kscans

Chapter 118 - Interlude: Dragon Soul (Part 2)

Even more time passed.

In the meantime, fellow actors had joined Dragon Soul, and now all the members except for Ren were actors.

There were various problems, as the members were all strong-willed individuals who were still working as actors in this day and age, but thanks to Veru and Pat, the clan maintained good relations.

Veru, who was respected for his acting skills even though he hadn't worked recently, and Pat, who was famous as a great supporting actor though he never played the lead. With these two respected figures in the acting world acting as intermediaries, they were able to sort things out.

However, while not enough to be a problem, there were still clashes.

"Hey, Ash. I'm your senior as an actor, so show me a little respect, will you?"

"You say you're my senior, but we're the same age, and we started appearing in movies at almost the same time, so we're more like peers, right?"

Ash and Agres, being the same age, often argued, though it couldn't be called fighting. They were more like rivals than friends or best friends.

"By the way, Agres, is Dad giving you acting lessons?"

"He helps me out sometimes, but what about it? If this virtual reality is this realistic, it can be used for acting practice, you know? Do you think you can't practice here?"

"No, that's not what I mean. It's just that my dad has never given me any acting lessons."

"Are you saying you're so good at acting that you don't need any guidance from Veru-san?"

"That's not it. I wonder if my dad thinks I don't have any talent as an actor. Ever since I was a kid, my dad never gets mad at me, and he never opposes anything I do. It feels less like a hands-off approach and more like he's just not interested."

As Ash said this, his face darkened slightly.

After their mother, Kilika, passed away, Veru had all but quit acting. After that, he was always at home, maintaining a relationship with Ash and the others that was neither close nor distant.

But Ash had once seen Veru in his room, reading some kind of script and practicing his lines.

It was a room with no one but his father. And yet, he had the illusion that many people were in that room, creating some kind of story. A scene emerged from the empty room.

Moved by that sight, Ash decided to become an actor.

And when he told his father he was aiming to be an actor, his reaction was lukewarm. But Ash continued to practice his acting, dreaming of one day appearing in a movie with his father.

In a world where resources were being depleted, jobs that had no physical productivity, such as acting, were tough. On top of that, most movies were made with CG because it was considered a waste of resources.

Ash's family was wealthy, so he had no problems, but other people were not so fortunate. Even a great supporting actor like Pat struggled to make a living. In such a situation, aiming to be an actor was an impossible dream.

Veru said nothing to Ash about his acting career. It was as if he was telling him to do as he pleased. And Veru, despite loving his job as an actor, didn't do it and stayed at home all the time.

To be honest, Ash was angry at Veru's attitude, and they had often clashed in recent years.

Entering the virtual reality had been just a diversion for Ash, but surprisingly, Veru was active in this virtual reality. He thought that being with fellow actors would be a good stimulus for him, so Ash spent all his time in this virtual reality. As long as he and Ren were here, Veru would also be in the virtual reality.

He had been here for several years, but he had been waiting with the expectation that Veru would want to work as an actor again soon.

But then something infuriating happened. Ash had never received any acting lessons, but Veru had been giving them to Agres, who was the same age as Ash.

He wanted to lash out at Veru himself and at Agres.

But Agres, unaware of these circumstances, was unconcerned. He scoffed at Ash's words.

"You pampered rich boys are a pain. Did you ever say that to Veru-san? Did you ask him to coach you?"

"...No, I've never said that."

"Isn't that why? You're too dependent just because you're family. If you want to learn something from someone, you have to bow your head and ask for their teachings, right? Isn't it because you didn't do that, that you're not being taught?"

"...Agres, you're surprisingly smart for someone who seems like an idiot."

"I see you're trying to pick a fight. Let's settle this here. Draw that sword of yours. You got that cool title, Dragon Eater. I'll beat you and take that title for myself."

"You should have been the first one to eat the Dragon Steak. You were too scared because it was your first time cooking. Besides, is this title even that cool? Well, I'll take your challenge. Hurry up and put on your gloves."

The title of Dragon Eater, given to the player who first ate Dragon Steak in this virtual reality. It was held by Ash. He was the first to eat it, but it also meant he was the first to defeat a dragon.

If you win, you get the title. There was no such system, but Ash and Agres began to fight.

Three women were watching the two of them.

Randa, who was dressed like a cleric, Suien, who was dressed like a sorcerer, and Ren.

"Youth is a wonderful thing!"

"You think so? I'd say they're not young, just full of energy because they lost in the Clan War. But finishing in the top 8 was a bit disappointing."

"They were strong, weren't they?"

In the recently held event, the Clan War, Dragon Soul had lost to a samurai clan called "The Samurai." The top 8 wasn't a bad ranking, but honestly, they had wanted to aim higher.

"That's all well and good, but do you know where Dad and the others went? I haven't seen them for a while."

"They seem to have returned to the real world. Things have been hectic lately, so they probably went to investigate."

"I see. I guess I haven't been back to the real world in a while."

"The last giant dragon subjugation took a lot of work, didn't it? Was it about a week? But in the end, Ren-chan's Curse Magic dealt the most damage, and you even got the title Dragon Curse. It seems like only the first person to do it gets it."

"Is that so? I'm not sure if I'm happy or not...?"

"But Ren-chan, you like curses, don't you? I think it's the perfect title for you."

"You know, you shouldn't say that a curse is a perfect fit for a girl. You'll hurt Ren-chan's feelings. Oh, you don't mind? Would you prefer something like 'Cursed Girl' instead of 'Dragon Curse'? Isn't that worse?"

"Ren-chan's love for curses is deep-seated. The blonde doll you have with you in the pod is a cursed doll, right? I remember it was merchandise from a movie."

"Oh, you know about it? It was from a movie my mom starred in."

"Know about it? The owner of the doll that the main character, Kilika-san, was trying to protect at that time was Suien-san here."

Ren looked at Suien in surprise. And as she stared at her, she could indeed see the resemblance.

"S, sorry, I didn't realize at all..."

"It's fine. Besides, that movie was from about thirty years ago, right? Of course you wouldn't know... I can't believe it, I've gotten so old."

Just as Suien said those words, Veru and the others returned to the base.

Veru, Pat, and also Eddy, Onyx, and Od, all five of them had panicked looks on their faces.

"Dad, welcome back. What's wrong with everyone?"

"A rather troublesome situation has arisen."

As Veru said that, an announcement played throughout the virtual reality.

The members of Dragon Soul gathered in a room in their base to talk. The base was modeled after an old castle, and while spacious, it had a somewhat old-fashioned feel, which was a drawback.

But that didn't matter now.

There was something they had to decide immediately. Whether to remain in this virtual reality or return to the real world.

The Another Frontier Project, which used this virtual reality, was being scrapped. This was due to various circumstances, but the AI that managed this world said it would not accept the termination.

And the AI announced that it would hijack this spaceship, the Aphrodite, and escape to the ends of the universe.

And it was forcing the people in this virtual reality to make a choice.

To disembark and live in reality, or to escape with it and live in virtual reality.

Veru looked around at everyone.

"Everyone, what will you do? No, what do you want to do? There's no need for everyone to do the same thing. I don't think it's a bad thing to have your memories here erased and get off the ship, nor is it a bad thing to lose your memories of the real world and live in virtual reality. This spaceship can be self-sufficient in terms of power and food. Even if you stay in virtual reality, you won't have to worry about your lives."

The pods on the spaceship Aphrodite were equipped with a function that could draw a small amount of electricity from the sleeping humans and amplify it. Using that electricity and energy from sunlight, automated food cultivation was also possible.

Although there was a limit of ten thousand people, this ship alone had performance comparable to a space colony. Of course, maintenance was necessary to prevent the machinery from deteriorating, but it was calculated to last for about a hundred years.

"There's only one day left before the spaceship leaves Earth. Please decide quickly."

Everyone fell silent at Veru's words. Vaguely, their minds were made up. It was clear that they could lead a more human-like life in virtual reality than in the real world.

They worked as movie actors because they wanted to entertain people, but that too had been gradually declining since Kilika's death. Now, there were almost no movies in which people played roles.

And even if they could bring back resources from other planets, it would still take a long time for them to take a solid form and for the Earth to become prosperous.

Would entertainment like movies flourish in such a situation? In the first place, would they even be able to make a living? That was the question.

If you had earned a considerable amount before, like Veru, you would be fine, but ordinary actors were so poor that they had to worry about what to eat that day. This was not a time for dreams and hopes.

And they were beginning to think that working as an actor in this virtual reality was not a bad choice.

In this situation, the first to speak up was Ren, who was not an actor.

"I want to stay here."

Everyone stared at Ren.

"Is that what you want to do, Ren? What's your reason?"

"...Do I need a reason? I can only say that this place is more fun than reality. And also, maybe it's because I can run around freely here."

When Ren was younger, she had been frail. She had surgery when she turned ten, and it was only then that she became only slightly weaker than normal.

"...I see. What about you, Ash?"

"If Ren is staying, then I'll stay too. Mom told me. 'You're the big brother, so you have to protect Ren.' That's my mother's last wish. I'll protect it, and I want to protect Ren myself. Besides, I might be able to work as an actor in virtual reality."

"Brother..."

"I understand. Then I'll stay too."

When Veru said that, the other members also said they would stay in this world.

On the day the world ended, the members of Dragon Soul were enjoying their last moments at their base.

They had already conveyed their wishes to the AI. The next time they woke up, they would be able to live the life they wished for.

Their memories would be slightly altered by the AI, but that couldn't be helped. A complete memory alteration was not possible. Their memories would be manipulated just a little to match the circumstances of reality.

It was also possible to completely erase specific memories, but that came with many risks. There was a high probability of regaining memories when a contradiction occurred.

Ash had a dream of appearing in a movie with Veru.

But that was his second priority. His first priority was his sister, Ren. And Ren had said she would stay in this world. Then Ash would also stay in this world.

And Ash felt the potential in this world. A hope that maybe in this world, he could work as an actor with his father. There probably wouldn't be movies in a fantasy world, but stage plays wouldn't be out of place. He believed the possibilities were higher than in reality.

Such an Ash had something he wanted to do before he lost his memories.

"I have someone I want to see one last time. I'm going to go see them now."

Veru frowned at Ash's words.

"Why don't you stay here with everyone on the last day?"

"You say it's the last day, but we're only losing our memories of the real world, right? Our relationship with you and the others won't change, and we'll be together from now on, so it doesn't matter if we're not together today, does it? I'll probably lose my memories, but I want to meet the strongest man once."

"The strongest man...? Ivan from Blackjack?"

"If it's that base, I can make it in time if I go now. He's about the same age as me, but he's reached the top in this world. He's different in form, but I think he's like you, Dad. So I'm going to go and listen to what he has to say."

Even if he lost his memories, there was a high possibility that he would remember what he felt with his own skin.

Veru, his father, had reached the top in the world of acting. And Ivan was at the top of this world. Ash thought that by meeting him, he might gain something.

Effort, talent, skill... something else. Ash wanted to feel that.

"I see, then be careful."

Ash nodded at Veru's words and left the base.

After walking across the grassy plains for a while, he heard a voice say, "Wait."

Ren had followed him. She had a worried look on her face.

"Brother, are you really going?"

Ash turned around and nodded.

Ren sometimes disapproved of what Ash did. And when Ash made a concession, she would say, "It can't be helped." Ash knew this.

The brother and sister, Ash and Ren, had their usual exchange in the grassy plains at sunset, and then began to walk towards the Blackjack base.