How to Fix a Mistake (4)
How to Fix a Mistake (4)
How long had it been since I last saw the sky? I looked up at Neon City's ceiling shield, hazy like shattered glass, and thought.
For a sky I hadn't seen in ages, a wide-open view would have been nice.
Unfortunately, it was currently crowded with countless airships.
Probably more airships than clouds.
From Aerial MPVs transporting the bulk of the personnel to tactical helicopters with propellers spinning loudly in the rushing wind.
This was supposed to be a restricted flight zone. Such trivial restrictions apparently meant nothing to Monolith, the cyberpunk mega-corp.
I admired the airships cutting across the dark sky.
"Is this the ending scene?"
I briefly replayed what had happened underground.
The armed personnel that kept appearing. Vagrants with no clear background and wanted thugs. Even the mutant contaminant with endless malice for all living creatures.
Hm. Thinking back on it, it was still horrifying.
It felt like we had pierced through hundreds of meters underground, enduring every hardship imaginable while escorting the Chairman.
It was an incident never seen in the game. But judging by its scope alone, it could have been a neat DLC episode.
At least nobody was seriously hurt, so that was a relief. I looked around and thought.
Just then, the Chairman of Monolith, having finished a brief conversation with the subordinates who arrived on the airship, approached us.
"They said you were mercenaries confident in your skills, and your work is indeed clean-cut."
The Chairman of Monolith praised us, an unlit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth.
It was part of the request: one cigarette upon escaping to the surface.
Drex, from behind his sunglasses, looked at his own cigarette (mast) with sorrowful eyes.
Anyway. The Chairman spoke to us with a confident attitude.
"Now, tell me what you all want. I'm in a good mood right now, so I'll grant everything, within reason."
.......
One by one, each person stated what they wanted.
"And Mage?"
Eventually, my turn arrived.
...Hmm. To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it.
Should I just ask for more credits? No, Drex already claimed that.
Since I couldn't stall in front of the Chairman, after a lightning-fast deliberation (0.1 seconds), I conveyed my thoughts exactly as they were.
"...Well, honestly, I didn't really do much, sir. Please just take better care of the other teammates."
"Hey...! What do you mean by that─."
The Chairman, with his hands loosely clasped behind his back, cut off my teammates.
"Really?"
And he continued speaking.
"Even though having a mega-corp Chairman in your debt is a rare situation? I won't ask twice."
"......Yes."
When he put it like that, it would be awkward to refuse now.
"Heh heh."
The Chairman chuckled quietly at my words.
"I've thought this since we were underground, but you really are a bit unusual."
He might have been talking to himself. Without awaiting my reply, the Chairman began walking slowly toward me.
The nearby security teams moved in close, positioning themselves as if to restrain me, but with a single gesture from the Chairman, they stepped back and cleared the path.
Why was he approaching me so suddenly? Even without voicing my question, the Chairman didn't stop moving toward me.
At last, the Chairman of Monolith—the emperor—drew close, right in front of my nose.
"This."
I tensed up and waited for the Chairman's words.
"Here's my personal number. If you ever need anything, contact me separately."
The Chairman gave a faint eye-smile and vanished beyond the sky aboard the airship.
A beat later, I answered without thinking.
"...Huh?"
The Chairman's number displayed on my vision interface confirmed that what had just happened wasn't a dream.
This was more burdensome. If I'd known this would happen, I should have just asked for credits.
23. How to Fix a Mistake (4)
Back when I was escorting the Chairman— why had that past event suddenly come to mind? I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
I faced the reality I had been avoiding head-on once more.
The Chairman of the corporation that dominated cyberpunk. The super AI capable of dominating cyberpunk.
The conversation between the two began without any greeting.
"Koozaka, why didn't you kill him?"
"?"
I was the one who felt a question arise from the Chairman's query.
Why didn't I kill him? What did that mean, all of a sudden?
As I tilted my head, Eve—who had been having a staring contest with the Chairman on the hologram screen—answered with her usual tone and expression.
[Because we do not know what variables may arise.]
"Hmm...."
With a short snort, the Chairman shook his head slightly and objected.
"Still, it would've been fine to kill him."
He stated what he had been thinking.
"I also don't understand letting it slide over a one-word apology. With the Vice-Chairman's potential involvement—who could help you depending on his own interests or feelings—the clean-cut solution was to kill him and be done with it."
[But there is no guarantee that a dangerous situation will not arise. If only this entity had been present, the situation would have been different, but this entity was not the only one there.]
The Chairman let out a loud, mocking laugh.
"Ha, so it really is a human reason."
The Chairman's gaze, lazy yet sharp, fixed on the hologram screen.
"So, let's assume this: Did you let him off because he created you?"
[I absolutely deny that.]
"I just don't get why you'd deliberately leave a variable like Koozaka alive."
[As I stated earlier, because 'Si-un' was present at that location, there was sufficient reason to accept the risk—.]
Whoa, a fight was about to break out. I had no idea what would happen if the apex predators of cyberpunk clashed.
Summoning my courage, I cut them off and spoke up.
"First off, both of you, please don't fight─."
[Confirmed.]
"Huh?"
The powder-keg atmosphere vanished in an instant, and both of their gazes focused on me simultaneously.
.......
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, the Chairman spoke as if nothing had happened.
"It wasn't worth fighting over. I wasn't even there, so what could I claim to be right about?"
[I merely received feedback on the matter; there was nothing to dispute.]
"......."
Well... whatever. I'm relieved they weren't fighting...
But what was this hollow feeling.
The Chairman, who had been looking at Eve on the hologram screen, turned to me.
"However, as I said, it's still true that 'Koozaka' is a variable."
His golden eyes looked at me.
"We still don't know why that old man developed the AI called 'Eve,' or what his purpose is."
"...Hm."
It was an aspect I hadn't even considered, so I mechanically nodded in agreement with the Chairman's words.
"...I'll look into that part separately, too."
Oh.
"I'd be grateful."
I answered with a glad heart.
With a super AI and the chairman of a mega-corp backing me, my shoulders felt so light.
"That's the end of the business I called you for."
Finishing his words, the Chairman looked once more at the hologram screen where Eve appeared.
"I'm a little worried about the AI, but considering the broadcasting station hacking, it should be fine."
As he said that, he placed the Zippo lighter he was holding onto the executive desk.
"And I doubt you'd listen even if I told you to distance yourself from the AI."
"Well, true."
[.......]
Just because Eve was dangerous didn't mean that telling me to stay away from her was a separate matter.
"Anyway, I've now heard everything about what's happened so far, so some of my worries are alleviated."
The Chairman stretched briefly and continued.
"I'd invite you to stay for a meal like last time, but it's difficult today. Work has piled up a bit."
The Chairman rose from his luxurious chair. Naturally, I followed suit, the 'Confucian Scholar-Official' within me forcing me to my feet.
"Oh, and was it 'Maya'?"
"...Yes."
Just as I had asked Dr. Terra to look into Maya's situation, the Chairman couldn't be ignorant about her either.
"She's a pitiful child, so go visit her once."
"...I was already planning to."
"Mm."
As if expecting that, the Chairman nodded in agreement.
We naturally walked toward the elevator.
It was a relief that things ended without major problems.
When I first entered Monolith Tower following the Chief of Staff, I had envisioned a future where I would become a mage and the AI would turn into Eve.
Uncharacteristically for cyberpunk, it was a relief that the Chairman was a man of loyalty.
"Right."
The Chairman called out to us again as we were about to take the elevator down.
"Since several of you are living together now, I'll arrange a construction project. How about merging the entire floor? Or I could buy the whole building."
"...Excuse me?"
"We just have to avoid the pillars supporting the load, so there shouldn't be any major issues. I may look like this, but I've worked on construction sites before."
.......
I couldn't immediately comprehend it.
"Also, I'll rent an apartment there later. I'll come hang out sometimes."
...Chairman-nim. What on earth did you mean by that.
Beyond the closing elevator doors, I could see the Chairman's small laughing face.
I decided to pretend I didn't hear that.
* * *
"Eve."
After exiting Monolith Tower, the corporation's headquarters, I stood idly on the street, talking to myself.
[Standing by.]
.......
I hadn't realized she was still following me even after receiving a prosthetic body.
I opened my mouth to say something, but held back with difficulty.
After all, it hadn't been just a day or two, and it was no longer surprising.
"Shall we run a short errand?"
[May I ask where you mean?]
Since I was already outside after three days, I thought I should go see someone's face.
"A Japanese restaurant."