kscans

Chapter 71 - Aphrodite

A week had passed since Diite confessed to being an NPC connected to the administration.

Hayato had expected Diite to keep her distance, but that wasn't the case. She came to the base as usual the very next day.

And Diite once again requested that he take her to a scenic spot. It seemed that the places they had visited before were not enough for Diite, and she continued to travel with Hayato to various locations.

For the past week, they had traveled to various places with Ash and the others as escorts, but there was no suspicious behavior from Diite. In fact, her normal behavior was what made Hayato uneasy, but Diite didn't seem to mind at all.

And today, Diite came again.

"Now then, Hayato-kun, where shall we go today? Choose from among these."

Diite spread out a map. There were red circles here and there, so those must be the scenic spots.

He couldn't ask the cheerful-looking Diite what she was planning. In the end, Hayato gave up on various things, thinking he had no choice but to meet the AI she wanted him to meet during the next Clan War. Besides, he had been on his guard for the past week and was tired.

"Um, is there a place among these where I could mine Adamantite?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I told you that Lunaria-san broke the Hero's Excalibur, right? It seems the sword is still broken, so Lunaria-san wants to fix it for him. I'm gathering the materials. If it's not here, I guess I'll have to go to the place we went before."

"Is that so. In that case... it would be here. A place called the 'Dark Cave,' where no light can reach. It's in the center of a vast forest in the Demon Country, so it will take time to get there, but you can definitely mine Adamantite there."

"There's a place like that? I don't know why it's a scenic spot, but let's go. Oh, right, Ash and the others can't come this time. It seems they're behind on their main business of dragon hunting, and the hardline dragons are making suspicious moves."

"So your only escorts are Maris-kun and Lancelot? I think that would be quite difficult."

"Lunaria-san is going to be our escort this time. It was originally Lunaria-san's request, and the place we're going is in the Demon Country's territory, so it might have worked out well."

"To have the Demon Lord as an escort, what a luxury."

Diite said this and laughed. To Hayato, she looked like any other ordinary woman.

(An NPC connected to the administration... but her usual behavior is that of a normal NPC. I was the one who asked her to join the clan in the first place, but what was she thinking when she joined? And what does she think of this game world?)

There was an NPC who knew this was a virtual reality. And she was connected to the administration. Yet she existed as an NPC in the game without any restrictions. There was a system called AI protection in the game, but Diite was acting as if it didn't apply to her at all.

Hayato couldn't understand what kind of setting Diite existed under. Looking at her, it seemed as if she was just normally enjoying this virtual reality.

(Maybe the whole 'running on AI' thing is a lie...)

With that thought, Hayato proceeded with his preparations.

In the vast forest, Hayato, Maris, Diite, Lunaria, and Lancelot were taking a break.

It wasn't that they were tired in the virtual reality. They had been heading for the "Dark Cave" while defeating the monsters that attacked them, but they decided to rest due to a slight mental problem.

The reason was simple. A giant spider had appeared and made Hayato feel sick. But it couldn't be helped. A small spider might have been fine, but it was so realistic and huge that the blood drained from his face.

While he thought it was pathetic, he was conversely amazed at the three of them who seemed completely fine.

"Are you guys okay?"

"I think they're cute, though?"

"Is there something wrong with your eyes, Maris?"

"Eight legs is within my tolerance. I'll turn it to rust with this demonic sword Arondight. But if a giant centipede appears, I'm running. That's a Demon Lord."

"Well, I'm not a fan of centipedes either, but... aren't you the Demon Lord?"

Even if it was a virtual reality, it was too real and scary. If it had been a giant centipede, he probably would have fainted.

Suddenly, Hayato became curious about Diite. Basically, there was nothing that seemed to surprise her. She was more AI-like than the other AIs, which made him curious.

"Is there anything you're not good with, Diite-chan?"

"Not good with? No, not particularly. I don't feel anything about spiders or centipedes. I don't think they're cute like Maris-kun, though."

"Is there anything you're scared of or dislike?"

For some reason, Lunaria shot her right hand up.

"I'm scared of ghosts."

"If my memory serves me correctly, you're the Demon Lord, Lunaria-san?"

"Yep, I'm a Demon Lord 24/7. Oh, right, do you want my autograph? Everyone told me to practice, so I'm good at it now."

"No, that's not what I meant. I was being sarcastic, like, 'you're the Demon Lord and you're scared of ghosts?' No, I don't need it, so don't force your autograph on me."

(She forced an undeletable item on me...)

Her social anxiety setting seemed to have gotten lost somewhere, but maybe she was the type to be fine once she opened up to someone. It was a good trend that she had started talking a lot, but every time she opened her mouth, the Demon Lord's pathetic-ness level went up. It had already hit its limit for the day.

It was probably not because she sensed the atmosphere, but Diite opened her mouth as if to break the situation.

"It is not a thing, but I would say I dislike or am not good with unexpected things. My thoughts stop for a moment. Like when you, Hayato-kun, called me Diite-chan, I froze for a bit."

"Oh, something like that."

(Unexpected, huh. That's also very AI-like.)

"Hayato-san! You can call me Maris-chan!"

"Maris, when you came to the shop, you said 'Maris' was fine, right?"

"I recommend Lunaria-chan. In fact, it's mandatory."

"The Hero was the one who did it, but don't think you can get away with being called 'chan' after causing so much trouble at the base. Well, I think I'm okay now, so let's go."

With Maris and Lunaria, their shoulders slumped slightly, in the lead, Hayato's group headed for the Dark Cave.

"So, were you able to mine the Adamantite?"

"Yeah, we were able to mine the amount we needed without any problems. Lunaria-san said she would take responsibility for giving it to the Hero, so I left it to her."

Hayato had returned to the brick fortress that was their base. And he was explaining various things to Esha.

Regarding the mining in the Dark Cave, Hayato and Diite had spent a considerable amount of time and were able to mine the Adamantite.

(This mining trip made me realize that Diite-chan is a cheat, or rather, a very problematic character. What's with being able to adjust her skills on the spot? It's an ability that's almost making a fool of players. Well, you could say she's an admin character, so it's only natural, I guess.)

It turned out that Diite could change her skills as she pleased. The total skill limit of 1000 was the same as everyone else, but she could freely change the values of all her skills.

The fact that her Ore Knowledge skill was at 100, or her Hand-to-Hand Combat skill was at 100, was just because she had adjusted the values on the spot. Naturally, she could also change her stats like STR and DEX.

(The problem is that I let an NPC like that into my clan. Diite-chan said it would never be found out unless I said something, but is that really true?)

Hayato suspected that about ten thousand people were involved in this game, Another Frontier Online. That number included development, maintenance, and operation.

Could it be possible that with so many people involved, no information would leak out from anywhere? A guilty conscience, information leaks, human error, there was always a possibility that information could leak. Yet Diite said it would never happen.

To Hayato, that was an impossible claim.

(But when this game was released, other development companies and game management companies also said it was impossible. There was a rumor that various countries searched for the game's development company. From the news that they are still seeking information, it must be that they haven't found it. In the first place, there's also the story that no one even knows where the operating company, 'Aphrodite,' is located. It's late to be thinking about it now, but this game is full of mysteries.)

This Another Frontier Online was a technology that was several generations ahead of the current standards. Naturally, there were those who tried to steal that technology through methods other than the proper channels.

But those who took that method had their information exposed in return and suffered a painful retaliation. When the game first started, such news was all over the media.

Also, the headgear for playing the game was impossible to analyze. If one tried to analyze it, all the information would be deleted, such was the thoroughness.

(It's strange that something that could be called perfect, from the game's technology to its security, has a company whose location is unknown. I also don't hear any stories of people who work there. No matter how much of a confidentiality agreement there is, I think it's impossible to hide it completely.)

Just as Hayato was thinking that, Esha suddenly peered into his face.

"Whoa! Wh, what?"

"What do you mean, 'what?' You are in the way, so please return to your room. Why are you deep in thought here? I cannot slack off, you know."

"Could you not say you're going to slack off in front of your employer?"

"Being honest is my good point."

"...Slacking off where I'm not looking is a bad point, you know?"

"Then it is a net zero, is it not?"

He couldn't win against her in a battle of words. Hayato let out a small sigh and returned to his room.