kscans

Chapter 115 - Checking the Answer

Hayato awoke on the island called Dragon's Grave.

He had been abducted by one of the Genesis Dragons, Pat, and brought to the hardline faction's hideout. He had awoken in a room in that hideout, an old castle.

Hayato started drinking coffee to sort out his thoughts.

Though he had been abducted, this was a virtual reality. If he logged out, he would be back in reality in an instant. Hayato felt no sense of crisis about being abducted. But that was the problem.

Yesterday, Hayato hadn't contacted anyone in the virtual reality. He had logged out without doing so, and later, Esha, who had logged out after him, had gotten angry with him in the real world.

According to Esha, Ash and Ren had been frantic, on the verge of declaring all-out war on Dragon's Grave.

And yet, there was no voice chat from Hayato. Diite, who had heard what was going on and rushed over to investigate, discovered that Hayato had already logged out. Then, Esha had logged out to check on the situation.

Even though it was a virtual reality, Esha had been a little worried herself, but when she logged out, she found Hayato nonchalantly watching a movie. She had told him, her face devoid of expression, that if he was going to log out, he should contact them first, and Hayato's blood had run cold.

On top of the fact that the movie Veru had recommended was a horror-suspense film, Esha's expressionless face and scary voice had made him feel like he was going to die.

From his position as a captive, Hayato had decided not to log back in, instead having Esha tell Ash and the others that he was acting as a spy. He had ended up having to promise to treat Esha to something delicious with today's prize money, but he had decided it couldn't be helped and asked Esha to do it.

That seemed to have calmed Ash and Ren down, but they had questioned why only Esha knew what Hayato was up to.

Apparently, Ren had said, "It's the power of love!" with sparkling eyes, and Esha, tired of the situation, had replied, "That's right."

Hayato had wanted her to make an excuse, but since he was the cause of the problem, he couldn't say anything.

After that, he had ended up watching Veru's recommended movie with Esha. He thought they would be better able to understand the situation if they watched it together.

The movie was about a protagonist who had lost his memory in a fire at the age of five and used the psychic powers he had gained at that time to fight a cursed doll.

When he told Esha the synopsis, she asked, "Is it a comedy movie?" but Hayato had told her it was a horror-suspense film.

The plot was as follows.

The doll had a curse that would kill its owner when they turned eighteen, but in exchange, it would grant the owner immense power. It was an extremely annoying doll that would activate the curse based on the fact that it had been owned, even if it was thrown away.

After some investigation, this information came to light, and the protagonist used his psychic powers to fight the doll to save the girl who owned it.

Unfortunately, the owner died, but he succeeded in destroying the cursed doll.

However, a few years later, on the protagonist's eighteenth birthday, he suddenly had trouble breathing and collapsed to the ground.

And then he remembered. He had been the one who had owned the doll at the age of five. And he remembered that he had used the doll's power to kill his family, who had been abusing him, in a fire.

The movie ended with him looking at the doll laughing at him as he suffered.

Esha didn't seem to understand why the protagonist had died after watching it, so Hayato had to explain it from the beginning, but it could be said that he understood the movie's content better.

And there was something that had nothing to do with the movie's content that Hayato was disappointed about. Esha hadn't been scared at all. Hayato, who had been hoping to see Esha get scared, was let down. And even though it was late at night, she had been munching on the popcorn he had bought and hadn't been fazed at all.

That was around two in the morning. And now it was eight in the morning.

He had slept a little, but he was still sleepy. It probably wouldn't be enough to cause an abnormality in his vitals, but the headgear had a security feature that would force a logout. Hayato decided to log out early in the morning so that wouldn't happen.

And he thought about the movie again.

(Thinking about it after watching that movie, I think the key is the protagonist regaining his memory. And going berserk. It was just a guess, but it's highly likely that Ash and Ren-chan will regain their memories or go berserk if they get the Dragon Soul's treasured artifact. Or maybe both?)

The girl in the movie had regained her memory just before she died.

And in the shock of regaining her memory, she had lost control of her psychic powers and killed her boyfriend, who was celebrating her birthday with her. By the way, the boyfriend was not played by Veru.

Veru's role was the boyfriend of the girl who had owned the doll. He was killed early in the movie and was gone. He was basically a background character. Veru had said it was a recommended movie that he had starred in, but he wouldn't recommend a movie where he wasn't the main character.

Because of that, he was sure that the movie was meant to show him Ash and Ren's situation.

And the girl in the movie had a resemblance to Ren. She was a woman you could imagine Ren would grow up to be like. Hayato checked the cast, but he knew without looking.

The protagonist was Ash and Ren's mother, Kilika.

(It's highly likely that Ash and Ren-chan will go berserk when they regain their memories. In that movie, the protagonist dies, but since there's no death in this virtual reality, that won't happen. But going berserk. I don't know what kind of dragon Ren-chan is, apart from Ash. I'll ask her next time… I hear they're naked in their dragon state, so it's hard to ask. I know, I'll have Esha ask.)

After thinking that far, Hayato got out of bed and heard a knock on the door.

When Hayato replied, "Come in," Veru entered.

"Good morning, Hayato. Did you watch the movie?"

To Hayato, Veru looked normal. The fact that he was asking about the movie right away meant that he had come early in the morning to see if his intentions had been conveyed.

Hayato, thinking he needed to exchange information while talking about the movie, began an exchange of information in the guise of his thoughts.

"Good morning. I watched the movie. I'm sleep-deprived because of it."

"I'm sorry about that. So, what part did you find interesting? I think there are few parts you could call interesting since the protagonist goes through a lot of terrible things."

(Goes through a lot of terrible things… 'terrible' must refer to what will happen when Ash and Ren-chan get the treasure. I think he's asking if I understand what the result will be. Please get what I'm saying.)

"I thought the final scene was the most interesting. I didn't expect that kind of ending. Especially when the protagonist learned the reason why he could use psychic powers, I got chills. And the scene where he kills his boyfriend. It was so cruel, or rather…"

When the protagonist learned the reason he could use psychic powers was when he remembered the past. The scene where he kills his boyfriend was him going berserk. It was a bit of a stretch to convey his understanding, but Hayato was conveying that these were the things that would happen when they got the treasure.

Veru grinned at Hayato's words.

"I see. Actually, I think that's a good scene too. We see eye to eye."

(Does that mean my answer was correct? But I don't know what to do from now on. If I'm here, I can let the hardline dragons win, and Ash and the others won't regain their memories or go berserk. I think that's the best option, but then I'd be playing into the hands of the other administrator. They're trying to get Veru-san to get serious and win.)

As Hayato was lost in thought, Veru approached him.

"Let's talk about the movie another time. Actually, Ash has made a proposal."

"A proposal? From Ash?"

"The hardline dragons who attacked the vampire's mansion, Agres and Randa, have been captured over there. He wants to exchange them for you."

"The two of them for just me?"

"That's right. I'm thinking of accepting it."

"I know it's not my place to say this, but are you sure about that? I think you went through a lot of trouble to bring me here."

Hayato was considered a dangerous person by the hardline dragons. And from the way they spoke, he was convinced that they had gone through a lot of trouble to bring him here.

"You for those two is not a bad trade. Besides—"

Veru looked at Hayato. Hayato didn't know what his gaze meant, but he felt like there was some kind of hidden motive.

"I want you to be by Ash and Ren's side. I believe that no matter what happens, you'll be able to turn things around."

(He must be talking about what will happen when they get the treasure. Does he think I can do something even if they regain their memories and go berserk? His expectations are too high.)

"You're overestimating me. I'm just a production player, so I don't think I can meet your expectations."

"That may be so, but I'm betting on you, Hayato. I'm pretty good at gambling, you see. Of course, I have no intention of just handing over the treasure to Ash and the others. I will continue to go after the fragments with all my might. But if, by some chance, Ash and the others get the Dragon Soul's treasured artifact and something happens, please be their ally."

(Pat-san said something similar to me yesterday. Well, no matter who says it, my answer is the same.)

"Yes, of course. Ash is my best friend, and Ren-chan is my best friend's sister. So you don't have to worry about that."

"Understood. Then I'm counting on you. The hostage exchange is in an hour, so please rest for a while."

Veru said this and left the room.