I faced the mirror.
I tilted my head this way and that to check my appearance.
The image reflected in the hologram mirror could be summed up as “a frail man with dark circles.”
Chirp, I tried to smile.
The man on the other side of the mirror smiled back at me.
This time I took a step back from the mirror.
I could see the outfit I was wearing.
It was the suit I wore when I attended the corporate party with the chairman. It was also the outfit Catherine bought me when I went to an Andrea concert long ago.
Even I, with no conscience, didn’t lack common sense enough to show up in a bulletproof coat at a friend’s (probably) once-in-a-lifetime wedding.
I wondered if the performance of my handy household item, the “Monolith Styler,” was decent.
The suit I hadn’t worn in ages was spotless and well-maintained.
I raised my head to see “me” in the mirror again.
I gazed at the “character” that had been with me for over ten years.
“……”
What did my real face look like back then?
I couldn’t remember anymore.
Thoughts flew, like pesky flies.
I shook the moisture off my hands.
Wearing the gloves I pulled from my pocket.
I picked up the mask I had momentarily set aside and covered my face with it.
Hearing the mechanical sounds of the smart mask, I felt my heart stabilize just a bit.
Phew, I’m so nervous.
“…Huff.”
I sighed briefly and lifted my head.
At the same time, I stopped walking.
“……”
Eve was there.
Eve wasn’t wearing her usual maid outfit.
She was in a long dress adorned with impressive dotted patterns.
White hair, white eyes.
On top of that, white clothing.
She looked so out of place, like a creature from another world.
Given that her true identity was an artificial intelligence, it was somewhat accurate.
I had been waiting in front of the bathroom this whole time.
I asked Eve.
“Why didn’t you just go ahead and wait?”
Eve shook her head and replied.
“I thought there might be a chance.”
“?”
I tilted my head, not understanding Eve’s words.
What kind of chance did she mean? Was she talking about the possibility of a thug appearing?
“Let’s just go; we’ll be late.”
I brushed it off casually.
It was probably nothing.
I walked past Eve towards the wedding venue I had confirmed earlier.
And then.
I naturally stopped in my tracks.
“……”
Because I saw people I knew gathered on one side of the guest seating.
“Did the chairman invite that guy too?”
“He originally had a schedule in USA City, but opportunities like this don’t come around often.”
Catherine and the chairman were in conversation.
“It’s nice to meet you; you’re Julia, right?”
“…Yes, I never expected to see the boss of No Answer here. Hello….”
Natasha and Julia exchanged handshakes.
“Uh, Maya, right? Do you remember me?”
“…Vaguely.”
“You look much better; I’ve heard things. Let’s forget the uncomfortable bits.”
Finally, Andrea and Maya were chatting.
I instinctively tried to back away but failed because Eve held my arm.
“?”
I turned to look at Eve.
Eve’s transparent eyes were fixed on me.
Only then did I realize.
“Oh.”
That “chance” Eve mentioned.
This was it.
I was dragged along by Eve as I thought.
I struggled to regain my composure.
Staring blankly at the colorful stained glass made me feel a bit solemn.
Thank goodness this was a “church.”
“…Mom, look─.”
“Shh, quiet.”
That comment nearly broke my focus again.
I didn’t have to look around to know.
Not just the child and mother, but all the other guests were staring at us too.
It would be troublesome if this atmosphere persisted once the wedding began.
If I were in their shoes, I’d probably be staring as well, so it couldn’t be helped.
Famous mercenaries, renowned singers, the chairman of a corporation.
A wanted fugitive (secret) and an escapee (secret).
Even beside Natasha stood a hulking orc, Smith, firmly planted in place.
There was no way to avoid their gazes.
If Eve had been in her usual maid outfit, the attention would have been even more intense.
I calmly sat down, pondering the cause of this situation.
It all started with that.
The RSVP card that Drake sent me with its question.
【Who are you planning to attend with?】
Yeah.
What was I thinking to justify it?
I listed all the names of the “seven” people present on that line.
Why on earth did I do that?
The regret was overwhelming.
If I could go back to that moment, I would love to give that version of myself a good smack.
…
Well, even if I could, my choice wouldn’t change.
No matter how much of a commoner I was living a cyberpunk life, I wasn’t completely oblivious.
I wasn’t dumb enough to miss their “favor” or “liking” directed toward me.
If I had only picked one person’s name, I would have probably been in a tougher situation than now.
Of course, feeling like I wanted to run away was a different matter.
Please, is there anyone who can save me from here?
I silently screamed inside.
“…This is something else.”
I turned at the voice behind me.
A well-dressed chunk of a man.
Drake looked down at me, smirking.
He came to rescue me, Drake!
I believed in you!
I subtly conveyed my inner thoughts to Drake.
Please take me away from this spot.
I blinked and nodded slightly.
I didn’t plan to run away from the wedding.
I just wanted to get out of this place and celebrate elsewhere.
Sending a message for help would have solved the problem, but considering Eve would always be peeking at my personal visual interface, that was out of the question.
The only thing I could do was blink my eyes…
Was he really an old companion?
Drake, noticing my feelings, laughed heartily.
“Yeah, just sit tight; it’ll start soon. Just wait a moment.”
“……”
Drake lightly brushed off my pitiful behavior and raised his finger to slowly count the number of women sitting around me.
“…Seven, that’s more than I thought.”
“Uh?”
“Nothing, never mind.”
I questioned Drake, who muttered to himself.
Waving his hand dismissively, he changed the subject.
“Anyway, thanks for coming; I won’t ask for a special song or anything. Don’t feel too pressured.”
If he had asked me to sing a congratulatory song, I would have trembled in fear.
‘Me’ singing a congratulatory number?
What a cruel thought.
“Well, I’ll take my leave for now.”
Was he just there to show his face?
Drake left with a brief farewell.
Being the groom, he had a lot of other busy things to attend to.
I appreciated his effort to greet me all the way here.
Hmm.
I muttered briefly.
“Marriage, huh.”
It wasn’t a distant issue for me either.
This world was not just a simple “game.”
It was already my world, the world I lived in.
Because of that.
The realistic issue of ‘marriage’ felt even more substantial.
It was also a problem that many people expressed their feelings for me. If it were just a couple, it’d be manageable, but the number was simply impossible to count on one hand.
…What’s going to happen now?
I thought briefly while waiting for the wedding to begin.
The first to speak was the chairman.
“Hmm.”
Clearing her throat briefly, she addressed the crowd.
“My previous suggestion still stands. I joked at that time, but I meant it.”
“……What?”
What suggestion was she referring to?
Was it the time she asked me to join the Monolith Security Team long time ago?
If she was referring to something she had jokingly said recently…
A fleeting memory passed through my mind.
[So, would you marry me?]
I shook my head vigorously.
No way, that can’t be serious. It must have been a joke.
Next to speak was Catherine.
“Actually, ‘that kind of thing’ should ideally happen with someone you have known the longest, right?”
What was suddenly wrong with my Gyeomjok?
I was puzzled.
Before my confusion could clear,
Others also chimed in with a word or two while looking at me.
“…I’m fine with it as it is. I like it.”
Julia.
“…Marriage? Me? No way, that’d be too much. …But if there’s an open spot.”
Maya.
“We should probably have a conversation among all, except Siwoon. Personally, as long as I get a small bit of time together, I’m okay with it.”
Natasha.
“Since the idea of polygamy came up, I’m fine with it─.”
Finally, Andrea spoke up.
Eve had remained silent all this time.
But that only made it seem like a declaration of her intent, which was rather frightening.
“……”
What on earth are we talking about at someone else’s wedding?
What should I say here?
While I was still dazed,
The large light fixture hanging from the ceiling suddenly vanished without a trace.
Only the beams of light streaming in through the stained glass illuminated the interior of the church, the wedding venue.
Above the stage at the front.
A man in a neat suit appeared.
“Ladies and gentlemen, greetings!”
His face was quite familiar.
With exaggerated gestures, the man dominated the stage; the host introduced himself loudly.
“I am ‘Rex Nova,’ the host for this blessed wedding!”
“Uh?”
My thoughts slipped out before I even realized it.
The appearance of someone completely unexpected.
I tilted my head involuntarily.
Drake and that guy had no relation whatsoever.
Noticing my confusion, the chairman explained in my stead.
“I saw him handling unexpected situations quite well during his last TV appearance. So I called him in. It’s better to have a professional host for the event.”
With her arms casually crossed, the chairman continued to watch Rex Nova.
“In return, we agreed to run some advertisements for him.”
“Oh.”
Nodding in understanding, I accepted her reasoning.
That was an unexpected aspect.
I marveled at the chairman’s broad thinking.
…
Hmm.
But now that I think about it.
Typically, there shouldn’t be ‘unexpected situations’ happening at an ordinary wedding.
Questions arose in my mind.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.