Give Me the Money
I rushed out of my seat and headed toward the café door.
Behind me, the mercenaries' suspicious murmurs continued to echo, but I no longer had time to care.
As I stepped out the café door, Yuna's back appeared in the distance, quickly striding through the crowded central corridor.
Her steps were hurried and unstable, far from her usual elegant grace, as if the shock from earlier still lingered.
People around us glanced alternately at her and at me following, as if we were the subjects of some bizarre encounter or even a brawl, and they instinctively made way.
Thanks to that, catching up to her was no problem at all.
“Yuna, wait a second!”
I called her name and reached out to gently grab her shoulder.
She spun around as if electrocuted.
“Why are you following me again?”
She shot the words at me sharply.
But her voice trembled more than before.
It was the irony of how the harder she tried to hide her emotions, the more they leaked out.
“You said your piece, right? You told me to handle my answer later with that chip of yours…!”
“No, I haven’t finished.”
I cut her off.
And I looked straight into her wavering eyes.
In that moment, I realized.
All the things she had said earlier—the concern, the anxiety, the accidental arrival here—they had been genuine.
She wasn’t lying now; she was simply overwhelmed by feelings and actions she couldn’t understand herself.
Behind the mask of the Silver Witch, Icarus’s ace pilot, lay an unexpectedly human side.
Once I saw that truth, I couldn’t keep pressuring her any longer.
At the same time, another thought struck me.
Yuna was in a highly emotional state right now. And whether I knew what kind it was or not, I was sure she held strong interest—or something far deeper.
If that was the case, shouldn’t I use it?
*This woman isn’t thinking straight right now. And she’s definitely hooked on me.*
I calculated rapidly in my mind.
*It’s good to build a foundation in Terminus alone, but with Yuna beside me? Not only would safety be secured, but information gathering and funding would be greatly assisted.*
Of course, there was risk involved.
She could revert at any moment to being the cold corporate mercenary she had been, and I had no idea how long her interest would last.
But the immediate gain was clear.
I could stick to her like a leech, or form a strategic alliance—it didn’t matter.
I needed to tie her to my side.
I softened my expression and spoke in the gentlest voice I could manage, as if I understood her confusion.
“Calm down, Yuna. You don’t need to rush off like this.”
I removed my hand from her shoulder and took a step back.
“Thanks to you, I’m alive, but my mecha is in bad shape. I really need someone to fix it properly.”
I continued as if it had just occurred to me.
“There’s a real talent for mechanics near here. In Terminus, she’s considered the best. Her name is Scarlet.”
I watched her reaction. I didn’t miss the curiosity that flickered in her eyes instead of the usual wariness.
“Maybe it would interest you too.”
I smiled at her eyes, trying not to pressure her but making it hard to refuse.
“If you’re free, would you like to come along? You mentioned wanting to see the technology level in Terminus, didn’t you?”
Yuna fell silent for a moment, staring at me with her mouth slightly agape, then swiftly rolled her silver eyes.
She wore a complex expression, as if trying to understand my intentions or sort out her own feelings.
From her perspective, the offer was quite tempting.
Moreover, leaving awkwardly right after the earlier embarrassment would have been strange.
How much time passed? Finally, she let out a short breath and answered in a voice so quiet it was almost inaudible.
“I understand.”
She still couldn’t meet my eyes properly, but she accepted my proposal.
I breathed a silent sigh of relief in my heart.
I had successfully secured Yuna for now.
“Good decision. This way.”
I walked ahead as if nothing had happened.
Yuna hesitated briefly, then followed me silently without a word.
We headed back into the scrapyard alley.
As we walked through the crowded passage, the gazes from passersby poured down on us even more openly.
The Silver Witch and the mysterious mercenary.
That bizarre combination seemed to turn Terminus into the ultimate gossip hub.
I forced myself to stay calm, but the presence of the woman quietly walking beside me was impossible to ignore.
She continued to scan our surroundings with sharp eyes while keeping an alert guard, as if missing nothing in the Terminus scenery.
We finally reached the repair shop at the deepest corner of the alley, its sign reading “Scarlet’s Web.”
A loud rock music leaked out from the door gap.
I paused for a moment and glanced sideways at Yuna beside me.
She furrowed her brows slightly at the noisy music, hesitating whether to cover her ears.
I thought that sight was oddly cute—my own illusion, perhaps.
The moment I reached for the door, it was flung open roughly from inside!
“Ah, damn! Who the hell are you now!”
Scarlet appeared in greasy tank-top work clothes, gripping a wrench in one hand, her face twisted in displeasure.
Her piercing eyes first swept over me.
“You insane bastard, I told you not to set foot in my workshop again, right? Or did you really find the gravity damper?”
Her expression screamed annoyance.
And the moment she spotted Yuna standing beside me, her eyes widened in shock.
“W-wait a second, are you the Silver Witch of Icarus, Yuna?!”
Scarlet exclaimed in disbelief, nearly dropping the wrench from her trembling hand as she pointed between us.
“Who the hell are you two? Why are you with her?!”
The loud rock music seemed drowned out by her outburst.
Scarlet’s face was genuinely shocked.
“No way, it really is Yuna?”
She still looked unconvinced as she scanned Yuna’s perfect appearance and the silver-white pilot suit clinging to her body.
“I thought she came straight out of the Icarus promo video. But why is she in this rundown place, and with this crazy guy no less?”
Her gaze shifted back to me.
Inside it mixed the earlier contempt with now baffling confusion and overwhelming curiosity.
Yuna had her hand near her ear, furrowing her brows at the loud music.
Scarlet nodded slightly in response and commanded,
“Turn the music off.”
The rock instantly died with Scarlet’s voice.
“Thanks. It was way too loud.”
Scarlet’s eyebrows twitched at Yuna’s words, but she quickly cleared her throat.
“I set the volume to 100, so it’s understandable. You have to blast music when working, right?”
“I think using headphones is better.”
“Even the ace pilot here has no sense for hearing, huh? Headphones can’t replace bass and spatial awareness?”
“I think rock music is just plain loud. I prefer mellow classics or jazz.”
Scarlet simply frowned and pushed out her lips without a word.
“Anyway… Jinwoo, what the hell is going on right now?”
“What should I call it? An escort arrangement?”
“Fine.”
As I looked at Yuna, she gave a light nod.
“…I thought you were just some ordinary mercenary. I didn’t realize you were close with the Silver Witch.”
Scarlet crossed her arms, drawing her chest even more prominently into view.
*As I thought before, she’s really built.*
I unconsciously glanced at Yuna’s chest and felt her notice, so she covered herself with her arms.
“…It’s not small.”
“Hm?”
She mumbled in a tiny voice, but I didn’t catch it.
“Hmm. So why did you come looking for me? You didn’t really find the gravity damper, did you?”
“I did find it.”
“Wha—bullshit.”
“I’m telling the truth.”
I grinned and said.
“The gravity damper…?”
Yuna stood silently, pondering deeply, then spoke.
“Pirates, Titan’s Grave… Atlas V gravity damper.”
She muttered the keywords one by one, as if she had understood something, and grabbed the sleeve of my clothes.
“You… have the Atlas V gravity damper?”
My heart skipped a beat.
I shouldn’t have mentioned the gravity damper to her.
From a corporate mercenary’s perspective, it was a tempting item.
“So you were the one who killed the Aegis in front of the door too?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“…You’re more capable than I thought.”
After that, Yuna continued muttering to herself in disbelief.
Scarlet shrugged at her and whispered to me.
“The image from the media is completely different. I always thought you’d be cold, but you’re just like any other idiot.”
“It’s not something that needs to be said so close.”
“Whatever. Anyway, you really are a crazy bastard? You took down an Aegis with a mass-produced third-gen Bugbear? No way, I don’t believe it.”
“Jinwoo, you really have the Atlas V gravity damper?”
“Yep. I don’t plan to steal it, though.”
“No, it’s actually the opposite.”
*Opposite?* I didn’t understand what she meant.
“The three pirate ships targeting you are definitely from Red Veil.”
“Red Veil? Those infamous pirate bastards?”
Scarlet nodded vigorously.
Red Veil’s name wasn’t in my database no matter how I recalled it.
As a retired player, there was no faction I wouldn’t remember, so what was this?
“Admiral Belzero Karmail—she was overheard saying she’s looking for the V gravity damper.”
“Belzero Karmail…?”
The name lit up my mind like a lightbulb.
“The Three Goddesses!”
I blurted it out unconsciously.
“Hm?”
“What did you just say?”
“Ah, nothing.”
*Why did I suddenly forget the name of one of the Three Goddesses?* Only now did I realize.
She was only depicted as a fallen space pirate in the game, with portraits and documents as records.
But because of her attractive appearance, players pieced together fragmented stories and left countless fanfics in the community.
In the end, she was considered dead in the main plot.
Then… did that mean I was in the past of the game timeline?
“Anyway, Jinwoo, you might be in danger. She’s after you. Red Veil has all their mechs linked in one system, so they can scan all combat records.”
“…So you’re in danger too, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll have to hide my body for a while.”
“That’s smart.”
While Yuna and I were having a serious conversation, Scarlet had been slowly creeping back toward her workshop.
“Scarlet, you haven’t forgotten the promise, have you?”
“Wh-what promise?”
“You said you’d do it for free if I bring the gravity damper.”
“You, you crazy bastard! That was just a joke!”
“Would you break your promise?”
Yuna’s voice turned cold, making Scarlet gulp hard.
“Seriously, this is my personal matter with that guy! You’re not supposed to interfere, right?”
“As I said, Jinwoo and I are an escort team. And we have a common enemy targeting us. Don’t you think we’re on the same side?”
Scarlet sighed deeply at the absurd logic.
“Haa… but there’s no GX-Final Impact Pile Bunker for sale. Calling is the price, after all.”
“Don’t worry too much, Scarlet. All you have to do is give me the parts. Giving everything for free is too shameless.”
“True? My first impression was that you were just a jerk, but Jinwoo, you’re growing on me.”
Scarlet laughed heartily.
Behind that laugh, I opened the shop window.
◈ S-grade ultimate close-range weapon that fires a massive alloy stake using compressed energy, capable of piercing battleship armor.
◈ Requires massive energy supply and extreme recoil absorption.
*Holy crap, it’s insanely expensive.*
My eyes naturally turned to Yuna.
I didn’t know what to do next, but one thing was certain: I had to keep Scarlet close.