kscans

Chapter 13 - The Pair's True Identities

The day after the Clan War, Hayato decided to summon Esha and Ash to the log house.

The reason, of course, was to hear about them from their own mouths.

Afterward, Hayato, who had been transferred to the log house, logged out while still in a daze. He remained in a daze for a while after that, but he sent an email to the game administrators.

The content was to ask whether having a clan member who was an NPC that used a gun or was a dragon was a problematic act.

Hayato believed that this game had various traps. Even if something was systemically possible, whether it was okay to actually do it was another matter entirely.

That had been made clear by the previous "Maid Harem Incident." It showed that just because you could do something, actually doing it could make it impossible to play the game.

It was said that in this game, the administrators would never suspend an account. However, if you made a wrong move within the game, you could be cornered into a situation where it became impossible to play. Even if there were no real-world repercussions like an account suspension, you could fall into a similar situation within the game.

In the morning, when Hayato checked his email, a reply from the administrators had arrived. The content was as follows.

"All actions possible within the game are permitted at the user's own responsibility."

That wasn't the answer he had been looking for, but at least it confirmed that it wasn't a bug or cheating. However, it meant that if you were going to do it, you had to do it on your own responsibility.

Hayato was troubled. He couldn't judge whether continuing to use these NPCs could lead to a dead end in the game. And there was another concern.

It was true that Hayato had been seeking strong NPCs. But that was what you could call a foul. It was on a level that would likely cause a riot if other players found out. This wasn't a normal game. It was a game where you could earn prize money. If there was an unfairly powerful force, it would surely become a huge controversy.

Esha's gun was still within an acceptable range. It could be explained as some kind of super-powerful crossbow, so there would probably be little criticism. And if players had a chance to obtain it, it could even be a factor that would generate excitement.

But Ash was different. He was clearly overpowered. It was questionable whether it was okay to have him as a clan member using up one of the slots. Or rather, Hayato thought it was pretty much out of the question.

(Even thinking of him as a monster tamer won't work. I've never heard of anyone being able to control such a powerful monster. He's on the level of a giant monster from a large-scale battle event, so of course it's not okay.)

In this game, events occurred periodically. One of them was called a large-scale battle.

It was an event where a large number of players fought together, such as a Stampede where a massive number of monsters attacked a town, or a subjugation of a single giant monster. Since hundreds or even thousands of people fought in groups, it was called a large-scale battle.

Hayato had never participated in one as a production player, but he knew that powerful monsters appeared. To make a monster that appeared in such a large-scale battle your companion. To be frank, it was cheating.

Hayato believed that information about his allies was more dangerous than information about his enemies. He decided to summon the two of them and properly ask them what kind of people they were, and logged into the game.

Thirty minutes later, Esha and Ash arrived at the log house.

Across the table, Hayato sat in front of Esha and Ash. After confirming they were seated, he placed coffee in front of them.

"Thank you both for yesterday. Thanks to you, we were able to win the Clan War. First, I want to thank you for that."

Hayato bowed his head while still seated. The two of them replied with, "Don't worry about it," and, "It's only natural, since we're companions."

He raised his head and looked at them.

"That being said, there's something I want to ask you. It's about—"

"You don't have to say another word, I understand. A victory celebration. As my reward, I request a five-star wedding cake. I'll have you know I just want to eat it, so don't get the wrong idea."

"Is it alright if I bring my sister to the victory celebration? She says she wants to thank you in person, Hayato. Not only has she been cured, but for some reason she's also learned a switch-type passive skill called Dragon Curse, so she says she wants to thank you for that as well."

"Could you two be quiet for a moment? That's not what I want to ask about."

Hayato let out a small sigh before looking at the two of them.

"I want to know about you two properly. I've let you both into the clan, but I'm worried if it's okay to leave things as they are. Neither of you are disliked by the townspeople or anything, right? You're not banned from anywhere?"

What Hayato feared most was being disliked by the townspeople, that is, the NPCs. That would certainly lead to a dead end in this game. Not only would you be unable to enter towns, but you could even be thrown in jail, so he needed to confirm their situations. He couldn't deny the possibility that by making them his companions, he would be seen as one of them.

"Rest assured. I am practically banned from all the famous restaurants in the Royal Capital."

"What is there to be assured about? But if that's all it is, I guess it's fine."

"I don't have anything like that. Though I am disliked by the other dragons. That being said, it's only the hardline dragons. I'm not disliked by the moderate dragons, so you can rest easy."

"There are hardline dragons? You're disliked by those dragons, but I should rest easy? That's a bit strange, isn't it?"

He had a few retorts, but Hayato judged that it would probably be fine if that was the extent of it. However, Hayato felt like the two of them were hiding something. This time, he decided to ask each of them what kind of person they were.

Hayato looked at Ash.

"Ash, I know this is late to ask, but you're a dragon, right?"

"This is really late. Yes, I am Death Dragon Ash Brandle... they say you should learn my name before you learn the name of your own country's king, but you really don't know?"

"Not at all."

"I, I see. I thought I was pretty famous, but it seems that's not the case... Come to think of it, I think I was able to register at the Mercenary Guild without anyone being surprised."

"Why are you killing dragons in the first place? It seems there are factions, but aren't you all companions, or rather, brethren?"

"Let's just say there are various circumstances in the dragon world. We're divided into a faction of dragons who seek to dominate humans and a faction that seeks coexistence. My sister and I belong to the moderate faction that aims for coexistence. That's why we hunt dragons from the opposing faction. And one day, with my own hands, I will defeat my father—"

"Ah, you can stop there. I understand why you kill dragons, so that's enough."

"...I see. We were just getting to the good part."

Hayato's policy was to avoid getting involved in troublesome matters as much as possible. Plus, Hayato was a production player. He had abandoned all main story quests and quests that involved combat. This time too, he dismissed it as just another one of those quests.

"So, Ash. I'm sorry, but please don't take that dragon form as much as possible. Only do it when I give the order."

"I don't mind, but may I ask the reason?"

"You're too strong. Winning Clan Wars using that could be called cheating without anyone questioning it. Or rather, I feel like we could win all future Clan Wars just by having you do that."

"That would be impossible. Even a low-ranking clan should be able to stop it. The reason I was able to do what I did yesterday was because the opponent had fled. In the first place, it takes a considerable amount of time to activate. If I'm hit with a knockback in the meantime, it will end without ever activating."

How can a player's attack knock back such a giant body, Hayato thought, but then he reconsidered, thinking it was possible because it was a game.

"It also involves allies, and it's difficult to use. I was only able to do it yesterday because various conditions were met. It's not something I can do every time."

"Is that how it is?"

"Also, it seems there are countermeasures against dragons during Clan Wars, as my MP decreases when I'm in my true form. I confirmed it yesterday, but it seems I revert to my human form when it reaches 0."

"I see. It's powerful, but it has its limitations. In that case, it might not be a problem."

Hayato breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that if there were such demerits, there would be fewer complaints from players. Of course, it would be meaningless if those demerits weren't widely known.

Next, Hayato shifted his gaze from Ash to Esha.

"Esha, next I want to know about you. You're not just a regular maid, are you?"

"So you've noticed. The truth is, I'm not a regular maid, but a beautiful girl maid."

"Alright, you're fired."

"Please wait. The Maid Guild tearfully pleaded with me to make sure I was properly hired next month as well, so being fired would be a problem."

"What kind of situation leads to something like that?"

"You may have faintly realized it, but I, Esha Crown, possess no maid skills whatsoever."

"Alright, you're fired."

"I said please wait. And so, I was never dispatched anywhere and spent my days eating for free at the Maid Guild. That was delicious in its own way, but then, Hayato-sama requested 'a cute maid who can read, write, and do math,' so I, who met the conditions, was dispatched."

"I never requested 'cute.' And I never said it was okay if she had no maid skills."

"Well, that's just a minor discrepancy. For the past three weeks, I've been able to work without any particular problems, so I have the full support of the Maid Guild. By the way, Hayato-sama is treated as a hero at the Maid Guild. They say they want to present you with a letter of appreciation and have asked you to visit the Maid Guild. When will you go to receive it?"

(I don't want it... And she's deflecting again. In the first place, Ash, who was a dragon, was surprised when he heard Esha's name. There's no way she's a normal maid.)

"Esha, forget about the Maid Guild. Tell me the truth. Are you really a maid? When Ash came here, he was surprised when he heard your name. I didn't think much of it at the time, but if Ash is a dragon, that's a different story. That can't be a normal thing, can it?"

"Come to think of it, that did happen. But it's true that I'm a maid. I'm just a little bit famous... Very well. Since there's a possibility I'll be kicked out of the Maid Guild if I'm not hired, I'll talk. But it's really not that big of a deal, you know?"

Esha looked at Hayato.

"The truth is, I was a member of the clan that won the Clan War tournament three years ago. My name just became known at that time. However, to invite both Ash-sama and myself to a Clan War without knowing anything about us... I have no choice but to say, you are truly my master."

Hayato swore to himself that he would properly check the game's main story.