Lower-Class Area, inside a cheap bar.
Cold whooosh of wind seeps through the holes in the walls here and there.
Cheap LED lights hanging from the ceiling sway chaotically with the wind.
As a gathering place for vagabonds who just scrape by day by day, the air inside was chillingly stagnant.
I scratched my head awkwardly.
Catherine’s expression, glancing over, was also one of confusion.
“How on earth did you find a place like this?”
“…I didn’t come here to drink!”
Catherine shrugged her shoulders and continued.
“I got a recommendation from No Answer; they said there’s a decent guy here.”
“…Here?”
I looked around at Catherine’s words.
A few people were buried face-first in an old wooden table, completely passed out from drink.
A few others were giggling in a corner, sipping on some synthetic booze.
There were one or two folks, expressionless, swallowing down harsh alcohol without any snacks.
Wow, what a vibe.
If you gathered all the people rolling around in the lower-class area, this is what it would look like.
Didn’t feel like there was a chance of finding a “decent guy” here.
I knew about Catherine’s gaming companions.
One was a dwarf, a cyberware expert.
The other one was─.
Just then, music began to flow from the small bar’s stage, which I hadn’t even known was there.
A very gentle and clear woman’s voice.
Even the tipsy vagabonds began to turn their eyes towards the stage one by one.
I remembered.
The other was a singer.
An elf who is a mercenary and singer, Andrea.
“…Uh, that’s her, isn’t it?”
Just in time, Catherine gestured toward her.
“Then let’s wait until the song’s over.”
“Right.”
Having found our target, we sat down in an empty spot.
The old iron chair creaked loudly.
The bar wasn’t that crowded, so there were plenty of places to sit.
“I don’t know about her shooting skill, but she sings pretty damn well.”
Even Catherine, who is usually cynical, was impressed by her singing ability, albeit a little.
As we waited for her song to finish.
“Hey, damn! If you’re going to sing like that and bore us, just quit it already!”
One drunkard yelled at her while gulping down liquor.
Then he and his buddies started snicker at her, their laughter as unpleasant as it gets.
This was how it was everywhere in the lower-class area.
Just a lot of crazy people around.
Fights breaking out in the lower-class area weren’t unusual either.
But the problem was this was a dispute against a new companion.
Catherine, sitting next to me, seemed to have the same thought.
We were about to get up from our seats.
Just as we were pondering how to deal with those drunkards.
That’s when the chair flew up to the sky.
– Kwaszh!
Suddenly stopping her song, Andrea threw the chair she’d been sitting on at the drunkards.
The chair hit the drunkard’s jaw with pinpoint accuracy, continuing to spin even as it struck the ceiling.
Nobody saw that coming.
Blood and white bits flew out from the vagabond’s mouth, proving that this was reality.
The drunkard’s friends, who had been laughing along, were unable to hide their surprise.
“Damn, what the hell!!”
Because of that, the drunkards yelled at Andrea, a bit behind.
Catherine and I suddenly found ourselves wanting popcorn due to the bar’s sudden shift in atmosphere.
If Andrea could sort this out, we didn’t need to step in.
Her red hair reflected the light beautifully.
Her long, flowing hair swayed as if showcasing its presence.
“─FUCK.”
Maybe thanks to her excellent singing skills?
Her well-pronounced curse echoed throughout the bar via the microphone.
Then her middle finger shot up stiffly.
“If you don’t want to hear it, come up here, you idiots!”
And that was.
Our first encounter with her.
I wanted to argue that it wasn’t just her bad attitude, but there were many mercenaries with bad attitudes, too.
Anyway, that’s that.
3. Things I Can’t Understand (5)
“Hey!! What was that!?”
“Oh, I was just joking! Can’t I even joke around?”
Catherine yelled as she lunged at Andrea, who coolly received it.
This was Andrea’s personal waiting room, with her name stuck on the door. By the way, it was extremely flashy.
Maybe serving as a dressing room as well.
Andrea, sitting in front of a large mirror, couldn’t stop smiling.
Although not as much as me and Catherine.
She was also one of our long-standing companions.
With many missions under our belt, we had entrusted each other with each other’s lives a few times.
At first glance, it might look like they were actually fighting, but in reality, this wasn’t that serious of a situation.
They had been acting like this for ages.
“…Are you really dead? You.”
“Should I try it out again after a long time?”
…This isn’t serious, right?
I sat cautiously in a guest chair, watching the scene.
Surely, they wouldn’t actually fight.
Just so you know, I promised to run away without looking back if they did start a serious fight.
I was wanting to go home soon.
Was there not anyone to mediate between the two?
I muttered quietly so that only Eve could hear.
“…Eve, do you have a good way to resolve this situation?”
[Just five seconds away, I inform you.]
“Eh?”
That was a completely unexpected answer.
[Currently, there’s a biological reaction approaching the waiting room entrance. I recommend checking the door direction, I repeat.]
As soon as Eve finished speaking, the waiting room door burst open with force.
“Hey there!”
It was a man with an appearance that was clearly that of an upper-class entertainer.
His golden skin starting from his chin was peculiarly spreading across his whole body.
Who was he again?
…It felt like I almost remembered.
Oh, right.
That was the guy who sang on stage earlier.
All the entertainers in Neon City had that kind of vibe. Of course, excluding Andrea.
He looked unique in a different way compared to the lower-class.
“Andrea!”
“Ah…, that crazy bastard’s back again.”
“You still have a rough mouth, my thorny rose.”
The man’s face made Andrea let out a sigh. She looked genuinely disgusted.
Seeing Andrea’s expression made Catherine burst out laughing.
After a while of laughter, Catherine placed her hand on Andrea’s shoulder.
“Ah, this is hilarious. Crazy girl, you two look good together, hey.”
“……Seriously, don’t.”
There was a crunch sound.
One problem was that the guy’s attention wasn’t solely on Andrea.
The man’s head turned toward Catherine.
“Oh, you’re beautiful too.”
“What the hell?”
“Hohoho, I hope you enjoyed my performance earlier. I am Vince Barbo, the leader of Rain Earth.”
Now it was Andrea’s turn to burst out laughing.
Just as Catherine did before, Andrea couldn’t hold back her laughter.
Is he a supreme narcissist or something?
The man didn’t seem to care much about their reactions.
“I was just about to have a meal. Would you do me the honor of joining me? Lady.”
Hearing that, Andrea continued to laugh and spoke to Catherine.
“Hey, hey. You two look good together. Why don’t you go have a meal together? I’m going to eat with Siwoon.”
“……Shun? Who’s that?”
Vince Barbo’s gaze instantly grew sharper.
I kept quiet and sat quietly, not wanting to catch any flak.
I sipped on the tea that was provided for guests.
It tasted good.
But unfortunately, all the people in this room were only us.
Even if I wanted to hide, I couldn’t.
It was only natural that Vince Barbo’s gaze landed on me.
“…Hmm, I see it’s that guy.”
He smirked.
“Isn’t it better to have me than such an Asian guy? Looking at the mask, you don’t seem to be in good shape either.”
…Hmm.
This isn’t the first time I’ve faced racial discrimination.
At this point, I wasn’t even angry.
But ignoring a fight that starts in Neon City is a foolish act.
What can I say?
I tried to get up to respond to his provocation.
If Catherine and Andrea hadn’t simultaneously taken a swing at him, I might have stood up.
– Kwaang!
Was it because his whole body was gold-plated?
The sound of him hitting the wall resounded loudly.
Vince Barbo, now in a crumpled heap, lost consciousness.
…That wasn’t my intention.
Catherine and Andrea exchanged glances with each other.
Then, without saying a word, they nodded.
“…Are you sure it’s okay? He seems somewhat famous. Take it easy on him.”
But it didn’t seem like either of them cared much.
In fact, both had a refreshing expression.
“Hey, hey, I sang the whole time already, so let’s just go eat now together.”
“Shall we?”
…Is this really okay? I wondered for a moment.
Well, the concert did go on quite late.
So I was pretty hungry, to be honest.
We decided to just grab some food and think about it later.
[…….]
I don’t know.
It’ll probably work out somehow.
*
And the very next day.
《NCB24 Breaking News: Vince Barbo, the leader of the famous male group, has been urgently arrested for tax evasion and seven other charges.》
The face of the man I’d seen yesterday appeared right on the news program.
“Oh.”
What a strange turn of events.
Tax evasion, huh?
In Neon City, tax evasion is a must, but if caught, you’re sure to be jailed.
Not paying taxes in the city of capitalism is equivalent to begging to be thrown out of the city.
I think the sentences have a pretty strict penalty too.
So at least for a while, I wouldn’t need to worry about him.
《The NCPD stated that they investigated based on evidence sent by someone over the net*.》
“Hmm.”
Someone, huh?
Just then, Eve suddenly spoke up.
[I really have no idea who sent the evidence; I think it must have required a high-performance AI, I add.]
Is it you?
I’d asked so many times, but Eve never told me the truth.
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