Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 93

Capital of Diligence

At the fitness club that Akito was attending.

He was called out just as he was about to go home after taking shower.

The people calling him were male working adults.

「Eh? You’re Naruse-kun aren’t you?」

They often passed each other so they at least know each other’s name, but it had been a long time since he met these men.

「Why do you sound doubtful like that? It’s me.」

The men were looking at Akito.

The temperature was getting hotter recently, so he was only wearing a T-shirt on his upper body.

In the first place he had no plan to go out to somewhere after this, so his appearance was casual.

「No, you have gotten bigger than before. Your muscles have grown and  tightened a lot? No, perhaps it’s because you’re in your growth period?」

Akito looked at his own body.

(Now that they mentioned it, my body also felt painful recently.)

He was told that the pain was called growing pain, so he felt happy with his growth even while feeling that it was troublesome.

Recently the size of his clothes had gotten too small for him.

There was no problem with his uniforms because he bought them a size  bigger than his body at the beginning, but many of his plain clothes had  become unwearable now.

「I guess it’s the result of my hard work.」

The adult men looked enviously to Akito.

「You’re still young and energetic huh. While I’m dead tired everyday from work.」

「You just don’t have any stamina.」

「Come on, let’s go already.」

The men headed toward the training room to train their body.

Akito picked up his bag and headed outside.

When he looked up to the sky, the sunlight had gotten stronger.

「……Summer huh. I wish I can enjoy my youth this year, not just playing game.」

He was glad to be able to run into Pandora, but conversely he also  had the feeling of wanting to celebrate the springtime of his youth as a  high school student.

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In Jun’s study.

He was holding a smartphone in one hand that was connected to Maya.

「Maya-chan, aren’t you making light of me with your treatment to me recently?」

『Game and real life are separate matters you know, dear uncle.』

「No, hm……I know that. But putting that aside, what kind of business do you have with me today?」

It was Maya who contacted Jun.

『Actually――』

Maya was making request to him about her summer vacation plan.

For elite like Maya, while she wouldn’t have school during summer  holiday――there would be no holiday for herself. Elite would use summer  holiday to do things that they usually couldn’t do.

「――I see, you want to make summer memory together with Ponsuke-kun. That’s nice I guess.」

『Don’t make it sound so easy to do. My schedule will be tight for that no matter how I look at it!』

Going together to swimming pool? That would be impossible?

Going to sea? Staying somewhere overnight? She had no leeway for that.

「In that case……I know. Then you can just ask Ponsuke-kun to match his schedule.」

『What do you mean? I can’t call him to my house or party.』

Jun thought.

(He’ll feel burdened if he get called to your house, and it will be  hard for Ponsuke-kun too to be present in a party. This girl, she’s  really talented but she is a bit……)

Jun felt worried for Maya’s future while talking to her.

「There’s that high class resort remember? I get invited there too  but, your family also received it too right? Don’t you think that place  is just right to make memory together?」

There was a high class resort hotel that was just opened.

The area around it was improving as a tourist attraction. Then there  was this high class hotel opening and they got invited to it.

『……And there will be free time until night won’t it?』

「There will. There is also nearby hotel where even student can stay with reasonable price. ……Do you need the ticket?」

『I do!』

Like this they talked for several more moments before Jun put down his phone. He sat back on his chair and let out a small sigh.

「Well, any high school boy only have the thought of woman’s naked  body filling their mind. I don’t think there’s no way she’ll fail  but……will it really go alright I wonder?」

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Inside an abandoned building.

A man past middle age came in bringing a souvenir.

「Oh man~, this place is really hot.」

The essential utilities to this building had been cut off. There was a  risk that people around would suspect if they carelessly used  electricity here.

Because of that, they had several abandoned buildings that they were  using to shelter Pandora’s former executive. They tried to not stay in  one place for too long.

A refrigerator that they brought in to here was placed inside the  room, even so it was only at the size where it was just barely better  than not having any at all.

The female doctor came today to give a check up at the former executive’s health.

The former executive felt suspicion.

「……It won’t be strange at all for a former minister like you to have  various connections. But just what in the world is the deal with this?  You all are people with professions who shouldn’t have any connection  with each other.」

The former executive himself had been making effort to investigate  various things, but he couldn’t hide his surprise with the unique  connections that the former minister had.

It could be said that all of them had no common point in real life.

The former minister grinned daringly.

「What, they are just my fellow like-minded people. Besides, all of  them are comrades who can be trusted. Now then, I wonder what kind of  story that you can tell me today.」

The former minister sat on a chair while the former executive took the ice cream that he brought as souvenir.

There was some problem with his health, but there was no danger to  his life. That was the result of the examination from the female doctor.

「I have work so I’ll go home now.」

The former minister saw her off with a smile.

The former executive laughed a little after the doctor left.

「Good grief, if not because of this situation I’ll even want to go  and stay in the hospital where she’s working. She’s really the ideal  doctor. Her atmosphere is a bit cold but, it send shivers through my  spine instead.」

The former minister watched the cheerful former executive and denied him.

「It’s better if you don’t. After all you’re definitely someone of “that side” no matter how I look at you.」

「That side? Well, no matter. Enough with the joke. I’ll tell you what I have found out.」

The former executive turned his gaze toward the document――paper document in his hand while speaking up.

「I’ll be blunt. It’s hard to say that the majority of the Selectors  understand the current situation properly. But, I don’t think they’ll  side with us even if they learn the truth.」

The former minister ate his ice cream and saw that the stick was a winner while continuing the talk.

「So we’re on our own. Well, perhaps it can’t be helped. In the first  place, I’m curious just what kind of existence the Selectors are.」

The term Selector would definitely come up each time he talked with the former executive.

However, the former executive and the management too didn’t know about Selectors’ existences at first.

It wasn’t something that the management intentionally prepared.

「At first we thought they were selected randomly from avatars of each  race. We thought they were a bug in the system, but gradually we  learned that the race and avatar don’t matter and it’s the players  themselves who are influencing the world somehow.」

The title of Selector wasn’t given to the avatar, but to the players. That was what the management concluded at the start.

The former minister asked about something that bothered him.

「That right there. I don’t understand that. Even though they were  selected, they’re given a title which means that they’re the one making  the selection. Why is their title Selector?」

「We ourselves hadn’t investigated until that far. After all we didn’t  have enough leeway in our budget and manpower for that. Though I had  ordered for it to be investigated thinking that it was a bug.」

And then a great miss occurred from there.

「The leadership that know about the situation was busy with the plan,  and if possible we didn’t want outsider to come into contact with it so  we tried to do the investigation internally. But, all the departments  were swamped with work at that time. The one in charge of that matter at  that time made his own judgment to delegate it completely to a  subsidiary or sub-subsidiary company.」

Their budget had increased rapidly.

However the scale of the management wasn’t that big.

Everyone in the company was busy at that time. Thinking that this  matter had low importance, the person in charge of this matter at that  time simply assigned outsider to investigate it.

「And that outside is the “information broker” huh.」

「……I think that guy realized the truth about Selector at that time.」

The former minister folded his arms.

「Do you know what is this truth?」

「……I can’t find out until that far. But, I manage to learn what they are trying to do from here.」

「And that is?」

「They’re lifting the restriction on sex and the like even while such  acts are still forbidden on the surface. Before you mentioned how there  was an area where you can’t logout and the management also can’t  interfere right? That is something that those guys are intentionally  creating. Players are naturally gathering in such spots, thinking that  the management won’t notice whatever they’re doing there. Various things  are circulating there in the form of illegal data. And all these  illegal data are really elaborate. It’s unthinkable that they are made  by amateurs who don’t even have any sponsor.」

The former minister was also a man.

He also knew that even now research to make that kind of service available in VR was progressing even now.

「Is that really possible? A proper respond will become necessary if the management just ignore that don’t you think?」

Even kids could login to Pandora.

It was the management’s duty too so that no bad influence could appear from the game.

The former executive’s face was serious.

「Those guys don’t care about something like age in the first place.  They’re only thinking how real they can make the world that is centered  around Pandora. They’ll do anything if it’s for that purpose.」

◇

Ponsuke and co had obtained the pirate’s treasure.

Everyone then stepped into the new world, the Capital of Diligence.

They city could be described briefly as a city that had a lot of clocks.

In addition, the townscape was organized beautifully.

The streets were mostly straight. And many of the buildings were lined up in good order with only small differences in height.

Thanks to that, the world looked even more game-like.

Ponsuke felt impressed.

「So it’s centered around a clock tower.」

There was a plaza around the clock tower. Electric trains were running at the circumference and center of the city.

The other members were also looking very interested.

Alfie looked up at the clock tower.

「This city looks overserious.」

Mariela found that inside the running train there was steam machine.

「This place look classic somehow, or perhaps normal, I don’t know how  to describe it. The buildings are also mostly made from concrete.  Though it’s also different from RL.」

This capital also felt like the present time――the factor of fantasy was slightly fading in here.

Nanako was busily looking around.

「The NPCs are also……normal looking. Or perhaps slightly old? It’s hard to describe this place.」

Alfie taught Nanako.

「Retro, that’s the word that you’re looking for. Still, there are  things like Braun tube TV lying around. What exquisite detail.」

The orcs immediately approached an NPC for investigation.

「Miss, come play with us after this!」

Prey cut off the path of a passerby.

The other orcs also surrounded the NPC to see how it would react.

But.

「――You guys over there, can I ask you some questions?」

Police officers――or perhaps not, but NPCs that looked like so were approaching the orcs.

Prey became flustered. No, he looked slightly happy.

「W-what kind of business you have with us!? We’re just talking over here!」

The NPC [City Guard] asked his question while making note in his notebook. Then he asked for confirmation through his radio.

Above at the sky, a plane was flying past and covered the ground with its shadow.

「……Anyone come with us for now.」

「S-stop! We won’t submit to something like the power of the state! I want to try saying that at least once.」

「Got it. We’ll listen to what you have to say at the station. Don’t resist.」

The orcs looked excited when they got handcuffed by the city guards.

Prey and co got dragged into really retro looking cars and they were immediately taken away like that. They all looked happy――.

「Oi, wait a second. I’m not with those guys at all!」

The city guard sighed.

「That’s what all orcs always say. Don’t resist or you won’t ever get released.」

Ponsuke raged.

「Why do I have to get arrested even though I didn’t do anythingggg!」

Eleven orcs were taken away while the other guild members fell into mayhem.

「Ponsuke-saaaann!」

The guild members ran after the car, but there was no way they could  keep up. Like that Ponsuke and co were dragged away by the guards.

(Wait a second. I haven’t done anything at all!)

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「Don’t come here again.」

The orcs were released.

However everyone starting from Ponsuke had sad look on their faces.

「What the hell. No one ever told me that this place doesn’t have any insult or violence like Shinsengumi!」

「What’s with their attitude of just dispassionately doing work! They’re making light of jailor work!」

「They should be more like……you orcs are just cattle of us great humans! They should go at least that far!」

The orcs were complaining without end. Ponsuke watched them with a sad gaze while turning toward Inaho who came to pick them up.

「Ponsuke-san, I have been waiting for you all this time.」

Inaho looked tearful.

She hugged Ponsuke.

「Inaho-chan……sorry to be a killjoy but, where is everyone else?」

Inaho wanted to try acting as a woman who had been waiting for her  loved one who had just finished serving his time in jail. She let go of  Ponsuke and smiled at him.

But, her smile looked extremely troubled.

「No, that……everyone, got caught.」

Ponsuke turned around toward the city guard’s building.

「Seriously?」

「No, at first it was Alfie-san and Mariela-san who went into rampage  because they couldn’t accept it. And then armed city guards came  out……battle broke out in the middle of the city after that.」

Anyway it was a horrible situation.

Everyone was caught but, Inaho got shot by a city guard and revived  in the shrine, so she didn’t get indicted with everyone else.

Inaho covered her face with both hands.

「At the end, it was already like a war. When the other players saw  it, they took video or picture……from that, we got reported because of  disruptive behavior. There was nothing that I could do when returning  back there.」

A notification from the management came to Ponsuke.

It contained severe warning because of the disruptive behavior, and then……it also gave him a ban from logging in for three days.

Ponsuke fell on his knees.

He got a bad feeling and took a look in the game’s forum…….

『Those guys did it again!』

『Seriously? Going into war with the city guards, they aren’t right in the head!』

『Stupid, those guys are crazy from the start!』

『A lot of the city guards got done in. Are those guys strong?』

『Who knows, after all respectable player won’t fight the security guard from the start.』

『The clearing group will be able to beat more. But even if they can,  they won’t try it from the start because there won’t be any merit from  doing that. That’s normal.』

『They have screws loose in their head. I was wondering what’s going on where there was explosion at the plaza.』

Surely it was from the bombs that Lighter and others created.

(What the hell were those guys doing?)

The guild members came out in droves from the building.

Ponsuke tried contacting the management, but the information broker  didn’t pick up the call and then he got forcefully logged out.

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