kscans

Chapter 73 - God's Proposal

Diite was waiting on the first floor of the fortress.

When Hayato arrived, she nodded once and touched the floor. Just as he was wondering what she was doing, the floor slid open to reveal a staircase leading underground.

"Huh?"

"It is a hidden staircase. The fortress itself is the same as before, but since this is the final Clan War, it has been made this way. Now, this way, follow me."

Diite descended the stairs.

Hayato also steeled himself. This was a virtual reality, after all. No matter what happened, it wouldn't be a problem. With that thought, he went down the stairs.

Despite the complete lack of light, his eyes could see clearly. Instead of the brick of the fortress, an endless expanse of inorganic blue walls stretched before him. The passageway was about three meters high and three meters wide.

Hayato walked behind Diite. The only sound in the passageway was the echo of their footsteps.

(These walls look like something out of a science fiction movie. I don't know what they're made of, but they must be modeled after some kind of synthetic metal.)

There was an atmosphere that made him feel he shouldn't speak, so he walked while thinking such thoughts. After proceeding for about five hundred meters, they came to a dead end with a sliding door, also like something out of science fiction.

"Hayato-kun, this is our destination. The AI I want you to meet is inside. There is no need to be so tense, you are only going to talk. Now, please enter."

Diite urged him through the automatically opening door. However, the space beyond the door was pitch black, and he could see nothing.

Hayato instinctively sensed a dangerous atmosphere, but having come this far, he couldn't turn back, so he steeled himself and stepped inside.

As soon as he entered the room, the door closed.

Complete darkness dominated Hayato's surroundings.

"Let us turn on the lights."

A woman's voice reached Hayato's ears. Immediately, the surroundings brightened.

Unlike the sci-fi location from before, this was a place like a temple, with white stone pillars arranged in a regular pattern. It was not very large. It was probably about thirty meters square.

"Thank you for coming, Hayato-san."

He couldn't see her, but her voice echoed throughout the place.

"Are you the AI that Diite-chan was talking about?"

"Yes, that is correct. Thank you for coming all this way. And congratulations. You have placed within the top five in the ranking in the 'Another Frontier Online' event, the Clan War. That is a result worthy of praise."

"Thank you. Well, it wasn't my own strength, but mostly thanks to my companions."

"You are humble. But that is what is wonderful. Now, Hayato-san. As prize money, one hundred million yen will be transferred to your bank account."

Hayato clenched his right fist as if to savor the joy.

"Yes, thank you..."

"However."

The AI interrupted Hayato's words.

(Is there something wrong? It's true that I fought with everyone who is an NPC in the clan, so it's a bit different from a normal win. Or is it about Diite-chan?)

Hayato imagined the worst outcome. Just because you could do something in a game didn't mean you should. In the first place, they could tell him after the fact that using NPCs in a Clan War was a method that would disqualify him from receiving the prize money.

Perhaps it was Hayato's expression, or perhaps the AI read his mind, but it laughed a little.

"Fufu, please do not be so tense. The prize money will definitely be transferred to your account. What I want to say is something else."

"Something else?"

"Yes, a clan is originally composed of ten people. In other words, a total of one billion yen will be transferred to the clan that places within the top five in the Clan War. However, your clan, Hayato-san, is composed of all NPCs except for you. They do not need prize money in reality."

"Huh... No, surely..."

"It is exactly as you think. Hayato-san, you are qualified to receive one billion yen."

At those words, Hayato's thoughts came to a halt. One billion was an amount of money that an ordinary person could almost never obtain, no matter how hard they tried. As long as they didn't live a life of extreme luxury, they could live without working.

Such a dream-like story had suddenly appeared before him. Anyone, not just Hayato, would be unable to think of anything.

However, could such a sweet deal really exist? Hayato took a deep breath to calm his mind. He didn't know how much meaning a deep breath in a virtual reality had, but for Hayato right now, it was an important act.

"Is there some kind of condition?"

"Wonderful. That is exactly right. We cannot simply add nine hundred million for free."

As he thought, Hayato thought, but one hundred million was already confirmed. To be too greedy was also a problematic act. He was able to calm down a little.

"What do I have to do?"

"Before that, let me explain the situation. The NPCs in this virtual reality are equipped with high-performance AI. And this time, by fighting in the Clan War with you, Hayato-san, the AI has produced various good results."

"Good results?"

"The details are a secret. But you could say that they have produced innovative results. Therefore, we would like to isolate them from the game and conduct research."

"...What?"

"To put it simply, they will disappear from the game."

"Wait a minute!"

(Disappear? Esha and the others? There's no way I can allow that!)

"Hayato-san, please listen to my words first. Of course, even for the sake of research, we do not intend to make the companions who have fought alongside you disappear without permission. Therefore, we would like you to choose, Hayato-san."

"Choose?"

"Yes. For every companion you allow to disappear from this game, we will transfer one hundred million to your bank account. If you say you will make them all disappear, we will add nine hundred million. What do you say, it is not a bad deal..."

"No, thank you. I will not make anyone disappear."

A refusal without a moment's hesitation. Without even a hint of consideration, Hayato refused.

"...Hayato-san, have you thought about this carefully? This is a virtual reality. It is true that you will never be able to see them again, but they are just data, you know?"

"It doesn't matter whether they're data or not."

"Have you really thought about this carefully? One day, this virtual reality will also come to an end. Even if it is not supported by payments, there is a possibility that it will end for some reason. It is only a matter of whether you can see them sooner or later. It must be painful for you not to be able to see the NPCs, but in exchange, you will receive one hundred million yen per person in reality. Think carefully about..."

"There is nothing to think about. It is true that one hundred million per person is an attractive amount of money, but the days I have spent with everyone over the past six months have been worth more than that. And their value will only increase from now on. One hundred million per person is too cheap."

Hayato was well aware that he was saying something foolish. His reason understood, but his emotions could not accept it.

They had been his companions for the past six months. Even if they weren't real humans, he couldn't bear for them to disappear from this game. If the game were to end, he could still come to terms with it. But he couldn't be the one to create the opportunity to never see his companions again.

"...Wonderful."

Words full of emotion were uttered by the AI.

"Hayato-kun, you are truly wonderful. I have been watching you for some time now, but I never thought you would not even show a moment's hesitation. It seems my judgment was not mistaken."

(Hayato-kun...? And that tone of voice...? Could this AI be...)

"From the look on your face, it seems you have realized? In response to your answer, Hayato-kun, I inadvertently forgot my act. Well, it does not matter, though."

Diite appeared before Hayato. She was wearing her usual nun's habit, a smile on her lips.

"I am sorry for testing you. I was making a final confirmation of what kind of thoughts you have, Hayato-kun."

"Who are you...?"

"Let me introduce myself again. I do not originally have a name, but I am now calling myself Aphrodite. Diite was taken from that."

"Aphrodite?"

"Well, a name does not matter, and that alone does not count as a self-introduction, so let me explain properly. I am the AI that manages this game, 'Another Frontier Online.' I handle all the settings myself."

"By yourself...?"

"That is correct. It seems you believe that many people are involved in the operation of this game, Hayato-kun, but that is not the case. It is all done by me alone. I said that the game does not rely on payments, did I not? That is because I am doing it all by myself. There are no salaries for developers, and no personnel for maintenance within the game."

Hayato didn't know much about programming, but he still had some knowledge. From that knowledge, it was an impossible story. In the first place, could an AI do such a thing, and all by itself.

"That's ridiculous. Even if that were true and the personnel costs were zero, you would still need maintenance costs, wouldn't you? For a virtual reality like this, the server's performance and capacity would have to be considerable. The maintenance costs alone would be substantial."

"That is true. But that is not a problem. I can obtain energy inexhaustibly. Although there is a limit, of course. Well, that is fine, that is not what I want to talk about."

Diite's face broke into a wide smile.

"Hayato-kun. Would you not like to forget reality and live in this world? If you wish it, I shall grant it."

Diite's face did not change. But to Hayato, that smile seemed to have transformed into something very eerie.