Chapter 17 - Return 2

The central hub of Sanctum's Gateway District.

This gathering place for Pathfinders had two distinct faces, like opposite sides of a coin. The atmosphere upon departure was markedly different from that upon arrival. Before, the tension had seemed ready to burst at any moment; now, it felt as though that tension had exploded in a glorious release.

The Pathfinders who returned alive marked their homecoming in their own ways. Some smiled over profitable hauls; others mourned fallen companions. The central hub was now a furnace where desire and despair, joy and madness mingled.

Some things, of course, had not changed. The TIME-man's indifferent attitude was one of them.

"Akina Greenwood and Ash Blade, correct? A two-person team. No special remarks on file. Good work. Welcome back."

The man behind the bulletproof glass spoke in a flat voice, then immediately turned to the next set of papers. Quite a lot had actually happened to the pair, but none of it seemed to matter in the slightest to the TIME-man.

"Next!"

And so Ash and Akina passed through the gate. The central plaza spread out before them. It was utter chaos.

The stale reek of blood and cheap medical supplies stung the nose. Shouts, curses, sobs, and laughter filled the air on every side. And that was not all. Everyone gathered there raised their voices in pursuit of their own goals.

"Buying! Buying! Bring us anything! We'll buy it all at reasonable prices!"

Pathfinders looking to sell their spoils, and merchants hoping to buy those goods for next to nothing.

"Had a rough time, honey? I'll make you forget everything tonight. Oh, come on, I promise you'll get your money's worth!"

"Want to have a little chat with me?"

Prostitutes wearing seductive smiles.

"Medical assistance available! If you're injured, come this way immediately... Hey, hey! That one's about to croak. Put three of our guys on him."

Even REST-men searching for the wounded.

They all had their sights on the Pathfinders. All to make money. Credits.

As they crossed the chaotic plaza, Akina suddenly shifted her backpack to her front.

"Mister, carry your blade in front too. Returning Pathfinders mean peak season for pickpockets. They'll seriously clean you out."

Practically hugging the bag against her chest, Akina kept looking around in every direction. She was even more vigilant than she had been during their expedition. Watching her, Ash spoke.

"Miss Akina."

"Yes?"

"Was this not your first expedition as well?"

"Of course it was. Why?"

"Then how do you know this is peak season for pickpockets?"

Akina whipped her head around at his question, then flashed him a grin.

"Curious?"

Ash shook his head.

"... No. It was foolish of me to ask."

Just then, a man approached as though pushed along by the crowd and blocked their path. He was scrawny, with a sly look in his eyes.

"Little lady, are you a Pathfinder? I've got something good—"

Before the man could finish, Ash stepped between them.

"Step back."

The threatening electronic voice made the man shrink back a little. Apparently reluctant to give up just yet, however, he pulled a small packet of drugs from inside his clothes and waved it.

"... Hee-hee. Had a hard time in the Outer? One hit of this, and you'll forget it all. Feeling good is a bonus. Buy now, and I'll give you a special discount—"

Ash took a step forward and stared the man straight in the face. His optical sensors flashed more fiercely than ever.

"I told you to step back."

Under the pressure radiating from that massive steel body, the man swallowed hard and backed away. After watching Ash warily, he muttered a brief curse and disappeared into the crowd.

"Wow. Now that we're Pathfinders, even druggies are crawling out of the woodwork."

"... You used to pick pockets here, with men like that roaming about?"

"What's this? Curious again?"

Akina waggled her eyebrows. Ash covered his face with one hand. Just then, his senses detected someone else approaching.

This time it was a woman whose extensively modified body made her profession as a prostitute obvious at a glance. Her unnaturally large breasts and buttocks made her look somewhat grotesque rather than obscene.

Ash instinctively moved in front of Akina and warned the approaching woman.

"Step ba—"

Before he could even get the warning out, she spoke.

"Ash? You're Ash, right?"

"... Hm?"

For a moment, Ash was taken aback. He had not expected to hear his own name at all. Even Akina peeked out from behind him to look.

"How do you know my name?"

At his low electronic voice, the woman's face lit up, and she even clapped her hands.

"Wow! It really is you! I'm a huge fan. Could I take a picture with you?"

Though she phrased it as a question, she was already snapping pictures with a PDA she had produced at some point. Ash grew still more bewildered. The unexpected commotion made several people nearby turn their heads. Surprisingly, quite a few of them recognized him too.

"Huh? That humanoid?"

"It is! It's Ash! Says so right on his head!"

"Should we ask for a picture too?"

The commotion grew. Flustered, Ash shielded Akina with one hand as he addressed the woman.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"What do you mean, how? You're totally trending right now!"

The woman showed him her PDA screen.

On it was the passage through the ruins where they had fought for their lives. The strange contrast between the Grotesques surging forward like waves and Ash fiercely swinging his sword to hold them back was striking. In the foreground, Ifrit was winking and flashing a V sign, but what caught his eye even more was the caption at the bottom of the screen.

[The Outer Is Too Easy. Feat. Ash Blade]

It was a short video packed with bizarre background music and sound effects. And it sat at the very top of the trending videos chart. The comments were flooded with every kind of praise and envy, wild speculation about Ash's identity, and adulation for Ifrit's beauty.

"What in the..."

Ash was normally composed and unflappable, but even he could not help being bewildered by a situation like this. He had no idea how he was supposed to react in the first place.

Meanwhile, onlookers continued gathering, one after another. In no time, he was surrounded. Some gazes were curious, others awestruck, and still others held something vaguely unsavory. In an instant, he had gone from a Pathfinder crossing a plaza to a rare beast in a circus.

That was when Akina stepped in.

"G-go away, all of you!"

The short girl took a step forward and spread her arms, blocking the crowd as though to protect Ash.

"My mister's tired right now, okay? Don't talk to him! He's not giving autographs either! Huh? Hey? You there! No pictures!"

With her eyes narrowed fiercely, her threats looked quite intimidating.

"Move, move! Stop blocking the way! Go sell your drugs or your bodies or whatever! Get lost!"

It was a peculiar sight. A tiny Technomancer protecting a massive combat humanoid. Something about this situation was very much backward.

"Aw, just this once!"

"Just one picture together!"

The crowd would not back down easily. Their interest was also growing more brazen. A few even reached out to touch Ash's steel body.

Finally rousing himself from his daze, Ash gently drew the struggling Akina into his arms. Then he unleashed a presence incomparably more intimidating than before.

"Stand back. All of you."

His low electronic voice silenced the noisy crowd in an instant. Seizing the opportunity, Ash hurried through them with Akina practically in his arms. His first priority was simply to get away. As his heavy steel body pushed people aside, they could no longer block him, and a path gradually opened. Disappointed cries and the sounds of cameras followed at his back.

* * *

"Back already, rising star?"

When they reached Santa's Rest Stop as though fleeing for their lives, Santa was lounging at the counter, snickering at his PDA. He was watching that very short-form video. Apparently, it really was trending.

"You really do look better in person. It doesn't capture that distinctive presence of yours. Not very photogenic, are you?"

Ash bowed his head in silent greeting, while Akina snapped back on his behalf.

"What do you know, you has-been? My mister looks great on camera too! You think just anyone makes it onto the trending chart?"

"Who do you keep calling a has-been, you little brat?"

Santa rapped Akina on the head with his knuckles.

"Ow!"

The two bickered for a while longer, until Santa lit a cigarette and brought the argument to a close.

"Has all been well, Master Santa?"

"What could happen? Same thing every day. More importantly, tell me the story. What the hell did you do to end up fighting that many Grotesques?"

Ash briefly recounted the events of their expedition, including when the video in question had been filmed. His delivery was matter-of-fact, but the story itself was anything but. Santa seemed so intrigued that he shifted excitedly in his seat a couple of times as he listened.

The story ended around the time his cigarette burned down. Santa was silent for a moment.

"... It's a miracle you made it back alive. Now that I know the story, this thing's a complete lie, isn't it?"

The old man held up his PDA in one hand. Ifrit's video, [The Outer Is Too Easy. Feat. Ash Blade], was playing on it.

"The Outer is too easy, my ass."

Clicking his tongue, Santa lit another cigarette. Akina, who had been quiet until then, opened her backpack.

"Enough of that! Appraise this stuff for me. Want to see what I found this time? Ta-da!"

"Oh? That's in pretty decent condition. Didn't you go to Level 1?"

And so Santa and Akina began bargaining fiercely.

Ash listened to their conversation for a while, then apparently lost interest and looked around the rest stop. Firearms, cyberware for various body parts, and what appeared to be vehicle components covered the walls.

When he first came here, it had all looked like so much junk. After experiencing actual combat on their expedition, however, he saw everything differently. One item in particular caught his eye: a battery pack boasting twice the capacity of his own. Even Ash, who had little desire for material possessions, wanted that battery pack. Perhaps that was inevitable for a humanoid whose power supply was his very life.

Just then, a small warning appeared.

[WARNING!]

[POWER LEVEL: 4%]

Ash addressed Akina and Santa, who were still in the midst of their heated debate.

"Would you mind if I went upstairs first? I have little power remaining."

Akina nodded quickly.

"Go on up! I'll come up as soon as we're done bargaining!"

Santa offered a brief word as well.

"You did good."

After a brief farewell to them both, Ash headed for his temporary lodgings on the rest stop's second floor. He climbed the creaking stairs, entered his room, and connected himself to the old industrial charger mounted on the wall.

With a brief crackle of sparks, a steady supply of power flowed into him. All the warning messages that had been hovering in his vision vanished at once. Savoring the lightning energy flowing through his artificial neural network, Ash sat cross-legged and shut off his optical sensors.

In the deep darkness, images rose and faded through his mind as he meditated. The expedition through Gamma-7. Meeting Ifrit. The battle with the REST-men, and more.

At some point, one scene emerged with particular clarity from among all those memories. Akina, standing in front of him in the midst of the crowd, raising her voice.

He had been too overwhelmed at the time to dwell on it, but looking back now, it really was a funny sight. A Technomancer protecting an Assault. The absurdity drew a quiet chuckle from Ash.

"Heh heh... What a dependable young lady she is."

His face was still expressionless, of course, yet somehow, at that moment, he seemed to be smiling.