Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

Fuzzy landscapes.

A vagabond with an invisible face twisted a bottle of booze with a tipsy slur.

‘…Huh? The kids caught by corporate drones?’

The vagabond laughed heartily as if hearing a funny story.

‘Hahaha! What was I thinking?’

The vagabond brushed off the question from the girl, Catherine, and roughly shook a label-less bottle.

A few drops of liquor splattered on Catherine’s face.

She felt no sensation at all.

Right then, Catherine realized that this ‘scene’ was a ‘dream.’

In fact, it was a dream with familiar content.

She already knew all the drunken ramblings that would follow from the vagabond.

First, the vagabond would lazily open his eyes.

Then he would speak with a voice that sent chills down the spine.

‘…What do you think happened? Huh? Well, you look more naive than you seem. Cute in a way….’

The vagabond, having no visible face, spat out words full of lasciviousness.

It was utterly disgusting.

Catherine had thought the same way when she was a child.

Noticing Catherine’s lack of reaction, the vagabond muttered a short curse.

‘…Tch, insolent brat.’

Then, as if nothing had happened, he took another swig from the bottle.

gulp, gulp.

The vagabond swallowed the strong liquor, laughing ominously.

‘…Where could they have gone? They’re obviously all dead.’

The vagabond shook the half-empty bottle.

‘The ones who got caught probably dropped into the incinerator. It’s called an incinerator, but it’s pretty much a grave thousands of feet underground.’

It seemed he tried to mix in some humor. The vagabond dropped the raised bottle directly down.

Liquor spilled onto the dust-covered floor due to gravity.

The bottle didn’t break, but the contents oozed out thickly.

‘…Ugh, what a waste.’

The vagabond licked his lips at the fallen liquor and then lifted the rolling bottle again.

‘Anyway, if you’re down there, even dinosaurs will be reduced to mere oil. They can’t survive. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.’

As if wanting to stomp on Catherine’s remaining hope like the spilled liquor on the floor, he raised his voice a little more.

‘If they were going to keep the ones they caught alive, the corporate drones wouldn’t have fried them. Look at the blood dripping—just like meat hanging in a butcher shop, right? Hehehe….’

Knowing that this conversation was a ‘dream,’ Catherine remained calm.

But back then, she was really furious and felt despair.

‘So, stop with the useless thoughts and live in reality like the other kids. …How about it? Since it’s your first time, I can charge you quite a bit. Just close your eyes once, and go pick up scrap—ow, damn!!’

Catherine turned and struck the vagabond in the gut and crotch.

A painful scream echoed through the hazy landscape.

‘…Damn, damn!! Do you think reality will change just because you do that?! You’re still just a bug of a life rolling around in a landfill!’

The vagabond’s cursing voice faded away.
As always, that’s how the dream ended.

“…It’s been a while since I had this dream.”

Catherine muttered quietly as she rose to her feet.

She looked up at the ceiling, now familiar, and recalled the image of the woman she had met underground.

She could have seen her wrong, or it might just be her imagination.

However, the woman’s face Catherine saw back then was identical to the face of the girl in her memories.

Her sister, who was taken away in the past, looked just like that girl.

As if coming back in time, her face was exactly the same as it was then.

Catherine, lost in thought for a moment, scratched her messy hair.

“…Ugh.”

Catherine prepared to go out.

38. Wizard in the Underground (2)

A conversation that could appear in an English textbook briefly passed.

– ‘Where did she go?’
– ‘I don’t know.’
– ‘Ah, I see. Thank you!’

Having just experienced a similar type of dialogue at Drake’s implant shop, a strange déjà vu made my head spin.

Of course, it wasn’t just because of that.

The memory of Catherine rushing out to explore the city a long time ago also played a part.

I pressed my eyes as I checked a note hastily scribbled on the side of a pizza box.

[Stepped out for a bit, will return before sunset. C]

By the way, Catherine’s spelling is ‘Catherine.’

Thanks to that, I could easily identify the owner of the note, Gyeomjok.

Setting aside the triviality that the city’s sun was covered by clouds,

I pondered why Catherine didn’t use the modern convenience of ‘messages’ and instead left a note on a classic ‘pizza box.’

……

A sigh escaped involuntarily.

She probably didn’t want me to follow her.

I placed the empty pizza box with writing back on the table.

The outside had a menu type scribbled on it: Pineapple & Chicken.

A product released despite widespread physical intimidation from many people (a Monolith subsidiary’s product).

I had only casually mentioned something to the chairman, yet as I glanced at the unusual menu, I continued my thoughts.

…In short, Catherine’s destination was clear.

She had definitely gone underground.

As an Eve expert who had also graduated with a master’s in Julia, and holding a first-class certification in Catherine, tracking Catherine’s route was simple.

Given how she looked at that female wizard, I guessed she must have gone to confirm it herself.

Now, the issue was what came next.

Despite Catherine writing that she would return before nightfall, the likelihood of that happening was extremely low.

Given her personality, which insists on finishing what she starts, she wouldn’t return until she found that bothersome female wizard.

And as I mentioned before, the underground level was vast—so immensely vast that you could say it was equal to the city’s area.

Furthermore, the depth was infinite.

If Catherine stuck to the shallow areas, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but… naturally, she would search the whole neighborhood.

If she ventured deep inside, even someone as famous as Catherine would be a cause for concern.

Just like last time when we were warned about explosives underground, there are definitely situations where you can’t help but be physically cautious.

Therefore, I sought the help of Doraemon, the jack-of-all-trades.

“So I’m trying to find Catherine.”

“Understood.”

*

In the cyberpunk world, the element of cyberware is absolutely indispensable.

Of course, there are purists who dislike cyberware in this world.

For various reasons, be it religious, physiological, or simply personal preference.

But there are indeed some, though the number is not large.

When looking at the proportions, perhaps…

“More than 99.99% of the registered citizens in Neon City have been found to have cyberware installed in their bodies.”

“Yeah.”

They say, “In fact, even if you have just a neural computer chip implanted, it counts as having cyberware.”

“That ‘entity’ had no neural computer chip present. The inability to detect the biometric signals back then was unavoidable due to the structural reality.”

“Yeah, got it.”

Just like how modern people carry smartphones, a neural computer chip is essential for cyberpunk citizens.

To cut off a perfectly good arm or leg and replace them with machines is a tremendous psychological burden.

I have many issues concerning physical matters, but for that reason, I’ve only had surgery on my joints.

Anyway.

“Thus, it means that there is no fault on this AI’s part regarding that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

So the AI walking with me was working hard to make excuses.

I told the AI, who was pleading ‘it couldn’t be helped,’ that it was okay.

“You don’t have to keep justifying it. I also know well that it really couldn’t be helped.”

In a world where not even pet animals run around without a chip, after all.

Fortunately, whether my sincerity got through or she read my casual thoughts, Eve exhaled a tiny breath as she spoke.

“…But to avoid the same situation as last time, I did prepare another method.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a secret.”

……

She’s sulking, isn’t she?

As I squinted and looked at Eve, she changed the subject and continued speaking.

“Entity ‘Catherine’ is currently headed this way.”

“…No, what does that mean?”

Pretty obvious.

I looked around.

We had entered the underground level again through the same tunnel we had last time, but it looked completely different from the recent time we saw.

Why were the turrets that were supposed to be there completely wrecked…?

There were many broken walls, and the thick concrete floor was cracked as if an elephant had walked through.

It looked like a powerful mutant had passed through, yet since we were in shallow underground, that couldn’t be the case.

Indeed.

All these signs were traces left by Catherine.

So she really had been holding back while with me last time…

At this rate, it seemed like Eve could have come alone. Catherine’s path was as apparent as a meteor crashing down.

“…Currently, ‘Catherine’s’ average moving speed is estimated at 14 m/s.”

“And how fast is that?”

“About 100 meters in roughly 7 seconds.”

……

That speed didn’t make sense when you think about it not being in a ‘running’ context.

And that was average speed….

I muttered softly upon hearing that.

“…Is it even possible to catch up with her?”

Honestly, it seemed like it would be faster for Catherine to circle the city than for us to find her.

But perhaps anticipating that, Eve nodded decisively.

“I also partly agree.”

“Hmm.”

“Therefore, I have first tracked the destination of entity ‘Catherine.’”

“…Huh?”

“Over here.”

I followed behind Eve as she walked ahead.
Gradually, the signs of Catherine’s passage faded, and intact walls and floors began to emerge.

“…Where is she going?”

“Of course to the ‘expected destination’ of ‘Catherine.’”

*

“……Didn’t I tell you never to see me again when we last met? And how the hell did you find this place…?”

Hmm.

I stared blankly at my hometown friend, Teddy.
Behind him, I could see the female wizard that Catherine was presumably searching for.

…Anyway, it turns out that the expected destination was accurate.

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