Date A Live Encore - Volume 6 - Chapter 4

Spirit Online

 “Servant, listen up! My body was wandering in the sea of electricity longing for the strength of your body! As soon as possible, let us leave behind our bodies and devote ourselves to the ideal world of ones and zeroes! Surely the baptism of the sword awaits us!” 

 “…What are you talking about?” 

 One day, when Shido and Miku were drinking tea together in the living room of the Itsuka household, Kaguya suddenly burst into the room and made such a declaration. 

 She was a confident girl with long hair, striking a dramatic pose while wearing a black and white punk outfit with silver jewelry which was all very dazzling. 

 Kaguya’s usual exaggerated way of speaking was already confusing enough, but what she said just now was even more puzzling. Shido repeated Kaguya’s words in his mind, trying to decipher the meaning behind her words. 

 As if aware of Shido’s thoughts, another girl who looked almost exactly the same as Kaguya happened to appear from behind her. 

 “Translation. Kaguya is inviting you to play video games with her.” 

 She was Kaguya’s twin sister, Yuzuru. Her facial features were almost identical to those of Kaguya’s but there were differences in their hairstyles, expressions, and the size of their chests, the last of which was thought to be a prank from God. 

 “A video game?” 

 “Hmm… the inhabitants of this material world seem to refer to it as such.” 

 Kaguya smiled madly and made her way through the living room to sit on the sofa, raising her legs in a confident manner. 

 “Ow!” 

 At that moment, her little toe thumped and hit the edge of the table. 

 Kaguya tearfully clutched her foot as sweat on her forehead trickled down and then scratched her cheek. 

 “H-Hey, are you okay?” 

 “Ah~! It’s bad~!” 

 Sitting across from Shido, Miku shouted sharply as she stood up and started to rub Kaguya’s feet. 

 “Let me take a look at it! Pain, Pain, go away~ I’ll rub it away, I’ll rub it away~!” 

 “Ah, no, I’m fine now… Hey! Why are you taking my socks off?” 

 “It’s okay, let me just apply some saliva to this wound~!” 

 “Is it a knife wound or a small bruise?!” 

 Kaguya wailed and quickly shrunk away from Miku. 

 Shido watched as if used to this before he shrugged and asked with a bitter smile: 

 “So, you’re here to play video games? I don’t mind joining. What game are we going to play? A fighting game?” 

 Shido glanced at the game consoles stored in the TV cabinet as he asked. 

 The Itsuka family owned several game consoles but the Spirits were the ones who played with them the most lately. 

 The Yamai sisters in particular often like to play video games to compete with each other. 

 However, Kaguya smiled arrogantly while shaking her finger and saying, “No, no, no.” 

 “That’s not the case! Tonight, I want to invite you to play—this!” 

 She explained energetically as she pulled out her laptop from the bag in her hand and turned the screen towards Shido and Miku. 

 “Hmm? Polaris Online…?” 

 Shido moved closer to the screen and read the title displayed on the screen. 

 “So you want to play an online game then?” 

 “Exactly! It’s a game where a goddess clamored for us to save the world.” 

 “Affirmation. Even after completing the game, it’s still fun.” 

 After hearing what Shido said, Yuzuru nodded in the affirmative. Miku rubbed the sock she’d stolen from Kaguya with her cheeks and then tilted her head curiously. 

 “I’ve heard the term ‘online game’ before… but what is it?” 

 “The short answer is that it’s a game where many people play together in the same world through the Internet. Beyond that, I’m not so sure…” 

 Shido scratched his head as he explained, Kaguya and Yuzuru then added: 

 “Yes! In other words, I want you and the others to join my ‘Knight’s Order.’ I want to invite you and the others to join in this adventurous life!” 

 “Supplement. At first, Kaguya wanted to recruit members from the game, but after she started talking like this, everyone suddenly left.” 

 “It… It has nothing to do with that! I’m just excluding people who can’t keep up with me!” 

 Kaguya couldn’t help but protest. Shido suddenly realized Kaguya’s intentions and he smiled and said, “Ah…” 

 Perhaps she understood the situation, Miku smiled and said: 

 “If everyone can do whatever they want in the game world together, it sounds like a lot of fun!” 

 “That’s true. What kind of game is Polaris Online, anyway?” 

 After hearing Shido’s question, Kaguya, who’d been engaged in a continuous argument with Yuzuru turned back to Shido to answer: 

 “Huh? Oh… it’s called an MMORPG. At the start of the game, you have to create a character as your avatar, and you play as that character during your adventure in the fantasy world.” 

 “So you have to create your own character…” 

 “Well, some games help you out by providing pictures of various characters at the beginning, but you can make changes in the details. Plus, the freedom in the game is quite high. The story itself is pretty simple, but it’s mainly a team-based adventure involving fighting together, building a home, and living in a fantasy world.” 

 “So it’s that kind of game. Kaguya, what aspects do you value the most?” 

 “I like playing, but my favorite thing is fighting. No matter how much I desire peace, my dark temptations will always lead me to war.” 

 Until now, Kaguya who’d been speaking normally, suddenly caught herself and struck another dramatic pose. Shido chuckled while smiling wryly at her. 

 “So basically, Miku and I need to join your team and help you fight?” 

 “Acknowledgement. That’s right, but it’s not quite that simple.” 

 “Huh? What do you mean?” 

 After listening to what Yuzuru said, Shido expressed his confusion. So Kaguya cackled maniacally as she operated the computer. 

 In the list of items owned by her character, an item resembling a notebook appeared on the display, with many strange words and inexplicable looking numbers written inside. 

 “What’s this?” 

 “Description. This is a ‘letter.’ In simple terms, it’s an item that can be used to send a message to other characters, but—” 

 “The other day, this prophetic book was attracted by my magical power and the Devil Lord I harbor.” 

 “Explanation. While she was working to collect equipment, Kaguya’s character fell and accidentally discovered a letter buried there.” 

 “Hey, Yuzuru!” 

 Kaguya quickly tried to cover Yuzuru’s mouth. However, Yuzuru was faster and managed to get away. 

 “…What’s with the strange writing?” 

 “Eh? Ah—Right. Right. Hahaha, a very good question. If you look closely at this signature, this is a code that indicates the location of a legendary weapon left by ancient warriors.” 

 “A legendary weapon? Ah, of course there’s such a thing.” 

 Shido nodded to express his understanding. Due to the nature of online games, players often have different abilities and stories. In order to prevent them getting bored of the game, and to attract new players to join, new stories, adventures, and regular events are continuously added. 

 However, Kaguya and Yuzuru both shook their heads at the same time. 

 “Well, that’s where you’re mistaken, Shido. This is not just an event but—the real thing.” 

 “The real thing? …What do you mean?” 

 “Comment. Actually, it wasn’t an administrator who buried the letter, but a player—the legendary player [Fatima] who has been famous since beta. She was said to have become the most powerful player a few years ago. She’s been hiding treasures and rare items all over the world.” 

 The Yamai sisters spoke with the look of an adventurer or a treasure hunter. Since they played the game so regularly, it seemed to be very interesting. 

 “Wait… so, did the letter that Kaguya discovered mark the location for a legendary weapon?” 

 “That’s right!” 

 “Supplement. Even though it was discovered by accident, since we found such a precious clue, we plan to start looking immediately. However, we also wanted to add helpers to join our team.” 

 “Hmmm…” 

 Shido rubbed his chin and hummed softly to himself. From the way Kaguya and Yuzuru described it, it sounded very interesting. However… it was still possible that another player who was also familiar with the rumors wrote a letter that resembled a treasure map and buried it as a prank. But it would be too mean to say such a thing to them. It was plain to see that they were excited for their treasure hunt.” 

 “Helpers… So can we play as new characters too?” 

 “Well, it’s not a hard game to play, and as long as you have a computer and an internet connection, anyone can play… Do you want to join?” 

 Kaguya’s face seemed to shine with excitement. Shido nodded and answered, “Sure.” 

 There was nothing planned for today, not to mention that Kaguya looked so excited and it was hard to say no to her, especially now. 

 “Then I’ll make the preparations. Miku, do you also want to play? There’s an old computer available that my mom used to use.” 

 “Yes, I want to play~!” 

 Miku replied with a smile. Shido nodded as he left to go upstairs. 

◇◇◇

 “I’m absolutely purrfect, call me Honjou Nia!” 

 Kotori was caught off guard by these words as soon as she opened the door. 

 She was currently in front of the door on the 18th floor of the high-rise building in Tengu City. 

 The reason for her visit was very simple. Honjou Nia called her to come to her room. 

 That’s right. Standing in front of Kotori was a young woman wearing glasses, a cat ear headband and tail ornaments, all while striking a pose. 

 “…” 

 After a few seconds, Kotori managed to understand what she was seeing, and immediately moved to close the door without another word. 

 “W-w-wait just a second!” 

 Nia threw the door open in a panic. 

 “Imouto-chan, you’re being too cold to me, you’re taking this joke too far!” 

 Nia twisted her waist and flicked her tail playfully. Every time it twisted, the bell on the collar jingled. Kotori crossed her arms impatiently as she watched Nia’s movements and cute voices. 

 “That’s what I was going to say—did you call me to come here just so you could show me your role-playing?” 

 “No, why would I do that~? Anyway, come on, I’m ready whenever you are.” 

 “Ready?” 

 Kotori asked as Nia ushered her into the room and explained: 

 “Well, something troublesome happened. I originally wanted to solve it on my own, but having only one person is really limiting, so I asked for Imouto-chan, the commander of <Ratatoskr>, and— 

 Nia said as she led her to the living room, throwing the door open with a dramatic flair. 

 “—Origami?” 

 Kotori’s eyes widened as she called out the girl’s name. That’s right. One of Shido’s classmates was sitting there: Tobiichi Origami. 

 “Yes—I also asked Oririn here to help us as well.” 

 “Right… So, why did you ask us to come here?” 

 After Kotori asked the question, Nia sat down on the chair, raised the corners of her mouth, and continued: 

 “Although this is a sudden question, have the two of you ever played online games?” 

 “…Online games?” 

 Kotori put a hand on her chin and tilted her head curiously. She didn’t understand the point of this question. Although she’d never played them herself before, she did know that such games existed. If she was being honest, she didn’t understand where Nia was going with the sudden line of questioning. However, Origami, who was seated opposite of her, nodded without changing her expression. 

 “If it’s a First Person Shooter, or so-called FPS, then I have actually played, and by the way, I am trained in shooting.” 

 “Oh that’s a surprise, Oririn. So your job also used this sort of thing to train. Is it effective?” 

 “It is not very good at improving marksmanship, but most novices wouldn’t dare to shoot at other people. FPS games can effectively remove that paralysis.” 

 “Oh~ So it’s for something like that.” 

 “However, at least in Japan, even in my line of work it’s almost impossible to shoot at people. There are also people who play these kinds of games to satisfy their desire to shoot people.” 

 After hearing those words from Origami, Nia felt sweat trail down her cheeks and allowed a wry smile to cross her face. She always seemed detached and unconcerned but she still showed such a reaction, but… it was no wonder. 

 Nia quickly shook her head and refocused as she raised a hand toward the computer monitor on the table. 

 “Never mind that for now—I’m actually playing an online RPG… I was hoping that you two would be able to help me.” 

 “Help you… you mean you want us to play games together?” 

 “In simple terms, yeah.” 

 Nia replied with a smile. Kotori heaved a heavy sigh. 

 “When I saw your message written with a sense of urgency, I was worried about what happened!” 

 “Ahaha, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. A love for exaggeration is probably just part of my nature as a writer.” 

 Nia said this and then raised her gaze to observe their reactions, and then asked, “…What?” Perhaps it was because she was still wearing a set of fake cat ears and a cat tail. 

 “I don’t mind. <Ratatoskr>’s mission is to fulfill the Spirits’ wishes as best as we can.” 

 “No problem. Just give me a controller.” 

 After Kotori finished speaking, Origami followed with an affirmative of her own. Kotori raised her eyebrows as she heard some strange words that sounded important. 

 “…What was that?” 

 “Ah… It’s the original doujinshi (18+) for young people! With this, I’ll be all ready!” 

 “You’re going to use that as bait to lure in minors?!” 

 Hearing this ridiculous exchange condition, Kotori couldn’t help but scream. But… what could she say? Something like this also fell in line with Origami’s true nature, and she suddenly understood why she came here. 

 “…Ah, never mind. But doesn’t playing online games take up a lot of time? I’m not too busy right now, but I can’t stay for that long.” 

 “Ah, don’t worry about that, I’m already aware of that. My purpose isn’t to clear it.” 

 “Huh? Then what are you trying to do? If you’re asking us for help… what’re you after?” 

 After Kotori finished talking, Nia raised her crazed smile slightly and moved her lips to say: “Well… yeah. Honestly, there are some very bad PKs in this game.” 

 “PK?” 

 “A PK is a player killer. A bad player who attacks and kills other player characters in the game.” 

 Origami explained to Kotori. “That’s right.” Nia nodded in agreement and then added: 

 “To be honest, this bothers me a lot, and I want to find a way to punish the guy. But… I already have too many things to do on my own. Then I realized that I could recruit allies in the game, but I think it’s better to be able to work together face to face.” 

 “Well… it sounds like this PK is very powerful. What role does that person play?” 

 “Ah…” 

 After Kotori asked, Nia frowned in embarrassment and groaned in frustration. 

 “Hey! What’s with that reaction? You might not know anything about it.” 

 “That’s not true! That character is called [Fatima], level 99, and the most powerful occupation, a destroyer of worlds…” 

 “Then wouldn’t it be simple? Just search for that character, then?” 

 “Well… but it’s not that easy.” 

 “Can you explain it more clearly?” 

 Origami responded to what Nia said. Nia scratched her cheek and said: 

 “There is a rare item in the game called a “Shadow Curtain”. As long as you have this, you can use it to hide and change your information from other players. Moreover, I think that guy used that item to hide the identity of their original character; I searched [Fatima], but I couldn’t find anything. Like a serial killer, he must be living his life in a harmless manner.” 

 “So that’s the situation… This item sounds dangerous. Doesn’t this seem like the game’s developers are encouraging player killing?” 

 Kotori shrugged helplessly, a bitter expression on her face. Being able to hide means they could easily player kill without becoming notorious. 

 “Well, that’s not quite true. The high degree of freedom is one of the main selling points of Polaris Online. It’s impossible to prevent player killing in a system that let’s players attack each other in the first place. It’s a bit weird to blame the developers in a case like that, isn’t it?” 

 “What? Are you sure you’re a good guy? I thought PKing was unforgivable?” 

 After Kotori finished speaking, Nia shrugged with a confused expression. 

 “Still… this [Fatima] is special.” 

 “…?” 

 Nia said vaguely while Kotori tilted her head in doubt. 

 However, when Kotori was just about to ask a question, Origami was quick to ask a question first. 

 “—I want to confirm our approach: are we looking for a needle in a haystack?” 

 “We do have some clues!” 

 Nia replied as she whipped out a piece of paper from a nearby drawer. Kotori looked at the paper with Origami. 

 “This is… a map?” 

 That’s right. Nia handed over a map. It looked like a map of the game’s world. There were several places marked with an ‘x’, and a lot of small characters written on it. 

 “What are these marks for?” 

 “Well, these are the places where [Fatima] has appeared. At first glance, it wasn’t obvious, but in fact, there’s a common point in all of these appearances.” 

 “Then that means…” 

 “Well. [Fatima] might show up in one of these places next time, so I want to set a trap there to catch them.” 

 Nia nodded confidently as she explained. Kotori also agreed: “That seems like a good idea.” 

 “I understand. Then let’s get started immediately. Where exactly are those places?” 

 Kotori urged her but Nia’s eyes widened in surprise. 

 “N-No, what are you talking about? You can’t go right now!” 

 “Eh?” 

 “You have to create a character before doing anything else. And being a level 1 character is not useful at all—you’ll have to practice playing a bit.” 

 Nia seemed to raise her lips into an excited smile. 

◇◇◇

 “—Oh, Yoshino! You’re really good at baking!” 

 “Yes… I hope Natsumi-san likes them…” 

 “Of course she will. I bet she’ll be so happy that she’ll faint!” 

 Tohka, Yoshino, and the rabbit puppet Yoshinon who was worn on Yoshino’s left hand spoke as they walked on the corridor of the apartment complex next door to the Itsuka household, which belonged to <Ratatoskr>. A place where the Spirits whose powers Shido had sealed resided. Tohka and Yoshino were among the residents there. 

 However, the two of them were walking not on the floor where their rooms were but instead through the uppermost corridor of the apartment complex. 

 The reason was simple. Tohka and Yoshino were bringing freshly baked homemade cookies to Natsumi, who lived on this floor. 

 “This is the first time I’m visiting Natsumi-san. Do you remember which room she lives in?” 

 “The outermost room. Ah—it’s that one!” 

 Yoshinon, in line with what Yoshino said, raised its paws to the door in front of it. 

 “Okay.” 

 Tohka walked to the door and pressed the doorbell next to the door. There was a ringing bell inside the room. 

 But after they waited a few seconds, Natsumi still did not answer the door. 

 “Muu? That’s strange, is she not home?” 

 Tohka then pressed the doorbell several more times but still nothing happened. 

 She then unconsciously turned the doorknob and the door opened with a “click”. Tohka and Yoshino then exchanged a surprised look with each other. 

 “The door is unlocked…” 

 “It looks like she isn’t out right now… could she be sleeping?” 

 The two shared a confused expression, and Yoshinon flailed her paws and said: 

 “Since the door is already unlocked, wouldn’t it be faster to just go in and check on her~?” 

 “Just… wouldn’t that be rude, Yoshinon…?” 

 “But, what if Natsumi-chan suddenly fell ill, or if the gas leaked, or if there was an accident, or if she were suicidal and hung herself~? Now, there might still be time to save her~!” 

 “Eh—!” 

 “H-How could…” 

 Tohka and Yoshino gasped, exchanged uncertain looks with each other, and then nodded resolutely. Then they resolved to open the door and walked into the room. 

 “Natsumi! Are you okay, Natsumi?!” 

 “Natsumi-san…!” 

 The two called out Natsumi’s name as they walked down the corridor and opened the bedroom door slowly. 

 What they found— 

 “…—Eh?” 

 Natsumi was wearing a pair of headphones while sitting on a chair with one foot on her knees, while facing the computer. She quickly turned around with a stunned voice. 

 It was more accurate to say that the door was already open before finally she noticed them. Natsumi held her breath and did her best to cover the computer screen. However, maybe because she was in a panic, she lost her balance, fell off of her chair, and fell into a heap on the floor. 

 “Natsumi!” 

 “Are you all right…?” 

 “That hurt… Anyway, I’m okay.” 

 Natsumi scratched at her hair before she looked up at them and then stood up. 

 “You… why are you two…” 

 “T-That… I’m sorry. I entered your room without your permission. But I only did it because you didn’t come to answer the door, we were worried about what might have happened to you…” 

 “Eh? Don’t say that, I don’t mind at all… but I’m even more sorry for you. That I made you step into this sludge, I’m sorry. I’m going to die.” 

 “N-Natsumi-san…” 

 “There we go~ Natsumi-chan is back to herself again~!” 

 Yoshinon smiled frivolously and patted Natsumi’s head gently. Then, Natsumi looked up at them uncertainly. 

 “Ah… that’s right, Natsumi-san, if you’re okay with it, please accept this…!” 

 Yoshino said, and handed the small bag in her hands to Natsumi. 

 “Eh? W-What is this?” 

 “Cookies. Tohka-san taught me how to bake. I hope these suit your tastes…” 

 “A-AHHHHHHHHHHH…!” 

 Yoshino finished speaking and Natsumi could only shriek and fall like a vampire in direct contact with the sun. 

 But it would be rude to not accept it. Soon she bowed her head and raised her hands towards Yoshino. She looked like a civilian receiving an unexpected reward from the king. 

 “Thank you… but, is it really okay for someone like me to have this?” 

 “Of course.” 

 “I… I will treasure this as a valuable heirloom… I will cherish it for the rest of my life…” 

 “That… if you can, I hope that you would eat them…” 

 Yoshino let out a giggle and a small smile. Natsumi hung her head anxiously and answered, “Yes…” 

 Although her reaction was a bit exaggerated, Natsumi seemed happy to accept the gift. Tohka smiled as she watched Yoshino and Natsumi, and then looked at the computer screen. 

 “Natsumi, what were you doing just now? Is this… a game?” 

 “…! Ah, T-That’s…” 

 After hearing what Tohka said, Natsumi was quick to panic. However, she seemed to realize that Tohka and Yoshino already saw the screen and just gave up and let out a heavy sigh. 

 “…Go ahead and laugh if you want to laugh. On holidays like this, I play online games all by myself. I get so into it that I don’t notice when guests are here. Aha, ahahahaha…” 

 “Online game? What’s that? 

 “…Oh, it’s a game that many people can play together… But I’m not good at making a team. I just built a house and cultivated my fields by myself… I really like garden-type games now. I’m kind of obsessed with it, honestly.” 

 “Did you build this house yourself, Natsumi-san?” 

 Yoshino looked at the computer screen and her eyes widened in surprise. What was shown on the screen was an impressive wooden house. 

 “Ah… um, yes. This game is like a block-building game. You can collect materials and put them together in whatever way you want, so you can build your favorite things. And you can also breed your crops together to create new varieties, and then use them as materials to make more equipment.” 

 At that moment, Natsumi suddenly stopped talking. 

 Presumably, because she discovered that Tohka and Yoshino’s eyes were filled with curiosity and gave out a dazzling brilliance. 

 “…Uh… Do you two want to play as well?” 

 “Yes!” 

 “Yes…!” 

 In face of Natsumi’s nervous invitation, Tohka and Yoshino answered enthusiastically. 

◇◇◇

 “—Uh, is this alright?” 

 Shido brought the two laptops from upstairs and returned to the living room, then installed the game based on the instructions from Kaguya and Yuzuru, and clicked the start button. 

 Then the screen turned dark as the game’s opening began. 

 The content was similar to a common fantasy game prologue movie. To put it simply, the outline of the story is that a goddess summoned Shido and the other players to this world and asked them to protect it from a crisis. 

 Then, after introducing the basic story, the character image dressed in plain clothes was displayed on the screen. Next to the character were various options like “gender” and “hairstyle” that could change a character’s appearance based on the settings. 

 “So it’s thanks to features like this that you could create the character that you wanted—ah, for this kind of game, what kind of characters do Kaguya and Yuzuru use?” 

 “Huh? Are you asking…” 

 “Answer. Are we?” 

 Kaguya and Yuzuru tilted their heads in sequence, and then turned their laptops in their laps toward Shido and Miku. 

 [†Phantom Night†] Level 38; Sex: Male; Occupation: Dark Knight. 

 [Yuzu] Level 38; Gender: Female; Occupation: Silent Hunter. 

 Their respective characters were displayed on their respective screens. Yuzuru’s character was a hunter girl whose facial features resembled her own, while Kaguya’s was a tall man with a fierce expression wearing black armor. 

 Although there were many things worth mentioning, Shido decided to ask the most burning question first. 

 “Uh… right, quick question: what are the marks on both ends of your character name?” 

 He pointed to the † symbols. Kaguya, in turn, puffed out her chest proudly. 

 “Oh so you noticed that? This is the dark cross that embodies the power of my name. Only the warriors in the dark and the demonic can—” 

 “Description. Just type “daga-” and then choose the symbol to type it out.” 

 “Ah, really? It turns out that there is such a symbol.” 

 “Hey! It was you who asked me, so just listen to me already!” 

 Kaguya pounded her fist against the desktop and shouted. “Sorry, sorry.” Shido smiled bitterly and apologized, then turned his gaze back to his screen. 

 Then all that was left was to set the character’s hairstyle and facial features to complete his own avatar. 

 “I think it’s fun to just set up these sorts of things. It feels like I’m doing a photoshoot.” 

 “Yeah… ah, right. You can set the character freely, but could you choose an occupation from either a support or mage class? Since Yuzuru and I already have physical occupations.” 

 “Yeah, I know. Miku, which one do you want to play?” 

 Shido glanced at Miku as he asked the question. Miku tapped her chin thoughtfully and answered: “Well, I want one that can fight magnificently with magic~!” 

 “Okay, I’ll choose the priest then.” 

 Shido said as he chose his occupation. Soon, the simple outfit the character originally wore was replaced with a white monastic uniform. 

 He then set the rest of the elements and completed the rough prototype. 

 [Shido] Level 1. Sex: Male. Profession: Priesthood. 

 “Okay, so we’re almost all set. Uh, I just need to log in next—” 

 At that moment, the doorbell from the entrance rang and Shido looked up from his monitor. 

 For a moment, he thought it might have been Kotori or one of the other Spirits, but… that couldn’t be. After all, they didn’t need to ring the doorbell, but would just come inside. 

 “Is it a delivery man…? Let me take a look.” 

 “Sure. Take your time~” 

 Miku waved her hand as she watched Shido leave. For some reason, her lips were curled into a delighted smile. Shido didn’t give this another thought, though, and headed towards the door. 

 The sudden visitor, as he suspected, was a delivery man. Shido signed for the package and received it before returning to the living room where Kaguya and the others were waiting for him. 

 “Sorry, sorry, I made you wait for me.” 

 Shido said while sitting in front of his computer, Kaguya, Yuzuru, and Miku all shook their heads, bright smiles on their faces. 

 “Oh, I don’t mind.” 

 “Acceptance. Yuzuru had a very meaningful moment with everyone.” 

 “Okay, Darling. We’ve all selected our roles so let’s start playing~!” 

 “…? Okay…” 

 The three of them seemed to be very happy. Although Shido was a little confused, he still kept his gaze on the screen. 

 At that moment, he suddenly felt that something was off. He remembered that he left the screen on the page where he was customizing his character but now the screen was showing a street view of what seemed like a middle-aged theme town with cute characters coming and going. 

 Shido assumed that because he was away from the computer for a period of time, they’d started to broadcast promotional videos, but then realized that wasn’t the case, because there were four characters in the center of the screen that made up the team. 

 [†Phantom Night†] Level 38 Sex: Male. Occupation: Dark Knight. 

 [Yuzu] Level 38. Gender: Female. Occupation: Silent Hunter. 

 [Milk] Level 1. Gender: Female. Occupation: Magician. 

 And— 

 [Shiorin] Level 1. Gender: Female. Profession: Priesthood. 

 “What…!” 

 “W-Wait a minute! What’s going on! This is definitely not the character I designed!” 

 Shido’s eyes went wide as he shouted and stared at the three of them. This reaction was expected; the teenaged character he made had turned into a lovely looking girl rather than a boy. 

 When their hapless victim saw it, the girls smiled and faced Shido. 

 “Ah! I thought that Darling was too busy, so I thought that I would do it for you~!” 

 “No, this is obviously going too far!” 

 Shido shouted but Kaguya and Yuzuru couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. 

 “Hahahaha! Looks like you got tricked, Shido!” 

 “Laughing. But the abilities learned won’t change because of the gender, so Shido doesn’t have to worry too much.” 

 “But… is it safe to chat in the game? Doesn’t this make me an Internet she-male…” 

 “It’s no problem~! As long as you remove the fact that Darling is a boy, then Darling is a girl~!” 

 “That kind of logic doesn’t make any sense!” 

 Miku answered confidently while Shido couldn’t help but shout in protest. Then, Kaguya, who’d been smiling through the exchange, finally stopped and patted Shido’s shoulder to appease him: 

 “If it really bothers you that much, as long as you can get a “Rebirth Orb”, you can modify your character image without having to start a new game.” 

 “…Is that true?” 

 “Acknowledgement. You can get it if you can beat the main story.” 

 “That’ll take way too long!” 

 Although he had no idea how long the main story was, wouldn’t that mean he would have to play the entire game as [Shiorin] in order to finish it? Besides, the whole point was to help Kaguya and Yuzuru find a treasure, so he probably wasn’t going to get a chance to clear the main story. 

 However, it would be a waste of time to start a new game to reset the character. Shido sighed as he began to play as the priestess [Shiorin]. She actually looked quite cute. 

 “Guess there’s no helping it… let’s just play like this.” 

 “Great fighting spirit! Let’s start looking for treasures!” 

 “Agree. Yes!” 

 “Onwards!” 

 On the monitor, [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu] raised their hands enthusiastically. It seemed that as long as the right command was selected, the character could be made to perform a specific action. 

 “Let’s see…” 

 Shido quickly opened the menu and selected the action. So [Milk] and [Shiorin] slowed down as they raised their hands, mimicking [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu]. 

“Dammit…! This attack doesn’t work!” 

 “I told you it was way too soon to try our luck like this!” 

 “Shut up! Just hurry up and heal me already—eh, oh, ah, AH!” 

 The voice of a party of adventurers echoed in the open space of the dark ancient city. 

 However, this was a hopeless situation. After all, what was standing before them was the master of this ancient city: a high-level vampire monster. 

 They were huge vampires adorned with dark coats that continuously cast powerful magical spells. There were explosions detonating constantly, and the health of [Rick] and his party was falling fast. 

 “I-Impossible, things shouldn’t be going like this…!” 

 The captain of the team—Swordsman [Rick]—felt an endless series of regrets in his heart. 

 —Everyone was proud, because they’d managed to reach a high level and had powerful equipment; there was no reason to believe that diving into the depths of such a difficult maze would be such a difficult quest. 

 Of course, the result was like this. They were surrounded by the Great Demon and his men, they’d run out of recovery items, they’d run out of mana to cast healing magic, and there was no way for him to escape. He had hit rock bottom. 

 “GAAAAAAAAAA!” 

 “W-WHOA!” 

 The vampire’s blow swept over [Rick]’s body. Obviously he still had his armor but he was still seriously injured and his life bar was put into the red in an instant. 

 “Dammit… is it all over for me…?” 

 [Rick] murmured sadly. He was all but helpless now. The next hit would drop his health to zero. 

 However, in the next moment. 

 “—Holy stab!” 

 The dark ancient city was immediately bathed in countless blades of light that pierced the vampire. 

 “GAAAAAAA …!” 

 The vampire’s huge body disappeared into a black mist. Faced with this unexpected situation, [Rick] could only stare blankly. 

 “This, what is this… how…?” 

 “Congratulations~! You won!” 

 The screen showed the message with a gentle tone, and three new characters appeared. 

 [Ani] Level 80. Gender: Male. Occupation: Paladin. 

 [Toriko] Level 1. Gender: Female. Occupation: Warrior. 

 [Orion] Level 1. Gender: Male. Occupation: Thief. 

 “Wait… Level… 1…?” 

 Facing the mysterious team that suddenly appeared, [Rick] murmured in surprise. 

 However, they ignored [Rick] and his party and instead talked amongst themselves. 

 “You’re too reckless… I’m only level 1 right now.” 

 “It’s okay. As long as you don’t get hit, you won’t die. After that battle, did you get any experience points?” 

 “—In just one battle, I made it to level 10.” 

 “No way. Ah, really? It looks like my skill points have increased a lot, what should I do?” 

 “Ah~. We can deal with that later, so don’t worry about it for now. Let’s do another round. Once you get to level 30, you can upgrade to a more powerful occupation, and we can use some of my treasured doping items to boost you further. Then, we’ll finally be able to go to the places we were talking about before; oh also I scattered some traps on the way here in case someone shows up at any of the previous locations.” 

 “…How about doing it like this?” 

 “The point is not about the process, but the result. It would be ideal to do it quickly.” 

 “Well, you do make a good point, but I always felt…” 

 The mysterious team left the scene while discussing the topic without a hint of worry. 

 “What… what was that all about…” 

 [Rick] stared after them for a while before managing to get that sentence out. 

◇◇◇

 “…Uh, then I will start to explain this briefly.” 

 Natsumi coughed a few times before she faced Tohka and Yoshino… So the two of them sat at the computer and bowed their heads and said, “Sorry to trouble you!” …Natsumi felt itchy all over. 

 However, she was the only one who could explain the game to the two of them. She coughed once more and mentally prepared herself. 

 “Um, first of all, how to build a house… There are two methods to do it. The simplest one is to use what’s called a “Design Diagram”. This method will automatically help you build your house as soon as you have the necessary materials. New players use this to build simple structures. For architecture, you can have fun just by paying attention to the interior decoration. You can unlock designs for larger and nicer buildings as you progress through the game.” 

 “Natsumi-san, did you build your house with this?” 

 “Um, that’s not how I did it… I built this house from scratch. That’s the other method. You can build things as you wish by freely combining materials. However, it requires a little practice. I think it’s better to get familiar with how it works before building from scratch, so start with the “Design Diagram”. You can start by using it to build a house wherever you want.” 

 “Okay!” 

 “I understand!” 

 “Then let’s build a house right away—but before that, you have to prepare the ground first. If you find a location you like, remove the trees and weeds that are growing there and crush the rocks to make a flat space for building a house. …I think it’ll be easier to have you try than to explain it. Come on, try cutting down a random tree.” 

 “Oh! I got it!” 

 “Let me try…!” 

 After the two of them answered Natsumi with enthusiasm, they both operated the mouse clumsily. The characters they’d just made reacted in response and started to walk around slowly. 

 “Whoa!” 

 Tohka’s character began to walk around in a circle. 

 “You… are you okay, Tohka?” 

 “Yes, no problem—Whoa!” 

 Tohka’s character began to jump in place while throwing the materials in her hands everywhere. 

 “Ah~… Ah~…” 

 Natsumi couldn’t bear to keep watching, so she left her seat and moved to Tohka’s side to help her operate the mouse and pick up the materials one by one. 

 “Oh, thank you, Natsumi!” 

 “No… It’s no problem. Anyway, this area is limited to just us players right now.” 

 That’s right. Natsumi’s house wasn’t built on a street or somewhere public, but in a remote forest. Even if their character did something strange here, they wouldn’t be treated strangely or become a laughing stock by way of screenshots. 

 Natsumi hadn’t intended to live in the forest, but if she lived on a street, there would be a chance that she would run into another player, which wasn’t good for her heart. Even if she couldn’t see the other person’s face, she still had problems whenever she thought that it was still a human that was controlling the character. 

 …However, if that was the case, then why play online games in the first place? Despite that drawback, Natsumi found it inexplicably fun to be able to build such things in a forest where no one would come to bother her. 

 “Uh, then dig into the ground. If there are any uneven spaces, you can smooth it out like this. It’s just like cutting a tree; you just have to click on the ground with the icon.” 

 “Like this…?” 

 Yoshino’s character then picked up the shovel and began to dig into the soil. She received a thumbs up from Natsumi as though expressing, “Well done”. 

 But— 

 “Whoaaaaaa!” 

 With this cry, Tohka’s character was slowly sinking into the ground. It seemed to be digging at the soil around her feet, digging her deeper and deeper down. 

 “Ah! Tohka, you have to stop first! If you dig too deep, then you won’t be able to get out!” 

 “Then… what should I do?!” 

 Then Tohka’s gear began flying out of the hole, one piece at a time. 

 …It seemed that it would take some more time and practice before they could build a house. 

◇◇◇

 —It had been about three hours since they left the town where they had started. 

 [Shiorin], who was controlled by Shido, walked with his companions [†Phantom Night†], [Yuzu], and [Milk], in the lush, grassy forest. 

 “Whew… we made it quite far. Is everyone doing okay on health so far?” 

 “Oh, there’s no problem. You are very conscientious.” 

 “Agree. Even though this is a temporary team, our cooperation is seamless.” 

 Kaguya and Yuzuru nodded in approval as they spoke. 

 They’d skipped the tutorial and immediately jumped into actual combat practice, with both [Shiorin] and [Milk] having since grown to level 10. Although it wasn’t perfect, he’d learned how to heal and some support spells, healing two people injured in battle and improving their strength and endurance. 

 [Milk] mainly relied on magical attacks, and while she wasn’t as powerful as [†Phantom Night†] or [Yuzu] could still use her attacks to stop the enemy’s movement and aid in support. 

 “Well, online games are also fun. This kind of feeling of everyone going on an adventure together and competing against the computer is enjoyable.” 

 “Oh, you’re right.” 

 “Temptation. If you would like to play again another time, Yuzuru will be waiting.” 

 “Haha, I’ll think about it. If we get too addicted, we’ll end up having Kotori scolding us, so we’ll have to be careful.” 

 Shido smiled bitterly, then looked again at the deep forest where [Shiorin] and the others were conducting their expedition. 

 “—So, Kaguya, going by the “letter”, how close are we? We seem to be walking on the grass…” 

 “Um… wait a minute. Let me see… this coordinate is here, so… a little bit further forward—” 

 Just as Kaguya mentioned it— 

 The [†Phantom Night†] on the screen walked through a deep forest and came to an open space. 

 “Whoa…” 

 “This… This is…” 

 Shido’s eyes widened as he operated the computer buttons to move the camera, looking around at the surrounding scenery. 

 It was a wide space suspected to be created by the forest. A gorgeous wooden house was built deep in the space. In front of the wooden house was farmland with various crops. 

 A space that was isolated from the rest of the world, like where a hermit, a fairy, or trolls or goblins lurking in the deep forest might live. 

 “Okay—great! Hey! H-Hey! Yuzuru, this wouldn’t be…” 

 “Acknowledgement. It is impossible for ordinary players to build a residence in such an inconvenient place, and it is exactly the same coordinates written on the “letter”. I believe this must be [Fatima]’s hiding place.” 

 “That’s what I thought!” 

 Kaguya shouted, and [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu] seemed to dance very excitedly. 

 [Yuzu] looked quite cute while she danced, but the picture of [†Phantom Night†] dancing wildly while wearing exaggerated armor was too weird… However, this was no surprise. Although Shido didn’t know how powerful this legendary player is, it seems to them that they were digging for treasure. 

 “Explore. Kaguya, let’s go and try to find it.” 

 “Well, the coordinates are in this area. Let’s see if we can find it!” 

 [†Phantom Night†] and [Yuzu] began to investigate the surrounding area. [Shiorin] and [Milk] were quick to follow them while searching along the way. 

 They lost track of how long they’d been searching, but when [Milk] was walking next to the farmland, the ground where everyone was standing suddenly began to flash. 

 “Whoa! What’s going on?” 

 “…! This is… a trap! Run away!” 

 However—it was too late. The next moment, the land around them turned into a white field, and were suddenly unable to move. 

 It appeared to be something similar to glue. They were covered with sticky objects, and their clothing—that is to say, their gear was all torn off. 

 “Whoa!” 

 “Ah~! Our clothes~!” 

 “Mistake. I’ve made a terrible mistake…!” 

 “H-Hey, what is this…!” 

 Everyone’s remaining clothing was just the underwear shown in character creation, and their defense displayed on the information screen was reduced to the absolute minimum. 

 “Hmm… it’s a trap to strip us of our equipment. Everyone, get out first and then put on spare equipment.” 

 Kaguya frowned as she said so. Shido and the others were quick to follow her instructions and put on secondary equipment. 

 “Advance. Kaguya, this is…” 

 “Hmm… the fact that such a troublesome trap was set… It’s very suspicious. However, if there are other traps, it would be dangerous to continue searching the normal way…” 

 Kaguya thought about it for a moment before turning to Miku. 

 “Miku, didn’t you just learn a wide area spell? Can you cast it to destroy this area and any traps hidden here?” 

 “H-Hey, why can’t we try something else…” 

 “It doesn’t matter either way, because [Fatima] is a player who stopped playing several years ago! No one has lived here since then!” 

 “If that’s true then the farmland around here wouldn’t be so well taken care of…” 

 “As long as there is a protection of the earth applied to the area, no matter how many years pass, a good harvest can still be maintained. For advanced players, this is basic knowledge.” 

 “W-Wait! Is that really true?” 

 “That’s right! Just trust me on this!” 

 After speaking, Kaguya turned to Miku, “Let’s go!” 

 “I understand! I’ll go ahead and cast the spell~!” 

 “—Destruction bombing!” 

 Miku’s and [Milk]’s voices overlapped in that moment as [Milk]’s staff began to shine brightly. 

 The next moment, an incredible explosion ravaged the forest. 

 After a few seconds, the ground looked like a crater seen on the surface of the moon. 

 There were countless equipment icons scattered all around the terrain now destroyed by the blast spell. 

 “Huh…?” 

 However Kaguya and Yuzuru both showed confused expressions. 

 The reason was simple. Because the ground was full of materials like wood, vegetables, and stones, among other things. None of these things were similar to treasure. 

 “Strange, there should be nothing… Miku, I’m sorry to trouble you again over here…” 

 “Of course~!” 

 “Just make it… just the bare minimum…” 

 The sound of an explosion rang out a second time, muffling Shido’s voice. 

◇◇◇

 “W-What…?!” 

 Natsumi was stunned, her hands trembling. 

 “What the hell is going on here?!” 

 She shouted loudly. 

 However, such a reaction was reasonable. Because in the hour after she went to the street to buy Tohka and Yoshino some equipment, her house in the forest had been turned into an empty lot, no, it was better to say that it was a smoking crater. 

 “T-This is… what happened here?” 

 “Everything… it was all destroyed…” 

 Tohka and Yoshino made panicked noises. Natsumi could only grit her teeth as she continued: 

 “Probably… It was spotted by a bad player, and then they destroyed it with explosive magic or a bomb item.” 

 “Why… why would they do such a thing…?” 

 “…There doesn’t need to be a reason at all. It’s like having lunch without your friends. I had to hide and nibble on bread. As a result, the bullies would always say: “What a strange smell, huh?” They would keep pounding on the door or spray toilet water into it. Asking uncivilized barbarians to do civilized things is simply a waste of effort.” 

 “M-Muu…” 

 Tohka showed an incomprehensible expression as she tilted her head. 

 However, first things first: they had to take care of the damage to the garden. Natsumi’s gaze sharpened as she began to collect the surviving vegetables and wood scattered about. 

 “Oh, are you going to rebuild it?” 

 “We also… want to help!” 

 “…No. I don’t want to build a house here again. I’ll have to find a different location. Since a troublesome person knows about this place, if I build another house here again, it may end up destroyed again—No, I’m going to build something else instead.” 

 “Muu…?” 

 “Something else…?” 

 After listening to what Natsumi said, Tohka and Yoshino’s eyes widened in surprise. 

◇◇◇

 As she dealt the finishing blow to the demon snow dragon (for the third time), Nia’s computer made a warning beep. 

 “…! A reaction has occurred! It seems that someone sprung one of the traps at location A!” 

 When she finished, Nia looked at Kotori and Origami. 

 Under Nia’s leadership, Kotori and her team managed to defeat several high-level monsters in various places and accumulate plenty of experience points… While they were doing that, they also set traps in advance at locations where they suspected the PK might appear. 

 However— 

 “Location A… Wasn’t it that forest we passed by at the beginning?” 

 “Yeah, yeah. Although it’s a bit far away, so… it’ll be tough to catch them. Still, Imouto-chan and Oririn’s levels have risen quite a bit. To be sure, let’s go check it out.” 

 “Understood.” 

 Origami replied simply as Kotori and her party immediately made their way down the mountain and made their way back to the forest they’d passed before. 

 “Hey, Nia… wouldn’t it be more likely that the trap would be triggered by the residents of that house?” 

 On the way back, Kotori frowned and asked Nia. 

 That’s right. The site surveyed by Nia seemed to be inhabited, with a beautiful wooden house and farmland. It would be reasonable that, compared to the PK, there would be a much higher chance of trapping residents who lived in that home. 

 “Well, that’s certainly a possibility, I’ll go into combat mode if I get caught in the traps. Anyway, let’s worry about that later. If the traps ended up catching the residents who live there, as long as we apologize honestly, it should be okay. Plus, we can ask them if they know anything about the PK.” 

 “…I feel like the other party would point at us and answer ‘It’s you!’” 

 During the conversation, Kotori and her party arrived at location A. 

 However— 

 “What…?” 

 Kotori stared out at the landscape with a stunned expression. Where there was once a beautiful house and impressive farmland was now an entirely flat land. 

 “This… what’s going on here? We didn’t make a mistake, did we?” 

 It felt like something was messing with her vision, and Kotori could only stare silently at the screen. At that moment, Nia’s character [Ani] took a step forward. 

 “First thing’s first, let’s look around first. Maybe this was caused by [Fatima]…” 

 As Nia said that, the screen suddenly flashed brightly and then there was an explosion in the ground, sending the three of them flying. 

 “Huh…?” 

 Kotori couldn’t understand what just happened at that moment and found herself rubbing her eyes furiously. 

 However, the picture in front of her has not changed. Instead, there was a hole in the ground, smoke wafting around, and a dying character. It seems that they ended up standing on a mine. 

 “This… what the hell is going on here?!” 

 Seeing this, Nia cried out loudly and angrily. 

◇◇◇

 “Ah, really… what the hell was that trap…?!” 

 After searching through all of the wreckage of the forest hut, Shido and his party walked down the road behind Kaguya. 

 It was no wonder that Kaguya was unhappy, they’d searched the entire forest but they had no luck finding any treasure-like items. In other words, Shido and his party only lost valuable equipment. 

 “Hmm—but why would they set a trap?” 

 “Maybe it was just a prank after all…?” 

 “Hmm… I don’t know who did it, let me think about it!” 

 “Well… I thought that no one would find it…” 

 Natsumi along with Tohka and Yoshino murmured regretfully as they looked around for a new place to live. 

 In case the culprit happened to come back, she decided to use all her explosives to set some traps… But even if the culprit was killed, the gloomy mood wouldn’t go away. 

 “I don’t know who did this… but whoever it was, I won’t forget this…!” 

 “Ah! Really?! What the hell is going on?!” 

 After the big explosion, Nia, who had managed to escape from the mines, shook her feet impatiently. 

 Nia’s character managed to survive the explosion, but Kotori and Origami’s characters were dead, so Nia was forced to use two precious resurrection items to revive them. 

 “I don’t know who did this… but I won’t be forgetting this anytime soon!” 

 In the MMORPG of Polaris Online, the three groups of teams all shouted out at the same time.