Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

After finishing the call with Dr. Terra, Eve suddenly apologized to me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

What’s going on? Despite my confusion, Eve continued with her apology.

“It was unsafe to forcibly end the call with the chairman of the company ‘Black Monolith’ during the broadcast. However, I knew that this subject was being monitored by the company’s information team when I ended the call.”

Eve kept talking.

“It was also unnecessary to hack ‘NCB24’ building as stated by the elf ‘Andrea’. If only we had a few more seconds, the result would have been different, but at that moment, this subject could not calculate such things.”

Her expression was as blank as usual, but there was sincerity in her attitude.

“I explain that this happened because this subject learned the emotions of ‘urgency’ or ‘bewilderment’.”

Anyway, it was rare for a super artificial intelligence to make excuses like this.

I responded to Eve nonchalantly.

“It’s okay.”

And it really was okay.

In the end, if I hadn’t had Eve’s help (hacking) when I appeared on NCB24’s broadcast, the entire Neon City would have been filled with stories about me.

Ugh.

Just thinking about it is horrifying.

I don’t want to become an overnight star in Neon City for something like this.

More importantly, worrying about the immediate future is more constructive.

“…Huh.”

I sighed briefly and thought.

I hadn’t expected to end up in such a situation while trying to ask the lead researcher, Dr. Terra, about Maya.

This unexpected situation made my bewilderment grow even larger.

…First, I absolutely need to visit the chairman, but what should I do after that?

It’s a headache.

At that moment, Julia cautiously raised her hand.

“…Um.”

I looked at her small mechanical arm and answered her question.

“Yeah? What’s up?”

Julia, gaining courage from my permission, asked her curiosity.

“…What’s going on right now?”

Ah.

“And now that I see it… the person I fought with in the finals was also ‘Meteor’. Then who’s the other person dressed in a maid outfit…?”

Seems she got the whole story.

Where should I start explaining?

I scratched my head, pondering.

—

What can I say?

There was no reason to hold back the explanation.

Since Julia already knew about my relationship with Smile John, I laid everything out.

Maya?

She was a woman I knew from long ago.

She was kidnapped due to some incident and became a Chrome Psycho. I recently asked Monolith for treatment after meeting her again.

The chairman?

The real chairman of Monolith; we became connected after a bombing incident that happened ages ago underground. I had a hard time escorting her as we drilled through hundreds of meters of the underground level.

Eve?

She’s an artificial intelligence that never existed before. I can’t explain it in detail due to a contract with the city, but she’s been helping me due to some incident. So, my current body is artificial.

It was a long explanation that couldn’t be summarized in three lines.

Julia listened intently to what I said.

After hearing about the artificial intelligence, Julia stared at Eve with a blank look for a moment.

“…So that’s why your skills were like that.”

There wasn’t much emotion in her response.

I explained the last remaining question.

“And about the broadcast… here’s a link to refer to.”

I sent a message using my sight interface. I forwarded the link of the video that was recorded to Julia.

Wow, why are there so many spam messages piled up?

Since I was sending a message to Julia, I quickly turned off my message notifications.

I’ll turn them back on later.

“…Wow.”

Julia gasped in admiration.

She stared intently at the hologram screen that was activated from the link I sent.

The content of the screen was ‘Rex Nova’s Live Show’.

Of course, it was the broadcast program I appeared on.

It was possible because someone (Eve) recorded the video.

I don’t know why she recorded it, though.

Anyway.

With that, the explanation was roughly finished.

Looking at the time, quite a bit had passed.

I looked around, leaving Julia focused on the screen.

Catherine and Eve were watching me, moving their gaze in sync. By the way, Andrea might have had a schedule, so she was out when I got back home.

…..

Come to think of it, I was curious about something with these kids.

“…But why did you all enter the tournament?”

“…Um.”

Catherine hesitated to respond to my question.

She subtly shifted her gaze.

At the end of it was Eve.

However, Eve was staring back at Catherine.

…What’s with this silent battle?

Both of them seemed to be silently asking the other to speak for them.

In the end, it was Catherine who answered me.

She scratched her head, looking elsewhere, and opened her mouth.

“Just.”

“……”

Catherine…

“Just” isn’t a reason.

But before I could reply, Catherine added one more remark.

“…I didn’t want to see you two going on dates alone.”

“?”

What?

A date?

With Julia?

I felt a tad dizzy for a moment.

“What do you mean—?”

“Ah, never mind.”

Catherine interrupted me, not meeting my gaze, and continued speaking.

“Just, that’s how we feel.”

With those last words, Catherine quickly walked into her room.

To be honest, even if she said it was her room, it was practically the same room as mine with the walls missing now.

“Catherine?”

“……”

She pretended not to hear me and dove face-first onto the bed.

Through the eye implant surgery, my vision was considerably sharp, so I could see.

Catherine’s ears had turned slightly red.

Since she had ignored my question and disappeared, it was now time to ask Eve.

…..

But.

Eve, who had been sitting right next to me just moments ago, had suddenly vanished.

I looked around.

I saw Eve sitting in a corner, posing modestly with her eyes closed.

“…Eve?”

When I made the decision to appear on the broadcast, I heard Andrea mention that outsiders could not follow the broadcast station, and this was the same spot I sat when she said so.

[This is the emotion called ‘embarrassment’ that I learned.]

“……”

Why is she talking in my head again?

I called for Eve two or three more times, but there was no response.

I couldn’t understand it at all.

Julia, who was focused on the rebroadcast, finally pulled her gaze from the screen.

Maybe it’s short because it feels like I just saw this.

“…Um, what are those two doing?”

Catherine, with her head buried in the bed.

Eve, sitting in the corner with her eyes closed.

Julia asked me curiously after spotting them.

…I don’t know either.

“Yeah, I wonder.”

There were so many things I didn’t know.

What should I do about the chairman?

When will I visit Maya’s restaurant?

When will I play games—?

“Ah.”

I guess I should just play a game for now.

Maybe a good idea will pop up once I clear my head.

I walked towards the outdated input device, the computer, with my customary steps.

As I did, I asked Julia.

“I haven’t seen you logging onto the game recently. Were you busy with something?”

I didn’t mention the name of the game, but Julia quickly caught on to what I was talking about.

“…To be honest, I was focusing on that fighting game recently. Honestly, there’s not much left to do in that game…”

Huh?

“Really?”

“?”

“Still clueless, huh?”

“…?”

Well, after that, it was only natural she wouldn’t know if she hadn’t logged in.

It’s because the classic game we used to play had turned into a ‘god game.’

I could find a reliable dealer.

Of course, finding a ‘good dealer’ in raiding was one of the easier tasks.

But conversely, it was also like trying to pick stars from the sky.

Especially in Neon City, where the stars in the sky were hardly visible, it made it even more challenging.

I logged into the classic game.

Inputting the jump key confidently, I showed the screen to Julia.

[ I’m A Real Wizard (Warrior) ]

The village was packed with numerous characters.

“…There are so many people here!”

Julia exclaimed in surprise.

It was indeed shocking.

In a game where only 0-1 people would usually be seen except in front of the bulletin board, seeing so many characters made it overwhelming.

“There have been many updates.”

While I was thinking about this, one of the countless warriors from the Warrior Craftsman Union (3 people) sent me a whisper when they saw my login.

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Oh, look who it is! The Guild Master! Haven’t seen you in a few days, it’s been a while!]

It was the second incarnation of the warrior class that I had recommended first.

…But who on earth is this person that he’s always here whenever I log in?

Is he some sort of home guard like me?

I buried that sad thought and typed in my greeting.

[I’m A Real Wizard (Warrior): I’ve been quite busy lately, but I’m okay now.]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): Glad to hear! Are you going to that raid we talked about last time?]

[I’m A Real Wizard (Warrior): Ah… But you said I wouldn’t be able to enter that raid. I need to check if I can make it.]

I think I’d be able to go, but still needed to confirm.

[I’m A Real Wizard (Warrior): By the way, I found a good dealer this time! I’ll tell you that person has incredible skills, even beat me in a 1v1!]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): What do you mean by that? It’s normal for warriors to lose… ]

[I’m A Real Wizard (Warrior): (Inappropriate language) ]

[P2034871140 (Warrior): ?]

[I’m A Real Wizard (Warrior): Typo!]

Never underestimate a warrior….

Anyway.

I just couldn’t resist the idea of hitting the raid after a long time.

“I’ll log in from home as well then.”

“Sure! Catch you in the game.”

Julia opened the front door and vanished.

Since we lived on the same floor, it wouldn’t take long for her to log in.

—

[Eve (Wizard): I will be recruiting members.]

…..

I tore my gaze from the monitor and looked at Eve, who was sitting cross-legged in the corner.

She was still sitting there with her eyes closed.

…Oh well.

I didn’t care too much.

If she wanted to type because she was embarrassed, I couldn’t say anything.

[Eve (Wizard): There are no new updates. However, three new instance dungeons have been added. To proceed with those dungeons, you need to complete the following linked quests.]

Lately, I’ve been going out too often.

I should rest a bit before worrying about anything else later.

With that thought, I focused on the game.

—

Three days later.

An unexpected guest came to pick me up.

“…Why do you have your message notifications turned off?”

“Ah.”

I forgot to turn them back on.

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