WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk ◈
Chapter 24: The Eight-Foot Widow (4)
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1.
The last of humanity had no sea.
Black dust falling from the sky had swallowed all five oceans.
And this was Necropolis, a city in the moat surrounding the Wall of Humanity.
By all common sense, there was no way a sea could exist here.
“Phew...”
But surprise, surprise. Nothing was absolute.
Naked, with a cigarette in my mouth, I looked down at the dock where waves crashed.
This dock was a rift that had finished surfacing into reality.
The oysters I ate at the casino came from rifts that surfaced like this too.
The winter sea always made me feel the same way.
“Fucking cold. I should’ve brought something to wear.”
As the heat left my body and I felt my spirits soar, I sensed someone behind me.
It was Ceres, wearing only a coat over her bare body.
Her usually neat updo was a complete mess, and her cheeks were flushed a healthy peach color.
Even her normally upright stride was a little unsteady.
The first time around, I’d been pretty clumsy because I’d never been with a woman as tall as Ceres before...
But this time, I had experience.
“You were awfully full of yourself.”
Ceres stood beside me, lit a cigarette, and complained.
“You told me to keep going, Director Ceres.”
“...I did?”
“Yes. All three times.”
“...”
Ceres blankly searched her memories for a moment, then gave my forehead a thunderous flick.
“Don’t get cocky.”
Her slightly reddened ears looked almost embarrassed.
Now, if you find that cute, please direct your attention here.
::: Challenges (NEW!) :::
- Become a mage’s attendant. +1pt
When do you think this notification appeared?
Right around the time the suspension test was ending.
That meant this crazy woman still suspected me of being a spy even after digging into my eyeball with a fork.
I was genuinely hurt.
And I learned a lesson.
Today’s lesson was that every mage was an honorary Kyoto resident.[1]
Anyway.
After smoking together while looking out over the night sea, we got back into the limousine.
“Haah, I don’t normally do this. Especially not with an employee.”
Rustle, rustle. Ceres dressed herself piece by piece in the back seat.
A faint lemon scent spread whenever she moved.
“I don’t normally do this either.”
“You seemed quite experienced for someone who doesn’t.”
She snickered, pulled her coat closed, and fixed her hair. Then she became her usual self again.
From a heated widow to Ceres Cassian, director of Twilight Resource Development.
“Don’t read too much into it. It’ll be better for you too.”
With those words, three gold coins fell onto the passenger seat.
Three gold coins worth one hundred thousand each meant three hundred thousand Bios.
“This is...?”
“Keep it. That’s what your body’s worth.”
The clearest possible declaration that I should stop getting ideas and know my place.
The midnight drive.
The heated night and the kiss.
They had just been a one-night mistake, and I was nothing more than a gigolo. That was what her handout seemed to say.
Faced with this insulting treatment, I thought:
This is fucking awesome!!!!!
Thank you for donating a week and a half of Arbel’s treatment costs!!!!
Our director really is generous!!!
Three hundred thousand Bios. Three hundred thousand!
Now I understood why women who had once worked in the sex trade could never return to ordinary life.
Give this up and grind shitty back-channel jobs or manual labor in mushroom factories for money?
When I could just go, “Waaah, Cedric wants allowance,” in Lady Ceres’s arms?
No way in hell.
“...Yes.”
“You understand quickly.”
I forced down the corners of my mouth and eyes, pretending to be dejected.
I had confidence. Real confidence.
Crossing the line was always hardest the first time.
I remembered Ceres’s reactions clearly.
Like thinking of Chapagetti[2] on a hungry Sunday.
From now on, lonely nights would make Ceres think of her devilish chauffeur.
Please let that happen.
Please!!!
2.
“Arbel, listen carefully.”
Sometimes, I thought about it.
“Take good care of your little brother even without Mother. You’re family now.”
What if I’d said something different to Mother back then?
“Don’t forget the kindness Count Montraven showed us.”
If only sooner.
If I could have become a proper mage sooner.
“Don’t cry. Mother will be fine. Arbel, remember...”
Would I...
“...Cedric...”
Have been able to stop hating Cedric?
.
.
.
The moment I opened the front door, I caught Arbel as she collapsed and held her for a while.
I had even given her a passionate kiss at the start of this round...
Yet it felt like I was seeing her again after ages.
I knew I would see her again soon enough, but the moment I met her, I nearly sank to the floor sobbing.
I must have missed Arbel this much because I loved bunny girls that much.
“You’re small.”
She was so slight.
Short, small-framed.
She was definitely an adult, but when she had her eyes closed in my arms, she felt more like a younger sister than an older one.
This emotional stability was incredible.
I felt like Necropolis’s crime rate would plummet if they distributed standard-issue Arbels.
Of course, even if standard-issue Arbels appeared, I would buy every last one.
“...”
Suddenly.
Every scene of her dying such a futile death flashed vividly through my mind.
This time, I would not reach that ending.
Only writers with writer’s disease liked bad endings.
They had never been fun or moving to me.
“Arbel, I’ll definitely get you into a bunny-girl outfit this time.”
I whispered my firm resolve into Arbel’s ear.
A bunny-girl costume was the sort of popular outfit that even gacha games gave out only at brutally low odds.
“Mmm...”
Maybe she was happy too, because Arbel’s eyelashes fluttered.
3.
I carried Arbel, who was on the verge of going bad, and immediately headed to Isis Clinic on Aquarium Street.
It was expensive, but the skill was guaranteed.
Honestly, I felt like a mage who was an unlicensed doctor would still be better than most real doctors.
Money was not much of a problem either.
I had a full eight hundred thousand Bios on hand.
I had set up this round’s strategy brilliantly.
“I work at Twilight Resource Development, and my era of success has begun. I work at Twilight Resource Development, and my life has changed~”
Humming my gratitude in song, I arrived at the clinic in no time.
“We’re closed for today.”
“It’s an emergency. She’ll die in three days.”
“...Show me the patient and the money.”
After a quick inspection through the peephole, the iron door opened.
“Come in.”
It had been a long time since I saw this unlicensed-doctor noona[3] too.
Dark green hair, green eyes, and an oddly gloomy yet intelligent air.
Big breasts, a white coat, a sweater, and a female doctor to boot.
If you gave her glasses, she would have the sort of beauty that men with particular tastes would overwhelmingly support, and that made you want to see her in a bunny suit.
Isis and Arbel alike.
Were all mages this pretty?
“She’s a mage. Rank 1, too. Her mana circuits are completely wrecked. How did this happen?”
I explained what had happened.
Isis had a Commandment anyway.
And she needed to know the current situation to treat Arbel properly.
“That’s too long. Anyway, she was injured in battle?”
“Yes. Also, can I watch from beside you while you treat her?”
Isis nodded blandly, without much interest.
“Just don’t get in the way.”
Isis paced before the aquarium that surrounded Arbel’s examination table.
Inside, ornamental fish with brilliant fins, carp, goldfish, tropical fish, and more, swam leisurely.
What? Was she going to treat her with those?
After carefully studying them as though selecting fish for sashimi, Isis stopped before one tank and closed her eyes.
“Like a winter carp breathing at the bottom of cold water, may the pain cease.”
With the chant, a carp in the aquarium shone.
A white mass of light from the carp rose into the air and seeped into Arbel.
“...Wow.”
I was a modern person who had watched YouTube videos while eating, including the sounds of turtles mating...
But I had absolutely no idea how that worked.
Magic was fucking awesome! That chant was cool too! I wanted to use it!
By the time the gently flowing light faded, Arbel was visibly better.
“It’s done. I’ll prescribe medicine. Now hand over the money.”
“What’s the principle behind that?”
“Magic.”
“No, I asked because I already knew that...”
I had felt this last time too, but she really had no social skills. She was only obsessed with money.
Without answering, Isis continued with what she had to say.
“That was emergency treatment. For a fundamental solution, her mana circuits need to be rebuilt. Bring one Universal Coin and five hundred thousand for the operation... Or I can use my own Universal Coin, but then you’ll pay twelve million five hundred thousand Bios.”
The bill Isis handed me listed the same price as before.
It was still enough to make my head throb, but it was the same as last round.
Considering she quoted the same price even though I was much better dressed than before, it did not seem like a scam.
Huh?
Come to think of it, I had been wearing clown makeup when I met her last time.
Maybe this time...
“How about this instead of the treatment fee?”
I unbuttoned my shirt so my sexy Adam’s apple showed.
If you were born a man, you had to see anything you started through to the end!
This round, I would become Necropolis’s community bus!
I wanted to advertise myself as a place endorsed by Ceres, a director at Twilight Resource Development.
But that felt like it would get me killed, so I held it in.
“Human experimentation? I’d be happy to.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“What? Were you trying to seduce me just now?”
“You’re imagining things.”
Ha, she was not falling for it. What a braised-pollock woman.
Isis crossed her arms and sneered mockingly.
“I wondered why you were dressed so nicely. You’re a whore.”
“To save my sister in this shithole, I have to sell my body if I have to.”
I countered Isis’s disgust and contempt with the dying-sister card.
She flinched at the sight of Arbel lying there without even the sound of breathing, then quietly looked away.
“...Ahem. The treatment is done, so take her and leave.”
“Ah, just a moment.”
Normally, I would have left now, but I had another purpose today.
In the end, this world was all about power.
I could not keep living as Guts, a Grade 9 fixer.
So, what I came up with was this.
“Do you also perform augmentation procedures?”
Augmentation procedures.
Just as the name suggested, these procedures reinforced the mana circuits in the body to raise one’s abilities.
Augmentations were divided into Levels 1 through 5. There were Magic Augmentations specialized for spells, and Physical Augmentations that gave superhuman physical abilities.
According to what I had learned, even Level 1 Physical Augmentation already surpassed the limits of humanity.
At around Level 2, you could pull off Sandevistan-like moves, like Sunming.
You might wonder why no one got something this good, but there were reasons.
Money was one issue, but mana circuits were generally innate traits inherited through bloodlines.
Therefore, most augmentation procedures were performed by weaving artificial circuits and building on top of them.
And here was the problem.
Natural was always better. Artificial circuits were less stable than natural mana circuits.
As a result, augmentations had severe side effects, and reaching high levels itself caused massive aftereffects.
But who was I?
Cedric Montraven.
Because I had been born into a noble bloodline, I already had excellent mana circuits.
I had far less to worry about from side effects.
“You’re a noble, and you want augmentation?”
Isis frowned.
“You know how augmentation works, right? It’s overclocking that forcibly brings out your potential. No matter how well it’s done, it shortens your lifespan and wrecks your body.”
She was right.
Whether Magic Augmentation or Physical Augmentation, they were merely imitation procedures meant to copy true mages.
They were knockoffs from the start.
There were perfect superior versions called “magic” and “Engraving,” so there was no reason to bother with them.
“Besides, once you get augmented, it could conflict with an Engraving later or with learning proper magic...”
I cut Isis off.
“The situation is urgent. I have to do something.”
I knew. I knew.
But augmentation had an overwhelming advantage.
If you had the money and the constitution, you could achieve results quickly.
All you had to do was pump drugs and enhancers into your nervous system and circuits, then stimulate them.
I desperately lacked power right now.
And Cedric was a talentless bastard.
When was I supposed to leisurely cultivate my energy and master the Three Calamities Sword Technique?
I needed to climb fast with demonic arts.
“...Well, it’s none of my concern. Your circuits have not awakened at all, right? You have not received an Engraving either?”
“Yes. How much?”
“...”
The tense moment arrived.
I focused on Isis’s lips.
Assuming you already had circuits, the usual market price for a Level 1 procedure was five hundred thousand Bios, about the cost of double-eyelid surgery and inner-corner surgery.
But that was for ordinary unlicensed doctors, and Isis Clinic was much more expensive.
I had six hundred thousand Bios left.
If I did not have enough money...
With tears in my eyes.
For my future.
I would have no choice but to run to a mahjong parlor and make up the difference!
“How much do you have right now?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Just tell me.”
Why did she want to know? Was the procedure fee going to depend on my wallet?
Warily, I gave her a slightly lower amount.
“Four hundred thousand.”
“You have at least five hundred thousand. I saw it earlier.”
“When did you see that? Can a doctor saving lives really care only about money?”
“Why would I be a doctor if there were no money in it?”
“...!”
I had no reply.
As expected of a highly educated person. Her logic was airtight.
There was no way I could beat her in an argument.
“I have six hundred and ten thousand.”
Isis glanced at Arbel and spoke.
“Give me four hundred and ten thousand.”
“What? Really?”
Huh? Cheaper than the regular price?
My eyes sparkled at the unexpected windfall, and Isis avoided my gaze as she muttered.
“...Your natural mana circuits mean less work for me. You’ll keep bringing me money in the future. And it’s only a Level 1 procedure.”
“Oh, so that’s the kind of character you are?”
A mage in Necropolis who possessed sympathy and compassion.
She must have a truly overflowing storehouse.
“Thank you!!!”
“G-Get up. What are you doing?”
“I’m expressing my gratitude for the discount!”
“I-It’s the regular price.”
When I even dropped into a full prostration to thank her, she awkwardly flustered.
This noona was secretly charming!
Thanks to her, I could go play mahjong without any worries!
That plan disappeared soon afterward.
“Aaaagh!!! Aaaaaaagh!!!!!”
“Want me to put a handkerchief in your mouth? You look like you might bite your tongue.”
“Wait, wait! Time! Time! There’s no anesthetic? Anesthetic? General anesthesia or sedation?”
“There is. Two hundred thousand Bios extra.”
“Fuck!”
“Do you want to add it?”
“What am I adding?!”
“Then at least be quiet. Why is a boy being such a baby about this?”
“A baby? Does this look like I’m being a baby? Gyaaaaaagh!!!!!”
“Still, the circuits themselves are extremely pure. The augmentation is taking well. Six more hours should do it.”
That augmentation procedure.
It hurt like fucking hell.
=======
::: Challenges (NEW!) :::
- Reach Level 1 Augmentation. +1pt
======
Footnotes:
[1] Kyoto resident: A Korean joke about Kyoto-style speech, stereotyped as politely indirect and quietly cutting.
[2] Chapagetti: A Korean instant noodle brand flavored like jjajangmyeon, black-bean noodles, invoked as an intensely tempting craving.
[3] Noona: A Korean term a man uses for an older woman, literally "older sister."
“Community bus” is a Korean slang metaphor for someone who has been with many people.
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