His stomach felt bloated. In the great outdoors, anything you did came with intrinsic health benefits…or so the boy would’ve liked to think. But the barbecue had featured considerably more meat than vegetables, and everything had been pretty greasy. Some fried chicken and a vegetable salad from the convenience store would probably have been a lot healthier.
“Phew.”
The boy sighed, got up, and walked a short distance from the cluster of tents over to a small structure: a roof held aloft by four pillars. It must have once been a campsite gazebo, but now there was a phone charging station here—a row of outlets lining a long table like the kind you would find at a stand-up noodle bar. It seemed to be doing good business; about two-thirds of the outlets were being used for one electronic device or another, though the place was otherwise deserted, the devices left unattended like washing machines at a laundromat.
Each one was fitted with metal anti-theft wires, like the kind in electronics shops, but the boy still considered it negligent to leave your smartphone out where anyone could access it. Even now, many people were unaware of the information being collected from them on a daily basis. It wasn’t like it had been explained to them, after all.
…I suppose coming together in the same place for a common purpose creates a sense of solidarity.
In the business world, trust without cause was fatal.
The boy walked over to the end of the table and found a vacant outlet. He held his phone up to it, whereupon the computerized system automatically deducted his bank account for the electricity. Then he plugged in the charging cable.
In any case, it seemed the boy wasn’t the only one adamant about bringing his smartphone on a trip into the mountains. Among the devices on the table, there was even what looked like a drawing tablet. The boy hoped its owner had at least brought it along to digitally paint some landscapes and not just to hide in their tent watching videos or doing 3D modeling for data idols. That would be too sad.
Though I guess I can’t talk, having just spent a fair amount of time in Money (Game) Master.
A sigh escaped his lips. Moments later, however, he spotted something and immediately ducked under the table.
✦ ✦ ✦
He couldn’t believe it—it was her, twin tails and all. Midori Hekireki had emerged from the game and entered real life!!
✦ ✦ ✦
After a couple seconds spent panicking, the boy realized something. Midori hadn’t popped out of the game at all. In fact, it was the opposite. Midori had committed one of the most basic and fatal errors in operations security, something almost every Dealer knew to avoid. She was running around in-game with her real likeness!
She must have been here with her family, like he was. However, none of that mattered. He could not let her see his face. After all, in real life he wasn’t the handsome, suave Kaname Suou. His hair was disheveled, his poor eyesight gave him a nasty squint, and his clothes were plain. Even the fact that he was here with his family was cause for embarrassment. All he could do was stay hidden and hold his breath until she was well out of sight!!
“Hmm. Let’s see if it’s finished charging yet,” came the girl’s singsong voice.
Crap. She’s coming this way!!
Come to think of it, Midori had been playing the game recently as well. He should have realized when he saw her that she would be coming over to the charging stand.
She was standing about twelve centimeters away now, so close he could smell her. She smelled nice.
“Oh, come on. Why are you like this?” she muttered. “You’ve really lost it. I can’t believe you get anxious when your phone’s charge is still at fifty percent…”
Most likely, she was speaking to herself, using the phone’s dark screen like a mirror, rather than manipulating the phone via voice recognition. The boy heard the sound of her light footsteps as she paced across the concrete, and he peered up at the gently bobbing hem of her short skirt. It felt like he was intruding on a private moment, like watching her do her makeup in the morning.
Then he heard a short electronic tone. An incoming message on the girl’s phone? The sound of her footsteps suddenly stopped.
“Big bro…”
Her phone wallpaper must have been a picture of her family that suddenly appeared as the device lit up.
The boy clenched his teeth. His old friend hadn’t hesitated to take a bullet for his sister, and he was determined to return the favor. It didn’t matter if Takamasa had gone astray; the boy would drag him back so he and Midori could be a family again.
Just then, there was a strange snuffling noise. The boy watched as a four-legged beast waddled up to Midori’s legs. Around its neck was a black collar with green trim. It looked like a baby boar, but it was more likely a Pocket Piglet: an adult boar selectively bred to remain small and manageable. Miniaturized pets like this one were all the rage these days, and the same had been done to lions, tigers, sharks, and whales.
However, if Midori looked down for any reason, it would be game over. She would spot him hiding under the table for sure, and then it wouldn’t just be a matter of disappointment with his lackluster appearance—he’d more likely be mistaken for a pervert after a glimpse of thigh. For that reason, the Pocket Piglet was cause for alarm—it was an unknown variable. What if it nuzzled her leg, and she bent over to give it a stroke?! His in-game face was pretty different, but there was always the chance she would recognize him regardless.
“I feel bad about Mom and Dad,” she said. “But now that I know he’s in the game, I just—I have to get him back as soon as I can!!”
“…”
The game’s strongest Dealer remained silent until both the girl and her pet were well out of sight.
Only then did it occur to him—while there was indeed a chance that Midori might recognize his face, why had he needed to hide?
Ahh…
He didn’t want to disappoint his friend’s little sister.
It was the same in the game world. Unable to reconcile his methods with his friend’s, he’d decided to oppose Takamasa. He knew finding a way to save the world without losing Tselika was the right thing to do, so why couldn’t he tell Midori?
In other words…
…I just wanted to look cool in front of her, didn’t I?