kscans

Chapter 203 - Negotiation and Betrayal

The members who were scheduled to tackle two buildings on the floating island at once returned at Hayato's request.

Although Hayato didn't give a clear reason, they all teleported to the base without much fuss, assuming some kind of problem had arisen.

Though it was a different problem than they expected, seeing the Bandit's broken airship, they were satisfied that something had indeed happened.

And so, the NPCs took a break from exploring and went off to gather materials in a forest without dinosaurs, or to visit the lake. Only the members of Kokuryu and Esha remained at the campsite base.

This problem was influenced by the real world. There was no point in telling the NPCs who had no connection to the situation, so Hayato had prompted them to leave.

It was decided to talk to Ney alone first. For one thing, Hayato didn't know if the other Kokuryu members knew that Ney was from a Foundation.

Hayato, Esha, and Ney came to the conference room where Dean had been just a short while ago. They sat down in their chairs.

Ney was a little bewildered, as the situation had not yet been explained to her.

"Hayato, you said you had something to talk to me about. What is it? The Bandit's airship seems to be broken, is it about that?"

"No, it's not about that. Can you wait a little longer? I've called someone, please wait until they arrive."

"I don't know what's going on, but fine. That aside, this island is interesting. The dinosaurs, this base, and the buildings we were planning to explore are all different from the places we've been before, so I'm enjoying it."

Ney spoke happily about her adventures here.

A pain shot through Hayato's heart. What he was about to ask was related to this virtual reality, but it was mainly about the real world. What's more, he was counting on the power of the Foundation.

The last time he asked Ney for a favor, he didn't know she was from a Foundation. He had asked her as a friend in the game to protect his real body. But this time, he was asking her knowing that she was from a Foundation.

How would Ney feel about that?

But he had to say it. Only a Foundation could resist a Foundation. He didn't care about himself, but he couldn't let his other friends get dragged into this. He thought that as long as his friends were safe, he didn't care what happened to him.

"Sorry. I'm late."

Diite entered the room.

Ney tilted her head when she saw her.

"Diite? I thought you hadn't come to this island. Did you perhaps come on the Bandit's airship?"

"No, that's not it. I'll explain that and a few other things. Before that, Hayato-kun. I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this again. I..."

"No, it's fine. More importantly, we don't have time. Let's get on with it."

Esha had defeated Dean in virtual reality. He probably couldn't come to the island, but he could go to the real-life coffee shop. With the authority of the Foundation, he could probably take Hayato into custody if he was reckless. They had to settle this before that happened. They couldn't waste a single second.

Diite nodded and sat down in a chair.

Then Hayato looked at Ney with a serious expression.

"Ney. Please don't take this the wrong way."

"Hm? You look awfully serious. What is it you want to tell me?"

"I want to borrow the power of your Foundation, Ney. I know I have no right to ask something like this, but I really have to..."

Hayato's words trailed off.

It was because Ney's atmosphere was completely different from usual. Her usual expressive face was now as emotionless as a Noh mask.

Hayato felt a pressure from Ney that he could never have imagined from her usual self. It was as if she were a different person from the one he had interacted with until now.

That Ney slowly opened her mouth.

"Hayato. You understand the meaning of the word ‘Foundation’ when you say that, right? I'll listen to you out of friendship. But from here on, this is no longer a matter of lies or jokes. And if this is a request based on the naive thought that I'll help you just because we're friends, you'd better keep your mouth shut."

He felt a breathlessness that was incomparable to what he felt with Dean earlier. Though he could never have imagined it from her usual self, Hayato thought this was the real Ney.

The Ney who got along with everyone, who didn't know how to doubt people, who would do anything for her friends. But he couldn't feel any of that from the current Ney.

After taking a deep breath, he looked at Ney again.

"I know. I shouldn't be asking for something like this. But I have no choice but to ask you, Ney, who holds the power of a Foundation."

Ney also looked at Hayato. Her eyes seemed to see through everything, but after a moment, she nodded.

"Fine. I will listen."

Hayato felt a small sense of relief. At least he hadn't been turned away at the door. But he couldn't let his guard down yet. Negotiating with a Foundation. It was almost impossible. But Hayato had no other choice.

Hayato told Ney the story of what had happened so far.

Ney listened to Hayato's words in silence. She didn't interrupt, and seemed to be chewing over each of Hayato's words.

For Hayato, if she thought this was an absurd lie, it would be the end of everything. He carefully explained so that wouldn't happen.

And after a considerable amount of time, he finished telling her the whole story.

"Ney. It might have sounded like a lie, but this is really..."

Ney lightly raised her right hand, gesturing for Hayato to stop talking.

"Somehow... and I mean really somehow, I had a feeling. For one thing, Esha, Ash, and the others were at your coffee shop. I remember my mind going blank when I first met Esha at the shop. At first, I thought she was an NPC modeled after the real Esha, and I even thought you were a bit strange for hiring someone who looked so much like her."

"If you didn't know the situation, I guess I might seem like a pretty weird guy..."

To have someone who looks exactly like a virtual reality character by your side in the real world would understandably make people wonder just how much you liked them. Hayato didn't want to know the details of what Ney thought of him.

"There were a lot of things that made sense. This virtual reality often comes up in the Council, and the topic of NPCs, or rather, AI, is frequently discussed."

"The topic of AI?"

"Yes. The virtual reality technology is one thing, but how much technology is needed to create such advanced AI, and for thousands of them at that. But they're actually human, right? If so, that makes sense. But..."

Ney looked at Diite.

It wasn't a stare, but her gaze was like that of an observer, examining Diite from head to toe as she sat in her chair.

"Is Diite the only one who is a real AI? We haven't spent that much time together, but she's no different from a normal human. In fact, that's the one thing I can't believe."

"I appreciate the compliment, but I really am an AI. I've been studying humans for nearly a hundred years, so I probably seem more human-like."

"Even so, I can't hide my surprise. However, I don't think you would lie about just that one point, so I'll believe your words, Hayato."

"Thank you, Ney."

"Hayato, it's too early for thanks. I've only believed your story. I'll also believe that the Scorpion Foundation is after the technology here. That Foundation is capable of anything. But I haven't said I would protect you."

Hayato was shocked by those words.

He had thought that if Ney believed his story, she would protect him from the other Foundations without him having to say anything. That was why he had, with Diite's permission, told her about Diite and the secrets of the NPCs.

"Everyone, please don't look so sad. I have my own circumstances."

When Ney said that, Hayato noticed. Esha and Diite in the room also had disappointed looks on their faces.

"I'm not saying I definitely won't protect you. It just means there are conditions."

"Conditions?"

"Yes. I am a blood relative of the Libra Foundation. The time will come when I will be at the top of the Foundation, but that's not now. My father and mother are both still alive and well."

The Libra Foundation. The Foundation that represents the constellation Libra. It is famous for valuing fairness and harmony. The police agencies and courts on Earth and in the Colonies are managed by this Libra Foundation.

Ney hadn't said she would protect them, but one of Hayato's worries was resolved. He hadn't known which Foundation Ney belonged to. In the worst case, she could have been a blood relative of Scorpion.

However, he had also thought that if that were the case, she wouldn't have done things in such a roundabout way. Ney could have just talked to him directly.

More importantly, he had to hear those conditions, so Hayato listened to Ney's words.

"I can't just decide the Foundation's policy on my own. Personally, I want to protect this virtual reality and all of you, but doing so would mean confronting Scorpion. I can't do that unless I have something to convince my relatives."

"Something to convince them...?"

"To put it simply, profit. You, Hayato, and everyone in Kokuryu are my friends. But to Libra, you are not friends. To move Libra, we need a good reason. The quickest way would be money."

"Money, huh."

"That's right. If I ask them to antagonize Scorpion even though there's no benefit for Libra, they won't move, even if I'm the one asking. The Foundation doesn't have a very good impression of Scorpion, but they don't want to start a fight for no reason either."

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

To move a Foundation, there had to be something to convince the Foundation. It was impossible to ask them to protect you from another Foundation just because you knew a blood relative.

"Ney-kun, how much money would be needed? In yen, I can pay about five billion a month."

Hayato almost choked.

Certainly, considering the player base and monetization of "Another Frontier Online," they could probably pay that much every month.

In the first place, the game was developed and operated by the AI Diite and the program Infinity alone, so there were no personnel costs. The only necessary expenses were for the production of headgear and the maintenance of the spaceship. It was unclear how the maintenance was done, but there would probably be no problem in providing eighty to ninety percent of the profits.

But Ney shook her head.

"Do you intend to pay that money for all eternity? What will you do if you can't pay anymore? Is it okay to abandon them then?"

"When that time comes, it comes. If you say you can't protect them, I'll take Hayato-kun and the others onto the spaceship and go somewhere that isn't Earth."

"I just learned that a spaceship alone can do what a Colony can. But metal deteriorates. You came back because you needed maintenance, right? Do you plan to go into cryosleep and come back in another hundred years? It's possible, but there's an easier way."

Ney paused there and looked around at Hayato and the others.

"Provide the virtual reality technology to Libra. That's the only way to convince the Foundation."

"Ney, that's..."

That would only mean the recipient of the technology would change from Scorpion to Libra. They had asked Ney for protection because they didn't want to provide the technology. It was undoubtedly better to provide it to Ney's Foundation, and it would guarantee their safety, but nothing would change.

"Hayato, I'm not a particularly brilliant person within the Foundation. But even I know this. If we are to protect not only you, but also this virtual reality, the spaceship Aphrodite, the people of the Foundation will definitely take advantage of your position. They will keep raising the conditions until you provide the technology."

"That may be true, but..."

"To be honest, I don't want to say this either, and I'm not keen on it. If it were just a matter of protecting you, Hayato, I think I could manage something with my own power. But if it includes Aphrodite, there's no other way. Also, you should give up on retaliating against Scorpion. Diite, you were investigating the organization that incited the hacking, right?"

"That's right. May I ask why?"

"If a company that doesn't belong to any Foundation defies a Foundation, the other Foundations won't stay silent. The people of the Foundations, including me, are cowards. If there's a possibility that our current positions and situations will change for the worse, we will crush it with all our might. We'll use any means necessary. If it comes to that, I won't be able to protect you with my power alone anymore."

"The human world is such a troublesome thing... Ney-kun, I have a question, if I may."

"What is it?"

"This world, this virtual reality world, do you like it?"

There's an expression about a pigeon being hit by a peashooter. Hayato had only ever seen pigeons in videos, but he thought the current Ney looked exactly like that.

Ney's expression changed completely. She smiled softly.

"Yes, I love it. It may be strange for me to say this, with all the immense power I have, but reality is full of troublesome things. This world, where all those constraints disappear, is the best. This is the only place where I can live as just Ney."

Ney looked at Hayato and Esha with a smile still on her face.

"And I've made friends. Hayato and the members of Kokuryu, and Esha and the others, we're close enough to talk about love late at night. And Rosalie is a friend too. Oh, right, so Rosalie is a human too, not an NPC... Well, that's fine. But here, I can wish for things that I can't in reality. This world is like a treasure to me."

Hayato didn't know what Ney's constraints were, or what she couldn't wish for. What he could vaguely guess was that in reality, Ney never even had the chance to make friends.

Ney came to the coffee shop quite often for offline meetups. Hayato couldn't imagine how happy that made her, but considering her high spirits when she came, it must be a great deal of fun.

Diite looked at Ney, who had so happily called this world a treasure, and nodded.

"Ney-kun, I understand your feelings for this world. Then I have a request. This virtual reality, Aphrodite as a company, wants to come under your protection. Of course, if you wish, we will also provide technology. And there is other information on the spaceship as well. We will provide that too."

"Diite-chan!?"

Hayato raised his voice in surprise. But Diite smiled at him as if to stop his voice.

Ney, who had been just as surprised, looked at Diite with a serious expression.

"Diite, have you thought this through? This means you'll be handing over all information to Libra. That..."

"Please don't misunderstand. I am saying that I want your protection, Ney-kun. Not the Libra Foundation's."

The three people other than Diite in the room had puzzled expressions. They didn't understand what she meant.

"I don't know what position you hold in the Foundation, Ney-kun, but you will eventually be in a position to lead it, right? I got the impression that you are in a very high position, am I wrong?"

"Well, that's right. Someday I will be the head of Libra."

"If it becomes known that someone with such a high position is an investor in this ‘Another Frontier Online,’ no one would be able to touch it, right? I don't know about your parents, but I'd like you to handle that, Ney-kun. Of course, not for free. If you wish, Ney-kun, we will provide any technology and information."

Ney thought for a moment, then smiled as if she had realized something.

"So, if I become an investor personally, not as the Foundation, it will serve as a check against the other Foundations and Libra. But then, it would only last as long as I'm alive..."

"That's enough. We'll take measures in the meantime. Besides, to you, Ney-kun, who called this world a treasure, I don't care how you handle the information I give you. You can use it for the benefit of the Foundation. You see, I like people who say they like this world. I don't mind giving technology to someone like that. In my eyes, you pass, Ney-kun. Is this disrespectful?"

"...No, not at all. It's strange to be having this conversation, but in this virtual reality world, I'm just Ney. I'm just an adventurer like anyone else, so there's no disrespect or anything!"

Hayato didn't quite understand how things had turned out this way, but he understood that Diite had decided to receive the protection of Ney as an individual, not the Libra Foundation.

He tried to sort out in his head what the difference was, but then a voice chat reached his mind.

"Hayato-san, can you hear me? It's the Demon Lord."

"Lunaria-san? Um, what is it? I'm busy right now."

"We're in a bit of a situation here too, so just listen. For some reason, Relic-san and Sonia-san are clutching their heads in pain. Do you have an Elixir or something?"

"What?"

Clutching their heads in pain. Hayato felt an indescribable anxiety at those words. It was a sign that their memories were returning.

"Oh? Are they okay now? But Relic-san and Sonia-san are starting to argue... Oh, Relic-san disappeared. I think it was probably a Ring of Teleportation?"

"That means..."

He immediately heard the sound of footsteps approaching. They weren't running, but the short intervals of the footsteps suggested someone was walking quickly. The sound gradually got closer.

Then the conference room door was thrown open with force.

Standing there was Relic. But his face was not its usual gentle self, but had a harsh look in its eyes that would make anyone who saw it tremble.

The next moment, Relic disappeared. Then he appeared in front of Hayato, and in a fluid motion, wrapped his left arm around Hayato's neck and got behind him.

"Re, Reli..."

"Don't say anything unnecessary. I'm sorry, but I'm restraining you. The rest of you, don't move. Right now, Hayato is set to feel pain. If you do anything foolish, I will inflict pain on him. Even in virtual reality, the pain is real. Assume that there is a possibility of him dying from shock."

Relic said this, then took out a knife with his free right hand and pressed it against Hayato's abdomen.