Chapter 198 - Chapter 198: Who Is This Guy?

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As Chiyome stared blankly at the phone, and Kenichiro glared at Karl, the tense atmosphere was suddenly broken by Hanako's voice.

"Chiyome, can you hear me?"

That gentle voice snapped Chiyome out of her daze almost instantly. Her mind didn't even stop to consider whether this was a trap—like a prerecorded message. Instead, she sprang forward and scooped up the phone with both hands in a near-pouncing motion.

"Miss Hanako, I'm here."

"Oh good, you can hear me. I was worried the signal might have been disrupted."

Hanako's voice on the other end carried a soft smile. "It's been a while since we last talked, hasn't it, Chiyome? Hearing your voice again makes me really happy."

"Miss…"

Chiyome's voice trembled as her visor mask quivered along with it. The involuntary rush of emotion was overwhelming, and she almost choked up mid-sentence—but she forced herself to regain composure and answered in her usual calm tone: "Yes, it has been quite a while. To be precise, it's been nine months, four days, and three hours."

"Wow, you're still as good with time as ever."

Hanako's praise made Chiyome unconsciously straighten up, despite her injured waist and abdomen. "That's because you often used to ask me what time it was, Miss. I could never forget that."

"Then tell me, how long has it been since you last saw Mr. Kenichiro?"

Chiyome hesitated at that question, then glanced over at Kenichiro before replying: "Also nine months, four days, and three hours."

"Well, since it's been so long, how about you don't make your reunion with him so violent? Can you forgive Mr. Kenichiro?"

"Miss, this man's negligence is what caused you to get hurt…"

Chiyome's resentment toward Kenichiro hadn't faded in the slightest.

To her, it wasn't just that a fellow comrade had failed in their duties.

Kenichiro had once been a revered master in her eyes—every word he spoke had been gospel. But for such a man to fail at fulfilling his own sworn duty to protect... How could she possibly forgive the betrayal of those principles she had once believed in so devoutly?

If she hadn't been interrupted by Hanako's call—or if it had come just a few seconds later—Chiyome had been prepared to use certain last-resort methods to take Kenichiro down with her.

Now that she had time to think, she realized just how reckless she had been. If she'd died with this disgrace of a man, Hanako would have been left unprotected. She'd have to find a more strategic time to kill him later.

Someone like him staying near Miss Hanako would definitely lead to disaster one day.

While Chiyome's mind spiraled with all kinds of anti-Kenichiro schemes, on the other end of the line, Hanako was thinking as well.

After a moment, her voice returned.

"Since you're unhappy with Mr. Kenichiro… then, Chiyome, would you like to come to my side?"

"Miss!"

As soon as Hanako said those words, Kenichiro no longer had the time to glare at Karl. He quickly turned his head and tried to stop Hanako's suggestion. "Someone like her, whose skills are still lacking, how could she possibly—"

"I can?!" Chiyome exclaimed, clutching the phone in both hands, visibly emotional. She had thought she would at least need to take out that disgrace of a man before even having a shot at this. Protecting Lady Hanako—that was her true goal, the thing she had always longed for.

"Of course. In fact, I'd very much welcome you to my side, Chiyome. Right now, I really need more strength," Hanako replied gently.

"In that case, I'll need to inform my mother first. I'm going to hang up for now. Chiyome, if you're able, come with Kenichiro tonight so we can handle your access codes and formal role transfer."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Lady Hanako…"

No matter how unwilling Kenichiro was, once Hanako had made her decision, he couldn't say anything to contradict it. All he could do was stand there and watch as his increasingly unpredictable disciple was now being welcomed to remain by Lady Hanako's side. He couldn't help but shoot Karl another withering glare—for being the one to stir all this up by involving Hanako in the first place.

If he hadn't taken it upon himself to message her, none of this would've happened. He could've simply scolded his undisciplined student and sent her back to take her punishment. Simple and clean.

But Karl, completely unfazed by Kenichiro's glare, looked like he didn't even notice it. After all, Kenichiro always looked at him like that—he was used to it by now.

What Karl was worried about… was his phone.

He'd tossed it toward Chiyome earlier to avoid any risk of getting himself killed by some impulsive "if I die, I'm taking you with me" stunt. But now, Chiyome was still holding the phone—no intention of giving it back. Karl was already mourning his lost eddies.

Yes, Night City had phones. Back when Karl first arrived, he'd wondered if people even used them anymore. But the moment he saw Jackie pull one out and start a call, he got the message. Just a couple of days ago, he'd bought one himself—a clean unit that had been double-checked by Viktor and T-BUG, completely wiped of viruses and malware. It had cost him a whopping 2,000 eddies.

Two thousand!

To put it in perspective: that's enough to buy one of Johnson's precious Ajax rifles.

Karl could be generous when it mattered, but when it came to unnecessary luxuries? No way. With the neural link jack, he didn't even need a phone. He'd bought the same model as Jackie just for fun. And now he'd barely even warmed it up before—

And to top it off, Chiyome hadn't even installed a pain editor. Her build was optimized for stealth and lethality—there was no room left for luxuries like pain suppression. So not only did she get shot using his phone as cover, she let out a very real, very painful grunt—and still didn't let go of the damn thing.

Just as Karl was wondering how to politely ask for it back, the phone—which everyone thought had already hung up—suddenly crackled to life again with Hanako's voice:

"Oh, I almost forgot. Chiyome, be sure to return the phone to Karl, okay? And Karl, thank you for letting me know about this. I'm really glad you stopped Chiyome and Kenichiro from fighting."

Actually, they did fight. A lot. I only messaged you because I'd gotten my fill watching.

Karl wanted to say that—but as the call finally cut off, he noticed two pairs of eyes now fixed on him.

This time, it wasn't just Kenichiro glaring. Chiyome was staring too.

At that moment, she finally began to process something.

She'd never seen this black-haired young man around Lady Hanako before.

He called her by name—not by surname—which implied a level of closeness uncommon in Eastern custom.

And Hanako had thanked him… personally.

So—

Who the hell was this guy?

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