Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Rag Ghost (1)
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Turning back the clock a bit, to when I had just arrived in Nighthaven.
Perhaps it was because I’d been running myself ragged all over the city, draped in a musty cloth.
I was able to figure out that this was the early part of the original story.
The corrupt corporations and gangs that were supposed to be thoroughly crushed in the beginning were still perfectly intact.
And the idol who gained massive popularity thanks to the protagonist's party was nowhere to be seen.
Yet, to say it was the distant past from the original story wouldn't be right either, as the recently inaugurated Dragon Mayor was confidently appearing on TV screens.
In other words, the current timeline was one where the original story had definitely begun.
But it was still an early point, with only a few episodes having passed.
‘Hmm, does this mean I have to scrap my plan to pretend I have amnesia and sneak in as an employee at the restaurant below the protagonist's agency? If it were the latter half of the story, that would've been the safest place in the world. What a shame.’
Of all the plans I'd devised, that one had the highest return for the lowest risk.
To think it would all go up in smoke because the timing was off. It was truly a pity.
Now, no matter what I did, the risks would inevitably be higher.
This was an age of chaos, where all sorts of factions mercilessly wielded betrayal and conspiracy to establish their dominance in Nighthaven.
To survive in this city, I, too, had no choice but to take risks.
‘For now… it's probably best to stay in the underworld. I have no identity or anything. On top of that, I'm a surprisingly beautiful young girl. If I go out in the open, getting entangled in trouble is almost a certainty.’
Of course, I've never actually checked whether I have an identity or not.
But no matter how I thought about it, it seemed unlikely that I, who had been trapped in some unknown space, would have a proper identity.
If I carelessly tried to check my identity and ended up getting caught...
...it was a given that I'd be detained for various procedures and handed over to the police.
But if I were caught by the police of this era, whose rotten parts had yet to be properly excised...
...and my appearance happened to catch the eye of some rich person with a nasty hobby?
‘That's a one-way ticket to a bad ending in life. And if my psychic powers are discovered... the risk is even greater.’
Along with my looks, the existence of the psychic power I called psychokinesis was also a problem.
The world of *Fixer* was one where metahumans and magic from a fantasy world had crossed over to the Earth we know.
Therefore, in this world, psychic power referred to a separate force that was neither science nor magic.
And that separate force usually meant the power of the invaders who had destroyed the world where the metahumans lived.
Of course, considering the might of the powers wielded by the otherworldly invaders who were active in the original story...
...my ability was nothing more than a child's parlor trick, on a completely different level.
Still, since it wasn't strictly magic performed by chanting mana or drawing runes...
...my psychokinesis would undoubtedly be treated as a psychic power.
‘Thinking about it now, this is too dangerous if I get caught. I'd definitely be treated as a test subject and dissected.’
Of course, it was better than having no abilities at all.
What if I were just an ordinary person with a pretty face?
I would have been in a precarious situation, forced to rely on others for my well-being.
Thinking of it that way, it was both troublesome and, fortunately, a relief.
Well then, the plan from here on out was simple.
Until the protagonist and his party fix this mess of a city, I'll hide in the underworld and survive somehow!
I don't know if it will take months or years.
But when I think about the future, living in a peaceful world after all the incidents are over...
...I can endure it with enough patience. At least, that's what I thought.
*
A month has passed since I entered the underworld with my newfound resolve.
During this time, which could be considered both long and short...
I came to realize one thing.
And that was... life in the underworld was more manageable than I expected.
"Kekeke, another newbie. Hey, how long do you think that one will last?"
"I give it a week. By then... it'll probably be just an empty shell with its organs missing, rolling around on some street corner."
"Kihihi! That soft white hair peeking through the gaps in that cloth... makes my mouth water!"
This was something I overheard when I had just entered the underworld.
It was a conversation between a muscular mohawk and a scrawny-looking cyberpsycho.
Well, perhaps it was to be expected.
My figure, tightly wrapped in old cloth, probably made me look like a small-statured race, like a goblin.
And my attitude, looking around with my head turning this way and that as if the back alleys were a novelty, must have made me look like a greenhorn.
In a place where it's natural for the weak to be preyed upon, it wasn't even enough to appear stronger than I actually was.
Showing so many openings like this was perhaps akin to begging to be killed.
"Aaaargh! My, my arm!"
"My... my arm is moving on its own...! Ma-magic! This bastard was a mage!"
"There was no chant! A chantless spell! It's a monster!"
However, that would only be the case if I didn't have psychokinesis.
My psychokinesis was strong enough to rip a metal door and twist it open by force.
Naturally, giving a cute little twist to the arm of the man who started a fight with me was simple.
Of course, I didn't completely rip his arm off.
Nor did I spin it round and round in a way it shouldn't go. That's a bit gross, isn't it?
I'm weak to gore.
Since he was the one who threatened me with a knife first, I just gave him enough pain to make him weep and snot uncontrollably.
"Guh, ghk... Ju-just you, just you wait!"
This should be enough.
As soon as I thought that and released my power, the man whose arm I'd been holding scrambled to his feet.
He quickly fled beyond the back alley.
He was so fast.
It reminded me of a cockroach.
Well, there was no particular reason to catch him anyway.
While the man was writhing in pain, I'd already used my psychokinesis to pickpocket his wallet.
‘Money just rolls in on its own. Maybe I'm cut out for the underworld.’
The inhabitants of Nighthaven's outskirts, the so-called underworld, were mostly third-rate thugs who had lost out in the city's competition.
They weren't decked out in cutting-edge equipment, the pinnacle of science.
They weren't augmented humans who had undergone special drug treatments and training.
They weren't metahumans with extraordinary lineage and talent.
Nor could they wield magic.
At best, they possessed some clumsy power by chipping away at their lifespan with cheap enhancement parts or drugs.
Or they were mediocre metahumans on par with ordinary humans, like goblins or kobolds.
For most of them, I didn't even need to use my psychokinesis at full power.
Just applying a light, pressing pressure was enough to make them declare surrender and flee.
And yet, they'd start fights with me just based on my appearance.
So for me, I could teach them a light lesson, take their wallets, and make a decent profit.
Likewise, seeing the considerable thickness of the wallet this time...
...it seemed like a good haul.
‘Ah... it's a dud. I can't even buy a cheap sandwich with this.’
But contrary to my expectations, the contents of the wallet I'd just taken were extremely meager.
To think the wallet itself was just made of thick material.
Disappointed, I took out the cash and tossed the wallet onto the ground.
Maybe he always fiddled with it with greasy hands.
The slippery exterior felt unpleasant.
This left me with no choice.
Usually, I'd just teach a lesson to the thugs who attacked me first and take their wallets.
But it seemed I'd have to find separate prey today.
‘No watchful eyes around... Good, let's go.’
After confirming there was no one watching...
...I used my psychokinesis to leap effortlessly onto a nearby rooftop.
Because of the sudden upward leap...
...the cloth covering my body threatened to flutter about.
But I gently held it in place with my psychokinesis, which I could now use as naturally as my own hands and feet.
The cloth remained fixed, maintaining its shape wrapped around my body.
‘Now then, let's see. Where is today's naughty child~’
I moved silently between buildings, carefully observing the alleys below.
The back alleys of Nighthaven's outskirts were disgustingly vast.
At this slow pace, it would take a full half-day to survey them all...
But there was no need to check every single alley.
In an underworld where dozens of fights break out every day...
...a fight was bound to be happening somewhere, as tiresome as it was.
"Kyaaaaah!"
‘Found one.’
A woman's sharp scream cut through the air just as the thought finished.
I glided toward the source of the scream.
Fortunately, it wasn't far, so I didn't have to use an uncomfortable amount of psychokinesis.
I was able to reach the scene of the commotion.
"Don't come any closer! I said, stay away!"
"Hmm? That's strange. Weren't we having a good time just a moment ago? What's wrong~"
"You-you crazy bastard! Psycho! Someone! Is anyone there!"
In a dark alley, there were a man and a woman.
The rather handsome man with full lips was wearing a uniform like a host's.
The half-naked woman was trembling, threatening the man with her shoe.
What on earth was this situation?
To understand the context, I leaned against the rooftop ledge and listened carefully.
The man, who had been tilting his head as if he couldn't understand the woman's attitude, spoke.
"Honestly... didn't you say you'd do anything I liked? So isn't it okay to pull off a finger or two? Why are you being so picky for a whore?"
"*Hic, sob...*"
Ah, so that's what it is.
Looking at the woman, who was crying too hard to even answer properly...
...I vaguely understood what was going on.
The woman was a prostitute who sold her body in the back alleys.
The man was a client who had bought her services.
But the woman had fled from his extremely hardcore play, which suddenly involved pulling off her fingers.
And the man had chased her down and cornered her in a dead-end alley.
‘This guy's total trash, isn't he?’
At least by my standards, it was glaringly obvious who the bad guy was.
Even if the woman sold her body, pulling off her fingers was going too far.
If she said she couldn't do it, he should have just gotten a refund and left.
Was it really necessary to corner her like this?
‘Alright. Bad guy confirmed. I think I'll lift his wallet today.’
I had no particular desire to become a champion of justice like a manga protagonist.
It's just that stealing from a bad guy doesn't really prick my conscience.
I'm just doing what I feel better about.
I placed one hand on the railing and, without hesitation, threw myself over it.
And landed silently between the psycho and the woman.
"What the...?"
"Huh, h-huh?"
Was it too sudden a development?
Through the cloth covering my entire body, I could feel the bewildered gazes of the man and woman.
A cool line right about now would have made this even better.
The fact that I couldn't speak felt particularly unfortunate at this moment.