Ch.156

The second person may have been tripping on drugs, as he seemed to hallucinate him as a devil or a similar entity.

He was just crying and screaming, making no sense.

The third person appeared to be a privately-run prostitute.

She approached, leaning forward in a flirtatious manner, saying she'd tell me if I bought her, so I chose to leave.

"Wh!? Are you seriously impotent!? Is there nothing attached?!"

----I'd prefer not to be shouted at from behind.

he wouldn't mind buying, but he doesn't know about hygiene, and this place is a perfect away game in the Outer Rim.

If something happened while he was asleep, he probably wouldn't be able to die even if he wanted to.

"...It's getting annoying."

----...If I fire a few shots, maybe they'll come this way.

Does he think the Underworld Queen is some kind of Rapture? Slipping into the alley where all sorts of trash were scattered, Moore took out a soft pack and an oil lighter from the inner pocket of his jacket.

Due to touring various arcs, nicotine intake had been inconsistent.

Taking a puff to calm down, he lit the end of a cigarette with the oil lighter, letting purple smoke waft.

Playing a unique metallic sound, he closed the lighter's lid, and for a while, he savored the scent of the lingering purple smoke and the intoxication.

Around when the cigarette he bit had half left--

"...Hah...!"

"...Hm?"

He sensed someone gasping on the other side of the alley.

Looking sideways, he saw the figure of a petite girl who had just become a teenager.

Wearing tattered and worn-out clothes, her chestnut hair was left to grow, or perhaps because she couldn't even wash it properly, it was messy.

Her nutritional state seemed poor. Her limbs were as thin as dry branches, giving an impression of fragility.

As soon as the girl recognized him, her thin face tightened, and she began to hurry back the way she came.

"...Uh, it's somewhat hurtful to be feared by a child of that age."

No,really, it's quite hurtful, though unwillingly.

"...If it's a child, would she tell me...?"

It doesn't seem likely to go that smoothly, but the fact remains that there were no results from the inquiries earlier. Whatever will be, will be, Moore thought while searching for the whereabouts of the escaping girl with the cigarette still in his mouth.

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──Scary.

The alleys of the Outer Rim are dangerous. The skin is torn by scattered garbage and shards of broken glass, turning into tetanus, and those who die in agony without being cared for are endless.

But what's even scarier than illness or injury is undoubtedly humans.

The girl moves her thin limbs—fragile like dry branches—urgently, trying to hurry.

That man is scary, her intuition whispered.

The girl has been in this alley for about a year.

Even though she had lived in the Ark until a few years ago, it wasn't a proper family environment. Due to her father, who couldn't make ends meet due to debt, she was sold.

The recognition chip embedded in her neck was removed, and the girl, who could no longer enjoy the light pouring from the Eternal Sky of the Ark, was sent to the pleasure district of the Outer Rim—Bad Dream.

There, she experienced various things that other girls of her age in the Ark would never experience.

The girl is inherently mute. She couldn't even cruelly utter a cry for help from her throat.

Her life in the pleasure district continued for about a year, but taking advantage of a suspicious fire at her workplace, she escaped.

However, with nothing but the clothes on her back, the girl, who had nothing, ironically had to use the experiences she learned in the pleasure district to survive in the world of the Outer Rim.

Her body, which probably couldn't bear children, was still alive.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the experiences she accumulated in the pleasure district gave the girl the ability to see through people.

The ability to instantly recognize dangerous people, those who might harm her, and quickly leave to protect herself.

The man she saw earlier had the most dangerous scent of all the encounters she had experienced so far.

She needs to run quickly.

The girl arrives at her own shop.

A slightly wider space at the end of the alley. There's a shop where she sleeps and takes customers.

A crude space with makeshift sheets full of holes.

She has been relying on this place for about a year, but it's probably time to move on.

When she tries to gather her belongings, she senses someone behind her.

—Thud, her heart played the cautious sound of alertness.

A small and seemingly unreliable hand reflexively grips an iron pipe.

Turning around, the girl re-grips the iron pipe with both hands and swings it with all her strength.

"Whoa. That's dangerous."

The iron pipe is swung down, but the person who effortlessly grabs and stops it is a giant to the malnourished girl, enough for her to look up to the heavens.

──I'm going to be killed.

A counterattack is imminent. Based on her past experiences, she quickly envisioned what might unfold.

She has to escape.

However, the strides and likely the speed of an adult and a child differ.

In an instant, she was caught up—and then—

The strength drained from the hand gripping the iron pipe, and the girl tightly closed both eyes.

But there was no impact—nothing came rushing at her.

"...Sorry for surprising you. I just wanted to ask for directions. There should be a bar called PLEDGE nearby...but I got lost."

"...Uh...?"

Timidly, the girl opened her eyes.

The giant man knelt on one knee, looking directly at her, appearing extremely troubled.

The question left the girl feeling weak.

─The scent of blood.

However, a faint, rust-like smell emanating from the man's body, detectable to the girl, rekindled her wariness.

She shook her head to signal that she didn't know. She couldn't speak, couldn't communicate. Even if she wanted to write, there were no writing tools here.

It would be nice if he gave up now—but just as she thought that, the dark brown eyes in the man's gaze narrowed.

Under the sharp, penetrating gaze, the girl's body stiffened, and the man's hands were raised.

─She's going to be hit.

In the midst of reflexively trying to flinch, the hands that loomed before her suddenly began to move.

〈─Can you speak with this?〉

─Sign language.

She had learned it back when she lived in the Ark for communication, but since falling to the Outer Rim, she rarely used it.

The movements of the fingers, basic nouns, verbs, adjectives—all of them were in the depths of her memory. But with a sense of nostalgia, the girl responded to the sign language.

〈─Yes〉

〈─Good. Can you hear?〉

She nodded, affirming. Then the large, calloused hands before her started moving.

〈Do you know the location of the bar I mentioned earlier?〉

〈Lie, sorry〉

〈No problem. Sorry for surprising you〉

It seemed like he wasn't very accustomed to sign language. Some gestures seemed awkward, giving an impression of roughness, but there was no hindrance to communication.

The conversation in sign language was indeed a long-forgotten skill for the girl. She continued while recalling the gestures.

〈Four, across, the street.〉

"...Quite a distance away."

A sigh tinged with dryness and self-deprecation escaped from the man's mouth. Seeing a sight that didn't suit his robust, formidable appearance, the girl unintentionally smiled.

"Thank you. You're my benefactor."

〈Ben... e... fac... tor?〉

"Yes. You helped me. Thank you. I'm grateful."

The man's hand reached inside his jacket.

In the process, a black mass of iron— a gun, was visible on the left side of the rolled-up fabric. The girl retreated as she saw it.

"...Ah, sorry. It's for self-defense. In the Outer Rim... well, you never know what might happen. I don't have anything else, but..."

A piece of chocolate was pulled out from the inner pocket. Wrapped in packaging with the Tetra Line logo and the product name, it was offered to the girl.

"...I'm sorry this is all I can give to my benefactor. I hope it suits your taste..."

The man tore open the packaging. Breaking the chocolate bar along with the silver foil.

Picking up a piece and putting it into his own mouth, he chewed.

Understanding that it was a sign that there was nothing suspicious inside, the girl tentatively accepted the offered chocolate.

With rough fingertips, she carefully unwrapped the silver foil. Bringing her lips, which hadn't had a decent meal for days, closer to the brown chocolate, she took a bite.

─Sweet. And a little bitter.

"...Is it good?"

"...Y-yeah... gu...uu...uh...!!"

It was delicious. To an extent beyond anything in this world. And enough to bring tears.

Yet, her body, unable to even produce a satisfactory sob, was frustrating.

Tears flowed abundantly, and mucus dripped down.

In front of her, the man scratched his cheek in a troubled manner with his fingertips.

He must be genuinely troubled. A slightly loud sigh reached the girl's ears.

"...Come here."

A low voice, meaning the voice of a man, was an unconditional source of fear for the girl.

However, as if guided by the effort to make his voice sound soft, the girl hugged the partially eaten chocolate in one hand and embraced him.

Covered in grime, with an overpowering body odor, tears and mucus wetting the jacket without any concern, the large hand was placed on the disheveled head, gently stroking it, and the girl let out voiceless sobs.

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"─Have you calmed down?"

The man separated from the girl's body, and the girl, sniffling, had eyes swollen and red at the corners, with crusty sleep gathered.

Taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping her eyes, the girl nodded back with small nods.

"...That's good. However, I'm quite far away. Do I still have time?"

Without showing any concern, the man pushed the dirty handkerchief back into his pocket. The girl tugged at the sleeve of the man, who checked the time on the wristwatch wound around his left wrist.

"What's wrong?"

〈Th...an...ks〉

"...Thanks?"

While nodding, the girl looked up at the man with her swollen eyes. A faint blush tinted her dirty cheeks.

〈Hold...me〉

─It took him a few seconds to break down and interpret the meaning of the words conveyed in sign language. No, he understood the meaning. Or rather, it was probably the literal meaning.

"─Hah. A kid saying something ridiculous."

Reaching out to her forehead, where the disheveled bangs covered her, the girl's face slightly tilted back when he flicked it with his fingertips.

"...Sorry, but I don't swing that way."

─Then how should she express her gratitude?

The girl didn't know how to reciprocate the kindness she received other than that.

As a man, he probably thought that just telling her the destination was enough. The chocolate was a token of gratitude for her benefactor. It would be appropriate not to ask for more, but the girl, sensitive to protect herself, didn't seem to understand that.

Perhaps sensing that, he sighed and then placed his large hand on the girl's head.

"...Yeah, do your best to become a good woman. In about ten years... if you still remember today even then, we can think about it again."

〈Pro...mise〉

He likely won't be alive by then, but he agreed anyway.

As they exchanged promises in sign language, he lifted one knee and lightly brushed the dust clinging to his slacks with the palm of his hand before heading toward his destination.

Then, the hem of the jacket was once again grabbed and pulled forcefully.

Without waiting for a question, fragile and slender fingertips extended a pair of sunglasses.

It was a square-shaped one with a half-rimmed double bridge, and the lenses were dark black.

"...Are you giving me this?"

The girl nodded in response to him picking up the sunglasses, and then she moved her hands and fingers.

〈Promise, don't forget.〉

He seemed to realize that he had agreed to a promise that might cost more than just buying it normally.

He offered a faint wry smile and, after firmly putting on the received sunglasses, nodded.