Chapter 74

I must show off Echo to Alice and David!

Waking up as usual, I soon remembered something I had forgotten.

Today was none other than Saturday, the weekend.

Our Fixer Office was somewhat a white company that valued work-life balance.

If there were no requests, resting on weekends was the rule. So today was a day off for both of them.

“Hmm… Well, I can just show off next Monday when we meet. It’s not like today is the only day.”

It was a bit disappointing. After all, whatever you do, it should be done while the excitement is still hot. If not, wouldn’t the joy dilute by then?

Feeling irritated for no reason, I lay on the office sofa and poked at my terminal screen with my fingertip.

Then, the loose cat pajamas Alice gave me slid down my arm.

[“Uh, uh… M-Master! Do you need something like this?”]

“…”

Maybe it took my random poking as some kind of threat demanding output.

Echo, restless, showed me a shorts video as if asking if this would do.

The video featured a rather pretty beastman dancing in an incomprehensible manner.

So they have these here too. Setting that aside, it wasn’t particularly engaging content.

Slightly furrowing my brows, I swiped the shorts away with my finger as if to say I didn’t need it.

Not interesting at all. Plus, I wasn’t really in the mood to watch such things right now.

With that, Tesseract started verbally harassing poor Echo, who seemed clueless.

[You idiot, Echo!]

[Urk, s-sorry…!]

[Hurry up and think of something that’ll make Mama happy! Omnomnom…]

[Hiiiyaaak! Don’t eat me!]

Perhaps because Tesseract was usually so innocent and soft. To me, it didn’t sound that scary.

But Echo, feeling an actual threat to their life, quickly started pulling out every possible feature on the terminal.

Still, I wasn’t particularly interested in Echo’s randomly presented content.

Maybe it was still too early to catch up with the trends of this world.

Sigh, I don’t care anymore. Figure it out yourself.

Too drained to bother, I gently placed Echo on my belly and slowly closed my eyes.

‘Now that the dopamine from getting Echo has worn off, I’m feeling depressed again. When will Greg contact me? Does he plan to lock me up here forever?’

I felt damp to the point where mold might start growing on my head.

What’s the use of having means of communication if there’s no news from the other side?

Lying there limply, wriggling around on the sofa with a drained feeling, Raine passed by and spoke with an exasperated tone.

“You were flying high like you’d soar into space just yesterday. Already out of fuel? Seriously.”

“…”

“Don’t just lie there. Get up. We have visitors coming today.”

“?”

Visitors? Suddenly? But we’re closed on weekends. Who could be coming?

Raising myself from the sofa, I tilted my head, wondering what she meant.

But Raine just walked off somewhere briskly, as if she expected me to understand.

Why not just tell us? Would it kill her!

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, I crossed my arms and continued pondering.

Who could these visitors be on a day like this? Their identity wasn’t easily coming to mind.

Alice? David? Or maybe Lily, who’s still sneaky with hidden cameras?

Tilting my head, I soon flopped over sideways and realized their identities not long after.

“We’re here!”

“Hello. A bit early, but we’ve arrived.”

“A, hello… Yuria, hi!”

“Hello~”

Swish.

Today’s visitors entering through the door were Alice, David, Sabrina, and Raine.

David’s family plus Alice. Quite a familiar combination.

But why did they all come rushing over on a weekend lunch?

Nodding at Sabrina’s greeting, I peeked out from the sofa, rolling my eyes.

Though I knew who the visitors were, I had no idea why they suddenly came today.

Uh, could it be someone’s birthday among them? Oh no, I didn’t prepare any gifts.

Sweating profusely from this perfectly reasonable conclusion and the ensuing crisis, I panicked.

But Raven, placing a box in the middle of the office as if scolding my strange thoughts, said:

“Oh, these guys are having a meat party today. It’s been about a month since you arrived. Thinking about it, I realized we haven’t grilled meat together at the office yet.”

“Huh, you didn’t tell Yuria?”

“Was there a need? She’d just lounge around the house all weekend anyway.”

“!”

Ouch, not wrong but… that stings.

I looked at Raven with an expression of disbelief.

But he just dug his ear nonchalantly, looking unfazed as if he hadn’t said anything wrong. So annoying.

Anyway. A meat party.

No wonder they cleared the table this morning and pulled out a big electric grill from storage.

Come to think of it, it was odd I hadn’t caught on earlier. The meat smelled delicious.

As I absentmindedly swallowed the drool forming in my mouth, Alice, who had already taken off her coat and approached, leaned forward with sparkling eyes.

Her energy was like a tiger spotting its prey, startling me into freezing on the spot.

“Yu~ri~a~ I heard the news! You got a new terminal, right? Show me! Show me!”

“…”

“Oh my! How cute! It suits you so well, Yuria!”

Is, is that so? I mean, it probably looks just like any regular off-the-shelf product…

I pressed down the corners of my lips that wanted to smile. Not that anyone could see behind my mask.

Well, if you’re curious, take a look.

Casually, I extended Echo towards Alice.

She received Echo from me and inspected it curiously, turning it around.

[“H, h-help! Master! I’m being touched! Master, Masteeer!”]

Echo seemed flustered being examined in Alice’s grasp.

Sorry about that. I can’t resist Alice either. Praying for Echo’s well-being was the best I could do.

Alice wasn’t the only one reacting like that.

David and Sabrina also showed interest.

Maybe it’s because flat terminals aren’t used much these days.

Echo’s retro design seemed to stand out even more.

Hehe, turns out going to the northern black market wasn’t for nothing.

“But you don’t have a number, just an email address?”

“Hmm, well. Email is much more anonymous than identification numbers. Seems like a decent choice.”

“Oh, can I exchange emails too? I want to get closer to Yuria in various ways.”

“!”

Afterward, there was a brief exchange of email addresses.

Since I didn’t have a number, exchanging email addresses was the best option.

Maybe because I was the last to get a terminal.

Everyone was eager to exchange emails with me. Felt like I became popular all of a sudden.

“Alright, that’s enough. Help me out now. Alice, wasn’t it sukiyaki? You said you’d make that first. Let’s eat that and if there’s room, we’ll have the grill party.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”

The meat party at the office started in the evening, prepared from just before dusk.

Alice prepared sukiyaki with thinly sliced beef dipped in eggs, steak and hamburgers grilled on the electric grill.

And even a proper turkey roast baked in the oven, which we rarely used.

Perhaps because we had Alice, who proudly called herself a big eater, and people like Raven and David who ate more than average.

Even a feast that might overwhelm a normal person’s stomach was enjoyed without issue. Everyone cooked well, making it a really fun time.

“Then we’ll be going now. Thank you for making time for us today.”

“No, no. Sorry for having you come out on a weekend. See you on Monday. Take care of those two.”

“Yes. Thank you for always accepting David. We’ll be going now.”

“Ah, goodbye.”

First to leave were David’s group.

Probably leaving before it got too late since the office wasn’t spacious enough for everyone to sleep over.

With David’s farewell, Raine and Sabrina awkwardly bid goodbye to Raven.

Then they separately came to me, leaving parting words saying see you next time.

“Miss Yuria. Thank you for getting along with Sabrina. She can be a bit prickly and troublesome sometimes. She hasn’t been rude, has she?”

“Raine nee!”

“Hehe, just kidding. Then… see you next time.”

“Y, Yuria. I’m leaving… I’ll send emails occasionally. Be sure to reply.”

“!”

Of course, I’ll reply. We’re friends, right?

I nodded firmly, clutching both hands as if promising, and Sabrina left the office with her group, looking reassured.

I wonder what thoughts were behind those watching eyes.

Shortly after, Alice hugged me tightly from above.

“Mmm… Mr. Jin, can I stay over tonight?”

“Huh? Sure.”

“Hehe… Tonight, I’ll sleep with Yuria!”

“…”

Alice buried her head into the back of my head, swaying her body slightly like a child throwing a tantrum.

I’ve gotten used to it by now, but I wished she’d stop blowing warm breath on my scalp. Goosebumps.

We tidied up together with Alice, who seemed quite tipsy despite not drinking much.

Of course, since I wasn’t particularly strong, I automatically became responsible for the dishes.

A little time passed, late at night, after we each showered.

Instead of my usual closet, I slipped into bed next to Alice in my room.

Come to think of it, it’s already been two weeks since I last slept with Alice.

Thinking about it, time really flew by.

“…Yuria, good night. Yaaawn.”

“!”

Tonight, even deep under the covers, it won’t be too cold.

Feeling Alice’s warmth, her eyes already half-closed, I fell asleep much earlier than usual.

Thanks to creating fun memories with good people, perhaps?

The depression I felt until this morning seemed to have melted away.

Still waiting for Greg’s call though!

Smiling involuntarily, that was the feeling.