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Chapter 17

As a girl.

There wasn’t much of a hobby for Julia.

She didn’t know what to do in her spare time.

And whatever she tried to do was a problem.

Because of the rules of the organization Julia belonged to.

Activities within the building owned by the organization were restricted due to net security.

As she was wanted by the NCPD, Julia didn’t even have a safe house of her own.

So, it was hard for her to go out and do anything.

It was around that time that Julia discovered a ‘game’ that she, too, could play.

It wasn’t an actual operational “game,” so it didn’t have the quality to be called a “game” per se. But it had enough to resemble a game.

It didn’t take long for Julia, who had been wallowing in boredom, to fall in love with the game.

After playing the game for a long time.

When she was starting to get tired of not having anyone to hunt with like herself.

Julia encountered someone hunting in the game for the first time.

“…….”

She wanted to say something or chat, but her old mechanical keyboard was the problem.

It was hard for Julia’s small hands to type smoothly.

And even if she wanted to say something, what should she say?

She didn’t know anything.

During that time, the girl made a mistake with her controls and ended up attacking the monster the other person was hunting.

The other person’s character also looked perplexed.

‘…What should I do?’

Since the situation had come to this, she had to say something.

What should she say first?

Then, a memory flashed through Julia’s mind.

It was a story she had seen on the Net Space before.

‘…I should say it like this.’

[RabbitGangDude (Archer): Move.]

[RealWizardHere (Warrior): ?]

It was a mistake.

It was only after seeing the other person’s reaction that she realized she had made a mistake.

After her sudden rudeness, she even killed the other person’s character.

But in any case, it was a mistake.

* * *

Just before exploding, amidst the tense atmosphere, I peacefully thought.

…Coke tastes really good.

If I had played a fantasy game ten years ago, I wouldn’t be drinking coke like this now.

It led to a light escapism from reality.

But no matter how much I wanted to avoid reality.

The actual reality remained the same.

The angry expression of the man standing in front was fixed on the calm Julia.

Everyone’s attention had been diverted from the situation.

But regardless of the current situation.

Their ultimate goal was me.

Putting aside the bounty problem for later, I had to resolve this situation first.

I looked at Julia with only my eyes, subtly signaling her to look this way.

Julia looked this way in response to my signal.

I nodded slightly.

In a one-against-many situation, suppressing the initiative and hiding my current position was the most important.

“Hmm.”

– Boom!

I activated the prepared spell.

Black smoke spread from my feet and instantly covered the entire restaurant.

Even though it was smoke created by magic, it contained a kind of physical energy.

It wasn’t enough to deal sufficient damage to the enemies, but it was enough to give them some tension and shock.

When they fired bullets towards my previous location, I had already moved away and taken up a new position elsewhere.

[Shall I activate the Protective Protocol?]

I vaguely remembered hearing that phrase even in the cafe previously occupied by terrorists.

I answered very softly.

“…Yes.”

The situation was different from the past when I said, “What is that?”

At that time, I thought Eve couldn’t connect to the network, but now I know that’s not the case.

There was no reason for me to refuse Eve’s request.

[Hacking into nearby electronic devices and signals, initiating… Complete. Control has been acquired.]

With Eve’s words, confused voices of the enemies could be heard from within the smoke.

“It’s hacked! Everyone, cut off all signals!”

“Damn it, my arm…!”

The effect was good for once.

[Synchronizing data with the vision interface… Complete.]

This time, a white, mirage-like light began to appear gradually through the black smoke.

Circuits were drawn along each person’s limbs or body lines.

It seemed to represent combat cyberware worn by the enemies.

“Oh, thank you.”

[Positive statement from human ‘Lee Siwoon’ confirmed. Saving voice data.]

Cut me some slack.

I intended to locate the enemies by dispersing mana, but it turned out that this way made distinguishing friend from foe easier.

Perhaps the one over there with the rabbit doll hanging from their waist was Julia.

Once the locations were determined, being inside the smoke posed no problem.

The most effective spell to use here would be large-scale lightning magic or fire magic.

Magic with destructive power sufficient to incapacitate enemies instantly.

However, it was problematic to activate large-scale magic without considering the location.

There were still many civilians around, and Julia was among the enemies.

Even though she tried to help me, attacking her alongside the enemies hurt my conscience.

So, there was only one option remaining.

Attacking each one individually with pinpoint precision.

Getting close was out of the question altogether.

Engaging in close combat was equivalent to asking to be killed, considering my trash-like stamina and close combat skills.

I also left the option of firearms for later.

It was for situations when I couldn’t afford to gather mana.

There was no need to use it in a situation like this with some time to spare.

After quickly assessing the situation, I focused my mind slowly.

I felt mana, mixed with the polluted air of the cyberpunk world, gathering around me.

There was no need for incantation to use magic.

‘Incantation’ was just a workaround to visualize magic in reality.

It wasn’t necessary.

As long as I had the image and concept of magic in my mind, along with the mana I had accumulated, there was no problem.

Eventually, small sparks formed at my fingertips.

Magic manifests the ‘ideal’ in ‘reality’.

The smoke was still dark.

It wasn’t bright enough to be detected by the enemies.

– Bang!!

“Keuuk!”

The fired flames struck the enemies.

Even though they were small flames, compressed in this state, they boasted enough firepower to incapacitate one enemy.

It was okay if they didn’t fall with one shot.

I could shoot several times.

– Bang! Bang!

I took down the enemies without being detected.

It was my favorite way of fighting.

…Honestly, it would be strange to fight the cyberpunk mess plastered with chrome fair and square.

After a while.

As time passed, the smoke disappeared entirely.

The only people standing were me and Julia.

When our eyes met, I suddenly felt worried.

She won’t start rushing at me just because I started acting without saying a word, right?

Fortunately, she didn’t show any signs of doing that.

I looked around Julia’s surroundings.

I had the impression that I had taken down many enemies, considering how many enemies were down due to my magic. But it seemed like Julia helped me quite a bit.

There were many fallen enemies near her. Some were torn apart, some bore visible wounds from a blade. Merciless.

Although the battle had ended and it became momentarily quiet, in situations like this, it was appropriate to take the initiative and change the atmosphere.

I was about to open my mouth to express my gratitude.

“Thanks for your hel—”

At that moment, one of the men who had fallen rose and rushed toward me.

The scars on his body indicated he had been attacked by Julia.

“This bastard!”

It was the commanding man who stood at the forefront.

I didn’t have time to gather mana.

I drew my pistol from its holster.

What followed was the man’s throat being slit and him falling to the ground.

The commanding man couldn’t even scream.

His accelerated body momentum caused him to fall forward.

His face as he rolled on the ground still bore an expression of anger.

Julia, who had approached without my noticing, shook her blade.

Following the motion of the blade, blue flames, which had been flickering along the blade’s path, fell to the ground and concealed the sight.

Perhaps it was due to the flames.

There was no sign of blood or bodily fluids flowing from the corpse.

“Be careful.”

“Thanks…”

Even I found myself using formal language. Hmm, somewhat scary. I’d rate it around 0.7 on the Catherine scale.

I had been careless, due to her childlike figure.

But she was a major character that appeared in the game after all.

I think she was a boss-level character.

But where on earth was she hiding such a long blade?

Julia shook the blade again, and this time, instead of flames, the blade folded and disappeared in an instant.

The blade, which continued to fold layer by layer, soon disappeared into the handle without any presence.

…Was that even physically possible?

Considering the flames that were burning, there should have been a device to produce them.

But from the way it folded, it seemed as if the interior was empty.

I wondered if the scientific powers of the cyberpunk world, which I did not know about, had already reached a point where it surpassed physical laws.

Eve seemed to have noticed my scrutiny of the blade, as she explained about Julia’s blade.

[After confirmation, it is an ordinary mechanical katana with no devices inside, I explain.]

“…That’s even weirder.”

What’s the principle behind that?

To create flames from empty space—

“…”

There was one thing.

Julia inserted the handle she had been holding into the mouth of the rabbit doll.

I cautiously asked her.

“…Are you a mage by any chance?”

“…Um, technically yes, but… compared to Siwoon-nim, I-I can’t be considered a mage..”

Well, at least she’s not denying being a mage.

“Wow.”

I was quite surprised.

It had been a while since I encountered a mage like myself in this rootless cyberpunk world.

But…

A mage wielding a katana with flames?

……

‘Absurd!’

My inner great mage rose up.

‘How dare a mage play tricks with their own body, calling themself a mage!’

…Shit.

I almost said that out aloud.

Since Julia herself said she’s not really a mage, I decided to let it go.

It’s not like I’m about to fight her or anything.

Anyway, the situation seemed to be resolved.

It was time to go home.

I didn’t care if the NCPD came.

But there might be someone else after the bounty on my head.

Attacking me at home would be fine.

Because Catherine lives right next door.

I’ll spare you the details.

…Who could it be?

There’s a bounty on my head?

Living in this city, who doesn’t have at least one shady aspect? But still, I’ve lived a relatively decent life, I think.

I should go home and look into this.

“Well then, I’m off.”

“…Yes.”

“Since you told me there’s a bounty on my head, I should go check it out.”

“…Understood.”

I also had the intention of getting away from Julia, the girl in front of me with a glum expression.

I got up from my seat and walked out of the restaurant.

Julia followed behind me.

“Then, see you.”

“…Yeah.”

Even though she’s a wanted criminal, she should at least have a decent home.

…But that’s not really my concern.

She’ll manage fine on her own.

But strangely enough, Julia keeps walking in the same direction as me.

What’s going on, why does she keep following me?

“…?”

“…Oh, it’s because we’re going in the same direction.”

“Is that so?”

I was scared again.

“Where’s your house?”

“Um, I’m a wanted criminal, so it’s a bit…”

“Oh, right, my bad. I made a mistake.”

I almost suspected this innocent girl.

Maybe it’s because Catherine has been following me around everywhere, I’m becoming paranoid.

Today, I struggled to sneak out of the house again.

…But there’s one more strange thing.

Julia ended up right in front of my house.

“Do you live around here?”

“…Yes, yes, that’s right.”

“What a strange coincidence.”

Anyway, I don’t know.

Once I’ve arrived home, that’s it.

“For now, your house is here, right? I’ll really go now.”

“…Yes, goodbye.”

I got on the elevator alone.

And then, at that moment, a chilling sensation ran down my spine.

…What’s this?

I couldn’t describe the ominous feeling.

Perhaps it’s because I haven’t been out for a while.

This time, I’ll definitely stay home and rest for a week.

I made a firm resolution.

* * *

“…So, you live here.”

Julia smiled.