Chapter 455: Lucky Me.

[Old hag…] After comforting the crying Marie, Dante turned to Nobara. [Sorry for-]

“You better be.” She cut him off, the corners of her mouth dropping. “Damn brat. Making us worry so much.”

[I meant… the shop…]

“Oh, that? Don’t worry about it. I will get it up and running by next week.”

[Is… is that so…]

The Bowl of Fortune was an old shop that had been around for ages. The old cook started it way back when she first moved to the city. It was the place where she had raised her daughter and granddaughter. Though she might not look like it, Dante was sure that loss pained her greatly.

[Even so… I’m sorry…]

“Just hurry up, get back on your feet.” Sighing, Nobara patted Marie’s back. “Come, Marie. Let’s leave this idiot to rest.”

The little girl glanced at the cook, then at him. She was just done crying her eyes out, so they were still red. Dante asked Volcan to give her a pat on the head, stopping more tears from flowing. She took the hand Nobara extended to her, and the two turned around to leave.

Left alone, Dante thought for a moment, then asked Volcan to share the android’s visual feed with him. Getting a look at himself gave him a much better grasp of his current state. He was wrapped from head to toe in bandages, with tubes and cords pierced into every part of his body. He was hooked up to a dozen machines and held in place with straps, looking more like a corpse than a living being.

[Guess doc had to really open me up, huh?]

“That’s what we heard.”

The android turned, and Dante got a look at the two who had just entered.

[Well, lucky me.] He tried and failed to smile. [Being visited by such beauties. Maybe I should get hospitalized more often.]

“This might turn out to be the last one.”

Suzuka said as she settled by the side of his bed. Though she seemed to have taken care of her appearance, there was no hiding the exhaustion in her eyes. Kizuna was there as well. She stared at him, then at the android. Turning her gaze back to him, a mocking grin spread on her face.

“Who’s the clanker now?”

Dante felt his face twitch.

“Kizuna?”

“Sorry.”

Letting out a sigh, Suzuka turned to him.

“Sorry,” She bowed her head.

[What are you apologizing for?] Dante asked.

“A lot of things. But first… sorry for forcing you to wear the suits that often. I… didn’t know it would…”

[Hey now, it’s all good. Besides, pretty sure most of the damage came from the Level 6 armor anyway.]

“But…”

[Besides, I planned on going full cyborg to begin with. This just means I will be pushing things forward a little.]

Suzuka seemed to feel quite a bit guilty for what happened. Dante guessed it had more to do with the other reason she was there, but he wasn’t ready to discuss that yet.

[Say, Suzuka.] He said, sounding completely unlike his serious self. [As you can see, I’m unable to move so… that debt I owe you…]

The girl frowned at him for a moment, as if asking what he was talking about.

“Oh, right. You can forget about it for the time being.” She shrugged.

[Does that mean I can go ahead and implant the MBIs?]

They had agreed that he wouldn’t until she got her ninety-two million, but as things are now, it might be a while before he could get back to gathering it.

“Yeah, sure. There is no point to begin with.” She shrugged again, and after a second, she gave him the side eye. “Since you would be almost an Ascended Cyborg by the end of it, we wouldn’t have to worry about the strain anymore, right?”

[… ah…]

Just when he thought he had played her, she turned around and stole the ball. In the end, forgetting about the debt worked in her favor as well.

“I would have liked to finish working on the frame, but…” Sighing, Suzuka shook her head. “We have a more pressing matter right now.”

[Right… ] There was no delaying the matter anymore. [Have you found anything?]

“I tracked him down to the fifth station here in Hollowgrid.” She said. “After that…”

Pressing the red button to keep his thoughts private, Dante turned to his resident AI.

’Mind looking into this for me?’

[I have already done so.] Volcan replied. [That is another thing you should know about. Back when you collapsed, I had to make a quick choice.]

Dante listened to the explanation. Dante’s eyes narrowed. He turned to Suzuka once more and made his thoughts audible.

[So you know about Volcan?]

“… yes…”

Having arrived just as his heart gave in, Suzuka thought that the obvious course of action would be to call in an ambulance and take him to some hospital. She was well aware of the problems that might cause, but at the time, it seemed like the only way to save his life.

Volcan chose to interfere at that time, contacting the blue-haired genius and giving her instructions on how to reach the Clinic. The reason he revealed his identity was to avoid wasting time on questions and ensure Suzuka’s corporation.

“I asked him to help with the search.” She said. “As you know, my Diving abilities are subpar in comparison.”

[Hold on… how long was I out of it?]

“Three days, more or less.”

[Damn…]

There wasn’t any rule that prevented Volcan from interacting with other people; he only avoided doing so to keep people from finding out about the relic. Dante would have liked to keep his existence a secret if he could, but it was a little too late at this point.

[Well, you can keep working on it until I recover.] Opening his Storage, Dante took out the remaining android. [Feel free to make use of these, too.]

Looking over the cloaked figures, Suzuka turned her gaze back to him, frowning a little.

[What?]

“Well, you just seem a bit… relaxed.”

[That’s what it looks like to you?]

“I thought you would be more worked up.” She said. “I mean, your little brother is missing.”

[I kinda have bigger problems right now.] Dante replied. [Besides, I’m sure he’s fine.]

Finn was Jaguar’s son. No matter how cruel the gang boss was, surely he wouldn’t outright kill his own son. He also seemed to have some use for the boy, going by the story Finn told a while back.

[Also, the brat is nothing to scoff at.]

When he first heard that he had gone missing, Dante panicked a bit, but that might have been due him the stress of the situation he had been in when he got Suzuka’s message. Ever since the accident, he hadn’t exactly been in the best state of mind.

[If he doesn’t show up by the time I’m back on my feet, I will go deal with what’s left of the Daggers myself.]

Dante wasn’t sure about the exact number, but once all of his organs were replaced, he knew he would be at the higher end of an Advanced Cyborg, or the lower end of an Ascended. That would greatly expand the limit he has on his armors, as well as the amount of risk he would take, and with that being the case, he would no longer have to hold back.

After discussing a few more things with the blue-haired genius, Larry came by to put an end to visitation times. Though he said the patient needed rest, he brought with him a list of bionics and opened another can of worms.

“These are the only ones I can get my hands on in the next few days.” Said the doctor. “You can swap them out later. Right now, you gotta make you.”

Dante went over the list and quickly understood what Larry was alluding to. Most of the available options weren’t anything to brag about. Most bionics could be considered miracles of medical technology, but not all could withstand the kind of stress he was going to put them through.

[I’m going to upgrade all of them anyway, so… Let’s go with this Ares Cybernetics for the heart.] He said. [As for the rest, Velticore would do for now.]

“Speaking of, you’re gonna need replacements for the Kidneys.” Said Larry.

[They broke?]

“Yeah. The lung still works just fine, but…”

Dante recalled that he never got the chance to upgrade those implants, which meant they suffered the strain from the armor without Volcan repairing the damage. Still, hearing that they barely held on longer than his normal organs discouraged him from going with the same brand.

[Well, no matter.] He said. [I will leave you with the MBI for now. They’re custom-made, so you should probably check them out before the surgery.]

“Right…

[As for your payment.]

“We can discuss that once you’ve recovered.” Said Larry. “I will make sure you don’t die before then.”

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