A corporation boasting the top ranking:
Black Monolith Corporation.
The chairman of Monolith, commonly known by the nickname “Emperor,” Taylor Blackstar, has been enjoying life lately.
This would be quite shocking for those who know the chairman personally.
“Is the chairman smiling…?”
Just by reading the recent thoughts of his right-hand man, Justin Borg, the executive secretary, one could tell.
The reason is simple.
Usually, after living for a long time, people inevitably become accustomed to most things.
In a word, life becomes boring.
New experiences are hard to find, and each day is filled with the familiar.
The high suicide rate among megacorp chairmen can be explained in this aspect.
(Of course, this includes figures of forced suicides.)
And.
The joy that the chairman found amid the chains of such a tedious life could be simply summarized as the presence of a certain “wizard.”
Of course, the chairman wasn’t always like this.
It started with simple curiosity.
After going through various hardships and even saving the life of a megacorp chairman.
At the time of the incident, the wizard said nonchalantly:
“…Honestly, I didn’t do much. Just take care of the other colleagues.”
Even recalling that memory now brings a smile to the chairman’s face.
“…What a peculiar human.”
That’s how the chairman concluded about the wizard.
He seemed like an existence beyond the logic that governs blood and money in the capitalist society.
No matter how much his interest in material things waned with the flow of time, it’s undeniably true that he had become disgusted with the hyenas eyeing his power and credits.
Even now, it’s the same.
That wizard was definitely strange.
Anyway, after hearing such “peculiar responses,” and perhaps due to the effect of the common shaky bridge,
Ultimately, Taylor Blackstar became personally interested in that “wizard.”
And thinking about how enjoyable life has been lately,
The chairman could instinctively feel that his choice at that time was not wrong.
“…I wanted to see that face.”
The shocked face of the wizard upon seeing the results he created was quite a sight to behold.
Duly, after transforming the body through numerous artificial bodies, the responses of the body naturally diminish.
Even if his heart was beating perfectly fine, the chairman couldn’t feel that sensation well.
But Taylor Blackstar could feel that the heart of this body was beating.
Thump, thump.
The chairman of Monolith enjoyed the trembling in his chest.
This was also a rare experience for her.
He savored this moment comfortably.
And then.
“He looked once more.”
Observing the wizard, Lee Siwoon, subtly rolling his eyes toward Taylor Blackstar’s bikini outfit was another remarkable joy.
—
28. Method of Rest (2)
“……”
Wow.
The power of artificial bodies is indeed impressive.
I secretly admired the destructive power of the “two artificial bodies” lying next to me.
A black pair of sunglasses was also provided at the sunbed. No worries about being caught.
Of course, the possibility that Eve might share my gaze was high.
But since my eyes were drawn more toward the chairman’s bikini than the white one-piece hiding Eve‘s curves, it didn’t seem to be a big problem.
Ultimately, all of this was an unavoidable fate of being a man.
I cleared my throat unnecessarily.
Cough.
As if hacked, the mechanical eye cyberware moved of its own accord beyond my will.
I tried hard to turn my gaze back toward the sky.
I could regain ownership of my ocular faculties about one-tenth of the time.
The ceiling flowed with a blue sky.
It felt like I was right in the middle of a Hawaiian beach.
Actually, I heard that the area once known as Hawaii has turned into a death zone due to radiation, but still, that’s how I felt.
Recently, after receiving an appointment from Kojaka’s vice president and visiting the Kojaka Corporation headquarters, it closely resembled the scenery I saw there.
I knew it involved hologram technology,
But what effort and wealth would be required to make a perfectly good concrete ceiling look like the natural sky?
I didn’t dare to guess.
Even the sunlight was warm!
…..
This could be considered some kind of healing, but ultimately, it didn’t feel like resting at home.
It felt more like I was relaxing in a travel destination.
Honestly, if I were to put it bluntly, I should probably call this an “outing,” but no one among the “E”s listened to my desperate opinion as “I.”
…Still.
A day or two should be alright.
I opened the visual interface in front of me.
I secretly admired the figures of my colleagues in swimsuits behind it.
“Are you resting well?”
“No, I didn’t see anything.”
“?”
I naturally tried to defend myself in response to the chairman’s sudden question.
The chairman tilted her head at my contradictory answer.
A rare expression from the always emotionless chairman.
They say a thief gets caught red-handed.
The calmness, a basic virtue of a wizard, was not maintained.
“How can a wizard be enchanted by such a trivial local entity!”
Calling it a trivial local entity is quite an understatement.
I imagined the shout of my great wizard in my heart while slowly thinking.
Of course, there may be small people among them,
Like Catherine, Julia, or Maya…
I lightly shook my head to clear my mind.
I answered the chairman’s question.
“Certainly feel comfortable and good. I always feel gratitude and joy towards you, chairman, for preparing such facilities.”
“Hehe, it’s nothing special.”
The chairman accepted my natural admiration without concern.
As the chairman gave a slight smile, the ample curves undulated like waves.
I exerted superhuman mental power and resisted the urge to let my gaze drop.
The chairman set down the electronic document she was holding.
Soon, as she stretched lightly, her grand spirit reasserted itself.
“Whoa.”
The chairman turned to her side.
Continuing, she said,
“You might not have noticed, but I’m actually building several more facilities besides this one.”
“……”
I almost missed the conversation while looking at her chest.
Actually, I had thought this was a slip of the tongue from Dr. Terra, but for the sake of Dr. Terra’s honor, I chose silence.
“Based on your reaction, I guess you already knew. Hmm, let’s see. Did Dr. Terra tell you?”
“Uh?”
“Sounds about right. That guy talks too much; it could be a problem. If it weren’t for his abilities, I’d have fired him a long time ago.”
I hadn’t even responded yet.
Having my every thought exposed left me speechless.
I had been letting my guard down thanks to my youthful body.
I suddenly realized.
The woman right in front of me (wearing a bikini) was the chairman of the number one ranking cyberpunk corporation.
Regardless, the chairman continued talking.
“Not sure how much you’ve heard, but anyway, I’m constructing various leisure facilities.”
“Um, you mentioned a floor for managing artificial bodies?”
“That’s right. Just in case, and I need to manage Maya’s artificial body too.”
It was something mentioned on the first day.
This was what Dr. Terra talked about when we met in the elevator.
I nodded along.
It was clear that she was personally investing money into the construction,
But it didn’t seem like the chairman cared about such details at all.
“Isn’t it really expensive?”
“Not really?”
If that “not really” is from the perspective of a corporate chairman, that’s probably a considerable sum.
“Rather, there’s a lot of red tape from city laws, which is the problem. Well, that’s something we could solve with credits, of course.”
I didn’t know how to respond to the chairman’s casual discussion about illegitamacy versus legality.
“Oh, and originally, I intended to build a restaurant-based facility right below our living area.”
The chairman looked slightly up as she spoke.
She seemed to gaze at the living quarters, the place where we stay, beyond the blue sky.
“Strangely, the food that Eve, the AI, made tasted exactly like what my personal chef prepared. The shapes were similar too.”
“……”
It’s because they used the same recipe.
Knowing the truth, I chose silence again.
It was a while ago that Eve hacked the Monolith side and retrieved the chef’s recipe.
But still,
The chairman grinned softly and slightly raised her head toward Eve, who was sunbathing with her eyes closed.
“This confirms my prediction. Anyway, I canceled the restaurant construction. I’ll just be bringing in a few kitchen appliances, so just know that.”
“Got it.”
Eve responded from beside me.
As the chairman’s gaze returned to me, she said,
“I’ll make sure the construction finishes as fast as possible, so don’t worry about that.”
I couldn’t believe how my ordinary condo was gradually transforming into a royal palace of an emperor.
One truly never knows what the future holds.
Well, ultimately, if the home facilities improve, that doesn’t harm me.
“…Then I’ll be counting on you.”
“Of course.”
And at that moment,
I wish I hadn’t answered that way.
—
The next day.
Catherine said.
“Let’s go to the pool, the pool!”
My day ended.
And on the next day,
“What do you mean just lying on the bed? If you’re going to lie down anyway, you could just lie on a sunbed, let’s go!”
The following day
And again on the day after that.
“Did you hear? There are already recreational facilities downstairs, and they say you can play bowling and darts. Let’s sneak a peek.”
“No, I—.”
I was once again dragged along.
It was impossible to rest at all.
Of course, the “E”s say this counts as resting,
But to me, it was nothing but a harrowing march.
I needed some personal time.
Ultimately.
I made my national salvation decision.
“…I need to go take refuge for a bit.”
“Got it.”
It was impossible to rest at home.
That’s the reason I brought Eve along for this outing.
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