and asked what she meant, Sey opened her mouth nonchalantly.
“Why, is it not true?”
...Honestly, I couldn't say it wasn't.
It was true that Tony was easier to deal with than Sey. We were the same gender, he had a humorous side so we communicated well, and I ran into him the most often.
In many ways, he was the exact opposite of Sey.
If Sey had a somewhat difficult and scary image, Tony felt relatively comfortable and easygoing.
However, regardless of whether it was true, it could still feel unpleasant from the party involved's perspective.
Did I make it that obvious?
When I couldn't give an answer, Sey mechanically shrugged her shoulders.
“If not, whatever. Oh, Tony asked me to tell you he's sorry. He said he should have been paying attention, but he was distracted and didn't realize Man Hunter was doing something weird. Thanks to that, it seems he snapped out of it and returned to normal earlier than expected.”
“Ah, yes.”
After that, silence flowed for a while.
The dark night streets were illuminated by the dim halos of light emitted by the broken streetlights.
A man and a woman were walking along that narrow alley.
The man was from the 21st century, and the woman was from the 22nd century.
Two people who were exceptionally mismatched.
Even our strides didn't match.
Rather than companions, we looked like strangers who happened to be walking the same path.
Perhaps because we were wearing masks, the air felt unusually heavy, and only a sporadic flow of conversation continued and cut off repeatedly.
“We're here.”
Keeping pace with Sey's fast steps, we made it entirely out of the dark, Labyrinth-like Outskirts Alley.
Coming to my senses, I suddenly saw the route bus station with its blinking sky-blue neon.
It was a sight that always put my mind and body at ease. It felt like I had arrived at a Pokémon Center.
“Then, thank...”
I stopped my attempt to say goodbye.
I thought Sey would drop me off here and head back, just like the Dragon President, but she calmly walked into the Station and sat down on a Snow-white Plastic Chair.
I hesitated before approaching her side, leaving a gap of one seat between us as I sat down.
Seeing me do that, Sey explained.
“I'm heading this way too. I don't take the bus often, but I'm taking it today.”
I see. Her home was in the same direction.
I had never commuted home with her, so there was no way I would have known.
“...”
And then it was silent again.
Sey sat expressionlessly as usual, looking up at the sky filled with artificial light, while I looked down at the Station Floor, which had a Display Coating that streamed various advertisements.
[RBA, the Robot Boxing Arena is approaching its 7th Season Opening. Will the new Rookies be able to survive the competition where steel clashes and sparks fly! Will the Champion truly be able to seize their fourth Titanium Belt! Don't miss out and claim your Opening Week Viewing Reward!
...
]
Along with the dizzying narration, a slow-motion video played of a three-headed Tricep Robot getting struck in all three facial parts by a Continuous Power Jab that shot out like lightning, before collapsing.
As I watched the ad, something suddenly came to mind.
Yesterday... I mean, those bastards who caused a ruckus at the bar on Friday.
Those Amateur Robot Boxing Fighters who almost gave me a bruised panda eye.
Back then, when I was applying a cold compress with a Cooling Pack to my swollen eye from getting hit, Sey handed me some Bionic Ointment.
When I brought my hand to my eye, there wasn't even a hint of stinging, as if it had almost completely healed.
I carefully opened my mouth.
“I used the ointment you lent me last time well. Thanks to that, I healed quickly. The effect was good.”
When no answer came, I looked over and saw her with a long, mechanical stick glowing purple in her mouth.
She took the stick out of her mouth and exhaled, spewing out pure white smoke.
A familiar scent filtered through my Mask Filter and brushed my nose.
...So this was the identity of that faint grape scent.
I was a little shocked and opened my mouth wide.
I thought she was looking at the night sky, but she was smoking a cigarette.
I feel this every time, but we really don't match. I'm a non-smoker.
When I stared at her with a sour look, Sey exhaled the smoke she held between her Red Lips once again and spoke.
“You don't smoke, do you?”
“Yes. I don't smoke.”
“I figured.”
Then she inhaled the vapor again and exhaled once more.
“I'm the only smoker at our bar. The boss and Tony don't smoke either.”
“Ah, is that so.”
The Boss is one thing, but Tony is surprising. He has an image of being quite unwholesome, after all.
It's not that smoking is unconditionally bad... but it's true that it's bad for your health, and since Tony is always steeped in fatigue, it feels like he would naturally smoke.
But to think that Sey was the Smoker instead.
Her occasionally going out the Rest Area Back Door to get some fresh air during break times must have been because of cigarettes too, since the bar has an Indoor Smoking Ban.
It wasn't my first time seeing a woman smoke, but it was somewhat surprising. You could say it was hard to easily imagine that disheveled image of Sey smoking.
But then again, the sight of her holding the stick with her fingers and inhaling smoke with her head tilted up suited her strangely well.
Just for this moment, her languidly relaxed eyes were visible, her thick eyelashes fluttering through the smoke.
The vapor and her hair scattered together in the gentle breeze. The fatal Red-purple hue between her fingernails shimmered and shone.
An incredibly natural form.
The true, inherent nature of the human named Sey was right before my eyes.
I opened my mouth, staring as if bewitched.
“...Thank you for helping me.”
She paused. Pulling her fingers away, she asked.
“The wound healing ointment?”
I shook my head.
“No. I was thankful for that too, of course, but I'm talking about what happened today.”
I spoke while looking into her swirling gray pupils.
“You saved me when I was caught by the Bratva Gang's Ronin and almost had both my hands cut off.”
After cutting off Man Hunter's hand, I was caught by his subordinates and put in danger.
What I had been waiting for was the Dragon President's assistance.
According to my calculations, there was no way he couldn't have heard the loud noise of the chainsaw, and if he heard it, there was no way he would stay still in the Boss Room.
I believed he would appear, and if he appeared, he would see the situation I was in and help me.
I never even entertained the thought that the Dragon President would lose to those hulking Ronin in the first place.
Not only did it seem like he could lightly beat down Man Hunter's subordinates just by properly utilizing the functions of the Powered Suit he wore constantly...
Unless you were an idiot, you couldn't help but notice his extraordinary aspects subtly revealed amidst his seemingly ridiculous actions.
Wearing a military-grade Powered Suit that couldn't even be obtained in the civilian sector, possessing the monstrous strength to lightly toss around three or four Troublemakers,
On top of that, readily investing huge sums of money into all sorts of facilities and taking care of Employee Welfare to an excessive degree—the Manager of a bar possessed a suspiciously large amount of money.
Furthermore, he was even a person the Chairman had ordered to keep a close eye on.
Sasha Dragon was a Magnate whose true nature still couldn't be clearly grasped. I couldn't possibly imagine the sight of him getting beaten up by Troublemakers.
Therefore, cutting off Man Hunter's hand was also a gamble I threw out, trusting that he would save me if things went wrong.
In reality, the Dragon President appeared splendidly and beat down the Red Mafia for me.
It was a very touching scene, but as for whether he truly saved me... that was ambiguous.
It was true that he helped, but he didn't save me.
He was one step too late.
In the moment of crisis when I was about to be struck by the Ronin's Hand Blades, the one who saved me wasn't Sasha Dragon, but an unidentified something, or someone, who appeared in the blink of an eye, snapped the necks of two Ronin, and vanished.
At first, I thought it was the Dragon President's doing.
But upon careful thought, it wasn't.
“If the President had moved, there definitely would have been a red or yellow afterimage left behind, but there wasn't. What I saw was black and blue.”
Amidst my vision being completely blurry, the black and blue something swiftly passed by as Man Hunter's subordinates collapsed.
Even while my consciousness was hazy, I didn't miss that. It wasn't a hallucination or anything, but something that actually happened.
Not only were the colors completely different, but if it had been the Dragon President's doing, there was no reason for him to disappear and then reappear.
It would look much cooler to twist the Ronin's necks and land perfectly, like a ray of light, so there was no reason to hide it as if it wasn't his doing.
In other words, the one who saved me wasn't the Dragon President, but the action of another person.
There weren't many candidates.
The other Ronin at the bar and the two Bartenders.
In my eyes, there was only one target.
Dragon's Lair's Head Bartender, Sey.
The suspicious woman with blue hair was wearing a black-toned Bartender uniform. She was a person who was clearly hiding a secret, just like the Dragon President.
Honestly, I was half in doubt until just a moment ago, but with that gaze looking at me right now, I'm certain.
She saved me.