kscans

Chapter 369 - Sharing Secrets

Hayato's group decided to invite the white-flag-waving Parsha and her companions to join them.

Overhead hovered a giant octopus, a Duke-class Demon loomed nearby, and Mist's vampires were present, with Esha right beside them. They also had Noat, with her cherry-picked skill composition, and Maris, who could fly. Even if Hayato were to fall, Parsha's group stood no chance of survival. With the potential benefit of defeating Parsha outweighing the risk of Hayato being defeated, they called them over.

Even before that, Noat had lowered her guard, saying, "That girl is fine," a statement whose basis was entirely unclear.

At Noat's request, Hayato had prepared a table and chairs on the spot. A white cloth covered the round table, upon which sat donuts made for Noat, along with coffee.

They were in a rocky clearing, surrounded by trees, with a bit of sunlight filtering through. It was hardly a suitable location for a tea party, but Hayato's production skills had managed to make it presentable.

Parsha, led by Maris, arrived and her eyes widened at the sight of Hayato's group waiting as if for a tea party. But as soon as she dismounted her broom, a smile spread across her face. She lifted her skirt slightly and bowed her head.

"Thank you for the invitation."

"Please, have a seat."

Noat was already seated, with Hayato to her right and Esha to her left. Maris waited behind Hayato, riding Lancelot side-saddle.

Parsha sat opposite Noat, while Blanc and Noir stood behind her.

Noat pushed the plate of donuts toward Parsha.

"Do you like donuts?"

Seeing the donuts, Parsha's lips curved into a smile.

"Yes, I do. Donuts are the halos of angels. A human imitation of the halos that fell to earth when the angels fell. By eating a donut, you can take an angel's power into your body."

First time I'm hearing that, Hayato thought. But Noat nodded.

"You know your lore. To eat a donut is to devour an angel. But that act is an unforgivable sin. After acquiring the power of an angel, their wisdom, humans were punished with having to periodically eat donuts... a truly pitiable fate."

"Was it not a deliberate temptation? By the 'Angel of Original Sin,' or was it 'The Perfect Sin'?"

"Fufufu, what a nostalgic name..."

"Could you two stop with the otherworldly conversation and speak in a language we can understand? And we don't have time to be playing around, you know?"

Sensing their nonsensical chat would continue indefinitely, Hayato forcefully cut in.

Noat and Parsha looked slightly displeased.

"Hayato-san, men who lack composure aren't popular. You should be careful."

"I'm not popular even with composure. Besides, you're probably the only one who can remain so calm with Esha aiming her gun, you know? Enough of that. Start explaining why you called Parsha-san here, and Parsha-san, the reason you came."

They were, after all, in the middle of an event battle. He was fine with dragging out the fight according to Randa's plan, but the issue of Noat regaining her memories needed to be resolved immediately. On top of that, Diite couldn't come here. It wasn't a lack of composure, it was simply bad for his heart.

Before Parsha's group arrived, Hayato had tried contacting Diite but received no reply. He figured her battle with Hypnos must be intense enough to prevent her from responding.

He had invited Parsha's group thinking Noat had a plan, but Hayato couldn't imagine how she would extract information from them while hiding their own circumstances.

Still, Noat was quite competent when she was awake, so he decided to watch and see.

Noat then opened her mouth.

"I'm human. When did you figure it out?"

"Whoa!"

Hayato shot back, wondering what she was suddenly revealing, but Noat was completely unfazed. If anything, she looked at him with annoyance.

"Hayato-san, you're a little loud. Please save your retorts for the appropriate moments."

"I'd love for you to tell me when would be more appropriate than right now."

He had thought she might eventually reveal it, but only after gathering some information first. This was like playing the joker right at the start of a card game. He wanted to ask what she was thinking, playing her strongest card without even guessing the opponent's hand.

"Noat is just this kind of person. Let's just give up," Esha said.

Esha's words helped Hayato regain a sliver of composure, though he internally retorted at himself, wondering if it even mattered at this point.

Hayato timidly glanced at Parsha to gauge her reaction.

"How surprising. To think you really were human... Are you connected to Paradise Lost?"

Hayato had wondered if this might be some extension of their 'sublime game,' but Parsha's face was far too serious. However, the two people standing behind her looked puzzled, leaving Hayato completely lost.

"What's Paradise Lost?"

Noat's expression remained unchanged, but perhaps judging that this wasn't part of their 'game,' she asked Parsha while munching on a donut.

Parsha brought her right hand to her lips, then lowered her gaze to the table in a thoughtful gesture. After a moment, she looked up at Noat, nodded, and began to speak.

"Paradise Lost refers to an incident from a hundred years ago where ten thousand people went missing. I don't know the details myself, though."

This information startled Hayato. Not just Hayato, but Esha and Maris as well.

"Um, I've never heard of an incident like that?"

Though he knew the circumstances, this was the first Hayato had heard of the incident by that name. If something like that had happened, he surely would have heard about it somewhere. He had even researched events from a century ago after learning Esha and the others were human. Yet, he had never come across it.

However, it was clear that 'Paradise Lost' referred to when Esha and the others left Earth on the spaceship.

"That is to be expected. Only those of the bloodline within the Pisces Foundation know of it. Information is restricted, so the two behind me are also unaware. Well, it's possible other Foundations are hiding similar information."

"...Huh?"

"I wonder if Ney-san also knows about Paradise Lost. Or rather, was Libra the mastermind behind the incident? My interest is piqued."

"Uh, um, Parsha-san, are you by any chance—"

"Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I am Parsha, of the Pisces Foundation bloodline."

"Ugh, ah."

Hayato had met Ney, Ronios, and even Jolth, a former Foundation member, so he had built up some resistance. Even so, being suddenly told she was from a Foundation bloodline made his body tense up. He didn't have trouble breathing, but the feeling was similar to when Dean, the Scorpion's envoy, had given him orders.

"Please, don't be so tense. Feel free to call me 'The Fallen Angel who governs Destruction and Rebirth, and whose name was stolen'—"

"That's too long!—Ah."

Hayato couldn't help but interject, but it served to ease his tension. Parsha seemed to be smiling, not minding at all. And for some reason, the two behind her were nodding.

Noat, who had been watching the entire exchange, spoke up with a puzzled look on her face.

"I don't really know why you're so tense, Hayato-san, but that doesn't matter. If ten thousand people went missing in that incident, then I'm probably one of them. Esha-chan here, Maris-chan over there, and all the NPCs in this virtual reality are the same."

As Noat explained this, not only Parsha, but Blanc and Noir as well, stared with wide eyes.

"B-but that was a hundred years ago! Even if you extended your lifespan with the latest anti-aging, your age would be—don't tell me, brain digitization...?"

"No, no. It seems we were in cryosleep for nearly a hundred years. The truth is, my memories were erased until now, and I was living here thinking this was reality. But your song, Parsha-chan, brought my memories back."

Parsha had sung a song written and composed by Noat. Noat's memory of having released it in the real world had been erased, so she had been confused as to how Parsha could sing it. That confusion, she analyzed, must have stimulated her memories.

Hearing this, the light seemed to drain from Parsha's eyes. She ate a donut in a stupor, then slowly sipped her coffee. Her movements were so graceful that Hayato couldn't help but think she was truly someone from a Foundation.

But in the next moment, Parsha clenched her fists and slammed them down on the table.

Bang! A loud noise echoed, and the table's HP dropped.

"That's so unfair!"

With both hands planted on the table, her head bowed, Parsha's body trembled.

"It's unfair! How...! How wonderful...! With a 'real one' here, it makes me look like an idiot for calling myself a fallen angel!"

"Hmph, it is indeed unfair. This is my cheat ability to manipulate fate, 'All Flags in My Hands'...!"

"...Kuh! To think you were an ability user, 'One who Escaped God's Blessing'...!"

"Could you two please stop playing? Your words are becoming too advanced for humanity again."

To calm both himself and Parsha, Hayato created a large quantity of donuts and coffee and placed them on the table. He also prepared a chocolate parfait for Esha. For Lancelot, Nekomanma Deluxe.

With a trembling hand, Parsha took a donut and began to devour it. For some reason, Noat started eating as if to compete with her.

Several minutes later, Parsha finished the donuts, downed her coffee in one go, and let out a sigh. "Fuu."

"My apologies for showing you such an unseemly side of myself."

Hayato wondered what that made her usual behavior, but he kept the thought to himself. He simply prepared fresh coffee and smiled.

"However, it is also true that I cannot organize this information. Hayato-san, if you wouldn't mind, could you call Ney-san here?"

"Ney?"

"Yes, I'd like to hear what someone from Libra has to say—"

"Parsha-sama."

The white-clad woman behind Parsha, Blanc, spoke up.

"As I said before, it is not wise to make contact with someone from a Foundation. In the first place, why do you trust the words of an opponent, an NPC no less? It is possible she is just spouting nonsense as part of her usual game."

To someone who didn't know the situation, it was indeed an unbelievable story. It was impossible to tell if they were human or high-performance AI, yet Parsha seemed to be taking the information at face value.

"That is impossible."

Parsha declared it flatly before taking an elegant sip of her coffee.

Blanc watched Parsha with a suspicious gaze.

"Why is that?"

"I can tell whether it is a game or serious just by listening to her voice."

"...You're joking, right?"

"I am serious. Besides, the information seemingly pertaining to Noat-san has a triple restriction on it. Triple information restriction is reserved only for matters related to Paradise Lost. Moreover, Noat-san reacted to a song she herself supposedly created. Even if Noat-san were an NPC, the question becomes, who programmed that? It means that Libra, which created this virtual reality, possesses information that only the Pisces bloodline should know. Is it not natural for me to want to speak with Ney-san, one of the investors?"

"But..."

"I understand. I will renounce my right to succeed as the head of the family. Tell my brother so."

"Eh? Pa-Parsha-sama?"

"I have no interest in being the head of the Foundation, so my cowardly brother should be somewhat relieved if I renounce my succession rights. However, I will attach a condition."

"...And that condition is?"

"Grant me information access privileges equal to the family head, and full authority over the Colony 'Museum'."

"Th-that is—"

"My brother may be a coward, but he is no fool. He will surely agree if that is the condition for him to become the head of the Foundation. Have him prepare a contract or whatever is necessary."

Blanc fell silent. She seemed to be thinking hard, but an immediate answer was not forthcoming.

Seeing this, Parsha sighed.

"If he still hesitates, simply tell him that I will seriously aim to become the head myself. If he is such a fool that he won't agree even to those terms, I will show him no mercy, brother or not."

"I-I understand..."

"Log out immediately. And report the results via voice chat—ah, yes. Since you two now know about Paradise Lost, I will be taking you under my care. Add that to the conditions and tell my brother."

Blanc hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and vanished. As it was a location where one couldn't normally log out, her avatar should have remained for a few minutes, but it seemed she disappeared instantly because it was an event battlefield.

Parsha nodded at this and turned to Hayato with a smile.

"This should resolve a number of issues. Would you please call Ney-san? I've been wanting to speak with her for some time, so this is a perfect opportunity."

It felt like a monumental event was unfolding before his eyes, but from Hayato's perspective, it was a conversation among celestial beings. Besides, having Ney here would be helpful for him as well. Despite being in the middle of an event battle, Hayato sent a voice chat to Ney.

When he sent the voice chat, Ney was hesitant at first. But when he explained that Parsha of the Pisces Foundation wanted to speak with her, she replied in a serious tone, "I'll be there right away."

About ten minutes later, Ney arrived on horseback. He had only called for Ney, but it seemed Jolth had come along as well.

Hayato greeted the two with a smile.

"Sorry to call you so suddenly."

"No, if it involves the Foundations, I can't just ignore it. That said, I left in the middle of a battle, so I'll have to apologize to Rosalie later."

"I figured I should come too if the Foundations are involved. Besides, I'm serving as Ney-sama's aide now."

"A pleasure to meet you, Ney-sama. Jolth-san, you seem to be in good spirits."

Parsha stood from her chair to greet the two.

Ney also returned the greeting. "The pleasure is all mine."

Jolth smiled at Parsha.

"So it really was Parsha-sama of Pisces. You didn't react to me or Ronios-sama at the clan meeting, so I thought you were someone else."

"I did not wish to bring reality into this place, so I remained silent. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Parsha of the Pisces Foundation."

Ney nodded at her words.

"I am Ney of the Libra Foundation."

"And I am Jolth, formerly of the Leo Foundation. Is speaking informally considered disrespectful?"

"Please, speak as you always do. Here, I would appreciate it if you would casually call me 'The Fallen Angel who governs Destruction and Rebirth, and whose name was stolen'."

"You're keeping that up..." Jolth said with a look of exasperation.

However, Ney nodded with a serious face.

"Well then, Fallen Angel who governs Destruction and Rebirth, and whose name was stolen-dono—"

"That's too long. Please just call me Parsha."

"Hm, is that so? Then, Parsha-dono, I haven't heard many details beyond this being Foundation-related. For what reason have you summoned me?"

Ney asked this while glancing over at Hayato.

"Then allow me to explain the situation."

And so, the explanation began. It was primarily Parsha who spoke, with Hayato and Noat providing supplementary details. Not only was it revealed to Parsha that the NPCs were human, but there was information that each of the three held that the others did not know, so they shared what they knew amidst expressions of surprise.

After about twenty minutes, the information exchange was complete. The scene was now one of Ney, Jolth, and Parsha staring at their coffee with complicated expressions on their faces.

A conversation between Foundations was practically unheard of in the real world. For members of the bloodline, who were not even the heads of their families, to gather and speak of things unknown to one another was, historically speaking, a significant event. Moreover, by sharing information that was likely forbidden to be disclosed by their respective Foundations, they had become bound by a common fate, creating a delicate relationship.

"I wish I hadn't learned this..." Ney muttered.

"Um, is something wrong...?" Hayato asked, to which Ney groaned.

"It's not that something is wrong, per se, but this has become a delicate situation. Besides, Parsha-dono, wasn't the matter of Paradise Lost something you weren't supposed to speak of as a member of Pisces?"

"Be that as it may, it would be unthinkable not to speak of it in this situation. In the first place, I don't even know why it's being hidden. And if we're talking about things we shouldn't, Ney-sama, you are only an investor in this virtual reality, you didn't develop it. I would like you to consider my position upon hearing that."

"I apologize for revealing that, but we had no choice if we wanted to protect this place, did we?"

"Well, that may be so... which means Scorpion also knows a certain amount about this place, doesn't it?"

"It would seem so. Well, I threatened them, so I doubt they will make it public."

"Does this mean the Foundations each hold separate pieces of information about this virtual reality?" Noat posed the question while eating a donut.

At her words, the three Foundation-related individuals' faces turned serious.

"That's a possibility..." Jolth murmured, and all eyes turned to him.

"The Foundations are said to have been established a hundred years ago, but I always wondered how they acquired so much power. Perhaps they made a deal to hide this spaceship, the Aphrodite?"

"A deal?" Hayato asked.

Jolth smiled. "In exchange for not disclosing information about the spaceship, they would be granted immense power. Or rather, technology and information. The technology for colony construction is one example, but each Foundation possesses its own unique technology. I wonder if that's the result of such a deal."

"But for what purpose?" Ney posed the natural question to Jolth's speculation.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be struggling. This is just speculation based on the circumstances. However—"

"However?"

"From what I've heard from Hayato, this place was scheduled to be decommissioned. They escaped with the spaceship for that reason. So, I thought it might have been a measure to prevent the spaceship from being pursued."

Hayato and the others groaned at those words. It was unclear under what circumstances this virtual reality had been created, but Hayato had heard that it was made with significant information restrictions for humanitarian reasons. Still, a complete lack of information was abnormal.

After that, for about five minutes, everyone was silent and lost in thought, until Parsha spoke.

"Excuse me, I've received a voice chat."

The caller was Blanc, who relayed the situation to Parsha.

"I understand. I will sign the contract upon my return."

After saying that, Parsha smiled and looked around at the others.

"All of our requests have been granted. Therefore, I will go and confirm all the information Pisces possesses. Let us gather again and share what we've learned. I would like to meet in the real world next time."

"Parsha-dono, you are far too decisive."

"Ney-sama, I trust that is a compliment?"

"Of course. Oh, and please call me Ney. That goes for the real world as well."

"Oh my, thank you very much. Then Ney, you must call me Parsha. We are friends who share the same secret, after all."

(I share that secret too, is that okay...?) Hayato thought, a pain forming in his stomach despite being in a virtual reality where he shouldn't feel pain.

"Putting that aside, may I have a word?" Ney asked.

"What is it?"

"I explained it briefly earlier, but if we lose this event, the spaceship will be taken from us. Would the Despair Angel clan be willing to become our allies?"

"When I first heard about those circumstances, I thought it was terribly unfair, but to be able to be a part of it brings me the greatest joy. I want to scrawl 'saving the world' all over my diary..."

Parsha stood from her chair and struck a pose, hiding her smile with her right hand.

"There is nothing a fallen angel who has betrayed God cannot betray. Of course, we will cooperate. Since we cannot switch factions midway, we will pretend to be allies of the New Demon Lord's Army while working to give you all an advantage. And being with Noat-san is exactly what I had hoped for!"

Now Noat also stood, covering her left eye with her right hand and placing her left hand on her right hip.

"Hmph, you have not yet betrayed God. That betrayal, too, is within God's divine plan...!"

"So I am merely a performer in the palm of God's hand..."

"But the time has come. The time to drag the screenwriter who calls himself God down to become a mere puppet."

"Very well. I shall prove that even a stringless puppet can move...!"

"Uh, um, we're counting on you," Ney managed to say at the very end, unable to join Parsha and Noat's exchange.

Hayato and most of the others present had been left behind by the conversation, but having the major clan Despair Angel on their side was a huge advantage. There might be some opposition within the Despair Angel clan, but he had heard that many of their players had a 'as long as it's interesting, who cares' attitude, so he wasn't too worried.

Incidentally, they decided it was best to keep the betrayal a secret, so they wouldn't tell Lunaria and her group, but they would inform Randa, the Grand Strategist of the Demon Lord's Army.

When he told her, Randa laughed heartily. "Hayato-san, you've really got it going on!"

After her laughter subsided, Randa said, "Well then, it's about time for a counterattack," and requested Noat to perform a Requiem.