Chapter 65. Sorry, I'm a Little Busy Right Now
A gloomy game addict who had been talking about games like a crazy person happened to become friends with a top-class beauty who used to work as a researcher in America, was at the very top of the donation rankings, and had exactly the kind of personality and interests he liked, after she happened to be taking a walk while playing the same game?
Hahaha!
Who was the otaku who wrote such ridiculous delusional nonsense?
It's not even a light novel.
He probably just had a dream like that.
Reality?
This is obviously fake and isn't even interesting.
Delete the post!
…Huh?
Why is this actually real?
I had just imagined playing tennis and becoming friends with a researcher noona who had once worked under the Chairman of Super Real!
A noona who strangely got along well with me and had exactly the kind of personality I liked.
I was so nervous that I wanted to avoid her.
But there was no way I could get away with it!
I immediately made plans to meet her in the game!
Aaaaaah!
What would Pie say if she found out…?
This was something I couldn't predict.
No, I didn't want to predict it.
I just wanted to live forever without knowing.
“The me in reality… met a woman in reality? And I'm going to meet that woman in the game too?! Ngh! My happiness circuits are burning! Stop! I said stop!”
That was my pathetic and miserable cry after I was left alone at home.
Her name was Lucy Lowell, I think.
We had talked for a short while, but one question still wouldn't leave my head.
She was the kind of person whose circumstances and past made me think:
'Of all people, why someone like her? Of all places, why here? Of all people, why me?'
“…Yeah, honestly, this makes no sense!”
She was a Korean-American whose mother was Korean, a super high-spec Ph.D. who had once worked as a researcher at one of the Chairman's many companies.
She had apparently earned a considerable amount of money while working as a researcher, and she had originally grown up in a wealthy family.
After learning that the Chairman, who had once been her boss, was in Korea, she had completely moved her nationality to her mother's country.
Then, while playing World Gate to investigate the achievement known as the World Gate created by the Chairman, she became completely absorbed in it.
And now she was enjoying a happy gamer life!
“Yeah, how does it make sense for someone like this to be around me?
At this point, she's practically a celebrity-level person who would be incredibly difficult to meet.
Being able to meet someone like that so easily is something that only happens to protagonists in manga or novels.”
What?
Did I ask her quite a lot of questions during our first meeting?
That's right.
I did ask her a lot of things.
Until now, I had thought I simply didn't have a particular ideal type.
But she made me realize that it wasn't that I didn't have one.
I just hadn't found it yet.
Of course I couldn't help being interested in someone like that.
Even I was surprised.
I never expected to be attracted to a woman like her.
Somehow…
I felt like I was being drawn to her on a soul-deep level.
I was seriously shocked!
Still, while I had asked her all sorts of questions because of that attraction, strangely enough, Lucy noona also seemed to answer every single question I asked.
I really had no idea why.
“…Have I ever been this scared to log into the game before?!”
Why would a noona with stats that seemed almost like those of a mythical creature be interested in me?
Was this a case of opposites attracting?
W-Wait.
Could the Chairman have sent her as a spy?
But why?
There was no reason for it!
Ughhhhh!
Something that had never happened in my entire life had suddenly happened, and I was turning into a damn conspiracy theorist…
Calm down.
I can do this.
I can overcome this!
S-Someone, please give me an answer!
Please!
Give me the answer to this problem that had taken my already annoyingly complicated thoughts and turned them into an even more complicated mess of romance!
Argh!
First, log in!
I have to log in!
The time we agreed to meet was approaching!
I couldn't possibly be late to our first meeting…!
When I logged into the game, the angel noona who always appeared once before the game started appeared with the same expression she had shown on the first day of service.
“Calm down.”
“Yes!”
“I said calm down!”
“Yes…!”
…Right.
Let's calm down.
Let's put the hot flames of emotion inside the cold coffin of reason.
When the cold coffin gets heated by the flames, it will melt and set everything around it on fire.
Hmm.
I should be careful with fire.
Be careful three times, then check four times.
I should always keep a fire extinguisher nearby!
Even when I first dealt with Pie, didn't I carefully handle everything with extreme caution?
And this time, I'm dealing with an actual person from reality.
I need to be even more careful!
Wait.
Did I really treat Pie carefully?
Ngh!
Ugh!
H-Has my memory been distorted?!
Who is attacking me with mental attacks?!
“Calm down.”
“Phew… calm down… let's calm down… Ingwang is calming down.”
“Honestly, what am I supposed to do with you?”
The angel noona clicked her tongue, and I finally came back to reality a little.
I had been incredibly nervous and ridiculously excited.
Cool it down.
I need to keep myself so cold that a refreshing breeze blows whenever I'm nearby.
…Hehehe.
At this point, I felt like I could casually brush off all the ridiculous things I had experienced.
“What happened today that made you so excited?”
“A fantasy that had never happened in my entire life occurred.
That is why I was unable to calm myself.”
“That doesn't suit you.”
“Hehe, somehow I ended up making plans with a woman, and before I knew it, I got carried away…”
I told the angel noona about what had happened.
She looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, 'Oh? You?', like an older sister proudly looking at her younger brother.
That made me a little embarrassed.
…But I had gathered an unbelievable amount of courage to make those plans, so I thought I deserved at least that much praise!
Ha!
“You know you shouldn't get too excited like you just did, right?”
“Yes!”
“And you shouldn't get ahead of yourself either.
Of course, that woman does seem to have quite a bit of interest in Adventurer.
But you never know what is going to happen with someone's feelings.”
“…Mm! I'll keep that in mind!”
“You already seem to have a common interest, so all you need is enough conversation skill to keep her from running away in horror!”
“R-Running away in horror…!
I'll be careful!”
“Listen carefully!
The person you're talking to isn't a monster!
She's a human!
A human!
Remember that again and again!”
“Ah, right!
I'll remember!”
“Okay!
Now go down there!
Fighting!”
“Fighting!”
When I opened my eyes again, I was standing in the middle of the dungeon I had visited before logging out.
Since it was a Safe Zone, there were no monsters around.
But I had entered this place in a fit of anger, so I couldn't remember how to get out!
The fact that I had entered here after getting angry following the interview in the Empire had come back to bite me!
What an idiot!
“No!”
My memory was hazy.
I had arrived here after wandering around aimlessly while in a daze, so that made things even worse!
Damn it!
Those damn Empire bastards!
They were interfering with me like this again?
Again?!
Even if I eventually went under them and worked for them, I would definitely crush two of those three bastards who had cornered me.
No matter what it took!
Okay.
Let's calm down first.
Panicking wouldn't help anything.
Even if the sky fell, there would still be a hole to escape through.
Even if you were dragged into a tiger's den, you could survive as long as you kept your head.
But what if the sky fell while I was being dragged away by a tiger?!
Think about it!
This dungeon was a deep underground cave where many natural golems lived.
Even though I had been in a daze, the fact that I had made it this far meant that it wasn't particularly difficult for someone of my level.
It also wasn't very far from the Empire.
I had entered a full two hours before the meeting time, so there was absolutely no reason to rush!
“Hmm.”
When I thought about it that way, this was actually a good thing.
It wouldn't be bad to hunt for a little while and relieve some stress.
This was a sensation I could never experience in reality.
No matter how much more interesting reality became, I couldn't erase this feeling.
But then again…
If I enjoyed killing monsters equipped with fairly advanced AI, what did that mean?
Did I have some hidden desire for destruction that even I didn't know about?
…Nah.
That couldn't be it.
“Uh…”
“…Huh?”
One of the things that surprised World Gate's many users the most was that something was always happening without a moment's rest.
And somehow, none of it seemed particularly forced.
In an open world like this, where NPCs could freely move around on their own, everyone often expressed both admiration and condolences toward the developers, wondering what kind of ability they had used to create such a system.
“Your name is… Happy?”
“…You've mistaken me for someone else.”
A red-haired boy around twelve years old.
He had once been a child who dreamed of becoming a hero while living as a trainee at a training center.
But because of me, he had been infected by Madness.
A poor child who was now missing.
And now that child was standing here perfectly healthy, pretending not to know me while looking directly at me.
“A fanatic…”
Without realizing it, the corners of my mouth stretched toward my ears.
The fanatics were one of the things that annoyed me.
But they were also people whose true nature I couldn't grasp, so I could never figure out what to do next.
Their only connection, Jamani, had also been captured.
He hadn't said a single word since then and kept attempting suicide, apparently making things extremely troublesome.
“…”
I had to capture him.
I definitely had to capture him right now.
But if I captured this guy, it would interfere with the plans I had made for later.
This was an event related to the fanatics.
Nobody knew where something would happen, what would happen, or what result it would eventually create.
Besides, this situation was extremely suspicious.
This place was already famous among NPCs as somewhere where outsiders often stayed for long periods.
There was no reason for a child belonging to the fanatics, who normally never showed himself so easily, to be here.
And if he was here because he was planning something deeper inside, that also made little sense.
The entire dungeon had already been explored all the way to its deepest point.
If he had appeared despite having no reason to be here, there was clearly some other motive behind it.
Those people who looked up to me as Madness would naturally be watching my actions.
Perhaps I was their target.
“…I'll let you go just this once.”
“What?”
I had no skills related to stealth or tracking.
Nor could I think of any particular way to force a confession out of him.
I wasn't stupid enough to charge in recklessly without preparation and without anyone beside me to support me.
This was one of those events commonly seen in manga.
The protagonist finds a clue, secretly investigates deeper without telling anyone, gets caught, and then suffers through all sorts of hardships.
Would I be crazy enough to go through all that?
No.
I hated that kind of thing.
First, I should tell Grandpa Arlo that I had encountered Happy here.
After that, the Empire might end up closing this dungeon.
But for now, I thought this was the wisest choice.
“How have you been?
Have you been eating properly?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You're at an age when you're growing quickly, so don't skip meals.
I've also heard that excessive exercise can interfere with your growth, so be careful about that.
Personally, I think that if you get enough nutrients, anyone who is going to grow will grow naturally.”
I casually said those words to the child before moving on.
I wondered if I had sounded like some old-fashioned nagging adult.
“Aren't you coming with me?”
“Why would I?
Are you giving me something?”
“…I thought you'd obviously follow me.”
Good grief.
That expression was terrifying.
He wasn't frowning or anything.
He was simply staring at me with eyes completely devoid of emotion.
It was the kind of stare often seen in manga, where someone opens their eyes wide and silently stares at another person until they feel a chill.
I had seen that expression in countless forms of media and in all sorts of situations.
I was so familiar with it that I almost felt sorry for him.
Of course, if some unknown organization's member were staring at me like that in reality, I would run away without even looking back.
“I'm a little busy, kid.
By the way, do you ever go to things like reunions with your old training center classmates?”
“I don't know.”
“Okay.
Take care.
I'm leaving.”
I casually waved my hand and left.
Sorry, but don't ask me to focus on the game's setting right now.
My head was already filled with things happening in reality.
I'll hunt some golems, spend some time butchering monsters for the first time in a while, and then go to the café.
I had to remember one thing.
Keep my reason cold.
Keep my hot emotions inside my reason.
I repeatedly reminded myself two or three times not to get excited as easily as I usually did while playing the game.
Let's enjoy the day happily and carefree.
“Are you really just leaving?”
“Yes!”
“Really?”
“…Sorry, but I'm a little busy right now.
It's annoying, so could you stop talking to me?
You should also think about how I feel when I'm asked the same question several times.”
“…Really?”
“Modak.”
You're seriously being annoying.
A few hours later, I heard a rumor that the underground cave had melted away.
But, well…
I didn't think that had anything to do with me.
