City Series:Volume8a Chapter2
Chapter 2: Popcorn[edit]
Welcome back!
Straight from DT Prison’s cathedral, it’s time for “Ma’am! It’s the Oracle Message Board!” with Racter Nosrup Txt, member of the 13 Demigods and American with a bad Kansai accent!
Today’s topic is the same thing that brought us the Son of God: infidelity.
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.”
(Matthew 1:18-20)
Comments:
- It’s about my wife -Wants To Be Anonymous
I’m a 29-year-old office worker in the north district.
We married 300 years ago as coworkers, but our relationship appears to have cooled lately.
We used to always go home together, but our quitting times are different now and it seems like she’s found another guy. But I’ve always been a timid person and I hear she went to the nationals in high school girls’ boxing when she lived in the outside world, so what am I supposed to do? I’m still traumatized from the time she knocked me out with a blow to the temple, so-
07/06/2000 DT 01:13 PM (-25:47)
Help Text[edit]
The History and Concept of DT
Today in 2002, DT is a virtual space surrounded by a wide-area modification barrier, but during the start of the 20th century, DT was developed as an industrial city and prospered as a major producer for the military during World War Two.
At the time, an auto-ramming ship loaded with a Word Bomb was being secretly constructed in DT. Work was coordinated with the West Coast and it was meant to be an unmanned and electronically-controlled ship, but a mistake in the Word Bomb’s detonator caused it to explode. That created the modification barrier that gave us the DT we now know.
Afterwards, many countries worked to study DT, but ultimately, Switzerland purchased DT’s management rights from the United States to give it permanent neutral status.
From there, the Live engineers known as the Three Sages gained a greater understanding of DT, but most of the people rescued from the city left and it became a deserted and abandoned city.
In order to find their own successors, the Three Sages selected 12 Live engineering researchers and electronic company elites and got to work modifying DT.
Before those 12 arrived, DT appeared as the city it was before World War Two except surrounded by the bluish-white wall of the modification barrier. Their first act was to use that wall as a screen to display an image of the sky. They also reformatted the OS then. DT was originally created from the auto-ramming ship’s control OS, but it was replaced by a new OS based on the foundational Lives of cities from around the world.
But after that, the failure of the 1St Godtact Experiment erased the Three Sages from existence and the 12 chosen people plus one ordinary person were made into Demigods by the godtact.
After the 1st Godtact Experiment, those 13 named themselves successors to the Three Sages, worked to remake DT, created the foundation of the current city, and gave the modification barrier high-power transport functionality. That made it so the north, south, east, and west ends of DT loop back on each other.
After DT was badly damaged in the failure of the 2nd Godtact Experiment, the city was remade to have a peaceful medieval theme. It has been said this was to reduce the mental strain of seeing the difference in development speed between the outside world and DT, where time moves 100x faster. Since the change, DT’s productivity has dropped, but far fewer people have asked to leave.
The dynasty has decided this is because the people understand they live in a different world.
Today in 2002, the only connections to the outside world are the Yard’s visitor lobby, the external link lines, and Babel since it links to the ley lines. DT is nearly closed off to the outside world, but it also remains closely connected to it, using its excellent industry to wow that outside world.
Algo’s Board Mode: Inside the White Castle[edit]
<Algo’s Over Reload>
You are in the Top Level Hall, a Top Page of the Central Administrative Building, White Castle, South Amusement Park.
The current time is 1:13 PM.
You have just climbed the stairs from the hidden passage below.
The only thing in the 30yd room is red carpet and four windows each on the south and north walls.
Five old-style NPC Bodies are in the room. One is Alternative Kobayashi Asb. She is using a cartoony old-style NPC Body as a terminal for her Mind Lives.
Her old-style NPC Body is seated on your left shoulder. Her rank is Michael-class.
The other four are set to anonymous.
Algo: “Hi. I see you all have your NPC Bodies ready.”
Anon1: “We are the Quartet. If one of us ready, all of us are ready.”
Anon2: “Yes, and we are also used to living in secret.”
Anon3: “So what do you want?”
Anon4: “I-is it finally time for Master Suedomsa to a-awaken?”
Algo: “Yes, I managed to get everything ready in the 50 years since I arrived. And I believe I understand the truth behind the mysteries of the city’s past 2000 years – both the 2nd Godtact Experiment and the Memory Hazard.”
Algo: “Not to mention the bible-based wish built into this city to summon god.”
Alternative: <It took so long.>
<Algo’s Over Reload>
There are four windows on the southern stone wall in front of you. The windows are open.
An old-style NPC Body stands in front of each window. The light shining in through the windows obscures their features.
The first on the right is a tall, skinny black man dressed as a butler. He is Anon1. His rank is Raphael-class.
The second from the right is a woman in a white dress. She is Anon2. Her rank is Gabriel-class.
The third from the right is a man in Japanese clothing carrying a long staff. He is Anon3. His rank is Uriel-class.
The fourth from the right is a large man. He is Anon4. His rank is Uriel-class.
Algo: “Master Suedomsa should awaken tonight. The restoration was a success.”
Anon2: “That is good to hear. There is no preventing him from Ashing from his Words Warn tomorrow at 3PM, but I was worried his memories wouldn’t be restored in time.”
Algo: “Just as you claimed, his memory loss was artificial in nature. The process was different from the people who lost their memories from the 2nd Godtact Experiment explosion. Someone had placed a hidden seal over his memories.”
Anon3: “I had a feeling it was something we wouldn’t be able to remove.”
Anon1: “Indeed. I believe Master Algo saved us when he invited us to assist him 50 years ago. The security prevents us from interfering with an individual, so we cannot even tell anyone we have been erased from their memories.”
Algo: “A lot happened since then, but I never imagined I would be the one to do it in the end. Weird that it takes an illegal intruder like me to illegally break through that hidden seal.”
Anon1: “The legal process for entering the city would alter your properties, making it quite impossible. I cannot thank you enough for restoring Master Suedomsa’s memories and removing the security restricting our own actions.”
Anon1: “Now we can ensure the decisions of the past can continue into the future when the Day of the Oracle arrives tomorrow.”
<Algo’s Over Reload>
The four by the windows sigh. In relief, it would seem.
Algo: “Don’t relax quite yet. The real challenge is yet to come.”
Algo: “Alternative, I’m talking about healing your Words Warn.”
Alternative: <So you really are going to continue it all, aren’t you?>
Algo: “Yes, the time has come to continue the battle to determine whether this city is a place of truths or falsehoods after it lost its form in the Word Bomb explosion and lost its memories in the godtact experiments.”
Alternative: <And provide a continuation for the father and sister I forgot so long ago.>
Algo: “Those words sound sad, Alternative. What kind of expression do you have right now?”
<Algo’s Board Mode has ended>
Algo’s Sight Mode: Inside the White Castle[edit]
<Algo’s Over Reload>
Algo raised his head as if waking up and viewed the Sight Mode around him.
“I still can’t get used to this lag when switching modes.”
He faced forward.
He was in a stone hall with a tall ceiling.
The windows behind the four NPC Bodies provided a view of the amusement park’s lake and of Babel.
The windows on the opposite, northern wall provided a view of the amusement park entrance and the city of DT beyond that.
This was the top floor of the White Castle, an attraction at the center of the amusement park that doubled as the administrative building.
“Now, then,” said Algo with a glance to Alternative on his shoulder.
The small, cartoony girl had her long black hair falling along the back of her white dress.
The white clothing was so bright it seemed to be emitting its own light, but her gaze was cloudy. She looked worriedly downwards with her back toward the ceiling of the dimly-lit hall.
She opened her mouth, but no voice came out. A window popped up instead.
<Will you find an answer to all this tomorrow?>
Algo began his response with a nod.
“I will, no matter what that answer might be. I’ve set things up to ensure it.”
<Set things up how?>
“The Son of God used a few processes to accomplish the same thing 2000 years ago in the outside world. When he and his disciples fulfilled the prophecies, it was no coincidence – they had set it up that way.”
Alternative nodded in response. “I see,” she mouthed.
<He defined himself as a god to live in the age of the word tower, he rejected the demons Beelzebub and Satan, and he was betrayed and killed after prophesying his own resurrection.>
“Yes, that all happened 2000 years ago in the outside world. And it happened 2000 years ago in DT as well. During the godtact experiment based on the ley line overload that occurred in Germania during World War Two.”
He suddenly looked right and willed a detailed look at the view out of the southern windows there.
<Algo’s Over Zoom: Full Sight Open>
Something like a giant wall rose into the blue sky above the southern mountain range.
It was in fact a word tower piercing the sky and it was named Babel.
“In the Bible, that tower of destiny was destroyed by god.”
After viewing the massive tower, Algo turned around to look north. His heels audibly dug into the carpet as he turned.
Alternative could not keep up with the movement and had to cling to his shoulder.
He smiled a little when he noticed. He raised his left hand and propped her up so she wouldn’t fall off.
The left hand emerging from his white robe’s sleeve was a prosthetic. It was made of artificial materials, but it grasped her light body with great care.
He continued turning and, just before facing north, they both spoke as one.
I won’t let you hold me.
After their Text rang out, emblem symbols appeared on the back of Algo’s hands.
The emblem was a transparent white and it depicted a long nail surrounded by a box.
The same emblem symbol appeared in white light behind Alternative’s head.
Algo clenched his right fist and spoke another Text.
I will find the answer.
Someday, surely.
Once he was done, Alternative mouthed the same words.
And…
<Algo: ASB Word Race Special Ability: Limiter Off: Activating High-Speed Movement Resistance>
<Alternative: ASB Word Race Special Ability: Limiter Off: Activating High-Speed Movement Resistance>
<Grandload: Running Joint Load Emblem: Sudden Strike: Preparing to Activate>
A noise burst from Algo’s right arm. It was loud and resembled shattering glass.
Hundreds of windows rapidly opened in the space around them. They formed something like the pillars of an ancient henge.
<Activation authorized for 230M Lives within the virtual space>
<Joint Load Emblem: Activating>
A character string emerged from Algo’s emblem. It extended from the back of his elbow with a spray of light.
●Type-Origin: God-class: Sudden Strike●
<Activating Grandload of Algo’s arm strength and Alternative’s sensory abilities: Loading full Lives and releasing upper limit on precision, high-speed strikes>
Three diskettes appeared on the trailing ● of the character string on Algo’s elbow and began to rapidly spin.
Then Alternative transformed.
She shut her eyes and raised her head while her body grew. Her small, cartoony form regained its original shape in no time.
She was also floating behind Algo’s back now. The same Sudden Strike string emerged from either side of the emblem floating behind her head and wrapped around her shoulders.
A single curving line of light shot from the ● at the far right of Alternative’s emblem. It connected to the ● at the tail end of the Sudden Strike string coming from Algo’s right hand.
They were linked by that line of light.
Two diskettes about a yard across appeared on Alternative’s back. They pointed toward the sky like wings and rotated rapidly while spewing character strings.
A metallic sound rang out.
“…!”
The rest happened in an instant. Algo’s clenched right fist flew forward.
If DT’s OS recognized the loader’s willpower, they could perform a Grandload that sent their full Lives into DT. People could normally only draw on around 30% of their strength, but this let them draw on 100% and also shut out any additional data.
Instead of the harmonic Plus that gathered things together, this was the extreme Minus that contained only the loader’s own will.
Its strength was precise, accurate, and quick, leaving no room for lies or falsehoods.
Algo’s fist pierced the empty air, powered by that technique, his own skill, and Alternative’s support.
With a rupturing sound, the air within the room split and a wind whipped up.
The wind swept across the room with a scream of air similar to tearing paper.
Their Load Emblems vanished at the same moment. Their Grandload had ended.
Algo spread his right hand, on which he wore a ring, and grabbed at the empty air.
His grabbing hand was directed toward the giant crater at the center of DT. That crater had been turned into a lake and a medieval city preparing for a festival and a royal castle were visible beyond it.
Unlike this amusement park castle, the royal castle was a giant stone structure with a fortress and towers.
He clenched his fist again as if holding that castle in his grasp and spoke.
“I will take that crucial answer for myself on the Day of the Oracle tomorrow – when everything was prophesied to improve. The powers of those from the past and the present will wipe clean the Minus compromise made so long ago.”
As soon as he was done speaking, Alternative wrapped her arms around his back from his right shoulder.
She had shrunk back down.
But there was a smile on her again-youthful face. Her narrowed eyes were shut.
<I hope you find a good answer.>
All the strength faded from her body when that window appeared. She collapsed onto his shoulder.
He looked to that shoulder and saw her sleeping with a smile.
He tapped her on the back with his right hand.
“A good answer? I promise you I will find that. Was that old decision right, or am I right to reject it? We will all know soon enough.”
He nodded, picked her up as she fell asleep, and said one more thing.
These words marked the beginning of the end and he spoke them with his eyes on the city.
“Time to head out and prepare for tomorrow. As one who has fallen into the Minus World.”
<Algo’s Sight Mode has ended.>
Aoe’s Board Mode: In South DT’s Dearborn District[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
You are at Amusement Park District Approach Road – South, a Top Page of the South Medical District.
The current time is 1:15 PM.
A shopping district exists along a 20yd-wide dirt road running north to south.
An amusement park is visible up ahead to the south and there are jester and knight NPC Bodies walking along the road.
You are on your way to the royal library in the south.
There are many Bodies around. Your conversation is restricted to Yuo.
Aoe: <Mh.>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo is to your right.
Her head is still lowered and her brow still wrinkled. She appears to be thinking.
She fails to notice when a jester NPC Body hands her a pamphlet for tomorrow’s festival.
You accept it instead. The pamphlet says, “The whole truth will be revealed at tomorrow’s open release and the boost setting change will further speed up our world!” The text is written below a photo of the parades held in the amusement park.
If you continue south for another three minutes, you will reach the amusement park entrance.
Aoe: “We are almost there, Yuo.”
Yuo: “…”
Aoe: “Mh? Ignoring me?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
The amusement park entrance gate and its two clocks are up ahead.
The round clock at the top of the gate says 1:16. The digital clock below it says 24:44.
You are on the move, but Yuo’s head is still lowered.
Aoe: <She was so excited in that tiny form on the last Page.>
Aoe: <But as soon as we changed Pages, she grew to normal size and then hung her head without even saying hello.>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo is in Sight Mode.
Your thoughts are displayed in a window, but her lowered head prevents her from seeing what the window says.
Aoe: “Hey.”
Yuo: “…”
Aoe: “I said hey.”
Aoe: <I don’t think she notices me. What is with her?>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo’s head is still lowered and she occasionally mutters something under her breath.
She is teasing the bottom of her ponytail with both hands.
Aoe: <She does that when she is nervous. Just like when I first met her.>
Aoe: <But what does she have to be nervous about now?>
Aoe: “Hey, Yuo.”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo does not notice.
The other people walking nearby take a step away after seeing the floating window.
Aoe: <I can’t let this bother me.>
Aoe: “Anyway, Yuo, could you look my way?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo does not notice.
Aoe: <Have I overlooked anything? Could she be listening to music?>
You look at Yuo’s face. It is a well-formed face.
You look at Yuo’s chest. Her uniform’s fabric is stretched a bit tight.
You look at Yuo’s waist. Her belt helps emphasize how skinny it is.
You look at Yuo’s butt. Her tight skirt is stretched very tight.
Aoe: <Mh.>
Aoe: <No, I haven’t overlooked anything.>
Aoe: <I see no problem with her boobs and butt. They both pass muster.>
Aoe: <But a tight skirt? She used to make such a fuss when I flipped up her school uniform’s flared one.>
Aoe: <This is much less fun. I can’t give a passing grade there.>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
The people around you begin chuckling at your thought window.
Yuo notices that and turns around with a frown.
Yuo: “What’s so funny?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Still frowning, Yuo views the window above your head.
Yuo: “ ‘I see no problem with her boobs and butt’?”
Aoe: “Mh. If I knew you were going to read it aloud, I would have come up with something much more embarrassing.”
Yuo: “Hey, don’t put your pervy thoughts out where everyone can see them!!”
<Aoe’s Board Mode has ended>
Aoe’s Sight Mode: In South DT’s Dearborn District[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Aoe switched to Sight Mode so he could see.
He doubted he would ever get used to the way everything became so clear in front of him. It reminded him of when the aircraft bulkhead burst open and revealed the sky just before he was thrown from a transport craft on a special mission.
He could see the sky now too. The amusement park’s white blimp floated in that blue sky.
He saw a large road below the sky. It was an arcade leading to the amusement park.
There were modern businesses like convenience stores and cafes, but they were made of wood or stone and run in an old-fashioned, time-consuming fashion.
Most of the people’s clothing was a mixture of medieval and modern.
All of the clothing had defensive padding and equipment latches. There were some people in purely medieval clothing and others in purely modern clothing. He also saw a jester from the amusement park exaggeratedly dodge around a carriage while laughing.
A pleasant mood covered the street.
A woman stood in front of him with all of that in the background.
That was Yuo.
Her eyebrows were raised and her fists clenched.
“You haven’t grown up at all, have you?”
The people in the immediate vicinity, the people who had passed them by a moment ago, and even the people on the other side of the road tried and failed to suppress their laughter. They made amused comments about the “cute couple” which redirected Yuo’s attention fast.
Panic covered her face and she frantically looked around
“Y-you misunderstand. We’re not a couple or anything even remotely like that.”
She stammered and tapped her belt.
Or rather, she tapped the white plate attached to the belt. That was her program control panel.
Pressing the button on its surface caused light to move near her right hand. Green lines of light drew out a short keyboard.
After pressing one button on that, the keyboard disappeared and the window above Aoe’s head was forcibly closed.
“Oh, god.”
Realizing nothing she said would convince the people of anything, she hung her head a bit. But she was still curious as well, so she stole glances at those people.
She still hadn’t looked at Aoe who stood directly in front of her.
With nothing else to do, he looked to her hands.
They were tangled with and toying with the bottom of the ponytail falling over her shoulder and in front of her chest.
He knew what that meant, so he spoke to her as cheerfully as he could manage.
“Don’t worry about it. I was talking about you.”
She finally looked his way, but she was glaring now.
“It bothers me because you were talking about me.”
“Mh. You don’t like being complimented? You are more modest than I remember.”
She blushed at that. He added another compliment with his eyes a bit below her face.
“You really have grown up.”
“Just so you know, my chest and hips are the same size they were 6 years ago.”
“They are? I take it back then. You haven’t grown up.”
“You certainly haven’t.”
“Do I need to flip your skirt up like when we first met?”
She let go of her hair, lowered her fists in front of her, and let her shoulders droop.
She didn’t try to hide the weariness of her sigh.
Then she adopted an exasperated smile and tone of voice.
“Unfortunately for you, I now wear the Yard uniform’s tight skirt. Those aren’t as flippable as the flared ones from my old school uniform. Besides, your subprograms can’t handle skirt flipping.”
“Mh. Then I’ll just have to do this.”
I want to flip that skirt!
DT’s OS comprehended Aoe’s will and authorized a Download of his hands.
An emblem appeared on his hands and several breaking glass sounds came from them both.
“Eh?”
Yuo looked back toward the sound just as his hands grabbed the bottom of her tight skirt.
With a nasal grunt, he flipped up her green skirt with all his might.
It only took an instant.
The skirt pulled up to her hipbone and she wasn’t immediately sure what to do.
The flow of people around them had stopped. Everyone had fallen silent and motionless.
Aoe used that silence to clasp his hands together to worship Yuo and a window opened above his head.
<nowiki<I</nowiki> have wondered one thing ever since the mid-80s.>
“Oh?”
<In these modern medieval worlds, why does everyone where modern underwear below otherwise medieval clothing?>
Yuo thought about that for a second before screaming.
<Aoe’s Sight Mode has ended>
Telyb’s Board Mode: At DT Yard[edit]
<Telyb’s Over Reload>
You are in the Cafeteria, a Top Page of DT yard.
The current time is 1:20 PM.
You are seated at a long table.
Several Bodies are present. Your conversation is restricted to Fooblicky.
Fooblicky has shrunk to her high-performance form.
She is seated in a kiddy chair across the table from you.
You are eating curry with rice and she is eating sandwiches.
Telyb: “Those two have had 3 hours to catch up, so I wonder if they’re actually getting along now.”
Fooby: “You worry too much. They’ll be fine. This is the city of god. And did you read Nosrup’s latest Oracle Message Board? It was about the story of Joseph bravely accepting that Mary was carrying the Holy Spirit’s child.”
Telyb: “Yeah, the favorite story of every unfaithful wife in the city.”
Fooby: “It’s not like Yuo was cheating on him or anything. Are you really that worried?”
Telyb: “How do you see this going? Aoe is a Plus kind of guy.”
Fooby: “Someone too stubborn to accept anything fake, you mean? But Yuo isn’t and she wants to be with him. So it’ll be fine. A good woman can change a man for the better.”
Fooby: “And Yuo herself was as worried as she was excited last night. It must be nice getting your immortality early so you’re stuck a girl forever. You can get away with that kind of thing.”
Telyb: “If you ask me, your age setting is eternally stuck at absolute perfection.”
Fooby: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You didn’t even Over Reload before saying that, did you? You aren’t very convincing if you don’t look at me first.”
Fooby: “Anyway, what do you plan to do about the case that Aoe kid brought us?”
Fooby: “That case could lead to a repeat of a past mistake.”
<Telyb’s Over Reload>
Fooblicky is wrinkling her brow without even a hint of a smile.
The sandwiches on her plate are untouched.
Fooby: “According to the data sent by Ikemaru of GASAS, Algo Everquest said he intended to eliminate Words Warn from the world.”
Fooby: “I doubt Ikemaru, Aoe, or Yuo have any idea what that means.”
Telyb: “…”
Fooby: “But there’s nothing we understand more. Since it’s related to our own sins.”
Telyb: “Don’t beat yourself up over it. That was all my responsibility. Now, aren’t you going to eat?”
<Telyb’s Over Reload>
Fooblicky’s expression changes in response to your words.
Her eyebrows droop, but she does smile a little.
She takes a bite of a sandwich.
Fooby: “Thanks, but I’m more worried about what that Algo guy wants.”
Telyb: “When we all gathered back in 1963, we all had our own desires while we worked toward the summoning of a great god. I wanted to eliminate discrimination from the world, you wanted an eternal partner, Akalabeth wanted a child, and Suedomsa wanted…to eliminate the Words Warn disease.”
Fooby: “That was back when we were working hard to remake the industrial city of Detroit into the virtual city of DT, wasn’t it? But I have to wonder how serious this Algo is compared to us and Suedomsa back then.”
Telyb: “If he’s as serious as Suedomsa was back then, then he’ll try to summon a great god.”
Fooby: “Do you think that would be possible?”
Telyb: “Not a chance. Things are different now. He can’t get all three factors needed for a godtact experiment:
“1: The Questron used to accept the great god’s Lives.
“2: The reactor used to power the Questron and the reactor used to extract the great god’s Lives.
“3: The body used to contain the great god’s Lives. An unsullied, immortal body.
“We know all this thanks to the data Switzerland took from Germany shortly after the war. The data on the Tristan tower built in Germania and the data on the plan to overload it. Nowadays, the royal castle gets you #1 and Babel gets you #2, but what about #3? Algo is a long-lived immortal after taking the rank of martial arts master, but he is sullied by the murder of his master. Is there anyone else out there willing to sacrifice themself like that?”
<Telyb’s Over Reload>
A large flag hangs on the wall. It is stitched with the city’s symbol.
The symbol is a white cross above a blossoming flower with a giant tower in the background.
Telyb: “I wonder how many people know the true meaning behind DT’s symbol.”
Fooby: “Hard to say. But even if Algo is desperate to save his lover who has come down with Words Warn, I doubt he came all this way without any kind of plan.”
Telyb: “Are you suggesting Kobayashi father and sister he mentioned might know a better method?”
Fooby: “My guess is he’s planning a terrorist attack. He threatens the city in some way and demands we perform a godtact experiment if we want him to stop. Was stating the time of the festival tomorrow preparation for that?”
Fooby: “Um, hey. You’re stirring your rice without putting any curry in.”
<Telyb’s Over Reload>
You pour some curry on your rice.
Fooblicky breathes a cold sigh.
Fooby: “That’s his likely scenario anyway. But I wonder if that Kobayashi father and sister really do remember the 2nd Godtact Experiment.”
Telyb: “Whoever he finds that remembers it doesn’t have to be them, does it?”
Fooby: “What do you mean?”
Telyb: “It might be one of the old NPC Bodies that Suedomsa made. Unlike the modern NPC Bodies, they have individual memories and aren’t externally managed. Their production was halted after the 2nd Godtact Experiment, but there are a few hundred living in the south amusement park. Most have broken down by this point, but they weren’t actively disposed of either.”
Fooby: “I really don’t like this. After 2000 years, I thought we could finally make all that a thing of the past by revealing the truth, but now someone wants to drag it all up again.”
Telyb: “He said tomorrow at 3, but I hope whatever he does isn’t too obstructive. We’re supposed to receive the proper blame for our hidden past then.”
<Telyb’s Over Reload>
Your rice with curry is gone.
Fooblicky still has three sandwiches left.
You grab one of her sandwiches.
She has not Over Reloaded, so she fails to notice.
Fooby: “These investigations are always such a pain. Nearly 98% of DT residents live under a screenname, after all.”
Telyb: “Even the 13 Demigods don’t know each other’s wild names. Including a married couple like us.”
Fooby: “I’ll tell you on my deathbed. Not that an immortal Demigod will have one of those. …We were already using these pseudonyms back when we were invited here in ’63, weren’t we?”
Telyb: “With the aftereffects of the war still affecting everything, we decided it was best not to know each other’s pasts. And then Suedomsa suggested we add on last names that would help us summon a god.”
Fooby: “He meant it as taking on the names of the apostles, but we all love irony a little too much and used demon names in reverse. In a way, that was when our sins began.”
Telyb: “Those sins end tomorrow at the open release.”
Fooby: “I don’t mind as much. In a way, I was already granted forgiveness.”
Fooby: “The other 11 Demigods are ready too, aren’t they? Suedomsa will Ash from Words Warn at 3 and then we all need to confess our sins to the outside world. And…”
Fooby: “Then Yuo, who chose to carry all of our sins, resigned herself to her fate, and lost her memories, will become DT’s new lead- hey, you ate one of my sandwiches, didn’t you!?”
Telyb: “You’re thinking way too hard if you only now noticed.”
<Telyb’s Board Mode has ended>
Aoe’s Board Mode: In South DT’s Dearborn District[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
There are many Bodies around. Your conversation is restricted to Yuo.
Yuo’s underwear is visible.
Yuo: “Hey! S-stop that!”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo circled behind you, putting you between her and the road.
Aoe: “What are you sneaking around for?”
Yuo: “Oh, shut up! I’m too flustered to Download my hands to lower my skirt!”
Yuo: “Oh, god. The subprograms are slow as molasses at times like this.”
Yuo: “Ow, ow, ow. Stupid buttons.”
Aoe: “Are you still not done?”
Yuo: “No, I am not. Wait, did you switch to Board like this is none of your concern?”
Aoe: “I did. My kinetic vision burned the image into my memory in mere moments, so there is nothing more for me to do.”
Yuo: “Oh, is that so? Well, I’m glad you enjoyed my green underwear. Ugh, why is it so tight?”
Aoe: “Unfortunately for you, you now wear the Yard uniform’s tight skirt. Those don’t pull down as easily as the flared ones from your old school uniform.”
Yuo: “I see you still know how to get under my skin!”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo has turned toward you again. Her face is red, her eyebrows raised, and her eyes tearful.
Aoe: <Maybe I overdid it.>
Yuo: “Ugh…”
Aoe: “Word of advice, Yuo. The problem is trying to force the skirt back down right away. Try loosening the belt and buttons first.”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo’s expression has changed. Her eyebrows have lowered and her eyes are widened. She looks impressed.
Aoe: “Mh? Surprised, are you? You shouldn’t be. I am a skirt flipping expert after all.”
Yuo: “Eh? Have you done this to other people too?”
Aoe: “Like you wouldn’t believe.”
Aoe: <Of course you’re the only one.>
Yuo: “I can see your thoughts, Senpai. Because you’re a criminal.”
Yuo: “Now, please don’t do this kind of thing in public.”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo’s head is lowered while she twists her body to try and get her skirt back down.
You hear her belt loosening.
<Yuo’s thought display is no longer hidden>
Aoe: “Hm?”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
The program control panel hanging from Yuo’s belt pressed its button against her belt buckle.
Aoe: <Yuo, your belt buckle has- oh, you can’t see my thought window with your eyes down there.>
Yuo: <Sigh.>
Aoe: <Wait, idiot. I can see your thoughts.>
Yuo: <I’m hopeless. Everything he says just makes me so happy.>
Yuo: <And I was hoping to apologize to him. I’ve wished for this chance for so, so long.>
Yuo: <I just wanted to apologize for forgetting about him for so long.>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo’s head is lowered while she fixes her skirt.
You sometimes hear the quiet metallic clank of her belt moving.
The passersby are paying the two of you no heed.
Aoe: “…”
Yuo: <But then there he is exactly the same as I remember him. He doesn’t mention any of it and I’m tempted to just go along with that.>
Aoe: <I haven’t mentioned it because I feel guilty too.>
Aoe: <Can I close her window myself?>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
You reach out and touch her window and it closes.
Her work has reached her skirt’s buttons.
Yuo: <I need to apologize. That was such an awful way to say goodbye.>
Yuo: <Not to mention that I had to say goodbye at all.>
Aoe: “…”
Aoe: <You don’t need to apologize for anything.>
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
You reach out and touch Yuo’s window and your own window and they both close.
She finishes her work and straightens up. Her cheeks are flushed.
Yuo: “Um, okay. I’m all done.”
Aoe: “For your information, idiot, I can see your thoughts.”
Yuo: “Eh? Oh, god. I didn’t show you anything embarrassing, did I?”
Aoe: “Mh.”
Yuo: “Oh, thank god. That was a close one.”
<Yuo’s thought display is now hidden>
Yuo: “This has its upsides too. A lot of the patients who come to DT either can’t speak or aren’t very talkative, so they need this.”
Aoe: “Then why was everyone so afraid when they saw my window?”
Yuo: “Because your window has a black border. That indicates you’re a criminal. It’s usually the thuggish people dressed like urban heroes who have their black border windows on full display. Get it now?”
Aoe: “I do. I get that this city is a pain in the rear.”
Yuo: “It’s really convenient too. In Board Mode, two people can set up a Side Page and remotely communicate that way as long as they know each other’s coordinates.”
Aoe: “So like making a phone call?”
Yuo: “More or less. Now, Senpai, um.”
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Yuo is looking up at you. Her eyebrows are drooping and her lips are pressed lightly together.
Aoe: <Mh? Does she want to tell me something?>
<Aoe’s Board Mode has ended>
Aoe’s Sight Mode: In South DT’s Dearborn District[edit]
<Aoe’s Over Reload>
Aoe could see once more.
He saw a blimp in the sky, he saw the city, he saw the people, and he saw it all in motion.
He and Yuo were the only ones standing still on the sidewalk within the arcade.
Yuo looked down toward the earthen sidewalk once before breathing in and clenching her hands.
She looked up with tension in her cheeks.
“Um, Senpai? Can I ask a personal question?”
“What is it?”
She held her hands up by her shoulder where her ponytail fell.
She tangled the hair around her fingers.
“Um, uh, it’s about what happened 6 years ago for you and 600 years ago for me.”
He suddenly remembered the windows above her head when she was fixing her skirt, so he spoke on reflex.
“Yuo.”
Calling her name sent a tremor through her shoulders.
She looked up with some surprise on her face.
“Y-yes? What is it?”
<She must have already heard that I killed someone.>
He viewed the black border of his window before continuing.
“I am a killer. I possess a deadly power. I am not who I used to be, so maybe discussing old times isn’t the best idea.”
<Aoe’s Over Zoom: Full Sight Open>
His more precise view of Yuo showed her shoulders tensing a bit as she started to say something. However…
“…”
No words left her mouth. He stared at her in silence.
<Let’s walk.>
He punctuated that thought with a grunted “mh” and a nod.
He began walking before she even agreed.
She hurried after him and lined up beside him. Her head was lowered and her hands were teasing her hair.
He did not match his strides to hers. Nor did he look her way.
His two footsteps were matched by three hurried ones from her. He chose that moment to speak.
“Do you remember the last time we met? That night when we were interrupted by a phone call and I hurried back to the dojo? When I got there, sis was…well, she was about to be assaulted by a challenger from another school.”
“…Senpai.”
“I won’t say I had no idea what I was doing, but I was not trying to kill him either. I simply hit him with the most force and speed I could manage using the shortest route available to me and he went flying across the dojo.”
“Senpai.”
“The next thing I knew, a GASAS commander was there.”
“Senpai!”
He ignored her and displayed his thoughts.
<How strange. Maybe I have dropped out of the Plus World like Algo said.>
He sighed and wondered what he was even saying at this point.
“Maybe I am meant for this city. Because I have a Minus fist – a fake fist that couldn’t reach the level of the strongest.”
He turned toward Yuo to find she had stopped walking, so he stopped to.
<Yuo, I am a kill->
Please stop!
Yuo’s will stopped his thought.
She had tears in her eyes and a green emblem briefly appeared on her right hand.
A loud slap echoed from his cheek.
<Aoe’s Over Zoom>
After the noise, Yuo lowered her hand and bent over. She kept her face pointed toward the ground.
“Please stop! I don’t have any answers for you about that!”
The passersby turned toward her shout, but not for long. The people, including the NPC Bodies, soon looked away and kept walking.
But when they were passing by Aoe and Yuo, they would give the two a wide berth, even stepping on the grass between the sidewalk and the road.
The flow of people bent, but it did not stop. Aoe looked to Yuo from the center of the bend.
Her brown hair fell down her right cheek.
And she spoke.
“Did you ask for me as your assistant so you could talk about killing and fakes?”
There was no tremor in her voice.
But her shoulders were quivering with tension and the breath following the words was heavy.
He could tell she was trying to calm herself down. Her fingers reached for the bottom of her ponytail, but…
“Please stop this.”
She clenched the hand into a fist instead.
“I still remember what you told me that night.”
“I told you something then?”
She lowered the fist, nodded, and answered him in a firm voice that suppressed everything she was feeling.
“You did. After I told you the meaning behind my fake last name.”
She then repeated the origin of her last name she had shared with him back then.
“Natas is Satan spelled backwards. That might make me sound important, but Satan is actually the loner among the demon army. …And it’s an appropriate name. Because I was just some kid who lost her memories. But when I said that, you hugged me.” She paused for a moment. “You said that didn’t matter because you would always look after me.” She coughed. “I know that isn’t possible since I’m immortal, but…but…” She took a breath. “Are you telling me those words and all the time you spent fighting alongside me 6 years ago were fake, were a Minus thing, and were nothing but the leadup to you dropping out?”
It was the suppressed emotion in her voice more than the words themselves that silenced Aoe.
He viewed her in that silence.
Her head was lowered and her shoulders were trembling. He stared straight at her.
<What…>
He shook his head and made sure she couldn’t see his window with her head lowered like that.
<What would I have felt if I had only seen that line as text in a window?>
He scratched his head in thought.
<I shouldn’t be thinking about this.>
He saw her trying to suppress her trembling.
But…
“Uh.”
She couldn’t manage it.
She held her right hand to her lowered head like she was brushing aside her bangs.
Then a certain color fell to the dirt ground. A small dark circle of dampness formed there. Several more followed.
Yuo didn’t say anything. She only wiped at her eyes while pretending to brush aside her bangs.
Unsure what to do, Aoe scratched his head and looked above her head. There was no window there.
That did make things easier, he thought with a sigh.
Then he heard a sound so loud he could feel the vibration in the air.
The wall of a nearby building shook and the windows rattled.
“…?”
He determined the sound came from the north.
He turned that way and viewed northern DT, down the hill and past the lake at the center.
Black smoke was rising from the short city.
After a pause, the people on the hill raised their voices.
Then an alarm began to sound throughout the city.
Yuo raised her head when she heard the never-ending tone.
She wiped off her eyes and her ears quivered, but she already had strength back in her face.
Her eyebrows were raised in confusion rather than doubt as she stepped up alongside him and looked to the city.
“Mh. Yuo, what does this alarm mean?”
“I-I don’t know exactly. But in DT, an alarm usually means a monster or something has appeared.”
“Dumb it down for me.”
She complied with his request.
“A monster is attacking, so we need to kick its butt!”
<Aoe’s Sight Mode has ended>
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