Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 83

Pull

Inside the middle school’s guidance counseling room.

Kanaho was sitting face to face with her homeroom teacher.

Data about the school that wanted to accept Kanaho as scholarship  students were placed on top of the two long tables that were lined up  together.

「I’ve checked. It looks like they’re serious with their acceptance of  you Ikari as scholarship student. Apparently their school is going to  get larger, so they wanted to prepare that kind of class too.」

The school was at other prefecture. Furthermore it was really far away.

But, the school would pay for her living expenses and even her club expenses.

They were still preparing to gather more students with talent, but  until then they planned to operate the new class experimentally.

「It feels like, they’re fine with accepting anyone aren’t they?」

It made Kanaho felt slightly sad, but her homeroom teacher  recommended to go there even then. That was because he knew about  Kanaho’s family circumstance.

「Even so they’ll pay for your school and club expenses. The students  with first rate talent will be scared to enroll into a school with no  achievement. Because of that they thought of you as necessary. It’s not a  problem. They have the sport facility there, though I’m a bit worried  with your grade Ikari.」

This was a school that was slightly better than average.

For Kanaho too, she wanted to be spared from having to enroll into a school with academic grade standard that was too high.

「……I’ll go there.」

「It’s not a bad choice depending on how you see it. After all you can  study and also continue your club activity using the money of the  school. Work hard.」

After the talk finished, Kanaho felt relieved that she was now freed from the need to take exam.

There was also the talk of her going to that school once to receive an interview.

She also had to move to her new residence one month before her enrollment. Things were hectic for her.

She exited the counseling room and headed to her classroom.  Midway……she looked at the outside scenery and things didn’t feel real at  all for her.

「It feels like everything got solved so easily.」

She felt stupid now for worrying about a lot of things.

Since the morning she kept thinking that this might be some kind of prank or mistake.

Such thought completely filled her head as she consulted with her homeroom teacher but, the result was surprisingly normal.

The school simply saw Kanaho’s grade and decided to accept her as scholarship student.

The prefecture was a bit far away, but apparently the school was  unable to gather talented students from the local or surrounding  prefectures.

She also had no need to study hard preparing for exam.

Tension suddenly left her shoulders when she considered that. She felt relaxed.

◇

Capital of Hope.

At the bar, Inaho caught Mariela and made her listened to her grumbling.

「Don’t you think it’s horrible? I’m just there for making up the  numbers, that’s all. It’s not funny at all that I ended up getting  picked because of my doubtful ability.」

This was her true feeling that she hadn’t even told to her mother.

Her mother rejoiced when she heard that Kanaho got accepted into a  school that also allowed her to continue her club activities, so she  couldn’t whine to her.

Mariela and Inaho sat around a small table by themselves.

Around them the other guild members were discussing about the drama.

It seemed that Lighter wanted to get a certain rare item no matter what. He was refining the plan in high spirits.

「Within the top ten! Below the top four! We’ll get the item we want with that. Ponsuke-kun, let’s do our best! We can do this!」

The players with production job were surrounding Ponsuke who wasn’t looking motivated.

Perhaps it was the disposition of Lighter who was the central  personage of the production group, or perhaps it was simply birds of a  father flocking together……they were all players who were faithful to  their own desire.

Ponsuke was exasperated with Lighter’s demand.

「Isn’t it wrong that we aren’t aiming for the top ranks? Well,  but――it doesn’t look like it will be easy with our current state.」

The number of recording that had gotten sent for the event had already surpassed 100.

The effect of the rare item that was the prize was amazing. It was predicted that this number would keep increasing further.

「How can you be so low spirited as the guild master! Ponsuke-kun, let’s be more passionate!」

「Noo~, I don’t think this will be easy.」

Mariela kept glancing at that argument between guild members.

「Mariela-san, are you listening?」

「I’m listening. But, it’ll be better if you don’t bring up this kind  of topic too much inside the game. After all I’ll be able to identify  you if I feel like it after hearing this.」

「……Eh?」

She had been hiding various details in her story, so she couldn’t see  how Mariela could possibly do what she said. Her mouth was opening and  closing wordlessly in uneasiness.

「B-but, I haven’t tell you anything with that kind of detail.」

「I can narrow down the possibilities a lot just by knowing that  you’re a scholarship student who is going to move to a far away  prefecture you know? Besides you’ll be a new student right? Your real  identity will get found out if your tongue is too loose. Even so, those  guys are bothering Ponsuke. I’ll go check over there for a bit.」

Mariela stood up and walked toward Ponsuke. From her back it looked like she was really delighted.

(Mariela-san, could it be that she and Ponsuke-san are……? H~mm, but I think it’s just a relationship inside the game.)

Inaho who wasn’t that knowledgeable about inside the game was  pondering hard. Then in front of her someone wearing a dress with blond  hair――Alfie sat down.

「Are you having fun, Inaho-san!」

Alfie’s tension was high. Even though the jockey that she was drinking from should only be filled with juice.

Inaho smiled wryly.

(This person, I’m a bit bad with someone like her.)

When they first met, she saw her drowning an orc.

The second time she was whipping the orcs before Ponsuke dragged her outside.

She also had loud personality and felt like a troublemaker.

Alfie seemed to guess what was in Inaho’s mind and grinned.

「Could it be, you’re thinking that I’m just a deviant?」

「N-no, that’s not…」

She was lying.

She was thinking of Alfie who was being called a queen and liked to swing a whip around as a deviant.

(As I thought, she’s a bit strange somewhere unlike the caring Mariela-san.)

Alfie folded her arms under her large breasts in front of such Inaho.

「You don’t get it at all. Surely you’re seeing that Mariela like a  caring big sister but……there isn’t anyone else more horrible than her in  our guild just so you know.」

「Eh?」

(No, as expected there’s no way that’s the case.)

Just what is this fellow saying?

While she was thinking like that, Alfie pointed behind her.

「Look there. She’s clinging on Ponsuke’s arm with her face blushing like animal in heat. That woman is wicked.」

「No, as expected that’s saying too much. Mariela-san is a good person who has helped me out a lot.」

「That’s a misunderstanding in your part. She was simply using you  because she wanted to d activity with Ponsuke together. Watch, try  looking behind you now.」

Inaho was exasperated with Alfie even while turning around. There she saw an orc holding Ponsuke’s collar.

「Ponsuke-kun! You should be ashamed of yourself for monopolizing the reward!」

It seemed that Ponsuke had just received a reward that provoked the hardcore masochists.

「It’s you guys who should be ashamed!」

Ponsuke talked back. The leader of the orcs trembled. He must be delighted from getting insulted.

「Kuh! Don’t think that you can escape the questioning by making up happy like that.」

Around him the other orcs were hooting (?)「That’s right, that’s right!」「Say it more!」「Insult us more!」 like that.

「In the first place, you too should feel more happiness from reward as an orc shou――ofuh!」

Then Mariela wordlessly launched a sharp kick at the side of the orc leader Prey.

It looked like her boots stabbed deep into the orc’s torso. That  action seemed to be judged as an attack toward another player and  warning screens were displayed around her.

Prey fell in pain from the sharp kick while squealing happily.

「Hiih, that’s a bit scary」

Inaho’s true feeling slipped out. In respond Alfie was,

「Not yet. She’s still just starting.」

Then Mariela attacked the fallen Prey even more.

She was stomping with her booths! She also used the occasion to mercilessly grinded her heel on him.

She wasn’t smiling.

Mariela had a pretty face, so the way she looked expressionless while  continuing to stomp was making the people around her felt fear too.

「I――never――decide――when to give the reward to you guys right?」

She was kicking and stomping in between her words.

「I-it’s exactly as you say――ah, there-!」

The sight of Prey’s joyful reaction invited fear.

The surrounding made an expression that said 「This again」 and didn’t even try to stop them.

Inaho sought help from the trio of Nanako, Guruguru, and Sierra who were nearby.

「Y-you three, shouldn’t we stop this?」

Alfie looked like she was enjoying the going on, so she thought it would be pointless even if she talked to her.

The decent looking players like Blaze, Noin, and Fran were doing musical performance on the bar’s stage.

Noin was nonchalantly singing love song toward Ponsuke, but the person in question wasn’t listening to it.

It slightly invited pity.

「Mariela, stop it already. The warning screens are getting serious!」

Mariela finally stopped her stomping after Ponsuke stopped her.

「I-I know.」

Ponsuke was holding Mariela’s shoulders and pulled her away from Prey. Her face was slightly red.

(……What should I think here. My heart doesn’t throb at all seeing this.)

Even though it was a scene like in manga where the heroine’s heart  went *Kyun!* in front of her love interest, the scene right before it  was too horrible that she couldn’t feel moved at all.

Guruguru’s response from seeing that situation was,

「It’s always like this yeah. But, it always stopped when Ponsuke-niichan stopped it.」

Sierra looked slightly dissatisfied.

「I’m jealous of Ponsuke-san.」

Sierra must be idolizing Mariela, but Inaho was already feeling disillusioned.

Nanako smiled wryly.

「It seems that this kind of thing is a bit strange but, all of them are good people.」

Inaho couldn’t stop herself from saying.

「A bit! You’re saying this is just a bit!?」

Inaho thought 「Pandora is scary」 inside her heart. Alfie talked to her again.

「Do you understand now? Someone even more horrible than me, that’s Mariela. That fellow is a wicked woman, real wicked.」

Guruguru said 「Alfie-neechan herself doesn’t lose in horribleness yeah」 from the side, but Alfie ignored him.

「I’m not going to be violent to just anyone. Unlike that mad dog  woman. But putting that aside, I heard that you got lost when inside the  sightseeing area?」

Inaho told Alfie about what happened at her first day.

Alfie nodded happily after listening to her.

「That’s a real waste. I’ll show you around the sightseeing area then.」

Behind them Sierra was explaining to Guruguru and Nanako.

「You see, Alfie-san is going to be alone tomorrow. So she’s feeling lonely.」

Nanako understood.

「Both Ponsuke-san and Mariela-san have plan for tomorrow after all.」

The two of them were going to do something to help out with the drama tomorrow, while Alfie had nothing to do.

Inaho looked at Alfie.

「……Are you perhaps, just wanting to kill time by that?」

Alfie brushed up her pretty blond hair with her hand and made a proud pose while talking brazenly.

「What about it?」

She was a beautiful girl when shutting up, and yet it was rare that  there could be a person who was this hopeless, Inaho thought.

◇

In the main office of the company that was running Pandora.

The information broker was grinning widely in front of his computer’s screen.

The screen was projecting the image of Alfie having fun in the sightseeing area with Inaho.

It was a recording, but he was watching it in delight.

「I tried making a completely unrelated middle schooler come into contact with them but, it produced an interesting result.」

The VR machine that was mistakenly sent to Inaho’s address.

And then her running into Ponsuke and others after that. He was the  one who was setting them up behind the scene, but the result from that  surprised the information broker.

Selectors had high probability of coming into contact with the real life people around them inside the game.

He researched about that phenomenon deeply and found that such effect really existed.

But what about the opposite? What if a Selector came into contact with someone unrelated inside the game?

He carried out this experiment from such curiosity.

And the result, with just one day of login, a girl who originally  couldn’t be a scholarship student――ended up enrolling into Akito’s  school.

It was because of the school staff having their eye on Kanaho, even so he didn’t think that this was just a coincidence at all.

「It looks like the plan to create Selector artificially is going smoothly.」

Everything was planned and then observed.

The information broker stuffed his mouth with pizza right from the  morning. He was eating that while looking at the face of Inaho who was  Kanaho’s avatar.

「Now then, Inaho-chan……I wonder how are you going to get dyed.」

The information broker was convinced that things would get  interesting from now with the maintenance before the large scale update  being fast approaching.

「Dear Selectors, the main show will be after this……please enjoy it.」

The information broker stuffed pizza into his mouth rowdily and then ate it with loud chewing noise.

.

.

.

New school term.

Akito advanced to become second-year student. Now he was looking at his new class.

There were only twenty students.

If there was a difference with the last year, it was that Maya wasn’t being chosen to be the class president.

A diligent looking boy was standing in front of the whiteboard while  directing the discussion to decide the class committee members.

But, Maya’s name also wasn’t there.

「Err……with this all the posts are filled. Everyone, please work hard  to carry out your responsibility in your respective position.」

Akito’s friend Riku talked to him.

His friend had a large body and an appearance like a delinquent, but he was a helpful person and also popular in the class.

「Hey, did you guys participate in the event?」

Akito thought for a little and immediately realized that he was talking about the player event.

「The video thing right? We did. It made everyone annoying about the  rare item. I never even imagined that we would get the first place.」

Akito laughed a little when he recalled the way Lighter looked so sad because of the first place position.

「First place? Seriously? I’ll check the video later.」

At the end, Akito thought that if everyone couldn’t agree with the role distribution, they should just make the play a comedy.

Even though the woodcutter was just one person, a lot of goddesses came out from the pond.

Each goddess promoted their golden axe and silver axe to make the woodcutter accepted them.

But, at the end the woodcutter chose his own axe. The play was concluded in that way.

Three was quarrel about who would become the goddess, but Akito thought that it ended well in the end.

Maya immediately approached him when the homeroom was over.

It was an unbelievable sight if it happened at their first year, but  the surrounding seemed to have gotten used to it and paid it no mind.

「Hey, Akito. I have student council work to do so come help out when you’re free.」

Maya requested him earnestly. Akito’s expression became openly reluctant to that.

「President――I mean, Ichinose-san. I also have part-time work and fitness club.」

「That’s why I said when you’re free.」

Riku was exasperated with Maya’s forcefulness.

「Don’t flirt in front of me like that right from the start of the new term.」

Maya said 「Sorry」 to Riku even while saying,

「But Aoba-kun, you were also having fun going to date during the  spring break. I wish you can understand my feeling as someone who you  were showing off to. Besides, your partner was a mature――」

「President. No, honorable student council president. Please feel free to work Akito hard.」

Riku sold out his friend so she wouldn’t say anything more than that. Akito grabbed his shoulder.

「You, what’s the meaning of this even after everything that you’ve said to me!」

It was a new term. The school life of Akito and co was also starting anew.

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