Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 73

The New Pandora

The New Year holidays were over. Akito felt that the atmosphere in his part-time workplace was a bit scary.

Hanged inside the store was Pandora’s poster that wasn’t really related to a small supermarket in a residential area.

The illustration depicted players standing in front of a vast field.  The promotional line on the poster was 『The New Box Garden』.

Three days remaining until the game resumed.

During the New Year holidays, it got announced that the time in  virtual world would get extended to be 72 hours. It caused the internet  to descend into revelry.

As expected Akito wondered if it would be alright to spend that much time inside virtual world.

But nobody addressed Akito’s worry. There were few opposing opinions among the society.

It wasn’t like there was no opposition at all, but the amount had gotten extremely few compared from before.

In the political arena, the opposition party that touted the demand  for regime change acted like it was a sure thing that they would secure a  lot of seats at the next election.

It also got reported in news. The election’s result was like it was clear to see.

The usual news programs were reporting it with disinterest, but when it came to Pandora there were a lot of positive opinions.

It was normal to use VR to have lessons hammered into the students’ heads before enrolling into school.

So what was the problem at this point just from spending three days inside VR when it was only one hour outside?

The investigation result about the human experiment scandal had also come out. It said that there was no problem.

――The many positive opinions.

The voices that wished fervently for Pandora to resume service were  loud. The number of customer that went to the store to purchase point  also increased even more.

(Are things really okay?)

Akito also discussed about this matter with Riku during holidays, but he told him that everything was alright.

A customer that had just purchased point left the store. Then Yakumo looked at the poster.

「Recently I can see this poster everywhere I go. That information broker guy, he’s spending money with abandon isn’t he?」

The new director had great reputation in internet.

People said that he really understood Pandora well and showered him with praises.

「Senpai, don’t you think that something is strange?」

「What is?」

Yakumo didn’t look like she was feeling that anything was out of place. She tilted her head toward Akito.

(Is she not noticing it? Before this the only posters inside the  store are about local things, but suddenly we’re hanging Pandora poster  now, that’s strange.)

This was a local-based small supermarket.

Most of the times the poster that got hanged inside here was related to the local place.

「Actually――」

Akito was about to consult to Yakumo about the discomfort that he was  feeling, but then he sensed someone approaching the store so he shut  up.

This presence belonged to the university student duo who would take over their shift.

Today the female university students would come at evening so there wasn’t any problem at all.

(There’s no problem at……tsu!)

Akito suddenly realized.

(How did I notice them? How do I know when there is someone going to enter inside the store?)

There were a lot of people passing by outside.

The store was located in a residential district so it was only  natural, but he wondered how was he able to sense who among the passerby  would enter the store.

「Are you alright? You look pale, so go take a rest at the back. I’ll take care of the shift transfer.」

Yakumo talked kindly to him, and then the two female university students arrived in the store.

Usually he never really talked to them, but apparently they were familiar with Yakumo.

「Eh, is that Shikata-chan’s boyfriend?」

「A boy who is close with that Shikata-chan huh~」

The two university students were grinning. Yakumo looked flustered and didn’t know how to reply to them.

「Ah, no, well, I can’t say that you two are mistaken but, this, that!」

The two laughed seeing Yakumo panicking like that before going to the back of the store.

Yakumo looked cute when she was flustered like that.

It was cute but――to Akito, it looked like she hadn’t escaped the game’s influence.

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Apartment.

Akito immediately called someone with his smartphone after he returned home.

He was calling the information broker who had gotten very busy since he became the new company president.

Akito could hear the call ringtone, then after a while a bright voice answered.

『Ponsuke-kun! Oops, it’s a breach of manner if I don’t call you Naruse-kun.』

The information broker sounded delighted. Akito told him about the discomfort that he was feeling.

「U-umm! The incident had been solved, and yet it looks like the  game’s influence is still there. Senpai is also still acting strange,  and president too is closer to me than before……besides, the influence in  my daily life is also still there.」

The information broker stopped using a cheerful tone to match Akito’s serious tone.

『Fumu, in that case……there are two possibilities that I can think of.』

「Two?」

『Yeah, the first possibility is that the game influence is still not  fading completely yet. I think this will get resolved with time. As for  the other possibility……well, human relationship is far more complicated  than game. Isn’t it perhaps simply that those two like you for real?』

The information broker laughed after he said that. Then he said to  Akito 『You don’t need to worry, things will get better as time pass.  After all the dangerous data has been completely removed』 to reassure  him.

「I-I see. It, will be great if that’s the case.」

『Oops, I still want to talk but more work is coming. It’s troubling  because there I have a lot of interview lately. Let’s meet again inside  the game.』

The call got cut. Akito turned his gaze toward the large business use machine inside his room.

「It’s really over already right?」

Akito tried to persuade himself to accept the information broker’s  reassurance that it was only a matter of time until the problem was  solved.

The game’s popularity was also just something temporary because of the service resumption after so long.

He tried to tell himself that.

◇

Capital of Discernment.

The players who manifested in the plaza cheered at the service resumption.

The players who were at the Capital of Discernment weren’t beginner.

They were definitely players who were absorbed with this game to some degree if they had managed to reach this far.

Ponsuke looked at his body.

He kept opening and closing his hand.

「……It’s the same like before isn’t it?」

He had a lot of worries but, when he logged in again he found out  that things were surprisingly normal. There were things like how the  graphic had gotten better or various balance adjustment, but in general  Pandora was still like before.

「Ponsukeeee!」

Someone than leaped at Ponsuke. It was Alfie whose avatar had gotten altered somewhat.

She was wearing a dress with blue and white color with silver and golden ornaments.

Her hair was also different than before. It looked similar with the real life Alfie now.

「Alfie, you’re too excited.」

Ponsuke opened his arms in order to catch Alfie who leaped on his chest. But the instant he put his arms around Alfie,

「――Eh?」

「Huh?」

Both Ponsuke who caught her and Alfie who was jumping him were surprised.

The huge Ponsuke got blown away and then two got thrown into the fountain in the plaza.

The two got soaked wet.

Mariela came running toward them at that timing. Her avatar had also  changed slighty. She didn’t change her hairstyle like Alfie. She didn’t  but, the two of them had altered their body style somewhat.

Like how their breasts were bigger, their waist slimmer, things like that.

Those changes were at the level that would be unnoticeable even to  those who were familiar with them, but Ponsuke noticed right away.

「Just what are you two doing?」

Mariela looked exasperated. Alfie was staring hard on Ponsuke.

「N-no way. Ponsuke who always caught me got sent flying, this is just strange.」

Certainly it was strange.

Usually Ponsuke wouldn’t get blown away just from Alfie jumping on him.

The merit of orc was their status parameter. Their status that  overwhelmed other races should be unshakeable against normal attack.

「This is strange. Even though I didn’t loosen up or anything.」

The two got out of the fountain.

Alfie got out first by borrowing Mariela’s hand. Next she grabbed Ponsuke’s hand and pulled him out――.

「……Ha?」

Mariela pulled Ponsuke strongly because he was an orc that had heavy  weight. She put her strength into it because of his outside appearance.  Before she also adjusted her strength like that when interacting with  Ponsuke.

However, Ponsuke’s body was lifted up to the air before his hand slipped out from Mariela’s grasp.

「Ponsukeeee!!」

Mariela screamed. Ponsuke fell on the plaza. What happened astonished the surrounding players.

「J-just what in the world is going on?」

Ponsuke got up.

The two ran toward him and they tried to find out what was going on.

Then Alfie realized.

「Ponsuke……you’re level 1 now.」

Ponsuke hurriedly opened his status screen and confirmed that his level had become 1.

「Ah, it’s true.」

He had really become level 1.

「……What’s the meaning of thisssss!」

Ponsuke was laughing, but then he screamed because everything that he had accumulated until now had vanished.

He immediately contacted the management and surprisingly a reply immediately came.

Ponsuke was dumbfounded when he read the reply.

「……The demerit of berserk skill? Eh? But, I was told, the demerit got negated, they said……eh?」

Ponsuke who became level 1 fell on his knees and his hands were on the ground on the spot.

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At the rented warehouse.

The guild members gathered together after so long. There were some changes to each of them.

There were players who adjusted their avatar while they were being  unable to login, and there were also players who changed their image  drastically during that time.

Lighter was still the same like before. He looked at Ponsuke and said.

「In other words, it’s only your level that has gotten down while your job and skill setting is unchanged?」

Ponsuke scratched his head while nodding apologetically.

「Yes. And so, as expected it’s impossible for me to play at the  Capital of Discernment. I’m going to return to the Capital of Hope for a  while.」

Mariela and Alfie protested.

「Then we should go together with you too!」

「That’s right! We’re always together until now aren’t we!?」

Lighter calmed down those two while Blaze agreed with Ponsuke.

「I think that’s good. While you’re at it perhaps it’ll be good if you  also look around to find players to invite into the guild.」

Sierra tilted her head.

Her avatar was slightly taller than before. There were slight growth that could be seen on her chest, waist, and butt.

「If it’s recruiting new member then we can also do it in this place though?」

Blaze smiled wryly.

「No, how should I say it, we’re being seen as a mishmash group.  Besides, most players who have come until this far already belong to a  guild――」

Sololy appeared like a ghost from behind Blaze. Nobody was surprised by his entrance.

「There are a lot of players with their own fixation after all. They  won’t match with our guild’s direction. The merit will also increase the  more members we have, so thinking about the future it’ll be desirable  to have more fighting specialist in here. After all even though our  guild isn’t a production or business, only the support players here are  pointlessly capable.」

Lighter was grinning meaningfully with his small body.

「This is our specialty after all.」

Alfie also agreed.

「Well, I guess that’s true for Lighter.」

The number of players with production jobs in this guild was increasing pointlessly.

Thanks to that this guild had substantial support capability, but there was a problem with that.

Blaze spoke with a serious face.

「I’m thankful to the craftsman players. I am but! ……The number of  player here is overwhelmingly few in order to satisfy the demand of you  guys.」

When player with production job joined a guild, there was a merit that they could get drop item from their fellow guild members.

Because of that, the increase of craftsman member also increased the number of item request.

Nanako put her fingers on her chin while her slightly pointy cat ears were twitching.

「Certainly gathering items is hard work.」

Guruguru also felt the same. He was putting his hands on the back of his head.

「Everyone is making too many requests. More importantly, why is everyone ignoring them?」

By them Guruguru was referring to the orcs who were silently protesting by holding up placards.

『Give us her majesty’s whip!』

『Ponsuke mustn’t monopolize the whip!』

Alfie and Mariela told them to shut up, so the orcs sat down while  holding up placards in protest. Everyone’s gaze gathered on them.

The orcs shivered when Mariela turned her extremely cold eyes on them.

「You guys, what had you been doing until now?」

Prey opened his mouth.

「No, we have reasons. Mainly it was because all of us got busy in RL. In addition our free time suddenly――」

Alfie quickly swung her golden whip to hit the floor.

The orcs were looking at her with eyes that were shining in expectation and excitement.

「Enough with the excuse. Even though I’m irritated because I won’t be able to play with Ponsuke」

Ponsuke sighed.

「……As I thought, perhaps I should put some distance with everyone.」

He muttered that with a subdued tone. Mariela and Alfie looked like they were going to cry when they heard that.

Shouts came from the orcs.

「You bastardddd! How dare you make her majesty cry even though we haven’t even gotten whipped――auh!」

Mariela shut up the orc by hitting them with her silver whip.

This time Prey got beaten up by the other seven orcs for getting  whipped by himself. Though even being treated like that made him looked  happy.

Seeing that sight, Nanako…….

「Ah, that’s right! I also have the tamer job.」

It seemed that she had acquired tamer job since some time ago.

Eyes that were filled with expectation and astonished eyes turned toward Nanako.

「Nanako-chan, don’t! It will be too late if you become like these two――」

Lighter tried to stop her, but Nanako took out her tamer exclusive weapon.

The orcs all pitched forward to look at that weapon, but then their joyful faces became expressionless instantly.

「It’s an ocarina. It make a really good sound and can tame all the cute monsters. Eh? Everyone, what’s wrong?」

Everyone looked at Nanako, and then they turned their gazes toward Alfie and Mariela who were holding gold and silver whips.

Lighter spoke with a small voice.

「This is the normal one.」

Ponsuke got back to the actual topic.

「Anyway, I’m going to level up at the Capital of Hope for a while.  After some time pass the clearing group will liberate the World of  Arrogance anyway, so I’m thinking we should prepare many things before  that.」

The guild lacked manpower, also Ponsuke decided to put some distance between him and Alfie and Mariela for some time.

Besides, at this time period it wouldn’t be long until the large scale update came.

There was no need to hurry to progress ahead. Ponsuke decided that  the guild’s direction was to make preparation toward the large scale  update.

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