A Painful Social Life (3)
A Painful Social Life (3)
Andrea spoke as she got ready to head out.
"First, you start the morning at a cafe."
"?"
I shot her a questioning look.
What did mornings have to do with cafes?
A statement that casually defied common sense.
Andrea, who had been watching my reaction, clicked her tongue and wagged her finger. The hell?
"That's just how it is for a famous singer."
"What..."
"A set routine determines your condition for the day. Even if you don't get it, there's no helping it."
"......"
"You're the manager, aren't you?"
The words 'Cut the crap and just get in the goddamn van' rose all the way to the tip of my tongue, but I barely managed to swallow them.
I was the one who'd said I'd be the 'one-day manager.'
Going along with Andrea's whims for just one day wouldn't be so bad.
"...So where are we going."
"The mille-feuille here is pretty good."
Andrea named the upscale French dessert and guided me to a cafe with a distinctly refined atmosphere.
So they have cafes in the Upper Layer, even in the residential areas.
【How may I help you?】
"Two lattes based on a double shot of espresso, nonfat milk, dark roast beans, topped generously with chocolate drizzle and chocolate java chips. Ah, and I'll order the mille-feuille as well. Only use naturally grown fruit for the ingredients."
Andrea rattled off the complex order.
If magic actually required incantations, I suspected Andrea would have made a pretty remarkable Mage.
As an 'I' who rarely visited cafes, I had absolutely no idea what she'd just ordered.
A serving robot soon found us where we sat on the terrace.
"Try some. It's delicious, I'm telling you."
It certainly looked tasty.
At Andrea's urging, I nodded.
For now.
Starting with the drink.
"Hmm."
I let out a short groan.
My assessment was as follows.
......
It was far too sweet to stomach.
The price was easily ten times that of any cafe in the Middle Layer.
But the taste didn't differ by a factor of ten.
I quietly set the coffee cup down.
This shouldn't even be called coffee. It was a chocolate beverage parading under coffee's name.
Maybe if I'd had a separate pancreas bioware implant installed in my body. It was the kind of menu you'd struggle to stomach unless you had more than one pancreas.
Anyway, Andrea was eating well.
So I just pointlessly stirred the contents of the coffee cup with a straw and watched her. Well, well, look at her go. Eating so nicely.
Even though not much time had passed.
Andrea, having swiftly demolished the dessert, began explaining the day's schedule again.
"After the cafe, it's a walk. There's a decent walking trail nearby."
"Hoh, a walk sounds good."
I answered with a nod.
Generally, the air quality in the Upper Layer was so good you didn't need a mask. There was no risk of developing health problems.
I could follow along this far.
But I couldn't just let the next thing she said slide.
"The next schedule is the zoo."
"Excuse me?"
Doubting my own ears, I asked Andrea if I'd heard correctly.
"I said this was my set daily routine, right?"
"That's right."
"......"
Having correctly interpreted the meaning of my silence, Andrea shrugged.
"Of course, it might sound like a lie."
No, it literally sounded like a lie.
Andrea continued.
"But it's the truth."
"......"
"The newborn panda is incredibly cute. They say just watching it heals you."
The cuteness of the panda was a secondary issue.
Having somewhat belatedly regained my senses, I asked Andrea a question, just in case.
"...So the daily routine ends after we go to the zoo, right?"
"No way."
Andrea's smiling face was slowly starting to resemble the Devil's. I was beginning to understand why her nicknames were 'Devil' or 'Red Horn'.
Having neatly shut down my statement, Andrea looked at me.
"Just about five more places after that. Not many."
"......"
"But it'll all be over before midnight, so don't worry too much."
"Ah."
Hearing Andrea's last words, I let out a short groan of pain.
Today, 'the day' had only just begun.
And I belatedly realized the true fact that the 'manager duties' hadn't even started yet.
I quietly raised my hand.
Very reverently and politely.
I presented my opinion to Andrea.
"Could I just go back home?"
"Absolutely not."
"......"
Aaah....
So this is what they call 'going to work.'
I felt a sudden surge of respect for everyone living in this world.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
It was autumn.
27. The Trials of Social Life (3)
We passed through a tunnel composed of thick bulkheads.
A black and blue Milky Way unfolded brilliantly.
Even though it was a holographic projection filtered through the city shield, its beauty wasn't diminished.
Even if the reality outside was filled with clouds and pollution.
Andrea, sitting in the back seat, asked me.
"Are we there yet?"
"Yeah, just a little bit further."
I answered her while checking the navigation guide.
Just a few more minutes until arrival.
I checked the back seat through the rearview mirror.
Andrea was rolling around, clutching a souvenir panda doll she'd bought at the zoo.
We had clearly gone through the exact same schedule.
Not a trace of fatigue could be seen on her.
I forcibly swallowed a yawn.
I asked the nonchalant-looking Andrea a question.
"Did you have fun today?"
"Yeah."
Well, that was a relief then.
I'd been dragged around and gone through all kinds of hell.
If she'd said it was a dissatisfying day, my fragile, glass-like mental state might have cracked.
I lightly shook my head to clear my mind.
Anyway, our main objective was the 'concert.'
That was why I had become the one-day manager.
I was terribly exhausted thanks to my garbage physical traits, but the day's schedule I'd endured so far was too precious to lose focus now.
"Are we going into the underground parking lot?"
"Ah, turn left here first."
Under Andrea's guidance, I drove the van into the giant dome.
We were a little later than the expected time.
Partly because we'd followed Andrea's 'routine,' and partly simply because I was a bad driver.
"Whoa, look at all these people."
The start of the concert was right around the corner.
The flow of the crowd was visibly heavy. It was a relief there was a separate road and entrance for staff and performers.
Feeling the vibrations of the bumpy road, I turned the vehicle toward the underground parking lot.
The further we descended underground.
Mercifully, the complex crowds slowly disappeared.
Soon, an identity check was conducted through a surveillance camera.
As if entirely accustomed to it, Andrea extended her wrist and finished the scan at the machine.
【'Andrea Rose' plus one guest. Identity confirmed. Welcome.】
Once we arrived at the staff-only level.
Not a single one of the swarming crowd could be seen.
Andrea got out of the car and stretched languidly.
"Phew."
I turned off the engine and asked Andrea.
"We can just go right up, right?"
"Yeah, the elevator's over there."
The end of the day was finally coming into sight.
Of course, strictly speaking, the actual manager duties were just about to start now, but I ignored that uncomfortable truth.
Without any conversation, we slowly moved toward the elevator.
The fatigue was one thing.
But the quietness around us was another reason.
A spacious underground parking lot.
Only the sound of our two footsteps echoed quietly.
When I took one step forward, Andrea walked along with me.
As if matching a beat, a steady, alternating rhythm took shape.
Perhaps sensing the atmosphere as well.
Soon enough, Andrea grinned and clung right next to me.
"Hey, linking arms..."
"What's the big deal."
Maybe it was because we'd spent the whole day together.
Andrea's sense of personal space had gotten warped.
Never mind that this was the staff level, I had no idea what she'd do if we got caught by the paparazzi like this.
"If you do this to other guys, they'll get the wrong idea."
"I don't do this to other guys."
......
At this point, I didn't know what to do.
No matter how oblivious I was.
There was simply no way I couldn't know the feelings Andrea and the other women had for me.
And because of that.
It was hard to deliberately push them away.
Of course, my timid personality was one reason too.
And honestly, since Andrea was physically stronger than me, I couldn't exactly force her away either.
A quiet stillness continued.
I stopped in front of the elevator. I slowly waited for it to arrive.
"......"
Even without lowering my head, I could tell that Andrea was looking at me right now.
Just about when I was thinking it would be nice if the elevator arrived quickly and ended this atmosphere.
Andrea opened her mouth.
"...I said it earlier, but I had fun today. Really."
Only then did I lower my head.
I looked at Andrea.
"...I heard the three of you went to an amusement park together the other time. Honestly, that's why I suggested the zoo."
Andrea gently turned her gaze forward.
"Well, though it's also true that I wanted to see the panda."
You really can't resist a panda.
Having let out a soft snicker, I continued speaking to Andrea.
"It's a relief you had fun. And don't worry too much. Did you really think I believed that story about the routine?"
I had said it lightly to change the mood, but on the contrary, that seemed to have pleased her.
"That's exactly what I'm thankful for."
......
The atmosphere was growing stranger by the second.
Maybe it was because she was a famous singer, but looking down at her like this, I felt like I was going to get lost in Andrea's red eyes. Her eyelashes were incredibly long, too.
Huh?
Was Andrea's face always this close?
And that wasn't all.
It seemed like it was getting even closer—.
- Ding-dong.
"Hey, hey. The elevator's here. Let's get in."
Mercifully, the elevator arrived faster than that.
I turned my gaze toward the elevator.
And.
"Welcome."
Eve was visible.
I carefully rubbed my eyes, suspecting I might be seeing a hallucination.
"......"
It was really Eve.
...By any chance.
By any chance, did you see everything?
Just when I was about to ask Eve that question.
In an instant, the light illuminating the surroundings vanished.
The elevator.
The lights.
Even the LEDs on the fire safety equipment.
All light disappeared, and darkness unfolded.
And within the underground that had turned to darkness, the only thing that shone with an eerie light was Eve's white eyes.
I cautiously gathered my mana.
I created light and illuminated the surroundings.
I couldn't pinpoint a concrete reason.
But for some reason, I swallowed hard.
...Eve, is that you?
As if having sensed my thoughts.
Eve calmly opened her mouth.
"This may invite misunderstanding, but I must clarify that I am not responsible for this situation."
"......"
"It is the truth."
It was a little hard to believe, given the timing.