kscans

Chapter 355 - Information Sharing After Logging Out

Thanks to Xenobia and Esha's quick thinking, Hayato was thrown off the balcony of the Demon Lord's Castle and immediately returned to his base via return from death.

Rose was in Hayato's room at the base, and while happy for his return, she immediately urged him to rest in bed.

She said Esha had told her to do so, and Hayato, understanding the intention, immediately lay down on the bed.

As soon as Rose left the room, he logged out and found himself on a hospital bed.

Nearby were Mist, Damian, and also Ruth. Looking relieved, they all let out a big sigh and then checked on Hayato, asking if he was in any pain.

Then, a simple examination began. It seemed to have been decided that they would monitor him for at least a day, and Ney was apparently paying for all the related costs.

Hayato thought it was an exaggeration, but this involved Diite.

Fundamentally, there shouldn't have been any problems, but prolonged login with a headgear, rather than a pod on the spaceship, was apparently not anticipated, and he heard that Diite had requested a thorough examination.

During the Clan War, he had been logged in for about three days, but this time it was about a week, which was more than twice as long. So, his brain waves were thoroughly checked for any abnormalities.

After a two-hour examination, it was determined that there were no problems, but Mist told him to rest and absolutely not log in for the rest of the day, and Hayato obediently decided to follow her instructions.

However, being young, Hayato couldn't just sleep in bed from the morning, so he sat up and began to think about various things.

He thought about Xenobia, and about Amanda. He also thought about Hypnos, but he excluded that, as he didn't think he'd find any answers by pondering it.

Xenobia had sympathized with Amanda's ideology and had been sent as a spy.

Hayato didn't know the details, but Xenobia had mentioned that she couldn't survive in reality. From the way she spoke, it didn't seem as serious as a life-threatening illness like Mist's, but he resolved to confirm this with Diite once.

And since Xenobia had helped him, it seemed she no longer held the ideology of living only in virtual reality. This was clear from her exchange with Amanda and from her saying she wanted him to make her coffee someday.

The problem was what happened after that.

Since Hayato's HP was at 0, he couldn't even move his head, and his viewpoint was fixed, so he didn't know what happened after he was dropped from the balcony. However, since Xenobia had missed her attack and couldn't use her weapon skills, she shouldn't have been able to move in the air and must have fallen back onto the balcony.

(I'll have to send Amanda-san a voice chat.)

Hayato believed he had managed to build a decent relationship with Amanda.

However, he couldn't predict at all how she felt about him escaping from the Demon Lord's Castle.

In the first place, he didn't really understand why Amanda had started talking to an ordinary person like him to a certain extent. He had just been doing perfectly normal things like greeting her and making meals, and for some reason, she had taken a liking to him.

Honestly, Hayato had intended to win Amanda over with his words. Regardless of the outcome of the event, he had planned to stop her from conquering the world and destroying Diite.

Amanda was quick-witted and knowledgeable, but her actions were somewhat childish. She didn't seem to suppress her emotions and lived freely and whimsically. In that respect, she seemed just like Lunaria.

He thought a large part of that was because she was raised in a research facility as a genetically enhanced human. On top of that, Amanda couldn't do what she wanted, like space development or planetary exploration, her dreams were crushed, and she stopped having expectations for people.

Hayato had been doing various things to show her that not all humans were like that, but there was a possibility he was completely off the mark, and even if he wasn't, he didn't know if it would have worked.

(It might just add fuel to the fire, but I need to talk to her.)

As Hayato was thinking this, Esha and the others entered the hospital room. It was Esha, Ash, and Ren.

The three of them looked at Hayato's face and let out a sigh of relief.

Up to that point, it was the same as with Mist and her group, but what followed was different.

"What in the world were you doing?"

"Honestly! Please don't make us worry!"

"Now, now, he's safe, so it's all right. Besides, he just woke up, so don't be too hard on him, Hayato."

It was a scene of Esha and Ren admonishing him while Ash soothed them, but Hayato bowed his head from the bed.

"Sorry, I made you worry. I had Mist-san check me over, and my body and head are fine."

While reflecting that he had messed up this time, Hayato's face relaxed. He was being scolded, but for Hayato, it felt good to have people who were worried about him.

Like with Mist and her group earlier, since he started "Another Frontier Online," the number of people he could call friends and comrades had increased.

He had acquaintances in the real world besides those he met in virtual reality.

But if he were asked if he had any acquaintances who would worry about his physical well-being, the answer would be no.

Like Ney and the others, his meeting with Esha and her group was a stroke of good fortune, and Hayato was grateful.

Once they knew he was okay, Hayato and the others began to exchange information.

First, about the real world.

"I kept the coffee shop open in your place, so that should be fine. The sales shouldn't have dropped that much."

"You guys did that for me? That's a big help. If I closed for a week, people would think I went out of business and stop coming."

"However, I asked Dad and the others to help, so the clientele was a bit..."

"Clientele?"

"The number of female customers increased..."

"Ah, I see."

Ash was handsome, but his father, Veru, was too. Though a slightly slovenly type of handsome, Veru in full-on dad-charm mode was quite something. On top of that, other wild-type handsome men like Agres and Pat helped at the shop, which apparently caused a flood of female customers.

Incidentally, they hardly ordered any coffee, and most orders were for sweets like chocolate parfaits, so Esha's chocolate parfait-making skills had improved, she said.

"So, I took the liberty of doing this, but to lessen the awkwardness of us running the shop alone, I promoted the movie we're releasing soon at the coffee shop."

"I don't mind that, but it's finally being released?"

"We plan to release it on a video site after this event is over. We also used the coffee shop for filming, so I used that as part of the promotion. Actually, we asked Dad and the others to run the shop today so we could come here."

"I'll have to thank Veru-san and the others later. And I'm looking forward to the movie. Oh, but no spoilers. I want to see how it was used by watching the movie, which is why I didn't even watch the filming."

When Hayato said that, Esha, who was nearby, for some reason made a weary face, while Ren beamed.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all. May I eat the get-well apple?"

"Isn't this the part where you ask if you should cut it for me?"

"That was a blind spot. I didn't realize at all."

"You should have realized when you bought the get-well gift. This wasn't something you brought from the coffee shop's storage, was it?"

They hadn't gone that far, it was something they bought at a store on the way. Furthermore, Ren supplied the information that "Esha-san was very serious when she was picking this out!"

Apparently, she had chosen it while being considerate of Hayato, wondering things like, "Would solid food be dangerous right away?"

Esha was looking away, but Hayato, feeling happy, gave permission to eat the apple.

And so, while they all ate apples, the conversation shifted to the virtual reality. First, about Lunaria and her group.

As Hayato had predicted, Esha and the others had been deliberately losing to get him back from the Demon Lord's Castle. The one who proposed this was Diite.

Diite insisted that Hayato's life was the top priority, even if she were to lose the event, Amanda became the Demon Lord, and gained enough power to destroy her.

And Lunaria, despite not understanding the real-world situation, also proposed that rescuing Hayato was the top priority. So, to lure Amanda out of the Demon Lord's Castle, they had suffered a string of defeats.

It was then that Xenobia came out as Amanda's spy. She then offered to go rescue Hayato at the Demon Lord's Castle and asked them to draw the attention of Amanda's other members.

Even the members of the Demon Lord's Army were unsure if they could trust Xenobia, but Lunaria said, "I understand," without any doubt.

"I believe in Xenobia-chan. I don't care why you betrayed us. As the Demon Lord, I command you. Rescue Hayato-san."

It was unclear if Lunaria possessed some kind of charisma, but at those words, not only Xenobia, but the entire Demon Lord's Army knelt and showed their respect, apparently.

Ren seemed a little excited as she recalled that moment.

"Lunaria-san is usually a bit out there, but she really comes through when it counts! I want to use a scene like that in a movie!"

"I would have liked to see that too."

"However, Xenobia-san said that after rescuing Hayato-san, she might not be able to come back. Something about how that person, Amanda, might take her consciousness. She told Lunaria-san she might be brainwashed, though."

"I see. I logged out right after that, so I don't know, but has Xenobia-san not returned yet?"

"We logged out as soon as we heard from Rose-san that Hayato-san had returned to the base, but she hadn't come back by then."

Hayato made a mental note to ask Amanda about this as well.

And they had also informed major clans like Bandit about their plan to lose.

Since they didn't know the full circumstances, there was talk like, "What's this about Hayato being kidnapped by an NPC?" and "It's just a game, so we don't really need to rescue him, do we?" but thanks to Jolth, the leaders of the other major clans eventually agreed.

Besides, to show the difference in power to the newly emerged major clans, losing all their territories first and then taking them back wasn't a bad performance, they said. However, they also said they would demand some in-game information from Hayato later.

They didn't tell any clans other than the major ones. They had calculated that if the major clans held back, they would surely lose, and that's exactly what happened.

While thinking that there were many people he needed to thank, Hayato began to explain his side of the story.

About Amanda, about Hypnos, about Nanagi, Hayato shared as much objective information as he could with everyone.

After he had finished speaking, Esha looked at Hayato with a serious expression.

"So, what do you want to do, Hayato?"

"What do I want to do?"

"Well, putting that Nanagi person aside, you spoke as if you wanted to do something for Amanda and Hypnos. Your usual good-naturedness was showing."

"Did I sound like that? Well, after living with them for a week, you do get a little attached. That includes Nanagi, of course. But while my ideal would be for everyone to get along, I know that's probably impossible."

"I see. Whatever you decide to do, we have to win this event first."

"Win first?"

"If we win the current event, Diite will regain her power as an administrator, right? If that happens, she can do almost anything, can't she? Conversely, if we lose, we should probably assume we can't do anything."

"I see. No matter what I do, I have to win first, huh."

Esha nodded at Hayato's words.

He didn't know what to do or how to do it right now, but at the very least, winning was the prerequisite. Conversely, if he got caught up thinking about unnecessary things, he would just hold everyone back.

With that in mind, Hayato resolved to focus on winning first.

As he did, Ren looked at him with a sharp gaze.

"Putting that aside, there's something I want to confirm with you, Hayato-san!"

"I don't think you need to say it with such force, but what is it?"

"What is your relationship with this Amanda-san?"

"You were listening, weren't you?"

As far as relationships go, it was only that of a culprit and a hostage. Amanda had Hypnos kidnap Hayato. That was the only relationship.

That should have been the case, but for some reason, Ren's eyes were full of suspicion. A gaze so intense it made him feel guilty even though he had done nothing wrong.

"For that, you seem quite friendly, don't you? You greeted each other, you made every meal. It sounds a little different from the hostages I know. Well, there are stories in movies where the kidnapper and hostage become friends. I believe there's a word for it, something something, right?"

"I can't tell from 'something something,' but I've certainly heard of it. Something like a syndrome, maybe. Putting that aside, I think I said this earlier, but Amanda-san, for some reason, doesn't know about normal things. No, she knows about them, but it's more like she's never done them, or never needed to, if that makes sense."

She knew about greetings but had never done them. She had greeted people in the Ambrosia clan, but that was to gain the members' trust, not because they were friends or she wanted to be friends, she had said.

She also said that as long as she was in the pod, she wouldn't suffer from malnutrition, and that her meals in the virtual reality were only for the purpose of improving her stats, and she never enjoyed the taste.

He wouldn't call it a waste, but it was like she cut out anything unnecessary as much as possible.

"She should have her own tastes and preferences, like liking matcha ice cream or curry, but her life is like she's cut all that out for the sake of her goal. It's possible she was taught that way at the research facility, but it just felt somewhat lonely, you know. So I ended up taking care of her in various ways."

Ren crossed her arms and closed her eyes, thinking "Hmmph," then snapped her eyes open and looked at Hayato.

"Safe!"

"What is?"

"It means Hayato-san's karma with me has not increased. Please be careful, as things will get serious if it crosses a certain line. I can't give you the details, but the keyword is 'five-sun nail.'"

"That's an unpleasant keyword."

He could only associate one thing with those words, which was very troubling, but he had no way of being careful since he didn't know the standard. He decided to just assume it was some kind of joke and forget about it for now.

As he was thinking that, Ren continued.

"More importantly, Hayato-san, you should be more grateful to Esha-san. It's true in the virtual reality, but Esha-san worked hard in the real world too."

"Was it Esha who made the arrangements for the hospital?"

With a slightly sour face, Esha nodded.

"Well, yes. I heard from Diite that there was a possibility you wouldn't be able to log out, so I had Ney-sama cooperate and brought you here. Mist-san and the others were here, so it saved a lot of trouble and was easy, though."

Ren had blurted it out, but Esha probably didn't want any thanks for it in the first place. Hayato thought so, but he still bowed his head to Esha and thanked her.

"Thank you, that was a big help."

"Please express your gratitude with food, not words. It's a maiden's secret, but I actually like meat. The kind you can grill at your own pace and is all-you-can-eat."

"I already know that secret. When I get out of the hospital, I'll treat everyone to yakiniku. All-you-can-eat, of course."

When Hayato said that, Esha and Ren high-fived. Ash was smiling too.

After they had all celebrated, Ren looked at Hayato with a slightly disappointed face.

"But, Hayato-san. Why weren't you asleep? I thought I'd get to see that legendary thing."

"I'm not asleep because I'm young, I guess. But what's this legendary thing?"

"Kami kocho!"

"Kamikocho? What's that? Something like chocolate?"

"It's like kabe-don or ago-kui. It's that sweet act where a woman uses her own hair to tickle a sleeping man's nose. A legend that happens once in a lifetime, if at all. Esha-san has braids, so I was hoping to see it."

"...I don't think that would happen even if I had five lifetimes. And even if I were asleep, I'm sure Esha would never do it."

"That's where you're wrong. A prince's kiss awakens a sleeping princess, so a princess's hair tickle awakens a sleeping prince! I was planning to push it through with that. Or by crying. In the worst case, I was planning to use a cursed doll."

Hayato was glad he was awake, and Esha looked at Ren with an exasperated face.

"Well then, is it decided that I will be eating Ren-san's share of the meat?"

"That seems appropriate..."

"Why!"

"Incidentally, I will also have the closing dessert."

"Then I'll have my brother's share!"

"Why me?"

Having made a bit of a commotion, Hayato and the others were lightly scolded by a nearby nurse.

Hayato felt happy to be able to have such trivial conversations with everyone again after so long.

He thought that if Amanda had friends like these who could do such things, things might have been different, as he enjoyed the conversation with everyone.