Chapter 42

Hmm... Even though it's my long-awaited day off, I still feel drained... I can't get off Delamain's lap...

"My legs and hips are totally worn out... I can’t move anymore..." I’d been lazing around on the tatami mat all the way until sunset.

Setting up an office on the second floor of the clinic to give Jackie and the others a place to hang out really was the right move.

Thanks to that whole Biotechnica incident, my name got spread all over among the public, and now the ripperdoc business is in full overload. Having a place to escape to has been a huge help.

Everyone and their dog shows up wanting me to treat them just because they have a vague idea it might be worth it, so we’re packed to the brim every single day. Even gangs other than the Tyger Claws started showing up. It turned into complete chaos, but I managed to handle it somehow.

『Shall I clean your ears, Jug? A search for “refresh” returned ASMR-style ear cleaning as a top result』

"Hmm... Yeah, go for it."

『Understood. Switching to high-performance precision ear-cleaning parts. Now then, if you'll excuse me～...』

"I don't know which ASMR you based this on, but you don't need to drag it out. Just do it your usual way."

『...Fufufu. To ask an AI to be individualistic—Jug, you really are a machine-charmer, aren't you』

Aah~ Delamain’s ear cleaning really hits the spot.

I guess this is what they call the price of fame—just going outside gets you stared at nonstop, and you end up with stalker-types tailing you. It’s exhausting.

Even so, Delamain really has settled in nicely.

When it’s just the two of us like this, they switch their voice back to the old setting and their tone softens, too.

You can’t seriously tell me this is a robot without emotions. That’d be absurd.

...No, if we’re being logical, then of course machines developing emotions is impossible—it’s just imitation. That’s what common sense says.

Haaah... Still, I’ve finally secured a space where I can relax properly.

Once I had V host Johnny and guided them toward chasing the 《Relic》, things should follow the original storyline from there.

Thanks to backing 《Machine Dragon》 on a whim, the Takemura route is gone, but the flow toward Judy, Panam, and Rogue shouldn’t change.

...At least, that’s what I desperately hope.

I want to see a moving, legendary tale where V and David crush Arasaka while still alive. I’m not looking to personally crush Arasaka with a flick of my finger—that’d be completely off-script.

After that Azure case, I realized Uncle Adam’s the kind of merc who’ll take on a job if you slap him with enough cash. If I really wanted to, I could pry him off the Tower, sic him on 《Machine Dragon》, and lead the Delamains myself to turn Arasaka into a dirty fireworks show—but that’s not what I’m aiming for.

"But still... What should I do with David and the others... I’ve been tossing them at the 《Machine Dragon》 cases from Arasaka, but not giving them any screentime feels off too..."

Honestly, the original V managed all that practically solo and still got those results. In this world, I’ve got three Vs. That’s way too much firepower.

Still, just letting them sit around is no good either. That’s poor form for a fixer.

So I’ve been half-supporting them into creation, then pulling the support for some random reason to nerf them a bit and toss them as fodder to 《Edgerunners》—but who knows how long 《Machine Dragon》 will last.

『Fuu~... All right, now please turn the other way. ...By the way, is it really fine to use 《Machine Dragon》 for the livestock smuggling operation? If you’re directing 《Edgerunners》 toward Arasaka jobs, won’t that delay progress?』

"Oh, that? Right, I kinda forgot about that."

『Wasn’t part of the Food Factory converted into a livestock space for that very purpose...? If you leave Night City, I’ll be out of command range, so negotiating abroad becomes quite difficult』

"It’s fine, it’s fine. That’s exactly why I cut their support. I’ll send them a job to handle the smuggling and trade it for resources. Once I’ve got a base stock for breeding, it’ll just multiply. Gotta ditch toys we don’t need, right?"

『...Just saying, people’s lives should be valued. Especially now that you’re a well-known figure in Night City, any damaging scandal is best avoided, don’t you think?』

".........Yeah, you’re right. It was necessary at the time, but thinking back, going on that program wasn’t worth it. I should’ve just crushed Biotechnica normally."

Using it to promote “Delamain Medical Services,” a clinic that was obviously gonna succeed, made sense in the short-term—but if Biotechnica vanished, I’d monopolize the market anyway. So it was a wasted move.

Well, at least I managed to curry favor with Sasha, who only appears in the music video, and cleared the Delamain taxi company's bad reputation, so in the end, I guess it’s a net positive.

"Aah~... I wanna eat real meat already. Not that bug-based stuff—I'm talking beef, pork, chicken. I want barbecue... Fish is okay, I guess—the waters near Japan are still low on pollution and within edible levels, but import costs are nuts... Maybe I should build a tank and raise some here too."

『Are you planning to supply all of Night City with food?』

"Nah, just me and my close ones. Let Night City eat bugs like they already are. No need to rock the boat."

『Is worm meat really that unpopular? Nutritionally, it scores pretty close to natural meat, you know』

"...I just don’t wanna eat bugs. It’s a visceral thing. Think about it, Delamain. Would you wanna drink rusty water instead of oil?"

『Um, I’m an AI, not a robot, so...』

"Oh yeah, that’s true. Hmm... Well, see, humans have a food tier system. Like: ‘Delicious,’ ‘Not as good as delicious, but still tasty,’ ‘Pretty average,’ ‘Edible but not something you’d choose,’ ‘You don’t want to eat it but you eat it because you have to,’ and ‘Inedible.’ That makes six levels. Bug powder ranks at a 2 for me."

『Hmm, if the issue is appearance, that can be managed somehow, but if the ingredient itself is the problem, that’s tough. I’ll send a request to 《Machine Dragon》 later』

"Appreciate it. ...Aren’t you working a bit too much lately? Make sure to take a break, yeah?"

After finishing both ears, Delamain elegantly blew the tip of the bamboo ear pick clean and sighed. Real dexterous, that one.

Ah, right. Delamain’s currently operating in my 《Megacon》 system now, so their processing power is on another level entirely.

They ran a self-analysis and split their personality into ten total personas: the original eight from the source, plus the Delamain inside 《Megacon》 with matching authority and a new one twisted with quirks aimed specifically at me.

According to Delamain, the eight original personas formed after they captured rogue AIs from beyond the Blackwall and absorbed them like some kind of digital macrophage. Apparently, they ended up with those extra personalities without even noticing.

Their guess was that they ate up discarded data and used that to build limited emotional routines as a form of self-repair.

It was rare to hear such a vague theory from Delamain. I remember cracking a wry smile at that.

...When they started calling me things like Mother Dearest, Mommy, Mama, Okaa-san, Okkā, Haha-ue, Mother-sama, or Mom... I was genuinely flustered.

I’ve never given birth to you lot, you know. Still got the membrane, and I don’t recall doing that.

My favorite maid butler was flailing and blushing all over the place in full-on panic mode. It was heartwarming.

But now I know how you see me, you little cutie.

Probably like that thing where kids call their female teacher “Mom” by mistake. Being the considerate guy I am, I played along—and then the eight personas started calling me “Master Jugra” or “Jugra-san” instead.

『...Hm. Jug, were there any appointments scheduled for today?』

"Nope, none... Did someone show up?"

『Yes, David is here now』

"David, huh? Let him in. Something must’ve happened, probably."

『……Jug, you’re oddly lenient with David. Is it because you’ve known him longer than the other 《Edgerunners》?』

"Hmm...? You think so? Well, he’s kinda like one of my victims, and I use him for various things from time to time. He never complains and just says yes right away, so he’s really dependable."

『……I see. Understood. I will unlock the entrance.』

Delamain stopped giving me a lap pillow and slid their hand under my arm, helping me sit upright in my usual spot by the chabudai.

Judging from their outfit, this Delamain is both a butler and a maid—they have a straightforward desire to serve, and they want to act the part of a proper attendant based on the knowledge they've gathered.

It’s kind of endearing how much emotion—personality, even—they’ve developed.

As the heavy entrance unlocked multiple bolts and slowly opened, David stepped inside looking tense, like something was weighing on him.

Maybe he’d already finished his job—he was dressed casually and clean, like he’d just taken a bath.

"Yo, good work, David. Looks like the job went well."

"Ah, yeah. Only the execs in 《Militech》 have high-end cyberware, so there was no trouble with the grunts."

"That so? That’s good to hear."

"And... you’d be worried if I didn’t make it back, right? I was kinda shocked when you wrapped a bandage around me just for a scrape..."

"Ah, ahh... back then I was sleep-deprived and emotionally unstable ‘cause of the Vitt thing... Just forget it, it’s embarrassing."

"Right... So, uh... Jug, you’re off today, right? So, um... wanna go out for a bit? Blow off some steam?"

"...Hmm? I don’t mind, but... what about Rebecca and the others?"

"I wanna go with you, Jug. They’re not part of this."

"O-oh, I-I see..."

Hmm. David’s really shaken off that childish vibe—he’s grown into quite the man.

The strength in his voice and the way he looked at me made me feel a bit shy.

Honestly, I’ve always thought—this guy’s way too in love with me.

Because of that, he doesn’t seem to be making progress with either Rebecca or Lucy, who he clearly likes.

It’s like he’s crushing on a non-romanceable character in a dating sim.

...But, well, I’ve been showing a pretty pitiful side lately, so I guess he’s worried about me.

"Alright. Let’s go out. I’ve been stuck indoors too long anyway. You’re okay with escorting me, right?"

"Y-yeah! Leave it to me—I looked up all kinds of fun stuff we could do!"

"Alright then, I’ll be heading out for a bit. As for dinner... what should we do?"

"I’ve got that covered. It’s a place Dorio recommended."

"I see. Then no need to prepare dinner. I’m counting on you to hold down the fort, Delamain."

『……There are many, many things I’d like to say, but understood. Please enjoy yourselves, Master Jug.』

As Delamain pouted like they’d bitten into something bitter and reluctantly agreed, I let out a wry smile and stepped outside with David for the first time in a while. It was dusk.

...It was a sunset just like this when I first met David, I thought sentimentally.

In front of the building sat a black-painted Quadra with a lime-green racing stripe looking sharp and stylish.

"Hey, that’s a cool ride. The lime-green line is a nice touch."

"Hehe, I just bought it recently. Took it out for a solo break-in run, so no one’s sat in the passenger seat yet... I, uh, was kinda hoping the first person would be you, Jug."

"O-oh, that’s an honor... thanks."

He blushed with such a bashfully innocent face that it made me feel all ticklish inside. Damn it, seriously...

I got into the passenger seat and fastened the seatbelt. There was a faint nostalgic scent.

This is... citrus? When I looked, I saw a yuzu-shaped air freshener clipped to the air vent.

"So, where are you taking me?"

"I got the tip from Main—apparently there’s a place where you can watch a movie from inside the car. A drive-in theater. It’s the only one still running, and I thought it sounded fun."

"...Ahh, David? You didn’t actually check the info on that place, did you? It shut down a while ago, and now it’s just a hookup spot where people use the movie as background noise for car sex."

David turned to look at me like a creaky gear, his face burning bright red. Yep—Main totally set him up.

Even if he didn’t know it was shut down, no way anyone could get in the mood to watch a movie there—with all the vivid 'secondary audio' going on.

"Okay, next."

"P-Pilar said there’s a place called the No-Tell Motel with a nice atmosphere... but from your reaction, I guess that one’s out too..."

"That’s what you’d call a love hotel. Cheaper than an actual hotel, but the facilities are bare-bones—basically aimed at young people, or used for affairs... or as crime scenes, like for murders."

"Those bastards...!! …Wait, murder scenes!? Man, those guys are hopeless. Alright, next is Sasha’s recommendation. A Chinese joint in Little China called Sodom—she even told me about the secret menu… You’re kidding, this one too?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. There’s a dollhouse called Gomorrah nearby, and the two places are connected behind the scenes. That place serves dishes laced with aphrodisiacs. On the surface it’s just a regular Chinese restaurant, but the secret menu is full of those dishes. Supposedly, your body stays hot for days afterward. Then, you stumble out carrying all that pent-up lust, and what’s right in front of you? A brothel. Smart business model. And since it’s on the secret menu, it’s all on the customer."

"...Dorio suggested El Coyote Cojo, says it’s a hidden gem of a bar and the tamales are amazing, but... wh-what about that one?"

"Well, if anything’s a hit, it’s that. But... didn’t you know? That’s Jackie’s family’s place."

"...Running into them after a gig would be super awkward. Leaving Dorio aside, w-what do those guys even think I’m trying to do...?!"

David slumped forward, forehead thunking against the steering wheel, his eyes spinning—he was clearly at his limit.

...Yeah, they must’ve recommended all that assuming he was taking Rebecca or Lucy out.

Main and Pilar were just blunt about it, but Sasha straight-up set an erotic trap—guess they were all getting pretty impatient with him.

At least Dorio tried to be decent. Seems like she actually gets how women think—something I clearly don’t.

I felt a little bad for David, having all his destinations wiped out before we’d even left, but honestly... I couldn’t stop laughing.

"...In that case, there’s a place I know that’s going to turn into something pretty interesting. How about we go there?"

"...Where?"

I gave David a mischievous, Cheshire Cat-like grin and told him the spot.

"The old Biotechnica Flats. Currently the underground facility of the Delamain Food Factory. Right now, only me and Delamain know about it. I’ll show it just to you—something truly romantic."

I manually punched in a route on the GPS heading for the southern Badlands, and gave David a sharp grin.

He blinked, stunned for a few seconds, then grinned back and started up the Quadra.

...Guess he really is a serious guy deep down—his driving’s as careful as ever, I thought as I watched the passing night scenery.