kscans

Chapter 29 - Victory Celebration

On the night of the day the vampire Mist arrived, Hayato gathered the members to hold a victory celebration.

After promising to make Mist a coffin, he had sent a message to everyone. He also informed them that this place had officially become their base.

After that, Hayato began preparations. Esha and Relic were helping him, but he only asked them to do the shopping and prepare the dining hall. Hayato was handling all the cooking preparations himself.

After the battle a month ago, with the trouble with the clan "Goddess of Annihilation" immediately following, he hadn’t done anything. It was undoubtedly thanks to everyone that they had won twice in the Clan War and reached A-rank, and Hayato wanted to thank them for that.

Besides, Hayato himself liked to entertain.

When he was working at a company, he had made various preparations like booking venues and ordering food for receptions, and many people had been pleased with those receptions. Hayato liked making others happy through his hospitality.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t do such things unless it was with company money, so he thought he would at least do so in the game. Even in the clan "Kokuryu," he had held banquets quite frequently. And this time, he was preparing various things for Esha and the others. They were such expressive NPCs, so he felt it was worthwhile and eagerly began to cook.

(Esha and the others seem just like real people. And some people say the NPCs aren’t high-performance AI, but that the management is actually controlling them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they said there were people inside. But that’s not possible. They say they don’t seem to logout.)

In this game, when you logout, your character itself disappears from within the game. The main way to logout is by sleeping in a bed, but NPCs, while they do sleep in beds, their characters themselves do not disappear.

There was talk that perhaps only the characters controlled by the management had that feature. However, there was a story of a certain player who called out to a sleeping NPC in the middle of the night and they immediately woke up and started moving. It was said that unless there was a person inside the NPC who was always connected, that action would be impossible, and now there are few players who push the theory of a person being inside.

(If there were a person inside, I think I’d like to meet Esha. In a morbidly curious kind of way.)

Hayato thought about such things while preparing the food for the party. He then checked the time and saw that it was almost time for the members to gather, so he carried the large amount of food he had made to the base’s dining hall and arranged it to look appealing.

The victory celebration held at the base was quite lively.

Esha, Ash, Relic, Ren, and the members of Ash’s mercenary group. Each of them was happily eating and chatting.

"I must say, you are truly a master. I thoroughly enjoyed the highest-quality wedding cake."

"I didn’t think you’d eat that all by yourself. And two of them."

"That’s right! That’s so mean! I wanted to eat some too! If you eat it all by yourself next time, I’ll curse you!"

"Ren-sama, what are you saying while hugging a bucket pudding? That was my reward, something separate from the food prepared for the victory celebration. By the way, my stats have increased in various ways due to the food’s effects, and I feel invincible right now. Let me just say that I feel like I could fire off any number of Destroys."

"I think you’re joking, but please don’t."

After that, Esha and Ren started to compete in eating the dessert-type dishes, so Hayato left that place. He then moved towards where Ash and Relic were.

"How’s the food, you two?"

"It’s all highest-quality food. I’m enjoying it."

"There are so many delicious things, I am overwhelmed. However, are you sure about this? I imagine hosting such a lavish victory celebration must have cost you quite a lot."

It was true that Hayato had spent a fair amount of money preparing these dishes. However, he had obtained a lot of money from his opponents due to the Clan War.

The real-world prize money obtained by winning a Clan War is influenced by the amount of in-game currency the clan possesses. To get the full amount of the A-rank prize, one needs to possess a considerable amount of in-game currency. Therefore, due to the last Clan War, Hayato had obtained more G than he had expected.

(I wouldn’t say hundreds of millions, but I got close to that. It’s all thanks to everyone. There’s no problem with giving this much back to them… No, wait a minute. If I think about it, I shouldn’t just be giving it back, I should be distributing it to everyone. Crap, I didn’t distribute the money from the last Clan War at all.)

Thinking this, Hayato bowed his head to Ash and the others.

"Ash, Relic-san, I just remembered, I didn’t distribute the money we got from the Clan War. For you, Ash, and your men, that’s two times, including the one before last. I’m sorry, a lot happened and I forgot. I’ll calculate it right away and distribute it to everyone."

When Hayato said this, Ash looked for a moment as if he didn’t understand what he was talking about. But he must have realized soon after, as he shook his head.

"What are you talking about? You should use the money we got from the Clan War yourself, Hayato. For me and my sister, the highest-quality elixirs you made are more than enough. My men feel the same way about the high-performance equipment you made for them, and besides, we kind of just joined the Clan War on our own accord."

"No, I can’t just—"

"Don’t worry about it. I told you before, right? I joined the Clan War because I wanted to prove you weren’t useless, Hayato. Well, it seems the members of Kokuryu didn’t think that way, though."

"…Are you sure?"

"Yeah, and I’m counting on your production skills when something comes up. I’d appreciate it if you could prioritize that when the time comes."

"Got it. I’ll make you my priority when that time comes."

"Then, I’m looking forward to working with you, Leader."

Ash smiled and held out his right hand. Hayato also held out his right hand and they shook. As they were exchanging a firm handshake, the voices of Esha and the others reached Hayato’s ears.

"You see, Ren-san. That is, precious."

"Huh. It’s just Hayato-san and my brother shaking hands, right?"

"Perhaps it is still too early for you, Ren-san. For an advanced… no, a transcendent being like myself, that alone is enough for three chocolate parfaits."

"Even I could eat three parfaits with that, though?"

Hayato ignored them. He pretended not to hear. He then turned his gaze to Relic.

"Relic-san, I’m sure you were listening, but I’d like to give you the money from the last Clan War—"

"No, like Ash-san and the others, I do not need it. Please just pay the monthly fee of one hundred thousand G to the guild to hire a butler."

"I can’t do that. It’s thanks to you, Relic-san, that I was able to get the sword back, so if you don’t accept it—"

"No, no, actually, like Esha, I was a burden at the guild. I am grateful enough just to be hired as a butler."

Saying this, Relic smiled. He had a scar on his face and was in the category of tough-looking, but surprisingly, he didn’t feel intimidating. Hayato thought this as he looked at Relic.

"I understand. In that case, I will hire you every month, so I look forward to your continued service. And if you need my production skills, I will prioritize that."

"Yes, I am looking forward to it. Then, I look forward to working with you in the future."

Relic placed his left hand on his chest and bowed politely. Hayato bowed his head normally. Then he heard the voices again.

"Is that precious?"

"I wonder? I am not particularly interested in old men, so I do not think it is precious. There are those who specialize in such old men, but they are in the minority."

"It is difficult…"

Though they were muttering, Hayato could hear Esha and Ren clearly, and he turned his body towards them.

"Could I have a word with you two? You’re ruining everything. Especially you, Esha. Will you stop teaching Ren-chan strange things?"

At Hayato’s words, Esha and Ren approached. Esha then refuted with a sharp look.

"Strange things, how rude. This is a maid’s accomplishment. The hard and painful work of a maid, a single ray of light, no, I should say hope, that one imagines in the midst of that hardship. What do you mean by calling that a strange thing?"

"There are other things you should be accomplished in, right? And I don’t want to say it, but were you even doing any maid work? Oh well, I guess it’s fine. I feel like I hired you more as a combatant than a maid anyway. Alright then, I’ll distribute the money to you, Esha."

"No, I do not need it. Please just pay one hundred thousand G to the Maid Guild every month. Why are you looking so surprised?"

"Well, because it was very unexpected."

He had thought that Esha would need a lot of money to eat. It was unexpected for Hayato that she would say she didn’t need the money.

In this game, it is possible to eat. For players, it is not for nutritional intake. Most eat for the temporary improvement of abilities in the game, and for the stimulation of their sense of taste. However, no one knows for what purpose NPCs eat. It is not even known if AI truly has a sense of taste.

As for Esha, the only answer Hayato could think of was that she definitely had a sense of taste, so it was quite unexpected that she would not accept money that could be used for that purpose.

"Um, are you really sure? You could eat a lot more if you had money."

When Hayato said this, Esha scoffed with a "Hmph."

"This Esha Crown, as I have stated before, is banned from all major restaurants in the Royal Capital, so even if I have money, I cannot eat delicious food."

"Ah, I’ve heard that before. But why did that happen?"

"There were eating challenges at various restaurants, and when I participated, the owners tearfully asked me not to come back anymore. To call that an eating challenge is laughable… No, it is not that my side literally hurt. It is not a story about obstructing business."

"No, I get that much. So, you mean you can’t eat even if you have money?"

"To put it bluntly, that is correct. The gazes of everyone are very painful."

"Um, then what if you buy the ingredients yourself and cook?"

"Master, you have seen my skill composition, have you not? Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, my Cooking Skill does not improve at all. It would be better if the ingredients just turned into a black stain, but I am at a level where I create some new life form that should not be seen."

"Is it some kind of alchemy in the name of cooking? There’s no such skill, though."

As Hayato said this, he remembered Esha’s skill composition. Esha’s Cooking Skill was minus 100. He was surprised when he first saw it, but he was more surprised by Esha’s fighting strength, so Hayato had forgotten about it until now.

The surrounding gazes turned to pity, but Esha was unconcerned.

"For that reason, delicious food is better than money. In other words, I do not need money if I can eat the food you make, Master. Rather, please hire me with three meals a day with dessert. And I would have no complaints if I had seven days off a week."

"I’d have a complaint about seven days off a week. But well, I don’t mind the three meals with dessert. As long as you don’t eat more than necessary, you can eat the food in the storage freely. Ah, but don’t eat the food I made for the Clan War. Why are you making that face?"

Esha was making an indescribable face. The closest would be a troubled face. Hayato was a little surprised by Esha’s complex expression.

Then Esha sighed.

"I did not expect you to actually permit it. I have been receiving a chocolate parfait as dessert every day until now, but now I will have three more meals. It is as if, Master, you are unnecessarily kind. And a softie."

"Will you stop saying unnecessarily?"

Even though he had offered good conditions, Hayato was a little dissatisfied that he was being criticized for some reason. Just as he was about to complain about it, Esha’s face looked as if she had remembered something.

"Ah, that is right, I actually had something I wanted to ask. I do not need the money, so please just tell me one thing."

"Um, what is it?"

"Master, why do you want to win the Clan War?"

"Huh?"

At Esha’s question, the surrounding members also stared at Hayato. They seemed very interested. Esha then asked the silent Hayato another question.

"I participated in the Clan War before, but I had no particular purpose. You could say that winning was simply the purpose. However, that is not the case for you, Master, is it? It is true that winning the Clan War will get you money, but you can make money with your production skills normally, and I do not think you need to participate in the Clan War."

Hayato was at a loss for an answer.

The purpose was outside the game, in reality. Hayato’s purpose was the prize money he could get in the real world. But even if he told Esha and the others, who were NPCs, they wouldn’t understand. Or there was a high possibility that they wouldn’t understand even if he told them the reason due to AI protection.

Esha narrowed her eyes at the silent Hayato.

"I do not want to think it, but could it be that you are also participating in the Clan War without any particular reason, Master?"

For some reason, Esha seemed a little displeased, and Hayato steeled himself. He couldn’t tell the truth, but he decided to say something that wasn’t wrong. He could have made up a story, but Hayato didn’t want to do that.

"If I get to the top of the rankings in the Clan War, I can make my dream come true."

Hayato’s dream. It was to open a coffee shop. He had seen an old movie by chance and thought, this is it. He didn’t know how much money it would cost, and he had no know-how. But his enthusiasm wasn’t so low that he would give up without trying.

And that chance was in the game. A chance he normally couldn’t get even if he stood on his head.

It was a gamble to run a coffee shop with real coffee. Since he was going to gamble anyway, Hayato decided to bet everything on it and impulsively quit his company. There was also the fact that the job didn’t suit him, and he was tired of being used by people, but it was a dream that didn’t seem achievable even if he worked normally and saved money.

He had thought it would be possible to get into the top rankings with the members of Kokuryu, but for whatever reason, he ended up leaving the clan, and he thought his gamble had failed. But thanks to that, it could be said that he had shifted to aiming for the prize money no matter what. And thanks to the NPCs, he was back in a position where he could aim for it. Hayato’s gamble could be said to be still ongoing.

(It’s bad enough that I’m gambling when my livelihood is at stake, but if I don’t, I won’t be able to get out of this situation anyway… I wonder if I really need to get rid of the softness Esha mentioned to make it from now on.)

As Hayato was thinking this, Esha was staring at him with a serious face.

"A dream?"

"Ah, yeah. Can you not ask what kind of dream it is? I think it’s more likely to come true if you don’t tell people about these things… Um, will you accept that?"

"…Yes, I accept it. I see, so you have a dream, Master, and you were participating in the Clan War to make it come true."

"That’s right. Well, you might think I’m not desperate enough for that, though."

"Yes, not at all. You need to do it with the feeling that you’ll knock down your opponent using any means necessary. However…"

Esha smiled at Hayato.

"I do not think you can cure that wimpy personality of yours, Master, so I will slaughter any enemy for you instead. As thanks for the three meals with dessert… No, it seems that everyone here will do so. They seem motivated, too."

"If that was your reason, then I’ll make sure this clan gets to the top of the rankings. But you have to tell me that dream someday."

"I, I’ll do my best too! I’ll curse anyone and everyone! Uhihihi…"

"I will also help in any small way I can."

Ash, Ren, Relic, and the members of the mercenary group also said they would lend Hayato a hand. Then everyone started talking about their own dreams. There were various dreams, from achievable ones to outlandish ones, but everyone was talking happily.

(Did Esha just dere a little? That’s kind of ticklish. But everyone’s cheering for me. Maybe if I had explained properly when I was in Kokuryu, things wouldn’t have turned out like that, though it’s too late now. Putting that aside, everyone has their own dreams, too. Even if it’s just a game, if my skills can do something about it, I’d like to help them come true.)

Hayato thought this as he looked around at everyone. He then slowly drank his coffee and let himself be enveloped in the cheerful atmosphere.

The day after that victory celebration, Hayato was surrounded by maids and taken to the Maid Guild without any explanation.