I casually stroked the sensor button attached to the earphone and pulled up the display in my field of vision.
Now then, where's Hisui?
With the digital contact lens over one eye, I checked the surveillance feed and other info.
"Ah, ah—testing, one-two, this is a test. Internal comms only—"
I spoke into the collar mic, throwing out meaningless chatter to catch attention before getting to the actual point. If I dove straight into the important stuff, people tended to miss it. You need a bit of a lead-in.
"What's up? I'm all ears," came a response.
"Currently, we're experiencing a 'Service Time' situation in the Bijin no Yu area thanks to Hisui-san. If you're not busy, feel free to join in—or discreetly pass the word along to nearby guests."
"Wha—?!"
"Copy that, Service Time."
"Details, I demand details!!"
"See for yourself."
I dodged the question with a line straight out of an old game guide. Sure, the mic picked up voices, but the camera resolution was still too grainy to be of much use.
"Woohoo!"
The work comms lit up with sudden excitement. We usually keep the group channel open for this kind of thing.
"Damn, can't step away."
"Bad timing folks can always beg later."
"Roger that~"
When something exciting happens, the info spreads instantly like this.
With my terminal's command privileges, I'm constantly linked to the surveillance system—this is routine for me.
"You're not going, Suzume-chan?"
A voice from the real world—not the comms—caught me off guard. I jolted and turned around. It was Tsugumi-san.
"I'll go a bit later. From what I heard, I'm scheduled right after Grandma Yata… or the one after that."
"Oh? Who's next then?"
"You, maybe?"
"Oh dear..."
She tilted her head, slightly troubled.
"I don't mind waiting, but you could go first, Suzume-chan."
"Ehh…"
I let my guard down and showed my true feelings.
"I'd rather wait a little longer."
To be honest, I'm still uncomfortable getting too close to men. That's why I've been nudging others to go instead.
Sure, I'll probably end up sleeping with him eventually, but I'm not in any rush.
"He doesn't seem like a scary guy, though?"
Tsugumi-san tried to reassure me.
"Source?"
"Misago. She's been swooning in between shifts."
"Well, yeah…"
Given Misago's job position, she's the one closest to him—no surprise there.
"Well, you've got a sharp memory, so it can't be helped. But not all men are like that, you know?"
"I know, okay?"
I sighed. Seriously, having a perfect memory is more of a curse than a blessing.
I remember everything since I was born. Literally.
Okay, my memories from zero years old are a bit fuzzy, but I even recall bits of kind old Kohaku-san.
But that idiot? The pain, the heat, the fear—those are burned into me with crystal clarity.
That's why I'm firmly on the "scared of men" side.
In this world though, especially judging from Misago and Hachikuma, most girls are stronger than the guys, so it's more like they're the predators.
But I'm on the smaller side, so I can't help but feel… uneasy.
"For now, I'll stay back. Plenty of volunteers today. I think I'll just sit back, tease the first wave, and enjoy the show."
"Don't overdo it, okay?"
Tsugumi-san chuckled.
"Looks like we've got a bunch of casualties already. I'll go check on them."
The camera feed from the changing room showed guests smiling blissfully—while lying on the floor, completely nude.
"Alright, off you go," she said with a wry smile, seeing me off.
(Well, he's kind of all over the place, but for now, he seems like a good person…)
With that thought in mind, I sighed softly.
Author's note :
This is how the sudden crowd surge happened. The culprit? Suzume-chan.
In early plot drafts, she actually had a cybernetic eye just for this. The original reason? Someone flicked cigarette ash near her feet when she was little, it got in her eye, she cried a lot, and then the guy got pissed and kicked her. Yeah… no wonder even gentle Tsugumi snapped.
We toned that down a bit in the final version. Smart contacts exist now, so there's no need for the eye mod. A small mercy.
The burns? They happened when she was very young and have healed completely now.
But yeah, she still remembers the pain, the heat, and the fear—perfectly. Trouble is, she remembers it all too well.
Side Note from the Author:
When I was a kid, another child poked me near the eye with something sharp. My eyelid was bleeding, and my whole vision turned red—it was terrifying. I'm lucky I didn't go blind. Still have a faint scar that makes my eyelid look slightly triple-folded. So yeah… childhood injuries are no joke.