I couldn’t wait to show off Echo to Alice and David!
With that resolution in mind, I woke up as usual, only to suddenly remember something I’d completely forgotten: today was Saturday. A weekend.
Our Troubleshooter office prided itself on being a white-collar company that valued work-life balance. If there weren’t any active requests, weekends were designated for rest. In other words, neither Alice nor David would be coming in today.
“Well... I can just brag about it on Monday. There’s no rush.”
Still, it was a bit disappointing. Things are always more fun when the excitement is fresh and hot. Waiting until Monday would surely cool the moment, diluting some of the joy.
Feeling mildly sulky, I lay on the office sofa and poked at the communicator screen with my fingertip. The loose cat pajamas Alice had gifted me slid down my arm as I shifted.
[Uh, um... Master? Do you need something?]
“....”
Echo seemed to interpret my idle poking as some kind of demand, as if I were threatening it to do something. In a panic, it projected a short video onto its screen, as though trying to appease me.
The video featured a rather cute humanoid alien species performing an incomprehensible dance. While it was a decent attempt, it didn’t particularly catch my attention.
I frowned slightly and swiped the video off the screen with my finger, signaling that I wasn’t interested. It wasn’t particularly entertaining, nor was I in the mood for it.
At that, Tesseract began berating Echo, gleefully bullying it with relentless comments.
[Echo, you’re such a dummy!]
[Ack! I-I’m sorry...!]
[Hurry up and do something to make Mama happy! Omnomnom...!]
[Eeek! Please don’t eat me!]
Tesseract’s scolding wasn’t particularly intimidating—probably due to its naturally soft and childlike demeanor. Still, Echo seemed genuinely terrified, scrambling to present every possible function it had.
Unfortunately, none of Echo’s frantic attempts to provide content really piqued my interest. Perhaps I wasn’t ready to fully embrace the trends of this world just yet.
Sigh. Whatever. Do as you like.
Out of energy, I gently placed Echo on my stomach and closed my eyes.
The dopamine rush from acquiring Echo had already worn off, leaving me feeling gloomy again. When is Greg going to contact me? Does he plan to keep me trapped here forever?
It felt like my brain was growing mold from the damp, stagnant mood. What was the point of having a means to contact someone if they never responded?
Lying on the sofa in a daze, I wiggled around aimlessly. Raven passed by and, noticing my sulky demeanor, commented with an exasperated tone.
“Yesterday, you were so excited you looked ready to launch into space. And now you’re already out of fuel? Seriously.”
“....”
“Stop moping and get up. We’ve got a guest coming today.”
“...?”
A guest? On a weekend? Our office wasn’t open for business on weekends. Why would someone be coming?
I slowly sat up on the sofa, tilting my head in confusion. But Raven, acting like I’d understand soon enough, simply walked off in a hurry.
Couldn’t you just explain? Would that kill you?
Crossing my arms, I sat on the sofa, pondering who this guest could possibly be. It wasn’t easy to guess.
Alice? David? Or maybe Lily, who still insisted on sneaking cameras into the office?
As I tilted my head in thought and eventually flopped onto my side, I didn’t have to wonder for long.
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“We’re here!”
“Good afternoon. We came a bit early.”
“Oh, hello... Yuria, hi!”
“Hello~”
Swish.
The door opened, revealing today’s guests: Alice, David, Sabrina, and Reina. A combination that was all too familiar, considering David’s family and Alice were regulars in my life.
But why were they all here together on a weekend afternoon?
Nodding in acknowledgment of Sabrina’s greeting, I peeked over the sofa, my eyes darting around.
I’d figured out who the guests were, but I still had no idea why they’d suddenly shown up.
Could it be someone’s birthday? Oh no. I didn’t prepare any gifts!
Caught up in my logical deduction and the ensuing panic, I started to sweat.
Before I could spiral further, Raven placed a box in the middle of the office and explained.
“I invited them over for a barbecue today. It’s been almost a month since you joined us, and I realized we’ve never had a proper office barbecue together.”
“Oh, didn’t you tell Yuria about this?”
“Why would I? She was just going to laze around at home all weekend anyway.”
“...!”
Ouch. Not wrong, but that still hurt.
I shot Raven a glare, silently accusing him of being unnecessarily harsh.
Unfazed, he casually scratched his ear, his expression completely indifferent. He was so infuriating.
A barbecue party, huh.
Thinking back, it made sense. This morning, Raven had cleared off the table and pulled out a large electric grill from storage. In hindsight, it was strange I hadn’t put two and two together sooner. My mouth watered at the thought of delicious grilled meat.
As I sat there, momentarily dazed by the thought, I swallowed the saliva threatening to escape. That’s when Alice, having taken off her coat and now standing in front of me with sparkling eyes, approached like a tiger spotting its prey.
Her intense energy startled me so much that I froze in place like a statue.
“Yuria~! I heard you got a communicator! Show me! Show me!”
“....”
“Oh my gosh! It’s so cute! It suits you perfectly, Yuria!”
I-Is that so? But it looks just like any other standard model...
I pressed my lips tightly together to suppress a grin, though the mask would hide it anyway.
Well, if you’re that curious, take a look.
With that thought, I handed Echo to Alice, gesturing as if to say, See for yourself. Alice eagerly took it and began examining it with great interest.
[H-Hey! Master! Someone’s touching me! Master, Maaasteeer!]
Echo’s screen flickered in distress as it squirmed in Alice’s hands.
Sorry, Echo. I can’t win against Alice. All I could do was silently pray for its survival.
Alice wasn’t the only one intrigued.
David and Sabrina also showed curiosity, their eyes lighting up as they examined the device.
Maybe it was because flat, handheld communicators weren’t common these days. Echo’s retro design seemed to make it stand out even more.
See? My trip to the northern black market wasn’t for nothing.
“So, no phone number? Just an email address?”
“Hmm, makes sense. Email offers more anonymity than a phone number. Not a bad choice.”
“Oh my, may I exchange emails with you as well? I’d like to get closer to Yuria.”
“...!”
We then spent some time exchanging email addresses. Since I didn’t have a phone number, sharing emails was the best option.
Perhaps because I was the last one in the group to get a communicator, everyone seemed eager to exchange contact information with me. It almost felt like I’d become the most popular person in the room.
“Alright, that’s enough of that. Now help me out. Alice, weren’t you going to make sukiyaki? Let’s eat that first, and if we still have room, we’ll grill some meat.”
“Oh, yes! I’ll get it ready right away!”
The office barbecue party started just before evening, as the sun was beginning to set.
We enjoyed sukiyaki, prepared by Alice, dipping thin slices of beef into eggs before eating. Then came steaks and hamburgers grilled on the electric grill, followed by a perfectly roasted turkey from an oven we rarely used.
With Alice, a self-proclaimed big eater, and the likes of Raven and David, who could both eat more than most normal people, the feast could have been overwhelming for anyone else. But for us, it was a joyous time filled with delicious food and laughter.
“We’ll head out now. Thank you for making time for us today.”
“No problem. Sorry to drag you out on the weekend. See you Monday. Take care of those two as well.”
“Thank you for looking after David. We’ll be on our way now.”
“Goodbye!”
David’s group left first.
Since the office wasn’t spacious enough for everyone to stay overnight, they opted to leave before it got too late.
After saying their farewells, David, Reina, and Sabrina awkwardly bid goodbye to Raven. Then, they turned to me, leaving their own parting words.
“Yuria, thank you for being so kind to Sabrina. She can be a bit prickly and difficult at times, but I hope she hasn’t been too much trouble.”
“Reina! Don’t say that!”
“Hehe, I’m just joking. See you next time, okay?”
“Y-Yuria, I’m heading out now... I’ll send you emails occasionally, so make sure to reply.”
“...!”
Of course, I’ll reply. We’re friends, after all.
I clenched my fists in determination and nodded firmly. Sabrina smiled, looking relieved, and left with the others.
What was Alice thinking as she watched them leave?
After a moment, she suddenly pulled me into a warm hug. Faintly, I caught the smell of alcohol on her—she must have had some wine with the meal.
“Hmph... Jin, can I sleep over tonight?”
“Huh? Sure, go ahead.”
“Hehe... Then I’ll sleep with Yuria tonight!”
“....”
Like a playful child, Alice gently swayed her body, resting her head against the back of mine.
Though I was getting used to her antics, I still wished she’d stop blowing warm breaths onto the top of my head—it gave me goosebumps.
With Alice, who seemed a bit tipsy and unusually bubbly, we finished cleaning up the space together. Of course, I wasn’t particularly strong, so I ended up being tasked with dishwashing by default.
Later that night, after we each took turns in the bathroom, I didn’t retreat to my usual closet. Instead, I lay side by side with Alice in my room.
Now that I thought about it, it had already been two weeks since the last time we slept like this. Time really flew by.
“...Good night, Yuria. Yaaawn.”
“...!”
Tonight, it wouldn’t be cold, even if I buried myself deep under the blanket.
Feeling Alice’s warmth beside me, I fell asleep much earlier than usual.
Maybe it was thanks to the fun memories I’d made with everyone.
The gloom I’d felt earlier that morning seemed to have melted away completely.
Though I’m still waiting for Greg to contact me!
I couldn’t help but smile despite myself. It was just that kind of day.