kscans

Chapter 367 - Paradise Lost

Randa, who role-played as one of the Genesis Dragons said to have created this virtual reality, smiled upon hearing the situation at the mining site where Hayato and the others were.

Currently, Randa was on standby near the Area Stone with Lunaria and the others. Ghost-type monsters would appear until the "Requiem" chorus by Noat and Alvie's group began, so they were waiting here until it was over.

In the midst of this, a full-scale battle had begun at the northeastern mining site. Hearing about the situation, Randa laughed, as it was beyond her expectations.

Hayato himself was always natural. Yet, many people sided with him. And the people who gathered around him were all quirky and eccentric. Wondering if she might be one of them, Randa felt a little proud for some reason.

There's a saying, birds of a feather flock together. Since so many people gathered, she imagined there must be something about Hayato, even if he seemed ordinary. But if asked what was so amazing about him, she couldn't answer.

Was this a coincidence, or was some kind of will at play? And if there was a will, whose was it?

Before losing her memories, she had thought this was just a cutting-edge virtual reality, nothing more than a project for the regeneration of humanity. But considering the circumstances so far, it seemed like some unfathomable scheme was involved.

For one thing, the technology of a hundred years ago had not been passed down to the present. The technology here was several generations ahead of current tech. The succession had been cut off, becoming lost technology. To put it another way, it was treated as if "such technology never existed."

It was possible it was developed solely on the spaceship to prevent leaks, but she had heard that Esha had created part of the program outside. For not a single piece of technology to remain in such a situation, it wasn't strange to think that a considerable scheme was involved.

Besides, the fact that the technology was cut off was far from the goal of saving humanity. The timing of the discovery of resources on other planets was also suspicious in retrospect. The fact that there was a faction that tried to erase the existence of this virtual reality for that reason was also dubious.

Nearly ten thousand people were on board the spaceship. And they had suddenly disappeared. The spaceship had involved many acquaintances, such as family and friends, but even after checking past records, the incident was treated as if it never happened.

When Randa and the others were in this virtual reality, they were all on the spaceship, isolated from reality. There was no difference between the information that remained now and the information they heard on the spaceship back then, but was the information they heard really as it was? To Randa, who was there, it all seemed like a lie.

Wasn't leaving Earth part of the plan, or did they need to leave for another reason? Randa thought that far, then immediately dismissed the thought.

(Even if a conspiracy theory lover like me thinks about it, I doubt I'll find an answer. If anyone can find out, it would probably be Hayato-san...)

There was no reason to think so. It was just a feeling that Hayato was favored by this virtual reality.

"Randa-chan, is something wrong?"

The Demon Lord Lunaria was peering into Randa's face.

Lunaria was adored by many, but unlike Hayato, she was a genetically enhanced human and couldn't be called ordinary. She had a somewhat childish side, but that was also part of Lunaria's charm. Lunaria, who acted on her childish emotions, made you want to protect her even though she was strong.

Her combat power in the virtual reality was high, and her mind worked unusually fast. When Randa jokingly asked her a seven-digit multiplication problem, she answered immediately. At first, Randa thought it was a joke, but when she checked with a calculator, it was correct. Randa was surprised, but Lunaria didn't understand what was so amazing about it.

Such was Lunaria, but now she was staring at Randa with a curious expression.

Randa adjusted her glasses and smiled.

"A battle has started at the northeastern mining site. It seems an acquaintance of an acquaintance of Hayato-san summoned a giant octopus and is routing them. I was surprised at the unexpected firepower."

Hearing this, Lunaria crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

"I don't think it's right for them to be more conspicuous than me. Also, I want to eat takoyaki."

"Takoyaki aside, Lunaria-sama, you're the Demon Lord, so you're the final weapon. The final weapon only gets to stand out at the very end."

"Final weapon...!"

It was hard to say what struck a chord with her, but she was definitely weak to words that would please a child. From the outside, she was no different from a child, but what set her apart, Randa thought, was that Lunaria had conviction.

She was extremely soft on her companions. Or rather, she cherished her companions above all else. It was unclear whether this stemmed from her childishness, but Lunaria would never compromise on that conviction, no matter the situation.

The people around her were also soft on Lunaria, but Lunaria was even softer. It was clear this wasn't an act she was putting on as the Demon Lord, but her true feelings. This was probably one of the reasons she was so adored.

"So, are Hayato-san and the others okay?"

"They're fine. And they've drawn the Demonfolk's attention quite nicely. It seems all the Demonfolk except Xenobia-san have gathered over there."

"All seven of them? I don't think that's fine. Should I send Rosalie-chan and the others?"

"There's no need to send them. Hayato-san was originally something of a decoy, so we can't split our forces. I didn't expect all the Demonfolk to take the bait, though."

"But, if Hayato-san is defeated, a lot of people won't be able to stay on the battlefield. It'll be a big problem if Noat-chan disappears."

"Actually, I have the other Genesis Dragons besides myself on standby near Hayato-san. If it comes to it, they'll transform into dragons and protect Hayato-san, so it's fine."

"Is that so?"

Ash, Ren, and even Veru were on that protection team. If they transformed, they could win even against the Demonfolk. If Lunaria was the final weapon, then Veru and the others were the secret weapon, so Randa hoped they wouldn't have to fight.

Besides, just defeating the Demonfolk wasn't enough. The strategy of using Hayato as a decoy wouldn't work every time, so it was necessary to weaken the Demonfolk.

To that end, she had set her sights on destroying their weapons and armor. The Demonfolk had had their consciousness stolen and were acting as true NPCs. Considering that, they weren't that much of a threat, but their equipment was God Equipment, and if such NPCs appeared every time, the damage would be considerable.

So, they would reduce the durability of the Demonfolk's equipment as much as possible. It was necessary for the players and Mist's group to fight them slowly and deliberately, not finish them off in an instant.

That was Randa's assessment of the other side's players' thinking as well.

The other side should also be thinking of weakening this side's NPCs. Considering that, Hayato, who specialized in production skills, was a target not only for Amanda but also for the enemy players.

(I had Hayato-san go to the mining site, but mining and repairing equipment with the materials aren't necessary. Hayato-san had everyone make backup equipment that's okay to break, and the members not participating in the event are gathering materials, so that should be enough. I told him to run as much as possible, and with Esha-san there, I think he'll be fine.)

Relic's Butler Guild and Sonia's Treasure Hunter Guild were mining and logging elsewhere, not on the battlefield.

Hayato was, for all intents and purposes, a decoy. Naturally, she had sent him to the northeastern mining site to make his actions as a decoy seem plausible.

And just as she expected, he had drawn the Demonfolk's attention, more than she had expected.

In this event, the Demonfolk and Ivan were major uncertain factors. If the Demonfolk were to individually attack Noat's chorus group, it would be necessary to deploy strong members over a wide area as guards.

So she thought if even a few could be drawn away, but for all of them to head there was interesting.

(The information that Amanda is obsessed with Hayato-san is undoubtedly correct. From what I've heard, given Amanda's personality, she should ignore the event and target Hayato-san. This time might just be to gauge the difficulty. Well, this much is as expected, but...)

Randa thought that far and scratched her right cheek. Then she readjusted her glasses.

The Demonfolk were an uncertain factor, but their consciousness was stolen and they only moved according to Amanda's instructions. That much was straightforward. The problem was another person.

"Thinking about something?"

Lunaria once again peered into Randa's face with a curious expression.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. This event is as good as won, but there's just one thing I'm worried about."

"You've already won in your mind, Randa-chan?"

"I am the Grand Strategist of the Demon Lord's Army! I've read dozens of moves ahead, so there's no way we can lose!"

"As expected of Randa-chan. But then, what are you worried about?"

Randa crossed her arms and grumbled for a moment before speaking.

"Considering our fighting strength, we won't lose this battle unless something extraordinary happens. The same goes for future battles. Basically, there's no element of defeat."

"Yeah. Everyone's strong, and I'm strong, so that's true."

"But, I just don't get Hypnos."

"Hypnos-chan? The one who looks just like Diite-chan? I've only heard about her."

"That's right. I don't know what that Hypnos is thinking, so that's my only concern."

"I don't really get it, but is it that worrying?"

Randa nodded.

It was more eerie than worrying. She was a high-performance AI like Diite and had previously been pulling strings during the Stampede event. Hayato and Diite said she had changed a bit from her previous state, but that in itself was a strange story.

Previously, Hypnos's goal was to replace Diite as the administrator of this virtual reality. That was just what she had said, and her true intentions were unknown, but now she didn't seem so obsessed with it.

However, she had kidnapped Hayato under Amanda's orders. If that was all, it would be straightforward, but she had also provided information from Amanda's side, and while she hadn't helped when Hayato escaped from the Demon Lord's Castle, she hadn't hindered him either.

Not knowing what she wanted to do was eerie. If she were just a person, it wouldn't be so worrying, but Hypnos was a high-performance AI like Diite. Not knowing what kind of picture she was painting was the same as not knowing the victory conditions.

"In battle, there are wrong ways to win and right ways to lose."

"...Huh? Uh-huh. I think... I get it?"

Lunaria's reply sounded like she didn't understand but was just responding anyway.

"Even if you win the battle, if you don't achieve your objective, you can't say you've won, right?"

"Like winning the match but losing the game?"

"Well, something like that. Winning or losing doesn't matter, only the objective is prioritized. If the opponent thinks that way, we can say we've lost even if we win the battle. The fact that I can't see what constitutes a win from Hypnos's words and actions is what's making me anxious."

As Randa said that, Lunaria crossed her arms and began to ponder.

Seeing this, Randa smiled.

"Lunaria-san doesn't need to think about it. This is for me and Diite-san to handle. Lunaria-san just needs to think about beating Amanda to a pulp in this event."

"Okay, I'll do that. I'll leave the difficult stuff to the Grand Strategist of the Demon Lord's Army. And the ghosts, too."

"Consider it done!"

Randa replied cheerfully, but her mind was still racing.

(I told Diite-san to pretend to be angry and provoke Hypnos while subtly trying to figure out her intentions. That might reveal something. The worst-case scenario would be... if Hypnos already knows the outcome of this event. The possibility that this event is being held for some purpose, and the outcome is already decided. If so...)

Randa thought that far and shook her head.

She thought she was overthinking it. But once the thought entered her head, it was hard to get it out.

(If so, there might be a being in this virtual reality superior to even Diite-san and Hypnos. Something that can manipulate all events in this virtual reality. Hypnos is working for that being... no, that's not it. Probably, she's trying to involve Hayato-san to bring about a different result. That seems to fit best, but... am I really just overthinking it? I really have a bad habit of thinking like this.)

Randa thought her imagination was running wild. Never before had she been right when she thought like this. She just liked to imagine things.

Just as she thought that, the surroundings suddenly grew noisy.

Gathering information, it seemed the enemy players had brought the undead from the forest over here.

It was a parade of undead, from zombies and ghouls to wraiths, wights, dragon zombies, and vampire lords. There was even an advanced version of the rare zombie monster "Hero Not Allowed to Die," the "Discarded Hero Prototype."

Randa shook her head and cleared her thoughts.

"Everyone, stay calm and deal with them! Protect the Requiem chorus while deploying tanks to the perimeter!"

As Randa said that, the members of the clan Kiss of Death and the major clans raised their voices. And the unaffiliated clans who didn't know the plan got swept up in the moment and cheered.

In the midst of all this, only Lunaria was panicking.

"P-p-p-please take care of the g-g-g-ghost-type monsters quickly..."

"Lunaria-san, you should just close your eyes and count sheep."

Lunaria immediately squeezed her eyes shut and began to count, "One sheep, two sheep..."

Randa smiled at Lunaria.

Guiding this childish Demon Lord to victory was her job, she thought, as she adjusted her glasses.

Parsha of the clan Despair Angel was waiting for information to gather near the center of the great forest.

She wasn't waiting on the ground, but in the air. She was flying while standing, not sitting, on a rare item that allowed flight, a witch's broom called the "Witchbloom."

There was no particular reason. Straddling the broom or sitting sidesaddle was out of the question. Standing gracefully with both feet together was the pinnacle. And holding a parasol. This, she deemed perfect.

A little behind Parsha were the twin sisters Blanc and Noir, each standing on their own brooms in the same manner. These were aliases, their real names were Kuro and Shiro.

"Parsha-sama."

Blanc, dressed in a white pantsuit, called out.

But the one called Parsha did not respond.

Blanc sighed and spoke again.

"O fallen angel who governs destruction and rebirth, whose name was stolen."

"What is it?"

Parsha turned around with a smile, but Blanc looked exhausted, and Noir, dressed all in black, was sitting on her broom with her knees bent, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter.

"I believe your recent actions were dangerous."

"My recent actions were dangerous...? Are you referring to my unsealing of the door in 'Qliphoth'?"

"I'm being serious."

Parsha looked at Blanc's face and sighed. The twin sisters went along with her vibe, but they were not "comrades." They were just humoring her after reading the room.

She was aware that she was forcing them to go along with her, so she decided to speak normally.

"Very well. So, what was this dangerous act?"

"Contacting Ronios-sama."

"Is that all? I see no problem with it."

Parsha looked bored and slung her parasol over her shoulder, twirling it around.

Seeing Parsha's face, which showed she truly thought nothing of it, Blanc frowned and spoke.

"However, that person is the next head of the Gemini Foundation. Regardless of the content, contacting her at all could put Parsha-sama's position in jeopardy."

"How uncouth, bringing reality into this world."

"No, I must say it. Parsha-sama, you too have the potential to become the head of the Foundation. I question the wisdom of getting too involved with people from other Foundations. Even if it's just a game, asking favors of others could affect you when you become the head..."

"There is no such potential. My brother will succeed as the head. That is the end of the story. Besides, you two were asked by my brother to watch me, weren't you? Shouldn't you be trying to make me give up?"

Blanc was at a loss for words. Noir, who had been smiling just a moment ago, now had a stiff expression.

Parsha looked at the two with a serious face, then began to chuckle.

"My brother is so timid. Does he think I want to be the head? Oh, could it be that by contacting Ronios-san, he thought I was preparing to become the head?"

"...Yes."

"How absurd. In the first place, if I borrowed power from Ronios-san, things that would go well would not go well. It might work out in the end, but it would probably cause a great deal of chaos."

Ronios had a habit of enjoying the process leading up to the result. Instead of taking the shortest path to her goal, she would create many paths and then walk down all of them. She was the type to take unnecessary detours for her own amusement.

Though she had no such intention, if she were to try to become the head, the Foundation she would borrow from would be Libra. And it would be the next head, Ney, not the current one, that Parsha would approach.

Parsha also participated in the Council as an aide to her father, the current head.

And at a previous Council meeting, she had seen Ney defeat Scorpion.

The act of Libra, a Foundation that maintained harmony, going so far as to disrupt that balance had left a considerable impact on Parsha. It was unclear if she would lend a hand, but if she were to ask for cooperation, it would be Ney rather than Ronios. She would be a terrifying enemy, but an incredibly reliable ally.

Before that, Ney's reputation was low. Or rather, since she had only recently come of age, she had only participated in the Council a few times, and even then, she just sat next to the current head, so there was no way to evaluate her.

Just when she thought she was just a figurehead, that happened. It was impossible not to be interested in the virtual reality that Ney had invested in.

Parsha suspected that other Foundation members were also in this virtual reality. She was surprised when she learned that the next head, like Ronios, was logged in, but the same was likely true for the other side.

Parsha was also of the Foundation's bloodline. When she said she wanted to play in this virtual reality, her brother stopped her. He suspected she would try to contact Ney here. She had received permission to play in the virtual reality on the condition that Blanc and Noir accompany her.

(Brother is also small-minded... though I can't say that. It's a matter of gaining everything or losing everything. That's how much there is to lose if you don't become the head. I suppose he's trying to nip any potential buds.)

Parsha was of the Pisces Foundation. The Foundation bearing the name of the fish was engaged in the protection of artistic culture and managed facilities like Colony "Museum."

Parsha had always enjoyed looking at the art pieces left in the "Museum." It also managed books that were rarely made anymore. Many were digitized, but those were under the jurisdiction of Colony "Library," while the books themselves were managed by the "Museum."

Since childhood, Parsha had often read fantasy light novels and had let her imagination run wild in a world that wasn't real. In the midst of that, she became interested in Ney and started playing this virtual reality. And there, a world like a light novel awaited her.

She felt it was fate. She even thought this world was where she was meant to live.

(I am grateful to Ney-san. I knew this virtual reality was famous, but I never thought it would be like this. It was a stroke of good fortune that I started playing this game...!)

Since then, she had been immersed in this world, but in reality, she was suspected of having ties with other Foundations. Even though she was just playing around using "wonderful words," she was suspected of using some kind of code, and she was seriously considering whether she should leave the Foundation like Jolth of the Bandits.

However, Parsha needed her status as a member of the Foundation's bloodline. Colony "Museum" held art pieces and information that were restricted even to other Foundations. She couldn't imagine giving up Pisces's rights to those.

From the words "access restriction," Parsha suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Noir, have you been able to confirm the information on Noat-san?"

"Information on Noat Vabeck, you mean? As instructed, I also checked the access-restricted information, but I found nothing."

"I see..."

Parsha had Noir investigate the NPC Noat.

This was influenced by Lutz of Starkest. Lutz had said that the NPCs in this world might be modeled after famous people from the past.

Perhaps Noat had existed in the past. It wouldn't change anything if a real person had existed. It was a sentiment of, I'd be happy if she was real.

But if she didn't exist, she would be disappointed. She felt she had found a "comrade" who was her equal or even greater. The fact that such a person had existed in the past, even if not now, was important to Parsha.

To the disappointed Parsha, Noir said, "However."

"Actually, I got a hit on the information for 'The Whale That Drinks the Moon'."

"What?"

"The Whale That Drinks the Moon" was a phrase Parsha had used to refer to Noat when they first met.

There was no meaning to that conversation. It was just an improvised exchange, like an impromptu story. It was a game where the one who said the more "wonderful words" won. Perhaps because she was an NPC, she had instantly joined in the game, and Parsha was so moved she felt dizzy.

Be that as it may, she had also told Noir about that conversation, but for it to be a hit not on a person's name but on the words was a surprise to Parsha. In the first place, they weren't words with any meaning.

"Just in case, I also looked up the words you taught me. Parsha-sama, do you know someone called 'Miracle☆Donuts'? It has a heart mark between Miracle and Donuts, similar to our clan."

"It's a name I'd want to say I don't know even if I did. Of course, I don't know it."

"It's the name of a singer who wrote and composed her own songs and distributed them on a video site about a hundred years ago. Some of the songs that were released are still treated as classics."

"Is that so. And what does that mean? Was it in the title of a song or something?"

"No, the account name that uploaded those songs to the video site was 'The Whale That Drinks the Moon'."

"The account name was...?"

"I couldn't tell if the singer and the uploader were the same person, but Noat Vabeck is an NPC who role-plays as a singer. It's possible she's an NPC modeled after 'Miracle☆Donuts'. Whoa! Parsha-sama!"

Hearing this, Parsha fell from her broom. Blanc and Noir hurriedly chased after her and caught her.

"I, I really thought I was going to fall from grace...!"

Parsha was helped back onto her broom by the two. Her breathing was a little ragged, but the news had been that shocking to her.

Confirming this, Noir continued.

"However, that's not the important part..."

"It is not unimportant!"

It was possible she was a real person. That alone was enough for Parsha to feel she had found a "comrade." It was even possible that a "comrade" existed among her descendants.

"Please wait. The problem is where that information was found."

"Where it was found...?"

"Yes. At the very least, it's not something that would come up in a search of information on the internet. I found it in the access-restricted information managed by the Foundation. The songs are said to be classics, but to the public, the creator is unknown."

"The creator is unknown...?"

"Yes. Well, most of the songs from the past have unknown creators, so that's not strange, but it was a surprise to find it in the access-restricted information. However, even with my authority, I couldn't view some of the information, so if you need more information, I'd like you to check it yourself, Parsha-sama."

"Access restriction that even you can't view? What's the rank?"

"The highest rank I can view is single. However, there was information with a triple restriction."

"Information in single? And there's likely more information in triple?"

Noir nodded with a serious face.

Seeing her face, Parsha judged that she wasn't lying. But if that was the case, she was confused.

(A triple access restriction? But that restriction was only for information related to 'Paradise Lost'...)

Information Parsha herself didn't know much about, "Paradise Lost."

The information, named after the expulsion from paradise, the lost paradise, was so sensitive that it had the highest rank of access restriction, and it referred to the incident about a hundred years ago where ten thousand people went missing.

However, no one had made a fuss about it. The timing coincided with the discovery of resources on other planets, so at first, it was thought that they had not gone missing, but had moved to some colony.

It was information that no one outside the bloodline of the Pisces Foundation knew, and it was said to be the incident that led to the formation of the current Foundation. And it was said that the Pisces Foundation had to manage that information to prevent it from leaking out.

Parsha organized the information she knew. She still didn't have enough information, but there was something she wanted to confirm.

"That donut something from earlier..."

"Miracle☆Donuts."

"Right, that. Could you tell me any of that person's songs? You should remember at least one, right?"

Noir looked puzzled, but she taught Parsha a song she remembered.