When Alto arrived, I showed off the Home Connection to her. She spent a while ducking in and out of the gate, testing the feature for herself.
I was relieved to see that people other than the homeowner could use the gate to travel.
"Heh. So you really can link Homes together, uo... Now I definitely need to buckle down and earn some SP, dao."
"I also confirmed that the connection remains active even if you use Home Stowing and redeploy it somewhere else," I added.
"The gate stayed closed while it was stowed away, ssu," Penpen noted.
Since a player character cannot be inside a Home when it is stowed, there was no risk of someone being trapped in a void.
"Anyway, I’m thinking of scouting out a new town," I said. "What do you guys think?"
"Isn't that fine, uo? I'm currently grinding SP for Home Mastery, but I'll be able to return to Tsudon every day. It won't interfere with my visits to the Adventurer's Guild I'm used to, dao."
"Fast Travel is instantaneous, which is great, but we actually have to make the journey to the new town first."
"Oh, leave that to me, uo! I'm an expert at this, dao!"
Alto did have the achievement of making it all the way to Tsudon, after all.
"But you didn't actually travel there in VR Mode, did you?"
"I was still using Terminal Controls back then, uo. Look at it this way—if the trip gets boring, we can just switch back to Terminal Controls and let Auto Mode handle it, dao."
"Well, I suppose there won't be much danger if we just stick to the main road."
"If any bandits show up, I'll have fun blowing them away, uo!"
"If we find a cute female bandit," I joked, "I wouldn't mind locking her in my Home and keeping her as a pet."
"Uo! I think keeping a cute boy bandit as a pet would be just as good, uo!"
So she was into that sort of thing.
"Then you can keep them at your Home, Alto. I'm sticking to girls."
"Uo-uo-uo! Now I'm even more excited for Home Acquisition, dao! Nika-chan, I’m going to need you to work hard on those SP Requests, uo!"
"I-I'll do my best, Lord Spirit...!"
Nika-chan’s face was twitching. Her SP Requests usually involved the purification of 'Defilement,' which was a grueling task.
"Ah, um, I... I'm okay doing it on my own, you know?" Nika-chan stammered.
"No way! I'm going with you, uo! I won't let Nika-chan be the only one suffering through that bitterness, dao!"
"Lord Spirit...! Thank you, that makes me so happy."
Nika-chan lunged forward and hugged Alto tightly. Meanwhile, Penpen quietly offered the two of them 'calorie bomb' drinks—concoctions loaded with honey and whipped cream.
"Wait, do bandits that cute even exist, ssu?" Penpen asked skeptically. "If they were that good-looking, they wouldn't be bandits, ssu!"
"Hey, cute bandits are a staple in games, uo!" Alto countered.
"Exactly," I agreed. "We'll make the cute bandits beg for their lives and trigger a Guhehe Scenario! Guhehehe."
"Oh right, I forgot this was a game, ssu. Honestly, I can't even tell which side the real bandits are on anymore, ssu."
"Don't worry, we won't do anything unless they attack us, uo."
"Right. We just won't show any mercy to criminals."
Since you’re legally allowed to kill bandits the moment they strike, letting them live was actually an act of kindness on our part.
"If you plan to trample others, you have to be prepared to be trampled yourself, uo. Only those prepared to be shot should pull the trigger, dao!"
"If you put it that way, it means we have to be prepared to be trampled too, ssu," Penpen noted.
"Of course we are, uo! Ah, but won't the Ethics Code be bypassed once we enter a Combat State, uo?"
"Unfortunately, any erotic scenarios would probably just be skipped by the system."
"Then there's no point in losing on purpose to trigger a Loss Event, uo."
Actually, if the scene was skipped, there was a chance we’d just be 'Lost' immediately. It was definitely better not to lose on purpose.
"Wait! I just had a brilliant idea, uo! Penpen, make me a hat, dao!"
"A hat, ssu?"
"One big enough to hide this Halo, uo! The Halo is proof of being Spirit-possessed. If bandits see it, they might be too scared to even come near us, dao."
We were already making a name for ourselves as adventurers. Even if the girls were cute, no bandit would be foolish enough to attack once they spotted the Halo.
"Wait, can a Halo even be hidden with a hat, ssu?" Penpen asked.
"Halos clip through walls and stuff. Maybe a really massive hat would work? Something like a chef's hat, but wider... like wearing a clay pipe on your head."
"That sounds like it would look incredibly unnatural, ssu... Hmmm, maybe a priest style? Or a Great Merchant? If we go for a 'wealthy eccentric' look and pair it with a full outfit, we might be able to make it look intentional, ssu."
Penpen began sketching a design on a piece of paper. It was impressive; she drew a luxurious, priest-style hat that extended high above the head. The accompanying outfit looked like the Ritual Raiment of a Wealthy Priest—it was incredibly gaudy.
It looked like it would be a nightmare to move in, but I supposed it had to be that extreme to make the hat look natural.
"Cosplay sounds fun, uo. Oh, but I want some kind of trick so I can strip it off quickly, dao. It’ll be a pain if the clothes restrict my movement once the fighting starts, uo."
"Is it enough if we just fool them from a distance?"
"Actually, from far away, they might not even look like cute girls, ssu," Penpen pointed out. "Not exactly the best bait for bandits, ssu."
"Wouldn't they be even more tempted to attack a rich merchant, uo?"
"Hmm, making this outfit is going to be quite a hassle, ssu."
Fabric, decorations, the quick-removal gimmick... Penpen had a mountain of work ahead of her.
"Wait. Wouldn't it be easier to just take an Escort Request for a merchant and hide inside their carriage, ssu? I think that’s the simplest solution, ssu!"
"Penpen, you really are a genius."
"If we follow a merchant who knows the way, we won't get lost, uo! That's why we admire you; it’s electrifying, uo!"
Plus, we could complete a quest and earn some pocket change along the way. It really was the perfect plan.
And so, we headed to the Adventurer's Guild to sign up for an Escort Request.