It’s hard to express in words, but it’s clear that the atmosphere at home changed dramatically after the shocking incident (Eve’s kiss declaration) that day.
For instance, when Catherine was drinking cola, I said,
“Let me have a glass of cola too.”
And she handed me her cup while giving me a meaningful look.
(Talk about being burdened by those lip marks.)
Natasha approached wearing a suit and asked,
“Could you help me tie my tie for a moment? It keeps getting crooked.”
It wasn’t a difficult task, so I gladly accepted her request and started tying the tie.
“……”
She gently closed her eyes and lifted her chin.
Or out of nowhere, Dr. Terra came over holding a beaker.
“What’s going on?” I wondered, tilting my head.
“Could you spit about 15mL of saliva into this beaker?”
“…Why the sudden request?”
“I’m doing some research on hormonal effects on artificial bodies~. The Chairman suddenly got curious. Oh, and this is a secret too.”
“……”
Things like that happened.
Anyway, I’ve been having a lot of headaches lately.
Maybe everyone felt something because I had run away, and the number of requests to go out had indeed decreased since then, but still, the atmosphere felt something like something.
Fortunately, it seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt it; Drake, who had just returned from his honeymoon, shared the same sentiment.
“…This place feels like a battlefield. What happened?”
“……I don’t know.”
A close call and bullets could fly around too.
Is this what it feels like to bump into a male employee in a female-dominated workplace? I have little work experience, but that seemed about right.
But aside from the joy, I couldn’t help but wonder what business Drake had in finding me this time.
Whenever Drake came to our house, he always had some sort of ‘business’ with him.
Thinking about it, Drake seemed like an ‘I’ too.
“What brings you here today?”
“Ah.”
Drake replied nonchalantly to my question.
He crept up to me and threw an arm over my shoulder.
That’s heavy—what’s up all of a sudden?
Drake’s golden grin sparkled brightly at close range.
“I thought it’s about time to get another cyberware scaling check.”
“……”
I involuntarily tensed up, trying to shake off Drake’s arm, but I couldn’t escape.
There was no way to out-muscle Drake.
…Now that I think about it, I wonder why he suddenly came visiting.
…….
This is bad.
29. A Wizard’s Outing (1)
There’s a saying that pain shared is pain halved.
It’s unknown who first said this, but I’d wager it was a sage who felt similarly to me.
I can’t die alone…!
Wait a minute, did that genuine feeling slip out?
Anyway, whatever the case, the reason I wanted to go with others to Drake’s workshop (hell) wasn’t out of bad intentions.
But then…
“I’m not going.”
“?”
I thought she’d naturally agree to go, but I was caught off guard by her unexpected answer.
I calmly settled my heart and asked Catherine again.
“No, normally you’d take me with you when I say I don’t want to go out. Why won’t you go this time?”
“……It’s for a cyberware scaling.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
It didn’t sound like she was refusing out of pain.
Then Drake, who had quietly approached me from the side, summed up the situation in one phrase.
“…I told you last time. Honestly, the process of cyberware scaling isn’t pretty. We might have to dismantle implants. I just don’t want to show you that.”
I responded curtly to Drake’s words.
“Everyone already knows that they weigh way more than me because of their cyberware─ alright, I’ll stop talking.”
I dodged as Catherine, lying on the sofa, was about to throw a pillow at me.
Damn it, it seems like going to Drake’s workshop with Catherine is going to be tough.
But that doesn’t mean I’m out of options for persuasion other than Catherine.
I looked for others.
I tried to contact those who had installed cyberware, like Andrea and Natasha.
But…
“…Eek, I think I’ll pass. I’ll get it done later.”
“……I’ll pass on that too.”
Their reactions were just like Catherine’s.
In the end, unable to share the pain (dying alone), I let out a deep sigh of despair.
“…Guh.”
What about Maya or the Chairman…?
No, they have bioware artificial bodies anyway.
They don’t need to get scaling, and there’s a separate ‘artificial body maintenance facility’ in this building, so they have no reason to get checked by Drake.
Speaking of which, what about Eve…
I looked at Eve, unable to hide my anticipation.
“Regular artificial bodies don’t require the concept of ‘implant scaling.’”
“……”
That’s what she said.
“…You’re still coming along, right?”
“Of course.”
It was a relief that I could hold someone’s hand for comfort rather than going alone, as going to the dentist alone is scary.
…Am I really going to bear the pain alone again this time?
Just when I thought that, ah, I almost forgot to ask one more person.
I slowly approached Julia, who was enjoying a game, with zombie-like steps.
“Julia?”
“……!”
A light flickered in her dull eyes.
She turned her head in surprise, looking up at me.
“If you’re not busy right now, do you want to come with me for a cyberware scaling?”
“Yes!”
Unlike others, Julia immediately nodded at my request without a second thought.
“……”
But this made my conscience hurt.
It felt like deceiving an innocent child. Even if that child is a wanted criminal.
Furthermore, Julia was quite a bit shorter than me, making my round conscience ache like it once had a square shape.
Even though I suggested it, I said to Julia in a trembling voice,
“…Um, are you okay?”
“Yes, ah. I don’t have anything to do right now.”
I looked at the outdated monitor in front of Julia in response to her answer.
Hmm.
No matter how I looked at it, it was right in the middle of a raid.
“……I don’t think so. If you’re busy right now, it’s okay if you don’t come─.”
“…I’m really okay! Everyone will understand.”
Julia hurriedly typed a message in chat.
She almost turned off the monitor before I could see the content.
But luckily or unluckily, I managed to glimpse the chat history before the monitor went off.
[ RabbitGangDude (Archer): I have to run out because my mom asked me to get some tofu. ]
[ P2034871140 (Warrior): Dealer? ]
Julia stood up and said,
“I’ll quickly grab that doll!”
For Julia, the wanted criminal, having the rabbit doll to block the camera was essential in order to go out.
By the way, I should ask someone if we can wipe Julia’s wanted status.
Anyway, Julia dashed off to get the rabbit doll.
“……”
It’s not my fault, but still.
As always, today, I left a light bow of homage to the members of the Warrior Craftsman Union (Guild) suffering alongside me.
*
……Should I just run away?
Before getting into Drake’s car, I pondered again in my heart.
But it’s one thing if I was alone.
I took a slight look back.
Eve and Julia were sitting happily together in the passenger seat behind me.
Seeing Julia’s innocent expression made my thoughts of running away fade away.
But still, running away…
My head was spinning with confusion.
The car was filled with soft city pop music.
It didn’t suit Drake’s appearance at all.
Just then, Drake, adjusting the car seat position, opened his mouth.
“Speaking of which, how’s the implant you got during the last scaling? Is everything alright?”
“Oh, that. It’s fine.”
I was talking about the artificial muscles.
As I answered, I remembered a recent incident when I had benefited from that cyberware implant.
“……”
The memory of (former) Chrome Psycho punching my roommate drifted back, and I pushed it aside again.
There was no helping it back then.
I rationalized my thoughts.
Noticing my state, Drake smiled with relief and continued.
“Well, were there any uncomfortable parts?”
“Who’s the one who did the surgery? Of course, there wouldn’t be any discomfort.”
“Good talk. Then you should take the initiative to get checked for scaling at least once without me needing to come here.”
That was a bit much.
Even now, I was considering running out the door every 30 seconds.
As the driving began, the lights of the city quickly passed by outside the car window, with gigantic hologram ads gliding between the buildings.
As I didn’t answer, Drake shifted the conversation’s focus to the backseat.
I could see Drake’s green eye reflected in the rearview mirror.
“It was Julia, right?”
“……Yes.”
Thinking back, that was probably the first time they had seen each other at Drake’s wedding. This is the second proper greeting.
Regardless, even if Julia was a wanted criminal, she wasn’t a bad person.
Both are good people, so I thought they could become friends quickly.
“When did you last have cyberware implant scaling? From what I see, the balance of your cyberware seems a bit off.”
That seemed like a lightweight ice breaker.
But the succeeding words from Julia weren’t the kind of content expected to be returned.
“……Um, I’ve never had a professional scaling done.”
“?”
Both Drake and I turned our heads in surprise toward Julia at the same time.
What’s that supposed to mean?
Julia, unaware of our confusion, continued her relaxed speech.
“……I guess it’s because of my status, and since I lost all my connections after leaving my previous organization….”
…That must have been an unbearable amount of nerve pain?
It’s strange she hasn’t developed Chrome Psycho symptoms yet.
Noticing this, Drake immediately accelerated the car.
“…Looks like we need to drive faster.”
In summation, our refined conversation could be interpreted as follows.
A doctor asks a severely ill patient.
– “When was the last time you had a check-up?”
The patient, gasping for breath, responds.
– “Check-up? What’s that?”
Naturally, the doctor would shout, “Nurse!! Book a test appointment immediately!”
We sped away in the car.
The peaceful atmosphere of the vehicle rapidly turned into suspense.
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