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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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As for how things had ended up this way.
It all started when Lee Shiun received a dinner invitation from Drek and headed to his home in South Pilier.
Around the time Lee Shiun was paying the price for his past sins (ignoring promises).
His eternal housemate and helper, Eve, was receiving help from two other organic beings regarding a ‘non-logical concern’ she had calculated.
Upon hearing the artificial intelligence’s unfitting worry, Catherine answered curtly.
“Isn’t it just a feeling?”
“Negative.”
“Hmm, so you’re saying his behavior was strange at No Answer.”
Under normal circumstances, it was an issue that would have been dismissed with a simple ‘let’s not talk nonsense,’ but the story changed when the subject of the issue was a childhood friend she had known for a long time.
“The basis for this conclusion is an increase in respiration, elevated heart rate, and pupil movement.”
“…How do you know things like that?”
“It is a preventative measure for mental care.”
Eve, who had answered Catherine’s question crisply, added an explanation to her concern.
“One could hypothesize it is the common human emotion of ‘shyness,’ but.”
Andrea, who had been listening to Eve’s explanation, jumped into the conversation and left a remark.
“It wasn’t that, he just seemed depressed.”
“Affirmative.”
Next to the original bed in Lee Shiun’s house. Andrea, who had only been thinking about adding a new king-sized bed, paused her thoughts for a moment and recalled what had happened at No Answer.
‘…Come to think of it, he did seem that way. He had his head down and was pulling his coat around his face, so I just thought he was embarrassed.’
Thinking about it now, it was a very plausible story.
It seemed Catherine was of the same opinion.
She nodded her head in agreement.
“That seems right….”
Catherine stopped what she was saying and looked at Eve with her golden eyes.
It was a look that asked for a solution.
In response to that question, Eve pointed at herself.
“My solution is as follows.”
“……You?”
“Partially negative.”
To be precise, Eve was pointing at the outfit she, herself, was wearing.
“…A maid outfit?”
“Affirmative.”
She nodded her head confidently with her artificial body.
Andrea let out a deep sigh.
“…My trust in you is suddenly plummeting.”
“No, I think she has a point.”
Catherine chimed in, agreeing with Eve’s words.
“……”
Do we really have to wear maid outfits? With that thought, Andrea’s expression hardened.
“…Isn’t it a little embarrassing? A maid outfit, I mean, it’s not like we’re at some weird cafe.”
“Even if you say that, this unit is aware of the fact that the elf ‘Andrea’ has secretly purchased a maid outfit.”
“……”
Catherine stared at Andrea with an indescribably peculiar look in her eyes.
‘You too?’
Andrea met Catherine’s gaze with the same expression.
‘…Yeah.’
Having exchanged opinions without a single word, Catherine and Andrea turned their heads toward Eve.
Eve posed a question to the two of them.
“What do you plan to do?”
To Eve’s question. Their answers were the same.
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I lifted my head. I slowly looked forward.
Three women, each wearing a maid outfit of a different design, were there to greet me.
Eve was wearing an apron over her usual clothes. I didn’t know much about types of maid outfits, but it was a very classic-looking costume.
Catherine, on the other hand, was dressed in a style that departed from the classic. The skirt’s length was incredibly short, and the size was so small that her navel was visible.
Finally, Andrea was….
I had no idea where she got something like that.
Over a pair of skintight pants, she wore a uniquely designed maid outfit. She was literally a cyberpunk world maid.
Since my escape attempt had failed.
It was now time to choose another option to get out of this (insane) situation.
“…Uh, hey.”
The words wouldn’t come out easily.
“What in the world is with those outfits.”
In truth, there were only a few counterattacks I could make in this situation.
All I could do was appeal to their sense of dignity. And cling to the slim possibility of them recovering their long-lost shame.
Catherine answered my question.
“You don’t like it?”
……No.
If it was a question of whether I liked it or not.
Of course, I liked it.
There were probably very few people who actually disliked maid outfits.
I shook my head lightly and came to my senses. I couldn’t fall for this wicked scheme.
“That’s not it, I’m asking why you all suddenly appeared wearing maid outfits.”
At my question, Catherine and Andrea turned their heads to look at the artificial intelligence standing in the very center.
So you were the culprit…!
I let out a short sigh. I could feel my sighs increasing.
“…I’m telling you now, I’m not really a fan of maid outfits.”
“Really?”
Catherine, who had answered, walked toward me.
The way my gaze moved to her outfit was a movement akin to instinct. It was absolutely not my fault.
Catherine, having confirmed my reaction, narrowed her eyes into slits and gave an unreadable smile.
“Your eyes seem to like it, though.”
Had she regained her lost confidence?
Hehe, she chuckled and slowly took hold of my arm.
“How long are you going to stay out here like this? Let’s go inside and talk.”
Andrea grabbed my other arm.
Eve, without a word, had thrown the front door wide open. She seemed more than determined to lock me inside the house.
…Is this the end?
Is there really no way to escape this situation?
I racked my brain quickly.
A pro merc doesn’t give up.
I wracked my entire body, searching for a path of possibility as narrow as a needle’s eye.
……!
An idea flashed.
I typed a message to someone through my visual interface.
Since I could type letters with just the movement of my pupils, it was possible even with my arms being held.
And I sent the message.
…Now I’ve done all I can do.
There’s nothing left but to hold out for as long as possible—.
Just then.
The front door of the neighboring apartment, which had been closed, opened in the condominium hallway.
It was the home where a sound-sensitive eccentric had once lived.
And now, it was the home of a criminal registered in the NCPD’s wanted database.
It was where ‘Julia’ lived.
“…?”
The message I sent to Julia was simple.
Recipient: ‘White Rabbit’
Help!
Hallway
In such a desperate situation, I didn’t have the energy to send anything more.
Hazy eyes looked at me from between strands of messy blue hair.
Catherine, who saw Julia, shouted at her as if making an excuse.
“…You’re that person who lived next door, right? Julia, was it? This is nothing, okay?”
But regardless. Light flared in Julia’s mechanical eyes.
“……Kidnapping?”
She was someone who would have fully recognized Catherine and Andrea’s faces.
But it seemed she had a hard time noticing the fact that a famous merc and a famous celebrity were clinging to me while wearing maid outfits.
Julia put her hand into the mouth of the rabbit doll she was holding.
In her hand when it came out was the hilt of a katana with a folded blade.
Seeing that, I shouted.
“Wait!”
No matter what, I hadn’t called her to start a fight.
Regardless of who won or lost.
If a commotion were to break out. Not only would the dignity of several people (especially two of them) in maid outfits be destroyed, but Julia’s identity, which she had been keeping hidden, might be exposed, and the NCPD or Cyber-Force could be dispatched.
At my voice, Julia stopped her movement to unfold the blade.
Since she had once said she respected me, it seemed she would at least listen to what I said.
Now that the situation had been settled for a moment, I calmly opened my mouth.
For the record, my arms were still being held.
“This is, you see.”
…….
Uh.
…Hmm.
How do I explain this situation?
I closed my mouth again.
To be honest, I didn’t really understand how this situation had come about either.
I had just had a meal at Drek’s house.
And had simply come back home.
About this situation where my two housemates, plus one prospective housemate, were greeting me in maid outfits.
My head was just spinning.
“…Well, um.”
Julia waited for my words, her brow slightly furrowed.
She still hadn’t taken her hand off the hilt of the folding katana.
Anyway, Time was passing even as we did this.
I couldn’t drag this out forever.
I had to make a choice, whatever it was.
Two of the simplest options came to mind.
Do I become the pervert?
Or does everyone become a pervert?
…….
There’s no other choice.
With the feeling of making a sacrifice.
I painstakingly chose the former option.
“……It’s cosplay.”
“?”
I swallowed dryly.
“…It’s just my taste.”
“Ah.”
My stomach churned.
I had gotten through the immediate crisis.
But in exchange, my dignity seemed to have been shattered.
Julia, having heard my words, put the katana hilt back inside the rabbit doll.
“……Heh, that can happen.”
I wanted to die.
I brought Julia into the house.
It absolutely wasn’t because I thought unexpected things would happen if it was just me and the three of them.
It was because I intended to treat Julia, who had helped me with various things up until now.
Anyway, that was it.
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“……?”
Seeing the interior of the house, a scene different from when she last came, Julia tilted her head to the left, looking puzzled.
Then her gaze moved to Catherine.
She hadn’t realized it in the hallway earlier.
But now, she seemed to recognize Catherine’s face.
Catherine, as if she had belatedly regained her human dignity, seemed to notice the shamefulness of her own outfit and crossed her arms to cover her chest, where much was exposed.
“…So this is why I heard construction noises.”
Julia nodded her head and muttered to herself.
I had no idea what she was thinking about the construction that had happened without my consent.
It was a different kind of expressionlessness from Eve’s.
For now, to fulfill my duties as the homeowner, I handed Julia something to drink.
It was a cold coke.
“……Thank you.”
Bow, Julia, who had politely bowed her head, took a sip of the coke.
Perhaps because the carbonation stung her throat. Her expressionless face scrunched up slightly.
I handed a coke each to Catherine, Andrea, and Eve, who were lying or sitting on the bed as if it were their own home.
I need to buy more coke.
I got an apology from Pete Mac, so next time I should try the coke released by Ko-ozaka.
Thinking briefly, I sat down across from Julia.
“Anyway, has anything special been going on lately?”
I asked Julia while drinking my coke.
It was an icebreaker, asked with the intention of lightly changing the mood.
To be honest, it wasn’t a question I asked expecting anything special to have happened.
“Ah.”
But. Julia lifted her head at my question.
Why she put the empty, finished coke can in her pocket instead of throwing it away was a mystery.
“Um, by any chance… are you busy with anything these days?”
“Nope.”
Honestly, I wasn’t.
The Pete Mac business was over.
And aside from playing games at home, I had no scheduled plans.
“You have to go on a date with me—.”
“Not with you, with us.”
“Shh, please be quiet, everyone.”
Ignoring the three who had started chattering about something, though I couldn’t hear them, I waited for Julia to speak.
“Then……”
Julia trailed off, unable to continue her sentence, showing a hesitant attitude.
Her combat-grade cyberware arm, made of machinery, cringed unfittingly.
Seeing that, I said.
“It’s okay to speak comfortably, you’ve helped me a lot too, Julia.”
That was my honest feeling.
Because it had ended so futilely.
I hadn’t seen the full extent of its brilliance, but I knew that Julia had also rushed about to help me with the Smile John incident.
Except for a request like someone’s to live with me, I was willing to grant any kind of favor.
Julia, having gained courage from my words, clenched her mechanical fist and opened her mouth.
“…Then, could you enter a game tournament with me?”
“?”
What kind of game tournament does a wanted criminal enter?
For a moment, I doubted my own ears.
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