"..."
"..."
"Well, I mean...."
Seeing the girl remain silent, Jawed grew a little flustered.
The thought from earlier surfaced in his mind once more. Only this time, he didn't push it away.
"Haa.... That's what I meant. You've already seen my driving, right? I'm not saying I'm good; well, actually, I am. But what matters is that I can help you, and I want to. So let me be your rider, be my Mecha Human." He spoke with firm resolve.
"Haha, how can you praise yourself so casually like that?!" Pardtrik scoffed.
As for the girl, she remained still, her gaze distant, as if she couldn't quite believe what she had just heard.
"Hey, say something already! This is great! you've got a rider now!" After a while, Rinne couldn't help urging her.
Hearing her excited voice, the girl finally snapped out of it.
Facing the man who was still patiently waiting for her answer, she grew nervous.
She recalled the time when she had been lost and alone, before she happened to meet him. Even until now, she still felt adrift. But perhaps, she was no longer alone. Perhaps it was because he had been there, because he knew she existed.
In the end, it was all thanks to him.
And hadn't she once wished for someone like him to be her driver?
As if gathering all her courage, the girl took a deep breath. Then, her lips trembled as she stammered:
"I-I... um.... I..."
She lowered her head, hiding her tangled emotions beneath her long hair. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks. She didn't know why.
"I agree...." Her voice grew softer, almost a whisper.
Hearing her answer, Jawed's shoulders finally relaxed.
"Yeah! I'm so happy for you!" Rinne beamed, before her expression dimmed slightly. "But.... too bad we probably won't get to see each other again then."
Hearing that, the bespectacled man glanced at her, his gaze deep, as if pondering something.
"Well then, shall we go sign that, uh, Mecha Human–rider contract now?" Jawed said to the girl.
"M-Mn"
Just thinking about it, he could already imagine how over-the-top those two staff members would react when they heard the news.
Jawed couldn't help but let out a helpless smile.
***
"We're very sorry, but we can't allow you to become a racer."
Jawed stunned. Hmm, that doesn't seem right.
In response, the guys maintained their expressions, their voices firm:
"Please don't misunderstand. We're people who want riders and Mecha Humans to form contracts more than anyone. But be realistic, you two just escaped from the villains' hideout! Entering races right now could expose your profile and put both you and your Mecha girl in danger! Therefore, please give up on that idea."
Hearing that, Jawed fell silent in thought, then spoke up: "Don't you have any way to protect witnesses or hide our identities?"
"Well, we can place you under a witness protection program. We'll create a new identity for you, combined with advanced appearance-altering technology. Your real identity would be protected almost completely.
But.... that also means you won't be able to reveal your true identity, even when racing; at least until we've dealt with that illegal organization."
Johndo and Jamedo exchanged glances, letting out a sigh.
"Then do it"
"Huh?!" Hearing Jawed's immediate answer, the J duo froze.
"Y-You're really okay with that?! Even if you become famous, people will only know you by a fake name, a fake identity. Then what's the point of becoming a racer at all?"
"What's the problem?" Jawed replied casually. "Either way, the money still ends up in my pocket, and I'm the one people cheer for, not anyone else."
After all, in this world, he didn't even have a real identity to begin with. Whatever name he used, it was still him.
"Besides...." Jawed glanced at the girl beside him, "my goal isn't money or fame anyway. I mean, sure, they're nice to have. Who would say no to that? But if I don't have them, well then, life still goes on."
He'd already had more than enough of those things before.
Hearing that, the two staff members fell silent, staring at him. A faint light seemed to flicker in their eyes. After a moment, they spoke:
"Ahem. Alright, we understand. If that's your decision, then within our capabilities, we'll do everything we can to help you avoid outside trouble. So don't worry, just focus on the race. And by the way, congratulations on finding each other, rider and Mecha Human."
With that, they began introducing the different types of rider–Mecha Human contracts. There were three in total: temporary, lifelong, and perpetual.
"What's the difference between lifelong and perpetual?" Jawed asked. He had been wondering that since the first time he heard about them.
"Well, aside from the higher benefits of the perpetual contract and, uh, you'll get five years of premium Mecha Human maintenance services instead of three; the main difference lies in the duration. As you know, Mecha Humans can live for thousands of years, long after their riders have passed on.
Mecha Humans and riders signing the lifelong contract will stay together until the riders die. After that, the Mecha Human is free and may sign with another rider.
As for the perpetual contract, the Mecha Human will belong to the rider forever. Even after the rider's gone, they will continue serving the driver's descendants or bloodline."
"So, what's your choice? Lifelong, right? After all, you can always upgrade to perpetual later. Alright then, we'll prepare the lif—"
"We'll go with a temporary contract."
"..."
"..."
Silence fell over the room, the atmosphere turned cold all of sudden.
"Uh, so....."
"Tsk. How disappointing."
Jawed: "...Haa?"
"We've been fooled, Johndo. I thought he was a good guy, but it turns out he's just a cold-blooded one."
"Yep, Jamedo. Choosing a temporary contract so he can discard his Mecha Human at any time; how cruel. Oh, I pity that Mecha girl, such a tragic beauty!!!"
The two clutched their chests, putting on an exaggerated show of anguish.
"That's not it!" Jawed's voice suddenly rang out, sharp and firm, silencing them instantly.
He glanced at the girl. Seeing no change in her expression, he let out a relief sigh.
"I chose the temporary contract because she and I can't stay together forever. She had a life of her own. One day, she'll remember her past, and return to it. Âs for me, well, I'm just someone passing through."
Hearing that, the two froze.
"S-Sorry...." A flustered look appeared on their face.
As for the girl, she said nothing. Only her eyelashes trembled slightly.
"By the way, speaking of that, have you guys found any information about her yet?" Jawed asked.
"Unfortunately, no. Since we started working here, we've never encountered, or even heard of a case of memory loss in a Mecha Human. Perhaps it's an extremely rare case. We'll need time to go through the Union's database. Don't worry, we'll inform you as soon as we find anything."
"I see." Jawed sighed.
"But don't worry about that for now, leave it to us. There's something more important at the moment," one of the staff cut in, breaking Jawed's gloomy mood.
"To sign the contract, both of you will need to complete a rider and a Mecha Human profile, which must include both of your names. But as you said, your Mecha Human doesn't even remember her own name. Therefore, we suggest that you give her a temporary one. Don't worry, she can change it anytime."
"As for why we didn't come up with one? Simple, our stash of fake names is running out. That's all."
"Hah?" Jawed was speechless.
Give her a name, huh? He thought about it.
It was a bit difficult. Since he'd never had a child, so he had no experience naming anyone.
And besides, Jawed himself had never been given a name, too. The one he used now was borrowed from someone else.
Alright then, let's see. People say you should name someone based on their characteristics.
As for the girl, it felt like he sensed something about her. Something.... like—
"....Lost and adrift...."
"....yet, still moving forward...."
"Then... how about 'Halley'?"
.....