Although the clerk had the face of a gorilla, he was clearly an Esper.
Compound V, released by Vought International, could grant its users Psychic Powers, but it could also alter their appearance. Some became Monsters whose bodies changed drastically.
So in today's society, oddly shaped humanoids were no longer an unusual sight.
Still, Psykos found it hard to believe that an Esper would be selling takoyaki at a shop tucked away like this.
After all, Vought International sold Compound V for an astronomical six million dollars a dose. Anyone who could afford it might not be among the Federation's wealthiest, but they probably would not be selling Takoyaki in a little shop.
The clerk froze for a moment at her sudden question, then answered with simple honesty, "I'm not."
Not?
Psykos was even more puzzled.
But she finally understood why his voice had sounded strange: it did not seem to come from vocal cords.
"I'm a Cyborg," the Gorilla added.
That answered Psykos's question. She also noticed that beneath the Gorilla's brown fur, there did not seem to be real skin. It lacked the texture and creases skin should have.
On closer inspection, it looked like some kind of hard metal shell.
"A Cyborg?" Psykos's eyes lit up. "Who modified you?"
"The doctor."
Metal Gorilla gave her only a vague answer.
Yet that answer set Psykos's heart racing.
"Which doctor?"
"What's his name?"
"Where is he now?"
Psykos forgot all about maintaining her composure and fired off questions one after another.
The barrage sent Metal Gorilla's CPU into overdrive.
He scratched his head. He had always called the man "Doctor," and for the moment, he could not remember his name.
So he answered only her last question.
Metal Gorilla pointed toward the back. "He's in there, watching TV."
Then