Chapter Seventy-four: Another round of negotiation
Several days that numbered to weeks passed after that.
"That should take care of the environment."
Seated before a newly assembled computer setup.
Morgan stretched and leaned back in his chair.
A small yawn escaped him as his shoulders slumped.
Then he flopped his head on the table.
Since then, he had turned into a social reject, locking himself up in his rooms while designing like a mad-man.
"Of course, using different resources for each floor is a hassle, but…"
«Not necessarily. With fifteen biomes spread throughout the structure…»
«Each pattern differs from the last, so stagnation isn't really an issue»
Perhaps so..
They had implemented a wide variety of biomes.
From plains to jungles, swamps to deserts.
Some floors were even inspired by real-world locations.
One example being the Japanese-themed floor he had added.
Naturally…
Morgan already had plans for that one.
The floor-boss would wield a katana, complete with numerous absurd gimmicks.
On that note, Morgan planned for it to be a scenario-based boss, where players can't defeat bosses by depleting its health to zero.
Rather, one has to fulfill a set of conditions to actually defeat the boss instead.
No doubt it would cause players like Ashley massive headaches.
The boss is basically a 'use your brain' to her.
Just as he thought of it…
Morgan paused. Perhaps were his intentions going a bit too far?
For a moment, he tilted his head to the ceiling in contemplation.
However, in the next moment, he denied his thoughts with a sharp rejection.
Nah.
He shook his head.
"Since this isn't a death game, I suppose it's fine, I guess."
This also meant the other floors he implemented were actually reasonable and usable.
'For example..'
Morgan mused, looking at the detailed virtual design displayed on his monitor.
He had also added several ruined-environment floors as extra contents.
Those ruined landscapes were capable of inflicting negative status.
Corrosion, hunger, thirst and various debuffs that wore players down.
Naturally, multiple safe zones would be placed.
And with proper preparation… It was conquerable, really.
«That aside, Master, there are other matters you should be concerned about…»
Beta's voice floated from within the system, causing Morgan's brows to lift.
«Dreaming is all well and good, but what about the monsters and their gimmicks?»
Morgan immediately went pale.
He had spent days and nights pushing this far, neglecting other critical aspects.
Well, he knew he could count on the rest.
…but he wanted to be the one to implement the system.
Yet, it seems, no matter how enhanced his body was now, he was human in the end.
"Ugh…"
His expression darkened, turning bitter.
Immediately let his body fall back against the chair, causing it to roll backward.
The wheels scraped softly against the floor before Morgan came to a stop.
"Fine, fine, but before that, I'm starving."
Ruffling the side of his hair, Morgan muttered that before looking out the window.
It was already morning.
The sun had already appeared high in the sky, rising from the east.
Birds chirped, tweeting as a calm, nostalgic breeze filled the air.
"...already morning, huh?"
Muttering that, Morgan exited his room into the long hallway.
His door clicked shut behind him as he strolled down the brightly lit hallway.
'Ahh, now that I think of it, it was also the same time…'
Roughly last week, he moved into a more spacious house.
But that's beside the point.
Morgan tilted his head up slightly, hearing some strange sounds coming from downstairs.
Someone was jamming to a song that had a high-pitched sound.
And from its lyrics, Morgan was sure…
『~some absurd high pitched song ~』
Without much rush, he entered the brightly lit spacious living room.
Several couches spread across the room.
A soft black rug covered half of the living room where the couches were placed.
However, to the side,
Morgan saw the massive LED television playing a music video.
And sitting on the couch cross-legged, listening to the music, was none other than—
"Hell are you doing Ash?"
She had a pillow placed on her lap as she stared at the screen in a daze.
Morgan turned his head back to the television.
"Wait, ain't that
He muttered that, but she didn't say anything for a moment.
Morgan scratched his head lightly, as she then replied in a lazy tone.
"Dunno, don't care. I was scrolling when I saw this, so I thought I'd listen."
It's more like you couldn't find anything interesting to watch, so you settled for this.
Morgan thought as he stared at her for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
"That's a Spirit, you know."
He said it casually as he walked into the dining room and headed straight for the fridge.
Even so—
"Ehhhhhhhhhh, so she was the one behind that mysterious Spacequake at Tensatsu Station."
Morgan paused mid-motion while uncapping a bottle of milk, shifting his eyes toward her.
First off, her 'ehh' was way too exaggerated.
But aside that.
After that disturbance, several other disturbances had occurred throughout the week.
It didn't take much thinking to piece things together.
Kurumi and Nia sure are working hard, no, it should be Shidou, Fraxinus and the Spirits all fighting it out.
Like he'd promised, he would not intervene till the time was right.
But,
"…You knew?"
"Mhm. I was the one deployed for—no, I'm the only one available for things like that."
She said it without looking away from the screen.
Right. Among all of them, she was the only one with that much free time.
Maya barely stayed in the house as it was.
In that sense, she was even more diligent than him.
"…Then get yourself something to do."
That was when Ashley finally turned to him for the first time.
She tilted her head slightly, as if asking do what?
"Make yourself more useful."
Holding the bottle, Morgan lazily pointed a finger at her, prompting her to glance away.
"By that, you mean chasing after her? Weren't you the one who said not to pursue them."
"Fair enough."
Morgan lowered his hand.
Then he looked back at her, narrowing his gaze at his younger sister.
"If you're that free, how about helping me test something out?"
Ashley turned fully toward him, tilting her head as a grin crept onto his face.
For some reason, she didn't like that smile.
Still, after a moment, she slowly nodded.
Tengu Commercial District.
A small company.
Or rather, calling it a small team of workers would be more accurate.
They had no more than thirty employees, all barely scraping by on minimum wage.
Naturally, the company's revenue was low, matched only by its low-end workspace.
But right now…
"So, you're saying you want to… buy us out?"
Inside a small office.
Though calling it an office is more generous than what it looked like.
It was merely separated from the rest of the workspace by improvised glass, plastic and iron furnishings.
Seated across from the company's director was a girl.
Ginger-haired, with closed eyes, she sat in a wheelchair.
Accompanying her was another woman with a refined and mature physique.
However, at this moment, an absurd offer was being given to the other group.
The director stared at the paper positioned in front of him with a pale expression.
Sweat dripped down his features as he stared at the paper.
And in the next moment, his expression turned gloomy.
"You might be Clocktower or whatever, but this is outright robbery!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
Despite that action, however, the women in front of him remained calm.
"Call it robbery if you like, I'd prefer to think of it as a favor."
Cecile replied evenly with a calm tone.
"You see, what we currently lack is manpower which you lots can provide."
She then folded her hands neatly atop her lap and slowly opened her eyes.
"Besides, your company is already on the verge of bankruptcy, isn't it?"
The man shivered.
Elaine beside her simply stared at her coworker without surprise.
'What a terrifying girl.'
She thought.
And it wasn't only Cecile for that matter.
It was expected that there were only so many Morgan could oversee.
To begin with—-
Most of Clocktower's latest technological development was under him.
Besides that, it was always one of the two.
Either it was created by him or it is directly supervised by him.
On top of that was Beta.
Morgan's super-intelligent AI.
She was now also capable of running quantum-level calculations.
Even Maya's «Reactor» wouldn't have seamlessly worked the way it was proposed.
One could say it was thanks to Beta that the proposed project had zero margin for error.
Besides that—
Clocktower's Development Sector had been divided into two branches.
One focused solely on CR Unit technology, aimed at increasing their combat strength.
The other concentrated on the development of virtual and augmented technologies.
Maya and Artemisia led the former, while Cecile oversaw the latter.
Yet, as a newly developing organization—
Much of the core technology originally came from Elaine's former R&D team.
The 3D engineering system, in particular, was one such example.
With remaining funds,
…along with investments from companies expecting future profits,
Clocktower was not lacking in capital.
But manpower, however…
That was another matter entirely.
And now, Cecile had personally taken responsibility for addressing that problem.
Which, inevitably… led to this situation.
Perhaps it was Morgan's fault for entrusting all these girls with administrative authority.
"But this is too much!"
"Too much, you say? Then how about this proposal?"
"How about your company becoming a subsidiary of ours."
Outstretching her hand, she sat that at first, however, in the next moment.
Cecile calmly picked up another document and slid it across the desk.
"After all, your company isn't worth more than this."
The paper fluttered to a stop, and the director's face drained of color.
His lips trembled as his hands clenched into fists.
Both women could tell he wanted to object, but he couldn't.
Faced with the evidence laid before him, he just couldn't refute it.
"I… I'll discuss this with the others."
Cecile smiled faintly at his words.
"Please do."
With that, she glanced at Elaine, who sighed before standing.
Stepping behind her, Elaine gently pushed Cecile's wheelchair toward the exit.
Just as they were about to leave, however—
She suddenly paused.
Turning back, she looked at the man.
"I'm sorry. My boss may seem harsh, but she won't treat you unfairly."
Cecile stiffened at those words.
She raised her head, clearly intending to object.
But in the end, she said nothing.
Soon after, they exited the office entirely.
Moments later…
They stepped onto the commercial streets of Tengu City, where Cecile finally let out a sigh.
"Ms. Elaine, what you did back there was unnecessary…"
"Is that so? I'd say you're the one being too hard on yourself."
Elaine lifted her head as she pushed Cecile toward the car waiting in front of them.
"You respect him just as much as anyone else. I can see that."
"But even if this is meant to help them, why be so harsh?"
Elaine asked softly.
Cecile was that kind of person.
But it was not because she was ruthless.
If she liked someone, she would work toward what she believed was in their best interest.
She had done so for the SSS back when they were in England.
Now, she was doing the same for Clocktower, which was in its time of need.
Manpower was needed in many aspects.
And it wasn't like they could just hire any worker.
What they demanded were specialized workers who could fit different places.
That was why she targeted small companies like this.
Companies that are already on the verge of collapse.
Or companies hiding illegal activities, thus, exposing them to use that leverage.
Naturally, she wasn't acting without basis, or going around looking for a place to snipe.
No.
She trusted Clocktower's «Laplace Demon», Leonora Sears' judgments.
"It's good to trust the people around you, but try to take it easy, alright?"
"Leadership isn't just about pressure. I don't think he would appreciate that."
Cecile's expression softened slightly as she tilted her head up, thinking.
For a few seconds, she remained silent. Then, with a subtle nod, she finally spoke.
"I understand, Ms. Elaine."
"Ufufu, just call me Elaine."
Elaine let out an uncharacteristic smile, as if looking at a younger sibling.
In truth, that was exactly how she saw Cecile, though the girl herself didn't realize it.
To Cecile, Elaine was simply someone who often kept an eye on her.
Nothing more.
"Regardless, the «Recovery Realizer» should be completed soon."
"Mm, I'm looking forward to it."