Cyberpunk Orc (1)
Cyberpunk Orc (1)
One day, like any other, I was holed up in my room playing games around the clock.
Then an unexpected visitor came looking for me.
"Mr. Smith?"
Why had he come here?
Had Natasha sent him?
Smith, his expression stiff, cautiously broached the subject.
"...Yes, hello. Mr. Shun. Could I borrow a moment of your time?"
Momentarily flustered by the sudden appearance, I paused just as I was about to casually welcome him inside.
Ah, right.
Right now, the house....
"...Just a moment, I'll be right back out."
Nodding, Smith took a single step back from the front door.
I quietly closed the door.
And turned around, scanning the interior of the room currently occupied by multiple invaders.
Catherine, in a shameful state wearing a tank top and dolphin shorts, sprawled lazily across the sofa.
Andrea, who seemed to have sold off her schedule somewhere, enjoying a classic game on the old computer she'd bought at the antique shop with Catherine.
Eve, sitting next to Andrea, earnestly guiding her with the heart of someone welcoming a newbie.
"......."
No matter how I thought about it, this was a sight difficult to show to anyone else.
I grabbed the coat hanging on the styler, threw it on, and quietly put on a mask.
"Where are you going?"
Catherine, who had been lazily loafing around, lit up the moment she saw me.
At the same time, Eve and Andrea's gazes also focused on me.
Ugh, the pressure.
I waved my hand dismissively in the air.
"Just for a bit, heading out front for a moment."
"If you're going out, why not go together?"
Catherine landed lightly on the floor.
Eve and Andrea looked like they were getting ready to stand up too.
I waved my hand even faster.
"No, it's Mr. Smith who came to see me. I'll be right back."
Of course, Smith hadn't explicitly told me to come alone, but at my attitude, Catherine flopped back down onto the sofa.
Good, now's my chance.
I opened the front door and spoke to Smith.
"Let's go. Quickly."
"...Pardon?"
He seemed puzzled since he'd expected to come inside, but I was suggesting we head out.
"As it happens, there's a nice café right out front here, perfect for talking."
Anyway, I led Smith into the elevator.
24. The Orc of Cyberpunk (1)
A relaxing break with a warm cup of coffee.
The world felt so peaceful and warm.
"Hoo...."
I exhaled a short breath, savoring the moment.
I had needed some time to myself anyway.
Smith's appearance had turned into a good opportunity.
Of course.
That didn't mean I was truly alone.
I set my cup of molecular coffee down on the café table.
And looked at the Orc sitting across from me.
Perhaps it was difficult for an Orc with such massive muscles to sit comfortably in a normal café chair, as he kept shifting his posture, physically radiating his discomfort.
Eventually giving up on sitting comfortably, Smith, with a slightly tired face, sipped the drink he had ordered.
His filed-down tusks briefly revealed themselves, sharp as fangs.
"So."
Beyond the black smart sunglasses Smith wore, I asked him his business.
"What brings you here today?"
"...Well, first, let me state beforehand that my visit today concerns a purely personal matter."
A personal matter, huh.
Since nothing like this had ever happened before, I decided to focus a bit more intently on Smith's voice.
Perhaps the warm coffee had settled his insides.
Smith let out a "hoo," exhaling just like I had.
"You can speak comfortably, you know. We're hardly on ordinary terms."
Actually, we weren't that close.
But it was a preliminary smoothing of relations for basic social communication.
I thought about Smith for a moment.
He was polite, unlike the typical Orc.
He filed down his uncomfortable tusks, unlike the typical Orc.
He was respectful to his superiors, unlike the typical Orc.
Hmm.
At this level, he was an Orc in the top five percent.
"...First, as I mentioned before, my hometown is Redwood. It's a difficult neighborhood to speak well of."
"...Ah."
I trawled my memory for a moment.
'Before'....
That was..., hmm.
Ah, I remembered.
When I had been practically kidnapped and dragged off to Drex's cyberware specialty shop, Smith had also come there under Natasha's orders.
He had mentioned it back then.
That he would be stopping by his hometown to see his brothers.
I nodded and answered.
"Yes, I remember. But what about it...?"
Perhaps his throat was dry, as Smith moistened it with more coffee and confessed with a troubled face.
"I'm truly sorry for calling on you for something like this, but I was hoping you might know some information."
So what was it?
No, in the first place, if it was information.
Considering the place he worked was the most famous mercenary brokerage in the city, there should have been plenty of people he could ask without coming all the way to me.
"It's my brothers in Redwood... they've been out of contact lately...."
Smith cautiously continued his explanation.
* * *
Lying upside down, leaning against the sofa, Catherine wiggled her bare feet and asked me.
"So, where did you go?"
Putting my coat back into the styler, I answered the question.
"The café right out front."
After lightly dusting off any outside dirt from my body, I naturally drifted over to the computer and sat down.
Andrea, still sitting in front of the computer engrossed in hunting, turned her gaze to look at me.
"Smith, that guy, right? The Orc subordinate from No Answer. Wasn't he a bodyguard?"
"He does doorman work, bodyguard work. Actually, it seems like he handles various things."
Even with her eyes off the monitor, Andrea's keyboard and mouse moved busily.
...She was practically a pro gamer.
Perhaps unable to read my expression, Andrea asked another curious question.
"What was his business? Was the Boss looking for you again?"
"The details, I'll look into it a bit more and tell you. But for now, the Boss didn't call for me."
"Hmm...."
Andrea groaned briefly and turned her head back to the monitor.
Her posture looked like she'd develop turtle neck syndrome.
I recalled the fans who would weep tears of blood seeing their famous influencer like this, but Andrea didn't seem to care much about that fact.
I threw a question back at Andrea.
"Is it fun?"
Even though I hadn't specified what I was asking about.
She answered me immediately.
"...It's oddly addictive."
Andrea supplemented her own explanation.
"Virtual reality games feel like you have to physically move your body, so the fatigue outweighs the fun. But with this, there's none of that, so if your goal is just to relieve stress, this might be better."
It was a persuasive point.
If she found it fun, that was all that mattered.
I followed Andrea and logged into the game.
I lightly hit the jump key and confirmed my character hopping up and down on the spot.
Then I manipulated the directional keys to move my character to the bulletin board standing in the village.
The main function of this game.
I planned to use the underworld community.
Because the relevant information Smith had asked me about might be here.
Even though the game had been actively updated.
The number of characters still camping in front of the bulletin board was considerable.
I moved my character among them and clicked the bulletin board.
[You denture implant bastards, why you acting so wild] [9]
[@@@@Trading at 1:5000 ratio@@@@]
[Kantaros drop, 10th armor selling, offers first] [3]
[Hey admin, separate the gold-farming board fr, before I commit actual cyber terror] [5]
.......
Why was the bulletin board in this state.
It felt very different from the last time I had seen it.
First, to grasp the situation, I clicked on the last visible post.
[Hey admin, separate the gold-farming board fr, before I commit actual cyber terror]
This is your last warning
ㅡ lololol what can you even do
└ I possess the gif of RoboFurryOldManDragon ramming/getting rammed by an aerial vehicle, among others (Author)
└ Fuck, admin, separate the board already!!!
ㅡ I clicked this post smiling and now I've got chills;;
ㅡ This really was a last warning; I'm staying off the board for a while
Hmm.
From the looks of it.
Finding the information I wanted on the bulletin board was going to be difficult.
First, I'd have to quickly suggest to Eve that she subdivide the bulletin board categories.
Maybe because they were underworld people.
Their cyber terror threats were incredibly scary.
I closed the bulletin board.
A chat with a familiar nickname popped up in the log.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Hey there! Guild Master! You logged off earlier, and now you're right back on ]
What on earth did this person do for a living?
First, from the fact they'd been playing this game for a long time, they were definitely someone living in the underworld.
How was this person online every single time I logged in?
"Hmm."
Still, an underworld person was an underworld person.
I replied to that person, that unemployed guy, that Jeonbungi, through a whisper.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): By any chance, could you recommend any decent information brokers around? ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Hm? Didn't I recommend that guy who was in an info org before? That Info Seller No. 7, that warrior guy ]
That guy.......
Was pretty untrustworthy.
To begin with, back then.
What he sold me claiming it was info from Smile Zone was actually a trap set by Smile Zone.
When I didn't answer, Jeonbungi continued typing.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): What kind of business is it? Since you're the Guild Master, I'll help with whatever I can. Go on, tell me. ]
Faced with the innocence of Jeonbungi, who still believed in the Guild Master (multiple escape records), I felt small.
But that was that.
What I needed to ask, I would ask.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): By any chance, has there been any recent news related to Redwood? ]
At my chat, Jeonbungi stopped whispering.
It was a little while later before he typed again.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): ...Isn't that area extremely closed off? I don't know much about it myself. Other information brokers are probably similar. ]
It was an answer I had expected, so I didn't mind it much.
Given that it was a neighborhood where it wouldn't be strange to get randomly shot passing by unless you were an Orc, conversely, if Jeonbungi had known information about that area, it would have been chilling.
Because.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): ...You didn't perhaps think I was an Orc, did you? ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): No, of course not ]
Because it was information generally only Orcs knew.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): No matter if you're the Guild Master, I can't just let that kind of misunderstanding slide ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Seriously, truly, I don't think that ]
Since it was no different from insulting his parents, I apologized to him sincerely.
In the end, I only managed to be forgiven by Jeonbungi.
After apologizing for about thirty minutes.
Though he didn't seem to have gotten this angry even when I took the raid item and ran.
To that extent, the hatred for Orcs pervasive in society was diverse and deeply ingrained.
That was why I didn't just view decent Orcs like Smith favorably for nothing. Besides, 'Four-eyes,' the one who had taken care of me at the garbage landfill, had also been an Orc.
Ultimately, having failed to find the desired answer, I just leaned back against my chair.
The brothers who lived in Redwood.
Weren't answering his calls.
.......
Come to think of it, wasn't it just a normal thing?
Maybe they'd get in touch again later, after some time had passed.
Also, Smith himself had said.
That his brothers didn't much like him living a stable life outside the neighborhood.
There was the possibility they just weren't taking his calls.
Hmm.
Well, what good would it do for me to worry about it now?
If the situation truly became serious later, Smith would contact me again then.
With a light heart, I tossed the memory of meeting Smith to the far side of my mind.
And.
Contrary to my thoughts.
I never heard from Smith again.
A week later.
I heard the news that he had gone missing.
