Jawed had many things he wanted to ask.
But first, he had to fill the empty stomachs of both himself and this Mecha girl.
The canned minced meat, reheated, was mushy and pasty, crumbling like powder, its taste worse than chewing finely ground scrap metal. Even so, the girl ate heartily, her eyes sparkling, as if what she was eating were a rare delicacy, rather than minced meat.
"Is it really that good?"
"Mm, it's delicious. I've never eaten anything this good before," the girl replied, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed on a mouthful of minced meat.
Seeing that, Jawed let out a helpless, amused smile.
Well, at least the way she was eagerly eating now made her look truly lively, at the very least, she no longer gave off that lifeless air she had earlier.
Finally, seeing that she was satisfied, Jawed spoke up:
"So, you're a Mecha human?"
"U-Um." She nodded, her voice still carrying a hint of timidity.
Jawed drew in a deep breath. Although he had seen Mecha humans with his own eyes before, he still couldn't believe that they could look no different from pure humans.
But, if their appearance was human, and they ate food just like humans, then did they also—
"Is it necessary for you to go to the toilet?"
"Ah, um.... Huh?" Hearing his words clearly, the girl froze, her expression filled with awkwardness.
Realizing what he had just said, Jawed fell silent.
"Ahem, let's skip that. First, I still don't know your name. Could you tell me?"
"My name? I-I don't have one." She said, her voice grew heavy. "Or rather, I think I once did. But it seems I forgot it a long time ago."
A stunned look spread across Jawed's face, and he couldn't help but ask:
"When we first met, you said you had no home, no family. Now, you're telling me you don't even have a name? How could it end up like that?!"
Hearing his question, the girl's expression dimmed slightly, an empty light flickering in her eyes.
After a moment, she finally spoke softly:
"I…. I don't know, I can't remember who I am, who I was. I-I can't remember anything. All I know is that I'm a Mecha human. And.... I have a desire."
"A desire?"
"I-I want to race on the racetrack."
"You want to race? Hm.... Well, you're a Mecha human, so it's understandable if you long to race, I guess."
After all, he had heard that Mecha humans possessed an intense longing for glory and a burning passion for racing, treating it as the meaning of their lives.
Yet the girl suddenly spoke up in denial:
"N—No, it's not some kind of longing. Actually... I don't feel any special feeling when I think about racing. It's just that, there's something inside me. It keeps urging me to step onto the track.
I'm lost, and that urge is the only thing guiding me. Maybe, when racing, I'll remember who I was, I'll find myself again."
She replied, a faint, fragile hope appearing in her eyes, as though it could be extinguished at any moment.
As for Jawed, he fell into brief contemplation.
Finding yourself, huh? On the racetrack riddled with injustice, in this dark and corrupt racing world, was it really possible to find oneself?
He wondered, falling into silence. After a long while, Jawed finally spoke:
"About that, you're a Mecha human, right? You just need to find a rider to partner up with, and then you'll be able to race. What's so difficult about that?"
However, upon hearing his words, the girl only shook her head dejectedly:
"I.... I've met a few riders. They said my performance is too low, that I'm a substandard Mecha human. They said I can only become a logistics Mecha human, and I could never go onto the racetrack."
Hearing her words, Jawed frowned slightly.
No matter how strong the longing may be, life is still unfair. Just as there are humans who are talented and those who aren't, there are still Mecha humans who lack the qualifications to race, just like low-performance motorcycles that no one would choose.
They couldn't step onto the track, and could only do the same ordinary work as humans.
Even worse, those Mecha girls seemed to be confined to the lowest-tier jobs, because he had never once seen any successful Mecha human appear on the financial news.
He had seen Mecha humans like that working at his construction site, a place where people from the lower strata like himself labored.
In their eyes, he could see weariness, resentment, and despair.
Jawed couldn't empathize with them, who treated racing as their very reason for living.
But the feeling of living a meaningless life, he could understand.
He looked at the girl. Right now, she was bowing her head, her heavy gaze fixed on the floor.
In the depths of her eyes, the last tiny spark of hope seemed to have gone out, leaving behind nothing but endless darkness.
Seeing that, Jawed felt a sudden heaviness in his chest.
He didn't know why, but he couldn't accept letting her sink into such despair.
After a brief silence, Jawed suddenly said:
"I think there might be a way to help you achieve your desire."
"R-really?" Hearing that, the girl lifted her head, a glimmer of anticipation lighting up her shimmering eyes.
Seeing that look in her eyes, Jawed hesitated. A thought surfaced in his mind, but he swallowed it back down in the end.
"Ah, y-yeah, there is an organization that supports Mecha humans like you, called... uh.... the Mecha Human Union. Yeah. I'll take you there, I think they can help you find a suitable rider."
In this world, there existed an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of Mecha humans and handling their issues, similar to human rights organizations.
At this moment, it seemed like the only one that might be able to help her.
"I… I'll really get to go onto the racetrack? I… I'll get to know who I am." The girl's voice was soft, yet trembled with emotion.
"Alright, don't get too excited. It's just my speculation, we're not even sure about anything yet."
Jawed smiled helplessly. Seeing the joy and renewed hope shining in her eyes, his own heart felt a little lighter.
"Th.... Thank you." she whispered.
"Mn. For now, since it's still raining, you can stay here tonight. Other matters could wait until tomorrow," Jawed said.
"I... I can really stay here?" she asked, her voice still trembling slightly.
"Yeah. There's a bed in my room, you can use that. As for me, uh, well..... help me fix the sofa, okay?"
Jawed glanced at the sofa embedded in the floor, drawing in a sharp breath.
Mecha humans possess physical strength many times greater than that of an ordinary human.
Even though he had heard that they, for some reason, couldn't attack humans. Seeing the scene right now, Jawed still felt a chill down his spine, instinctively stepping back from her.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Let me fix it for yo—" The girl's words faltered.
Because, well, right at the crack in the floor, there was another wriggling black spot.
"Kyaahhhhhh!!!!!!! Another monster!!!!"
BANG—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
***
Night fell.
Inside the bedroom, tranquility enveloped the space. There was no sound, other than the faint, gentle breathing of the girl.
After days of wandering, she must have been utterly exhausted, quickly sinking into a deep sleep.
Outside, on the sofa, Jawed was still awake, lying there in quiet contemplation.
He thought about the chance encounter today, about everything that had happened afterward.
A moment ago, when he saw the girl drowning in despair, a thought had briefly crossed his mind,
What if he became her rider?
Yet, that thought was quickly shaken off by Jawed.
Even if it was to help her, Jawed had no desire to involve himself with racing ever again.
Now, the words "racing" no longer existed in his life.
At this moment, there was little he could do to help her.
Hopefully, that Mecha human association would truly be able to find a rider for her.
Hopefully, it would be a good rider.
Hopefully,.....
"Haizz...." Jawed let out a troubled sigh.
He gently closed his eyes, letting his mind gradually merge into the dark, murky night.
....