Ch.2626. Believer of Cyberpunk

Amon’s life-or-death self-defense of his actions began.

He explained in detail, starting from why he headed to the red-light district to how he infiltrated the building.

“So I had to dress as a woman because… I needed to get close to the chairman’s son, you know?”

“N-no way… you didn’t sell your body…!”

There was a minor issue where Sonia worried about Amon’s chastity during the explanation, but the misunderstanding was resolved without much fuss.

‘Even in a cyberpunk world, some things are off-limits.’

Amon was a person with very ordinary sexual preferences.

He had absolutely no intention of doing anything intimate with a man.

No matter what cause it might serve, he swore to Mother Goddess that he would never, ever consider such a thing.

After Amon’s desperate defense, Sonia was able to clear up various misunderstandings.

Once all the misunderstandings about Amon’s infidelity and his chastity were resolved, Sonia’s expression brightened a bit.

‘Now’s my chance!’

Amon instinctively felt that this was the perfect time for dealing.

Right after misunderstandings were cleared and Sonia’s mood had improved was the perfect opportunity to make her even happier with more good news.

Riding the momentum, he told her about the spoils he’d obtained from this incident.

They got royalties from raiding the Higgjen Group, so they didn’t need to worry about money anymore.

The orphanage would never have to worry about meat again.

They could expect upgrades with the high-end equipment he’d taken from the Higgjen Group, and so on.

Amon enthusiastically explained the rosy future that awaited them.

But despite his explanation, Sonia’s face didn’t brighten any further.

Instead, she somehow seemed angry.

While Amon was looking confused, Sonia muttered quietly.

“Idiot…”

“Huh?”

“Is that what matters, you idiot!? Look what happened to you!”

Sonia pulled back the blanket and pointed at Amon’s side.

Looking at the burn mark that was healing but not yet completely recovered, Sonia grew angry.

“Who cares about money! Who cares about equipment! You got hurt! You almost died! How can that be what matters! I don’t need this damn money!”

Hearing her words, Amon became solemn.

He couldn’t bring himself to say, “But it was a lot of money.”

If Sonia had done something as reckless as he had, he would have felt exactly the same way.

Of course, in this dangerous world, it was impossible to avoid dangerous actions entirely.

But. Even so.

No matter how harsh the world became or how priorities changed,

The concern for a loved one remained unchanged no matter where you went.

“…Sorry.”

That was all Amon could say.

He had no choice but to reflect on his actions.

In a way, he might have been thinking of this reality as if it were a game.

The fact that he had viewed this world with a gaming mentality, forgetting that he had someone precious by his side, constricted his heart.

“Next time…”

Next time I won’t do that.

Amon’s mouth stopped before he could say those words.

He had no choice.

The path Amon wanted to take could never be safe.

Moreover, considering the gorilla incident and this one, there was no guarantee that his life would be smooth sailing.

As someone who valued the weight of his words, Amon couldn’t promise her that he wouldn’t do it again.

Amon couldn’t promise Sonia safety.

His lips pressed firmly together.

With his mouth closed, he mentally sorted through promises he could whisper to her.

Then, Sonia spoke first.

“I’m not asking you not to do it next time.”

Hearing those words, Amon met Sonia’s eyes.

Then what is she asking for?

As Amon wondered this, Sonia looked at him with moist eyes and said:

“If you’re going to do it again, take me with you. You said you could rely on me. So let’s go together. I won’t be a burden, please.”

At her words, Amon couldn’t help but smile.

‘Was I the one lacking trust?’

He had confessed his love to her because she was the most trustworthy person in the world.

But he had tried to handle this incident alone from beginning to end.

Despite having such a reliable partner.

With bitterness on his face, he nodded gently.

“Okay. I understand.”

Amon embraced Sonia.

Sonia carefully embraced Amon back.

And naturally, their lips met.

The sweetness of love was incomparable to any painkiller.

*

In the space still tinged with a pink atmosphere, Sonia couldn’t help but ask what she had been curious about.

“So how much royalty did you get?”

“About this much?”

Amon manipulated his phone to show her the contract file.

She began counting the numbers Amon showed her.

“One, two, three, four… six!? A hundred thousand dollars?”

Amon nodded.

150,000 dollars annually.

An amount that would accumulate in their account just for breathing.

It was a salary that hovered near the upper ranks of the American middle class.

Among people their age, it would probably easily place them in the top 10 percent.

Of course, it was too small an amount for a Megacorp royalty…

‘I have other uses for it.’

There was a reason to negotiate the royalty down this far.

Something he couldn’t compromise on for his dream…

Amon stopped his thoughts there and focused on Sonia.

After hearing the amount, Sonia covered her mouth and said:

“I take back what I said about not needing it.”

Hearing that, Amon burst into laughter.

“Hahaha- cough! Hack!”

The price for forgetting his side wound and laughing was intense.

Pain that he thought had subsided rose from deep within his organs.

When Amon couldn’t breathe due to the sharp pain, Sonia panicked thinking he was dying,

And there was an incident where a nurse who rushed in after receiving the nurse call looked at the foolish couple with cold eyes, but it wasn’t an important story.

***

Afterward, Sonia brought her belongings from the church and began nursing Amon 24 hours a day.

“Aahn~”

“Aah~ Nom nom nom”

Amon ate the ‘real’ pork that Sonia fed him.

How long had it been since he’d eaten real meat!

Beautiful marbling, solid texture, and that gamey smell that wouldn’t go away no matter what!

His entire body rejoiced at the cholesterol flowing through his veins after so long.

This was one of the deals with the Three Dollar Meat.

Neither more nor less than sending real pork, 100g of each cut, every month.

Even though real pork was rare in this world, it was questionable whether there was a need to add this to the deal while reducing the royalty.

Considering the reduced royalty, they could have just bought it.

And it wasn’t just any pork.

<A variety of cuts evenly. Must include samgyeopsal among the cuts.>

Even the archbishop of the Vatican who acted as Amon’s negotiation channel was bewildered.

– “Samgyeopsal? What is that?”

When told it was the belly part, he was even more dumbfounded.

– “You mean the part used for bacon? When there’s tenderloin available???”

He couldn’t understand why Amon would choose to reduce those and opt for samgyeopsal when they offered to send more sirloin or tenderloin.

Moreover, Amon’s order to never slice it thinly like bacon but send it whole.

The chairman of the Three Dollar Meat who heard this was also puzzled.

– “Is that legendary Holy Knight perhaps… Korean?”

The archbishop didn’t give even that fragmentary information to the chairman, but the archbishop also had reasonable suspicions.

Anyway, the deal with pork as a condition was made, and the company agreed to send Amon 300g of each cut of meat every month.

Why 300? Because.

– “We are the Three Dollar Meat after all.”

The chairman wanted to stick to the number 3, so that’s how much they sent.

Since it included the samgyeopsal cut that they didn’t use anyway, the unit price was right, he said.

As a bonus, they would send it weekly to prevent spoilage.

That’s how Amon was able to occasionally eat real meat that fattened his arteries instead of healthy hospital food.

This week was pork neck, next week tenderloin, the week after that sirloin…

Sonia watched Amon with a pleased expression.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t eat it because of the gamey smell?”

“Turns out I can. Here, aahn.”

“Aah.”

Amon was feeding the precious once-a-week meat to Sonia as well.

She also learned from this incident that Amon couldn’t eat synthetic meat simply because he disliked bugs.

She found his fussiness cute.

The two enjoyed their weekend feast.

But Amon had one regret.

‘Damn, I want samgyeopsal.’

Originally, samgyeopsal was the main goal, but he couldn’t eat it in the hospital.

Smell wasn’t the issue.

Of course, Sonia cooked the meat outside and brought it in sealed containers, and anyway, Amon had a private room so there was no problem.

Nevertheless, the reason Amon couldn’t eat samgyeopsal was simple.

‘Damn the West. Damn cyberpunk.’

The meat was prepared.

But other items were missing.

Ssamjang, garlic, ssam vegetables, and so on.

These were elements Amon had overlooked.

As hungry as Amon was for samgyeopsal, it was a bit difficult to eat it raw.

‘I should visit Koreatown after discharge, I guess.’

According to his internet search, he could somehow get ssamjang and garlic at the gourmet grocery stores there.

‘They say it’s extremely expensive.’

Still, he planned to go since it was available.

With such thoughts, Amon accepted the hamburger Sonia fed him.

Looking wistfully at the samgyeopsal slowly rotting in the corner of the freezer,

Amon survived another day in cyberpunk.