kscans

Chapter 201 - An Absolute Order

The airship carrying Jolt from the Bandit clan landed in front of Hayato and the others.

Hayato couldn't help but feel disappointed, thinking, They're here already. He had thought he would be able to have this floating island to himself for a while.

The Bandit clan was a top-tier raiding clan in the virtual reality. Considering the number of people an airship could carry, their numbers probably wouldn't be much different from Hayato's group, but they would likely start raiding with overwhelming force from now on.

That said, he couldn't get in their way. He wanted to somehow clear the two buildings today and be the first to reach the building in the center of the lake.

As Hayato was thinking this, Jolt, the leader of the Bandit clan, descended from the airship's ramp.

But something was strange.

Jolt usually maintained a faint smile and a relaxed attitude in front of Hayato. He would occasionally get a serious look on his face when Hayato told him information he didn't know, but now, he was serious from the start.

Jolt stood before Hayato and Esha. Then he sighed slightly.

"Hey, Hayato. I knew you'd be here."

"You got here surprisingly fast. I thought it would take a little longer."

"A lot has happened. Personally, I would have liked to come after preparing a bit more thoroughly..."

It was unusual, but Jolt furrowed his brow and seemed to have difficulty saying something. Combined with his earlier sigh, Hayato wondered if there was some kind of problem.

Jolt let out another deep sigh and looked at Hayato.

"First, I'll apologize in advance. I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this, but we had our own circumstances and couldn't refuse."

"What are you talking about?"

"There's someone who wants to meet you, Hayato. I brought that person with me."

"Wants to meet me?"

Hayato thought.

Most of Hayato's acquaintances were already on this island. A few were on the mainland, but voice chat was available, so there was no need to come all the way here, and he couldn't imagine Jolt being in a position where he couldn't refuse.

"We just brought that person here this time, so we're not planning on raiding the island. We came all this way, so we'll do a little investigating, though. Honestly, can't they just wait until you guys get back?"

Jolt's tone suggested he was quite reluctant. But perhaps sensing someone approaching, Jolt lowered his voice and spoke to Hayato.

"Keep what I just said to yourself, okay? I'll give you some information later as an apology."

Jolt said this and stepped aside.

The person who had been hidden behind Jolt came into view. The person approached with a smile.

Starting equipment, or rather, no equipment? And I've never seen him before. Who is he?

In this game, if you didn't equip armor or robes, you wouldn't be in your underwear, but in normal clothes. The approaching man had come in normal clothes. It was a state you could say was right after logging into the game for the first time.

He had brown hair in a youthful side part, and he was in his early thirties. Hayato's impression was that of an intellectual-looking man. Although he was smiling, it had a somewhat artificial impression, and his gaze could be described as cold.

"Well, well, are you Hayato-san?"

"Yes, I am."

Jolt replied to the man's extremely cheerful voice with a serious one. Hayato sensed a strange power dynamic.

The man bowed to Hayato.

"Hello, hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hayato-san. I've been wanting to meet you."

"Uh, yes. It's a pleasure to meet you. Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?"

At the very least, the man was a player, not an NPC. He had considered that he might be one of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords since he had come to meet him, but that seemed unlikely.

The man spread his hands wide in an exaggerated gesture and shook his head.

"Oh, my apologies. I tend to be a bit hasty. I should have introduced myself first. My name is Dean. I look forward to getting to know you."

The man who called himself Dean smiled and bowed again.

"Dean-san, I see. As you seem to know, I'm Hayato. The one next to me is—"

"No, no, there's no need to introduce the NPC. My business is only with you, Hayato-san. By the way, is there anywhere we can relax? I don't think it's appropriate to talk while standing."

There was a hint of a command in his words, as if telling him to do so without question. He was being polite, but there was no respect for the other person. It felt like he thought it was only natural.

Hayato found him to be a very difficult type of person to deal with. He had done sales with people like that before he quit his job. It was the type of person who knew they were in a higher position and enjoyed watching the other person's reaction while acting subservient.

If he were to act tough with this person here, he would be countered with polite words. He didn't know what kind of position he held, but Hayato wanted to avoid that.

If you were to ask how much a real-world title was worth in a virtual reality, the answer would probably be not at all. But if this person could give orders to one of the top clans in this game, that wasn't necessarily the case.

Hayato guessed that Dean was born on Earth and worked for someone like Central.

"Um, in that case, this way. The place we're using as our base has a meeting room, so how about there?"

"I would appreciate that. Ah, Jolt-san, you can stop here. You're going to explore the island, aren't you? Please feel free. Oh, and please don't leave just yet. I'd like to ask for a ride back as well."

"Understood. Please let me know when you are ready to depart."

From a position where Dean couldn't see, Jolt made a gesture to Hayato that said, Sorry, then returned to the airship.

Hayato, wondering what would happen, led Dean to the meeting room where they held their leader meetings.

Dean didn't say much to Hayato on the way, but he looked at the various buildings of the base and said things like, "Ho-ho," and, "I see, I see."

When he brought Dean to the meeting room, he prompted him to sit in a chair and served him coffee. Then Hayato sat across the table from him. Esha didn't sit but stood behind Hayato to his left.

"Oh, this is a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to be able to drink coffee in a virtual reality."

"I'm glad you're pleased. By the way, you said you came to see me—"

"Could you wait a moment? I'd like to enjoy my coffee."

Dean drank the coffee Hayato had served. Then his expression turned to one of surprise.

"This is wonderful. The taste, the aroma, the texture, and the way the surface of the coffee ripples, I can feel the warmth from the cup, and there's even steam coming off it. Even though it's a virtual reality, it's no different from the real thing."

"That's right."

Since he didn't know what his purpose was, he wouldn't say anything unnecessary and would just go along with him.

"But don't you think it's a bit much to monopolize this level of technology?"

"What do you mean?"

"No, no, this is the technology to realize such a virtual reality. Don't you think it's a waste to use it only for a game?"

"Well, perhaps so."

The technology of virtual reality could be applied to anything. It wasn't a technology that was only used for games in the first place.

At this point, Hayato had a general idea of the situation. Ban, who had been Relic and Sonia's disciple, had said something similar.

The Dean in front of him was a so-called man of the organization. He must have come directly into the virtual reality.

"So you think so too, Hayato-san. Then this should be over quickly. Actually, I've been looking into you quite a bit, Hayato-san. It seems you're quite famous in this world."

"I wouldn't know."

"You're too modest. I heard you achieved excellent results in an in-game event and even won a large sum of prize money. I'd love some of that luck myself."

"Yes, I was lucky enough to win."

"Now, now, was that really luck?"

Dean's face was smiling. But his eyes were not, and if anything, they had a threatening quality, as if to say, I know everything. It was like a police officer interrogating a criminal with all the evidence laid out. It would be difficult to lie in front of those eyes.

"You can think of it as skill if you like. Though it's less my skill and more the skill of the NPCs."

These were Hayato's true feelings. There was no lie there. It was luck that he had been able to recruit such talented companions to his clan, but he truly believed that it was thanks to everyone that they had been able to win the Clan War.

Dean stared at Hayato, but then he averted his gaze and drank his coffee again. Then he exhaled.

"You're not letting anything slip, are you? Then I have no choice. I'll have to dig a little deeper. I can't go back empty-handed either."

"I haven't been able to grasp the point of this conversation. You said you wanted to see me, but could you please tell me what your business is?"

"That does seem faster. Then, I have an order for you, Hayato-san, from the Foundation 'Scorpion.' Provide us with the technology of this virtual reality, and the person of the woman known as Sonia. You understand what I mean without me having to explain it, don't you?"

Hayato's body stiffened and he couldn't move. An order with the name of a Foundation. For Hayato, who came from the Factory, it was the same as an absolute order.