Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 69

Trap

Two weeks passed since the fact about the new reactor was discovered.

Akito’s part-time workplace, Mild was shiny from all the Christmas decorations.

Even when he walked through the city, there wasn’t any atmosphere of a world that had just overcome a grave danger.

Rather the real world was busy to prepare for the coming Christmas.

Akito checked a box of cake that had just gotten delivered.

「There’s nothing wrong with the delivery. I was worried because  recently there had been a lot of blunders, but looks like it’s alright.」

The store was receiving an order for Christams cake, but he was  feeling uneasy because recently there had been ordering mistake or  delivery mistake happening frequently.

But, for two weeks since Pandora’s Box Garden was offline temporarily.

His feeling of discomfort was gradually vanishing.

The time was 9 PM.

The two university students came right in time. They were also helping with putting the cakes into refrigerator.

But, they looked listless.

「Pandora is offline even though we also don’t even have any lover to  spend Christmas together with. Even though I planned to challenge the  lovers inside the game into duel if I get to spend Christmas alone.」

Akito was smiling wryly at the dangerous things his senior was saying while continuing his work.

The other senior asked Akito about his plan.

「Come to think of it, you have work shift at the Christmas Eve too huh? So you are also our comrade.」

Akito’s gaze wavered when his senior looked at him with a gentle expression.

Fortunately he didn’t notice Akito’s wavering gaze.

(I can’t tell him that I actually have a plan.)

Originally he planned to take a break when it was Christmas Eve, but  he had taken a day off from both school and work after saving the world  from danger.

The backlash from that was great. Akito now had to work even during Christmas Eve.

But there was also a good thing that happened to him.

That was his relationship with Yakumo.

「We have finished with our parts so we’ll take our leave. Senpai, we’ll leave the rest to you.」

Yakumo entered the back office and the two university students went to the front.

「Good work. Naruse, don’t feel depressed. Let’s get a girlfriend next year.」

Yakumo saw off the two who were going out while laughing and shrugged. She was exasperated, but her expression was kind.

「Good grief, boys at this period are all like that.」

Yakumo took off her green apron.

Akito thought.

(It feels like, their atmosphere has returned. Like before they  started playing the game……perhaps they’re even better than then.)

The university student duo had stopped coming late.

Yakumo was kinder and easier to get along than before.

He still had a lot of worries, but Akito finally felt like the world  was moving to a better direction since the new reactor incident.

Yakumo confirmed with Akito.

「Naru――Akito, you haven’t forgotten about the plan at the Eve right?」

Yakumo and Maya said that they wanted to apologize to him about the  offline gathering at 24 December, so they made a plan for the three of  them to go out together during that day.

They would go see a movie after the part-time work, that was all.

Perhaps they would also have dinner together, but there was no doubt that he wouldn’t spend a lonely Eve.

「I remember senpai.」

Yakumo made a complicated expression at Akito’s words.

「What?」

「It feels strange hearing you using polite language. Even though it made me irritated if you spoke casually at me before this.」

「As expected I’ll hold back from using casual speech with my senior. But, senpai was actually irritated with me before huh.」

Akito made a shocked expression. It flustered Yakumo and she tried to  justify herself 「Before! It’s just something from before!」.

She looked cute like that, so he told her that he was just joking. She got angry after that.

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On their way home.

The two’s breath turned white when it left their mouth. Meanwhile they were talking about these two weeks.

Yakumo seemed curious about the information broker.

「He now often appeared in internet news but, that information broker  is really mysterious. Even though he was an unknown until just now, he  actually had connection with opposition Diet member.」

The information broker had suddenly become famous through the new  reactor incident. After that he assumed the position as the president of  Pandora’s operating company.

Most of the company’s management had also gotten swept aside due to the scandal that got exposed recently.

The new management was effectively taking over Pandora.

「I was also surprised. But, it’s great that we managed to stop the reactor.」

It also made him happy thinking that what he had done had meaning.

Yakumo looked dissatisfied.

「……You’re overdoing yourself. That time too, you overdid it and almost became crazy.」

Orc’s Berserk skill went out of control and turned him more ferocious  than expected. He lost control from that. It was a necessary thing to  do but, thinking back about it now, Akito himself acknowledged that it  was really dangerous that time.

「That was because I never even imagined that something like that could happen.」

Akito made a troubled smile. Yakumo moved to the next topic.

「……Did you hear, that Pandora will start operating again soon?」

Akito nodded.

The information broker had contacted him once to say thank you.

They didn’t meet directly but, he remembered that the information  broker seemed to be really busy. He could hear the voices of many people  in a hurry across the phone.

「Apparently it’s true.」

Some magazines questioned the operating company for resuming service with such abnormal speed.

After all it would happen next month. The service would resume after just one month.

But, the players who looked forward to Pandora resuming again were  overwhelmingly in the majority, so that kind of doubt didn’t garner any  interest.

Yakumo too seemed to be concerned about that.

「The government is using game as tool to brainwash the populace……it’s like something that come out from manga.」

Akito also held the same opinion like Yakumo.

「It’s great that matter could be solved without problem too.」

There were a lot of suspicious factors but, things were getting vague  with the death of the prime minister who was in charge of the scheme.  The people involved were arrested and the investigation was also still  ongoing, but the facts that got found out in these two weeks about that  matter were few.

The two were walking through the street that was prettily illuminated by Christmas decorations.

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Lighter……Hiiragi Jun was reading a document in his study.

The document was related to the material that should be used for the new reactor. It was also the cause for his son’s death.

Apparently he came into contact with it when he went to the  underground colony in a field trip of his elementary school. That was  the cause of his incurable illness.

「……Those moon bastards」

He narrowed his eyes and threw the document on the table. Then he looked outside the window.

The moon looked pretty outside, but he felt infuriated when he thought how the fellows who killed his son were there.

Apparently the experiment was also being carried out all over the world. The victims weren’t many, but it also weren’t few.

The whole world was now harboring strong displeasure toward the moon.

But, there was also other concerning thing.

Jun’s gaze returned to the document.

「Where in the world this information came from……」

Apparently it was the truth that the objective of the new reactor was  the annihilation of earthlings. But, if it was a fact, that meant there  was an organization that managed to obtain such information faster than  the government――a country.

Akito……Ponsuke was apparently involved with the incident too, but the  game was currently not operating. He wasn’t in a situation where he  could go ask him.

「Did he introduce himself as information broker inside the game? I wish I can talk with him.」

Then he heard a ringtone from his phone.

He saw the caller’s name and it was Maya’s father――his friend.

「That guy is calling me at this time? That’s unusual.」

It was late at night already. He picked up his smartphone while  wondering what could it be about. It turned out that his friend was  apparently drunk. It wasn’t to a degree that he wasn’t in control of  himself, even so Jun understood that his friend was borrowing the power  of alcohol to discuss something with him.

「What’s wrong?」

『……My daughter said that she’s going to spend the Christmas Eve with her friend. It’s surely a man.』

Jun thought that this guy was troublesome.

(She’s at that age already so her meeting one man or two……hah!)

But, he remembered something here.

Inside the game Maya would act with a behavior that seemed to be her  real personality. Jun was thinking that Alfie was an existence that came  from Maya’s usually repressed true personality bursting out.

He had also heard about the disaster that was the offline gathering.

He had also learned that Ponsuke was a man.

(She’s surely going to spend the night with Ponsuke-kun. In that  case……can I talk with him at that time? No, before that, perhaps  Maya-chan will miss her chance for marriage if she let Ponsuke-kun get  away.)

Jun imagined that even if Maya married through getting introduced to  someone, it might only become a sham marriage and she wouldn’t be able  to live a happy life.

「Isn’t it fine? You already have a heir anyway, and Maya-chan doesn’t have any fiancée.」

But, such reasoning wouldn’t work with a father who had a daughter.

『Are you saying that it’s fine even if my adorable Maya got soiled by a stray dog!』

Rather than a stray dog, it was an orc so more accurately it would be  a pig maybe? Jun was thinking like that while waiting for his friend to  calm down. Then he spoke again.

「You’ll also get hated if you’re too controlling.」

『T-that’s……but』

This man was awkward, but it seemed to be a fact that he loved his daughter.

Although, he must not knew that it must made Maya felt constrained.

「Let her to experience romance once or twice.」

(Rather, if she miss this chance then it’s unsure whether she’ll be  able to find someone who she can show her true self to or not.)

Jun too didn’t know Ponsuke in real world but, he knew about his  character. Unlike with normal game, a person’s true character could be  glimpsed at in VR.

Their relationship inside the game wasn’t something that formed from across screen, so he thought that it would be fine.

Besides, Ponsuke hadn’t run away even after Maya shown him her true  self. For Jun he was appropriate to be sacrifi――Maya’s lover.

His friend sounded dissatisfied. Jun sighed.

「I get it. I’ll also try talking to her. She will rebel less if I’m the one saying it rather than you.」

『I’m thankful. That’s right. Recently it feels like there is this, distance between me and her.』

Jun had to listen to his friend’s feeling toward his daughter who was  at that age for a long time. When the call ended, he contacted Maya  next.

「Ah, Maya-chan? Actually about the Christmas Eve……do you need to reserve a hotel room? Actually I know this convenient hotel.」

『Please do!』

Jun finished his conversation with Maya and ended the call.

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The next day at school.

The classroom should be in a giddy atmosphere because winter break  and Christmas were just right around the corner, but the students’ gazes  were focused on a single spot.

The reason was Maya who was bringing a pamphlet and talking a lot with Akito.

「Err, about the movie theater, it’s a bit far but how about going  here? The sitting space here is spacious and it also has a table so  we’ll be able to relax there.」

Maya was talking with a smile. Akito was also perplexed seeing her like this.

Maya’s atmosphere had changed since the incident.

(It’s a good thing but, as expected everyone around isn’t used to it.)

The transformation of Maya who had been a cool president character  until now made the boys and girls unable to keep up. But, if it was  asked whether the change caused her reputation to become worse, that  also wasn’t the case.

「The president has really changed.」

「She’s brighter now.」

「Well, it’s better than being hard to approach……but, isn’t she too close with Naruse?」

Maya was picking the movie theater that they would reserve for the Christmas Eve.

At that day they wouldn’t watch the latest movie, but a masterpiece from the past.

「That’s fine but, it’s a bit far.」

Akito was concerned about the train schedule.

Looking at the time for the movie, even if it ended in two hours,  they would need to hurry to the station after that to make it in time  for the last train.

「The equipments there are great and the station is also close by so  it’ll be fine. Over here is a hotel but it can also be used even if you  don’t spend the night there. There’s also restaurant there so it’s  convenient.」

Maya said that there was no need to worry about the money, but as  expected Ponsuke too couldn’t possibly let Maya paid for everything.

(It’s a bit expensive but we’re splitting the cost so I guess it’s fine.)

Akito considered Maya and Yakumo as his friends.

They were acquainted through game, so he considered them as comrades who enjoyed Pandora together.

He wouldn’t say that he held no ulterior motive at all.

However, he didn’t want to bring in that kind of feeling to this relationship.

It could be said that his sincerity came out because of his immaturity.

「I understand. I’ll tell senpai too.」

Maya nodded with a smile.

「I’ll leave that to you.」

Maya returned to her seat. Then Riku who had been keeping quiet until then brought his face closer to Akito.

His face was serious. He represented the feeling of all the boys.

「Oi, since when you got that friendly with her?」

「No, that’s……」

Riku asked the question that their classmates――especially the boy were curious about.

「Don’t tell me, you’re planning to do that at Christmas Eve?」

The other classmates were listening attentively. Who knew what would happen to him if he answered carelessly here.

「It looks like you’re misunderstanding so I’ll tell you, I’m not  going to the movie with president alone. There will be others too.」

Riku looked disinterested.

「What, that’s boring.」

「……Riku, recently you’re often getting into contact with someone happily right?」

Here Akito fired back. He knew that recently Riku often exchanged messages with someone happily.

He had also guessed that the other person was female.

Riku’s gaze wandered. Boys gathered around him and dragged him away.

「I thought that you’re our comrade, but it seems that you’re a traitor.」

「Take him away. It’s interrogation time behind the school.」

「W-wait! No. This isn’t like what you guys think!」

Akito saw off Riku getting dragged away with a laugh, then he took out his smartphone.

Christmas would come soon.

But, there was one thing that he was bothered about.

(Eh? It feels like places like hotel are going to get busy during Christmas, will we be able to use the movie theater there?)

Well, if it was no good then they could just go to a normal movie  theater. Akito thought like that and stopped thinking any further.

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