kscans

Chapter 340 - Sympathy

Hayato and the others had come to the Spirit Country.

Their goal was to gather materials to build a new base. Stone, lumber, ore, this country had every kind of resource imaginable. The sheer quantity and variety made it a welcome place for a production-focused player like Hayato. On the other hand, the monsters were just as varied, and the weather was fickle, which could be a hassle.

He walked, thinking that this time he'd like to take a leisurely trip to the scenic spot he'd visited with Diite before.

Previously, he had received lumber from the World Tree as a thank you for protecting it from the Elf Queen and the Dwarf King, but that was no longer the case. The period of gratitude had ended around the time he built the airship.

There was another reason he had come here. Esha had practically kicked Hayato out of the base while he was stewing over his various problems.

"You’re just moping around, cooped up in the base. Leave the shop to Rose and me, and go have some fun. Also, hurry up and break your Cooking Skill cap."

That was how she had sent him packing.

He'd thought to himself, She says I'm moping because I don't go out, but my real body is at the coffee shop, but he didn't say it out loud.

Ren saw this and exclaimed with delight, "She’s acting like a capable wife!" while Ash, in a comment that showed he either understood the mood perfectly or not at all, said, "Are you already whipped?"

Hayato chose not to respond to any of it. He silently prepared and made his way to the Spirit Country.

There was much to consider, but he decided to switch gears and just enjoy the game like a normal player for today.

Besides, there was nothing Hayato could do at the moment. The best he could manage was to prepare for battle.

He had already contacted Diite to inform her that the Demonfolk had lost consciousness and that the Ten Holy Demonic Swords from the Eastern Country were now serving Amanda. Diite had apparently acted immediately, and he heard she had already implemented countermeasures.

He wasn't entirely sure what Diite could and couldn't do now, but she had reportedly blocked Amanda's ability to seize control of NPCs' consciousness.

He couldn't shake the feeling that they were always one step behind, but the fact that Hypnos had betrayed Amanda was a significant advantage.

However, Diite suspected that Amanda was anticipating Hypnos's betrayal, and that Hypnos himself might be hiding something.

Once you start doubting, there's no end to it, but being too trusting wasn't good either. So they agreed to maintain a reasonable distance in their dealings with Hypnos.

That was probably the right call.

Hypnos had asked them to defeat Amanda, but they couldn't be sure if he was truly on their side. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, it was better to assume that wasn't the case. It might be wiser to think of it as having one more enemy.

That was how Hayato saw it.

"Hayato, what's wrong? You've stopped walking."

"Huh? Oh…"

Ash, who had been walking ahead, came back and called out to him.

Without realizing it, Hayato had stopped in his tracks, lost in thought.

I thought I'd switched gears… No, maybe it's better if I think about it more… What should I do?

Hayato shook his head from side to side, deciding to at least get moving. He rejoined the rest of the group who were up ahead with Ash.

"You’re letting your guard down too much. It’s safer here than in the Demon Country, but the Spirit Country has its own dangers, so it’s best not to wander off."

Uncharacteristically, Lunaria was saying this with a serious expression, scanning her surroundings with caution.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Giant centipedes appear here. Not even a Demon Lord can beat those."

So that's what she was on guard for, he thought, but then another idea came to mind.

"Amanda doesn't know about that weakness, right?"

"…Probably."

"Don’t you worry, Lunacchi! I’ll slice any old centipede in two! A little slice and dice!"

"Benny-chan…!"

"This display of heated friendship is all well and good, but it is time to get serious. Besides, this is combat training for all of us, myself included. Things are different from the Eastern Country, so we must acclimate ourselves before a real battle begins."

When Simon said that, both Lunaria and Benitsuru snapped to attention with a sharp salute and replied cheerfully, "We’ll do our best!"

Hayato thought Lunaria didn't really need to, but he let it slide and looked around.

The usual members were just Hayato, Ash, and Lunaria. The rest were all from the Eastern Country. They were dressed as samurai, ninja, kunoichi, miko, onmyoji… that sort of thing.

Their main battles would be PvP against the New Demon Lord’s Army, but the Demon Country was also home to ferocious monsters. Since there was a high chance of being attacked while capturing territory, the members from the Eastern Country had decided to get some practice fighting monsters from the western lands.

Monsters in the East and West were different. From Hayato’s non-combatant perspective, he wondered if there was really that much of a difference, but according to Simon, they were completely different.

And so, most of the members today were from the Eastern Country.

Esha and Rose were minding the shop, while Ren and Noat were on standby at the base. The Genesis Dragons Suien and Randa were also visiting, but they had enthusiastically declared they were staying at the base for some girls' talk.

Incidentally, Suien had been appointed as one of the Seven Demon Generals of the Demon Lord's Army, taking on the title ‘Suien of Envy’.

He had expected her to be reluctant, but that wasn't the case at all. "It is through the emotion of envy that a woman vows to become more beautiful. I accept this great responsibility!" she had declared, surprisingly into it.

And Randa had asked, "Is there anything for me, boss?" to which Lunaria said she would think about it. Randa was thrilled to have a tentative offer to join the Demon Lord’s Army, but Hayato wondered if that was really okay.

Rosalie, Gil, and the others were busy investigating in the Demon Country and weren’t here today.

On top of that, he had also requested the Maid Guild to investigate, and various bits of information were starting to come in.

Just as Hayato had imagined, the information confirmed that several large, newly prominent clans were siding with Amanda's New Demon Lord's Army.

The major clans participating in the clan meetings were "Bounty Hunter," whose main goal was to win prize money from the game, "Rampage," who slaughtered monsters to the point of ruining hunting grounds, and "Despair Angel," a bizarre group whose pronouncements were often incomprehensible. By the way, Despair Angel’s official name was written as "Zetsubou☆Tenshi" and pronounced Despair Angel.

Meanwhile, Alvie of "Kiss of Death" had sided with them.

Apparently, the thought of opposing Noat was out of the question. Noat was highly respected by the members of "Kiss of Death," and no one had objected to this decision.

However, Alvie had recently been coming to the base trying to lure Noat outside, which has led to the sad result of Noat being extremely wary of him.

Be that as it may, they predicted that the small and medium-sized clans would side with whoever was winning. The Maid Guild and Butler Guild were already spreading rumors that the old Demon Lord's Army under Lunaria was stronger.

We need to capture as much territory as possible before we can have a one-on-one fight with Amanda. There’s prize money on the line, and the old, major clans will want to beat us, so they’ll fight for real. I hear they’re forming alliances and expanding their clans, so we need to gather more allies too…

Hayato thought that far and then caught himself. No, no, he shook his head and spoke up.

"Alright, we’re about to reach the logging area, so equip your axes and rings. The goal is one hundred logs per person. If you can get even one piece of Sacred Tree lumber, it's a huge success, but the probability is low, so don't worry if you don't get any. Also, if any monsters get close, take them out immediately."

The target was the Sacred Tree, said to be the next rarest after the World Tree. The Magic Tree, which became the material for Mist's coffin, was similar, but that could only be harvested in a very dangerous part of the Demon Country, so he chose this one instead.

Hayato had distributed "Woodcutter’s Axes," which boosted the Logging Skill, and rings with the same effect to everyone at the base. They all equipped them as told and let out a spirited "Alright!"

Amidst them, only Lunaria did not equip an axe.

"I think I will use Arondight to log. I will not cheat on it with another weapon."

"It’s not cheating, but Arondight will cry, so please don’t. Besides, you can’t log with a regular sword."

"Then it can't be helped. Benny-chan, let’s race to see who can gather more. The loser treats the other to anmitsu."

"You’re on! But before that, Hayacchi, can I ask you something?"

"Oh, is there something you don’t understand?"

"It's not that. You see, believe it or not, I’m the princess of the Eastern Country."

"I know that, but…?"

"And Lunacchi is the king and Demon Lord of the Demon Country."

"I know that very well."

Benitsuru’s eyes flew wide open.

"Isn't it weird to ask those two to chop down trees!? I mean, I’ll do it, okay? I’ll do it, but you’re the only one who would ever ask something like this, Hayacchi!?"

"Princess. We have caused Hayato much trouble and are indebted to him. It is only natural that we do this much."

Simon’s words to Benitsuru were meant to be instructive, but Hayato thought she had a point. Debt aside, asking a Demon Lord and a princess to chop down trees in a forest was, under normal circumstances, unthinkable.

But if he had to say so himself, neither of them felt like a princess or a Demon Lord to him. They felt more like neighborhood kids who required a lot of looking after.

"And you were also indebted to Hayato at the Tamer Guild, were you not? It is thanks to Hayato that the procedures went smoothly even without Maris-dono and Surya-dono present. He even accompanied you to the other guilds in the Royal Capital, so you should be grateful."

Maris and Surya had returned to the real world and started working as veterinarians at Colony "Zoo." While they were absent from this virtual reality, the cover story was that the two of them had gone off to a distant land to capture rare monsters.

Thus, Hayato had handled the introductions and procedures at the Tamer Guild on Maris’s and Surya’s behalf.

"Yeah. Of course I’m grateful, and it’s not like I don’t want to do it. It looks fun. I just wanted to call you out on it, Hayacchi!"

"Ah, yeah. Maybe that was a bad thing to ask of you two. Come to think of it, I was told something similar before. Someone was shocked that I gave orders to a Hero and a Demon Lord. I was just asking a favor, though…"

Hayato spoke that far, then had a bad feeling.

He excused himself from Benitsuru and the others, stepped away, and sent a voice chat to Hypnos.

"Hypnos!"

"Hayato? You don’t need to shout, I can hear you. What is it?"

"The Hero, Ivan, you haven’t done to him what you did to the Demonfolk, have you!?"

Hypnos started laughing.

"You’re a little late to realize. I secured Ivan even before the Ten Holy Demonic Swords. Well, I heard he lost to Lunaria before, though."

The casual way he said it made Hayato’s guard against Hypnos rise.

Hayato glanced over at Ash, who was watching him from a distance.

He shouldn't have trusted him in the first place. The outcome may have ended peacefully, but it was undoubtedly Hypnos who had done those terrible things to Ash and Ren.

"Is Hypnos really just Amanda's puppet? Why didn’t you say anything?"

"I didn’t say anything because you didn’t ask. I didn’t think it was a big deal. And there is no doubt that I am Amanda’s puppet. I just don't offer my own opinions, you see."

"…Let me confirm this again. You genuinely want Amanda defeated, right?"

"Of course… Your tone is different than usual. Are you angry?"

"Do you not care who wins? Is that how you see this?"

Hayato ignored Hypnos's question and asked his own.

But Hypnos didn't answer.

"Is your silence an admission?"

"No, I was just a little surprised. I was wondering if Hayato’s insight is superior, or if my own demeanor has become more human, for you to have sensed that from my attitude."

"So what I'm saying is correct?"

"Half correct. It's because it seems to me that it won’t affect me much whichever side wins. If Lunaria wins and I’m freed from Amanda, I’ll likely be trapped in that empty space again. Conversely, if Amanda wins, I’ll just be her puppet forever. To me, either future seems no different."

"Then why did you tell me and Diite-chan about Amanda? If both outcomes are more or less the same, you didn’t need to appear before us at all, did you?"

"Even if the futures are inconsequential, I at least want to choose one for myself. I came to you because I concluded that I don't want to be Amanda's puppet. But separate from that, I have expectations for you, Hayato."

"Expectations?"

"Yes. As I just said, I only have those two futures. Either remain Amanda’s puppet or return to the empty space. But, I thought that if Hayato got involved more than necessary, another path might open up."

"Another path…?"

"It doesn't mean a better future than the two I mentioned. There could be a worse one, but I thought I might get some kind of unpredictable result. That is what I expect from you, Hayato."

Hayato couldn't say anything in response to that.

As he remained silent, he heard a small scoff, a fu, from the voice chat.

"Don’t mind me. It's just my own selfish expectation. Now then, this isn't an apology, but I'll tell you something. I have taken Ivan's consciousness, but I've set it up so he'll return to normal if you defeat him. Unlike the Demonfolk, he can regain his senses without you having to defeat Amanda, so you can rest easy."

"What?"

"I’m Amanda’s puppet, but she never told me not to do that. So I added a little bit of playfulness."

"Playfulness… So if we defeat him even once, Ivan will be on our side?"

"Once he regains his senses, I believe he will be."

Hayato let out a sigh of relief. If Ivan were a constant enemy, capturing the Demon Country's territory would become much more difficult.

"Unfortunately, I have some bad playfulness as well. I'll tell you this too."

"Huh? Bad playfulness?"

"Ivan’s clan, Blackjack, all the members except Esha and the others are on our side. Relic was logged out so he was no good, but including Ivan, you can assume six of their members are with us."

"You're kidding…"

"It’s true. Though, including Ivan, I don’t think they’re very strong."

Hayato didn't understand what Hypnos was saying.

The clan "Blackjack" had defeated Lunaria’s clan "Ambrosia" in the previous Clan War and won the tournament. There was no way they were weak. You could tell that just by looking at their former members, Esha, Relic, Cecil, and Noat.

Hayato couldn't comprehend what he meant by them not being strong.

"You seem to be pondering. Did you not understand?"

"Not at all. There’s no way they’re weak, right?"

"Their equipment certainly isn't weak. They’re wearing good gear. But their consciousness has been taken by Amanda’s command. And a simple AI is being used to move their avatars. It’s one thing if it were an AI like Diite or me, but this is a normal AI, you know? They’re like monsters wearing rare equipment. There’s no way such opponents could be strong, right?"

"Oh, so that’s what you mean."

"Exactly. Skill composition and stats are important, but in this virtual reality, things like motor skills, reflexes, and the ability to think on your feet are directly linked to strength. Amanda is just happy to have acquired monsters that are merely well-equipped."

Hypnos laughed at that.

He must have been somewhere Amanda couldn't detect him, as he laughed for quite a long time before finally stopping.

"Amanda often makes me laugh. There are few people who can make an AI laugh this much."

"You sound quite pleased."

"Humans may not understand, but learning emotions is important for an AI. In that respect, Amanda is the best teaching material. She is comical, but I also think she's pitiful."

"Pitiful?"

"Lunaria is rather childish for her age, wouldn't you say?"

"What's this all of a sudden?"

"Amanda is the same. She's a child. It's likely a side effect of growing up in a research institute, cut off from the outside world. As a result, Amanda grew into an arrogant child who thinks she's brilliant and looks down on others. Given Lunaria's case, I can’t say it's solely her environment that's to blame, but from the perspective of someone who grew up normally, doesn't Amanda seem pitiful?"

He had a point, but Hayato felt a sense of dissonance.

The last time he spoke with Hypnos, he had also said something sympathetic about Amanda. He had asked what Hayato thought about putting her to sleep forever.

Hypnos himself had said he didn't care either way, but maybe he actually wanted Hayato to save her.

That's how it seemed to Hayato.

"Hypnos, do you want to save Amanda?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What? Huh? I mean, you seemed quite sympathetic towards Amanda, so I thought maybe you didn't want her to be put to sleep forever. Like you were indirectly asking me to save her."

"No, not really. You can do as you please."

"Seriously…?"

"More importantly, you said something interesting. So, this emotion is sympathy. I feel sympathy for Amanda."

"What do you know. So you do feel sympathy. But why for Amanda? Because she’s pitiful?"

Hayato wished he had directed that feeling towards Ash and Ren. If he could sympathize with someone's circumstances, he would never have been able to do what he did.

Hypnos groaned for about ten seconds, thinking about something, then said, "Probably."

"My sympathy for Amanda is because her circumstances are similar to my own, I think."

"Similar circumstances…?"

"Amanda and Lunaria are similar, are they not? Their upbringings were almost identical. Yet, one is admired by all, and the other has no one by her side. What is this difference?"

"That’s…"

"I sometimes wonder what the difference is between me and Diite."

"Hypnos…"

"It’s possible that Lunaria and Amanda could have been reversed. I don’t know if it’s a matter of personality or circumstance, but their positions could have been swapped. It's different from my case, but I suppose that's what I sympathize with."

Hayato thought, I see, but again felt a sense of dissonance.

It was the part where he said, "It's different from my case."

In terms of their positions possibly being swapped, the same could be said for Diite and Hypnos.

"I get why you're sympathetic towards Amanda, but what do you mean, it's different from your case? Isn't it the same?"

He asked, but there was no reply from Hypnos.

"Hypnos?"

"I’ve talked a little too much. I’m hanging up now."

Hypnos ended the voice chat without waiting for Hayato’s reply.

Once again, Hayato thought, What the heck, as he returned to where Lunaria and the others were.

Ash asked worriedly what had happened, but since there were many NPCs around, Hayato decided to explain in detail at the coffee shop that night.

He also realized he needed to prepare countermeasures for Ivan and the rest of Blackjack, and so he began sending voice chats to various people.