A Person Who Doesn't Want to Go Out (1)
A Person Who Doesn't Want to Go Out (1)
How did things end up like this?
I lay on my bed and mulled it over carefully.
Of course, even while I was doing that, my gaze couldn't help but drift sideways.
It was a movement close to an unavoidable instinct.
Where my gaze landed was Catherine.
The sight of her in an extremely thin tank top and dolphin pants was very striking.
It was highly indecorous.
But it was also a view I couldn't help but look at.
Unless someone aimed a machine gun at me and threatened to make me look elsewhere.
Even under my stare, Catherine went on tidying up her luggage without a care.
"This goes here... dishes, I'll put them together."
Since two physically divided spaces had been merged into one, there were now two sinks.
My honest opinion was, couldn't we just use separate sinks?
But if she wanted to handle it herself,
I didn't feel any particular need to stop her.
.......
But this,
doesn't it violate the city building code?
I asked Catherine about that part.
Then.
"I handled it well, you know."
"How?"
"Well."
"......"
The "well" Catherine mentioned gave off a faint whiff of violence and money (credits); it was definitely just my imagination.
20. A Person Who Doesn't Want to Go Out (1)
In the end, as always, I had no choice but to accept everything with a detached state of mind.
Somehow it'll work out.
With half my heart turning away from reality and the other half accepting it, I watched Catherine.
Perhaps unhappy with the way I was staring,
Eve stomped over to Catherine.
"Are you a beast?"
"Huh?"
A question with no brakes.
"It is recorded that wearing 'proper attire' is a basic refinement of a 'person'. But the human 'Catherine' does not satisfy that condition."
"Well, so what. I'm inside my own home."
It's half my home too, though....
Catherine stretched out leisurely.
There was absolutely no sign of embarrassment in that action.
However, even while talking with Eve, her gaze was subtly fixed on me.
While I was looking at that scene, our eyes met.
I squeezed my eyes shut urgently, as if meditating.
But as small as the house was, I couldn't avoid their gazes. I calmed my mind by counting prime numbers in my head.
Catherine continued speaking to Eve.
"Look, there's only one person to see me anyway. And it's comfortable for now."
"......."
After a brief silence, Eve answered.
"...I partially agree."
Eve, Eve....
Seeing the rare spectacle of a super AI being persuaded by a human driven by simple emotion, I swallowed nervously.
If things went even slightly wrong, I felt a situation might arise where everyone was in light clothing, and I wouldn't know where to put my eyes.
Just as I was about to summon the 'Confucian Scholar-Official' inside me.
"Hey, that's not it."
Andrea, who was lying on the sofa watching a hologram broadcast, spoke.
With one hand, she ran her fingers through her damp red hair.
The sight of a famous celebrity rolling around on the sofa felt equally bizarre.
But contrary to that behavior,
her face was fully made up, and her outfit was in a neat, going-out-ready state.
If she moved into the place where Bill used to live, it was practically next door.
It was a mystery why she had dressed up like that.
Andrea continued speaking as she took a sip of the cola on the table.
"An outfit that's too light can actually backfire. A person should at least dress up a bit."
"I also partially agree with that."
"So you too, instead of a maid outfit, other—."
Hm.
Just what topic were the three of them discussing like that?
I was listening, but I couldn't understand.
.......
Anyway, it was fine as long as the three of them got along.
That part was fortunate.
I didn't predict a fight would break out, but it would also be a lie to say I hadn't worried at all.
Not wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere, I slowly moved in front of the old-fashioned computer.
Guess I'll play some games for now.
I turned on the computer's power and launched the game.
Come to think of it....
Hadn't I turned off the game last time without distributing the items after the raid ended?
I'd better hurry and distribute the items before a problem arises.
My character appeared beyond the monitor.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior) ]
Since I'd quit the game in an instance dungeon, the scenery of the village rendered around me.
And.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): ...Guild Master? ]
[ Does Sleep Come on This Crap(Thief): He appeared!! Tie that bastard up! ]
[ P77648(Warrior): GiveItemGiveItemGiveItemGiveItemGiveItemGiveItem]
I seriously considered quitting the game again.
Of course, I wasn't so devoid of conscience as to actually quit.
I was just extremely flustered because I hadn't imagined they would still be waiting for my character.
All sorts of slander followed through various emote functions and chat.
Since PK was impossible inside the village, no violence broke out, but every other malicious act possible was committed.
I thought this must be similar to the atmosphere of those Orc riots that sometimes happened in the lower layer.
I calmly typed in chat.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Everyone calm down! ]
What the hell were those items,
for people to go this crazy over them.
The heat was intense.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Daring to tarnish the name of Jeonjangyeon with such senseless behavior! ]
[ P77648(Warrior): ItemItemItemItemItemItemItemItemItem ]
[ Does Sleep Come on This Crap(Thief): Already posted a bounty on the board and tracking you, yeah, so give up ]
The one fortunate part was,
I did have a way to resolve this whole situation.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Call all the other party members too! I'm distributing the drop items now ]
The resolution was swift.
[ P77648(Warrior): Nice ]
[ Does Sleep Come on This Crap(Thief): Some weird person put a bounty, I'll try to get the post deleted. Items pls... ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Haha, I knew I could trust only you, Guild Master. ]
How fickle they were....
Of course, it was my fault.
I shut my mouth and distributed the items.
Since many of that day's party members weren't online right at that moment, it took quite a long time to distribute all the drop items.
After that, most people left to check out their items' abilities.
Ultimately, the only ones left in the village square were my character and Jeonbungi No.2.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Honestly thought you took the drop items and ran. ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): I think I said I had urgent business and would distribute them later before I left... ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): ...Many people made various speculations, but the one that gathered the most opinions was, who believes what a warrior says... ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): ... ]
He wasn't wrong.
And considering that most people who played this game were underworld figures, things could have gotten a bit more serious.
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Thankfully, the items didn't hit the market, and the Guild Master never logged in after that, so it was considered a mitigating circumstance. ]
Anyway.
I first asked about what I was curious about.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Um... it's a bit awkward for me to ask, but you could have just formed a new party and done the raid again. ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Well, about that... ]
What he said was as follows.
For some reason unknown,
even when they tried to form a new party and enter the raid dungeon, they couldn't get in, he said.
As if the game admin was blocking it.
I turned my head after reading his chat.
I looked at Eve, who was talking with Catherine and Andrea.
.......
I turned my head back and looked at the monitor.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): That's a really strange thing;; ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Right? ]
I didn't know why they blocked it,
but I felt like I knew who was behind it.
There had been several hackers who tried to hack the server because of this incident.
And there were a few people who posted on the boards asking for information by writing down my character's name, he said.
I didn't understand why such capable people were spending time and effort enjoying this boring classic game.
In my case, half of it was because of homesickness.
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): Anyway, glad it ended safely. Let's go try the same raid dungeon again next time ]
[ P2034871140(Warrior): Won't it not work this time either? We tried a few times ourselves. ]
[ I am a real mage(Warrior): ...I wanted to see for myself first whether it works or not ]
Wouldn't it work if you went with me?
I couldn't bring myself to type that in chat.
Ending with a brief goodbye of see you next time,
Jeonbungi No.2's character disappeared.
"......Hoo."
I'd turned on the game to do some hunting,
but after distributing the drop items to the party members, the time had already flown by.
Hunting's out the window....
That was when a soft sensation pressed against my back.
"?"
I instinctively tried to turn around to see what it was,
but the weight pressing down on me made my body lurch forward first.
"Is this that game you talked about last time?"
It was Catherine.
"Yep."
"Wow, a real old-school machine. Where the hell did you get this?"
"We got it at an antique shop."
"...Hmm."
Catherine's gaze moved to Eve's computer, which was next to mine.
An uncomfortable silence continued.
I was too distracted by the sensation on my back, and Catherine, who seemed somewhat displeased, kept examining the computer.
Before I knew it, Andrea and Eve, who had been talking, were also watching us.
Breaking the silence, Catherine asked me.
"Which antique shop?"
"...It's a place in Vanta Market, the biggest one there so it's easy to find—."
"Ah, I don't really know. Can you take me there?"
Pardon?
Me?
Why?
Even before I could respond with that three-step syllogism,
my eyes met Catherine's golden gaze.
"......."
Looking into her eyes again, I felt guilty refusing.
No, still, I should refuse this time.
I'd gone out way too much lately.
I just wanted to rest at home.
But before I could even voice my refusal, Andrea approached us.
"Oh, is it that fun? Then let's go out together and buy mine too."
No....
I'm absolutely not going out—.
Then Eve spoke again.
"Collecting the opinion of the human 'Catherine', this entity feels the need to purchase new garments."
Ah.
Three different pairs of eyes looked at me.
And so, in the end.
With no relation to my will whatsoever,
it was decided that we would all go out together.
I feel like a hole's going to be drilled through the roof.