That Happened Too (4)
That Happened Too (4)
Golden Girl was dreaming of the past.
A very long time ago.
Beneath the garbage landfill, in the sewer village, there lived a Little One beloved by all.
Unlike the other children of the sewer village, who typically lost both their parents and their common decency at birth, Little One was born with innocence.
Blood and tears. Even the rough vagrants who knew neither.
Whenever that Little One passed by, they would press their precious food into hands as small and delicate as fern fronds.
When Little One ran about, everyone smiled. When Little One stumbled, everyone worried.
Little One's existence was a symbol that faith and hope still lived in the sewer village.
For that reason, it was not so strange that Golden Girl, who appeared rough but had an exceedingly tender and affectionate heart, came to accompany Little One everywhere.
Whenever Little One smiled brightly with a face smudged by black soot, the girl felt the shadow-like darkness in a corner of her heart disappear.
But that end came suddenly.
'■■!'
The girl in the dream spat out Little One's nickname, which she had long since erased from her mind.
The whole world became dyed in faded gray.
The garbage landfill. A fired harpoon. A pierced Little One.
A drone made mechanical actuation sounds as it flew off somewhere in the sky, carrying Little One away.
Only the red droplets of blood falling in the drone's wake retained color in the gray-dyed landfill.
The girl desperately ignored the breath catching in her throat as she ran after the drone.
No matter how far she stretched out her hand, she could not reach the drone.
And then, soon, just as even the red droplets were about to vanish from sight,
the girl awoke from her long nightmare.
"...Ha."
The girl, swallowing a curse, wiped her face with a dry scrub of her hands.
Was it because she'd heard a city hamburger advertisement? She couldn't fall back asleep after the nightmare.
It was then that the dream Little One had left behind came to mind.
Was it truly a place worth that much? The girl wanted to see the city Little One had so desperately wanted, to see it with her own eyes just once.
On a makeshift bed layered with sheets of corrugated cardboard, the girl silently lifted her body.
It was an earlier morning than usual.
26. Those Things Happened Too (4)
If I had a status window or something,
【Find Geumjjogi】 【West 3km】
a navigation guide showing the sub-quest route would have appeared. Regrettably, I had no such thing.
In short, I had to pound the pavement myself to find Geumjjogi's whereabouts.
So the first place I went was the clinic where Four-eyes stayed.
Fortunately, the children Four-eyes was looking after had gone off somewhere to play, or perhaps to forage for food. Inside the shabby clinic, I could see only Four-eyes.
I calmly explained the situation to Four-eyes.
"...Where did Geumjjogi go?"
Having heard my explanation, Four-eyes naturally asked me again.
...Seemed like his hearing had gotten a bit worse lately.
Even if he was a healthy Orc, there was no cure for old age. And since he was, appearances aside, the one who looked after me the most after Geumjjogi, I felt a bit worried.
I looked at Four-eyes with the eyes of someone looking at a pitiful old man.
As if sensing the emotions in my gaze, Four-eyes took off his glasses and wiped them with a dirty rag.
At a glance, it looked like a composed gesture. But the truth was, his fingertips were trembling slightly. He was probably struggling to maintain his composure.
I answered his question once more, telling him where Geumjjogi was headed.
"The city."
- Ppajik.
"Ah."
A short groan leaked from the mouth of Four-eyes, who could not accept the cruel truth.
I subtly raised my head and checked the state of the glasses he had been wiping.
The lens, which had been fine just moments before, was now cracked.
Oh dear. Glass glasses like that can't be repaired here.
Four-eyes's hands began to tremble for a different reason. He threw the glasses onto one side of the desk.
Placing a hand on his brow ridge, Four-eyes let out a long sigh.
"Haa..., there really isn't a single day she doesn't cause trouble, is there."
"That's what I'm saying."
I nodded in agreement.
If not now, when else could I badmouth Geumjjogi? I went a step further and poured out what had happened yesterday to Four-eyes.
"Do you know what happened yesterday? I shot a pistol into the perfectly fine sky and a drone─."
After hearing my story, Four-eyes, not to be outdone, brought up a new tale.
"Keep in mind, she was even worse before. Just one of the things that happened was─."
They say you curse even the king when nobody's looking.
Four-eyes must have had a lot bottled up too. Once I set the stage, he spilled everything—stories both true and made up, without distinction.
Geumjjogi must have been Geumjjogi even in the old days.
Honestly, I could talk all day just telling stories about Geumjjogi, but I didn't know how far she might have already gone at this very moment.
"Anyway, you said Geumjjogi went to the city, do you happen to know what route she's likely to take?"
It was about time to cut him off.
"Hmm, to talk about that part, I'd have to bring up another thing from the old days, you see."
No, just tell me the way.
As if possessed by some pitcher from LA, Four-eyes showed no sign of stopping his story.
I was about to cut him off, but then I closed my mouth again. Without his glasses on, a face twice as grim was looking at me.
Even if he was an Orc whose expressions were hard to read, we had known each other for several years. Just by looking at Four-eyes's eyes now, I could guess what emotions they held.
Four-eyes was 'worried' about me.
Because it would be a huge problem if I followed Geumjjogi for no reason and got hurt. He was probably deliberately beating around the bush.
...Really, a kind person.
Even though I'd take care of my own life better than anyone else.
No matter how much I told him to just tell me, it seemed hard to get Four-eyes to open his mouth.
Hmm. What could I do to give him the confidence that it was okay for me to go into the sewers to find Geumjjogi?
"......."
I decided.
Having quickly finished my thought, I slowly raised my index finger and spoke.
"Do you see this?"
"What is this, anyway, so back then Geumjjogi─, huh?"
Four-eyes stopped talking mid-sentence.
His gaze went toward the tip of my finger.
Very slowly. But brightly. A sphere of light was forming at the tip of my finger.
"Wh-what is that."
A normal person's fingertip didn't emit light. Four-eyes's voice became urgent.
"Did you get cyberware installed on your fingertip like Teddy, too?"
What did that bastard get installed there anyway? I shook my head and lightly denied Four-eyes's words.
"This is magic."
A skill that muggles can't use.
Truly, it was the 'outstanding magic talent' guaranteed by the game.
I'd only watched videos all day, but I could use magic as naturally as moving my own hand.
As time passed, the light at my fingertip grew progressively brighter.
"...Magic, I've heard of it, but...."
Four-eyes couldn't finish his sentence. He looked over my finger this way and that. He still seemed to suspect it was a light source function from cyberware.
"...The light is floating in mid-air."
Four-eyes muttered as he watched the scene that defied physical laws.
"Anyway, you don't have to worry so much, so if you know where Geumjjogi went, please tell me."
There were several sewer lines that headed in the direction of the city. Four-eyes, who had been with Geumjjogi for even longer than I had, would know things I didn't.
"...Indeed, you were never an ordinary kid, either."
"I've always been outstanding."
"To be honest, I thought it wouldn't be strange if you weren't here when I looked for you tomorrow."
"......."
It was true that my stamina was severely garbage-level, and it was because of that that I'd gotten this magic talent.
Four-eyes slowly nodded his head.
"...Alright, Geumjjogi probably went through Sewer Line 31. The opposite side from where that Tinkerer bastard lives, since it's relatively the safest there."
"Hmm, thank you."
I bowed my head briefly to express my thanks.
Now that I knew where Geumjjogi was headed, all I had to do was follow her.
"......."
Starting to be dazzled by the light shining from my fingertip, Four-eyes raised his palm to shield his vision.
"...But hey, turn off that light now, slowly."
"This?"
I looked at the tip of my finger.
The more mana it absorbed from the surroundings, the bigger the sphere of light kept getting.
A moment ago it was about the size of one knuckle. Now it was the size of a child's fist.
Hmm. I calmly assessed my situation.
Truthfully, I had learned how to gather mana and create light, but I hadn't yet learned the method to make it disappear.
.......
Well, since I'd gathered the mana, maybe I should just release it with the opposite feeling.
With that thought, I shook off the lump of mana gathered at my fingertip.
Then, the light contracted momentarily, going dark in an instant and leaving a single white dot.
"Ah."
I intuited an ominous feeling in that instant. I made a quick judgment. I shoved the magic into an empty room in the clinic and shut the door behind it.
Four-eyes, who had been looking at my actions strangely, asked me.
"...What are you doing."
"Well─."
I couldn't finish my sentence.
Perhaps, if a balloon bigger than a person were to pop, it might sound like this.
- Ppeo-eo-eong!!
"......."
Now a rumor would circulate for a while that a bomb terror attack had occurred in the sewer village, I thought briefly.
Following that, I opened the door slightly and checked the empty room. Fortunately, nothing had collapsed. It had just literally turned into a complete mess.
This time, I turned my head and checked the expression of Four-eyes standing behind me. The 'worried' expression from a moment ago had vanished without a trace, replaced by a red flush and a thick vein bulging on his forehead.
Alright, run. Having confirmed that sight, I silently backed away.
"Where are you going."
"I have to go find Geumjjogi."
"You need to clean up the mess you made before you go."
"Well, I'm busy so I'll be off!"
I dashed out of Four-eyes's clinic. I felt like I heard the sound of a giant gorilla roaring behind me, but it was an unavoidable sacrifice for the greater good. Since it was absolutely not intentional, I made up my mind to apologize for sure next time.
...Anyway, this might be usable.
* * *
After that.
A thug I met on the road (Teddy), an amoeba I met passing through the sewers (slime), a village vagrant who just made eye contact with me (normal person). I defeated them all with my light magic (destruction attribute).
Ah, to me, magic was explosion.
Wait for me, Goldie! I'm coming!
I quickened my footsteps.