Natasha Petrova

I could scarcely believe my ears, wondering if I had heard correctly.

"......So, what you're saying is."

I asked Smith the Orc for his answer once more.

"That it's fine not to go to the hospital."

"Yes, that is correct."

'What kind of bullshit is this?' I stared at Smith, letting my expression do the cursing for me.

However, Smith continued addressing my question in his usual tone.

"I know my own body well. You might not know this because you are not an Orc, Shun-ssi, but among brothers, going to the hospital for a wound like this is a disgrace."

'It's not even a wound on the back.' 'What's so disgraceful about it?'

My internal image of Orcs dropped a notch.

Speaking of brothers, the other 'brothers' Smith had mentioned were all safely captured. They all gave the same answer as Smith and returned home.

Of course, hospitals in this cyberpunk world were all eroded by capitalism, so their medical fees were predatory.

But seeing him actually insist it was fine not to go to the hospital, I felt completely frustrated.

Especially when the subject was someone who had been confined in an enclosed space for a week.

"...Even so─."

Before continuing, I briefly organized my thoughts.

A normal person would first worry about their own condition and go to the hospital.

Yeah. If they were 'human,' that is.

The thought belatedly clicked. Could you really call an 'Orc' a normal person?

"Hmm."

Come to think of it, maybe it really was fine not to go to the hospital.

I shook my head vigorously ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to clear my mind.

I suppressed the racist tendencies threatening to resurface inside me. Whew, I almost had a crazy thought there.

"...It's because you don't have insurance, isn't it?"

"......."

Smith flinched at my question.

'As expected.' There was no way an Orc mercenary living in this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cyberpunk world had insurance.

The first profession to be denied insurance is a mercenary, and by race, Orcs. It was a natural assumption grounded in fact.

"...No. It's because showing my face to the Boss is more urgent."

'How much is he getting paid to show this level of loyalty?'

Smith brushed off my tactful concern and stood up.

"......Ugh."

And then he sat back down. He let out a shallow groan as if feeling dizzy.

Only then did I notice what I had failed to see.

"What the fuck, seriously."

A curse escaped my lips involuntarily.

"What's with the bandage on your stomach?"

"...It's just a graze."

"Blood is seeping out right now, what the hell."

Red blood was seeping through the worn-out bandage. The amount was definitely not small.

Despite my panicked tone, Smith answered calmly, as if it was nothing.

"It's really no big deal. The gangsters just put a bullet in my stomach so I couldn't cause trouble."

"......."

I couldn't answer. If a bullet hole in the stomach was no big deal, I wondered what kind of wound would be considered a 'big deal.'

"I must go to the Boss right away—."

I gathered mana and jolted Smith's semicircular canals.

Normally, the result would have been different. But now, Smith was still suffering the aftereffects (hacking) of being kidnapped by the gang, the Red Orcs.

Smith collapsed on the spot, unconscious. I wanted to at least grab his shoulder and steady him, but I lacked the strength to support a two-meter-tall Orc.

I looked down at the fallen Smith and manipulated my vision interface. I entered a familiar number.

With a short ringing tone, the call connected.

"Oh, hello? Is this the Neon City emergency center? Yes. I'm calling because there's an injured person here. Yes, yes. The location is—."

'Please come quickly.' Soon, I ended the call.

Side EP. Natalya Petrova

No Answer, the secretive third floor.

Natasha was skillfully mixing cocktails at the bartender-less wine bar.

"Coke?"

"...Yep."

Natasha returned to where I was sitting, holding two well-made cocktails in her hands.

Natasha extended her slender fingers and handed me a cocktail glass.

"I mixed it smoothly."

"Thank you."

I tossed back the mystery cocktail.

The sharp fizz of carbonation and a wave of sweetness hit my palate, followed by a bitter alcoholic aftertaste.

My impression was this:

"...It's delicious."

"It's a hobby of mine."

It was a taste that even I, who didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠particularly like alcohol, could drink without resistance.

Natasha sat on the sofa across from me. I calmly analyzed the current situation.

I hadn't originally planned to come all the way to No Answer.

I was just going to relay the news over the phone and be done with it. But Natasha asked me to come, just this once.

I had no choice but to come. How could I refuse a request from the No Answer Boss?

Actually, Catherine and Eve also tried to follow me, but for some reason, Natasha added that I should come alone.

With all those factors combined, it led to this situation where I was drinking cocktails alone with Natasha.

I raised my head slightly and looked at Natasha.

Natasha was dressed in a suit, just as I had seen her last time, looking neat and impeccably styled.

I did miss the china dress she had worn before, but I wasn't drunk enough to voice such thoughts carelessly.

Natasha smoothly crossed her legs. It looked like a habitual gesture.

The high heels connected to the ends of her suit trousers sharply flaunted their presence.

"So."

Natasha asked, taking a sip of her cocktail.

"You found Smith in Redwood."

"That's right."

I nodded and continued my explanation.

The kind guide, Tom. The gang, the Red Orcs. Smith, who was taken to the hospital.

I calmly relayed to Natasha the events that had happened today.

"Smith was also trying to come straight to the Boss... to you, Natasha. But I stopped him, so please don't look at it too negatively."

"As if. If you're hurt, you should go to the hospital."

Natasha answered sensibly. 'As expected, Smith was the unreasonable one.'

"...I'll thank you on behalf of Smith."

Natasha covered her mouth with a fan.

"...He's a subordinate who doesn't take care of himself more than expected, which is why I have him acting as a bodyguard, but still."

Natasha's blue eyes turned toward me. She placed the fan on the table and stood up from the sofa.

'Now that the explanation is over, I guess I can head back now.'

I also moved to stand up, following Natasha's lead.

But before I could stand, Natasha slid onto the sofa right next to me.

"?"

'This is way too close.'

At the sudden invasion of my personal space, I couldn't muster any coherent reaction.

To describe how close it was: it was 'very' close, to the point where Natasha's shoulder pressed against mine and her hip touched my side.

Flustered as I was, Natasha stared at me intently from close range.

"I'll say it once more: thank you."

Natasha continued speaking.

Maybe my flustered reaction amused her. A faint smile played on her lips.

Was this a green light? Or was she simply drunk?

My mind wasn't working properly.

"...Hey Natasha, this is too clos—."

Before I could finish, Natasha's lips curved into a long, slow smile.

"Hehe, what's wrong with expressing gratitude to my subordinate's benefactor?"

Gratitude is gratitude, but this is too close.

Without looking away from me, Natasha reached out and lifted my cocktail glass.

The slightly dark-tinged liquid slid along the glass and into Natasha's mouth.

"Pwoo."

A cute exclamation that didn't match her cold image escaped her lips.

She placed the empty glass back on the high-quality ceramic table.

"...You were always like that. Always helping me. And helping others, too."

A nostalgic look passed through Natasha's eyes. She was recalling the past while gazing at me.

"Do you remember when you saved my life?"

"Ah."

There was that time.

It wasn't that long ago. It was a relatively recent event.

Of course, it was a story from before I met Eve.

I went through all sorts of hardships back then too. I had fought alone against a mysterious group targeting Natasha at a charity party, barely scraping through.

Just when I thought it was the end, my comrades appeared and I managed to survive.

'I really have gone through all kinds of hardship,' I briefly reflected, and then answered Natasha.

"It wasn't something I did alone."

"Others won't think that way. Myself included."

.......

'You're really not drunk, right?' I was burning with the urge to install an ethanol combustion implant for her at my own expense.

But regardless.

My heart was pounding. It was an unavoidable physiological phenomenon.

...'Why have I been getting involved with so many beauties lately?'

I pondered this happy dilemma that others would surely envy.

I'd already lost count of how many there were.

The Chairman... Andrea, Catherine, Maya. And Eve, who appeared with a prosthetic body. Julia was pretty too, just a bit on the short side.

And even Natasha.

"......."

Suddenly, I noticed that Natasha was getting even closer.

"Nata—."

I tried to call her name to snap her out of it, but before I could, Natasha raised her index finger and pressed it against my lips.

"Shh."

A faint blush rose to Natasha's cheeks.

'No, you definitely look drunk,' I thought. I wondered if it made sense for someone of the No Answer Boss's caliber to get drunk on just two cocktails.

As a born I-type, I was more vulnerable than anyone to assertive advances.

I swallowed hard, watching Natasha draw closer.

The distance was so close that Natasha's short black hair touched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my face—.

[Ahem.]

The sound of Eve clearing her throat echoed through the room.

'Eve! You came!' I looked toward the source of the sound.

In the previously empty air, a hologram screen had materialized.

Natasha spoke while looking at Eve's figure, as if she had been expecting this.

"As expected, you were watching."

[This entity is always by 'Si-un's' side.]

"Hehe."

Natasha got up from her seat and walked toward the hologram screen.

With arms crossed, the two began to talk in low voices.

[I do not recommend arbitrary actions.]

"...I know, half of it was a joke."

I couldn't hear their conversation well.

I let out a short breath, dumbfounded by what had just happened.

Natasha, having finished her conversation, walked toward me.

"It seems today ends here. Hehe, what a shame."

I didn't really have a clear grasp of the situation, but if I wanted to escape, now was the perfect opportunity.

I stood up and spoke to Natasha.

"...Yes, well. I'll be going now."

"Okay, I'll see you off."

Natasha followed behind me.

I didn't know the exact mechanism, but the hologram screen displaying Eve's figure also moved through the air, following our steps.

"Oh, by the way."

Natasha suddenly spoke up.

"You're still living with them, right? The 'Shooting Star' and the 'Artificial Intelligence.'"

"......That."

...is true.

Somehow, my intuition screamed at me not to answer, so I trailed off.

But it seemed to be enough for Natasha. She lightly waved her hand as she saw me off.

"Anyway, that's all for today. I was too swayed by emotion, unlike myself. See you again."

"...Then see you next time."

I also answered her briefly.

I escaped No Answer and walked out into the lower-layer streets, where lukewarm air lingered everywhere.

And I thought about what had just happened.

...Hmm.

"......."

I should just play games at home. I decided to leave the rest to tomorrow's me.

* * *

"Hello, I moved in."

"......."

By now, this was something I should have expected.

I thought as I looked at Natasha, who had knocked on the front door and entered.