In the Land of Leadale - Volume 6 - Chapter Pr1

“Hah…”

Keina Kagami vacantly stared out the window and sighed for the umpteenth time that day. The count had to be in the double digits—not that she was keeping track or anything. The ceaseless beeping of her life-support machine quietly echoed in the hospital room, and the faint smell of rubbing alcohol pervaded the air. Her expression was listless, and her eyes held a melancholy gloom. She was exhausted in every sense of the word.

The weather determined whether the window stayed open, but the nurse would crack it at least once each morning when she came to check Keina’s temperature. The hospital grounds were sprawling with greenery, so a faint, earthy scent would waft inside to invigorate the senses.

In most cases anyway.

“Haaah…”

Keina sighed so much that she could add it as a hobby on her résumé. Anybody was bound to point this out if they hung around her long enough.

But Keina’s only company in the hospital room was her special support AI, Kee, who was integrated into her life-support machinery. There were numerous reasons why sighing had become her favorite pastime, but the current culprit was mostly likely her uninvited guests.

It all started when her doctor invited people around the hospital to come and chat with the bedridden young girl. To be honest, this was probably an invasion of privacy, although that never occurred to Keina.

Waves of patients with nothing better to do visited her in shifts. They ranged from friendly, able-bodied children to nosy, doting seniors. If Keina was more assertive, she could have told the children to stay in bed or ask the elderly patients to get plenty of rest. However, once the shock of losing her parents had finally subsided, she had a hard enough time dealing with her own situation.

The children innocently blathered on about their own interests and tried to win her over whenever she didn’t share their enthusiasm. The seniors were usually long-winded. They would pause to give her sweets, but these were often left in a pile on her bed since she couldn’t eat them anyway.

This repetitive series of forced conversations needlessly exhausted her. In truth, Keina wished she always had the perfect response—she was simply too afraid to speak. She could hardly move as it was, and the anxiety over what to do if they grew bored left a huge impression on her. The situation could have been easily resolved if only Keina had more confidence, but someone pushed into such a mental corner didn’t have the room to realize her problem wasn’t entirely dependent on others.

“Hey there! Sorry for bargin’ in. How’s it going?”

“Wha—?!”

Keina couldn’t jump since her body was paralyzed, but her heart definitely skipped a beat when a friendly voice suddenly entered the room. It pounded in her rib cage.

“…I-it’s you.”

“Oops, guess I startled you. Sorry about that.”

Although the door was well within view, Keina had been so distracted she never saw him come in. Embarrassed he’d caught her in such a state, her face and ears turned crimson.

The man flashed a bright, impish smile. He was Keisuke Kagami, the younger brother of Keina’s father; they shared the same last name, but his was written with different kanji. He seemed to get a kick out of startling people, and she always wished he’d just cut it out already. No matter how many times he pulled one over on her, she was injured and could only give so much of a reaction.

He usually brought along his daughter, Ako Kagami, who also worked as his secretary. However, a different woman was with him this time. Keina tilted her head curiously.

“Sorry I didn’t bring Ako with me today. I’m here for business purposes instead of personal ones.”

“Huh? Business?”

She didn’t understand how this explained her cousin’s absence. Perhaps this woman worked a similar kind of job. She was waiting behind Keisuke as she removed a thick stack of documents from an equally thick A4-sized envelope.

“You still use paper?” Keina asked.

“Well, there hasn’t been an official announcement yet. We secured a budget, though, so no harm in setting up shop. We’ll launch sometime in the next couple months.”

“‘Announcement’? ‘Launch’?”

Keina’s confusion deepened as Keisuke continued to beat around the bush.

“Mr. Kagami, the young lady doesn’t appear to understand your explanation. As our representative, you ought to… I would appreciate it if you refrained from such indirect language.”

Unable to idly stand by, the woman offered a gentle rebuke. Keisuke lightly rapped his head.

“Right, right, sorry. We’re establishing a VR gaming department, Keina. I was wondering if you could play a beta version and report any bugs.”

“By beta…you mean the game isn’t done yet?” Keina asked.

“How rude. The prototype is complete. We simply don’t have any players yet,” the woman replied.

“More like we haven’t picked anyone to play.”

“I told you already—er, as you might recall, we’ve been running simulated data as part of our research.”

“Replacing a real person with AI won’t get us honest feedback.”

“Um, excuse me? Hello?”

Sensing the pair was seconds away from an all-out argument over the game’s prototype, Keina forced her way between the two. For all she lacked in physical mobility, she seemed to make up for it with her ability to read a room. Further proof of how accustomed she’d become to her days of endless conversation.

“What’s up, Keina? Got any questions?”

“I’ve got nothing but questions… The first of which is: Who is this?”

Realizing their faux pas only after it was brought to their attention, Keisuke and the mystery woman looked at each other and let out a simultaneous “Oh.”

“Ah, right, guess I should’ve done that earlier.”

“Indeed. I understand your eagerness to give this young lady an ounce of freedom, but at least allow me to introduce myself.”

“You were itching to tell her, too, y’know.”

“Mr. Kagami, didn’t you get straight to the point the moment you entered the room?”

“Agh, gimme a break! Quit bringin’ up ancient history!”

Keina then realized that her uncle got along better with this mysterious individual than with his own wife. Nevertheless, she couldn’t let the pair carry on forever, so she interrupted once again. Their chemistry was obvious, but Keina wished they would stop bantering already and explain what was going on.

“Guess I’m full of apologies today. She’s the project coordinator for—”

“‘Project coordinator’? Don’t sell me short. I’m in charge of design and development. My name is Rin Kuzuhara. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, I see. You’ve probably already heard, but my name is Keina Kagami. Nice to meet you.”

“Mr. Kagami and his secretary have told me a lot about you. Our meeting today feels like some sort of fate. I hope we’ll forge a long-lasting friendship.”

“Yes, me too…”

As Keina spoke with Rin Kuzuhara, she felt an indescribable nostalgia. There was a twinge in her chest, but neither arm moved to clutch at it. The sensation reminded her of a captivating sunset she had seen as a child while walking home after playtime.

Keina questioned where this sentimentality was coming from and cast her eyes downward. However, she returned to her senses when her uncle asked what was wrong.

“Ah no. It’s nothing.”

“Right. If there’s anything you want, just say the word, ’kay?”

“I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m fine, really.”

“Both you and Ako are still kids to me. Don’t be a stranger now.”

Keisuke tousled her hair.

“Hey, you’ll mess up my hair!” she said with forced cheer so he wouldn’t press her further.

After all, Keina had been given whatever she wanted since the moment she entered the hospital. And once she realized why, she stopped wanting anything at all. Both her minders and Kee were mostly likely keeping an eye on her.

Her hospitalization was already putting a strain on her uncle and cousin. Keina vowed to be sensible and understanding so as not to cause them further concern.

“Might I continue?”

“Ah yes. Sorry about that.”

Rin Kuzuhara, who had been quietly observing the touching uncle-and-niece moment, gave a small cough and took the opportunity to interrupt. Realizing she’d been unwittingly disruptive, Keina pulled herself together and listened carefully.

“Allow me to explain. First, this project is a VR game at its core. All you need is the proper equipment and a role-playing mindset. Specifically…”

Keina hung on Kuzuhara’s every word as the woman spoke of a game so immersive it would allow her to soon forget all her real-life troubles.