The quiet owner behind the counter personally handed the food to me.
“……Um.”
Usually, Maya would be the one serving, but it wasn’t that special since I was sitting at the counter.
Before I knew it, Maya came over and started explaining the food in front of me.
“This is Cream Edamame.”
She continued with a simple explanation.
“It’s an appetizer traditionally passed down from the island nation far away, Neo Japan.”
I wondered why cream was sprinkled on it. Normally in a regular Japanese restaurant, wouldn’t they just serve edamame with salt?
…
Who cares, really. As long as it tastes good.
I picked up the aluminum chopsticks.
But before I could try the appetizer, another dish quickly appeared in front of me.
I hadn’t eaten yet.
“……Um.”
The owner, ignoring my gaze, went back behind the counter.
“This is a type of salad called ‘Cheese Sushi.’ It’s made from krill fish using a 3D food printer, and it tastes really good.”
…Just because mixed vegetables are added doesn’t make it a salad.
I was left stunned.
It claimed to be a fusion-Japanese restaurant, but I’d never seen such bizarre food before.
I had no idea where to even start.
I was about to raise my hand to ask a question calmly.
However, the owner was so quick, yet again, the next dish was served before me.
“Finally, the main dish! ‘Steak with Special Sauce’ made from soybeans. Thanks to us keeping it fresh, even if it’s slightly bloody, you don’t have to worry about parasites.”
I looked at the three types of food placed in front of me.
Fortunately.
It didn’t seem like there would be any more food coming out.
The owner let out a short snort at my silent presence.
“……Um.”
“Oh, if you finish the course meal, the dessert will come afterwards. It’s an ice type, so it might melt.”
Where should I even start correcting this?
First of all.
“…That.”
I asked the question I was most curious about.
“The recommended menu I ordered was ‘Fresh Gratins.’ Why is this a course meal—”
Maya interrupted my question, smiling softly.
“By the way, why did you change into those dirty clothes? I hope that’s not your disguise.”
“……”
I shut my mouth.
—
I sneakily walked out of the shop.
Holding my full belly.
I sank down in a corner of a back alley as if I were about to collapse.
“Phew.”
I naturally exhaled in and out.
As I breathed in the cold air typical of the lower-class area, the fullness in my chest eased a little.
Seriously.
I thought I was going to burst.
I guess finishing everything down to the last dessert was my greed.
The food the owner served was just like the taste in my memories.
To explain it concretely.
It was better than the food I had at Drake’s house, but not as good as Eve’s food made with a recipe hacked from Monolith’s chef.
In short, it tasted good.
I lifted my head from looking at the dust-covered ground and gazed at the familiar scenery of the alley.
Old cars were bustling about, spewing loud exhaust, and people living mayfly lives passed by with weary steps, scraping by day to day.
Honestly, nothing has changed here.
I reflected briefly while remembering when I first entered Neon City.
Maya interrupted my train of thought.
“…What are you doing here?”
She approached me, squatting down next to me.
Seeing her apron slightly wet, she resembled someone who had just finished washing up.
“I’m just getting some fresh air.”
I looked up to see Maya.
“A person who always wears a mask because the city air is bad saying that.”
Maya, smiling softly, sat next to me, careful not to let her apron touch the ground, positioned so our shoulders almost touched.
I asked Maya, who was also gazing at the alley scenery.
“Is it already okay to close the shop? Isn’t the bar supposed to start business now?”
“Since it’s a place where only certain people come, what does it matter? It’s up to the owner.”
Dad said we should close up a little early today.
Maya turned to face me, leaving her gaze outside.
Her pink-dyed bob hairstyle flowed gracefully with the motion of her head.
“So, why did you really come today?”
Maya asked me a question.
I expected this question, so I replied naturally.
“I said I’d come by last time.”
“…Then why the disguise?”
Maya tilted her head slightly in confusion.
She truly seemed puzzled.
“……”
That’s… well, there’s a reason for that.
I decided to change the topic.
“How’s the shop? Is it okay?”
“……Hmmm.”
Maya scrutinized me with sharp eyes.
Then, as if she was willing to indulge me, she continued along with my subject.
“Just like before. Nothing much has changed since I was gone.”
Well, I could see that too.
Except for the fact that many surveillance cameras had been added, everything, right down to the decorations, was in the same spots as before.
Maybe it was the owner’s consideration to create a place that could exist even when his daughter returned.
I recalled what the owner had said to me earlier.
Maybe his gratitude contained that meaning.
“Thank you.”
“Eh?”
I turned my head to look at Maya after her sudden words.
“Just, for everything.”
Maya couldn’t continue her sentence, avoiding my gaze.
“For not giving up first, and ultimately saving me again.”
Maya scratched her head shyly.
“Thank you for just being so good to me.”
“…Well, it wasn’t exactly difficult.”
I felt more apologetic instead.
Back then, when Maya was kidnapped.
If I had recalled the memories just a little quicker, whatever happened to her wouldn’t have occurred.
Noticing my feelings, Maya jokingly laughed.
“You’re just the same as before, Siwoon. Too kind. Oh, except for that scruffy outfit you wore when you entered the shop. Honestly, I almost didn’t recognize you. Hehe.”
……
Please forget that part.
At this point, I had already tossed the hat and coat I looted from the vagabond, and retrieved the coat hidden in the alley.
It still felt awkward.
There was still some odor lingering on me.
Not able to instantly reply, a short silence fell upon us.
I secretly rolled my eyes to glance at Maya’s profile.
Was she reminiscing too?
She stared longingly beyond the alley with a sense of nostalgia in her expression.
It took a few minutes for Maya to break the silence.
“…My dad asked me last night.”
Maya continued speaking as if to herself.
“He asked if I was thinking of leaving Neon City to go to Neo Japan with him.”
“…….”
Since it was a hard topic to answer, I remained silent, listening to her words.
Maya forced a smile.
“He’s always had that thought. That when his daughter comes out… he would leave here and go back to his hometown. Neon City’s security isn’t that great anyway.”
She rested her chin on her hand, speaking as if it didn’t matter.
However, her emotions were undoubtedly as chaotic as the sky above the city.
Her voice quivered slightly.
“Neo Japan is also a famous dreamland in the world. Plus, it’s my father’s hometown, so he has connections there. He says it would be much better than living here.”
Maya gazed up at the gray-stained sky.
The clouds, in a messy crayon-like color, covered the sky.
“…What should I do?”
Maya asked me for an answer.
Was it difficult to maintain eye contact with my gaze focused upward?
I struggled to answer her.
For her, returning to her hometown would mean a much easier life.
There wouldn’t be obnoxious customers causing chaos like before, and no one would be noisy about her past.
Forgetting the past and starting anew would certainly be a much better situation for her.
That thought crossed my mind first.
However.
Even if that thought held truth, I doubted it was the best answer.
What Maya wanted from me wasn’t that.
After considering this much, I gave a short reply.
“Don’t go.”
“……What?”
“…If it’s dangerous, I’ll protect you, so don’t go.”
This time, my gaze drifted away from Maya.
Ugh, I just said something useless that isn’t like me.
Even without looking at Maya, I was sure she was staring at me.
I awkwardly got up from my seat.
“… I think I’ll head out for now.”
“Already?”
Maya’s voice had a hint of a laugh in it, strangely.
It was the brightest tone I heard among all the things I had heard today.
“…I suddenly have something to do.”
I cleared my throat and adjusted my mask.
Putting my hood down low, I continued.
Honestly.
It might not be the time for me to say stuff like that to Maya.
After all, we were just a server and a customer in the past.
I was the only one carrying the guilt for not being able to protect her.
But still.
I could fix my mistake, right?
“It’s getting too late, so I’ll come by again another time.”
“…No, I think it’ll be faster for me to visit your house—”
I ignored Maya’s cheeky truthfulness.
I received the owner’s and Maya’s send-off and headed towards the monorail station.
I felt like my steps had become a little lighter.
…Since I’ve come this far.
I should brush away all my worries.
I opened my mouth.
“Eve.”
[Confirming.]
“Can you find all the scavenger dens in this area?”
[Of course. I will mark the locations of the scavengers or vagabond groups in the area on the map.]
Those rat-like bastards, even if I get rid of them now, more trash will inevitably fill their spots.
But when that happens again.
I’d deal with it then.
“Anyway, I have nothing to do when I get home.”
Having rationalized it, I turned my feet following the instructions appearing on the sight interface.
—
*
[Grepejamiohnya (Thief): When is that guild master of the Warrior Craftsman Union arriving!!!]
[P2034871140 (Warrior): Haha, just wait.]
[Grepejamiohnya (Thief): It’s late… I’ll become a grandpa at this rate?]
[Grepejamiohnya (Thief): I’m just leaving, bye.]
[P2034871140 (Warrior): Haha, what will you do if, like last time, the raid content doesn’t work out? Just wait calmly.]
[Grepejamiohnya (Thief): (Inappropriate language used.)]
……
I gazed at the chat log popping up on the monitor, pondering.
So I’ve been waiting for this all along.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
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