kscans

Chapter 249 - A Favorite Song

That night, when Hayato and Esha logged in, the banquet had already begun.

The dining hall tables were lined with a lavish spread of food, so much that one could not ask for more. Maids hired from the Maid Guild for the day were serving the guests. With Rose as their leader, they moved with a crisp efficiency that could be compared to an army.

It was a buffet-style party, so there was no need for such precise service, but they cleared empty dishes and refilled depleted food with a diligence that left no room for complaint.

Esha, feeling she was late to the party, offered a quick greeting to everyone before approaching the tables and starting to eat. She should have already eaten dinner in the real world, but she paid that no mind, eating her way through one dish after another.

No one said anything about the sight, likely thinking it would be boorish to do so.

The Maid Chief, who would normally be the one to scold Esha, was talking with Gil. Their conversation seemed to be lively, so she probably hadn't noticed Esha.

"Gil-sama, you were magnificent today. Your tanking was superb."

"It is a pleasure to be praised by you, Maid Chief-dono. You were also magnificent. In the latter half, I was completely unable to take the enemy's aggro!"

"I am quite ashamed. I got a little carried away."

"I don't know what you got carried away with, but to be able to generate as much hate value as Ivan-dono or Simon-dono is quite something. I would like you to join me for combat training sometime."

"...Join you... Is that with marriage in mind?"

"You are amusing, Maid Chief-dono!"

Interrupting their conversation would likely earn him the Maid Chief's resentment. In fact, it was a certainty. With that thought, Hayato decided to move to another group and looked around.

He probably should have gone to see Mist, the guest of honor, but it seemed he was talking with other members, so Hayato decided to go later.

Looking around the dining hall again, he saw Ivan and Simon, who had been mentioned in Gil's conversation just a moment ago, talking. Hayato approached them.

"How's the food, you two?"

"Yo, you're up. It's a waste to be sleeping when a party has started. Well, you prepared such a lavish meal, so I guess you must be tired, Hayato... The food's delicious, of course. I gotta hole up in a dungeon again for a while, so I'm stocking up."

"I also find it delicious. And there are dishes from the Eastern Country. I cannot eat such fine food even in the Eastern Country, so I am most satisfied."

"That's good to hear. By the way, Ivan, are you going to another dungeon again?"

"Yeah. I gotta give dungeon info to God. He gets mad if I slack off. Well, I have info from the Necropolis this time, so I should be good for a while."

"Give dungeon info to God...?"

"I put together reports on all sorts of dungeon info, like if the monsters are strong or weak, and submit 'em. Being a Hero ain't easy."

(Is he being made to do something like a playtest?)

"You do some interesting things. In that case, before you go to the dungeon, let us fight. I do not think I will have many chances to fight you. How about tomorrow?"

"Well, I don't mind, but why aren't there any normal women around me? No, wait, there aren't any around Hayato, are there?"

"That's not true... though I can't say who's normal."

"To say such a thing with one of those women right before your eyes, you are a cruel one, Hayato. Well, enough of that. To change the subject, I have fulfilled our promise, so I will have you come to the Eastern Country, yes?"

"Could you wait a little longer for that? Something new has come up."

"We do not have much time to spare either, but it cannot be helped. However, I cannot return to the Eastern Country alone. I shall be in your care for a while longer. Though I will simply be staying with the Maid Guild."

"I'll ask the Maid Chief for you."

After some more idle chatter, Hayato moved to another group.

This time it was Maris, Siegfried, and Noat.

Sieg was lying on the floor, and Maris and Noat were petting him. For some reason, Noat's usual sleepy face was gone. Her eyes were wide open, and she was petting him with great effort.

"What are you two doing? I can see you're petting Sieg, but..."

"Sieg's fur is magnificent. I want to sleep with him a little, so this is a negotiation. I'll make him fall for my petting."

"Is that a challenge to me, a tamer? I accept! Sieg! My petting is better, right?!"

From Hayato's perspective, Sieg seemed somewhat annoyed, but it was probably still within his tolerance. He was surrendering himself to their two-pronged petting assault.

"Um, thank you both for helping with the Necropolis. We were able to clear it quickly thanks to you."

The two stopped their petting and looked at Hayato. Sieg seemed a little relieved.

"You can thank me with donuts. Or support me forever."

"Then please make me Nekomanma Deluxe forever."

"Your concept of 'forever' is a little too light. I'll do either if you have the money."

When Hayato said that with exasperation, Noat grinned.

"I actually got a lot of items and money when we cleared the Necropolis. I'm set for a while. My life as a shut-in will accelerate. No one shall disturb my sleep...!"

"I got a lot too. I'll use this for the reconstruction funds for the Nyanko Kingdom."

"...I don't know what you're talking about, but good luck to both of you. And you too, Sieg."

Sieg, still lying down, slightly raised his left front paw. It was as if he understood Hayato's words and was replying. The pose must have been cute, because Noat and Maris resumed their vigorous petting of Sieg.

Then Hayato headed toward Mist, the man of the hour.

Mist was chatting with Damian, Ruth, and the others, a constant smile on his face.

The three noticed Hayato approaching and welcomed him with smiles.

"Mist-san, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, of course. Perhaps the rehabilitation worked, because I'm feeling perfectly fine now. Or maybe it's because everyone told me they were glad I was better."

"The idea of an Undead being 'fine' feels a little off, though."

"Damian, you worry about the small details too much. Even vampires have their good days, right, Mist?"

"That's right. I'm feeling fine thanks to Hayato-san and everyone else. Thank you."

When Mist said that and bowed his head, Damian said, "No thanks are necessary," and Ruth said with a smile, "We're friends, aren't we?"

To Mist, Damian was a colleague and Ruth a patient. They had no real-world memories, but Hayato thought that the fact they adored him so much probably meant their relationship was similar in the real world.

It was unlikely they had implanted memories like Ash hating his father, so Mist must have been a good doctor. That's what Hayato thought.

He didn't know what Mist planned to do about Damian and the others' memories, but he was sure he would gather the knowledge in the virtual world to treat his patients like Ruth. Hayato wondered if he would ask Damian and the others to help.

"Mist-san, about what happened when you were asleep..."

"Yes, I told them. I plan to have them accompany me on the search to gather the knowledge."

Damian nodded.

"You mean the search for the method to create Panacea? Of course I'll help. There are other members in the undying sleep, and Ruth and I will eventually enter it too. I want to avoid that."

"That's right. I'll provide as much support as I can on my end as well."

"That's a great help. Ah, right. Now that Mist has woken up, we plan to make Mist's mansion our headquarters from now on. The other members are currently sleeping in their respective dungeons, but we plan to gather them at Mist's mansion and manage them there."

"I see. It will be a little sad to see you and Ruth-kun go."

So many people had filled the rooms on the second floor, and he had been preparing meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but for Hayato, it reminded him of his time with the members of Kokuryu, and it had been quite enjoyable.

Ivan would be heading to some dungeon in a few days, and Damian, Ruth, and Mist would be returning to the mansion. It felt a little lonely that four people would be leaving at once.

"I'm sad that I won't be able to eat five-star breakfasts anymore, but we can't keep imposing on your hospitality. Oh, right. About the reward, please accept the money and items that dropped when we defeated the Duke-class demon on the lowest floor of the Necropolis. This probably won't be enough, but Mist will give you the rest later."

"Ah! I'll give you my share too, so please accept it!"

"Um, well, let's talk about that later. Right now, we're celebrating Mist-san's recovery. I've actually prepared some wine for Mist-san, so please give it a try."

Mist looked a little surprised, but he quickly smiled.

"I'm looking forward to the wine. I actually quite like wine, and I've had many conversations about it with Relic-san."

"It was some pretty good stuff. Good enough that I'd want to buy it regularly."

"I can't drink wine, though."

Mist smiled gently at Ruth's pouty face. Then he patted his head.

"It's all right. You'll be able to drink it when you're older. When that time comes, I'll teach you how to enjoy it."

"Promise!"

Hayato thought to himself. Mist told Ruth he would be able to grow older. Ruth probably didn't remember his illness, but Mist was implicitly saying that he would overcome it.

Mist must have noticed Hayato's gaze, because he gave Hayato a slight nod. He probably understood what Hayato was thinking. In his eyes, Hayato saw the determination to procure the medicine at all costs.

He'd have to support him properly, Hayato thought. Just then, the dining hall grew a little noisy. Things seemed to be getting lively, and the members who were talking had changed.

Esha seemed to be talking with the Maid Chief at some point.

"Esha. Are you not eating a little too much? A maid must always maintain a calm demeanor, you know?"

"I don't want to hear that from you today, Maid Chief. You interrupted my second Destroy, didn't you? Is that what you call a calm demeanor?"

"It was calm. If I had left you alone, you would have defeated the demon immediately, so interfering was a rational choice."

"I think prolonging the battle just because you wanted to be protected by Gil-sama is questionable."

"It is your fault for generating too much hate value, Esha. In the end, I was not protected by Gil-sama even once. I considered defeating you first, Esha, but I stopped myself. You could say I was calm."

"I think you're being calm about the wrong things."

Hayato was a little exasperated that she had done such a thing, but since they hadn't lost, he decided not to worry about it.

Just as he was about to slowly drink some coffee, Diite arrived.

"Well hello, Hayato-kun. I'm a little late, but... it seems to be quite lively here?"

"Welcome. As the host, I'm glad to see it. Would you like something to eat, Diite-chan? Shall I get you something?"

"No, I'll just have a little something later, so I'm fine. Besides, look, something is about to start."

At Diite's words, Hayato shifted his gaze.

For some reason, Noat had Sieg on her head and was drawing everyone's attention. And at some point, a stage-like platform had been set up in the dining hall. Rose had probably prepared it with the other maids.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll sing for free. If you have a request, I'll take it. What would you like?"

At those words, various people made requests, but Mist named a certain song.

"How about this one? It's a favorite of mine, so I'd like to request it."

Everyone tilted their heads at Mist's song title, but only Noat grinned.

"As expected of my fan. To know the song that could be called my origin. Then that will be the first one. It's long, but listen carefully to the end."

"Yes, this time I'll listen to the end."

Noat tilted her head slightly at Mist's words, but she paid it no mind and began to sing.