As I walked down the sewage road, I heard someone calling me.
“Hey, little ones!”
Since the village was nearby, I willingly looked up in that direction. If the village weren’t close, I would’ve just let it go.
A vagabond with a familiar face was standing in the direction of the voice.
You could guess a rough idea about his past and how he lived just by looking at his rough, shabby appearance.
A metal frame covered in chrome (not the real deal) showed off its presence from underneath torn synthetic skin.
He had a ragged blanket draped over one shoulder.
Under the frayed edge of the blanket, a sharp metal ‘something’ looked like it was sticking out instead of an arm.
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was clear it was for combat.
In a place where one lives day by day, just the fact that he carried intact cyberware made me aware of the vagabond’s grim lifestyle.
I didn’t know his nickname, but he was a familiar village vagabond I had seen a few times while passing by.
“What do you want?”
Gyeomjok guardedly asked the vagabond, stepping slightly ahead of me.
He had his hands hidden in his pockets, not concealing his hostile posture.
For some reason, that made him look strangely cute, and the vagabond waved his hand, grinning.
“Ha ha, even I wouldn’t be so heartless as to steal from little ones like you.”
Conscience, huh.
That wasn’t a word you would expect to hear from someone in this sewage-filled area.
In fact, his words just heightened our caution.
…It was unusual today, like with Teddy earlier.
Normally, we would just pass by without a word, but I wondered why so many people were talking to us today.
Sensing our mood, the vagabond started rummaging around inside his blanket.
“Here, look. I called you for this.”
“…….”
No, just because you say that, how would we know what it is?
I grimaced as I looked at the electronic device in the vagabond’s hand.
It looked like a smartphone from the original world.
When the vagabond pressed a button on the unknown device, a bright, cheerful voice echoed from the previously turned-off screen, completely out of place.
【Pete Mc! Pete Mc! Pete Mc! Who is it? It’s the children’s friend! Rush to the nearest Kojaka’s ‘Pete Mc Burger’ right now! If you buy the new ‘Almost Made with Real Pork Burger’, we’ll give you a special gift through a drawing!】 The drawing probability is 1/100000, and even if you win, it may be impossible to redeem due to a system error.】
The last part went by so quickly that I couldn’t catch it properly.
““…….””
Anyway, Gyeomjok and I listened blankly to the voice from the vagabond’s electronic device.
…Is that an advertisement?
I really don’t get the feelings of this world.
The vagabond continued, holding out the now-finished electronic device towards us.
“It’s such a cheap product that you have to watch the ads. Anyway, hey little one,”
The vagabond looked at me.
“Isn’t this the thing you were looking for? An electronic device that can watch videos connected to net space. Right now, it’s worth three days’ worth of food—.”
“I’ll buy it.”
I didn’t hesitate.
Gyeomjok looked at me like I was crazy.
No way.
How could anyone resist a machine that lets you watch YouTube?
It was a terrific deal.
26. That happened too (3)
【Pete Mc! Pete Mc! Pete─.】
I nervously covered the screen with my hand.
“Agh.”
Since my body hadn’t fully grown yet, I couldn’t cover the whole screen with my palm, but that was enough to feel some mental peace.
If only I could just do something about this damn advertisement.
Every time I wanted to watch a video, an ad would pop up second by second—I could understand why the original owner discarded this thing.
Maybe it was because this cyberpunk world was tainted by capitalism, but I couldn’t even turn down the volume.
…Is it over?
I had no idea what Pete Mc was, but I wanted to burn the store down.
I felt my patience wearing thin as I looked back at the screen.
I needed to make sure I watched enough videos before the battery died. Time was also precious.
Charging an electronic device in this sewage would mean using up the food I had saved through bartering.
There were endless discussions about the importance of a single meal. Gyeomjok even chided me for wasting food in such a place.
But it was an essential expense for me.
If I were to live ‘properly’ in this world, it was a near-mandatory choice.
I entered the search term again.
The keyword was ‘magic.’
I scrolled down, excluding the garbage videos aimed at drawing views, and looked for the ones with lower views.
I didn’t quite understand the content, but videos with lower views tended to be more helpful for me.
I muttered while watching one video.
“…This is good.”
From now on, I shall refer to you as my dear master in my heart, Master.
Since I didn’t have an account, I couldn’t leave a comment.
But I was grateful enough in my heart.
Thus, I don’t know how much time passed while I watched useful videos.
Dripped candle wax flowed to the floor.
With the dwindling flame flickering, the shadows danced and dimly illuminated the inside of the sewage.
I didn’t know for sure without a watch, but the sun must have set by now.
Considering how hungry I felt, it seemed like just about enough time had passed.
I lifted myself from my makeshift bed, which had cardboard laid out here and there.
To the area where Gyeomjok and I stayed.
It was narrow enough that I couldn’t stand up straight, but it was safe enough because it didn’t attract much attention.
Just the fact that no polluted water flowed right in front made it, by far, a top-tier living quarters.
“Gyeomjok, are you sulking?”
I moved to the spot where Gyeomjok usually stayed.
It was food meant for me anyway.
But he seemed displeased with his close friend wasting food in a strange place, as he flipped over and lay down.
Is he still sleeping?
“…….”
But.
The sight of Gyeomjok, who had been there just a moment ago, was nowhere to be found.
Gyeomjok….
Where did you go again?
“Ugh.”
Did he run off because the ads were too noisy?
If he were a grown boy, I’d simply ignore it.
But he was still a young one, so even though I didn’t want to worry, I couldn’t help it.
I sneaked outside my dwelling, being cautious of any signs of life.
After all, at this time of the night, Gyeomjok didn’t have many places to go.
Since it was extremely dark outside, relying on moonlight was like inviting death.
The inside of the sewage was the same.
The longer it got, the worse the security became.
Based on that reasonable deduction, I narrowed down a few possible places Gyeomjok might have gone.
At best, maybe the Four Eyes’ office.
Or maybe—.
I set my destination and began moving.
I hid in the shadows whenever I heard any sounds from people or other creatures. My life was precious.
Crossing over polluted water, avoiding the steam smoke, and crawling under pipes.
Finally, I grabbed a rusty metal ladder and climbed up towards the top.
“There you are.”
I spotted Gyeomjok sitting on the floor, gazing out through the iron bars.
Even in a sewage area, it wasn’t always positioned directly underground.
There were places like this where you could see the scenery outside.
He must have heard my voice, yet Gyeomjok still stared outside.
I slowly approached him beside the bars.
I plopped down on the floor and turned my head in the same direction Gyeomjok was looking.
Beyond the iron bars, past the heaps of garbage, beyond the massive scrap metal collection machine.
A brilliant light was shining above the solid barrier—the city, Neon City.
Perhaps it was because we could gawk at the city without being threatened by the killer drones of the corporation outside.
Gyeomjok really liked this spot.
His golden eyes held emotions that could only be expressed with ‘hope’ or ‘dream.’
Gyeomjok broke the silence and spoke.
“Did I mention before? I’m helping you because you remind me of a little one I used to be friends with.”
Hmm, honestly, I couldn’t quite remember.
But I decided to play along and nodded in agreement.
“I think I heard that before. You said he was a nice boy like me?”
“He was a girl I used to take care of like a little sister. I haven’t seen her since she was taken by a drone.”
“…….”
I suddenly wanted to take back my question.
I paused in silence for a moment before asking again.
“…But why would you say I resemble a girl?”
“That little one had a dream of entering the city someday and tasting a proper burger.”
Gyeomjok lightly ignored my question and continued the story.
He must have recalled the past after seeing the promotional phrases from the advertisement for ‘Pete Mc Burgers.’
…Hmm.
‘I’ and ‘T’ as one, I questioned based on facts.
“Are you kidding me? You can find a good burger just by digging through trash.”
In a place where the concept of recycling didn’t even exist, it was the most common food you could come across.
In fact, I had it just yesterday.
Zing! Gyeomjok’s sharp gaze turned to me.
But that’s the fact.
I sneakily averted my eyes from Gyeomjok’s stare.
Gyeomjok turned his gaze back beyond the iron bars.
Was he entering puberty lately?
He seemed more emotional than usual.
I sighed lightly, sensing the atmosphere. It was time for a joke.
“…I’ll help you in the future, you know?”
“If you’re that weak, how are you going to help me?”
“I told you, I have incredible talent, you know.”
I always said that to Gyeomjok whenever I was bored.
With a disbelieving look, Gyeomjok regarded me as if I were pathetic.
“…What is it? Magic?”
“Yes.”
I nodded confidently.
It was a talent regarding ‘magic’.
A talent created through character creation.
I had even watched videos today to learn.
Sending a little one into the city wouldn’t be a hard task.
Tomorrow, I could change my class from ‘vagabond boy’ to ‘wizard.’
“…You’re something else, so do help me out later.”
Maybe my words sounded like a joke to him.
Gyeomjok chuckled lightly, nodding without much emotion.
Alright, he smiled.
I seized the moment and extended my hand to him.
“If we want to get up early tomorrow, we should sleep now. Besides, it’s a big city, we won’t be late if we go there.”
Gyeomjok looked at my hand and stood up on his own.
How awkward.
“Yeah, let’s go to sleep.”
Thus, Gyeomjok and I returned to our dwelling.
And when I woke up from sleep, there was a piece of paper left in place of Gyeomjok.
I wondered if he had done a haphazard job of learning to write with the Four Eyes.
The writing looked like a mess. Is this really written with feet or what?
Slowly, I began to decipher the letters on the paper.
“‘I’ll be going sightseeing in the city for a while, so don’t go anywhere and just wait,’ huh. …Hmm.”
…….
A sigh escaped me.
Why on earth doesn’t he ever listen to me?
I rose from my spot and bolted out to find Gyeomjok.
*
“He really doesn’t listen at all. It’s not like I gave him the nickname Gyeomjok for nothing. Not back then, or even now─.”
“……Even now?”
“He listens perfectly now.”
Gyeomjok, now grown, nodded in agreement with a proud expression.
Revealing the truth was such a dangerous venture.
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