kscans

Chapter 352 - Greetings and a Meal

Hayato spent the night in a room in the Demon Lord's Castle.

Logging out and voice chat were both disabled, and his movements were restricted, so there was no chance of escape. The only possibility was if Nanagi found him alone and pushed him off a balcony to the outside of the castle.

Esha and the others were sharp. Plus, Diite was with them. Hayato was completely at ease, certain they would understand the situation even without any contact.

He didn't know if they would close the cafe or if Ash and the others would run it in his place, but he believed they must have at least moved his body to a hospital.

That aside, there were other problems.

He had left as many of his crafted items at their base as possible. He had prepared plenty of items made using the functions unlocked when his Alchemy and Crafting skills reached 200.

However, his other production items were a different story.

He had crafted the Excalibur Replica and Arondight Replica to level his skills, but while they ignored defense, their base damage was low. Having a large quantity of them wouldn't be enough to change the odds of victory. The main purpose of blacksmithing was maintenance. To restore the durability lost in battle, Hayato had to personally receive the weapons and armor to work on them.

Furthermore, the Excalibur for Lunaria was still unfinished.

Apparently, Lunaria had been practicing her dual wielding with the Excalibur Replica, and Hayato had heard she had gotten quite good. They might be able to win without it, but its presence would surely make a difference in their chances.

(I'm going to get yelled at for being so reckless. Still, the Bandit clan must have production players too, so I think they'll manage somehow.)

With that thought, Hayato considered what he himself could do.

Changing Amanda's mind would be difficult.

Her dream, as he had heard it yesterday, was impossible from a common sense perspective.

Common sense is largely a product of education, but much of it is also derived from past experiences and the environment surrounding oneself and others. People learn what they should and shouldn't do by seeing and hearing, even if they aren't told in words.

But Amanda lacked that. It was unclear what she had been taught at the research facility, but she believed it was fine to inconvenience others. And depending on the act, even if it was criminal, the real Amanda could not be captured.

In the vicinity of the spaceship Aphrodite, there were several other spaceships for emergencies, but finding their exact coordinates was considered difficult. Capturing the spaceship, and Amanda herself, was said to be a matter of luck.

And getting her to give up the dream itself was also difficult.

Amanda's dream was, "Since I was born a genetically enhanced human, I want to become the superman, the demon lord, I saw in the movies."

To make someone give up on something, the easiest way is to show them why it's impossible. You just have to persuade them that it can't be done for any reason, be it financial, physical, or logical. Even if there's a possibility, saying it depends on a condition like winning a high-stakes lottery is the same as saying it's impossible.

However, considering the performance of the virtual reality and the spaceship Aphrodite, world domination was possible, though it would take time. She could create a virtual reality where she reigned as the Demon Lord.

In other words, it was not impossible.

Just as he was thinking that the only way to stop Amanda was to have Lunaria win, Hayato heard a knock at the door.

"Hayato, are you awake?"

Recognizing Hypnos's voice, Hayato answered immediately.

"I'm awake."

The time was seven in the morning. The room was growing bright with the sunlight from outside.

"Amanda is calling for you. Can you come?"

"It’s not like I have a choice, right? I'll be right there."

Hayato immediately stepped out of the room.

He saw Hypnos standing before him and spoke at once.

"Good morning."

"...What did you say?"

"Huh? I said, good morning. A morning greeting."

"...Ah, right, a greeting. Should I return it?"

"People usually do."

"I see, people usually do..."

Hypnos, despite being in a virtual reality, cleared his throat with a `n, n` and looked at Hayato with a serious expression.

"Good morning."

"Why are you so tense?"

"This is the first time I've offered a greeting that wasn't sarcasm or a taunt. In fact, I feel like this is the first time I've ever used the words ‘good morning’ as a greeting."

"You don't greet Amanda-san or Nanagi?"

"As if those two would ever exchange greetings. We are together, but we have very little sense of being comrades. It's a relationship where we are all just using each other. You could say we don't see any significance in greetings at all."

"Is that so?"

"Last night, before you went back to your room, you said good night to Amanda, didn't you? After that, Amanda was basically frozen for a while. I knew that, yet I've ended up in a similar situation, so I can't laugh at her."

"Well, that's something. Anyway, shall we go?"

Hypnos nodded and began to walk.

Hayato started walking beside him at the same pace.

"By the way, why is Amanda-san calling for me?"

"It's an invitation to watch the event together since it's about to start. We're going to display the event status on a giant monitor."

"I'd love to see that. It's also good timing since I was thinking of making breakfast."

"...You intend to make breakfast?"

"Didn't Amanda-san say something like that yesterday? That I'd be the cook."

Hypnos's mouth fell slightly open as he looked at Hayato, then he clutched his stomach, bent forward, and started laughing.

"You've got some nerve, Hayato. Or are you just not thinking at all? I'd prefer it to be the former."

"I'll leave that to your imagination. By the way, what would you like to eat, Hypnos?"

"That's a difficult question. Yesterday's cream puffs were something I'd wanted to try for a while, so the answer came quickly, but now it's breakfast, is it?"

"Is it that hard...? If you're fine with leaving it up to me, I'll just make whatever."

"The chef's choice, is it. In that case, I'll have that."

"Got it. Now, what should I make..."

Chatting like this, Hayato and Hypnos walked down the hall.

They soon arrived at Amanda's room, and Hypnos knocked on the door.

"I've brought Hayato."

"It's open, you can come in."

Hearing Amanda's voice from inside, Hypnos opened the door and entered. Hayato followed behind him.

Inside the same luxurious room as yesterday, Amanda was lying sprawled out on the sofa.

"Welcome. The event is about to start, so let's watch together..."

"Good morning."

Hayato's words stopped Amanda mid-sentence. Her eyes darted around restlessly before settling on Hayato, as if she were afraid.

"Uh, what?"

"You too, Amanda-san? I said, good morning. A morning greeting."

"Oh, uh, ah, right, a morning greeting..."

Amanda took a deep breath and looked at Hayato. Then she stood up from the sofa and straightened her appearance.

"G, good morning... Huh? What do you mean, me too?"

"Well, Hypnos had a similar reaction."

Hayato glanced at Hypnos, who had his back turned and was trembling as he clutched his stomach.

Amanda saw this and pouted, looking quite displeased.

"Hey, if you had the same reaction, don't laugh!"

"I said I couldn't laugh, but it was impossible. However, I did try to hold it in, so I'd like you to acknowledge my effort. By the way, is that an order? I will obey as much as possible, but I can't make any promises."

"That's kind of annoying... It's not an order. Just forget it and create the monitor. We still have time, but it should be starting soon, right?"

"Very well, just a moment."

Hypnos raised both hands.

A transparent, plate-like object gradually began to form at his fingertips. It seemed to be building from the top down, but given its size, it would take a little longer to complete.

Hayato looked at Amanda.

"What would you like for breakfast, Amanda-san?"

"...Huh? What now?"

"Breakfast. I'll make anything."

"Oh, um, what should I have...?"

"I left it up to Hayato's choice," Hypnos said without looking away from creating the monitor.

"Then I'll have that too."

"Got it. Let's go with hotcakes then. With plenty of honey, and maybe orange juice to drink."

Hayato said this and took out his favorite knife.

He cooked the food and placed it on the table. Amanda didn't say anything in particular, but she watched him with a serious expression.

Once he was mostly finished with the preparations, Hayato looked at Amanda.

"Are Nanagi and the Ten Holy Demonic Swords not coming?"

"Huh? Of course not. They don't need to eat in the first place. I had even forgotten the concept of breakfast myself."

"Come to think of it, you only had sweets yesterday and didn't eat dinner."

"Oh, dinner. Right, there was such a thing. Does that mean there's lunch too?"

"I can make it, do you have any requests for that?"

"Hamburgers, then. With a soft-boiled egg on top."

"You got it. We'll have that for lunch. If possible, decide on dinner too."

"...Curry."

"So, curry for dinner is fine?"

Amanda nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, that'll be the menu for today. I should have the ingredients..."

"I want to ask you something."

While pouring orange juice into a glass, Hayato looked at Amanda and said, "What is it?"

"Can you eat things like this in the real world now? I haven't looked into that kind of information."

"I'd say so. There are some ingredients that are hard to afford, but most things can be recreated. Right, I guess back then, the mainstream was to just trick your sense of taste."

The era when Amanda and the others lived in the real world, a hundred years ago, was a time of scarce resources. The same was true for food, and only a select few could eat things with actual flavor.

Hayato had heard about that from Esha, and he remembered her saying she was quite moved when she ate real food for the first time.

"So reality has recovered its resources while I was gone."

"I don't know what you'd call 'sufficient', but we can now bring back minerals, gas, and resources to replace oil from other planets. And animals for food, as well as rice, wheat, and fruits, are being produced in the colonies."

"So the Earth was saved without me. I guess the other genetically enhanced humans worked hard... even though they were supposed to be far inferior to me."

Hayato thought Amanda looked a little lonely when she said that.

He tried to think of some comforting words, but none came to mind. He didn't know enough about that time to say anything.

Perhaps noticing this, Amanda's expression changed back to its usual confident look.

"I'm not depressed, you know. If things worked out, that's fine, isn't it? It just means my help wasn't needed."

"That's true. Though if you had been there, Amanda-san, the resources might have recovered even faster."

"...I feel like you're making fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you."

Amanda stared at Hayato for a moment as if she was about to say something, but then she let out a loud sigh and looked at Hypnos.

"How's it going over there?"

"Preparations are complete. The battlefield for the first day is the area around Deep Impact. It hasn't started yet, but a lot of players seem to have gathered."

The monitor's viewpoint was from high in the sky, displaying a wide area. A large number of players had already gathered, divided into the new Demon Lord's army and the old Demon Lord's army around their respective Area Stones.

From this perspective, it was clear that this battlefield was a wide crater nearly ten kilometers in diameter, completely devoid of any cover.

Deep Impact was a famous tourist spot in the Demon Country, being the site where a meteorite had struck long ago.

There was nothing in the center or its surroundings, but it was also a place where you could occasionally find an item called a meteorite fragment.

Furthermore, human-shaped rare monsters called 'Unknowns' sometimes roamed the area. They dropped equipment called the Meteorite Iron Series, so they were hunted down as soon as they were discovered. There was no other information beyond that.

(It's hard to tell if this is an easy place to fight or a difficult one.)

Since there was no cover, wide-range attacks might be advantageous, but Hayato couldn't predict what kind of battle it would become.

In Clan Wars, the battlefield was small and there were few people.

And there was no magic that could take down a player in a single hit. Esha's Destroy was probably the only exception. There were spells like Meteor Swarm, but they had a long casting time, so you had to specialize in them to use them.

That was why there wasn't much of an advantage or disadvantage even on a featureless plain in a Clan War. But this event was a battle on a scale of thousands. Hayato thought that if they used a lot of wide-area magic on the dense crowds, it might be over surprisingly quickly.

However, there was something else that bothered him.

"Considering the total number of players in this game, isn't the number of people a bit small?"

Hypnos nodded at Hayato's words.

"The field has a limit on the number of people. Only one thousand clans, ten thousand people in total for both sides, can enter. And the moment a leader is defeated, that clan drops out of the field. They can't re-enter, and a waiting clan will take their place. If a clan leader doesn't participate, or for players who aren't in a clan, they can join by forming a temporary clan on the spot."

"Ah, right, I remember there was a rule explanation like that... Wait a minute. What happens to Daedalus, where I'm the clan leader?"

"As of yesterday, it seems Esha has taken over as leader. The other members have split into different clans."

According to Hypnos, Ash and Ren had formed a clan with members of Dragon Soul. Relic and Sonia formed the clan Red Snake. Mist formed a clan with her ten undead retainers, and Maris formed a clan with Surya and her pets.

Only Esha, Lunaria, and Diite remained in the clan. Cecil, Noat, Rose, and Xenobia had joined them.

Other clans had been formed, like 'Yatagarasu' with Benitsuru and Simon, and 'Annihilation' led by the Maid Chief. All of them had formed an alliance with Daedalus.

There were also organizations like the Empire's Dragon Busters and Zack's escort guild that, while not in the alliance, were fighting on Lunaria's side.

"They probably can't participate in every battle, but that's a pretty big number."

"The major clans will join them, but Amanda's side has more numbers. Initially, it's five hundred clans each, but if you include the waiting clans, the difference is about three to one."

"That's rough..."

"I wonder. The old Demon Lord's army is a small group of elites, so considering their battle in the Eastern Country, I don't think there's that much of a power difference. Besides..."

Hypnos paused and looked at Amanda.

"Amanda isn't participating. Are only the Demonfolk going out today?"

"That's right. Nanagi and the others said they would go, but their turn might be later."

"Then Ivan and the others aren't there either, so today's battle probably won't be that one-sided."

"Are you saying it will be one-sided if Amanda-san and Ivan's group join?"

"That's what I think. There's the individuals' performance, but the problem is their equipment. Amanda's weapon, Durandal, has no durability. That means she can fight endlessly. But the others can't. If Hayato were on the battlefield, he could have restored their durability with his Blacksmithing skill, but without that, it will be difficult to continue fighting."

"But the Bandit clan and others have members who can do blacksmithing..."

"There are probably many who have the skill as a side job, but the question is whether they would bring blacksmithing materials to this battle. Unlike in a Clan War, you can't use the storage in this event. Since you can't resupply midway, some countermeasures are necessary, but I suspect they will only bring spare equipment and no materials. What do you think?"

Hayato groaned.

He had thought of this event as a large-scale version of a Clan War, but he hadn't considered the point Hypnos brought up. In fact, Hayato had thought he wouldn't even need to participate in the event's battles.

It was just a matter of his own oversight, and it was possible the other members had noticed. But Hayato didn't know how they would deal with it.

Since Amanda wasn't participating, the opponent was under the same conditions, but the difference in numbers was too great. Even if they couldn't fight anymore, if they disappeared from the field, another clan would come in.

The main goal of this event was not to defeat enemies but to destroy the Area Stone. However, you couldn't destroy the Area Stone without defeating the enemies in the way, and you also needed to defend your own.

His allies had the strength of a thousand each, but even with good equipment, it still had durability. Considering that, and the difference in numbers, he felt they were at a considerable disadvantage.

"Well, for now, we're just observing. If they lose easily in this state, there's no need for me to go out."

Amanda said this, then looked happily at the hotcakes Hayato had made before piercing one with her fork. She tried to cut it with her knife.

But Hayato stopped her.

"Aren't you going to say thanks for the food?"

"Huh? Oh, ah, right. Thanks for the food."

Amanda obediently complied. It was so unexpected that Hayato was the one taken aback.

Perhaps not noticing Hayato's reaction, Amanda put her knife to the hotcake and cut it into a bite-sized piece. As she lifted it with her fork, honey dripped down with a `torori`.

Amanda put the hotcake in her mouth, chewed for a moment, and then swallowed.

"This is delicious...!"

"Well, it is five stars. By the way, is this the first time you've eaten this?"

"Maybe. Doesn't this usually increase MAG or restore MP? I'm specialized in physical attacks, so MAG doesn't matter to me."

"You don't just enjoy the taste?"

In fact, for Hayato's acquaintances, that was the main point.

Amanda shook her head.

"I never learned to enjoy delicious food at the research facility. I was trained to be able to eat even disgusting energy tubes without a problem."

"That's impressive. But then, what was that about liking green tea ice cream?"

"That... a long time ago, in the virtual reality, Lunaria recommended it to me. Said it was her latest obsession or something. Did you know? That girl gets really pushy once you become friends with her."

"I know that very well."

"She followed me around, not knowing I was just using her. What a foolish girl."

"...You say that so happily?"

"Happily? Who?"

"Judging from the flow of the conversation, you, Amanda-san. Maybe you had fun in the clan with Lunaria-san?"

Amanda's expression clouded over in an instant. She glared at Hayato unhappily.

"Don't say foolish things. That's just what happened. If I looked happy, it was only because I was laughing at Lunaria's foolishness. It was comical how she, a genetically enhanced human, didn't realize she was being used. That's all."

(She's talking so fast...)

Amanda, still looking displeased, started gobbling down the hotcakes. Perhaps because she liked the taste, her unhappy expression gradually turned into a smile.

Hayato began to think that if he approached it from that angle, Amanda might change her mind.

But she cut him off.

"It's easy to read your face, Hayato. Let me make this clear, I have no intention of making up with Lunaria now. A hundred years ago, she didn't cooperate with me, so she's out of chances."

"So it's no good. I thought it was a good idea."

"...I'm surprised you seriously thought that. Let me tell you, I have no intention of giving up my dream, no matter what. It might be a trivial and boring dream to others, but for me, it's the meaning of being born as a genetically enhanced human. I was born to do this. If I don't think that way, my entire life up to now becomes meaningless. I don't want that."

Hayato couldn't imagine it, but he could see that Amanda must have sacrificed many things at the research facility. Or rather, she was forced to live that way.

She studied at the facility and got good grades to save humanity as a genetically enhanced human. But that was cut short for a trivial reason. So, to ensure that everything she had done up to now wasn't meaningless, she would do what she wanted to do.

Hayato could understand that way of thinking, but that didn't mean he could approve of it. If it were just a dream, he would support her, but Amanda's dream came as a package deal with the destruction of Diite.

"I can't support you, and in fact, I'm on the side that will stop you, but I understand how you feel, Amanda-san. I'm not going to do anything to try and make you stop anymore, but I will do everything in my power to stop you."

Amanda looked at Hayato with a blank expression, but soon she burst out laughing.

"That's fine. But it's not very convincing for a hostage like you to say you'll stop me with such a determined look on your face, is it?"

"Could you not hit me where it hurts?"

When Hayato said that, Amanda lay back on the sofa and laughed.

"You two, did you intend to ignore the monitor I went to the trouble of making?"

When Hypnos spoke with a dissatisfied voice, both Hayato and Amanda looked at the monitor.

The event's battle had already started, and fighting had broken out around Deep Impact.

"Aren't we losing like crazy?"

Even though it had just begun, players from the new Demon Lord's army were swarming the Area Stone that the old Demon Lord's army was supposed to be protecting. It wasn't that they weren't repelling them, but perhaps their defense was weak, as the Area Stone's durability was gradually decreasing.

"I wasn't planning on going out until it was time to fight Lunaria, but it looks like we can win without me?"

Amanda said this with a laugh, but the new Demon Lord's army was pushing so hard that she really might not need to go. At this point, the numbers should have been even, but Hayato hadn't expected it to be so one-sided.

However, Hayato noticed something strange.

It was hard to tell because the view was so wide, but Esha and the others were not there. The ones fighting were Ney's Kokuryu, Jolth's Bandit clan, and other major clans, but he couldn't see Esha or Ash.

He could see, however, that Lunaria and the Black Rose Saints and the Dark Knights were fighting.

(But this is strange. I don't think they're fighting seriously.)

Lunaria and her forces were certainly defeating many players, but knowing how they usually fought, it was clear they were holding back.

(Could it be my fault...?)

It was possible that Lunaria and the others couldn't fight at full strength because Hayato was being held hostage. And Esha and the others, who knew the reality of the situation, might be at the hospital protecting Hayato's real body and not logged into the virtual reality.

This could be bad.

Hayato watched the battle unfold with this thought, but an hour later, the Area Stone was destroyed, and the area around Deep Impact became the new Demon Lord's army's territory.