Chapter 163
And quite recently, at that.
At first glance, it was the alluring voice of a woman, but there was a chilling eeriness lurking within it that couldn’t be explained by that alone.
My prey radar was flashing bright red and sounding the alarm. It was a signal telling me to absolutely stay away.
According to my semi-Professional insight, developed from living in the Cyberpunk City for a long time and meeting so many crazy customers at the bar… cases like this were mostly traps.
Like the Vending Machine Prostitute that had become something akin to trauma for me, or a crossdresser who had a voice like a nightingale but was actually covered in hair while wearing a skirt or stockings, or a ladyboy who looked like a cute girl on the outside but had a somewhat deep voice and broad shoulders…
As someone who had deeply inherited the repair confucian Thought of the Land of Eastern Courtesy, I could respect it, but I refused to get close to it.
It was the same this time. The other party spoke to me as if they knew me, but that was none of my business.
What could they do if I said I didn’t know them?
“I don’t quite know who you are, but I have urgent business, so I’ll be going now…”
Thirty-Six Stratagems: Fleeing!
When an unmanageable situation is about To strike, running away quickly is the best option.
When I was working at the bar, I was an employee who had to provide a service, so I had no choice but to respond with a smile, no matter what kind of vicious person who was a customer appeared, but that wasn’t the case here.
Unless the other party was the Schneider Family Head who invited me here, that person couldn’t hold me back!
And there was no way that was the case.
That Iron-faced Family Head Eugene Schneider speaking to me in such a feminine voice?
Unless I had fallen into a cosmic horror worldview somewhere other than the Dusk City I knew, it was impossible. The moment I faced something like that, I would probably go crazy immediately, as if I had witnessed an alien being.
I quickly turned my body and tried to leave the spot with fast steps.
“Huh? There’s no way you don’t remember me. You’re that Bartender, aren’t you? Wait a second!”
Goodness, just how overflowing with confidence did they have to be to confidently say, 'There’s no way you don’t remember me.' The thought of facing them and having a conversation disappeared even more.
As I increased my speed to flee, practically running, I felt an arm reaching out from behind to grab my wrist like a hook.
“Not a chance!”
Where do you think you’re grabbing with force?
I should feed them a blow, if only out of spite.
I smirked and tapped my Cyberwatch.
[Combat Mode activation. Kinetic Drive Activation.]
As long as the Kinetic Drive was with me, I was invincible. Catch me if you can!
Was it a bit too much? I had that thought, but it would be fine if I used it gently.
My head was already complicated enough just with the Schneider matter. Even if I had to take slightly drastic measures, I wanted to avoid annoying things.
I’m sorry, but this is goodbye.
I lightly tapped and brushed off the hand trying to grab me.
My originally clunky movements became precise and sharp with the suit’s assistance. Was this what the Chin Na Hand that appeared in martial arts novels was like?
I didn’t doubt for a second that I would be able to lightly push the opponent away.
Grab.
Maybe that was why I was so flustered.
Because I never thought that a pale, blue-veined hand without a single callus, with nails elegantly painted like a sculpture, would snatch and grip my wrist so easily.
I was so dumbfounded for a moment that I unconsciously tried to pull my arm out with all my might, but this time too, it was effortlessly blocked without fail.
To exaggerate a little, it felt like being a young child arm-wrestling an adult.
I hadn’t felt this kind of helplessness since receiving the suit as a gift from the Isiho Chairman.
Even against that Cyborg Ninja, I had fought somewhat evenly in a pure bare-Handed fight. After the microchip Activation, I even managed to land a hit.
What is this? Who is this? How could this be?
Should I turn on the switch right now? It’s a crisis situation. Shouldn’t I run away?
[Please calm down, Test Subject. The opponent is not hostile. It seems it can be resolved through conversation. Also… there is something unusual.]
Unusual? What is?
I asked back, but the Assistant in my head remained silent. It just left those words and vanished.
It was insolent of an artificial intelligence parasitizing someone else’s head, but it was true that I was able to find my composure thanks to it.
I also came to reflect on myself a little.
Being praised as the hand butcher, gaining some muscle from doing some exercise at the gym, and running around playing the hero with the Dragon President, I might have unknowingly developed some arrogance.
Everyone said so.
That this early stage, where you run wild acting like you’re something just because you gained a little power, was the most dangerous, and this was when they got hurt or died the most, whether it was a ronin, an escort, or Player/Pros.
I thought it was a story that didn’t apply to me, but when I looked at it now, it fit perfectly. I was exactly a frog in a Well.
This place was The Consortium Club. It was a gathering place for magnates with astronomical assets and those in power.
Naturally, the person approaching me was definitely not an ordinary person either, yet I complacently thought I could shake them off with force.
I was dumbfounded at myself for making such a judgment, wondering since when I had relied on force.
'Okay. That’s enough for now.'
This much self-criticism was enough. Rather than dwelling on past mistakes, solving the immediate problem was urgent.
I erased my flustered look and spoke calmly.
“Could you please let go of my hand? My wrist hurts a bit.”
“Oh my, did it hurt? I thought I controlled my strength in my own way, but excuse me for this.”
A voice, mixed with laughter, didn’t particularly convey any apologetic feeling. On top of that, they still hadn’t let go of the hand they were gripping.
I knew it. Once they bite, they don’t let go easily.
“…Do you have something to say?”
“So, Mr. Bartender, do you remember who I am now? I’ll be disappointed if you try to run away again.”
A sigh naturally slipped out.
Of course I remembered. At first, because of the location, I couldn’t easily make the match, but when they called me bartender, the candidate was predetermined.
There were many customers overflowing with personality, but such a noble-sounding voice and way of speaking were rare.
I did consider them an extraordinary person, but I never thought I would run into them here.
“Seeing as you have a fiancé, wouldn’t it be better to avoid such unnecessary physical contact, Ms. Kim?”
When I spoke bluntly, they finally let go of my hand, as if satisfied.
It didn’t actually hurt that much, but I deliberately twisted my wrist this way and that as I turned around.
He or she was dressed in a sophisticated and voluminous navy blouse, giving off a different vibe from the last time I saw him or her.
His or her handsome yet pretty face and light blue-tinted hair styled in a Mohican pomade hairstyle caught my eye.
One of the Frenzied Election Season customers I had met was the Self-Proclaimed Fiancé of El Valentine.
“What, you remember me perfectly well. But why did you pretend not to know me? I’m hurt if you act like this.”
“It’s my principle to avoid meeting customers on a private occasion. I apologize if I offended you. Anyway…”
After making a rough excuse, I spoke in a subtly whispering voice.
“Should I call you by the surname you introduced here last time as well?”
It was my own kind of counterattack.
They had asked me to call them Kim Valentine. They might have been able to introduce themselves like that back then, but it wouldn’t fly here.
Wasn’t this a gathering of prominent magnates? There were many eavesdroppers too.
Seeing them in this place, there must be some incredible social status behind the lunatic-like appearance they showed at the bar, so it would be hard for them to carelessly spout nonsense that would ruin their face.
“Hmm… that’s true. What should we do about this?”
As expected, they weren’t truly insane enough even at The Consortium Club to insist on that 'Valentine’s Fiancé' gimmick, as they seemed troubled.
See, how nice would it have been if we just pretended not to know each other and passed by. I was feeling a subtle sense of victory at having flustered the other party.
“It can’t be helped. Then in this place, you can just know me as Kimberly Louise Lutes. That is my name. There aren’t many people who know it, but you’ve become one of them, Mr. Bartender.”
The sight of them unexpectedly stating their name so fluently.
I frowned at the sense of déjà vu.
Lutes? It wasn’t a common surname.
However, I felt like I had heard it before. Where had I heard it? I felt like I could remember it, but I couldn’t.
I didn’t know for sure, but seeing them speak confidently with their chests puffed out, they seemed to be a prominent prestigious family.
“Ah, yes… Ms. Lutes.”
“You can just call me Kim. Given our relationship, there’s no need to be so formal, right?”
No, I felt like we were in a relationship where we definitely needed to be formal…
My protest didn’t reach them, and Kimberly Louise Lutes suddenly leaned in and asked like a rapid-fire gun.
“Since I told you my name, I can ask a few things too, right? What brings you here? You don’t look like you’re working as a bartender or waiter here either. But it doesn’t seem like you’re used to this kind of place enough to normally be an ordinary employee, but actually a millionaire with a disguised identity. Are you here with Companion status? Come to think of it, you seemed to be having a conversation with Alexandra Schneider earlier. Did she invite you? What’s your relationship? Is it perhaps the kind I’m thinking of? Did your handsome Asian baby face play a part? Oh my, oh my, that family is strict, so it wouldn’t have been easy…”
Damn it.
The party had just started, but I already wanted to go home so badly.