NOVEL NEXT Chapter 147
Black Monolith Corporation.
If you’re a citizen living in this Cyberpunk world, there’s no way you wouldn’t know about this megacorp.
In fact, there wasn’t a single vagabond in my game hometown, the landfill, who was completely ignorant of its existence.
In a world where the power of corporations is stronger than national authority, that’s just a given.
The number of its branches spread across the globe is close to a million, and the number of subsidiaries that dominate the market economy is in the hundreds.
Truly, an absolute entity.
I peeked out the window.
“A world led by overwhelming innovation.”
The promotional slogan displayed by Monolith floated around in holographic letters.
Innovation, huh…
Looking back, it was a term that never failed to appear in Monolith’s ads. I remember a similar phrase was used in the Monolith ad featuring Andrea.
Soon enough.
Beyond the forest of skyscrapers, the Monolith ‘headquarters’ started to loom large.
I felt a similar awe last time I came here, but it really does make your heart swell with its grand appearance.
A gigantic building, black as obsidian, consisting of 153 floors, looked like a literal ‘monolith.’
Just gazing at its presence felt like draining my mental strength. It was surreal, and the sense of alienation compared to other buildings was unmistakable.
With that size, you’d think there would be issues like reflections from the glass surface, shadows, and managing absorbed solar heat.
It struck me as strange that they were deliberately maintaining such an inefficient structure.
Well, I guess it’s pretty common to see this in the Cyberpunk world.
It’s just how the wealthy lavish their credits.
Indulging in unnecessary expenditures and living a life of indulgent luxury.
Now that I think about it, it kind of explains why Kojaka’s headquarters is right in the middle of an amusement park.
From a commoner’s perspective like mine, it makes you wonder, “Are they all insane?”
Truly a tale from another world.
…
Of course, the fact that ‘the Chairman of Monolith’ I had just described is sitting right next to me is the most surreal thing.
34. Me? (2)
Personally, I briefly thought about how interns, regular employees, executives, and passing citizens would all kneel and welcome the divine presence of the Chairman on our way to work, but.
Thank goodness that didn’t happen.
It’s not like the citizens were incapable of recognizing the Chairman; it was simply that the air vehicle we were on had stopped on the roof.
As we got out of the car, the Chairman mumbled.
“We’ve arrived quickly.”
“Well, it’s only a 30-minute walk, after all.”
It’s not that far, being as nearby as it is.
On the roof, waiting for us (perhaps they received news ahead of time) was Justin Borg, Monolith’s Executive Secretary.
Justin Borg slowly approached us.
“Chairman, unlike usual, you didn’t exchange your cybernetic body and came to work directly today─.”
He then caught my eye.
“─there’s a reason for everything, I see. Should I go ahead and cancel all external schedules?”
“Hm, I’ll check and let you know later.”
“Understood.”
That was a remarkably swift change of subject.
Justin Borg’s expression darkened. If I could use clairvoyance magic, I think I would have seen the holes forming in real-time.
After quickly assessing the situation with a glance at the Chairman and me, Justin Borg continued, not letting go of the thin thread of hope.
“Then, for today, I’ll only submit electronic documents that are of high importance to the Chairman.”
“Not just today, but for the ‘time being.’”
“…Yes, understood.”
Realizing the truth, Justin Borg nodded, concealing a pained expression.
At this point, he looked more tormented than when I heard the word ‘time being’ from the Chairman.
Somehow, I feel bad about it all.
…
But thinking back, I was also dragged into this.
That took a little weight off my conscience.
Anyway.
The Chairman leisurely walked toward the entrance located on the rooftop.
“Have you looked into the incident?”
“Yes, but I haven’t found any traces yet.”
“Hmm, let’s continue the investigation.”
“I’ll remind the relevant department again.”
Having finished their brief conversation, the Chairman resumed walking, with Justin Borg quietly following behind.
I know that in Neon City, one has to follow regulations when they go above a certain height. As such, there were no other visible persons on the roof besides us.
It really is incredibly spacious.
It’s my first time being all the way up at the top of Monolith Tower. I tried to discreetly glance around out of curiosity.
The top of the megacorp tower…
…Hmm.
“First time here on the roof, huh?”
The Chairman’s voice broke my thoughts.
If I continued pondering like this, it was obvious the glances from Justin Borg would manifest into hostility, leading to some unknown assassin’s arrival, so I promptly answered the Chairman.
“Yeah, that’s right. Honestly, I never had a reason to come up here. The view is nice, though.”
“Hehe.”
Perhaps my silly answer amused him, as the Chairman smiled briefly at me.
“By the way…”
The Chairman’s gaze shifted downward.
With half-squinted eyes, he continued.
“If I’m to take on the role of bodyguard, I suppose I’ll have to change attire, right?”
This is also quite cool.
My current outfit was something given to me by Kojaka’s Vice President.
I remember it being made from carbon nanotubes, Kevlar, and muscle fibers or something like that. I can’t recall all the details, but it’s definitely decent gear.
Thinking back, how could I have accepted such good clothing just because I got some sauce on it from the sewage… I suppose I had a bit of an absent conscience back then.
But I couldn’t say “NO” to the Chairman’s suggestion.
“…I suppose so.”
Upon hearing my response, the Chairman looked at Justin Borg.
Justin Borg slightly nodded.
“Confirmed. Size─.”
The Chairman manipulated his visual interface.
After a moment, Justin Borg, receiving the numerical data, bent slightly to reply.
“Understood.”
I was at a loss for words at how naturally he provided my clothing size.
“Alright, let’s head down now.”
“…Um, okay.”
I nodded with difficulty in response.
Since there was a dedicated elevator leading directly to the Chairman’s office, there was no need for complicated navigation.
However, I thought Justin Borg would join us in the same elevator.
But that wasn’t the case.
With an increasingly darker expression, Justin Borg saw us off from outside the elevator.
“…Please take care of the Chairman.”
“…Yes.”
I briefly offered a moment of silence for Justin Borg.
In memory of the subordinate who struggles.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
It felt strange that an outsider like me would share an elevator with the Chairman, and that there was an elevator leading directly from the rooftop to the Chairman’s office.
A flicker of concern about Monolith’s internal safety regulations crossed my mind, but it was a megacorp, so I figured there must be a reason for it.
…
“Um, Chairman.”
“What is it?”
The Chairman replied in a relaxed voice.
I casually asked, as usual, looking at him.
“…Isn’t it a bit too close?”
Something has been touching me since earlier…
I tried to erase the sensation I felt on my forearm from my mind.
However, the Chairman brushed my words aside lightly.
“Is that so? It’s just the elevator’s cramped.”
According to the Chairman, the elevator was indeed narrow.
At the very least, I figured the elevator used by the Chairman of a megacorp would be big enough to stretch out and lie down.
In reality, the elevator connecting the 152nd-floor conference room and the 153rd-floor Chairman’s office wasn’t that wide.
“……”
Still, it shouldn’t be close like this.
[The expected area of the elevator is 1.54m². This is subjectively narrow, but not so close that we’d be touching.]
Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one thinking this way.
Eve, who had been silent until now, chimed in my head.
It seemed the Chairman heard Eve’s voice, as he naturally responded to her.
“Still narrower than the bed on the 14th floor, right?”
[…….]
Eve?
In an instant, our ally sunk.
The things she said about how she grabbed my shoulder during breakfast (Eve’s scent) and this random mention of the bed were quite revealing.
It was evident the Chairman had picked up on something.
I scratched my head.
A silence ensued in our one-on-one atmosphere.
But, traveling just one floor from the roof to the office shouldn’t take this long in the elevator. Why is the journey feeling so drawn out?
I quickly tried to change the subject.
What should I say?
What would be a good topic?
Hmm.
“Um, Chairman. I was thinking, if you’re worried about your safety, wouldn’t it make more sense to bring others like Catherine or Eve along too?”
…Now that I think about it, it does make sense.
I had just mentioned it to kill time, but it was a valid point.
Why did he only bring me along?
Could it be that the Chairman of a megacorp didn’t know how to distinguish between work and personal affairs, and simply wanted a commoner like me around?
That would be an insult to the Chairman.
The Chairman glanced up at me.
Currently, the Chairman has a height comparable to Julia with her cybernetic body. His head reaches my chest level.
He slowly extended his hand.
Only after fully extending did his hand reach my head.
He poked my forehead with his finger and wore a faint smile.
“It’s rude to ask a question you already know the answer to.”
Not satisfied with just that, the Chairman cupped my face with both hands.
Uh-oh.
Typically, I’d think bioware limbs would be weaker than cyberware, yet his movements forced me to lower my head.
“If you continue to pretend not to know, I might just act like a proper corporate chairman and move on instinct.”
Given how easily he could influence and shake things up in this world and beyond Neon City, his words sounded all the more fearsome.
I had thought the Chairman’s eyes always looked dead.
However, seeing them now, within those eyes that were a mix of laziness and dignity, a flicker of flame was visible.
The elevator doors opened.
Only then did the Chairman release his grip on my face.
“Well, for the ‘time being,’ we still have a lot of time. As long as we search slowly for evidence first, everything should be fine. Spending time together like this can be quite pleasant, you know?”
The Chairman stepped out of the elevator first, leaving me standing still inside, dumbfounded.
And.
[…Tch, I was planning to keep it a secret for a while.]
In that moment, I also managed to figure out why Eve had been hiding the truth from me.
In that situation, I felt a wave of nostalgia for the sensation I had when I took on Andrea’s manager duties recently.
This is just the beginning of the day?
And it’s not even a problem that ends today.
…
I slowly squeezed my eyes shut.