Chapter 11 - A Curious Companionship

There is a word: affinity.

A relationship formed between people. Or a connection linking one thing to another.

That may be its dictionary definition, but in practice, it is something rather more mysterious. An encounter that comes to you amid countless fleeting moments, as though it were an appointment made long ago.

That is why affinity sometimes has a curious flavor. Someone you wish to hold on to may leave without a backward glance, while someone you would rather not see keeps crossing your path.

This was a case of the latter.

"..."

"Huh...?"

It was a narrow passage, barely wide enough for one person. Ash and Akina came face-to-face with Ifrit, who was approaching from the opposite direction.

Both Ash and Ifrit had their weapons drawn. They had only just caught sight of one another, but each had sensed the other's presence earlier.

Ifrit shoved her pistol back into its holster and frowned. Her expression conveyed a wordless sentiment: You two again?

"We meet again, my lady."

Seeing her put away her weapon, Ash sheathed his blade as well. He looked no more pleased to see her.

"Hello!"

Akina greeted her from behind Ash's large frame, with only one eye showing. At the sound, Ifrit gave an awkward wave.

"Oh, um... hi?"

Then all three fell silent.

They stood there for at least ten seconds. In truth, they had nothing in particular to say.

Scratching her head in the suffocating awkwardness, Ifrit spoke first.

"So, uh, mapping going well?"

"It is."

"Right..."

A little time passed. This time, Ash spoke.

"And how goes your hobby?"

"Not well. Can't find where they've hidden."

"Is that so?"

"... Oh, screw it! We've both got places to be, so let's get going. I can't stand how awkward this is."

Ash nodded.

"Agreed. Particularly the part about the awkwardness."

"Good. Then back up."

It was a narrow passage. Just wide enough for one person.

What Ifrit meant was that she would be going through, so they should reverse course.

Ash shook his head.

"We have come a long way. You should be the one to step back, my lady."

"Ha! So have I!"

"I find that hard to believe."

"Same here!"

A battle of wills began.

The two Pathfinders stood at opposite ends of the narrow passage, glaring at one another without yielding an inch.

Ash stood rooted like a stone statue, arms folded. Not to be outdone, Ifrit lounged at an angle and whistled.

Neither showed the slightest inclination to give way.

"You know, I'm spectacularly stubborn."

"How interesting. I am very patient."

"Save your energy and move. You've got mapping to do, right?"

"Will you catch any REST-men at such a leisurely pace?"

"Damn it, move!"

"The human spirit delights in clarity, yet the mind disturbs it. The human mind delights in stillness, yet desire pulls it astray."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It means you should quiet your mind and step back."

"You really want to do this?"

"E-excuse me!"

Unable to watch any longer, Akina intervened.

"Instead of fighting, couldn't you each press up against opposite walls and squeeze past? I think there's enough room for that..."

Ash shook his head.

"Out of the question. That would put me far too close to this lady—"

"But we're the ones running short on time."

"..."

Akina was right.

As a famous idol, Ifrit was sure to have a vehicle of her own. Ash and Akina did not. Their allotted time was limited.

To finish the mapping commission and reach the agreed rendezvous point on time, they could not afford to waste time on such a petty battle of wills.

There was no telling when or where an unforeseen complication might arise. They had a relatively comfortable margin, but that did not mean they could squander it.

Time was precisely why Ash had stubbornly refused to move in the first place. He simply had not expected to waste it in quite this fashion.

Ash looked at Ifrit.

"What are you looking at? I told you, I'm not moving! Absolutely not!"

She seemed to have no intention of budging. Looking at the defiant glint of her heart-shaped eyes, Ash let out a low sigh.

He had to end this ridiculous standoff.

He turned toward Akina.

"Miss Akina."

"Right? Now that you've thought about it, my way makes more sense, doesn't it?"

Without replying, Ash wrapped his steel arms firmly around her. Her small body nestled completely within his embrace.

"Huh? Mister, why—"

"Hold tight."

"What do you mean all of a sudden—aaah!"

Before Akina's brief scream could continue, Ash shot into the air in a spiral. The hem of his Gore-Tex cloak spread like black wings.

Soaring Shadow over the Sea of Clouds.

It was an explosive leap that seemed to defy gravity.

"Whaaat!?"

Ifrit, who had been insisting on having her way in a thoroughly insolent stance, looked up with her mouth hanging open.

The scrap-metal humanoid who had been locking horns with her only moments earlier was flying right over her head.

With Akina in his arms, no less!

Before she could react, Ash had already cleared her and landed. Strangely, despite his heavy body having flown several meters, there was not the slightest sound or impact.

Ash carefully set Akina down.

"Are you unhurt?"

Looking dazed, Akina merely nodded without a word. Ash then turned to Ifrit.

"We shall be on our way. You should go as well, my lady. And let us never meet again."

What she had witnessed was too shocking for an immediate reply.

While Ifrit stood there opening and closing her mouth, the enigmatic humanoid and the girl vanished into the darkness of the narrow passage.

"... I should've caught that on stream."

Ifrit's belated murmur lingered in the air.

* * *

The mapping was nearing its end. They had completed 95 percent of their quota.

As they began calculating the time needed to return to the pickup point and planning their withdrawal, Ash and Akina arrived somewhere with a distinctly different atmosphere.

At the heart of that difference was a stone door.

It looked easily ten meters tall, its surface densely engraved with geometric patterns and indecipherable writing.

It certainly felt unlike anything else they had encountered while exploring the ruins.

But Ash and Akina paid the stone door no attention whatsoever.

"Well, now."

They had found Ifrit seated in front of it, chewing on an energy stick.

"Hi!"

Unexpectedly, her greeting was quite friendly.

That only made her look more suspicious.

Ash hid Akina behind his back.

"Are you following us, by any chance?"

"What are you talking about? I got here first."

"An ambush, then?"

"If it were, I'd have shot you already."

Ifrit stood, brushed off her backside a couple of times, and grinned.

"But I was waiting for you. I had a feeling you two would end up here. Actually, no. I guess it'd be more accurate to say all the passages lead here."

"... Why would you wait for us?"

"Because I need the kid."

"Huh? Me?"

Akina peeked out.

"Come to think of it, I never asked your name. What is it?"

Ash stopped Akina just as she was about to answer.

"State your business first."

"You really do have a strong persona."

Shrugging, Ifrit jerked her chin behind her.

"This door. Can you open it?"

She was pointing at the stone door.

Apparently intrigued, Akina stepped forward.

"Of course I can!"

"Oh, really? Then could you open it for—"

"As long as you pay me enough credits!"

"... Wow. You two really do have strong personas."

Ifrit looked up at the ceiling in thought for a moment, then spread all five fingers of one hand. Akina frowned.

"Fifty thousand credits? Isn't that a little cheap?"

"Our little friend thinks smaller than I expected. Does this look like fifty thousand to you?"

"Huh? Then, don't tell me...!"

"That's right. Five hundred thousand."

Five hundred thousand credits?

Everything they had painstakingly gathered over two full days of exploration was worth less than two hundred thousand, and she was offering five hundred thousand?

"Great to meet you, sis! My name is Akina Greenwood! I'm a promising young Technomancer! You want that door opened? Leave it to Akina!"

Rattling off the words, Akina tied back her thick blond hair and all but ran to the stone door.

"... She is not always like this. We have simply had considerable expenses lately..."

"You don't have to explain."

"Very well."

"Aren't you going to ask, though?"

"Ask what?"

"Why I want the door opened."

"Is it not because of the REST-men? Perhaps they fled through that door."

"... You're right, but somehow it annoys me that you got it exactly right."

With their brief exchange over, Ash and Ifrit approached Akina. She was already connecting a cable to the port at the back of her neck.

The cable plugged into a body that otherwise looked wholly human made for a deeply incongruous sight.

With her preparations complete, Akina turned to Ash.

"Mister. You know what to do, right?"

Her gaze was utterly serious.

Ash nodded in return.

"Of course."

There was good reason for their solemnity.

Deep Dive.

The act of infiltrating an ancient civilization's cyberspace through a cyberbrain conversion module.

It was the most fundamental reason Technomancers roamed the ruins despite possessing next to no combat ability.

Once a dive began, the Technomancer's consciousness transferred into the vast reaches of cyberspace. The body left behind in reality was nothing more than a living shell.

At that moment, protecting the Technomancer's body became the Assault's single most critical duty.

While the Assault's blade and gun held off threats in the physical world, the Technomancer swam through cyberspace to seize control of systems, decrypt codes, or acquire priceless lost technology.

This was the very foundation of the Pathfinders, an ironclad rule none dared break.

How, then, could a Technomancer and an Assault be called mere colleagues? They entrusted their lives to one another, bound by a common fate.

"Go safely. I shall be here the entire time."

Smiling faintly at his words, Akina connected the end of the cable to the data port beside the stone door. Then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

A moment later, the girl's small body trembled faintly and began to rise very slowly into the air, as though defying gravity. She floated precisely a handspan above the floor.

Levitation.

It was a phenomenon unique to a Technomancer whose consciousness had left the body and entered cyberspace.

A faint blue haze rose around Akina's body. Her Deep Dive appeared to have succeeded.

Ash positioned himself directly in front of her and drew the steel blade strapped to his back. Then he spoke in a low, firm voice.

"Stand back. From this moment on, I shall regard anything that approaches as an enemy."

Even Ifrit, who had been utterly unpredictable throughout their encounters, made no jokes and played no tricks during the Deep Dive.

Naturally so.

She, too, was a Pathfinder.

She understood full well the grim seriousness of a Deep Dive. Without another word, she stepped back, raising both hands to show she would not draw a weapon.

A brief silence followed.

From what was almost an excessively safe distance, Ifrit spoke in something close to a murmur.

"Ash Blade... was it?"

Ash did not answer.

As though she had expected as much, Ifrit continued.

"Looks like a sword's your main weapon, but you should still have at least one way of attacking at range. Your movement gets restricted during a Deep Dive."

Still, Ash did not answer.

"You two look good together. I really hope you survive a long time. I'm not being sarcastic. I mean it."

Just then—

RRRUMBLE...!

With a deep rumble, the enormous stone door began to grind noisily open.

"I did it!"

At the same time, Akina opened her eyes, breathing hard. Her face was somewhat pale, but her eyes shone brightly with the joy of success.

Ash immediately sheathed his blade and supported her as she swayed.

"Miss Akina. Are you all right?"

"Hehe! Mister! Did you see? I opened it! Ha, what the heck! Cyberspace is no big deal!"

For a while, Ash could say nothing as he watched her beaming smile. Ifrit approached and whistled.

"That was fast. You're pretty good!"

"Was I fast?"

"Yeah. Really fast."

Ifrit started to pat Akina's head, then caught sight of Ash and withdrew her hand.

"Come by Halloween Entertainment when you're done exploring. I'll transfer the five hundred thousand credits right away."

"Sounds good! Shall we go, then?"

"Sure, sure. Wait, huh?"

Ifrit, who had been about to pass through the doorway, turned around.

"Go where?"

"Through the door."

"Uh... why?"

"We haven't finished mapping yet."

"So what, you want to go together?"

This time, Ash answered.

"We said no such thing. Go on ahead."

"Ha!"

Ifrit scoffed. Her heart-shaped eyes flashed.

"Are you saying you're going to walk behind my back?"

"It was not our intention, but that would be the result."

"What kind of crazy talk is that? How am I supposed to walk with the back of my head itching? If you're so set on it, you two go first. I'll follow."

This time, Ash's optical sensors flashed.

"What an absurd suggestion. Is there any guarantee you will not attack us? I have already experienced your capricious behavior, my lady. Do not speak such nonsense."

"Oh, just go first!"

"After you, my lady."

"Oh, honestly!"

Akina stepped between them.

"Then let's just walk side by side, okay?"

There is a word: affinity.

A relationship formed between people. Or a connection linking one thing to another.

That may be its dictionary definition, but in practice, it is something rather more mysterious. An encounter that comes to you amid countless fleeting moments, as though it were an appointment made long ago.

That is why affinity sometimes has a curious flavor.

A very curious flavor indeed.