Chapter 360 - The Reason for the Real Face
"—Hey, it's the human missile."
"Yo! If it isn't the flying pervert!"
"Hello."
It was the morning after a hectic day spent rushing back and forth between the real and virtual worlds.
As I arrived at the now-familiar Shijo residence, I was greeted by a chorus of my friends' voices, each laced with a healthy dose of teasing.
"Hey, Mizuki, good to see you."
"Wow, just gonna ignore me, huh?"
"He's starting to act more like his virtual self in the real world, too."
"Maybe you two should reflect on your own behavior?"
"Ahaha…"
I returned a greeting to the ever-quiet Mizuki, endured the usual banter with the childhood-friend duo, and watched as Kaede, who had led me to the room, let out a noncommittal laugh.
It was a holiday afternoon, a truly ideal gathering with friends where no one needed to stand on ceremony.
Granted, one of us was a bit of an outlier from the general public, and the rest of us formed a temporary support team to assist said outlier… but emotionally, we were all just normal university students.
Today's get-together had been Shoko's idea, based on the simple premise of—Why not just hang out and chat when we're free?
Of course, I couldn't exactly say I was free… but that was a separate issue.
Since I had decided not to give up on my university life, I had to be a little reckless with my scheduling for both worlds.
"Anyway, it's only been a day. Is it already common knowledge?"
"Of course, man. It's Arcadia's first-ever true aerial jump skill. People have been going nuts about it since yesterday afternoon."
"Honestly, it was already on the news."
"So they reported on it without any mercy, huh…"
Between that and the fact that Yotsuya-san knew about my and Sora's gameplay, my privacy was as nonexistent as ever. Not that I could complain, or even intended to, since it was part of the contract I signed when I ordered [Arcadia].
"Well, at least things are pretty peaceful for you in the real world, right? Honestly, I thought for sure you'd get doxxed in a flash."
"Peaceful… well, I guess so."
"Oh? What's with that reaction? I sense a juicy story."
"I plead the fifth."
"Then I won't ask."
I gave Toshiki a vague response, and when the group's number one curiosity monster immediately pounced, I stood my ground. The endearing thing about Shoko was that if I said "No," she'd drop it without a fuss.
"…Actually, there has been an unnaturally low amount of activity trying to uncover your real-life identity. It's possible Yotsuya is making a move."
"That… might be it."
I hadn't heard anything from Yotsuya-san or Chitose-san, but since we had a contract for them to protect me, it was certainly a possibility—
In fact, they had almost certainly taken some measures. I was still using the Ver. 2.0 disguise my friends had produced for me, and hardly anyone gave me a second glance when I was walking around.
Just as Nia and Iris had said, it seemed the visual impression I gave off was being manipulated quite effectively. My face was the same, yet it looked different—a rather high praise, I suppose?
"This is kind of a late question, but why did you create your avatar with your real face? If you were worried about getting doxxed, you could have just changed it."
"Ah, that—before I answer, could I please sit down?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry! Here you go!"
When I asked how long we were expected to stand around talking, Shoko slid across the sofa with a zuzat, as if the thought had never crossed her mind.
I guess she just decided my seat for me. Not that I mind.
"Is your usual tea okay?"
"Yeah, the usual delicious kind, please."
I thanked Kaede for her hospitality as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and the young lady of the Shijo house replied with a cheerful "You got it," before heading off to make tea.
I used to be more reserved, but when she insisted that she "loves taking care of people" and that "making tea is a hobby," refusing would have just been rude.
First Sora, now Kaede. The daughters of the Yotsuya and Shijo families have incredibly high specs as graceful young ladies. I should offer up a silent prayer—
"Sooo? Is it something you can talk about?"
As I was lost in my foolish thoughts, a prompt came from my side.
Toshiki and Mizuki seemed interested as well, ready to listen. I considered waiting for Kaede, but… it's fine. The explanation for that would be over in a single sentence anyway.
"It's simple—I got flagged with a VRE during the initial setup."
"A V—wait, no way…"
"What…?! No, you've gotta be kidding me."
"…………"
I stated it plainly, without any preamble or emotion, and received three different reactions. I'd expected them to be a little surprised, but it really wasn't that big of a deal.
"Basically, it wasn't that I didn't create a custom character, it's that I couldn't."
VRE—the official name was, if I recall correctly, Virtual Embodiment Recognition Discrepancy Expansion Disorder. I might have gotten a word or two wrong, but it's a condition with a similar meaning.
Simply put, it meant that the disparity between my real body and my virtual avatar caused a degradation in control, and that disadvantage manifested far more significantly for me than for others.
It sounds like a disease, but it's more like a physical disposition. Apparently, about one in thirty people have it to some degree or another.
"In my case, the symptoms are moderate… if I change my face or build, I'm pretty much done for. I can tweak my eye color or hair without any problem, but that's about the limit."
"Huh… and that's only moderate?"
"Yeah, apparently severe cases can't even move if they change the slightest thing from reality."
"Seriously? I've never looked into it that much…"
"…I'm surprised, but that makes sense."
Cases that severe are supposedly on the level of one in a thousand—as I finished my explanation, the two girls looked convinced, while Toshiki had a stunned expression, as if he'd been hit by a bolt from the blue.
"Man, I thought you were some kind of chosen child of the virtual world."
"Haha, what's that supposed to mean?"
That's giving me way too much credit.
I couldn't bring myself to say I wasn't special at this point, but… if anyone truly deserved that title, it would be people like my partner or Ashe.
"Sorry for the wait—…oh, what were you talking about?"
Afterward, I shared my situation with Kaede when she returned with the tea, replaying the whole explanation-after-the-surprise routine.
"I see, so you're the same as my sister."
"Oh, wait, really?"
And just like that, I found myself surprised by something new.
The gathering continued on boisterously for a while after that, peppered with a Q&A session for my friends, who, as usual, were driven by their curiosity.
Some settings are trivial, some are not.