Ch.140020 Work Record – Your Guiding Star, Polaris (2)

The conversation with Polaris was brief. I return to my room and toss aside my costume. This place was supposedly outside the angle, but for me, even the penthouse had become part of the angle.

Is being a Gardner tiring? Not really. I just felt a bit disappointed that despite meeting someone I could actually have a good conversation with, I had to wear the Gardner’s mask. That’s all it was.

I accept the communication request from the handler. I hear the voice of a man who wants to create hope but can only see the word “hope” as material, ideas, and motifs.

“We originally planned to provide Ms. Polaris with a safe house, but she decided to come to the penthouse instead. I’d like to apologize first.”

“No, that’s fine. Ms. Polaris seems like a decent person. The issue is that I have fewer places to enjoy privacy. How comfortable can I be indoors?”

Though my duties as Gardner were over, Arthur Murphy’s work hours continued. I asked how to deal with the variable called Polaris, and after a moment’s consideration, he answered.

“You don’t need to wear a bulletproof mask with the veil, just make sure no bare skin is showing. You should have a helmet with a one-way display among your things.”

It was the one I received from Mr. Günter. I’d been wearing it consistently since then. At least it was much more comfortable than a bulletproof mask that clung tightly to my face, so I nodded without hesitation.

“It would be fortunate if I could at least wear that. Among the exits from my room to downtown Detroit, which ones near T-Enter aren’t under surveillance?”

“I’ll mark them with purple lines on the map. If you need anything else, call the staff.”

It didn’t matter how many people in this city knew Arthur Murphy. It didn’t matter how many knew Gardner either. But only those involved should know they were the same person.

I fling open the closet. There were clothes organized that Gardner would wear. Until now, I could just be myself in here, so I had no reason to look inside the closet, but from now on, that wasn’t the case.

Gardner was someone who had devoted his life to protecting that ‘garden.’ He couldn’t possibly have a life outside the megacorporation. I pick up pants with wasteland camouflage patterns where nonexistent corporate logos had been removed.

They had prepared every prop with such detail. I change into something more comfortable—gray and light ivory-colored like wasteland soil—and pull out a hoodie with similarly erased corporate logos.

After putting on high-necked underwear to hide the connection to the helmet, and gloves, no bare skin was visible. It looked shabby as hell, but shabby suited Gardner better.

Gardner needed to be a character without a personal life. At most, he should be someone whose only comfort was brewing tea with chamomile harvested from his garden, so this outfit was more fitting.

I never understood why anyone would need hoodies emblazoned with megacorporation logos. They were too casual for formal settings and too conspicuous for everyday wear. That’s why they had so much unsold inventory.

Perfect for Gardner, who would just pick up whatever excess inventory was available. At least my body was a bit more comfortable now. I thought this would be fine for inside, when I heard someone knocking on the door.

Connecting to the camera… it was Polaris. This time, she seemed to have come alone, without her bodyguard Theo. Instead of letting her in, I open the door and walk out. She showed me another perfectly crafted eye-smile.

“I thought you were someone who didn’t have casual clothes. What’s that on your head?”

The helmet’s display was already tinted black, so she couldn’t see me. Polaris, reaching out her hand, looked nothing but innocent. I turned on Gardner’s preset and spoke.

“It’s a gimmick. The idea that Gardner never shows his face.”

“I thought you’d say it was a helmet. Yes, it’s a gimmick. I suppose normally Gardner would rest with his face uncovered inside the penthouse?”

“Yes. That would have been the case today as well.”

Gardner is a territorial animal. The garden doesn’t move. Gardner moves. So he can’t help but be displeased when someone invades his territory. Polaris gave me a slight bow.

“I should definitely apologize for that. Still, having my security detail nearby makes me feel safer… and a penthouse like this, while more exposed in terms of location, is also safer, isn’t it?”

If someone needed to be cautious even of safe houses prepared by megacorporations, that would be the case. If someone was targeting Polaris, they would likely be from a megacorporation too.

Think like Gardner, speak like Gardner. Creating dialogue was never difficult for me. I was skilled at mimicry, and now I even had a blueprint.

“I don’t mind much. What I care about is your current security level.”

“The company’s VIP Security Divisions 1 through 3 are monitoring the building surroundings and interior in three shifts, 24 hours a day. The private equity funds that invested in T-Enter have also stationed one squad each on standby in Detroit.”

There are always those who play with credits. And there’s always a time when that money gets spent. Right now, they were spending it to protect Polaris, their greatest source of income.

They’re like sharks. They normally circle around Polaris, but the moment she sheds even a drop of blood, they’ll thrash about until the water turns milky with foam. I wonder how many troops she’s brought.

“Where’s that guy who’s always by your side from?”

“Theo is my personal bodyguard. He was originally with T-Enter’s security team, but when he was critically wounded, nearly dying… honestly, I saved him out of selfishness. I didn’t want to be the only survivor.”

Yet he still works as Polaris’s bodyguard. A painful life is better than a peaceful death. I gave Gardner’s honesty to Polaris who had spoken candidly.

“I once told Serena Vanderbilt this: I despise yet respect the vitality of mint. Life is the same. When you’re revived, joy and sorrow are equal. The rest depends on what you’ve done.”

“You speak as if you’ve died more than once or twice. Yes, Theo must feel the same. I’m just glad that I’ve lived as someone good enough to Theo that it was okay to save him without his consent.”

Polaris seemed to be speaking quite sincerely. In a situation where she herself had nearly died, how many people would give up their share of MediTech medical support to save a dying security officer?

Such humans couldn’t possibly exist. Polaris is an outlier. She survived in the entertainment industry because she belongs to the category of anomalies that would be filtered out in normal statistics.

“That’s why Theo is so sensitive around you, Gardner. I’m a beloved woman. Not in the sense of eros, but philia. So, I’d like to ask you one favor.”

She wants me to ease her bodyguard’s anxiety. Without needing to think about it, I knew what she was asking, so instead of asking what the favor was, I went straight to the point.

“You want to see me fight without the gimmick.”

I’ve already gathered enough mind maps. From now on, killing is just causing bloodshed to the defectors. It would be nice to create more mind maps, but it’s not bad either way.

“Handler.”

I call the handler who must have been watching the situation in the penthouse. Soon, hologram projectors hidden in the walls, pillars, and ceiling gaps began creating the gloomy man’s portrait.

He looks almost like a figure in stained glass. Having heard everything we said, he nodded briefly. With his characteristically gloomy voice, he said:

“Very well, Ms. Polaris. As it happens, N-Enter mercenaries have been saying Gardner is just a concept and gimmick, so we have an obligation to clarify.”

Finally, can I properly arm myself instead of just two high-frequency blades and a pistol? I’d never felt what it’s like to be heavily armed as one of the megacorporation’s main characters. It’s a bit exciting.

His hologram turned around. The CCTV in the penthouse, which would be serving as his eyes, looked at me and spoke. He didn’t seem to have anything to say about my attire. Apparently, I chose the shabby look well.

“Gardner. You may dress as you wish, except for the bulletproof fiber tights, bulletproof mask, and veil. You’ll have unrestricted access to equipment used by H-Enter’s security team.”

I feel like asking for two boxes of flash grenades. More than anything, I missed having a rifle, uncharacteristically so. The feeling of picking one up and using it was achingly nostalgic.

I never thought I’d be so suddenly happy just from gaining access to an efficient armory. I decided to briefly admit that I wasn’t called an efficiency freak for nothing.

And fortunately… this will be fun. Seeing an actor who usually just plays a concept properly dressed like an active freelancer, handling mercenaries who couldn’t escape—that would certainly be closer to a fantasy.

There weren’t many times when my goals aligned with those of the megacorporation, but when they did, they created quite a nice harmony. I nodded briefly. The handler’s hologram disappeared.

Polaris was not stingy with gratitude and apologies. The way she placed her hand on her chest and bowed slightly was quite aristocratic.

“It might have been an unreasonable request for both the company and you, Gardner, so thank you for agreeing so readily. Now, Gardner, may I say something a bit rude?”

I just nodded briefly. I was a bit curious about what kind of statement someone like Polaris would consider rude enough to ask permission for.

“I wouldn’t be disappointed at all if Gardner turned out to be an emotionless mercenary who only obeys orders. I wouldn’t mind if you were a modified human who couldn’t understand not just philia and agape, but even eros.”

Once again, I hear not a human voice but the cry of a beast. She was a civilized beast. One who could understand, empathize, converse, and negotiate, but would not compromise in the slightest.

“I can give you what you want. Instead of just crying in chaos, I can create mission objectives for you. I can give you access to T-Enter’s highest security grade communication channels. Because…”

She shared her vision with me. So she’s not a pure human after all. She was an augmented human like me, with HUD directly connected to her optic nerve. There were no blurry parts in her vision.

Not just the areas in focus, but all parts of her vision were equally clear, and she was interpreting the information coming into her view at what could be called 100 percent. High performance.

“My computational assist device is high-performance, and as a VIP of T-Enter, I’ve studied all the tactical training materials I could get. I have all the conditions to make working for me a pleasure for you.”

There’s no need to mention practical experience. Being the most loved and highest-earning person at T-Enter means that neutralizing her alone might shake the entertainment industry’s leadership.

Even if she died, T-Enter would create a mourning atmosphere and stories about her successor to survive. No matter how much a gambler wins, the house always wins. But that doesn’t mean we can’t win money.

She did everything to win money. She memorized all the cards the house uses and got augmented enough to track the speed of a roulette wheel with her eyes. So, she can win as much money as she wants.

As if to prove her point, she sent me the command logs from a previous operation, probably classified. There were records of her simultaneously commanding all three VIP security divisions.

“So, work for me. Isn’t minimizing casualties from terrorism through perfect cooperation, rather than saving just me with your unique abilities, a better way to keep the smell of blood from permeating the garden?”

I wasn’t Gardner, but in her eyes, I was. She spoke to persuade Gardner. She was doing exactly what I did every time I tried to infer Gardner’s thoughts for my performance.

She is a good, gentle, and polite person. Yet what’s in her head is not a flower garden but a wasteland. She carried this terrible yet merciful, contradictory libertarian hell in her mind.

If I were Gardner, I would have been impressed by her ability to protect the garden, but I was a bit more impressed by her as a person. The action required was the same: to accept.

“A gardener, then. If we’re both gardeners, we can collaborate.”

She instantly proved her worth as a gardener. This terrible solution of the high-speed age, which doesn’t care about civilian casualties at all, made it enjoyable to work for her.

Dying alone wasn’t such a bad feeling. I had no regrets except for cursing the border collies a bit, and perhaps I could believe my sacrifice was the most efficient form of resistance.

But surviving alone… even imagining how that would feel seemed disrespectful. She swallowed that pain, turned it into her strength, and became able to make the cry of a beast.

Your guiding star in a world that has lost its way, in an age that has lost its way. The catchphrase I had thought somewhat ordinary and sentimental now began to sound a bit different.

At my acceptance, she clapped her hands with another perfectly crafted smile. Her expression was so innocent it made you forget everything she had just said.

“That’s wonderful. I hope you’re skilled enough to earn Theo’s respect. He often overworks himself for me. I want him to be able to work with peace of mind, at least for the few days we’re here.”

It did seem like the kind of personal bodyguard job where you’d want to work to the bone. She wasn’t born with the magic to attract people. She created it herself.

Polaris, having whispered her purpose to me, finally returned to her room. Only then could I go back to my room, take off the display helmet, and change into normal clothes.

Nevertheless, I didn’t feel like leaving the penthouse to breathe in downtown Detroit according to the map given by Heroism & Hope’s Executive Producer.

That was probably because… Polaris was quite dedicated and excellent at her main job. The last thing I learned on New Year’s Day was why people buy tickets to Polaris’s concerts.