Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

Fragmented memories flash by like a panorama.

Thud and vengeance.

A rainy day and love.

And then there’s the wizard.

Maya felt as if she had just awakened from an old dream.

Her mind was hazy, like someone who had been logged into virtual reality for too long, and the disconnections from reality felt strange.

Her limbs wouldn’t move.

Even without breathing, her chest felt oddly unpressed.

It was just countless bubbles floating before her eyes.

Maya realized she was trapped inside a glass wall filled with some liquid.

She noticed she was in a place resembling a ‘laboratory’ for the first time in her life.

‘……Laboratory?’

In an instant, her head went blank.

“……■■!”

Even if she shouted with all her might, her voice didn’t carry outside.

Painful memories buried in her mind came flooding back to life.

She wanted to bite her tongue out of resentment for her own misfortunes, but even that minimal freedom was not granted to her.

In such a situation.

《Hello~! How are you doing!!》

A bright voice, totally out of sync with the atmosphere, reached Maya.

《I noticed there was something wrong with your vital signs, so I came to check, and it seems you’re slowly waking up~.》

Maya moved her eyes to look outside the glass wall.

‘…Egg Ghost?’

It looked like a yokai from an old story her father had told her.

A metal mask covered the entire face, and how in the world it was breathing, with no features at all.

The yokai, dressed neatly in a white coat that a scientist would wear, had a gender-neutral voice, making it impossible to guess its gender.

《You must be quite startled; is it a PTSD reaction? Hmm, don’t worry. As it says in the patient records, you weren’t kidnapped per se. Well, technically, maybe you were.》

The unnecessary chattering yokai introduced itself as ‘Dr. Terra.’

《Believe it or not, I’m the ‘lead researcher’ from Monolith! Hahaha, which means~ that this is the internal laboratory of the Monolith Corporation. Now, are you feeling a bit calmer?》

Though it had no mouth.

《Right now, you don’t have a ‘body’ to move since I’ve only performed the cyberware removal surgery, but don’t worry too much about that~. You’ve been permitted to use the Chairman’s backup body bioware, so you’ll be able to move soon~. Tsk, when I asked if I could use it for testing, you didn’t allow it….》

It was a talkative entity that was quite bothering to Maya, who couldn’t respond.

《Also, there were some cyberware implants that couldn’t be removed, but that can’t be helped~. So, I’m going to ask, how’s your mental state? You seem okay~, but just to be sure. Oh, you can’t answer yet, I see. That’s because your oral area has been removed. Haha, just think your answers.》

Maya sorted out her situation.

Just as the yokai said.

Her mind was clear, like a contaminated filter had disappeared.

The nerve-wrenching pain that had tortured her since she was ‘kidnapped’ was no longer felt.

Excluding her physical condition, she was completely normal.

《Thinking about what you want to do when you get out will help with your recovery~. After that, you’ll be going through drug therapy following the bioware surgery, which I saw a paper that suggested it helps alleviate chrome psycho symptoms. Of course, I’m the first author of that paper─.》

Dr. Terra kept on chattering, but Maya’s mind could no longer hear the yokai’s voice.

‘What do I want to do when I get out?’

If I get better and get out of here.

I—.

Maya thought.

23. How to Fix a Mistake (1)

“……I’m really sorry.”

She.

Maya was quite different from the image left in my memory.

I recalled her earliest memories.

When I first met Maya.

She was bright, strong-willed, and characterized by her cheerful laughter.

Then, I thought of the most recent memory.

The day it rained when I met Maya.

She wielded a blade in her hand, her personality sharp as the blade, and madness lurking in her smile.

And now.

Her appearance was similar to when we first met, but the atmosphere was completely opposite.

“…I remember everything. I’m aware that I made a mistake.”

“……Ah.”

I couldn’t respond.

I didn’t know what to say or how to comfort her.

Words didn’t come out straight away.

Holding her breath, she continued to speak.

“…Actually, I was discharged a few days ago, but I was helping my father at his store in the lower-class area. …Also, there could be another problem.”

The ‘problem’ Maya was referring to was evident without explanation.

She was worried about her chrome psycho symptoms returning.

“…Seeing your face makes me feel a bit weird. But it’s better than I anticipated.”

Maya forced a smile.

“Ah, because I’m an escapee, I’ve had to change my identity with the help of Monolith. …For now, I haven’t changed my name.”

Feeling awkward about prolonging the conversation, Maya scratched her head.

“…In moments like this, I’m grateful for the city laws that allow some slack.”

Was that her own joke?

She had been forcing a smile for a while.

“Anyway, I thought it might be rude to come just to say hello, but… I thought it’d be best to apologize in person.”

Maya bowed her head again.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

“…No, you don’t need to apologize.”

Only then did I finally manage to open my mouth to respond.

Once I opened my mouth, the next words flowed out unimpeded.

“Do you want to chat at my place for a bit? I can’t just let a guest leave.”

“…No, I actually came just to take a moment. I have to help my father at the store later.”

Maya lifted her lowered head to respond.

“Today, I’ll just say hello and then be on my way.”

With those words, Maya walked toward the elevator in the hallway.

In this situation, I didn’t know what to say.

What kind of feelings she was harboring.

I couldn’t grasp any of it.

When the elevator door opened, calling Maya was almost instinctive.

“Maya!”

If I let her go like this,

I was sure I would regret it.

“……Yes?”

Maya slowly turned around to look at me.

“I’ll visit later.”

I said to her.

“I’ll be going to your father’s restaurant for a meal, so let’s talk then.”

At my words, Maya seemed taken aback,

pausing for a moment in surprise.

Then soon,

she showed the most sincere smile among those I’d seen today.

“Thank you for that!”

I bid farewell to Maya, who disappeared through the elevator doors.

*

I complained to the person on the other side of the hologram call.

“…Didn’t I tell you? Please let me know when she’s discharged,”

[Hahaha. I completely forgot~.]

This guy.

“Forgot? What kind of excuse is that?”

I grumbled to Dr. Terra, whose smooth metallic face had no features (possibly female).

Even glaring at the holographic image of Dr. Terra, I couldn’t figure out what kind of expression she had.

[Still, the Chairman asked, and I did my best to care for her~. I couldn’t let you know about the discharge right away because she herself wanted it that way.]

A sigh escaped me at Dr. Terra’s response.

“…Well, thank you.”

[That’s like twisting my arm to get a thank you~. By the way, that’s a proverb, and it means—.]

Half-heartedly listening to Dr. Terra, I thought to myself.

How could this person, who was among the most capable bioware experts I knew, be like this….

Must be the cyberpunk world.

What a crazy era.

I cut off Dr. Terra’s rambling and said,

“…You informed me of my home address, right?”

[What do you mean? How could I possibly know the ‘wizard’’s home address?]

…She must have figured it out somehow.

Holding back my urge to question further, I added,
“…I’m just glad her condition seems to have improved.”

[You’re really worried about her, huh?]

“It’s Maya.”

[…Well, of course she should improve after using the Chairman’s backup body bioware~. Do you know how many late nights I’ve put in because of that?]

“You usually stay at the lab for the night, don’t you?”

[Ah.]

I felt a little lighter at the nonsensical banter we exchanged.

But still.

Dr. Terra shook her head from beyond the hologram and grumbled.

[Honestly, you should appreciate how much we at Monolith are doing for you.]

“I’m always grateful.”

[Well, you should be.]

Truth be told, she wasn’t someone I could converse comfortably with.

She was the lead researcher of Monolith, after all.

Knowing that almost all the implanters being developed at Monolith had passed through her hands made it even more so.

[Oh, by the way.]

“Uh-huh?”

[Come to think of it~.]

With a sudden change of topic, I looked back at the hologram.

[You’ve appeared on the news recently, haven’t you?]

“Uh-huh.”

When did she see that?

She was definitely the type to tease if I turned bashful.

I responded casually and nonchalantly.

“Sure, it’s not a big deal.”

[…Well, it’s true~.]

Hmmm, Dr. Terra touched her smooth chin before continuing after a brief ponder.

[You know, the call you were having with the Chairman got cut off, right? The entire NCB24 broadcast building was hacked too.]

“…….”

I almost caused a riot.

[Thanks to that, the Chairman nearly dispatched the security team to NCB24~, Hahaha.]

“…Haha.”

That was almost a disaster.

[But here’s the thing.]

Suddenly, I felt ominous.

I knew that whenever this person dragged on a conversation like this, it rarely meant good news.

[Our information team uncovered a shocking fact…!]

“Is it a fact?”

[The hacking signal came from the ‘wizard’ you’re talking to right now!]

“…….”

It was obvious.

Since Eve, who had no permission to enter the broadcasting station, wasn’t moving her body, she must have received the signals through my neural computer chip.

It was not strange at all.

[They said it was incredibly difficult to track, but who are we? No matter how many clues are hidden, there are some things you can’t escape from~.]

But the problem was.

Common people would not know this fact.

[By the way, I just told them I’m currently on a call. The Chairman seemed a bit curious about that part~. He asked you to visit later.]

Ah.

[I conveyed that.]

I wanted to act as if I hadn’t heard that.

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