In a quiet, old bar in the lower-class area, the owner always had a repertoire for the guests who came in drunk.
“Do you know? No, right?! Listen carefully! This place may seem just like an ordinary bar…!”
But for the regulars who had heard it more than a couple of times, it was just a pain in the ears.
“Yes, I know. It’s not just an ordinary bar, but a seriously vintage and hip place, right?”
“…That’s not what I’m saying!”
The owner burst out with a breath. Naturally, he wasn’t a dragon straight out of a legend, so all he could produce was spit.
The customer, wiping his face with a cloth on the counter, sighed heavily.
“…Ugh, this guy is at it again.”
Given its small size, the kinds of customers that came through were limited.
The regular, already used to the owner’s drunken ramblings, just thought the double IPA in his glass was good.
The owner slammed down his glass on the counter with a loud clang.
“This is the place where that famous singer Andrea sang and played guitar! Do you know?!”
“Yes, yes, I understand. Just drink your booze.”
The regular tried to change the subject, but sadly, the owner was already too drunk to listen.
“…Now, listen! Back then, Andrea─.”
A round, mechanical light flickered in the regular’s eyes.
He checked the notes on his visual interface and began reciting the owner’s monologue as if it was drilled into his ears.
“‘She was infamous enough to be kicked out of every bar, but thanks to the owner’s sharp eyes noticing her greatness, she was able to keep singing.’ …That’s what you were going to say, right?”
“…Yeah! Exactly!”
The regular pushed his empty beer glass toward the owner, shaking his head.
“I’m starting to get tired of this, can’t you tell a different story? This is why customers leave without hearing your drunken ramblings.”
“Customers who don’t listen to my stories aren’t needed!”
“…You’re insane, aren’t you?”
Is this really what a bar owner in a capitalist society should be saying?
‘…But still, at least he’s a decent guy.’
Just a loudmouth, really.
He wasn’t violent from not having had implant scaling for a long time, nor was he unable to see the world clearly due to being high on mental care drugs.
Still, it was somewhat funny.
‘…Does it even make sense? There’s no way Andrea performed in such a dump.’
I should probably get ready to leave since it’s getting boring.
The regular rested his chin on his hands atop the counter, deep in thought.
Then the sound of the old door creaking open heralded the arrival of a new customer.
“…Wow, you’re still in business.”
In the lower-class alley, there were many individuals who couldn’t afford to maintain their vocal implants.
After hearing nothing but voices that sounded like scraping metal, the clear and well-pronounced voice of a woman brought him back to sobriety.
But, that voice sounded familiar─.
The regular turned around, leaving the drunken owner slumped over on the counter, facing the direction of the voice at the entrance.
There stood three figures.
His gaze zeroed in on one of them.
It was something that couldn’t realistically happen.
In a tremulous voice, the regular slowly asked, as if dreaming.
“…Andrea Rose…?”
“Hmm?”
With red hair like blood and pointed ears, dressed in a captivating outfit. It was indeed herself.
Andrea, noticing the fan who recognized her, lowered her sunglasses slightly.
“Sorry, no autographs.”
“…Gasp!”
“I already gave away all the autographs today to other elves. Is that okay?”
The regular’s breath became ragged as if he were having a panic attack.
It really was her.
—
Side EP. Andrea Rose
Though she said that, it wasn’t true that Andrea didn’t give an autograph to the customer.
The customer who received Andrea’s autograph from the glowing hologram panel trembled all over as if he couldn’t believe this was happening in reality.
“…A-Andrea! I’m always rooting for you!”
“Oh, thank you!”
When Andrea smiled slightly, the customer almost bent over to the ground in his excitement, giving her space.
I watched that scene and lightly poked Andrea in the side, saying,
“Wow, as expected. A ‘national celebrity’ and a frequent top artist on the prestigious ‘Neo Japan Chart’─.”
“Shut up.”
Andrea brushed off my joke as she adjusted her sunglasses back on her nose.
“I thought no one would be here since the owner said it was still early… But it seems business is doing pretty well compared to the past.”
Muttering that, Andrea looked around.
She had said it was a ‘date,’ but the place Eve and I had followed her to was just an old bar.
I had a few memories of being here.
With a wide counter, at the very back was a low stage.
If I remembered correctly, this was the bar where Andrea had been a regular presence before she became famous.
It was inevitable that the security in the lower class wasn’t good.
Andrea preferred soft songs, and no matter how well she sang, there would always be backlash.
There were so many bars in the lower class from which she had been kicked out for causing disturbances while singing that it was hard to count on fingers.
However, the place she chose for her last performance was different. Simply put, the owner’s taste in music matched Andrea’s.
Since then…
When Andrea sang, if the drunks jeered, the owner would step in and throw chairs at them.
I opened my mouth as I followed Andrea’s gaze around.
“Nothing here has changed.”
“Yeah. The stench is still the same.”
The owner’s snoring was also unchanged.
“Grrk… huff… grrk… huff.”
…Almost choking.
How can a person’s breath sound like that?
I found myself staring at the head of the owner, who was slumped over the counter.
His shiny metal head was impressive.
He was not only bald but had real skin peeling off on his head, revealing the cyberware implants underneath.
Still, owning a bar in the lower class must mean he had enough credits for surgery, yet nothing changed from old times to now.
Curious about his gleaming metal skin, Eve playfully tapped the owner’s bald head.
Whoa, easy now.
But before I could stop it, the owner snapped out of his slumber.
“……Hmm?”
His half-peeled skin made a grotesque expression of confusion.
It was obvious how much he had drunk, with his remaining skin flushed red. As he lifted his head, a strong alcohol smell wafted over.
The owner’s dazed mechanical eye implants cautiously examined our faces.
– Vrooom….
After a moment, a small operational sound echoed from the owner’s body.
It was an ethanol combustion implant.
His face color improved in real-time.
Along with that, his expression got even weirder.
“…Ah, ah, ah─.”
A sense of déjà vu hung in the air.
“Andrea!!”
“Yep, that’s me.”
Andrea, making a V sign with her fingers, greeted the owner, who looked lost in a dream.
The owner, sensing that this was somewhat dreamlike, jaw dropped open and asked Andrea.
“…Wh-What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I just stopped by while passing through. This place hasn’t changed at all over time. By the way, you still kept the stage intact.”
As the owner seemed to realize that this was not a dream, he started polishing his metal head with the cloth nearby.
Is he washing his head?
He had no idea that some artificial intelligence knocked on his head to wake him up.
The owner continued speaking once he had his wits about him.
“…Of course. Even now, when customers come in, they always talk about you. They say that Andrea Rose performed here!”
“There can’t be that many customers.”
“Still, facts are facts!”
The proud owner’s gaze shifted to the ‘straw doll’ that Andrea was holding.
“…But what’s with that weird doll?”
“Siwoon, let’s just go back.”
“…No! I was complimenting it! Just… I was surprised by its amazing design. Really! I thought it looked like something a famous star would carry.”
“……”
Was that a compliment or an insult? Andrea had a blank expression.
The owner quickly rose from his seat.
“Anyway, wait a minute. I saved all my best alcohol for today! Vintage line of Black Titan and fancy cava!”
Before we could even say anything, the owner hurriedly went behind the counter.
“The rushed personality is the same as ever.”
“He looks healthy, at least.”
Andrea and I watched as he scurried around behind the counter.
Eve quietly sat next to me.
Then, I noticed Eve’s gaze fixed on the ‘beer keg’ at the counter.
Hmm.
Thinking back, Eve had never really tried drinking on her own.
……
A playful idea sprang to mind.
I pulled out a clean glass from under the counter.
The keg, apparently made of stainless steel, was labelled ‘D-IPA.’
IPA isn’t bad for a beginner, even though it’s on the stronger side for beer.
It won’t be enough to mess up her stomach.
The drinks in this cyberpunk world can be dangerous like that.
Anyway.
I poured the orange beer into the empty glass and passed it to Eve.
“Wanna give it a try?”
“…Alcoholic fermentation product, featuring rich artificial hop aroma. It’s disproportionate to the health of artificial bodies and has no positive effects.”
“Say no if you don’t want to.”
“But I’ll try it since ‘Siwoon’ gave it to me.”
……
She probably just wanted to try it.
Andrea and I focused on her as she lifted the glass, feeling as if we were watching a baby bird hatch from an egg.
– Gulp, gulp.
She frowned slightly, but she downed the beer in one go.
She didn’t have to do it in one shot, but then again.
Eventually, Eve placed the empty glass onto the counter with her usual expressionless face.
Huh, no change at all─.
“Degradation of the nerves in the artificial body has been detected. Activation of gamma-aminobutyric acid is felt, and the concomitant hormonal action of dopamine and serotonin is confirmed….”
“?”
As she spoke, Eve’s voice began to elongate.
The corners of Eve’s mouth twitched slightly. This was the first time I had seen her express such vivid emotion since last night.
And then.
“I’ll be sleeping.”
– Thud.
Eve’s head hit the counter.
“……”
“……”
Andrea and I stared in astonishment at Eve’s state.
– Purr….
The sound echoed quietly through the bar, reminiscent of a cat’s purring.
We watched that scene and burst into laughter simultaneously.
“…Don’t you think that’s a bit weak against alcohol?”
“Being an artificial intelligence, I guess she’s not used to experiencing alcohol for the first time.”
“Still, that’s saying something.”
While talking, it got even funnier, and Andrea couldn’t stop herself from giggling.
She stood up, stretching exaggeratedly.
“…Well, that was quite a sight.”
I looked at Andrea stretching and suddenly felt curious, so I asked her.
“By the way, why did you come here all of a sudden?”
You said it was a date, after all.
As I mixed my questioning with curiosity, Andrea turned to me slowly, her gaze fixed.
“Just. It brought back a lot of memories coming to the lower class after so long.”
That might be true.
I nodded slightly.
However, Andrea’s sentence wasn’t finished.
“And also, the reason I started to like you was because of a performance at a bar like this. Well, maybe not this exact bar.”
……
Whoa, that hit me out of nowhere without any warning lights.
Andrea, grinning without dropping her stretch, cheekily finished answering my question.
“That’s why I wanted to come here.”
“……Wait! The alcohol is coming back─. Why is this person already passed out?”
Just then, the owner returned at the perfect timing and looked down at Eve, who was slumped over on the counter.
Given the owner’s question, we looked at each other again, and it was only natural that another round of laughter erupted.
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