Supporting Characters in the Game are Obsessed

The landscape of Neon City was just as it always was.

Everywhere you looked, it was dazzling.

The dazzling holographic lights were everywhere at any time.

I turned my gaze to the holographic billboard floating in the air amidst the forest of the city.

《Innovation, it is the world’s number one product.》

What an odd ad line, and appearing alongside it was Andrea’s giant face.

Under her hologram, the Monolith Corporation logo spun slowly.

There was no denying that the live broadcast we were in ended in a total mess.

Moreover, a sudden hacking from Eve meant the broadcast didn’t even get a proper ending.

I figured that Net Space would be buzzing about us.

My rough prediction was along the lines of:

“To lose faith is to mean death…! Andrea’s news of her polygamy means someone has to die…!”

Something like that.

However, thankfully, my expectations were completely off.

The reason was simple.

The number one corporation in the global market.

The ruler of Cyberpunk: Megacorps’ leader.

The largest company in the world.

Thanks to the appearance of “Chairman Monolith”.

I figured most viewers watching the live broadcast must have hurriedly left their posts as soon as Chairman Monolith appeared.

Typing something like “Uh, I didn’t say anything!” on the bulletin board.

It was obvious even without seeing it.

No one would want to be the one targeted by the dedicated legal team that was always present in Net Space for the Megacorps (Monolith).

Of course, that didn’t mean there weren’t a few clueless folks.

In Neon City, where all sorts of people lived, the number of fools was substantial.

Many wanted attention without thinking about the consequences.

They thought if they get sued, they could just run away and die. So, they didn’t hesitate to post various opinions about “Andrea” or “Chairman”.

But even that behavior didn’t last long.

It was as if a “massive artificial intelligence” was automatically deleting posts related to the scandal from Net Space, as relevant posts started disappearing in an instant.

Just like a fire without wood can’t last long.

Issues without interest don’t last long either.

The controversy involving Andrea was gradually overshadowed by other gossip.

Thus, the legendary broadcast left by “Rex Nova’s Show Live” faded from everyone’s memory.

By the way, speaking of other gossip, that would be something like this.

Andrea’s holographic image vanished from the billboard. After the advertisement ended, the next news followed.

《This is an NCB24 breaking news. Mr. Vince Barbo, who was recently released after being imprisoned for tax evasion and other charges, has been urgently arrested again. The NCPD has yet to announce the charges─.》

Neon City, being the background of a game, was one of the noisiest cities in the world.

Every day brought new incidents and accidents.

—

20. People Who Don’t Want to Go Out (2)

—

I tore my gaze away from the billboard.

Naturally, I glanced at the three women walking with me.

They were dressed in maid outfits that didn’t fit the street vibe, and there was also a striking woman, seemingly spreading a golden glow.

Lastly, there was a woman with her face covered by sunglasses and a mask, hiding her long “elf ears” under a hat.

It was an unavoidable transformation that a celebrity couldn’t escape, unrelated to yesterday’s live broadcast.

“Huh?”

Noticing my gaze, Andrea looked at me.

Her red eyes peeked over the sunglasses as they slightly dropped, staring at me directly.

“Oh, this.”

Her big eyes turned crescent-like.

“You saw it the last time, right? Same mask.”

Even with most of her face covered, her smile was clearly visible.

I just found it curious to see a face from the advertisement next to me.

Feeling a bit awkward, I cleared my throat.

“Ahem, so where are we going?”

It was a question about whether to head to the antique shop at Vanta Market or to a clothing store to remove Eve’s maid outfit.

The three of them whispered among themselves for a moment.

After a short discussion, Andrea nodded and continued.

“Let’s go somewhere close for now.”

With that, Andrea took the lead and started walking.

To get to Vanta Market from here, we needed to head towards the Little Shinjuku area, which would take quite a while even if we took the monorail.

So, it was a reasonable choice.

We followed behind Andrea.

My home, Golden Smile Condominium, was situated in the middle-class business zone.

It was quite close to the Center Plaza, which was the center of business activities, so a significant bustling area was present.

While Nana and Andrea, hiding their faces with masks, were fine, Eve and Catherine, falling under the category of objectively beautiful faces, attracted quite a bit of attention from those around us.

Especially with Eve’s maid outfit making it even more prominent.

Anyway.

“…Hmm, was it this place?”

The clothing store Andrea found wasn’t as large as I had thought, but neither was it tiny.

Honestly, I was questioning why we had come here on purpose.

Noticing my expression, Andrea lightly explained.

“If we go to a famous brand store, they only sell that brand, and if we go to a smaller shop, there aren’t many items.”

We entered the clothing store.

“Welcome!”

A neatly dressed female employee greeted us.

Catherine and Eve, who either had little experience or none at all in clothing shops, seemed busy looking around at the clothes.

Andrea took the lead once again and spoke to the employee.

“Ah, I’m fine. Please help these two dress up a bit.”

“…Hey, I didn’t plan on buying anything.”

“Still, it’s good to buy something while we’re here.”

With that, she pushed Catherine and Eve toward the employee.

It was only natural for the employee to let out a short gasp at their stunning appearances.

“Wow, with these two, I can definitely assist. I won’t even charge a fashion consulting fee, so… may I promote it on SNS later?”

“That’s a bit much.”

“Don’t say that─.”

Leaving the sticky employee behind, Andrea approached me.

Catherine shot us a slight frown, but the employee’s words about choosing matching outfits were a real dealbreaker.

Reluctantly, I was led away by the employee to one side of the clothing store.

Eve, who had been quietly observing me, moved naturally behind Catherine and the employee when I nodded slightly.

We initially came to buy clothes for Eve, but I thought it would be okay for everyone to get at least one outfit since we were here.

I took a moment to breathe and sighed.

“Ugh.”

Then, instead of following the employee, I asked Andrea, who was beside me.

“Are you sure you don’t want to buy anything?”

“I have plenty of clothes stacked up at home.”

Well, it wasn’t strange for a celebrity to worry about clothing.

“More importantly.”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Andrea sparkled her eyes, looking my way. She took off her sunglasses, putting them away.

“Now that we’re here, you should buy something too.”

“……”

No way.

Did you expect me to send Catherine and Eve to the employee like this?

…Andrea.

What a scary girl.

I retreated instinctively, acting on survival instincts.

Andrea stepped closer than the distance I had retreated.

“First, let’s get your measurements.”

“…What measurements? Just buy something random─.”

“No way.”

Andrea cut off my words assertively.

The moving gesture felt frighteningly womenacing.

It was clear that behind the mask, Andrea would be smiling brightly, slowly putting pressure on me.

“…A suit might be good, and changing the style entirely would work too. You usually dress too conservatively, so why not go for a more open look this time….”

Her muttering felt intimidating.

Having seen that, I had no choice but to close my eyes tightly.

I braced myself for the pain and hardship that would find me.

Time passed.

To sum up the situation at the clothing store, it looked like this.

I was (forcibly) trying on clothes.

‘…This looks good, I’ll take this─.’

‘No, try on something else too. Of course, we’re buying this.’

‘?’

Thus, I tried on dozens of outfits, during which Catherine and Eve would show up in new clothes and ask for my opinion.

‘How about this?’
‘What do you think?’

It was a feast for the eyes.

But.

‘Oh, they all look good on you.’
‘Well, then you should try on some others too. They suit you, so let’s buy this for now.’

‘Heart rate monitoring… Maximum threshold update failed. I will go to try on a more efficient new outfit.’

‘?’

So, I enjoyed dozens of different outfits again.

In the end, having wrapped up my shopping without thinking of any future consequences,

I looked up at the sky.

The red sunset, seen through the urban canopy, appeared faintly amongst the clouds.

It was already getting close to evening.

In my personal opinion,

I was more tired now than when I went to Kojaka Headquarters.

I muttered weakly.

“…I can’t go there today.”

For reference, when I said “there,” I meant the black market, Vanta Market.

How long had I been shopping….

I slightly turned my head and looked around.

I didn’t know the exact number, but it felt like there were dozens.

Catherine, Eve, and Andrea all had their shopping bags filled with several outfits.

By the way, in the shopping bag Andrea was holding, there were clothes for me to wear.

……

Though the outfits weren’t exactly cheap,

The credits I received from Chairman Kojaka had filled my account nicely, so there wasn’t much of an issue with costs.

“I said I would only buy a little.”

Catherine remarked as she held several shopping bags.

I looked at Catherine sternly.

Whether she had a conscience or not, Catherine subtly avoided my gaze.

“Ha.”

Releasing a small sigh, I continued.

“Since we have so much stuff, we should probably call a driverless taxi.”

And an SUV-sized one at that.

I was tired, tired….

Suddenly feeling thirsty, I spotted a convenience store selling processed foods and more on one side of the street.

“I’m a bit thirsty; I’ll go buy a drink.”

“I’ll go too.”

“No, we have too much luggage.”

I refused Eve’s suggestion.

I just wanted to be alone for a bit….

“I’ll be back soon, so everyone rest here a sec.”

“I want something cold.”

“Well, I’m going to buy cold stuff anyway.”

Responding to Catherine, I walked toward the convenience store.

Pretending to pick out some items.

I’ll take a short break and come back.

—

Once it was just the three women left, Andrea leaned against the high guardrail of the street and spoke up.

“…But there’s something I’m curious about.”

She put down the shopping bags and crossed her arms, continuing naturally.

“I’m curious because I’m the same; what do you two find so appealing about that guy? Since we’re three now, let’s talk honestly.”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Catherine and Eve turned to look at Andrea.

While it seemed like a lighthearted question, both sensed the weight behind it instinctively.

Without a spare moment to joke around,

Catherine was the first to respond to the question.

“…Well, I’ve been together with him for over ten years. There have been many things between us, and honestly, I thought of him as a younger brother at first, but now it’s changed quite a lot.”

Next, Eve spoke.

“The reason the original entity could come into this world was ultimately thanks to ‘Siwoon’s’ choice. I haven’t yet learned the emotion of ‘liking’, but I recognized the situation when I looked at ‘Siwoon’ directly through the body, noticing an increase in my heart rate.”

The honest feelings confessed by both turned their gazes towards Andrea last.

Since they had spoken, it was meant to indicate that it was her turn to respond.

Andrea slowly opened her mouth.

“…I…”

……

‘…Nothing really happened.’

Andrea couldn’t help but feel a sense of defeat against the two.

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