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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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I let out a light sigh.
It wasn’t my credits that were spent,
and there wasn’t any reason for me to care, but I thought I should at least ask.
I asked Eve,
“What’s this?”
“It’s a ‘Clothing Care System,’ one level above the Monolith product you were previously using. It boasts excellent sterilization and fine dust purification capabilities for the city.”
Inside the clothing care system, a clothes refresher I briefly glanced at, hung my clothes along with some unfamiliar ‘maid outfits.’
“…….”
Let’s put the clothes refresher aside for now.
I pointed to another piece of furniture, an appliance.
“Then what’s this?”
“It’s a special line manufactured by LAD, called the masterpiece of the refrigerator industry. I excluded Ko-ozaka’s brand, which has similar products.”
My single-person refrigerator was gone, replaced by a refrigerator so enormous that the word ‘huge’ couldn’t fully capture its size.
I cautiously opened its door.
Inside, it was filled with all sorts of food I hadn’t seen since arriving in this cyberpunk world.
Pieces of meat, butchered by part.
Piles of vegetables so fresh they seemed alive.
Even snacks to satisfy a craving.
……Hmm.
And lastly, I pointed to the king-sized ‘double bed’ that had taken the place of my beloved small bed.
In my personal opinion, this was the most perplexing and questionable piece of furniture.
“Why is the bed a double─.”
“It’s an unavoidable choice for efficient sleep in a room of fixed size. Humans do not require more than two bedding items for a sound sleep. For reference, the bed was purchased from ‘Tumba,’ a subsidiary of Monolith, and it was the product with the best reviews.”
A rapid explanation followed, as if a video was on fast forward.
…….
Even after hearing the explanation, I couldn’t fully understand. It’s common sense that two people sleeping need two beds, isn’t it?
Did it really have to be a double bed?
“But why─.”
“Efficient.”
“…….”
This seemed to be the second time I’d seen Eve assert her opinion so strongly.
The first time was when she forbade me from trading stocks.
I finally nodded with a resigned expression.
I couldn’t really argue with an AI that could hack a city with a single finger.
It was pointless.
…Right.
It was just a bigger bed, and my housemate, who used to reside only in my head, now had a physical body.
If anything, I could sleep on the floor.
Only after hearing my answer did Eve, with a satisfied expression (or rather, no expression), take a step back.
Then she started looking around at the furniture she had bought and the interior of the room.
She pressed the window’s shading switch, revealing the bright cityscape outside.
While watching her, I realized something strange.
…The fact that the furniture had been delivered in advance meant that while I was falling from an airship without a parachute, Eve had been secretly selecting and ordering these products.
Thinking about that process, Eve, who had seemed so innocent, felt a little different.
Eve, a scary child….
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A notification popped up on my visual interface, informing me of a new message.
Checking the name, it was from Drek.
Sender: ‘Friendly Cyberware Shop, 24-hour consultation available’
“Alright, we’re out of No Answer.
I talked to the boss.
She seems to be disappointed she didn’t see you.
She said to drop by alone when you have time.
Also, I glossed over the AI thing.
You’ll have to explain that yourself later.
Anyway, good work today.
Let’s grab a drink sometime.”
That was the content of the message.
It was worth leaving everything to Dek and the others and running away.
Normally, I should have stopped by No Answer and seen the boss, Natasha, but with Eve’s unexpected appearance, I had made an excuse and escaped home.
Of course, there was no real business, and everyone else would know that I had just run away because I was tired.
I spoke to Eve, who was still examining the items in the room.
“So, all the ordered furniture has arrived?”
“Negative.”
“Huh?”
Did that mean something else was coming?
Eve continued,
“The ‘legacy input/output device’ required for playing ‘games’ with human ‘Lee Shiun’ has not yet arrived.”
……It was important.
But thinking about it, Eve didn’t really need an old computer.
Even before, she connected to games just fine without a body or a computer.
“Don’t you not need that?”
At my words, Eve took another step closer.
This AI knew the power of her own face too well.
“Required.”
“……I-If you say it’s required, then it must be.”
I answered, avoiding her gaze.
If she said she needed it, there wasn’t anything I could say.
Also, to be honest, I was too tired to argue.
“I’m going to sleep first.”
I let out a long yawn.
Today, a lot had happened.
For someone who doesn’t like going out, it was a very demanding day.
I was also surprised that the virtual terrorist targeting me was the chairman of a MegaCorp, and the sudden appearance of an AI with a synthetic body contributed to my exhaustion.
Hmm.
“But I really didn’t expect a synthetic body.”
“I mentioned it during the first streaming. That there were items I desired.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, she did say that.
“Also, after controlling the drone ‘Lone Spider,’ I wanted one even more.”
Then it was just that I hadn’t expected it, and she had been steadily preparing to purchase a synthetic body.
“Of course, I also intended to surprise you.”
“…….”
Anyway, I wondered if it was okay to let a Super AI have a physical body so easily.
But since things had already progressed this far, there was nothing I could do.
I could only hope that Eve would have good intentions.
I decided to think of it that way.
It’ll work out somehow.
I took off the high-quality ready-to-wear coat.
As I mentioned earlier, my original clothes had been sent to the laundry.
Since I had rolled around in a landfill and sewers, I expected it would take quite some time for them to be restored to their original condition and returned to me.
Or I could just get new clothes from Ko-ozaka William.
With that thought, I opened the door of the clothing care system, the ‘clothes refresher,’ that Eve had bought.
Inside, along with my clothes, hung several maid outfits that I assumed Eve would wear.
…….
Because of the clothes refresher’s performance, the scent of fabric softener and fragrance sheets that usually emanated from my clothes was also present in the maid outfits, but somehow, the scent coming from the maid outfits felt different.
Ugh, maybe I’m just tired.
I’m having all sorts of strange thoughts.
I hung my clothes and mask inside the clothes refresher.
I then threw myself onto the bed.
I had already showered at the amusement park’s shower facilities, so there was no need to shower again.
Of course, I was also sleepy.
I turned my head to look at Eve.
Eve looked down at the bed, backlit.
Her white eyes, visible through the shadows covering her face, were directed at me.
“……Anyway, I’m going to sleep.”
…Nothing would happen if I just slept.
The AI I’ve always been with simply had a physical body now.
Ultimately, nothing had changed in my daily life.
Eve nodded slightly, maintaining a demure posture.
The action felt quite natural.
“Goodnight.”
With that reply, I closed my eyes.
I turned towards the wall and lay on my side.
I was really tired.
I felt like I could fall asleep in seconds.
…….
If it weren’t for the rustling sound behind me, I would have fallen asleep immediately.
‘…This is.’
If my ears weren’t deceiving me, that was definitely the sound of someone changing clothes.
“…….”
I swallowed unconsciously.
Then, a moment later, the side of the bed I was lying on dipped under added weight.
Unless a ghost with physical presence had appeared, transcending the horizontal coordinate system, the only person who could be lying on the same bed as me was ‘Eve.’
Even without turning my head to confirm, it was quite clear that Eve had taken off her (at least) outer clothes and lay down next to me.
……I’m wide awake now.
Catherine, the protagonist in the game.
Andrea, a famous celebrity in the city.
Compared to them, or perhaps even surpassing them, the beautiful maid was lying next to me, and it felt surreal.
What should I do?
Should I man up, turn around, and look at Eve?
What should I do─.
That was as far as my thoughts went.
Yes, among human desires, the need for sleep was stronger than sexual desire.
It might have been a dream, or a sound misheard in my sleep.
It didn’t contain any particular content, nor was it accompanied by any special scene.
But for some reason,
“Tsk.”
That clicking sound seemed like it would linger in my memory for a long time.
Assuming it was a dream, I drifted back to sleep.
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The AI wants to experience “copulation”