kscans

Chapter 185 - The Hidden Menu and the Foundation

It took about three days, but with Hayato's help, Ney's group and Sonia were able to obtain a permit to enter the Grand Prison.

The two of them were already on their way to the Grand Prison, fired up about finding the blueprints right away.

Hayato found them reliable, but at the same time, he thought they should calm down a bit, and he actually told them so, but they weren't the type to listen. "Don't worry," they said with brimming confidence, bought the necessary items for exploration at the base, and left immediately.

Ney aside, Hayato thought it would be fine as long as Sonia was there, and he saw the two of them off.

After that, Hayato prepared all the items for sale at the base, handed them over to Rose, and headed to a certain place with Esha.

Their destination was the exchange post where you could trade Treasure Coins for items.

He had heard from Ney's group that there were interesting items there, but due to various things, he was late in visiting.

He finally had some free time, so he decided to go and see for himself.

However, this time was just for reconnaissance. He had obtained a few coins from the ghost ship and salvage operations, but he didn't think he could exchange them for what he wanted. In the first place, he didn't even know if there was anything he wanted, so his idea was to just look at the lineup.

"Master, what kind of items are you looking for?"

"It would be nice if there were things that increased the manufacturing methods for production items. Even if there's high-performance equipment, I probably can't use it. Oh, but equipment that has an effect when making production items would be good too."

"I want an item that makes me one chocolate parfait every day. Five stars, of course."

"If an item like that existed, I'd protest to Diite-chan."

"Is it that thing like, 'I'm the only one who makes chocolate parfaits for Esha'? Understood. I will eat parfaits made by you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Master."

"That's not happening."

Hayato truly did not think that way. It was simply that he disliked the idea of being able to easily make a five-star parfait. He had worked very hard to raise his skill level. The parfait was worthy of that effort, so he would just think, what's the point if he could make it without any effort.

However, Hayato thought for a moment. If Esha ate a parfait made by someone other than him and looked like she was enjoying it, he might feel a little down. He was careful not to let that show on his face as he walked with Esha.

What Hayato wanted most were recipes and such that would increase the number of items he could produce. The next thing he wanted was equipment that would increase the success rate or quality during production.

Hayato had items that had an effect during production, such as the "Adamantite Knife - Extreme" and the "Crystal Dragon Pendant." He basically had top-tier items for alchemy and cooking, so what he wanted was related to other production skills.

Blacksmithing, Sewing, Crafting, Woodworking, Cultivation. He didn't have much equipment that was particularly useful for these production skills. If there was equipment that could compensate for their success rates, he would want it desperately.

Hayato headed to the exchange post with these expectations.

The exchange post in the Royal Capital was a small shop.

Immediately after the event started, it was crowded with people, but recently, there were fewer people. This was because players had more or less decided what they wanted and were working hard to obtain Treasure Coins to get it.

Hayato checked with the NPC at the exchange post's reception to see what could be exchanged.

(...As expected, there's a lot of equipment. It probably has very useful effects for combat classes, but it doesn't really concern me.)

All of them were high-performance equipment, but they were all within the range of what could be made with production skills. As expected, there were no weapons with unique performance like Esha's Beelzebub or Ivan's Excalibur.

There was some equipment that improved production skills, but they only improved up to a total of 50, and they didn't exceed the upper limit, so they were meaningless to Hayato.

"There's nothing I particularly want. I can make equipment of this level if I just take the time."

"Normally, people can't make them, you know. And there was no chocolate parfait manufacturing machine. This was a wasted trip."

Perhaps she had been listening to their conversation. The eyes of the woman at the exchange post reception gleamed.

"For the two of you, we have a hidden menu."

Hayato and Esha were surprised by the sudden development, but even more surprised were the players around them who had been listening. It was the first time they had learned that there was a hidden menu of exchangeable items. Players around them started to gather, asking what was going on.

"Um, then, could you show us that hidden menu?"

The receptionist showed the menu to Hayato. It was indeed filled with items that weren't written on the front menu. The menu was also visible to the people around them, and gasps of admiration arose.

(This feels kind of good. I think this is the true charm of online games. Anyway, what's with the number of coins needed for exchange? Aren't they all over 1000? I can't exchange anything.)

The items listed there were all rare drops from defeating rare monsters. Even "Poseidon's Swimsuit" was included.

It was all equipment with looks and performance that couldn't be made with production skills, and for a combat class, it would be worth exchanging for, but it didn't really concern Hayato. However, there was one item that caught his eye. It was clearly an item for a production class.

It was a "Wine Brewing Kit."

The item description stated that with this, one could make wine with the Cooking skill.

(Wine, huh. Relic-san liked it. He seemed happy when he received the wine we found on the ghost ship. Personally, it would increase the number of things I can make, so I'd love to have it, but 1000 coins is impossible...)

Hayato didn't have many coins. It might be possible to get a large number on the floating island, but for now, he only had about ten.

He decided it was good enough to just know that such a thing existed. Thinking positively, Hayato and Esha left the exchange post, which was buzzing with excitement over the hidden menu.

"That's too bad. You wanted that Wine Brewing Kit, didn't you?"

"You could tell? I wanted it, but I don't have 1000 coins."

"Ney-sama might have them. She seems to be enjoying this game to the fullest, so she might have saved up that much."

"Even if she had them, I couldn't ask her to exchange them for me. Ney probably has things she wants too. Right, I'll tell her about the hidden menu later. Let's go home now."

Hayato said this and started walking with Esha.

"Speaking of Ney-sama..."

"What is it?"

"Ney-sama knows about me, right? That I exist in reality."

"Your names are the same. All the members of Kokuryu must have noticed. They don't say anything to me, though."

Esha, who should be an NPC in a virtual reality. That person exists in reality. The members of Kokuryu were regulars at Hayato's cafe. They had met many times and knew her name. They definitely knew.

However, they had never questioned Hayato about it. When they first met Esha, they had looked a little suspicious, but after that, they hadn't said anything in particular.

The same went for Ash and his group. When they first met at the cafe, their eyes had widened, but they hadn't pursued the matter.

"Since they're part of the bloodline of the Foundation that rules the world, maybe they don't care about such trivial things?"

"Esha. You shouldn't say that out loud. It's dangerous."

"You are right. I apologize."

Esha apologized sincerely. This was because she had been taught that this was a truly problematic act.

Hayato had told Esha about Ney being of the Foundation's bloodline. It was a warning.

The twelve Foundations bearing the names of the constellations. They held immense power. Using their names was a capital offense. If one were to say they had an acquaintance in the Foundation, they would first get a life sentence. Even the word "Foundation" was dangerous, so Hayato had taught this to Esha, Ash, and the others.

It hadn't been like that a hundred years ago, but Hayato had heard from Esha and the others that there had been glimpses of it back then.

At that time, wealthy individuals and magnates held immense power. This was because they had made significant contributions to the construction of spaceships and colonies for living outside of Earth.

The Frontier Project and the Another Frontier Project were plans on a planetary scale, not a national one, so the wealthy were not involved, but they would have had some influence nonetheless.

(Honestly, looking at Ney, I can't see her that way, but considering the hospital she arranged for me, there's no doubt. I never thought that I, who came from a Factory, would be hospitalized in a colony like Hospital.)

When he couldn't log out, Hayato asked Ney to protect his body. The hospital where he woke up after logging out was in Colony "Hospital," a place where he could receive the latest treatment. It wasn't a place that a person from the working class could normally use.

At the time, Hayato had thought Ney was a young lady born on Earth, but he hadn't thought she was of the Foundation's bloodline, and he became a little scared after the commotion in the virtual reality was over. Unknowingly, he had made a request to a member of the Foundation's bloodline. There was no telling what could have happened.

However, even after that, Ney continued to interact with Hayato in a friendly manner, and after he opened his cafe, she held offline meetups many times, so there were no problems. Even now, he could say they were close friends, regardless of their positions.

(I can't ask Ney for any more favors in reality. That would be the same as asking the Foundation. I think that's definitely a bad idea.)

As he was thinking about this, he realized they had returned to the base.

It was almost time to open the cafe, so he was about to log out when he entered the base and saw Ney and her group in the dining hall.

"Good, you're still here!"

"You seem to be in a hurry. What's wrong?"

"Hayato, you made a lot of Dullahan Armor before, right? Can you lend it to me before you log out?"

"That's fine, but why?"

"Sonia and I were investigating a suspicious place in the Grand Prison, and there was the ghost of a king who had been collecting the blueprints. He's strong. He keeps using dark attribute attacks, so we need a countermeasure."

"I see. Of course, you can. I'll get it from the storage, so wait a minute. I'll bring some equipment that increases dark attack resistance for everyone else, so please use it."

"That's a great help! I'll get the blueprints today, so look forward to it!"

"Yeah, I'm counting on you."

Ney smiled and then headed towards the shop area with everyone. Hayato thought they were probably preparing medicines and other things.

Esha, who had been watching the whole exchange, tilted her head.

"Ney-sama doesn't seem to have immense power, does she?"

"I think so too, but well, there are people like that. Probably."

(When she's like this, she's just a normal girl playing a game... Oops, I have to hurry. I have work at the cafe after this. I don't have time to be playing around.)

Thinking this, Hayato hurried to the storage.