‘…The stench is unbearable.’
The soles of her shoes stick with the residue of tar.
Draped in a robe, elf Emily grimaced and hurried past a vagabond collapsed in the alley.
The alley was shrouded in darkness.
Inside a broken streetlight, cobwebs were tangled.
It looked poorly maintained.
Such sights painted a stark picture of the grim reality of the ‘Lower-Class Area’ lurking in the shadows.
“…Could you spare a credit, please?”
A beggar lying on the pavement pleaded.
“Ah? You can’t repay with credits? Ha, it’s fine. You can repay with your body. We just got some decent bioware prosthetics on our side. Just slide right in there and give a little performance, and you’ll have those credits back in no time! Hahaha!”
A thug yelled while stomping on the beggar’s head, who was clasping his hands in prayer.
“Cough, wheeze, gurgle…”
Even a mental care drug addict, frothing at the mouth and drowning in pleasure.
Emily let out a sigh, a habit formed from witnessing such scenes.
‘…I’m really fed up.’
She had to get out of this city soon.
Contrary to the advertising slogan calling it the city of dreams, the depths of the city were nothing but muck.
Of course, it was called the ‘city of dreams’—for those with plenty of credits.
When Emily first entered this city, her heart was filled with hope and dreams. Now, all that remained was the singular goal of collecting enough credits to escape the city.
‘…Life really sucks.’
Rude stares from neighbors just because she’s an elf sucked too, and her naive thoughts about finding hope and settling down in this kind of city were equally sucky.
People shouldn’t think foolish just because they look young.
She naturally took out her electronic cigarette from her pocket, a habit by now, and put it to her lips.
Emily felt like she looked just like that addict earlier, rolling in the alley and frothing at the mouth.
A self-deprecating smile lingered on her lips.
And then it happened.
A blinding light seemed to spill out from between the shabby buildings in the back alley.
It was inevitable that Emily, with a blank expression on her face, walked toward it.
“…Wow, it’s beautiful.”
Emily muttered in a low voice.
It was a hologram advertisement.
Its condition was poor. There were many cracks and broken parts. Still, that seemed to keep it free from the hands of neighborhood scavengers.
But.
Such a shabby advertisement couldn’t dull the beauty shining through it.
[Visit the famous Andrea Rose’s [Pete Mc Burger 325 Branch]!]
It was a common hacking advertisement you could see anywhere in the Lower-Class Area.
Someone even pasted a plank over the part where the original store’s name would have been, writing in another store’s name instead.
However, none of that registered in Emily’s mind.
All she could see was the radiant figure of a beautiful woman.
As she gazed at the woman, Emily instinctively fidgeted with her ears.
Pointy ears—another elf.
But unlike her own, which she hid in the back alley, the elf in the advertisement confidently showed off her beauty even in the bustling city.
Covering her head with her hood more deeply, Emily lifted her gaze to stare directly at the advertisement.
“…Andrea, Andrea Rose.”
It felt like a fateful encounter.
“It truly looks like a rose…”
And soon enough, it didn’t take long for Emily to spend her entire savings, originally intended for leaving the city, on fangirling over Andrea.
Late-blooming fandom can be terrifying.
—
《※Secret※ Andrea Fan Bulletin Board ※Secret※》
[‘Wishing that bastard dead, Day 30’]
Isn’t it about time to die?
ㅡ Not enough prayers, lol
ㄴ (This is a secret comment)
ㅡ But don’t we have to fill a year?
ㄴ There are only a few of us praying here; I think we’ve already filled the quota (Poster’s Comment)
ㄴ Those who prayed in secret are so lame.
ㄴ This guy is lame.
[LOL LOL LOL SO MAD]
I just rewatched the video of Andrea appearing in a live show after a while…
I’m angry because that ‘freaking jerk’ was there with her, but thanks to Andrea’s looks, I keep healing, getting mad, then calming down again.
ㅡ By now, even the remnants of the name are gone.
ㄴ We can call him ‘jerk jerk jerk’ instead (Poster’s Comment)
[I’ve decided to cheer her on]
You guys want Andrea’s happiness too, right?
It’s just that the way I’m doing it is a bit unusual.
Although all the women who participated in the engagement ceremony besides Andrea are also quite pretty, I absolutely don’t care about that. I’m just genuinely supporting her; I’m not mad at all.
ㅡ Sigh. Done with anger.
ㅡ Honestly, if it weren’t for the polygamy, I would’ve just accepted it, right? LOL Who would’ve thought that the rumor about polygamy would turn out to be true?
ㅡ Don’t worry too much; after all, it’s a relationship between humans and elves; how long could it last anyway?
ㄴ According to statistics officially announced by Neon City, the divorce rate between elves and humans is lower than average, and they all seem to live happily (Poster’s Comment)
ㄴ That’s just because the guys who marry elves are mostly upper-class scum.
Hmm.
I was skimming through several posts in the bulletin when I logged out of the Net Space.
I had only taken a peek for about ten minutes after getting the link from Emily, but I felt my sanity slipping away in real-time.
Why are there so many curse posts…?
…..
Well, it makes sense.
I handed the data chip back to Emily, who stood beyond my dim visual interface.
“…Thanks for showing.”
“You really have a unique personality, huh? Didn’t I tell you there’d be a lot of weird posts? Why do you want to see posts that insult you so much?”
Emily mumbled in a grumbling tone as she accepted the data chip I handed over.
I had no idea things would be this extreme…
And the posts weren’t even public, so the content was quite heavy.
Without the personal access data chip Emily just lent me, I wouldn’t have been able to read those posts at all.
Of course, if it were Eve, the great Deus Ex Machina of Cyberpunk, she could easily bypass the security.
But since it’s possible to log in with a data chip, I didn’t feel the need to ask for a hack.
Emily glared at me while putting the data chip into her robe.
Meanwhile, Andrea, looking somewhat tired, finally spoke up.
“…I just need to sign here, right?”
“Ah, yes! That’s right! …Haa! To think I’m getting a dream catcher signed by Andrea! I’ll make sure to pass it down through generations!”
“……”
The look in Andrea’s eyes, holding a name pen, gradually turned cold.
As far as I knew, Andrea’s fan service wasn’t that bad.
I heard she cheerfully takes photos when meeting fans on the street. Stories of such kindness often pop up on social media.
However.
Right now, things felt a bit different.
Dolls that looked equally exhausted floated behind Andrea, all bearing her signature somewhere on their bodies.
– …….
Even the doll made of straw like a curse doll had Andrea’s signature on its chest.
In short, it was bizarre.
I never expected Emily to ask for signatures on each doll.
Eventually, Andrea sighed, looking fatigued, as she left her signature on the corner of the robe Emily was wearing.
“…Thank you for your support.”
I admired Andrea’s professionalism, still managing to maintain her smile.
Emily, clutching the signed items close to her chest, radiated a happy smile.
“Hehehe…”
“……”
She didn’t look much like an elf.
In any case.
We couldn’t get swept into their pace forever. Since all the requests (from Andrea) were fulfilled, it was now time to achieve our goal.
I approached Emily and touched her trembling shoulder as if about to faint.
“…Excuse me.”
“Hehe…, ah.”
She quickly composed herself and managed her expression.
After spending a long time in society, there are moments when you have to pretend not to see things.
“…So you said those are all spirits?”
“…Um, yes.”
She cleared her throat, trying to regain the atmosphere.
“Spirits. Divine beings dwelling in all things existing in this world… Only those chosen, who are either elves or greater beings, can communicate with them.”
“……”
Now that she’s pretending to be all serious…
Noticing the cold glint in my eyes, Emily asked, a tad confused.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What kind of look?”
“The look you give when you see a fool.”
“…Heh, that’s not it. It must be your imagination.”
I shook my head in denial while pondering.
So that’s how they run a cyber-mystical house here. How did she read my mind?
I hastily continued to steer the conversation before the topic changed.
“Anyway, Emily, you’re saying you have no connection to the corporate terrorism incident?”
“Is that what was reported on NCB24 News?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, so it was caused by spirits?”
“Yeah, Andrea mentioned she saw it.”
As I said this, Emily muttered with her head bowed. Though her voice was incredibly soft, I could hear her being close by.
“…Damn, it’s Andrea again. I think I’ll post a worship article later.”
“?”
Anyway, Emily regained her usual expression and lightly crossed her arms.
Whether she truly is a fan of Andrea or not, her little actions mirrored Andrea’s habits.
“Unfortunately, it truly has nothing to do with me.”
“Hmm…”
“…I swear it. Ah, that’s why you asked me earlier whether I held any bad thoughts about corporations.”
How sharp for no reason.
Not needing to lie, I lightly nodded in agreement.
“Well, that’s true.”
“Not that I’m the only one who deals with spirits in Neon City. That’s a bit of a narrow view.”
Emily shook her fingers dismissively.
“Plus, given the scale of the situation, it’s almost certainly a collaboration of several people unless one possesses legendary-level skills. Even if all my spirits exert their power together, they can barely move a single modern vehicle.”
“…Hmm.”
For now, it’s okay.
Still, purely from hearing this, it was hard to believe.
I’d have to ask Eve to investigate separately.
Using surveillance cameras, I could find out more about Emily’s true actions.
However, reading my thoughts, Emily frowned slightly before speaking.
“…I see you don’t believe me.”
She then wore a meaningful smile.
“It’s funny; I think there are suspects with more potential than me.”
Emily pointed a finger at me.
“You.”
“…Huh?”
Where did that bizarre talk come from—?
“You’re the scoundrel engaged to seven women.”
……
I had no idea why that topic was coming up suddenly.
Yet, somehow, Emily’s logic felt very systematic.
“You’ve been involved in several corporate terrorism incidents, haven’t you?”
“…I was just unlucky.”
“Ha, I figured as much.”
Emily continued with a confident tone.
“You probably roamed with other women even before your engagement, right? It’s pretty obvious.”
“…Yeah.”
I want to deny it, but I couldn’t.
Even though I wanted to stay home, I had indeed been dragged around by them many times.
I scratched my head and replied to her.
“…But why?”
“Think about it.”
Emily explained calmly.
“Even I went a bit crazy when I heard the engagement news—no, wait. I almost made a fool of myself. But what about others?”
Now her finger pointed at Eve, who was sitting quietly in the back.
“And besides Andrea… There’s a lot to consider.”
Thinking about it, that’s true.
A chairman known for high social standing, Catherine, a legendary figure in the mercenary world, Natasha, the boss of No Answer, and even Julia, who was quite renown in the underworld.
Even Eve was a rising star in the Net Space before she quit streaming.
At the fighting game tournament, the commentator recognized Eve.
Only Maya was just a regular part-time worker at a fusion-Japanese restaurant.
But I have to say, even that Maya had idol-like popularity in the restaurant.
Anyway.
Letting it go this easily feels somewhat suspicious.
“Then wouldn’t it be easier just to target me? There’s no need to go after corporations. Doesn’t it seem strange?”
“Ha, you really don’t get it.”
Emily, cheekily shrugging, clicked her tongue.
“Tch, fans who go through such situations usually end up hating the world. While I need to verify if my guess is right or wrong, I think it’s certainly possible.”
Her words showed experience.
She’s clearly older.
“……”
Is it true?
For now, it’s an uncomfortable assumption I don’t want to believe.
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