episode_0098

Even if a popular mercenary is a high-income profession, it’s not enough to ride around in a multi-million credit AV. Even in the Upper City, which people admire so much, it must be something only high-ranking individuals operate themselves or something used by corporations.

‘How many AVs are they using just for escort…?’

From Kathleen-ssi’s building, following the guide, I flew in an AV, ignoring the persistent traffic in the Upper City. Twelve Ayakashi-affiliated aerial vehicles followed us. Of course, unlike the limousine-concept vehicle I’m currently in, they look like military-grade vehicles, and their price must be astronomical. The price of anything labeled ‘military-grade’ is exorbitant, and it wasn’t much different where I came from. Other corporations’ AVs and ground vehicles slowed down and began operating cautiously as I passed, giving me the uncomfortable feeling of receiving a luxurious escort, making my stomach ache.

“…Ugh. I wonder if they know I’m being half-forcibly kidnapped.”

From the bar inside, which maintained the appropriate temperature for each type of liquor, I took out a bottle and popped the cork with a ‘pop’. The elegant scent of high-quality grape wine stung my nose, and I paused to look at the label.

“It’s a great vintage, a 1999 Romanée-Conti.”

“…Can wine usually be stored for 100 years?”

“Isn’t it a miracle brought about by the development of advanced storage technology? To think we can savor the past from 100 years ago.”

The Ayakashi guide sitting opposite me, who had somewhat ominous-looking slit eyes, needlessly rustled and adjusted the folds of his Japanese hakama, then told me the identity of the wine in my hand. I don’t know much about wine, but I know it was famous for being expensive even where I came from. Well, considering it’s Ayakashi Corporation, it might not be that strange for something like this to be stocked in an AV for hospitality.

“Would you like some Dom Pérignon Rosé as well?”

“?”

When I raised an eyebrow at the Ayakashi guide’s incomprehensible words, he smiled gently.

“There are some people who like to mix the two wines into a cocktail, you see.”

I rolled my eyes around and smacked my lips. To mix something this expensive into a cocktail… they must be out of their minds.

“Do they think it’s still the bubble economy? Crazy rich bastards…”

It seemed they weren’t talking about synthetic liquor made by combining alcohol and artificial flavors that are produced nowadays. The thought of them doing such a thing with genuine, almost relic-like alcohol made my appetite vanish completely, so I pressed the cork back into the bottle and returned it to the storage compartment. Despite hearing my blasphemous remarks right in front of him, the guide seemed unfazed, merely maintaining a strange smile as he looked at me.

It was certainly an uncomfortable journey, but ultimately, time resolves everything. Before I knew it, having departed from Rossmore Classic Vultures’ headquarters, I could see a magnificent skyscraper located almost on the opposite side of the Upper City. Unlike the standardized or twisted appearances of other companies’ buildings, which were either futuristic or imbued with peculiar artistic flair, the Ayakashi building, adorned with three eyes, possessed two aspects simultaneously.

‘To see in person something I’ve only seen on the news.’

Ayakashi’s skyscraper consisted of three towers. More precisely, the lower floors of the skyscraper, which would serve as the employees’ workplaces, were pillars supporting the upper structure. And above those pillars, as if naturally present, were long eaves, red-painted pillars at the corners of the building (though I wasn’t sure if they were real wood), a flamboyant curved roof, and even a massive, gold-plated Ayakashi logo ornament.

The AV naturally entered the prepared aerial vehicle parking complex and landed, passing through a vermilion pillar gate, at Ayakashi’s headquarters, which had a striking appearance strongly reminiscent of traditions from several hundred years ago.

“A torii…?”

“Well, we’ve arrived. They’ll be waiting, so let’s go up.”

“Such a hybrid… there’s nothing like it.”

Following the guide’s lead, I exited the AV to find servants dressed in unknown Japanese traditional attire lined up in a row, bowing silently without moving. At this chilling sight, which seemed intended to intimidate visitors, my lips twitched.

‘Fuck. Should I run away now? I don’t think I’d die if I jumped.’

I can do it. If it’s me.

As I subtly craned my neck to gauge the height, the guide, as if knowing exactly what I was thinking, blocked my view and shook his head from side to side.

“Haa… Alright. Let’s go.”

“Excellent.”

Giving up on the idea of escaping in three seconds, the guide and I walked down a wooden floor corridor lined with endless servants, then ascended what appeared to be a staircase, though not an emergency exit, upholding tradition even here. Nevertheless, perhaps it embodied the philosophy of merely setting the mood, as the wooden staircase moved on its own, carrying us up to the next floor.

‘How peculiar.’

I decided to stop trying to understand the structure, which left me utterly confused as to whether it was meant to enjoy the convenience of technological advancement or to experience tradition. Seeing paper doors and wooden railings wasn’t so bad after usually only seeing exceptionally punk interiors or blindingly white modern interiors. A better piece of news was that the eerie procession of servants finally ended, and I could see people working normally, like in a ryokan, so I didn’t feel so self-conscious.

“Anyway, from what I could tell by eye before coming in, if I estimate the height, this seems to be just below the top floor, but it doesn’t look like an executive office space, does it?”

“Haha. You can tell just by looking?”

“It’s not difficult…”

A massive space with a ceiling almost 8 meters high, as if three floors had been combined. Generally, if asked to think of reasons why a company would need such a large space, not many came to mind. Moreover, far from being an office…

“This is just the interior of the First Tower, so don’t think too much about it.”

“The First Tower?”

“It refers to the front building that showcases Ayakashi’s majestic presence. Only this First Tower is connected to the central garden.”

It wasn’t information I particularly wanted, but at least I knew that Ayakashi’s front building was called the First Tower. I scratched my cheek, deciding to simply ignore it since it probably wouldn’t mean anything to me anyway, but then I blinked at the guide’s next words.

“And this is the place for purification before meeting the master of Ayakashi.”

What did this guy just say? Purification?

“As if meeting some kind of god…”

“Attend to this person.”

At the guide’s command, the servants waiting nearby approached me.

“Whoa. Hold on, don’t come any closer…”

And only after the servants came closer did I realize that what I thought were just full masks with the Ayakashi logo were actually their entire heads, completely chrome-plated.

‘Androids? No, they’re all people with heavy implants…’

No matter how extreme a chrome user, implants that replace the entire face or head are rarely done unless one is an exceptional modification addict like Ricardo, the boss of Hellstream. First, completely transforming the face, which identifies one as human, tends to erode humanity significantly, making chrome psychosis prone to occur. Also, it’s a vital area where extremely complex organs are concentrated.

‘They use something like that as a uniform…’

The servants who came up to me all had such full-face chrome implants, as if it were natural. They weren’t corporate soldiers who needed to be covered in high-performance implants for combat. It was anachronistic, but Ayakashi, putting such things on mere servants, seemed even more monstrous.

“Hey! Wai…! Don’t undress me!”

“Hahaha. Just leave it to them; they’ll prepare everything.”

“Don’t I have hands and feet?!”

In response to my retort, the guide merely smiled, not stopping the servants. Naturally, I couldn’t smash the servants’ heads to make them stop, so I had no choice but to let them undress me.

***

“I’m tired.”

Even if I were a megacorp CEO, I shouldn’t have to go through such troublesome procedures. Wrapped in a bath towel, I entered the bathhouse with a sour expression.

The First Tower, Second Tower, Third Tower. The central part, surrounded by three pillars, had optical shielding so it couldn’t be seen from the outside. I thought it would be used for something more important, but…

A waterfall-like stream of water, rising hot steam, artistically arranged rocks, and strangely shaped yet atmospheric live trees. Yes. This looked like a hot spring. An open-air hot spring with a panoramic view of the Upper City. Finding myself with the entire place to myself, I had no choice but to let out a deep sigh as I immersed myself in the main bath of this enormous hot spring.

“Haa…”

“Why do you sigh so deeply in such a pleasant place?”

As I sighed, a seductive voice came from beside me, startling me, and I looked over. Red eyes, hidden within the thick steam of what I thought was an empty hot spring, were staring directly at me.