Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Crime City (3)
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She only set me down from her arms after we were sufficiently far from the scene.
"Huu...."
Only now did sensation return to my legs. Finally standing on my own two feet, I let out a deep sigh of relief. And glanced back.
She had already taken off her mask and hat. Her bare face was far more refined and beautiful than I expected. Calm and intellectual features. She looked to be in her mid to late twenties.
Braided bun, was it? Her black hair was tightly braided up to stay neat even in battle, and her golden eyes were striking. Yesterday at the junkyard, I hadn't noticed her beauty due to the wounds and swelling.
I snapped out of staring absentmindedly. Instead of this, I should thank her first.
"First, thank you for helping me. I survived thanks to you. So, your name is..."
"ST-780199."
"ST.... What?"
I was momentarily stunned by the response.
No matter how much of a cybercity this was, could something like that—no, that kind of designation—really be a person's name...?
"W-Well, then... I'll call you Esty."
"If that's what you're comfortable with, I don't mind."
The conversation paused there. I was carefully choosing my next words, while she... who knows.
From the moment I first saw those bright yellow eyes, I couldn't guess what she was thinking behind them.
Golden eyes that gleamed like the moon at midnight. They felt less like a human's and more like those of a dangerous beast. Maybe that was only natural. Just moments ago, she had slaughtered dozens without batting an eye. And not some back-alley thugs, but trained soldiers from a security corporation.
Was that really something someone would do just to repay a favor, for such a simple reason?
I swallowed dryly without realizing it. Thinking about it, there were more than a few suspicious points. First off, the timing of her finding me was too quick.
I didn't know the full story, but yesterday she had been a complete wreck. With injuries like that, she'd need weeks of recovery at minimum. On top of that, the [Heal] skill I'd used back then hadn't even activated perfectly. Strangely, it had taken several times more effort than when I'd used it on Fixer Kayla before, and I hadn't been able to fully heal her wounds.
So she'd barely been clinging to life...
'Wait a minute, no way... she took out an entire strike team in that condition just now?'
As the tension I'd let subside started creeping back up, she spoke first.
"I have one question for you."
As expected. This was probably her real reason for seeking me out. I tensed up considerably.
"Do you happen to know who I am?"
"Pardon?"
The sudden question left me blank for a moment. It sounded like something a self-conscious celebrity would say. As I hesitated, unsure of her intent, she continued her explanation.
"The truth is... I've lost most of my memories."
"What? How...?"
"It's a security measure. To prevent internal secrets from leaking, a kill switch was implanted deep in my cybernetic substrate. When it activated, it damaged my cerebral cortex implant memory and parts of my nervous system. Because of that, I can't recall my original affiliation or even my real name right now."
But she'd happened to meet me and been saved, she explained calmly.
"From what I can infer, it seems I was disposed of by a 'superior' due to some issue. But in my current state, I can't even figure out the cause or the process. I can only guess that I was discarded. That's why I came straight to you, if it's not too rude. I judged that you might know something about my past."
It was a story I hadn't expected at all. In her position, it made sense that she'd come looking for me right after waking up.
Unfortunately, though, I had none of the information she was hoping for.
"N-No idea. I just happened to find you collapsed while passing by at the junkyard, that's all..."
"If you have no connection, then how did you save my life?"
"What do you mean...?"
A brief silence. Her golden eyes staring into mine gleamed especially coldly.
"The security measure, the self-destruct protocol, guarantees complete deletion of the target. Once activated, not even the best hacker can stop it midway. Unless they have executive-level or higher authority."
That's why she suspected I was involved in her disposal, she said in an eerie tone.
Flustered, I denied it desperately.
"No, that's not it. I'm not involved at all. Please believe me...!"
Being lumped in with the ones who betrayed and abandoned her would be dangerous.
"Then how exactly did you stop the protocol's sequence and save me?"
"That is..."
Under her piercing gaze, I felt immense pressure to answer immediately, but words failed me.
Because the truth was utterly ridiculous. If I told her, 'I just clicked it away with the saintess skill from the game,' would she say, 'Ah, I see,' and let it go? Or would she start a 'deep interrogation' to force the real answer out of me?
It would surely be a terrifying time. She was clearly the type skilled at killing, and she'd have no hesitation interrogating others to get what she wanted.
But I couldn't come up with a plausible cover story either.
Not only did no excuses come to mind right away, but I had a strong gut feeling that lying now would be a really dangerous choice.
My head felt like it was going to explode.
"Well... you see..."
Her eyes watching me calmly felt like they were urging me on. No, it was more than that—a sense of crisis. I had to say something before she judged me an enemy. My mind tangled in urgency.
As my fingertips, crusted with dark red blood, twitched slightly, the pressure doubled.
I was so flustered that I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"A... a miracle from God?"
The words slipped out without passing through my brain, and I immediately knew.
'I'm screwed.'
It was a mistake. As you know, 'Neofront Cybercity' is a world with no mysteries. An age of reason where all veils of the unknown have been lifted under dazzling technological advancement. In this super-materialist society built on scientific civilization, anything that can't be used or proven is worth less than trash.
That's why existing religions had naturally died out long ago. No one believed in myths or miracles that couldn't be replicated in experiments. The faiths that dominated two millennia had withered away as outdated relics of a bygone era.
Pulling out 'a miracle from God' as an answer in such a city. A massive blunder. I was terrified of what reaction it would bring.
"God...?"
Even she seemed a bit flustered. For the first time, emotion flickered across her expressionless face. Her eyes widened for a split second, but it was fleeting, and she quickly calmed down again. Then she asked right back.
"Which god do you mean? Like the ones described in Christianity or Buddhism?"
"Well, you see..."
I'd expected immediate scorn, so what was with her asking for more details?
'She actually believes it?'
Her completely unexpected reaction left me more flustered.
But what could I do now? I hurriedly recalled. What was the lore in [Cinder Knights]? The god of the church the saintess served was one of the [Outside Gazes], called...
"Merciful Radiance."
That was definitely the name.
"......I see. So it was a miracle from that god. I hadn't expected this."
It sounded utterly absurd, but she was accepting it with strange seriousness.
Unable to hold back my bewilderment, I asked again.
"Y-You really believe me...?"
She nodded calmly.
"A comprehensive scan of your biometric responses indicates a 98% probability that you weren't lying. Analysis of heart rate, breathing, pupil dilation, sweat glands, body temperature changes, endocrine activity, sympathetic nervous system response—all point to you genuinely believing it's the truth."
That's when it hit me. Those golden eyes that had been gleaming while fixed on me weren't just pretty—they were high-performance cybernetic eyes with multifunctional scanners. And if I'd made up a plausible story, I might have been in even more trouble. I broke out in a cold sweat belatedly.
'G-Good thing. It wasn't a lie, at least...'
In truth, calling it 'a miracle from God' wasn't entirely wrong. The [Saintess]'s abilities were power from that source, one way or another. Probably. Honestly, it was mostly vague conjecture. Even when I prayed to the heavens just in case, I never heard any divine revelation.
But with nothing else to go on, I'd unconsciously accepted it that way myself.
As I got lost in thought for a moment, she spoke again.
"If it's not too rude, could you perhaps show me that miracle again?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Fresh blood dripped down torn skin from her forearm.
As a small finger touched it, a brilliant burst of light spread out in an instant.
Paaat-!
When the dazzling glow faded, the bleeding wound had vanished without a trace.
"........"
Her calm golden eyes watched the entire scene intently.
The pupils of her multifunctional scanner eyes adjusted delicately like a telephoto lens aperture, observing the sight before her. The measured data was analyzed by the computing unit inside her cybernetic body, and soon results emerged.
"Indeed. It's a phenomenon completely different from any current medical technology."
Having witnessed the 'miracle' performed right before her eyes, her misunderstanding finally cleared up completely. She bowed deeply toward me.
"I made a grave rudeness to my benefactor with unfounded speculation. I sincerely apologize."
I waved it off as she bowed all the way to her waist in a polite apology.
"N-No, it's fine. Without you, Esty, I would've been in big trouble too."
There had been a brief misunderstanding, but no real hard feelings. We'd saved each other's lives, after all. I was satisfied that it had resolved peacefully.
Maybe showing it once directly was more effective than explaining a hundred times. Especially since I didn't fully understand the ability myself. If I'd done this from the start, it might have been much easier. I sighed inwardly in relief.
But it might be too soon to relax completely.
"It might be presumptuous meddling, but you should be careful."
"Huh? With what?"
"The [miracle] you showed me. It seems like a very dangerous power."