How to Rest (2)
How to Rest (2)
The corporation that boasted the number one rank among all corporations: Black Monolith Corporation.
Its Chairman, 'Taylor Blackstar'—commonly called by the nickname 'The Emperor'—had been finding daily life quite entertaining lately.
This was something that would greatly surprise anyone who knew the Chairman personally.
'The Chairman... smiling...?'
You could glean it just by reading the recent thoughts of Justin Borg, the Chairman's closest aide and chief of staff.
The reasons were as follows.
Generally, when you lived for a very long time, you inevitably grew accustomed to most things.
In a word, life became boring.
New things were hard to come by, and each day was filled with the familiar.
This also explained why the suicide rate among Mega Corp Chairmen was higher than one might think.
(Of course, that figure also included suicides that were... forcibly arranged.)
And the enjoyment the Chairman had found amidst the shackles of such a tedious life could be neatly summed up by the presence of a certain 'Mage.'
Of course, the Chairman hadn't been like that from the very start.
The beginning was simple curiosity.
The Mage had gone through all sorts of hardships and even saved the life of a Mega Corp Chairman.
At the time of the incident, the Mage had spoken as if it were nothing.
'...Honestly, I didn't really do much. Just take better care of my colleagues instead.'
Even now, recalling that memory, the Chairman couldn't help but smile.
'...What an unusual human.'
That was the Chairman's conclusion about that Mage.
He seemed like a presence that existed outside the logic of blood and money, the logic that dominated capitalist society.
Even if one's interest in material things waned with the passage of time, it was also true that the Chairman had grown sick and tired of the hyenas who only sought her power or credits.
Thinking back on it now, it was still the same.
That Mage was definitely unusual.
Anyway, she had heard such an 'unusual answer.'
And the ordinary suspension bridge effect probably played a part too.
In conclusion, Taylor Blackstar had taken a personal interest in that 'Mage.'
And considering how enjoyable daily life had been lately, the Chairman could instinctively sense that the choice she had made back then had not been wrong.
'...I also wanted to see this face.'
The shocked face of the Mage, mouth agape at seeing the results the Chairman had produced, was quite a spectacle worth watching.
When you switched bodies through numerous prosthetic bodies, your reactions to your own body inevitably dulled.
In truth, even if the heart was beating perfectly fine, the Chairman couldn't feel that sensation well.
But Taylor Blackstar physically felt her current body's heart beating.
- Dugeun, dugeun.
The Chairman of Monolith, Taylor Blackstar, consciously savored the pounding in her chest.
It was not a common experience even for her.
She savored this moment comfortably.
And also: 'He just sneaked another glance now.'
Observing the Mage, Lee Si-woon, who was stealthily and furtively rolling his eyes toward Taylor Blackstar's bikini outfit, was a distinct pleasure as well.
28. Methods of Rest (2)
"......"
Indeed.
The power of prosthetic bodies was truly incredible.
I secretly appreciated the destructive power of the 'two prosthetic bodies' lying on either side of me, without anyone knowing.
Black sunglasses were also provided at the sunbed spot. There was no concern whatsoever of being caught.
Of course, the possibility that Eve was sharing my gaze was high.
But since my eyes were drawn more to the Chairman-nim's bikini than to Eve, who was hiding her body's curves with a white dress, it didn't seem like a big problem.
In the end, all of this was just the unavoidable fate of the creature called man.
I let out a meaningless dry cough.
"Keuheum."
As if it had been hacked, my mechanical eye cyberware moved outside my will.
I forcibly turned my gaze back toward the sky.
About one-tenth of the time, I managed to regain control of my pupils.
A blue sky was flowing across the ceiling.
It felt like I was in the middle of a Hawaiian beach.
Actually, I'd heard that the area where Hawaii existed in this world had become a dead land due to radiation fallout, but anyway, that was how I felt.
It was also very similar to the scenery I had seen at the Vice Chairman's residence when I went to Koozaka headquarters recently after receiving a promise from Vice Chairman Koozaka.
I knew hologram technology was involved.
But what kind of effort and wealth would it take to make a perfectly normal concrete ceiling look like open sky?
I couldn't even begin to guess.
Even the sunlight was warm!
.......
You could call this healing in its own way, but ultimately it didn't feel like resting at home.
It just felt like coming to a vacation spot and relaxing.
Honestly, if we were to split hairs, this should be called 'going out,' but my anxious opinion as an 'I' fell on deaf ears among the 'E's.
...Still.
One day should be fine.
I brought up my vision interface in front of my eyes.
Secretly from everyone, I appreciated the sight of my colleagues in swimsuits behind it.
"Are you resting well?"
"No, I didn't see anything."
"?"
At the Chairman's sudden question, I naturally blurted out an excuse first.
The Chairman tilted her head at my incoherent answer.
It was a rare display of emotion from the perpetually expressionless Chairman.
A guilty thief has cold feet, as they say.
I had failed to maintain the composure that was a fundamental virtue of a Mage.
'Enough!! How can you, a Mage, be bewitched by mere lumps of fat!!'
No, they're far too big to be called mere lumps of fat.
I thought slowly, imagining the voice of the great Mage inside my mind yelling at me.
Of course, some people among them were small.
Catherine, for example, or Julia, or Maya....
I lightly shook my head to clear my thoughts.
I answered the Chairman's question.
"It's definitely comfortable and nice. As always, I'm filled with gratitude and joy toward Chairman-nim for preparing such facilities for us."
"Huhu, it's nothing, really."
The Chairman casually accepted my natural worship.
As the Chairman gave a small laugh, her generous curves rippled like waves following the movement.
I exerted superhuman mental strength to keep my gaze from drifting downward.
The Chairman put down the electronic documents she had been holding.
Soon after, as she lightly stretched, her ample chest once again asserted its presence.
"Eutcha."
The Chairman turned over to lie on her side.
And continued speaking.
"You might have noticed, but actually, we're building several other facilities besides this one."
"......"
I almost didn't hear what she said because I was looking at her chest.
It was information I already knew because of Dr. Terra's slip of the tongue, but I chose silence for Dr. Terra's honor.
"Judging by your reaction, I see you already knew. Hmm, let's see. Did Dr. Terra tell you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Seems like it's correct. That guy's problem is he talks way too much. If it weren't for his abilities, I would've already given him severance pay and kicked him out."
I hadn't even answered yet, Chairman.
I hadn't said a single thing.
Since all my information got exposed, I was left completely speechless.
I had been completely off guard since she was in a body that looked so young right now.
I realized anew.
The fact that the woman in a bikini before my eyes was the Chairman of the number one cyberpunk corporation.
At any rate, the Chairman continued talking.
"I don't know how much you heard, but other leisure facilities of various kinds are under construction too."
"Ah, you said one floor would be installed as a prosthetic body maintenance facility, right?"
"That's right. Just in case, and also because we need to maintain Maya's prosthetic body."
That was what I had heard on the first day.
It was also what Dr. Terra, whom I'd met inside the elevator, had talked about.
I nodded to myself.
Obviously, she would be spending her own money on the construction, but the Chairman didn't seem to care about those aspects at all.
"Isn't it incredibly expensive?"
"Not really?"
Though from a corporate Chairman's perspective, 'not really' probably still meant a considerable sum.
"It's actually more problematic that a lot of it gets caught up in city law. Well, that's also a problem that can be solved with credits, honestly."
I had absolutely no clue how to respond to the Chairman-nim's words as she confidently discussed the line between illegal and legal.
"Ah, and originally, we were going to make a restaurant-based facility on the floor right below the residential area."
The Chairman spoke while looking slightly up at the sky.
She was gazing at the residential area beyond the blue holographic sky—in other words, the rooms where we lived.
"But strangely, the artificial intelligence—Eve, that is—the dishes she made tasted exactly the same as my personal head chef's cooking. The appearance was similar too."
"......Uh."
That was because they used the same recipe.
Knowing the truth, I fell silent again.
It had been a while since Eve had hacked into Monolith's systems and extracted the chef's recipes.
The Chairman gave a small snicker, lifted her head slightly, and looked at Eve, who was lying next to me.
Eve was enjoying the sunbathing with her eyes closed.
"Seems my guess about this was right too. So the restaurant construction was canceled. We're just planning to bring in some kitchen appliances instead, so just keep that in mind."
"Confirmed."
Eve answered from next to me.
The Chairman, who had been looking at Eve, turned her head back toward me.
"I'll make sure the construction can be finished as quickly as possible, so don't worry about that part."
How had our home, once an ordinary condominium, gradually turned into the Emperor's palace?
You truly never knew what the future held.
Well, if the house facilities got better, it was nothing but good for me as well.
"...Then I'll leave it in your good hands."
"Of course."
And at that moment.
I shouldn't have answered like that.
* * *
The next day.
Catherine announced, "Let's go to the pool, the pool!"
That spelled the end of my day.
And then the day after that.
"What do you mean you'll just lie in bed? If you're going to lie down anyway, you can lie on a sunbed too! Let's go!"
The day after that.
And the day after that as well.
"Did you hear? Leisure facilities already came in on the floor below, and they said you can do bowling or darts. Let's just go check it out for a bit."
"No, I—."
I was dragged along again.
It was a situation where I absolutely could not rest.
Of course, the 'E's there said that this was resting, but to me, it was no different from a forced march of hardship.
I needed time alone.
In the end, I made a decision for the good of the nation.
"...I need to go take shelter for a bit."
"Confirmed."
So I could never rest at home.
This was the reason I took Eve and ran away from home.