kscans

Chapter 320 - An Unexpected Connection

After defeating Yamata-no-Orochi, they climbed Takamagahara as planned, and the battle with Suzaku began at the summit.

Once again, Maris enraged Suzaku with a taming attempt, but this too was within acceptable limits. Everyone began to do what they could with precision.

First, they had to get Suzaku, a giant red bird, down to the ground.

Initially, the members capable of long-range attacks aimed for its wings.

From its appearance, water and ice attribute attacks were effective against Suzaku. Specifically, there was a gimmick where hitting its wings with ice attribute attacks several times would freeze them, preventing it from flying for a while.

Simon was the star here.

Using the bow Hayato had prepared for her and ice-attribute arrows, she hit the wings with an accuracy that could be called a hundred percent.

Then, when it fell to the ground, everyone began the ground battle.

Even though it had fallen to the ground, it was still one of the Four Divine Beasts. It breathed fire from its mouth, and when it stomped the ground with its feet, pillars of fire rose from the surrounding area.

It seemed it wouldn't let them win so easily, but on their end, they were fighting with raised voices, their spirits high with the thought of the open-air bath waiting after this battle.

Simon didn't attack the fallen Suzaku but prepared for her next attack.

Hayato approached and handed her some ice-attribute arrows while speaking to her.

"That's amazing. I didn't think you could hit all the wings of a Suzaku moving that fast."

"It is thanks to the bow Hayato made for me."

There was no accuracy correction in this virtual reality, so hitting the target was purely based on the individual's skill. It wasn't thanks to the bow he made, but Hayato nodded anyway.

"It was worth making. You seem to be taking good care of the katana too. It's a craftsman's greatest honor."

"Yes. It is already so dear to me that I could call it my favorite sword, so I cannot part with it. I wish I could equip five katanas just like Cecil-dono."

Simon said so and smiled. But her face quickly turned serious.

"By the way, what kind of person is that Surya-dono?"

"Um, is there something you're curious about?"

"She seems to be surprisingly good at handling dragons. It is far easier to land attacks than when we last fought Suzaku. It seems Surya-dono and Maris-dono are skillfully guiding Suzaku in the air."

"Ah, I see. As for what kind of person she is, I can only say she's an ace at the Tamer Guild, rivaling Maris. Oh, right, she apparently lost to Ivan and the others in the last Clan War."

"What...? Ah, so she was the leader of the tamer army that made it to the top eight. Then that strength is understandable. I thought I had seen such a strange appearance before, so that was why. I cannot talk, considering Cecil-dono."

Surya was dressed as a clown, primarily in white and blue, and wore a jester's mask on the right half of her face. It was certainly a rather strange outfit, even in the game.

"I would like to fight Surya-dono and Garland-dono someday. However, for now, it is Suzaku. My arrow supply is sufficient. It is dangerous, so Hayato should stay back."

"Got it. Good luck then."

"Leave it to me. I cannot show you a disgraceful sight!"

Just after Simon said that, the ice on Suzaku's wings thawed, and it flapped them on the spot.

But as it ascended, the arrows Simon had fired assailed it.

The successively fired arrows all hit their mark, and before Suzaku could return to the sky, its wings froze, and it fell to the ground again.

Everyone, including Hayato, let out a cry of admiration.

(It's a great help to have so many reliable comrades.)

Hayato thought to himself as he watched the battle with Suzaku.

After that, Suzaku's wings thawed several more times, but it was defeated without ever soaring through the sky again.

That night, the men decided to take a dip in the open-air bath together.

The original plan was to have them show him a folding screen said to be in the castle, but it required preparation, so it was postponed until the next day or later.

It wasn't a mixed bath, but the men and women had staggered their times.

This was to avoid an unfortunate accident like the last time. The women had already finished their bath and were now playing card games in their room.

The men's bath contained Hayato, Ash, Agres, Pat, and the male members of Kokuryu.

Last time, Gil and the other members of the Ten Dark Knights were there, so it felt a bit stuffy, but it wasn't like that this time. Hayato was leisurely soaking in the open-air bath.

For a while, they all talked about their future plans, but then Ash and Agres started a conversation about muscle training, got out of the bath, and began exchanging opinions on how to work out.

The Kokuryu members listened with great interest, but Hayato wasn't very interested, so he stayed in the open-air bath and relaxed.

When he looked up, the sky was filled with stars. He was enjoying a situation he couldn't experience in reality.

"Man, I really pushed myself today, for an old guy. An old man shouldn't overdo it."

Pat, who was also soaking in the open-air bath, said something like that.

"I don't think you're that old. Your attacks were precise, Pat-san. Besides, you chased after us on horseback during the Stampede, didn't you? If you can do that, you're still young."

During the Stampede event, Pat had chased the carriage carrying Noat and Lunaria on horseback. He had even engaged in a gunfight with Esha, who was also in the carriage.

"That did happen. But late forties is pretty old, you know. My stamina is nothing like it was in my prime. Well, it's a virtual reality so I don't get tired, but when I think about reality, it hits me hard."

Hayato thought that must be how it was.

Relic had said something similar. When you remember the feeling of your real body, it feels like it affects your movements in virtual reality.

"But even if you've lost some of your memories, you don't forget the skills you once learned. I'm still pretty good with a gun, something I practiced because I admired westerns."

"Oh, I see. Did you perhaps practice riding horses in reality too?"

"Of course. There are westerns without horse riding, but as a movie actor, there are times you have to ride. I really pushed to get them to let me practice."

"You could ride horses back then, huh."

Even now, there are many animals in Colony "Zoo".

However, they are completely managed, and there are no horses treated as riding horses. It's purely for the preservation of the species.

It is possible to keep some animals that have been successfully bred, but there's no doubt they are rare, and you can't even keep one without a lot of money.

"There were few, but there were horses you could ride. That said, they were under pretty strict management back then too, so you had to pay a lot of money. Well, Surya-chan taught me a lot, so it was worth more than the price."

"Huh? Surya-san?"

"...Ah, oops. I'm not supposed to say this kind of thing, am I...?"

"Um, is that...?"

"Ah, can you wait a second... Diite-chan, do you have a moment? Ah, yeah. I'll open a chat line with Hayato-chan too."

Immediately, a voice from Diite reached Hayato.

"Is something wrong? The men are in the open-air bath right now, aren't they? I'm an AI, but I'm technically female, so this is a little embarrassing."

"Sorry, sorry, I was a little inconsiderate. But can you hear me out? I accidentally let it slip to Hayato-chan that I've met Surya-chan in reality. Is that bad?"

"Ah, so that's it. Well, it's fine if it's Hayato-kun. It's not like he'll misuse that information."

"Diite-chan, you really trust Hayato-chan, huh."

"I trust Pat-kun and Ash-kun's group too."

"Thank you for that. So, what will you do, Hayato-chan? I got permission, but do you want to hear the rest?"

For the NPCs, talking about reality was a private matter. And since they had a past of escaping to virtual reality in despair over their situation back then, it was something they would rather not remember.

It felt intrusive to hear about their real lives from someone else, but based on his experiences so far, Hayato thought he should listen in case something happened.

"Could you please tell me?"

Pat nodded and then opened his mouth.

"Surya-chan belonged to an organization that protected animals from extinction back then. That's where they managed the horses and where I got to practice riding. Most of the movies back then were CG, but some used real animals, so I used that connection."

"An organization that protected animals from extinction, you say."

Of course, such organizations exist in Hayato's time as well. Colony "Zoo," managed by the Sagittarius Foundation, is one of them.

"Back then, or rather, since long before then, the extinction of animals was prominent, so it was an organization that worked hard to save as many animals as possible. Though it seems they didn't get along with another organization."

"Another organization?"

"Another group that protected animals in the same way. However, their policies were different, it seems. I don't know the details, though."

Hayato had a feeling he knew something about that organization.

Not the organization itself, but someone who belonged to it.

"Diite-chan, sorry if I'm wrong, but could the person who belonged to the organization that didn't get along with them be... Maris?"

"You're quite sharp. That's correct, Hayato-kun. Maris-kun was in that organization."

Pat was surprised by those words, but Hayato, who had suggested it, was also surprised.

"I'll explain briefly. Both organizations shared the idea of protecting animals from extinction, but their policies were different and incompatible. However, they had one thing in common, a lack of funds. So, I paid a large sum of money to those organizations to bring the two of them into this virtual reality. As I've said many times, I at that time was--"

"No, I get it, so it's okay. But, I see, so that's what happened."

Maris and Surya's conflict must have started back then. He didn't know what the difference in their policies was, but Hayato thought it might be similar to their current views on pets.

Putting that aside, there was a part he couldn't accept.

If they entered the virtual space to protect animals, they shouldn't have left Earth on a spaceship.

"Maris and Surya-san stayed on the spaceship, right? Was there a contract where they had to return the money if they got off the spaceship?"

"I wouldn't ask them to return the money. They escaped on the spaceship for another reason."

"Another reason...?"

"I'll tell you two since I trust you. It's better not to know unnecessary things, so I'd appreciate it if you don't talk about it too much. By the way, this is something I've already told Ney-kun."

Hayato and Pat looked at each other and then signaled their agreement.

"I've told you before, Hayato-kun, but the spaceship Aphrodite is Noah's Ark."

With just those words, Hayato somewhat understood the situation.

When he had heard it before, it was a story about how plants to cure Mist's disease were saved as data and could be regenerated.

It would be possible to regenerate animals from genetic information, but if this was a hundred years ago, there was a simpler story.

"So, you mean the animals from back then are also on the spaceship?"

"Correct. It's not just genetic information like with the plants, you could say the real things are there. Of course, there are also animals that are just data. This virtual reality was originally made for a new start on Earth after its resources recovered. So there's an area where the animals are in cold sleep in pairs. Maris-kun and the others were worried about those children and stayed here for them."

"Then their memories...?"

"No, they don't have their real-world memories. The two of them stayed in case something went wrong, but as long as the animals are safe, there's no particular problem. The plan is to restore their memories only for a new start or in an emergency. They were both excellent veterinarians and researchers, you see."

"I see..."

"However, the role of a new start is gone now, so I'm thinking of entrusting the animals to the Foundation. Ney-kun is making various arrangements right now. That brings up the matter of Maris-kun and Surya-kun. I'm at a loss as to what to do."

The two of them had stayed in this virtual space for the sake of the animals. If the animals were to be protected elsewhere, there would be no reason for the two of them to remain in virtual reality. She was probably wondering whether she should restore their memories.

Hayato and Pat both made troubled faces.

Though she couldn't see them, Diite must have sensed something. "Don't worry about it," she said.

"It's not something for Hayato-kun or Pat-kun to worry about. This is something for me to think about. Besides, Ney-kun has been very cooperative, saying, 'As an investor, I have to do something!' We'll do our best on our end, so I want you two to enjoy this virtual reality without worrying."

Even if she told him not to worry, now that he knew, he couldn't help but be concerned. But meddling when he hadn't been asked for help would be going too far. And the truth was, there was nothing he could do.

Hayato just said, "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know," and Diite replied, "I'll count on you then," and cut the voice chat.

After that, Pat bowed his head apologetically.

"Sorry. It's because I said something unnecessary."

"No, no, don't worry about it. I don't think it's a bad thing to share Diite-chan's worries. If a problem arises, we can probably tackle it sooner."

Pat looked a little surprised, then smiled faintly.

"It helps to hear you say that. I'll do my best to cooperate too, so if anything happens, I want you to let me know."

"Yeah, I'll be counting on you then... Well, should we get out soon?"

"I don't get light-headed, but it's about time. Well then, just as Diite-chan said, let's go have some fun playing card games with the girls! The old man is getting a little excited!"

"Agres says that a lot, but that's just an act, right...?"

"Well, I wonder?"

Pat said that and got out of the bath.

Hayato couldn't tell if he was deliberately saying that to change the strange atmosphere or if he was being genuine, but Hayato followed him, called out to Ash and the others, and headed for the changing room.