kscans

Chapter 335 - A Difference in Knowledge

Hayato and the others were holding a discussion in a mansion in the Eastern Country of Azuma.

The Shooting Star clan and its subordinate clans that had attacked the mansion had been completely wiped out.

Most of them had returned to their own bases via death, but some remained fallen on the ground. When they were revived while still tied up with rope, they bowed their heads and apologized.

Even with their apologies, some of the members were not particularly repentant. There were even those who were delighted to have fought the Demon Lord.

For most people, this was just a virtual reality game. It couldn't be helped, but that fact meant nothing to the NPCs who lived here.

Benitsuru had ordered her samurai to imprison those players. They were to spend some time reflecting in jail.

And the members who had fled were now treated as wanted criminals. Benitsuru, huffing with indignation, instructed her samurai that the kingdom and empire would also be notified, and a bounty would be offered for their capture. Specifically, every single person belonging to a clan under Shooting Star was a target.

Similarly, Harrington, the leader of Shooting Star, and the maid Cremola, who had also remained fallen, were revived while restrained. For some reason, they both apologized as well.

They claimed that all responsibility for this incident lay with them, and that the members who fought alongside them were merely incited. They pleaded repeatedly that if blame was to be assigned, it should be to them alone, but Benitsuru would surely not accept such a convenient story.

Though various things were happening, for Hayato, such matters were secondary.

Siegfried was still in a cage.

Simon had protected him, but Ronios had returned to her base upon death, taking the key with her. The cage could be opened with a Lockpicking Skill of 100, but there were no players or NPCs with the skill nearby.

Relic or Sonia could do it, but even if they logged in right away, their starting point would be the base in the Royal Capital, so they couldn't open the cage on the spot.

Upon learning this, Simon’s face turned deathly pale. "I’ll commit seppuku!" she cried out, causing a commotion. Benitsuru and the Maid Chief had to stop her.

"Don’t worry, it’s all right! The Tamer Guild can open a Cage of Discord! But, Siegfried seems awfully tired…?"

Maris said this cheerfully, but she was clearly worried herself, talking to Siegfried about all sorts of things. For some reason, Siegfried was lying limply inside the cage.

Then Diite, who had approached the Cage of Discord and was examining it, muttered, "That’s impossible."

Diite stared at the cage as if glaring at it. She was so focused that she didn't notice everyone’s attention on her. She held the elbow of her left arm with her right hand, her left hand covering her mouth as if deep in thought. Her eyes were wide, as if she were looking at something unbelievable.

She hadn't moved at all. Realizing they were getting nowhere, Hayato called out to her.

"Diite-chan, is something wrong?"

She didn’t seem to notice Hayato’s voice. Diite didn't answer. She just kept staring at the cage.

"Diite-chan!"

Hayato placed a hand on her shoulder and raised his voice. Diite started and looked at Hayato.

"Ah, oh, my apologies… Hayato-kun, I need to talk to you. Come here for a moment."

Diite immediately headed to a corner of the room, and Hayato followed.

Everyone else looked on curiously, but they all had things to do, so they averted their gazes from Hayato’s group and got back to their tasks.

Hayato confirmed this, then turned to face Diite.

"What’s wrong?"

"Something terrible has happened. That cage is not just a ‘Cage of Discord.’ The situation is much worse."

"Meaning?"

"It’s weakening the real Siegfried-kun. A drug that drastically increases energy consumption is being gradually injected into him. At this rate, he’ll fall into a coma in less than half a day."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Why is that happening?"

Diite shook her head, her face tragic.

"I don’t know. This isn’t a new item like the ones Amanda-kun created. Its settings have been rewritten. On top of that, it won't accept any setting changes from me. The only way to save Siegfried-kun is to get him out of there quickly. I just don’t understand why this is happening…"

Looking at Diite, who was turning pale much like Simon had earlier, Hayato made an immediate decision.

"I understand. Then let’s save him right away. Maris just said the Tamer Guild can open a Cage of Discord, right? Let’s head to the western country immediately."

"That won’t work either. The settings have been rewritten. It absolutely cannot be opened without the key that matches that cage…"

Hayato once again looked toward the cage, wondering why such a thing had happened.

If someone could change the settings, only one person came to mind. Diite's backup, Hypnos.

Hypnos had tried to destroy this world and was captured by Infinity, the program that constructed it. Diite had said it was the result of the security functions kicking in, but it was possible he had broken through, or rather, shattered them.

Even so, the question of ‘why’ remained.

Hypnos had acted to seize the position of administrator of this world from Diite. It was impossible to think that this incident would lead to that. Hayato wondered what his objective could be.

"Hayato-kun, please believe me. I know it must sound like a lie, but I would never lie about…"

Diite looked at Hayato, her face still pale.

For a moment, he didn’t understand what she was saying, but he quickly realized. His silent contemplation had been misinterpreted by Diite as him doubting her words.

"There’s no way you’d tell a lie like that, Diite-chan. More importantly, we can save Siegfried if we have the key, right?"

"There’s no doubt about it."

"Got it. Then let’s get the key right away. Diite-chan, I need your help."

"...Of course. Thank you, Hayato-kun, for believing me."

Hayato told her not to worry about it, then his expression immediately turned serious as he approached Harrington and Cremola. Ney was nearby, speaking with them with a complicated look on her face, but he forcefully interjected.

"Is Ronios at the base in the Demon Country?"

The three of them looked surprised, but Harrington nodded.

"She is. We just had a voice chat. She says if we want the key, we have to come to the base and fight her."

"Your leader is here apologizing, yet Ronios is telling you to come get the key? I thought she had a great deal of loyalty to you."

"That is…"

"Hayato, that’s not right. The real leader is Ronios. Harrington is her second in command."

This time, Ney cut in.

"Is that so… Could she be the acquaintance you mentioned before, Ney?"

"Yeah. I saw these two and Ronios, though only for a moment when she was down, so there’s no mistake. And well, if she’s my acquaintance… you get it, right?"

She seemed a bit hesitant to say it, but he understood the situation. If she was Ney’s acquaintance, that meant she was connected to the Foundation. But for Hayato right now, that didn't matter.

"All right. Then let’s head to that base as fast as we can. I’ll need you two to guide us, but don’t try any delaying tactics or anything funny."

The three looked surprised by Hayato’s words.

"Um, Hayato, you understood, right? I meant she’s in the same position as me…?"

"I get it, but we don’t have time for that. I’ll apologize or whatever later, so please hurry. Also, could you tell that Ronios person that I’ll fight her, so she should hand over the key immediately?"

Hayato then called out to everyone.

"We’re heading back to the western country right now. We’re going to the Shooting Star base in the Demon Country, so get ready."

At his words, everyone frowned.

"Um, Hayato-san, the Tamer Guild can open this cage, you know?"

When Maris said that, Hayato shook his head.

"I had Diite-chan look into it, but it’s become a very special cage that won’t open without the proper key. Siegfried is in danger if we leave him like this, so let’s go take the key right away."

"Eh…?"

"I’ll explain the details on the airship, so for now, just get ready to leave immediately."

Some members looked skeptical, but seeing Hayato’s serious face, they quickly began to prepare.

Hayato approached the caged Siegfried.

"Siegfried, we’ll definitely save you, so hang in there."

As Hayato spoke, Siegfried lifted his head while lying down and responded weakly, "Nya."

"He says he’ll do his best, so he wants Nekomanma Deluxe for dinner."

At Maris’s words, Hayato nodded and looked at Siegfried. Then he smiled.

"You got it. I’ll make you as many five-star portions as you want. And you can ask for anything you like, be it tuna or saury."

Again, Siegfried said, "Nya," before his head dropped with a plop. He seemed to be conscious, but it must have been painful just to lift his head.

"What did Siegfried say?"

"He says he’ll follow you for life… Hey, Siegfried!? I’m your master, right!?"

It was unclear whether it was Siegfried’s way of being considerate or if he simply didn’t understand the situation. But it felt as though Maris, who had been panicking, had returned to her usual self, just a little.

Hayato wondered what to make of a master being comforted by her pet, but he also thought it was an ideal relationship. He immediately started preparing the airship to get the key.

The airship was heading toward the western country at full speed.

It would take two hours to reach the western country. From there, it was another hour to the Demon Country, but this was deemed the fastest route.

Benitsuru and Simon had decided to remain in the Eastern Country. With the Shuten Doji subjugation event and the recent incident, the Eastern Country was in a state of considerable confusion, and they couldn't leave until it subsided.

They both apologized repeatedly for not being able to go, but no one minded. Lunaria settled the matter by saying, "I’ll get serious for the both of you, so it’s fine."

They launched the airship immediately after. It was their first time returning to the western country by airship, but with Diite’s navigation, there were no particular problems.

The plan was to stop by their base, retrieve materials from the storage, and load them onto the airship. Rose had told him that there were still plenty of materials in storage, and what they had brought to the Eastern Country was only a fraction of it.

The Shooting Star base in the Demon Country was built like a dungeon with monsters roaming free. Their current supplies were worryingly low for such a raid. Since they didn't know what to expect, they planned to take as much as they could from the storage.

Hayato was busy creating medicines and food while explaining Siegfried's situation. Naturally, he didn't tell the members who didn't know about the real world, nor did he tell Cremola, Harrington, Jolth, or Victor.

The members who knew the truth were surprised to hear that Siegfried was a real cat and that his weakening state was affecting him in reality, but none of them doubted it. And though flustered, they were filled with motivation.

Opinions on Ronios were mixed. Since she didn't know Siegfried was a real cat, she was likely doing this without knowing the consequences, but the consensus among the members who knew the situation was that she was "someone who does unnecessary things."

And Ronios’s motive was explained by Cremola and Harrington.

Apparently, Ronios had a considerable fixation on Hayato and had always said she wanted to fight him. They weren’t told the reason, but she had reportedly said many times, with delight, "He’s a huge idiot, but he’s brilliant."

Hayato was troubled to be judged like that by a complete stranger, but Jolth had also spoken about it. He had a promise with Ronios and couldn't say anything, but since Cremola and Harrington had spilled the beans, he decided to follow suit.

To summarize their story, she wanted to anger the brilliant Hayato and his companions to have a real, serious fight.

As far as Hayato was concerned, all he could think was that people from the Foundation must have a different brain structure. He could sort of understand the desire to test one's strength, but he couldn't comprehend how one would reach such a conclusion.

Besides, if you want to win, the ideal way is to defeat your opponent before they even realize they're in a fight. Fighting with both sides giving their all is like a sport. Hayato felt it was meaningless.

Hayato had seen it in old videos before. Wild animals don’t deliberately show themselves and declare they’re about to attack when hunting prey. They approach without being noticed and strike before they are.

Ronios was inferior even to those animals that lived in the wild. That was Hayato’s assessment. And he thought that if they did fight, winning by just messing around instead of being serious would be the most humiliating outcome for her.

But he set that aside for now.

There was something else that concerned him more, so Hayato decided to speak with Jolth alone.

"Are you perhaps connected to the Foundation?"

"Ah, that. That’s an old story. I’m just a normal person now."

"Normal, huh."

"Don’t worry. I don’t have any power to do things in the real world anymore. That’s part of the reason I left. Well, let’s talk about that later."

Figuring he was right, Hayato stopped the conversation and resumed making medicines and food.

Hayato’s airship arrived in the Royal Capital.

There was no place to land near their base, so they kept the airship afloat. Lancelot, Garland, and the Black Rose’s Bloody Crow were used to descend to the base and load materials from the storage onto the airship.

Hayato also put items different from the usual materials into his own item bag. Items for fighting in case of an emergency.

Once the loading was finished, they departed for the Demon Country.

Hayato was making food and medicine from the materials and distributing them to everyone. Hayato, though not as much as Maris, was a little flusttered. He was trying to calm his mind by doing as much monotonous work as possible.

About thirty minutes passed, and they were halfway to the base when Surya’s voice echoed across the deck.

"Maris, calm down. If you look anxious, Siegfried won’t be able to rest easy."

Maris, who had recovered once, had become quite panicked after time passed and she saw the even weaker Siegfried. Surya was now admonishing her.

"B-but, Siegfried is getting weaker and weaker…"

"Pets can’t survive if they aren’t strong, but Siegfried is strong, so he’ll be fine. But no matter how strong a pet is, it’s meaningless if you, the master, are in a panic. If you maintain a resolute attitude, your pet will believe in your help and feel at ease. So calm down."

"I-I know that, but… but, what if Siegfried d…"

"Maris!"

Surya cut Maris off.

"Listen. You are Siegfried’s master. How can you not believe in him?"

Maris fell silent and looked worriedly at Siegfried inside the cage. Siegfried, without getting up, just turned his head and said, "Nyaa…"

"Eh…?"

"What is it?"

"Ah, um. He said I’m overthinking things… Huh? I feel like I’ve been told something similar a long time ago…?"

"Siegfried is the wiser one. That’s right. For now, you just need to think about getting the key. Besides, you have reliable companions, don’t you, Maris?"

Maris gasped and looked around her. Seeing everyone nod, she nodded back with teary eyes.

"You’re right. I might not be much, but everyone else is amazing, so I had no reason to worry. It’s okay, Siegfried. Everyone will take care of it, so rest easy."

"Nyaa."

Siegfried meowed more forcefully than before. Immediately after, Maris laughed.

"He says the only thing he’s worried about is tonight’s dinner. And I’ve already left that to Hayato-san, so you don’t have to worry!"

"I said it in the Eastern Country too, but I’ll make you anything, so leave it to me."

When Hayato said that, Siegfried responded by wagging his tail while lying down.

Hayato had also been thinking unnecessary thoughts about who caused this situation, but he stopped. Right now, he would only think about saving Siegfried.

Thirty minutes after that exchange, they finally saw the place where Shooting Star had their base.

A desolate, ruined castle surrounded by a forest. The weather in the Demon Country was always bad, and the darkness added to the eerie atmosphere.

But the members here now would not be intimidated by such a thing.

Although it was in the middle of a forest, there was an open area nearby, so they landed there. Everyone disembarked and stood at the entrance of the ruined castle. The castle looked much larger than it had from the airship, and it seemed like exploring it would take time.

"Let’s split up to find Ronios. Once we find her, I’d like to say we fight immediately, but let’s make her promise to hand over the key first."

"About that…"

Harrington interjected into Hayato’s words.

Apparently, Ronios had sent a voice chat saying she put the key in a treasure chest she was guarding. The key could only be obtained by defeating her. Furthermore, she was waiting in a special field where only one-on-one combat was possible.

Hearing this, Diite frowned, but Hayato thought that if that was the case, it would be simple.

"Then, find Ronios and defeat her immediately to get the key. After that, let’s return here right away. Maris and Surya, I’d like you to wait here with Siegfried. And Diite-chan, is that okay with you too?"

He judged it would be better for them to wait here than for Maris to wander around the castle carrying the cage. Plus, having Diite there would make it easier to deal with anything that might happen.

No one raised any objections to this.

The group split into five teams.

Lunaria, Zenobia, and the Black Rose. Gil’s Ten Dark Knights. Ash’s group of Genesis Dragons. Ney’s Kokuryu clan. And Hayato and Esha’s former Hero team. Jolth and Victor would accompany Hayato’s group, while Cremola and Harrington were tied to a tree away from the entrance.

Once preparations were complete, everyone set foot into the castle.

The ruined castle serving as their base was quite large. Hayato had been to the Demon Lord's Castle before to meet Diite, and he thought this place might rival it in size.

Lunaria and her team headed for the top floor, the most likely location, while Hayato's team headed for the basement, the next most likely. The other members would thoroughly search the rest of the castle.

There was little conversation among Hayato’s group as they explored the basement. Currently, only Hayato and Esha knew the full situation. Cecil, Noat, Jolth, and Victor did not. However, the atmosphere around Hayato and Esha was such that even making light-hearted remarks felt inappropriate.

As Hayato explored while defeating monsters, he thought.

The best outcome would be for Lunaria's team to find Ronios. He couldn't imagine Lunaria losing in a one-on-one fight, and the match should be over in an instant. The other members were strong too, but it wouldn't be an instant kill.

Esha could also end it quickly if she could fire Destroy, but he was wary of the ‘special field’ Ronios was in and felt it was uncertain whether she could even use it.

While contemplating various things, they found a large double door in the basement.

It was just a weathered wooden door with an iron keyhole, but it gave off a strange atmosphere. Hayato pushed the door open without any hesitation.

Beyond it was a staircase leading further down, and at the bottom, there was some kind of light source, making it quite bright.

Hayato descended the stairs without hesitation.

Since Ronios had said she wanted a serious fight, he didn't think she would set up traps in a place like this. Honestly, he thought it was naive, but perhaps that naivety was part of being a Foundation member.

At the bottom of the stairs was a huge space.

It was a circular hall like a coliseum, with tiered spectator seats surrounding a round stage.

The stage was surrounded by a moat about ten meters wide separating it from the spectator seats, with water about five meters below.

There were only two narrow suspension bridges to the stage, one from the spectator seats, and another from a place that looked like a VIP box. That area was much higher than the spectator seats, constructed so that one had to cross the bridge.

In the VIP box, there were several luxurious chairs, and Ronios was sitting in one of them. A treasure chest was right beside her.

Ronios had her hair pulled back as if in an all-back style and tied behind her. She had her legs crossed, her right elbow resting on the railing, and her fist pressed against her right cheek as if in thought, but she smiled upon seeing Hayato and the others.

"It seems Hayato is the first to arrive."

Ronios's voice echoed in the quiet space. They were about fifty meters apart, but perhaps because this was virtual reality, Hayato could hear and see her clearly.

"Hand over the key."

Hayato said only that.

But Ronios shook her head with a laugh.

"You’ve heard the rules, haven’t you? If you want the key, you have no choice but to defeat me."

"Fine, then let’s fight. Are we fighting on that stage?"

"That’s right. Only two people can enter that stage. And you win by defeating your opponent or knocking them off the stage. Only the winner can cross the bridge. The key is in this treasure chest, so you have to defeat me and come over here. It's a pretty good setup, don't you think?"

"I understand the situation. Then let's fight right away."

"You don’t have to be in such a hurry. I wanted to have a nice long chat with…"

"I have nothing to say to you."

Ronios, who had been smirking, looked displeased, but as if to say it couldn't be helped, she stood up and crossed the bridge.

Esha immediately raised her gun, but Ronios held up her open right hand toward her.

"I wouldn’t do that if I were you. This area is designed to block outside attacks and support. If you do anything unnecessary, the attack will be reflected."

"Esha, stop it. Besides, this is where I come in, right?"

Cecil said this and lightly pressed down on the barrel of Esha’s raised gun with her left hand. Esha said, "Then I’ll leave it to you," and lowered her Beelzebub.

Cecil tilted her head to the right, then left, and swung her arms loosely as she warmed up.

"Alright, I was feeling a little unsatisfied last time because I thought you'd come for a rematch right away. This time, I'm going to get more serious, you hear?"

"Yes, please do. It wouldn’t be meaningful otherwise."

Ronios replied to Cecil with a confident expression. Then she drew her rapier.

But before Cecil could cross the suspension bridge, Hayato stopped her.

"I’ll handle this. It’s not even worth Cecil getting serious."

Everyone except Hayato was at a loss for words. In that time, Hayato quickly crossed the bridge and stepped onto the stage.

Ronios, who was initially surprised, now had a look of exasperation.

"I did want to fight you, Hayato, but I don’t want to have a combat match. Besides, you know players can’t fight each other, right? I was hoping for a serious opponent, and now I feel like you’ve thrown cold water on my plans…"

"It’s a small thing compared to what you did, wouldn’t you say?"

Hayato said this while looking around the stage. It was a circle about twenty meters in diameter. From the center, it was about ten meters to the edge. Hayato shifted his standing position slightly. Normally he couldn't win, but if there was a ring-out loss condition, he had a chance.

After checking the stage, Hayato looked at Ronios's equipment, being careful not to let his gaze give him away, especially her rings and bracelets. He was relieved to see it was the same equipment she had worn in the dining hall.

Hayato put on a provocative face. He wasn't much of an actor, but he imitated Ash and the others who sometimes practiced in the cafe. His expression was awkward, but it was a necessary act to anger his opponent.

"Now you understand a little of what it feels like to be harassed, right? And since you’re going to lose anyway, just hand over the key."

At his overly provocative words, Ronios grew suspicious.

"Are you perhaps trying to anger me and do something?"

Hayato didn't answer. He just pretended to be slightly surprised.

And he thought. Smart people immediately try to read the hidden meaning behind their opponent's actions. And when they think they've figured it out, they assume their opponent is inferior to them and end up defeating themselves.

"If that’s the case, then it's a shame. I won't get angry over something like that. I suppose I have no choice but to forcefully remove you. I can’t deal damage, but I can knock you out of the ring. I’m sure you understand, but due to our STR difference, the reverse is impossible. The moment you came here, Hayato, you lost."

Ronios approached Hayato. Just as she was one step away, she noticed the knife he was holding.

The knife Hayato held was the "Adamantite Knife - Extreme." It was treated as an item used for cooking, not a weapon.

"Were you perhaps planning to fight with that? That’s just an item to display the production menu, it doesn’t even do damage, right? Well, in a fight between players, any weapon is…"

Ronios stopped mid-sentence.

Hayato has been playing this game for a much longer time than she has. There's no way he wouldn't know something so basic.

This is dangerous. Perhaps thinking so, Ronios tried to leap backward, but she was a step too slow.

Hayato stepped toward Ronios and brought his empty left hand close to her face. Immediately after, his left hand emitted a rainbow-colored light.

While holding the knife in his right hand, he used his index finger to select coffee from the menu. Hayato knew where everything was on the menu without looking. He just chose it without a moment’s hesitation, as always.

The light that appears when an item is created. That happened in Hayato’s left hand. And with coffee, it was guaranteed to be five stars, so a rainbow light shone brightly.

Ronios saw that light right in front of her and averted her face from the glare. She covered her face with her left hand and retreated, using her rapier to keep Hayato at bay. But even if it hit, Hayato would take no damage, so it was no deterrent.

Adjusting his position, Hayato moved even closer to Ronios. Since he moved, the coffee creation was canceled and the light subsided. He quickly equipped a ring he had brought and traded a certain item to Ronios.

Trade is a system for giving items to another player. The transfer of an item is only possible with the consent of both the giver and the receiver. But Ronios had her eyes closed due to the glare and didn't notice that a trade had been offered.

"To think you’d use a flashbang. But you can’t win with just that… Hmm?"

Finally recovering from the glare, Ronios realized that Hayato had offered her a trade. But she didn't understand what meaning it had.

"A Chocolate Bomb…?"

It was a party-favor type of gag item that dealt no damage, but if not accepted, it would explode after five seconds, causing knockback to both players.

If she had known, she would have accepted it immediately, but a beginner who had recently started the game wouldn't know. Hayato was betting on that.

"These are my feelings for you. Explode."

Five seconds had passed since the trade was offered. In that instant, the Chocolate Bomb exploded.

Hayato was unaffected, but Ronios was sent flying by the blast.

"Wha…"

Ronios, letting out a cry of surprise, had already been blown off the stage and had no choice but to fall.

Then, the sound of her hitting the water reached Hayato’s ears.

Without even checking on the fallen Ronios, Hayato put the ring with knockback immunity back into his item bag and headed toward the treasure chest.