CHAPTER 303: DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE.

"Dante... are you sure you’re okay?" Jonah asked.

"I’m fine, Mr. Johanson," Dante said. "If anything, you’re the one we should be worrying about."

"C’mon, kid, this is no joking matter."

"Who said I’m joking?"

"This is why I said you should go back to school," Nobara said. "You can’t keep going like this."

"Sorry, grandma, I dropped out for a reason."

"You said you want to get bionic arms," Suzuka spoke again, choosing to change the topic. "Are you looking for anything specific?"

"I think I would go for durability. Something that can take stress."

[About that,] Volcan spoke up. [I came across something interesting while doing some research.]

’Something interesting?’

[It might open up a lot of possibilities for us going forward.]

’I see... let’s discuss the details later.’

After thinking for a moment, Suzuka spoke again.

"If it’s durability you want, I recommend going with either Ares or Blackshield. Especially the Ares Hercules Series."

"I heard about those," Dante said. "Are they any good?"

"They are made to last in very harsh conditions and are easy to repair."

"On a scale from one to ten, with Titan Forge implants being ten, how much do you rate it?"

"A seven." She replied after a moment of thought.

At some point, seven became synonymous with average, even though it’s two grades above that. Dante decided to check the implants she mentioned later, although he didn’t know if he would actually get them or if they could be found on the black market.

Right now, Dante was more concerned with the girl herself. He had dropped several hints, but it didn’t seem like she noticed any, or it might be that she’s hiding the fact that she did extremely well.

Her identity was bothering him as well. Is she just a fake who took over the role of Kurosaki Suzuka recently, or has she been doing so for a long time? He didn’t think that she did, only to come after him, since there were many easier ways to do so than impersonating someone he had never met. But if that was the case, what’s her purpose?

"Why are you talking as if it’s something normal?" Said Nobara. "This is his limbs we’re talking about. Perfectly healthy limbs." She sighed. "Back in my day, the only ones who got prosthetics were those who lost something in a war."

"C’mon, grandma." Suzuka smiled wryly. "We’re a year away from the new century. It should be clear by now that people have different lifestyles."

"Ruining the body you were born with just to get a little bit stronger is a lifestyle no one should be pursuing."

’I’d better avoid telling her that I’m going full cyborg.’

[That seems to be the optimal choice.] Said Volcan.

Dante continued to observe the girl and her interactions with the old cook, amazed by her seamless acting. At one point, he found himself considering the chance of her being Nobara’s real granddaughter, just because she seemed genuine enough. At the very least, he didn’t think that Nobara wouldn’t be able to notice if a fake tried to invade her life.

’How do we deal with this?’

[She is a potential threat,] Volcan replied.

’Now, we can’t just kill her. Not yet.’

The worst part about this whole problem was Nobara. It was almost like a hostage situation. Trying to deal with the girl in any way could end up hurting the old cook, and Dante didn’t want to risk it. Still, just leaving her alone wouldn’t do.

"Boy, your noodles are getting soggy."

Dante snapped out of his thoughts and looked up, immediately meeting Nobara’s gaze. His eyes naturally veered to the blue-haired girl beside her before looking down at his bowl. Realizing he had spaced out for who knows how long, he heaved a sigh and went back to his food, finishing it quickly.

"Thanks for the food." Saying that, he pushed himself up.

"What? Leaving already?" Nobara said, frowning.

"I got a few things to take care of," Dante replied. "Don’t worry, I’ll be back later."

A message notification popped up before he could turn away.

[Nobara: Ask for her contact info or you won’t be eating here again!]

Stopping himself from sighing, Dante turned to the girl, trying to sound natural.

"It was nice talking to you, Suzuka."

"Same here, Dante." She replied. "I hope we meet again soon."

"With how things went before, I won’t be surprised if this is a one-off." He let out a chuckle, then pretended to get an idea. "Hey, how about we exchange contacts? That way I can call you if, you know..."

He glanced at the old cook, implying that her being the main reason. Thinking for a moment, the blue-haired girl smiled wryly.

"Sure, it might turn out to be helpful."

A moment later, Dante got a notification saying someone wanted to share something with him via short-range link. Though he was hesitant about opening that link, knowing the girl was a skilled Diver on top of everything else, he still did so anyway. A second later, a new contact appeared on his list.

"Well then, see you later."

"See you later."

As soon as he stepped out of the shop, Dante’s expression darkened. He got another message from Nobara praising him for making that last move while reprimanding him for how he messed up at the start. He was sure she would grill him the next time they were alone, but he wasn’t too concerned about that. Right now, the only thing he could think of was what to do with the chameleon.

’Damn it...’

Dante cursed himself for wanting to meet the girl again. If he knew she was playing tricks on the old cook, he would have finished her off back at the Pit. Right now, he was torn between just leaving her be and confronting her to get the truth. He didn’t want to hurt Nobara, but letting her live a lie didn’t sit well with him.