The man introduced himself as Kangal.
When I heard the name Kangal,
I felt it suited his appearance.
The mischief I sensed behind his narrowed eyes,
and the way he seemed to lose his mind whenever he got behind the wheel,
made him seem like the kind of Nomad you could commonly find around us.
But the moment I began to strongly suspect him
was when he introduced himself as a Nomad.
His manner of speaking had a strong corporate feel to it,
and his outward appearance was as neat as that of a successful fixer.
There were simply too many things about him
that seemed suspicious for a Nomad.
After that, everything about him, from one to ten,
started to feel suspicious.
And yet, he looked free.
Just as he said, he seemed, like a Nomad,
unbound by anything or anyone.
"Kiwi, we’re here. Aren’t you getting out?"
"I’m getting out now."
"Order lots of expensive stuff.
I’m paying anyway."
A strange yet oddly familiar,
peculiar and unique Nomad who enjoyed reckless driving with people he had only just met, even in this city.
·
·
·
Honestly, I don’t particularly enjoy drinking.
When I drink, it puts restrictions on my abilities,
which are already at a disadvantage in the city.
And besides... I’m still not an adult.
Surprisingly, I’m still a minor.
Nobody would have thought I was underage, but
surprisingly, I had only just finished puberty.
So, in conclusion, I can’t drink.
Still, I do like buying drinks for others.
I couldn’t do it often in Canada,
but now, in Night City, I could buy people drinks
whenever I wanted without worrying about anyone watching.
"Is it really okay for you to keep buying us all this stuff?"
"Maine, it’s my hobby.
I’m more than willing to bear this much expense."
"For someone who says that, you haven’t had a single drink."
"When I drink, I turn into a dog.
A very vicious, disobedient dog."
"Pfft! What the hell is that?"
"You turn into a dog? I definitely want to see that sometime."
"Wow! You sounded exactly like my sister just now."
"Sister? You have a sister?"
"I do. The coolest sister in the world."
"Your sister is cool?!"
Pilar shouted with an incredulous expression.
It made sense. Those two were actual siblings,
while my sister and I were more like a second parent and child—
more like siblings from some idealized fantasy.
"She’s twelve years older than me, and she gets a little unhinged whenever she picks up a gun, but she’s an amazing sister."
"Then why are you looking at me?"
Rebecca must have resembled my sister when she was working,
because I found myself looking at her without realizing it.
"Rebecca, you looked like my sister when you were working.
That’s probably why I looked at you without thinking."
"By the way, Kangal, what are you going to do about Sasha’s debt?"
"As promised, I’ll cut it in half,
extend the deadline, and collect it slowly."
♪
"Excuse me for a moment. I need to take a call.
Go ahead and order anything else you want to drink."
"Sure."
I left the bar and answered a call from my sister,
the first I had received from her in a while, through the emergency communicator.
"What the hell did you do that I had to contact you through the emergency channel?"
"It was a miscalculation. I’ll fix it in a little while."
"All right, but you did everything I told you to do, right?"
"I’ll be finished once I wrap up a few things."
"Then should I send your teammates over soon?"
"What’s gotten into you? You’ve never sent them this early before."
"That’s how important this job is.
Which brings me to this: find someplace for you to stay separately."
"A place to stay? Why all of a sudden?
Don’t tell me you mean I have to find it today?"
"You do need to find one today,
but don’t you have someone close who lives in Kabuki?"
"I do have exactly one person, but why Kabuki of all places?"
"Because it’s the second-poorest area,
and less dangerous than the poorest one."
"I understand."
"Ask whether you can stay there for around three days."
"Got it. Is that all you needed to tell me?"
"That’s everything. Take care of yourself,
always be careful, and I’ll contact you again later."
After ending the call, I went back
into the bar.
Inside, only Dorio, Kiwi, and Sasha
were sitting there in relatively sound condition.
The other crew members had all passed out drunk.
"Kangal, did your call go well?"
"Dorio, I did finish it,
but a bit of a problem came up."
"What kind of problem?"
"I suddenly need a place in Kabuki
where I can stay for about three days."
"Kabuki, all of a sudden?"
"So, does anyone here happen to
live in Kabuki?"
Nobody answered.
There was no sign that anyone intended to answer, either.
I could understand Dorio and Sasha, but
I thought Kiwi might at least show some reaction.
Kiwi drained what remained in her glass,
then finally looked at me and spoke.
"Well, three days should be fine."
"Thank you so much. I’d like to give you
at least some of the auxiliary gear I have."
"Keep the gear. Just help me with one job instead."
"I’ll gladly help."
At the time, I had no idea
just how complicated that job would become.
And I was reminded once again
that, in this city, my abilities were more of a hindrance than a help.
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