Ch.257036 Work Record – Under the Brightest Spotlight (4)

Polaris, as if proving her words were not empty, willingly delivered a memorial speech for the victims of the corporate war between Bellwether and T Entertainment in front of the numerous cameras following her.

She can move her world at will. Then what matters is not how to gain the power to move the world, but what rules to follow and what moves to make.

The only good move we can make is to not make a move at all. The best move we can make is the most certain one. This was clearly a certain move.

Just as I naturally gained favor with the people by listing the values of Bellwether, Panacea Meditech, or Pathfinder, Polaris was also trying to gain favor.

The reasons for a corporate war are only important until right before it breaks out. Before that, there might have been reasons, but after it escalates into war, war continues simply because war is already happening.

So, Polaris didn’t speak about the reasons for the corporate war. As the face of Talent & Tradition, she expressed regret on behalf of the company and began to candidly list how Bellwether had helped her.

She becomes someone who was nearly wounded by the cruelty of the entertainment industry—the same cruelty that made even Bellwether bleed as she tried to overturn this cruel and myopic entertainment industry.

Ironically, while at Panacea Meditech’s children’s hospital I was “a freelancer who was once a miracle child,” here I become “a freelancer from Bellwether.”

“It may be ironic that I was saved from the cruelty of the entertainment industry by a freelancer from Bellwether, which fought against Talent & Tradition… but I could see one thing in that person’s actions.”

To be honest, it’s cutting off the tail. Polaris couldn’t have consented to the corporate war, but the chairman certainly must have. It’s unlikely that the Copyright Division had any influence.

But the chairman is a constant. In the choice of survival of the fittest, he always sides with the strong. Polaris has now become that strong one. Standing loftily at the top, she can say whatever she wants.

I was beginning to see how she might build a bridge between Bellwether, Panacea Meditech, and Talent & Tradition. She looks like she’s singing when she gives her speech.

No, that’s not it. On the surface, her expression was solemn and serious, but to me, she looked like she was enjoying herself. She seemed to be enjoying the fact that she could change the world, even if just a little, with her own power.

“It was kindness. Behind Bellwether’s cold, solemn belief in efficiency, there was kindness toward people. Someone who came to give hope through song ended up receiving something as great as that hope.”

She acknowledges Bellwether’s value. And she identifies what the humanistic efficiency advocates, who make up the majority of Bellwether, have been trying to protect from people like Walter, and commends their efforts.

Listening to Polaris’s voice was like getting a sedative at any time. It’s such a comfortable and warm voice, and such comfortable and warm words. It’s like Mr. Günter’s charisma.

“That kindness may not heal the cruelty of the entertainment industry overnight. But it can create a direction. Just like my stage name is the North Star.”

It’s what she always says. No matter how much we walk toward the North Star, we can never reach the sea of stars. Yet we still find our way using the North Star. It was a fitting conclusion for Polaris.

A communication link from the Shepherd comes in. I connect and switch the channel to hear the Shepherd’s expressionless voice as he listens to Polaris’s speech. We didn’t speak to each other, and there was no need to.

“Doesn’t someone come to mind, Shepherd… no, Boogeyman.”

“Mr. Günter does come to mind.”

“Him too? I was going to say you reminded me of yourself when suppressing the coup. I was wondering how Panacea Meditech found someone so similar to you.”

I just play back an awkward laugh. Neither of us wanted to chat for long, so I end the communication channel and approach Polaris, who is continuing her personal tribute.

She was a person full of deception, but the only times I could recognize her sincere face were at times like this. When she was mourning someone, when she was enjoying teasing Arthur-2, when she was delighted by Serena’s transformation.

I don’t know what she’s endured in the entertainment industry, but it’s remarkable that she hasn’t forgotten such candor despite it all. The scenery she showed me today was what she wanted to convey.

Always keep your feet on the ground. And if you have ability, position, power, and authority, wield them willingly. It’s wrongdoing to have ability yet not use it, leaving problems unaddressed.

We were inside the Bellwether headquarters, and no matter how strained relations had become during the corporate war, Polaris was a VIP with a million Vs wherever she went. Special Operations would be stationed nearby.

Being too obsessed with security now would show distrust toward Bellwether. I was prepared to root out small wrongdoings, but I lowered my guard stance with the Panacea rifle and just held it.

Upon reaching the vehicle, not only were there Bellwether employees for protocol, but Special Operations agents wearing exoskeletons and additional armor plates also revealed themselves, keeping their distance while observing the surroundings.

I easily pull open the limousine door—nearly fifteen centimeters thick—which Polaris couldn’t open by herself. After confirming that she and Theo had gotten in, I boarded as well.

Since the vehicle was completely sealed off from the outside like a closed reinforcement suit, the air inside knew nothing of the acrid smell outside. Even the acridness that came in with us was quickly washed away.

The work wasn’t over even after boarding the limousine, so my display helmet was still showing only a black screen. Polaris, chuckling with a pleased expression, looked at me and said:

“When I boldly make such provocative statements in front of people, don’t you feel a tickle in your stomach? It’s like pretending to be a version of myself that’s too big for me. I hope you can relate. Hmm?”

She confidently asked for my empathy as her friend. Considering how she tries to infiltrate Arthur-2’s life, which she finds appealing, this might indeed be a respectful approach befitting a friendship.

“You didn’t look that way at all. I can’t even begin to describe how joyful you looked while pretending to have a serious expression. Honestly, you enjoyed it, didn’t you, Polaris?”

“I can’t lie. Yes, I enjoyed it. I enjoy being loved. Seeing those cold expressions people give to entertainers from rival companies change to expressions of respect toward me… it was extremely enjoyable. Yes.”

While she seems to crave affection, the amount of love she possesses is more than enough. She seems capable of loving everyone in the world and still having extra love prepared for a few close people.

When talking about enjoyable things, she smiles with that perfectly sculpted face—a smile that could be used as the dictionary image for the word “smile”—but she quickly changes her expression. She pretends to be slightly upset.

Her perfectly sculpted face and body, along with the inhuman charisma unique to people who can make animal-like sounds, made each of her actions evoke emotions.

When she smiles, an unwarranted sense of satisfaction seeps into my heart, and when she takes such a posture, I feel like I’ve done something wrong for no reason. It’s truly a baseless feeling, but it doesn’t feel baseless.

“It’s not Polaris. It’s Amelia Valentine. Call me Mia. Of course, since this is confidential information of Talent & Tradition, if you disclose it externally…”

She mimicked the Copyright Division’s hand gesture, spreading her hand wide. We both burst into laughter, but she spoke first.

“I’m joking. The Copyright Division wouldn’t come after me for something like my name. It’s just that everyone calls me Polaris so much that I’m on the verge of forgetting my own name, so I wanted to tell you impulsively, friend.”

As she says this, Polaris puts aside her usually perfectly sculpted gestures and leans back against the limousine seat. She closes her eyes, temporarily blocking the flood of information pouring in thanks to the computational assist device.

She too is doing her best in her own way. It’s more overwhelming than one might think to live as someone who can care about everything and be kind to everyone in this city. I don’t know where Polaris gets the strength to endure.

Perhaps it’s death. The scene etched in her eyes when people she knew died simply because she was an entertainer for Talent & Tradition. Even if you pluck out your eyes and replace them with artificial ones, the scene doesn’t disappear.

Perhaps Polaris, like Dean, has taken revenge. She’s taking revenge on an industry that kills people around her just because she’s Polaris, by saving people around her just because she’s Polaris.

Theo started looking at me again with the gaze of a father eyeing the boyfriend his daughter brought home. When I nodded toward our destination, implying that Eve was waiting, he finally relaxed his expression.

“That’s nice, Mia. Whether Panacea Meditech recognizes me or T Entertainment recognizes me… I’m starting to think that hearing your name here feels like a greater reward, and it probably is, right?”

Mia quietly nodded. It was a nod as arrogant as befitting the pinnacle of the entertainment industry—the most steeped in luxury and pleasure—while also being the kindest person.

“That’s right. But also… it’s not. I won’t apologize since you must have known I’m a capricious woman. Yeah. It’s just that Arthur is… someone I worry about. Someone who seems like they might become something else if I take my eyes off them.”

That’s something my Eve once told me. They weren’t worried that I would die or fail somewhere. Rather, it was the opposite. Even Polaris’s next words were exactly what I had heard before.

“Not that you might end up dead in some back alley, but that you might lose touch with the ground… and become someone like our chairman. Someone far worse than our chairman.”

“Should I take that as meaning I have great potential?”

“That slipperiness is the problem. You understand human emotions, so you’re more dangerous than our chairman who doesn’t even care how insane his thoughts sound.”

All I want is a modest life with my Eve, yet people keep misunderstanding me as a dangerous person. Or perhaps I’m the one misunderstanding myself as a safe person.

Of course, I could do anything for that. If the chairman’s Eves infiltrated Los Angeles, I would tear them apart, and the Inquisitors… the panacea would cure their fanaticism.

After briefly glancing at my newly acquired Panacea rifle, I look up again at Mia. She asked a question that hit the mark.

“Arthur, you were smiling when you fought the Copyright Division, weren’t you? Not just a smile… it was a big grin. Wasn’t it?”

I raise both hands in surrender and nod. Mia continued with a still serious expression.

“For someone who claims to want to protect small things, you’re really building up your abilities by taking on all sorts of jobs indiscriminately. After this job, you’ll be a freelancer recognized by four companies. It would have been five if you hadn’t irritated the chairman.”

The recognition from Talent & Tradition was something I practically kicked away myself. But I didn’t feel bad about it. I can live without being hung up on such recognition.

I have to go to work every day at 7:30 AM. I have to go to work every day at 8:00 PM. I have to check the freelancer channel to find work. The things that bound me were gradually disappearing.

Now I didn’t even need to search for work I could do. Mega-corporation representatives would contact me first to find someone of my caliber. I’m becoming increasingly free.

I only need two things. Bellwether’s recognition to communicate with Bellwether, and Panacea Meditech’s recognition to communicate with Panacea Meditech. I make this clear.

“Still, you’re human. Perhaps too human… so I think you might be okay. Whatever you do, make sure you do it with both feet on the ground, Arthur.”

Human. Perhaps too human. It’s quite strange to have the words I once said to my enemies returned to me, but I didn’t feel bad about it. I just gave my usual good-natured smile.

“I wonder what expression Mia would make if she knew my Eve said exactly the same thing. And when my Eve said that, I gave the same answer. I said of course I would.”

Mia burst into a small laugh at my words. Just knowing her name made her a bit more approachable than Polaris. Even her inhuman charisma faded a little.

“Then, I hope I won’t need to say this to Ms. Solberson. You two, though your past might be a bit blurry… you’re essentially the same person, right? Sometimes I see your expressions on her face.”

“It’s better to think of us as identical twins. Lately… she seems to be making a lot of expressions I wouldn’t make. Probably because of someone.”

“I hope someone who values pleasure above all else isn’t trying to ignore my pleasure?”

Polaris is also human in some ways. Too human. I had no intention of engaging in a battle of wits, so I naturally changed the subject.

“So, what clothes did you ask Arthur-2 to wear? While I’m doing internal security, I should be properly looking around rather than keeping my eyes on Arthur-2.”

Mia didn’t avoid my change of subject either. With a light gesture… she transmitted a photo of clothes that seemed to be Polaris’s taste, with a strong casual everyday vibe.

Contrary to the fact that I had never seen anyone wearing skirts at the company, let alone Arthur-2, the wardrobe Polaris had gifted to Arthur-2 was full of skirts. This time was no exception.

“Because of my name value as Polaris, no matter how modest clothes I wear, they never look modest. Ms. Solberson… those clothes suit her well. Including how awkward she feels in them. Yes, it’s enjoyable.”

From Arthur-2’s perspective, just months after coming back from the dead, one of the biggest figures in the entertainment industry is showing this much interest in her. Arthur-2’s autobiography would be a hundred times more interesting than mine.

Although Polaris’s concert was imminent, there was no sense of the calm before the storm. The storm had already passed, and the concert would naturally pass as well. It would be better to think about what comes after.