kscans

Chapter 259 - A Request to Conquer the Tower

The discussion ended after it was decided that they would depart for the Eastern Country in three days.

The next day, Hayato was at Crown Cafe, waiting for Veru, the father of Ash and Ren. He was scheduled to come to the cafe today.

Ash had said it would be fine to leave the conquest of Skyscraper Babel to his father.

With Ash and Ren back, Hayato had thought that the movie filming had reached a certain milestone, but even so, he had thought that Veru and the others would not be logging into the game again.

It was a welcome development for Hayato, but he couldn't imagine that Veru had been consulted just because Ash said so. He had asked Ash if he could bring him along so he could ask if it was really okay.

As he was preparing the cafe with Esha, Ash and the others arrived. It was Ash, Ren, and Veru.

"Hayato, I brought my father."

"Thank you. Veru-san, I'm sorry to bother you when you're busy."

"Don't worry about it. The movie production is almost finished. All that's left is to release it online."

"I see. Oh, please use that table. I'll get you some coffee now... or would you prefer something else?"

"No, I'd like to have Hayato's coffee after such a long time, so that's fine. Ash also said the taste has improved, so I was looking forward to it a little."

"Understood. Is that okay with you too, Ash?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. I drink it every day, so I feel restless if I don't."

Thinking to himself that he hadn't put any strange ingredients in it, Hayato decided to brew three cups of coffee, including his own.

And next to him, Esha was making two chocolate parfaits.

"Well then, Ren-san and I will be having a girls' talk at the counter."

"The counter feels so grown-up. It's not a girls' talk, it's a mature women's talk! Oh, I'll have the bigger chocolate parfait, please!"

"There are still strawberry toppings to come, you know? Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"You're not going to put a lot of strawberries on that one, are you...?"

"That's a surprise for when it's done. But you should just remember that there are also cherries."

"Hmm..."

He thought that what they were doing was more like a girls' thing than a mature women's thing, but they both seemed to be having fun, so Hayato didn't say anything. He then carried the brewed coffee over to the table.

Veru smiled and said, "Thank you," and immediately drank the coffee. Then his eyes widened slightly before a smile spread across his face.

"I'm surprised. The taste has improved quite a bit."

"I'm still experimenting, but I'm proud to say it's gotten better than before."

"Just remember that it's built on my sacrifices, okay?"

"I'm grateful to you, Ash."

After some lighthearted conversation, Hayato got to the main topic.

"Veru-san, Ash was saying yesterday that you would help us out in the virtual reality world."

"Yeah, I heard about it last night, and I don't mind. Like I said earlier, the movie is finished, so all that's left is to release it online. It's become a hot topic as a movie with actors who don't use CG, and the trailer got a pretty good response. Now it's just a matter of timing the release."

Hayato had seen the trailer too. He wasn't sure what to think about himself, Esha, and the cafe being the subject matter, but that aside, opinions were divided between the CG camp and the real-life camp, with people saying there's no way such handsome men and beautiful women exist, so it was generating a fair amount of buzz.

This time, the goal was purely to raise funds and increase their recognition, and they didn't have any sponsors. They would be releasing it on a video streaming site where they would get paid based on the number of views and watch time.

They were hoping that if it got a good reception, sponsors might come forward. In fact, there had been talk of Ney and Diite becoming sponsors, but they had refused, asking them to decide after seeing the movie.

It hadn't been decided when it would be released yet, but they wanted to release it at the same time as something else to generate a buzz. No matter how good a work is, its reception can change depending on when it's released, so they were thinking about it carefully.

"I want to get information not just from the internet, but also from the virtual reality world. There was talk of logging into the game to gather information."

"Is that so?"

"That game is just right for checking release timings and looking for ideas for the next movie. And if we release the movie on the same day as the first day of a game event, there's a high chance we'll lose, right? It's also to avoid things like that."

"That might be true."

There were movie lovers among the members of Kokuryu, and they were looking forward to this movie. However, they had said that if the release date coincided with the first day of an event, they would probably choose the game.

(I think Diite-chan will make adjustments for this, but they probably want to do it without relying on her as much as possible...)

"So I heard from Ash, do we just need to conquer a tower called Skyscraper Babel?"

"Yes, that's right. However, in the end, Mist-san has to go to the top floor, so it's enough if you can just get to the portal on the top floor or a floor close to it."

"There's probably a boss in a place like that, but we don't need to defeat it. Just open the portal to the top floor."

"It would be even more helpful if you could defeat the boss and give us information in advance."

"Got it. Then we'll defeat it. I don't know how tall the tower is, so I don't know if we can get that far."

"Yes, there's no need to push yourselves, so please just go as far as you can."

Hayato thought that it probably wouldn't be possible to transform into a dragon inside the tower.

He had never been there, but dragon transformation made them quite huge, so there was a high possibility that it was restricted in that tower. They would probably have to clear it in their human forms, so it would undoubtedly take a considerable amount of time.

That said, it would take too long to return from the Eastern Country and clear it from the ground up. If they could clear it in parallel, it would be a great help, even if it was only up to the lower floors.

"For now, we'll aim to clear it. But a tower..."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just that Agres and Suien... they fell from the World Tree during that Stampede event, so they're saying they don't want to go to high places."

"...I'm sorry."

"No, you don't need to apologize, Hayato. Besides, unlike in the old days, we don't have stuntmen now, so they have to get used to things like that. I'm planning on taking them with me even if they're kicking and screaming this time."

"You can be strict sometimes, Dad."

"Not sometimes. I'm always strict. If I'm not, I'll never be able to catch up to your mother."

Those words must have been effective on Ash. His face tensed, and he nodded deeply.

As someone who had neither parents nor siblings, Hayato felt a little envious, but that aside, the situation had become quite helpful.

Mist wasn't the type to be able to leave a curable disease untreated forever, even if there was no time limit. From Hayato's perspective, she seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, so he wanted to prepare to make the medicine as soon as possible.

"Well then, Veru-san, I'll leave the conquest of Babel to you."

"Hayato, please raise your head. I've heard the circumstances from Ash. I don't know Mist personally, but if it's related to an illness, I want to help. Besides, during the Stampede, we raided her mansion to capture the diva. This is also to atone for that."

"That did happen, didn't it? It feels like it was a long time ago."

It had only been a few months ago, but to Hayato, it felt like several years ago. Perhaps he was living such fulfilling days that each day was packed with density.

"It certainly feels like a long time ago. Anyway, that's why, so don't worry about it. Now, I think I'll have lunch here today for the first time in a while. Pat and the others are coming later, so please treat us to something a little more delicious than usual, okay?"

"Of course. I'll even throw in a free coffee after the meal."

"Some of the members don't like it, but with the current taste, it should be fine. Alright, I'll watch Ash's customer service closely today. An actor is always practicing his craft. Make sure you play the part of a waiter properly, okay?"

"I know. I want a good role as soon as possible."

Seeing the trusting relationship between Ash and Veru, like an ideal parent and child, Hayato was truly glad from the bottom of his heart.

(Even if it was false memories, Ash used to hate Veru-san. It must have been a game setting, but it must have been tough for Veru-san. Well, all's well that ends well.)

With that thought, Hayato began preparing behind the counter to handle the large number of orders that would surely be coming.