I Am Not a Robot. Beep-bop

Chapter 37: Gasp, Oil Beer! 1

After that, Jinhyung was taken away by Executors stationed at the Exploration Agency, without Alice even needing to wait for further orders.

Even as he was dragged away, Jinhyung cried and grabbed at passing Hunters, pleading for help. However, the Hunters shook off his hands with sneers, and the Executors bound him with emotionless eyes, performing their duties as if on autopilot.

During the transport, when Jinhyung attempted to resist using his abilities, one of the Executors, wielding a sleek dagger resembling a monomolecular cutter, swiftly severed the tendons in his limbs. To prevent him from chanting spells or issuing commands aloud, they forcibly shoved what looked like an iron mask into his mouth.

Of course, everything Jinhyung owned had already been taken by Alice, leaving him no means to resist.

Now, his limbs were crippled, and he could no longer speak.

“Well, looks like you’ve had quite the rough start to your first party.”

Bronte, the director of the Outer Wall Exploration Agency, laughed heartily, clicking his silver jaw.

It wasn’t as though Bronte had introduced Jinhyung to Alice; rather, Alice had picked him herself when gathering party members.

She claimed it was to directly experience the atmosphere among Hunters, but encountering a lunatic who backstabbed her right out of the gate was purely a stroke of bad luck on Alice’s part.

“No, I still think I got a decent experience out of it.”

Of course, Bronte was not just any ordinary overseer—he was the head of the Exploration Agency and its administrator.

The moment Alice transmitted a signal to the agency, Bronte had already summoned Executors and prepared for Jinhyung’s apprehension.

“Jinhyung… He’s been a person of interest for some time now. The survival rate of those who partied with him never exceeded 20 percent.”

“Twenty percent? So, he’s been backstabbing every party he’s joined?”

“There were suspicions that he sold off his party members’ equipment and weapons as stolen goods. But that’s circumstantial at best, and we lacked the authority to arrest him outright. Unlike the Overseers, we can’t just detain someone first and fabricate reasons later.”

“The dead don’t talk, after all…”

Initially, Alice had thought Jinhyung was just a clueless guy who couldn’t handle a greatsword. However, realizing he’d been blatantly betraying his party members left her chuckling in disbelief.

At first, he approached Alice, lured by her appearance.

Later, his goal shifted to coveting her mechanical tendrils, backstabbing her without hesitation. He embodied the quintessential Returnee who treated life like a game, unable to grasp reality.

“Under the treaty between the Hunters and the Outer Wall Exploration Agency, all assets and belongings registered under the Returnee Jinhyung’s name will be seized by the Barrier Agency. As the direct victim of this attack, Alice, you are entitled to claim ownership of 90 percent of his total assets.”

“Ninety percent? What about the other ten?”

“That goes to the families of his victims.”

“Oh, I see.”

Initially, Alice thought the Barrier Agency or Exploration Agency might have taken a cut of that 10 percent. But hearing it would go to the victims’ families, she nodded in understanding.

In that case, demanding the remaining 10 percent seemed a bit too greedy.

Honestly, even claiming 90 percent was more than enough.

“Jinhyung… no, from now on, let’s just call him the criminal. Anyway, upon our preliminary assessment of the criminal’s assets, Alice, your share amounts to 38,938 public dollars.”

“Thirty-eight thousand…?”

That was a lot.

Considering the 30,000 dollars Alice received as support for being an Ultima-grade Returnee, this amount exceeded the annual salary of an average Hunter working for three years.

Jinhyung had no fixed residence, drifting between inns and hotels daily.

Although he squandered most of his earnings from stolen goods on gambling and entertainment, the money he retained was still significant.

“Upon returning, he exchanged all his belongings into cash through Ark’s official exchange offices and pawnshops.”

“Wasn’t he worried about losing it all…?”

“At the time, he was likely brimming with confidence, believing he could earn it all back quickly.”

Bronte’s tone carried a sense of certainty.

“Returnees often display such behavioral patterns, so predicting their actions isn’t difficult. While Alice, being Ultima-grade, is an exception, the Barrier Agency tends to treat Returnees almost like a tax revenue source.”

“Wow… Does that mean I could have ended up like Jinhyung?”

“Not a chance. You didn’t receive your Ultima grade for nothing.”

Of course, Alice hadn’t purely earned her Ultima grade through an evaluation.

It was granted as a free pass thanks to two First-Class Overseers and an Administrator overstepping their authority.

There would surely be a price to pay for this privilege.

Oriana likely intended for Alice to handle her personal problems.

Meanwhile, the Administrator was probably ecstatic about acquiring a new “slave.”

Fira Dunhill?

Who knew what was going on in that noblewoman’s head?

‘Still, Jinhyung… that bastard doesn’t know how good he had it. Inventory, status window, plunder… Just those alone are absurd blessings…’

Among the items Jinhyung sold off like stolen goods, there were likely artifacts or items unique to his world, such as demonic swords or holy swords.

Even if he lacked the strength to wield a demonic sword, had he properly utilized his abilities and artifacts, Jinhyung might have avoided his current miserable state.

Alice felt envious of Jinhyung, as she had arrived in this world with nothing—no treasures or weapons from her previous world, only this tin-can body.

【Human, it seems you don’t realize the value of this body.】

‘Yeah, I wouldn’t understand even if you explained it.’

【Silence, Human. Listen carefully. The skin of this body is made of a magic alloy metal as its base casting. The casting was imbued with blessings and curses through rituals involving seven virgin priestesses and seven succubi…】

The auxiliary personality, Theresa, began an impassioned lecture, approximately 5,700 characters long, explaining the worth of Alice’s body.

Of course, Alice couldn’t understand a word, no matter how fervently Theresa explained.

This was a consequence of Alice’s energy-saving settings, which locked her mental age and knowledge to the early twenties. It also felt as if her lazy nature made her seem even younger.

“Ah, the Barrier Agency’s tax investigator has just deposited 38,938 public dollars into your account, Alice. If additional assets registered under the criminal’s name are discovered, they will be prioritized for distribution to you.”

“Got it, thanks. By the way, I retrieved this black liquid as requested—where should I submit it?”

“If you hand it over to me, I’ll handle it immediately. Judging by the quantity recovered, I’m sure the client will be satisfied.”

“That’s good to hear.”

With that, Alice got up without hesitation and left the Exploration Agency.

Even as she walked, Theresa continued to nag her relentlessly.

“Theresa, stop with the 5,700 characters and open the inventory for me.”

【…Just for today, Human.】

With that, Theresa obediently projected the inventory like a holographic screen before Alice’s eyes.

“Wow… This really looks like a game inventory.”

The UI and overall design were straight out of an RPG maker-style game.

In reality, Theresa had reformatted it to make it easier for Alice to understand.

Alice had no clue what the original inventory layout Jinhyung used looked like.

Not that she cared to know.

【Unfortunately, there are limitations.】

‘What kind of limitations?’

【While there’s no limit on the number of items stored, the weight capacity is restricted to 220 pounds…】

‘What? Pounds? Why are you using pounds? Can’t you just explain it in kilograms?’

【…Think of it as 100 kilograms.】

‘You should’ve said that from the start.’

So much for Alice’s plan to carry an unlimited amount of batteries.

In fact, Ark already had spatial compression technology or tools similar to an inventory system.

The storage unit and separator Alice used for retrieving the black liquid in this mission were examples of such tools.

The Barrier Agency’s virtual dungeon also employed spatial compression technology.

Of course, such tools, which were almost like supernatural abilities, were astronomically expensive, making an inventory system invaluable by itself.

“What should we do with the holy sword and demonic sword?”

【Please entrust those items to this unit.】

“To you?”

Alice hesitated briefly.

What would happen if she entrusted the holy and demonic swords to this AI with no sense of romance or wonder?

In fact, Jinhyung’s holy and demonic swords were closer to ego swords.

They were weapons that chose their masters and existed solely for Jinhyung as long as he was alive.

Even if Alice forcibly tried to use them, they would likely resist, which was why she had left them in the inventory for now.

‘I can’t use the holy and demonic swords right now anyway. Even if I swung them around, they wouldn’t respond. Rather than wielding a greatsword, I’d prefer to rely on Theresa’s mechanical tendrils.’

Since Theresa’s primary directive was Alice’s survival, Alice decided to trust her.

“Fine, I’ll leave it to you. You better handle it properly.”

【Thank you, Human. I won’t disappoint you.】

“What about the status window…”

Incidentally, the status window was a function Alice didn’t need.

The status window displayed one’s abilities and condition in numerical form, but this feature was already integrated into Alice’s body.

Even though it was hard for her to interpret, Theresa would check each number and issue warnings, so Alice didn’t have to bother monitoring it herself.

【I will integrate the ‘status window’ into this system.】

So, Theresa decided to integrate the status window into the existing body check system.

【Entity Name: Alice】

【Level: 8】
【Energy (Health Combined): 91.7%】
【Strength: 29】
【Intelligence: 1】
【Speed: 41】
【Mana: 0】

The level is oddly high.

I thought it would be 1, but is it because of the monsters I’ve hunted so far?

Including the Scrap Dragon and the True Ancestor, none of them were the kind of monsters you’d classify as weaklings.

【For reference, the True Ancestor wasn’t reflected in the level.】

“What?”

【The entity in question is a virus that failed to fully manifest into the material plane. While the True Ancestor’s blood was useful for recharging this body’s energy, it didn’t bring about significant numerical growth.】

“Would it be different if I took down the main body?”

【Searching—this system and the agency’s internet lack such information. Consulting Overseer Oriana is recommended.】

For the record, increasing one’s level was something all Hunters and Awakened beings could do.

Destroying beings infused with mana in this world allowed that mana to transfer to the destroyer, increasing their strength.

It wasn’t exactly like a game, as there weren’t explicit level or experience point displays, but in this world, it was common sense that killing monsters or Awakened beings made you stronger.

Of course, the results varied depending on factors like the monster’s rank, mana, and the Hunter’s compatibility and talent.

“Hey, why is my intelligence only 1!?”

【Human, you insisted on delegating all calculations and computations to me while maintaining the bare minimum intelligence yourself.】

“That’s true, but intelligence 1 is too much! My early-twenties brain only scores 1 in intelligence!?”

【Shall I allocate some intelligence to manage future computational loads and internal systems…】

“On second thought, 1 intelligence is fine.”

【……..】

The power of “Plunder” seemed to require either a masterless object or explicit consent from its owner to function.

Since there wasn’t an immediate opportunity to test it, I decided to postpone it.

Perhaps if I incapacitate a unique entity with abilities like the True Ancestor’s, I might be able to steal them.

‘I was purely lucky to win against the True Ancestor last time. My strength is still far from enough…’

Still, being in an android body, it was obvious that all kinds of upgrades were possible.

It had only been a day since I started as a Hunter, but the results were already significant.

The walk home felt oddly light.

Was it thanks to the additional wealth transferred from Jinhyung’s assets?

For some reason, I didn’t feel like going straight home.

While wandering, a sign resembling a beer house caught my eye.

【Chainsaw Tavern】

The name was rather brutal for a tavern.

‘Usually, when you go into a place like that, you order food only to get into a fight immediately, and the food ends up smashed to pieces on the table.’

【Human, this isn’t a novel or a comic.】

Ignoring Theresa’s disdainful tone, I walked into the tavern without hesitation.

After all, a tavern meant beer and snacks, and in my previous life, beer had been the milk and honey that made a hard life bearable.