kscans

Chapter 75 - Resurrection and Standby

"Let’s get out of here, Master. Stand up straight."

Esha's words helped Hayato regain a bit of his composure. The sight of her, drinking her usual melon juice, brought him a sense of relief.

Their roles were probably supposed to be reversed, but this was no time to think about such things. Hayato took a single deep breath and stood up. He then joined Esha, who had just entered.

But at the same time, Diite also got to her feet.

"Esha-kun, that was rather cruel. To shoot me so suddenly."

"No one announces they’re about to shoot. Besides, what were you trying to do? That was blatant sexual harassment, you know?"

"...You must have heard at least some of the conversation, did you not? Isn’t this a good thing for you as well? You can be with Hayato-kun forever. I do not understand why you would interfere."

"I couldn’t understand a thing you were saying. Words were missing here and there. All I registered was that my master was being attacked."

(So she couldn't hear because of the AI Protection.)

"I see. Then let me tell you. Hayato-kun is trying to go far away for the sake of his dream. So I stopped him. You wouldn’t want Hayato-kun to leave either, would you, Esha-kun?"

Esha, weapon still raised, glanced at Hayato behind her.

"Is that true?"

Hayato was at a loss for words.

It wasn't wrong. He wasn't disappearing. But starting a cafe required a lot of preparation. The time he spent playing the game would surely decrease.

The option to lie in this moment and escape to a place where he could log out flickered through his mind, but Hayato rejected it. He didn't want to lie, even if Esha turned against him.

"It’s true. I’m going far away to fulfill my dream. But I’m not disappearing. My time at the base will be significantly reduced, but I won’t be gone."

"I see..."

"Now you understand, do you not? I am merely trying to stop Hayato-kun..."

"Destroy."

Esha unleashed Destroy. A ball of light burst through ten magic circles of varying sizes, becoming a laser that pierced Diite. Or so it seemed, but the laser never reached her. It diffused just before making contact.

"Esha-kun, did you not realize my true identity? That attack is ineffective... ah, I see. You got me there."

That's what Hayato heard. But it was only a faint whisper.

Hayato and Esha were already out of the room, making their escape. The shockwave from her firing Destroy, using that to flee outside was the real plan. Thanks to Esha’s quick thinking, they had safely made it out of the room. And now they were running.

"Thanks, Esha."

"It’s too early for thanks. We need to get out of here quickly... but where are we? This path is different from the one we came through."

The two tilted their heads, looking at the corridor of sterile black walls that continued onward. It felt completely different from the path they had taken to get here.

"Both of you, give up. I am the god of this world, you know? That space has been configured so that you cannot log out as long as you are within it. And there is no escape from that space. I just sealed it off a moment ago. Well, run until you are satisfied. When you give up, just let me know."

Only Diite's confident voice echoed through the space.

Hayato checked just in case. Indeed, he couldn't log out.

He didn't know the logic behind how one became a resident of the virtual reality. He had thought that as long as he could log out, he would be fine, but if that wasn't possible, what was he to do? Hayato’s mind raced.

They had been running aimlessly down the corridor, but Esha stopped. Hayato stopped as well.

"Esha?"

"If we can get out of this space, will things be okay?"

"I don’t know, but probably, they should be."

It was highly likely he could log out if they were outside this space. He couldn't say for sure, but Diite had said that this space prevented logging out, not that Hayato personally couldn't log out.

"You have a dream, don’t you, Master? A dream you absolutely must fulfill."

"What’s this all of a sudden? We need to run."

"Please answer me."

Esha's face was uncharacteristically serious. It was understandable given the situation, but this wasn't the time for such a conversation. Or so it should have been, but Hayato gave in to Esha’s intense gaze.

"That’s right. I have a dream I absolutely must fulfill."

Esha smiled.

Hayato thought that smile seemed just a little bit fleeting.

"You’ve been a softie this entire time, Master, but it seems the time has come for you to graduate."

"What are you talking about?"

"I’m saying you should become a man with the spirit to fulfill your dream, no matter what sacrifices must be made."

"No, seriously, what are you..."

Without another word, Esha pressed a piece of paper into Hayato's hand.

"Um, what’s this...?"

"You can look at it or not. Well, let’s just say my feelings are written on it. Now then, shall we prepare... this is the last one."

Esha took a bottle of melon juice from her item bag. She drank it in front of Hayato.

Just as he was about to ask what she was doing, Esha aimed her Beelzebub at him.

"E, Esha?"

"Esha! Wait!"

Esha showed no reaction to Diite’s surprised shout and simply smiled at Hayato.

"Goodbye, Master. It was fun."

Without a moment’s hesitation, Esha shot Hayato.

His HP dropped to zero and he fell onto his back. Then, a choice appeared before his eyes. "Resurrection" and "Standby."

"If you choose Resurrection, you should be sent back to the base."

Though he lay fallen on the ground, Hayato could hear Esha’s words. He understood her intent, but he felt a sense of unease about Esha being left behind in this place.

And he understood the meaning of her earlier words, "fulfill your dream, no matter what sacrifices must be made," and tried to speak. But with zero HP, he couldn't make a sound.

"What are you doing. Hurry up and return to the base and log out. You shouldn’t be in a place like this, Master."

(Stupid, what are you saying! If you stay here, what will happen to you... damn it! I can’t speak!)

"Go, quickly. If Diite gets here and revives you, you won’t be able to escape... I don’t know what your dream is, Master, but as long as you remember there was a super beautiful girl who helped you fulfill it, I’ll be satisfied. So please, hurry."

Esha said this with the best smile he had ever seen from her.

And then he heard footsteps. It was probably Diite.

"Hayato-kun, you are free to run, but you should understand what will happen to Esha-kun if you do. Lie there until I arrive."

(Damn it!)

There was nothing he could do in this state. And he couldn’t waste the chance Esha had created for him.

Hayato selected "Resurrection."

In the next instant, he was standing in his room at the base.