kscans

Chapter 202 - The Best Maid

Dean slowly sipped his coffee in front of Hayato.

His posture seemed to mock Hayato's frozen state.

For most people, receiving an order from a Foundation was a rare occurrence. Even mentioning the name of a Foundation was rare. Since they were named after constellations, the names might be used in normal conversation, but the moment the word "Foundation" was added, it became something no one could ignore.

Hayato was from the working class, born in a Colony called the Factory.

The Factory was a Colony primarily made up of computer-related production plants, and it was managed by the Capricorn Foundation. Even so, Hayato had never received an order from them. The Foundations only gave orders to people of a much higher class.

And now, Hayato was being ordered by a Foundation with which he had no connection whatsoever. It was a nearly impossible situation.

He had no way of knowing if the man before him, Dean, was truly connected to the Scorpion Foundation. But since he had invoked the name, it felt real.

Proving a statement made in virtual reality would be difficult, but with game logs, voice recordings, and no way of knowing what other records existed, the risk of it being a lie was far too high. It was not something one could say as a lie or a joke.

Hayato found it difficult to breathe. The act of breathing itself was meaningless in virtual reality, but this was a sign that his real body was experiencing respiratory distress.

He kept telling himself to calm down, but it wasn't working. He tried to do something, anything, but the situation was so far beyond his expectations that his body wouldn't move properly.

A hand was placed on his back. Hayato couldn't see it directly, but he felt a warm palm rubbing his back in slow circles.

It was Esha, Hayato thought.

Just thinking that allowed him to finally exhale slowly. His thoughts, too, began to recover from their state of chaos.

Once his breathing steadied, Hayato looked at Esha and said, "Thank you." Esha didn't reply, just offered a small smile.

Hayato took a deep breath, then looked at Dean.

"You surprised me. That was a mean trick, Dean-san. When you drop a name like that, a working-class guy like me can't even breathe."

"...My, my, you recovered quite quickly for someone in that state, didn't you? Normally, that would lead to respiratory failure and a trip to the hospital."

"I'm sure it would. I'm glad this is virtual reality. If this were real life, I'd be in a much worse state."

Hayato was the one who had asked about Dean's business, but he wanted to complain that if it was something that required dropping a Foundation's name, he should have been warned beforehand. However, with the bit of composure Esha had helped him regain, Hayato started to think.

Most likely, the organization that was hacking the system and manipulating Ban was the Scorpion Foundation. Though he had no proof, he remembered that Scorpion was the one that managed the Colony "Prison".

Ban had said he was sent from Prison. At that time, the Scorpion Foundation probably didn't exist, but its predecessor organization did.

The Interstellar Spaceship Aphrodite had escaped from Earth and then returned. That must have been an irregular event, something not in the plan. Hayato surmised that the plot to steal technology using Ban had been frozen a hundred years ago.

From what Hayato had heard from Esha, the contract stipulated that if a test player withdrew or had any issues, their memory would be erased. It was reasonable to assume that a device had been implanted in Ban's body as a countermeasure.

Then, for some reason, Scorpion found out that the Aphrodite had returned and that Ban was on it. They were once again trying to use Ban to steal the technology.

Ban was currently isolated in a separate space. Diite had made it possible to exchange information to probe their opponent, so he could probably still be contacted. But the results were not favorable. Perhaps that was why someone close to Scorpion had come in person.

He didn't know the full story, but that was Hayato's conclusion.

That aside, the problem was what to do now.

Hayato decided that saying nothing was a bad idea, so he played dumb.

"By the way, about what you mentioned earlier, why me? I can't provide you with any technology."

"Is that how you want to play this? But I believe I told you that the meaning needs no explanation. I know what kind of position you're in. I don't dislike conversation, but I'd rather not explain things that are already obvious."

(What a clever way to put it. I'm sure it's to keep me from figuring out what he knows and what he doesn't, but after he dropped the Foundation's name, it's impossible to feign ignorance. Still, I have to try.)

"Let me be clear, I have nothing to do with the company that runs Aphrodite, you know? I can't even write a single line of code."

He didn't know how much the other party knew about him. So Hayato explained that he was not an employee of Aphrodite, the company managing the game. He did this to gauge just how much his opponent knew.

Since he didn't know how much information had been passed on from Ban, his only option was to play dumb for as long as possible.

There was a chance Ban hadn't handed over all his information. Rare information increases the value of the person who knows it. Ban must have hidden crucial information to increase his own worth. Hayato bet on that.

"I don't think you're an employee there. Besides, I've looked into your background, Hayato-san, and I know you're not involved. In any case, an employee of that company wouldn't be running a coffee shop."

"...You investigated me in the real world?"

"Please don't take offense. This is also part of my job. Still, running a coffee shop in a Colony, you're quite the gambler."

"I happen to be good with wagers."

"How I envy you. Oh, that's right, I went to that coffee shop of yours once, you know? You weren't there at the time, so it was a wasted trip."

Hayato opened his shop every day. There was only one day he had been absent.

It was the day he returned from the salvage operation, the day Rose was abducted by Ban and he went to rescue her. Hayato guessed that Ban was supposed to capture him in virtual reality, while Dean's role was to capture his real body.

But since Ban never contacted him about capturing Hayato, Dean must have gone home without doing anything. That was Hayato's deduction.

"Now then, Hayato-san. That coffee shop of yours, Crown Cafe, if I recall correctly. It hasn't even been open for a year yet, has it?"

"That's right, I think it's been about half a year or so."

"This is the most crucial time for your business, wouldn't you say? You'd like to continue running it, wouldn't you?"

"...What do you mean by that?"

"To ask that is rather tactless, don't you think? I'd rather not say it, but do you really think you can go about your business as usual after ignoring an order from the Foundation? However, if you do as you're told, you can continue running your coffee shop, and you could even gain a powerful backer. Perhaps we could even discuss relocating your shop to Earth or changing your class status, you know? Or are you the type who believes life requires hardship and adversity?"

I'm in a situation of hardship and adversity right now, is what Hayato wanted to say.

Hayato, prefacing his thoughts with the qualifier that it might be his own vanity, believed that Diite would provide the virtual reality technology if he asked. He was confident that he had built that much of a relationship of trust with her.

However, asking for it for his own peace of mind felt like an act of betraying Diite's trust.

Diite seemed to cherish the technology of this virtual reality. And she also seemed to hold a grudge for almost being discarded along with it. To ask her to hand it over for his own future was an act that could shatter the relationship he had built with Diite so far.

"You seem to be thinking quite hard. That alone proves that you have the ability to provide the technology, Hayato-san."

(Damn it... Am I an idiot? I should have just said I couldn't do it. He's been controlling the pace of this whole conversation.)

"I don't know what you're struggling with, but I wish you wouldn't think so hard about it. I don't think you're an employee of Aphrodite or one of its developers. I simply know that you're in a position to negotiate with the person who can provide this technology. All you have to do is persuade that person."

Hayato said nothing, just listened to Dean's words.

"As I said before, the technology here is magnificent. And it can be applied to all sorts of things. To use it only for a game is such a waste, don't you think? We want to use this as a basis for applications in various fields."

Dean said this with exaggerated gestures. To Hayato's eyes, he looked extremely suspicious. It didn't feel like he wanted to "apply" it at all, more like he wanted to use it to make money.

"And the problem is that this technology is monopolized by a company that doesn't belong to any Foundation. If it belonged to one, there would be no issue. But that's not the case. If many of the Foundations were to get serious, they could annihilate the company called Aphrodite, not just socially, but physically. If that happens, the game will end as well. I'm sure you wouldn't want that either, Hayato-san, would you?"

That was certainly true. There were many companies that didn't belong to a Foundation, but the larger a company was, the more likely it was to be under a Foundation's protection. And companies that refused that protection had been socially crushed in the past.

Since this virtual reality was realized on the computers of the spaceship Aphrodite, it probably couldn't be annihilated physically or socially, but they could take measures like stopping the distribution of the headgear used for logging in.

The Foundations were capable of making it so no one could play the game.

Hayato considered various things and put them together. Then he sighed.

His future and his trust with Diite. It was like weighing them on a scale, but the answer had been decided from the start. He had hoped for a way to save both, but that was a naive thought. The sigh was to blow away such thoughts.

"Now, what is the meaning of that sigh, I wonder. Have you realized that you can no longer escape?"

"Well, yes. I sighed because I thought it was pointless to resist any further, since you seem to know so much."

"I see. So, what will you do? I would very much like to hear the answer from your own lips, Hayato-san."

Dean smiled at Hayato. It was a confident smile that said the answer was already decided.

Hayato took a deep breath.

He hadn't lived a prudent life that would lead him to despair here. He had taken a gamble, quitting his job to aim for the game's prize money. If he could gain everything through a stroke of unexpected luck, he could also lose everything through a stroke of unexpected misfortune.

It wasn't that he had been prepared for this, it was just that today was the day he had to make that resolution. If so, he might as well smile and believe that the action he had chosen was not wrong. That was more stylish.

With that feeling in mind, Hayato turned a smile to Dean.

"I refuse. Unfortunately, I cannot provide the technology. Please tell the Foundation as much."

For the first time, Dean's face changed from a smile to one of shock. But he quickly composed himself. He returned to his previous smile and stared at Hayato.

"You surprise me. I never thought I'd see someone defy an order from the Foundation. You do understand what will happen if you do that, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose. My working-class status will be revoked, and I'll be sent to the farthest Colony, ‘Dead End,’ I presume. Maybe I'll open a coffee shop there this time."

Colony ‘Dead End.’ The farthest Colony from Earth. This was the final destination for those who were no longer treated as human. A literal dead end. No one who went there ever returned.

"You understand that much and still give that answer? It seems you've already given up on life. But you know, Hayato-san. Do you really think such a thing will be permitted?"

"Even if it's not permitted, I'm the one saying I won't do it, right? I don't want to go to Dead End, but I have no choice."

"Indeed. But what about your friends, Hayato-san? I doubt they'd be happy to go to Dead End with you, would they?"

"...You're going to drag my friends into this, not just me?"

"Yes, that's right. Everyone who seems to have a connection to you, both in-game and in reality, will be sent to Dead End. The Foundation has the power to do that. Still, it's a mystery. I don't understand why you would refuse to provide the technology, or rather, refuse to persuade the person who can."

The answer was simple. It was because he knew how Diite felt about the technology here. And because he couldn't trust the person in front of him.

Still, if it was a choice between his future and his bond with Diite, he would undoubtedly choose Diite, but if it included his friends' futures, that was a different story.

As Hayato began to worry anew, Esha took a step forward.

"I will answer in place of my kind master. Listen well."

"Huh?"

Hayato and Dean both let out a surprised voice at the same time.

"We have no technology to give to the likes of you. Come back the day before yesterday."

Esha said this as she raised her Beelzebub and aimed its muzzle at Dean.

"Wha?"

The moment Dean's face contorted, Esha pulled the trigger. And with a single, simple normal attack, she took Dean down.

Esha spoke to the fallen Dean on the floor.

"You can still hear me even though you're down, right? With this, negotiations are terminated. Press the resurrect button and revive somewhere. Oh, and we're about to destroy the Bandit's airship, so you won't be able to come here for a while, which means no renegotiating. Apologies."

After saying this, Esha kicked open the conference room door and went outside.

Hayato glanced at Dean for a moment, then immediately chased after Esha.

"W, wait a minute, Esha! What in the world are you doing!"

Esha was drinking a bottle of melon juice as she headed for the exit. Without stopping, she took the bottle from her lips and looked at Hayato.

"It's a waste of time to deal with that type seriously. They'll do anything until Master says yes. It may look like they're negotiating, but they're just enjoying watching Master break."

"Yeah, but still, to drag everyone into this..."

"Any move to crush that coffee shop is an act of picking a fight with me. I'm a little ticked off, so no matter who gets dragged into it, I will fight back with everything I have. Besides, we just have to meet force with force, and power with power."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you have a friend who is strong against power, Master? I know you can't think straight after being ordered by the Foundation, but you shouldn't forget something like that."

"What are you... oh."

Hayato remembered. The Foundation could certainly send his friends to Dead End. But there was one person they absolutely could not.

Ney, a blood relative of a Foundation.

Even though he was in shock from the Foundation's order, Hayato had forgotten even that.

Hayato thought it wasn't right to ask Ney for help. It could damage their relationship. But he couldn't think of any other good options. He was reluctant to borrow the power of Ney's Foundation, but he resolved to at least talk to her.

Even if it was virtual reality, he had defeated an envoy from the Foundation. There was no going back now. He didn't care about himself, but he wanted to at least ask for protection for the Kokuryu members, Ash and his group, and Esha.

With these thoughts, Hayato left the building with Esha.

Jolth was standing near the airship and approached them when he saw them.

"Are you done talking? Are you perhaps heading back... huh? Where's that guy?"

"He was rather irritating, so I defeated him."

"...Huh? No, that's not a funny joke... Um, what is the maid-san doing?"

"Even if you get a voice chat from that man named Dean, just tell him the airship is broken so you can't return to the ground."

"But it's not broken?"

"It's about to be. Destroy."

Esha's Beelzebub fired a Destroy skill. It struck the Bandit's airship directly. A large hole was blown into the airship, and it looked completely unable to fly.

Jolth, who had been standing there dumbfounded, came to his senses and confronted Esha.

"What are you doing!?"

"This is so the Bandits don't get blamed. I'll take the blame, so please don't cooperate with that Dean fellow for a while. In the first place, getting off with just one airship as your responsibility for bringing someone like that here is a bargain. Or would you prefer a massacre here instead?"

With that, Esha took a bottle of melon juice from her item bag and began to drink. When she finished, she gave an order to Hayato.

"Master, please call everyone back immediately. Let's explain the situation to Ney-sama and ask for her cooperation. Also, please contact Diite-sama. My melon juice is gone, so I'm going to the storage to get more."

"Uh, ah, yes."

When Hayato replied, Esha shouldered her Beelzebub and headed for the building they were using as their base.

Hayato and Jolth were left behind.

"I don't really get it, but why is an NPC maid so angry? And shooting someone who came from a Foundation... is she bugged or something?"

To Jolth, who didn't know the situation, Esha was just an NPC. He seemed to think she had defeated Dean because of a bug.

Hayato laughed. It was his biggest smile of the day.

"No way. Far from being bugged, isn't she the best maid there is? A hundred thousand G a month and a daily chocolate parfait is almost too cheap."

"...Well, if you're fine with it, I guess. Now then, what should I do... oh, a chat's coming in. Ah, yes. Actually, a maid destroyed our airship, so we can't return to the ground. We won't be able to come pick you up for a while, I'm sorry."

There was no doubt that the person Jolth was apologizing to over voice chat was Dean.

With this, Dean wouldn't be able to come here for a while. Hayato could explain the situation to Ney and Diite without any unnecessary interference. He decided to make effective use of his limited time and immediately sent a voice chat to Ney and the others.