kscans

Chapter 116 - Just Family

The hostage exchange was to take place at the Dragon's Grave.

The reason was simple. The moment Hayato stepped off this island, he could escape with a Ring of Teleportation. His value as a hostage was limited to this island, so it was decided the exchange would happen here as well.

Today, they would also sign a magical pledge not to fight one another. It was a pledge limited to this day, but its effect would be more than sufficient.

Hayato was to be the recipient of this pledge. In other words, every single one of the Genesis Dragons had written a pledge to Hayato, promising not to fight amongst themselves today.

Hayato was assisting the moderate faction, but Veru had decided that Hayato would suffice. And none of the other Genesis Dragons would object to Veru's decision.

With that condition set, the hostage exchange was set to begin. They had already received pledges from the hardline dragons, except for Agres and Randa. All that remained was to receive the pledges from those two, as well as from Ash and Ren.

(Is this a historic moment, I wonder?)

If the dragons were writing a pledge not to fight, even for a single day, it was surely a historic moment. That said, very few people knew about it, and it was all happening in a virtual reality, so it was hardly the stuff of history books.

As for how Ash and his group would arrive, they had decided to use the Griffon Courier Service operated by the Tamer Guild.

The Griffon Courier Service was an air transport service where four griffons carried a single gondola. It was typically a method of transport reserved for the likes of royalty and great merchants, but permission had been granted this time because Maris would be serving as the griffons' coachman.

Ordinarily, Ash and Ren were dragons and could have simply flown to the island. However, Ash was not a type of dragon capable of flight, and Ren had no desire to transform into a dragon in front of others. Besides, the hostages they were exchanging, Agres and Randa, would also be brought in human form.

For those reasons, they had decided to use the Griffon Courier Service.

Hayato wondered if Agres and Randa might transform into dragons and escape, but he learned there were various restrictions on Stampedes and dragon transformations. While they could do it, it would apparently cause problems later, so they were behaving themselves for now.

(Pat-san did say something about having to force his dragon transformation to start a Stampede, so there must be all sorts of restrictions. I also heard Ash has transformed into a dragon for Clan Wars, but not for Stampedes. Ash and Ren-chan must have their own limitations, too.)

Hayato's speculation was correct.

Players might think the hardline dragons could trigger Stampede events whenever they pleased, but the game's system prevented that. The number of times they could cause a Stampede or transform into a dragon was fixed within a certain period, like a week or a month. Ignoring these rules and triggering a Stampede or transforming would result in various penalties, such as having to start the Stampede in a weakened state or with fewer monsters.

Conversely, not causing any Stampedes at all had its own demerits. After a certain period, a forced, weakened Stampede would occur. To avoid that, Veru and his faction triggered Stampedes at times that offered the best performance.

The Stampede on the day Hayato returned to the game had seen five dragons attack the Royal Capital, but that was due to a confluence of various circumstances, and repeating an attack with five of them was difficult. For that reason, they carefully planned who would trigger a Stampede, when, and where, all while taking measures to eliminate any weaknesses.

Hayato would never know these fine details, but it was safe to say he had obtained enough information to make an educated guess.

As Hayato pondered these things, he saw something flying in the eastern sky. It was undoubtedly the Griffon Courier Service.

This was the eastern edge of the Dragon's Grave. Only Hayato, Veru, and Pat were there. The other Genesis Dragons were a short distance away, but they kept their distance, having agreed not to engage each other this time.

The griffons slowly approached.

The gondola carried Ash and Ren, along with Maris, the coachman. The hostages, Agres and Randa, were there as well. Agres wore a slightly disgruntled expression, but for some reason, Randa looked like she was having fun.

The Griffon Courier Service landed on the ground, and the four of them disembarked from the gondola.

Ash and Ren looked at Hayato, exhaled, and then broke into smiles. They walked toward him.

"Looks like you had a rough time."

"Well, a little. But my treatment wasn't so bad."

"I was worried sick until I heard from Esha. But first, here are the pledges. Mine, Ren's, and the ones from Agres and Randa."

Hayato accepted the pledges and read their contents. After confirming there were no issues, he bowed his head to Ash and the others.

"I'm sorry I didn't contact you."

Hayato had intended to contact them, but he had prioritized his conversation with Veru and then immediately logged out to watch the movie without a word. That had made Ash and the others anxious, so much so that they had only dispersed after Esha relayed Hayato's situation from the real world.

Still, it was a fact that Hayato had been abducted by the opposing side, so Ash had immediately told Veru that he would exchange Agres and Randa for Hayato.

For Ash, Hayato was clearly more important than holding on to two dragons who could transform at any moment.

Ash shifted his gaze from Hayato to Veru. His eyes didn't seem to hold any anger, but Hayato could tell it wasn't a friendly look.

"As promised, I've brought the two of them. We're exchanging them for Hayato."

"Meeting as humans for the first time in a while, and you're so businesslike?"

"There's nothing to talk about, is there? We're just taking Hayato and getting out of here. No need for pointless chatter."

"...I see."

Watching this exchange, Hayato felt a pang of sympathy for Veru.

Ash's dislike for Veru was a false emotion implanted by Diite. It was the demerit Veru had accepted in exchange for not having his memories erased, a complete departure from his true feelings.

According to Diite, Ash had clashed with his father back then, but only to motivate him. He didn't truly hate him.

Hayato had been thinking about what constituted victory in this event. It wasn't about the hardline or moderate faction winning. He believed that victory meant preventing the false administrator's plans from coming to fruition. He didn't know the administrator's objective, but anyone who would resort to threatening Veru couldn't be a good person. He couldn't let such a person achieve their goal.

Hayato decided to make a proposal.

"Since we've agreed not to fight for a day, why don't we have a meal together? I'm a little hungry myself and would like to grab a bite before we head back."

Everyone was stunned by his words. But a moment later, Pat burst out laughing.

"Hey, that's not a bad idea. I think it'd do you good to have a meal, just family, for a change. It's been, what, three years? No, more like four, right? We're usually far apart, so it would be good to have a proper talk after so long."

Only Ash looked displeased, but Ren was beaming, and Veru seemed to be suppressing a smile.

No one explicitly agreed, but Hayato figured it would be fine and took out his saw.

"I'll prepare a table, chairs, and some food right here. Just wait a moment."

Had said this and began creating various things with his Production Skills. At Ren's request, he also made some pudding.

"Alright, we'll be over there, so you guys talk it out. And don't just sit there in silence because it's been a while, you hear?"

Pat gave Veru a solid slap on the back, then led the bound Agres and Randa toward the other Genesis Dragons.

"Well then, I'll go wait with Maris."

"Hayato, could you stay here?"

Ash, with a slightly troubled look, pleaded for Hayato's help. But Hayato refused.

"It's just for family, so it wouldn't be right for me to be there. Besides, it's been several years, right? You might dislike your old man, but try not to get too emotional when you talk. It's not good to make that kind of face in front of Ren-chan, either."

Had also gave Ash's shoulder a light pat. Then he turned to Ren with only a smile.

Ren didn't dislike her father, Veru. It had been a long time since the three of them had eaten together, and she returned Hayato's smile happily.

Veru also gave Hayato a slight nod of thanks. Hayato waved his right hand in front of his face in a gesture that said, "Don't mention it."

And with that, Hayato moved over to Maris's side.

"Thanks for coming all this way. I can make you a chocolate parfait or something if you'd be willing to wait a bit."

"It's no problem at all. Besides, the Griffon Courier Service is the star of the Tamer Guild. I've always wanted to be a coachman for one."

"I'm glad to hear that. Still, with this available, there's no need for tandem riding. If you can fly without needing the Riding Skill, this is the way to go."

There were financial issues to consider, but if he could fly, he definitely wanted to enjoy it. Being carried in a dragon's grasp, while technically flying, hadn't been fun, so he wanted a do-over.

"Tandem riding is possible now, you know."

"Huh?"

"It became possible during the six months you were away. Would you like to ride my Lancelot? It would be the two of us, though."

"I'd like to take you up on that sometime."

(Could it have been Diite-chan? But didn't she say she can only change settings, not program? I'll have to ask her how she did it next time. I'm also curious about that room that's closest to reality.)

Had thought as he waited for Ash and the others to finish their meal.

Ash still looked a little reluctant, but he sat in his chair and ate his food without raising his voice. And Ren was all smiles from start to finish.

As for Veru, he merely maintained a faint smile, but to Hayato, he looked happy.

(I wonder what it's like to watch over your kids with your memories intact. Especially with Ash being programmed to dislike him. I hope this meal leads to a good outcome.)

He couldn't tell if the conversation was flowing, but they seemed to be having a reasonably good time, so Hayato decided to wait patiently for the three of them to finish their meal.