My entire body was filled with fatigue.

It felt like I had heavy weights attached to my whole body.

My limbs were limp and droopy, resembling dried squid hung out to dry.

......I'm dying here.

I struggled to push away the sleepy feeling. I slowly opened my eyes and tried to grasp my surroundings.

Through my blurry vision, the vague shape of an unfamiliar ceiling emerged.

"......"

Where was I?

My consciousness was hazy. Thanks to my garbage physical traits, it was even harder to come to my senses in the morning.

The pain I felt throughout my body was considerable.

Especially in my arms, legs, waist, hips, shoulders.....

Actually, let's just say everything hurt.

...What did I do yesterday?

"Yawn."

A tear-inducing yawn naturally escaped my lips due to fatigue.

But, there was a strange sensation from my arm—.

.......

"Ah."

There was a naked woman using one of my arms as a pillow—the Chairwoman.

Only then did I recover my forgotten memories.

Side EP. Security Duty (3)

Thanks to various incidents during the night, the Chairwoman had fallen into a very deep sleep.

"Mmm...."

Soft breathing sounds could be heard faintly.

The bed was covered with traces of the previous night.

We must have sweated a lot, but my body didn't feel as sticky as I expected. Even the Chairwoman I was looking at now maintained a fresh appearance.

The bioware body used by Megacorp's Chairwoman must have some kind of cleanliness maintenance function.

I pushed away these unnecessary thoughts and quietly activated my visual interface.

The time was approaching morning.

Yesterday, when I resumed my security duty(?) for the Chairwoman, it was probably afternoon.

.......

So an entire day just flew by.

I lightly smacked my lips while checking the status of my visual interface.

A red X-shaped hologram was still floating in one corner of my vision. It indicated that external signals were not connected.

Hmm.

...I hope nothing happened while I was out of contact for a day? Now that it's over, I'm starting to worry.

Just then, I heard the Chairwoman's sleepy voice.

"......It'll be fine."

"Are you awake?"

"...Yes."

The Chairwoman seemed to be weak in the mornings like me.

She couldn't hide her sleepy appearance as she let out a long yawn.

But what did she mean by "it'll be fine"?

Soon after, the Chairwoman clung to me like hugging a stuffed animal.

"...If you try to restore the signal, it'll just give you a headache..., I left a separate message."

Even though she was Megacorp's Chairwoman, she shouldn't be able to read minds. Yet she simply addressed my concern.

Then there shouldn't be any problems.

I nodded and looked at the Chairwoman.

.......

...I think you could let go of me now.

My blood circulation feels too good.

I tried to gather my thoughts by mentally reciting the national anthem.

Soft... ugh.

I shouldn't think about it!

I tried to change the subject by asking the Chairwoman a question.

"You seem very tired."

"...A little."

The Chairwoman answered with a soft laugh.

"It's been a while since I slept with this body...."

Once again, she let out a big yawn.

"......Haaaam. Usually I have schedules day and night..., so I relieve the fatigue in my physical body while switching bodies between appointments...."

"...Ah, I see."

Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I've seen the Chairwoman sleeping.

The Chairwoman slowly raised her upper body. Two basketball-like presences stole my gaze.

As she seemed to be waking up, the Chairwoman looked straight at me and smiled.

"Sleep is nice though. It might be because we slept in the same bed.... Well, thanks to that, all of yesterday's schedules were pushed back, so I'll have to move quickly today."

"...Haha."

I awkwardly laughed and nodded.

.......

But if she's busy, I don't understand why she's not trying to get out of bed.

The Chairwoman lay down again, using my arm as a pillow.

She closed her eyes while pressing her soft cheeks.

"Chairwoman?"

I hope she's not falling back asleep.

Since she wasn't wearing any clothes, it was difficult to grab her shoulders and shake her awake. Though ironically, there wasn't a part I hadn't touched last night.

The Chairwoman slightly lifted her head.

She looked up at me with eyes mixed with boredom.

"...Chairwoman?"

"......"

However, she still didn't answer my call.

Her eyes seemed to be expecting something.

I couldn't tell what she wanted.

Maybe.

I tried calling her differently.

"......Taylor?"

The Chairwoman, Taylor, smiled brightly.

Then she whispered as if grumbling.

"Yes, that's right. I would have been upset if you kept calling me Chairwoman."

But I still prefer and am used to calling her Chairwoman....

Of course, making Megacorp's Chairwoman feel upset would lead to consequences I couldn't handle. I quietly buried that thought in my heart.

I'll just call her Chairwoman in my mind.

Anyway.

The strain on my blood circulation was starting to become too much. Reciting the national anthem in my mind had reached its limit.

The Chairwoman seemed to notice this fact and moved her gaze to where blood was gathering in my body.

"...I think I can spare a little more time though."

"......Pardon?"

The Chairwoman climbed up my body and lowered her head to meet my eyes.

She blocked my lips with her extended index finger.

"Shh."

At the same time, the surrounding lights gradually dimmed.

The Chairwoman muttered in a small voice.

"It's still dawn."

I thought it was morning when I checked the time earlier....

But I couldn't say anything.

It was just a peaceful morning.

* * *

The Chairwoman eventually left, unable to delay her schedule any longer, showing obvious signs of regret.

From what I heard, she needed to transfer to another body in a different location.

I wondered if it was appropriate for me to stay alone in the Chairwoman's office when she wasn't there, but with the unlimited power of Monolith's Chairwoman permitting it.

No one would say anything to me.

At most, the Chief Secretary who directly served the Chairwoman might have offered some advice, but unfortunately, he was currently hospitalized.

- 'Make yourself at home.'

Since the Chairwoman said that.

I decided to check my body's condition before returning to the condominium.

I looked down at my arm, which still had a stiff feeling.

"......Hmm."

I simply manipulated the mana inside my body.

Then, mana began to dwell between my blood vessels and muscles. The formless mana exerted physical power while simultaneously creating form.

Something with elasticity like rubber, but with much better efficiency than muscle, temporarily settled between my muscles.

It was 'strength enhancement magic.'

Now by applying this, I could use it not just on my arms but also on leg areas like the quadriceps or adductor muscles.

Using mana as a physical substance inevitably caused stiff muscle pain.

Honestly, it was a risky method.

Since the magic settled between muscles and blood vessels, the risk of affecting nerves was also significant.

The fortunate thing was that I only needed to follow the grain of the "Monolith No. 1 Artificial Muscle Cyberware" that Drek had surgically implanted in me previously.

So I didn't have to worry about getting the position wrong.

...Even so, under normal circumstances, I would "absolutely" never have tested this method due to its risks.

I won't elaborate on why I developed strength enhancement magic during my night with the Chairwoman.

I'll just say that humans are certainly creatures of desire.

Just as necessity is the mother of invention, I too invented out of necessity.

.......

Anyway.

After simply dispersing the mana, my slightly swollen arm muscles shrank again. I massaged the area and memorized the sensation.

Now that I've checked the muscle magic again....

"...Hmm."

It was truly rare alone time for me.

Having blown away all my worries, my mind was extremely clear.

Therefore, I briefly organized the recent events in my life.

Getting in a traffic accident, becoming a bodyguard, participating in an unintended engagement ceremony....

.......

Ah, let's drop it.

Actually, the biggest changes in my daily life were my relationships with "Eve" and the "Chairwoman."

While there was a somewhat forced feeling to it, I can't say I disliked it.

It was just a difference in order; from their perspective, they might have been considerate of my indecisive appearance.

However....

Something in a corner of my heart felt uncomfortable.

I felt a sense of dissonance there.

Where did this discomfort come from?

Having spent the night with the Chairwoman, I should just be happy, right?

Was it still an inferiority complex? Well, that could be it. It's true that I still think someone like me doesn't deserve this.

I sat on the sofa, blankly continuing my thoughts, trying to identify this unknown emotion.

During that time.

A message arrived for me through the reconnected signal.

Sender: 'Neo City's Best Freelancer'

- Security work today too?

"...Ah."

* * *

That's right.

When you think about it, this was clearly behavior that went against human ethics.

It's surprising that the 'Confucian scholar' in my heart had been quiet until now.

'Ahem, in noble families, having multiple wives and concubines is extremely common—'

Shut up.

I've already had some level of interaction with seven women. I know their feelings, and they know mine.

Even though I haven't formally confessed, we're already in relationships.

In such a situation, having relations with only two of them and keeping it secret was not right as a human being.

......Especially.

I felt more apologetic toward Catherine.

Of course, these aren't thoughts appropriate for someone who just spent from yesterday until this morning rolling around with the Chairwoman.

These were thoughts befitting trash.

.......

But objectively speaking, from the moment I decided to date seven women simultaneously, I was undeniably trash.

Therefore.

I decided to become trash with backbone rather than indecisive trash.

"Let's go on a date."

"Huh?"

- Crash!

Catherine dropped the plate she was holding onto the floor after hearing my words.