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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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(Photo of Andrea making a V sign with her fingers)
@A_Rose
[Taking a short break!]
#NeonCity #Vacation #Singer #MeetingFriends
Below it, hundreds of comments followed.
I deactivated the visual interface.
“See? She’s on vacation.”
“…But even so, is it okay for a celebrity to just walk around like this?”
“What does it matter?”
Andrea said nonchalantly as she pulled up her hood.
“This covers my ears.”
Then, from her hood pocket, she took out blue sunglasses and covered her eyes.
“And I’m wearing stylish sunglasses.”
Finally, she pulled out a familiar-looking mask and put it on.
“And I bought the same mask as you.”
“…Will you please turn back if I ask you to?”
“No way. I’m not going back. So, where are we going?”
I just kept sighing.
I was planning on going alone.
Nothing was going according to plan.
I rubbed my forehead unconsciously.
I was mentally exhausted.
“…Did you bring your car?”
“Of course.”
“…Haah, then shall we go?”
“Oh, where to?”
I don’t know that yet either.
I checked Maya’s location, which was still moving.
“Anywhere.”
It was time to move.
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《The vehicle is entering a toll road. An additional fee will be charged.》
A mechanical voice flowed from the wireless device installed in Andrea’s car.
But I didn’t care.
It wasn’t my car anyway.
I pressed the accelerator harder.
Andrea’s car boasted a similar form to the low-slung sports cars from the L company I’d seen in my past life.
Perhaps because the car was painted red, it felt three times faster than a normal car.
Andrea, who was in the passenger seat, stretched.
“So, to summarize in one sentence.”
“Hmm.”
“A crazy chrome psycho stalker who escaped from prison is after you, something like that, right?”
“…You could say it’s similar.”
I gave Andrea a brief explanation of the situation.
There was no reason not to tell her my current situation since she was already coming with me.
“I haven’t been able to work out much lately, so this will be perfect for stress relief.”
Even though I explained that we were going to meet a chrome psycho whose entire body was a weapon, Andrea didn’t look worried at all.
Andrea, who had been leaning back against the car seat, leaned towards me.
“But where do you go and what do you do that makes these kinds of people come after you? And why didn’t you tell me when this kind of thing happened before?”
“It happened before I met you and Drek. When I was only with Catherine.”
“…Hmmmmm.”
Then she leaned back against the passenger seat again.
Judging from my quick wit, she seemed to be dissatisfied with something.
I thought it was getting quiet, but
Andrea spoke to me again.
“Hey, I have a question.”
“What?”
Unlike her usual self, her voice was slightly cautious.
“Are you dating Catherine?”
“?”
I almost crashed the car.
“No.”
“What? I thought you two were already dating.”
“…What kind of nonsense is that?”
I thought Drek had said something similar before.
I wondered why they would say such a thing.
“I was just curious, I can ask, right?”
“…I’ve known her for years, over a decade now. We’re not like that.”
“…Is that so?”
It was an uncomfortable topic to answer.
Fortunately, I was able to reach my desired destination soon.
“Anyway, we’re here.”
It was an alleyway in the lower, Citizen Zone.
Perhaps because it was located on the outskirts of the lower levels, it was a place where urban sprawl was occurring towards the outside of the city.
Even on the map, it looked very complex and unplanned.
“So, where is this place?”
“I don’t really know.”
It was the honest truth.
I just followed the map Eve gave me.
Also, as far as I knew, this area was under constant construction, so even if I had been here before, it would have looked different now.
“…How did you find this place?”
“…Someone told me.”
First of all, Eve’s identity was a secret, so I couldn’t tell her honestly.
“Who?”
“A secret.”
Strangely, Andrea was persistent.
“It’s not a woman, is it?”
[For now, I explain that this AI does not have a gender.]
“For now, it isn’t.”
I opened the car door as I answered.
I turned off the ignition and locked the wheels.
The rain had subsided, so I didn’t take out an umbrella.
“What’s with the ‘for now’?”
Andrea grumbled and followed me out.
Come to think of it, parking the car here might cause a problem.
Not a parking violation, but whether or not someone would steal the car.
“…Hmm, should we move the car? Is there a parking tower nearby?”
“Ah─, it’s fine. We’ll be done quickly. Even if someone steals it, I have expensive insurance, they’ll find it quickly.”
Then it would be alright.
They say the insurance company sends armed agents.
I felt relieved.
Andrea walked towards the trunk.
“Wait a second.”
“Huh?”
The trunk was located at the front of the car.
As Andrea lightly placed her hand on it, the trunk slowly opened.
Inside the trunk was a large bag that perfectly fit the trunk’s dimensions.
It looked incredibly heavy, but weight wasn’t a problem for Andrea.
She took the bag out as if it were very light.
“You still carry that around?”
“Of course, being a mercenary is my main job.”
Isn’t it a side job now?
That thought crossed my mind momentarily.
…If she says so, then it is.
“Besides, to walk around Neon City, you have to carry weapons, it’s basic.”
“That’s true.”
Hmm.
I didn’t have to worry about Andrea.
Now, the only one I had to worry about was myself.
We started walking into the alley.
The cool air unique to the lower levels circulated around.
There was one strange thing.
There wasn’t a single homeless person in sight, even though they should have been in every alley.
Judging by the cardboard on the ground and the still-burning flames in the drum cans, it was clear that homeless people had been here.
It was strange, even if it was raining.
We didn’t stop walking, even while feeling this strange phenomenon.
At the end of the alley was an old garage door.
On one side of my visual interface, the map Eve showed me converted to a 3D format.
It was a deeper structure than I thought.
I confirmed that Maya’s location was underground.
It was a mystery how Maya found this place.
Did she have some connection?
Or did the guys who helped her escape tell her?
One thing was certain: I wouldn’t know unless I went down.
[7 biological signals are confirmed inside, I report.]
I see.
After confirming that there were no surveillance cameras nearby, I approached the garage door.
I was thinking of sensing the inside with magic.
“What are you doing?”
“You’ve seen this a lot, I have to check with magic before going in. …It takes a little while.”
“We have to finish quickly, what are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“We have to finish quickly before Catherine comes─, I mean. Let’s just go out and have fun.”
I turned around at Andrea’s words.
There stood Andrea, equipped with a giant mechanical arm.
That was what was in the bag she took out of the trunk.
A custom Colossus Machine Arm…, something like that.
It had a similar name anyway.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that.
But why is she already wearing it?
My question was short-lived.
Andrea swung her fist at the garage door.
KWAANG!
With a loud roar, the entire garage door shattered.
Andrea?
Why are you in such a hurry….
“…What if it had an owner?”
“Then I’ll pay for it.”
Ah.
“What if there were civilians inside?”
“Ah, don’t worry. Do you think there are any normal civilians living in a place like this? It reeks of corpses.”
Her explanation made sense.
But still.
There could have been someone captured inside.
I didn’t know anymore.
Because of the loud noise, two people rushed out from inside the broken garage door.
“What?”
“What’s going on?”
Both were well-built.
At a glance, they both boasted cybernetic bodies above the Neon City average.
They were an orc and a human.
It was hard to judge by their faces, but they both had rough appearances and expressions.
At the same time, Eve displayed a screen through my visual interface.
It was a mugshot screen of the people in front of me from a prison.
[NCPD Database, Confirmed by NCB24 News. Criminals who escaped from Pelicanus Prison, I inform.]
So, you were all gathered here.
I now understood why Maya could find this place.
Andrea asked me.
“Who are they?”
“Escaped convicts.”
“Ah, you said several people escaped earlier.”
She lightly clenched her fist.
Each time, the giant mechanical arm creaked and shuddered.
“Then, I guess it’s okay to crush them?”
Our peaceful conversation was short-lived.
The escaped convicts shouted.
“Who are you? Don’t you know this is private property?”
“Wait, isn’t that Andrea?”
“Who’s that?”
The orc didn’t seem to know.
“You idiot! Haven’t you heard of Demon or Red Horn?”
“I’ve been in Pelicanus for years, how would I know?”
“Shit, the guy next to her is that mage she hangs out with. Wait, did Shooting Star come too? They said this was a safe house, has it already been found out? Is that it?”
Unlike the orc, who didn’t seem to grasp the situation, the other one kept cursing.
He looked very confused.
“Back door, is there a back door here?”
“Where’s a back door here, dammit. And even if they’re famous, don’t they all die the same way if they get shot?!”
The orc seemed determined to fight.
The orc’s arm, which he had shouted with irritably, split open mechanically. Inside, multiple barrels that looked like machine guns protruded.
Even at this sight, which could have been quite terrifying, Andrea remained peaceful.
“Well, let’s relieve some stress after a long time.”
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Personally, I thought the nickname the mercenary industry gave Andrea was quite fitting.
Andrea tossed aside the two corpses, which had already become lumps of meat. The giant mechanical arm was already covered in red blood.
She habitually moved her arm to wipe the bloodstains on her cheek.
As a result, her pointed elf ears were also covered in blood.
“Damn it.”
It looked like red horns.
“Your personality hasn’t changed.”
“I’m still the same.”
I thought she would have calmed down since she became so famous as a singer.
Incidentally, she was also the best close-combat fighter I knew.
We found the basement and went down.
It was time to face my regrets again.
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