Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: A Weekend Get-Together
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I have to show off Echo to Alice and David!
Having made that resolution, I woke up as usual and immediately remembered something I’d forgotten.
Today was Saturday, the weekend.
Our fixer agency was a pretty decent company that valued a good work-life balance.
If there were no requests, the rule was to rest on weekends. So neither of them would be coming to work today.
*Hmm... Well, I guess I can just show it to them when we meet next Monday. It’s not like today is the only day.*
It was a little disappointing. You’re supposed to do things while the excitement is still fresh. Wouldn’t my joy fade a little by then?
Feeling grumpy for no reason, I lay on the agency’s sofa and idly poked the terminal screen with my fingertip.
As I did, the sleeve of the loose cat-print pajamas Alice had given me slid down my arm.
[ Uh, M-Master. Is this something you need? ]
“...”
Did it interpret my bored screen-poking as a threat to cough something up?
Echo grew restless and displayed a short video on the screen, as if asking, *How about this?*
The video was a short of a rather pretty metahuman doing some incomprehensible dance.
*So they have this kind of thing here, too.* Other than that thought, the content didn't really catch my eye.
I furrowed my brow slightly and swiped the video away with my finger, signaling I didn't want it.
It wasn’t very interesting, and I wasn't in the mood to watch something like that right now.
At that, Tesseract began to verbally torment the clueless Echo.
[ Echo, you idiot! ]
[ Ugh, I-I’m sorry…! ]
[ Hurry up and think of something that will make Mama happy! Om-nom-nom-nom… ]
[ Eeeeeek! Please don’t eat me! ]
Maybe because Tesseract was so innocent and soft, it didn't sound that scary to me.
But Echo, as if its life were actually in danger, quickly began to pull up every possible function on the terminal.
However, none of the random content Echo presented held much interest for me.
Maybe it was still too early for me to keep up with this world’s trends.
*Sigh, I don’t know. You guys figure it out.*
Too drained to even bother with that, I gently placed Echo on my stomach and slowly closed my eyes.
*The dopamine rush from getting Echo has worn off, and now I’m depressed again. When is Greg going to contact me? Does he plan on keeping me locked up here forever?*
I felt so damp and stagnant that I thought mold might start growing on my head.
What’s the point of getting a way to communicate if I don’t hear anything from him?
As I writhed listlessly on the sofa in a daze, Raven, who was passing by, spoke with a look of disbelief.
“Just yesterday, you were so excited you looked ready to fly to the moon. Already out of fuel? Good grief.”
“...”
“Stop lazing around and get up. We have guests coming today.”
“…?”
*Guests? So suddenly? The agency isn’t open on weekends. Who would be coming?*
I slowly sat up on the sofa and tilted my head, wondering what he meant.
But Raven simply walked off briskly, as if to say I’d see for myself soon enough.
*Seriously, would it kill you to just tell me?*
Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, I folded my arms and continued to ponder.
Guests on a day like this. I couldn't for the life of me figure out who it could be.
Alice? David? Or maybe Lily, who still stubbornly tries to sneak in cameras these days?
After tilting my head in thought, I flopped back down, and it wasn't long before I found out who it was.
“We’re here!”
“Good morning. We’ve arrived, though it might be a bit early.”
“Ah, hello… Hi, Yuria!”
“Hello~”
*Swoosh.*
The door opened to reveal today’s guests: Alice, David, Sabrina, and Reine.
David’s family plus Alice. It was quite a familiar combination.
But still, why had they all shown up in a group like this on a weekend afternoon?
I nodded at Sabrina’s greeting and peeked my head over the sofa, my eyes darting around.
I knew who the guests were, but I had no idea why they had come so suddenly today.
*Oh, is it someone’s birthday? What do I do? I haven’t prepared a gift.*
I broke into a cold sweat at this perfectly reasonable conclusion and the crisis it presented.
But Raven, placing a box in the middle of the office, spoke as if to ask what strange idea I’d gotten into my head.
“Ah, I called them over for a barbecue party today. It’s been about a month since you came, and it occurred to me that we’ve never all grilled meat together at the agency.”
“Oh, you didn’t tell Yuria?”
“Was there a need to? She was going to be lazing around the house all weekend anyway.”
“…!”
*Ugh, he’s not wrong, but… that still hurts a little.*
I gave Raven a look that said he was being mean.
But he just cleaned his ear nonchalantly, as if to say, *What, did I say something wrong?* It was so annoying.
Anyway, a barbecue party.
No wonder he’d been clearing the table and taking out a large electric grill from the storage room this morning.
Looking back, it was strange that I hadn’t noticed. The meat would be delicious.
As I stood there thinking blankly and swallowing the drool that was about to escape, Alice, who had taken off her coat and sidled up to me, came right up to my face, her eyes sparkling.
Her intensity was like that of a tiger that had spotted its prey, and I couldn't help but jump in surprise and freeze on the spot.
“Yu-ri-a! I heard the news! You got a terminal? Show me! Show me!”
“...”
“Oh! It’s cute! It suits you so well, Yuria!”
*R-Really? I mean, it probably looks just like any other standard model…*
I pressed my lips together tightly to stop the smile that was trying to form. Not that anyone could see it behind my mask anyway.
*Well, if you’re curious, go ahead and take a look.*
As if to say that, I casually held Echo out to Alice.
She took Echo from me and examined it from all angles with fascination.
[ E-Eek! Master! I’m being touched! Master, Maaaaster! ]
Echo seemed flustered at being observed in Alice’s grasp.
*Sorry, but I can’t win against Alice either.* The best I could do was pray for Echo’s soul.
Alice wasn't the only one who reacted that way.
David and Sabrina also looked intrigued.
Perhaps it was because flat-screen terminals weren’t commonly used these days.
If anything, Echo’s retro design seemed to make it stand out even more.
*Heh heh, see? I didn’t go all the way to the northern black market for nothing.*
“But you don’t have a number, just an email address?”
“Hmm, that makes sense. Email offers much more anonymity than an identification number. It seems like a pretty good choice.”
“Oh, may I exchange with you as well? I’d very much like to get to know you better, Yuria.”
“…!”
After that, we spent some time exchanging email addresses.
Since I didn't have a number, sharing email addresses was the best way to stay in touch.
Maybe it was because I was the last one in the group to get a terminal.
Everyone was eager to exchange email addresses with me. I felt like I was some kind of celebrity.
“That’s enough of that for now. Hurry up and give me a hand. Alice, what was it? Sukiyaki? You said you’d make it. Let’s eat that first, and if we still have room, we’ll have the grill party.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll get it ready right away!”
The preparations for the agency’s barbecue party started just before evening, and the party itself began as the sun started to set.
There was sukiyaki, with thin slices of beef prepared by Alice, grilled and dipped in egg, and a grilling party with steak and hamburg steaks on the electric grill.
And to top it off, a roasted turkey, properly cooked in the oven that we normally never used.
Perhaps because we had Alice, who could proudly be called a big eater, as well as Raven and David, who ate more than the average person.
We managed to successfully complete this march of gluttony that would have been a serious strain on a normal person’s stomach. Everyone was a good cook, so it was a really enjoyable time.
“Well, we’ll be heading out first. Thank you for making time for us today.”
“Not at all. I’m the one who should be sorry for making you come out on a weekend. See you on Monday. You two take care as well.”
“Yes. Thank you for always being so good to David. We’ll be on our way now.”
“Ah, goodbye.”
David’s group was the first to leave.
The agency wasn’t spacious enough for everyone to sleep over, so it seemed they were trying to leave before it got too late.
So, after David’s farewell, Reine and Sabrina awkwardly said their goodbyes to Raven.
The two of them then came over to me separately to say goodbye, promising to see me again.
“Yuria. Thank you for being so friendly with Sabrina. She can be a bit prickly and difficult sometimes. I hope she hasn’t been rude to you, has she?”
“Reine!”
“Hehe, just kidding. Well then… I’ll see you again.”
“Y-Yuria. I’m leaving. …I’ll email you sometimes. Please make sure to reply.”
“…!”
*Of course. I’ll definitely reply. We’re friends, after all.*
I clenched both my fists and nodded as if to promise I would, and Sabrina left the agency with her family, a look of relief on her face.
I wonder what she was thinking as she watched them go.
Alice, who had been standing a little ways back, suddenly wrapped me in a big hug from behind.
I could smell the faint scent of alcohol on her, as if she’d had some wine with the meat earlier.
“Mmm… Jin, can I sleep over tonight?”
“Huh? Sure, whatever.”
“Hehe… Then tonight, I’ll sleep with Yuria!”
“...”
Alice swayed her body gently as if she were a child whining and buried her face in the back of my head.
I was used to it by now, but I wished she wouldn't breathe her warm breath on the top of my head. It gave me goosebumps.
The three of us cleaned up together, with Alice seeming quite giddy, as if she couldn't hold her liquor well.
Of course, since I wasn't very strong, I was automatically assigned to dish duty.
And so, some time passed. Late at night, after we had all taken turns washing up in the bathroom.
Instead of getting into my usual closet, I slipped into the futon in my room, side-by-side with Alice.
Come to think of it, has it already been two weeks since I last slept with Alice?
Thinking about it that way, I was struck by how quickly time was passing.
“…Yuria, good night. *Yaaawn.*”
“…!”
*Tonight, it won’t be too cold even if I snuggle deep into the blankets.*
Feeling the warmth of Alice, whose eyes were already half-closed, I fell asleep much earlier than usual.
Was it because I’d made such pleasant memories with good people?
The gloom I’d felt just this morning seemed to have melted away.
Though I was still waiting for Greg’s call!
*Pfft.* A smile formed on my lips against my will. That was the kind of mood I was in.