kscans

Chapter 17 - Explaining the Situation

That evening, Hayato called Esha and Ash to the new headquarters near the Royal Capital. He needed to explain the situation.

They arrived without much delay.

Both of them showed surprised expressions at the sight of Hayato's new, large fortress headquarters, a stark change from the log house, but they sat down in their chairs without saying anything.

Hayato placed a coffee for each of them on the table before explaining what had transpired.

When he had finished his explanation, Hayato drank his own coffee, finally taking a breath.

"This Esha Crown is in awe of my master's skill. I have no choice but to call it magnificent."

"Huh, you think so? I mean, I guess it was good that I managed to lure them into a Clan War."

"You are too modest. That was merely a feint. You tricked the clan that kicked you out and seized this headquarters, did you not? Despite telling us that your former clan members were your allies, you did this to them. To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies. Never before have I understood the meaning of those words as I do today."

"Were you even listening? I'm using this headquarters as bait to get the sword back. If it works, I'm giving both the sword and the headquarters back to Ney."

"There you go again. You don't have to say it, I understand. You will take the headquarters, and even if you get the sword back, you have no intention of returning it, do you? As expected of my master. What wonderfully evil deeds."

"I'm telling you, that's not it."

"Hayato, as a person, I have to question that."

(An AI is questioning my character. What does that say about me as a person?)

Hayato felt a slight shock but retorted nonetheless.

"It's not some elaborate scheme. I really intend to do as I said. This headquarters is temporary, so try not to get it dirty or break anything, okay?"

"...Um, did you really just borrow the headquarters to get the sword back?"

"That's right."

"...Seriously?"

"...Seriously."

Esha let out a dramatic sigh. She glanced at Hayato, then let out another, even bigger sigh. It was probably the biggest sigh Hayato had ever seen from her.

"What a wimpy master you are. How soft can you be? Are you one of those people who'll die if you're not liked by everyone? To not even get angry after being treated like this, and what's more, to fight back against the other party for a problem that your clan brought on themselves. You wouldn't have any right to complain if someone called you a piece of garbage, you know?"

"Could you wrap that in a little more sugarcoating? It kind of hurts."

"Understood... Master, are you an idiot?"

"That sugarcoating is completely torn, isn't it?"

Still, Hayato had to admit he was being a little soft.

(But, you know, we had a pretty good time together for the two and a half years since the game started. I don't think getting kicked out of the clan is enough to turn all of that into anger. It's not like they threw me out without any explanation... Or is thinking that way soft?)

"Esha, don't be too hard on Hayato. He's the type who likes to take care of people. Besides, if he weren't that kind of person, he wouldn't have been able to hire you. Anyone other than Hayato would have fired you within a day, you know?"

"That is a blind spot. You are absolutely correct. My master is the greatest."

"Yeah, try to put a little more feeling into it next time. But, well, I do think I'm being a little soft myself."

"A little? You're at the level of pouring honey on sugar. But, well, I think the part where you lectured all your former clan members was good. Though I still think you're soft."

After his negotiation with Goddess of Annihilation, Hayato had called over the members of Kokuryu. He had explained the situation to them. It was then that he learned certain details, which led to him lecturing them.

The issue was the reason they had kicked him out of the clan.

Even if Kokuryu was low in the rankings for its tier, it was still an A-rank clan. In the Clan Wars, where there was prize money to be won, while some people praised the top clans, others hurled all sorts of negative words at them, born of jealousy, envy, resentment, and spite.

It was especially bad in the monster hunting grounds. Normally, the first party to arrive at a hunting ground had priority. If there were too many parties, you might have to go home even if you had just arrived. Some players, angry at having made the trip for nothing, would hurl insults at the party already there.

Kokuryu had been told several times, "Your equipment is first-rate, but your members are third-rate."

Normally, one would just ignore such words, but the clan members took it to heart, believing it to be true. After all, the equipment, items, food, and medicines Hayato made were indeed of the highest quality.

It was around that time that a player they often ran into at the hunting grounds made a suggestion. If they won a Clan War with Hayato gone, wouldn't that silence the critics?

At first, they had rejected the idea, saying they could never kick Hayato out of the clan, but the last battle, where Hayato had taken down an enemy by taking them with him, was the final straw.

They came to believe that not only were they relying on Hayato's production skills, but they were also being protected by Hayato himself, who had no combat skills. They even thought that the reason Hayato didn't train his combat skills was to protect his worthless teammates with all his various production skills.

And so, their thinking shifted. Hayato was a first-rate player, while they were third-rate.

Unfortunately, the clan leader, Ney, once she gets an idea in her head, doesn't stop. She became obsessed with the bizarre theory that in order to stand shoulder to shoulder with Hayato in the same clan, they had to prove that they were first-rate. So, she kicked Hayato out and tried to win a Clan War.

And she had planned to ask him to come back after they won.

Hayato's feelings upon hearing this had been complicated.

(Just how much do they trust me? It seems they believed I would definitely come back, even if I was in another clan. It's almost a little scary... Well, the chances of me going back were high, though.)

They had been telling him to learn combat skills since the Clan Wars started because they wanted him to be able to play more freely. The reason they hadn't explained why they were kicking him out was because they knew Hayato was kind, and if he knew the reason, he might try to support them from the shadows, so they had hardened their hearts and kicked him out.

When Hayato heard that, he lectured them, telling them they needed to properly communicate things like that. He also gave Ney a serious talking-to about not running wild.

(I wouldn't say I'm an adult, but they're all still kids. This game was popular even before the Clan Wars, and the headgear was relatively cheap. The barrier to entry for young people was low. When the Clan Wars started, the prize money brought in a lot of adults, and a lot of bad adults at that. They probably had to worry about things they didn't have to before the Clan Wars started.)

When the population increases, public order deteriorates. The same is true for games. And money is involved. It's inevitable that some people will approach you with ill intent.

The player who had told them it was fine to win without Hayato was the spy who had stolen the sword and handed it over to the other team. He had offered to join Kokuryu just once to participate in the Clan War. In other words, he had been manipulating the members for some time with the intention of infiltrating Kokuryu from the start.

(You could say Kokuryu lost to that one person. He brought them down not with fighting, but with words. It's not something to be praised, but as an enemy, it was impressive. Still, while the prize money is nice, the Clan Wars really have caused a lot of unnecessary trouble.)

After much discussion, Kokuryu decided to disband.

The members hadn't been participating in the Clan Wars for the money. They had been trying their best because Hayato had said he couldn't lose. But now Hayato had created a clan that seemed like it could win against A-rank clans. So, they concluded that Kokuryu should disband and just play the game for fun, without participating in the Clan Wars.

Hayato's declaration that "It doesn't matter if the members are first-rate or third-rate, I just wanted to play this game with you guys," a line that would later make him squirm with embarrassment, also had no small influence on their decision to disband.

And Hayato did not object to their decision.

He felt that the members of Kokuryu weren't suited for an event like the Clan Wars. None of them had the kind of personality that enjoyed competing with others. They would lose access to systems like shared items that were available when in a clan, but it would just be a little inconvenient, not a major problem. So, Ney disbanded the clan without any particular regrets.

Hayato watched this, thinking it was a bit casual to disband a clan that had lasted for over two years so easily, but he revised his thinking. They probably felt that their relationship as friends and companions wouldn't change even without the framework of a clan.

And then Ney, with a bright smile, said, "Now we can all play together again!" and led everyone away from the headquarters.

Recalling that moment, Hayato thought, "You should reflect a little more," but he still smiled a little.

Conversely, Esha sighed.

"You made the clan that kicked you out disband, took their headquarters, and you're planning to fight a top clan to steal their rank. It's a perfect result, yet I must say I'm disappointed that my master is such a wimp. If my master were evil, I was planning to change my position from a maid to an evil female executive."

"You kind of feel like that already, though?"

"I like what you did, Hayato. A man is coolest when he doesn't sweat the small stuff."

"It helps to hear you say that. Well then, now that I've explained the situation, I'd like to decide on what to do next."

"You need my sister's help, right?"

"That's right. To get the sword back, I need to force them to unequip it. I need you to check if she can use the curse effect I heard about before. If it's possible, I'd like her to join us for the next Clan War."

"Got it. I'll bring my sister here tomorrow. I don't know much about her skills myself, so it'll be faster to ask her directly."

"Please do. Separately, do either of you know anyone with a Stealing Skill of 100? Even if we get the equipment to come off, it's meaningless if we can't steal it."

At Hayato's words, the two of them fell silent. But Ash turned to Esha with a questioning look.

"You're not going to say anything?"

"Whatever could you mean?"

"Well, I thought you would know someone like that, Esha."

"No, I have no memory of such a person."

"Esha, do you know someone with a Stealing Skill of 100? If so, I'd really like you to introduce me... If you introduce me, I'll prepare that five-star wedding cake you wanted."

"You are quite skilled at negotiating. The truth is, I do have a former companion who fits that description, but they are rather troublesome, so I would prefer not to introduce them."

"Troublesome?"

"You could call them my natural enemy."

Hayato bowed his head.

"Esha, even if Ash's sister doesn't have the skill I'm hoping for, I'll find another way to force the unequip. But either way, I need someone with the highest level of Stealing Skill. Please, I'm asking you to introduce me to that person."

Esha stared at Hayato, then let out what must have been her umpteenth sigh of the day.

"Very well. Tomorrow, before Ash-sama's sister arrives, I will take you to where that person is... Let me just say that it's only because the wedding cake has clouded my judgment."

The next day, the place the maid Esha guided Hayato to was the building that housed the Royal Capital's Butler Guild.