Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 95

Anri

At a model agency.

A girl who received a summon was feeling irritated inside a cramped room.

[Kurihara Anri] was a high school model. She had dyed her hair with pink blond color and put highlight on it.

She hated her black eyes and wore a green colored contact lens.

Limbs with pretty skin stretched out from under her half-sleeved shirt and short skirt.

She was also tall for a girl and she paid attention to her body shape, so her waist was thin and her style was well balanced.

She also thought of her own appearance as cute, which was to be expected from a model.

(Annoying. Why do I have to go through something like this? Why do I――)

There was a weekly magazine placed on top of the table.

The agency’s staff was asking question to Anri.

「Kurihara-san, I think you already understand but this kind of  article is giving us a bad reputation. Your image will be harmed if  there is this kind of rumor while you’re aiming to enter the show  business.」

His tone implied that he was more concerned with the agency’s image rather than Anri’s own reputation.

Anri’s name was starting to spread through weekly magazines and  internet news, but then suddenly there was a false rumor that she was  doing prostitution in the VR game Pandora.

Anri’s tone grew louder.

「I’m not doing anything like that. How many times I need to tell you  that before you get it! I’m never playing any game, and I’ve finally  come this far when this kind of article suddenly show up……this is just a  fake news.」

The article wrote that the photo that was taken inside Pandora was Anri no matter how they looked at it.

The game avatar had different hair and eye color, but something like that could be modified easily inside game.

And most of all, when the avatar’s body figure was checked using a  pointlessly excellent device, it was found out that the avatar’s  proportion was exactly the same with the actual person.

The article was writing that it was unthinkable that the avatar was just someone else copying Anri.

The agency was troubled that there was an article writing that a high  school model who was starting to get popular was playing around out  there.

The glasses wearing man let out a small sigh.

「To be honest, this also cannot be called as not a crime. After all  what this person is doing is prostitution using illegally modified  data.」

Virtual world.

It was a world that had no demerit at all and so selling body there  wasn’t regulated by law. In the first place, the technology for that  kind of thing didn’t exist until Pandora came out.

At best it was just an act that violated Pandora’s internal rule.

「Don’t talk like I’m the one doing this kind of thing! Why do I――」

The agency staff spoke coldly to Anri.

「I had told you before that you should keep your nose clean if you  plan to aim higher right? It doesn’t matter whether it’s actually you or  someone else. It’s a problem that society is thinking of you in that  kind of lens.」

Anri picked the weekly magazine in front of her and tore it apart on the spot.

The agency staff just watched her silently.

Anri ran out of breath and sat back down with her head hanging down. Then the man opened his mouth.

「Kurihara-san……you should, take a vacation for a bit.」

Anri couldn’t lift up her face.

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At the agency’s corridor.

A model who was her junior walked toward her.

She became a model several months after her, but she was popular and even Anri was wary of her.

The junior had a tidier image than Anri. She approached Anri and laughed.

「Senpai, I have heard. What a disaster for you~」

She was marketing herself as a calm and innocent character, but in actuality she was a scheming person.

(This woman!)

「You learned things pretty quickly. Could it be, you’re the one who did it?」

The junior behaved innocently which was clearly an act.

She pressed her index finger on her lips and her gaze was staring up at particularly nothing.

Her gesture, expression, and tone were rubbing Anri the wrong way.

「I don’t know what are you talking about senpai~. But……I guess this is the end for you senpai.」

Anri glared at the smirking girl.

「You-!」

「This is a good thing you know~. Because, wth senpai gone, I’ll be  the one who will get the agency’s backing next~. Ah, are you perhaps  angry? But, do you have any proof that I’ve done anything~」

The rivalry in this industry was fierce.

Something like this often happened, not just to her.

But, the junior before her was too wicked.

「You, sold my physical data?」

The smirking junior didn’t answer, but model had to hand over their  physical data to the agency they belonged to for the sake of health  management and figure maintenance.

The agency should be keeping the data under strict control.

The junior walked away from Anri.

「A woman like you still has it better for having the chance to dream  for a little while. We will never meet again but, please keep doing your  best from here on too, senpai.」

The junior chuckled while walking away. Anri clenched her fist as strongly as she could seeing that.

「……Unforgivable. I’ll find it. I’ll absolutely find the proof!」

Anri’s eyes still hadn’t given up.

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Inside the school’s classroom, Akito and Riku were talking with each other after school.

The two of them would go to their part-time work after this, but they  were spending their little remaining time until then having some silly  talk.

The topic was the going on in Pandora.

And also topic like how bad the reputation of Akito’s guild was.

「Your guild has entered the list of shoddy guilds you know?」

「……That’s, not an official list right?」

「You guys went wild at the Capital of Diligence after all. Even the  information broker said that the punishment would be heavier if only you  aren’t acquaintance.」

Akito held his head in his hands. Riku laughed.

He started packing up his things to leave the school.

「More importantly, it’s a bit shocking huh.」

Akito had an idea of what Riku was talking about.

It was about the rising star model who got article written about her in internet and magazines.

The articles about a newcomer doing prostitution kept appearing  everyday. The commentators were all speaking up that the problem of VR  society was starting to enter the reality.

(Well, that model looks like someone who like to play around though.)

Anyone would think that model was definitely fooling around out there when they looked at her.

That was why, the society’s opinion was 「As expected」 in regard to the news.

No matter how much the model and her agency said that it wasn’t her,  three were various evidences lined up. There wasn’t any definitive  evidence, but the case looked like a grey color that was endlessly close  to being black.

Before this the boys were looking forward for more of the model in the future with how often she dressed in risqué outfit.

And then they got hit with big shock when learning that the idol they  were rooting for had done something like fooling around all over the  places instead of just something small like having boyfriend.

「Even though she might get even more popular if only not for this.」

Akito also picked up his bag and walked out of the classroom.

「Yeah. More importantly, you’ll be able to login from tomorrow right?  I don’t care what you do, just come to the Capital of Sincerity  quickly.」

Riku counted on him like that, but Akito thought.

(As expected it’ll be impossible with just several days.)

Riku sighed.

「It’ll be enough if you have two months right? That will just take one week IRL.」

Akito smiled wryly.

(It feels like he’s using Pandora’s standard more now. Well, perhaps  it can’t be helped with how we’re spending longer over there.)

Akito was questioning whether their senses were getting out of whack,  but he wasn’t feeling worried because the adults were taking care of  it.

◇

At Pandora――the Capital of Hope.

Inaho was pushing Lily’s back to head toward the sightseeing area.

「Lily-san, let’s play a lot today! It’s day off! We have four days of holiday!」

Lily smiled wryly while looking at Inaho’s happy face.

「Japanese people are too serious. Even though their efficiency won’t improve even if they persevere too much.」

The impatient Inaho had high tension because they were logging in  after so long and that they got holidays where they had no quota.

But the way, this was her third day inside Pandora after logging in.

The first two days were used to work hard fulfilling Lighter’s demonic quota.

「Even so, it has been a long time since we come to the Capital of Hope.」

Lily agreed with Inaho’s words.

「True. Even though this place was the base of my activity not long ago――」

The two arrived at the sightseeing area like that, but there they  found a player who was getting bothered by sightseeing area’s players  just like Inaho before.

The player was tall for a girl.

She was wearing a hooded jacket that covered her face. It wasn’t an  appearance of someone enjoying the game. And yet she also didn’t feel  like a player of the sightseeing area.

「Haa? Anri’s avatar?」

「Oi, don’t ask about illegal data so boldly like that.」

「This guy, she’s surely a middle-aged uncle inside.」

The player who was keeping her hands in her pockets made a move at the players who were agitating her.

However, her hand couldn’t reach the players because a warning screen appeared.

「Uwaa~」

Inaho was surprised by the sightseeing area’s players and also the player in hoodie.

「Shut up! Just tell me what you know!」

The sightseeing area players clicked their tongue.

「You think we know, idiot!」

「Someone like Anri is just a finished model. Everyone is also switching their avatar from her.」

「In the first place, she wasn’t even that famous.」

The players spat out those words and left. The player who asked them stomped her foot on the ground to vent out her anger.

Lily was laughing.

「She’s really angry there. Inaho, are you going to help her?」

Lily saw Inaho had taken a step forward to call out to the player.

「Y-yes! I myself got helped out by Lily-san and Ponsuke-san, so this is the time when I have to repay the favor!」

Ponsuke too had told her to help other player in trouble if she  wanted to repay the favor. Inaho called out to the female avatar.

「U-umm!」

But, the expression of the player when she turned around was clearly not amicable.

In addition her voice sounded threatening.

「Aa?」

Inaho became cowardly seeing the player’s attitude. Then Lily  approached her from behind as she was getting cold feet and backed her  up.

「Can we bother you for a bit? This girl said that she want to listen to your situation.」

Inaho whose rabbit ears were lying flat on her head nodded up and down energetically while trembling fiercely.

The player took off her hood.

She had green eyes and hair that was tied into twintail――it had pretty pink color. However her hair was like bird’s feathers.

「Ah, a bird girl.」

The player was irritated hearing what Inaho said.

「Whatever. I chose this only because it looked good. More  importantly, do you two know about a celebrity named Kurihara Anri? You  know right?」

Lily shrugged at the player’s high-handed attitude, but Inaho tilted her head.

「Kurihara……Anri? Who’s that? Lily-san, do you know?」

Lily was also confused.

「Look here, Inaho. Do you think I’ll know when even you don’t know?」

The player seemed irritated by the two’s attitude and kicked  something nearby. However, it was an immutable object that it was the  player who felt pain.

「Aa, geez! Just what’s with this place!」

Inaho and Lily decided to call for help after seeing the player feeling infuriated.

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It was a restaurant with nice atmosphere.

However it was only the atmosphere that was good. The taste wasn’t good.

It seemed the restaurant had a setting of the owner being a salaryman  who quit his job and used his severance payment to open a restaurant  even though it was a bit outside his mean, but no customer came visiting  because the good appearance wasn’t accompanied by good substance too.

The player, [Anri] was eating voraciously in such restaurant with Ponsuke’s money.

Ponsuke wanted to cry a little after he heard Anri’s story.

(She had been wandering aimlessly for two whole days in the Capital  of Hope……check out the tutorial or the manual a little beforehand.)

It seemed that she was searching for someone and went around asking people for information.

However, things didn’t go well for her no matter who she asked.

Inaho was eating a hamburger (also paid by Ponsuke).

「Lily-san, the hamburger is a miss.」

Lily was also eating wine and cheese with Ponsuke’s money.

「My, what a coincidence. Mine is also really iffy. It made me  impressed instead that the game is reproducing something this iffy.」

Ponsuke thought.

(No, it’s alright. They doesn’t cost that much anyway. Even so, this person really is a big eater.)

Anri was ordering meat dishes like steak and the like one after another and devoured them all.

Ponsuke’s wallet wouldn’t be harmed just from that much but, her appetite impressed him.

It also half looked like she was doing stress eating because of all her irritations.

「Err, in other words, you don’t know when this person is logging in,  and you also don’t know which world they are in? It’ll be impossible to  search for someone like that.」

From what Ponsuke heard, it seemed that Anri was searching for the rumored Anri avatar.

(She has female avatar but, is she perhaps a male inside? I wonder why is she searching for that someone?)

But the problem was Anri.

Ponsuke’s eyes were accurately measuring Anri’s bust size, waist, and hip.

Anri looked exactly the same like the Anri in the news herself.  Perhaps such physical information could be gathered from internet, but  this was still too accurate for comfort.

Anri finished eating the meats and crossed her legs while her hand reached toward potato chips and juice.

「I don’t know anything about that. I bought the game device and software and I finally could login at this time period.」

Her effort was fighting against heavy odds.

(It really shows just how much she isn’t interested with game.)

The girl before him didn’t seem to know things that even a sightseeing area player would know.

In fact, she must be genuinely disinterested with the game.

「You will get suspected if you’re saying something like searching for  Kurihara Anri. That person is often in the news right now, and what’s  more, you know……you will get misunderstood.」

Ponsuke was being reserved because Inaho and Lily were also present, but Anri was brazen.

「I’ll beat up the shitty bastard who’s doing business with my body! I  won’t get satisfied unless I do that. I’ll also ask them about their  connection with that bitch while I’m at it.」

It was great that she was highly spirited but, Ponsuke covered his face with his hands.

(This person……she’s the actual Anri herself.)

He could just ignore this but, Ponsuke got the feeling that this  would become something serious if he didn’t do something about it.

「Err, how about you learn some things like manner or rule for now? As expected……umm……you’ll get doxxed at this rate.」

Anri tilted her head.

「Why should I? Or rather doxxed? Eh, could it be you’re a stalker?」

She looked like she didn’t get it at all.

Lily whispered into Inaho’s ear.

「Hey, is this girl like that? Is she an idiot?」

「Lily-san, you shouldn’t say something like that!」

Anri got offended by the two’s remarks. Ponsuke then immediately  spent several hours right there telling her about manner in virtual  world.

Anri finally understood about the danger of getting doxxed only at the last moment of the several hours of preaching.

「Eh? You mean like social media, that kind of thing?」

「Well, it’s something similar. Please don’t say anything strange, because other might find out your identity from that.」

「Haa!? How can I get found out just from that kind of talk!」

Ponsuke thought.

(Ah, this person……she’s an idiot.)

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