How to Live as an Immortal Chapter 27

Chapter 27

So That Was Where It Started

***

“Did you say you were the young master’s friend?”

“Yes.”

“Life really does throw surprises at you.”

The colleague of the man standing beside him laughed. It was not mockery, but rather a reaction as if it made no sense. At that point, I could not help but notice that the situation was taking a strange turn.

Soon, the man who elbowed his colleague in the side shook his head firmly.

“I do not know where you heard that na, but you should go back.”

“He is not here?”

“I cannot tell you that.”

An obstacle I had never anticipated.

I hurriedly sent a ssage to Dobby Howard, but there was no reply. Was he deliberately ignoring , or did he have his own reasons?

Almost at the sa ti I was lost in thought, a man approached from afar.

The man, who appeared with bodyguards in tow, glanced at and then covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. He scolded the guards.

“What is this? I thought I told you not to let stray dogs in.”

“I am sorry. It seems he ca to the wrong place.”

“Tsk, can they not even manage District 43.”

The man spat out his arrogant complaint and jerked his chin.

“Get rid of him.”

After issuing the dry order, he disappeared without waiting for a response. Then, as if taking turns with him, another man approached.

“As you heard, there will be no benefit to you staying here.”

The tone was polite, but the aning behind it was singular.

***

In the end, I had to return to the capsule hotel without even seeing Dobby Howard’s face. It was different from what I had imagined, but I did not dwell on it deeply. I could always ask him directly anyway.

Imdiately, I rented a Connector and logged into Lost Saga, heading straight for the guild house. If it was not a joke, he should have been waiting. But that expectation was also off the mark.

Just like the first ti I visited the mansion.

“Master? He has not logged in.”

“He has not logged in?”

At one guild mber’s words, I let out a low hum.

Those drawn by the topic appeared in an instant.

“Co to think of it, I was surprised when he suddenly disappeared. He logged out in the middle of a conversation.”

“It really was out of the blue.”

“Did sothing happen at ho?”

Since the founding of the Primal Guild, this had never happened before.

“If it were Master, he would probably show up as if nothing had happened.”

Everyone nodded in agreent, but I alone could not.

“More importantly, Shinsin, since you are here, want to run a raid together? We have one open slot.”

“Sorry, let’s do it next ti. I am a bit busy too.”

ParadiseMaker was soone who stayed logged in twenty-four hours a day. It was to the point that I wondered how he even lived his real life.

And yet he had been absent for nearly a full day?

Right after announcing that he would be taking on a request?

After logging out of Lost Saga, I sank into thought.

“This does not feel normal.”

The mansion itself was overwhelming from the start. It was obvious at a glance that he had grown up in an affluent environnt. The reason the Primal Guild had been able to grow so quickly was also because it had Dobby Howard’s backing.

That was why it raised even more questions.

With a re wave of his hand, he could have secured one or two fixers easily, yet he deliberately called on a connection he had t in Lost Saga.

It went without saying that there was an underlying story befitting such a choice.

Now it was ti to find out what that was.

***

I first t Dobby Howard five years ago, right after Lost Saga launched.

At the ti, there had been a large-scale advertising campaign, so saying that “my curiosity was piqued” was just a superficial reason.

The honest truth was that I thought selling items obtained in the ga for cash might help make a living.

The fact that guest accounts could be created freely, making access easy, was an added bonus.

It could be said to be a hobby born from an extrely materialistic mindset.

To soone like , Dobby Howard was an incomprehensible creature.

“You’re incredible.”

“You got this far with basic equipnt?”

“In theory it’s possible, but I’ve never seen anyone actually do it.”

True to the nickna ParadiseMaker, he was the type who pursued nothing but fun.

He was not soone who suited , soone who advocated thorough isolation.

But that did not last long either, once the chance encounter in a raid turned into an ongoing connection.

“Aren’t you lonely? Since you’re playing a ga anyway, doesn’t it an nothing if it isn’t fun?”

It was not that I had fallen for sweet talk.

I simply thought it was ridiculous to hide myself even in a virtual reality where anonymity was guaranteed.

That was the reason I joined the Primal Guild.

Even then, I did not think Dobby Howard would beco a close friend. After all, we had t while wearing masks. The idea that the distance between two people would shrink was a contradiction in terms.

“There’s no aning to it.”

So I did not hesitate to vent my complaints.

But Dobby Howard dismissed it with a single sentence.

“No, that’s exactly why it has aning. We don’t know where each other lives or how old we are, and that’s why we can show ourselves as we truly are. Here, regardless of gender or age, we’re just individual users.”

That bright, untainted smile he showed then still ca to mind even now.

“I think that’s the real charm of gas. It’s a place where everyone can enjoy themselves equally, no matter what situation they’re in. Don’t you think so too?”

He was shallow, but it was because of monts like this that I did not leave.

Just as Dobby Howard said, even I, who clearly rembered the Third World War, was nothing more than an ordinary user here.

“Judging superiority in etings between people isn’t a good habit, my friend.”

“Yeah.”

I woke from sleep as I answered reflexively, then stretched grandly.

Last night, I had been too busy gathering information to think straight. In situations like this, hiring a Diver was the standard approach, but my lack of funds was a lasting regret.

Fortunately, it was not as if there were no clues.

‘Dobby Howard.’

The na alone might not have been enough. After all, the Seed Colony had as many as one hundred million citizens.

However, if the person lived in District 43, the scope could be narrowed drastically.

Living in a wealthy district ant possessing considerable financial power, and whether through benevolence or malice, it also ant having accumulated influence.

Either way, it was impossible to escape the trappings of reputation.

As expected, I was able to find the origin of the word Howard online.

“No wonder it felt familiar.”

The owner of ‘Maximum Noise,’ the company that developed Lost Saga, was Koln Howard.

It was one of the major corporations with a long history alongside the Seed Colony, dating back to Year 1 of Pioneering Power.

Originally, it had been a telecommunications company when settlent first began.

It had only recently changed its line of business to ga developnt.

Which ant that Lost Saga was their first title.

Since it dealt with gas, it barely held any real political power, but it did not seem to be a company anyone dared to ignore. Perhaps the network of connections built since taking root on Mars still remained intact.

Even public opinion made that easy to infer.

On top of that, while looking into Maximum Noise, I found a familiar face.

Wavy brown hair.

Thin lips that matched sharply slit eyes.

It was the man who had barked at the guards to throw out of the mansion.

‘Allen Howard.’

If seeing that na did not imdiately bring Dobby to mind, one might as well have been blind.

What was strange was that only one of the two had a public record. Dobby was clearly a mber of the Howard family as well, yet there was no information about him at all.

The more I dug, the more it felt like I was sinking deeper into a labyrinth.

Still, now that I had absorbed all the background knowledge, it felt like I could finally take action.

***

After surveying District 43 thoroughly, I positioned myself on the outskirts of the road.

Perhaps because it was a place where people with much to lose gathered, the security was impeccable. Without special asures, it was a structure where getting caught was inevitable.

There were ways to force an entry, but if Dobby was truly absent, there was a high chance the situation would spiral out of control.

But what if there was soone inside willing to help?

Just then, soone I recognized was passing by.

An android with striking teal-colored hair.

“So you were interested in after all.”

“Calm down.”

eting her was exactly what I had aid for. Waiting around the sa ti as yesterday had been for that reason.

“The one I have business with is not you, but Dobby.”

“……”

“He is still at the mansion, right?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

She turned away sharply, but I did not give up and quietly took up a position beside the android.

‘You said it was a job.’

When I thought about it carefully, it was a peculiar choice of words.

In modern society, androids were closer to possessions.

Of course, since she was not a unit operated directly by the Colony, she would have been granted a certain degree of freedom, but that freedom was not unlimited.

And commuting to and from work?

That ant she had a residence sowhere and was even recognized as having private property.

“The guy I t yesterday did not look kind enough to show such excessive rcy.”

If it was not Allen, the only one who would show rcy to an android was Dobby. It was not difficult to predict. Given his personality, he would have treated an android equally as well.

“It was not him.”

“Then who was it?”

According to the Artificial Intelligence Restriction Act, most androids possessed intelligence comparable to humans. The differences lay in mory, concentration, and physical stamina.

Since they relied heavily on physical performance, it was possible to induce mistakes.

Just like this.

“It seems like you are ready to talk. Or am I the only one imagining that?”

***

“So, you are saying you are friends with young master Dobby? And you ca all the way here to take on a request?”

The android who introduced herself as Sera looked dumbfounded. It was not much different from the reaction of the guards who had been protecting the mansion.

“Why are you so surprised? Like a mother seeing her son, who has never made a single friend in his life, suddenly bringing ho a woman and saying he is getting married.”

“That is……”

I pressed her gently, but Sera’s lips would not part. It was not that she was unwilling to answer. It was likely because a restriction prevented her from divulging internal information carelessly.

Contracts were the only things that could bind humans, but androids were different. As long as one had the authority, commands could be updated at any ti.

However, it was not without loopholes.

“I saw it on the way here. Maximum Noise’s stock price is dropping. Interesting, isn’t it? Just a few days ago, Lost Saga rolled out a major update.”

A sudden change of topic.

At the seemingly irrelevant remark, Sera tilted her head, then—

“Because the chairman has been keeping a low profile.”

She gave an answer. Realizing what she had said, her eyes widened.

But I rely smiled faintly. The fact that Koln’s whereabouts had been unclear recently was sothing even the dia had reported on. In other words, it could hardly be called internal information.

Still, she had been the one to bring it up first.

That ant there was a connection, one way or another.

“So that is where it started.”

I scratched my chin and continued the conversation.

“That must be around the ti Allen’s behavior changed too. Is Allen detaining Dobby right now?”

“Even if you ask, there is nothing I can tell you.”

“I figured. That is sothing I will have to find out myself.”