NOVEL NEXT Chapter 84
– TING, CLACK.
The old Zippo lighter opens and closes without a flame.
The sound made of cold metal quietly echoes across the huge executive desk.
‘How long have I been using this…’
The woman, the chairman of Monolith.
‘Taylor Blackstar’ repeatedly opened and closed the Zippo lighter with heavy-lidded eyes.
– TING.
Mechanically opening.
– CLACK.
And again, mechanically closing.
“Um…, Chairman.”
“What?”
In the darkened office, dimmer than usual due to the turned-off lights, the Executive Secretary, Justin Borg, struggled to give his counsel.
“…It’s about time you should attend to your duties.”
“……”
The chairman lightly ignored those words, turning his gaze away from Justin Borg.
He looked down at the Zippo lighter in his hand.
On the desk, an overwhelming amount of electronic documents piled up.
Seeing that scene, Justin Borg felt darkness overwhelm him once again.
The chairman was famous for handling matters diligently compared to other corporate leaders.
How did it come to this…?
Justin Borg swallowed back his frustration.
A few strands of white hair popped out among the neatly combed black locks of Justin Borg.
His hair color, slowly turning grey due to stress, came to him painfully.
“Any contact?”
“……Not yet.”
It was clear what kind of contact it was referring to.
Justin didn’t even need to ask.
He had received a report that Dr. Terra had sent a message, and he had even made time to send one himself.
That man, that guy, that jerk.
The wizard showed no reaction whatsoever.
He didn’t even think of coming by.
Cursing silently in his mind with an F-word, Justin Borg raised his gaze to look at the chairman.
– TING, CLACK.
At the mention of no contact, the chairman resumed opening and closing the Zippo lighter.
An unspoken pressure filled the air.
“…….”
It had been quite a while since the chain-smoking chairman had gone so long without lighting one up.
It had already been three days.
Specifically, since the day Dr. Terra reported that he had contacted that human.
If only he could change back to another body, that would be fine.
For reasons unknown, the chairman had been consistently maintaining a female body since three days ago.
Another long silence followed.
Only the sound of the Zippo lighter continued to be heard in the room.
Eventually.
Justin Borg had no choice but to squeeze out a reluctant yet necessary answer to revive the chairman’s spirits.
“I’ll go check it out.”
“Hm, the Executive Secretary?”
“Yes.”
“…Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
…….
He was also curious about what on earth that person was doing.
Why they weren’t responding.
—
23. How to Fix Mistakes (3)
– DING DONG.
“Looks like someone’s here.”
I raised my head at the familiar intercom bell at our house.
Ugh, my neck hurts.
Must be because I’ve been staring at the monitor for too long.
I felt like my turtle neck was getting worse.
I glanced around, hoping someone might step out in my place.
“…I’ll take it.”
Eve, who was concentrating on the raid with me, was calmly enjoying the game.
[RabbitGangDude(Archer): I’ll time the damage right.]
I couldn’t ask Julia, who wasn’t even in the same room yet.
She wasn’t even in the same room, so she couldn’t react to the intercom.
“What’s with this control sensitivity?”
“Wow, there’s no info on the net at all. This is such a garbage game.”
Catherine and Andrea were in front of the new computer they bought from the antique shop, just starting to enjoy the game.
No choice.
I had to go out myself.
Of course, I was also doing the raid with Eve and Julia, so I simply typed in a few short chats to maintain basic etiquette.
[I’mARealWizard(Warrior): I’ll be back in a moment; someone’s at the door.]
[P2034871140(Warrior): ?]
[Grepejamiohnya(Thief): ??? Are you out of your mind? We’re in the middle of a raid; where’s our main tank? Even if you took the raid loot, this is crossing the line.]
[‘Grepejamiohnya(Thief)’ has died.]
As my tanking vanished, someone else’s life vanished into thin air.
There was nothing I could do.
What was I supposed to do about someone coming to the door in reality?
I opened the ringing front door, ruffling my messy hair.
Hmm.
Standing there was Justin Borg, the Executive Secretary of Monolith.
What’s he doing here─.
“Ah.”
A buried memory resurfaced.
In a weary tone, Justin Borg greeted me instead of asking.
“…Why do you have your message notifications turned off?”
Well, you see.
There were so many spam messages that I turned them off for a bit.
“…….”
But I couldn’t answer that.
I naturally maintained my silence.
Watching me, Justin Borg’s pale complexion further stressed me out.
He looked horrible.
“…Let’s go.”
“……Yes.”
So this is what it feels like to be a pig led to the slaughter.
I briefly explained to the Gyeomjok back in my room and then followed behind Justin Borg.
—
*
Hmm.
I felt an oddly familiar déjà vu.
It reminded me of the time Smith came to pick me up (or rather, kidnap me) in No Answer.
Seeing the luxurious sedans encircling us made that feeling even stronger.
It didn’t take long to arrive at the headquarters of Black Monolith, Monolith Tower.
In fact, it was located close enough that it wouldn’t even take 30 minutes to walk there.
“Why hasn’t anyone who knows that come?”
“…….”
I forgot for a moment.
I quietly recalled the memories of the last three days.
Hunting, raiding, quests, more hunting.
……Hmm.
A truly fulfilling three days.
“Hello, Executive Secretary. Accompanied person is─.”
“Skip the small talk; we’re in a hurry.”
“…Uh? Still, regulations─.”
“That’s the chairman’s order.”
“……! Please enter!”
—
After going through several such processes.
I snapped out of my daze.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the chairman’s office on the 153rd floor.
“Then, feel free to talk.”
Justin Borg, who guided me through the elevator door, gave a brief greeting before disappearing.
– CLACK.
In the vast space, apart from the centrally placed executive desk, nothing else was visible, and the sound of cold metal echoed.
Amidst the expansive view of Neon City,
The chairman’s gaze moved toward me as she noticed my purple-tinted hair.
Her complexion brightened slightly as she greeted me.
At the same time, the dark office grew brighter.
“You’re here?”
“…Yes, Chairman. It’s been a while.”
It didn’t feel all that long, but I gave a courteous greeting just for the sake of it.
“First, take a seat there.”
The chairman pressed a button on her desk.
A luxurious guest chair rose from the floor on the opposite side of the desk.
Every time I see it, it’s fascinating.
Due to a chronic nervousness when standing before the chairman of the ranking corporation, Megacorp,
I sat down in the chair with a slightly tense heart.
“…I’ve been unable to contact you lately due to circumstances. I hope all is well. Hahaha….”
“Nothing really changes for me; to be honest, there isn’t that much to do when you’re the chairman of Megacorp.”
With a slight smile at the corner of her mouth, the chairman waved her hand nonchalantly.
Honestly, I found that hard to believe.
A megacorp like Megacorp in Cyberpunk typically held so much power; they’d usually be busy.
It would be even more so for the ranking corporate head.
But if I were to say that here,
A corporate security team lurking somewhere might pop up and turn me into a m/a/g/i/c/i/a/n.
To shift the atmosphere, I decided to ask the chairman a light topic first.
“Today, unlike last time, you’re in a female body.”
“Well, I was born female, so this feels natural to me.”
…….
Is that so?
I’m not sure.
I remembered her being a strong gentleman before.
“By the way.”
Leaving behind my confusion, this time the chairman shifted the topic and asked.
“Did you resolve the request I made last time? That virtual terrorist was truly the vice president of Kojaka?”
“Ah.”
I hadn’t mentioned it to the chairman either.
“Yes, well. For now, it was all resolved.”
“How so?”
I briefly explained the process.
Naturally, I had to mention the presence of the super artificial intelligence Eve as well, but there was no way to explain the broadcasting station hacking incident without it.
Moreover, I had already told people around me too.
And I thought it might be okay to tell the chairman of Monolith, who I owed a favor, rather than some other megacorp.
As my short explanation concluded.
The chairman downed a now-cold tea.
“Super AI, and the identity of the terrorist we were after was indeed an old man of Kojaka.”
She nodded with a hum.
“By the way, I haven’t offered you even a cup of tea. How rude of me.”
“No, it’s fine─.”
Next to my chair, a steaming cup of tea rose from the floor.
I quenched my throat with the warm tea.
“Then, the one who ended the call during the broadcast and hacked the broadcasting building was that AI, right?”
“…Yes.”
There was no need to lie about this part.
I nodded and answered.
“Then what about the polygamy talk? Was that real or fake?”
“Oh, that….”
I had been troubled about that a lot recently.
Catherine, whom I’ve known for a long time, is one thing.
But Andrea, who comes over every day as if she’s moving into my place, is another headache.
Another new double bed appeared next to the double bed that Eve had changed, so it didn’t help either.
At this rate, a future where four people can lie side by side would be born.
I had been able to endure it because I hadn’t really slept during those three days.
If it weren’t for that, I could have been in a tough situation where something else might have happened already.
Seriously.
Do those women have any worries at all?
After all, I’m a man too.
“…Is that right?”
With that statement, the chairman set down the Zippo lighter she was holding.
She still had a smile on her face, but with my increased awareness in recent times, I could tell she had some discontent.
Before long, the chairman spoke to me.
“Then, will you marry me?”
“Excuse me?”
I almost spat out the tea I was sipping.
What the—
“Ha ha, I’m just joking. Just a joke.”
“Ha ha ha…, right?”
At that moment, it sounded less like a joke, which was a problem.
“…If I say this, will it happen now?”
“Yes?”
The chairman pressed another button on the executive desk.
An empty holographic screen appeared in the air between us.
“If you’re here, show yourself so I can see your face.”
“…Chairman, what’s that about?”
Just as I was about to respond saying, “Is there a ninja hiding here?”
A familiar figure appeared on the empty holographic screen.
[…Did you know?]
“Just like during the broadcast, won’t it be the same here?”
It was ‘Eve.’
…….
So this is what it feels like to be a victim of cyber stalking.
I thought to myself.