The Reason for Coming (4)
The Reason for Coming (4)
The closer we got to the center of 'Pit Mac Land,' the more the atmosphere shifted.
It was noticeably different from the outskirts, which were packed with tourists and rides.
We finally arrived in front of the headquarters building.
A scene unfolded that could no longer be called an 'amusement park.'
"Koozaka must repent!"
"Repent! Repent!"
......Hmm.
Drone cameras flew through the air, reflecting light.
Rows of people were shouting into small megaphones or voice amplification implants.
It was a sight completely out of place in an amusement park.
You could call it an extremely peculiar and strange sight, but at the same time, it was also a perfectly normal scene.
In fact, there was even a dedicated segment on 'NCB24' that covered this very topic, 'Koozaka,' professionally.
I won't go into lengthy explanations.
Koozaka's malicious practices were that notorious in this city.
I took a quick look around.
There were people holding metal picket signs, and many others were projecting holograms and shouting on a large scale.
There was one thing all these diverse people had in common.
They were all united, with one heart and one mind, in cursing 'Koozaka.'
"Give me back my stocks, you sons of bitches!!"
Someone's furious shout rang out.
Hmm.
Should I go join them and hold a sign too?
If Eve hadn't supported me with a portion of her streaming revenue, I might have been out there protesting with them myself.
Even if it weren't for that, I'd probably be handling all sorts of requests just to make a living day by day.
"What are you doing? Let's go."
"......."
Catherine spoke, and Eve grabbed my hand.
They led me along.
On the other hand, I felt a faint sense of guilt.
In the current situation where Smile Zone's identity as Koozaka's insane mascot character had been exposed,
I couldn't claim to bear no responsibility whatsoever for the hostile corporate activities carried out by Smile Zone and Pit Mac.
That was just how I felt in my heart.
17. The Reason They Came (4)
"That's right."
At my question, Kozaka William nodded as if it were obvious.
"Most of the recent profit-making activities were all orders from the Chairman, given in secret. Like the 'Rainbow Flavor Cola' that was created to target a competitor's cola, for example."
"......."
So it was real.
What the hell did they do just to cause harm to me alone? Even thinking about it calmly, I just couldn't understand.
Kozaka William lifted an antique teacup and took a sip of green tea.
I followed his lead and carefully drank my tea as well.
Personally, I wasn't fond of most teas except for coffee.
...But what gold dust did they mix into this tea?
I heard that this single cup cost more than roughly one month of my food expenses. Once I heard that, I decided to just drink it without complaint.
Catherine, who seemed to have no intention of enjoying tea the same way I was, spoke in a tone laced with vague dissatisfaction.
"It's a total shitshow outside, but here... is it because only the high and mighty come? It's awfully peaceful."
Even in front of a Mega Corp Vice Chairman.
Even in front of another Mega Corp (Monolith) Chairman, it was just like her to say what she wanted.
Normally I might have pretended to restrain her completely unfiltered words, but today I agreed with Catherine's words and kept silent.
It was definitely true.
Outside, the protests continued on.
Here, the scenery was so peaceful it felt surreal.
Just then, a *tung* sound rang out.
It was the sound of a bamboo ornament often seen in Japanese culture. It was a *shishi-odoshi* (鹿威し), I think, where a bamboo tube filled with water taps against a stone and tilts back.
It was something people wouldn't believe if I told them.
The interior of the building felt more like the outside, or rather, more like the real outside than the actual outdoors.
Before us, a Japanese-style garden stretched out wide.
Behind us, a Japanese-style house was built.
Sitting on the wide *daecheongmaru* veranda and leisurely drinking tea, the protests we had seen outside felt like a lie.
The glass windows displayed a painted hologram that looked like a real wall, and on the ceiling, a blue sky slowly drifted by as if it were 'real.'
And the ceiling was unbearably high.
If you knocked someone out by hitting them on the back of the head and brought them here, they would genuinely mistake it for the actual outdoors.
Kozaka William answered Catherine's remark nonchalantly.
"It's my wife's taste, you see."
He must have known full well that people were protesting outside, but he didn't seem to care at all.
No trace remained of the man I had seen in the garbage landfill or the sewers.
He looked just like he did when I first saw him at the party.
He genuinely seemed like a 'Mega Corp Vice Chairman.'
"You didn't look like that when the Orc broke your arm."
"Ahem."
Kozaka William coughed politely.
Ah, it seemed my inner thoughts had slipped out of my mouth without me realizing.
I quietly sipped my (expensive) tea.
I spoke around the fact that I had made a mistake.
Meanwhile, Eve, who had been looking around here and there, walked over to us.
Eve looked at me and said.
"There are no surveillance elements like cameras in sight. Also, no traces of 'Smile Zone' can be found in the current state."
So she had been looking for things like that.
I just thought she was looking around because the place was fascinating....
- *Tung.*
Eve's gaze shifted toward the bamboo ornament, the *shishi-odoshi*, from which the sound had come, then returned.
...Then again, she might have just been examining it out of curiosity.
Anyway.
Deep down, had she unconsciously been thinking that Smile Zone was watching her?
Kozaka William took a short breath.
He set down his teacup and gestured toward the interior of the Japanese-style mansion.
Then, from the inner part of the mansion, within the shadows, a female employee resembling a ninja appeared carrying a large metal case.
The female employee placed the case between Kozaka William and me without a single word.
Just as she had appeared, she vanished back into the shadows in an instant.
For reference, the expression 'vanished' meant she had literally disappeared physically.
It was optical camouflage.
However, seeing that no one was surprised by her appearance, it seemed everyone here was already aware of her presence.
The sorrow of a Mage who knows nothing....
Be that as it may, Kozaka William pressed a button on the case placed on the *daecheongmaru*.
White smoke leaked through the gaps of the case.
Even though no one had opened it, the case slowly began to open on its own.
Inside the case was a piece of 'clothing' with a design remarkably similar to the 'clothes' I was wearing.
Seeing that we had checked the contents of the case, Kozaka William continued his explanation.
"Firstly, the technically feasible bulletproof and anti-stab specifications have been included as standard."
He must have prepared in advance, because there was no hesitation in his explanation.
"Using materials such as carbon nanotubes, Kevlar, and muscle fiber, functionality has been maximized to the greatest extent possible."
The explanation went on and on.
Heat resistance and insulation performance.
Assistance with athletic ability through the activation of muscle fibers via nano robots.
Various explanations followed.
Perhaps it was his way of saying he couldn't give us two sets. Finally, Kozaka William added.
"Special attention was paid to ensure it does not become stained by odor or contamination."
"Ah."
Since he had provided the clothes so easily this time,
I had been thinking of asking again the next time they got dirty.
What a shame.
Honestly, it was half a joke when I first mentioned it in the sewers, but I was grateful he had actually prepared the clothes like this.
The female employee emerged from the shadows once more. In her hands were two more cases identical in shape to the one she had carried out earlier.
"These are for the other two. As for the belongings of your comrades who couldn't come today, I will take care of them separately, so don't worry."
Mega Corps are truly Mega Corps.
When they take care of something, they do it thoroughly.
No.
But sending them separately was fine anyway.
Couldn't he have just sent ours separately too?
I thought to myself.
As if he had read my mind, Kozaka William clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention.
"Then, let's get down to business."
As expected.
Come to think of it, when SP first came to invite us, he had also added, 《There's also something else to talk about.》
Of course, properly speaking, we should have had that conversation immediately when we came here that previous night.
Kozaka William spoke while carefully observing Eve's form.
Eve had shut off all the lights of the headquarters, along with part of the city.
That must have come across as threatening even to a Mega Corp Vice Chairman.
Truthfully, I had been shocked too.
It was a situation where losing one's mind was inevitable.
Kozaka William cleared his throat briefly.
"First of all, regarding our common 'enemy,' Pit Mac... or Smile Zone, as you would call him. It would be proper to explain about him first, wouldn't it."
And then he stood up.
He stood on top of the *daecheongmaru*, and the fact that he didn't take off his shoes grated on my nerves immensely.
If this were my actual house, I would have slapped him right then.
What was this? If it was a Japanese-style house, it would obviously be correct to take your shoes off before entering.
There's a saying, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, but no matter what, the Confucian scholar-official inside me would not permit such an action.
I took off my shoes and stepped up onto the *daecheongmaru*.
Catherine and Eve, who were accustomed to taking their shoes off when entering my house, followed my lead and took off their shoes.
Perhaps his mind was elsewhere.
Not having seen us do this, Kozaka William continued speaking.
"I apologize in advance for not being able to use electronic devices to explain. Since we are inside the headquarters, it wouldn't be strange for 'him' to appear at any moment."
He straightened the necktie around his neck.
There was no mirror, but he neatly fixed his slicked-back hair with his hand.
"So I found someone to help with the explanation."
He was clearly speaking to us.
Yet in a way, it also sounded like he was speaking to himself.
Kozaka William, who had been staring intently at the interior of the mansion, turned around. Only then did he look at us.
"Now then, let's move."
"Let's."
I nodded and then signaled to Catherine and Eve with my eyes.
Following behind him, we walked across the interior of the wooden mansion, something entirely out of place in the cyberpunk world.
...A building made of wood in this world.
You really do live long enough to see everything.
Was it because I had already adapted to this insane world over the span of more than ten years?
With every step I took, the old floorboards creaked, *kki-ik*, a sound that was deeply unfamiliar.
'...Who on earth could it be, for him to be so out of it.'
I thought as I followed behind Kozaka William.
'Pit Mac', 'Smile Zone', 'Cozaka Nobukuro'.
I wondered who the person was that would explain about him.
Kozaka William paused for a moment and let out a short sigh.
Then he carefully opened a sliding door made of paper screens.
In the center of the spacious room, sitting quietly,
was a young 'girl.'
She looked extremely young in appearance, yet from each of her movements, there was an indescribable sense of refinement that belied her age.
.......
It wasn't refinement, but I felt like I had seen someone similar somewhere before.
Right.
Like that crazy old man..., 'Bill'.
She did not seem her age.
Breaking the quiet silence, Kozaka William spoke first and introduced the girl.
"This is my wife, Cozaka Kohaku."
"......."
No matter how much you're a Mega Corp Vice Chairman,
this is a bit....
I stared at him with the gaze one reserves for looking at garbage.
But before I could curse him out, the girl called Cozaka Kohaku spoke to him faster.
"......I told you to take your shoes off when you walk around here, didn't I?"
"Ah."
It sounded like the dying gasp of a live-in son-in-law.