Chapter 80
Weaving between the Machine Beasts and dodging sprays of tentacles over and over, a whole eight hours have passed. Even though I logged in during the morning, the clock is about to surpass 6 PM. In this real-time game progression system, getting attacked while logged out means instadeath… but fortunately, since Kana is carrying me on her back as she runs, I’m able to take ample breaks while progressing. Actually, the pace seems to be a bit faster when I’m not around, but thanks to that I was able to get some solid rest.
Normally, taking nearly 8 hours to move stealthily in an MMO can only be described as a shit game. It shouldn’t exist, yet there’s a part of me that’s thrilled.
That’s due to the beauty of the scenery. There likely isn’t any other game that depicts a ruined world so gorgeously. Building clusters with only their tops sticking out, absorbed into the earth, with fighter jets piercing into them. Remnants of upright radio towers entwined with swarms of Machine Beasts shaped like nematodes. Firefly-type Machine Beasts nearly 10 meters large, flying through the night sky while blinking.
「For firewood, you should use this type of crystal tree. But be careful of the ash, it contains toxic metals. Well, since we’re keeping our masks on, it doesn’t matter to us though.」
It should still be 6 PM, yet the surroundings are pitch black. This is the true form of the world. In a world without humanity, artificial lights have vanished, stars float in the night sky, and only the campfire warms us.
Looking again, it’s a bizarre sight. Humanity has been nearly wiped out, yet the world still turns. As if to say organic lifeforms have simply been replaced by mechanical ones. If there is a god, it’s undoubtedly 「UYK」 – only a lifeform capable of causing this much change could be called as such.
We catch our breath inside a train car half-buried in the earth. The glass is all shattered, but perhaps blown by the wind, the shards no longer exist nearby. So it’s just a half-frame now, but that’s plenty sufficient as a windbreak. Laying out a cloth with a green luster on the ground, the three of us sit around the campfire facing each other. Teo twists the faucet on the water tank he was carrying on his back and hands me a cup.
「Here, drinking water. Give me the rations in your bag.」
「Thanks, what flavor do you want? Right now there’s consommé, cheese, chocolate and… cockroach?」
「Cockroach, huh… sounds good.」
「You serious!?」
「Father, the cockroach Teo is referring to is not the smokybrown cockroach found in Japan, but a type originally inhabiting forests that has been selectively bred for food. So it’s often deep-fried and eaten.」
「By the way, it’s not the crunchy type, but the softer, squishier kind.」
「I see. But wouldn’t it be better to call it ‘fried chicken flavor’ or something instead of cockroach flavor?」
「It’s the investor’s preference. Mr. Tanaka, that is.」
「What’s that old man doing!?」
But I get curious, so I hesitantly try the cockroach-flavored ration. The moment it enters my mouth, I’m assaulted by a sensation of moisture being absorbed and a slightly crunchy texture. And next comes… what is this, it has a strange flavor like shrimp tempura but not quite. It’s not delicious, but not disgusting either. Kana watches with a nostalgic expression as she nonchalantly grabs a cheese-flavored ration. I was planning to eat that as a palate cleanser.
「Father didn’t seem to like it much, so it rarely appeared on the dinner table. So on days when Father did something terrible to Mother, I’d pack cockroach rations into his lunchbox.」
「You demon.」
「It was the natural outcome for a blockhead who ignored Mother’s heartfelt confession. She even had a ring ready in her pocket.」
「I take it back, that’s unforgivable.」
Listening a bit more, it seems there was a female race between Momiji and Reina. In the end, 2055 approached before they reached the goal, so it became a moot point.
According to Kana, Reina kept fidgeting endlessly, the complete opposite of her usual demeanor, while Momiji kept wavering about whether to act or not out of despair for the future. Then right before 2055, they accelerated rapidly but didn’t make it in time.
I listen to the story in a daze, thinking it’d be nice if reality was like that too. Well, things probably wouldn’t go that smoothly in real life, but I guess it depends on my efforts… Just spare me the 「You’re good as a friend but not quite as a lover」 line, seriously.
As we talk about that, Teo addresses me with a grin.
「Which one’s your type, Kanji? It was so frustrating watching from the sidelines, I’m really disappointed I couldn’t see the conclusion. It felt like a rom-com ending without the couple getting together.」
「Even though you were the one they were most wary of, how can you act like a mere onlooker? Momiji was worried you might awaken to that side because of how you get close to other guys with a male sense of distance despite your looks.」
「Well, I mean, even if only temporarily, I was told to do so by the higher-ups」
.「That’s exactly what I mean.」
Kana sighs dramatically. If I had to choose…
「I dunno.」
「That’s your carefully considered answer?」
「I mean, they’re both beautiful, right? And when asked to pick one, it made me think about whether I’ve ever given that much thought to other people.」
「It’s about your own preferences. Be true to your own desires.」
「But I don’t know anything essential about either of them. Why does she always wear a hat, why isn’t there a father in the Shiroinu household? Why did they suddenly take in Kana? Why does she always wear gloves, what kind of company is Kōmitsu Solutions in reality, why were they so close when we reunited?」
Kana makes an expression like she reeeeally wants to say something. I might need to start paying attention to these things soon. The uneasiness I feel about 「HAO」, their strange remarks. Even as my thoughts keep screaming 「that’s impossible」, my thinking keeps wavering. Even if it’s different, what kind of people are they? Are they just chuunibyou, or are they acting for some purpose? No matter how dense I am, focused only on my hobbies, I feel like I need to consider it. If they’re seriously chuunibyou, my feelings might change a bit.
That goes for Kana too. No, she’s the biggest source of unease, but… I feel like the price of ignoring everything while remaining shortsighted is coming back to bite me. The contents of the online news articles I ignored simply because reading long text was a pain. The comment sections trying to make a big fuss. Teo was making all sorts of faces while seriously nodding along. He pointed at me as if having a realization, then slowly lowered his raised hand with an expression mixed with bewilderment and… admiration?
Kana makes eye contact with Teo. 「Got it, I won’t report it… Was that for real?」 Teo looks at me with his expression frozen. Sensing the air becoming awkward, Kana clears her throat and declares in a slightly louder voice.
「We’ll arrive at our destination around noon tomorrow. You’ll be able to see the Apollyon Fusion parts up close!」
「Alright!」
The complicated matters I was pondering vanish from my head! Aim for the Apollyon Fusion! Teo’s face is turning even more pale for some reason though!
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