I’m definitely showing off Echo to Alice and David!
That was the determination I woke up with. But as I stretched and rubbed my eyes, a realization hit : today was Saturday—a weekend.
Our office prided itself on work-life balance, a proper white-collar establishnt. If there were no active requests, weekends were strictly for rest. Both Alice and David wouldn’t be coming in today.
Oh well. I’ll just brag about it on Monday. It’s not like today is my only chance.
It was a bit disappointing. The thrill of showing sothing off diminishes when you wait too long. I poked at Echo’s screen absentmindedly as I lay sprawled on the office sofa.
The loose cat pajamas Alice had gifted slipped down my arm as I fidgeted.
[ “M-master, do you need sothing?” ]
“….”
Maybe Echo thought my poking was a demand for results because it panicked and displayed a short video.
The clip showed a beautifully exotic person from another race dancing, though the purpose was unclear.
Oh, so these kinds of videos exist here too.
But aside from that thought, it wasn’t particularly interesting.
I swiped the video aside with a finger, uninterested. It wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to watch right now.
Seeing this, the Tesseract imdiately began berating Echo.
[ “Echo, you’re so dumb!” ]
[ “I-I’m sorry…!” ]
[ “Hurry up and think of sothing that’ll make Mama happy! Om nom nom….” ]
[ “Eeeeek! Don’t eat !” ]
The Tesseract, innocent and playful as ever, didn’t sound all that intimidating to .
But Echo, acting as if its very existence was in danger, frantically tried to display every function it had.
Unfortunately, none of its suggestions piqued my interest. Perhaps it was still too early for to get used to the trends of this world.
Sigh. I give up. Do whatever you want.
Too drained to care, I set Echo on my stomach and closed my eyes.
Getting Echo was such a dopamine rush, and now it’s gone. When will Greg contact ? Is he planning to leave stuck here forever?
I felt like my brain was getting moldy from the stagnant boredom.
What was the point of having a communication device if the other party wasn’t going to use it?
As I lay there wriggling on the sofa in a half-dazed state, Raven passed by, giving a bemused look.
“You were so excited yesterday, like you were ready to launch into space. Now you’re completely out of fuel? Seriously.”
“….”
“Stop loafing around and get up. We’re expecting visitors today.”
“…?”
Visitors? On a weekend? Our office doesn’t operate on weekends.
I sat up and tilted my head, confused. But Raven just walked off, leaving to figure it out myself.
Why not just tell ?
Crossing my arms, I pondered who might be visiting.
Alice? David? Maybe Lily, still trying to sneak in with her hidden caras?
Just as I flopped back onto the sofa in defeat, the answer arrived at the door.
***
“Hello! We’re here!”
“Good afternoon. We’re a bit early, but we hope it’s alright.”
“Oh, hello… Yuria, hi!”
“Hi there~!”
The door opened, revealing today’s visitors: Alice, David, Sabrina, and Reine.
David’s family plus Alice. A familiar group, but their visit caught off guard.
Why would they all show up like this on a weekend afternoon?
I peeked out from the sofa, nodding at Sabrina’s polite greeting, but my curiosity remained unsatisfied.
Wait. Is it soone’s birthday? Oh no, I didn’t prepare a gift!
Panicking over this rational conclusion, I began sweating nervously.
Before I could spiral further, Raven placed a box in the center of the office and explained.
“They’re here for a at party. It’s been almost a month since you joined us, and I realized we’ve never had a proper barbecue here at the office.”
“Oh my, you didn’t tell Yuria?” Alice asked.
“Why would I? She’d just spend the weekend lazing around anyway.”
“…!”
Ouch. True, but ouch.
I glared at Raven, but he just shrugged indifferently, as if daring to prove him wrong.
at party, huh?
Co to think of it, Raven had been clearing the table and pulling out a large electric grill from storage this morning.
I should have guessed sothing was up.
at sounds good.
Swallowing my sudden hunger, I tried to keep myself from drooling.
That’s when Alice, now coatless and glowing with energy, approached with sparkling eyes.
She looked like a tiger about to pounce, and I froze instinctively.
“Yuuria! I heard you got a new terminal! Show ! Show !”
“….”
“Oh my gosh! It’s so cute! It suits you perfectly!”
R-really? I an, it’s just a normal off-the-shelf product….
Hiding a smile, I handed Echo to Alice, who imdiately began inspecting it with childlike fascination.
[ “Eek! M-master! I’m being touched! Master! Maaaaster!” ]
Echo squird nervously in Alice’s hands, but I couldn’t do much to help.
Sorry, Echo. I can’t beat Alice. All I could do was hope for its survival.
David and Sabrina also seed curious about the device.
Perhaps flat terminals were rare these days, making Echo’s retro design more noticeable.
See? It was worth going all the way to the northern black market.
“So, it doesn’t have a number, just an email address?”
“Well, emails are more anonymous than phone numbers. It’s a smart choice,” Sabrina remarked.
“Could I exchange emails with you? I’d like to get closer to you, Yuria.”
“…!”
We spent so ti exchanging email addresses. With no phone number, it was the only way to stay in touch.
Everyone seed enthusiastic, making feel unexpectedly popular.
“Alright, enough chit-chat. Alice, didn’t you promise to make sukiyaki? Let’s eat that first, then grill the at later if we’re still hungry,” Raven said.
“Oh, right! I’ll get it ready!” Alice replied.
The at party began just before dinner, stretching into the evening.
We had sukiyaki—thinly sliced beef dipped in egg—steaks, hamburgers grilled on the electric griddle, and even a roasted turkey from the rarely-used office oven.
With big eaters like Alice, Raven, and David around, the feast was devoured with surprising ease. Everyone’s cooking skills made it a truly enjoyable ti.
“We’ll be heading out now. Thank you for hosting us today,” Sabrina said.
“No problem. Sorry for dragging you out on the weekend. See you Monday,” Raven replied.
As David, Reine, and Sabrina prepared to leave, Reine approached .
“Yuria, thank you for getting along with Sabrina. She can be a bit prickly, but I hope she hasn’t caused any trouble.”
“Reine!”
“Just kidding. See you next ti.”
“Y-Yuria, I’ll be in touch. Please reply, okay?” Sabrina added shyly.
“…!”
Of course. We’re friends, aren’t we?
Nodding firmly, I reassured her, and she left with a smile.
Alice, who had been lingering behind, suddenly hugged tightly from behind.
She slled faintly of wine, probably from the party.
“Jin, can I sleep here tonight?”
“Huh? Sure.”
“Hehe… Yuria, I’m sleeping with you tonight!”
“….”
Alice buried her face in the back of my head, swaying gently like a child.
By now, I was used to her antics, though I wished she’d stop blowing warm air on my scalp—it gave goosebumps.
The three of us tidied up the office together, with assigned to dishwashing duty since I wasn’t particularly strong.
Later, after we all showered, I skipped my usual closet and joined Alice in my room.
As I lay beside her, I thought about how quickly ti was passing. It had already been two weeks since the last ti we shared a bed.
“…Goodnight, Yuria. Yaaawn.”
“…!”
Snuggling into the blanket, I felt Alice’s warmth and drifted off to sleep earlier than usual.
Spending ti with good people had lted away the gloom I’d felt that morning.
Still waiting for Greg’s contact, though!
Smiling despite myself, I felt content.
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