kscans

Chapter 442 - A Dangerous Cafe

Players participating in the special quest "Operation Annihilate Shooting Star," which was set to begin in the afternoon, were gathering one after another in the Royal Capital.

Since it was an event hosted by the Maid Guild, many players had only learned about it after logging in today, and they were at the Maid Guild's reception desk, signing up to join on the spot.

Many players were participating because it was a quest to steal ingredients. While major clans might be fine, it seemed that small and medium-sized clans were having trouble gathering ingredients, and voices could be heard saying that this quest was a great help.

Parfait, who had been informed of this situation, was in a private room at the Maid Guild.

Since Parfait was also a member of the Maid Guild, Rose had told her she could use a room as a meeting place, so she had borrowed one. After contacting everyone to let them know the meeting place was the Maid Guild in the Royal Capital, she decided to talk with Ingrid, whom she had just met.

By introducing themselves to each other, she learned a little about Ingrid.

Ingrid was a woman who had just turned twenty, had been playing AFO for four years, and was currently a player but wanted to become an AFO staff member in the future. As part of that, she sometimes took on escort jobs like this from staff acquaintances.

Ingrid herself was also related to Foundation Leo, so she was highly valued in quests related to the Foundation and was often called upon for measures against Ronios.

She was twenty, with voluminous short black hair and black eyes. Her equipment was leather armor that used black fur, and her appearance was such that one could believe she was a bandit, just as her clan name, Bandit, suggested.

Her upper arms and stomach area were bare, without armor, but her muscles were so impressive that they didn't seem like weak points. Despite that, she retained a sense of femininity, and even Parfait, who wasn't Chris, thought she was beautiful.

Her combat style was similar to Chris's, using martial arts, but it was a mixed martial arts style that included not only punches but also kicks, grabs, and throws. It was more suited for player-versus-player combat and not for fighting monsters, she said.

At first, they talked about such innocuous things, but Parfait delved deeper. While she felt it was wrong to ask too many personal questions, Ingrid seemed to know more about her parents than she did, so she decided to ask various questions.

Ingrid answered her questions without any sign of displeasure. Ingrid also wanted to know about Hayato and Esha's daily lives and would sometimes ask questions in return.

She especially respected Hayato so much that she doubted he was the same person as her father, which made Parfait feel good but also strange.

"I know Ney-san and Jolth-san are amazing, but is my dad really that amazing...?"

"Maybe you can't see it because you're too close. That said, I don't know the details myself. But Ney-san, Uncle Jolth, and even Ivan-sensei were always praising Hayato-san."

Parfait fell into thought.

Certainly, her father was cool when he was cooking or making coffee. She admired him so much that she wanted to run a cafe herself. But other than that, he was quite clumsy.

It wasn't that she disliked that, but he couldn't stand up to her mother and sometimes he would just stare blankly at the colony's night sky, so Parfait's evaluation of him was that he was just normal.

When she told Ingrid this, Ingrid smiled wryly.

"Being reliable is something that's best shown when it matters, you know. Someone who's competent in times of peace but panics when things get tough isn't reliable, right? In that sense, Hayato-san is apparently reliable when it matters. He was always calm, they said."

"'Apparently' means you don't know, right, Ingrid-san?"

"That's true, but it means my uncle and sensei know about those times when it mattered. Besides, it's rare for those two to praise someone."

"I can't really imagine it... Are you sure you're not mistaking him for someone else?"

"I've never met him in person, so I can't say for sure, but there's no mistake."

Then, an idea struck Parfait. If they were acquaintances of Jolth and Ivan, there was no problem with them coming to the shop. She didn't want them to be disappointed when they actually saw her father, Hayato, but she also didn't like the idea of the hurdle being set too high.

"If you'd like, why don't you come to our shop sometime? I'll introduce you to my father and mother."

"Eh? Is that alright!?"

Ingrid looked so surprised that Parfait was surprised in turn.

"Um, is there a problem?"

"Well, I'm also related to the Foundation, you see, and just like Ronios-san, Foundation personnel are basically not allowed to go near Hayato-san's cafe. Of course, it's a different story if we're invited, and it's fine to ask Hayato-san to come to us, though."

Parfait wondered why that was the case. She herself had a rule about not getting close to Ronios, but she couldn't understand why people with the high privilege of being related to the Foundation were not allowed to contact her father.

"Um, do you know the reason why we're not allowed to get close to me or my father?"

"I don't know the detailed reason either, but about twenty years ago, Hayato-san was a pretty influential player in this AFO. I heard he was targeted for various things because of that."

"Targeted, you say?"

"Back then, there was real prize money for events, you know. I heard that became a trigger and he got involved in various incidents. But Hayato-san, along with his companions at the time, Uncle Jolth, and Ivan-sensei, apparently repelled them all. They never told me the details, but I guess it was a good memory for them, they'd talk about it with smiles on their faces."

"Wow, I'd love to hear more about what happened!"

"Maybe that's why Hayato-san is considered reliable, because he resolved those incidents so well. I've been looking into it, but it's hard to find information from that time, maybe because it's restricted."

She knew her father, Hayato, had been a famous player, but she didn't know what kind of incidents he had been involved in. She had never even heard that he had been involved in any incidents at all.

She thought she had to ask him right away, but then Ingrid clapped her hands as if she had remembered something.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, there's another reason why you're not allowed to go to Hayato-san's cafe."

"Eh? What is it?"

"The existence of Diite-san."

"Diite-oneechan?"

"There's a terminal in the cafe that allows you to talk directly with Diite-san. From a security standpoint, only those related to Foundation Libra or the Foundation's general administration are allowed to go to the shop without permission."

"Um...?"

"Diite-san is the world's best AI, so she's probably fine, but it would be dangerous if Colony 'Frontier' was hacked, right? If a Foundation official approached the terminal without permission, it would lead to a war with Foundation Libra."

"My house was a dangerous place!"

There was a terminal in her cafe and home that could lead to a war between Foundations. Parfait couldn't hide her surprise at this fact. Who could have guessed that the terminal next to her room was such a terrifying thing?

And then she realized something. Parfait used that terminal normally.

"Um, I've used the terminal without any particular permission and asked Diite-oneechan to help me with my summer homework before..."

"Summer homework from the world's best AI, huh..."

"I won't get arrested, will I?"

"No, no. As long as you're Hayato-san's family, you can use it as much as you want. In fact, if you don't use it every day, Diite-san will get lonely, so please use it more."

"Diite-oneechan getting lonely... I can kind of understand that."

From experience, she somehow understood that. When she was busy with school and didn't use the terminal for a while, Diite would look very lonely when she saw her later.

"The world's best AI, the colony it manages, and a virtual reality that can't be replicated anywhere else... It's technology that many Foundations would kill for. Since the terminal that can access it is in the cafe, it's being protected more than necessary."

"This is the first I've heard of it..."

"You're still young, Parfait-chan, so maybe they didn't tell you... wait, was I supposed to say that...?"

Even though it was a virtual reality, Ingrid turned pale. The fact that Parfait had never heard of this from anyone meant that it might have been something she wasn't supposed to say. Ingrid, realizing this, was flustered.

"It's okay, I'm sixteen now, I'm an adult! And while I was surprised, I'm glad I found out."

"Ah, yeah. Can I keep a record of those words as evidence? I'm related to Foundation Leo, so I'd like to submit it if something happens."

"...Go ahead."

It seemed a little exaggerated, but Parfait figured it would be fine if that was enough, so she gave her permission. On top of that, she asked again about what they were talking about before.

"So, will you come to the cafe? You might be disappointed, though."

"I don't think I will be, but I'd like to meet him at least once... Then I'll try to coordinate with Uncle Jolth so we can go together. It's pretty scary to go by myself..."

"Our place isn't scary!"

The leader of Bandit, one of the largest clans in AFO, was for some reason saying that it was scary to go to a cafe. Parfait was worried that it might actually be that terrifying a place.

Immediately after, there was a knock from the room's entrance.

"Parfait, are you there? It's Chris."

"Ah, Chris-chan, I'm here. Please come in."

"Excuse me... for...!?"

Chris, who came in, was in her usual maid uniform, but her eyes, visible through her glasses, widened as far as they could go.

"Let me introduce you, this is Ingrid-san, she's my escort for various reasons... Chris-chan?"

"...Kyun...!"

"Chris-chan, what's wrong? To say 'kyun' out loud, you sound like a dangerous person."

As if she couldn't hear Parfait's words, Chris didn't take her eyes off Ingrid. And her gaze was fixed on Ingrid's stomach.

"What magnificent muscles... The ideal form is right before my eyes... Could she be a goddess of muscles...?"

Parfait wanted to ask if such a goddess existed, but she understood the situation. Seeing Ingrid's abs, Chris had been smitten. Ingrid, completely unaware of this, clapped her hands.

"Speaking of Chris-chan, you're Gil-san and Silva-san's daughter, right? I've heard about both of them from Uncle Jolth and Ivan-sensei. Wow, you seem just as strong as Parfait-chan, Chris-chan!"

"You know my father and mother?"

"I've never met them, though... Oh, no, I've met Gil-san a few times for work. We just greeted each other, so we haven't talked, but he has magnificent muscles, doesn't he? That's my ideal."

It was unclear if she was shocked or happy, but Chris started to tremble.

"Please let me call you Ingrid-oneesama!"

"Wait, Chris-chan?"

Parfait was surprised that Chris had started saying things like Ginny.

"No, no, just Ingrid-san is fine. 'Oneesama' isn't my style."

"Then Ingrid-oniisama...?"

"Chris-chan, calm down! That's going beyond rude, you're picking a fight!"

"Ahahaha, you're both so funny, Parfait-chan and Chris-chan! But I'm a woman, you know, so 'oniisama' is a bit much!"

Ingrid didn't seem to mind at all and was laughing heartily.

She was certainly muscular, but Ingrid was a woman from any angle. Calling her 'oniisama' was out of the question. Parfait, who had been her childhood friend for many years, was seeing the usually perfect Chris this flustered for the first time.

Chris was a considerable asset in battle, but Parfait was a little worried about how today's quest would go.