Born to be the protagonist of the world from the moment she was born, a girl with a golden destiny has naturally become a legend of the city as she grew into adulthood.
But the girl, Catherine, still did not understand the differences between her past and present.
She had merely grown in body.
A paragon of the mercenary industry, really?
Chuckling to herself, Catherine looked up at the sky.
The low sky of Neon City, covered in thick, gloomy clouds, existed just as it always had.
As a child, she thought.
The city would be different from the outside world.
But the city was just like the outside.
The stars were hidden by clouds.
Actually, thinking back, the stars seemed to be more visible outside the city.
Only a few days in a year at the landfill.
There were moments when the moon, stars, and countless satellites sparkled.
The clouds blocking the view would swirl forever unless the city’s ventilation system worked properly.
When considering that, there were parts where the outside world was even better.
…What on earth was so good about the city?
Catherine still did not know.
Recalling the girl who longed for the city in her memories, Catherine stared blankly at the sky.
“…Sigh.”
A light sigh escaped Catherine’s lips.
Maybe it was seeing an old item she used to play with.
Memories of the past flooded back today.
Then the door to the rooftop opened.
Side EP. Catherine Lee
Oh?
“Where’s Catherine?”
It’s getting close to dinner time.
Where did she vanish to?
Of course, usually, she would have devoured the meal prepared by Eve with a “Thank you!” but how could anyone eat gourmet food every day?
Sometimes, the cheap and stimulating delivery food from the city can be tempting too.
Therefore, wanting to decide on a menu, I asked Eve about Catherine’s whereabouts.
Eve, who always gives me the right answers, responded with a calm posture.
“The current location of human ‘Catherine’ is the ‘Rooftop’ of the ‘Golden Smile Condominium.’”
“…Uh.”
Hmm.
The rooftop is usually off-limits.
This building would be the same, and considering Neon City’s high suicide rate, that makes sense.
Thinking of the chairman’s majesty, who bought the entire building, I nodded.
Then it’s okay to go up, I guess.
I was about to call Catherine with a message when curiosity about the rooftop made me decide to go find Gyeomjok myself.
It was about time the other housemates would arrive.
Seems better to head out now than to look for them later.
I picked up the mask hanging on the wall and put it on.
Eve’s transparent eyes were staring at me.
What, trying to follow?
But Eve’s answer was not what I expected.
“The current temperature in ‘North Houston’ is lower than last year.”
Must be because it’s autumn.
It seems to have gotten a bit chilly.
Eve, pulling out my coat from the styler, gently bowed her head and said to me.
“I recommend maintaining body temperature.”
Eve had always followed me wherever I went.
I filled with curiosity and asked Eve.
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
Eve stared at me once again. If it had been in the past, I might have felt quite burdened by that gaze.
But who am I?
A guy living with seven women!
I was way past feeling burdened by Eve’s gaze.
…….
Maybe still not yet.
I averted my eyes slightly and waited for Eve’s answer.
After a moment, Eve said to me,
“I also want to, but right now, it would be more efficient for ‘Siwoon’ to go alone.”
Going to see one person.
I wonder what kind of ‘efficient result’ she’s looking for.
“If that’s the case.”
Eve’s words must be right anyway.
I accepted the coat Eve offered.
Draping it over my shoulders, I headed for the front door.
If I didn’t have the characteristic of ‘slow recovery’ among my physical traits, I would’ve installed temperature-control cyberware.
“Just going to step out for a bit.”
“Confirmed.”
I waved my hand briefly to Eve.
I opened the front door and passed through the hallway.
Even though the entire floor was ‘one house’, the hallway didn’t look drastically different.
I stepped into the elevator.
Now that I think about it.
In the past, a red X-shaped hologram would normally appear on the button leading to the rooftop, but now it didn’t show any trace of it.
After a brief moment of admiration, I pressed the button for the rooftop.
The elevator ascended, combating gravity with a light vibration.
I watched the numbers displayed above the elevator door. Waiting against the wall until we reached the rooftop.
– Ding dong.
What? Already arrived─?
“Eh?”
Outside the opened elevator door.
A masked figure in a white doctor’s gown tilted their head at me.
I looked at the featureless mask and asked.
“…Dr. Terra?”
The one I talked to last time regarding Maya.
A chief researcher from Monolith.
“Why are you here, Doctor?”
“Hahaha, if I don’t assist the chairman, who will?”
Wouldn’t the secretary be doing it?
I thought inwardly as I scrutinized Dr. Terra.
It was just a moment that the elevator stopped.
Dr. Terra’s chattiness displayed itself.
“And also for Maya, I’m managing the chairman’s ‘artificial body’, you see.”
Now that I think about it.
I heard before they built a management facility for artificial bodies on another floor of the building.
I nodded in agreement with Dr. Terra’s words. That makes sense.
“And I’m also overseeing the construction of the wine bar, spa facilities, and cinema equipment, so I’m quite busy, very busy.”
“…Wait a minute.”
What do you mean overseeing construction?
“Oh, I think there was an order to minimize construction noise and make sure the ‘special management targets’ don’t notice…”
Dr. Terra amusingly places a finger on their metallic mask.
“Please keep the secret that I told the chairman~, I think he’s planning to surprise them. Hahaha…”
“……”
“Oops, guess I have to go. I thought I was going down, but I was mistaken.”
Were they saying that on purpose?
Or was it a genuine mistake?
Dr. Terra, taking the lead with their own pace, pressed the button to close the elevator door.
While I was too flustered to say anything.
Dr. Terra waved their hand, bidding farewell through the closing elevator door.
“I’ll come by for coffee next time~.”
The door closed, and Dr. Terra’s figure vanished.
But still.
I began to wonder what the chairman was trying to build with this building.
There was no floor noise at all.
Is that even physically possible?
“……”
Hmm.
For now, I decided to let it go.
Since I wasn’t plotting anything bad, pretending not to know would suffice.
I slowly stepped outside the elevator that arrived at the rooftop.
At the same time, a fierce gust of wind blew, pulling off the hood I was wearing.
This was also my first time on the rooftop of this building.
The filter color of my smart mask turned red. I felt the seriousness of fine dust all over my body.
And there.
In the middle of the rooftop.
Catherine, whom I was looking for, was crouched down,
staring up at the sky.
If Catherine’s senses were sharper than others, she must have known I arrived via the elevator.
But she didn’t give me a glance.
She was staring only at the sky.
I quietly approached her side.
I looked up at the sky like Catherine.
“What do you see?”
“…Just looking.”
The sky was dark, full of thick clouds.
The light of the holographic advertisements was stronger than the moonlight.
It was the same scenery as usual.
I noticed Catherine’s condition.
It seemed that earlier, while talking about the past, her mood had become a bit emotional. In other words, you could say she was in ‘Gyeomjok mode’.
…Well, that was understandable.
The density of the years I experienced recently and the years I faced as a child is quite different.
Memories from childhood can shape one’s dream or serve as a trigger for a lifetime, but conversely, those memories can also become traumas.
It’s not like I can take a grown Gyeomjok to a cyberpunk child counseling center.
I could take her to a psychological counseling center, but considering the drop in social scores, that wouldn’t be a good choice either.
Ultimately.
The one who has to solve this dilemma is (for the time being) my role as a childhood friend.
I crouched down next to Catherine.
The sound of my joints creaking reinforced the trashy characteristics of my body.
Clearly, I had undergone implant surgery on my joints, but I didn’t know why it was like this.
A brief silence followed.
I didn’t know what Catherine was thinking while staring at the cloud-filled sky.
I couldn’t know unless I became a psychic.
Even an exceptional wizard isn’t omniscient.
Was she reminiscing about the past?
Or perhaps recalling some mistakes she made?
Usually, in times like this,
just being next to her would suffice.
But I too had become a bit emotional after listening to the past stories.
“Should I bring you a Pete Mc burger?”
“……Do you want to die?”
It didn’t sound very much like a joke.
I hoped she’d let the threat slide a bit.
I felt the frozen atmosphere thawing slightly.
I seized that opportunity and said to Catherine in a voice full of mirth.
“Just wait about three minutes… no, just one minute.”
“Why?”
Not telling you.
While thinking, I gathered mana.
I just gazed at the sky alongside Catherine.
Like when I burst light for the vagabond in the past.
If I gathered mana without considering the risks, one minute wouldn’t even take long.
But since I’ve come to know a bit about magic,
I can’t do something like that anymore.
I collected the mana with as much safety in mind as possible.
To confess now, if I’d made a mistake the first time I used magic, it might have blown the sewage away.
…I really should keep that buried for life.
I thought briefly in my mind.
Soon, a minute passed.
“Watch closely.”
“…What is it?”
I didn’t answer.
I spread my fingers.
Pointing my fingertip toward the sky.
Catherine, a muggle, wouldn’t feel it, but.
At this moment.
The mana I compressed penetrated the clouds.
The compressed mana moved according to my image.
A small shockwave, a light breeze.
And a very strong light.
A huge ‘hole’ opened in the sky.
Through the gray clouds.
The beautiful black and blue Milky Way emerged.
“……Wow.”
Catherine stared blankly up at the wondrous spectacle.
…I hope the police don’t rush in.
I worried internally while casting the magic.
I admired the expression of Catherine, who looked at the sky with curiosity.
The image of Gyeomjok from my childhood passed over her expression.
The gaping hole in the sky quickly vanished due to the howling wind.
But still.
“Show me something like this more often.”
“Hey, you should do it as the wizard!”
“…….”
Fortunately, the dark expression that had lingered on Catherine’s face did not return.
And until Eve came looking for us on the rooftop,
we were there, just looking at each other.
*
“…What did you say?”
“Please be my daily manager.”
Changing class from wizard to manager.
I thought as I listened to Andrea’s request.
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.