Consultation Results (1)
Drex let out a deep sigh.
"......Haaaaah."
With the heart of a 'Confucian Scholar-Official' still lingering somewhere inside me, I was tempted to tell Drex that sighing drives away your luck—but since I was the cause of that sigh, I simply held my tongue.
Drex, as if sighing wasn't enough, furrowed his brow heavily like a man under crushing stress.
He scrubbed his face vigorously with his dry hands, expressing his frustration through actions rather than words.
A bald head, green eyes, a neatly tied long beard straight out of a fantasy movie, and subtly visible golden teeth.
His appearance was the kind that made you instinctively avert your gaze if you passed him on the street.
In fact, if someone were to observe this situation objectively, they'd probably conclude it was 'civilian A getting shaken down by a mercenary' and flee.
Fortunately for us, we were currently on the café terrace on the 2nd floor of the Golden Smile Condominium.
There was no one around to stare and whisper.
Even though it was a café terrace, it was a greenhouse-like space separated from the outside by glass walls, so the air quality wasn't bad.
Anyway.
While gauging Drex's mood, I carefully set down my coffee cup.
I had only taken a sip each time I was nagged, but the cup was already showing its bottom.
It seemed Drex was just as parched. He downed all of his oil-laced coffee in one gulp and slammed the cup down aggressively.
- Thud.
Our taste buds should be the same, even for Cyba-Dwarves—so how did he drink it all in one go?
It was simply astonishing.
Sitting at the opposite table, I watched that scene and silently marveled.
Maybe it was just my mood, but Drex, looking paler and more exhausted than usual, waggled a thick finger in the air.
"...Alright, let's sort out what you said."
Maybe it was because he was a Dwarf, but he was indeed meticulous. It looked like he'd even been taking notes while listening to my consultation.
The mechanical light in Drex's green eyes glowed round and faint.
"First, when you went down to your room after finishing the call with me that evening, all your housemates were gathered and waiting for you."
"That's right."
"You were surprised because it said 'Day 1 Anniversary,' but up to that point, you said you understood."
"Mm, right. Although I wasn't the one who confessed."
"...And then, while kissing, you got your ribs broken."
"That is a fact based on reality."
Here, Drex's words paused for a moment.
He wore the expression of someone who had just heard an utterly outrageous incident.
I understood Drex's reaction. Even in Neon City, where all sorts of incidents lurk, I was probably the only person who ever coughed up blood from broken ribs while kissing.
Taking a light breath, Drex continued.
"After your wounds were treated, you said you got a private room."
"Ah, calling it a private room is a bit off. Since it's shared with two people."
"......Anyway, it turned into something like a rotation system, taking turns spending time together."
"That's right."
I voiced the concerns I hadn't yet managed to tell Drex, who was still struggling to find words.
"By yesterday, we'd finished a full rotation, and I think something's really off. Like how the amount of clothing is decreasing, or the subtly enticing physical contact."
"......."
"What do you think? Any opinions?"
Drex stared at me with an expression as if he'd just seen an alien from Alpha Centauri.
Side EP. Consultation Results (1)
It had been quite an informative time.
Of course, it didn't produce the light-hearted solution I'd been hoping for or anything like that.
But in terms of sorting out the current situation, my dwarf friend helped me in his own way.
- 'They served it up on a platter for you to eat whole—no, they practically shoved a spoon right into your mouth, and you spat it out.'
Still, the sight of a Robotics-Dwarf clutching the back of his neck and complaining of high blood pressure wasn't something you could easily see anywhere.
- 'Just do it—I said do it!'
I answered Drex like this.
- 'No, but still, there should be some kind of mood....'
- '......Argh!'
It wasn't the kind of response I should give a friend who made time to come during what must be his very busy newlywed period.
But it felt like Drex would end up rushed to the hospital for real at this rate (and I'd probably get grabbed by the collar), so I quickly sent him back home.
I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead and let out a light sigh.
"Hoo."
I returned to my seat on the café terrace and settled back into the chair.
Seeing that my empty coffee cup had been refilled, I bowed my head lightly toward the counter to express my thanks.
He was a Monolith employee assigned to a strange place, but his work ethic was thorough.
As I lifted the coffee cup, I heard the cool clinking of ice cubes rolling around.
I continued my thoughts while calmly enjoying the leisure.
It wasn't easy to interpret, since it was mixed with all sorts of swear words and F-bombs.
In the end, the summary Drex gave me boiled down to one thing.
- 'They're tempting you. They've set the stage, so you just have to accept it. ...But since you couldn't do that, you came to me.'
There was some noise interference at the end. Anyway, Drex's words weren't wrong.
The problem was simply 'doing' it.
Once I'd already realized everyone's feelings, there was no simpler solution. Since we were all adults, there were no legal issues either.
But, it's just a bit... well.
.......
Yeah.
Something was definitely strange.
I concentrated on my thoughts with my chin resting on the table.
Why was it like this?
I wasn't lacking in libido, nor was I (completely) clueless, nor was I thoughtless.
But.
Whenever it mattered most, I couldn't take that decisive step forward.
Like a piece of driftwood swept away by a wave, I was just going with the flow.
It was true that I was introverted by nature—I-type and all. But there were too many parts that couldn't be explained by simply dismissing it as that.
The feeling was different.
A sensation as if something crucial was missing.
Because this world was a game? It probably wasn't that.
I'd concluded last time that this world wasn't just a simple 'game.' This was already 'the world I had to live in.'
Then, was it because of my character traits? This possibility was quite high.
It had already been 10 years since I fell into this world.
Since my start in the garbage dump was hardcore, I hadn't had the luxury to remember and organize my traits in the early days.
Aside from a few major traits, I'd forgotten most of them.
My body was composed of numerous 'Negative Traits.' I couldn't definitively say that among them, there were no mental issues or broken parts.
Thinking about it, when I received psychiatric counseling from an elf doctor a long time ago, I thought maybe that wasn't just a false diagnosis.
I just thought he was trying to take a bribe.
Various other reasons came to mind as well.
It could just be my own sense of inferiority, or maybe I didn't want to ruin this relationship, or perhaps I simply lacked the courage.
.......
I calmly observed my own heart.
And I realized a plain fact.
I already knew the answer anyway. I also recognized the strangeness of the actions I had taken so far.
Of course, that didn't mean I could immediately act as Drex suggested.
- 'Just grab their chests!!'
...Acting on that was still difficult. I still felt a bit of pressure now.
But.
I had an intuition that for the women who kept helping me, and for the women who acknowledged me as I was, I also needed to prepare to take a step forward.
I couldn't maintain this relationship forever.
.......
The person coming to the 14th floor today was Eve.
Right. Let's do this.
I rose from my seat with firm resolve.
And then, beyond the glass wall, an aerial vehicle came hurtling toward me.
"Huh?"
- Kwaaaang!!
* * *
Wow, I was perfectly fine.
I thought to myself as I brushed the dust off my body.
It was a moment that proved the usefulness of Physical Enhancement Magic. Thanks to the mana stored in my body, I didn't even need time to gather mana.
"...A-are you alright?!"
The Monolith employee who had been at the counter hurried over.
"Ah, yes. I'm fine. More importantly, what on earth happened?"
"...Uh, um, I'll check on that."
"No, I'll take a look."
Restraining the Monolith employee who looked like his breath was about to stop, I walked slowly toward the aerial vehicle that had smashed through the glass window and made a wild entrance.
It could be a corporate terrorist. It could be an accident caused by a system error.
I approached while keeping various possibilities in mind.
Just then, Eve's voice reached my ear.
[Confirmed a sudden heart rate increase. I ask what has occurred.]
Was she protecting my privacy a little more these days? It seemed she wasn't sharing my vision.
I peered into the driver's seat. I saw the deployed airbag and an unconscious driver.
"Looks like an accident."
[Verifying identity and records... complete. I will play back the contents of the black box.]
There really is no separate all-purpose tool, is there?
Right after Eve finished speaking, an augmented screen was shared on my vision interface.
《Lullulu.... Huh? Wait, why isn't the steering wheel responding? The unmanned system... it's not working? Uh... s-stop, it's not stopping. I can't stop it, no!!》
- Kwaaaang!!
[That is all.]
"Wow, looks like a real accident."
Talk about unlucky. For reference, the unlucky one was me.
My coffee got an added topping of glass shards, and honestly, if I hadn't known Physical Enhancement Magic or hadn't learned how to store mana in my body yet, I could have been seriously injured.
[...It appears you were hit by the vehicle. I will dispatch an emergency team down there now.]
"Nah, I'm fine."
I waved my hand nonchalantly. I was genuinely fine.
At this level, it felt like I'd be fine even if I got shot. Although, of course, the result would differ depending on the type of bullet.
[Did you use Shield Magic?]
"It's magic, but not shield magic—Physical Enhancement Magic. The one I developed last time...... Ah."
It was supposed to be a secret.
[.......]
Eve's silence felt terrifying. I carefully muttered as if talking to myself.
"Could we pretend you didn't hear that?"
[I refuse.]
.......
Honestly, it didn't matter if I was caught. Because I had already mentally prepared myself just a moment ago.
But, mm.
Mmm.
...It was just a bit awkward.
If it was going to be like this, I might as well not have agonized over it.
I slowly closed my eyes and braced for the future that would (forcibly) arrive.