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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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After ending the call with Dr. Terra, Eve suddenly apologized to me.
“I am sorry.”
“Huh?”
What is this?
Even with my questioning look, Eve continued her apology without stopping.
“At the time of the broadcast program, forcibly ending the call with the chairman of the corporation ‘Black Monolith’ was an unsafe action. However, this unit ended the call despite being aware of the fact that the corporate intelligence team was monitoring.”
Eve continued to speak.
“Hacking the ‘NCB24’ building in response to the elf ‘Andrea’s’ remarks was likewise an unnecessary action. If there had been a few more seconds, the result would have been different, but this unit at that point in time was unable to make such a calculation.”
Her expression remained as blank as usual, but there was a sincerity in her demeanor.
“This occurred because this unit has learned the emotion of ‘urgency’ or ‘fluster,’ I explain.”
In any case, it was a rare sight to see a super-AI making excuses like this.
I answered Eve nonchalantly.
“No, it’s okay.”
And it really was okay.
In the end, when I appeared on the NCB24 broadcast, if it hadn’t been for Eve’s help (hacking), the entire Neon City would have been filled with stories about me.
Hmm.
Just thinking about it is horrifying.
I didn’t want to become a sudden star of Neon City for something like this.
More than that, It was more constructive to worry about what’s ahead.
“…Hoo.”
I let out a short sigh and thought.
I hadn’t expected to get saddled with this burden when I called to question, and also complained to, the chief researcher, Dr. Terra, about Maya.
Because it was an unexpected event, my bewilderment was even greater.
…First of all, I definitely have to go see the Chairman, and what should I do after that.
This is a headache.
Just then, Julia cautiously raised her hand.
“…Um.”
I looked at her small mechanical prosthetic hand and answered her question.
“Yeah? What’s wrong.”
Julia, having received my permission and gained courage, asked her question.
“…What is this situation right now?”
Ah.
“And now that I see…, the person who played against me in the finals earlier seems to be Catherine. Then who is the other person wearing a maid outfit….”
So she heard everything.
Where should I start explaining this?
I scratched my head and pondered.
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Well, in truth, there was no reason I couldn’t explain.
Since Julia already knew about my relationship with Smile John, I explained everything frankly.
Maya?
A woman I knew from long ago.
She was kidnapped in some incident and became a chrome psycho. After meeting her recently, I asked Monolith to treat her.
The Chairman?
He/She is the real chairman of Monolith, someone I became acquainted with after a bomb terror incident that happened underground. I had a hard time escorting them through hundreds of meters of underground levels.
Eve?
She’s a super-AI that didn’t exist in the world before. I can’t explain in detail because of a contract with the city, but she’s been helping me after a certain incident. As such, her current body is an artificial one.
It was a long explanation that couldn’t be summarized in three lines.
But Julia listened to my words intently.
After hearing the explanation about the artificial intelligence, Julia looked at Eve for a moment with a dazed expression.
“…So that’s why her skills were like that.”
Her impression was less significant than I thought.
I finished explaining the last remaining question.
“And as for the story about the broadcast…, refer to this link.”
I sent a message using my visual interface. I transmitted the link where the video was saved to Julia.
Ugh, why are there so many spam messages piled up?
While sending the message to Julia, I briefly turned off my message notifications.
I’ll have to turn it back on later.
“……Wow.”
Julia let out a short exclamation.
She stared intently at the hologram screen that was playing from the link I had sent.
The content of the screen was ‘Rex Nova’s Live Show.’
Of course, it was the broadcast program I had appeared on.
It was possible because the video link that someone (Eve) had recorded was still there.
Though I didn’t know why she had recorded it.
Anyway, that was about the end of the explanation.
Looking at the time, quite a long while had passed.
Leaving Julia, who was focused on the screen, I lifted my head and looked around.
Catherine and Eve followed my movements and looked at me. For reference, Andrea seemed to have a schedule, as she was out when I returned home.
…….
Come to think of it, I had one thing I was curious about with these golden children, too.
“…But, why did you guys enter the tournament?”
“……Uh.”
At my question, Catherine couldn’t answer right away.
Catherine subtly shifted her gaze.
At the end of it was Eve.
But Eve, on the contrary, was looking at Catherine.
…What is this staring contest?
It looks like they both wanted the other to explain for them.
In the end, it was Catherine who answered my words.
She looked away, scratched her head, and opened her mouth.
“Just because.”
“……”
Catherine….
‘Just because’ cannot be a reason.
But before I could answer that, Catherine added one more thing.
“…Because I hated the sight of you two going on a date alone.”
“?”
What? A date?
Me, with Julia?
My head spun for a moment.
“What does that m—.”
“Ah, I don’t know.”
Catherine, cutting me off, continued to speak without making eye contact with me.
“That’s just how it felt to us.”
With that last word, Catherine quickly walked to her room.
Even if she called it her room, it was basically the same room now that the walls were gone.
“Catherine?”
“……”
Pretending not to hear me, she dove onto the bed and buried her head.
I could tell, because my vision was quite good thanks to the ocular implant surgery, Catherine’s ears were slightly red.
Since Catherine had ignored my question and disappeared, it was now my turn to ask Eve.
…….
But Eve, who had been sitting next to me just fine until a moment ago, had suddenly disappeared.
I looked around and saw Eve sitting in a corner of the room in a demure posture, with her eyes closed.
“……Eve?”
At the time when I had decided to appear on the broadcast, it was the same position as when she had gone to sit in the corner after hearing Andrea say that no one other than authorized personnel could follow them to the broadcast station.
[This is an emotion called ‘shame,’ I am learning.]
“……”
Why is she talking in my head again?
I called out to Eve two or three more times but no answer came back.
I just can’t understand.
Julia, who had been focused on watching the rerun, lifted her head and took her eyes off the screen.
Perhaps because it was short, she seemed to have finished it quickly.
“……? Hey, those two are.”
Catherine with her head buried in the bed.
Eve sitting in the corner with her eyes closed.
Julia, who had discovered the two of them, asked me with a puzzled look.
…I don’t know either.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
There were too many things I didn’t know.
What to do about the Chairman’s matter.
When to visit Maya’s restaurant.
When to play games again—.
“Ah.”
I should just play some games for now.
A good idea will come to me if I cool my head a bit.
With familiar steps, I walked toward the old input device, the computer.
As I did, I asked Julia.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you log into the game recently. Were you busy with something?”
I didn’t say the name of the game but Julia, who seemed to have guessed which game I was talking about, answered.
“…I’ve been focusing on that fighting game recently. To be honest, there isn’t much more to do in that other game…”
What.
“Is that so?”
“?”
“You still don’t know.”
“…?”
Well, if she hadn’t logged into the game since then, it was natural that she wouldn’t know.
The fact that the classic game we used to play had become a ‘God Game.’
I can get one reliable Archer.
Of course, the easiest role to find in a raid was ‘Archer.’
But on the contrary, finding a ‘good Archer’ was like plucking a star from the sky.
A task made more difficult by the fact that this was Neon City, where the stars in the sky weren’t visible.
I logged into the classic game. I familiarly pressed the jump key and showed the screen to Julia.
[ RealMageHere(Warrior) ]
There were an incredible number of characters in the town.
“…There are so many people?”
Julia said, surprised.
It was understandable.
In a game where you usually only saw 0~1 people except in front of the message board, it was natural to be surprised to see so many characters that you couldn’t count them.
“There have been a lot of updates.”
In the meantime, perhaps seeing my login log, one of the countless warriors of the Masters of the Warrior Union (3 members) sent me a whisper.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Oh, look who it is. Isn’t it the guild master? You disappeared for a few days again after that, long time no see. ]
The one to whom I had recommended the warrior class before anyone else.
It was Warrior dude No. 2.
…But, what in the world is this person’s real job?
He’s here every time I log in.
Is he a home security guard like me?
Burying the sad thought, I typed a greeting.
[RealMageHere(Warrior): I’ve been so busy with things lately, but it’s all good now ]
[P2034871140(Warrior): That’s good to hear! Then are we going on that raid we talked about last time? ]
[RealMageHere(Warrior): Ah… you said you couldn’t enter the raid. I’ll have to check if I can get in or not ]
Though I think I’ll be able to if I go.
[RealMageHere(Warrior): I actually found a good Archer this time. She’s so skilled that I lost to her in a 1:1 fight ]
[P2034871140(Warrior): What are you talking about, it’s natural for a warrior to lose… ]
[RealMageHere(Warrior): (inappropriate language) ]
[P2034871140(Warrior): ? ]
[RealMageHere(Warrior): Typo ]
Don’t you ever disrespect warriors again….
Anyway, I couldn’t resist a raid after such a long time.
“…I’ll log in from home too, then.”
“Okay, see you in the game.”
Julia opened the front door and disappeared.
Since she lived on the same floor, it wouldn’t take long for her to log in.
[Eve(Mage): I will recruit members ]
…….
I took my eyes off the monitor and looked at Eve, who was sitting in the corner of the room.
She was still sitting in the corner with her eyes closed.
……Well, whatever.
I didn’t pay it much mind.
She said she was embarrassed and would type in chat, so I couldn’t say anything about that.
[RealMageHere(Warrior): There’s no new updated content, right? ]
[Eve(Mage): Negative. 3 new instant dungeons have been added. To proceed with those dungeons, you must first complete the following linked quests.]
Lately, I had been going out way too much.
I should just rest a little for now.
I’ll worry about other things later.
With that thought, I focused on the game.
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Three days later, an unexpected guest came to pick me up.
“…Why did you have your message notifications turned off?”
“Ah.”
I forgot to turn them back on.
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He gets either screwed over by everyone else or by his own clumsiness