Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 61

Offline Gathering

At the station.

Akito checked the location of the restaurant where they made the  booking using his smartphone. He then looked at the time and confirmed  that he still had time.

Mariela and Alfie had also messaged him that they would arrive not long after.

「It’s a bit early but let’s head to the restaurant.」

Then an announcement played at the station.

The announcement said that the train that Akito should be riding on would be late because of an accident.

「Thank god I left early.」

He paid attention to his appearance more than usual and felt the  beating of his heart getting faster while getting out of the station and  headed toward the restaurant.

The restaurant [Fantasy] was a family restaurant.

At the Pandora’s Box Garden, it was widely known as a restaurant that  operated for 24 hours. It became a news when it also opened in the real  world, but after that the second and third branch immediately opened  and even now the number kept increasing.

Partly it was because it was offering service that made it easier for  Pandora players to use it. It made it convenient for use like offline  gathering.

There were also partitions between tables, and the restaurant would  create name tag when reserving a table for offline gathering.

It was said that the restaurant’s rapid expansion was because of such conveniences.

But――.

(But still, even though it haven’t opened for that long)

――A strange sense of discomfort assaulted Akito.

The frequency of this discomfort was increasing lately. He had also  talked about it to Riku who was his friend both at online and offline.  But, he only got laughed and told 「You’re overthinking it」.

He understood that it wasn’t strange for the restaurant to be popular  considering how big Pandora’s player population had increased.

At present even Akito’s party was going to use it.

「Err, it’s here huh.」

He arrived at the destination while thinking of such thing. The  signboard that he was familiar with at the virtual world was standing  out. But, the people here were real world people.

He couldn’t shake off the discomfort of seeing people not wearing  equipments like in the game were being here in this restaurant.

「Welcome. Are you by yourself?」

A waitress with cute smile called out to him.

(Even the uniform is the same.)

Akito felt the strong fixation even while telling the waitress that he had reservation.

Then the waitress gave him the numbered tag and name tag that the  restaurant had prepared. Akito carried the laminated papers while  receiving the explanation about where the seating was.

「It’s at the right side near the window. There’s a number on the  table, so please make sure it’s the right one before calling for me.  Please don’t get mixed up with the other table.」

It seemed that there were a lot of people who made such mistake.

(Got to be careful.)

「Thank you very much.」

The waitress was older than him no matter how he looked. He thanked  her and walked inside the restaurant. Although there were partitions,  each table wasn’t completely isolated so he could see at other offline  gatherings.

There was a table with the people around it wearing name tag. The atmosphere there was awkward.

He glanced at the name tags. The names there were all girl names. But the people wearing it were all male.

He could hear their whispered conversation as he passed through.

「A man. Marin-chan is actually a man」

「Kirarara is a man……I can’t believe in anything anymore」

「Even though I joined the party because I heard it’s exclusive for female player」

「Everyone is just man hoping for lucky encounter, this is just too much」

(Perhaps they thought that at least one of them would be really a girl?)

An offline gathering at another table was having a lively and fun talk.

「Kiyohiko-san, you used your real name? You’re even more handsome than in the game.」

「No, it was my first time actually playing game. Besides, when I  first started I had only tried the sample a little before starting.」

The lively table had three males and three females. They were conversing with excitement.

(Aa~, I’m so nervous.)

Akito looked at his numbered tag.

It had the number nine on it. He could see the table with the same number on it nearby. The pounding of his heart became harder.

(Soon. Soon Mariela and Alfie are……wha-!?)

But, the person who entered Akito’s eyes was Yakumo.

He could sense that there was someone else there, but the partition was blocking the sight.

(Why is senpai here……is it a coincidence?)

He hurriedly averted his gaze and looked at the neighboring table.

(No wayyyyy!!)

Akito almost screamed. He covered his own mouth just before his voice  could escape and looked carefully at the table beside Yakumo.

There he saw two brawny men sitting.

The two males were folding their arms with their eyes closed while waiting quietly.

One of them was wearing a long sleeved shirt with black color. Akito  felt like he had seen his face from somewhere, but he had a gruff  appearance that gave him the impression of wildness.

He felt like a martial artist from somewhere.

The way he was simply sitting quietly there made the other guests who  passed him by to be startled and take a second look at him.

The other male had short hair.

This person felt more rigid rather than wild……no, it was like he was a  soldier. He had the atmosphere of an elite soldier whose job was to  embark into the enemy base alone and suppress it.

Both had impressive intensity to them.

Furthermore the person who looked like soldier was wearing a white sweater.

His body was big and his muscles were well trained.

The two of them were radiating pressure to the surrounding just from sitting quietly there.

(This is just too unexpected. To think that those two are actually……)

Gender didn’t matter.

He just wanted to try meeting the two of them.

Then, the monitor inside the restaurant broadcasted the news about the incident that got announced in the station just now.

(Ah, an accident at the crossing. And there is nobody injured.)

He felt strangely relieved and returned his gaze to the table. There  the two men went 「What!?」 and stood up while staring hard at the  monitor.

The surrounding customers were startled by the men’s reaction.

(There’s no denying it. No doubt about it.)

The two took out their smartphone and talked with each other while  looking like they were trying to send a message. Akito’s smartphone  rang.

『I heard there was an accident. Are you alright?』

There were mails from the worried Alfie and Mariela.

Akito gasped.

(I’m judging someone else based on their appearance again……it doesn’t  matter what kind of appearance the two of them have. They are the  friends who are worrying for me. I came here today so we can be friends  even at RL.)

He was sent reeling because what he saw was too unexpected, but Akito took a deep breath and sent a mail back.

『I’m inside the restaurant already.』

He could hear ringtones from nearby after he sent the message.

Akito waved his hand toward the two men who were talking while standing.

But, when the two men looked at Akito’s face――.

「Hm?」

「Who are you?」

――They said that while tilting their head. Then they immediately turned their gaze to their smartphone.

「I hope he’s alright.」

「He’ll be a bit late but apparently he’s fine.」

The two continued talking. They were relieved because the person they  were waiting for would be able to arrive safely and the sat back on  their chair.

「……Wrong people?」

Akito was also surprised by this.

「Eh? H-huh? But, they’re wearing black and white――」

He checked the table’s number again in surprise and saw that the two men’s table had the number 10.

Then there was a girl’s familiar voice.

「――No way」

Akito gasped and turned his gaze from the table to the neighboring table.

There was Yakumo standing up while looking at Akito in a daze.

Her expression was in disbelief.

Maya who appeared from behind the partition dropped the smartphone she was holding on the floor. She was expressionless.

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『The day for the operation of the new electricity reactor is approaching. The test run will begin before long.』

『It is being constructed in the location of the underground colony in  the past, but the problems that it had before this have been resolved  by the help of the moon engineers――』

『It’s said that it will produce very clean energy that can support  the whole mankind’s energy need without problem. Influential people from  various countries will also――』

『Speaking of underground colony, the server of the VR machine that  became hot topic recently is also placed there. Even now it’s giving  great contribution to our life――』

(……So awkward.)

The sound from the nearby monitor entered the ear really clearly.

That was just how quiet the table where Akito was meeting Mariela and Alfie was.

But, the people who he met were his acquaintances.

Mariela’s true identity was [Shikata Yakumo] ――his reliable senior at his part-time workplace.

Alfie……[Ichinose Maya] was the class president in Akito’s classroom.

He knew the two of them from his daily life.

(Is something like this possible? Because, there are tens of millions of people playing Pandora you know?)

He accidentally encountered people whose sphere of activity was close  to him inside the vast virtual world. He remembered how he was also  surprised when knowing that the three of them were living not too far  with each other when talking about holding this offline gathering.

But, he never even dreamed that they were actually his acquaintances.

Akito forced himself to smile and tried to start a conversation.

「Still this is a surprise. Both senpai and president don’t look like  people who play game. C-coincidence is really scary isn’t it?」

But, Maya only said.

「True.」

……That was all. Then she closed her mouth completely.

Akito felt a sense of danger from seeing the two’s atmosphere.

(This is bad. This is real bad. It feels like the two are feeling  「Haa, what a waste getting all excited like that」. Don’t tell me, the  party is going to dissolve after this? Isn’t this a meeting that we  absolutely should never have then?)

The players who he met were of female gender.

They were girl and also pretty. A part of him was happy from that  but, the two of them were people who he was acquainted with in real  life.

Now there was a risk their relationship in the virtual world would break too because of this offline gathering.

People also kept coming at the next table.

First there was a man who was wearing a coat and a suit. He had the  atmosphere like an outlaw. His body was also well trained like the first  two and he was wearing sunglasses. Scary.

The next one who came was a woman wearing a suit. She gave off the  impression like a capable person. She felt like a really cold person  which would make anyone hesitate to talk to her.

Then another woman wearing suit appeared and sat down. There was a slight chemical scent from her.

Akito was getting curious about the offline gathering over there but,  even after that another tall man in suit arrived. This one felt like  harsh person.

And then another woman in suit appeared.

She seemed well trained.

(Don’t escape from reality. Focus your mind me! This isn’t just about  game, your real life relationships are also on the line here!)

Akito admonished himself and after that he kept talking the two to do something about the atmosphere.

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Yakumo was feeling really concerned.

(This girl, he called her president……she’s her classmate?)

She was also surprised by the fact that Akito was Ponsuke. But,  thinking back now, there were several times during their conversation  that made sense now.

Sometimes she could also see Ponsuke from Akito.

She felt happy that Akito was trying to open up a conversation. No, she also felt conflicted.

(Or rather, speak about this kind of thing more clearly. If only you  did that, there wouldn’t be any need for this kind of offline  gathering……)

She glanced at the side, where Maya was incidentally also glancing at her warily.

Her long brown hair was silky and tied in half up hairstyle. She was also giving off the atmosphere of a well off young lady.

(Who will ever think that selfish Alfie is actually this high spec!)

She was also curious about Akito being Ponsuke, but right now she was  more curious about what kind of relationship Akito had with the  existence called Maya in real life.

She opened her mouth to ask.

「U-umm――」

「E-err――」

Her voice overlapped with Maya. Both of them glared at each other.  They couldn’t start conversation again because their timing clashed.

(Back off you.)

She silently glared. Maya was also glaring back at her.

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(You back off!)

Maya looked at the glaring Yakumo.

Red hair with short bob style.

It was clear from her lean body that she was exercising.

In addition there was her chest.

Even Maya wasn’t small. Her breasts right now had grown to be as big  as her game avatar whose chest measurement she had set to be slightly  bigger when she just started playing.

But, those big breasts with their great shape.

And the beautiful face that was obvious to see even by the same gender.

(What the hell! If there is this kind of……this kind of senpai at your  part-time work, you’ll normally get attracted to her won’t you!)

Girls often said that men were simple creature.

In fact, Maya was thinking that Akito was also simple. That was  exactly why she understood what would happen if there was a pretty  senior working together closely with that Akito in his part-time work.

She also noticed how she had easy-going personality from her atmosphere.

She was a type that was popular even among the same gender.

Both of them had recognized who the other was since the moment they  saw each other. They were practically beginner when it came to game. The  setting of their avatar was also using their own data with only some  aspects getting a little fiddled.

Their face, body figure……both were similar with their game avatar, or rather they looked exactly the same.

Maya thought that Mariela was only setting her avatar to have the  ideal body type within the game, but even in real life Mariela――Yakumo  was charming enough.

(This is unfair. They work at the same place, as a pair, and what’s more as senpai-kouhai!)

Akito being Ponsuke was also a problem.

She was happy to meet him. She was happy, but the problem was how she had been behaving until now.

What did she say when explaining about Ponsuke at Akito? How did she  act when explaining about Ponsuke when she was asking Akito for advice?

It felt like her face was going to burn.

She wanted to scream and roll on the ground right here.

If there was a hole then she wanted to enter it.

(But no. I can’t act strange while this girl is here……but, I had  shown him my strange side both in virtual and real life. You should say  more clearly that you’re Ponsuke!)

She could also understand why Akito never said anything about that but, she couldn’t help but blaming him in this place.

A complicated feeling was dominating Maya’s mind.

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The offline gathering had just begun.

An awkward atmosphere was enveloping the three.

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