Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 22

Nanami

The alarm sound was ringing.

She slowly opened her eyes and took off the headset from her head.  Several strands of her hair were stuck on the headset. It felt a bit  hurt because they got forcefully pulled.

A nurse called out to her.

「How is it, the virtual world?」

The female nurse briskly did her work while talking to the long haired delicate girl Wakamiya Nanami.

But the nurse’s words seemed practiced.

Around them there were other patients taking off headset from their head just like Nanami.

「It was……really great.」

The nurse smiled wryly.

Nanami’s reply slightly bothered her.

The reason was because the hospital purchased VR machines to help  patient venting out their stress, but none of the patients was satisfied  by the software that the hospital prepared.

Someone among the patients knew about Pandora’s Box Garden and  demanded it to be installed into the VR machine. It led to other  patients asking one after another for Pandora’s Box Garden too.

「Originally the hospital management want the patients to play the  game we prepared though. I heard that the game is for the comeback of a  major game maker company. But as expected it can’t win.」

The players in Pandora’s Box Garden numbered tens of millions.

It was also being constantly updated with improvement and far cheaper than the game that the hospital prepared.

Nanami was about to talk, but a young boy at the adjacent bed was making a ruckus.

「I want to play more. Please!」

The nurse calmed him down.

「You can’t. Besides, you can only login two hours per day. And the VR  machine’s reservation has been decided beforehand. Someone else will  use it.」

The nurse was doing her best to rebuke the selfish boy, but the boy was serious.

「……I’m just waiting for my death anyway. My body also feels hurt  here, so why do I have to stay in real world. I want to stay in the  world there!」

He felt no pain when he was in the virtual world. He could also move his body freely.

The stark difference between the two worlds made the boy looked like he was going to burst into tears.

The nurse immediately led that boy out from the VR machine room.

Nanami also got moved on a wheelchair and pushed out to her own room.

On the way she passed a place that had a television installed and heard the news.

『About the popular online game “Pandora’s Box Garden”, there’s a  movement among the users that is demanding for the login restriction to  be loosened.』

A man’s voice continued after the woman’s voice.

But the nurse kept pushing her wheelchair so the voice was getting farther away.

『It’s mainly to help people like hospital patients isn’t it?  Especially those with no prospect of getting better. Anyone will find it  hard to simply wait for death――』

『On the other hand, that will also take away their time to be with family――』

The nurse sped up her pushing speed.

It seemed she didn’t want Nanami to hear the news’ content.

「Nanami-chan, have you washed your hand?」

Nanami nodded a little.

「Yes. I had done it before entering the game.」

The patients had finished their business first, like going to toilet  and so on before starting the game. That was the hospital’s rule.

When they arrived to her room, the nurse lifted Nanami on her bed and briskly made her comfortable before leaving.

The window was opened, so wind was blowing into the room.

Nanami touched her hair.

「I need to cut it soon before the surgery.」

She would need to cut her hair before the surgery.

She understood the necessity, but the reality of the situation was a bit too harsh for a thirteen years old girl like her.

She touched her forehead with the back of her hand and felt that she was slightly sweaty.

「……It was fun.」

For Nanami, the two days inside the game were a great adventure.

She found a strong orc, an elf hunter, and a human who loved to have fun to be her comrades.

She was able to have a lot of fun during the two days thanks to those three.

「I already can’t wait for the next time.」

The boring time felt like it was dragging really long while she was on her bed.

The fulfilling time inside the game felt like it passed in just an instant.

And then the boy’s words flashed in her head.

「That world is better huh.」

Nanami too could understand the boy’s feeling.

She couldn’t see and also couldn’t move her legs because of the accident.

She also felt scared when she imagined the failure of her surgery.

That was why when she saw that quest, she instinctually felt that if  she successfully finished the quest, it would become her lucky charm  that would surely saved her too.

No, that might be her wish.

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.

.

Ichinose Maya was looking up various information through the PC in her home.

Anyone who knew the usual Maya would think that she was browsing for international news.

However what she was browsing for right now was game guide.

She was doing such thing which was unlike her because she had  promised to help Nanako. And yet it would be in vain if she didn’t know  anything.

「Uu~, I don’t want to bother Ponsuke for this. I also don’t want Mariela to make fun of me.」

Based from her investigation, the quest seemed simple on paper.

In the quest, player had to get the recipe from an old woman in the  Capital of Hope who wanted to create the secret medicine, and then they  needed to gather the ingredients.

But, perhaps because the medicine’s name contained the word hope just  like the name of the capital, the ingredients were located at various  places all over the world.

A farmhouse in a small village.

A herb growing inside a forest.

Water from a particular lake.

……The required ingredients were extremely many.

「To think it’s this troublesome. And yet the reward is just a chump change.」

There was no doubt that it was an unpopular quest.

Even though it took a lot of time, the resulting item wasn’t anything  great and the reward was also small. This was a quest that absolutely  couldn’t be taken when efficiency was considered.

「I guess the problem is the travel time? Even if we rent a cart, there are also places that are beyond the reach of cart……」

She glanced at the clock and made an anxious expression.

She immediately left the PC and stripped to change clothes.

「No good. I spent too much time!」

Maya prepared to go to school in a hurry. Like this she felt more like a normal high school girl instead of a lady.

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.

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21:10.

The university students who should be in charge of the next shift  still hadn’t come to the Supermarket Mild even at such time. Akito was  currently in charge of the cash register.

Yakumo kept sending glances to the clock. Sometimes she also let out a long sigh.

「Those two got even sloppier recently. They aren’t taking their work seriously.」

When he looked at the calendar this month, certainly Akito didn’t recall any day where those two came right on time.

Akito wondered about the irritated full-time employee at the back office while asking Yakumo.

「If I remember right, those two were in the same shift with senpai before, right? Were they often late even since then?」

Yakumo crossed her arms. It pushed up her large breasts.

He immediately averted his gaze. But it seemed Yakumo noticed.

One of her eyebrows twitched, but it seemed she didn’t get angry at Akito.

「I was in the same shift with one of them. But, at that time he would  be late only once for every several months at best. That was already  considered as being late often but, it wasn’t as bad as now.」

It seemed that their lateness had gotten horrible recently.

Akito recalled how the fulltime employee also said that those two had  become too relaxed since they started their university life.

Then a phone ring could be heard from the back office.

Yakumo grimaced.

「I can’t believe it. Are they absent? If we have to stay here until the next shift too――」

She thought that the sudden call in this timing meant that they would  have stay for overtime but, the two university students arrived when it  was fourteen past nine.

「’Sup」

「Yakumo-chan, you look cute too today. Go out with me.」

The two appeared with lighthearted mood. It made Yakumo looked back toward the back office.

One of the university students became curious and asked Akito about the situation.

「Did something happen?」

「No, the phone rang just now, so we thought that you two senpais are going to be absent……」

Then the female employee came out from the back office with an irritated look. She glared at the university student duo.

「Change clothes right away and tend to the store!」

「Y-yes!」

「Sorry that we’re lateee」

The two went to the back. The female employee sighed and looked at Akito and Yakumo apologetically.

Seeing her expression made even Akito guessed it somehow.

(Ah, this――)

His guess was on the mark. The female employee had a request for the two of them.

「I’m sorry you two. Actually, the two girls whose shift should be at  Sunday suddenly called and said that they can’t come. Can you two  substitute for them? I know that it’s your day off.」

It wasn’t a change of shift, but request for working at day off.

Yakumo massaged her temple, and then she slightly looked down.

「It’s for the morning shift right?」

The female employee nodded.

「Yes. I gave them that shift because they said they can handle it. It  will be from seven until nine o’clock. Please, can you two do it?」

Of all things they would have to come working at their day off, and furthermore it would be for the longer shift.

Akito could do it but, having to work at seven o’clock was still troubling.

Yakumo thought for a while before she nodded.

「I understand. I’ll do it.」

It was only Akito left after she agreed like that. If he said here  that he couldn’t do it, the fulltime employee at that shift would have  to cover for the hole that was left――.

(Sunday, it will be Kurita-san won’t it? That’s going to be troublesome for senpai.)

Akito also agreed after he recalled who was the fulltime employee who would be here at that time.

「……I’m also alright.」

(I’m going to have to change the login time for Sunday. I need to tell the others too.)

*

In the virtual world.

At the plaza of the Capital of Hope.

「Ee!? Both of you won’t be able to login at Sunday!?」

The one who was overreacting with her surprise like that was Alfie who heard what Ponsuke and Mariela had to asy.

Nanako was also listening at her side. Her tail was limping down in dejection.

Ponsuke scratched his head.

「No, I have this sudden business.」

Mariela also shrugged with a displeased look.

「I need to go work even though it’s my day off. I myself don’t want to do it, but it’ll be bad if no one do it.」

Alfie who was still a student and didn’t do part-time work couldn’t say anything back when the topic of work came up.

Alfie was an elite who could do anything, but that lack of experience in actual workplace was a source of small complex for her.

(I can’t say anything back if she say that. Well, RL is also important, so I can’t speak selfishly here.)

But Ponsuke dispelled Alfie’s misunderstanding.

「Aa, I’ll still login. But not from five to seven, but from four to six. That’s why we’ll be together for one day.」

Mariela said What a coincidence when she heard what Ponsuke said.

「I can also login at that time. That’s why we all will be together for our second day.」

Nanako looked happy.

「Is that so? That’s great. But, in that case Alfie-san can also just  login at the same time. I’ll need to think how to spend time by myself  for one day.」

Nanako’s reply made Alfie puzzled.

「How about you also login at the same time Nanako-chan? We can be together with that.」

However Nanako only smiled a bit sadly.

「I’m sorry. My hospital use reservation system. I don’t think it’ll  be easy to change my schedule. That’s why, please don’t mind me you  three.」

Hearing that made Alfie thought.

(……This is)

She turned her gaze to Ponsuke and Mariela. The two of them were looking at Alfie with expectation in their eyes.

(They’re telling me to accompany her! Well, I’m fine with that. But for some reason I can’t completely accept it.)

Alfie set aside things like how she couldn’t forgive Mariela for  looking so smug or she also wanted to be with Ponsuke. She ignored those  trivial feelings and declared to Nanako.

「Then this Alfie shall play together with Nanako-chan!」

「Eh?」

Nanako was surprised. Alfie put her hand on her chin.

「I know a lot about tourist attractions and good place to play  despite how I look. Even one whole day will feel not enough if I get  serious about having fun. I’ll show you around Nanako-chan.」

Mariela retorted at Alfie.

「No, from your appearance you’re clearly someone who love to play around okay?」

Alfie ignored that retort and promised Nanako.

「That’s why, you’ll be together with this Alfie for the second day.」

Nanako replied with a radiant smile.

「Yes!」

Ponsuke smiled seeing that.

「Then, let’s do our best leveling up today. Alfie said that you two  are going to have fun tomorrow, so we should work a bit harder for  today.」

Mariela also agreed.

「Nice. I also want to buy cooking ingredients, so I wanted to make  money starting from now. Let’s go get a quest. One that give a lot of  money.」

Alfie took a step back when she heard that.

「Wait a second. We spent two days too last time for leveling up.  Let’s go have fun somewhere today or tomorrow. Right now an area that  reenacted past attractions is popular! I want to have fun before  summer!」

There was an area that reproduced attractions that existed in the past, like amusement park. It was becoming popular.

「Hahaha, we don’t have any time for that! We’ll focus on leveling up right now to clear Nanako-chan’s quest!」

Ponsuke rejected Alfie’s suggestion with a smile. Nanako replied to him.

「I, I’ll, do my best!」

「Good answer. Then, let’s go out after eating breakfast. Riku――Rook told me about this shop with delicious pancake.」

Mariela also followed Ponsuke with light footsteps.

「Now you got my attention.」

Nanako also followed behind the large Ponsuke like a baby chick.

「Pancake? Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten it recently.」

Alfie also started walking to follow the three.

「Horrible! What’s with the difference in treatment between Nanako-chan and me? I’m protesting!」

Alfie said that as she chased behind them, but her face was bursting into a wide smile as she imagined the pancake.

「Ice cream! I demand ice cream topping for my pancake!」

Today too the four were playing the game with laid-back attitude.

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