WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Cyberpunk Chivalry ◈
Chapter 19: Halloween Society (2)
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Siren talked a lot.
"Wow. I honestly never dreamed I'd meet you like this. I'm still trying to calm down. Until recently, no, until just a moment ago, I was thinking how much I'd love to meet you, Mr. Ash."
At the same time, she wasn't very good at it.
"Oh, so, the reason I wanted to meet you was... Where should I start? Right, I was streaming a few days ago. Then one of my teammates suddenly showed me a video and told me to watch it! They said you used a sword like me, and you were seriously good!"
Yet she was also timid.
"Um, so... I was so surprised, and someone I really wanted to meet was right in front of me, so I didn't know what to do. And now that you're actually here, I don't know what to say. I just really wanted to at least talk to you, so I think I came over without even realizing it. I'm sorry!"
Siren.
On the ranking board, she had been a black-haired beauty with a proud, cold air. But seeing her now, well...
Rather than an icy beauty, she seemed more like a scatterbrain.
She rambled and fidgeted.
Watching her was enough to make anyone anxious. There wasn't a trace of the dignity expected of the top-ranked idol.
Eventually, Ash couldn't take it anymore and cut her off.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"You're so cool, Mr. Ash!"
"So you are a 'fan'?"
"Um... Something like that!"
"Either you are a fan or you are not. What do you mean, something like that?"
"I'm sorry!"
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Um... Well, I'm sorry."
"Again, why are you apologizing...?"
Feeling as though he was being drawn into something, Ash fell silent. Somehow, he was getting confused too.
"Mister."
Akina, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.
"Could it be because of your swordsmanship?"
"...Hmm?"
Ash turned at the unexpected suggestion.
"Where did that come from?"
"You saw the ranking board earlier, right? She seemed to use a sword too. I thought that might be why she came over."
Things seemed to be falling into place.
Ash looked at Akina, inviting her to continue.
"Honestly, it's not like the video of you has amazing editing or production, right? It's popular because your swordsmanship is freaking awesome."
She was right.
The video Ifrit had uploaded was almost unedited, with little more than background music and sound effects added.
There was only one reason it had received so many views despite that. The swordsmanship Ash displayed in it was exceptionally refined.
"Besides, not many Pathfinders use a sword as their main weapon. How should I put it? Maybe she feels a sort of connection?"
Apparently, that was the right answer.
Siren nodded like a broken mechanical doll.
"Y-yes! That's exactly it!"
At some point, she had taken out her PDA again. After tapping it a couple of times, she turned the screen toward Ash.
"Here, right here! How did you do this? How did you cut down three Grotesques in a single stroke? I understand that you used your center of gravity as a pivot to generate centrifugal force, but that stance shouldn't have let you produce that much power!"
"I understand, so calm down first..."
"And this part too. Wow! Isn't it amazing? A slash and a thrust at the same time! Is this how you do it? No, that's not right. I think my front foot's in the wrong place. Like this?"
She copied Ash's stance from the video, then played it again on her PDA. Crying, "That's not it!" she stamped her feet in frustration.
"..."
Her description of herself as "something like a fan" had been quite accurate.
Siren was obsessed with Ash's swordsmanship.
One might ask what the difference was, but it seemed clear enough when she kept watching the PDA with the man himself sitting right in front of her.
"Enough."
At Ash's low electronic voice, Siren stopped in the middle of copying a spinning slash. Then her face reddened, as though she had realized her mistake.
"Oh, um. I've done it again...!"
It had only been a short time, but Ash had already grasped how to talk to this woman.
So he went straight to the point.
"Do you like swords?"
Siren beamed at his question.
"Yes!"
Such a bright smile looked quite lovely on a woman whose features seemed so cold.
"Then you wish to ask about swordsmanship?"
"Exactly! Especially the footwork..."
That was when it happened.
A growing murmur spread through the lounge. Looking around, they saw many people staring their way and whispering.
"Hey, isn't that Siren?"
"I think it is!"
"Take a picture! Hurry!"
The small disturbance quickly grew. A few people even ran toward them, shouting with excitement.
It was only natural.
A woman everyone in Sanctum recognized, Halloween Entertainment's top-ranked idol, had just put on a sword dance with her face uncovered.
"Uh, oh, this isn't good! I'd better go..."
Looking close to tears, Siren hurriedly put on her hat and mask. Then she practically tossed a business card onto the table.
"I'll be sure to contact you again! I promise! Bye!"
With that, she rushed out of the lounge. The crowd that had gathered ran after her.
"Siren! I'm a fan!"
"A picture! Just one picture together!"
"What the hell? Why is she so fast?"
Caught off guard, Ash and Akina could only stare blankly after them.
"What was that all about? My head's spinning."
"Indeed."
A little while later, Akina spoke as she turned the business card over in her hands.
"How exactly is she going to contact us? We're the ones who got her contact details."
With the talkative woman gone, peace briefly returned to the lounge.
Of course, that peace didn't last long either.
"Heeey! Ash! Kiddo!"
Had a minute or two passed?
Ifrit came through the security checkpoint and walked over, waving.
Had Akina grown fond of her in the meantime?
Or did she simply look like 500,000 credits?
"Ifrit!"
Akina greeted her with a bright smile too.
But Ifrit wasn't alone.
She was with a man wearing a motorcycle helmet pulled low over his head, or perhaps a helmet designed to look like one.
The two approached them in the lounge.
"Ah, you are here."
Answering Ash's brief greeting with a wink, Ifrit casually took a seat and produced a card.
"Your order of 500,000 credits is ready."
"Wow!"
Akina snatched the credit card with a move much like the Cloud Dragon Claw, then immediately took out her PDA to check the amount.
Occasional beeping sounds followed.
Meanwhile, Ash addressed Ifrit across the table.
"Lady warrior. Have you remained hale and hearty since last we met?"
"Huh? Hale and what?"
"I asked whether you have been well."
"...Sometimes I think you use weird words just to mess with me."
Her distinctive heart-shaped eye lights gave him a sidelong look.
"Same as always. You?"
"My days have been most eventful."
"Huh? Why?"
"Thanks to your secret filming, lady warrior."
"...Aha. Ahaha. Don't be like that. I paid you an appearance fee, didn't I?"
"An appearance fee. Now that you mention it, about that pistol. I am told quite a few parts were damaged. The repairs will be rather expensive too. Do you perhaps have anything to say about that, lady warrior?"
"Whoops!"
Ifrit turned her head away.
It was an obvious attempt to dodge the question.
"I haven't introduced him yet, have I? This is Dullahan. He's an idol from the boy band ROA. Why don't you say hello?"
At her words, the man who had been standing there took a step forward. A moment later, text appeared on his black helmet visor.
[hi]
Ash stared blankly at it before guessing that "hi" was probably a greeting.
"I am called Ash Blade. I have no affiliation."
[yeah btw you got scammed with that many views you should've been paid more]
"You little bastard!"
Ifrit sprang up and wrapped an arm around the man's neck, putting Dullahan in what was commonly known as a headlock.
But Dullahan merely shrugged.
[i'm all machine so that doesn't hurt one bit]
"Ugh! Nothing but a big mouth, aren't you?"
She rapped his helmet, bonk, bonk.
Without budging, he displayed another message.
[lol where's my mouth lmaoooo]
Ash briefly shut off his optical sensors.
Then he thought.
Was there not a single normal person in Halloween's territory?
First Ifrit, then Siren, who had come and gone like a storm. And now Dullahan, with his bizarre way of communicating.
He felt strangely overwhelmed.
An ironic feeling indeed for a humanoid whose entire body was a machine.
Meanwhile, Akina looked up.
She seemed to have finished checking the 500,000 credits.
"I've checked it, Ifrit."
"All there, right?"
"Yes. But is what he said true?"
"H-huh?"
"Were we supposed to get more?"
Faced with a gleam in the girl's eyes unlike any she had seen before, Ifrit finally surrendered.
"...Send me the bill for the pistol repairs. Let's call it even. Please."
"Hehe! You're the best!"
[lmao this kid's got guts lol that was sick]
"Shut up!"
[yeah my mouth's been shut this whole time]
Ifrit was about to explode again at the message on his visor when Ash spoke.
"I believe that is quite enough noise."
Everyone turned to Ash at the low electronic voice. It was merely a sound coming from his voice module, yet it had a strange power that drew their attention.
"Now, tell us what you came to discuss, lady warrior."
"...Huh? How'd you know I had something to discuss?"
Ash turned to look at Dullahan.
"It was merely a guess. From my own experience, you do not seem the sort to introduce someone simply for the sake of making friends."
"You're so easy to talk to."
"Then tell us. Why have you introduced young Master Du to us?"
A moment later, a message appeared on the visor.
[damn that insight lol he's just like you said sis]
"Shut up and come sit down."
Ifrit pulled Dullahan into the seat beside her. Her heart-shaped eye lights gleamed more brightly than ever.
"The four of us here, plus one more. Let's do a collab."
"A collab?"
It was a word Ash had never heard before.
"A collaboration. Before I explain, take a look at this."
She took a PDA from inside her clothes and placed it on the table. Then she pressed play.
It was a recording from someone's bodycam.
Fierce gunfire, screams, and urgent breathing had all been clearly recorded.
The image also shook violently.
The wearer was rolling across the floor, groaning as they hurried to take cover.
Then, with a brief sound of tearing flesh, the view spun wildly. Broken wreckage, Sentinels, and what appeared to be a teammate's corpse swept past in turn.
The video ended there.
It was a horrific recording that vividly captured a battlefield. In other words, that was all it showed.
Ash couldn't tell what the video was supposed to mean.
Akina could.
"Huh?"
She played the video again.
A moment later, she paused it at a particular point.
Sentinels were swarming around the wearer.
Behind them stood a machine covered in complex, intricate patterns. It was diamond-shaped and shone gold. It certainly didn't look ordinary.
"Could that be... a Nexus Port?"
"Bingo."
Ifrit winked, as though she had known Akina would recognize it. Meanwhile, Ash searched for information on the Nexus Port.
[DATA RECALL: Nexus Port]
[DATA RESEARCH. . . NOW<<<]
//*
Nexus Port.
An ultra-high-density storage device and network connection device containing concentrated core data on ancient technology.
It holds a vast quantity of technical information and supporting records.
It denies all access by default, but a technomancer equipped with a cyberbrain module can attempt extremely limited data extraction through a Deep Dive.
Its potential value is immeasurable. Most of the megacorps' core technologies originated from these Nexus Ports.
*//
"An unknown idol group got stranded during an expedition a day ago. This is their bodycam footage."
Ifrit leaned forward.
Then she lowered her voice even further, as though afraid someone might overhear.
"The important thing is, we haven't reported this to the Sanctum Administration yet. Get what that means? None of the other Societies even know it exists. Only Halloween!"
Normally, the discovery of a Nexus Port brought every Society rushing in, sparking a bloody battle.
Only superior technology could secure their standing within Sanctum.
But this time was different.
Through a chance discovery, Halloween alone knew about a new Nexus Port.
That meant this would be several times easier than a typical "Nexus retaking operation."
"What do you say?"
Ifrit gave them a challenging smile.
"Want to make some serious money?"
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