Chapter 110
Countless air vehicles flew through the sky.
A hyperloop train sped through the heart of the city.
Even the people bustled about every minute and every second.
“This is what you call a place where people live.”
Slurp.
I took a sip of cheap synthetic coffee and muttered lightly.
As its name suggested, synthetic coffee was not the luxury stuff made by grinding real beans, but to someone with an undiscerning palate like mine, it all tasted about the same anyway.
It didn’t taste as bad as I’d expected.
Maybe the only flaw was that they’d put in too much syrup.
As you could tell just by trying the megacorp hot dogs sold at our grocery store, a low unit price didn’t necessarily mean something tasted bad.
In an extreme capitalist society, taste was also one of the important competitive factors.
This was precisely why hamburgers were the best-selling and, at the same time, most popular food in the world.
(Of course, being a derivative of hot dogs was another reason.)
Nova faintly furrowed her fine brow, apparently unaccustomed to the bitter taste of coffee.
“…Ugh.”
Perhaps because she was a high-performance android capable of converting organic nutrients into energy, she seemed, if anything, unaccustomed to eating food.
She could replenish the energy needed to function anywhere without going out of her way to eat something like this, after all.
That was clear enough just from remembering how she had spilled ‘Neo Life Gel’ while eating it at the grocery store last time (probably without even realizing it herself).
I asked as I watched her.
“Should I order you another one, but sweeter?”
“I’m fine.”
Nova slowly set down the synthetic coffee and began silently watching me eat.
Just then, the simple foods I had ordered came sliding onto the table one after another.
Spaghetti, quesadillas, salad, and the like.
The menu didn’t clearly list the names of the ingredients, but judging by their appearance, they were definitely the foods I knew.
The taste was….
“Hmm.”
About 2.5 out of 5.
Good enough to fill my stomach, more or less.
After briefly admiring the view outside from the café terrace, I literally inhaled the food.
‘Whew, now I finally feel alive.’
Hospital food was bound to be a little bland, after all.
As empty plates piled up on the table and the gazes of those around us gradually began to turn toward me instead of Nova.
We quickly got to our feet.
Then my eyes trembled in shock when I saw the bill.
What the hell kind of price was this….
‘At this rate, did they charge me for the table next to us—no, the table two over and the one in front of us as well?’
Even if this was District 44, the prices were far too high.
To make matters worse, the food I had ordered had been brought by a shoddy wheeled serving robot, yet a 25% tip had been checked automatically.
I wasn’t usually the type to make a scene at a restaurant, but this time was different.
The homeless spirit inside me was ready to unleash a fierce denunciation.
- Get the owner out here!!
But before that, Nova’s index finger touched the screen at the register.
The words Payment Complete appeared moments later.
She didn’t seem particularly bothered even after paying an amount equivalent to two hundred-something hot dogs.
‘Well, Nova effectively stocks our grocery store too….’
And the money came from the boss, at that.
I guess a city government agent’s salary must be pretty substantial.
After leaving the shop, Nova naturally began walking down the street and asked me a question.
“Where shall we go now?”
“Hmm….”
When I seemed to be pondering, Nova continued explaining in a calm manner.
“First, after searching the cyberweb for ‘a typical dating course for couples,’ I found a total of 81 options. It seems that relatively dark and quiet places, such as movie theaters and brain virtual rooms, are usually preferred.”
“…Wait, what did you say about couples?”
Had I misheard her?
Nova casually added a clarification.
“I said an outing course for ordinary tourists.”
“…….”
That definitely wasn’t what she’d said a moment ago.
Unfortunately, since I didn’t have a smart chip in my head, I couldn’t rewind and replay the audio data I had heard.
I stared at Nova with an incredulous expression, but her face was extremely self-assured.
“Why are you doing that?”
“No, it’s just….”
It was enough to make me wonder if I really had misheard her.
‘…A date. Hmm, is this really a date?’
Normally, a date meant two people meeting separately with the purpose of pursuing a romantic relationship.
At that moment, a nightmare I had experienced in the past suddenly flashed through my mind.
- You know, Oppa Suho’s face and… they really don’t match. I thought you were the type who had a lot of fun. I had fun today. Get home safely.
It was the memory of being introduced to an acquaintance to celebrate my discharge from the military, only to be blocked on KakaoTalk that very day.
My money had gone down the drain, and my pride had been shattered to boot….
“Sob.”
“??”
I quickly came to my senses.
Let’s think back over everything I had done so far.
Eating six hospital meals without using my hands, coming straight to a café after being discharged and devouring enough food for more than ten people, seriously considering what to eat next after leaving the café, and so on.
It was hard to say I had behaved like a gentleman toward her.
I decided to put the regret behind me and come to my senses from then on.
“Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“…Yes, there is.”
“……!!”
Eureka!
Just as Archimedes had cried out when he discovered the law of buoyancy, I looked at Nova, seeing the possibility of getting through this date for free.
Her tranquil gaze settled on me.
Pale white skin, unwavering eyes.
“This artificial body is related to a megacorp, isn’t it?”
“…It is, right?”
“It may not be widely known, but I believe there is at least a possibility, however remote, that someone affiliated with Veltech might recognize me—or this artificial body.”
“Hmm….”
It definitely wasn’t zero percent.
It was merely close to zero.
There had been a reason I had prevented Nova from leaving the grocery store warehouse back when I still didn’t know what Paul Lucas was looking for.
Though for now, I believed the culprit who had stolen the goods from Veltech was Ryan Corporation.
For that reason, it had also been quite some time since Veltech’s air vehicles had stopped appearing in the skies over District 49.
‘Well, there’s probably no harm in being careful.’
Nova had a point, to some extent.
But where exactly was she laying all this groundwork to suggest we go?
“…In that case, I think somewhere that attracts as little attention as possible would be best. Since we’re choosing a place anyway, I’ll pick somewhere comfortable rather than somewhere unpleasant to stay.”
“So where is that?”
Nova suddenly stopped walking.
It seemed she had been walking toward this destination from the very beginning.
As her gaze gradually rose, I also lifted my head to follow Nova’s line of sight.
A rather luxurious-looking hotel building stood squarely before us.
“……??”
This place was a little….
It didn’t seem….
* * *
Still, it wasn’t as though there were any other particularly good places to go.
A restaurant with a private room was one possible option, but I hadn’t lost so much of my conscience that I could suggest going to eat again after clearing more than ten plates at the café just now.
If this had been in the middle of South Korea, I would have gone anywhere, whether it was a coin karaoke booth or an escape room café.
Before I knew it, I had followed Nova in a daze and arrived in a hotel room.
I hurriedly pulled myself together and rubbed my face with both hands.
“No, if this was how it was going to be, we could’ve just gone back to the grocery store.”
It was a thought that came to me too late.
I was flustered, and my thoughts were dizzy with confusion.
Nova enjoyed the cushiony feel of the bouncing bed to her heart’s content, then looked at me with her usual expressionless face.
“Most date destinations are hotels anyway, so it’s fine.”
“…I thought you said it was an outing course for tourists.”
“According to what I researched, the two are not very different.”
Then Nova tilted her head with an utterly unbothered air.
“Detecting an elevated heart rate…. Aren’t hotels generally places people visit to rest? I do not understand why you are flustered, User.”
It was the calm attitude of someone who had boldly walked into a hotel in broad daylight.
“And since your terminal burned up, I do not know exactly what happened to you, but…. Considering your injuries, I do not think it would be bad to rest a little longer before returning to the grocery store.”
What did the terminal have to do with this…?
Then I narrowed my eyes.
Could it be that Nova’s intentions really weren’t as impure as mine?
At least, there wasn’t a trace of any impure thoughts in the way Nova was looking at me right now.
I felt so ashamed that I had spent the past ten minutes mentally composing myself while chanting “until the East Sea dries up and Baekdu Mountain wears away” over and over.
“…Well, they do call it a hotel vacation.”
I had never done that even when I lived in Korea, but I never expected to enjoy one in this crazy world instead.
Sigh, I don’t know anymore.
I flopped down on the bed just like that.
I didn’t even have a terminal, so this really was the perfect situation for a digital detox.
In the quiet atmosphere.
At some point, I noticed that Nova was looking down at my face.
Just as she had when we were in the hospital room.
“……Why?”
“Because it feels different from when I look at you while controlling the turret.”
“Ah.”
I remembered the first night after I arrived at the grocery store.
I had also woken up in the middle of sleeping then, only to find the turret’s lens glaring at me.
Thinking about it that way, this wasn’t anything particularly special from her perspective.
However, seeing Nova like this made me feel quite restless.
Nova wasn’t a turret right now, and this wasn’t the grocery store in District 49.
Suddenly, the air felt heavier.
I realized that Nova’s face had moved closer than before.
Close enough that I could feel her breath now─.
Rattle.
At that moment, the doorknob of the room was shaken roughly.
The sudden appearance of an unwelcome guest.
A whitish glow flickered in Nova’s pupils as she calmly raised her head.
She seemed to be looking at the optical HUD implemented through her smart chip.
Then came a low murmur.
“Tch, I definitely routed the location data through hundreds of servers….”
“Why, who’s here? Room service?”
In response to my question, Nova let out a small sigh.
“Something worse than that.”
Crunch.
…Crunch?
It was far too violent a noise to have been made by simply opening the door.
Without realizing it, I sat up and looked toward the door of the room.
Hmm, I feel like I went through something similar last time too….
As the sense of déjà vu washed over me, I swallowed hard.
“Mind if I come in for a moment?”
You’re already inside.
But, hunched over like a mouse facing a cat, I found it difficult to say something that insolent.
I looked at her—Luciana—and greeted her awkwardly.
“…Hello?”
“Yeah, hi.”
And then.
That beastlike gaze turned toward Nova.
“And hi to you, too.”
It was just an ordinary greeting, so why was it frightening?
Fortunately, she wasn’t holding a gun in her hand.
At least, she wasn’t holding a gun.
* * *
“I don’t remember seeing you at the grocery store…. You’re an android without sockets, so did you meet him at Hole Paradise?”
“User─, I have known Hot Dog Man since the ‘first day’ he began staying at the grocery store.”
“But I thought he only went around with a short girl and a businessman. Am I wrong?”
“What is visible on the surface is not necessarily everything.”
“Ha, how audacious.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
What on earth was this heavy atmosphere?
And why was I caught between the two of them, nervously reading the room like a sick chick?
I cautiously sat up as much as possible.
“Um, my stomach hurts, so I’m going to the bathroom for a bit….”
“Sit.” “Please remain seated.”
“……”
Yes, ma’am.