Chapter 109
The basement of the building was filled with the acrid smell of burning─.
Everything that had once been down there had burned away, leaving behind only a sticky, person-shaped scorch mark fused to the floor as a clue.
Unless the city government's psyker or psychometrist came to investigate.
The only thing the RCPD contract officers from District 44—salaried workers merely struggling to survive from one day to the next—could determine from the incident at the Injustice Building was ‘the representative’s disappearance.’
But at suspicious crime scenes, the culprit or someone connected to the incident usually reappeared.
Clomp, clomp.
Sneakers with their heels crushed down, a hood pulled so deeply over his head that his face could not be seen, and a mask fitted with a filter.
A nondescript man appeared in the basement of the building with a leisurely gait.
His light clothing made him look as though he had simply come out for a walk.
He looked around and discovered the place where his fellow black magician had met his end.
The undulating aura of dark magic, mingled with a thick evil energy.
Even without the person-shaped scorch mark, it was a sign difficult to pretend not to notice.
The man removed the mask he had been wearing and inhaled air that was clearly unhealthy.
Ssssss, whooo….
The man looked so natural that, if this had been deep in the mountains, one might have mistaken him for savoring the scent of phytoncides.
Then a low voice drifted out.
“Looks like Milo really is dead.”
At the same time, someone’s voice echoed inside the man’s head.
It was communication through a smart chip.
[If he hasn’t returned to the company by now, there can only be one reason. Milo. Resigned through death. No need to prepare severance pay.]
“The culprit?”
[If I hadn’t seen the scene myself, I would of course have said it was that Crossfell family girl….]
A buzzing voice voiced its doubt.
[That’s strange.]
The man was not the only one who knew that Milo used flames; his other colleagues knew it as well.
The firepower he had drawn from burning other people’s souls was enough to surpass the strength of most collateral branches.
But as could be seen from the scene before them, the person who had actually been burned until not even a corpse remained was Milo himself.
“The only remotely plausible possibility is…. someone from the Encard family.”
[Crossfell and Encard?]
A flippant laugh rang loudly through the man’s smart chip.
[I could understand it if you said the two families fought there. But they cooperated amicably to kill Milo? Why not just say they had wild sex and made an heir?]
“…I know.”
Fire and ice.
The two families were famous for being sworn enemies.
The man roughly wiped the remains of his former colleague from the sole of his sneaker.
“Still, they say there was a Crossfell family member here…. What was her name? Anyway, if we dig into the daughter, don’t you think we might find something?”
[Ah, forget it.]
“Why?”
Of course, the man also knew that revenge was a highly unproductive endeavor.
But setting an example was always important.
If someone belonging to Hell Service died and they showed no reaction whatsoever, what would the others who witnessed it think?
[You really mustn’t touch that side. You’ll probably end up at war with Crossfell. The order has already come down from above. They say the losses would be too great. As you know, we already have plenty of work these days.]
“I heard we already touched one of them. So what?”
[You should get your facts straight. We didn’t touch them; they came looking for us first.]
Like he was explaining something to a child, his colleague spoke to the man in a kind tone.
[And don’t you get it? Even knowing their child had dabbled in black magic, they agonized over it for a long time before merely expelling him from the family. If it had been another family, they probably would have torn his mana circuits to shreds. Anyway, don’t cause trouble for no reason and just return as you are. I’ve made myself clear.]
Click.
The call ended, and the man scratched his head with an awkward expression.
In the past, he would have charged in recklessly without thinking about the consequences, but being part of an organization made things like that a bad idea.
Well, what could he do? Orders were orders.
“What a shame.”
He turned and headed back the way he had come.
Splash, splash….
But unlike when he had entered, the sound of his footsteps was a little different on the way out.
The entire corridor leading outside was stained dark red with blood and entrails.
It was no wonder that the people living in Risk City, especially the RCPD tasked with protecting its citizens, became corrupted.
The harder they worked, the more danger they fell into.
The RCPD contract officers who had ignored their superior’s kind suggestion that they go home and secretly remained at the scene out of a conviction that they would make District 44 peaceful ended up becoming a red carpet, without even leaving a name behind.
The man walked slowly toward the building’s exit, quietly humming as though the sea of blood around him did not concern him at all.
* * *
It seemed Nova had really come all the way here alone.
Rivera and Michael had said they were unable to leave District 49 for some reason.
“Then what about the cat?”
“We reached a mutually agreeable arrangement.”
“A mutually agreeable arrangement?”
What kind of arrangement?
Nova slowly nodded.
“Due to an unforeseen accident, he will be staying under Walter’s care for a few days.”
“…How badly did you beat him?”
Even after replacing a considerable portion of his body with a cybernetic body developed and released by a megacorp, it seemed getting beaten up was still much the same.
‘When I saw him last time, he seemed to fight pretty well….’
Nova, however, looked extremely confident.
“It was not violence. It was a mutually agreeable arrangement.”
The lunatic I had met this time had also talked about persuading people, then immediately started thinking about putting them in a tiny one-meter room and torturing them….
Would it be rude to tell Nova that it felt somewhat similar?
In any case, it was already in the past.
“Still, you didn’t need to come all the way here to find me.”
I looked up at Nova while lying in the soft hospital bed.
“The job’s already over. I probably would have gone back today or tomorrow at the latest…… Urgh.”
When Nova’s slender fingers touched the back of my hand, tightly wrapped in bandages, a sharp pain shot up my spine.
Nova’s expression as she looked at my injuries took on a slightly depressed air.
“You have suffered another serious injury.”
“…You know me, right? Injuries like this will heal if I just eat well and get plenty of rest for a few days.”
“An injury is still an injury.”
Until a moment ago, she had been wearing something close to a smile, but Nova’s expression had turned impassive and rigid again, as though she had put her mask back on.
Nova narrowed her eyes and asked me a question.
“Who did you help this time?”
“Why do you assume I helped someone? I could have gotten hurt doing something strange all by myself.”
“So you did help someone?”
I subtly looked away from her gaze.
That wasn’t it.
“…I did it for a fee, so rather than helping someone, I took a contract like a mercenary.”
Technically, I was right.
With the dollars I had received as an advance alone, I could have swum in a sea made of hot dogs.
“…User.”
But it was no atmosphere for jokes, so I merely kept my mouth shut.
At times like this, simply remaining silent got you halfway there.
Soon, with a small sigh, Nova forcibly wiped the gloom from her expression.
Her characteristic, unwavering stare felt slightly piercing.
“In any case, User is in serious condition. Since I am the only one here, ‘whether you like it or not,’ I will take responsibility for your care during your recovery.”
“No, I’m not that badly hurt….”
“I will take responsibility.”
…Do as you please.
Besides, I was far too lively to be called a patient, so there was not much to care for anyway.
And a little while later.
“Um, well….”
“Ah.”
“…….”
“Ah.”
Nova blew gently on the porridge that had already been cooled and brought it to my mouth.
It was rather burdensome.
* * *
“I’ll be discharged now.”
“……Yes.”
Perhaps it was thanks to Nova’s devoted care.
Abel Anderson was able to move normally again within only a few days, faster than usual.
The reason for his astonishing recovery speed may also have been that, every time he opened his eyes from sleep, Nova’s gaze looking down at him from above his head felt like a scene from a horror movie.
Moreover, he did not have to tremble at Risk City’s murderous prices despite having no medical insurance, thanks to Eleanor paying the bill in advance.
While they were leaving the hospital, Nova looked at Abel Anderson’s finger and asked,
“…May I ask what that ring is?”
“Ah, this?”
He wore a sly grin around his mouth.
“It’s a kind of emergency fund.”
In fact, Abel Anderson intended to ask Eleanor whether he could sell the ring to a jeweler or pawnshop.
In any case, after throwing off his hospital clothes in just a few days, he stretched his stiff body and muttered,
“Still, since these aren’t clothes I pulled out of a clothing donation bin, they feel strangely uncomfortable.”
“…??”
This crazy city had made him like this.
Since all of the shabby clothes he had been wearing had burned away because of Milo’s flames, he had been forced to buy new clothes.
He could not exactly walk around naked.
While they were at it, Nova had also bought and put on new clothes, just like Abel Anderson.
Even when she usually wore only a T-shirt and cotton pants, she attracted plenty of attention, but now that she was dressed as neatly as a model, Nova drew far more eyes than before.
“……Wow.”
“I can’t see any sockets, so she can’t be an android….”
“Is she some kind of influencer?”
This was a bizarre world where it was even possible to replace one’s actual skin with metal, but even so, Nova’s beauty and mysterious aura were more than enough to draw people’s attention.
Then Abel Anderson noticed a terminal pointed in their direction and frowned.
“No photos.”
“…Sorry.”
His intimidating face came in handy at times like this.
Abel Anderson saw the terminal in someone else’s hand and suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.
“I really do need to buy a new terminal.”
It had not mattered while he was in the hospital because Nova had handled all his communications for him, but it would be difficult to live without a terminal forever.
Was this already his third terminal?
Walter would be delighted.
“Should we head back now?”
At his casual question, Nova added in a slightly cautious tone,
“…If you are still tired, I would not mind if you rested around here a little longer before leaving.”
“Rest longer? Forget it. I’m actually feeling stiff, so I’m in the mood for some exercise.”
“If you mean exercise….”
“I’ll just walk around for a while, then take a taxi. What was it called again? Should I take Vector Mobility?”
Abel Anderson failed to pick up on all the signals she was sending.
“Tch.”
“?”
Nova clicked her tongue very softly.
Unlike on the first day Abel Anderson had come to the grocery store, the two of them no longer had much time alone together.
Perhaps it was because of the changes to the artificial intelligence created by her android body.
Without even realizing it, she gently took hold of Abel Anderson’s sleeve.
Naturally, she then flinched and stepped back.
Thanks to the newly regenerated skin and nerves, Abel Anderson’s senses had become even sharper, so there was no way he could fail to notice.
“……?”
He turned around, and his gaze fell on Nova, whose head had drooped.
There was no visible blush, but the sound of her heartbeat reaching his ears was slightly faster than usual.
“Hmm.”
Looks like she was reluctant to simply go back like this.
No matter how oblivious someone was, if they failed to notice this, they deserved to be hospitalized again.
Abel Anderson looked at Nova and opened his mouth somewhat impulsively.
“Or should the two of us have some fun before we go?”
“…!!”
Nova’s eyes widened, and she nodded.
In fact, Abel Anderson, who had been staying in District 49 near the slums and had finally arrived in the genuinely cyberpunk city of District 44, was also quite excited.
It felt like he had traveled abroad.
“Then where should we start? How about a good restaurant?”
“…Anywhere is fine with me.”
She followed close behind Abel Anderson with lighter steps.
* * *
At the same time, inside the grocery store in District 49.
Rivera, who had spent the entire day waiting for him to return on a sofa that someone particularly favored, slammed her head into the sofa armrest the moment she checked the message Nova had sent.
“…So you really went and did this?”
“What is wrong?”
Michael, who saw this, tilted his head and asked Rivera.
But not long afterward, he also checked the message Nova had sent and realized why she was depressed.
───────────────
Title: 🙂🙃🙂🙃🙂🙃
I
went
on
a
date
.
───────────────
Michael, who had even worked in a corporate secretary’s office, found it difficult to determine whether the message had been sent to convey only objective facts or was simply a provocation.
He could only hope that nothing had happened to Hot Dog Man, who always seemed to bring trouble with him─.
Brrrring.
Then Michael checked the call that appeared on his optical HUD and slowly closed his eyes.
It was probably about finding someone’s whereabouts.
He knew because the number was the same as last time.
‘……Hmm.’
As expected, it seemed unlikely that nothing at all had happened to him….