15 – Competition (1)
“Uh, whose voice was that just now?”
“Explanations are requested, Mr. Taehyuk.”
“A woman’s voice? Did you just let the wind catch it while leaving her?”
“Mr. Taehyuk, was there someone of the opposite s*x involved in a romantic relationship?”
Chaos ensued.
Amidst the growing voices, I quickly scanned the surroundings.
Fortunately, there were no passersby coming this way…
“Haru, open up. It’s not fun.”
“I won’t open the door until you speak!”
“…”
Normally, it would have been a matter of exchanging a few words and moving on.
Casually matching the mood, rejecting the suggestion for a date,
Inside, all I had to do was give a rough estimate and take the job.
Today, Illya was behind me,
and he had just been tempting me.
Bringing up our “relationship”.
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“Mr. Taehyuk.”
“Illya, for now -“
[Are you going to talk to another woman while leaving me alone?]
[Just try coming in here…!]
I let out a deep sigh.
Not coming in was… yet another way to torment me.
Manticore was a place where relatively sensible clients often came.
I didn’t want to consider other options because of Tanaka Haru.
Gearhead required body modification and mandatory membership,
Armenius and Thorzen were heavily influenced by the two major corporations, Mirsis and Tonhu.
Manticore was the only place that guaranteed the status of an independent mercenary and allowed free activity,
so skilled individuals naturally flocked to Manticore.
As a result, good offers that guaranteed favorable conditions followed.
“For now, we’ll talk about it later. Got it?”
“Yes, understood.”
I wanted to secure the request by the end of today.
Having endured all the hardships to arrive here, returning empty-handed was not an option.
[Well, then let’s talk later.]
[Do you think I’m just a mercenary like any other? It’s not that easy for me, you know?!]
In the midst of a situation where I wanted to collapse right away, the only fortunate thing was that Illya was an artificial intelligence.
Unlike the previous day, Illya responded when I spoke.
No trivial conditions were attached, no awkward requests were made.
Thinking about it, Illya was a much better companion than I had initially thought.
However –
“…But don’t do anything without my orders. Got it?”
It was fortunate that I instantly recalled the problem of attempting something beyond common sense without proper instructions.
Otherwise, Illya might have tried to do something on its own.
The sight of it nonchalantly approaching me, after bouncing off an absurd proposal and dispelling it effortlessly, made goosebumps rise on my arms.
In the battlefield a decade ago, the most one could do was intercept radio signals or render communication useless.
Now, its abilities had grown to the extent of taking someone’s life.
“Yes.”
Only after hearing the response could I find the leisure to let out a sigh.
Flicking my coat slightly, I sat on the cold stone steps, removed my helmet.
I ran my fingers through damp hair, brushing away droplets attempting to trickle down my neck.
[Well, where are you going? Why aren’t you coming here?]
“Hmm.”
When stressed, sighs came out more than usual.
The problem was the persistent craving for cigarettes.
The sweet taste that pleased the tongue upon inhaling.
The white clouds that calmly settled the mind when exhaling.
But now, I had to endure the agonizing headache.
Because I quit.
[Oh, even if I pretend to be in pain, they won’t open up!]
Once again, a long sigh escaped me.
I didn’t want to throw interest to someone who wouldn’t listen no matter what they said.
Instead…
“You seem to be under a lot of stress. Can I help?”
“There are many eyes watching, you know?”
I lifted my thumb, pointing to the back.
The microphone still had a red light coming through.
Occasionally, faint breaths leaked through,
but the door remained closed.
“I found an article saying that embracing with reason is effective in reducing stress.
It is described that the more extensive the contact area, the better.”
“Where did you find that information again?”
Whenever I tried to tempt, strange information kept popping up,
or it bothered me when laws were imposed.
When customizing artificial intelligence, they say the training medium is important too.
I began to worry if I had given too much freedom.
God forbid, if it had gone to the other side of the internet…
“It’s an internet article.
The title is as follows.
‘Ways to comfort a struggling lover.'”
“──── ?! Cough, cough, cough!”
Surprised by unexpected words, Sare had to pound on my chest.
The face of the creature that softly approached me, gently tapping my back, was not visible under the helmet,
but I felt a creepy sensation, as if it would be very ominous.
Despite being a machine.
[No, no way. Gunman, no, Taehyuk, please come in right away.]
An unexpected result came out.
The door that seemed to require wrestling for hours opened easily with an electronic sound.
“The door is open.”
I looked up at the creature who stood up immediately.
Ilya, who effortlessly solved the problem that seemed impossible for me to solve, looked impressive.
Of course, she was excellent in the skirmish on the way too…
“Illya, is this… what you were aiming for?”
“No, it’s not. There are two methods I devised to lower Taehyuk’s stress levels.
The first method is to forcefully control the opening and closing of doors through hacking,
The second method is to directly interact with Taehyuk himself.”
“Then why did you leave out the first method and choose the second one…”
To that question, Illya couldn’t answer immediately.
Around one second, two seconds, and three seconds passed –
“I received a primary order not to attempt any unauthorized means.
Furthermore, Taehyuk seemed to not positively accept the results of my electronic warfare.
Therefore, I chose the physical contact that had shown many positive reactions and conducted a search accordingly.
Lastly, the significant factor in making this decision is the relationship between Taehyuk and me.”
Relationship.
Those words seemed to give me a tremendous strength.
That day, the favor I had asked seemed to be exerting a strong influence on that guy.
“What kind of rela-“
Just as I was about to ask a curious question,
A voice that made my ears ache suddenly came from behind.
“Gunman, no, Mr. Taehyuk.”
A person much shorter than me.
Face and body, both on the cute side,
But her personality was far from cute as she glared at me.
“What are you doing instead of letting me go right now?”
How should I handle spewing words that might lead to serious misunderstandings if someone overhears?
In my heart, I wanted to shout at her not to talk nonsense, but…
“Can’t we even have a conversation? She’s a new colleague.”
“A, colleague?”
It seemed unnecessary to go that far.
It was clear that even a simple word would be shocking.
“You mean a colleague, a gunslinger, so, Mr. Taehyuk.”
“Is that so? There should be a passenger information on the vehicle.”
“…Wait a moment. I need to check. And come in. Quickly.
Why is the door left open for someone.”
Glancing at Illya for a moment, turning my back felt somewhat refreshing.
A successful shot, perhaps.
“Have I caused any trouble by any chance?”
“No, you did well.”
I tried to pat her head.
But due to the helmet, I only felt the smooth surface.
At the moment when I tried to dust off the dust on my hands.
“Is it okay to take off the helmet, Taehyuk?”
Even without deeply pondering the intent behind that question, it was clear.
“I’ll take care of it later at home.”
“Understood.”
The prompt response immediately revealed his condition.
After a pat on the shoulder, I entered beyond the open door.
Who would have thought the commute would be this challenging?
***
“Your name is Illya…? You’re referring to that CI model we fought together on the battlefield, right?”
With gloves on, he enlarged the holographic screen, examining various things while I was stuck in front of him.
It had been a while since he casually chewed on my request.
“Yeah.”
“Was there a specific reason for being a female android?”
“I’m going to live with her. Should I live with a bulky muscle-bound guy instead?”
“Well, that’s – um…”
It was a reasonable reason.
One easily accepted by others.
A man living alone, and on top of that, bringing in an android modeled after a man. Unless one had peculiar tastes, it was undoubtedly not an easily accepted decision.
“So, during this time, it’s also because of her that you’ve handled so many requests.”
“It’s a name with clear distinction. Illya.”
“Do you know how weirdly I gave the name? It’s a war machine. The number is 125, so it’s Il I O. Illya. Doesn’t feel like anything.”
She wanted to squeeze those sharply protruding lips right then and there.
Being hurt by words a couple of times is one thing, but enduring this continuously seemed unbearable.
If only it wasn’t for her negotiation skills, her intolerable personality would have led to expulsion long ago.
The infuriating part was that, while everyone else treated others normally, they clung to me fiercely.
“Mr. Taehyuk, we’ve detected an increase in heart rate.”
“We’ve observed a rapid rise in excitement levels.”
“Uh—”
“What did you say?”
“Oh, no, nothing at all.”
Words almost burst out in a moment.
Getting excited by such a dirty woman with that kind of personality was absurd.
‘The word ‘excitement’ encompasses various meanings.’
‘What I intended was excitement of the negative kind.’
Was that so?
Perhaps due to my excessively sharp nerves, I couldn’t even judge that correctly and was about to unleash my anger.
From Noble mtl dot com
My face heated up a bit.
Or is it because Illya is bothering me?
“Anyway… Androids.
Well, okay. I get a guy having that level of hobby.
And honestly, who gets excited about robots these days? Unless it’s person to person, you know?”
It’s kind of pitiful.
She seemed to be proudly flaunting a body that wasn’t naturally hers, but she picked the wrong person.
If she revealed what was hidden under that skirt, surely it would put an end to her arrogance. Probably.
And there was a serious error in her words.
This was a commercial district,
and service droids were undoubtedly still prowling the streets, tempting people.
Not even understanding the simple laws of supply and demand.
How did someone like this become such an amazing mediator?
“So, what’s the job? There are a few that just came in.
Escort duty, the time frame is tonight,
delivery of goods. If you finish it by tomorrow morning…
There’s also a request from the city. Dealing with a newly emerging gang that has locked down the streets?”
“Wait, what?”
Haru, giving me a strange look as I stood up in a hurry.
The guy, casually moving his hand a few times, showed me the contract information.
“Eliminate the thugs who steal transported goods between the commercial district and the outskirts residential areas.”
“Why? Does something feel familiar?”
Whether it feels familiar or not.
They look just like the guys I killed when I came.
“Oh, the contract has ended.
Did you confirm the removal of the gang in the area?”
“Damn it.”
The curse word slipped out naturally.
It’s ridiculous to call it a free service.
My fist clenched.
I felt like smashing the desk right away.
I should have just broken through and treated this request as a return job.
Use the money I have, can’t even get the contract fee?
“Um, by any chance… is there a scratch on the car…”
“Yeah, I killed them all.
Thanks to that, I didn’t get a single penny. Damn it!”
Because of the shout, the mercenaries sitting around frowned.
It was like that every day.
“I apologize.”
I stood up from my seat, bowed my head several times, and sat back down.
My emotions were not properly regulated.
It was a day when luck seemed to be nonexistent, and there were plenty of irritating things to deal with.
“Um, by any chance… could you let me have some of that money?”
The face that came through the hazy letters of Iria was none other than Haru’s.
Whispering, with her hand pressed against her mouth.
For some reason, that face, which seemed to be gently smiling, looked kinder than ever before.
“…Really?”
“Maybe I could give you something – Oh, no, of course not. Who am I kidding? hehehehe.”
Placing her hand on her chest, she cleared her throat and tried to act cool –
Then she leaned closer to me.
With her chin slightly raised, she looked at me as if she were looking down.
“Instead, there might be something you should do for me this time. What do you think?”
As she said that, Haru stuck out her little tongue.
A sense of foreboding washed over me.