While walking along the sewer path.

I heard someone calling out to me.

"Hey, kids!"

Since we were close to the village, I willingly lifted my head to look in that direction. If we hadn't been near the village, I would have ignored it.

In the direction the voice came from stood a vagrant with a familiar face.

Whatever past he had, or how he had lived.

Just by looking at his appearance, I could roughly guess—he was a rough man with shabby clothes.

Metal framework covered in chrome (not real chrome material) showed off its presence from inside torn synthetic skin.

He covered one shoulder with a tattered blanket.

Instead of an arm, something made of sharp metal was visible beneath the torn edge of the blanket.

I wasn't sure what it was exactly.

But its combat purpose was clear.

In this place where people lived day to day.

The fact that he still wore functioning cyberwear was enough to notice the man's dangerous lifestyle.

I don't know his nickname.

He's a village vagrant I've seen a few times coming and going.

"What is it?"

Gold Piece says a term meaning Japanese song while being wary of the vagrant. She's standing one step ahead of me.

Her hand is in her pocket, not hiding her hostile posture.

Perhaps finding that cute.

The vagrant grinned and waved his hand.

"Haha, even I'm not heartless enough to steal from kids like you."

Conscience, huh.

Not a word you'd expect to hear in a sewer area where polluted water flows.

Rather, because of those words.

Both Gold Piece and I became more cautious.

...That Teddy guy earlier was the same.

Normally we would have just passed by after seeing his face, but I don't know why so many people are talking to us today.

Sensing our mood.

The vagrant pulled out some electronic device from his blanket and explained.

"Look, look. This is why I called you."

"......"

No, even if you say it's because of this, how are we supposed to know what it is?

I frowned as I looked at the electronic device in the vagrant's hand.

It looks like a smartphone from the original world.

When the vagrant pressed a button on the unknown electronic device, a bright voice that didn't match the atmosphere of this place blared from the previously dark screen.

【Pete Mac! Pete Mac! Pete Mac! Who's that? The friend of children! Run to your nearest Koozaka's 'Pete Mac Burger' right now! Purchase our new 'Almost Made with Real Pork Burger' and you'll be specially entered into a drawing for prizes! The winning probability is 1/100000, and even if you win, payment may be impossible due to system errors.】

The last part was strangely fast, making it difficult to hear properly.

""......""

Anyway.

Gold Piece and I blankly listened to the voice coming from the electronic device the vagrant was holding.

...Is that an advertisement?

I really don't understand this world's sensibilities.

The vagrant held out the electronic device after the advertisement ended and continued speaking.

"It's such a cheap product that you have to watch ads no matter what. Anyway, kid, Weakling was it?"

The vagrant looks at me as he speaks.

"Isn't this what you were looking for? An electronic device that can connect to NetSpace to watch videos. Right now, I'll specially trade it for three days' worth of food—"

"I'll take it."

I didn't hesitate.

Gold Piece beside me looked at me like I was crazy.

No.

How could I resist a machine that can play YouTu○e?

It was a very good deal.

26. That Also Happened (3)

【Pete Mac! Pete Mac! Pete—.】

I irritably covered the screen with my hand.

"Ugh."

My body hadn't fully grown yet so I couldn't completely cover the screen with just my palm, but it was enough to feel mental stability.

If only this damn advertisement.

I wish there was something I could do about it.

With ads popping up every few seconds whenever I tried to watch a video, I understood why the original owner had thrown this thing away.

Maybe because it's an advertisement from a cyberpunk world steeped in capitalism, I couldn't even turn down the volume.

...Is it over?

I don't know who this Pete Mac guy is.

But I felt like burning down his store.

I felt my patience growing as I looked down at the screen again.

I needed to find the videos I wanted before the battery died. Even this time was very precious.

To charge an electronic device in a sewer like this, I'd have to use food I'd collected through bartering.

The importance of a meal is endless to discuss. That's why Gold Piece nagged me about wasting food on such things.

But this was a necessary expense for me.

It's almost essential if I want to live "properly" in this world from now on.

I entered another search term.

The keyword was 'magic'.

Excluding garbage videos with 'whoosh-bang' effects meant to attract views, I scrolled down to find videos with lower view counts instead.

For some unknown reason.

Videos with fewer views tended to be more helpful to me.

I muttered while watching one video.

"...This is legit."

From now on I'll call you my master in my heart, Master.

I couldn't leave comments since I didn't have an account.

I expressed enough gratitude in my heart.

And so.

How much time had passed while I watched these useful videos?

Melted candle wax dripped onto the floor.

The flame flickered with weakened power.

Accordingly, dancing shadows dimly illuminated the inside of the sewer.

Without a clock I couldn't tell exactly.

But the sun must have set by now.

Judging by how hungry I felt, that seemed about right.

I got up from my personal bed where I had laid out cardboard pieces.

To the area where Gold Piece and I stayed together.

It was too narrow to stand up straight, but that made it safe from people's attention.

Just the fact that polluted water didn't flow right in front made it an A-grade accommodation.

"Gold Piece, are you sulking?"

I moved to where Gold Piece usually stayed.

Even though it was food from my share.

She seemed displeased that her close friend was spending food on strange things.

'I'm going to sleep, you do whatever you want.'

That's what she said before lying down.

I wonder if she's still sleeping now.

"......"

But.

Gold Piece, who had been here until just a while ago, was nowhere to be found.

Gold Piece....

Where did you go again?

"Sigh."

Did she run away because the ads were too loud?

If she were grown up, I wouldn't worry.

But she's still young, so I can't help but worry even if I try not to.

I crawled out of our dwelling, staying alert for any signs of people.

At this time of day.

There aren't many places Gold Piece could go.

It's so dark outside that relying on moonlight would be suicidal.

The same goes for inside the sewer.

The later it gets, the worse the security becomes.

Following such rational reasoning, I narrowed down Gold Piece's possible routes to a few options.

At best, Specs' clinic.

Or—

I decided on one destination and started walking.

I hid in shadows whenever I heard sounds of people or other living beings. My life was precious.

Crossing over polluted water.

Avoiding steam and smoke.

Crawling under pipes.

Finally, I grabbed a rusty metal ladder and climbed up toward the top.

"There you are."

I found Gold Piece sitting on the floor, looking outside through iron bars.

Even in the sewer area, not everything is located underground.

Like here, there were places inside the sewer where you could see the outside scenery.

Even though she must have heard my voice.

Gold Piece continued looking outside through the iron bars.

I slowly approached Gold Piece's side.

I plopped down on the floor and turned my head to follow the direction Gold Piece was looking.

Beyond the iron bars, beyond the mountains of garbage, beyond the giant scrap metal collection machines.

I admired Neo City, where brilliant lights poured out over the solid walls.

Maybe it's because we could view the city without the threat of corporate killer drones outside.

Gold Piece really liked this spot.

The little one's golden eyes contained emotions that could be described as 'hope' or 'dreams'.

Gold Piece broke the silence and spoke.

"Did I tell you before? That I'm helping you because you remind me of a kid I used to be friends with."

Hmm, honestly I don't remember well.

But I decided to be sympathetic.

I nodded in agreement.

"I heard it before, was it a boy with a good personality like me?"

"It was a little girl I looked after like a sister. Haven't seen her since she was taken by drones."

"......"

I want to go back in time and take back what I said.

I maintained a brief silence before asking again.

"...But if it was a girl, why did you say I look like—"

"That kid's dream was to someday enter the city and eat a decent hamburger."

Gold Piece ignored my question and continued her story.

She must have been reminded of the past by the advertisement I was watching.

The promotional message for 'Pete Mac Burger'.

...Hmm.

Being both 'I' and 'T', I asked based on facts.

"But decent hamburgers are common enough if you just dig through trash, aren't they?"

In fact, it was the most common food you could find in this place where the concept of recycling didn't exist.

By the way, I ate one yesterday too.

Zap, Gold Piece's sharp gaze turned toward me.

Hey, it's just facts.

I slightly avoided Gold Piece's gaze.

Gold Piece turned her gaze back toward the iron bars.

Maybe puberty has hit her recently.

Gold Piece was more emotional than usual.

I sighed lightly and read the mood. I should probably stop joking around now.

"...I told you I'll help you later, right?"

"You're so weak, how are you going to help?"

"I told you, I have amazing talent despite how I look."

That's what I tell Gold Piece whenever I'm bored.

Gold Piece looked at me with an expression like she was looking at a pathetic person.

"...That, what was it? Magic?"

"That's right."

I nodded confidently.

Talent in 'magic', no less.

A talent created through character creation.

I even learned more by watching videos today.

Sending one kid to the city shouldn't be difficult.

Tomorrow's me could class-change from 'vagrant boy' to 'mage'.

"...Good for you, make sure you help me later."

My words must have sounded like a joke.

Gold Piece smiled slightly and nodded without much interest.

Good, she smiled.

Not missing the timing, I held out my hand to Gold Piece and said.

"We should go to sleep now if we want to get up early tomorrow, and that city is big enough that it won't be too late whenever we go."

Gold Piece looked down at my hand but got up on her own.

How embarrassing.

"Yeah, let's go to sleep."

That's how I returned to our dwelling with Gold Piece.

And.

When I woke up.

Instead of Gold Piece, there was a piece of paper.

She must have learned to write a bit from Specs.

The state of the handwriting was all over the place. Did she write this with her feet?

I slowly deciphered the words written on the paper.

"'I'm going to check out the city, don't go anywhere and just wait,' it says. ...Hmm."

......

This is so frustrating.

She never listens to me.

I got up and rushed out to find Gold Piece.

* * *

"She really never listened to me, it's not for nothing that I nicknamed her Gold Piece. Back then and even now—"

"...Even now?"

"Now she listens very well."

Catherine, the grown-up Gold Piece, nodded with a satisfied expression at my answer.

Revealing the truth was this dangerous.