Another Frontier Online

Diete was waiting on the first floor of the fort.

When Hayat comes, he nods once and touches the floor.Shortly after I wondered what I was doing, the floor slided and a staircase appeared to the basement.

Huh?

"It's called a hidden staircase.The fort itself is the same as before, but this is the last clan war.Come on, follow me. "

Dite went down the stairs.

Hayato decides to be prepared.This is virtual reality in the first place.Whatever happens, there is no problem.I thought so and went down the stairs.

Eyes are solid, even in places where there is no light.Blue inorganic walls persisted, not fortified bricks.It's about three meters high, three meters wide.

Hayato walks behind Dite.Only two footsteps echoed in the hallway.

(It's a wall like the one that comes out of the science fiction.I don't know what the material is, but I think it mimics some kind of synthetic metal.)

There was an atmosphere that I shouldn't talk to, so I walked with that in mind.Approximately 500 meters further, it was a dead end, and there was a sliding door that would appear on the SF again.

"Hayato, this is our destination.There is an AI I want you to meet inside.I'm not nervous. I'm just talking.Come on in. "

Diete tries to push herself into the automatically opened door.But the door is dark and I can't see anything.

Hayato instinctively felt a dangerous atmosphere, but he couldn't come here and turn back, and decided to step in.

As you enter the room, the door closes.

Complete darkness dominated Hayat's surroundings.

"Let's turn on the lights."

I heard a woman's voice in Hayato's ear.Immediately thereafter, the surroundings become brighter.

Unlike any other sci-fi chic place, it was like a shrine with white stone pillars lined up regularly.It's not that wide. I told you it was 30 meters square.

"Thank you for coming, Hayato."

I can't see, but only my voice resonates in this place.

Are you the AI Diete-chan was talking about?

"Yeah, that's right.Thank you for coming so far.And congratulations. You have reached the fifth place in the rankings of Clan Wars in this Answer Frontier Online event.That's a commendable result. "

"Thank you very much. Well, it's mostly because of my friends, not my own strength."

"You're humble. But that's great - well, Hayato.A hundred million yen will be transferred to your account as a prize. "

Hayat gripped his right hand with joy.

Yes, thank you…

Though...

AI stops Hayato's words.

What do you got?It's a little different than the usual way to win, because I did get everyone in the NPC to fight in the clan - no, Dieter?

Hayato imagines the worst.It's not like you can do it in-game.Sometimes it is later said that using NPCs for clan warfare was itself a way of not earning a prize.

Whether it was Hayato's expression or his heart, AI laughed a little.

"Fufu, don't be so nervous.The winnings will undoubtedly be transferred to your account.What I want to say is something else. "

"Something else?

"Yes, the clan is made up of ten people.In other words, a total of one billion yen will be transferred to a clan that has reached fifth place in the Clan War.However, Hayato's clan is all NPC except Hayato.You don't need a real prize. "

"Hah... no, no way..."

"That's not true. Hayato, you deserve a billion dollars."

Hayat lost his mind in the words.Speaking of billions, it is almost impossible for ordinary people to get money no matter how hard they try.You can play and live unless you are so luxurious.

Such a dreamy story suddenly rolled in front of me.No one will be able to think of anything, even Hayato.

Nevertheless, is there such a sweet story?Hayat took a deep breath to calm his mind.I don't know what it means to breathe deeply in virtual reality, but it's an important act for Hayato today.

"Is there a condition?

"That's great. Exactly.We're not adding 900 million for free. "

After all, Hayato thought so, but 100 million is definite in the first place.Being too greedy is also problematic.I was able to calm down a little.

"What should I do?

"Before we do that, let's explain the situation.These virtual reality NPCs are equipped with high-performance AI.And this time, working with Hayato in a clan war had a lot of good results for the AI. "

"Good results?

"The contents are confidential.However, we can say that it has produced innovative results.So he wants to isolate them from the game and research them. "

"... what?

"To put it plainly, he, they will disappear from the game."

"Wait!

Shah and the others?I can't admit it!)

"Mr. Hayato, listen to me first.Of course, even for research purposes, I don't intend to erase without permission the people who have fought with Hayato.So I want Hayato to choose. "

Choose?

"Yes, I will transfer 100 million from this game to Hayato's account instead of erasing his presence.If you say erase them all, it's an extra 900 million.How about a bad deal? "

"No, thank you.Nobody's going to turn it off. "

I refused to put it in my hair immediately.Hayato refused without showing any reason to think.

"... Hayato-san, did you think about it?This is virtual reality.I'm sure we'll never see each other again, but it's just data.

"It doesn't matter what the data is."

"Did you really think about it?One day, this virtual reality will also come to an end.Even if it is not made up of billing, it can end with a simple matter.We're just talking about whether it's too soon or too late to see each other.It will be hard not to see the NPCs, but instead you get 100 million dollars per person in real life.Think about it carefully... "

"I don't have to think about it.It is true that 100 million dollars per person is attractive, but every day I spent with everyone in the past six months was worth more than that.And it's going to be worth more.It's too cheap for about 100 million people. "

Hayat is well aware of what he is saying.I know it's rational, but emotions can't accept it.

We've been together for the last six months.I can't stand to disappear from this game, even if I'm not a real person.If the game is over, I can still give up.But I couldn't create the opportunity to lose sight of my people with my own hands.

"... wonderful"

AI gave me emotional words.

"Hayato, you are truly wonderful.I've been paying attention to you for a long time, but I can't believe you're not even looking lost. [M]It means there was no madness in my eyes. "

(Hayato-kun...?And the tone...?No way, this AI...)

"You noticed that face, right?Hayato, I forgot to act on your answer. [M]Well, it doesn't matter. "

Dite appeared in front of Hayato.Wearing the usual monk clothes, she smiles at her mouth.

"I'm sorry I tried.Hayato finally confirmed what you think. "

"What the hell are you..."

"Let me introduce myself again.Originally, I didn't have a name, but now it's called Aphrodite.Dite took it from there. "

"Aphrodite?"

"Well, I don't care what your name is, and it doesn't seem to be an introduction to yourself, so let me explain it properly.I am the AI that manages this game, Analyzer Frontier Online.All the settings are done by myself. "

"Alone....?

"Exactly. Hayato thinks this game is run with a lot of people involved, but that's not it.I'm doing it all by myself.Didn't I tell you the game doesn't depend on billing?That's because I'm doing it alone.They don't pay developers, they don't need in-game maintenance. "

Hayato doesn't know much about the program, but he still knows a little about it.From that knowledge, it is impossible.Is it possible for AI to do that in the first place, and it all means one person.

"That's stupid. Even if that were true and the labor costs were zero, would it be necessary to maintain them?In such a virtual reality, the performance and capacity of the server would be considerable.That maintenance cost alone should be worth a fortune. "

"That's true.But that's okay.You can get all the energy you need.That said, there are limits.Well, that's fine, I don't want to talk about it. "

Diete smiles.

"Hayato. Don't you want to forget reality and live in this world?If you want it, I'll make it happen. "

Diete's face remains unchanged.But I thought Hayato turned that smile into something very creepy.