WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Cyberpunk Chivalry ◈
Chapter 17: Return (2)
──────
The central hub of Sanctum's Gateway District.
This gathering place for Pathfinders had two very different sides, like the two faces of a coin.
The atmosphere when they returned was nothing like it had been when they left.
Before, tension had filled the place, ready to burst at any moment. Now, it felt as though that tension had finally exploded.
The Pathfinders who had returned alive celebrated in their own ways. Some laughed over a profitable haul, while others mourned their dead companions.
The central hub was now a furnace where desire and despair, joy and madness all mingled.
Of course, some things hadn't changed.
The Timeman's indifference was one of them.
"Akina Greenwood and Ash Blade, correct? A team of two. Nothing unusual to report. Thank you for your efforts. Welcome back."
The Timeman behind the bulletproof glass spoke in a dry voice, then immediately turned to the next set of documents.
Quite a lot had happened to the two of them, but none of it seemed to matter to the Timeman.
"Next!"
And so Ash and Akina passed through the gate.
The central plaza spread out before them.
It was utter chaos.
The stale smell of blood and cheap medicine stung the nose. Shouts, curses, crying and laughter rang out from every direction.
And that wasn't all.
Everyone gathered there raised their voice to serve their own ends.
"Buying! Buying! Bring whatever you've got! We buy everything at reasonable prices!"
There were Pathfinders trying to sell their loot and merchants hoping to buy it for next to nothing.
"You've had a rough time, haven't you? I'll make you forget all about it tonight. Oh, come on. I promise you'll get your money's worth!"
"Want to have a little chat with me?"
There were prostitutes wearing seductive smiles.
"Medical services available! Anyone injured, come right over... Hey, hey! That one's about to croak! Put three or so of our people on that one."
And there were REST-MANs searching for the wounded.
They all had their sights set on the Pathfinders.
All to earn money. Credits.
As they crossed the chaotic plaza, Akina suddenly moved her backpack to her front.
"Move your blade around to the front too, Mister. When the Pathfinders come back, it's peak season for pickpockets. They'll seriously take everything."
With her bag held against her chest, Akina kept looking around. She was even more alert than she had been during their exploration.
Watching her, Ash spoke.
"Young lady."
"Yes?"
"This was your first expedition as well, was it not?"
"Of course it was. Why?"
"Then how do you know that today is peak season for pickpockets?"
Akina turned her head sharply.
Then she grinned.
"Curious?"
Ash shook his head.
"...No. It was foolish of me to ask."
Just then, a man approached as though pushed along by the crowd and blocked their path. He was scrawny, with a sly look in his eyes.
"Little lady, are you a Pathfinder? I've got something good for..."
Before the man could finish, Ash stepped between them.
"Stand back."
The threatening electronic voice made the man shrink back a little. But apparently unwilling to give up just yet, he took a small packet of drugs from inside his clothes and waved it.
"...Hehe. Had a rough time in the Outer? One hit of this and you'll forget all about it. Feeling good's a bonus. Buy now, and I'll give you a special discount..."
Ash took a step forward.
He stared straight into the man's face.
His optical sensors flashed more fiercely than ever.
"I told you to stand back."
Under the pressure coming from that large steel body, the man swallowed and backed away.
He watched Ash warily, then muttered a short curse and disappeared into the crowd.
"Wow. Now that I'm a Pathfinder, even the druggies are coming after me."
"...You used to pick pockets here, with people like that roaming freely?"
"What? Curious again?"
Akina wiggled her eyebrows.
Ash covered his face with one hand.
Then his senses caught someone else approaching them.
This time, it was a woman whose extensive body modifications made her profession obvious at a glance. Her breasts and buttocks were so unnaturally large that she looked a little grotesque rather than obscene.
Ash instinctively moved in front of Akina and warned the approaching woman.
"Stand..."
Before he could even finish his warning, she spoke.
"Ash? You're Ash, right?"
"...Hm?"
For a moment, Ash was taken aback.
He hadn't expected to hear his name. Even Akina peeked out from behind him to see what was going on.
"How do you know my name?"
At his low electronic voice, the woman's face lit up, and she even clapped her hands.
"Wow! It really is you! I'm a huge fan. Could I get a picture with you?"
She had phrased it as a question, but she was already taking picture after picture with a PDA she had produced from somewhere. Ash grew even more confused.
The unexpected commotion made several people nearby turn their heads. Surprisingly, quite a few of them recognized Ash as well.
"Huh? That humanoid?"
"It is! It's Ash! Says so right on his head!"
"Should we ask for a picture too?"
The commotion grew.
Bewildered, Ash kept one hand out to protect Akina and addressed the woman.
"Who are you? And how do you know my name?"
"What do you mean, how? You're all the rage right now!"
The woman showed him her PDA screen.
It showed the ruined corridor where they had fought for their lives not long ago.
The strange contrast between the Grotesques pouring in like waves and Ash swinging his sword fiercely to hold them back was striking.
In the foreground, Ifrit was winking and making a V sign. But what caught his eye even more was the caption at the bottom of the screen.
[The Outer Is Too Easy. Feat. Ash Blade]
It was a short video filled with bizarre background music and sound effects.
That short video sat at the very top of the trending video rankings. The comments were flooded with all kinds of praise and envy, wild guesses about Ash's identity, and worship of Ifrit's beauty.
"What in the..."
Ash was usually calm and composed in all things, but even he couldn't help being thrown by this situation. He had no idea how he was supposed to react.
Meanwhile, onlookers continued to gather one by one. In no time, a crowd had surrounded them.
Some watched with curiosity, others with awe, and some with looks that seemed less than innocent.
In an instant, he had gone from a Pathfinder walking through the plaza to a rare animal in a circus.
That was when Akina stepped forward.
"E-everyone, go away!"
The short girl took a step forward and spread her arms, blocking the crowd as though protecting Ash.
"He's tired right now, okay? Don't talk to him! He's not signing anything either! Huh? Hey! You there! No pictures!"
With her eyes narrowed fiercely as she threatened them, she looked quite intimidating.
"Move, move! Stop blocking the way! Go sell your drugs or your bodies or something! Get lost!"
It was a strange sight.
A little technomancer protecting a large combat humanoid. Something about the situation was completely backward.
"Aw, just once!"
"Just one picture together!"
The people wouldn't back off so easily.
Their interest was also growing more blatant. Some even reached out to touch Ash's steel body.
Finally coming to his senses, Ash gently drew the struggling Akina against him. Then he released an intimidating presence far beyond anything he had shown earlier.
"Stand back. All of you."
At his low electronic voice, the noisy crowd fell silent for a moment. Ash seized the chance and quickly pushed through them, all but carrying Akina.
For now, he simply wanted to get away.
As his heavy steel body pushed people aside, they could no longer block him, and a path slowly opened.
Disappointed cries and the sound of cameras followed him.
* * *
"You're back, rising star?"
When they reached Santa's Rest Stop as though on the run, Santa was lounging at the counter, snickering over his PDA.
He was watching that very same short video.
Apparently, it really was all the rage.
"See, you look better in person. It doesn't capture that particular presence you've got. Not very photogenic, are you?"
Ash silently bowed his head in greeting. Akina snapped back on his behalf.
"What do you know, you old has-been? He looks great on camera too, okay? You think just anyone gets into the trending videos?"
"Who do you keep calling a has-been, you little brat?"
Santa rapped Akina on the head with his knuckles.
"Ow!"
The two continued bickering for a while. It finally came to an end when Santa lit a cigarette.
"Has all been well, Elder San?"
"What could happen? Same thing every day. Anyway, tell me the story. What the hell did you do to end up fighting that many Grotesques?"
Ash briefly explained what had happened during their expedition, including when the video in question had been recorded.
His account was matter-of-fact, but the events themselves were anything but ordinary. Santa was so interested that he shifted eagerly in his seat a couple of times as he listened.
The story ended around the time his cigarette burned down. Santa was silent for a moment.
"...It's a miracle you made it back alive. Now that I've heard all that, this thing's a pack of lies, isn't it?"
The old man raised his PDA in one hand. Ifrit's video, [The Outer Is Too Easy. Feat. Ash Blade], was playing on it.
"The Outer is too easy, my ass."
Clicking his tongue, Santa lit another cigarette. Akina, who had been quiet until then, opened her backpack.
"Never mind that! Appraise this stuff for me. You know what I got this time? Ta-da!"
"Oho? That's in pretty good condition. Didn't you go to a Level 1 area?"
That marked the beginning of Santa and Akina's heated bargaining.
Ash listened to their conversation for a while, then apparently lost interest and looked around the rest stop.
The walls were covered with firearms, cyberware for various body parts, and what appeared to be vehicle components.
When he had first come here, it had all looked like junk. But after experiencing real combat during their expedition, he saw everything differently.
One thing in particular caught his eye: a battery pack with twice the capacity of his own.
Ash had little interest in material things, but even he wanted that battery pack. Perhaps that was inevitable for a humanoid whose life depended on electrical power.
Just then, a small warning appeared.
[WARNING!]
[POWER LEVEL: 4%]
Ash spoke to Akina and Santa, who were still deep in their heated debate.
"Would you mind if I went upstairs first? I have little power remaining."
Akina hurriedly nodded.
"Go ahead! I'll come up as soon as we're done bargaining!"
Santa offered a few words as well.
"You've had a long day."
Ash gave them both a brief farewell, then headed for his temporary room on the second floor of the rest stop.
He climbed the creaking stairs, entered his room, and connected himself to the old industrial charger installed on the wall.
Bzzzt. A brief spark flashed, and a steady supply of power flowed into him. All the warning messages that had been hovering in his vision vanished at once.
Savoring the strength of the lightning energy flowing through his artificial neural network, Ash sat cross-legged and shut off his optical sensors.
In the deep darkness, images rose and faded in his mind as he meditated.
The expedition to Gamma-7, his meeting with Ifrit, the fight with the REST-MANs, and more.
At some point, one scene stood out with particular clarity among all those memories.
It was Akina, standing in front of him amid the crowd and raising her voice.
He had been too overwhelmed at the time to give it much thought, but looking back now, it truly was a funny sight.
A technomancer protecting an Assault.
Ash let out a low chuckle at the absurd image.
"Hehe... What a dependable young lady she is."
His face was still expressionless, of course. Yet somehow, at that moment, he seemed to be smiling.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
