Autumn has come.
Of course, in Neon City, where the concept of four seasons is hazy, most people might not even know if it’s autumn or not (ignorant folks).
This was, after all, unavoidable.
There are no falling leaves, and there are no autumn winds accompanied by (deadly) storms swirling through the city.
Since the city’s shielding separates the outside from the inside, the temperature differences across seasons aren’t even noticeable.
Honestly, I don’t know the exact principles and reasons for that.
Occasionally, acidic or toxic rain or snow does fall within the city, but except for that, it’s not easy to distinguish seasons inside the city.
Despite that, I was quite certain that it was ‘autumn’ now.
After Drake’s wedding, autumn had come to my life as well.
A season in which all living things prepare for death and await spring’s return next year.
In a nutshell, it’s a kind of ‘great upheaval’.
“It’s efficient to sleep in one bed.”
“…I agree.”
“How about we just push four beds together?”
“I… well, it’s not a bad idea.”
“Of course, the spot next to me is reserved for my childhood friend….”
“What do you think, Chairman?”
“Ho ho, lively isn’t bad at all.”
Wow, this is really dizzying.
Seven housemates.
And that scene of a whole floor turned into ‘one house’.
It was hard to express in words.
Honestly, my patience might reach its limit.
I had enough situations where I didn’t know where to put my gaze when it was just Eve and Catherine living together.
And now it was going to be five more on top of that.
Seven people living under one roof.
……
What on earth should I do?
26. That kind of thing happened too (1)
But fortunately.
My daily life hadn’t changed as drastically as I thought.
First of all, it wasn’t always that all seven housemates were together.
The Chairman, the head of ‘Black Monolith’, who goes by the name ‘Taylor Blackstar’, had a schedule that exceeded my imagination.
I heard he installed the entire ‘body management facility’ on another floor to minimize commuting times.
Still, unless it was late at night, it was difficult to see him.
The Chairman himself seemed somewhat satisfied with that though.
Besides him, many people had their own busy tasks.
Natasha, Andrea, Julia, and even Maya had to go down to the lower class to help at their father’s shop.
Ah, by the way.
I separately asked Maya how she ended up moving into this house.
In response to my question, Maya said:
“Oh, I got a call from the Chairman.”
“…….”
So the Chairman is the root cause of it all.
Maya continued.
“And also, Siwoon said he would protect me last time….”
“…….”
And I had sins to atone for as well.
In fact, since I had already heard the news about him purchasing this entire building, I’d somewhat anticipated it.
Anyway, as it turned out.
The only ones who remained at home (like unemployed layabouts) were still ‘Catherine’ and ‘Eve’.
Also, since one floor had turned into one house, it was bigger than I anticipated.
It wasn’t without walls, so I worried less than I thought.
……
I felt a bit disappointed too.
Anyway, I was rolling around on the bed, manipulating the visual interface.
In the past, I would have watched Eve’s 24-hour live streaming.
But like the commentator said during the fighting game tournament last time, since Eve had earned enough credits, she had nearly stopped streaming.
I was just checking if there were any new videos on the subscribed channels.
Still no uploads from the Master’s channel, ‘The Real Wizard of the Machine Age’.
Then….
‘How to Grow Artificial Plants’.
……
I finished watching a ludicrous video suggesting that I could easily grow artificial plants by purchasing a product for around 500 credits.
Nothing to watch, nothing to do.
Maybe I should play a game or something.
Just as I was thinking that.
– Ding dong.
The intercom bell at the front door rang out widely, making me uneasy.
…There shouldn’t be anyone coming over.
Drake also just went straight to his honeymoon.
So, among the people I know, no one would come to my house.
I halted Eve, who was about to get up.
“I’ll go check.”
After all, there’s nothing to do.
Eve was sitting next to Catherine, giving a boost in classic games as she did with Andrea.
Catherine was rushing to level up because she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the game with me if she didn’t reach max level.
I closed the visual interface and lightly got up from the bed.
Who could it be?
I pressed the button on the intercom and peered into the hallway.
A man in uniform was standing there.
He had a company mark on his chest indicating he was a deliveryman.
Not a drone, but a human employee.
Though rare, it’s not unheard of.
They were often used for delivering important (or high-value) packages.
I opened the front door to greet the deliveryman.
Seeing my figure, the man adjusted his visual interface and said,
“Excuse me, is this room 702?”
“It’s both correct and incorrect.”
“?”
The deliveryman made a puzzled expression at my meaningless riddle.
It’s true.
Even if you open the adjacent door, it connects to this side.
The professional deliveryman calmly followed the procedures to verify identities.
“…Anyway, are you Ms. Catherine Lee?”
Such a gender-sensitive employee.
There surely must have been a gender written in the identity documents, yet he asked me if I was Catherine.
It wasn’t unusual in cyberpunk worlds.
I turned my head and called out Catherine’s name.
“Hey, Catherine! Did you order any packages?”
“Nope.”
Catherine, who hurriedly threw on her coat, appeared to answer.
There was a minor issue where the deliveryman’s face turned red upon seeing Catherine’s appearance, but the identity verification process was simple enough that she could quickly receive the package.
“City ID and biometric signals confirmed. Have a nice day in Neon City.”
With a brief farewell, the deliveryman left.
I turned my head toward Catherine.
“…I doubt there’s anything to arrive.”
Catherine, who was tossing and catching the box with one hand, replied.
The box looked pretty dirty.
The packaging and the shipping label were both in bad condition.
It seemed to have a faint stench too.
What on earth is this?
Eve, who had approached us at some point, stared intently at the package.
“No special electronic signals or biometric signals detected. The possibility of explosives or lifeforms is very low.”
To be honest, just looking at the box’s appearance, it wouldn’t be surprising if we just tossed it away.
I asked Catherine another question.
“Is there a sender’s name on it?”
“Umm…, let’s see.”
Since Catherine seemed to have a similar impression, she used only the tips of her fingers to turn the package around.
Did she really pick it up from the garbage dump─.
“It says ‘Four Eyes’.”
“?”
My eyes widened at Catherine’s words.
Four Eyes.
The orc I had seen recently at the garbage dump.
Once, it was also the nickname of the orc who looked after me and Catherine when we were kids at the garbage dump.
Catherine seemed surprised as well.
She hurriedly opened the package’s wrapping.
I muttered at that sight.
“What on earth is he sending in a package?”
Shouldn’t he be looking after himself?
Of course, I too was just as curious about the contents of the package meant for Catherine, so I stuck close to her to take a look.
“…Hey, back off a bit.”
“Huh?”
Oh, did I get too close?
Having gone through this situation where ‘one floor’ became ‘one house’,
My personal space concept seems to have become a bit strange.
“Sorry.”
“…You don’t have to apologize.”
Catherine answered while fanning herself with a hand fan.
It’s not like this just happened for a day or two.
So why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
Anyway, I took a step back.
I wondered if our little Gyeomjok had finally learned the meaning of ‘no mixed seating between men and women’.
“So what’s inside?”
“Just wait.”
Catherine, crouching down, carefully checked the contents.
“…He really packed a bunch of odd things.”
Just as Catherine said, it was just like that.
A small photo frame, a necklace, and a toy gun that shoots bullets.
By the way, the ‘toy gun that shoots bullets’ is alternatively called a ‘pistol’.
Each of the items stirred nostalgic feelings as they were things Catherine and I had touched at least once before, either as kids or before coming from the garbage dump.
Why would he send these oldThings now?
Catherine seemed to share the same curiosity as I did and said,
“…But why did he send this?”
That was when I discovered a piece of paper stuck in the corner of the package.
It looked like a recycled sheet of paper made from cutting up snack wrappers.
It appeared to be written on.
I subtly crept back behind Catherine.
It seemed like Catherine noticed my movement and flinched for a moment, but she didn’t push me away like before.
Clearing her throat, Catherine began reading the words on the paper.
“First, I received the credit chip well, thanks to you my life has improved a lot. Thank you.”
It sounded like she was talking about the magic (credit chip) I had given to Four Eyes when we went to kidnap the Kojaka vice president.
As I nodded along, recalling the past,
Catherine continued reading the paper.
“Since my situation is what it is, I can’t contact you, but I have to let you know that there’s no problem, so I decided to send this package.”
Even in the garbage dump, as long as you have credits, and even with an unclear identity,
It’s simple to send a package.
“Since then, nothing has happened. Don’t worry.”
This part was a relief.
Honestly, I had worries nagging at me since encountering a ‘Ninja’ while escaping through the sewer.
Even in a hidden village,
Finding it isn’t impossible.
“Sending just a piece of paper would feel wasteful in terms of postage, so I’m throwing in some old toys we kids used to play with. Take care.”
“…….”
This felt like it was just him disposing of some trash.
I thought briefly in my mind.
But probably.
There must be another reason aside from just what was written on the paper.
He must have done this to make me firmly believe that the sender of this package was indeed ‘Four Eyes’.
There aren’t many people who know this part of our history, other than him.
“Wow, look at this.”
I glanced at what Catherine was holding, following her lead.
Oh, they even sent this.
With a nostalgic smile, I took the picture frame from Catherine.
Inside the frame was a photograph.
Before entering Neon City,
There was a photo of the two of us, in it.
I examined the child Catherine inside the frame and the grown-up Catherine next to me.
How did that pure child end up becoming this Gyeomjok….
“…You look like you’re having an annoying thought.”
“I’m not.”
Even Catherine couldn’t read my mind. I shrugged off her suspicions with a nonchalant expression.
Seeing that long-lost child felt nostalgic.
Also a bit surreal.
“How have you been doing in the past?”
At that moment.
Eve asked me.
“We?”
While looking at the contents of the package,
It seemed Eve had grown curious too.
After all, Eve joined me only after the main scenario of the game.
It’s understandable she’d be curious about this part.
“…….”
Where should I even start explaining this?
I subtly glanced at Catherine.
By coincidence, Catherine looked back at me. Our eyes met.
Then,
Catherine and I turned our heads to Eve and opened our mouths in unison.
“I practically raised her.”
“If it weren’t for me, she’d be dead for sure.”
Again, Catherine and I looked each other in the eye.
What the heck is our Gyeomjok talking about right now?
Of course, it’s true that Catherine saved me, but how much I’ve taken care of her since then!
Catherine and I continued explaining.
About the past, about the garbage dump.
*
“Are you really going to Neon City?”
“Yeah.”
Is it the sewer smell driving her crazy?
Looks like our little one has finally lost it.
I shook my head at the sight of Catherine.
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