kscans

Chapter 316 - To the Eastern Country Once More

The day to depart for the Eastern Country had arrived.

At the port of the Royal Capital, Hayato and the others were waiting for the rest of the members traveling to the Eastern Country.

Esha, Cecil, and Noat of the former Hero clan; Ney and her Kokuryu clan; Ash and the other Genesis Dragons; and the tamer group of Maris and Surya had already finished their preparations and boarded the ship.

All that remained were the Demon Lord’s Army and Diite.

There was still plenty of time before departure, so Hayato waited without boarding the ship for the remaining members. He took a big stretch and looked up at the sky.

The weather was clear. It was a perfect day for a voyage, but Hayato had various things on his mind, so he couldn't enjoy it wholeheartedly.

He was concerned about the female butler, Ronios, and the maid, Cremola. And about the party that had moved in next door.

Yesterday, they had spent most of their time at the base preparing for the trip to the Eastern Country, but Ronios and her companion never came. And there had been no contact from the new neighbors.

It was possible the two things were completely unrelated, but Hayato suspected that the clan "Shooting Star" might have been the ones who moved in next door.

Jolth from the Bandit Clan had informed him that he was being targeted.

It wasn't that he was being targeted for harm, but rather that there was a possibility of various attempts to form an alliance. In fact, he had heard words to that effect from Ronios.

If one were to play an online game, such interactions were one of its charms.

However, Hayato knew the secret of this game and was enjoying this world together with the NPCs, so it was difficult for him to form an alliance and play with other players.

He occasionally fought alongside them, but that was only temporary. Wanting to form an alliance meant there was something they wanted Hayato and his friends to do for them, or something they wanted to do with them, over the long term.

It was just Hayato’s speculation, but the main reason they wanted to form an alliance was likely to gain the cooperation of powerful NPCs like the Demon Lord and the Hero. From the perspective of other major clans, that was the only value Hayato’s clan had.

The NPCs were people from a hundred years ago who had forgotten their real-world memories. There was no guarantee they would never remember, and he didn’t know what players might do if they somehow learned the truth.

For those reasons, Hayato made it a rule to only play with those who knew the situation, like Ney and the members of Kokuryu.

He wasn't taking responsibility for protecting every NPC in this game, but he wanted to do something, at least for the NPCs he had gotten to know.

There was a solution, but Hayato had no intention of taking it.

(There's no way I could stop playing with Ivan, Lunaria-san, and the others now. Ney is good friends with Rosalie-san, and everyone else has gotten close to someone,) he thought.

If he cut ties with the NPCs, the major clans would probably have no reason to bother him anymore.

But that was impossible. He didn't want to do that. In Hayato’s mind, the NPCs had a higher priority than the players.

For that reason, he had to maintain the current situation while dodging invitations from major clans.

For Hayato, it was important to avoid being taken hostage so that he wouldn't have to accept unreasonable demands.

He could avoid that by being with Esha, Ash, and the others. Even if Ronios and her group were strong, Esha and the others were even stronger. Overconfidence was not good, but he couldn't even imagine them losing.

The problem was if one of Hayato’s acquaintances were to be captured.

Ney and her group could manage. Even the somewhat clumsy Ney possessed unbelievable specs when it came to combat, and since she was usually with the members of Kokuryu, it was unlikely she would be captured.

The problem was the NPCs. Some were so strong you could say they were unbeatable, but he also had acquaintances who were not.

In this case, it was the maid, Rose, who was staying behind to guard the base.

Rose was strong in her own right, but not to the extent of being an outlier like the other NPCs. If she were outnumbered, it would be dangerous.

He wanted to say that players wouldn't go so far as to kidnap an NPC, but Hayato, and some other players, knew the rules of this game.

As long as the NPCs didn’t find out, even criminal acts were fine. And even if they did find out, it could sometimes be resolved with in-game currency. During the Clan War, there had been clans that did such things.

This time, he had invited Rose to go to the Eastern Country as well, but he received a passionate reply, "It is a maid’s duty to protect her master’s castle," so it was impossible to bring her along.

She had also told him, "If I am captured, you may abandon me." This was likely influenced by the fact that Rose had actually been captured before, and everyone had worked together to save her.

Even if she said that, there was no way he could abandon her. So, Hayato had asked the Maid Guild’s Maid Chief and Gil of the Ten Dark Knights to defend the base.

"Please leave it to me, Hayato-sama. Gil-sama and I will be sure to protect both the base and Rose. Gil-sama and I... this is the key point."

"It seems your clan is being targeted, Hayato-dono. It is natural to be concerned for Rose-dono, who is keeping watch alone. Rest assured. I will protect this place along with the Maid Chief-dono and the others. In return, I ask that you look after Lunaria-sama and the others."

With the strongest spear and shield assembled, and with members of the maids and the Ten Dark Knights also coming to help, the base’s defensive power had become quite formidable. It felt a bit like overkill, but he had asked for their help since he would be worried if something happened.

He had also asked the Maid Guild to gather information on "Shooting Star." They said they would have it investigated by the time he returned from the Eastern Country.

He had taken various countermeasures. But even after all this, Hayato was still worried.

With a major clan, you never knew what tricks they might pull. He could manage if they came at him with in-game military force, but it was difficult to deal with anything else.

Thinking about this, Hayato sighed.

"Are you still worrying, Master?"

Esha approached Hayato with an exasperated look on her face. She must have been on the ship but came to check on him.

"Yeah, a little. I feel bad for getting everyone involved in my boring problems."

"If anything, it is you, Master, who is being dragged into the affairs of this world. If anything troublesome happens, you should just tell Diite-sama. That will solve it."

"That’s true, but don’t you think Diite-chan tends to overdo things?"

It was true that if there was a problem, he could rely on Diite, who managed this world, and almost everything would be resolved. But Diite’s affection level for Hayato was quite high. He himself had a vague sense of this.

He didn't know how she would resolve it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it would take a form that dealt a considerable blow to the other party.

"Well, I probably would. I have no intention of letting anyone who causes trouble for Hayato-kun live in this world."

"Diite-chan."

Diite had arrived, dressed in her usual nun’s habit.

She seemed to have overheard Hayato and Esha’s conversation, and though she was smiling, it was a dark, scheming smile.

"Thank you for inviting me. I worked hard to make sure I wouldn't have to work for about a week for this occasion."

"That must have been tough. Sorry about that, weren't you busy with the event just starting and all?"

"The event is one thing, but with the increase in people, the number of inquiries has certainly gone up. But it’s mostly fine now. I plan to enjoy my vacation for a while."

The idea of an AI taking a vacation was interesting, but Hayato thought that if she had emotions this close to a human’s, she probably got tired too.

"By the way, Diite-sama, what do you mean by not intending to let them live in this world? Surely not literally?"

"Are you interested, Esha-kun?"

"Yes, well. Since the person who causes Master the most trouble in this world is you, Diite-sama."

"...That’s not exactly wrong, but when you put it like that, I have no words to reply. But, not to be outdone by me, aren’t you the same, Esha-kun?"

"I am aware. In fact, I cause him trouble in the real world as well. All things considered, I suppose I am number one."

"No, no, I also cause Hayato-kun trouble in the real world. I think I am number one."

"Could you two please not argue about which of you causes me more trouble?"

No matter who came out on top, it would only be a problem for Hayato. He wished they wouldn't engage in such a pointless contest.

Esha and Diite looked at each other, then laughed a little.

"Just kidding. The weather is so nice, but you looked so gloomy, Master, so I was just trying to lighten the mood. I won’t tell you to switch gears immediately, but there’s no point in worrying, so please forget about such things and enjoy yourself."

"Well, I know, but."

"Esha-kun is right. I have placed various restrictions on you, Hayato-kun, in your playing of this world. If anything happens, I will take care of it, so please rest assured."

"It’s reassuring to hear you say that. I plan to resolve things without borrowing your help as much as possible, but if something happens, I’ll be counting on you."

"Leave it to me. So I want you to enjoy this world to your heart’s content, Hayato-kun."

Diite was an AI, and this was a virtual reality. Even so, her words sounded sincere to Hayato.

"Thank you. I’ll do just that."

"Yes. By the way, has everyone not gathered yet? Isn’t it about time for departure?"

"All that’s left is Lunaria-san and her group. It’s as I expected, but I think they’ll arrive on time."

As Hayato said this, a group could be seen running toward the port. It was clearly Lunaria and her retinue.

When Lunaria arrived, she composed her appearance as if her previous haste had been a lie, then smiled fearlessly.

"A hero arrives late, so I’m safe."

"Aren't you a Demon Lord?"

"...A dark hero should also arrive late."

"You’re not late anyway, so it’s fine. But what was the reason you were almost late?"

"I thought if I stayed up from the day before, I wouldn’t be late, but I was shot down in the morning. It seems that even the perfect Demon Lord has a weakness against sleepiness."

(She has other weaknesses too, though. Like being afraid of ghosts or being weak to centipedes.)

Hayato looked at Rosalie, who had come after Lunaria.

No matter how you looked at it, she was exhausted. She must have been mentally tired.

"Did you and the others stay up all night with Lunaria-san?"

"That is correct. Lunaria-sama said, ‘Something terrible will happen if I sleep,’ and was holding a brush and ink, so we did our best. If anything, it was waking up Lunaria-sama in the morning after she fell asleep that was difficult. She was thrashing about in her sleep..."

"...Do you need medicine to stay awake? Or would a sleeping pill be better?"

"We are going to sleep normally from now on, so we don't need either. However, if possible, I would like you to prepare high-quality beds on the ship for the number of people we have."

"Leave it to me."

Hayato felt sympathy for Rosalie and the others and vowed to prepare the highest quality beds for them in the ship's cabins.

The ship’s journey was smooth, and they arrived in the Eastern Country without any particular problems.

It could be said that nothing happened during the voyage thanks to Lunaria, the Demon Lord’s Army, and Noat sleeping in their cabins.

At the pier in the port, a familiar face was there to greet them.

It was the princess of the Eastern Country, Benitsuru, and one of the Ten Holy Demonic Swords, Simon.

The two were wearing the same clothes as when Hayato and the others had left, Benitsuru in the pink kimono designed by Rosalie, and Simon in the white kimono and red hakama that Hayato had made.

And Benitsuru was waving both hands with a huge smile, as if expressing her joy with her whole body. Simon, on the other hand, had her arms crossed and was not moving much, but her face looked pleased.

And on the ship, Lunaria, who had just woken up, was waving both hands at Benitsuru.

When the ship docked at the pier, Lunaria immediately disembarked and ran to Benitsuru.

"Luna-cchi, yeeay!"

"Benny-chan, yeeay!"

The two high-fived with both hands, then rhythmically clapped each other's hands. And finally, facing Hayato, they both struck a pose with a sideways peace sign near their eyes, their tongues sticking out slightly.

They were symmetrical, with Lunaria on the left and Benitsuru on the right from Hayato’s perspective.

And the two of them stood still, staring at Hayato.

Whether by chance or intentionally, there was no one else around, and Hayato was put in a situation where he had to say something.

"...Did you practice that?"

"Let’s just say we underwent training so grueling it was soaked in blood and sweat. But with this, you could say we have mastered both yin and yang. We are truly without rival."

"The Princess too! So what do you think!?"

"...I thought that the world is a peaceful place."

"What kind of a reaction is that? Well, I guess that kind of surrealness is typical of Haya-cchi... maybe?"

"To not understand the greatness of this, I’m disappointed in you, Hayato-san. You need to study."

(That’s a harsh thing to say, but a Demon Lord and the princess of a country doing something like this is nothing but a sign of peace, I think.)

That was his impression, but he thought their movements were quite synchronized. They must have practiced a lot, but the two of them had been corresponding by letter and it should have been a while since they last met. They could probably understand the method through letters, but to be able to do it this well would require practicing with someone.

As Hayato was wondering about this, he noticed that Rosalie and Simon, who were nearby, had very dark expressions on their faces, and he understood a lot.

They must have been forced to be their practice partners. Whether it was proof or not, when Rosalie and Simon’s eyes met, they seemed to sense something and shared a firm handshake.

He felt like he wanted to see a scene of them practicing, but it was clear he would be cut down if he said such a thing, so Hayato decided to act as if nothing had happened.

"Um, Simon, it’s been a while. We’ll be in your care again."

"You came all this way. We owe you a debt we can never repay. We will welcome you anytime, so you can come more often. In any case, you must be tired from your journey by ship. I have prepared the same place as last time, so please, make yourselves at home first."

"Thank you, we’ll do that."

Hayato and the others were led by Benitsuru and Simon and moved to the mansion they had borrowed last time.