Mahariku-san dropped by Tsudon for a visit.
She was accompanied by Yon and Roku-chan.
Penpen, in her Penpen-chan form, was currently busy with some Crafting enhancements. The rest of us were taking a short break while letting our second characters help out at Penpen's ranch.
I figured I would head over to the guild to pick up some requests in a little while.
"A Home really is something special... If you used this along with Storage to move trade goods, you could probably dismantle the existing economic sphere in no time," Mahariku-san remarked.
"It’s probably best to do that in moderation, because I’d hate for some 'save the world from an economic crisis' mission to pop up, dao," Alto added.
"I suppose you're right."
Mahariku-san shrugged her shoulders with a sigh.
"By the way, I heard you used a Delicious Steak the other day. What kind of effect did it have?"
"I’ve been curious about that too, ssu!" Penpen chimed in.
"Wait, didn't Alto tell you?"
"I didn't say a word, o," Alto replied.
"I see. Well... to be honest, it was a god-tier item!"
"A god-tier item, ssu!?"
I gave a smug little laugh.
"All right, so Tria, what exactly was the effect?" Mahariku-san asked.
"It was unbelievably delicious."
"...And the effect??"
"It was unbelievably delicious."
"Did your Parameters increase or anything?"
"Well... I think my Affection Level went up, maybe?"
That was the thing—in terms of game mechanics, it didn't actually raise any parameters. It was simply an item that was incredibly delicious. In a very literal sense.
"So it really was an Affection Level increase item, ssu."
"What's the point of that? In our group, the Affection Level goes up even if we just leave them alone," Mahariku-san noted.
"Also, I received some meat in the real world."
"Meat? Wait, what do you mean?"
"A Delicious Steak was delivered to my room in the real world as well. I actually ate it, and I experienced the same profound emotion as I did in the game. It was definitely Natural Meat."
"...Huh?"
Mahariku-san tilted her head in confusion.
"Does that mean you won some kind of promotional campaign?"
"I'm not sure. A Natural Meat steak just arrived at my place normally."
"Well, I suppose stories about games running extravagant campaigns aren't exactly unheard of."
"Wait, you get meat in the real world too, ssu!? M-Maybe I should give it a try myself, ssu!"
"Well, you can earn SP through SP Requests, so it might be worth a shot," I suggested.
There was always the possibility it wouldn't arrive if it wasn't part of some specific campaign, though.
"Oh, Penpen. If you're going to eat it, you should do it in a Private Room."
"Eh? Why is that, Tria-shi?"
"Because it’s so good that you’ll feel actual homicidal intent if someone asks you for a single bite."
"...They do say a grudge over food is a terrifying thing, ssu. Understood! I'm going to go eat it now, ssu!"
"You should probably call Gin-chan over too, though," I added.
"Why, ssu?"
"Don't blame me if Gin-chan complains about it later."
"Right... they really do say a grudge over food is a terrifying thing, ssu!!"
With that, Penpen called for Gin-chan and headed toward one of the private rooms.
Eat to your heart's content. Heh-heh-heh.
"Anyway, I’m also starting to get curious about the Reward Pancake," I said.
"If it really is a campaign, there's no guarantee that meat or food will be delivered every single time, you know? I don't think you should waste your resources... though I suppose it’s bad manners to tell someone else how to play," Mahariku-san mused.
"Even if nothing comes, the flavor was blissful enough within the VR world alone. SP Requests keep popping up as I complete them, and I have a bit of a surplus... I’d love to eat it again."
"I see, there are SP Requests... Looking at it that way, they aren't prohibitively expensive. Maybe I'll be able to take one on soon?"
An SP Request that utilized her skill to communicate with plants... I wondered what that would be like. Maybe something like reviving a withered Field or something similar.
"It's not just Penpen; Miti-chan can make things like Plant Nutrient too, so just let me know if you need anything."
"That would be a help. If it’s plant-related, I’d also like to have some Herbicide on hand."
I suppose she was right. It wasn't just about reviving plants; you’d need to clear away weeds too.
"That's right. I can't afford an Erotic Defeat even during an SP Request, so I’ll need to research that thoroughly beforehand."
I certainly didn't want her to end up like Mahariku-san's first second character—the one who triggered an Erotic Skip and resulted in a Character Loss.
"But how exactly do you plan on researching that, o?" Alto asked.
"Well... maybe by having you all undress or get intimate with each other?"
Wait, so she wanted me to strip right here? I really didn't want things to get awkward with Alto—or rather, my colleague. I wouldn't know how to act during work hours. Well, we'd never actually met face-to-face and only talked through chat, but still.
"There’s a limit to physical contact between players, o. An Ethics Filter barrier pops up, so you can't even grope someone, o. You'll see if you try to touch your own chest, o."
"Oh, is that so? ...Oh, you're right. I can't touch it."
"Besides, if you strip, it switches to Auto Mode, o. Which basically means the Erotic Skip kicks in, o."
"I see. In that case... it seems like we can research it more effectively by having the Numbers get involved."
...If you can record a video of that, please, by all means, show it to me!