A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk - Chapter 34

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ A Gacha Addict's Life in Fusionpunk ◈

Chapter 34: A Fixer for Off-the-Books Jobs

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Mama Ceres's daughter introduced herself as Ines.

“I didn't know you had a daughter.”

I knew Ceres was a widow, but this was my first time seeing her daughter.

Before that, I hadn't even known she had one.

No. Mama Ceres really was a mama.

She didn't seem like someone who'd have children at all.

“Mother said you needed help.”

“Ah, then...”

“I've heard the general outline. You need to stop Project Z, and you're a collaborator who brought information. Is that right?”

And I'm your new dad.

Judging by her ordinary reaction, it seemed Ceres hadn't told her that part.

Anyway, now I understood why Ines had suddenly appeared.

In technical terms, it was the butterfly effect.

This iteration, I had formed a united front with Ceres to stop Project Z.

Maybe Ceres, desperate to break her Commandment, had asked her daughter for support.

Come to think of it, Haeng House had two bedrooms.

One had Ceres's oversized bed, while the other had an ordinary queen-size bed.

It made sense if it was for Ines when she visited sometimes.

“Sit here. Face me. How long ago were you injured?”

“About an hour ago, I think.”

“Stay still.”

She held my face in both hands, turning it this way and that as she examined the wound.

It hurt, but my mind was getting hazy too.

Wow, she's even prettier up close.

Ines definitely resembled Ceres, but she was a beauty with an entirely different feel.

If Ceres was an empress reigning in lofty dignity, Ines had the air of a princess.

With her elegant looks, she could probably give Arbel real competition in a bunny-girl outfit.

Whenever her hair shifted slightly, it gave off a lovely scent.

“Hmm...”

But where did the father's genes go?

With those mysterious silver eyes, nearly white in color, she looked like a petite Ceres aside from her height.

As expected of Mama Ceres. Was even her DNA powerful?

“Can this be treated?”

“Yes. It'll take time, though. Fragments are lodged inside your eye socket.”

“Ah, no wonder it fucking hurt so much.”

Ines was, naturally, a mage.

Every mage's starting point was determined by bloodline, so it wasn't surprising.

Even in this world, Rock Lee could never be happy.

“I'll begin treatment.”

A warm glow seeped in, making the inside of my eye socket itch.

“I heard you fought a Grade 7 fixer. Were they that strong?”

“Not really. That bastard Sunming was just a cowardly druggie.”

“A druggie?”

I showed her the ampoule I'd taken from Sunming.

Ines glanced at the seed emblem etched into the glass ampoule.

“It's Exseed. And fairly high-purity stuff, too.”

“Exseed?”

“A doping agent handled by the Gold Carp Family.”

According to her explanation, it was a drug that amplified augmentations.

Of course, the disclaimer was that the user bore all responsibility for the consequences.

Still, its effects were certain. It could raise an augmentation level by nearly a full stage.

So that was why I'd barely won.

I could still vividly see Sunming twisting that huge body around with dazzling agility.

“That Grade 7 fixer took this?”

“Yes.”

“And you still killed him?”

“Director Ceres taught me magic. That's why I survived.”

“Hmm...”

Ines studied me closely and made an unreadable sound through her nose.

Feeling strangely pressured, I changed the subject.

“By the way, where did Director Ceres go?”

“She won't be coming today.”

What? Mama Ceres wasn't coming today?

The moment I heard Ines say it so casually, a chill ran down my spine.

“I'm done. You should be fine now.”

“Thank you. I can see clearly.”

“Today couldn't be helped, but don't come outside the designated days from now on. Careless contact could lead them to your trail.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

“Wait here. I'll bring the documents I was supposed to give you. You can take them early.”

I watched Ines leave, then let out the breath I'd been holding.

“Phew...”

Right. I had been wondering why this fifth iteration was going so smoothly and easily.

But it wasn't.

“Ha, I'm completely fucked...”

Ines.

The greatest obstacle of this iteration.

A terrifying trap placed before me by God was waiting.

“Ha, what do I do?”

A dangerous impulse rose inside me.

Mama Ceres wasn't coming today?

Should I try sweet-talking her a little? Since they're mother and daughter, maybe they have similar tastes too?

If I could seduce Ines...

I'd be steeped in the trinity of taboo, stimulation, and immorality so intense my brain would melt.

Of course, the risk was enormous.

What if Mama Ceres found out that Ines and I had become secret friends?

Even kindhearted Mama Ceres would turn me into Julien.

But if I thought about it calmly, I still had two uses of the Misfortune-Warding Talisman left.

In other words, even if this iteration was wasted, I still had two more chances.

Gulp.

Cold sweat ran down my chin.

“No, there's no guarantee I'd fail.”

I could seduce Ines, then win Ceres over completely too.

I could just have a perfectly legal mother-daughter combo meal!

A route where I captured both mother and daughter! If I'd been reincarnated in another world, wasn't it worth trying at least once?

“Here are the documents.”

When Ines returned and held out a thick document envelope, one eyebrow rose.

“Hm? Why are you sweating?”

“It's a little hot in here.”

“...?”

Even that expression was exactly like Mama Ceres's.

Damn it!!!!

I want to know!!!

I was dying to know what parts of her were the same as Mama's and what parts were different!!!

“Phew...”

I barely calmed myself by thinking of Arbel smiling at me in a bunny-girl outfit.

Arbel.

You really owed me one more big favor now.

“Before I go, I have one request.”

“What is it?”

“Could you give me Director Ceres's stockings? The warm ones she just took off after wearing.”

“...?”

For a moment, Ines stared blankly with her mouth open as if her thoughts had stalled. Then she frowned at me in contempt.

“Are you messing with me?”

“Stop! Stop! Cease fire! I need them for the plan! Seriously!”

After desperately pleading with the daughter, I succeeded in getting Ceres's stockings.

Necropolis had no daytime.

That was because of the smog flowing through the canyon like a sea of clouds, and the towering cliffs on either side of the city.

But even this dark city had a district where night never fell.

C-6 District, home to Necropolis's largest red-light district, Night Blossom Garden.

Iteration 5, Day 4.

For the first time, I stepped into the famed Night Blossom Garden.

“Wow... It's fucking huge.”

Its scale alone was astonishing.

I knew entertainment districts naturally flourished in cities where the system had broken down.

The money a rich person spent for one night's pleasure became a poor person's daily bread for a month.

To put it elegantly, it was where pleasure and survival intersected.

But Night Blossom Garden's sheer size was overwhelming.

An entire five-story building, tangled into a maze inside, was collectively called Night Blossom Garden.

The overall atmosphere was like a concentrated extract of decadence and indulgence.

“I like this kind of place!”

Sticky red light flowed from lanterns marked with the characters for dream and pleasure.

Beyond the thin paper doors of the brothels, shadows of tangled men and women flickered endlessly beneath oil lamps.

The smells of marijuana, opium, and mala spice. Stale cigarette smoke, perfume, and face powder.

My sense of smell would probably go numb in three seconds.

Men walked around with bulging pants.

Courtesans in cheongsams woven from sheer silk rushed up to solicit customers.

Anyway, I must have looked like I had money.

The courtesans clung to me relentlessly.

“Oppa[1], you're so handsome. Come have some fun. We'll treat you right, okay?”

“How much?”

“We'll give you half off.”

“So how much?”

“Aww, I'm telling you it'll definitely be cheaper than anywhere else.”

“Fuck off.”

“What, are you a male prostitute? If you are, don't act like you're going to buy us and get lost.”

“No, how did you know?!”

Enjoying the feeling of browsing a fish market, I headed upstairs.

For the record, I didn't buy prostitutes.

You know how you browse a fish market even when you aren't buying anything? It was like that.

Night Blossom Garden became less crowded the higher you went.

The first floor was the tavern district.

The second and third floors held brothels for cheap prostitutes.

The fourth and fifth floors housed upscale taverns and pleasure houses.

My destination today was Drunken Red Pavilion on the fourth floor, a tavern run by Xuan Yiming.

Overnus Pharmaceuticals had a bit of a triad-like feel, so unlike Twilight Resource Development, which only handled its own corporate affairs, it had its hands in every kind of industry in C Sector.

“What brings you here?”

“I have an appointment.”

I showed the token Ceres had prepared in advance to the terrifyingly built gatekeeper.

“This way.”

I received a polite escort.

The token I'd just shown was called the Black Tortoise Token.

Apparently Xuan Yiming liked martial arts novels. Whenever someone did him a favor, he handed out these tokens and said, “I won't forget this kindness. I'll buy you a drink sometime.”

Having a corpse fetish was already questionable enough...

But the fact that he tried to repay every favor by buying a drink at his own tavern said a lot about his character.

Still, the place itself looked nice.

Its black wood interior and purple lighting created a mysterious atmosphere, with the faint sound of string instruments in the background.

It had a rather upscale air.

“Incense Master, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest? You little shit. Didn't I tell you not to disturb me when I'm busy?”

“W-Well... they have a Black Tortoise Token.”

“A Black Tortoise Token? Send them in three minutes.”

I waited for a while.

“Come in.”

When I entered through the door the gatekeeper opened, a much larger room than expected greeted me.

Liquor bottles and discarded silk clothes lay scattered across the floor.

There was a drinking table on one side and a huge bed on the other, with several women sprawled across it.

...They were alive, right?

“So, who are you?”

Yiming, flushed with drink, came out in a robe while smoking a cigarette.

Okay.

That was definitely the same face as before.

Ceres had arranged the meeting route as promised, so from here on, it was up to my own vibe.

“Ah, Incense Master. It's been a while. You remember me, right?”

“Huh? Ah, uh... You...”

Yiming narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin.

I smiled as ingratiatingly as possible.

“I'm Rowan, a Grade 7 fixer. Rowan. I'm not interrupting you while you're busy, am I?”

“Ah, you! Right, right! I remember. Good to see you.”

Idiot. Like he remembered.

The information that he handed Black Tortoise Tokens out so often that he didn't know who he'd given them to.

Confirmed.

“Have a drink. I was drinking anyway, so this works out.”

“Yes! It's an honor! I'll gratefully accept!”

I downed the gaoliang liquor Yiming gave me in one fiery gulp.

“Ahhh!!!!”

“Damn, brother. You drink with real gusto.”

Yiming grinned and patted my shoulder.

Anyway.

The reason I'd ignored even the mahjong parlors and come all the way here was to replace Sunming, whose bones had probably melted by now, and become the fixer who handled Yiming's back-channel jobs.

“But I'm a bit busy right now. I'll have the people downstairs set you up for a good time, so come by again.”

“Incense Master, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

But there was no way a lowly Grade 7 fixer could become close with the Xuan Family's Incense Master just by bringing a Black Tortoise Token.

Besides, according to Ceres's information...

Yiming was a petty little man who wanted to seem magnanimous.

If I tried to latch on halfheartedly, I'd be given the cold shoulder.

“A request? What is it? Make it quick.”

See?

“I didn't want to come see you empty-handed, Incense Master, so I prepared a small token of appreciation.”

“Ahem. Well... let's hear it, then.”

I opened a briefcase before Yiming, who was acting all aloof.

The anticipation in his eyes slowly twisted into a vicious frown.