kscans

Chapter 99 - A Dangerous Person

The day after defeating the Fire Dragon Eddy Owl, Hayato was busy from the morning making necessary items with his production skills.

This time, no facilities in the Imperial Capital had been destroyed. There was no need to make items for reconstruction aid, but he did need to make food and medicine for Ash, Ney, and the others.

There was no rush to make them right after defeating the Fire Dragon, but Ash and the others were already looking ahead to the next Stampede and were busy with preparations. As a result, there was no victory celebration for the subjugation, and the party broke up after just having a slightly more expensive meal.

That said, Ren and Ney had thrown a tantrum demanding sweets, so he had given them a large amount of cheesecake.

As he recalled the situation, Hayato had a few thoughts.

Ren-chan aside, Ash seems to be in a real hurry. His timing for contacting Cecil yesterday was terrible too. Of course, he was probably watching the Fire Dragon's HP bar, but he had forgotten about the Dragon Roar attack.

His order to attack Cecil had been poorly timed. Thanks to Esha, they had avoided disaster, but if things had continued as they were, Cecil's damage boost from his weapon skill would have been canceled, and they would not have been able to defeat the Fire Dragon.

Ash had apologized to Cecil for that on the spot.

Cecil himself didn't seem to mind at all, but Ash seemed to be blaming himself, and Hayato thought that he hadn't been very happy even after defeating the Fire Dragon.

I understand that he's anxious after not being able to produce results for nearly half a year, but since we were able to defeat it this time, I wish he would relax a little more. However, for Ash and the others, this isn't a game, it's reality. Ash has a strong sense of responsibility, and his father, whom he's set up to dislike, is involved. He probably can't take it easy.

While the NPCs in this world were all human, they had lost their memories of their time as humans. There were exceptions like Esha and Veru, but almost all of them believed this world to be reality. And if the hardline dragons were trying to conquer the world, they would naturally be on edge.

However, there was a history, a setting, in which monsters and the like had invaded countries before, but they had been repelled. Some NPCs, like Cecil and the Hero Ivan, were treated as heroes, so there wasn't that much of a sense of tragedy.

Nevertheless, Ash, who was at the center of this event, was too fired up, determined that he absolutely could not lose.

This is the first time we've defeated a hardline dragon, and we got a fragment of the Dragon Soul. That should have taken some of the pressure off. I need to do what I can to reduce the burden on Ash and the others. I also need to support them emotionally in various ways.

With that in mind, Hayato decided to make potions next and headed to the storage to get the ingredients.

Just as he entered the storage, the base's bell rang. It was the sound of a visitor.

Hayato tilted his head at the sound.

No one was scheduled to come today, and besides, clan members and members of Kokuryu didn't need to ring the bell. The shop was also currently closed, with no products on display. Hayato wondered who could have come to such a shop, and he headed towards the storefront.

When he opened the door to the shop, a surprising person was standing there.

He was wearing a thin, beige suit sloppily, with stubble on his face. His hair was cut short, so he didn't look particularly unclean. Or perhaps it was because he was handsome that it was permissible. The person standing there was Ash's father, Veru Brandle.

Hayato immediately became cautious. This was a situation where you could say the final boss had come calling directly.

However, Veru opened both his hands and raised them slightly.

"You don't need to be on guard. I just want to talk. Won't you let me in?"

Even if he was signaling that he wasn't armed, Veru was a dragon. Even if he had no intention of fighting, there was no telling what could happen. Still, this was a virtual reality for Hayato. He decided there was no need to be so afraid and let him into the base.

He led him through the shop to the dining hall.

He invited him to sit in a chair and served him coffee.

Although he was an enemy of Ash and the others, Hayato had heard various things about Veru from Diite. It wouldn't be wrong to say he was interested in what he had to say.

Veru said his thanks and took a sip of the coffee. The fact that even that gesture looked stylish was a little frustrating for Hayato as a fellow man.

Veru placed the coffee cup down and then looked at Hayato.

"Yesterday's battle was magnificent. I never thought you would defeat Eddy before he got serious."

"Even if you say it was magnificent, I didn't do anything. I was just watching from a distance."

"Is that so? To carry out that strategy, you would need various weapons, armor, and items. You were the one who prepared them, weren't you? Honestly, you've caused me a lot of trouble."

Veru's face was smiling. But you could say that anger was seeping through. Even though it was a virtual reality, Hayato felt a considerable amount of pressure.

"Now then, Hayato. I came here today because I want you to back off."

"Back off?"

"That's right. I want you to stop supporting Ash and the others. If you don't support them, they shouldn't be able to collect the fragments of the treasured artifact. Ash and the others have never won until now, but as soon as you returned, this is the situation. Right now, among the hardline dragons, you are considered the most dangerous person."

Dangerous person to the dragons... Should I be proud?

"Rest assured. Even if we hardline dragons win, we won't do anything like dominate humans. We simply don't want to hand over the Dragon Soul's treasured artifact to Ash and Ren."

"If you want me to believe that, could you tell me the reason you don't want to give the artifact to Ash and the others?"

"...I cannot say."

Hayato decided to take a gamble.

He hadn't received any particular permission from Diite, and there was a possibility that AI protection would kick in. But Veru was so serious that he felt he had to understand the circumstances, or they would get nowhere.

"Veru-san, I heard you have your memories from when you were human. I don't suppose that has anything to do with this, do you?"

Veru's eyes widened at Hayato's words.

"How did you... Don't tell me, are you an Administrator!?"

"Huh? No, I'm not. You mean God, right? I'm not that, just a player. I was just able to obtain some information due to various circumstances."

"...Either way, you're on the Administrator's side. Then you are definitely my enemy."

Hayato felt a pressure that was incomparable to before. But if he was overwhelmed here, they would just be at a stalemate. Reminding himself that this was a virtual reality, he stared back into Veru's eyes.

"Please wait. It's true that I'm an acquaintance of this world's God, the AI. But even that God doesn't seem to understand the reason for your actions, Veru-san. And we don't know what will happen to this world if you win. That's why I want to know the circumstances."

Veru narrowed his eyes and looked at Hayato.

He was probably trying to determine if he was lying or telling the truth, but Hayato was telling the truth. Since Veru was an actor, Hayato prayed in his heart that he would be able to see through that much.

Veru let out a breath. At the same time, the pressure directed at Hayato also disappeared.

"You don't seem to be lying."

"Then..."

"Did it not occur to you that the Administrator might be lying?"

"Eh?"

Hayato didn't quite understand the meaning of Veru's words. But he soon understood. Veru was saying that Diite was lying.

"The Administrator doesn't know the reason for my actions? That's impossible. That person told me the secret of the artifact. That person said to me, if you don't stop Ash and Ren for real, something terrible will happen."

Hayato was confused.

It was because it seemed like Veru was being completely serious. Even if he was an actor, Hayato wondered if he could act to that extent.

But, considering the situation, one of them was lying.

As for Hayato, he believed Diite. It was true that a lot had happened with Diite. It might be a ploy to lure him into this world. Even so, Hayato didn't want to believe that all their interactions up until now had been a lie.

But at the same time, he couldn't believe that Veru was lying either.

Hayato couldn't come up with a clear answer.

Veru must have seen through his conflict. He chuckled lightly and stood up from his chair.

"Be careful. The Administrator is the type to do anything for the sake of this world... The coffee I had after so long was delicious. See you."

Veru said that and left the base before Hayato could say anything.

After seeing him off, Hayato took a deep breath and then contacted Diite.