NoveLight ™
───Ziiing!
"Already the eighth call."
"Anyway, what’s the big deal about being away for a week...?"
Eight times.
This was the number of calls that had come through to Eugene’s mom and dad’s phones while they walked a distance of just over 2 kilometers. Needless to say, they couldn't afford to ignore these calls, as they were the vice president and executive of Icarus International, a company with dozens of subsidiaries.
Recently, the Incursion Scenario had successfully wrapped up, and the actions of the Dark Zone were now drawing attention. This was exactly why the two of them were confirming various matters raised by the Dark Zone’s specialized department, checking how much profit these actions would bring to the company.
Even while in Korea.
"Why are you so busy, Dad?"
"Right? Honestly. Now that Jin is back, I wanted to take it easy for once... but if I don’t keep an eye on things, random issues keep popping up that can’t be ignored."
At the same time, another comment followed.
"Last time, there was this ridiculous proposal… they wanted to add unnecessary characters to the scenario and create a side plot. And, out of the blue, they suggested changing the skin color and race."
"Oh, dear. So what happened?"
"I gave the people in charge a real dressing down. A few of them probably lost their positions."
At that moment, a few articles popped up in Eugene’s line of sight. The articles were related to a scandal from a month or two ago, mentioning internal political battles within the company, which led to the collapse of one of the game department’s scenario teams.
Here, at least, the voices surrounding PC issues weren’t too loud. Eugene thought, understanding his parents' struggle.
In any case, there was still much to do. Icarus International didn’t just run the Dark Zone; they produced VR devices, managed virtual reality networks, and handled all related matters.
"I need five bodies to live comfortably with my daughter."
"Tell me about it."
As they spoke, the three of them retraced the path they had taken hours earlier and entered the hotel. Following the staff’s guidance, they quickly made their way to the 24th floor.
As they walked down the hallway, the faint aroma of food wafted through the air. Upon opening the clean glass door, they were greeted by the strong scent of food from the restaurant. There were many people, a true mix of ages. More than half were couples, and there were also several families.
Following the staff's directions, they passed through the crowd and reached a private room. This was a space where no one else could enter, except for the three of them and the server.
"You’ve already swapped out the chairs. Good thing."
"Sit down. It’s really hard to have a family meal, you know?"
"Oh, it’s fine. Just seeing Mom and Dad’s faces has already been a huge comfort."
The menu on the table—of course, the ordering was Eugene’s responsibility.
Unlike her parents, who opted for a dinner course set, Eugene had ordered almost everything individually, and they waited for the food to arrive.
A brief silence passed, and then:
"I’m investigating the possibility of collaborating with the Think Tank. Are you interested?"
"Ugh."
"Really? Saying that in front of our daughter?"
"Ah, alright, alright. I’ll stop."
It was quickly suppressed, but this time, Eugene’s eyes sparkled. A sigh was heard from one side—of course, it was his mother.
A brief exchange of glances. Then the conversation continued.
"At the moment, the Think Tank’s main focus is on security software, encryption algorithms, and scanning technologies. There aren’t many possibilities for collaboration with Icarus."
"Hmm..."
"Leave it. Jin will take care of it. There are already companies lining up to form consortia, especially in the medical and military sectors."
"I wanted to help, but I guess it can’t be helped. I believe our daughter can handle it. I hear she has some trustworthy people helping her..."
This conversation didn’t feel much like a family dinner chat.
But fortunately, it was the knock on the door to the private room that helped Eugene hold onto his wits. The orders, including the à la carte dishes, began to be served on a huge tray.
Finally, the real family dinner began.
"...By the way, Dad, how high up is being a vice president?"
"You can't really gauge it just by title. As you know, there are... a few mysterious figures behind Icarus."
"Ah..."
"The structure of Icarus’s board of directors is a bit strange."
He continued explaining.
At present, the executives at Icarus’s headquarters—who oversee the subsidiaries—had mostly been replaced by former employees from DoP, and all of them were, in Eugene’s parents’ eyes, advisors, supporters, or people who helped find better solutions.
So, even though their titles were vice president and executive, the direction of Icarus International largely depended on Eugene’s family.
And, as expected, Eugene was half-lost in thought again.
"Mom and Dad have gotten so big..."
"Ah, look at you. Hold your fork properly and eat."
"There were a lot of trial and error, haha. But I guess it’s the same for Jin."
Though the conclusion felt a bit odd, it was certainly true. The five years and four months the family had spent apart were nothing but a series of trial and errors. The only difference was that one side had risked their life through each trial.
Nevertheless, they could now laugh it off. Although it wasn’t exactly as they’d imagined, the family was enjoying the joy of reunion, and they were able to have a delicious meal together.
"By the way, our daughter probably hasn’t seen the new family photo album. Is it still in the U.S.? I should bring it over next time."
"Eh...?"
"There are childhood photos too. Jin, have you seen them? Now that I think about it, you probably haven’t. You look just like you did when you were little."
"I don’t even know why there are childhood photos of me..."
Of course, that’s just how the world works.
The dinner time was speeding toward chaos.
"Isn’t it cute?"
"...Yeah, it’s cute."
The expanded phone picture showed a small, adorable baby version of Eugene, wearing a little outfit with a hole in the tail area, walking around. Of course, it wasn’t just on the phone; it was now embedded in Eugene’s own eyes as well.
It really was cute. Though, from the perspective of this body, there was almost no real "childhood" for me. To be precise, it didn’t exist at all. The album itself was a kind of... proof created by the altered past.
Proof that I existed in this world.
And that’s why the conversation between me, Mom, and Dad was so different from the usual.
"I really think this is how you must have looked. The snake tail is still there."
"It grew along with you. I didn’t know that either."
"Looking at it with our daughter makes me curious. You must have been really cute when you were little."
What should I say? I never imagined I’d feel a little jealous of my own past.
But it didn’t really matter.
The kid is really... cute.
Maybe that’s what it was all about. Looking through the family album, as well as past videos saved in the folder, the feeling was truly indescribable—definitely a good kind of feeling. After all, the world might just be about cute things.
And with that, finally, I had something to show to the viewers and colleagues curious about my past. If I had a younger sibling like this, I wonder how it would have been? I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop squeezing their soft cheeks all day long... oh.
For some reason, I now understood Lorentina’s habit of fondly pinching my cheeks, as well as Harmony’s.
How could you resist something this cute?
"Is there anything else like this?"
"Of course."
With those words, Mom sent over a massive data file. To Eugene’s surprise, it was a complete biography of his life, sorted by year and age. Who on earth would have created such an obsessive compilation?
Since there were so many, Eugene only skimmed through the photos and videos. Unsurprisingly, his body grew bigger over time, and during his growth phase, there were many days when he consumed 10,000 kcal a day. This was especially true from the ages of 12 to 16.
Besides that, Eugene noticed that, gradually, he had begun to take up an interest in working out, as evidenced by more photos of him at the gym. He had apparently lifted 500 pounds in three different categories from the age of twelve.
"Wow..."
That might explain why most of his photos with friends had more boys than girls. Perhaps it was lucky, but there were no traces of any romantic relationships during that period.
However, as Eugene looked closer at his high school photos, he found something particularly noteworthy.
"…I see quite a few awakened people here…"
"Well, you did attend a high school related to that, so it makes sense."
"Whoa, that startled me!"
His dad glanced at his phone and added, surprised. Thinking about it, it made sense. With the facilities like swimming pools, baseball fields, and soccer fields at school, it could only have been a school with significant financial backing, far beyond a prestigious one.
Curious now, Eugene began to look through his high school photos in more detail. By this time, there were many photos taken with his classmates, many of whom seemed to be from his class.
And it seemed that by this time, Eugene’s family had become fairly wealthy, as there were quite a few photos of luxury goods, with accompanying comments that seemed to be from his younger self.
...Yeah. I must have been nice back then.
Anyway, from the second year to the third year of high school, things progressed like this, and suddenly Eugene crossed over to the U.S. through MAVNI, joining the army’s special forces. He couldn’t help but wonder how his classmates would have reacted.
By the way, he thought, there had probably been at least one or two classmates who recognized him, but there was no evidence of that. Perhaps he just didn’t recognize them and cut them off.
In this world, the bonds of the past felt almost non-existent.
"By the way..."
It was fortunate that there were no traces of anything suspicious, like school bullying, when his past had been altered. It made him think that, of course, the mysterious figures behind this world had likely ensured that such things were taken care of.
Anyway, today’s harvest:
"At least I’ve got a picture to show my friends."
"Friends?"
"Yeah. The ones I broadcast with, and the ones I hang out with usually."
"Oh, those kids."
At the same time, he felt a warm sensation on his head. Someone, presumably one of his parents, was patting him. He smiled faintly, and then his dad spoke.
"Making good friends in life is the hardest thing. Our daughter is really lucky in that regard. We should always make sure to maintain good relationships."
"Yes."
"It’s already this late. I haven’t even taken off my suit all day… where’s the closet?"
"In the master bedroom, to the left. If you call the lobby, they’ll dry-clean it for you. Should I call them?"
"That’d be great. I’ll get to receive all the filial piety from our daughter…"
With a smile, his parents disappeared into the room. As Eugene called the lobby to arrange for the suit to be cleaned, he chose one of the many photos from the past that had been downloaded.
Of course, he selected only the cutest ones from the bunch.
He hesitated on where to post it, but eventually entered the chat with Harmony, Dice, and himself on Engram. It had been a busy day, and he hadn’t read any of the messages that had come in earlier because of the nervous anticipation of his parents’ arrival.
Once the number "1" vanished from the chat, Eugene uploaded the photo.
After a moment...
-[Harmony: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡]
-[Harmony: Wow, seriously? What’s this? So cute!!!!!!!]
-[Eugene: I found it while digging through the photo album hehe]
Eugene could almost imagine Harmony bouncing off the bed from the excitement. After about five seconds, his phone rang, and it was Harmony calling. It was so fast, it almost made him dizzy.
Waiting for a typical greeting, Harmony’s voice came through.
"Teacher, what is this!? It’s so cute!"
"Ai, you’re overreacting..."
"This isn’t overreacting!"
And just like that, within 15 seconds, Dice entered the conversation, turning it into a three-way call.
Eugene still couldn’t quite understand why these two liked him so much.
Regardless, today seemed like it would be a day to remember.