episode_0099

Even veiled by steam, the crimson eyes were chillingly vivid.

At first, I thought they were the operational lights of combat support optical implants, but as the steam slowly parted left and right, as if by magic, due to the internal atmospheric control system, I realized that wasn’t the case.

The circuits inside the artificial lens and the metal exterior typical of ocular implants were nowhere to be seen.

In other words, it wasn’t an implant; it was a natural body.

The color was so distinct and intense that it led to such a misconception.

‘There was definitely no one here…’

More than that, I frowned at the uninvited guest who had suddenly spoken, maintaining my guard.

No matter how much steam filled the grand hot spring, my heightened senses, modified by countless chrome implants and personal alterations from over a year of unimaginable feats with Luna, wouldn’t have failed to notice someone already in the bath.

‘This person even approached me.’

As the steam cleared, revealing the owner of the crimson eyes, the distance between us was barely 2 meters.

It was quite close; in combat, I could have closed the distance in a single step and launched an attack within 0.13 seconds, effectively sticking right to them.

As my thoughts continued, the owner of the red eyes gradually revealed themselves amidst the dreamlike atmosphere.

The most distinctive feature was the red eyes themselves, sharp as if a knife were at my throat yet pleasantly curved, framed by sleek, straight black hair. Next was her youthful appearance, quite unlike the unfashionable, old-fashioned speech patterns of the 22nd century.

If I had to guess, she looked to be around my age, like someone who had undergone forced AYAKASHI injection and modifications, making her appear much younger than her actual age.

‘Being in a place like this, is she a child of the Ayakashi family?’

‘…’

‘Martina?’

Even though this was America, a time where all sorts of eccentricities ran rampant, this wasn’t a mixed-gender bath. As I pondered the identity of the girl who had approached me so casually, I suddenly realized I couldn’t communicate with Martina.

Was it because we were inside the Ayakashi headquarters?

Though I was concerned about Martina’s condition, I decided to try calling her again later, given the girl in front of me was staring at me with such an unnerving intensity, completely devoid of manners.

“Are you interested in other people’s bodies?”

If, as I suspected, the girl was a child of one of Ayakashi’s rulers, then my words, coming from a forcibly invited guest, would be taken as extremely rude. But so what?

Martina had hinted that this “Zabudong” (which I still didn’t understand) was very important to Ayakashi, and given that they hadn’t brought me here dismembered, I was confident this level of impudence was acceptable.

“Hmph… So that’s how you respond. I was concerned you didn’t seem relaxed, even after reaching the highest place, but it’s all in vain.”

As she spoke, the girl’s seductive eyes curved further, and she chuckled, seemingly amused.

Then, she waved her hand from left to right in the air, and a holographic display, which made the three outer walls of the grand hot spring feel as if they were rapidly closing in on the central bath, projected a panoramic view of Eclipse Point.

The Upper City: immaculately clean streets, a controlled atmosphere, ultra-expensive limousines, hypercars, and AVs driving casually, even the air was pristine.

The Lower City: a slummy area overflowing with vermin-like masses of people, their lives seemingly hidden in dazzling chaos, yet not concealed by the jumbled neon lights.

The Outskirts: abandoned by everyone after numerous conflicts, where only rats rummaged through discarded trash to survive.

“Look at this. Right now, can you not sit in the bath and look down upon everything in the hottest city on this planet?”

The panorama, seemingly receiving data from Eclipse Point’s ultra-high-altitude satellites and surveillance cameras throughout the city, displayed even graphic scenes.

Scavengers exchanged bullets over valuable cyberware, a chrome psycho grabbed and ripped off a store clerk’s head, and a wealthy individual chose a sex-specific chrome implant from a catalog as if making a major corporate decision, all to satisfy their perverse tastes.

The girl watched these scenes from beside me, a faint smile on her face.

“Such sordid sights. What do you think?”

“About what?”

“They and we are separate. They believe they lead desperate, struggling lives. Yet they fail to consider those who voyeuristically consume them from the highest places.”

A brief silence followed her words.

Somehow, it felt like she was implying, ‘You were like them too.’

“You…”

“Hmph~ Oh dear… Did I make you angry? Please don’t be too cross. I didn’t mean it that way.”

The girl, seemingly greatly amused, chuckled and smiled even under my pointed gaze, waving her hand to dismiss the holographic display back to the outer wall.

“Humans, whether lacking or abundant, possess an innate desire to ascend, do they not? You… John Doe, no, Dojun, was it?”

“…How do you know?”

“If you bear the Ayakashi name, information is shared from all directions. Regardless of whether one wishes to hear it or not.”

“My real name is Jun, that’s correct. Actually, it doesn’t really matter what you call me.”

So, the girl’s true identity was indeed an Ayakashi scion.

“Anyway, to continue what I was saying… Is this not the pinnacle of such innate human desires? In this moment, there is no ‘above’ for you, so I merely inquired about your feelings.”

“That’s a funny thing to say… It’s not like I’m sitting in the chairman’s seat of Ayakashi or Xenotech. Plus, there’s physically another floor above us.”

When I raised my finger and pointed to the ceiling above the hot spring, the girl was visibly trying to suppress her laughter, as if she was about to burst.

Had I, without realizing it, just delivered a killer stand-up comedy routine?

I couldn’t think of anything funny, so I stared at the girl with a strange look, and she, twitching the corners of her lips, edged even closer to me.

The girl’s body, her pale, milky-white skin slightly flushed from the bath’s temperature, as if it had rarely seen sunlight, somehow looked delicious.

“Hmm?”

As she drew closer, to the point where our shoulders would touch with even a slight ripple in the water, I could finally see the faint, translucent, milky-white hot spring water within.

I had thought she must be wearing a towel to cover herself, allowing her to approach so casually, but my assumption was not just slightly off, it was completely wrong.

Far from wearing anything, she was comfortably lying on the hot spring’s rocks in her natural state, her softly curving spine and peach-like bottom, which looked incredibly smooth, gently floating above the water.

“So you came to meet the Ayakashi’s master, didn’t you? They would have thrown you into the bath, claiming ritual purification was necessary for an audience… How frivolous of them.”

“Uh… yeah. That’s right.”

Her utterly defenseless appearance, almost as if she were trying to seduce me, made me involuntarily dart my eyes around.

Actually, I just looked for about 3 seconds.

Perhaps it’s because she’s well-maintained, but her form is indeed very well-proportioned.

“Once you leave the bath, I shall personally guide you.”

“I…?”

Another pronoun I’d never heard or seen before.

“Well… whoever it is, it doesn’t matter. So, what’s your name?”

“Ah. Indeed, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? What’s there to hide? I am a woman named Ayakashi Hiko.”

Ayakashi Hiko.

With the girl introducing herself as such, I tried to recall her name from the Ayakashi owner family’s genealogy, but I couldn’t remember it.

There were quite a few people, both direct and collateral lines, and what reason would a mere former businessman, now a mercenary, who had no dealings with megacorps, have to memorize the megacorp owners’ family?

As if reading my expression, Hiko waved her hand as if to say, “Don’t bother.”

“You wouldn’t find the name Ayakashi Hiko anywhere. More than that, sitting in the bath for so long makes my head spin. Let us leave now.”

“Shall we?”

Splash.

Water, lifted by Hiko’s movement as she rose from the hot spring, fell back down under gravity like a waterfall.

And naturally, Hiko’s completely unclad body was revealed without any concealment.

“Hmm.”

Thanks to that, my half-aroused partner sprang fully to attention.

“Why do you not rise? Ah, the bath is indeed pleasant, isn’t it? I, too, always feel a lingering regret when leaving the bath, and often pause my steps several times.”

“Uh… yeah. That’s right. The bath is good.”