In the cyberpunk world, the Elf Doctor said to me,
“It’s depression.”
“…Huh?”
What kind of nonsense is this?
As I frowned, the Elf Doctor, seemingly accustomed to my reaction, continued speaking without even looking at me.
“Statistically, over 95% of couples living in Neon City have experienced feelings of depression. So, you don’t have to be too surprised.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Of course, if you are truly diagnosed with depression, your social score will drop, and you could face disadvantages—.”
While listening to the Elf Doctor’s voice, I felt a familiar sense of déjà vu.
I felt like I had this kind of conversation with someone before.
…….
It’s true that I’m the second most powerful wizard in this world. (The first one is some dragon.)
But that doesn’t mean my intelligence (INT) stat is high. The main stat of a great wizard isn’t intelligence but wisdom (WIS).
This was proven by the games I enjoy playing.
Thus, my memory isn’t exactly top-notch.
Anyway,
Rationalizing myself like that, I questioned the Elf Doctor.
“So, does that mean it doesn’t matter?”
“Of course, it means that if you are diagnosed with real depression, your social score will drop, resulting in various disadvantages.”
I narrowed my eyes, enjoying the Elf Doctor’s nonsense.
Well, what does it matter?
A green light lit up in the Elf Doctor’s mechanical eyes. It looked like a basic cybernetic reaction, querying data from a database linked to a neural computer chip.
“First, let’s move on to the first question… just a moment.”
As the Elf Doctor continued speaking, he temporarily removed his glasses.
Were those just for fashion? There were no lenses. Well, he wouldn’t have eyesight issues since he had an eye implant surgery.
The Elf Doctor hung his glasses in the pocket of his gown, then rubbed his eyelids vigorously a couple of times.
After blinking a few times to adjust his vision, he looked straight ahead.
He seemed to see something strange.
After about ten seconds of silence, the Elf Doctor cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Excuse me, do you currently have seven wives?”
“Ah, that’s not exactly common in this city.”
Since it was a fact based on reality, I didn’t deny the Elf Doctor’s words.
I think I had my wedding just a couple of days ago, and the winter weather was starting to warm up.
The Elf Doctor’s expression became seriously stern at my indifferent response.
To describe it, he looked like a doctor making a diagnosis for a patient with an incurable disease.
Shakily, the Elf Doctor put down the electronic document he was holding onto his desk.
“Ultimately, a diagnosis of level 5 depression has been made.”
“…Huh? We haven’t done anything yet.”
Didn’t we just start with some questions?
However, the Elf Doctor silently shook his head, indicating there was nothing more to discuss.
I wasn’t exactly well-informed about this.
But a ‘level 5 depression’ meant it was a severity where daily life could be impossible. I could already vividly picture my social score plummeting in my mind.
The Elf Doctor shuddered as if he had chills, murmuring softly to himself.
“…You have seven wives.”
…Hey, come on.
I understand what you’re getting at, but you’re a doctor. At least give me a proper diagnosis.
In Neon City, regular mental evaluations were conducted for ‘mercenaries.’
And I still held the status of a mercenary. So I just came in for a mental evaluation with no particular thoughts, you know.
Wait a moment.
Speaking of which… was it this same Elf Doctor last time?
I could grasp where this feeling of familiarity was coming from.
0. Living in a Game
My memories of that day were quite hazy.
It’s not that I had any cognitive impairments; I just understood the feeling of someone digging a well in a dry desert.
After my wedding went smoothly, I walked out of the hotel on my ‘two feet,’ three days later.
How I survived and got back, who knows…
Considering that some carpenter was said to have resurrected three days after passing, my bravery on that day must have been a kind that’s hard to describe.
And then,
As time passed, I received good news to share with my wives.
It was an experience I had when Catherine first got pregnant.
Becoming a father.
It was a fact that would sufficiently bring changes to my life.
First, I became extremely worried.
Moving to the upper-class area, giving up natural childbirth, using artificial wombs, checking security systems, getting implant scaling, and the nutrition of food, etc….
I presented many suggestions to my wives, but none of them seemed to be taken seriously.
I just wished they could rest at home.
In that regard, I’m not alone; all ‘husbands’ and ‘fathers’ around the world likely share the same sentiment.
However, some of my wives still had very important and numerous jobs to do.
There was no need to mention Taylor, the chairman of Black Monolith Corporation.
In fact, it was originally difficult for her to enjoy a peaceful meal at home with us.
It was just that a certain executive secretary sacrificed her number of stomachs as an offering to make us all sit down for a meal together.
Still, for safety’s sake, she hasn’t switched bodies or gone abroad lately. Thus, my worries decreased a bit.
Natasha, who was recently inaugurated as the new mayor of Neon City, was equally busy.
I heard she was struggling to erase the leftovers or corruption of former mayor Alexander Harding.
Perhaps because of that, I hardly saw her except during meals these days.
I might need to storm the city hall next time.
Next busiest was Andrea, who became a singer purely because she loved to sing. In her case, it was really hard to block her schedule.
Although she has entered a stable period, being careful is all that’s needed, but I couldn’t help but worry about her performing while touring the city.
By the way, I eventually won my argument. We agreed that she would only participate in half of her existing schedule.
I heard from Emily, a member of Andrea’s fan club, that there was a conspiracy to assassinate me circulating within the fan club for a while…
Here, it was said that the happiness faction, pursuing Andrea’s happiness, and the singer faction, that she’s still a singer, clashed, and victory went to the former.
Afterward, the support phrase “As long as you’re happy, it’s OK!” echoed at her concerts.
And regarding the remaining four wives…
Honestly, there was nothing to worry about.
Julia recently focused on her gaming hobby.
She quit fighting games, claiming they aren’t good for prenatal care (thanks to this, the fighting community was filled with tears), and she’s currently addicted to some strange virtual reality puzzle game.
I tried it out with her out of boredom, but I almost vomited right away.
Personally, I think this game seems even worse for prenatal care. But anyway, as long as she’s okay, it’s fine.
Maya began to enjoy various hobbies.
Previously, she hadn’t had a chance to pursue hobbies while helping her father at his Japanese dining restaurant in the lower-class area, and during that time, she had to go to prison for unknown reasons, so she hadn’t experienced many things.
She played games following Julia, tagged along with me for corporate visits, and explored the city with Natasha, but when she said she was going to do mercenary work with Catherine, I had to stop her.
That was a bit much.
Catherine had quit her mercenary work a long time ago.
The image of Catherine always lounging on the sofa nestled in my heart like a sanctuary.
She used to look like a jobless person lounging around at home.
(百獸 can mean beast in Chinese)
But these days, she seemed a cute spouse, lazily lounging around for prenatal care.
Objectively thinking, there must be an error in my vision. I need to go get an implant scaling from Drake soon.
And then,
Eve, as was her habit, followed me around like a shadow, no matter what I did.
Thanks to this, my range of activities was inevitably limited to home.
Naturally, it was true that I didn’t often go outside even before. But with Eve trailing me around feeling full, I had even less desire to go out.
Eve sometimes shopped for interesting baby products on Net Space.
Who on earth developed that seven-seat stroller… I plan to use it well anyway.
In any case, I was happy.
After falling into a game full of trials and tribulations, happiness finally found its way into my life.
This was a reality no one could deny.
*
“No, I really am happy, you know?”
“Hmm… that doesn’t seem possible…”
But this crazy Elf Doctor only looked at me with pity, as if my explanation went in one ear and out the other.
I couldn’t cry to prove my innocence, and it was maddening.
I sighed and leaned back in the chair.
I could not understand why he didn’t believe what I said.
…….
At that moment, I had a thought and asked the Elf Doctor a question.
“Um, excuse me. Are you married by any chance?”
“……”
The Elf Doctor answered in silence.
A simple design ring sat on the ring finger of his left arm.
He slowly began to speak.
“…Come to think of it, you must still be في a happy phase.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what trials he had been through in his marriage, as he stared into the void, steeped in deep regret.
“Life is something you live alone. You must never rely on anyone.”
That was not something a doctor should say, nor something that should come from a married man.
I was slightly curious about the circumstances of that, but it seemed better to resolve the problem laid out before me first.
Honestly, I thought this was a person who couldn’t be persuaded by any reasonable logic.
Right now, the Elf Doctor’s eyes resembled those of a living corpse; he was like a sage who had awakened to the truth.
It was unavoidable.
I reached into my pocket to reuse the ‘Bribery Magic’ I had employed previously.
At that moment,
“Just a moment.”
The Elf Doctor’s eyes widened.
“…All your wives’ personal data is secured, huh?”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes.”
He mumbled as if something was odd.
“It’s a mental evaluation conducted by the city, and all locked information should be accessible…”
The Elf Doctor’s eyes fixated on me.
He looked like he was digging through his memory.
“Seven wives, human male, marriage date…”
His eyes began to tremble more and more. The green glow flickered like a broken light.
“And your name is Shun Lee…”
A dull gasp followed.
“Ah.”
With that, the Elf Doctor’s back bent at a 120-degree angle.
– Bang!
Since there was a desk in front of him, his forehead crashed into it.
Startled, I leaped up from my seat.
“D-Doctor?!”
But the Elf Doctor’s panicked voice came out faster than my actions.
“I-I’m normal! There’s absolutely nothing wrong! The problem lies with my eyes!”
It is well known that elves have no interest in material desires, that bribery doesn’t work on them, and that they’re indifferent to power.
That is, they believed.
Hell no.
It worked like a charm.
Leaving the Elf Doctor, who was headbutting the desk, I walked out of the hospital.
…What a strange person.
Anyway, my mental evaluation ended like that.
I slowly looked up at the sky.
The flashy scenery of the streets unfolded before my eyes.
Towering skyscrapers, holographic billboards, and air vehicles zooming by at high speed.
Then,
the dreary clouds enveloping it all, too.
The same scenery as always.
The only thing that changed was me.
Well, isn’t that alright…
Staring blankly at the clouds that obscured the sun as usual, I muttered softly.
“It’s nice weather.”
Another day of living in this game had begun anew.
Today was also a good morning.
