Chapter 25 – Rainy Day (4)

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 25 – Rainy Day (4)

(Photo of Andrea doing the V sign with her fingers)

@A_Rose

[Taking a quick break and coming back soon!]

#NeonCity #Vacation #Singer #MeetingAFriend

Below that, hundreds of comments followed.

I closed the visual interface.

“You saw that, right? I’m on break.”

“…But even so, can a celebrity just go around like this?”

“So what?”

Andrea shrugged nonchalantly and flipped her hood.

“As long as you cover your eyes with this.”

Then she took out blue sunglasses from the hood pocket and covered her eyes.

“I even used a nice design of sunglasses.”

Finally, she put on a familiar-designed mask over her mouth.

“And I even bought the same mask as you.”

“…Would you please turn back?”

“I don’t want to? Not turning back. So where are we going?”

I just sighed.

I had planned to go alone, but things didn’t go as planned.

Unconsciously, I rubbed my temples.

I was mentally exhausted.

“…Did you bring the car?”

“Of course.”

“…Well then, let’s go.”

“Okay, where to?”

I still didn’t know where.

I continued to track the location of ‘Maya,’ who was still moving.

“Anywhere.”

It was time to move.

* * *

《The vehicle is entering the toll road. Additional fees will be charged.》

A mechanical voice came from the wireless terminal installed in Andrea’s car.

But I didn’t pay attention.

After all, it wasn’t my car.

I pressed the accelerator harder.

Andrea’s car boasted a sleek sports car-like shape reminiscent of the low-profile body of an L-brand car I had seen in my previous life. Painted in red, the vehicle seemed to be at least three times faster than ordinary cars.

Andrea, sitting in the passenger seat, stretched.

“So, to summarize in one sentence.”

“Hmm?”

“A crazy Chrome Psycho stalker who escaped from prison is after you, right?”

“…You could say it’s similar.”

I gave Andrea a brief explanation of the situation.

There was no reason not to tell her my current situation since we were already going together.

“I haven’t been exercising well lately, so it’ll be a good stress reliever.”

Even after explaining that I was going to meet someone who was essentially armed with knives, Andrea seemed unworried.

She leaned back in the car seat, quietly.

But then she leaned back towards me.

“But seriously, where have you been going and what have you been doing to attract these kinds of people? And if something like this happened, you should have told me.”

“It happened before I met you and Drake. When I was only with Catherine.”

“Hmm…”

Then she lay back in the passenger seat again.

From my quick judgment, she seemed dissatisfied about something.

I thought she would quiet down, but Andrea spoke to me again.

“Hey, I have one thing I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

Surprisingly, her voice sounded somewhat cautious, unlike Andrea.

“Are you dating Catherine?”

“?”

I almost got into an accident.

“No.”

“What? I thought you two were already dating.”

“…Why would you say something so out of the blue?”

It seemed like I had heard a similar question from Drake before. I wondered why such thoughts came up again.

“Just curious, I can ask, can’t I?”

“I’ve known her for years, it’s been over ten years already. It’s not like that between us.”

“…Is that so?”

It seemed like a topic I felt awkward to answer.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But fortunately, we arrived at our intended destination soon.

“Anyway, we’re here.”

It was an alley in the lower levels, within the city zone.

Perhaps because it was located on the outskirts even in the lower levels, it was a place where urban sprawl was occurring outward.

It looked very complicated and unplanned even on the map.

“So, where is this?”

“I don’t know either.”

It was indeed the absolute truth without any falsehoods.

I followed the map Eve provided, and that’s how I knew the location.

Also, as far as I know, there is a lot of construction going on around this area, so even if I had been here once before, it would have looked different than it does now.

“…How did you know the location then?”

“…Um, someone told me.”

Since Eve’s identity was a secret, I couldn’t honestly disclose it.

“Who?”

“It’s a secret.”

Strangely, Andrea persisted.

“Is it a woman?”

[As of now, this AI does not have a gender, I must clarify.]

“For now, let’s say no.”

With my answer, I opened the car door. Turning off the engine, I locked the wheels. The rain had eased up compared to earlier, so I didn’t bother with an umbrella.

“What do you mean by ‘for now’?”

Andrea grumbled as she followed me out. But then I realized, parking the car here might pose a problem. It wasn’t about parking violations but the risk of someone stealing the car.

“…Hmm, should I move the car to a different spot? Is there a nearby parking tower or something?”

“Oh, it’s fine. We’ll be done quickly, and even if someone steals it, the insurance is expensive, so it’ll be found soon.”

That should be fine then.

Armed insurance companies will come flying in.

I relieved some of my worries.

Andrea walked towards the trunk.

“Wait a moment, hold on.”

“Huh?”

The trunk was at the front of the car. Andrea lightly placed her hand on it, and the trunk door slowly opened.

Inside the trunk was a large bag perfectly fitting the trunk’s volume.

It looked incredibly heavy, but weight wasn’t a problem for Andrea.

She effortlessly lifted the bag out.

“You’re still carrying this around these days?”

“Of course, my main job is still a mercenary.”

Wasn’t it a side job now?

I briefly thought.

…If that’s what she says, then it must be true.

“Plus, if you’re walking around Neon City, you need to be well-equipped with weapons. It’s the basics.”

“True.”

Hmm.

Andrea wouldn’t need to worry.

Now, I was the one who needed to worry.

We started walking into the alley.

The chilly air typical of the lower levels circulated around us.

There was one strange thing though.

Despite the presence of cardboard laid out on the ground and flames from still burning barrels, there wasn’t a single beggar in sight in the alleyways.

It was odd since there should have been beggars stationed at every alley.

Despite noticing this strange anomaly, we didn’t stop walking.

At the end of the alley was an old garage door.

The map displayed by Eve on one side of the sight interface converted into a 3D format.

It was a deeper structure than I expected.

Maya’s location was confirmed to be underground.

It was puzzling how Maya found this place.

Was there some kind of connection?

Or did the person who helped her escape inform her?

[Translator – Peptobismol]

One thing was certain, I had to go down to find out.

[Internal biosignals of 7 individuals confirmed, I inform.]

That’s right.

First, confirming there were no surveillance cameras nearby, I approached the garage door.

I wanted to detect the interior with magic before entering.

“What are you doing?”

“You’ve seen it many times. Before going in, let’s use magic to scan once. …It’ll take a bit.”

“Let’s just hurry up and do this quickly.”

“Huh?”

“We need to finish before Catherine arrives— I mean, let’s just go have some fun.”

I turned around at Andrea’s words.

There stood Andrea with a giant mechanical arm attached.

It was the bag she took out from the trunk earlier.

A custom Colossus Machine Arm… What was it called again?

In any case, it was something with a name similar to that.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.

But why is she already wearing it on her arm?

My question was short-lived.

Andrea swung her fist towards the garage door.

– Crash!

With a loud noise, the entire garage door shattered.

Andrea?

What’s the rush…?

“…What if there’s someone else’s property?”

“Then ask.”

Ah, I see.

“And what if there are civilians inside?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Among the people living in a place like this, do you think there would be any decent civilians? The smell of corpses fills the air.”

After hearing the explanation, I understood her action.

But still, there could be captured individuals.

Now, I’m not sure.

The loud noise echoed.

Two people hurriedly rushed out from behind the broken garage door.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s all this about?”

Both of them had a good build.

At first glance, they seemed to boast cyberware bodies above the Neon City average.

One was an orc, the other a human.

Despite their intimidating appearances, they both had gruff expressions.

At the same time, Eve sent a screen through my visual interface.

The screen displayed mugshots of the individuals in front of us.

[Confirmed with NCPD Database, NCB24 News. Escaped criminals from Pelicanus Prison, I inform.]

So, they had gathered here.

It seemed like I now understood why Maya knew about this place.

Andrea asked me.

“Who are they?”

“Escaped convicts.”

“Ah, the ones you mentioned had escaped earlier.”

She clenched her fist lightly, causing her gigantic mechanical arm to twitch with a clanking sound.

“So, is it okay to crush them?”

Just as we were peacefully conversing, the escapees shouted.

“Who are you? Don’t you know this is private property?”

“Wait, isn’t that Andrea over there?”

“And who’s that?”

The orc seemed clueless.

“This idiot! Haven’t you heard of the names the Red Devil and Red Horn?”

“I’ve been in Pelicanus for years, how would I know?”

“Dammit, the guy next to her is the mage she hangs out with. Wait, does that mean the Meteor came too? They said this was a safe house, but did we get exposed already? Is this it?”

While the orc seemed clueless, the other one kept swearing incessantly, looking extremely bewildered.

“Is there a back door here?”

“Where’s the back door here, dammit. And anyway, even if they’re famous guys, they’ll still die if they get shot, won’t they?!”

The orc seemed ready to fight.

The mechanically angry orc’s arm split open, revealing multiple gun barrels inside.

Despite the potentially menacing sight, Andrea remained calm.

“Alright, let’s relieve some stress after a long time.”

* * *

Personally, I think the nickname given to Andrea in the mercenary industry suits her well.

Andrea casually tossed aside the two bodies that had already become pieces of meat. Her giant mechanical arm was already soaked in blood.

She instinctively wiped off the blood drops from her cheek.

As a result, her pointed elf ears were also covered in blood.

“Geez.”

They looked like two red horns.

“Your personality still hasn’t changed.”

“I’m still the same.”

I thought her temper would have calmed down since she became so famous as a singer.

For the record, she’s also the best at close combat among the people I know.

We found the basement and descended.

It was time to face my regrets once again.

[Translator – Peptobismol]