kscans

Chapter 192 - The One He Thinks Of

After breakfast with Demon Lord Lunaria and her retinue, Rose and Esha came to the dining hall.

He had told them the day before that Lunaria and her group would be staying, and they had exchanged some brief greetings, but they both seemed surprised by the situation in the dining hall.

Given the scene, one wouldn't be wrong to say it was a room in the Demon Lord's Castle.

Last night, Lunaria had said something about making this place her villa or second base, but Hayato had laughed it off. Though his eyes hadn't been laughing at all.

Esha sighed, then turned her gaze to Hayato.

"Is this the venue for a Sabbath?"

"I had the same thought."

"I know the circumstances are what they are, but what do you intend to do with this base, Master?"

"What do I intend to do?"

At the very least, he had no intention of letting it become Lunaria's villa, second base, or new Demon Lord's Castle. He was determined to prevent that.

"It's nothing but girls."

At those words, Hayato thought about the members living in this base.

There was Hayato himself, of course, and then Esha, Ash, Ren, Noat, and Rose were the original residents. Now, Lunaria and the ten members of Black Rose had been added. When he thought about it, the only males living here were Hayato and Ash.

Moreover, Ash was busy and couldn't log in. In effect, it was safe to say Hayato was the only man here.

"No, it's beyond my control. I swear I had no ulterior motives…"

"I understand, but you'll get a bad reputation from the neighbors. To put it mildly, they'll call you a scumbag."

"That's what someone who doesn't know the situation would think, but isn't that a bit unreasonable? Did I do something in a past life?"

"Rather, perhaps you haven't done anything in this life?"

Hayato wanted to do something about it, but for now, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't just kick them out, and their combat power for the floating island was important.

Just as he was thinking he might have to invite some men to the base to avoid strange rumors, Relic arrived.

"Good morning… How should I put this, it's quite a spectacle."

He must have chosen his words carefully. Relic was smiling gently.

From Relic's perspective, they were probably like grandchildren. He wasn't intimidated at all. Hayato had a flash of inspiration at his calm demeanor.

"Good morning, Relic-san. If you'd like, why don't you live and work here too? No, I'd really like you to."

"Oh no, I'm sure having an old man like me around would make everyone feel like they have to be considerate."

"Please, somehow. Think of it as helping someone in need."

"Well, this is a predicament."

As they were having this conversation, Rose raised her right hand slightly and said, "Um."

"I apologize for interrupting. Hayato-sama, could you come here for a moment? I forgot I had something to tell you."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Not here. Could you please come to the shop area?"

Rose led Hayato to the shop area. After confirming no one was around, she looked straight at Hayato.

"Actually, I have received a secret order."

"After being a maid and an assassin, now you're a spy?"

"A spy… well, it is something similar. The truth is, the Maid Chief has ordered me to subtly eliminate any women who get close to Relic-sama."

"What is that woman thinking. No, I know what she's thinking, but…"

"I do not wish to engage in such acts myself. And I do not wish to engage in such intelligence activities. If Relic-sama were to live at this base, I believe the possibility of that happening would increase, and the Maid Chief's attention might turn to me, as I am living here. I would like to avoid that."

"…Relic-san didn't seem too keen on the idea either, so it's fine. By the way, are there any women who seem to be targets?"

"In terms of possibility, Sonia-sama is the most likely, but from what I have seen, I do not believe there is a problem."

"I think so too."

The relationship between Relic and Sonia was best described as partners. Sonia was the one who prioritized her emotions, and Relic was the calm one who admonished her. The possibility of them being lovers was low. It seemed unlikely their relationship would develop any further.

It was possible something had happened in the past, but from what he had seen, Hayato's guess was that their relationship had always been that way and nothing had ever happened.

"However, from the information I have heard, there is one other person who seems dangerous."

"Huh? Who?"

He didn't intend to pry, but Hayato was at an age where he was somewhat interested in such stories. It was Relic's private life, but he also wanted to be aware if there was a woman with whom things might progress.

"Actually, I do not even know her name. However, I overheard Sonia-sama and Relic-sama talking about such things at the base. It seems Relic-sama had someone he thought of in the past. Sonia-sama was teasing him about it."

"Ah, so that's it. Well, Relic-san is quite old, so things like that happen. I don't think you need to worry about it."

(If it was in the past, then that must be what it means.)

The reason Hayato said not to worry was because he thought it was a story from the real world.

NPCs like Relic had spent nearly seven years in the virtual reality. Three years as test players until their memories were erased, and then about three and a half years since the game "Another Frontier Online" started.

There were periods when they were in complete cryosleep, and they were always in special pods, so there were discrepancies in their physical age in the real world. But more importantly, nearly a hundred years had passed in the real world.

Ban, the leader of the Bandit Clan, had been shocked when he learned this. Hayato couldn't even imagine how great that shock must have been.

(There's a chance he won't be as shocked as Esha and the others, but what will Relic-san think when he finds out? Since he chose to live in the virtual reality, he must have been prepared to never see that person again… no, before that, Relic-san was a criminal. He might not have been able to meet them in the first place.)

"Um, Hayato-sama, are you listening?"

"Huh, ah, sorry. Of course, I'm listening. I was just thinking a bit."

"By the way, do you happen to know who this person Relic-sama thinks of is?"

"No, I don't. This is the first I've heard of it myself."

"Is that so? I was hoping you could tell me if you knew anything."

"I'm not a spy for the Maid Guild, so I wouldn't tell you even if I knew. Could you tell the Maid Chief not to meddle too much? It's an abuse of her authority."

"You are right. I also believe it is not a good thing to do, so I have not reported this to the Maid Chief. However, I would like to advise you to be careful, as having Relic-sama live here could invite unnecessary problems."

"There's a possibility the Maid Chief might come storming in, so it does seem like it would invite unnecessary trouble… Yeah, having Relic-san live here is too risky. Let's not do it. Thank you, that helps."

"I am glad to have been of service."

Rose said this with a smile and then began to prepare the shop.

Hayato also decided to start his work and opened the door to the dining hall. He was surprised by the sight.

For some reason, Relic was acting like a butler, entertaining the members of Black Rose and Lunaria. Relic was a butler, so it wasn't wrong, but it was a sight Hayato had rarely seen, so he was surprised.

It had become like an after-meal tea time, and Relic, pouring tea into cups, looked quite the part.

"Cinnamon Tea. Please, my ladies."

When Relic said this with a smile, the members of Black Rose happily brought their cups to their lips.

"What is this?"

Hayato asked Esha, who was standing nearby looking exasperated.

"One of the Black Rose members saw Relic in his butler attire and asked him to act like a butler. When Relic obliged, everyone else asked him to do the same, and now it's like this."

"The Black Rose people seem happy. Is he popular?"

"Perhaps they are happy to feel like ladies? I do not understand it at all. Though I might understand if Master were to wear a butler's uniform and do the same. Please craft a butler's uniform with your Sewing Skill. Let's try it for about a year."

"Absolutely not."

After that, the Pretend Lady Game continued for about thirty minutes, and it seemed that Lunaria and all the members of Black Rose were satisfied.