Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: His and Her Hidden Identity (5)
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I picked up the cola can from the floor in a pretty awkward position.
It wasn't like some sudden nostalgia for life in Korea had made me want to sit on the floor.
The house where Liberra's family lived just didn't have a single piece of proper furniture.
At least there was that sofa that looked like it'd been scavenged from somewhere—with its broken springs—or we'd have had to sit right on the concrete floor where dirt and pebbles rolled around.
‘...This is a house?’
That was the impression that slipped into my mind unbidden.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting a feng shui-perfect homesite, a toasty ondol floor, or a brand-new south-facing apartment in the capital region.
But this place could probably give a decent fight to the giant dumpster where Michael had been living.
‘...No electricity either, huh.’
Even the storage warehouse that came as a freebie with the grocery store had power.
A broken light hung dangling from the ceiling, the kind you'd see in an Insta-vibe cafe.
It looked just like a hanged man, but that was probably my imagination.
It was depressing enough just looking at it.
I took a sip of the cool cola—despite there being no fridge—and tried to shake off the bitter feeling.
But seeing the kids peeking at me intently from beyond the doorless doorway only made the pity swell stronger.
However.
“...He just looks like a rough-looking uncle.”
“No, I definitely heard it.”
“Hmm, that much...”
The faces of the kids, who should have been the most downcast, didn't have a single shadow.
Whisper whisper.
They chattered among themselves about who-knows-what.
It felt like I was at a kindergarten.
Even though the facilities were so rundown that even local homeless folks would stick out their tongues in shock.
As I seriously pondered whether to set down the empty cola can or keep holding it.
“...Excuse me.”
Before I knew it, all the kids who'd been outside the door had gathered right in front of me.
Without a single sound to announce them.
‘...Whoa, you scared me.’
I thought my heart had stopped.
But I managed not to show any surprise on the outside.
There are no creatures more sensitive to an adult's emotions than kids.
If I let on that I was creeped out by their ‘identical faces,’ it could wound them deeply.
That said, I was startled.
Calming my pounding heart, I nodded steadily.
“What's up?”
““......””
Dozens of eyes stared straight at me.
There were more kids than I'd thought.
Roughly twenty, maybe...
Unlike Liberra, Runrun, or Kanpu, these kids were truly tiny.
Even compared to those already small girls, their heads were a full head shorter.
Seeing real kids like this made me realize once again how stupid it'd been to treat Liberra like a child.
What kind of circumstances could lead kids this young (or who looked young) to live together like this?
- Sis, when's Mom coming?
- She said after ten nights of sleep, so no crying tonight, just sleep.
- Hng...
Such a conversation flashed through my mind for a moment.
Tears welled up as a bonus.
As I rubbed my reddening eyes, the gathered kids tilted their heads in confusion.
“See? Told you he's just a weird uncle.”
“...Is he?”
The kids, murmuring with their identical faces, rolled their big eyes cautiously and asked me.
“Um, are you really the Hotdog Man?”
“Ah.”
I was suddenly at a loss for words.
I hadn't expected to hear that nickname again after coming all this way.
No wonder people go to naming shops to get proper names.
“...There wouldn't be any fake Hotdog Men.”
No matter how weird this cyberpunk game world was, there couldn't be two Hotdog Men.
But.
“......Sounds like a lie.”
True to form for residents of Risk City's Area 49—who had no blood or tears—they didn't buy my honest words at face value.
“No, the boss mentioned the Hotdog Man before. Said he looks like a villain but has a dummy-kind heart.”
“D-Dummy?”
“Yeah. Probably said she worries every time he disappears from sight like a stray dumped on the roadside.”
“Stray dumped on the roadside...?”
Apparently, my image here was worse than a five-year-old's.
‘The boss must be...’
As I pictured Liberra's face for a moment.
The kids' voices grew louder.
“The Hotdog Man I heard wears ketchup-red clothes 365 days a year and has onion sauce-white beard dangling everywhere.”
“You idiot, that's Santa Claus...!”
With so many kids, the room turned into a total marketplace racket.
All identical faces, but each with totally different personalities.
Just as I was about to pass out from the chaos, one kid stepped forward, clapped, and summed it up.
“No, it's true! Hotdog Man! The living messiah of Area 49 who bestowed food upon us! The savior who redeemed us from those protein blocks!”
...Protein blocks? What the hell?
No way.
The moment that word dropped, the kids' atmosphere flipped in an instant.
“Protein blocks..., charred rat roast..., rotten stinking food.... Urk, my head...!!”
“Hey, he's going berserk again! Quick, shove a meat sandwich in his mouth!!”
We hadn't even properly greeted, and already it felt like they were draining my energy.
Yes.
This was the real deal: ‘kids.’
For a second, I wondered if this was an elementary classroom or Risk City's slums.
Then, a little one who slipped out from the noisy crowd poked my side.
“Um, um, Hotdog Man.”
“...What's up.”
I gave the same reply as before.
The kids were still noisily chattering among themselves, so I had to lean down to hear the quiet kid's question.
As I leaned in, the kid whispered softly.
“So, is the Hotdog Man really the boss's boyfriend?”
And with that question.
““......””
All the kids went dead silent instantly.
Gazes swarming toward me all at once.
...Gulp.
The silence was so deep I could hear the swallow.
I sensed it instinctively.
An honest ‘no’ would cause problems, and lying to survive would spawn new ones.
And.
“...Why'd it get so quiet in here all of a sudden.”
That silence held until the other three finished their brief chat and returned.
I never thought I'd welcome their arrival this much.
Being stared at silently by all these identical-faced kids was scarier than any horror movie I'd ever seen.
“Alright, adults have stuff to discuss privately, so no more bothering the guest, kids. Nap time inside for you lot.”
“...Runrun's a kid too!”
“Hey now, at least hit 150cm before you talk back.”
“......Just you wait!!”
This wasn't even a ‘acorn height-measuring contest’...
Still, seeing them all together showed how much bigger Liberra, Kanpu, and Runrun were compared to the others.
Though to me, they all looked about the same.
The crowding kids scattered like a flock, leaving just the four of us in the shabby room.
Liberra, who'd been keeping her head down without a word till then, spoke to her younger siblings.
“Um, could we talk alone for a bit?”
“...Huh? Boss, didn't you say earlier it'd look suspicious being alone with Hotdog Man─.”
“Got it. We'll step out for a bit.”
Kanpu grabbed Runrun by the scruff—who was trying to add a few words—and dragged her out.
That ruthless move caused a small commotion among the kids who'd gathered to peek from beyond the door.
The room fell silent in the blink of an eye.
We moved awkwardly, like broken machines.
I tried to stand from the rickety sofa where I'd been sitting alone, while Liberra wordlessly started to plop down on the concrete floor.
“No, the concrete floor's filthy, how could you just sit there...”
“You don't have to stand! It's fine if you just stay there...”
Our words halted simultaneously.
There was only one sofa.
We had to reach an unspoken agreement for each other's sake.
“......”
“......”
I looked down awkwardly at Liberra sitting beside me as usual and cleared my throat.
No, if it were really usual, I'd have pulled her onto my lap by now.
This was still somewhat distant, actually.
Anyway.
Liberra fidgeted with her fingers like she'd committed some grave sin.
Seeing that, I finally thought, yep, this is the Liberra I know.
Truth be told, Liberra hadn't changed at all.
It was just my perspective that had shifted.
I felt like I understood how people who'd met the real Conan felt.
I took the first step for Liberra, who was watching my reaction.
“...I'm sorry for misunderstanding and making you uncomfortable. First off, my apologies.”
“No!”
Whether she meant to or not, her voice came out loud, and Liberra slapped a hand over her mouth—hidden by her shaggy hair.
Then, hunching her shoulders, she continued.
“I mean. Hotdog Man has nothing to apologize for. If anything, I was the one who messed up.”
“...Wasn't it my misunderstanding from the start?”
“That's because of the food I...”
“No matter the reason, tracing the cause, my assumption came first.”
“Still...”
A awkward loop where we each insisted it was our own fault.
I considered switching to polite speech, but figured it'd make Liberra more uneasy, so I stuck to our usual way.
“Then let's end that talk here.”
I cut off her apology midway.
It'd just go in circles forever otherwise.
“Apologies are done. Instead, mind if I ask about something else I'm curious about first?”
“......Okay.”
Liberra replied in a trembling voice.
My hand moved unconsciously, settling naturally on the sofa back.
...Almost petted her on reflex.
Anyway.
“How the heck did you kids end up staying in a dump like this?”
This seemed like more kids than Risk City's orphanage would have.
Not that I was sure the city even had one.
Liberra drew a small breath at my question.
“...It might be a long story. Is that okay?”
“Eh, I've got time to burn.”
Liberra began unraveling her past in a flat tone.
“You've probably already noticed from seeing the other kids, but we're genetically engineered lifeforms secretly experimented on and developed by some corporation.”
“...??”
Noticed from the kids?
Me?
Genetically what?
Unaware of the question marks popping over my head, Liberra kept going.
“Ones like me, Kanpu, and Runrun were called alpha (α), and the other kids with identical faces were beta (β). We spent a dozen years there.... Anyway, a really long time.”
It was ten times heavier than I'd imagined.
No, twenty times.
Liberra calmly laid out her tale over a few minutes—or tens of minutes.
As if it were someone else's story.
How long had it taken for this little girl to acquire such a listless gaze?
......
The long—or short—story ended.
I quietly looked down at Liberra sitting right beside me.
“...That's the end of our story.”
Conversely, Liberra gazed up at me with an anxious, trembling expression.
Of course, her hidden hair obscured her face clearly, but I could tell that much easily enough.
She'd basically laid bare her shameful secret.
No wonder she was trembling in anxiety.
I asked Liberra with a serious face.
It was a question I had to ask.
“By any chance...”
Liberra bowed her head silently.
She looked like a condemned prisoner being led to the gallows.
Accepting and resigning to her final fate.
Having given up everything.
But.
The verdict from my mouth probably wasn't what she'd expected.
“So, how old are you...?”
“......Huh?”
It was a very, very important question to me.
One that instantly lightened the heavy mood.
And a necessary one too.