The performance ended very successfully.

NCB24 News praised it as an outstanding performance, and the audience who witnessed it couldn't stop marveling at how magical the production was.

(It was actual magic.)

Especially Andrea's song, which was the last act, received tremendous cheers from the audience.

A minor issue occurred when the lighting manager, stage director, and managers grabbed my ankle as I was trying to go home, asking for my help next time too.

But thanks to the unfortunate incident where the 'stage director's' spit flew onto my face again, we were fortunately able to escape from their clutches without any problems.

I let out a short sigh as I recalled that memory.

"Phew."

I need to wash my face when I get home.

I don't understand why that man sprays so much spit when he talks.

As I thought about it.

Honestly, it's true that I went through a lot working as a manager for 24 hours (visiting cafes, touring the zoo, stage production).

But seeing that the performance ended safely, I felt a strange satisfaction in one corner of my heart.

"......"

Still, I've been going out too much lately.

I muttered while gripping the steering wheel.

"I've decided."

"What?"

Catherine, who was sitting in the back seat fiddling with Andrea's panda doll, responded to my muttering.

I looked at Catherine's face through the rearview mirror.

I opened my mouth to declare my resolve.

"I think I've been going out too much lately."

"...?"

Catherine looks at me with an expression that says 'what nonsense is this?'

For Catherine, who is naturally an 'E', an extrovert, this is something she will never understand.

From my experience as her childhood friend.

She's probably thinking something like 'What's wrong with going out a lot?'

Anyway, 'I's and 'E's are relationships that follow eternally parallel lines. This is a rational conclusion according to 'MBTI' written even in the Goguryeo watermelon diagram.

For the next three days, no, one week, no matter what happens, even if the sky falls, I'm not going out.

I made a sincere commitment.

"Oh?"

Andrea, who was hugging the panda doll and rolling around, sits up in the back seat.

"I got a message from Maya."

When Maya was suffering severely from Chrome Psycho symptoms.

I guess the time I took Andrea to find her became a connection. The two of them were getting along better than I thought.

I didn't know they were exchanging messages separately.

I asked with light curiosity.

"What does it say?"

"Hmm, just a moment."

A slight blush appears on Andrea's cheeks as our eyes meet briefly.

Her gaze seems sweeter than usual.

...

Must be my imagination.

Andrea, breathing softly, touched her visual interface.

"She says there's a surprise waiting when we get home."

"What kind of surprise?"

"It doesn't say."

I felt slightly suspicious, but soon dismissed it with an exhale.

Whatever this 'surprise' is, it can't be anything major.

As long as the house hasn't collapsed, it wouldn't interfere with my rest at home.

We're about to arrive home anyway.

"...I wonder what the surprise could be."

I muttered quietly and focused back on driving.

28. Methods of Rest (1)

Going out.

People define "going out" as the act of leaving one's home or some kind of facility.

Then what exactly is the range of this "leaving" supposed to mean?

I contemplated briefly.

Some people might say simply stepping outside the front door counts as going out, while others might say you need to exit the building entrance for it to count.

For reference, I was the former.

Other people said it was the latter.

"I'm really not going out."

"No, we're not going outside the building. We're just going to a different floor. How is that going out?"

"......"

I have no logical response to that.

I grabbed my eyelids at Catherine's answer.

Honestly, it was something I hadn't expected at all.

Recently.

To be precise, yesterday.

I had met and spoken with "Dr. Terra" in the elevator.

At that time, Dr. Terra had said.

That she was in charge of managing the construction of this place where I live, "Golden Smile Condominium."

Wine bar, spa facilities, movie theater, etc.

Dr. Terra mentioned various facilities, but.

Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to those words.

Even if the facilities were completed, it would clearly take quite some time.

Also, there was no construction noise at all.

I cautiously estimated that it would take at least "months" or "seasons."

And my estimation was.

Half right, half wrong.

"A swimming pool! A swimming pool!"

Catherine was purely delighted.

"Wow... she says the sauna and bathing facilities are completed too..."

Maya, a Japanese-Asian who enjoys bathing, was practically excited.

"Not just bathing, she says pool parties are possible too. The chairman paid special attention to soundproofing."

Andrea cleared her throat.

"I wondered why the Monolith chairman was talking about swimsuits, but I guess this is why."

Natasha remained calm.

"......"

Julia carefully looked at me with eyes that seemed to expect something.

For reference, the chairman was waving at us from a sun bed on one side of the spa facility.

As for Eve, as always, she was standing next to me in a modest posture.

Currently, we are on the first basement floor of Golden Smile Condominium. In the past, this would have been a place with rooms for people to live in.

But now it was filled with spa facilities.

Maya explained that not all facilities were completed yet, only the spa facilities were finished.

I asked Maya what I was most curious about.

"...Where's Dr. Terra?"

"Oh? She was here just a moment ago."

...This person ran away.

Having grasped the entire situation, I contemplated how to escape from here.

Honestly, it's not an impossible matter.

People who want to play in the pool can play, and those who want to rest at home can rest.

I calmly expressed the excuses I had thought of, one by one, with sincerity.

"Oh no, I don't have a swimsuit. Haha, unfortunately there's no store selling swimsuits right now. I'll just have to rest at home today."

"The chairman prepared everything for us...!"

It's been a while since I've seen Maya this excited.

But right now, she's just my enemy.

"...Actually, I can't swim."

"I checked, and none of the pools here are that deep."

I was frustrated by Catherine's follow-up.

When did she even check that?

In the end, what works is "sincerity."

"...Fine, I just want to lie down and rest. I'll stay home and rest, so you guys have some fun here."

"I can just lie down on that sun bed over there."

The last to answer was Andrea.

She seems to have forgotten all the help I gave her as a manager for 24 hours, returning kindness with enmity.

"...No, a sun bed and a bedroom are the sa—"

"I'll go change into a swimsuit."

I cut off my words midway.

It was after hearing Andrea's words.

...Come to think of it, swimsuits.

Hmm.

Actually, lounging on a sun bed wouldn't be a big deal.

In the cyberpunk world, you can easily enjoy movies, entertainment programs, or net space surfing through the visual interface.

...Maybe I'll go up a bit later.

It's not just because of the swimsuits.

It's because my personality isn't so rigid that I would keep refusing people's earnest requests.

Anyway, that's how it was.

* * *

Fortunately, the changing rooms were separated by gender.

There were various men's swimsuits in triangular, rectangular shapes, but what ultimately received my choice was a solid-colored rash guard type swimsuit.

No matter how trash my physical characteristics are.

My mercenary life hadn't been in vain, as lean muscles had settled in various parts of my body.

Of course, it's also true that I've been just lounging around recently, so a bit of belly fat has started to assert its presence.

That was the reason for choosing the rash guard.

Another reason was my skin being as white as if I had some disease.

...Was it the 'delicate skin' trait?

I remember the trait description was probably "Slash defense stat -2." For reference, it's a negative trait.

"...Sigh."

These garbage physical traits will be with me forever in my life.

I thought with a light sigh.

Suddenly I felt a bit depressed.

I trudged out of the changing room.

At the same time, my mood improved again.

This part is beyond my control.

It's the destiny of the male species.

When did they come out and change?

The sight of several women in swimsuits enjoying various spa facilities struck my eyeballs.

Why didn't I install a recording module when I had my mechanical eye implant surgery?

I regretted it belatedly.

At the front were Maya and Andrea.

They were relieving fatigue in a warm pool.

Maya was enjoying the rising bubbles, and Andrea was submerged deep with only her head above water.

Behind them, Catherine, Natasha, and Julia were enjoying the wave pool.

Catherine aside, Natasha seems to have good athletic abilities too. She was swimming skillfully, showing off her speed.

For reference, Julia was lying on a tube, constantly surrendering herself to the waves. She was the only one among the three not wearing a bikini swimsuit.

I shook my head lightly.

Counting small numbers in my mind, I tried not to let my gaze be stolen by the five of them.

Sun bed, where's the sun bed?

I quickly found my destination and stepped forward.

"...Hmm?"

The chairman made a short groan upon seeing me.

"Why aren't you swimming?"

"Ah... I'm a bit tired."

The chairman and Eve were lying on sun beds with one space empty between them.

To add, the chairman was wearing a dark purple bikini, and Eve was in a long swimsuit designed like a pure white dress.

The chairman displays a shallow smile on her lips.

She slightly lowered her sunglasses and moved her pupils toward me.

"Well, if you've been tormented by Andrea all day, you must be tired."

"...Haha, that's right."

"Did you enjoy seeing the pandas?"

"Yes, animals are certainly cu—"

...

Wait.

Chairman?

"Excuse me, how did you know I went to the zoo with Andrea?"

Eve knows all my schedules, but she wouldn't have had time to talk about it yet.

"Hehe, I may not know as much as the artificial intelligence next to you. But I know enough."

"......"

An AI stalker is scary enough.

A chaebol stalker was something I couldn't even imagine.

...Come to think of it, when I visited before, the chairman had mentioned Mr. Bill.

I wiped away my goosebumps, thinking that the chairman investigating the people around me might be a longer-standing affair than I thought.