Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

How did things end up like this?

It all started when Siwoon received an invitation to dinner from Drake and headed to his house in South Pilly.

While Siwoon was struggling to settle his past sins (ignoring promises).

His eternal cohabitant and assistant, Eve, was getting help from two other organisms regarding the ‘illogical worries’ she had computed.

Catherine, hearing about the AI’s mismatched concerns, replied shortly.

“Isn’t it just feeling sorry?”

“I reject that.”

“Hmm, it seems your behavior was odd in No Answer.”

Under normal circumstances, this would have been brushed off with something like, “Let’s not talk nonsense.” But since the subject was his childhood friend of many years, that changed everything.

“Increased breath rate, elevated heart rate, and pupil movement are all evidence.”

“…How do you even know that?”

“It’s preventive care for mental health.”

Eve, having answered Catherine’s question clearly, added an explanation about her concerns.

“It could be assumed as a common human emotion ‘shyness.'”

Catherine seemed to share the same opinion as she nodded in agreement.

“That makes sense…”

Catherine paused her sentence, looking at Eve with her golden eyes.

There was a questioning gaze seeking a solution.

In response, Eve pointed at herself.

“My solution is as follows.”

“…You?”

“Partially incorrect.”

Specifically, Eve was pointing to the outfit she was wearing.

“…A maid outfit?”

“Correct.”

She nodded confidently with her synthetic body.

Andrea took a deep breath.

“…My trust just plummeted.”

“No, I think that makes sense in its own way.”

Catherine chimed in with Eve’s statement.

“……”

Do we really have to wear a maid outfit?

With that thought, Andrea hardened her expression.

“…Isn’t it a bit embarrassing? We’re not in some weird café or something.”

“Even if you say so, the fact that the elf ‘Andrea’ secretly bought a maid outfit has already been recognized by me.”

“……”

Catherine looked at Andrea with a completely mystified expression.

‘You too?’

Andrea met Catherine’s gaze with an equal expression.

‘…Yeah.’

Without saying a word, Catherine and Andrea turned their heads toward Eve.

Eve questioned them both.

“What do you plan to do?”

In response to Eve’s question, both answered in unison.

—

22. Latest Game Mania (1)

I raised my head slowly, looking ahead.

Three women, each dressed in different designs of maid outfits, greeted me.

Eve wore her usual clothes with an apron draped over them. I wasn’t sure about the type of maid outfit, but it had a very classic vibe.

In contrast, Catherine’s outfit was a deviation from the classics. The skirt was incredibly short, and it was so small it almost revealed her belly button.

Last but not least, Andrea…

I had no idea where she got that.

She wore a uniquely designed maid outfit on top of tight-fitting tights.

It was quite literally a maid from a cyberpunk world.

Having failed to run away, it was now my turn to pick a different option to escape this (crazy) situation.

“…Um, excuse me.”

Words caught in my throat, struggling to come out.

“What exactly is with those outfits?”

Honestly, in this situation, my options for counterattack were limited.

I could only lean on their personalities, hoping for a slim chance of regaining my lost embarrassment.

Catherine responded to my inquiry.

“Don’t you like it?”

…No.

If I had to pick between liking or hating it, of course, I liked it.

There aren’t many people who hate maid outfits.

I shook my head slightly to clear my mind.

I couldn’t fall for this insidious trick.

“What I mean is, why the heck did all of you suddenly show up wearing maid outfits?”

At my question, Catherine and Andrea turned their heads to look at the AI standing right in the center.

So it was you, the culprit…!

I let out a short sigh.

I could feel my sighs piling up.

“…Right now, I’m saying that I don’t particularly like maid outfits.”

“Really?”

Catherine, who responded, walked towards me.

My gaze instinctively followed her outfit; it was a nearly involuntary action.

It was definitely not my fault.

Seeing my expression, Catherine narrowed her eyes and wore a cryptic smile.

“It looks like you’re enjoying it.”

Perhaps having regained her lost confidence, she chuckled and slowly took hold of my arm.

“When are we going to stand out here? Let’s head inside and talk.”

Andrea grabbed my other arm.

Eve silently opened the front door wide, clearly intent on entrapping me inside.

…Is this the end?

Is there really no way to escape this situation?

I racked my brain quickly.

Professional mercenaries never give up. They twist their bodies, searching for the slim paths of possibility.

……!

A spark of inspiration hit me.

I input a message to someone through my visual interface.

Since I could enter letters with just my eye movements, I could still do it even with my arms captured.

And I sent the message.

…Now, I had done all I could.

All I could do was hold on as long as possible─.

At that moment.

The front door of the neighboring apartment in the condominium opened.

It was a house that used to be inhabited by a sound-sensitive creature in the past, currently registered in the NCPD’s criminal database.

That house belonged to ‘Julia.’

“…?”

The message I sent to Julia was simple.

Recipient: ‘White Rabbit’
– Help!
– In the hallway

In this urgent situation, I had no energy left to send anything more.

A blurred gaze peered at me from among her unkempt blue hair.

When Julia noticed this, she shouted defensively.

“…Wasn’t that the one living next door? Julia, right? This is nothing at all.”

But still…

A glimmer sparked in Julia’s mechanical eyes.

“……Kidnapping?”

She, who knew the faces of Catherine and Andrea all too well.

But perhaps she couldn’t recognize that a famous mercenary and a famous celebrity were hanging in maid outfits.

Julia pulled her hand out from the mouth of the rabbit doll she was holding.

In her hand, there was a katana handle with a blade folded inside.

I saw that and shouted.

“Wait!”

I wasn’t asking for a fight after all.

No matter who wins or loses.

If there was even a commotion, it would obliterate the dignity of those in maid outfits (especially the two of them), and Julia’s hidden identity might be exposed, leading to the NCPD or Cyber Force arriving.

My voice made Julia halt her action of unfurling the blade.

She had previously expressed admiration for me, so she seemed to listen to my words.

Now that the situation had momentarily calmed, I took a deep breath.

By the way, my arms were still being held.

“What I mean is…”

…

Uh.

…Um.

How do I explain this situation?

I shut my mouth again.

Honestly, I didn’t quite understand how this situation escalated.

I had just gone to Drake’s house for a meal.

Everything was fine until I returned home, only to be greeted by two long-term cohabitants and one prospective cohabitant, all dressed in maid outfits.

My head was just spinning.

“…That is, um.”

Julia frowned slightly, waiting for my explanation.

She still kept her hand on the katana’s handle, not letting go.

Regardless,

Time was still flowing by.

I couldn’t drag this out forever.

I had to make some choice.

The simplest options that came to mind were two.

Either I became the pervert.

Or everyone became perverts.

……

It couldn’t be helped.

With a heavy heart, I begrudgingly chose the first option.

“……It’s cosplay.”

“What?”

I swallowed hard.

“…It’s just my preference.”

“Oh.”

My stomach churned.

Though I had temporarily escaped a critical situation, it felt like my dignity was utterly crushed.

Julia, after hearing my words, placed the katana’s handle back into the rabbit doll.

“……Heh, that could happen.”

I wanted to die.

—

I brought Julia back to my home.

Not because I suspected something unexpected would happen with just the three of us.

I genuinely wanted to treat Julia, who had helped me through various things up until now.

Anyway, that’s how it was.

“……?”

Julia tilted her head in confusion at the changed interior of the house compared to her last visit.

Then her gaze shifted to Catherine.

She didn’t notice in the hallway earlier, but now, she clearly recognized Catherine’s face.

Catherine seemed to have regained her human dignity after a delay, as she crossed her arms to cover the exposed areas of her chest with shame.

“…So that was the noise from the construction.”

Julia nodded as she muttered to herself.

What she thought about the construction that wasn’t of my volition, I had no idea.

Eve wore a different kind of expression, one of indifference.

Anyway, I tried to fulfill my duty as a host and handed Julia a drink.

It was a cold cola.

“……Thank you.”

Julia graciously bowed her head and took a sip of the cola.

Perhaps because of the carbonation, her expression crinkled slightly.

I passed a cola to Catherine, Andrea, and Eve, who had settled themselves on my bed as if it were their own home.

I would need to buy more cola soon.

Having received an apology from Pete Mc, I figured I’d try the cola released by Kojaka next time.

As I mulled this over briefly, I sat down opposite Julia.

“By the way, have you been busy lately?”

I asked Julia while sipping my cola.

It was an ice-breaking question intended to change the mood slightly.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected any major issues.

“Ah.”

However…

Julia raised her head at my question.

The reason she didn’t throw away the empty cola can and instead stashed it in her pocket was a mystery.

“Um, are you… busy with something these days?”

“Nope.”

Honestly, she wasn’t busy at all.

Her work with Pete Mc was complete.

Aside from playing games at home, she had no plans prepared.

“I should go on a date with you─.”

“Not with me, but with us.”

“Shh, everyone, be quiet.”

While ignoring the chatter of the three, which I couldn’t hear, I waited for Julia’s response.

“And then…”

Julia hesitated to continue her sentence.

Her mechanical cyberware arm looked oddly shy as it shrank back.

Seeing this, I said.

“Speak freely, Julia. You’ve helped me plenty of times.”

That was my honest feeling.

Since it had ended so empty, I hadn’t seen much light in that situation, but I also knew Julia had been scurrying around to help me during the Smile John incident.

Unless it was a request to live together, I was willing to oblige for any favor.

Encouraged by my words, Julia clenched her mechanical fist and opened her mouth.

“…So, would you join me in a gaming tournament?”

“?!”

A felon wanting to join a gaming tournament?

I doubted my ears for a moment.

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