I Can't Believe It Myself (2)
I Can't Believe It Myself (2)
I launched the game with the familiar motions.
It was the 'classic game' I used to enjoy so much.
There was no max-level content to speak of.
And it had a hidden identity as an underworld network.
So I hadn't even logged in unless I had business, like digging up information.
I never expected to be logging in like this.
Catherine stared intently at the old-fashioned monitor in front of me.
I pressed the jump key and showed her my character, 'I am a real mage,' actually jumping.
"It's real, right?"
"...It is."
Catherine tilted her head but nodded.
Well, it was an understandable reaction.
Because I remembered answering pretty much the same way as Catherine just did, back when I first met Julia at the restaurant and heard the same explanation.
"......'Julia.'"
Catherine's golden eyes turned toward Julia.
She kept her gaze on Julia.
But her words were directed at me.
"You did say she helped you, so I doubt there'll be any problems, but still."
Then she looked back at me.
"Will it be okay?"
It was a question loaded with multiple meanings.
But before I could make any excuse, Julia spoke up first.
"Um, I also... won't do anything that might cause trouble for Si-un-nim...."
Strength entered Julia's hand as she clutched the White Rabbit doll. Her fingers, which looked like a cyberware prosthetic hand, were strangling the doll's neck.
......I was grateful she said that.
But I had no idea why she was saying it while strangling its neck.
Julia continued speaking.
"......Because I've been a fan of Si-un-nim from the start."
"A faan?"
Catherine answered that remark.
Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
Honestly, I was dumbfounded too.
Apparently, I had a fan I didn't even know about.
Julia kept her head bowed and only moved her eyes. Her gaze was directed at me.
A faint blush was visible on her cheeks.
"Um, I told Si-un-nim before as well. It's because I'm also a Mage...."
""Ah.""
Both Catherine and I reacted at the same time.
And of course, her raised voice instantly shrank.
Catherine's earlier look of disbelief—
this time it shifted to an expression like she was looking at something fascinating.
Honestly, it was a natural attitude.
Because in this cyberpunk world, over the nearly ten years I'd lived here, the talent I'd barely seen a few of was a 'real Mage.'
It wasn't for nothing that I'd taken a video channel as my teacher to learn magic.
For reference, I had seen plenty of fake Mages who shot flames out of their mechanical prosthetics.
"Well, if that's the case, then being a fan makes sense."
"......Yes."
The atmosphere, which had felt like walking on a knife's edge, became considerably lighter.
The situation seemed roughly wrapped up for now.
"So."
"Hm?"
I asked a question.
"Why were you two acting like that in front of my house?"
Now it was time to resolve my own curiosity.
10. I Can't Believe It Either (2)
Catherine answered first.
"Well, this person was standing in front of your house.... You never know, it could've been some weirdo who came looking for you."
Her tone, which sounded like an excuse, continued.
"You know, there's the Smile Zone issue too. And even though it's fine now, there was a time when a bounty was placed on you, so I was just paying attention."
I nodded naturally.
Actually, I already knew the reason Catherine had been holding onto Julia—
thanks to eavesdropping on their conversation through the Lone Spider drone that Eve had controlled.
This time I asked Julia.
"Then why were you in front of my house, Julia?"
"......For me."
She continued speaking hesitantly.
"...Information about Smile Zone came in."
"Ah, the one you posted on the bounty board?"
"......Yes, you knew about it."
There was no way I didn't know.
Because I checked it myself last time.
The person who posted the bounty notice was 'White Rabbit.' To anyone who knew Julia, that would've been the same as using her real name.
"Well, I'm grateful for the info, but you could've just sent it by message."
"......Um, that's.... I just, since we're on the same floor."
She started to make some long excuse.
Then Julia bowed her head deeply again.
I was in a position of receiving help right now.
So it felt wrong to press the matter any further.
"Info is always welcome, so what is it?"
At my question, Julia pulled out a card-shaped device from her chest.
On the surface of the thin device, a graph showing sound wave patterns was displayed.
"......This was made by measuring the voice data of Smile Zone."
"Oh."
My short exclamation was brief.
Julia continued speaking.
"...Even if the voice is modulated, they say it can distinguish things like pronunciation, minor habits, and voice pitch."
Julia pressed a button on the surface of the card.
《Probability of subject match..., 0%》
"......Like this. ...They say the accuracy is still low, but I brought it just in case."
"No, seriously, thank you."
It was way better than going in blind.
It was a genuinely good item.
When I went to that party being held in the upper layer,
my biggest worry had been 'how to find Smile Zone,' after all.
To put it bluntly,
even if I just talked to everyone attending the party, it was the kind of item that could yield some results.
Just then, as if Eve had read my mind,
she added.
[I am confident that if I analyze that data, I can increase the probability even further.]
So she said.
If Eve could supplement its lacking performance, there really was a sufficient chance of finding Smile Zone.
"The timing's good too."
"Huh?"
I briefly explained the information I had obtained to the two of them.
A party for high-ranking corporate officials in the upper layer.
And Smile Zone's attendance.
The fact that I could also attend that party thanks to the help of an acquaintance (the Chairman).
That was the gist of my explanation.
Catherine let out a shallow snort.
"......Hmm."
"What's wrong."
Her look seemed to hold some dissatisfaction.
My Goldie, what's the matter?
"...Then I can't go, right?"
"Probably not. Since I'm squeezing in to go myself."
Leaving a disappointed Catherine behind,
I expressed my thanks to Julia.
"Anyway, thanks. With this, things will get a bit easier."
"......Heh, it's nothing."
It was a voice that didn't sound like a vicious wanted criminal at all.
Just then, Catherine asked me a question.
"But if you didn't have something like that, how were you planning to find this Smile Zone or whatever?"
"Ahh."
Well, that was.
"That guy seems to really hate it and get worked up when people use casual speech to him."
"So?"
"I figured if I just walked around talking casually to people, I might snag one."
"Huh?"
Of course, it was a joke.
I didn't have any special plan.
I was just thinking that if my face was visible at the party, maybe Smile Zone would show some kind of reaction.
"Anyway."
Catherine, with a dumbfounded look, asked about something else this time.
"That, the game you play—is it any fun?"
"What is?"
"That weird game you said was connected to the underworld network, the one you play."
I slowly shook my head.
I stated flatly.
"Nah, it's a trash game."
"Then why do you play it?"
I thought about it slowly.
I couldn't explain that I played it out of nostalgia for my hometown, Korea.
What other example could I give that would fit best?
So, like.......
"It's like pineapple pizza."
"...What?"
Ah, maybe not that.
"I'm gonna quit soon anyway. No, I've basically already quit."
"Why's that again?"
I answered with a short sigh.
"I hit max level, but there's no max-level content, and nothing else worth doing. So now I only log in when I'm getting underworld info."
"...I was thinking of starting it too; that's a shame."
.......
Well, that changes things.
"I recommend Warrior for your class."
"Huh?"
"Warrior."
As the guild master of Jeonjangyeon (Warrior Artisan Union), it was a natural recommendation.
"You said you quit."
"......It's playable in its own way."
"What classes are there?"
I spoke slowly.
"There's Warrior, Mage, Archer, stuff like that. They're all meh—Warrior is the best."
For some reason, Julia was looking at me like I was a weirdo.
"......."
I tried hard to ignore it.
"If I play, I'm gonna be a Mage."
"Hm."
As expected of the original game's protagonist,
my trap didn't work on her.
"Mage... is meh. Let's play Warrior."
"What's with you—I thought you said you quit the game?"
"......Right, I did quit."
That was true.
But the warrior spirit in my heart was howling.
I felt a lingering sense of regret.
Just as I was wallowing in that regret for a while,
Eve's voice came through quietly.
[I inform you, please wait until tomorrow.]
"Huh?"
I inadvertently answered Eve at those words.
To anyone watching, it would look like I was talking to myself.
"...Si-un-nim?"
"Is something wrong?"
"Nah, nothing."
I couldn't ask Eve what her intention was in telling me to wait until tomorrow.
What on earth was happening tomorrow?
No matter how much I thought about it, I had no idea.
* * *
Really.
It sounded like crazy talk.
But the update log for the classic game I used to play came up.
Max-level content, specifically raid content.
I seriously can't believe it.
I immediately logged into the game.
"Wow, what on earth is going on."
It was just astonishing.
For a game that didn't really need updates,
to actually keep getting updates.
I wondered if my prayers had been answered from the heavens.
Just at that moment, at the edge of my old monitor screen, a character that looked like a newbie went dashing past—tudadada.
I looked at that person's ID.
[ Eve(Mage) ]
Hm.
I asked just in case.
"Eve?"
At that, Eve continued speaking hurriedly, as if she had been caught red-handed.
[The past me said that hacking this game is 'not absolutely impossible.']
"......."
[I explain that I also reached an agreement through dialogue with the game program's creator, without any coercion involved.]
"......Uh, it's definitely okay, right?"
[Affirmative, I answer that while progressing the game's update, I also left the underworld network functions intact.]
......That wasn't exactly what I was asking.
It was an underworld network built with a lot of attention to security.
I was asking because I wondered if everyone else would run away if the fact that it had been breached by hacking got out.
That was the intention behind my question.
Was she hiding the fact that it had been hacked?
.......
I don't know either.
Well, whatever.
The game got updated, after all.
In that spirit, I made one request to Eve.
"Then buff the Warrior a bit, please."
[.......]
Why isn't she answering.
Anyway, I figured I could just play the game and get ready to go to the upper-layer party now.