kscans

Chapter 441 - A Troublesome Person and a Massive Clan

On the day of the Maid Guild's special quest, "Operation Annihilate Shooting Star," Parfait logged in from the morning since it was a holiday and made her way to the Maid Guild in the Royal Capital Anhemudal for the first time in a while.

Her purpose was to ask about the clan "Shooting Star" and its leader, Ronios. She had been a little wary since it was her first time in the Royal Capital in a while, but she arrived at the Maid Guild safely without being bothered by anyone.

After receiving the usual greeting at the guild and getting a cheesecake that seemed a bit small as a login bonus, she requested to speak with the guild master, Rose.

A maid immediately showed Parfait to a room. There, a slightly weary-looking Rose was at her desk, writing a large number of documents. When she saw Parfait, she showed a smile so bright that it belied any fatigue.

"Welcome, Parfait-chan. It has been a while since we've met here."

"Yes, it's been a while. Um, are you looking a little tired?"

"I am. But this is part of my job as AFO staff, after all."

Many parts of AFO were linked to the real world.

Just as Ginny could take out a piece of paper in virtual reality with information written on it by loading real-world information into her headgear, the reverse was also true. Documents created in virtual reality could be converted into valid electronic data in the real world.

Rose was in the middle of writing documents as part of the process for creating the special quest. It wasn't handwritten, of course, just checking boxes on a form, but the sheer volume of it was apparently quite a task.

Thinking that being an adult was hard work, Parfait hesitated a little. She had come with the intention of gathering all sorts of information, but it was a different story if Rose was busy.

"You seem busy, so I'll come back another time."

"No, no, I was just thinking of taking a break, so it's quite alright. I'll get some tea and sweets, so please wait a moment."

Rose stood up from her chair and prepared tea and sweets on the visitor's table.

Parfait waited, looking forward to it.

Five minutes later, having dealt with things up to a good stopping point, Rose sat down across the table from Parfait, who was eating her sweets. Rose took a breath, sipped her own tea, and then smiled.

"Unlike the real world, virtual reality has no physical fatigue, so that's a relief. There is mental fatigue, though."

"Is that how it is?"

"You might not understand since you're young, Parfait-chan, but when there's a lot of paperwork, even moving your arms and fingers becomes difficult. Why don't you try studying in virtual reality, Parfait-chan? It will be fine for homework that can be submitted as electronic data, and you can still gain knowledge in virtual reality."

"So that's one way to use it. I'll try it for my next exam studies."

She had had that idea before and had asked Natsu and Chris to help her study in this virtual reality. However, it was rejected because there wouldn't be any sweets made by her father, Hayato.

She thought it might be fine to do it on her own, but it was a little difficult to imagine studying when she logged in. This virtual reality was a dangerous place with too many temptations.

Setting that aside, Parfait decided to get to her original purpose and spoke to Rose.

"Um, about today's special quest."

"Yes, it's a great help that you and your friends are participating—no, I suppose it's made things more difficult, in a way."

"Huh? We've only just started, and we're not that strong. And what do you mean, 'in a way'…?"

"Oh, there's no problem with you, Parfait-san. The problem is the other party. You see, at Ronios-san's request, the combat format has become realistic…"

Rose let out a sigh that seemed to carry away all the happiness in the vicinity. There shouldn't be any pain in this virtual reality, but she closed her eyes and pressed her temples as if her head hurt.

She explained that the change to a realistic combat format had forced her to redo the paperwork. Despite being in virtual reality, Rose's expression was so filled with resentment that it seemed to be audible.

She managed to suppress it by drinking some tea. But the sighs didn't stop.

"She probably thought she'd 'caught' us. To suddenly change the settings like that, that woman is the same as ever, I was just thinking."

"Um, Rose-san, do you know this person, Ronios-san, well?"

"Of course I do. Not only are we both staff, but she's also someone with whom I have a complicated history… though I think Hayato-san and Esha know her better."

"What, my dad and mom too?"

She wouldn't go so far as to ask if they knew a person named Ronios in the real world. In the first place, the name Ronios had never once come up in their family conversations.

Noticing Parfait's puzzled expression, Rose opened her mouth with a wry smile.

"A lot of things happened in the past, so the two of them probably didn't say anything to you, Parfait-chan."

"Could it be something like a love triangle!?"

At an impressionable age, Parfait latched onto the idea that something might have happened before her father and mother got together. After all, they had met in this virtual reality. She didn't know what had brought them together, but it wasn't out of the question that there was such a story.

But Rose mercilessly shook her head.

"It's true that Ronios-san was obsessed with Hayato-san, but it wasn't like that."

"…Um, this is a bit difficult for me to understand, but Ronios-san was obsessed with my dad? And before that, what is Ronios-san's gender…?"

"Oh, Ronios-san is a woman. She's about my age as well."

"Is that so. So she was obsessed with my dad…?"

"…She was pestering him a lot in the virtual reality. She said she wanted to have a serious match."

"My dad was a production class, wasn't he?"

Considering the situation at the time, there shouldn't have been any PvP, but she couldn't understand what Ronios was thinking, wanting a serious match with Hayato, who had no combat skills whatsoever.

"That's right. However, Hayato-san was surrounded by people like Esha, who were called the strongest in a certain aspect. In order to fight them, she did various things to try and anger Hayato-san."

"…So she's a troublesome person?"

"That's an accurate description. And what's more, she's a person who fails at everything she does…"

"…Um?"

"You could say she's unlucky, but basically, she's a person who can't get things to go the way she wants. And the damage from everything she does is huge. And she herself doesn't seem to care…"

'I don't want to get involved.' That was Parfait's impression. She could understand why her father and mother never brought up the topic, even if they knew her.

"She—Ronios-san, that is, is excellent at things she's not interested in. She doesn't do anything unnecessary with things she's not interested in, so she can handle anything normally. But when it comes to things she is interested in, things she's obsessed with, she messes things up by doing something unnecessary and never succeeds. Hayato-san had a hard time with her too."

"So far, there's not a single good thing about her, is there…?"

"Basically, no. And what's more, she's the head of the Gemini Foundation. Ney-san and Jolt-san have a hard time with her every day."

"The head of the Gemini Foundation!?"

She knew that Ney was the head of the Libra Foundation. She also knew that her aide, Jolt, was once one of the successors to the Leo Foundation. The fact that someone on the same level as them was an acquaintance of her father and mother was surprising enough, but to hear that she was obsessed with him was beyond surprising and even frightening.

And the fact that such a person was working as AFO staff was nothing short of a joke. It wouldn't be strange if she were one of the twelve executives running AFO.

When Parfait mentioned this, Rose sighed.

"We originally tried to bring her in as an executive, but she refused, saying, 'That wouldn't be any fun, would it?' And what's more, she's a major investor in Colony 'Frontier,' so she's someone we can't fire. She also has personnel authority…"

She was dealing with quite a difficult person, Parfait thought, feeling a little intimidated. Then she remembered something. Rose had said that Ronios "thought she'd caught" them.

"I understand about Ronios-san, but what did you mean by 'caught'?"

"…Actually, the AFO executives have made a rule regarding Ronios-san."

"A rule?"

"The rule is that she is not allowed to approach you, Parfait-chan."

"Huh? Me? And why don't I know about this rule?"

"Based on the fact that she was obsessed with Hayato-san, Diite-san, Lunaria-san, Ney-san, and Jolt-san decided that she should not be allowed to get near you either, Parfait-chan. By the way, there's even a restraining order against her in the real world."

"She's starting to sound like a dangerous person…?"

"You're not wrong, but she's not dangerous. Just a troublesome person."

That sounded pretty bad, but Parfait was starting to get worried. She was probably not dangerous in virtual reality, but she seemed like someone she shouldn't get involved with.

"However, there's a loophole in that rule."

"Which is?"

"The rule is that it's okay for you to approach Ronios-san yourself, Parfait-chan."

"Oh, so—could it be that the reason Shooting Star bought up all the ingredients was…"

"Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it was to get you to approach her, Parfait-chan. She does things like that right away."

Rose said it simply, but Parfait wanted to ask if that was really okay.

Diite had apparently started this event because she wanted to eat handmade food, but Ronios was doing something similar. This world was full of bad adults, Parfait thought once again.

"Um, maybe it would be better if I didn't participate?"

"No, no, at this point, please do. If you don't participate in this quest, Parfait-chan, Ronios-san will lose interest."

"Wouldn't that be fine?"

"When she loses interest, she gets stronger. We want to resolve the ingredient shortage in AFO, so we want to win. And if this doesn't work, I think she'll just try to approach you in some other way, so I think it would be less damaging to deal with her a little this time and satisfy her."

She felt like she was being treated like some kind of sacrifice, but it was true that the lack of all-you-can-eat sweets at the Maid Guild was a problem. And if she could get ingredients, she could practice her handmade curry, and there was also the possibility of selling the ingredients for money.

After considering various things, she decided to participate in the special quest.

"And as a bodyguard for you, Parfait-chan, I've made a request to a clan I know. They're players, not staff, but they're quite strong, so I think they'll be a help in a pinch."

"A bodyguard?"

"Yes, they should be arriving any moment—"

Just as Rose said that, a knock echoed in the room.

"Maid Chief, Ingrid-sama is here."

"Please show her in."

When Rose answered the voice from outside, a woman escorted by a maid entered the room with her.

"Ah!"

"Huh, you're the young lady from, I believe…"

It was the woman with the amazing abs who had explained PvP to Parfait on the day she logged in. The woman was also surprised to see Parfait.

Parfait stood up and bowed her head.

"Thank you for your help that time."

"No, no, I didn't do anything. But it was a real shame, you had a match right after that, didn't you? And in real life, too. I wish I could have seen it in person."

"Ahaha."

"Do you two know each other?"

When Rose asked, Parfait nodded.

"She taught me a lot on the first day I logged in."

"Is that so. That's convenient."

"Convenient?"

"This is Ingrid-san, the person I asked to be your bodyguard as a countermeasure against Ronios-san."

Surprised, Parfait bowed her head once more.

"I'm Parfait, it's nice to meet you."

"Like Rose-san just said, I'm Ingrid. Nice to meet you."

Ingrid said and held out her right hand. Parfait smiled, took her hand, and shook it.

"Heh, you really are strong. I can tell just by shaking your hand."

"Huh? Y, you think so?"

She wondered what Ingrid could tell just by shaking her hand, but Parfait thought she was probably being overestimated.

"Ingrid-san is the leader of 'Bandit,' the largest clan in AFO."

"The leader of that clan!"

Hearing this, Parfait got a little excited.

The massive clan "Bandit," which had been around since AFO first started and was now said to have nearly ten thousand members. Not knowing Bandit, which dominated the top ranks in every event, was said to make you either a beginner or an impostor.

If she was the leader of such a clan, she herself must be something special.

"Nah, anyone can be the leader of Bandit as long as they're the strongest. I leave all the clan management to everyone else and don't do anything myself, so it's no big deal."

Even so, that clan was said to have considerable combat power even on an individual level. To be able to take the top spot there meant she was undeniably strong.

Ingrid smiled at Parfait.

"But to think the girl from that time was Hayato-san and Esha-san's daughter. I suppose it's only natural, since you have a replica of the Beelzebub."

"Um, do you know my father and mother?"

"I've never met them directly, but I've heard a lot about them from my uncle and teacher."

"Your uncle and teacher…?"

"I mean Uncle Jolt and Teacher Ivan, you don't know them?"

"Jolt-san is the one who assists Ney-san, right? And Teacher Ivan, could that be the former Hero, Ivan-san…?"

"Yes, Teacher Ivan, who used to be the Hero in AFO. He's my teacher, and I've heard he was indebted to Hayato-san and Esha-san in many ways."

"I've heard about Ivan-san too. I think he's exploring the undeveloped regions of Earth now."

"That's right, he hasn't come back in a while. There are so many things I want to learn from him."

"I wonder how long that man plans to wander around…"

For some reason, Rose started complaining. And from the way she spoke, Parfait felt like she was close to him, or at least had a close relationship.

"Um, Rose-san?"

"Oh, my apologies. Well then, since we don't have much time, I'll explain a few things."

She couldn't shake the feeling that she had been dodged, but the briefing for the special quest "Operation Annihilate Shooting Star" was about to begin.