"Ilya asked me to bring Alora back, can you believe that?" I said, leaning my arm on the bar counter, lost in thought. This fully-equipped facility also had a bar. Don't get me wrong, the bar was nothing more than a few tables and some stools leaning against a large bar counter.
"But big sister Ilya didn't get along with Alora, though…" said Velsil, wiping a glass with a cloth, wearing a bartender's apron. Velsil's short white hair barely reached her shoulders. She had a small face and a thin waist, but her large breasts strained against her apron. Her pale red eyes were watery as always, looking like she might cry at any moment. To prevent her antennae from constantly hitting things, Velsil always tied them together when working. They were currently tied in a knot.
If this facility had a Swiss Army knife, it was Velsil. Unlike the rest of the crew, she had no ego whatsoever. You could sometimes see her cleaning, sometimes cooking, and sometimes presenting a report. One day she'd be a fashion designer, the next a plumber. Velsil even enjoyed doing all these things. She did whatever she could to feel useful. Perhaps she was doing all this because she was such an emotional person. Velsil panicked and got tearful whenever she was given an order. Maybe she was planning to do everything without anyone having to tell her.
"That's what I'm saying!" I exclaimed, spreading my hands wide. "Alora was a bigoted zealot! I don't understand how a damn alien can be religious in the year 2850. Didn't she constantly fight with Ilya?"
"Yes… And you even fought with her, too." Velsil's eyes welled up as memories flooded her mind. "It was a very scary day…"
"We didn't fight! She fought with me! That damn woman was constantly fighting with all of you too. She was bothered by our lack of willpower and irresponsible behavior. She was constantly bothered by us having sex! What were we supposed to do instead of having sex, Velsil?"
"But, Master, I remember you being the one who started the fight," she said, burying her head toward the glass. Like an ostrich, she suddenly bent her neck, taking a defensive posture against any harsh words that might be spoken.
"I started the fight?" I asked, but I was asking because I genuinely couldn't recall.
"Master, you broke into her room one day while drunk. When you saw her praying, you had a fit of rage and burned all her books. If Goma hadn't intervened, you might have beaten her up too."
"I'm not that bad of a person. Why would I have done that?"
"Only you would know that best, Master."
I tried to recall that day. Yes… I kind of remembered it. I had found out that day that one of my uncles had had one of my siblings killed, in reference to the book my family called the "Irrefutable Dictionary," which my grandfather had written. The fact that my family believed in that stupid book like a holy text, and that one of my older brothers had died because of it, had really upset me. I might have taken my anger out on Alora and kicked her out. But Alora really was an annoying alien.
Yes, it was partially my fault that she was that kind of alien. While forming a team full of women, I had needed a motherly figure, someone to fulfill my needs, a woman I could consult when I felt an emotional void. She was even supposed to be so wise that she could keep me in line. It was no surprise that such a spiritually strong woman would be religious.
At first, I quite enjoyed living with Alora. Just as Ilya was my mental advisor, Alora was like my psychological counselor. Then she slowly started interfering more in my life. She also interfered in our private lives with Velsil and Goma. She complained about my constant drinking and neglecting my duties just as much as Ilya. The problem was that Ilya usually didn't voice it because she wasn't a thoughtful woman. She was more arrogant than thoughtful. She wouldn't help unless begged.
Alora, on the other hand, was a self-sacrificing woman. She continued giving sermons even though she knew she would be scolded by me. "Now that I think about it, I might have been a bit unfair to Alora, Velsil," I said.
"Did you really, Master?"
"Yes…"
"So, are you going to go and bring her back?"
"Who knows where she went after I kicked her out of this facility? Maybe she's already dead and gone in the wilderness!"
"Master…" Velsil looked at me in silence for a while.
"Spit it out, Velsil."
Velsil put the glass down on the table and took off her apron. She struggled quite a bit as she tried to pull the apron over her chest. "I might need to show you something."
Velsil usually walked very quickly. Since she made no sound while rushing through the corridors and had a pale blue skin tone, you might mistake her for a ghost. Whenever she ran into someone in the corridor, she would get nervous and quicken her steps. So, one thing I knew was that if I was going to follow Velsil, I had to slam my glass on the table and stand up quickly.
As I followed Velsil down the corridors, the shy Velsil got flustered every time a robot greeted her, receiving their salutations with her back against the wall. It was as if she was trying to melt into the wall out of embarrassment. Wanting to put an end to this awkward situation, I picked Velsil up in my arms and asked:
"Where are we going?"
Velsil, who instantly wrapped her arms around my neck as soon as I picked her up, said: "We need to go to my room, Aldo. There is something I need to show you there."
Velsil's room was a few floors up. It was across from Ilya's library.
"Then hold on tight…"
Only a couple of minutes had passed before we reached Velsil's room. When the door opened, I found a room that was surprisingly neat compared to Ilya's library. First, there was a computer in the room, and a game was open on the screen. There was a huge bed, large enough for four people to comfortably sleep in, but it didn't have a base frame. The mattress was already so thick that if a frame were placed underneath it, it would be impossible to climb onto the bed. This rectangular bed was placed in the corner of the room, and a large part of the bed overlooked the outside through the window. Strangely, the bed was covered with countless plush animals.
I didn't want to hurt Velsil as I put her down on the floor, so I went to the side of the bed and was lowering her onto it when my foot slipped. I had to throw Velsil onto the bed when my foot slipped while putting her down. I had stopped myself from falling on top of Velsil by putting my hands on the bed.
"Are you okay, Velsil? My foot slipped…" I was hovering over Velsil. My hands were beside Velsil's shoulders, and we were very close. After removing her bartender's outfit, Velsil only had her satin nightgown on. Since I threw her onto the bed awkwardly, the skirt of her nightgown had ridden up, exposing her underwear. Velsil, her blue face flushed crimson, looked away and said:
"I'm fine, Master." She added, "If you want to…"
"Want to what?"
"Never mind, Master," Velsil said. I ignored what Velsil had said, stood up straight, and looked around.
In one corner of the room, there was an open closet with as many clothes as a costume artist could possess. Most of the clothes in the closet were work uniforms from different professions. Curiously, next to the closet was another table besides the computer desk. As I walked heavily toward the table, I saw a partially finished plush animal toy on it. It was a plush monkey. Yarns, needles, and many other things were scattered around it. Velsil quickly got out of bed and rushed to my side, stepping between me and the plush toy before I could touch it. It felt strange that the normally shy Velsil was intervening between me and the toy with such confidence.
"Master, you can't touch that."
"Why?"
"Because it's not finished yet and… you might harm it."
"Since when have you been sewing? I didn't know you had this talent. Why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked, Master."
"Did you make the plush toys on the bed, too?"
"Yes…"
"Amazing," I said and started wandering around to examine the room a bit more. I was scanning the ceiling, the floor, and everything else with my eyes. Even though I had been at this facility for about two years, I had never once explored the inside of Velsil's room. "Ilya set up a library for herself," I began. "And you've set up a tailor's workbench. I won't ask where all this needle and thread came from. You probably ordered them via cargo too."
"Yes, I did, Master."
"How much cargo has come and gone from this facility without my knowledge, I wonder… I wouldn't be surprised if Goma had set up a zoo for herself now. So why did you bring me here, Velsil?"
"Wait, Master. I'll find it right away."
Velsil first bent down and looked under the bed. The only things she pulled out from under the bed were plush animals. She hugged every plush animal she found tightly, apologizing for forgetting it and maybe even shedding a few tears. This was prolonging the process quite a bit, but I didn't interfere. I sat down in the gaming chair at the computer desk and played with the computer mouse.
"It's been a while since I saw someone use a computer. Does anyone still play games in this day and age?"
"Virtual reality games are very tiring. They make me dizzy, so I don't prefer them. Besides, they are too realistic… I feel like I'm personally entering all that action, and it gives me the creeps."
"So you play old-style games, huh? With a keyboard and mouse…"
"Ilya big sister taught me how to use a computer. That's why I don't just play games."
"Then what else do you do?"
"Trade…"
"Trade?"
"Stock market and stuff…"
"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed and stood up. "You dabble in the stock market?"
"Am I doing something bad, Master?" Velsil asked nervously, rummaging through her closet. "If so…" she added with a tearful tone. "…I am really, really sorry."
"Whose name are you playing the stock market with? How can you have a bank account when you don't have a citizen ID number?"
"I'm dabbling in the stock market in your name."
"Quick!" I yelled. "Show me immediately…"
Velsil nervously came up to me and sat down at the computer. "Mistress Ilya told me to dabble in the stock market if I really wanted to do something useful. And Ilya big sister also gave me your bank account details."
"Ilya!" I shouted to myself. "How could she do such a thing! How does she even know my bank accounts? That damn woman, I don't even have any money!"
After tabs were opened one after another, Velsil came to a tab with my citizen ID number. Then graphs opened one after another, and finally, the amount of money was revealed.
"What is this?" I asked in surprise. "1.2 million SWD?" Was the figure I saw real? The amount of money in the account written above all those graphs was 1.2 million SWD. "This… Where did all this money come from? Did you earn it? How did you earn it?"
"You had 2000 SWD in your account. I earned this by multiplying it."
"How?"
"Well… Master, you look a bit tense."
"Answer my question!"
"Well… Well… How should I put it. The stock market is actually like a game. If you play correctly, it's always possible to win."
"Velsil!" I shouted. Velsil squeezed her eyes shut in fear, but I didn't care. I grabbed Velsil under her armpits, lifted her off the chair, and started kissing her forehead repeatedly. Then I hugged her tightly and said: "You damn harlot! You are the most genius harlot I've ever seen!"
"Did I do a good thing, then, Master?"
"A good thing? You've earned my annual salary from the stock market."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know either. I've never had this much money before…"
"Is this a very large amount of money…"
"Actually…" I said, thinking for a moment. "…it's my annual salary, but earning it by multiplying 2000 SWD is a huge success! If we can save up a good amount of money for you, it means you can make us rich, Velsil!"
"Can I really do that! Can I achieve such things?"
"You don't even realize it, I know, but you can achieve such things!"
"Holy sh*t!" Velsil exclaimed. "Can I buy better threads for my plush animals then?"
"I promise. After I find and bring Alora back, I will buy you the best fabrics, threads, and many other things. But first, you have to find the thing you wanted to show me."
"Of course, Master," she said, letting herself drop from the computer desk and returning to the search. She was searching everywhere in the room, including behind the curtain and under the table, when she suddenly stopped and slapped her forehead, saying: "Oh, my stupid head!" Then she slowly lifted the computer case, took out the papers underneath, and handed them to me.
"What are these?"
"Um… Letters from Alora big sister…"
"Alora was writing letters to you?"
"Alora writes letters to everyone."
"But she doesn't write to me…"
"It might be because she hates you."
After examining the papers in my hand for a while, I started reading a few of them:
"Dear Velsil, I hope you are well. I hope that vile pervert man is not giving you a hard time. I pray for you every day. I hope one day you will choose to live as a free woman, freed from that man's poison. My door will always be open to you then."
I guess that vile pervert man was me. I was just realizing how angry Alora was when she left the facility. I started reading another note.
"Dear Velsil, if that vile pervert man has harmed you, you should harm him too. There is a needle in my room. It contains a paralyzing poison. All you need to do is prick his hand with it if you want to get rid of him. If you paralyze him, my door will always be open to you."
She even taught Velsil ways to kill me. It was as if I had been in great danger and was only realizing it now. Should my hair stand on end? Maybe… But I couldn't say I cared much.
"Dear Velsil, I hope your antennae are still healthy and you are well. I have been sleepless for a few days because I have a feeling that a curse is wandering around the mountain I live on. I hope that vile man named Aldo is not coming towards this mountain.
"What else am I supposed to learn from these letters besides how much Alora really loves me," I asked Velsil.
Velsil took the letters from my hand, examined them for a moment, and then showed me one letter.
"Hello Velsil,
I have been traveling far and wide for a very long time, studying the mysteries of this planet. The nature of this planet is wonderful, and it has a structure where a woman can enjoy being free. Nature, rivers, insects, and many other things bring peace.
But I, as a woman of faith, was not looking for peace. I was looking for a symbol to strengthen my faith in these godless and virgin lands. The hope inside me that I could find such a symbol was just beginning to fade when I came across something.
I don't know exactly what this thing is, but every living creature nearby is desperately afraid of coming near it. I don't think I would be wrong if I said it emits a negative energy. When I am near whatever this thing is, I feel safe, nonetheless.
I am trying to establish a sanctuary here, Velsil. If I can learn what God's plan is here, I will get back to you. If you are curious and want to visit this sanctuary, the location will be written below.
I hope that five-cent noble friend is not bothering you. Have a good day."
Looking at the location written at the bottom of the letter, I realized that this place was at least a few days away from our current facility. Alora was trying to establish a sanctuary. If I wanted to bring Alora back, I would have to embark on a very long journey. As I handed the letter back to Velsil: "Thank you," I said.
"You're welcome, Master," she said. "What will you do now?"
"I will prepare for a long journey."