kscans

Chapter 351 - Superhuman

"You have some bad luck, Hayato. Does something like that normally happen? It's so funny."

Amanda seemed to be in a good mood.

Though she had been bewildered at first, Hayato had managed to pique her interest by talking about his own failures. Now she was lying on the sofa, listening to his story with a happy expression.

Hayato and Amanda had almost no common topics of conversation. But they did have a common acquaintance. And with that in mind, he chose Nanagi as a topic, someone who wouldn't put Amanda in a bad mood.

It was about the time Hayato first went to the Eastern Country. What Amanda found particularly amusing was when a ninja stole his beloved knife, the "Adamantite Knife - Extreme."

"I certainly had bad luck. Since I'm a production class, I had a lot of other items. And yet, they stole my most important knife."

"You're something else, Hayato. And this time, you became a hostage on your own accord. Did you do something in a past life?"

"I can't deny that possibility."

"You are favored by God, Hayato."

Hypnos said this while eating a strawberry cream puff.

Amanda nodded with a smile.

"That's true. Whether it's for good things or bad, I think there are people who are just born under that kind of star. It's going to be tough for you from now on."

"Not from now on, it's pretty bad right now. I can't log out, so I'm probably going to die."

"Really. You have my sympathy."

"You're the one who did it, though?"

"That's why I'm sympathizing. If someone else had done it, I wouldn't think anything of it."

Amanda said this, then for a moment, her face became serious. She then lay down on her back on the sofa, kicked her feet, and laughed while clutching her stomach.

Hayato didn't know what was so funny, but he figured he must have hit some kind of funny bone and just gave a wry smile. But he could tell she was in a good mood, so he decided it was about time to change the subject.

"I've told you a fair bit about my stories of misfortune, but could you tell me about yourself next?"

Amanda, who had been laughing while clutching her stomach, had tears in her eyes from laughing so much. She turned her head to the side while still lying down and looked at Hayato.

"Me? You want to hear about me?"

"That's right."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but..."

"You can say whatever you want and ask whatever you want. As a thank you for making me laugh, I'll listen without getting angry."

"Thank you for that. You are..."

"Don't call me 'you,' call me Amanda."

"Then Amanda-san..."

"Amanda-san, huh. That's quite refreshing. Ah, I'm sorry, please continue."

"Um, Amanda-san, you have a terribly bad reputation with Lunaria-san."

"I imagine so."

"Is there no way for you two to get along, even now?"

At this statement from Hayato, both Amanda and Hypnos seemed surprised, staring at him with straight faces.

Hayato continued, ignoring the two of them.

"I know this is late to say, but I think it's better to live happily with everyone than to conquer the world. This is just something I heard, so if you have a rebuttal, I'd like to hear it, but it seems Lunaria-san dislikes that you insulted her comrades. I think she would forgive you if you apologized."

With this, Amanda seemed to be completely frozen, staring at Hayato without moving a muscle.

And now Hypnos started laughing.

"You're incredible, Hayato. Are you planning to cut to the root of the matter? It's true that if Amanda gives up on world domination, the problem will be solved. What will you do, Amanda?"

"...That surprised me. I never expected such a proposal. It's the most unexpected of the unexpected. I knew it, you're great, Hayato. You'd better survive no matter what and become my subordinate."

"Let's talk about that later. So what do you think? You won't give up on world domination?"

"Why?"

"Well, like I said, it's better to live happily with everyone..."

"I don't see any meaning in living happily with everyone. From my perspective, being with everyone is just a matter of huddling together because you can't live alone, right?"

"That might be true, but it's not just that. Wasn't it fun talking with me? I think it's more fun to talk with everyone about various things than to be alone."

"It was fun. But that's enough in virtual reality, isn't it? There's no need to meet in the real world, so it's not a reason to stop conquering the world. Besides, I don't want to kill everyone. I'm just saying let's live happily in virtual reality, you know?"

"But I think there are people who want to remain in the real world."

"If they remember the real world, that is. If I force them into virtual reality and make them forget about the real world, there's no problem. Most of the NPCs in this world are like that, so the verification is more than sufficient."

Hayato was at a loss for words.

If he could change Amanda's mind, many things would be resolved. Since he had become a hostage, this was about all he could do, so he brought it up, but she was a tough nut to crack.

Hayato decided to ask a fundamental question to understand Amanda better.

"I'd like you to tell me, Amanda-san, why do you want to conquer the world? It seems you plan to put everyone into virtual reality, but I feel like it would be fine for them to live in the real world too."

Nanagi was aiming for a free and equal world. He had also said things like humans in the real world would eventually perish, but Amanda didn't seem to share that ideology. On the other hand, it didn't seem like she was doing it for a casual reason either.

Hayato asked, thinking there might be a clue to changing Amanda's mind somewhere in there.

Amanda looked at Hayato with a bored expression.

"What will you do after hearing that?"

"I want to know the reason, and if I'm lucky, I'd like to make you give up."

"That's just like you, Hayato, to say that. Then let me ask you a question in return. Why do you run a cafe? You started it using the prize money from the Clan War, right?"

"Part of it is because I like coffee, but I also like to entertain people."

"Would you give up that reason if someone else told you to?"

Once again, Hayato was at a loss for words.

He thought that he wouldn't give up, no matter what valid reason was given.

As he was wondering how to answer, Hypnos spoke up.

"Amanda, whether you can make her give up or not, I'd like to know too."

"Oh? That's unusual, for you to want to know about me. Are spears going to fall from the sky tomorrow?"

"If you completely take over this virtual reality, I can make that happen."

"To be able to make a joke like that, you really change when Hayato is around. I like that side of you better."

"Thank you for that. So, may I hear the reason for your world domination?"

Amanda, who had been lying on the sofa, sat up and readjusted her posture.

"I don't mind telling you, but it's a long story."

"We have all the time in the world. I'd love to hear it. You too, right, Hayato?"

"Yeah. Hostage life is boring, so if you're willing to tell me, I'd like to hear it."

"For other people to be interested in me, today is just full of surprises. Alright, I'm having fun today, so I'll answer anything."

Amanda asked Hayato for another matcha ice cream. When Hayato prepared it, Amanda took a bite. Then, after taking a breath, she opened her mouth.

"I want to become a Demon Lord in this virtual reality."

"...Huh?"

"The looks on your faces, Hayato and Hypnos, are priceless."

"Um, are you joking?"

"Of course not, I'm serious. But I know that's not enough to get my point across, so I'll explain from the beginning."

Amanda took a light breath and moved her gaze from Hayato to Hypnos in turn.

"I think you know this, Hayato, but I was raised as a Genetically Enhanced Human in the real world."

Hayato nodded.

He had heard about that from Diite and Hypnos. It was an unbelievable story, but since Diite wouldn't lie about it, it was most likely true.

"From the time I can remember, it was studying, tests, experiments... I had never been outside the research facility, so that was my entire world. So I never questioned anything and just did as the researchers told me."

Amanda took another bite of matcha ice cream.

"I never ate anything like this. I just did what I was told. Every day was almost the same, but I achieved results that were second to none there. Being praised by the researcher in charge, getting good grades, that was everything to me. And I was proud of being a Genetically Enhanced Human. I believed that one day, I would go out into space to save humanity."

Genetically Enhanced Humans were also an important project in the space development of that time.

Space is too vast for humans. Even if they go into space with aspirations, the vastness can make them feel lonely and terrified, and an ordinary mind cannot withstand it.

In an era when Earth's resources were scarce, creating humans who could withstand space was an urgent task in order to search for new frontiers.

"The first trigger was an old movie I saw during recreation as a child. A single person who could be called a superhuman... no, not a person. Something that looked like a person. That person mowed down several people with guns. Even if they were shot, they wouldn't die. They defeated their opponents with movements that were too fast for the eye to follow. A single person defeated hundreds. I thought I could become like that when I grew up, that I could become a person who could save the world. And that was my motivation."

Hayato also liked watching old movies and had seen a few action movies like that. Of course, watching them as an adult, he knew it was entertainment. It was impossible in reality.

"But reality is sad, isn't it? As I got older, my pride in being a Genetically Enhanced Human disappeared. They call us Genetically Enhanced Humans, but we're just a little more talented than normal people. In reality, I can't even defeat ten adults by myself. I can't fly, and I can't destroy a building with a punch."

Amanda said this and then finished her matcha ice cream. She then lightly tossed the spoon into the glass dish that had held the ice cream.

"Still, I was burning with the mission of going to space and searching for resources and habitable planets. I had a sense of mission that I was born for that purpose. But that's gone now too."

"May I ask why?"

Amanda gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Think about why I'm here. My first job was to steal the technology used in this virtual reality. And the reason? Because I had the best grades. My anger went beyond rage to murderous intent."

"That happened..."

"I don't need your sympathy. Anyway, that's when I decided to break away from the research facility. After that, while pretending to be obedient, I didn't provide them with the technology and instead used most of it for my own knowledge. The problem was what to do after that."

"Was that world domination?"

"Around that time, I was thinking of hijacking the spaceship, but I didn't think it would be a spaceship capable of world domination. And since there was talk of leaving Earth because the Another Frontier Project was ending, I had to think about a lot more things."

"And the result of your thinking was?"

"I decided to leave Earth on the spaceship and become a superhuman in this virtual reality. The movie I saw as a child, I wanted to become a person with overwhelming strength like the protagonist. It's a dream that can't come true in reality, a dream in virtual reality."

Hayato looked at Amanda, who had said this boastfully, with an exasperated expression.

"Hey, don't make a face like that after hearing someone's dream."

"But that dream is a little..."

"I know how you feel. Someone else's dream that doesn't involve you is like that. You either deny it, saying it's stupid, or you laugh. I laughed too when I found out Hayato's dream was to run a cafe. But it doesn't matter what other people think, does it?"

Hayato understood a little too. When he quit his company, he didn't say he was quitting for his dream. It was for game prize money, and opening a cafe in a colony was the height of madness.

Even if you think your own dream is the best, it can't be helped if others think it's stupid. The scale of their dreams may be different, but he had no right to deny her dream.

Thinking that, Hayato bowed his head.

"Sorry, my bad. I don't know if it's a good dream or not, but I shouldn't have denied it."

When he said that, Amanda looked quite surprised, and her gaze wandered.

"What's wrong?"

"I understand a little of what they meant by you being dangerous, Hayato. I never thought I wouldn't be made fun of for this dream. Nanagi was similar, but that was just because his dream was similar to mine."

"Um...?"

"That doesn't matter. Anyway, I left Earth with the spaceship. I took measures not to have my memories erased. I tampered with the program of the machine implanted in my body based on the technology I stole here."

"You do some amazing things."

"That much is easy. I was trained for that kind of thing at the research facility. But I didn't expect to sleep for a hundred years. The program must have been sloppy because it was so rushed. That was my only failure, I suppose. Oh, no, not being able to get Lunaria's cooperation was also a failure."

"Lunaria-san's cooperation?"

"You know, right? Lunaria was created as a Genetically Enhanced Human just like me. A failure, but a talented failure. I tried to make her my assistant, but she lost her mind and defied me."

"I don't think anyone would want to cooperate with someone who insults their comrades...?"

"Not taking that into account was my failure. But comrades, huh. She may not have her memories, but I wonder if she still thinks of normal humans as her comrades? She was supposed to have acquired a spirit that could withstand the lonely space of the universe, but that girl said she didn't like being alone."

"Is it wrong to want to be with people?"

"It's not wrong. But Lunaria and I are Genetically Enhanced Humans. We were educated not to have such weaknesses. In Lunaria's case, she left midway through, so she might be half-baked."

"She left?"

"That girl, unlike me, was a failure. No, she just made herself look like one to the researchers and played the part of a useless person. Considering my current situation, I can see that was the right thing to do, which is frustrating."

According to Amanda, Lunaria was also talented, but she deliberately got bad scores in her studies, tests, and experiments to make herself look like a failure as a Genetically Enhanced Human.

Whether she didn't get along with the researcher in charge or wasn't thinking at all was unclear, but she knew that Lunaria wasn't being serious.

Hayato was surprised to hear that.

Amanda had called Lunaria a failure, so he thought she looked down on her.

"Could it be that you acknowledge Lunaria-san...?"

"I don't acknowledge her, but I do think of her as a talented pawn. To buy time for me to steal the spaceship's technology, I had her lead a clan, and thanks to her standing out in various ways, my job was easier. Though I was irritated when she lost after trying to have a one-on-one duel with Ivan in the final Clan War, even though I told her to stop."

She said she understood that the clan was held together by Lunaria alone. As soon as Lunaria lost, the clan collapsed. They were trampled by Blackjack and lost.

"I held out until the end, but it was no use. Our equipment was different, but our stats were the same, and our skill compositions were almost identical, so it was impossible to make a comeback. But they're useless, aren't they? To collapse just because Lunaria lost. Humans are still just humans... oh? What were we talking about?"

At some point, the conversation had strayed quite a bit, and Amanda tilted her head.

"Oh, right. We were talking about how I want to be a Demon Lord in virtual reality. As I said before, I want to be a superhuman like in the movie I saw as a child. In the world of this virtual reality, that would be a Demon Lord or a Hero. But I'm not going to use that power for good, so Demon Lord is my only choice."

"I get that. But you don't need to conquer the world, do you?"

"It's a dream that can't come true in reality, so I just have to make this the reality. Besides, it would be a problem if this virtual reality were physically destroyed. And my body lying in the pod too. Do you think the spaceship is invincible? Even with stealth and an energy shield, it's not perfect. If its location is discovered and it's hit with several missiles, it will break. I need to be firm about that."

Amanda said this and started laughing.

Hayato didn't know what was so funny, but he was at least glad that Amanda's circumstances were now clear.

That said, he couldn't think of a rebuttal, or a reason to make her give up.

Amanda was essentially saying she was doing it because she wanted to. Even if he said that was wrong, there was no logical reason why it was wrong.

She thought of herself and humans as different species, and there was a part of her that didn't care what happened to others.

Just as he was about to say something, anything, in rebuttal, the room door flew open.

Nanagi was standing there.

"So you kidnapped Hayato..."

Nanagi looked at Hayato with disgust.

When they had spoken in the underground arena of the Mercenary Guild, he had a more composed expression, but now he was staring at Hayato as if to pierce him with his gaze.

"Oh, Nanagi. Did you find a good item? You don't look like it from your face."

When Amanda asked this with a happy expression, Nanagi sighed.

"You seem to be having fun."

"I am. It was fun talking with Hayato. When I talk with you or Hypnos, your expressions are so blank it makes me feel stupid, but Hayato's expression changes constantly, so it's rewarding to talk to him."

"I see. Then that's enough. I'll throw Hayato in the dungeon."

"It's fine as it is. He can't escape the Demon Lord's Castle anyway, and I'll use him as a cook."

"We don't need to eat to not die, do we?"

"What's wrong with it? Eating delicious food motivates you. Or are you afraid of Hayato? Even though he has a production-based skill composition and his HP is always at 1?"

Amanda gave Nanagi a provocative look.

Nanagi shot a sharp glance at Hayato for a moment before speaking.

"I am afraid. This guy influences people, for better or for worse. You may not have noticed, but you seem to be influenced by Hayato already."

"...What did you say?"

"This is what's scary about Hayato. It's not like you to be so obsessed with him. If you can still say you're fine, then keep him by your side always. If I see Hayato alone, I'll push him off a balcony and make him get a Return from Death."

Amanda looked at Hayato with a surprised face. And then she glared at Nanagi.

"Fine. I'll keep Hayato by my side always. I'll prove that I can win the event even if I am influenced."

"I hope so."

Nanagi said this and then turned his gaze to Hypnos.

Hypnos was just faintly smiling.

"I have something to talk about. Come with me for a bit."

"Oh my, an invitation. How delightful."

Hypnos said this and stood up, then left the room with Nanagi.

Hayato and Amanda were left in a strange atmosphere. Or rather, Amanda was staring intently at Hayato.

"Um, what?"

"Obsessed...? Me...?"

"I think Nanagi is just saying whatever. Me, influencing people? No way."

"...Well, fine. Stay here in the Demon Lord's Castle until the event is over. But don't leave my side or Hypnos's side. If Nanagi finds you alone, he really will push you off a balcony."

"From my perspective, I'd rather get a Return from Death that way."

"...That was a blind spot. What should I do...?"

Amanda held her head as if in thought, and Hayato, thinking it would take some time, started making and drinking coffee.

*

In the corridor of the Demon Lord's Castle, Nanagi and Hypnos were facing each other.

"What were you thinking, kidnapping Hayato?"

"I was merely following orders. If you have a complaint, why don't you tell Amanda?"

"You should have known this would likely happen if you brought Hayato here. Amanda is talented, but she has too little experience with people. She might end up doing whatever Hayato says."

"Like you did with Benitsuru?"

"...Yes."

"Then what's wrong with Hayato doing that to Amanda? Is there a rule somewhere that says he can't?"

"Don't be a fool. If Amanda gives up on world domination, you won't be able to become the administrator of this virtual reality. Our goals may differ slightly, but we were aiming for the same thing, weren't we?"

"Isn't that just what you've arbitrarily decided?"

"You, don't tell me..."

"I think that 'don't tell me' is off the mark. I'm not your enemy, and it's true that I can't defy Amanda's orders, so you can rest easy. But it would be premature to think of me as a complete ally. I have my own goals. They don't necessarily align with your interests."

"...I shouldn't have trusted you."

"Did you really trust me? Hayato told me he trusted me, and I believed him. Though I did betray that trust to bring him here."

"It's suspicious whether you really betrayed Hayato. Didn't you do it to make him win?"

"You're free to think whatever you want. Now, is that all you have to say?"

"...Yes, you may go."

"Then I'll return to the room. The conversation between Amanda and Hayato is interesting. Why don't you join us?"

"I'd rather not be influenced by Hayato."

"That's a shame. Then do your best in the event starting tomorrow."

Hypnos said this and returned to the room where Hayato and the others were.

Nanagi watched Hypnos enter the room, then clicked his tongue and headed towards his own room.