kscans

Chapter 356 - Interlude: The Demon Lord Who Cares for Her Comrades (Part 1)

"You can't even do this?"

"I'm sorry."

In a bleak, white, narrow room. A man in a white coat looked down on her, but Lunaria averted her gaze and apologized.

"Listen, among the genetically enhanced humans, you are—"

The man in the white coat nagged Lunaria about how useless she was.

When he got like this, it went on for a long time. She had learned that over the past few years, so Lunaria herself let his words go in one ear and out the other. She had heard it so many times it was coming out of her ears. She wished he would just give up already.

Lunaria was a genetically enhanced human created for space development and planetary exploration. Though called genetically enhanced, she was just a human created by combining superior genes.

She regularly underwent physical enhancements and brain activation through medication, and they took measures to make those effects permanent, but she was still within the bounds of a human. Realizing this, Lunaria began to slack off.

Besides, no matter how brilliant she was, what could one person do alone? It seemed there were other genetically enhanced humans similar to her, and if it were a matter of cooperating with all of them, she would understand, but what the man before her was saying was something different.

"Listen. If you complete the curriculum I've designed, you will definitely become the best. You can surpass even No. 8."

"Yes."

The man referred to the genetically enhanced humans by numbers. She herself was given the number No. 14, and had never been called by the name Lunaria Freire. She loathed doing anything for someone like that.

Besides, no matter how she looked at it, he just wanted to prove that his theory was the best. Lunaria listened to the man's words with a cold feeling, knowing he wasn't looking at her at all.

For these reasons, Lunaria, wishing it would end soon, gave a half-hearted reply while thinking about the game she would play today.

There was much to do as a genetically enhanced human. All sorts of technologies and knowledge were drilled into her from morning till night. Perhaps thanks to the medication, Lunaria could easily remember anything she was taught once, even without trying to memorize it.

At first, she was happy to be praised and did various things, but after realizing her supervising researcher wasn't looking at her at all, she grew cold. After that, she began to fail intentionally.

By doing so, maybe he would look at her. Like a child who plays pranks for attention, she began to fail various experiments.

However, it did not turn out as Lunaria had hoped. The scolding just increased. And her study and experiment time grew, and she was only told to beat the other genetically enhanced humans.

Being told such things so condescendingly made her want to rebel. Lunaria made her experiment results worse than any of the other genetically enhanced humans.

Still, the supervising researcher did not give up and pushed his theories on her. At some point, Lunaria stopped listening to her supervisor's words. Perhaps that displeased him, as recently, he would scold her just for making eye contact.

Amidst all this, her only pleasure was playing games in her free time. Her favorites were role-playing games. She preferred the classic storyline of a hero defeating a demon lord with his companions, and she played many of them.

One day, wanting to try a different kind of game, she picked up one where the protagonist was a demon lord.

She thought it might be a game where you commit all sorts of atrocities and are ultimately defeated by a hero, but that was not the case. The demon lord acted evil, but for some reason, the result was that he helped people.

And he defeated the hero who had become drunk on power and acted tyrannically, bringing peace to the world. Even though everyone in the world was grateful, the demon lord himself misunderstood until the end, thinking he had conquered the world with power and fear.

It struck a chord with Lunaria.

It was likely a comedic work of antithesis. But that was what was good about it. He acted evil, but the result was that he did good things. And the demon lord cherished his companions.

He was a demon lord stronger than anyone, but he understood what he could and could not do, and he treated those who could do what he couldn't with respect. Even if they were humans he was supposed to rule.

She wanted to be like that. She became so engrossed that she played the game over and over.

That situation continued for several years.

Perhaps her supervisor threw in the towel, as he stopped conducting experiments and tests on Lunaria. Or rather, she was treated as a failure who hadn't studied or experimented from the beginning. Her supervisor's current interest was only in the genetically enhanced humans who produced high results.

After that, her supervisor changed several times, but all of them would initially approach Lunaria kindly, trying to get her to do something, but their attitude would gradually become arrogant, and in the end, they would raise their voices to intimidate her and demand results.

Lunaria didn't want to see anyone anymore. She was fine with spending every day alone in her room, just playing games.

She was left alone for a few more years after that, but one day, an old man came to Lunaria's room. However, they spoke through a monitor with a door between them. She hadn't spoken to anyone face-to-face in several years.

At first, she thought it was just a new supervisor, but that wasn't the case. Without any greeting, the old man said this.

"Are you interested in a virtual reality world that is no different from reality?"

They must have been words that could pique Lunaria's interest. Normally, she wouldn't have listened, but she decided to hear the details.

The story was simple. They wanted her to participate as a test player for a newly created virtual reality.

She could stay cooped up in her room playing games, but eventually, she would be kicked out. She was told to come out on her own before that happened. And that in the virtual reality, she could stay there as long as she liked.

She thought it was a wonderful proposal, but the question of why her arose. She knew she was a burden as a genetically enhanced human. If it was a virtual reality that had cost a considerable amount of money, even for a test play, shouldn't they have a more talented person do it?

But the old man smiled and said.

"You only pretend not to be brilliant, don't you, Lunaria-kun?"

She didn't know how he found out. She prided herself on her perfect acting, and besides, she didn't think she was brilliant. But putting that aside, she felt she could trust the old man who had called her by her name.

Things moved quickly after that. She completed various procedures and was set to leave the research facility.

It wasn't her first time outside, but it was her first time leaving the research facility's grounds. She got into a single-person self-driving taxi that had been arranged for her and headed to the station where the spaceship was.

The scenery outside the window was fresh. The city's skyscrapers, which she had only ever seen in videos, the gloomy, overcast sky, the people with tired faces devoid of dreams or hope.

She watched it as if it were someone else's problem, thinking this was the scenery of a world awaiting its ruin.

The "Frontier Project" to find a habitable planet for humans to migrate to. Originally, she was a member who was supposed to search for that planet, but because she had played the part of a failure, she was not chosen.

By now, several genetically enhanced humans had already set out on a journey into space with no destination. Thinking about it made her chest ache a little, but only a little.

She heard that the virtual reality was created as the "Another Frontier Project." An absurd plan for humanity to live in virtual reality until the Earth's resources recover, a plan with no guarantee of success.

However, Lunaria didn't think it was much different from the "Frontier Project." Finding a planet where people could live and living for thousands of years in a virtual reality were similar in terms of the chances for the human species to survive.

She couldn't become a member of the planetary exploration team, but she was chosen as a test player for the virtual reality. In that case, as long as she produced results here, there would be no problem. She thought as she watched the flowing scenery.

About an hour later, she arrived at the station and tensed up at the sight of so many people.

Not having met people directly for many years was a disaster; she was afraid of the people around her. She walked around timidly, fearing she would be scolded just for making eye contact.

Her mind racing, she approached the boarding gate with movements designed to stay out of people's line of sight. There, she showed the necessary documents and boarded the spaceship with minimal contact.

A virtual reality indistinguishable from reality. Lunaria was looking forward to it, but seeing her own cryosleep pod on the spaceship raised her expectations.

It wasn't a type where you see the virtual reality's images with your eyes, but one that showed them directly to the brain through the optic nerve. She could tell just by looking at the pod that it used other state-of-the-art, or perhaps several generations ahead, technologies.

As Lunaria was walking around the pod, checking what kind of technology was used, she felt a presence behind her.

"Are you the one from the same research facility as me?"

"Eh, ah..."

Suddenly spoken to, Lunaria turned around, but the words wouldn't come out. It had been a long time since she had spoken at all.

"I'm Amanda Stellart."

The woman who introduced herself as Amanda held out her right hand with an emotionless face.

It took her a moment to realize it was a handshake, but she timidly put out her hand and shook Amanda's.

"L, Lunaria Freire..."

Lunaria said in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, then looked at Amanda's eyes for a moment before quickly looking away.

A person with the same face as her, though her hair color and style were different. It was rare for Lunaria to meet other genetically enhanced humans, and this was her first time having a conversation, so she didn't know what to do.

Seeing this, Amanda narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Lunaria...? Ah, I've heard of you. But, I see. So you're with me."

Lunaria had also heard that another person was coming from the research facility. She had heard it was the most brilliant person among the genetically enhanced, but she hadn't known their name. That must be the Amanda standing before her.

"Have you been told the details of your job?"

"About being a test player...?"

Entering this virtual reality as a test player to make it better. That was all she had been told.

At that answer, Amanda furrowed her brow.

"...I thought it might be, but I guess this job is just for me. Well, fine, it's easier that way."

"Eh, umm...?"

"It's nothing. You're Lunaria, right? Let's do our best together in the virtual reality."

Amanda said with a smile, but to Lunaria, that smile seemed a little strange. It was a fabricated-looking smile. But she nodded, feeling she could trust someone who had called her by her name.

Lunaria was thoroughly enjoying the world of virtual reality.

Compared to reality, her actions were limited, but the visuals were so realistic they were almost indistinguishable from reality. The flowers smelled sweet, the wind felt pleasant, and the sun felt warm.

On the first day, she could barely move her body properly, but now she could move even better than in reality. The fantasy world setting with monsters, like her favorite RPGs, also helped her to fit in without any particular resistance.

It felt good to defeat monsters with the sword "Arondight" she had received on her first day of logging in. She was so determined to defeat stronger monsters that she stayed in the mountains from the first day without logging out.

She had been holed up in the mountains for a while, but while her weapon was good, her armor was shabby. Thinking she needed to get new equipment, she descended the mountain and found that something like a town had sprung up on the plains.

Players had gathered around the revival point for when they were defeated and built a town. She heard this from various places.

Money in the unit of Gold, found in dungeons, was also in circulation, and the place was bustling with activity.

Lunaria had no money, but she had several materials from the monsters she had defeated. She looked around to see if she could sell them. To find someone easy to talk to.

She approached a kind-looking woman and asked, "Will you buy this?" The woman was surprised, saying "Rare materials!" and it sold for a considerable price.

After continuing this exchange for several months, the woman's shop grew larger every time she visited. The materials Lunaria brought were often rare and not readily available. The weapons and armor made from them sold for a considerable price, and she was apparently making a good profit.

(I raised this shop...!)

She had no intention of advertising that it was thanks to her, but it was a happy thing for Lunaria to think that the materials she brought were making this shop bigger.

It wasn't exactly being an unsung hero, but she enjoyed the behind-the-scenes act of supporting the shop, and she came to sell rare materials to the shop many times.

And now, it wasn't just the shop. Players started gathering around this shop that sold rare equipment, and other shops sprung up to take advantage of that. At first, it was a town of about a hundred people, but now there were over a thousand players there at all times.

With so many people, it was difficult for Lunaria to approach the shop, but it was also difficult to trade anywhere else, so recently she often went just before closing time when there were few people.

As she continued this, she began to frequently see a skittish woman who, like herself, came to the shop just before closing. The other person seemed to have noticed her too, and they had reached the point of exchanging nods when their eyes met.

However, they never spoke to each other. She only spoke the bare minimum with the shop owner to sell her rare materials, and had no real conversations with anyone. The female shop owner seemed to understand Lunaria and just interacted with a smile.

After these days continued for about a year, the rare materials became not so rare anymore. Other players had started to show up at the hunting grounds Lunaria frequented and began hunting rare monsters.

Unlike Lunaria, they fought in parties of multiple people, so their hunting was efficient. Besides, Lunaria didn't hunt near places where other people were. Left with no choice, Lunaria decided to change her hunting grounds and sought out even stronger monsters.

One day, Lunaria came to a certain volcano.

She had heard in town that a place that seemed to be a dungeon had been found recently. However, the monsters were strong, and those who went inside were quickly defeated, she heard.

For Lunaria, it was a timely opportunity. She didn't know how strong the monsters were, but she came to take a peek.

She had come, but someone was there before her. A woman was standing alone at the entrance of the cave, peering inside.

It was the woman she often saw at that shop.

As she was wondering whether to greet her, the woman also noticed Lunaria.

As they were both wary of each other, the other person spoke up.

"U, um, are you perhaps going into this dungeon?"

"Th, that's the plan."

"I, if you'd like, why don't we go together...?"

"Eh?"

"It seemed dangerous alone, but I feel like we could do it with two of us."

"U, um, th, then together..."

And so, for the first time, Lunaria formed a party and entered a dungeon.

From then on, Lunaria often adventured in a party with the woman.

The woman's name was Xenobia Baylott. It took them nearly two weeks just to learn each other's names, but now they were close enough to be called friends.

It seemed Xenobia, like Lunaria, had difficulty talking to men, and that was why they often met at that shop just before closing.

Lunaria felt a one-sided sense of kinship, and from then on, they talked a lot. Xenobia was the same, and she always invited Lunaria whenever she went somewhere.

Lunaria was a swordsman, and Xenobia used a martial arts style, so both were frontline classes, but since they were both strong enough to solo, it wasn't a problem. In fact, monsters couldn't even hit them, so they didn't need a healer.

Furthermore, Lunaria's Arondight could deal attacks that ignored defense, so they never lost, even against enemies strong against physical attacks. Xenobia also had many martial arts weapon skills that could deal attribute attacks, and there were no enemies they couldn't defeat.

They found equipment in dungeons, sold the materials from defeated monsters at their usual shop, Lunaria cooked with her cooking skill, and Xenobia took care of maintaining their weapons and armor.

"Lunaria-chan, why do you wear a helm that hides your face? You're pretty, isn't it a waste?"

"Hmph, you're making me blush. As I said before, I'm scared of other people. I want to live as inconspicuously as possible, so I'd rather not be seen. You can think of me as a rose blooming on the side of the road."

"Do roses really bloom on the side of the road...? But I get it. I can't talk to men without my goggles either."

"I hate to say it, but Xenobia-chan, you can't talk to men even with your goggles on. You just nod your head up and down or side to side. Or you hit them with a Rising Upper."

"That's because they talk to me out of the blue. If I prepare myself, I'll be fine."

"How much time do you need to prepare?"

"...I need thirty minutes."

"I don't think that counts as being fine. I could do it in twenty minutes...!"

They had become familiar enough to have such conversations and were enjoying the virtual reality.

Several more years passed, and an announcement was made in the game.

It was about an event called the Clan War being held. It was a ten-versus-ten player-versus-player battle event held in a tournament format, with rewards for the top-ranking clans.

Lunaria, who was resting at a dungeon's rest point, looked at Xenobia.

"Should we participate as a two-person clan?"

"Isn't that reckless? Unlike the AI-controlled monsters, our opponents will be human. I think we're strong, but I don't think we can win against ten people with just the two of us. Besides, I'm not a big fan of player-versus-player battles."

"You don't like player-versus-player? Why?"

"Because of my androphobia."

Xenobia said this, then turned a serious face to Lunaria and continued.

"I haven't told you, but I'm a world champion in a fighting game."

"World champion...? You mean number one in the world?"

"That's right. But it's not like I wanted to become one, and I retired because of some unpleasant things that were said. There were other things too, and since then I've been afraid of men."

"So that's what happened."

"Well, that's in the past now. Ahh, I want to spend the rest of my life in this world. Reality is full of unpleasant things and it's suffocating. I want to be chosen as a member of the project, not just for the test play."

"I kind of understand."

When Lunaria was at the research facility, it was cramped compared to here. She spent most of her days studying or experimenting, and the only time she did what she wanted was for a few years after she became a shut-in.

Even though food, clothing, and shelter were guaranteed, she couldn't go outside and had no freedom. She knew what she was born for, but if she were asked if she needed to do it, she would want to tilt her head.

"Do you dislike reality too, Lunaria-chan?"

"It's not that I dislike it, but the result has been so-so. But even in reality, it might be fun if I'm with you, Xenobia-chan."

"Ah, that's true for me too. I think even reality would be fun with you, Lunaria-chan. But I can't do anything but play games, so it might be hard to make a living. Besides, I don't know if the resource-depleted Earth will last."

When she said that, Lunaria's chest ached a little. If she had participated in space development and planetary exploration, the chances would have risen slightly. Since she had abandoned it, that slight possibility had been further reduced.

Back then, she had never thought of wanting to help anyone. The only people she knew were basically the people in charge of her, and she didn't care what happened to them. But if Xenobia in front of her was in trouble, she wanted to help.

"Lunaria-chan, is something wrong?"

Xenobia looked at Lunaria curiously. It seemed she had been lost in thought.

"No, it's nothing. But if we have to live in reality, leave it to me. I'll earn money somehow. How about a cookie shop? I've gotten pretty good at it lately."

"That's just your cooking skill."

"I feel like I could make it in reality too...!"

"It's true that you seem like you could do anything, Lunaria-chan. You're very skillful. But it seems like it would be hard to get the ingredients. The basics are nutritional supplements. We get paid just for being test players here, but I wonder if we can buy ingredients with just that?"

"If it's not enough, we'll fight and take them."

"That's robbery. Fantasy really is the best, isn't it? You can make a living just by defeating monsters."

"I know, right. It would be even better if they dropped money like in a normal game. Oh, I sense a rare monster."

"Alright, then let's sell the rare materials and eat a delicious meal today!"

"Just buying it will be a pain, but I'm on board with that proposal. And let's eat a five-star sweet too."

Their stomachs already dominated by delicious food and sweets, the two immediately headed deeper into the dungeon to hunt the rare monster.