kscans

Chapter 247 - The Medicine's Ingredients

At Hayato's request, Diite was on her way to the headquarters.

He needed to scrutinize the information he had heard from Mist. The item to awaken someone from the undying sleep was called Panacea. Apparently, it was also an item to cure a real-world illness.

This was, of course, just what Mist had heard from this world's God, who was likely Infinity. However, from what Hayato had been told, Infinity was a program that automatically constructed this world.

While it sometimes took security measures, such as sealing Hypnos away in some dimension when he tried to destroy this world, Hayato believed it didn't act autonomously beyond fulfilling Diite's requests.

The thought that the current situation might be something Diite had wished for flickered in Hayato's mind.

Diite's personality, or perhaps her way of thinking, was different now compared to a hundred years ago. Back then, she might have viewed people as objects, much like Hypnos did.

This whole affair was probably conceived a century ago, and there was a high probability it was an event that the Diite of that time had set up without much thought.

However, if that were the case, Diite should be able to change the settings. She could just have the medicine administered to the cryosleep pods without needing to gather knowledge or create an item called Panacea.

With that hope in his heart, Hayato waited for Mist and Diite.

About ten minutes later, Diite arrived at the headquarters.

When he summoned her, he hadn't explained what he'd heard from Mist, only that a problem had come up and he wanted to talk. Diite seemed to have had other things to do, but Hayato's serious tone must have suggested a grave issue, so she had hurried over.

Diite was guided by the maid, Rose, to Mist's room.

"Well hello, Mist-kun. It seems you've awakened. I'm glad you're safe."

"Yes, I was able to wake up safely thanks to Hayato-san and the others."

"Now then, I heard from Hayato-kun that there seems to be a problem. Would you mind telling me about it?"

Watching Diite's demeanor, Hayato judged that she probably didn't know anything. Still, he couldn't rule out the possibility that she had simply forgotten. He looked at Diite again.

Rose didn't enter the room, instead heading back toward the dining hall. Diite sat in a chair in the room. The three of them now sat around a small, round table.

Mist gave Diite a faint smile before he spoke.

"To put it simply, I regained my memories while I was asleep. My illness also seems to be cured. Could you please check?"

"...Huh?!"

Diite's reaction was identical to Hayato's. While thinking how human she was in that respect, Hayato also thought that if this was an act, Diite would undoubtedly be a lead actress.

For a short while, Diite stared at Mist, perfectly still. Then she slowly turned her head to look at Hayato.

"Hayato-kun, what is the meaning of this?"

"That's what I want to ask. Mist-san, could you please repeat what you explained to me for Diite-chan? She's the administrator."

"You told me that a moment ago as well, but your reaction is so strong it's hard to believe. Diite-san is no different from a human. I can understand it when I had lost my real-world memories, but even after regaining them, I can't believe Diite-san is an AI."

"...I'll take that as a compliment. But first, could you tell me what happened? I want to have a firm grasp of the situation with Mist-kun."

"Yes, then I shall explain what happened while I was asleep."

Diite listened to Mist's words with a serious expression.

When Mist finished his story, Diite asked Hayato for coffee. Hayato made the coffee right there. He also made some for Mist and himself.

He had been so shaken up until that moment that he hadn't even thought of such a simple courtesy.

The three of them first enjoyed the aroma and taste of the coffee in silence, trying to calm their hearts.

After they had all finished their coffee, Diite spoke.

"I told you this last night, Hayato-kun, but my memory is composed of two parts, a memory area and a thought area. The discrepancy between what actually happened and what I believe to have happened is due to this."

"I remember you saying that."

"This particular matter is, at the very least, not stored in my memory area. I can't show you the memory area itself, but I need you to believe me on this."

"I understand. I believe you."

Both Diite and Mist looked surprised at Hayato's words. He had no evidence, yet he believed Diite without any particular doubt.

"Um, thank you. I'm happy you believe me. But shouldn't you be a little more suspicious?"

"Diite-chan doesn't lie about things like this. From all our time together, I can say that with confidence."

Diite's eyes widened, but she turned her face away and gave an exaggerated cough. She took a deep breath, then looked at Hayato.

"Hayato-kun, please don't say things like that. I think a bug is about to occur."

"That would be a huge problem. What do you mean?"

"Oh, well, that doesn't matter. Let's focus on Mist-kun for now."

Diite explained what was happening with Mist's body. She said she had been investigating it while listening to his story.

The physical bodies of the NPCs are housed in cryosleep pods, where their physical conditions are meticulously managed.

The headgear worn by players like Hayato has a system that checks their brainwaves to monitor their body's condition and perform a forced logout if necessary. The cryosleep pods are capable of much more, constantly creating an environment that is comfortable for humans.

Her investigation confirmed that Mist's illness was, without a doubt, cured.

"However, while you are cured, it wasn't because of an item called Panacea."

"What do you mean?"

"It's simply a matter of treatment by medication being administered while you were asleep, Mist-kun. It's not as if using Panacea caused the medicine to be injected and work like a miracle cure."

Mist approached Diite with a serious look.

"Either way is fine. This means there is a cure, correct?"

"Of course there is. Mist-kun's body is proof of that."

"I see... I'm glad I entrusted my hopes to the future. It was an age of resource depletion, but medical science had advanced. How wonderful."

"...That's a little different."

It didn't seem like she was having trouble saying it, but she looked slightly troubled.

"Diite-san, what do you mean by different?"

"According to the information Infinity looked up, the method for producing the cure has existed for a hundred years. However, the resources, the raw materials, were scarce, so it seems they couldn't produce enough of the medicine. To avoid a war breaking out over it, they seem to have acted as if no cure existed."

"...Is that so. But the outcome is the same. And perhaps it was a wise decision. I've heard stories from before I was born about how wars often broke out over resources. But now, surely there are enough raw materials to make the medicine, right?"

For some reason, Diite didn't answer Mist's question. She looked uncomfortable again.

"Diite-san?"

"It will come out eventually, so I might as well say it. Even now, the raw materials to make that medicine do not exist on Earth."

"What?"

"Diite-chan, hold on a second. You just said Mist-san's body was cured, right? That means there's a medicine. So how can there be no raw materials for it now? That's a contradiction, isn't it?"

"I said they don't exist on Earth. They aren't on the colonies or other planets either. They exist only inside the spaceship Aphrodite."

Even with that explanation, Hayato didn't quite get it. He understood the words, but he couldn't grasp the situation. Mist seemed to be in the same boat, his expression frozen.

Hayato leaned forward over the table to ask for more details.