My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 29: Training or Vacation ?

The next day, after finishing his online classes, Dennis closed his laptop on the coffee table and leaned back on the sofa to relax. He glanced over at the dining table; Daisy was still in front of her laptop because her class wasn’t over yet. She was wearing her disguise watch, so her body appeared as Daisy number one. Daisy seemed to be writing something in her book, looking back and forth at her laptop screen. Not wanting to disturb her, Dennis stayed quiet, making no move to turn on the television. Suddenly, "drrt," his smartphone vibrated with an incoming group chat notification.

He opened and read it. It turned out the message was from Gary, informing everyone that he had been contacted by Steve regarding a sparring match against the school’s former core team—Ivan, Sasha, Brad, Hyunjin, Minji, and Akira—which would be held next week. Steve asked Gary to get his team ready.

"It’s finally happening," Dennis muttered to himself as he read the message.

Gary then explained that the school break might last until next week because the police had advised that, for the safety of the students, schools should be temporarily closed, and it happened to coincide with an upcoming city holiday. So, Gary suggested that their team practice at his family’s villa located in the north of the city, which was an artificial beach area.

"Oh, there’s a beach in this city? Isn’t this a dome city?" Dennis asked, accidentally speaking to himself.

"Emerald City is huge, you know. We’re in the central district for business, education, and housing. To the west, there’s the agricultural and livestock district with artificial mountains. To the north is the harbor district and a man-made sea to preserve marine life. And to the east is the industrial district, filled with factories and worker housing," Daisy number four chimed in.

Dennis turned to look beside him. Daisy was already sitting right next to him, pressed against his side, having shifted back into her half-cat form. He also saw that Daisy’s laptop on the dining table was closed; it seemed her class was over.

"Hmm, I see. Then what’s in the south?" Dennis asked.

"The city exit, the platforms, and the hunter guild. Our military is stationed in the south," Daisy number four answered.

"Hmm... it’s just like in a game, apparently. No wonder every institution has a core hunter team tasked with guarding their respective territories, just like at our school... the world really has ended," Dennis muttered to himself.

"Hey... why are you spacing out? I’m hungry," Daisy number four said.

"Oh... okay, I’ll cook something up," Dennis replied.

"Yep... I’ll help. So, what do you think about it? Gary’s inviting us to his villa, right?" Daisy number four asked.

"Hmm... I think it’s fine. We’re on break anyway, and we need to practice as a team since we’ll be sparring with those seniors," Dennis said.

"Huh... I’m enough to handle them on my own," Daisy number four said, raising her arm and making a fist to show off her non-existent biceps.

"You should practice holding yourself back, haha," Dennis said with a smile.

"Ugh... you’re right," Daisy number four muttered dejectedly, hugging Dennis’s arm.

"Anyway, you should be the one to answer Gary. I’m going to go cook now," Dennis said, standing up while gently releasing his arm and patting Daisy’s head.

"Ok, I’ll reply to his message. I want to go on a trip too; this will be the first time I’ve ever stayed over at someone else’s house. After that, I’ll help you cook," Daisy number four replied enthusiastically while picking up her own smartphone.

"Same here. This is also the first time I’ve stayed at the house of someone I can actually call a friend," Dennis said while walking to the kitchen. "Technically, it’s true. I’ve always been alone all this time... so yeah... this really is the first time anyone has invited me to stay at their place," Dennis muttered to himself. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Dennis then took some chicken breast fillets from the fridge, along with some vegetables and chicken stock to make their lunch. He started prepping the ingredients while Daisy replied to Gary’s message, saying that she and Dennis were in. Not long after, Jason and Kimberly also chimed in to say they agreed. Once that was done, Daisy number four set her smartphone on the table and immediately joined Dennis in the kitchen.

***

The next morning on the train, Dennis, Daisy (who was actually Daisy number five in disguise), Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly were all in their uniforms. They sat in a row across from each other, opening their laptops to attend class together on the train while wearing their respective headphones.

They were on their way to Gary’s family villa in the north. Along the way, Dennis stared out the window; it was his first time seeing Emerald City in its entirety because their light-rail train was running on elevated tracks.

As it turned out, Emerald City wasn’t at all like the cities in his previous life, though his memories of that time were a bit blurry. The city looked like a blend of many cultures from different countries, all merged into one massive, diverse metropolis.

"So this is what Emerald City is actually like. It’s completely different; maybe only my school feels the same," Dennis muttered to himself.

Dennis then went back to following his classes until they ended. Once they were finished, they all started eating together.

"Roughly how long is this trip going to take, man?" Jason asked.

"Since we’re taking the commuter line, we’ll get there by evening. From the center, we head south first, then east, cross back over to the west, and finally go north. You guys are in no rush, right?" Gary asked while opening his lunch box.

"Wait, why didn’t you just take a car? Isn’t it only a 15-minute drive from the center to the north?" Kimberly asked.

"He wanted to go sightseeing. He wanted to feel what it’s like to be an office worker who has to take the train everywhere. That’s why we boarded from the center, where it obviously takes all day just to reach the north," Olivia answered casually.

"Oh... is that really why?" Daisy asked.

"Sorry, I figured we might as well make a trip out of it. There’s no harm since we’re on break," Gary replied.

"It looks like he feels the same way; he’s been staring outside this whole time," Jason said, pointing at Dennis.

Everyone turned to look at Dennis, who was still staring out the window, ignoring the others—even his lunch box remained unopened. Seeing Dennis lost in thought while looking outside, Daisy number five opened Dennis’s lunch and snatched a chicken tender he had cooked earlier that morning. Of course, Dennis snapped back to reality the moment his food was taken, but he was too late. By the time he turned and looked at Daisy, his chicken tender was already inside her mouth as she smiled at him.

"Hurry up and eat, or I’ll finish it all. I really love your cooking, you know," Daisy said with a wide grin.

"Wow... Dennis cooked this?" Kimberly asked from across the table. Without hesitation, she snatched a piece of his chicken tender and ate it immediately, handing the other half to Jason beside her.

"Whoa... let me try some too," Olivia said, leaning forward and reaching her hand past Daisy to grab Dennis’s chicken with lightning speed.

"Whuaaah... hey, don’t eat my food!" Dennis said, trying to pull his lunch box away.

"But it’s good, dude. Turns out you’re a pro in the kitchen," Jason remarked, giving a thumbs-up while chewing the chicken.

"Hmm... he’s right. How about you do the cooking at the villa later?" Gary added, having snagged a piece shared by Olivia.

"Okay... okay... now eat and don’t take any more. You have your own too, right? Why are you taking mine?" Dennis said to Daisy, sounding annoyed.

"Hehe... sorry hon, here, let me pay you back," Daisy replied, handing him a chicken tender from her own lunch box.

After that, they went back to eating and chatting together. The train began to enter the southern region, which looked incredibly dark. There were many low-rise buildings spaced far apart, and the asphalt on the roads was slightly damaged, showing clear signs of past battles. Many people were walking around carrying weapons, wearing protective gear or hunter uniforms issued by the hunter guild.

"So this is the southern district of Emerald City. In the game, this part of the city is the starter line before hunters head out of town on their shadow bikes. Except... the buildings, the streets, and the atmosphere of the city... they’re just like the real world... which means the world really has ended... terrifying," Dennis muttered to himself, turning back to look out the window while chewing his food.

"See... you’re spacing out again. I’m taking another piece," Daisy number five teased.

"Oh... right, sorry," Dennis replied, turning his gaze back to the front.

The train switched on its lights and continued toward the south station on the elevated tracks, which were positioned right in front of the exit of Emerald City, heading toward the darkness that blanketed the world just like in the simulation.