"....Ssu...."
"Welcome back, Penpen. You're back, I see."
"Ah... I'm home-ssu."
When we returned from completing Mahariku-san's SP Request, Penpen had already logged back in.
Her expression was one of pure ecstasy.
I could tell immediately—the steak must have arrived.
"So, how was it? The real-world steak."
"....I thought reality had stopped being real-ssu."
"Exactly!!!"
Yes, the meat eaten inside the game is delivered to the real world with the exact same flavor and texture. And now, the group was divided: those who had eaten it, and those who hadn't.
"Was that... actually reality-ssu?"
"It's reality."
"....Reality, huh. By the way, I ordered two-ssu."
"Wait... you ordered two?"
"Two of them arrived, perfectly-ssu."
Wh-what...?!
Mahariku-san's eyes widened at this new revelation.
"Heh. So... that means you won the campaign twice."
"No, isn't it possible they might just arrive normally, campaign or not-dao?"
"....I wonder if it’s a first-come, first-served situation," Mahariku mused.
"In that case, we need to hurry up with our Home Acquisition so we can eat some steak too-o!"
Yeah, I was with Alto on that. Personally, I just prayed this wasn't some limited-time offer but a permanent feature.
After all, there hadn't been any public notice about it...
If it were a first-come service, it wouldn't be strange for the developers to announce it as such. But even if you look at the official website, there’s nothing but those incomprehensible videos. Well, there was an Inquiry Form, at least.
"Since the official site hasn't said a word, I’m going to believe this is a permanent thing...!"
"But such high-end meat is clearly more expensive than the price of this game," Mahariku pointed out. "They won't be able to turn a profit if they keep this up indefinitely."
"Isn't it a bit late to worry about the budget?" I asked.
"If anything, it makes me want to shout, 'Let us make In-game Purchases!'-o!"
It would be a disaster if the developers went bankrupt and the game disappeared. But honestly, given that the technology itself is already impossibly advanced, worrying about their business model felt like a moot point.
"I haven't spent a dime since the initial purchase, so is it really okay for me to get such amazing meat-ssu...? I almost reached for the second piece immediately-ssu."
"Are you saving that second steak for later-o?"
"Ah... I really shouldn't, but I’m going to resell it to help pay off my debts-ssu."
"....If the source of the meat gets out, people might swarm this game just for the food," Mahariku said. "I wonder if that would actually make it more popular. I suppose that would count as a successful campaign in its own way."
"Even so, they'd normally be deep in the red-o. People who start just for the meat will quit if they don't get any... Oh, wait, it’s a one-time purchase, so maybe it doesn’t matter-dao?"
Well, we were here for the VR.
There was absolutely no other game where you could experience ultra-realistic full-dive VR from a mobile terminal. No, seriously—it was magic. Since it couldn't be explained by any science I knew, I was content to just call it all magic.
"I wonder what the management is thinking..."
"Ooh... maybe they have a massive income from somewhere else-o? Like, maybe they're having players test new technology inside the game, and the rewards are their way of paying us back-dao?"
"Ah, that’s actually plausible."
"A massive income from somewhere else? I don't recall performing any such tests..."
Mahariku-san suddenly fell silent, her expression turning pensive.
"....New technology, huh. Certainly, now that you mention it, the fact that no play log remains on my VR terminal is indeed a 'new technology.' I wonder if it’s a test for some kind of security-hacking technique."
"Maybe there's a security hole that existing security software can't find, and they're using it to extract information-dao? That's scary-o."
"....No trace of access to the database remains, either. I play from the employee dormitory, and it's physically impossible for data to pass through our high-level security without a single reaction."
To use the dormitory network to access the outside world, you had to physically pass through a dedicated server. Yet, she claimed that absolutely no logs related to the VR existed.
To put it in perspective: it was like cutting a garden hose in half, shoving a solid wooden board between the severed ends, and yet somehow, the water still flowed perfectly into the other side.
When you looked at the board, there were no holes. Not even a trace of moisture. It was that level of nonsense.
"....Maybe I should quit this game while I still can."
"If you do that, what will happen to Ichi-chan and the others-o?"
"Actually, Roku-chan over there has already gone completely pale just hearing you say that."
"Gah! That’s playing dirty!! I can't quit now, and you know it! Demon! Devil! Chihiro!"
Yeah, there was no quitting this game. The characters felt far too much like they were truly alive.
Also, who the hell was Chihiro?