I'm Just a Regular Person (2)
I'm Just a Regular Person (2)
While I was out roaming around, failing to uphold my duty as an 'I'.
In the 'Net Space', a place that couldn't endure even a moment of silence, a new topic had sparked an uproar.
Everyone there was riding the waves of the issue, enjoying the surf.
[Singer 'A', Deadly Scandal Controversy]
[Breaking News, Question Posted by Famous Singer 'Polygyny']
[Agency Official, "Will Respond Strongly to Rumors"]
The net news was the same.
[lmao who actually believes this?]
(Image of a hanged frog)
Loved forever...
— fr lmao no way it's real lol...ha..
— wtf one singer gets into a controversy and all this dumb shit floods in
└ do you even know love? (OP)
└ what you're doing isn't love, sir...
└ ... (OP)
[lmao upvote if you like 'that singer' lol]
How do you even get into a controversy over a polygyny question lol
If it were me I'd shave my face off and re-debut lol
— hasn't it been confirmed whether it's true or false yet?
└ lol not my job man lmao (OP)
└ ah you fucking net wraith bastard
[Just heard the song for the first time]
The song was good, yeah.
But is this even something worth turning into a controversy?
Other female singers live with five men.
— heard it through the grapevine, but they said the post was a question about polygyny within polygamy.
└ ah lmao then that makes sense (OP)
The net bulletin boards were the same.
As vast as Andrea's fame was, all sorts of different people living in the cyberpunk world had united as one.
And with full force, they were chewing, savoring, tasting, and enjoying the stories about her.
I looked through a few more posts, but most of the others were filled with nearly identical content.
I closed the vision interface and turned off the screen.
Then I looked at Andrea.
Before I looked at her, Andrea had been bouncing up and down, checking the bed's elasticity with her whole body.
But the moment my gaze touched her, she placed her hands on her knees and pretended to be demure, as if she'd been still the whole time.
The bed was definitely soft.
I spoke to Andrea.
"So."
"...Yeah."
Andrea looked at me carefully, like a prisoner awaiting a verdict, waiting for my question.
I asked in a listless voice.
"......How the hell did this happen?"
Anyway, now that things had come to this, I wanted to hear the process first—how far things had progressed without my knowing.
19. Real Ordinary Person Though (2)
Andrea bowed her head deeply. Her long hair, tied on both sides, touched the floor.
It was an apology, and it also looked like she was simply too embarrassed to lift her face.
When she lifted her head, a deep red flush had spread thickly across her face, but judging by the emotion in her eyes, the apology seemed stronger.
"Well, you see."
Andrea spoke in short bursts, expressing her unease with her whole body.
"Should I get you something to drink?"
"...Nah, I'm fine."
She didn't need to feel that sorry, though.
Andrea let out a deep breath again. One inhale, one exhale.
Even though the air in Neon City was garbage, maybe one breath of cool air had made her feel better, because Andrea continued with a slightly improved complexion.
"...First of all, it was me who posted the question."
Andrea's explanation was as follows: she'd posted the question out of pure curiosity. A malicious sasaeng fan hacked in and stole the information. The controversy itself had no clear evidence, so under normal circumstances it would have died down quickly.
"But it just so happened that a picture was taken with me?"
"......Yeah."
So she said.
At my question, Andrea bowed her head as if she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
Her face, which had grown redder with each part of her explanation, had already turned the shade of an apple.
"...So that's why I'm asking. If you could maybe appear with me on an NCB24 broadcast..."
Hm.
"...Yeah."
"You're okay with it?"
"No."
It was just a filler word. I was starting to roughly grasp how the situation was flowing.
The photo was probably taken then—like when we went out to eat after the concert, or when we went to find Maya and played DraEve together. Actually, there was no end to it if you looked for it.
This being a cyberpunk world, the surveillance camera data could have been leaked through hacking as well. That possibility was very high, too.
While I was thinking, Andrea spoke to me again, her voice filled with apology.
"...I'm really asking just this once."
"......"
I thought about it briefly—whether to confidently appear on the broadcast and state it wasn't true, escaping the controversy in one go, or to go with no response, indifference, and leave everything to the passage of time.
I raised my head and looked at Andrea. The feeling of apology was fully conveyed from her expression. This was the first time I'd seen Andrea look this sorry. Actually, she had never once done anything to me that required an apology until now.
Seeing her like that, it struck me as strange that I was even hesitating.
Andrea had always helped me. Like when we saved Maya. She'd also accepted the absurd request of kidnapping the Mega Corp vice-chairman without a second thought. So if I refused her request here and now, that would be a relationship that could no longer be called 'friends'.
"Alright, I'll help."
I answered Andrea. I felt a surprised look from Eve behind me. Knowing my tendency to hate going outside, she must have expected me to refuse.
But having already received her help, refusing her request was something even the 'Confucian Scholar-Official' inside me couldn't condone.
Perhaps she had been secretly worried about being rejected.
"Thank you!"
Unable to contain her emotions, Andrea rushed at me.
Wait. The chest.
That voluptuous sensation made me lose my mind. Not knowing where to put my lost hands, I just clenched the empty air.
The eternal moment, like being inside a cloud, was brought to an end by a third party.
"......"
The ruthless touch of a cold artificial intelligence separated Andrea and me.
"Ah."
Only then, as if realizing what she had done, Andrea started laughing awkwardly.
"...I just couldn't help it."
Her face was redder than before, when she'd been asking me with apology.
Even then, I still hadn't come to my senses. No matter how much of a 'Mage' I was, I wasn't completely immune to female breasts.
Still. That noble and great size, and the completely unexpected timing—all of it combined into one, I had no choice but to be flustered for a while.
Being swept up by yet another touch happened after that.
"Urk."
My neck almost snapped. Someone pulled me into an embrace from the side. I tried to look around to grasp the situation, but whoever was holding me tight kept me from moving my neck even slightly.
I just rolled my eyes to shift my gaze. The chest area of a familiar white maid outfit was right before my nose.
I coolly assessed the situation. To sum it up in one line: it looked like Eve had grabbed my head and buried it in her (large) chest.
"......"
A voice came from above my head. It was Eve, naturally.
"This is the reward I was unable to receive last time."
The gripping force tightened, as if squeezing. It wasn't a situation I couldn't escape from, but I surrendered to the sensation, pretending I couldn't win.
As a man, it couldn't be helped.
I thought it'd be firm because it's a prosthetic body. ...It's softer than the bed; at this level, you couldn't tell who was better between her and Andrea.
How much time had passed? A moment later, Eve let me go. I looked at her expressionless face. Maybe it was just my imagination because of the expressionlessness, but for some reason I felt as though she was very satisfied.
I shook my head to snap out of it.
Andrea, who just a moment ago had been smiling contentedly, was now looking at the two of us with a slightly dissatisfied expression. It was oddly embarrassing. I tried to forget that embarrassment and spoke to Andrea.
"Anyway, I've decided, so we just need to prepare."
It still felt like the sensation of both their chests lingered on my cheeks.
"By when should I be ready?"
At my question, Andrea answered with a smile.
"Tomorrow."
"Huh?"
"Without any companion."
"That's how the broadcast station's regulations are."
She shrugged her shoulders as if it couldn't be helped. A smile stayed on her face, but unlike before, it looked mechanical.
At Andrea's words that a companion couldn't join, Eve flinched.
"This entity, as an artificial intelligence, can be exempt from general regulat—."
"It's an internal rule set by the station, so it probably doesn't relate to city law, you know?"
"......"
Eve looked at me with eyes asking for help. But I turned my head and naturally avoided her gaze.
I didn't want to do that either, but it was to prevent the violent situation of a beautiful woman in a maid outfit following me around at a broadcast station.
......Later, not a maid outfit. I should buy her some other clothes.
Having confirmed my reaction, Eve stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"Understood."
Slowly, Eve moved to a corner. She sat down in place and closed her eyes.
"Then I will provide support like this."
[Then I will provide support like this.]
Along with Eve's voice, the same voice was heard inside my head simultaneously. Ah, so there was this method. This was good for me.
While I was nodding to myself, Andrea's puzzled voice was heard as well.
"...Is it just me, or do I hear a strange voice."
[It is not strange.]
"......Again."
It seemed Eve had set it up so Andrea could hear the voice too. Considering how easily she'd hacked the city neural network, transmitting a voice to Andrea via signal wouldn't have been difficult.
If it were just Eve and me talking, it seemed like an action born from consideration for Andrea, who might feel lonely being left out in the meantime.
[Are you an idiot, I ask.]
"What do you mean by that."
[The voice output and data are identical to the voice of 'me' you have heard before, so I said that because you described it as a strange voice.]
"...No, if a voice suddenly sounds in your head, you can mistake it like that."
[Hu hu hu.]
"Huh?"
[That was a derisive laugh.]
.......
It probably really was a considerate heart.