kscans

Chapter 895 - Restart

[Arcadia]—the world's only VR device, which contains the virtual world of Arcadia.

It's sometimes said that having the same name for both the console and the game is 'confusing,' but in reality, 'Arcadia' is not the official game title.

To be precise, that virtual world has no official game title.

It is a world brought to life by the VR device named [Arcadia]. Since neither the developers, the operators, nor the original inhabitants had given the world a name, the invited players simply began calling it 'Arcadia' after the machine itself…

Well, in that fashion, after nearly four years since its launch, it has become a dream-like piece of content with a reality-defying number of historical facts and trivia.

Since its release, the attention and buzz surrounding it have never ceased.

Wild theories abound—that it was made by people from the future, by subterranean dwellers, or by aliens—and even the fundamental debate over its very existence continues to rage on as a matter of course.

And so, one of the most talked-about features of this mechanical ark, a piece of over-technology if there ever was one, is its time acceleration technology.

The flow of time in Arcadia is 1.5 times faster and denser than in reality. Ten seconds experienced by a player becomes fifteen—a super-technology whose principles are a complete mystery.

Not only are its principles unknown, but its purpose is as well.

To this day, the progress of humanity's understanding of [Arcadia]'s operational theory, which is being studied all over the world, is, to put it terrifyingly, zero.

When the world's greatest minds disassemble it down to a single screw, the only insight they gain is a single question mark. A famous scientist's quip, 'This is a bed. A very comfortable bed. That's the only function I can understand, dammit,' apparently became a popular joke in the past.

Of course, regarding time acceleration, nothing more than a shrug and a wry smile has ever been offered.

That representative paranormal function, under the umbrella of Yotsuya Development's guarantee of 'absolute safety,' continues to power the virtual world, which moves at a faster pace than reality. It is truly terrifying.

And so, since we are benefiting from this completely incomprehensible grace—

"—…Alright. Exactly one hour, then."

Although this was my third time, it was understandable that my return to reality felt completely surreal. This was fantasy at its peak.

After finishing a three-night, four-day survival… or rather, ultra-comfortable forest vacation.

After bidding a reluctant farewell to the other members, I followed the announcement and logged out, only to be greeted by the ceiling of my room one hour after I had left for the event.

The time acceleration was far beyond 1.5 times. For participants of the World Event [Starry Paradise], the flow of time was a staggering one hundred and twenty-six times faster.

It was utterly lawless. All I could do was laugh.

Indeed. We players can only let out a hearty laugh and, while accepting our complete ignorance, offer immense praise to the future people, or subterranean dwellers, or aliens… or 'Gods' who provide us with this 'impossible world.'

"…………………………Haaaah."

That was fun this time, too. And that's all that matters—and just as I thought that, I had a premonition.

"…Hah. Ahh, yeah, yeah, I knew it, I knew it!"

I temporarily disembarked from the dream ark, whose cover opens and closes automatically. Having already fully adapted to the dramatic difference in physical ability between the virtual world and reality, I walked without hesitation toward my unavoidable destination.

The current time was 10 PM. Well, it's an acceptable time for a visitor, I suppose.

And so, at the entrance. When I opened the door, there stood, of course, the person who had just rung my doorbell…—not one person, but two.

'Hey there, good work out there~'

One was the exclusive artisan I had just been with in the event field 'Alvniclo, the Mirrored Sky,' the fluffy, caramel-blonde, green-eyed Miss Liliania Blueberry.

And the other,

"—It's been three days. May I have a hug?"

"Sure. Here, Nia, the princess fervently desires a hug. Grant her wish."

…was the girl with pure white hair and garnet eyes. Dazzling today as ever with a color palette that defied reality, it was none other than the princess of the world herself, Miss Alicia White.

◇◆◇◆◇

"Alright, I know this is pointless, but I'll say it anyway. I believe it is highly inappropriate for you two to show up at a man's apartment so late at night without a care in the world—"

'Are you done yet? Want more? Come on, come on, don't be shy!'

"That's enough, that's plenty. …I said that's enough. You're the one who wants more, aren't you, Nia?"

"Annd there's the ignoring me part. They're not even listening."

Why they're flirting in someone else's apartment while completely ignoring the host is, well, my fault for egging them on as a joke, so I don't mind if they do as they please.

I'll even make tea. I was exasperated that they showed up the very second the event ended, as expected, but their visit itself was planned, so I have no complaints.

That's because the event had been smooth sailing, just plain fun from start to finish… well, um—there was the major transgression of me frolicking in the water with swimsuit-clad girls (I didn't frolic), which led to me being forced to duet with a real-life idol at the second day's feast; the 'night raid' that same night skipped several stages, probably because we tried too hard on the first day, and a 'dragon' joined the fray, turning it into a chaotic festival of pandemonium; and on the morning of the third day, my useless little sister, not content with just observing my sleeping face, had the bright idea to try and secretly sleep next to me, only to be caught red-handed by a certain indigo-haired girl who declared 'that's out of bounds'—so there were plenty of those kinds of strange events, but,

Well, for the most part, it was before the third session of the Starry Paradise event, where I had a fun time and stretched my wings.

"You both… well, Nia is Nia, but you seem to have some energy left too, Haru."

"You bet. After all, our group is filled with reliable members. I've completely graduated from the hellish back-to-back scenarios of the first event that left me exhausted."

Or so I said, but on the final day.

Just a little while ago, we had engaged in a full-scale war with the entire group against a tsunami of stars that the word 'horde' couldn't even begin to describe, composed of all the zodiac boss-class enemies—but that's a secret.

Honestly, if we hadn't invited Nacchan-senpai, the [Thread-Weaver], our chances of getting through unscathed were dicey—but I've also grown a lot in the last four months.

"The plan is for eleven o'clock, right? No problem at all. The [Acrobat] checks 'attending.'"

I was, without a word of a lie, full of energy.

Mentally, after a three-night, four-day vacation, I was even more fulfilled than usual, so pulling off a showy display of energy (a muscle pose) to get a laugh was a piece of cake.

"I see. Understood."

In front of me, the princess—with a very clingy beautiful girl at her side, or rather, at zero distance—was completely expressionless. It wasn't that you couldn't read her expression if you weren't used to it; this was a completely blank face.

Nia, busy pestering Alicia, wasn't even looking. What a pitiful man I am.

Well, setting aside my foolishness.

In one hour, we would assemble at the Southern Faction Sotalm's meeting hall. Whether they had recharged their spirits during the event or were carrying fatigue would vary from person to person, but these were 'rankers,' who were responsible and, for the most part, dutiful and serious.

Most likely, almost all forty-plus of them would gather with few absences.

As for why, that's obvious—

"Haru."

"Yeah?"

"A hug instead of tea."

"Please spare me, in more ways than one."

"With Nia is fine."

"With Nia is fine???"

'I don't mind at all!!!!!'

"You're just sleepy already, aren't you? You sure you can stay awake?"

…it was for none other than a strategy meeting to resume the conquest of the Key Tree, which we had put on hold for a time.