Fortune Cookie (23)

This world is full of problems. It's an utterly rotten place. That was what a worker, assigned as a temporary party back when Nadia and Carry weren't around and I was working alone in the mines, used to mutter.

He said that the world he was born into was already saturated with all sorts of things, so there was no room for him to exist.

Since he was born with nothing, he said he should also die with nothing,That the bracelet on his wrist was a shackle, and that for it to feel lighter, he must not contain anything inside,That that was why he squandered his credits on booze every day,That he vomited out his insides like that, day after day.

He continued to toss excuses at me that were more like self-talk than explanations.

Despite acting as if he would die at any moment and with a pessimistic, cynical attitude toward the world, one day he pulled himself together, hopped on a shuttle to Enceladus after terraforming was done, and vanished without a word.

I think it was around my 23rd day here. Still, it seems he at least had the will—or perhaps the desire—to survive. Usually, those who get affected by Blue Crystal even once often simply lose their minds for good.

As for leaving with nothing—yeah, right. If anything, he left with everything he could carry. I recall he had quite a lot stored in his bracelet. His steps, so much heavier than when he first arrived, left a strong impression on me.

Back then, I only thought the world must be full of people who never know hunger, but now, I can empathize with that notion more.

This world is full of problems. Problems woven together in knots too complex to call by a single name, twisted beyond hope, nearly impossible to untangle.

And that was exactly the case with my current situation.

Pureblood supremacists, ghouls, Blue Crystal, Heaven, the residential area, the town.Twisted, horrific, rotting, broken, covered, getting back up again.

When I opened my eyes, I always saw the hazy sky above. Cloudy. So cloudy I couldn't see what lay beyond.

I dropped my eyes to the ground. That was clear. It was everything else that was ambiguous. My position was ambiguous.

While I was zoning out, Licorice raised her voice.

"The refinery system is heavily locked, but it's not down; I checked—it's still alive. If there are any survivors there, we have to rescue them. We're short on people—specifically, we don't have enough engineers."

"I know. But on the other hand, people over there might take an exclusive stance and reject us. Approaching recklessly could be dangerous."

Celestia argued that, since the refinery was classified as a critical facility, there should be a robot factory nearby—and, if those robots had given up on distinguishing friend from foe, going near would be suicide.

"Then what should we do? It's not recent—the energy supply problem's been around since we got here, hasn't it?"

"......"

"If we can't produce our own energy, all that's left is death. Is anyone here unaware of how much energy the shield generator burns? Now, the construction of the communications facility is being delayed, too. Due to the monsters who might storm in at any moment, we're prioritizing defense, diverting energy that should go elsewhere, so it's not even working. We can't keep making do with scraps forever."

No one was saying anything wrong. In fact, every point was valid, so the disagreement couldn't easily be resolved.

Licorice's claim that we must take risks to escape or request rescue faltered in the face of Celestia's retort: those who aren't actually risking their lives by going there have no right to say it.

Licorice whipped her head around to look at me. Was it finally my turn to step up? I thought so, but Celestia tapped the table lightly. She parted her lips to speak—and my own mouth, slightly open, closed again. For some reason, I felt I should stay quiet.

"What━"

When I didn't butt in, Licorice was shocked, slapped the table, and stood up so quickly the hologram windows above it flickered with static.

But that only lasted a moment. As Carrot mediated, Licorice sat back down, forcibly calming her anger. I felt so suffocated I thought I might puke. I shouldn't have chosen this seat. Why did I have to end up stuck in the middle like this?

I put on the dumbest look I could muster, making it clear I had no idea about anything. At the same time, I desperately tapped the hologram screen on my bracelet.

- Eric, why are you just sitting there? Say something, anything.

- Lady Celestia's will is mine. And you're not saying anything either, are you?

- It's not that I won't say something; I can't. How am I supposed to speak up here? I can barely handle the pressure as it is.

- Then you should've picked a different seat, like I did.

That was fair; I had no comeback. Still, I couldn't help feeling annoyed seeing him casually sipping his purified water.

- Or you could go in strong. You're good at that, aren't you? If you put on those killer eyes like you do when fighting, both of them will shut up.

What a lunatic. If Eric hadn't been a patient, I might have hurled a snowball hiding an ice shard at him the moment this meeting ended. I prayed for his swift recovery.

Even after quite some time had passed, no conclusion was reached, though our differences did narrow a bit. We managed to find a compromise.

If the robot factory near the refinery was intact and survivors were holding out there, we'd try to contact them first. If those survivors weren't affiliated with Heaven but turned out to be pureblood supremacists, we'd drop an Alpha Series shuttle-borne package and incinerate them.

That was Licorice's compromise.

Fine—but even if we go, we should hit the cargo sector before the refinery. I understood the cargo sector was where all sorts of things gather. The goods stored there would surely be a huge help to us.

Heaven's system was still almost completely down, with a very low response rate. Just like in the maintenance area, rampaging energy could destroy the containers at any time. While the containers were still intact, it would be best to grab whatever equipment or specialty materials we could get.

If we were going to send people to the obviously dangerous refinery, we'd at least have to make some basic preparations. Level 2 Store couldn't cover all our supply needs.

That was Celestia's compromise, and it matched my thinking.

It had been a tough meeting. If Eric and I hadn't finally stepped up, it might have dragged on past today.

Anyway, we had set our next goal. As soon as the shuttle repair and upgrade was complete, we would head to Heaven's cargo sector to recover containers.

No one said who would be going, but it was pretty much already decided. It would probably be the same team who went to the residential area, plus one or two more to help.

I had it in mind to get a piece of industrial machinery known as Big Hand, an artificial gravity chain link. I hoped the one I had seen there last time was still intact.

But if we arrived and the ghouls had destroyed it, or if it had been damaged for some other reason━

'...... What could I even do?'

Other than weeping blood for not coming sooner, probably nothing. It's not like I had the power to grab a passing ghoul and beat it to a pulp.

That thought put me in a bit of a funk—but I bounced back quickly. I wasn't a low-rank worker anymore.

Senior-rank Worker (Titan-Only) Lee Hyun-woo—that was me.

With silent gratitude for Ted, I savored the word 'senior'. It gave me confidence. Repeating it to myself improved my mood. Maybe that's why people say rank makes the person.

Later, I thought, when I returned to my room, I'd grant Nadia my assistant privileges. Even if it wasn't quite senior, it was better than nothing, and a cut above intermediate.

"I think we should wrap up for today. Sitting here any longer isn't going to magically give us the answers we want."

"... Alright."

"Yes."

At Carrot's suggestion, Licorice and Celestia nodded. Licorice seemed to agree only reluctantly.

Celestia stood up with Eric. It looked like she wanted to have a private word. She glanced at me before turning away with a low snort. Still, her demeanor was much less aggressive than before. Maybe her mood had improved.

Licorice looked drained as she got up. I rose and started to follow Licorice and the security robot as they lumbered away, but then stopped.

On one side of the lab, an unfamiliar device had been left unfinished mid-construction. Beside it sat a vial containing a red-tinged liquid. I didn't know what it was, but a component embedded in the device looked familiar—as if it were a piece of the cube.

"Carrot, what's that?"

"Hmm? Ah, it's part of the core for the shield generator. I'm trying to build a small-scale shield generator optimized for suits."

Carrot explained he was inspired by mutation specimens fused with core parts. If only he could secure a proper energy source, he was confident he could create a wearable shield generator for suits.

"Oh......"

When I expressed my admiration, Carrot chuckled, looking embarrassed.

"Don't get your hopes up too much. I'll have to coat the parts with nanorobots so it can endure some exposure to raw Blue Crystal, so who knows when it'll be finished. Nothing's complete—the size, the weight, the battery, the circuitry—it's basically starting from zero. Maybe it won't be finished at all."

I knew the nanorobots were infused with Carrot's blood. That meant the vial contained his blood too. The thought gave me an eerie, almost creepy feeling.

"Still, it's amazing. I don't know anything about this kind of thing, so I wouldn't even know how to start."

Playing off my lack of knowledge as mere enthusiasm, I pointed to another object nearby. Thin wires branched out like twigs, each ending in a round, fruit-like shape.

"What about this?"

"That? Just a wave sensor."

"Can I take one? If it's a leftover."

"That thing? Sure, go ahead. It's already been used. What do you want with it, though?"

"I just thought of something I want to try."

I took the wave sensor—which suspiciously resembled a handy scalp massager. I couldn't wait to show Nadia. A strange sense of excitement welled up.

Just before I left, Carrot spoke quietly.

"Oh—and I got your test results back. No nanorobots detected. Not a trace. You're just a pure human."

"Told you."

"I still don't get your strength, but... let's just leave it at that. If your partner snaps at me one more time, this old man's heart won't take it."

"Nadia's scary when she's angry, after all."

"Still, if anything unusual happens to your body, come find me. I know a bit of medicine—might be able to help."

"I will."

Carrot sent me off with a gentle smile as I headed out.

***

After I soothed Licorice, who'd looked a bit huffy, and returned to my room, Nadia greeted me. I was grateful, but there was something urgent in how she welcomed me—so I peeked over her swaying tail.

It seemed she and Carry had been playing poker; cards were scattered on the floor. Apparently, Nadia had been losing. She used my arrival as an excuse to toss away her hand, and Carry's expression on her monitor turned sullen.

Nadia kept her attention on me, ignoring everything else. One ear was angled toward Carry, so it was pretending not to care, not actually not caring.

"Hyun-woo, done for the day?"

"For now? There's nothing immediate—just that the next round will be at the cargo sector."

Sitting on my bed, I recounted the entirety of the meeting. With each story, Nadia's ears drooped little by little.

When I finished, her ears had folded completely. Sorrow radiated off her in waves.

She pressed her shoulders against me, hugging her knees to her chest and burying her face between them. Her tail, protruding behind, curled as close to her hips as it could.

"So we might have to fight again. ... I wish we didn't have to."

"Me too."

Why do we have to fight? To survive, of course. But fighting so often ended in death. We fought to live, only to die even faster than if we'd done nothing.

If you don't fight, you won't die as quickly. But that was too easy. No way it could work out that conveniently. Not everyone moved with the same heart and mind. More accurately: everyone had different thoughts entirely.

"Nadia, are you scared?"

"Yeah... It keeps getting more dangerous."

"They said they'd make equipment for us, so don't worry too much. You don't have to overthink. But if you still feel anxious, I'll help take the edge off."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"This."

I pulled out the item I'd brought from the lab. When Nadia saw the 'secret weapon' with its wire branches, her tail turned into a giant, fluffy question mark.

She looked curious, perhaps because it was an unfamiliar object, and she loosened her knees. She leaned in.

"Hyun-woo, what's this?"

"This."

I pressed the thing—the scalp massager turned wave sensor—onto her head.

"Hyeeek—"

Nadia twisted her torso and flailed her arms all at once, as if she'd broken down. Even as I drew the wires back, it took a moment for her to even realize what had happened. She just shuddered endlessly, goosebumps all over, her pupils dazed and unfocused.

A while after I removed the 'scalp massager', Nadia—who'd seemed out of it—suddenly snapped back to awareness.

"What the? What the—! What's happening...?!"

Only her consciousness recovered; her body was still confused. Blushing furiously, Nadia eyed the wire bundle in my hand with a mix of fear and awe.

It was the look you give something dangerous. Yet, contrary to her fearful eyes, her tail stood bolt upright. It even gave a happy flick—the sign she was pleased.

"See? All your worries just disappear."

"They did, but... it felt kind of..."

"Let's try again. I'm surprised at how strong the reaction is. I didn't know it would be like this."

"Wa-wait—!"

As I brought the device closer, Nadia recoiled and scrambled backward on the bed, only to get stuck against the wall.

She frantically searched for an escape, even casting a pleading glance at Carry—but Carry looked away instantly, obviously still sore about the ruined poker game.

The moment the round end of the wires touched her head, Nadia went limp with a soft, exhausted sound, "Hiii... huu," flopping flat.

Each time the wire and its tip gently grazed her ears, or when the round ends brushed softly over the fine hairs, her tail shot straight into the air and trembled and then drooped as though drained of strength.

She tried to wave her hands and resist, but couldn't do it for long. If I gently ran the massage wires over her, all that was left was her trembling shoulders and her blanket, which bore the brunt of her muted screams.

Her torso flattened, her hips raised, whimpers stifled, Carry's blushing digital face, Nadia's crawling toward me with unfocused eyes... before eventually flopping over backward.

"Ah."

Only after seeing Nadia's deeply flushed face with tears welling in the corners of her eyes did I snap out of it. It had been a while since I'd seen her so thoroughly wrecked—the last time was when I brushed her tail.

Normally, I would've stopped at some reasonable point, but with the new toy, I got carried away and lost myself. I just wanted to ease her anxiety.

This was bad. She was broken.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=I don't feel like Hyun-woo regrets what he has done to Nadia.【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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