Chapter 519 - The Event's Aftermath and the Winner's Prize
"Excuse me."
"Welcome, Ginny-chan. Are you finished with your meal?"
"The adults have much to discuss, so this child is making her retreat."
"It's true, it's hard to join in on adult conversations."
"And with that, let us discuss Ashley-sama from DokiPan!"
"That might be a bit difficult for a child like me..."
In Parfait's home and cafe on the colony "Frontier," Ginny had come to eat with her family and had just arrived in Parfait's room.
A week had passed since the "Lunatic Demons" event ended, and Parfait and her friends had achieved the results they'd hoped for. After defeating Demon King Mikan's retainers, Ginny's parents, and then Mikan herself, they had obtained the "Demon King" title.
Demon King Mikan's retainers, Lindsey and Adrian, had been formidable opponents.
Lindsey, originally Mikan's bodyguard, was skilled in martial arts and a veteran AFO player, so her in-game strength was remarkable. Her skill composition and stats were what you could call optimal, and her equipment was of the highest class, God Equipment. It might have been different in a real-world fight, but her combat power within AFO was enough to hold her own against Parfait's entire group. She seemed to specialize in many-versus-one battles, running circles around them with her speed and using her opponents as shields, a tactic that earned high praise from Chris.
Adrian was also a veteran AFO player who knew the system inside and out. He dedicated himself to a support role for Lindsey, sometimes taking damage as her shield, and even after being defeated, he would resurrect from his coffin with tomato juice in a display of vampirism that made everyone think, What is that? In the end, he even drank Dragon Blood and used a skill to have a demon possess him for an attack.
They had managed to win, but it had been a close call even with their superior numbers. There was no battle with Mikan herself afterward; a cutscene played where Mikan fell as soon as her two retainers were defeated, and that was how they won.
Needless to say, what followed was chaos. When Mikan's defeat was broadcast via a world announcement, the forums and voice chats erupted into a frenzy.
The subjugation of Demon King Mikan, a feature no one knew when had been implemented, occurred during an event, and even after it ended, players were still frantically searching for the quest.
Normally, information about which clan completed the subjugation wouldn't leak, but since it happened during an event, suspicion fell on the clan whose ranking points had skyrocketed. This led to speculation that it was Parfait's clan, "Mont Blanc."
Their acquaintances seemed to have figured it out. Orion from the clan "Cats are God," for instance, had asked with complete certainty, "That was you guys, right, Parfait-chan?"
Even Diite, who managed AFO, seemed to have resigned herself to the situation, laughing as she said, "It's impossible to keep you from standing out, Parfait-kun."
With such an incident occurring near the end of the event, it became a huge success. Players, realizing there were still unknown quests in AFO, began to try various things beyond just searching for Demon King Mikan.
With the event over, Parfait and her friends decided to lay low until things cooled down and had been logging into AFO a bit less recently. They were mostly staying at their base, tending to their animals and cultivating their fields.
It was about time to prepare for the next test—or rather, to prepare for Wilnel—so Parfait had just started studying. She felt her priorities were a bit skewed, yet at the same time, maybe this was how things were supposed to be. She was doing her best either way.
It was then that Ginny arrived at the cafe with her parents and Mikan. Not wanting to intrude on a family gathering, Parfait had only said a quick hello before returning to her room, but Ginny came to visit after the meal was over.
"Did Mikan-san eat with you today?"
"Yes! Ever since that day, she's been eating with us more often! Lately, we have dinner together quite frequently!"
"That's great. But I wonder why?"
"She mentioned something about being happy that we all ate the shortcake we worked so hard to make together."
"It was in virtual reality, but gathering those ingredients was pretty tough. Still, I'm glad we all ate it together."
"Yes, and while highlighting that achievement, I directly appealed to my parents to restore my allowance... but parents are formidable...!"
"Well, I think it's better to cut back on wasteful spending."
"Supporting my favorite character is not wasteful spending."
Ginny's incredibly clear eyes left Parfait speechless. Her school grades hadn't dropped; she was simply being reined in for her excessive spending. When Parfait asked how much, she thought, That's still more than my allowance, but she figured it must be a big deal for Ginny, though she didn't particularly sympathize.
For Parfait, Mikan's well-being was more important.
In the end, although Parfait had made the shortcake, it was Ginny and the others who had gathered the materials, even using up most of the clan's funds to do so. Parfait was delighted that Mikan had understood their efforts and was happy.
Eventually, they learned that the shortcake for the Demon King's quest could be made with reasonably good ingredients and didn't need to be so extravagant, so it couldn't be used for the money-making scheme Rick had envisioned. Rick seemed to be planning to sell the information that they had cleared the quest with those materials, but Parfait was leaving that entirely to him. Thanks to their high rank in the event, they had received a prize of in-game currency, and the clan's funds were now back to what they were before the event.
More than the clan's finances, Parfait was happy that Mikan's trauma seemed to have been alleviated. She hadn't expected this outcome, but she was satisfied that their hard work had paid off.
However, there was one other person for whom she hadn't anticipated such an outcome.
"Were you able to create your ideal Ashley with the Toy Maker skill?"
"...I have come to understand that I lack artistic sense..."
"I feel like that requires a sculptor's skill more than just artistic sense..."
The "Toy Maker" skill, which becomes usable after obtaining the "Demon King" title. It's a rather game-breaking skill that allows you to create one of anything, but fully utilizing it demands considerable talent.
It's not as simple as imagining something and having it appear; one has to meticulously define its appearance and settings, but there's no user interface for selecting parts. You have to draw illustrations and so on.
Ginny had zero talent as an artist and couldn't even render a flat illustration in three dimensions, so she was unable to recreate Ashley.
"Cynthia-san drew the clothes for me... but the face! I can't draw the face three-dimensionally! In that state, it would be the height of disrespect to Ashley-sama!"
"The first time you made him, he was just a flat paper Ashley..."
When she tried to create him using an illustration from the manga, a completely two-dimensional Ashley was born. To put it simply, he was like that roll-of-cloth yokai. The sheer despair on Ginny's face at that moment was as if the world was about to end tomorrow.
"I feel I now understand the immense struggle God must have faced when creating man in His own image...!"
"I think it was probably easier for God, though."
The other members had also obtained the Demon King title and had created simpler things to use as support items. Chris, for instance, had shown her decisiveness by creating a ball that would return when thrown as a projectile. Rick had made a transforming mask to hide his face, while Wilnel had crafted a rapier to dual wield.
Only Parfait and Natsu had yet to decide, but since there was no rush, they were leaving it for now. Ginny, unable to give up, seemed to be trying again and again through trial and error to create her ideal Ashley.
Rick-kun is probably really hoping Ginny-chan succeeds...
Parfait suspected that Rick, who resembled Ashley, had been so gung-ho about this whole affair for that very reason. It was highly likely that he had worked so hard, even spending all the clan's funds, for the selfish reason that if the real thing existed, he wouldn't be bothered anymore.
It might have been a natural course of action for Rick, but Parfait hoped that Ginny's inability to create Ashley wasn't a miscalculation on his part. All she could do was pray that Rick would be spared any further trouble.
"Parfait, something arrived for you! If you don't come get it, I'm opening it! Three, two, one..."
"Wai- Mom, hold on! That's too fast, too fast!"
Parfait excused herself from Ginny and rushed out of her room to receive the package. The sender was AFO's management, which made her tilt her head in confusion.
When she showed it to Ginny, Ginny seemed to know something, saying, "Oh."
"The top-ranked players are supposed to get a real-world prize. Isn't that it?"
"Oh, right. It was a joint development between Mikan-san's company and Capricorn, wasn't it?"
Something given to the top winners of the event ahead of time. She had heard it was a device that allowed access to AFO without a Headgear, but she had no other information.
Parfait unwrapped the package and took out the item inside.
"...A wristwatch?"
It could be worn on the wrist like a watch, but it seemed it could also be used while placed on a surface. As she fiddled with it while reading the manual, the words "Login Successful" appeared on the watch's screen.
It was unclear what kind of biometric authentication had been used, but the screen displayed the words "Welcome, Parfait-sama" and "Please select the pet you wish to summon. Currently, only one is available."
"Summon a pet...?"
On the screen, the names "Trachiyo," "Michelangelo," and "Leonardo" were displayed. It also showed "Melampus Owned," and though puzzled, Parfait selected "Trachiyo."
A light that projected a three-dimensional image rose from the watch's screen, taking the form of Trachiyo.
"Trachiyo?!"
"Oh, is that not my master? So this is the place where my masters live. This one is quite surprised."
Ignoring Parfait's shock, Trachiyo was surprised but calm.
During the commotion, Ginny seemed to have finished reading the entire manual and began to explain.
"It seems to be a device that lets you check on your pets inside AFO. If you have Melampus, you can also talk to them."
"So I can see Trachiyo even without logging in with my headgear? That's actually great."
There were days she didn't log in, like when she was studying for tests. Even if Parfait didn't log in, her pets lived their own lives thanks to their unique AI, but for Parfait, not being able to see her pets was a source of stress. If this watch could solve that, she was grateful.
Parfait looked at Trachiyo happily, but Trachiyo suddenly straightened his posture.
"My master."
"What's wrong? With this, we can see each other anytime."
"This one intends to embark on a journey of training."
"...Again?!"
"The battle the other day was magnificent. An opponent who confused with speed and an opponent who revived endlessly—seeing my master defeat them both filled me with pride, but at the same time, I realized that this one is still far too weak."
"No, no, Trachiyo, you're many times stronger than a normal cat—"
"At this level, I am not permitted to be by my master's side! This one shall return as the strongest black cat worthy of standing beside you! With that, I take my leave!"
The holographic image of Trachiyo vanished, and the screen now displayed, "Trachiyo is training."
"Trachiyo-san is very devoted to his master. He reminds me of something like Ashley-sama...!"
"If you're really thinking of your master, I wish you'd just stay by my side..."
The thought of more days without seeing Trachiyo was depressing, but to become a master whom Trachiyo could respect, Parfait renewed her motivation to study hard.
The next update will be on 11/30 (Sun). There will be a one-week break, but thank you for your continued support.