Crowbar Nurse Chapter 11

“Never heard of ‘core’ used in this context before.
Elizabeth, right? Go on and explain everything you know to us, though no promises that we’ll take your word for it.”

Kiryū tapped the crowbar against his own shoulder as he questioned the girl.
And though she knows full well that he couldn’t be convinced otherwise, Elizabeth simply stood there biting her bottom lip and holding back tears.

“Elizabeth?”
“I… I have nothing else to say…”

Her curled silver pigtails bounced and her eyes, like daggers, pierced through Kiryū.

“It’s not like anyone would believe me anyway!”
“We’ll worry about that. All you have to worry is telling us the full story.”
“That girl is the ‘core’. If we kill her, this game will end, and we will be able to go back to our world.
… I can say no more.”
“I don’t think we can accept that suggestion. Anything else?”

Elizabeth looked as if she were about to cry before but tears now started to well up after hearing Kiryū’s curt rejection. She crumpled down onto the ground, cradling her head between her knees.
She wasn’t tugging at our heartstrings… no, she seemed like she was so confused, she herself didn’t know what else to do.

… aww, jeez.

My hand was scratching the back of my head before I knew it.
It wasn’t exactly hard to see why Kiryū was being so suspicious of Elizabeth, given how she suddenly attacked us and how she’s saying that Sera (me!) needs to die.

This conversation is going to end up nowhere like this…

We started off on the wrong foot, but she probably knew a lot more than she was letting on… and I needed to know what she knew. The less she talked, the more trouble I’d be in.

Up until now, Kiryū and I didn’t have much of a plan; we were more or less diving head-first into this adventure of sorts.
That we were in a strange and unfamiliar world meant it would be a matter of time until we fell into a trap.
I was dying to learn anything from someone who has been through this situation before.

… there was something else that had caught my attention though.
Elizabeth was visibly and thoroughly haggard.

Well, that’s not much of a surprise…
It was just mere moments ago that she had woken up after pa.s.sing out in the midst of working overtime.

While observing her, I came to the conclusion that Kiryū and I were the weird ones for having any energy at all after waking up on this side.
I mean, I hadn’t had a wink of sleep and yet I felt like I could take on the world.

… there was something strange going on not just in this world, but in my body too.

Sure, I was a little tired, but I was still able to move around. And that’s really strange. It was definitely not something I expected to be able to do, seeing how I was—quite literally—deathly exhausted.

Though I was aware of all this, I still wanted to ask Elizabeth a few things.

“Hey Kiryū, would you mind if I spoke to her privately?”
“… I absolutely would mind.
Don’t forget that she tried to kill you. You can’t possibly “chat” with someone who means to harm or kill you. What we need to do is interrogate her.”

Kiryū, leering over his shoulder, was evidently ready to kill Elizabeth if needed.
… and I’m sorry to say it, but dude’s mega scary. I mean, he was clearly past being calm and collected.
It was almost as if he has had past trauma with “someone who meant to harm or kill him”.

“Umm, perhaps you’re right that it wouldn’t be very possible… but hey, think about it.
You know how you were checking out this place and the pebble fell through the ground all of a sudden, right? Well, with such a messed-up physics engine, where we are now wouldn’t make for a great place to fight.”
“… you have a point.”

My words were getting through to him.

“And I know that you said that we should be cautious around her, but you don’t really believe we should kill Elizabeth, right? In that case, why don’t we call for a truce and talk to her instead?”

I then turned back around to face Elizabeth. She was still stiff and very much on guard, but at least my words got through to her too. Appealing to people’s emotions was a skill I often used at work.

“Why don’t we get a little more comfortable, Elizabeth?”

I paused to think for a moment before speaking to Elizabeth. She responded by looking back at me, eyes narrowed.

“First of all, let me just say that you don’t even worry about attacking us earlier. I’m going to lay my rifle down, so we can all let our guards down, okay?”
“Sera!”

Kiryū may have snapped at me, but I simply shook my head.

“… I don’t think we’d be giving off the right impression if we marched right up to Elizabeth—who is unarmed, mind you—with our weapons drawn, and said, ‘let’s have a chat’.”

She snickered at my remark, meaning that it’s gone exactly to plan.

“Why don’t we exchange information? But let’s sit down first. You’ve been working overtime up until just now, right? Keep squatting like that and you’ll just end up even more tired. What do you say?”

I led by example and began to sit down as I spoke while Elizabeth eyed me with suspicion, furrowing her brows.
Still, she followed suit and very timidly copied my motions. I know it’s a little weird, but if you ignore the fact that she tried to kill me, she… acts almost like a kitten.
Once we got on the ground, we… didn’t fall through. Oh, thank goodness.

“Umm, by the way, Elizabeth…”
“… what?”
“Right now, we’re not technically in one of the playable areas of the game, and so things fall through the ground sometimes. Try not to move around too much, okay?”
“Eeeep!”

Following a curious yelp, Elizabeth turned from side to side to examine her surroundings.
… this area did look like a normal stage at first glance but knowing that things can just simply slip out of bounds was a terrifying thought.

“Let me explain our situation first.
I was a newly-hired nurse working from 5:30 in the morning to 12:00 midnight who suddenly found herself in this world.”

Elizabeth looked like she would have nodded politely if not for our current circ.u.mstances.
… she seems familiar with that kind of lifestyle, so what I had said didn’t really surprise her. Much like us, she’s another rat in this race, I guess.

“Beside me is Kiryū who is—was? a software engineer.
You were working overtime too, right?”
“… we were about to release a new game and it was all hands on deck with debugging.”

Kiryū hesitated, but still reluctantly told us about himself.

“I fell asleep while working and the next thing I knew, I was here.
You and I pa.s.sed out then woke up in this parallel universe too, right, Elizabeth? Seems like a pattern to me.”
“… yes, I was entering data one moment and was waking up the next.”

There was a pause before she apprehensively spoke again.

“That means it wasn’t the same for her… for you, Sera?”
“Right.”

I responded before continuing.

“I was in the middle of working overtime when the higher-ups came by to make their rounds, so they stuffed me in a linen room.”
“They did what to you?”
“If the administrators found out us newcomers were working overtime, they’d tell the head nurses off, then the head nurses would get all p.i.s.sy at us ward nurses.
That’s why they hid me in the closet until after the administrators finish their rounds.
But while I was in the closet, my phone went crazy? and as I was panicking, a portal to this world opened up.”
“… the heck?”

She looked blankly at me.

“That is the first time I have heard of anything like that.”
“No kidding! It was pretty shocking. I only took their offer because they advertized that their turnover rate was under 5% and there would be little to no overtime.
But in reality, people were quitting left and right and I haven’t left work even once on time.”
“That is ridiculous, though it happens all too often.
But that wasn’t what I was referring to; what do you mean your phone ‘went crazy’?”

She dryly scoffed, but I was more confused about her than she me.

“You mean you haven’t heard of anything like this the last time you came here?”
“Correct. Last time and the time before that, we… we started killing each other before we ever had a chance to talk.”

That was certainly not what I expected to hear.

“Is it like a battle royale–type scenario?”
“No. But it… how should I explain it?
I believe there is only one person who is able to bring their smartphone, laptop, or any electronic devices like that into this world.”
“Just one.”
“Correct. Just one. And they are designated as the ‘core’.
And on the electronic device—your phone, in this case—should have a feature that wasn’t available before.
It is the key to leaving this world.”

I instinctively gulped as I listened to her.
A new feature… that would be the unt.i.tled app.

“It would make things much more convenient if you have it.
Without it, you would not be able to freely move around.”
“What do you mean by that?”

My head t.i.tled to one side.

“You mean… we could go back to our world?”
“No, not like that, but you would be able to migrate to the world of another game. You could… if you so choose to, transfer me or the man too.”
“That does sound convenient.”

I may have been positive about it, but Elizabeth’s expression was anything but.

“Yes, perhaps.
However, if this world is the same as the ones I have been in before, then there should be other humans here too…
Then it would be a matter of when, not if, that people start fighting and killing for the electronic device.”
“Why would people start killing each other?”

She casted her gaze downwards, as if she had said too much already.

“… must’ve happened before, then.”

Before I could say anything else, Kiryū looked at Elizabeth for an answer.
She hesitated and looked as though she was doubting herself, then finally nodded, confirming what Kiryū had said.

“Correct.
It started with just arguing, but one thing led to another, and it escalated to people killing each other.
Then, in the midst of it all, the original owner was killed too. The next moment, I woke up back in j.a.pan. That’s why I’m sure, if we…”

She let out a small sigh instead of finishing her sentence.

“I have told you too much already… but so be it. I know I stand no chance against him, so take this chance to kill me now.”
“I think I prefer ‘nurse’ to ‘murderer’.”

Seeing the frown on my face and hearing my response, Elizabeth sat there bewilderedly and stared at me before giggling out loud.
… good. That should have established at least a little trust between us. She was even looking a little more relaxed too.

I don’t think we can get to the heart of the matter by questioning her any further…

—Honestly, it’d take quite a leap in logic to get from “a useful electronic device” to “killing each other for it”.
I mean, people don’t just go around slaughtering people, right?
Sure, this may be a strange place to be dropped into, but jumping straight to murder isn’t normal. Working together like us is normal. And if that doesn’t work out, then splitting up and working independently is normal.
The people Elizabeth were talking about skipped quite a few pages in between, but I’m sure she was trying to gloss over some of the less savory details.

Telling us the whole truth probably wouldn’t be very convenient for her, I’m guessing.

Or at least that was what I a.s.sumed, but now wasn’t the time to get to the bottom of the matter—that would only work against us.

I really want to ask her more, but you know what they say about curiosity and cats.

If there’s something a patient doesn’t need to know, then nurses must never point it out.
Otherwise, a simple conversation could turn into a questioning or an argument.
It would then lead to distrust between the patient and health professionals—a breakdown in communication—and the patient wouldn’t get the help they need.

It wasn’t too different from the situation with Elizabeth. Prying it out of her would only strain the delicate relationship we have.
I needed more time to get the whole truth out of her.
Who knows? Maybe a good opportunity will jump out at me…

I took a sidelong glance at Kiryū. He had an odd smirk on his face and a shrug on his shoulders.

“If you want to work with her, well… fine with me.”

Kiryū being Kiryū, it didn’t take long before he calmed down and collected himself; the anger and impatience that was in him was now all gone.
With a bitter smile on his face, he bent over and picked up the cane, only to relinquish it to its owner.

“… from what little you’ve said so far, it seems like there’s still a gap in what you know.
You’re still unsure if killing the ‘core’ is the means to returning home.”
“Yes, I suppose.”
“Then we all stand to lose if we were enemies—after all, we are law-abiding citizens, not killers. It would be much preferable if we can all make it back to j.a.pan without having to resort to murder.”

Elizabeth’s response to Kiryū was a moment of silence along with a blank stare at her weapon.
It was a sudden transition between that and a burst of laughter.

“… I suppose you are right, Kiryū. Not only would I lose to you again, but we have a common goal towards which we should fight together.
… and Sera, I shall belay killing you until I am certain and confident it is the right choice.

We left the Slums and returned to the Downtown district. Of course, it was through headb.u.t.ting a wall again.
Though we were safe from enemies, we risked falling through the ground in that place… it would be a constant and unpredictable danger.

Plus, we were now thirsty and hungry.
Elizabeth said that anything that would be in the original game should also appear in this world, so I figured we should head towards the “Supermarket” stage to obtain some water and canned goods.
… and all told, I’m grateful to have sat down and spoken with Elizabeth. I’m glad to have befriended someone who has experienced this before—even if this friendship were only temporary.

Perhaps due to losing to Kiryū in their battle, she also decided to tag along with us, and she seemed to not want to leave my side. Whether that’s because I protected her or whether she’s still afraid of Kiryū because he struck back with his crowbar was yet to be known.

Though honestly, I’m still afraid of Elizabeth… I mean, she did try to kill me.

In any case, I figured I should stick with Kiryū but also to keep an eye on her.
She’s… probably a well-balanced individual with no homicidal tendencies, but there was also something in the back of my head telling me to be careful.

Walking closer to Kiryū prompted him to speak to me in a low tone.

“… not too shabby at all, Sera. Didn’t think you’d use me in a good cop/bad cop routine.”

He muttered to me with a wry smile, but I wasn’t exactly following.

“What’s that about the police?”
“Oh, what? You—never mind… it’s a cla.s.sic interrogation technique. But even more impressive how you managed to pull it off without knowing about it.”

I couldn’t share the smirk on his face before the conversation about police officers had ended.

Interrogations, huh? The way Kiryū spoke when he tried to interrogate Elizabeth earlier… I’m sure I’ve heard it somewhere before. Where is that from? Don’t tell me I’ve actually met Kiryū in j.a.pan before.”

I had nothing, but I had to get it off mind for now.

So, where do we go from here?
Well, first, we’ve cleared the “Downtown”.
Then after, we’ll raid the supermarket in the early stages of “Uptown,”
Following that in Uptown would be the safehouse… which we’ll simply pa.s.s on by.
We decided to head to the last part of this area, which is the hospital where we have to gather syringes and meds. After that, we would head back to the safehouse to rest up.
We’re on a tight schedule, but with our h.e.l.lish army with us, we should be able to pull through.

“You think we’ll beat the game, Sera?”
“Yeah, we’ll beat it, no sweat. The troops have gotten so strong, I almost feel bad for the zombies.”

One of them, nicknamed Ortega, can take down a zombie with a single strike of a plastic garbage bin. Strap the Vital Watch on his wrist and… it showed “Level 10” with good vitals.
Even a Tank wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

“Let’s head to the supermarket for now.”

Getting to the supermarket was a walk in the park.
Our unstoppable army from h.e.l.l practically one-shots Minotaurs and Tanks. Feels good, man.

“This has to be some kind of a joke… how does a plastic toy hammer defeat an armored vehicle?”

Elizabeth, taken aback, exclaimed aloud.
It didn’t take long to reach the grocery store, making easy loot of fruit, bottled water, bread, canned goods, and other essential items.
Inside the store was a mid-level boss—the now-psychotic store manager. “This is my store!” he shrieked, but it took only a second to silence him for good.

We bagged our own groceries with the paper bags at the registers, loaded them into a buggy, and continued plundering.
Oh, and Nick? Well, of course we brought him along—in the cart.
After finding and switching to plastic and reusable shopping bags, even our army guys helped out by tying the handles together.
It was a totally ridiculous sight.

We then pa.s.sed by the safehouse and entered the hospital.

Tourniquets, needles, syringes, alcohol swabs, cotton wool… you name it, we took it.
In the linen closet, we found clean pillowcases to fashion makeshift backpacks out of them.
Fresh sheets would be useful too.
All this looting was hard work, and when I finally thought I found a spare moment to take a break… I started to feel faint.

“Sera!”

Kiryū caught me right before I faceplanted.
It was odd, considering I felt like I could take on the world… or so I thought at least. The last thing I remembered was going into shock.
Then I blacked out.

■Princess Elizabeth

The human inside Elizabeth doesn’t get in much exercise. No wonder she lost in a test of strength against Kiryū.
A diligent person, but perhaps tends to worry too much. Her cries are particularly unique. Adores cats but loves dogs too. An animal lover, if anything.
Though she runs a blog about female-oriented dating simulators and updates her Mugtome like a photo diary, neither platform has received updates as of late. Has one older brother. Her favorite TV show is an American musical comedy-drama series that takes place in a high school.
Later in this story, an impossibly handsome stud of a real estate agent falls in love with Elizabeth and follows her around like a dog, much like something out of a cartoon. As that does not happen until later, Elizabeth is merely some loser for now.

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