kscans

Chapter 349 - A Proposal and the Angel of Despair

The morning after exploring the inside of the Zaratan, Hayato was explaining things to Esha in the base's dining hall.

Lately, the cafe had been getting a fair number of customers, so his free time had dwindled. With less time for idle chatter, he was making a point to explain things inside the game.

"So what happened then?"

Hayato had just gotten to the part where the monster called Pazuzu Prototype appeared and he was defeated. Esha, however, seemed to be growing bored and urged the story forward.

"I was just left there until the fight with Pazuzu was over."

"I know that part."

"Oh, right."

"Was there an item called a Zaratan Core?"

"There was. A few of them were rolling around inside the tank where Pazuzu was. It looked like the inside was much bigger, but our goal this time was the item, so we grabbed it and returned to the surface."

"Can you get it more than once?"

"I went again after we got back to the surface, but all that was left was a broken tank. Pazuzu was gone. The item was gone too. Still, everyone thinks it might respawn over time, so they're apparently going again today."

A fixed boss monster had a high chance of respawning after a certain period of time, even after being defeated. Otherwise, only the first player to defeat it would ever get the item.

The time varied depending on the monster, but they often respawned in a day, three days, or a week. This time, however, it was a brand new monster with no information available, so no one knew how long it would take to reappear.

"You're not going, Master?"

"They said it's fine even if I'm just lying on the ground defeated the whole battle, so..."

Hayato had decided not to accompany them into the Zaratan.

They had determined that they could clear it just fine without him.

Besides, Pazuzu was strong. It was the type of boss that flew around at high speed while scattering powerful area-of-effect magic, making it difficult to dodge and difficult to hit.

That said, the players who had been there were all top-class fighters who had been playing this game since the beginning. They had fought similar monsters before and had a wealth of experience in this game.

Though they were caught off guard at first, they quickly figured out its patterns, and from the midway point on, they were never in any danger. The only casualty was Hayato, who had been taken down during its grand entrance.

"Don't sulk."

"I'm not sulking. They also told me to focus on raising my skills..."

"It's a matter of putting the right person in the right place. Does this mean you also don't plan to go search for Arcadia, which is said to be in the Spirit Country?"

"I was planning to go, but everyone told me they'd rather I get my skills to 200 and share the information. Besides, the Arcadia group is all women, right? I'd feel a little hesitant joining them, it takes courage."

It wasn't a formal decision, but circumstances had naturally divided them, with the men's team on Zaratan and the women's team on Arcadia. Even in virtual reality, being the only man in an all-female party was a bit awkward.

"Then I'll search for your share in your place, so please stay here and keep Rose company."

"I'll do that. Oh, right, I actually just got a skill to 200 a moment ago. And it's led to another surprising situation."

"So that's why you've been itching to tell me."

"Well, yeah. Since you logged in early for once, Esha, I'll tell you first."

As Hayato spoke, he took out a ring.

It was an ordinary-looking ring, the kind that could be made with the Crafting skill.

"A ring, so does that mean your Crafting skill reached 200?"

"That's right, but first, could you take a look at its stats?"

As Hayato instructed, Esha looked at the ring's stats.

"Hand-to-Hand Combat skill plus 30? I thought the limit for skills boosted by items like this was around 20?"

There was a limit to the numerical increase provided by equipment stats. The highest value discovered for a skill boost was 20. The ring Hayato had taken out had a stat that increased a skill by 30.

There was also a limit that prevented a skill from being boosted by more than 50, even if multiple pieces of skill-boosting equipment were worn, but this ring made it possible to reach the cap of 50 with fewer pieces of gear.

"Actually, I didn't just make this out of the blue. I combined two pieces of equipment. That's the function you can use at Crafting skill 200. Synthesis."

"Synthesis?"

"It's limited to production items made with the Crafting skill, but you can synthesize two identical items into one. Well, there's a limit of one time, so it seems you can't make them infinitely strong. This time, as a test, I synthesized two rings with plus 15 Hand-to-Hand Combat to make a plus 30."

"That's incredible. Can you perhaps synthesize items with different stats together too?"

At Esha's words, Hayato took out another ring as if he had been waiting for her to ask.

"This is a ring that synthesizes Stun Immunity and Knockback Immunity. Isn't it amazing? With this ring, you can equip another immunity-type skill on your bracelet slot."

"Level 200 production skills are insane. Right now, it seems only you can do this, Master, but the entire game environment is going to change in a little while, you know?"

"Right? But this gives us a better chance of beating Amanda. I need to mass-produce these so everyone can have one."

Esha looked at Hayato with an exasperated expression.

"Mass production is hard, isn't it? And haven't you been getting a little too invested lately? You must be losing sleep."

"Well, yeah, but we can't lose the next event, and production is all I can do."

Esha wore a complicated expression, but Hayato didn't notice and tried to hand her the ring.

"I'll give this to you. It'd be bad if your Destroy gets canceled, so hold onto it."

"You're right. In that case, I'll take it."

Esha reached out to take the ring from Hayato.

At that moment, someone entered the dining hall.

"Esha-san, good morning. Today for Arcadia, we're... wha?!"

The newcomer was Ren.

Seeing the situation in the dining hall, Ren let out a cry of surprise and her eyes widened.

All Hayato and Esha were doing was trading a ring. But it was more than enough of a scene to cause a misunderstanding for Ren.

"Ren-chan, mornin'..."

"Please, continue. You can just think of me as a cursed stone rolling around somewhere."

"I'd be pretty concerned if a cursed stone was rolling around, wouldn't you?"

"Then think of me as a cursed doll! The continuation! Quick! Hurry! Harry!"

There was no way they'd be having this conversation in a place like that, Hayato thought. Furthermore, he had no idea why Ren was in such a state.

"Hey, Ren-chan, what's wrong?"

"Come on! Just get on with it, please! I'll be sure to etch whatever words you say into my mind!"

"Words I say?"

As Hayato grew even more confused, Lunaria arrived next.

"Good morning, Ren-chan. For today's breakfast...?!"

And Lunaria's eyes widened, just like Ren's.

"Lunaria-san, mornin'..."

"Continue."

"Huh?"

"You can just think of me as the Demon Lord who happens to be around and continue."

"That's exactly what you are, but it'd be a huge problem if a Demon Lord was just around, right? Or maybe not...? Anyway, what's with you two? Haven't you been acting strange?"

As Hayato tilted his head, Rosalie entered the dining hall next.

"Lunaria-sama, what are you doing in a place like this? Oh? Hayato-san, are you finally proposing? All I can say is, get a room."

Hearing Rosalie's words, Hayato finally understood. It was the situation of him giving a ring to Esha.

He had no such intention whatsoever, but from an outsider's perspective, it wasn't impossible to see it that way.

And Esha, for some reason, was holding out her left hand toward Hayato, back of the hand up, with a smirk on her face.

(She doesn't expect me to put it on her ring finger, does she?)

He considered putting it on her ring finger to teach the overly playful Esha a lesson, but you couldn't equip items on other people in this virtual reality. So, he just traded it normally.

And so Hayato had to explain the situation to everyone present.

*

The women's group headed off to the Spirit Country.

From Hayato's perspective, he'd undergone an interrogation so harsh he could only think, 'Finally, they're gone.' It had been on a level that would put a skilled detective to shame.

Rosalie and the members of the Black Rose were half-teasing, half-joking, but Ren and Lunaria were dead serious, demanding to know what the situation was with Esha. They even argued over which of them would give the speech as the friend of the bride.

After that, Benitsuru and Simon, who had arrived at the base, also bombarded him with questions. Simon, in particular, interrogated him with her hand on the hilt of her sword. Even in virtual reality, Hayato felt a little terrified.

Esha herself neither confirmed nor denied anything, just stood there smirking. Hayato was left to explain the situation all by himself.

It was likely thanks to him having prepared several synthesized rings and bracelets. Though Ren and Lunaria still looked dissatisfied, the other members were amazed by the powerful rings and bracelets and seemed to understand the situation in various ways.

"That was quite an ordeal."

Rose approached Hayato, who was slumped exhaustedly against a dining hall chair. She placed a coffee on the table.

Hayato said, "Thanks," took a single sip of the coffee, and let out a long sigh.

"Everyone else is one thing, but Esha is a handful. She says her hobby is seeing the troubled look on my face."

"She must be quite fond of you, Hayato-sama. It's like that psychological thing, you know, where you tease the one you like."

"Are you teasing me too, Rose-san?"

"Not at all, I'm serious. In Esha's case, if she truly didn't care about someone, she would have completely denied it. I think there's a chance, don't you?"

"Hahaha..."

All Hayato could do was laugh. It wouldn't do to say anything unnecessary and have his words held against him. Besides, if he were to say anything to Esha, it would be in the real world. He thought it was strange to do so in virtual reality.

"But it seems everyone got to blow off some steam. They seemed quite on edge lately, so this might have been a good change of pace."

"Really?"

"Yes. The members of the Black Rose, for example, seemed to be having trouble gathering information in the Demon Country, and Benitsuru-sama and her group seemed to be struggling with unfamiliar monsters."

"They didn't look that way to me."

"There are many sides women don't want to show men. However, their smiles seemed to increase once the betting started on how far you and Esha-sama have gone."

"...I'm glad I could be of service."

"By the way, I'm of the opinion that you've at least held hands by intertwining your fingers."

That's what's known as the lover's knot.

Hayato could only be speechless, but he felt that saying nothing here would be a loss.

"If I did that to Esha, I think she'd put me in a finger lock."

"Ah, that's true. You'd have to be prepared to lose a finger or two to do that."

Though Hayato was the one who said it, he thought it was a harsh assessment of Esha.

"But she wouldn't do that to you, Hayato-sama. Esha was worried, you know. That you've been getting too invested lately."

"Huh?"

"I know it was tough earlier, but don't you think some of the tension has left your shoulders?"

Rose was saying that Esha's prank was for Hayato's sake.

It was virtual reality, but the fact that he was facing a battle he couldn't lose had undeniably put some tension in his shoulders. Since he was with Esha not only in virtual reality but also in the real world, it was possible she had grown concerned from his expressions and actions.

"That's a bit of an overestimation... Rose-san, do you really think so?"

"Rather than what I think, what do you think, Hayato-sama?"

"...Yeah. Then I guess I should thank her."

"Please do."

As Rose said this with a smile, Hayato felt a little embarrassed and scratched his cheek with his right index finger.

"Ah, um, well then, I'm going to go raise my skills. I'll be back in my room."

"Understood. Please leave the shopkeeping to me."

"Okay, thanks."

Hayato said this and stood up from his chair. He then placed his foot on the stairs to head to his room on the second floor.

"Ma'am, we're not open for business yet..."

Rose, who had opened the door to the shop area, said something that made Hayato stop in his tracks.

"What's wrong..."

Immediately after, Rose was sent flying. She was about to crash into a dining hall table behind her, but she did a backflip in mid-air, placed her right hand on the table, and regained her posture.

"Rose-san!"

Hayato rushed over in a panic, but Rose took a stance as if nothing had happened. Knives had appeared in both her hands, and she held them in a reverse grip, glaring at the door.

"Please run!"

Rose shouted loudly, her gaze fixed on the door leading to the shop area without looking at Hayato.

"The sight of one confronting despair is beautiful, no matter who they are. I shall acknowledge your spirit in attempting to face me. However, you must not expect mercy from a fallen angel."

From the direction of the shop area, the sound of footsteps, kotsu kotsu, accompanied a woman's voice that reached Hayato's ears.

And from the still-open door, a woman appeared.

She had twin-tails in a black and white two-tone color scheme, a dress composed of the same two colors as her hair, and in her hand, she held a closed parasol, also made of black and white.

As the woman entered the dining hall, her gaze turned to Hayato, and she smiled. She then held the parasol like a cane with both hands and lightly tapped the tip on the floor with a kon.

"From nothing, being. From being, nothing. O one who has mastered change, touch my soul. And pledge your loyalty. That is your destiny."

Just like Esha earlier, the woman held out her left hand, back up.

It was Hayato's guess that she was telling him to kiss the back of her hand and pledge loyalty. He could only be troubled by being forced to do something he had only ever seen in old movies.

He decided it would be bad to get caught up in her pace and asked a normal question.

"Who are you?"

"A name is but a symbol to indicate a vessel, but do you wish to hear it? Or do you wish to hear my true name? That is an act of binding our souls in a contract. Do I have your consent to pledge loyalty to me even beyond the cycle of reincarnation?"

"...The vessel's name will do."

The woman made a slightly disappointed face before opening her mouth.

"The name of this vessel is Parsha. I serve as the leader of the clan 'Despair Angel,' but I apologize for this appearance. This is a temporary form, but I hope you understand that revealing my true form would be far too dangerous for a fragile human."

(This whole conversation is despair...)

Hayato had heard that the clan Despair Angel was a major new clan, on par in scale with Bandit and Starkest. He had also heard that many of its members said things that were hard to understand, but he hadn't heard it was this bad.

Now Hayato understood why Jolt and the others were so vague when he asked them for details. After pondering what to do, he decided to respond normally.

Though Hayato hadn't seen it, he could only assume it was Parsha who sent Rose flying. The chances of losing in a fight were high, but he would just respawn in his room, so he wanted to at least confirm why she had come.

"What business do you have, Parsha-san? It seems you attacked one of our employees."

"I was merely testing if she was worthy to be my companion. To withstand that single blow, she is quite strong. However, she is still human. Her vessel is fine, but the rank of her soul has yet to reach the heights."

All emotion had completely drained from Rose's face. Not joy, of course, but not anger or sadness either. It was the face of someone who had seen something incomprehensible, or whose thoughts had stopped. Right now, she had an air about her that suggested she could stick a knife in Parsha with the same ease as cutting an apple.

As Hayato was thinking this, Parsha gracefully bowed her head.

"Though it was a test, I shall apologize. The surprise attack just now was indeed not beautiful. However, I believe that maid and I were able to understand each other without exchanging words. You could say we spoke with our souls."

On the contrary, Rose's face showed no sign of understanding. She seemed to be ignoring Parsha's words entirely as she slowly closed the distance, looking ready to pounce at any moment.

"I thought I heard a commotion, what are you all doing?"

Noat descended the stairs into the dining hall.

Seeming not to understand the situation, Noat looked in turn at Hayato, Rose, and then Parsha.

"Well, what are we doing, you ask..."

Hayato didn't know what they were doing either. All he could say was that they were suddenly attacked in their base, but it was hard to tell if they were truly hostile.

Parsha looked at Noat, smiled, and then spoke.

"The next wind that blows... don't you think it's important to ascertain the most dangerous place? To extinguish a flame, use a greater flame. That is what this is."

(...I don't think you're supposed to use a greater flame... I don't get it at all, but, maybe she's saying this clan is a danger in the next event, so she came to investigate?)

The subtle turns of phrase that seemed to make sense but didn't kept bringing Hayato's thoughts to a halt.

As he wore a troubled expression, Noat, for some reason, crossed her arms, leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and raised the corners of her mouth in an unusual 'kukuku' laugh.

"I see. To stop a river, one must devour the clouds, is that it?"

Now there was another person saying incomprehensible things.

However, Parsha's face showed surprise, then her eyes sparkled, and she raised the corners of her mouth just like Noat had.

"It seems this clan, too, has one who is enchanted by the darkness, does it not?"

"You are mistaken. I was not enchanted. I was the one who did the enchanting."

Parsha's body trembled with a jolt. She seemed to be getting very excited.

"Wonderful. Which means the 'Fourth of the Violet'...?"

"Not that one. 'The Insect that Devours God'... no, is it 'The Observer of the Mad Librarian' now? That one."

"I am surprised. You mean the one from the 'Death Heavens'...!"

"Could you two take this outside?"

Though they should have been meeting for the first time, their conversation was somehow flowing.

Whether it was actually flowing was unclear, but from Hayato's perspective, they were definitely just making it up as they went along.

Rose had already lost interest. She put the knives she was holding back into her item bag, lowered her guard, and was now looking at the two of them as if they were something strange.

Parsha had become far more excited than when she had arrived and directed a gaze full of anticipation at Noat, who was leaning against the wall.

"I never thought there would be someone who could fight me. It would be far too gauche to defeat you here. Let us wait until the next banquet. There, you shall waltz with me. You will be my partner, will you not?"

"Very well. On the current board, one cannot defy the melody called fate. I shall obey the great will."

"The great will is...?"

Noat snorted and then spoke.

"Stardust Project... Seventeenth Organization... Are, Keru, Rarodo, Kestra..."

"Impossible, a survivor...!"

"There are no survivors. I died completely. I simply devoured the ancient soul left behind in 'Shijima' and returned. Go back and tell your other wing, the 'Rusting Pure Gold Coin,' that 'The Whale That Drinks the Moon' is looking forward to the next 'play'...

After saying this, Noat made a gesture as if pressing her right hand over her left.

"Not yet. It is our manner to eat the main dish last. Dessert comes first...!"

And Parsha covered her mouth with her left hand, her eyes moistening.

"O, other wing...! Rusting Pure Gold Coin...! What wonderful words...! I shall use them next time...!"

She said this in a small voice, but Hayato heard it all.

Parsha, who had been breathing heavily, 'fuu fuu,' finally calmed down and removed her hand from her mouth. She seemed to be trying to hold back a smile, as her cheeks were twitching, piku piku.

"Hmph, then I shall send you back to the 'Counter-Clockwise Clock' once more...!"

After that, Noat and Parsha both started laughing, 'kukkukku,' and Parsha said, "Farewell," and opened her parasol. She slung it over her shoulder, turned her back, and skipped out of the base.

Hayato looked at Noat leaning against the wall and wondered if he should just pretend nothing happened.

But he was curious, so he decided to ask.

"You know her?"

Noat stopped leaning against the wall and, in her usual wobbly manner, walked over and sat in a chair.

"First time meeting her."

"Then what was that conversation?"

"A noble game where we say things that sound meaningful and improvise a story together. The one who gets stuck for words or is moved by a cool line loses. In my case, I even do it alone when I'm writing lyrics."

"Noble... so the Stardust Project and all that meant nothing?"

"Nothing at all. In my head, there was this Stardust Project, and I made her the agent sent to crush that plan. By the way, she's my younger sister whose soul has been brainwashed. That child is also struggling..."

"That's complicated. But really, what did she come here for?"

"Probably reconnaissance. I heard a little bit from Alvie-chan of Kiss of Death that there's someone like that. She doesn't seem too interested in whether a clan is strong or weak. But since we're going to fight, I think she came to do some scouting."

"She's serious about it. And then she met the one person she shouldn't have met here."

"You've gotten good at saying things like that, Hayato-san. I'm so proud."

"I say it to Esha a lot too, but do you just like saying that?"

"Very much."

She may have come for reconnaissance, but in the end, it just looked like she came to play and then left. Hayato imagined that perhaps she was looking for 'someone like herself.'

That aside, there was something else on Hayato's mind.

"You saved us, but why are you still at the base? Weren't you supposed to go to the Spirit Country with Esha and the others?"

"Even if the Red Crown sounds the seven trumpets, it is difficult to resist the call of the void. That is true even for a clod of earth beloved by God..."

"Simpler, please."

"I overslept."

"I went to wake her at seven, but she wouldn't get up..."

Rose said this while looking at Noat. Her gaze was very cold.

"They left you behind?"

"It's the result of my belief that everyone can manage without me. Also, I believe that donuts will appear for breakfast."

"Alright, alright. I'll get them ready, so just wait a bit... Oh, right, are you okay, Rose-san? Did you lose any HP? You were sent flying, right?"

"No, I'm fine. I recovered with natural healing. But my mental fortitude was pushed to its absolute limit..."

"Me too. I'll prepare as much of your favorite food and drinks as you want, so don't hesitate to ask."

Hayato felt like he would prepare anything that existed in this virtual reality. That battle had been that brutal.

"In that case, may I have coffee and cheesecake? I feel like I've just experienced the injustice of the world. Why is it that the people who seem to live so carelessly are the strongest? I can't deal with this without something sweet."

"It is unfair, isn't it..."

"Why are you two looking at me?"

"Because you're like a symbol of injustice."

"I can tell I'm not being praised. I drove away the enemy, you could show a little more gratitude."

"I am grateful, but can you understand when I say that the fact you could drive them away like that is what's unfair?"

Still, when you looked at the results, it was Noat who had driven Parsha away without a fight.

Unfair as it was, Hayato prepared a slightly larger quantity of donuts than usual.