Chapter 306: Storming Saiga Castle

Sunraku: Ah, you okay?

Psyger-0: I'm so sorry! Um, my VR system's acting up...

Sunraku: Yeah, figured

Sunraku: But isn't this bad? Even if you sent it in for repairs right now, there's no way it'd be back by tomorrow

Psyger-0: Yeah...

Sunraku: It's probably something with the output system. I think you should prep for a data transfer through your mobile, just in case

Sunraku: Just checking, but is buying a new one right now...

Psyger-0: It's not impossible, but...

Sunraku: Ah, no, you don't have to push it. Even the headgear type costs a fair bit

Psyger-0: I'll send it in for repairs. I'm really sorry I ended up breaking our plans for today...

Sunraku: Nah, hold up

Psyger-0: Huh?

Sunraku: Might be able to work something out

Sunraku: Depends on whether you're okay with renting, Saiga-san

Basically, I've got two VR systems. One's the illustrated commercial-use... no, chair-type VR system the pro gaming team "Cyber Battalion" sent me. The other's the headgear-type VR system I'd been using before that. Since I already did the data conversion to the business-use one, the headgear-type — which had its data reset — hasn't had a chance to be used. Under normal circumstances, I'd just say "hope your repairs wrap up fast" and leave it at that. But tomorrow the second New Land Research Vessel is scheduled to set sail in SLF. Rei-shi apparently has some way to squeeze herself onto the passenger list at the last minute, but if she can't log in at all, that's game over before we even start.

So what I'm saying is: I suggested loaning her the headgear-type VR system I'm not using. And so, carrying a cardboard box so I can look at Saiga-san’s broken VR system, I head out on a Saturday morning that has gotten pretty cool.

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Sunraku: So yeah, I'm loaning you the VR system I'm not using right now until your repair's done

Psyger-0: Are you sure?

Sunraku: Well, a bunch of stuff happened and I'm not using it now, so it's fine

Sunraku: But you sure? It's one a guy used for a pretty long time

Psyger-0: I'm sure! Completely! There's no problem!

Psyger-0: Yes!!

Sunraku: R-Right...

Sunraku: So, at RockRoll...

Sunraku: Ah, wait. "Imperial Garden Avalon 3" came out yesterday, right... So they're closed

Psyger-0: Imperial... Avalon...?

Sunraku: New otome game. Supposed to be a massive blockbuster, so she's probably off Saturdays and Sundays

Sunraku: Come to think of it, you're in the same school district as me, so you're pretty close, right?

Sunraku: I'll bring it straight to you

Sunraku: I can at least do a basic check, and maybe we can figure it out without even sending it in for repairs

Psyger-0: Is that okay? I hate to make you go out of your way like that...

Sunraku: Full-dive gamers gotta get exercise in moderation or it messes with our performance, so don't worry about it. It's like changing up my jogging route

Psyger-0: Th-Then I'll send you my address... but really, I should be the one to—

Psyger-0: It's nothing

Sunraku: Huh?

Psyger-0: It's nothing, yes

Psyger-0: It's not like I coincidentally saw it and looked it up so I know where you live or anything, it's nothing

Psyger-0: [This message has been deleted]

Sunraku: W-Well, okay

Sunraku: I'll grab some breakfast and then head over

Psyger-0: Understood

The conclusion that since he was coming to look at the VR system, having him over was a natural result — and that this constituted a "home date" — caused Rei's thoughts to go supernova about five minutes later.

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The school district where my house is located is practically an isolated enclave with almost no students. A lot of the people around here have lived in the area since around the twentieth century, so the average age skews high. Actually, I once asked my parents why the hell they built a house in a place like this, and the answer was the mundane "the land happened to be cheap." Truth is, it's not like no minors live here, but as far as I know, if you narrow it down to people our age attending our high school, Saiga-san is the only one I know of.

Rakuro: "Okay, turn right here... this is it."

About fifteen minutes from my place at a brisk jog. Pretty damn close. Actually... wait, is that entire block displayed without any subdivisions on the map all a single plot of land? This whole walled-off area... what the hell, it's huge. You could line up the Hizutome house four across and four deep — so, what, sixteen times the square footage? You could play baseball in there.

Rakuro: "This is... the power of the Saiga family...!?"

Where's the front door, anyway? Is that gate — the kind you'd bust open with a battering ram in a siege scenario — actually the entrance? Is this seriously modern Japan? This is a samurai estate. This is completely a goddamn samurai estate.

Rakuro: "No, that's clearly not a spot for a delivery guy to stand..."

Maybe I should've just met her in front of RockRoll... no, there's no way I can check a VR system while standing around. With Mana having set sail to conquer an empire — as a commoner-turned-maid serving the imperial household in a game weirdly overrun with men — I can't exactly tinker with machinery in some family restaurant.

Can't be helped. I send Rei a message: "I'm here, but where's the entrance?" For now, I'll head to the gate and wait... Huh?

Child: "...Mela... or...?"

Child: "...No, the... blind spot..."

Child: "...We're going."

What the... there are kids clinging to the front of the gate in weird poses. They've got the look of brats, clear as day, but why are they... ah, they just bolted toward me. For some reason they took one look at me, made a face like "Oh crap!", and ran off. Well, whatever. I move toward the gate... Oh, there's a normal human-sized door too. Honestly, kind of a relief.

Intercom: '...Who might you be?'

Rakuro: "Whoa, scared the shit out of me?!"

I didn't even press the intercom! Don't tell me they've got dedicated staff monitoring the front entrance twenty-four hours a day for visitors!? After a moment's thought, I realize that those little shits were clinging to the wall in weird poses right where the intercom is — so they pulled a doorbell ditch, and that's exactly why the person on the intercom and I synced up. But I was a little... no, pretty damn frazzled, so that realization comes a bit later.

Rakuro: "Nnh, uh, ah... I have a delivery? For Rei Saiga-san?"

Intercom: '.........'

Wow, incredible. Not a single word spoken, but the suspicion is radiating off of them.

Intercom: '...Did you have an appointment?'

Appointment... SNS counts too, right? Yeah.

Rakuro: "Ah, yes. I contacted her beforehand."

Intercom: '..............Please wait a moment.'

I wait a few minutes. The gate creaks open... Ah, from that side? No, wait. A car's coming out from inside. Sure enough, a foreign car exits. I watch it go, then stand there frozen, wondering if I should go in, when the intercom person — who apparently went to check — tells me I can enter. I have at last successfully infiltrated Saiga Estate. Wait, "infiltrated" would get me arrested.

As I'm thinking that, a middle-aged woman in traditional Japanese clothes — something you rarely see in the flesh in modern Japan — appears before me. A servant... they actually exist.

Servant: "You are Hizutome-sama, correct?"

Rakuro: "Sama... ah, yes."

Servant: "Rei-sama seems likely to be a bit delayed in arriving, so please, this way..."

What do I do? Was there a dress code? I'm totally in casual clothes. At least it's better than a tracksuit. Was it a mistake to casually take on this repair job...? Thinking that, I walk deeper into the Saiga Estate.

Rakuro: "........."

Servant: "Please wait a moment."

In the green tea that's been offered to me, a broken tea stalk spins round and round, swimming in a green sea. I-Is this an omen of "fortune, but it's snapped in half"...? No, steel yourself, me.

I'm sitting bolt upright in seiza, feeling like I've been randomly teleported straight into a monster house, when something weird catches my eye in the corner of my vision.

Rakuro: "Wait, isn't this..."

It's a bizarre object — a keychain shaped like a surfboard, but with a barbed needle attached. Still, I know what this is. Hell, I've got these by the dozen at home.

???: "...Hmph. That belongs to me, I’ll have you know."

Rakuro: "Huh? ...H-Hyee—"

I'd been thinking about what "exactly" this thing is used for when a voice calls out to me. I turn, and there stands an old man, ramrod straight and staring at me — the kind of character design that screams "I mow down armies with a katana."

No doubt about it. This man is the final boss of Storming Saiga Castle... Nobody told me there'd be a roaming boss here.

Vwoooom... “Storming Saiga Castle” (like the title-card moment when “Anor Londo” appears in Dark Souls 3).

Meanwhile, the heroine-chan has apparently been caught by her older sister and is being lectured after panicking over purification rites, cleaning, makeup, and wardrobe choices.

Storming Saiga Castle... or rather, the Saiga Estate. The grounds contain an archery range, a martial-arts hall, and more.