Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed – Chapter 24

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Let me tell you a little story from the past. A story from when I first arrived in Neon City.

It was a time when I had just escaped the junkyard and was scraping by in the lower levels as an unregistered mercenary with Catherine.

I heard there was a restaurant run by an Asian in the neighborhood, so I went there for a meal.

Part of me hoped for Korean food.

But contrary to my expectations, the restaurant was a cyberpunk-style fusion Japanese place.

The food was surprisingly good.

I became a regular, practically living there.

There was a waitress at the restaurant. The owner’s daughter.

Back then, I didn’t think much of her.

I just thought she was a woman with a strong personality.

We’d exchange silly jokes whenever we saw each other.

That was it.

If only I had remembered that she was a character from the game, things might have been different.

She was kidnapped a few days later.

A common occurrence in the lower levels, but I hadn’t anticipated it.

There were no clues left behind, and back then, my abilities were limited. The chances of rescuing her grew slimmer with each passing day.

Finally, after a considerable amount of time, I managed to rescue her.

A woman characterized by her cheerful laughter, who enjoyed joking with the mercenaries who visited the restaurant.

Maya was completely chromed out.

I heard she was forcibly used for illegal activities and experiments.

And only after seeing Maya in that state,
could I remember.

That she was a character from a side quest in the game I used to play.

And that the quest involved dealing with a chrome psycho.

Would things have been different if I had rescued her immediately after she was kidnapped?

Or if I had paid even a little attention to preventing her kidnapping in the first place?

I thought about many things, but the harsh reality was already before me.

In the end, my laziness and forgetfulness were responsible for this situation.

‘You came to save me, right? Right? I knew you would!’

‘…I’m so sorry I’m late.’

‘No, it’s not your fault you were late.’

She was already broken.

‘You’re the only one for me after all. I’ve seen many mercenaries, but you were different. I knew you would save me. But why did you bring that woman with you? Why? Why are you with her? Can’t we be together now? I’m strong now, too. Look! No, this won’t do. Dad told me once, a man needs a woman to take care of him. If we’re going to be together forever, just a head would be enough, right? Right? Now I’ll save you. Stay still.’

And in the end, I heard she was imprisoned.

It’s a small world.

I thought so, as I dodged the flurry of blades coming at me.

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Let me be clear, I am not weak.

This was simply a limitation of my role.

My role was to support the team or provide ranged fire support.

I couldn’t hold a front-line position like the others.

So it was only natural that I couldn’t fight Maya, a woman heavily armed with cyberware, in a one-on-one battle.

A curved blade swiped at my throat.

I barely managed to step back.

I almost became a head without a body.

This was tough.

The blades extended from Maya’s wrists.

Small, long blades that constantly moved back and forth, fluidly adjusting their length.

For her, it was probably playful, but for me, it was a life-or-death struggle.

I couldn’t even counterattack, let alone gather mana.

But she must have also realized she was on a time limit.

This was the middle level, Center Plaza, so the NCPD would arrive quickly.

Therefore, her movements were becoming increasingly sharp.

At least, that’s how it felt.

It hadn’t been long since we started fighting,
but my body was already covered in cuts.

My torn coat flapped in the wind.

If it hadn’t been reinforced, I would have been dead already.

Any more bleeding would be dangerous.

To buy some time, I spoke.

“……How did you even escape from prison?”

I was genuinely curious.

Pelicanus was a maximum-security prison for serious criminals.

Maya’s red optic sensors blinked.

She seemed to convulse occasionally, and the blades extending from her wrists twitched unnaturally.

“I don’t know?”

It was as if her movements reflected the chaotic and complex mental state of a chrome psycho.

Yet, she continued to answer my question.

“Does it matter who helped me escape? It does. They gave me equipment, and even told me your location, so it does. I’m grateful.”

…This was unexpected.

Someone had told her my location.

I didn’t know if she was telling the truth, but it didn’t sound like a lie.

Lying was a basic skill for Neon City citizens, but I doubted Maya, in her unstable state, would be thinking that far ahead.

Did Maya also sense something was wrong?

She kept flinching. She showed symptoms of a chrome psycho, mumbling to herself.

I bought myself a little time.

I had to find a way out of this.

“…Eve, any ideas?”

[The target’s cyberware signal system is too chaotic. Hacking is impossible unless in close proximity, I explain.]

“So stalling is the best option.”

[However, I have been data mining based on the target’s movements. Synchronizing with visual interface data ……Complete.]

As soon as Eve finished speaking, Maya lunged at me again.

But something was different.

A translucent graphic of Maya appeared on my visual interface.

A semi-transparent figure.

It seemed to be a predicted path, showing where she would move and attack.

This changed things.

I was still short on time.

But it was much easier to dodge Maya’s attacks now.

As I evaded her attacks, I said,

“I swear, if I get out of this alive, I’ll donate to your stream.”

[I quietly inquire if those credits wouldn’t be earned by me anyway.]

I didn’t know about that.

“What are you mumbling about!!”

Maya yelled at me for talking to myself.

I still couldn’t find an opening to attack.

To incapacitate Maya, I needed to use a powerful spell, but I was still too busy dodging.

Even if I shot her with my pistol, I’d be lucky to scratch her outer plating.

What was around here? How much time was left?

My mind raced.

Then, an idea came to me.

“Why… are you… dodging!!”

Because I want to live.

Seeing me dodging her attacks, which were mere grazes before, by a hair’s breadth,
Maya’s movements grew wider.

Emotional overload.

A typical symptom of a chrome psycho.

I cast a simple spell.

It was much easier now that her movements were exaggerated.

An intense flash erupted from my fingertips, briefly illuminating the street.

My special flashbang spell.

I hoped this would buy me enough time, but unfortunately, her optical cyberware seemed to recover very quickly.

But it was fine.

My goal was just to stop her movement, even for a split second.

‘I’m counting on you, Drek!’

I clenched my fist.

The loose sleeves of my coat tightened around my suddenly bulging muscles.

Momentarily enlarged muscles.

The new cyberware implant Drek said could even lift an orc.

It would be great if I could punch her in the face and knock her out, but blinded by the flash, Maya instinctively protected her vital points.

This was also fine.

My target wasn’t her vital points from the start.

My fist connected squarely with Maya’s stomach.

A punch.

It was the first time I had thrown one since leaving the junkyard and the lower levels.

Crack. I heard something snap in my wrist or fist.

Maya’s body flew backward from the impact.

In that direction…

…was the cyberware store I had just left.

Maya’s body crashed through the automatic doors.

The sound of countless turrets activating followed immediately.

I had seen them when I entered the store.

Several turrets guarding the store instead of armed guards.

Since she broke the door, they would have activated automatically, even without the employee pressing a button.

The deafening sound of turret fire echoed through the streets.

Heavy gunfire, at least 7.62mm, it sounded like.

Even Maya, covered in reinforced plating, couldn’t completely withstand that.

The noise stopped after a while.

“Did you get her?”

[…Negative, I deny that.]

Eve was right.

Stepping on broken glass shards, Maya walked out.

Her plating was cracked and she had wounds here and there, but she looked much better than I expected.

“Seeing you after so long, you’re overflowing with wild beauty.”

It was a compliment I had never heard before in this world.

I unconsciously nodded.

…No, wait, snap out of it.

This woman wanted my head, and she wanted to kill everyone around me.

I prepared for round two.

With Eve’s help, it was easier to predict her movements, and I had even managed to injure her.

I felt like I could somehow get through this.

But before the fight could continue, a faint sound came from between the buildings.

The sound of something flying.

[Information. An NCPD tactical drone is approaching, I inform you.]

That meant Chrome Force would arrive soon.

Maya also seemed to hear the sound and glanced at her injured body.

Did getting hit by the turrets bring her back to her senses?

She no longer seemed unstable like before.

“……Let’s call it a day. I’m injured, and you wouldn’t want to see me like this, would you?”

She lightly jumped up.

She landed on top of a tall streetlight.

“I’ll be back again, soon.”

Without waiting for my reply, she disappeared between the buildings.

Watching her retreating figure, I took out a healing nano-ampoule from my pocket and injected it into my deepest wound.

A sigh escaped my lips.

“Haa……”

Then I thought.

Could I chase after her?

No.

Considering her physical abilities, it was next to impossible.

Should I just let her go?

No.

If I did, the people around me would be in danger, too.

“Eve.”

[I await your command.]

“Can you track her location?”

[Informing you that the target’s bio-signals have already been saved. Location tracking is possible, I confirm.]

“Good.”

Then there was no need to postpone this.

[Confirmed. Commencing tracking.]

“No, wait. Let’s stop by home first.”

[I inquire if there are any additional items you require.]

“Not exactly.”

I had already brought everything I needed when I went out.

The reason I wanted to go home…

I picked up the bag I had set down.

Fortunately, the contents were undamaged.

My efforts to protect the bag from getting stained with my blood had paid off.

Honestly, I probably took a few extra hits because of it.

“I came out for this, it can’t get damaged.”

[…….]

I’d put the data module safely at home and then start tracking.

It wouldn’t take long to get home.

I decided to aim to finish this before Catherine returned.

Andrea came over to my place.

“Hey! I heard Catherine’s out? Perfect timing, I came over to hang out. I’m on vacation.”

“……Don’t you want to just go back?”

“No way. ……Wait, why are you injured? What happened?”

My plan to go alone had just hit a snag.

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