WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Cyberpunk Chivalry ◈
Chapter 16: Return
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"What percent are you at now?"
Ifrit's tone was casual, though it also carried the sulky edge of someone in a bad mood.
Walking beside her, Ash answered.
"Did you not ask me that earlier?"
"It might've changed by now."
"...Six percent."
"Damn it."
Quite some time had passed since they had gone through the barrier door.
The red warning lights and sirens that had made the place seem like hell were already far behind them. Apparently, the area guarded by the Sentinel had clearly defined boundaries.
Even the occasional cries of the Grotesques were barely audible now. It was a sign that the immediate danger had passed.
So the three of them made their way through the ruins at a fairly relaxed pace, though they kept their guard up.
"It's charging properly, right?"
"It is."
There was, however, something a little different about them.
A thin cable connected the charging port on Ifrit's shoulder, part of her drone launcher, to Ash's battery pack.
With Ash's remaining power almost completely drained, Ifrit was reluctantly sharing her reserves.
The problem was that the cable was short. They had to walk in an awkward position, almost leaning against each other.
From behind, they looked just like a loving couple taking a stroll, pressed close together.
That was why Ifrit had been pouting all this time. She clearly wasn't happy with the situation.
'It feels weird! Weird!'
Ifrit kept grumbling to herself. But she couldn't simply pull out the cable.
If an enemy appeared, Ash was the only one who could fight properly. She had used up all her ammunition, and Akina had no combat ability whatsoever.
Both reason and basic decency told her that charging Ash's battery was the right thing to do. Of course, that didn't make the strange feeling go away.
"Pfft."
Akina, following behind them, let out a small laugh. She covered her mouth, apparently surprised at herself, but everyone had already heard.
"Do not laugh, young lady."
"Don't laugh, Akina."
When they both reacted at once, Akina hurriedly nodded. But the amusement remained in her eyes.
"...What percent are you at now?"
"It has not even been thirty seconds since you asked."
"Oh, come on! What percent?"
"Six percent. Still not enough, I'm afraid."
"Ugh!"
And so the loving couple walked through the ruins, joined by a thin cable, doing their best to ignore Akina's occasional giggles.
* * *
By the time Ash's battery reached 13%, the three of them had left the ruins.
It would have been a stretch to call the dry wasteland a pleasant sight, but they felt a clear sense of freedom.
An open space in every direction.
They were relieved that there would be no more sudden battles.
At last, they reached the rendezvous point.
"Is this the place?"
"It is."
Ash disconnected the cable.
"You have my thanks for your help, my lady."
Ifrit sighed as she unplugged her end as well.
"Forget it. I needed you charged too."
As she coiled the cable and put it away, she said something rather unexpected.
"You know Vortex Energy, right?"
The question seemed to come out of nowhere, which puzzled Ash, but he nodded.
"Of course. One of Sanctum's megacorps, is it not?"
"I heard they recently managed to recover some new technology. What was it called? KERS?"
"Huh? Wasn't that just a rumor?"
Akina suddenly joined in, but Ifrit shook her head.
"It's true. Halloween took part in the operation to retake the Nexus. Those Vortex bastards ended up getting it, but anyway. If you can, try getting your hands on it. KERS."
Ash tilted his head.
"What is this KERS that makes you recommend it?"
"I'm not a technomancer, so I don't know much about it. From what I heard, it recovers kinetic energy and feeds it back into your battery. Basically, you get some charge back as you move."
"Oh... You mean it generates power simply by moving?"
She shrugged.
"Of course, it probably won't be all that efficient. It's a prototype. Still, wouldn't it save you from having to borrow electricity from someone else like this?"
Her words might have sounded mocking at first, but they weren't. If anything, it was sincere advice.
To Ash, electrical power was like innate true qi. If he exhausted it, he could stop functioning. If that happened at the worst possible moment, Akina would be left alone in the middle of the ruins.
They would all die.
That much was obvious.
'...KERS.'
Ash stored the unfamiliar abbreviation deep in his main core, then sincerely cupped his fist in his other palm in salute.
"Thank you for the information. I shall also take your advice to heart, my lady."
Beside him, Akina followed his example and bowed her head.
"Thank you."
Looking uncomfortable, Ifrit waved her hands.
"Oh, stop! You're giving me goosebumps. Besides, it's easier said than done. It'll probably be fucking hard to get. It's cutting-edge tech, after all."
"Even so, I am grateful."
"Ughhh."
Ifrit shuddered from head to toe, as though she couldn't stand any more, then turned away.
"I'll get going, then. My car's over there."
Watching her, Akina shifted her blue eyes from side to side, apparently thinking something over. Then she called after her.
"...Sis! Wait!"
Pitter-patter. Akina ran over and searched inside her clothes. What she pulled out was the pistol Ifrit had thrown to the floor during the battle: Bloody Heart Mk.7.
"Huh? Why do you have that?"
Ifrit's eyes widened.
"Hehe. When I opened my eyes after the deep dive, it was lying right by my feet. So I quickly picked it up!"
"Hmm? And?"
"...To be honest, for a tiny moment, I thought maybe I could keep it... But it belongs to someone! I should give it back!"
Akina smiled sheepishly.
"Hehe. Took me a little while to return it, didn't it?"
"..."
Ifrit stared at Akina for a moment, then turned toward Ash. He was holding his face in one hand and shaking his head.
Suddenly, she burst out laughing.
"Pfft, hahaha! What even are you?"
"I'm Akina Greenwood."
"Wow. This kid's really something."
Ifrit laughed so hard that she clutched her stomach. Then her heart-shaped eyes flashed, and she grabbed Akina's cheeks and pulled.
"Owwwww."
Ash, who had come over, spoke.
"Pull harder."
"What? You're not stopping me this time?"
"I see no reason to."
"Hahaha!"
Only after another hearty laugh did Ifrit let go of Akina's cheeks. Even as Akina held her swollen cheek with one hand, she extended the hand holding the pistol.
"Here!"
But Ifrit only shook her head.
"Don't need it."
"What?"
"The recoil's a bitch, and the rounds are so big that you can't carry many. Besides, I've got a different main weapon. I only carried that pistol around because of a product placement deal."
"But..."
"So you use it, Ash."
Ash looked at Ifrit.
"Are you certain?"
"Remember what I said in the ruins?"
"That I would need a means of attacking at range?"
"Yeah. Your swordsmanship is mind-blowingly good, of course, but there are bound to be times when it won't be enough."
Ifrit stroked Akina's head.
"...If you're going to protect a technomancer during a deep dive."
For an instant, sadness passed through her eyes.
"But..."
"Oh, come on! If it bothers you that much, think of it as an appearance fee. I actually did some secret filming earlier. Got a pretty good response, too."
Ifrit grinned.
"So let's call it even."
Ash stopped refusing and accepted the pistol. It felt heavy in his hand.
As she had said, the day might come when this gun saved his life and Akina's.
"I do not know what you mean by secret filming, but if that is your wish, my lady, I shall accept."
Just then, a vehicle appeared in the distance, approaching with a deep engine rumble. It was public limousine No. 302, the one Ash and Akina had taken to get here.
"There it is."
Seeing it, Ifrit turned away casually. Her light purple hair fluttered.
Then she suddenly glanced back.
"See you around. Both of you."
Ash nodded.
"Of course. There is still the matter of the five hundred thousand credits you have yet to pay us."
"No, that's not what I meant..."
Her face crumpled. Without another word, she merely waved a couple of times.
The slender woman's retreating figure quickly disappeared into the wasteland. At the same time, public limousine No. 302 arrived.
"...Let us be on our way as well."
"Okay."
Ash and Akina boarded the public limousine.
Unlike when they had set out, its interior was almost empty. Of all those Pathfinders, only five remained, including the two of them.
The rest were probably all dead.
That was what exploring the Outer meant.
Every moment was a crossroads between life and death.
They had managed to board the limousine home this time, but there was no telling what would happen next time.
The realization left Ash and Akina silent for a while. Soon, with a deep rumble of its engine, the limousine set off for Sanctum.
The vehicle rattled as the barren landscape swept past the windows.
Watching it, Akina spoke.
"Mister."
"Go ahead."
"About Ifrit."
Ash turned to look at her without a word.
"At first, I just assumed she'd be crazy because she's with Halloween Entertainment. But I don't think she is. I guess she seemed like a better person than I expected... Hehe. It sounds funny even saying it. Calling an idol a decent person."
She was looking out the window, so he couldn't see her expression, but her words carried an unmistakable confusion.
After a moment, Ash answered.
"She is a decent person."
"Right?"
"At the same time, she is a woman who slaughtered REST-MANs for no reason."
Akina turned toward him.
"Maybe she had her own reasons?"
"Perhaps. But that is beside the point."
"...Huh?"
"What matters is that no person has only one side to them."
Akina tilted her head.
Ash looked at her for a moment, then turned back toward the window and continued quietly.
"We cannot fully understand even the mind of a mere beast. How much harder must it be to understand a human heart?"
"..."
"What a person shows us is not everything, so what we see is only a very small part. We must not make the mistake of seeing one side of someone and rushing to judge them."
Akina frowned as though thinking it over, then shook her head hard.
"Sometimes you make things way too complicated, Mister. So what's your point?"
Ash's optical sensors turned toward Akina.
"My point is that you are my benefactor, a technomancer, a cheerful young girl, and a thief who enjoys stealing things."
"...Why did this suddenly become about me?"
Akina's face turned bright red.
"A-anyway! You know, we made pretty good money this time..."
Akina chattered on for quite a while after that. But the repeated fights for their lives and the strain must have exhausted her, because at some point her voice began to grow quieter.
By sunset, only the soft sound of her steady breathing could be heard.
Ash looked at the girl sleeping against him. Then he leaned slightly and adjusted his position so she could rest more comfortably.
He could feel a faint warmth through his steel arm.
How much more time had passed?
Through the blazing red sunset, an enormous wall of light came into view.
Sanctum.
Through the window, Ash gazed at the city's dazzling skyline, which somehow seemed cold and empty.
It was a strange feeling.
When he had first arrived here, the city had seemed like a den of ghosts. Yet now, it didn't feel particularly unfamiliar.
'To think I would look at Sanctum... and feel that I had come home.'
Then he suddenly remembered his conversation with Akina.
Perhaps he too had seen only one side of Sanctum and judged it too quickly.
Ash sank into thought.
Limousine No. 302 kept moving.
Soon, like a river joining the sea, it slipped smoothly through Sanctum's enormous gate.
It wasn't just No. 302.
Countless vehicles appeared across the wasteland and converged on Sanctum. Every one of them was probably full of empty seats.
The ruins and the sunset that had blazed red now faded into the distance behind them.
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