Chapter 165
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165
Anguis Regina went through managers quickly. She’d fired her last one not long ago, so the position was currently vacant.
Reason for dismissal: Anguis Regina's whim.
Still, she seemed to remain on amicable terms with her former managers, harboring no ill will.
I tracked them down one by one.
"Anguis Regina? She hasn't been here. What are we? Ex-manager, ex-lover, and friend, I guess. She calls me to her mansion sometimes when she's lonely. She’s a pitiful girl in a lot of ways. Want a cigarette?"
The woman, her face a mask of glowing neon makeup, spoke as she smoked. A cat with rainbow-hued fur sat purring on her lap.
I flatly refused her offer. For some reason, Ilay came to mind.
"I don't smoke."
"Funny. You've got the face of someone who indulges in alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs all at once."
The woman chuckled. She was a former psychological counselor, which was probably why she’d lasted longer than any other manager. Though "longest" was still only a year.
All of Anguis Regina’s managers had peculiar backgrounds, ranging from gangsters and counselors to chefs and ex-soldiers.
I studied the woman’s behavior. She wasn't lying.
"Does she often disappear like this without telling the company?"
"She has a habit of cutting contact and doing whatever she wants. Most of the time, the Equesians come looking for her. On rare occasions, private detectives like you show up."
The "private detectives" she mentioned were probably the Akies Victima users Japa had hired. It seemed they’d gone looking for her just as I was now.
"Is it work stress? If she keeps this up, she’s going to run away for good eventually."
"No, it's not like that. Anguis Regina isn't that immature. She takes her work seriously—a true professional. Besides, her schedule is probably clear for a while. Even if you don't find her, she’ll be back when it’s time."
"You're a former psychological counselor. You must have listened to her worries."
The woman smiled, her cheeks hollowing as she took a deep drag from her cigarette. A moment later, smoke drifted into my face.
"She only ever forms superficial relationships. She locks her deepest thoughts away in a vault and never lets anyone in, not even the people she sleeps with. The only 'worry' she'd ever share is what to eat for dinner."
"You were close to her for a year. You really have no idea?"
"I'm not a psychic. How am I supposed to read the mind of someone who refuses to open up?" the woman snapped. She was right. It was a stupid question.
"If you find Anguis Regina, contact me," I said, turning to leave her apartment. I didn't have high hopes.
The other managers were also generally favorable toward Anguis Regina. A few were even hostile toward me, refusing to speak at all.
Of course, none of them were close enough to stay silent in the face of violence. It was, just as the counselor had said, a "superficial relationship." No one was willing to risk their neck to protect her.
Slam!
At the ex-soldier's house, I kicked the bed aside. Underneath lay a piece of women's underwear.
A faint scent of Anguis Regina—her perfume and cosmetics, to be clear—drifted from it.
"Unless you have a habit of cross-dressing, there's no reason for this to be here."
Faced with my display of force, the ex-soldier sighed.
"She said she wanted to see the ocean. There's a harbor on the east side of Border City. Try looking there. She left about half a day ago."
"Did she say anything else? About… marriage, maybe?"
"Marriage?"
"No, never mind."
"Ah, she did say one thing. That her childhood dream was to be an astronaut. Though I think last time she told me her dream was to be a doctor… Her story changes every time I see her."
I had heard enough. I left.
Out on the street, I hailed a two-wheeled taxi. The eastern harbor wasn't far, but the city's poor transport network stretched the trip to over thirty minutes. More than once, I thought it would have been faster to run.
Border City's road network was a complete mess, a product of chaotic, unplanned development. Roads wide enough for large vehicles were rare, so logistics relied heavily on small cars and two-wheelers. It was a city utterly devoid of efficiency.
I lingered at the harbor, watching the waves roll in. At the dock nestled inside the cape, cargo workers bustled about. The salty, fishy air felt unfamiliar.
The ocean.
I never expected to see it like this. In the Akresia Empire, even lakes were a rare sight. I had only ever seen the horizon in photos and videos.
It's bigger than I thought.
Border City's eastern harbor was massive, a hive of activity with so much cargo moving through it.
Piecing the testimonies together, Anguis Regina is a complicated woman.
If she had just run off on a whim, I would have been at a loss. Border City was a metropolis. Finding one person without satellite imagery or surveillance systems was nearly impossible.
But Anguis Regina had left a trail.
Marriage, astronaut.
Those were the words she had spoken to the two managers she’d slept with. Putting them together pointed to a single location.
I arrived at a high-rise building perched atop a coastal cliff. It housed the offices of various travel agencies. One of them was 'Honey Space'.
Honey Space operated an orbital hotel outside the atmosphere, a wildly popular honeymoon destination for the wealthy.
Befitting a building dedicated to travel, the view was spectacular—no doubt why it was built on a cliff. Even from the entrance, the vista of the ocean was wide and unobstructed. The view from the rooftop had to be breathtaking.
I checked the directory board in the lobby. The building's rooftop was a garden, sometimes used as a banquet space for special occasions. A notice mentioned they also accepted wedding reservations.
Clank, clank.
I took the emergency stairs up to the rooftop garden.
Rusty and worn out.
The entrance was not what I expected. The days of proper maintenance were long gone. The door wobbled on its frame, its lock and hinges completely broken.
The flowers and trees from the promotional posters were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the space was filled with junk and littered with scattered pairs of shoes. It looked like it had been abandoned for years.
The rooftop wasn't a garden; it was a ruin.
"Anguis Regina?"
I spoke to the woman sitting on a bench, staring out at the horizon. She turned to look at me.
Even with a hat and mask hiding her identity, there was no mistaking her. Her eyes had an excessive, glossy sheen.
"…Finding me in just two days. That's a new record," Anguis Regina said, pulling down her mask. Her skin was unnaturally pale, likely from meticulous cosmetic procedures, and her lips were a smudge of painted pink.
"I'm just that good," I replied, leaning a shoulder against the doorframe.
As I suspected, she had left the clues intentionally. She knew Japa had hired a new detective.
"Now that you know I'm capable, you can go back. Tell Japa I'll return on my own when it's time to work."
"Japa told me to find you and bring you back. My job ends when I do that."
"I just want some time to myself, without my exploitative boss interfering. Turn a blind eye this once. I'll make it worth your while later."
Anguis Regina flashed a coquettish, professional smile. I knew the type. It reminded me of Martina Diva, though there was no old woman hiding inside Anguis Regina. She was a genuine young woman, all flesh and blood.
I didn't make any sudden moves.
Her shoes are off.
She was sitting barefoot on the bench. Two steps forward was all it would take for her to plunge off the edge. There was a safety railing, but it was only waist-high—easy enough to vault over.
I guess this is a suicide hotspot.
The discarded shoes and clothes I’d noticed earlier suddenly stood out. Sections of the railing were broken. Below was the coastal cliff, where the waves would swallow any falling body.
"No matter how I look at it, I have to take you back now. I have a deal with Japa."
"Do you have any idea what he does to me? Japa is a monster. He abuses me…"
Anguis Regina’s face twisted as she spoke, her hands and feet trembling slightly.
But I just let out a dry chuckle. The reaction was pure theatrics.
"Cut the crap. Don't lie. We just met, and you don't even open up to people you've been close to for years. If you were the type to confess to being abused by a total stranger, one of your managers would have noticed something. Besides, Japa never confined you or planted a tracker, even after you disappeared multiple times. That's the truth."
As I spoke, I slipped my hand inside my coat, as if crossing my arms.
With a soft rustle, Anguis Regina stood up from the bench. She glanced down at the ground below, then back at me.
"…You really are different from the others. Listen carefully. This is between me and Japa. It has nothing to do with you. So if you don't want to see my corpse, get lost. I will jump. I'm not joking."
I laughed. The venom in her words was a stark contrast to her bright smile.
"I know you're capable of it. You jumped from a nineteen-story mansion, trusting a single, unreliable man. You think it’s fine to die if things go wrong, don't you? I get it. I throw myself into danger with the same mindset. Life is just a series of shitty events, and the world is a depressing place."
At my words, Anguis Regina’s eyes widened slightly, her pupils sparkling as if they held starlight.
"We speak the same language. Since you understand…" she began, her voice trailing off.
I narrowed my eyes, my thoughts accelerating. If I sprinted forward now, could I grab her in time? Maybe, but I couldn't be certain.
If she goes over the cliff, can I save her?
I had no idea what the terrain was like down there. If I was unlucky, we’d both die.
Kinuan’s advice came to mind.
'When you're covered in impurities, your decision-making slows. The more you have to protect, the more situations you have to avoid, the more inefficient your thinking becomes. You end up taking the long way around, leaving the fastest answer behind, all because you can't do this, and you can't do that.'
There was no need to take the long way around.
…Anguis Regina was not my girlfriend or my family. She was a complete stranger. There was no reason for me to risk my life for her.
Whir.
My Retinal Display activated.
– Non-lethal mode. Species: Human. Target: Disable mobility.
Setting up the Auto-Tracking Pistol was simple. The reticle locked on instantly.
Click.
My finger moved inside my coat. I pulled the trigger. Two shots tore through the fabric.
Bloody holes erupted in both of Anguis Regina’s knees. Her legs gave out, buckling at a grotesque angle.
Thud.
She collapsed where she stood.
"Ah…"
Her realization was delayed. She had clearly never experienced this kind of violence. Right now, she probably couldn't even feel the pain.
She tried to stand, only to slump back down like a broken doll. As she stared at her mangled knees, her expression slowly contorted. It was a genuine look, free of any acting, and tears began to well in her eyes.
"You said it yourself, didn't you? That I was different. You were right. I'm nothing like the people you've dealt with before. I will never do what you want."
I pulled the Auto-Tracking Pistol from my coat as I approached. As the hem swayed, spent shell casings clattered onto the concrete.
…A beat later, Anguis Regina’s scream tore through the air. Befitting a singer, her lungs were incredibly powerful.