Chapter 19 - Halloween Society 2

Siren talked a lot.

"Wow. I honestly never dreamed I'd meet you like this. I'm still trying to get over the shock. Until recently—actually, until just a moment ago—I was thinking how much I'd love to meet you at least once, Mr. Ash."

She wasn't very good at it, though.

"Oh, so, the reason I wanted to meet you, Mr. Ash... Where should I start? Well, I was streaming a few days ago. Then one of my group members suddenly showed me a video and told me to watch it! She said you used a sword like me, and you looked like you were something else!"

And yet she was timid.

"Um, so... I was so surprised, and someone I'd really wanted to meet was right in front of me, and I didn't know what to do. And now that you're actually here, I don't know what to say, either. I just really wanted to at least say something to you, so I think I started moving closer without realizing it. I'm sorry!"

Siren.

On the ranking board, she had been a raven-haired beauty with an air of icy hauteur. Looking at her now, though... well.

Rather than an ice queen, she was more of a scatterbrain.

Rambling and fidgeting.

Just watching her was enough to make someone develop anxiety. There wasn't a trace of the dignity one might expect of the number-one idol.

Eventually, Ash could stand it no longer and cut her off.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"You're so amazing, Mr. Ash!"

"So you mean you are a 'fan'?"

"Um... something like that!"

"Either you are a fan or you are not. What is 'something like that' supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry!"

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Um... well, I'm sorry."

"Again, why exactly are you apologizing...?"

Feeling oddly caught up in her pace, Ash held his tongue. Somehow, he was starting to feel confused himself.

"Mister."

Akina, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.

"Could it be because of your swordsmanship?"

"... Hm?"

Ash turned at the unexpected remark.

"What brought that on?"

"You saw the ranking board earlier, right? She seemed to use a sword too, so I thought that might be why she came over."

Things seemed to be falling into place.

Ash looked at Akina, inviting her to continue.

"Honestly, it's not like the video you're in has great editing or production, right? It's popular because your swordsmanship is fucking awesome."

She was right.

The video Ifrit had uploaded was almost raw footage, with little more than background music and sound effects added.

There was only one reason it had still racked up so many views: the peerless mastery of the swordsmanship Ash displayed in it.

"Besides, there aren't many Pathfinders who use a sword as their main weapon. How should I put it? Maybe she feels a sort of kinship?"

That seemed to be the answer.

Siren bobbed her head like a malfunctioning automaton.

"Y-yes! That's exactly it!"

At some point, she had taken out her PDA again. She tapped it a couple of times, then turned the screen toward Ash.

"Here! Right here! How did you do this? How did you cut down three Grotesques with a single stroke? I can see you used your center of gravity as an axis to generate centrifugal force, but that stance shouldn't have let you produce that much destructive power!"

"I understand, so first calm down..."

"And this part too. Wow! Isn't it amazing? Slashing and thrusting at the same time! Is this how you do it? No, that's not right. I think the front foot is in a different position. Like this?"

She tried imitating Ash's stance in the video, then switched her PDA back on to replay it. "That's not it!" she cried, stamping her feet.

"..."

Her description of herself as "something like a fan" had been quite accurate.

Siren was enthralled by Ash's swordsmanship.

One might ask what the difference was, but it became perfectly clear when she kept replaying the PDA footage with the man himself standing right in front of her.

"Enough."

At Ash's low electronic voice, Siren stopped midway through imitating a spinning slash. Then, apparently realizing her mistake, she blushed.

"Oh, um. I've done it again...!"

Their acquaintance had been brief, but Ash already had a sense of how to talk to this woman.

So he dispensed with all preamble.

"Do you like swords?"

Siren broke into a radiant smile.

"Yes!"

Such a smile on a woman with so cold an appearance was quite lovely.

"Then you wish to ask me about swordsmanship?"

"Exactly! Especially your footwork..."

That was when it happened.

A murmur began spreading around the lounge. Looking around, they saw many people staring their way and whispering.

"Huh? Isn't that Siren?"

"I think it is."

"Take a picture! Quick!"

The small commotion swelled in an instant. Some people even came running over, shouting with greater enthusiasm.

It was only natural.

Halloween Entertainment's number-one idol, a woman everyone in Sanctum recognized, had just performed an impromptu sword dance with her face uncovered.

"Uh, oh, this isn't good! I'd better get going..."

Looking close to tears, Siren hurriedly put on her hat and mask. Then she practically tossed a business card onto the table.

"I'll be sure to contact you again! I promise! Bye!"

With that, she hurried out of the lounge. The crowd that had gathered in those few moments ran after her.

"Siren! I'm a fan!"

"A picture! Just one picture together!"

"What the hell? Why is she so fast?"

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Ash and Akina could only stare blankly after them.

"What on earth was that? My head's spinning."

"Indeed."

A little while later, Akina spoke as she turned the business card over in her hands.

"How exactly is she going to contact us? We're the ones who got her contact information."

With the talkative woman gone, peace settled over the lounge, if only briefly.

Of course, that peace didn't last long either.

"Heeey! Ash! Kiddo!"

Perhaps a minute or two had passed.

Ifrit came through the security checkpoint and walked over, waving.

Had Akina grown fond of her already?

Or did she simply look like five hundred thousand credits?

"Ifrit!"

Akina greeted her with a bright smile as well.

But Ifrit wasn't alone.

She was accompanied by a man wearing a motorcycle helmet pulled low over his head—or perhaps a helmet made in that style.

The pair approached them in the lounge.

"You have arrived."

She answered Ash's brief greeting with a wink, then casually took a seat and produced a card.

"Your order of five hundred thousand credits is served."

"Yay!"

Akina snatched the credit card with a move resembling the Cloud Dragon Claw, then immediately took out her PDA to check the amount.

Intermittent beeps rang out.

Meanwhile, Ash addressed Ifrit, who sat across from him.

"My lady. Have you remained hale and hearty since last we met?"

"Huh? Hale and what?"

"I am asking if you have been well."

"... Sometimes I swear you use weird words just to mess with me."

Her distinctive heart-shaped eyes shot him a sidelong glance.

"Same as always. You?"

"My days have been most tumultuous."

"Huh? Why?"

"Thanks to your surreptitious filming, my lady."

"... Oh. Ahaha. Don't be like that. I paid you an appearance fee, didn't I?"

"An appearance fee. Now that you mention it, about that pistol. I am told it has quite a few damaged parts. The repairs are rather expensive as well. Have you anything to say about that, my lady?"

"Oh, whoops!"

Ifrit turned her head away.

It was an obvious attempt to dodge the issue.

"I forgot to introduce him, didn't I? This is Dullahan. He's an idol in the boy group ROA. Why don't you say hello?"

At her words, the man who had been standing silently nearby stepped forward. A moment later, text appeared across his black helmet visor.

[hey]

Ash stared blankly at it for a moment, then surmised that "hey" was probably a greeting.

"I am Ash Blade. I have no affiliation."

[yeah btw you got scammed. with that many views you should've gotten paid more]

"You little shit!"

Ifrit sprang to her feet and hooked her arm around Dullahan's neck, putting him in what was commonly called a headlock.

Dullahan merely shrugged.

[all machine anyway. doesn't hurt a bit, does it?]

"Ugh! You're all mouth, aren't you?"

She rapped her knuckles against his helmet a few times.

Without so much as flinching, he displayed his next message.

[lmao what mouth? i don't have one lolol]

Ash shut off his optical sensors for a moment.

And wondered whether there was a single normal person in all of Halloween.

First Ifrit, then Siren, who had swept in and out like a storm, and now Dullahan with his bizarre way of communicating.

He felt oddly overwhelmed.

It was a truly ironic sentiment for a humanoid whose entire body was mechanical.

Meanwhile, Akina looked up.

She seemed to have finished checking the five hundred thousand credits.

"I've checked it, Ifrit."

"All there, right?"

"Yes. But is what he said true?"

"H-huh?"

"Were we supposed to get more?"

Faced with the unprecedented gleam in the girl's eyes, Ifrit finally surrendered.

"... Send me the pistol repair bill. Let's call it even. Please."

"Hehe! You're the best, Ifrit!"

[lmao this kid's got guts lol fucking awesome]

"You shut up!"

[yeah been keeping my mouth shut this whole time]

Ifrit was just about to explode again at the message on his visor when Ash spoke.

"I believe we have had quite enough commotion."

Everyone turned toward his low electronic voice. It was nothing more than synthesized sound from a voice module, yet it possessed a strange power that commanded their attention.

"Now, get to the point, my lady."

"... Huh? How'd you know I had something to say?"

Ash turned to look at Dullahan.

"It was merely a guess. From my personal experience, my lady, you do not seem the sort to introduce someone simply for the sake of socializing."

"You really do make things easy."

"Then tell us. Why are you introducing us to young Master Du?"

A moment later, another message appeared on the visor.

[damn that insight lol. he's just like you said, huh?]

"Shut up and sit down here."

Ifrit pulled Dullahan down into the seat beside her by the arm, her heart-shaped eyes gleaming brighter than ever.

"The four of us here, plus one more. Let's do a collab."

"A collab?"

Ash repeated the unfamiliar word.

"A collaboration. Before I explain, take a look at this."

She took a PDA out of her clothing, set it on the table, and pressed play.

It was a recording from someone's body camera.

Ferocious gunfire, screams, and frantic breathing had all been captured clearly.

The footage shook violently as well.

The wearer was rolling across the floor, groaning as they scrambled for cover.

Then came a brief sound of flesh being torn, and the image whirled wildly. Broken debris, Sentinels, and a corpse that appeared to be a comrade flashed past in succession.

That was where the video ended.

It was gruesome footage that vividly captured the battlefield. In other words, that was all it was.

Ash couldn't tell what the video was supposed to mean.

Akina could.

"Huh?"

She played the video again.

A short while later, she paused it at a particular point.

Sentinels were swarming around the camera's wearer.

Behind them, a mechanical device engraved with intricate, elaborate patterns caught the eye. Diamond-shaped and glowing gold, it seemed to be no ordinary object.

"Don't tell me... a Nexus Port?"

"Bingo."

Ifrit winked, as though she had known Akina would recognize it. Meanwhile, Ash searched for information on Nexus Ports.

[DATA RECALL: Nexus Port]

[DATA RESEARCH. . . NOW<<<]

//*

Nexus Port.

An ultrahigh-density storage and network connection device containing concentrated core data on ancient technology.

It holds vast quantities of technical information and supporting documentation.

It denies all access by default, but a Technomancer equipped with a cyberbrain conversion module can attempt extremely limited data extraction through a Deep Dive.

Its potential value is immeasurable: most of the megacorps' core technologies originated from these Nexus Ports.

*//

"An unknown idol group got stranded during an expedition a day ago. This is their bodycam footage."

Ifrit leaned forward.

Then she lowered her voice further, lest anyone overhear.

"The important part is that this hasn't been reported to the Sanctum Administration yet. Know what that means? The other Societies don't even know it exists. Only Halloween does!"

Normally, whenever a Nexus Port was discovered, every Society descended on it, turning the area into a bloodbath.

Only superior technology could guarantee one's standing within Sanctum.

But this time was different.

By sheer chance, Halloween alone had discovered a new Nexus Port.

That meant this would be several times easier than an ordinary Nexus reclamation campaign.

"What do you say?"

Ifrit flashed a challenging smile.

"Want to make some serious money?"