Chapter 175 - Chapter 155 Exposed? Not Exposed?
"Hello."
"Yo."
Hello.
I was relieved when Club President Bell, whom I'd been worried about, appeared. She'd been held up by Yata-sensei quite a bit, so she couldn't have failed, right?
"…As for the test, I scored above average with no problems."
"No, I didn't say anything."
"It was written all over your face."
Exactly.
Seriously…? Wait, Mion knew too?
"It's just that I was worried because you were a bit late. And the relief just showed on my face…"
"Listen. I have friends in my class, too, you know? A lot of them finally got their VR HMDs before the long holiday and started IRO, so it turned into a little Q&A session."
Apparently, IRO had become incredibly popular, and the latest VR HMDs were hard to come by. If VR HMDs sell, then Rokujo Group profits, so maybe it's okay if IRO itself isn't as profitable. Is that how it works? That quality, it feels like they've poured so much money into it.
Um…, the club president is hiding that she's Majo Bell, right?
"Yes, so it was just the basic usage of the VR HMD. Like registering the initial wearer ID, and avatar creation from body measurements."
"Ah, that's annoying, or rather, hard to understand, isn't it?"
Well, once you've registered, it's convenient to log in easily with any VR HMD.
Is it because the club president is knowledgeable in the Cybernetics Club?
"Yes. I usually give advice."
That's probably true, but doesn't it feel like everyone already knows she's 'Majo Bell'? And that everyone is warmly watching over her…
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. That aside, I mostly heard about what happened yesterday…"
"Ah, that…"
Club President Bell answered that way, slumping wearily into her gaming chair. As expected, the negotiations with those Winged Folk seemed to have exhausted her.
Next time, will you negotiate on a stream?
"No, I intend to step away from the negotiations. Honestly, live-streaming boring negotiations wouldn't be enjoyable, would it?"
"Indeed, I imagine there aren't many people with such niche interests…"
If this were Princess Anshia's stream, it would probably be lively. Her audience is probably made up of those kinds of people.
Will you leave the negotiations entirely to Seth-chan?
"Still in adjustment. Seth-chan is going to report to the Viscount today, so it depends on that outcome. I plan to have Jinbee-san take my place."
"Ah, Jinbee-sensei seemed like someone with a lot of life experience, didn't he?"
"I should have asked him from the start…"
Apparently, he himself isn't one to step forward much, and because of the 'Silver Manor' name, Seth and Club President Bell went yesterday. However, since the next negotiations might involve more concrete details, adjustments are being made for Jinbee-sensei and sub-master Yuki-san to attend.
"Putting that aside, did you hear about the Game Dolls?"
"Yes. I don't know what they're thinking, but for now, we can only wait and see. They aren't doing anything that harms us."
She continued:
'The Kingdom was so-so, so we're going to a new location in the Principality. All the members who were playing separately will gather and enjoy themselves.'
That's what they said. This is a very normal way to play, and there's nothing particularly problematic about it. Except for the huge impact of the precedent: founding a nation led to instant destruction…
There's no point worrying about it.
"True. The negotiations with the Winged Folk are enough to deal with. And… I'm relieved they left the Kingdom."
"It felt like they were about to mess something up, didn't it?"
"…Don't you think that coming from you, it lacks conviction?"
＊＊＊
"It feels strange being able to play IRO for so long at school."
That's true. Today and tomorrow feel special.
After sharing all the information with Club President Bell, we logged into IRO a little after 2. Club activities usually last until 5:30, but today it was decided to end early at 4:30. The remaining hour would be spent cleaning the club room.
"Thanks for the meal."
"Woof!"
~ ~ ~ ♪
Not just Lupi, but Sweee and the fairies also ate together. They seemed to really like the 'Torotoro Dried Papu Fruit' I made the other day…
Shou-kun. I forgot to mention this the other day, but could I see your stats?
"Eh, yeah. It's fine, but did something happen with [Stealth]?"
No, it's not that.
If not that, then what? Anyway, I opened my stats,
"Should I deactivate [Skill Concealment]?"
No, you can leave it as is. Shou-kun, the number of island residents has increased.
"Eh? …Huh? 22 people!?!"
When did it increase? Oh, that!
"The Drab Wolf family!"
Exactly. There were 8 of them.
"Woof!"
Lupi was making a smug 'I did it' face, so all I could do was pet her. I got a reward for surpassing 10 residents, so next is probably around 100?
"But what's the criteria for 'island residents' here? I thought the Drab Wolves lived there already."
Well, they came under Lupi-chan's command, so then Shou-kun is even above that, right?
"Ah, yeah, I guess so…"
Isn't it because they came under the protection of Shou-kun, the island's only player? Shou-kun is protecting the fairies too, after all.
It's true, Lupi's [Howling] effect stated 'Summon and command kin'. But I didn't think that would last indefinitely, so it means it's still ongoing.
"So if they're attached to me, they're residents? If so, do I have to visit those Drab Wolves regularly?"
"Woof."
"Is occasionally fine?"
"Woof!"
Lupi's answer was like that, seeming to say that checking in occasionally was fine. Well, they helped us out the other day, so if they're in trouble, I'd like to help them.
Shall we go see them now?
"Hmm, today I think I'll head down that staircase first. Also, I want to check if any skeletons have respawned."
That's true. Those skeletons… why were they in that place?
"That's also a mystery. I mean, they probably used to be human, so maybe they lived on this island long ago? But the person who left that record doesn't seem to have encountered them…"
Perhaps it's related to the incident that person rushed to…
Ah, that's a possibility too. It was something about a magic facility going rampant, so did its effects reach all the way here? If so, then it's bad if I don't investigate the cause…