"Well, I’m going to go wash up-o."
"Have a good one," I said, seeing Alto off.
I had already paid the shower fee for Alto at the inn. It was only natural. Otherwise, it would just be a free-for-all for anyone bringing people in. This was a fairly high-quality inn with private rooms and showers. This game was surprisingly thorough with that kind of flavor detail.
...
Wait a minute.
Right now, I was sitting on a hard bed in an inn, waiting for a girl to finish her shower. She seemed to be washing with incredible vigor, judging by the loud thumping and banging sounds coming from the bathroom.
No, I needed to calm down. Alto might be a cute girl on the outside, but on the inside, she was just a colleague. I had to settle my heart. Be cool, be cool. Besides, I hadn't brought her here for that kind of purpose anyway.
...I might as well organize my items.
I spent some time sorting through my Inventory until Alto finally emerged, having finished her shower.
...Wow, the glossy sheen of her hair had actually increased.
"Dammit! Cutting the bath scene is just too much-o!"
"Eh?"
"Hmm? Well, whatever-o. Your turn next, Tria-chan."
"Ah, right."
Now it was my turn.
...Wait! Hold on, I was Tria-chan right now! Was it really okay for me to take a shower like this?! If I undressed... well, I’d be completely naked!
...But I really did want to wash up. I’d worked up a sweat hunting Lizardmen. Right? Yeah. Okay, h-here goes nothing!
The moment I reached out to strip off my clothes, my vision whited out.
Ah, I felt so refreshed.
There was no mistaking it; I had the distinct sensation of having washed my body and wiped myself down. I felt clean. Sniff, sniff. My armpits didn't smell either. Sniff, sniff. Phew.
When I stepped out of the shower room, Alto was already sitting on the bed, waiting for me.
"Dammit! Cutting the bath scene is way too much!!"
"O?"
"Wait, what?"
The terms 'Ethics Filter' or 'Child Safe' didn't take long to come to mind.
"Wait a second. Colleague, was I in the shower for a long time?"
"About five minutes-o. It sounded like a real commotion in there-o."
"It only felt like five seconds to me."
"More like our consciousness was skipped-o?"
Just as I thought. There was no way that only took five minutes. Even including my internal struggle before undressing, it should have been thirty seconds, maybe a minute at most.
"Well, considering this is a VR experience where we can even smell things despite not having a cybernetic connection... I suppose a skip in consciousness shouldn't be surprising at this point-o."
"Too true. I mean... I’m still just using my mobile terminal, you know?"
"Right-o. VR without even wearing a Head-Mounted Display... No, yeah. I was in such a hurry that I forgot you didn't have one and told you to come over quickly-o?"
"Man, as an engineer, I really don't want to admit this... Can 'technological prowess' really explain all this?"
Doing all this with just a mobile terminal? Impossible. Physically impossible—or it should have been. Yet, here it was, actually happening.
Was this a dream? I pinched my cheek. ...It didn't hurt much, but I remembered we were inside a game.
"No, wait. The tactile feedback is incredible. I can clearly feel the sensation of touching my own cheek."
"Ah. Come to think of it, it's been way too long since I walked on my own two feet-o."
"Aren't you a bit of a shut-in? Oh, wait, you're in the service industry. My bad."
"It’s fine-o, don't worry about it. My mistake earlier-o."
It was a grueling job, after all.
Anyway, that aside. After smell and touch... if sight and hearing were given... could it be that taste was also included?
I was starting to feel the urge to visit the Guild Cafeteria. Suddenly, I felt a small tug on my clothes.
"O-o. Hey, Tria-chan?"
"Hmm? What is it, Alto?"
"...Can I touch your chest for a second?"
"!? Y-you! What the hell are you saying?!"
"N-no-o! Not in a perverted way-o! It’s just to test what level the safety settings are at! I have no choice-o!"
"Oh. Is that it? Fine, I get it. Go ahead."
"Wait, now I’m getting nervous-o! My heart is pounding-o! Kyah!"
I puffed out my chest and offered it—thump. Alto's hand stopped about a centimeter away, pressing against an invisible, transparent wall.
"Even for a cutting board, this is ridiculous-o. It’s like a literal wall-o!"
"It really is a wall. So this is the wall of the Ethics Filter."
"Gunuuu. What about my own—gah! No!! Even my own are off-limits-o?! Even though they're such boards-o?!"
Alto tried to grope her own chest, only to be blocked by the clanking of an invisible barrier.
The Ethics Filter was a terrifying thing... ah.
"Hey, Alto. I just realized something."
"What is it-o?"
"If we raise our levels, don't you think an option to disable the filter might show up?"
Exactly. This VR-like functionality had only just been unlocked at Level 30. If that was the case, while I didn't know what level it would take, there was a chance that the Ethics Filter would eventually be removed, and a more... adult world would be declassified!
"That’s it-o!!!! Tria, you’re a genius-o!"
"Ah, but even if that kind of thing gets unlocked, I'm not doing it with you. Absolutely not."
"I’d rather not have things get awkward at work, so that's a given-o. It would be way too embarrassing-o."
The way she said that made it sound like she had experience, Colleague.
"...By the way, Penpen mentioned she was almost sold to the Red-light District, right?"
"...!! Which means it exists-o! A Red-light District!"
"Which means, in a place like that... perhaps!"
"There's nothing we can't do if we try-o!! ...Wait, Tria. We’re both girls-o. Can girls even go and play at a place like that here-o? There are shops for that in the real world, though-o."
That would definitely require investigation.
"I don't know where the district is, so I'll ask Penpen... or rather, the merchant who's lending her money."
"Right-o! We’ll have Penpen guide us-o! I wonder if our gear is ready yet-o?"
"Not sure, but let's go meet up with her for now. ...And we can grab a meal at the Guild Cafeteria while we're at it."
"Food! I want meat-o, meat! Wait!? Could taste be replicated too-o? But we haven't even done a Taste Calibration-o? ...Did they just pull the data from our brains without permission-o?"
"Verification! Let's verify! We'll worry about the security issues later. For now, let's eat until we burst!"
"Roger that-o!! Long live verification!"
We dashed out of the inn and headed straight for the Guild.