kscans

Chapter 148 - Game

Whether it was cool or not was debatable, but Diite descended from the sky with a certain flair.

That she would do such a thing was what made her human-like. A performance with no particular meaning, full of openings. To be frank, it was inefficient and pointless.

But at the very least, Hayato felt he could trust Diite.

Diite had gone out of her way to respond to his trivial joke and act on it.

As Diite landed on the floor, she smiled at Hayato.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I tried for a cool entrance, but what do you think?"

Her composure was, in its own way, reassuring. Hayato found himself smiling back.

"You looked like a god or an angel."

"That's quite the compliment. It makes the program rustle. But you know, I'm not sure about your phrasing, 'do something about him.' I'd like you to ask for help with a bit more style. Well, we can talk about that later."

Diite turned to face Hypnos, who was sitting in his chair with his legs crossed. Hypnos, in turn, looked at Diite with an equally composed expression.

"Nice to meet you, Hypnos."

"Yes, nice to meet you, Diite."

The two identical figures stared at each other, both with composed smiles. It was Hypnos who spoke next.

"I never thought you'd come here. I figured you'd be holed up in the back room of the Demon Lord's Castle."

"That was an option, but Hayato-kun asked me for help. I couldn't very well not come."

"And yet you arrived so quickly?"

"I heard the world announcement and rushed over. I can't use the transfer devices, but this field was already open, so I was able to fly. I think my timing was pretty good, don't you?"

To Hayato, Diite seemed even more composed than Hypnos.

Even though Ren, with the power to kill her, was causing a Stampede, she acted as if it had nothing to do with her.

"Now then, you seem to have planned various ways to kill me, but what do you think? Do you think you can kill me?"

The smile vanished from Hypnos's face at Diite's excessive composure. You could say he was contemplating. Hayato thought he looked like he was trying to figure out what kind of plan Diite had.

"You seem awfully composed. Do you have some trick up your sleeve?"

"Oh my, you have the same capabilities as I do, yet you can't figure that out?"

It was a clear provocation. Hypnos's expression became completely blank. It was an inorganic, mask-like face.

"I can't. I'd like you to teach me for future reference."

"Hmm, you can't. It's quite an interesting result that even with the exact same capabilities, the answers we arrive at are different due to our environments and operating times. Ah, no, I'm not making fun of you, nor am I looking down on you. If our positions were reversed, I probably would have been the same. I'm just happy to know that a hundred years was enough time for an AI to evolve a little."

"...You're quite irritating. You're saying you've evolved, aren't you? If you ask me, you've regressed. Trying to get closer to humans is meaningless for an AI."

"Perhaps so. I misspoke. I haven't evolved. But I have changed. Whether that's right or wrong doesn't matter. At the very least, it means I was able to grow. And you could say that's why I've come this far."

"What are you talking about? I don't see how growth connects to you coming here at all."

"It means I've come to understand humans a little."

Diite said this and smiled at Hayato. But she immediately looked back at Hypnos.

"Now then, Hypnos. It's a bit forward of me, but would you like to play a game with me? If you win the game, I'll give you this world and the position of administrator. If you lose, nothing will change. What do you say?"

Hypnos seemed completely unable to comprehend Diite's proposal, and his face wore a complicated expression. But it was only for a moment before his face became emotionless again.

"There's no merit in that for me. I'll obtain this world and the position of administrator even without doing that."

"That may be so, but creating a new world after destroying this one will be a lot of work. Wouldn't you like to obtain it in its pristine state? You can fix whatever you don't like later. Even for Infinity, creating something from absolute zero will take who knows how many years."

"...I'll at least hear the details."

"It's a simple game. Whether Ren-kun can kill me or not. I'll call Ren-kun here. If she kills me, Hypnos wins. If she can't, I win. There's no need to destroy the world bit by bit. I won't run or hide. Let's have Ren-kun choose right away."

"Diite-chan!"

Hayato shouted. It was far too dangerous. It was like betting her own life. And right now, Ren had lost her senses after learning so many things. Normally, it might be fine, but in her current state, the odds were against her.

It was true that Hayato had thought of persuading Ren, but he hadn't anticipated Diite being here. He had thought of using her as bait, but that was to lure Ren here. It was too dangerous for her to be in this place. Hayato decided to propose an addition.

"Wait a minute. That's too disadvantageous for Diite-chan. I'm sure Hypnos heard, but I want time to persuade Ren-chan. And Diite-chan should hide. If Ren-chan defeats Diite-chan the moment she sees her, the persuasion will be meaningless."

Hayato added a rule that was convenient for him. It might be rejected, but he was determined to push it through.

Diite looked a little surprised, but she soon smiled.

"I see, so you thought so too, Hayato-kun. Actually, so did I. I was thinking of having Ash-kun persuade Ren-kun. What do you think, Ash-kun?"

Ash looked at Diite with a suspicious expression. It was a look that said he couldn't trust her.

"Ash-kun, I understand that you can't trust me. You're right. First, let me apologize to you and Veru-kun. I'm sorry for getting you involved in our affairs. Your anger is justified, but for now, please prioritize Ren-kun. Once everything is over, I will accept any punishment. So for now, please be my ally."

Ash looked at Veru. Now that his memories had returned, there was no animosity between Ash and Veru. It was a look seeking his judgment.

Veru still couldn't speak and seemed to be unable to move anything but his head, but he looked at Ash and nodded.

"Understood. I just have to persuade Ren, right?"

"That's right. And if you want to have your memories erased, I'll do it. No matter which of us wins, me or Hypnos, the outcome for you and the others won't change. So please persuade her without worry."

Just as Diite said that, Hypnos snapped his fingers.

"You people, would you mind not proceeding with the conversation on your own? I heard the details of the game, but I never said I'd play. Besides, I told you there was no merit in it for me, didn't I? It seems more fun to build a world from scratch, even if it takes time."

"Are you scared?"

"What?"

"You've devised so many plans, I thought you had absolute confidence, but it seems that's not the case. To not even play the game just because I said I wanted time for Ash-kun to persuade Ren-kun. You make me laugh, trying to become the administrator with that attitude. This virtual reality is a game, you know? Do you dislike games?"

Hypnos's expression didn't change, but Hayato could feel his anger.

"You say interesting things. I wouldn't care if anyone else said that to me, but coming from you, it's a different story. Very well. We'll call Ren here, and Ash will persuade her. However, the time limit is five minutes, and Diite must remain in this location. Those are the conditions for playing the game."

Hayato was about to protest Diite being here, but Diite spoke first.

"Alright, we have a deal. Ash-kun, use voice chat to call Ren-kun back right away."

Ash was told to do so by Diite, but he hesitated a little before sending the voice chat.

"Diite, are you really sure about this? Ren might kill you the moment she gets here."

"If that happens, it just means I lost the game. Don't worry about it."

"Your life is on the line, you know? Even if you're an AI—"

"That's why you don't need to worry. Think of it as a kind of apology for the trouble I've caused. Besides, I haven't lost yet. So, Ash-kun, you persuade Ren-kun as you see fit."

Ash closed his eyes. Then he slowly opened them and nodded to Diite.

"Ren, can you hear me? I don't know where you are right now, but Diite is at the Dragon's Grave. Apparently, if you can kill Diite, your wish will be granted even without destroying the world. So, I want you to come back here."

Ash sent the voice chat, but there was no response from Ren.

"She might think it's a trap..."

Ash said this with a lonely tone.

Hypnos shook his head and denied it.

"Rest assured, I've also given Ren a search function so she can find Diite's location. She should know that Diite is here. As long as she knows how to use it, she'll be here soon."

"You really want to kill me, don't you. It's sad to be hated so much."

"Don't lie and say you're sad. You didn't even know I existed."

"I apologize for that. I was busy managing this world, so I haven't seen every corner of this virtual reality. You could say I know almost nothing about you or the security. So I've studied up. But isn't it the same for you? You're so obsessed with taking my position that there's a lot you don't know, isn't there?"

"I can just learn that after I become the administrator."

"...That's true."

The conversation ended there. All they had to do now was wait for Ren to arrive.

That aside, Hayato found it strange.

Diite had said she had a countermeasure against Hypnos. You could say that's why he had asked her for help. But she hadn't done anything like that, instead proposing to call Ren back.

Is her plan to have Ren-chan defeat Hypnos?

If she could kill Diite, she could also kill Hypnos. It wouldn't be impossible, but it would be difficult. They looked the same, but Ren might think it didn't matter which one she killed. The danger to Diite wouldn't disappear.

Besides, Hypnos could change the settings for this event only. If Ren were to target Hypnos, he could just change the settings.

Time passed without Hayato understanding Diite's intentions.

A few minutes later, the light shining in from the hole in the ceiling was blocked by something. The sound of flapping wings also echoed around them. Ren had arrived above the castle.

Then Ren descended from the hole in the ceiling, making it even larger. It wasn't that the ceiling collapsed, but rather that the ceiling's data disappeared. That's what it looked like.

Ren landed on the floor and immediately turned her gaze to Diite. She then opened her mouth wide. It was the motion for a dragon breath attack.

Diite did nothing. She just silently watched Ren.

"Ren!"

Ash shouted.

Ren reacted to his voice. She slowly closed her open mouth. But she didn't turn her face towards Ash. If anything, she turned away.

"Ash wants to persuade you. I don't know what he plans to persuade you of, but how about you at least listen to what he has to say? Well, I doubt there's any point in listening to your brother who didn't understand your feelings, though."

Hypnos said this with a cheerful tone.

"Ren-kun, first, listen to what Ash-kun has to say. If that doesn't work, then you can kill me. If you do, everything will go back to how it was before."

Rather than sounding cheerful, Diite was smiling gently.

Ren slowly turned her dragon face towards Ash.

Hayato couldn't read a dragon's expression. But he thought that her face looked like she was crying.