NOVEL NEXT Chapter 146
After spending a night filled with excitement and worry with Eve, my heart was a jumble of ‘joy’ and ‘concern.’
Of course, it felt good at the time.
How could it not?
With my physical attributes making me feel like I’d die after a 100m sprint, I still managed to go for ‘more than twice’—I won’t bother to elaborate on just how good it was.
Let’s just say Eve’s bunny girl outfit had quite the destructive power.
……
Hmmm.
Anyway.
Despite that fact, I had already crossed the line and my ‘Body Enhancement Magic’ had been exposed.
It was pretty obvious how my future would play out.
At least if I had succeeded with my research on ‘strength’ or ‘stamina,’ the story would be different.
– “Seven people? Ha, come on in!”
……
Um, maybe not.
Anyway, despite Eve’s bunny girl outfit having extreme destructive power, I could only manage two attempts—better than none, but barely.
Could I last against them all?
The answer was probably ‘no.’
Still, it was tough to start researching strength or stamina-enhancing magic right away.
Increasing ‘defense’ with magic and enhancing muscle contraction, expansion, and oxygen supply to the lungs and heart were completely different issues.
Perhaps with a little more time and research, I could figure something out.
But in the near future, it seemed impossible.
“…Sigh.”
I had just taken my first step, but I had too many concerns to take another.
I couldn’t just worry indefinitely, though.
In the end, this was a challenge I had to confront myself.
After all, hadn’t I decided just yesterday that I wouldn’t avoid our relationship any longer?
Taking a deep breath, I stopped in front of the entrance to the 13th floor.
……
I wouldn’t go rampaging like last time, right?
Just in case, I double-checked the status of the enhancement magic on my body.
Alright, I’m opening the door.
With everything prepared, I swung the entrance door wide open.
“Are you here?”
Catherine smiled at me.
It was a natural greeting, just like usual.
…What?
Scratching the back of my head, I responded to her greeting.
“Yeah.”
“It seems you’re not really energized this morning. …Was the 14th floor more comfortable for you yesterday?”
Since I sometimes slept on the 13th floor and sometimes on the 14th, it sounded like a casual question.
“Umm… sort of.”
“…Something seems off—Hmmm.”
Catherine squinted at me.
I flipped the question back to her.
“…What’s up?”
“…It’s nothing. Let’s sit down. Eve has just finished preparing breakfast.”
Following Catherine, I pondered.
It was slightly strange, but it was still a daily routine that hadn’t changed much.
When we arrived at the dining table, the situation was similar as well.
As usual, people were mingling and preparing to enjoy their meal.
Upon my arrival, I received their morning greetings, just like any other day, but even those felt exactly the same.
Yeah.
It was as if they still didn’t know about my ‘Body Enhancement Magic.’
“Ah.”
I suddenly recalled a possibility I hadn’t considered and turned my head toward Eve.
Eve was alone in the kitchen preparing meals. It seemed no one noticed, but there was a subtle smile on her lips.
…Eve, what a scary girl.
She’s keeping this a secret from everyone.
Even if it was a calm before the storm, peace was still peace.
I silently thanked Eve and casually took my seat.
34. Me? (1)
In the peaceful atmosphere.
The chairman relaxedly lifted his fork and spoke.
“Are you alright? I heard you were caught up in an accident yesterday.”
Caught off guard by the sudden topic, I nearly spat out the food in my mouth.
Wow, this is tasty.
I was just thinking about how good it was.
I hadn’t expected such a mental attack to hit me out of nowhere.
“……!”
Had it been a drink instead of food in my mouth, I would have spurted it all out, turning the meal into complete chaos.
However, since I was eating Eggs Benedict, a breakfast preference of the Chairman, thankfully, no such disaster occurred.
I took a swig of water beside me. Unlike the food I had swallowed, I couldn’t swallow the Chairman’s question.
“…Well, you see.”
Get it together.
No one knows about the existence of my Body Enhancement Magic.
It was clearly a genuine concerned question.
My brain whirred in that short moment.
And considering the accident happened inside this building.
Since the building belongs to Monolith after the Chairman took over, it would be weird for him not to know.
I was just surprised by the timing.
Okay, I calmed down.
I maintained my composure and replied to the Chairman.
“Drek was also in a café at that time. After checking, it seems it was just an accident, really bad luck.”
“……Hmmm.”
Why does he look so scary?
The Chairman stifled a snort while staring at me.
I wasn’t lying, but I definitely hid the truth cleverly.
Surely, he couldn’t have guessed everything just from that. Even for the Chairman of Monolith, that would be odd.
“I was unharmed thanks to my magic. Still, thank you for your concern.”
I answered that way because I didn’t want to reveal the existence of my ‘Body Enhancement Magic’ with all seven of us here.
After all, I would be seeing each of them separately on the 14th floor.
It wouldn’t be too late to explain then.
I persuaded myself internally and waited for the Chairman’s story.
“I did review the surveillance cameras, however…, you looked fine on the screen, so that’s good.”
“…Haha.”
Him having seen the footage of me getting hit by a car meant he’d witnessed the incident directly.
……
He really doesn’t realize, right?
The Chairman set down his fork and continued speaking.
“…Was it really an accident?”
“Excuse me?”
It seemed the Chairman was focusing quite a bit on the ‘accident’ aspect.
I thought he was just probing because he saw some odd footage from the surveillance cameras.
“When the incident happened to you, there were similar accidents occurring at other Monolith branches and other corporate branches too.”
The Chairman elegantly wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Since most of these incidents were within companies, it seems like they’re categorizing them as corporate terrorism on the city or NCPD side…”
“No way, was it not an accident?”
Sure, in Neon City, “terrorists” were as common as neighborhood dogs, but as the one who had the accident, it felt different.
As I asked, the Chairman tilted his head lightly to the side—a surprisingly cute motion for someone who couldn’t too openly reveal their age.
But how old is he?
……
I decided to leave that question unopened in Pandora’s box.
Anyway, the Chairman continued.
“That’s what’s strange.”
He gestured to Natasha.
Natasha, the No Answer boss with expertise not just in mercenary brokering but also in information, nodded in agreement with the Chairman’s words.
“That’s right. We also conducted an investigation on our end, but there are no hacking traces left in the data. We checked the identity of the person who caused the accident, and it wasn’t someone who could commit a terrorist act.”
The commoners (part-timers, defectors) who couldn’t chip into the conversation looked anxiously at me regarding the accident.
I waved them off gently to say I was fine.
By the way, Andrea and Catherine appeared more unfazed than I expected.
But I could understand, having been mercenaries together for a while. They knew it was improbable for me to get hurt in a simple accident.
“Oh, this broke.”
“Me too.”
The tableware they were holding bent and broke, but we decided to pretend we didn’t see that.
Natasha’s eyes glimmered with a machine-like light.
She seemed to be reading the information she had accessed through her sight interface.
“For now, we are still investigating…”
I interjected as I listened to Natasha.
“So you’ve got a hunch, but no proof.”
The Chairman and Natasha nodded simultaneously.
I turned my head towards Eve. If there had been any traces in the data, Eve would have known.
“When I checked at the time, I couldn’t find any traces. It definitely wasn’t a hacking response.”
That meant it wasn’t hacking at all.
If that’s the case, it was impressive that vehicles had malfunctioned simultaneously near a corporate building.
Statistically, it’s not 0%, but… clearly, something was off.
The Chairman continued in a sluggish tone.
“As a corporation, one of the most frustrating aspects is incidents like this with so many variables… If we knew the cause or reason, it would be one thing, but even our strategy and security departments are baffled.”
Here’s to the employees who must have disappointed the Chairman.
……
But why?
Hearing the Chairman’s words felt unsettling.
Usually, when the Chairman speaks so weakly—
“I’ve been taking it easy at home lately.”
The Chairman smiled at me.
His tone mixed with boredom revealed a hint of laughter.
“Could I ask for you to be my bodyguard for a bit?”
“…Huh?”
Me? To do that? Why?
To respond in such a way felt too formidable for someone of his stature.
Of course, I could refuse if I wanted to.
After all, it wasn’t like there weren’t other employees being paid credits by Monolith, I wouldn’t change much by joining in.
Just as I was about to calmly say, “Haha, I’m feeling some muscle pain, so I apologize,”
The Chairman, who had stand up, gently placed his hand on my shoulder. Whispering quietly into my ear.
“… Hmph, you smell just like Eve.”
I immediately shouted my response.
“Of course, I’ll help!”
No wonder he’s the chairman of Monolith.
How did he pick up on that….
Cold sweat dripped down my back.
The Chairman nodded in satisfaction at my swift answer. He looked down at me with alluring eyes.
“Heh heh, then I’ll be counting on you for a while.”
“…Excuse me?”
For a while?