kscans

Chapter 414 - The Place We Met

The spaceship Aphrodite left Earth, just as Infinity had said it would.

For about a week, it was possible to communicate with Diite's server, which remained on Earth. But after leaving the communications range, there was no response, and now we had no idea where in the vastness of space it was.

Hayato felt a sense of loneliness in this situation, but he was soon overwhelmed with handling the eight thousand people who had disembarked and dealing with Diite who had stayed behind, leaving him with no time for such feelings.

It wasn't that Hayato had to do anything specific. Many people were grateful to him for coming to virtual reality as their savior and for his negotiations with the AI. They followed his words almost unconditionally.

That was the reason eight thousand people were able to relocate without major chaos.

Unlike when Esha and the others returned to the real world in small groups, suddenly housing nearly eight thousand people was next to impossible. Even for the Foundations, an increase of nearly eight thousand individuals of unknown affiliation was too much to conceal. Finding a place for them to live was even more difficult. Earth was out of the question, and the Colonies were also a challenge.

That's when their eyes fell upon a Colony that the Libra Foundation was in the middle of constructing.

Though it was still under construction, the oxygen supply system and artificial gravity were operational. It would be somewhat inconvenient, but living there was not an issue, so they decided to build temporary housing and settle there.

Diite's server was also transported to that Colony and linked with the Colony's environmental maintenance server, allowing Diite to manage the Colony's upkeep.

Negotiations with many Foundations were necessary to speed up the construction, a task primarily handled by Ney, Parsha, Ronios, and Jolth. The groundwork laid by Ney, Ronios, and others who, while not heads of their Foundations, were destined to be, proved effective.

Of course, it wasn't just them. The one who contributed the most was Lunaria.

An emergency Council was held under the joint names of Libra, Pisces, and Gemini, where Lunaria was first introduced as the successor to the Zodiac Foundation. Rosalie and Xenobia were also present as her aides, and according to them, Lunaria was magnificent.

The Council began with the head of the Cancer Foundation, which had inherited information about the name and significance of the Zodiac Foundation, collapsing. The other Foundation heads, who were unaware of this, initially had no idea what had happened.

However, when a portion of the technology from the research institute on Earth was disclosed to each Foundation, the others found themselves in a similar state as the head of the Cancer Foundation. Then, Lunaria declared that all the technology currently held by each Foundation was merely on loan from the Zodiac Foundation and was not something they could monopolize.

Thinking their power was being taken away, some of the Foundations tried to use their guards to restrain Lunaria.

Lunaria, who suffered from social anxiety, saw Rosalie and Xenobia about to be attacked, and in the next moment, her Demon Lord mode activated.

She beat down the guards, who were armed with equipment called stun rods that paralyzed opponents with high voltage, with her bare hands. Afterward, Gil and the others, who could be called Lunaria's private army, stormed in and detained the guards.

She explained to the now-subdued Foundation heads that, for the most part, things would continue as they had. However, the Zodiac Foundation would exist in a position to oversee the Foundations, and furthermore, would impose sanctions on any Foundation that exercised excessive power.

Each Foundation had their technology, the very lifeline of their power, held hostage. They had no choice but to comply. If they resisted, that technology would be made public, and they would lose their advantage entirely.

Some Foundation heads had already thought the current situation was distorted, and some even welcomed Lunaria as an opportunity for change.

Libra, Pisces, and Gemini were a given, but Sagittarius, Leo, Aquarius, and others also expressed their support, with some Foundations remaining neutral.

Though nearly half had agreed, it was safe to say she had earned the enmity of some Foundations. In response, Lunaria generously provided the Foundations with cutting-edge technology from the research institute, showing a willingness to compromise by saying, "If you want money, earn it with this."

Then she bowed her head and asked them to lend her their strength, as from now on, she would focus on the reconstruction of Earth.

Some Foundations were dissatisfied, but there was little they could do. Since she wasn't making unreasonable requests, they reluctantly agreed to follow the Zodiac Foundation.

And so, the most turbulent Council meeting since the Foundations' establishment ended with the rebirth of the Zodiac Foundation.

Afterward, work on the Colony under construction began at a feverish pace. It was the first time so many Foundations had used their technology to build a single Colony, but thanks to Lunaria's presence and the talented people among those who had disembarked from the spaceship, the construction progressed at an unprecedented speed.

Soon after the pace of Colony construction picked up, certain information was released to the world.

It was the resumption of "Another Frontier Online."

The official story was that the game had been temporarily shut down to move the servers that had been on the spaceship to the Colony, and the Libra Foundation issued an apology for the delay in making the information public.

This was merely the public story, but the same explanation was given to the Foundations that were unaware of the situation, aside from Libra, Pisces, and Gemini.

It still caused a temporary uproar, but they managed to smooth things over with various distractions.

The biggest contributors were the video productions by the actor team of Ash, Ren, and the others, as well as the musical activities of Noat, Alvie from the clan "Kiss of Death," and the Orchestra Brunhilde.

Both groups created and released promotional videos that built anticipation for the relaunch of the new "Another Frontier Online." The latest technology from the research institute was used, generating considerable excitement.

That was all well and good, but Esha, Relic, Sonia, and the engineers who had disembarked from the spaceship had it tough.

Diite's server contained the base information for "Another Frontier Online" that Infinity had constructed, but that was only the program's source code.

They had the enormous task of building a server in the Colony to expand and run it, and also checking to ensure it would run properly on the current servers.

Diite would be taking over Infinity's role in the future, but all of this required considerable technical skill. Even though she was an AI, Diite seemed exhausted every day.

It was safe to say that Esha and the others were in a pretty rough situation as well. Relic and Sonia would say with an air of composure, "This is what they mean by whipping an old horse," but Esha was so exhausted she said she wanted to bury her face in Siegfried's belly and was seen negotiating with Maris using tuna.

The other engineers were also in a dire state, groaning like zombies and collapsing onto tables, or sleeping in sleeping bags at work instead of going home. However, thanks to Mist and Damian, their health was maintained, and no one had to be hospitalized.

Once a certain amount of the work was done, Diite became able to handle various tasks, and they could leave most things to her.

According to Diite, the Colony's environmental maintenance server was upgraded with technology from the research institute, which increased her own processing power.

With all that going on, things were hectic, but the Colony was finally completed, and the relaunch of "Another Frontier Online" was in sight.

And then the reopening date was announced.

It was exactly one year after the spaceship Aphrodite had departed from Earth.

Hayato was bustling with preparations at the Crown Cafe. Today, he was reopening the cafe for the first time in a long while.

The cafe had originally opened in Colony "Factory," but he had moved the entire shop to the newly built Colony "Frontier."

There had been a strong push from Ney, Ronios, and the others, but Hayato also agreed because they offered to cover all the expenses.

The cafe's interior was the same, and the second-floor living area had a proper room for him.

Lately, he had been spending a lot of time in the room with Esha, but until a little while ago, she had been so busy with her work as a programmer that he hesitated to even approach her. Since her work finished and she had more free time, Esha would come to his room without a word and make herself at home.

And today, the cafe was reserved for a private party that was to be like a wedding reception.

Since things had been so busy, they had decided to hold their wedding on the day "Another Frontier Online" reopened.

Normally, someone other than Hayato would handle the preparations, but being the hospitality lover he was, he was doing it himself.

Just as he finally finished, Esha came down from the second floor.

"It's almost time. Are you ready?"

"Just finished. We can log in exactly at noon, right?"

"Yes. We've run load tests for concentrated access many times, so I think it will be fine."

"That's the only thing I'm worried about."

"Well, if worst comes to worst, Diite will impose restrictions. She'll probably cut off everyone's login except ours, don't you think?"

"I think that's going a bit too far."

"You're the one who said you wanted Diite to celebrate with us, Hayato, remember?"

"Ah, maybe we should have held it sooner?"

"Not really. Because of the delay, I get to eat a massive cake."

"...I never thought my wedding fund, or rather, my savings would disappear on cake..."

"You made me wait, so you have to deal with it, right?"

"...Yes. I'm sorry."

"Well, let's just earn more in our new home together."

"Yeah."

There was a reason Hayato had postponed the wedding date. They would have a ceremony in the real world as well, but he had decided he wanted to have the first one in virtual reality.

If asked whether it was worth putting off for that, Hayato could only offer a wry smile, but he wanted to have the first wedding ceremony in the place where he had met Esha.

They were two people who should have never met. Esha had agreed to his desire to have the wedding in the virtual reality that had created their meeting. Though the size of the wedding cake had increased.

Another reason was that in the real world, Diite could only participate through a monitor. If they had the wedding in virtual reality, Diite could join them in person.

Ren was the most enthusiastic about the virtual reality wedding, huffing, "That's the only way!" She had even pleaded with bloodshot eyes, "Please make your entrance by carrying her princess-style!"

But Hayato thought it wasn't just Ren, everyone around them was incredibly motivated. He was a little taken aback that they were more fired up than the couple themselves. He had heard they had all sorts of plans that would put a wedding planner to shame.

Previously, a movie had been produced called "The Love Story of a Cafe Owner and a Sniper." Hayato, who hadn't known the contents, had been forced to watch it with Esha while everyone else smirked at them.

Imagining what kind of plans those people were cooking up made his stomach ache, but he decided to accept it, knowing it was because they cared about them.

Just as he steeled his resolve, it turned noon.

The two of them moved to Hayato's room, put on their headgear, and lay down on their backs on the bed.

The word LOGIN appeared on the monitor before them. When they selected it, the word AUTHENTICATING was displayed.

Then, the words AUTHENTICATION SUCCESSFUL appeared, and an announcement reached their ears.

"Welcome to the world of Another Frontier Online. Please enjoy this other world, indistinguishable from reality, to your heart's content."

Being able to do what he had taken for granted once again. That alone made Hayato's chest grow warm. The next moment, he was in his room at the base.

Thinking he had returned to a place completely unchanged from before made his eyes sting a little.

Just as he took a deep breath, the door to the room opened.

"Looks like the login was a success."

"I'm glad it didn't fail... oh."

Hayato's gaze shifted from Esha to what was behind her.

"In times like these, I suppose I should say it's been a while, shouldn't I?"

Diite, dressed in a nun's habit, stood outside the room with a smile.

Since he couldn't log in, it had been a long time since he'd seen her directly like this. He had talked with her through a monitor many times, but seeing Diite again after so long also made Hayato's eyes sting.

"We just saw each other through the monitor this morning, you know."

"Oh, come now, Esha-kun, I meant seeing each other here. One could say we saw each other through the monitor, but for me, this place is reality."

"Well, I suppose you could say that. In that case, it has been a long time, Diite."

"Yes, it has. It really is nice to be able to talk here."

Diite smiled as she looked at Hayato.

"It's been a long time for you too, Hayato-kun."

"It really has. I feel you're much closer, Diite-chan, than when you're on a monitor."

"You never change, Hayato-kun. You always manage to fluster my programs. Anyway, that aside, everyone is waiting outside the base. They said they wanted to prepare, so I let them log in a little early."

"Eh? Really?"

"Well, there are a lot of people. Oh, and yes, I may be a sister, but I'll be the one to say the vows. I've practiced a lot for it. Now, let's hurry up and go."

The three of them went down the stairs and moved to the dining hall. There was a door leading outside from there, and Hayato could hear a commotion coming from outside the base.

"I'll go out first and wait for you. You two can come out a little later. If you go straight from the exit, there's something like an altar. When you get there, I'll say the vows. It's completely different from the proper way, but please do the correct version in the real world. Also, I have a message from Ren-kun. She said if you don't come out carrying her princess-style, she'll curse you for life."

"This is a wedding, you know?"

He didn't want to be cursed at his wedding, so he had no choice but to carry her princess-style. He was a little worried if Esha would be okay with it, more than himself.

Diite smiled at them, then headed towards the shop side instead of using the dining hall door and went outside.

Hayato and Esha were alone in the dining hall.

If they opened the door, many of their friends would be waiting.

"There's no wedding dress or anything, is there?"

Since their equipment from right after logging out was 그대로 reflected, Esha was in her usual maid outfit. Now that he thought about it, a maid outfit at a wedding was clearly strange. He wasn't in a tuxedo either, just his normal equipment.

"Should I make one now? If you give me a little time--"

Esha thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, it would be rude to keep everyone waiting, and now that I think about it, a maid outfit is more like me, so let's just go like this. Besides, you're head over heels for my maid uniform, Hayato, so this is better, right?"

"I'd like to completely deny the 'head over heels' part. But I do think it's a little nice."

Esha laughed at his response and spread her arms towards Hayato.

Hayato didn't understand what Esha was doing at first, but he quickly understood.

"I guess I have no choice..."

"I don't think it's good to betray expectations. I don't really want to do this in front of people either, but I don't want to be cursed. Let's get fired up and go. Come on, go ahead."

Hayato thought she didn't need to get so fired up, but he steeled himself and lifted Esha into his arms.

Esha wrapped her arms around Hayato's neck so she wouldn't fall. Then she brought her mouth close to Hayato's ear.

"When I got my memories back, I remembered my empty life and felt anxious. But having you hold me like this made me feel so relieved, you know?"

"Eh, ah, ahh, yeah. I think I remember you telling me something like that?"

"So, to keep me feeling secure from now on, please do this for me periodically in the real world as well. You have no right to refuse, you know?"

Was his face bright red right now? He didn't know since there was no mirror, but at the very least, his face felt hot. His face in the real world was surely blushing.

To cover it up, Hayato opened his mouth.

"I'm glad you were a maid who couldn't do her job."

"Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"No, that's not it. I don't know the details, but that's why you were dispatched from the Maid Guild, right? So I'm grateful for that. Back then, I didn't think for a second that things would turn out like this."

"Well, back then I was just an NPC to you--I'm also grateful to the Master who told me I could have all the chocolate parfaits I could eat."

"I never said that, though?"

"But you did say you'd cherish me for life, didn't you?"

"...Well, I did say that."

He had definitely said it. Maybe he was on a high, but right after parting with Infinity and returning from virtual reality, he had said that to Esha who was waiting for him.

"Then please earn enough so that I can eat all the chocolate parfaits I want every day. In the real world."

"Eh? In the real world?"

"You said you'd cherish me in the real world, so it's only natural. In fact, I've told Diite to mix those vows in. If you refuse, it's Destroy, you know?"

"I don't intend to refuse, but could you please put the Beelzebub back in your item bag?"

He couldn't quite accept it, but there was no doubt he felt happiness even in this sort of trivial exchange.

Hayato smiled at Esha once more, and then, to go out to the lively, excited waiting crowd, he opened the door while still carrying Esha in his arms.