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Chapter 21

Inside the dark and dingy room.

A dwarf with a massive build, Drake, gnashed his teeth.

‘Damn it… those scavenger bastards.’

A cold curse-laden voice struggled to escape his throat but was swallowed back.

The problem was that he had rushed here without any preparation upon hearing the news of his girlfriend, Lauren, being taken by the scavengers.

His heart was too impatient.

Ultimately, Drake himself ended up captured by the scavengers and locked inside the dark room.

If there was any good news, it was that the security was sloppy.

The handcuffs holding his hands had long been undone. With no other guards around, given enough time, he could hack open the locked door.

But the bad news was, Drake didn’t have enough time.

‘It’s going to be too late… Please, please!’

Should he have equipped his combat gear before coming? But that would have taken even more time.

Finding the hidden scavenger while concealing their tail was difficult.

The thick iron door blocking Drake’s path showed no sign of opening whatsoever.

Then, a voice came from outside the door.

[Is anyone in there? If you’re not a scavenger, please step away from the door within 5 seconds.]

A voice of an ordinary man, unfitting for a scavenger’s lair.

The voice began counting down the 5 seconds slowly.

Drake didn’t step away from the door.

If by any chance, the person opening the door was a scavenger, he couldn’t miss that opportunity.

But then, the words that followed forced Drake to retreat from the door.

[Then I’m blowing it up.]

Blow it up? What?

Drake’s thoughts were cut short.

A small circle drawn in flames appeared on the iron door.

Though Drake didn’t know what it was, he had a gut feeling that it defied the known laws of physics.

Immediately after,

– Bang!

The door shattered into pieces and flew off.

With a loud noise, dust and debris spread from outside the door.

Within the smoke, Drake saw three shadows.

Among them, a tired-looking man standing in the middle opened his mouth.

“Scavenger… doesn’t seem like it. Another person captured?”

Since the man’s face was covered by a mask, his expression couldn’t be seen.

However, the fatigue was evident under his dark circles visible beneath his eyes.

“Are you the mercenary sent to rescue us from outside? What about the people who were captured? Was there a woman with brown hair among them?!”

“Ah.”

In response to Drake’s words, which shot out like a machine gun, the man, Lee Siwoon, raised both hands and made a calming gesture.

“Don’t worry. We’re here to rescue everyone and we’re on our way out. And if I may ask… You’re Mr. Drake, right?”

“…That’s correct.”

“Miss Lauren told us about it and we came to rescue you. She said you came to rescue her and got caught in the process.”

That was truly fortunate.

Drake breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Lee Siwoon’s words.

His thick legs lost strength, and he sank to the ground.

Then, the two women behind him, Catherine and Andrea, asked Lee Siwoon some questions.

“Hey, really. How did you find out that there were hostages hidden?”

“Yeah, we could have just passed by without knowing.”

Lee Siwoon shrugged nonchalantly.

“I just had a feeling. Anyway, since we rescued everyone, it’s a relief, right?”

While saying so, he inwardly thought,

It’s because I’ve played the game that formed the basis of this world before, so I roughly knew the flow of the quest.

‘Originally, the quest started with Drake’s girlfriend already dead… Good thing we arrived in time.”’

It was worth hurrying.

Lee Siwoon nodded subtly without anyone noticing.

“Haha… it’s a relief…”

Drake had considered the worst-case scenario.

It was fortunate that things turned out well.

Drake, who was sitting on the floor with one hand resting on it, used his other hand to stroke his temple.

After a moment of silence, Catherine, who couldn’t read the atmosphere, spoke up.

“Hey, but don’t we need someone who can hack? We almost got in big trouble here several times.”

“…Heroes don’t learn hacking.”

“I’ll pass too. I’ll take a look around later when I go to No Answer.”

Lee Siwoon and Andrea responded respectively.

Their answers made sense. It was clearly too late to start learning hacking now. It required specialized knowledge and exceptional intellect.

Knowing that they needed a hacker, it was appropriate to use this opportunity to find someone for the job.

Drake, who had been listening to the conversation, gently raised his head that had been bowed.

“…By any chance, do you guys need a teammate who is good at hacking?”

A moment of silence.

Catherine, who broke the silence cautiously, answered.

“…Um, we do need one, If it’s at a level of someone who’d end up being held here—”

“No, we need one!”

“Huh?”

It was Lee Siwoon who interrupted her in the middle.

‘I cleared the scavenger’s den and rescued Drake and his girlfriend for this exact reason.’

He couldn’t miss this opportunity.

Lee Siwoon continued to persuade the other two.

“Just trust me this once. I have a good intuition.”

“…Well, you’ve never said that before and had a bad outcome.”

“I have no objections if Lee Siwoon says so.”

After the brief conversation, Lee Siwoon walked towards Drake, who was on the ground.

Even though Drake was sitting, due to his large build, his gaze reached Lee Siwoon’s nape.

“My name is Lee Siwoon. Nice to meet you, Mr. Drake.”

“Just call me Drake. …Lii Syoon, Sewon, Siioon. Hmm… I don’t think I’m pronouncing it right.”

“It’s common for people to often mispronounce it when we first meet. You can call me comfortably.”

“No, I can’t mistakenly call the benefactor of me and my girlfriend. Nice to meet you… Mr. Siun.”

That was the first meeting between Lee Siwoon and Drake.

* * *

“Alright! It’s over now, get up.”

“….”

Am I still alive?

[Classical music playback has ended.]

….

It felt like I might be dead.

I moved my trembling feet like a newborn goat.

“The surgery went well. The nano ampoule seems to have worked well, and there don’t seem to be any issues.”

Drake, who was originally full of laughter, smiled broadly once again.

I moved my head to inspect my body.

Both arms and legs.

I had undergone implant surgery on both sides, but there seemed to be no visible changes in appearance.

“Hey, did you do it properly? Why hasn’t anything changed? Was it just painful for nothing?”

“It’s designed to expand only when strong force is applied. Even if it doesn’t look like it, it should be able to easily lift an ogre.”

Oh.

Hearing that made me feel quite okay.

Of course, even if that is the case.

My fundamental chronic illness, the ‘stamina’ problem, remained unchanged, though.

“So even if I can lift an orc, what’s the point? I’m just going to collapse from exhaustion after a few steps.”

“…Hmm, unfortunately, I don’t have a cyberware heart or lungs right now. If you give me some time, I can try to get you some.”

“…No, sir.”

Please, just bear with it.

It’s more comfortable to live like this forever.

Then, a message notification appeared on my visual interface.

It was from Catherine.

Sender: ‘Neon City, Best Freelancer’

– Hey.

– Have you finished your check-up with Drake?

– Reply when you’re done.

There’s no need to reply later.

I sent a message to Catherine, letting her know I would be returning soon.

“Ah.”

Just then, I asked Drake a question that occurred to me.

“If you were going to schedule a check-up for me today, wouldn’t it have been better for Catherine to come along and get her check-up done together? Why split it and do her’s tomorrow for no reason?”

Drake had said that earlier.

Andrea had come last time and got hers done, and Catherine was scheduled to come tomorrow.

Drake responded to my inquiry.

“Tsk tsk, you don’t understand the female heart.”

[…….]

What?

“Why would Catherine want to hide her scars or implant lines and not want you to see her check-up process? …And, as far as I can see, it’s not just Catherine.”

“I’ve been with her for years, surely she can see mine too.”

“Hahaha, people’s minds are all different, after all.”

I couldn’t quite understand the reason.

I just thought that might be the case.

Leaving Drake, who was laughing innocently, behind, I moved to the waiting room.

But in front of the waiting room was a figure I hadn’t expected.

The tuskless orc, the gatekeeper of No Answer.

Mercenary Smith.

His sturdy stance, holding his ground with a firm back, was just like when he guarded No Answer.

It couldn’t be because of the offhand comment he made about being able to lift an orc, right?

“Mr. Smith, what brings you here? Are you here for a check-up? Please go inside.”

“Haha, no. Hello, Mr. Shun.”

“Then why are you here? …Ah.”

Come to think of it, there was one more reason for Smith to come here besides getting a check-up.

“Boss asked to make sure the gift arrived safely.”

Did Smith see that I had come? Drake followed behind me, walking with him.

“I sent a message to let you know, though.”

“Still, the boss wanted me to come and check for myself.”

If the boss wants it, then the underling must comply with their sadness.

Perhaps he sensed my pitying gaze.

Smith continued without changing his firm posture.

“It’s okay. Since my hometown, Redwood, is nearby, I thought I’d stop by on the way back.”

“Oh, you’re from Redwood?”

It was the only green area in Neon City.

It was the fastest way to see trees compared to other places.

Of course, with Cloud Park right next door, the air was just as bad as anywhere else.

“It doesn’t look like it, does it? I hear that a lot.”

I didn’t say that, but it wasn’t a wrong statement.

Orcs living in Redwood, treated as slums, were all fierce without exception.

But he was different from the typical orcs in many ways.

Contrary to the image of orcs showing off their tusks and even attaching LEDs, Smith had removed his tusks so they weren’t visible.

“I heard that my brothers don’t like it when I come, but still, I thought I’d take the opportunity to at least see them.”

“Mr. Smith, you’ve had a hard time.”

“Oh, no, not at all. As much as Mr. Shun here.”

If he’s going to state it as a fact, I couldn’t argue.

“And one more thing.”

Smith leaned in closer to me.

His green skin was a bit overwhelming.

“Absolutely. The boss asked you to stop by again.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

The pinnacle of all intermediaries in Neon City.

The unknown boss of No Answer.

I felt a bit uneasy about that person.

But I couldn’t say such things outright.

“…Since I’ve received the gift, I’ll definitely drop by later.”

“Then I’ll convey that you’ve promised to the boss. When would it be possible for you to come?”

I didn’t know.

I didn’t even want to know.

“…I have a lot of different things going on these days. I’ll go when things calm down a bit.”

“…Hmm, understood. You must be tired from the implant aftereffects, I’ve been holding you up for so long.”

“No, it’s fine. Have a good trip back to your hometown.”

Then Drake, who had been quiet, spoke to Smith.

He had a very kind voice.

“Since you’re here, do you want to get some cyberware scaling done too? I’ll take care of it.”

“…Haha, no thanks. I got one recently.”

It was a reasonable answer.

If he had been waiting in the waiting room all this time, he would have heard my piercing screams.

Drake felt regretful as he savored his appetite.

But since he had just received one recently, there was nothing he could do.

I escorted Smith, who disappeared as if trying to flee, and bid farewell.

Alright then.

“I’ll be off now.”

“Yeah, keep in touch more often. Let’s see each other’s faces more often. Or else, I’ll come pick you up again and drive you home.”

“…That’s a bit…”

I couldn’t give a definite answer.

If it were coming here in Drake’s car like when we came, it wouldn’t be so bad, but it’s too much hassle to come by public transportation.

“Hey, since we’re talking about it, can you give me a ride? Let’s just take it easy on the way back too.”

“…Hmm. Why not? Since there are no more reservations anyway.”

Drake nodded in response to my request.

Alright.

I’ll be able to go back comfortably.

I settled into the plush car seat.

Just like Drake, who enjoys the latest technology like hacking and cyberware, his car was filled with various state-of-the-art equipment.

I gazed out the window at the scenery outside.

Apart from the smog covering the factory district, it was a very nice and clear day.

Drake, holding the steering wheel, said to me.

“Hey, since we’re out, want to go grab a drink?”

“…Where are we going?”

“There’s a nice bar near my house that opened recently. Let’s go have a drink and reminisce since it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”

“…Hmm, alright. Seeing your face after a long time does bring back some old memories.”

“Great! Let’s go right away!”

Despite my fondness for every corner of my home, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go somewhere to have a little while I’m already out.

I lay my head back on the car seat next to Drake, who was driving cheerfully.

Eve asked me a question as I closed my eyes and rested comfortably.

[…Will you be okay with going back later? I ask.]

“Is something going to happen just because I’m out for a little while?”

* * *

……

Something did happen.

“…So, I can explain why I’m late, Your Highness.”

“……”

I forgot that I had just said I was going straight home.