Encountering Mr. Tokuoka was like a ray of light in the darkness for someone like me who has always been fumbling through The World.
There were other people working on the mysteries of The World and it seemed to encourage me just to know this.
Also, Mr. Tokuoka seemed to know something I didn’t yet know. That also encouraged me.
I felt that the actions I had taken to save Yasuhiko were not wrong… at least not completely out of line, as Mr. Tokuoka had assured me.
So, I went home a little cheerful and started up my computer.
Two emails arrived.
From BlackRose and Balmung.
Subject: Not a dream
From: BlackRose
Message:
I thought that if I beat the Reaper, it would work.
There was no basis for that… but still,
I guess it’ll be like before.
Nevertheless……
What should we do now?
That was fortunate, wasn’t it?
Right?
Subject: We should talk
From: Balmung
Message:
I’ll be waiting at Mac Anu’s Chaos Gate. Come soon.
I was relieved that they were safe.
But reading their emails made me feel gloomy. Mr. Tokuoka’s effect did not last for hours.
I couldn’t answer BlackRose’s questions. Rather I wanted to ask her something.
The fleeting peace of mind I gained through discussions with Mr. Tokuoka was overturned by BlackRose’s questions.
Was what we did right? Yasuhiko was still in hospital, despite the death of the Reaper.
Balmung’s email was more straightforward. Perhaps he was going to identify Yasuhiko.
The mood was serious. This was the first time I never wanted to play The World.
After replying to him by email and logging in, BlackRose was already waiting for me. Balmung had not yet appeared.
“Let’s go and see what happened!” BlackRose said before anything else.
“Let’s do it again… in the area from before?”
“Do you have a bad feeling about this? We have to check it out.”
“Confirm, you mean…”
“Yeah. For example, did you beat the Reaper? What was the guy who showed up after that? Let’s go find out!”
I closed my eyes and thought for a moment.
“No, I don’t think we should.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I don’t think that such an unusual being would be roaming the area forever. It should be gone by now.”
“That’s why I’m saying we should go check it out.”
“And if we run into it again… we won’t be able to defeat that thing.”
“Such a bearish sentiment…”
“We just fought the Grim Reaper. We were tired from the prolonged battle, but that’s not a problem of that dimension, right? We couldn’t do anything but get utterly defeated.”
“That’s true, but…” BlackRose said, dissatisfied.
“You should use your Data Drain. That should be able to defeat the Reaper.”
At that time, I heard a sound as though a cloak was fluttering behind me.
“Hey, you lot, are you conspiring?” said a cold voice.
As I turned around, Balmung stood there with a steep face.
It seemed that he had just logged in.
“What conspiracy? We’re talking about going back to the area from before,” said BlackRose.
“That’s foolish,” Balmung said in a dashing tone. He turned to me without waiting for BlackRose’s objection.
“I’m not here to listen to drivel. There’s only one thing I want to hear.”
He looked directly at me.
“Has Orca regained consciousness yet?”
I was lost for words and inadvertently looked away.
Balmung laughed coldly at this.
“…I see. That’s what I thought. I was manipulated by the plans of a makeshift hacker.”
“You’re still saying that. We’re not hackers!”
BlackRose broke in, but Balmung shouted over her.
“Are you going to keep saying the same thing?!”
His voice was full of anger.
“Altering data with non-specification programs disrupts game stability, making things worse! This must be the work of a hacker! Fine, if you don’t know, I’ll help you change your understanding now!”
Balmung stared at me.
“You are unmistakably hackers.”
The words went through my chest like a sharp knife.
“I helped you this time for Orca’s sake,” said Balmung.
“But this is the last time. There won’t be a next time. In the future, if you engage in such unseemly behavior, I’ll definitely kill you!”
Once he had finished speaking, Balmung logged out and disappeared.
We left almost as quickly as we had arrived.
BlackRose and I turned around.
“Hmph. That guy. He’s always ‘kill’ this, ‘kill’ that. His vocabulary sucks!”
“His circumstances may be different from ours,” I said, but I didn’t think it was a good comment.
“What’s this? You said something that seems sensible,” BlackRose said in a thin voice.
“If you don’t talk back more often, he’ll get carried away. When you meet next time, please say something with conviction.”
I shrugged as the argument was turned on me. It was annoying to be told something so harsh.
“So, let’s go back to the beginning of our talk. What should we do?” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Should we go and see the area?”
“Hmm…”
BlackRose crossed her arms. It seemed she was feeling colder than before. She seemed to have used all her energy in the quarrel with Balmung.
“I’m done for today. I’m going to go now.”
“Okay, see you later.”
Blackrose looked as though she was about to logout, but then stopped and turned back to me.
“Hey…,” she said casually.
“I know you’re not a hacker, Kite. So don’t get disheartened.”
Then BlackRose logged out.
I sighed as I was left alone.
Despite the difficult task of defeating the Reaper, we assembled again and were disbanded in less than 30 minutes. Great teamwork…
I suddenly pondered something.
I’ll continue playing “The World” for Yashiko.
So, what is BlackRose’s reason for logging in?
Encountering Mr. Tokuoka was like a ray of light in the darkness for someone like me who has always been fumbling through The World.
There were other people working on the mysteries of The World and it seemed to encourage me just to know this.
Also, Mr. Tokuoka seemed to know something I didn’t yet know. That also encouraged me.
I felt that the actions I had taken to save Yasuhiko were not wrong… at least not completely out of line, as Mr. Tokuoka had assured me.
So, I went home a little cheerful and started up my computer.
Two emails arrived.
From BlackRose and Balmung.
Subject: Not a dream
From: BlackRose
Message:
I thought that if I beat the Reaper, it would work.
There was no basis for that… but still,
I guess it’ll be like before.
Nevertheless……
What should we do now?
That was fortunate, wasn’t it?
Right?
Subject: We should talk
From: Balmung
Message:
I’ll be waiting at Mac Anu’s Chaos Gate. Come soon.
I was relieved that they were safe.
But reading their emails made me feel gloomy. Mr. Tokuoka’s effect did not last for hours.
I couldn’t answer BlackRose’s questions. Rather I wanted to ask her something.
The fleeting peace of mind I gained through discussions with Mr. Tokuoka was overturned by BlackRose’s questions.
Was what we did right? Yasuhiko was still in hospital, despite the death of the Reaper.
Balmung’s email was more straightforward. Perhaps he was going to identify Yasuhiko.
The mood was serious. This was the first time I never wanted to play The World.
After replying to him by email and logging in, BlackRose was already waiting for me. Balmung had not yet appeared.
“Let’s go and see what happened!” BlackRose said before anything else.
“Let’s do it again… in the area from before?”
“Do you have a bad feeling about this? We have to check it out.”
“Confirm, you mean…”
“Yeah. For example, did you beat the Reaper? What was the guy who showed up after that? Let’s go find out!”
I closed my eyes and thought for a moment.
“No, I don’t think we should.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I don’t think that such an unusual being would be roaming the area forever. It should be gone by now.”
“That’s why I’m saying we should go check it out.”
“And if we run into it again… we won’t be able to defeat that thing.”
“Such a bearish sentiment…”
“We just fought the Grim Reaper. We were tired from the prolonged battle, but that’s not a problem of that dimension, right? We couldn’t do anything but get utterly defeated.”
“That’s true, but…” BlackRose said, dissatisfied.
“You should use your Data Drain. That should be able to defeat the Reaper.”
At that time, I heard a sound as though a cloak was fluttering behind me.
“Hey, you lot, are you conspiring?” said a cold voice.
As I turned around, Balmung stood there with a steep face.
It seemed that he had just logged in.
“What conspiracy? We’re talking about going back to the area from before,” said BlackRose.
“That’s foolish,” Balmung said in a dashing tone. He turned to me without waiting for BlackRose’s objection.
“I’m not here to listen to drivel. There’s only one thing I want to hear.”
He looked directly at me.
“Has Orca regained consciousness yet?”
I was lost for words and inadvertently looked away.
Balmung laughed coldly at this.
“…I see. That’s what I thought. I was manipulated by the plans of a makeshift hacker.”
“You’re still saying that. We’re not hackers!”
BlackRose broke in, but Balmung shouted over her.
“Are you going to keep saying the same thing?!”
His voice was full of anger.
“Altering data with non-specification programs disrupts game stability, making things worse! This must be the work of a hacker! Fine, if you don’t know, I’ll help you change your understanding now!”
Balmung stared at me.
“You are unmistakably hackers.”
The words went through my chest like a sharp knife.
“I helped you this time for Orca’s sake,” said Balmung.
“But this is the last time. There won’t be a next time. In the future, if you engage in such unseemly behavior, I’ll definitely kill you!”
Once he had finished speaking, Balmung logged out and disappeared.
We left almost as quickly as we had arrived.
BlackRose and I turned around.
“Hmph. That guy. He’s always ‘kill’ this, ‘kill’ that. His vocabulary sucks!”
“His circumstances may be different from ours,” I said, but I didn’t think it was a good comment.
“What’s this? You said something that seems sensible,” BlackRose said in a thin voice.
“If you don’t talk back more often, he’ll get carried away. When you meet next time, please say something with conviction.”
I shrugged as the argument was turned on me. It was annoying to be told something so harsh.
“So, let’s go back to the beginning of our talk. What should we do?” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Should we go and see the area?”
“Hmm…”
BlackRose crossed her arms. It seemed she was feeling colder than before. She seemed to have used all her energy in the quarrel with Balmung.
“I’m done for today. I’m going to go now.”
“Okay, see you later.”
Blackrose looked as though she was about to logout, but then stopped and turned back to me.
“Hey…,” she said casually.
“I know you’re not a hacker, Kite. So don’t get disheartened.”
Then BlackRose logged out.
I sighed as I was left alone.
Despite the difficult task of defeating the Reaper, we assembled again and were disbanded in less than 30 minutes. Great teamwork…
I suddenly pondered something.
I’ll continue playing “The World” for Yashiko.
So, what is BlackRose’s reason for logging in?
