Fortune Cookie (2)
Even after Carrot left, Nadia was still fuming, and I couldn't even step in.
"We should at least listen to what he has to say—ah, yeah. I guess not, huh."
I hastily cut myself off. Nadia's teeth flashed so sharply that I felt like if I said something wrong, I'd get bitten.
She, usually mild, couldn't seem to cool her anger, as if to prove even she could get mad. Whether that was for the best or not, I couldn't tell. While I kept mumbling out of anxiety, the situation resolved itself without my involvement.
Eric let out a small sigh, staring at where Carrot had gone.
"I'm sorry. He listened to what happened during the fight with the mimic and then just..."
Apparently, Carrot had overheard the story and made a serious face.
"What did you two talk about? There wasn't anything that strange, was there? I didn't hide anything."
"You tossed that metal cube, remember?"
"Oh."
Now that I thought about it, he was right. My physical strength was different from other people's. Since I'd been like this from the beginning, I just accepted it, but to someone who didn't know me, it might seem like, "What is with that guy?"
I'd occasionally gotten looks like that when doing mining work.
I wasn't sure how heavy the metal cube was, but it probably wasn't something a regular person could lift, so it's no wonder Carrot was suspicious. Eric himself had witnessed it and hadn't he been shocked, too?
"Is he suspecting Hyun-woo is infected? Is that why he wanted to draw blood?!"
Nadia, now upset that I'd been suspected, got uncharacteristically riled up. She could have at least heard out what Eric had to say.
I tried to calm her down and softly called her name.
"Nadia."
"Hyun-woo has been ridiculously strong since before he met me. I'm telling you, he's not infected!"
"Um... Nadia?"
"Do you know what people said to me about him? 'That guy there could arm-wrestle a security robot and win, so don't go messing with him just because you think you're strong.' They treated him like a thug! But he's just not very bright, that's all!"
"......"
That's strange. She WAS defending me, but it didn't feel like the kind of defense I'd hoped for. In fact, despite her standing up for me, a sharp pang lingered in my chest.
"Hyun-woo never needed to be smart because he was so strong... that's all!"
Did she really have to take it that far...?
"Nadia, that's enough... Let's stop..."
I grabbed Nadia's wrist and pleaded quietly, worried the conversation would drift further off course. I had no idea why she kept emphasizing my lack of smarts. I knew I wasn't that bright and was just physically strong, but somehow what started as defense now stung more than before.
"I still have things left to say!"
【(ᐡ ⩌ ⩌ ᐡ)】
At that moment, Carry, seeing how troubled I was, stepped in to restrain Nadia. Carry picked her up, plopped her onto himself, and only then did things quiet down.
Celestia and Eric both chuckled awkwardly, looking uncertain about what sort of reaction to give.
Now that Nadia's outburst had settled, I sensed this was my last chance to speak up. I opened my mouth, somewhat defensively.
"I can think for myself too, you know."
I barely stopped myself from adding that I hadn't managed to escape being a low-level laborer for three years because I didn't understand any technical stuff. Broker Licorice might have set my status as one, but that was just a starting value, not fixed.
There'd always been a chance for me to climb higher, through my own effort.
'... It's not like I didn't try.'
As Nadia said, I had a complete lack of technical skills. I should have at least managed to get my license back then, but now the only option left was to put on the shell of someone dead.
Clicking my tongue in regret was all I could do. Who could've foreseen things ending up like this? Not even my ancestors, who would sometimes lend a helping hand, could have seen this coming.
Celestia giggled softly. Her blue eyes softened with a gentle curve.
"People are just short-sighted. I never once thought Hyun-woo was dumb."
"Thanks for the backup..."
Thankfully this time, I got real support. As I heaved a sigh, Eric also let out a small laugh.
"I agree as well. And those who think they're the smartest rarely survive well. It's because they overestimate themselves."
Eric said he'd seen for himself that hubris often turned into carelessness, leading to mistakes. He stood up as he continued.
"We've taken up too much of your morning already. The two of you should rest now. As for other work, the people who were in town before can handle it."
"Get plenty of rest, Hyun-woo."
With that, Eric and Celestia left the room. After everyone, who had gathered all at once, trickled out, the room regained its comfort. The only sign people had been there was the warmth lingering in the air.
Now, the only ones left were Nadia, who'd calmed down and was now eyeing me nervously; Carry, who had let her slide gently off after rocking her about; and me, leaning against the wall, unable to settle because I had no immediate goal.
"So, what do we do now?"
"Rest, of course. You need it, Hyun-woo. Even though you took medicine, you'll need time to fully recover."
Realizing I wouldn't nag, Nadia relaxed and happily wagged her blue tail, which looked like it had just been dipped in a white cloud.
"Hmmm..."
Now that I was actually trying to rest, it felt strangely uncomfortable. It wasn't that I felt compelled to keep working or that doing nothing would make me ill. The unease came from knowing our conversation was still unfinished.
Carrot's gaze lingered in my mind. I did flare up at the idea of him drawing my blood, but that was a perfectly normal response—especially when the request came from someone who did research.
Still, it only lasted a moment. While uncomfortable, as long as they could properly explain why they needed it, I wouldn't have flat-out refused. But apparently, I was the only one who felt that way. Nadia had shot to her feet and aimed her weapon at him as soon as Carrot suggested it.
'Did she maybe sense something?'
Nadia was unusually sensitive to people, so perhaps she'd seen something I missed.
"Nadia, do you think there's something shifty about Carrot? Like, do you get any dangerous vibes from him? I'm not bringing this up to criticize what happened earlier—I just think there must have been a reason for your reaction."
"... No, it's not that. I didn't get any bad feeling from him."
"No? Then why...?"
Asking with my eyes, Nadia fidgeted and then, after a moment, squeezed her eyes tight and set a hand on her waist.
"Do you know how dangerous the world is these days? Who would let their blood be drawn just like that? Who knows what they could do with it? You never really know what's inside a person. Even if he's a good guy, data can be used against someone, no matter the intention."
"I get that, but..."
"I know my reaction was a bit over the top, but you really can't afford to be ambiguous about things like this. Better safe now than sorry later."
A shadow flickered over Nadia's eyes, and her blue tail drooped in an instant. She wasn't wrong, and speaking further felt like stepping onto a landmine, so I kept my mouth shut.
Not asking about each other's pasts—that was an unspoken rule that had quietly settled between us. Even when I wanted to share something, I couldn't because I didn't know, and Nadia did her best to bury her own memories.
Digging deeper wouldn't do either of us any good. I truly believed that. A relationship with no secrets simply didn't exist, and trying to force one only bred distrust.
I thought I heard the word "clone" in her mumble, but I didn't bring up the subject again. Instead, I simply got up.
Nadia, looking anxious, asked carefully.
"Hyun-woo, where are you going?"
"To Kyle. I'm going to ask when the shuttle repairs are supposed to be finished. We might have to head to the residential area, so I figured I'd get a head start on planning."
"... Can I come with you?"
"Why would you even ask that? If you want to come, just come. Plus, this is my room?"
"Oh."
When I chuckled and reached out my hand, the shadows lifted a little from Nadia's face as she giggled and clasped my hand in hers. Carry, who had been watching us with narrowed eyes, debated between switching to wheels or boosters and then chose to enter flight mode.
Nadia climbing back on top was now a routine thing.
***
"I'm busy. Go away."
That was the first thing Kyle, covered in soot, said when he saw us. He waved his hands as if to insist he wasn't taking visitors.
Since Kyle acted before I could get a word in, Nadia and I just had to stop where we were.
"Aww, come on. We got along fine before."
"Please don't say anything so easily misunderstood. Not that I didn't appreciate you, but I have no time to upgrade your gear, nor to do repairs. Can't you see the state I'm in?"
Kyle shook his head, saying if we'd come to ask him to repair the plasma cutter that melted fighting that huge monster, now was just not the time.
"That's not why we're here. Nadia already fixed the melted nozzle. Luckily, we had a spare part."
"... Then why are you here?"
"We were going to help you, but since you don't need us, we'll leave. Maybe it doesn't matter for me, but Nadia's pretty technically skilled, so we could have been useful... What a shame."
"W-wait, just a second!"
Kyle stopped us frantically as we turned to leave. Apparently, it was more work than he could handle on his own—his eyes already looked hollow from exhaustion. The shuttle must have been in an even worse state than we thought.
"Are you really able to help?"
"Seeing is believing. Nadia, go for it."
"Let's do it! Carry, let's go!"
【٩(^ᗜ^ )و】
Nadia shouted something random, like "Nadi-nadi!" and zipped away with Carry. She headed for the part of the shuttle's ceiling that Kyle could barely reach.
She started patching the deformed hull with a repair tool she must have prepped ahead of time. Every time blue sparks crackled, the plating fused together, bit by bit. She even extracted some circuits and worked on those too.
Impressed by her skillful work, Kyle let out a low whistle.
"She doesn't have an official license like you do, so she may not have professional training, but if you tell Nadia what you need, she'll just figure out a way to fix it. She's really smart. Like, technical-smart, you know? Anyway, yeah."
"... Sorry. I misunderstood you two."
Kyle's face turned apologetic—he hadn't expected we really did just come to help.
Apparently, after news spread in the town that the shuttle had been recovered, other residents came to Kyle with all sorts of requests. The constant interruptions had slowed his progress considerably—that's why he reacted so sensitively.
"Didn't anyone come to you, Hyun-woo?"
"Nope, nobody came to me."
With everyone that Licorice and Celestia had in tow, there were about twenty people left now. Or less, considering some must have died escaping the residential area.
Now that I thought about it, it felt like I was only ever seeing the same faces. With fewer people, you just end up running into the same ones even more.
While I was puzzling over that—
"I told them not to bother you."
A woman with crimson hair tied back approached me. Her mind was still groggy, eyelids blinking over dull red eyes—Broker Licorice.
"Oh, what's up. You're up earlier than I thought."
"I couldn't sleep much. The bed was too damn hard. I really can't do things that are too hard."
"Isn't it actually on the soft side?"
"That's just how you feel because you're so stiff."
I didn't bother correcting her. Licorice came from a completely different world than here. I guess it made sense she'd be dissatisfied with this town's facilities.
Licorice patted her lower back. Still, she wasn't the type to try and recreate her old lifestyle here. Most likely, she only aired her complaints in front of me.
"Hyun-woo, I'll get going now. I can finally get some real progress done, now that I have an assistant."
Kyle, clearly relieved to have help, dipped his head and started calling out instructions to Nadia as he headed for the shuttle.
I watched Nadia and Carry move about fixing things, and spoke up.
"What did you mean earlier, telling people not to approach?"
"Just what it sounds like. I warned the greedy ones who can't appreciate who they owe their lives to."
"Why? That's something I could have handled on my own."
"It's cleaner if I handle it. If you step in, it'll look bad for you, outwardly. Plus, I don't like anybody messing with what's mine."
It left me unsure whether to be offended at being called her 'property', or pleased to be someone she trusted. I leaned toward the latter. It's simply nice to have someone on your side.
"You're unbelievable."
Can't believe I'm hearing that from you. I should be honored, huh.
Licorice narrowed her eyes. Her sleepy red gaze sharpened, fixing on me.
"... Are you sure you heaven't switched your inside and outside personalities?"
"Oops."
I realized I'd let something slip and smiled awkwardly.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【٩(^ᗜ^ )و】