코오자카’s headquarters, Vice President’s office.
[Understood. Then I will cancel the ‘clinic consultation’ scheduled next.]
“Sure, please do.”
After a brief conversation with his personal secretary, Kojaka William terminated the visual interface.
As the holographic screen hovering above his work desk vanished, the surroundings filled with static. Kojaka William pressed down on the bridge of his nose.
He had decided to cancel the trauma clinic appointment he had been attending once a week each year.
He felt it was time to increase the frequency.
Being in the position of Vice President, even a trivial fact like attending a trauma clinic could negatively impact the company’s stock prices.
Though it had been something he had thought about before, Kojaka William felt he might finally put that thought into action.
The critical reason was Kojaka Chairman’s retreat, which had been the ’cause’ for his clinic consultations.
Of course, the Chairman had been slightly withdrawn from company management for some time, but this time was a bit different.
Kojaka Nobukuro had ceased all external activities following the incident of that day.
It was the outcome he had always dreamed of.
Yet for some reason, Kojaka William couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease.
‘…What are you scheming, Nobukuro?’
Kojaka William continued to think.
At that moment, he spotted a notification flashing in the corner of his vision.
It was a call coming through on his personal communication line.
Only a few, including his closest aides and family, knew this number. Because of this, Kojaka William checked the caller without hesitation.
And at the same time, he froze.
“……”
The caller was a ‘Wizard.’
Before Kojaka William could answer the call, he instinctively contacted his secretary.
[How may I assist you?]
“…I need to reschedule the canceled appointment.”
[……?]
There wasn’t time for an explanation right now.
Kojaka William let out a light sigh.
Suddenly, he felt a dull pain in his stomach from stress.
28. Method of Rest (8)
Kojaka’s headquarters looked much like it did the last time he visited.
The amusement park nearby was still bustling, and protestors were fervently demonstrating in front of the building.
There had been a ‘minor accident’ when lightning struck the headquarters roof due to my ‘little mistake,’ but there were no signs of it on the sky shield or the building itself.
A woman I had never seen before came out to greet us as we stealthily entered the building.
She had such a minimal presence that I thought she had materialized from thin air.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hato B, the secretary to Kojaka William.”
…How can someone’s name be ‘B’?
It was a rare name, even in this slightly off-kilter cyberpunk world. Is ‘Hato’ a Japanese surname?
Did my reaction show too much?
The woman who introduced herself as Kojaka William’s secretary added,
“It’s my real name.”
“……”
If she hadn’t changed it, I’d be curious about her parents’ faces.
I suppressed my thoughts and asked ‘B.’
“…So, where’s the Vice President?”
“William is currently out due to a ‘sudden’ appointment.”
Hmm.
Well, if someone like the Vice President of a megacorp is busy, it makes sense. In fact, even the Chairman often shows up only during dinner hours, having switched bodies with a prosthetic.
It would be strange for someone like the Vice President to come out to greet a mere vagabond mercenary.
When I first saw Kojaka William at the party, he exuded a sharp, intellectual, and elite vibe.
If I hadn’t seen him rolling around in the sewage or getting nagged by the (little-looking) wife, maybe my impression of William would still be intact.
I casually said something to lighten the mood.
“Looks like being the Vice President of Kojaka keeps you busy.”
“……”
However, the secretary’s reaction was a bit unusual.
Her gaze seemed to say that ‘the Chairman’s appointment’ came about because of me.
But of course, that couldn’t be true. I dismissed it as just my feelings.
The secretary deeply bowed her head to us.
“I’m sorry; I cannot discuss the details of the company’s schedule.”
“Oh, that’s understandable.”
I waved my hand dismissively at her polite demeanor.
Upon hearing my reply, the secretary straightened her back again.
“Then this way, please.”
I started to follow the secretary’s lead.
However, Eve silently approached and grabbed my shoulder.
“Why?”
“Human ‘Kojaka William’ is currently consulting with a psychiatrist licensed in trauma clinics, NCMLE.”
How did she find that out?
It seemed she was trying to explain what I was curious about.
…By the way.
Consulting with a psychiatrist, huh?
In Neon City, every citizen probably carries some mental illness around like a self-defense tool.
I once almost got diagnosed with depression while consulting a psychiatrist in the past.
I cautiously wonder if it weren’t for the magic (bribery), my social score would be plummeting right now.
This isn’t just someone else’s business.
Plus, considering he’s the Vice President of a company boasting the second-highest market capitalization, he probably has more concerns than others.
I have no way to know what’s stressing the Vice President out right now.
But I’ve decided that if something happens to him later, I’ll lend a hand.
We continued to follow the secretary.
The place where she stopped was the Vice President’s residence, designed as a full-fledged Japanese-style house, much like what we had seen before.
Blue light hovered above, and the scent of flowers and grass wafted gently from somewhere.
I could even hear the thud of a distant drum.
“Currently, Kojaka Kohaku is also not present. So, please feel free to relax without any inconveniences, as Kojaka William has conveyed.”
This was more luxurious than I expected.
Scratching my head, I replied.
“Isn’t this a bit too much? A normal employee accommodation would be just fine.”
“…….”
For reference, the secretary’s gaze was interpretable as ‘Is the person who knows that here?’
But I again dismissed it as just my feelings.
The secretary immediately bowed with composure.
“If you need anything, please call anytime. There’s a holographic panel on the wall to press for a call bell.”
“Ah, thank you for your consideration.”
“Please make yourselves comfortable before leaving.”
The secretary vanished as swiftly as she appeared.
“…….”
Then a peaceful atmosphere settled in.
The sound of birds chirping somewhere quietly echoed from the mansion’s roof, and the gentle breeze felt soft against a child’s skin.
I trudged towards the direction of the terrace.
I sat my tired body down on the wooden terrace, calming my spirit.
In that moment, I instinctively understood.
I had finally reclaimed my ‘peace.’
*
However, it’s rare for things in this world to always go as expected.
Once it was discovered that Lee Siwoon and Eve were in Redwood, it was all too easy for Monolith’s multitude of ‘workers’ to track their remaining traces.
No matter how advanced Eve’s AI might be, traces left online could never disappear.
One reason hacking was overwhelmingly favored for attack rather than defense.
Gathering eyewitness accounts, identifying vehicles, recovering data from missing surveillance cameras, illegally hacking vehicle black box data, and ultimately tracking their movements.
It was also the result of the collective resentment of a million Monolith employees enraged by ‘mandatory overtime.’
After finally discovering the ‘subject’s’ current location, Monolith’s Executive Secretary, Justin Borg, pondered what to do with this information.
But his deliberation was brief.
After all, the decision would be made by the Chairman, and he and his subordinates would just have to follow it.
A moment later, the holographic representation of the female Chairman appeared on the screen.
“Chairman, we found the subject’s current location.”
[Hmm, have we not been detected yet?]
“That’s right.”
[Understood. Just send me the location for now and make sure to be cautious not to get detected like last time. Don’t mess it up and send the tactical team out again.]
“Yes, Chairman. However……”
How do I explain this?
Justin Borg, stretching his words, struggled to continue the report.
“…According to our findings, the subject’s current location shows ‘Kojaka Corporation’s headquarters.’”
That ‘Kojaka.’
No matter how loyal Justin Borg was to Monolith, the world’s number one corporation, he couldn’t overlook Kojaka, right below him.
“…What should we do? Should we send the tactical team out now?”
[…….]
The chairman’s expression, manifested through hologram, slightly furrowed.
The chairman considered the possibilities one by one.
‘……Kojaka? I heard from that old man that everything ended after an apology. Is there a possibility of abduction? …Not a zero. In that case…?’
It was unlikely that someone would go to the Kojaka headquarters just to relax.
The chairman on the other side of the holographic screen wrapped up his thoughts briefly.
[I will call back in one minute.]
The thought process wasn’t lengthy.
Ending the call, the chairman immediately input Lee Siwoon’s number to make a call.
He needed to confirm whether he was safe or not.
*
I debated dozens of times whether to answer the sudden call or ignore it.
In the end, I picked up.
It was a call from the ‘Chairman,’ so I couldn’t just ignore it.
For some reason, the Chairman’s anxious expression appeared on the holographic screen.
What’s the matter─.
[…You are currently at Kojaka headquarters, right? You don’t need to send the tactical team?]
“……Yes?”
Is this a new form of intimidation?
I interpret this as, “I know your location, so you should return home while you can. Otherwise, I’ll dispatch the tactical team.”
……
…Sigh.
In the end, it seems I can’t escape my fate.
Now that my location is exposed too, I have only a few options left.
I feel exhausted…
I begged for mercy in a deflated spirit.
“Understood. Just give me a day, no, 12 hours, no, just 6 hours, and I will return within that time.”
[?]
Please, let me rest for at least 6 hours.
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