How to Rest (5)
How to Rest (5)
The most famous mercenary in Neon City, Geumjjogi—better known by her nickname 'Shooting Star' than her real name—placed her hand on her hip and spoke.
"Then do we all agree?"
"......."
No one gave a clear answer.
But they all seemed to be in agreement, as the diverse group of women nodded their heads.
Of course, that didn't mean every one of their detailed stances was identical.
The first to raise her hand was Julia.
She carefully expressed her opinion.
"...I'll look for him inside the game."
"......Alright, Julia, you do that."
Catherine readily agreed, which wasn't strange.
It was nearly impossible for Julia, a bounty hunter with a well-known profession, to roam the streets searching for Lee Si-woon's whereabouts.
No matter how corrupt Neon City's public authorities were, there were limits.
And the possibility wasn't zero either, because everyone here knew very well that 'Lee Si-woon' loved 'games'.
The second to speak was Natasha.
She looked uncharacteristically hesitant.
"......Posting a bounty would be a bit much, wouldn't it?"
"...What if he actually runs away then?"
At the absurd question, Catherine sighed and answered curtly.
It seemed that even the Boss of all the brokers in Neon City lost her sense of reason when love got tangled up in it.
Perhaps Natasha herself realized that fact.
She calmly fanned herself with her hand, cooling the heat from her face.
"You're right, sorry."
"Then, next opinion?"
Catherine, who had somehow ended up taking the role of facilitator, looked around and spoke.
The third to raise her hand was Andrea.
She gauged the mood of the room and cautiously spoke up.
"...No, I do think we need to bring him back. I said this last time too, but he didn't go alone, he took Eve with him. He'll probably be back in a week at most—."
"And you're not just saying that so you can go look for him by yourself?"
"......Was it obvious?"
Having her hidden desire exposed, Andrea bowed her head in embarrassment.
Just then, Maya, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise, slowly raised her hand and stood up.
"Um, it's time for me to go help my father now. But please, if you get any news about Si-un-ssi, let me know for sure!"
"......Take care."
"Yes!"
Maya was satisfied with her current life.
She was also the one with the least worries among them.
After Maya had left the room like that, all eyes soon gathered on one person.
"Hmm, it's my turn."
One of the most powerful capitalists in a cyberpunk world ruled by the logic of capitalism, Chairman Taylor Blackstar, slowly opened her mouth.
"First off, it's true that we stressed him out, so everyone would do well to be careful about that part."
"...That's true."
Everyone nodded at the Chairman's words.
It was something they all sympathized with.
More than anything, it was because the message Lee Si-woon had sent to everyone contained the phrase 'I need some time alone.'
At the Chairman's remark, Catherine seemed to notice her own mistake once more, and asked the Chairman for her opinion in a slightly subdued voice.
"......So, do you mean we shouldn't look for him?"
"That's not it."
The Chairman shook her head firmly.
"There could be some unforeseen danger, you know. Even if we don't go and bring him back right this instant, I think it's essential that we know his location."
It was a reasonable thought.
And it became the 'cause' that set nearly a million Monolith employees busily in motion.
That casual command was relayed to Monolith's Chief of Staff, Justin Borg.
"...What? The Chairman-nim said that?"
Naturally, the Chairman's loyal retainer quickly transmitted the command down the chain of command according to rank.
As a result, the command was passed down through the President, Senior Managing Director, Managing Director, Director, Department Head, and so on, each issuing sequential orders.
"Why do we have to check the city surveillance cameras one by one? Can't we just identify him with facial recogni— Excuse me?! An order from Chairman-nim?! Gather all lower-ranking employees right now!!"
"Who the hell is this bastard that they won't even let us clock out... Ah, no, sir! We're looking for him right now!"
"......What? You want to clock out? What do you mean by that? Aah..., do you mean you want to rest at home for the rest of your life? Fine. If that's what you want, I'll grant it."
"Why is there no trace of him anywhere?!"
It was inevitable that a small commotion arose.
28. A Method of Rest (5)
"Keuuuh."
This is peace, this is happiness.
I thought as I ate a potato chip.
Since I was on the bed, the crumbs were getting the sheets dirty, but because Eve came periodically to tidy them, I didn't let it bother me much.
If I'd been doing this back at home, Catherine would have come and nagged me, but the Catherine who would do that wasn't here now.
My name is Lee Si-woon.
A man who obtained the freedom to eat snacks while lying in bed by running away from home....
I lightly brushed off my self-loathing.
This time, I took out a P-brand lime-flavored cola and soothed my throat. The cool, strong carbonation slid smoothly down my esophagus.
It's good, so good.
I realized anew just how freeing it was to be able to laze around without minding the people around me.
Of course, I had lived a similar lazy life even when I was staying at the Golden Smile Condominium.
But the difference between having people around and not was huge; moreover, after all the leisure facilities inside the building were completed, it became hard to just laze around doing nothing.
.......
Well, it's not like that kind of life wasn't fun, though.
'Let's take the conversation of a certain I-type person as an example.
'Keheheok! I will take you to the pool!'
'Argh! I don't want to go, but I want to go.'
And so, the 'I' who cries out in a death throes gets dragged away by the 'E' as if being kidnapped.
You could say it feels roughly like that.
This part is hard to understand if you're not an 'I'.
I didn't expect them to understand it either.
Because, in the end, I was the one who didn't ultimately refuse and went out to play with them.
Hmm.
Although, no matter what, visiting leisure facilities nonstop for an entire week was a bit excessive.
Then suddenly, I thought.
Why hadn't I strongly refused their suggestions?
Even if I had refused outright just once, they wouldn't have felt offended.
If I had refused gently, I wouldn't have even needed to run away from home, and I could have lazed around comfortably at home, spending the necessary time.
It wasn't like the people around me didn't understand me to that extent.
But.
"......Why was that."
I hadn't been able to refuse.
There was probably a simple reason like it being hard for me to refuse because I'm an 'I', but I had a feeling there was a more fundamental reason.
It wasn't like I hated it intensely.
To the words I muttered to myself, the one who answered out of the blue was Eve.
"I ask what you are referring to."
Whoa, that startled me.
Pretending I hadn't been surprised, I calmly turned my head toward Eve.
"......Oh."
And I naturally let out an exclamation of admiration.
Unlike usual, Eve's outfit wasn't a 'maid outfit'.
The top was a white t-shirt, and perhaps because she bought it in a hurry, the size looked slightly too small.
As if a white curtain had been drawn, the short piece of cloth fluttered over her chest.
Because the length was a little short, her belly button was slightly visible. I didn't know why an artificial body had a belly button either.
Anyway, more than anything else, the texture of the top stole my gaze. Its robbery skills were superior to the Redwood hood Orcs.
It was presumably camouflage clothing bought at a clothing store before Tom arrived by taxi.
"...Looks like you bought the size a bit wrong."
"That is correct. Since I also purchased a separate coat to wear over it, there is no major problem with going outside."
I see.
"......."
No, wait, can an artificial intelligence buy clothes in the wrong size?
A slight suspicion flickered through my mind.
But I soon dismissed it, chalking it up to my mood.
She must have had some reason for buying it.
I nodded to myself and concluded.
Anyway, Eve asked me again.
"So, I ask, what were you referring to?"
"Huh?"
"I mean the content of what you said to yourself: '......Why was that.'"
When she spoke the '......Why was that.' part in the middle, she lowered her voice as if imitating mine.
But because Eve's voice was so thin and delicate, it didn't sound much like me.
I didn't let my feelings show at Eve's question and waved my hand nonchalantly.
"Nah, it's nothing special."
"......."
"......."
A shallow silence followed.
She's going to wait until the end for my answer.
It was me who lost the ensuing staring contest.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"...Seriously, it's nothing. I was just briefly thinking about why I hadn't refused the suggestions of the people around me when I was staying at home."
"Hmm."
Eve fell silent as if at a loss for words.
I didn't know what a high-performance artificial intelligence was thinking, but her expressionless gaze was directed at me.
Eve slowly opened her mouth.
"...I predict that the reason is similar to why 'Si-un' brought me out into the world."
"?"
What was that random remark?
I looked at Eve as if to ask what she meant.
Eve quickly continued speaking.
"I will go back downstairs now. The cleaning is not yet finished."
"...Uh, uh, okay."
I saw it clearly this time.
A very faint, light scarlet blush had settled on Eve's cheeks. Did artificial intelligences feel embarrassment too?
Looking at Eve's back as she disappeared as if fleeing, with no chance to hold her back, I scratched my head.
I don't think I said anything strange.
I don't know why she got embarrassed.
"......."
I should just do some net surfing.
I laid my body back down on the bed. Feeling the soft sensation of the bed, I savored my freedom.
Come to think of it....
There's a ton of movies I haven't watched piled up.
Since the cyberpunk world was saturated with provocative content, there was an incredible amount of things to watch.
In truth, that was a big part of the reason I took up gaming as a hobby again.
If I had fallen into a fantasy world, it would have been hard to have gaming as a hobby.
That was a given unless there was some genius who could create games with illusion magic or something.
Anyway.
Without a thought in my head, I launched the net program module that operated the OTT service.
"Ah."
The auto-login was on.
* * *
And at that moment, "The target's login signal has been caught! Does this mean we can finally clock out?!"
"Shut your mouth and start tracking him quickly!"
Monolith employees who hadn't been able to clock out for over 24 hours let out a simultaneous wail.