I questioned cautiously if what I heard was true.
“…So that’s what you mean.”
I asked Smith again.
“No need to go to the hospital.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
What nonsense is this? I glared at Smith, my expression cursing him instead.
But Smith continued explaining my question in his usual tone.
“I know my body well. Shun, you might not understand since you’re not an orc, but among my brothers, going to the hospital for this kind of wound is shameful.”
It’s not even a wound on my back. What’s so shameful about that?
The images of orcs inside me dropped a notch.
By the way, speaking of brothers, all those other ‘brothers’ Smith mentioned were unharmed. They all returned home, answering just like Smith.
Of course, the hospitals in Cyberpunk were overrun by capitalism, so the medical fees were outrageous.
But seeing him say he didn’t actually have to go to the hospital made my insides feel suffocated.
Especially since he was someone who had been confined for a week.
“…Even so—”
Before I could finish, I organized my thoughts briefly.
A normal person would first enter a hospital and worry about their condition.
Right. If we’re talking about ‘humans.’
Thoughts flowed to me late. Could ‘orcs’ actually be described as normal people?
“Hmm.”
Now that I think about it, maybe it is okay not to go to the hospital.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
I suppressed the racist tendencies trying to awaken within me. Ugh, almost had a crazy thought.
“…Is it because you don’t have insurance?”
“…”
Smith hesitated at my question.
Of course. An orc mercenary living in Cyberpunk wouldn’t have signed up for insurance.
The number one profession refusing insurance would be mercenaries, and when it comes to species, it’s orcs.
It’s a reasonable assumption based on facts.
“It’s not that. It’s more urgent to show my face to the boss.”
How much must he be getting paid to show this loyalty?
Smith shrugged off my feeble restraint and got up.
“…Hmm.”
Then he plopped down again.
He let out a shallow breath as if feeling dizzy.
That’s when I finally noticed what I hadn’t seen before.
“No, this is insane.”
I couldn’t help but curse out loud.
“What’s with that bandage on your stomach?”
“…It’s just a scrape.”
“There’s blood seeping out, what more?”
Red blood was oozing from the frayed edges of the bandage. It was definitely not a small amount.
Smith answered casually, as if it were nothing.
“It’s really nothing major. The gang just shot me once to keep me from causing a ruckus.”
“…”
I couldn’t reply. If having a hole in your stomach is no big deal, then what kind of wound counts as ‘something’?
“I need to go see the boss—”
I drew up mana and shook Smith’s semi-circular device.
Usually, the result would be different.
But right now, the aftereffects (hacking) from being kidnapped by the gang, Red Orc, were still lingering on Smith.
Fainted, Smith fell right there.
I wanted to at least hold his shoulder to support him, but I didn’t have the strength to help a 2m orc.
I looked at the fallen Smith and manipulated my visual interface.
I typed in a familiar number.
With a short dialing tone, the call connected.
“Ah, hello? This is Neon City Emergency Center, right? Yes. We’ve got an injured person here. Yes, yes. The location is—.”
Please hurry.
Finally, I ended the call.
—
Side EP. Natasha Petrova
—
No Answer, that secretive third floor.
Natasha skillfully made cocktails in a wine bar with no bartender.
“On the rocks?”
“…Yes.”
Natasha returned to where I sat, holding two perfectly made cocktails.
She reached out her slender fingers and handed me a cocktail glass.
“I mixed it softly.”
“Thank you.”
I tossed the unfamiliar cocktail into my mouth.
Intense carbonation and sweetness. At the same time, I tasted the bitter finish of alcohol.
My thoughts were as follows:
“…It’s tasty.”
“It’s just a hobby.”
Even I, who didn’t particularly like alcohol, found it drinkable.
Natasha sat across from me on the sofa.
I calmly assessed the current situation.
I hadn’t originally planned to come to No Answer.
I intended to just relay the news over the phone and leave it at that.
But since Natasha asked me to come just this once, I had no choice but to comply.
How could I refuse the boss of No Answer?
In fact, Catherine and Eve also wanted to come along, but for some unknown reason, Natasha insisted on me coming alone.
All those sequences led to me having cocktails with Natasha.
I glanced up slightly and looked at Natasha.
As before, she was dressed in a suit, sharply accentuating her figure.
I missed the China dress she wore before, but I wasn’t drunk enough to mindlessly bring that up.
Natasha gracefully crossed her legs.
It seemed like a habit.
The high heels connected to her dress pants pointedly flaunted their presence.
“So.”
Natasha sipped her cocktail and asked.
“I heard Smith was found in Redwood.”
“That’s right.”
I nodded and continued explaining.
Tom, the kind guide.
The gang, Red Orc.
Smith was taken to the hospital.
I calmly conveyed the events of the day to Natasha.
“Smith wanted to see the boss… Natasha, but I stopped him, so don’t take it too badly.”
“Of course not. If you’re hurt, you need to go to the hospital.”
Natasha replied with common sense.
It was obviously Smith who was being unreasonable.
“…I’ll thank you on his behalf.”
Natasha covered her mouth with the fan.
“…He doesn’t take care of himself like he should. That’s why I have him in charge of security.”
Natasha’s blue eyes turned to me.
She placed the fan down on the table and stood from her sofa.
Now that the explanation was over, I thought I could leave.
I tried to get up to follow Natasha.
But before I could stand, Natasha moved to the sofa beside me.
“?”
This felt too close.
I couldn’t respond to Natasha’s sudden invasion of personal space.
How close was it? Natasha’s shoulder was touching mine, and her butt was just a breath away from my body.
Regardless of my surprise, Natasha stared at me intensely from such close distance.
“I’ll say it again, thank you.”
Natasha continued talking.
Was my flustered reaction amusing to her? A faint smile graced her lips.
Is this a green light? Or is she just being drunk?
My head was spinning.
“…Uh, Natasha, this is too close—”
Before I could finish, Natasha beamed a wide smile at me.
“Hehe, what’s wrong with expressing gratitude to a subordinate’s benefactor?”
Gratitude is gratitude, but it’s just too close.
Still keeping her gaze on me, Natasha reached out her hand and lifted the cocktail glass I drank from earlier.
A slightly dark liquid flowed into Natasha’s mouth from the cocktail glass.
“Phew.”
A cute remark more suited for an image opposite her cold demeanor slipped from Natasha’s lips.
She placed the empty glass back on the high-end ceramic table.
“…You’ve always been like this. Always helping me, and helping others too.”
A nostalgic glimmer crossed Natasha’s gaze.
Recalling the past while looking at me.
“Remember? When you saved my life.”
“Ah.”
That did happen.
It wasn’t too long ago.
Relatively recent.
Of course, it was before I met Eve.
Back then, I went through all sorts of hardships.
I struggled alone against a mysterious group that targeted Natasha at a charity party.
Just when I thought it was the end, comrades appeared and saved my life.
I really had been through all sorts of trouble.
I answered Natasha’s remark after a brief reflection.
“Though it was not just me.”
“Others won’t see it that way. Neither will I.”
…….
You’re not actually drunk, are you?
I’d love to set up an ethanol combustion implant for you out of my own pocket.
But besides that, the quickening of my heart was an unavoidable physiological reaction.
…Why does it feel like I keep getting into situations with beauties lately?
I pondered a happy dilemma in the eyes of others.
I’ve already lost count of how many there have been.
The chairman…, Andrea, Catherine, Maya.
And Eve, who appeared with a body shell.
Julia, though shorter, is also quite pretty.
And now Natasha too.
“……”
Suddenly, I noticed Natasha coming even closer to me.
“Nat—”
I called her name to snap out of this drunken haze, but before I could finish, Natasha raised her index finger to cover my mouth.
“Shh.”
A light flush appeared on Natasha’s cheeks.
No, no matter how I look at it, she seems drunk.
Could it be that a figure like the boss of No Answer got tipsy off just two cocktails?
As someone naturally inclined to push forward with my actions, I swallowed as I watched Natasha approaching.
Just a short distance away, her black hair brushed against my face—
Cough.
Eve’s cough echoed in the room.
Eve! You’re here!
I turned towards where the sound had come from.
Unexpectedly, a hologram screen appeared in the previously empty air.
As if anticipating this, Natasha gazed at Eve’s figure and said, “Looks like you were watching.”
[The subject is always by ‘Siwoon’’s side.]
“Hehe.”
Natasha stood up from her seat and walked towards the hologram screen.
With arms crossed, they began talking in low voices.
[Ignoring unilateral actions is not recommended.]
“…I know, half was a joke.”
Their conversation was barely audible.
I took a short breath.
I was bewildered by what just happened.
When Natasha finished her conversation, she came back to me.
“It seems today is at an end. Hehe, what a shame.”
I couldn’t quite grasp what was happening, but now was the perfect chance to escape.
I stood up and said to Natasha.
“…Yeah, well. I’ll be leaving for now.”
“Okay, I’ll see you off.”
Natasha followed closely behind me.
For some unknown reason, the hologram screen showing Eve’s image continued to move in sync with our steps.
“Oh, by the way.”
Natasha suddenly spoke.
“Are you still living with them? With ‘Meteor’ and the ‘Artificial Intelligence’?”
“…Well.”
I hesitated, as my instincts screamed for me not to answer, and I trailed off.
But it seemed that was enough for Natasha.
She waved her hand casually, seeing me off.
“Well, that’s it for today. I got too sentimental, unlike me. See you again.”
—
“…Until next time.”
I briefly responded to her remark.
As I exited No Answer, I stepped into the lukewarm air lingering in the Lower-Class Area.
And then I thought back to what had just happened.
…Hmm.
“……”
I should just play games at home.
I decided to leave the rest for tomorrow’s me.
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