Vol 1 Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3: Interaction

The sudden separation Kugimiya Miharu had with her father happened close to her 10th birthday

It was not a separation by death like that of Kasugai Yuu and his mother however It was just a common case of divorce Her h and It was not a rare occurrence in Miharu’s household at the ti her parents didn’t want to tell her then that was that

As a result, Miharu lost her father without knowing anything, and like a “good kid” Miharu was at that tie to inquire about it

After that she didn’t ht she would meet him immediately after the divorce Miharu was very fond of herof for her was certainly strong

However, after hearing the truth fros of hers withered Her cousin had whispered “Because Haru-chan will be sad hearing it” with sympathy

──In reality the reason for the divorce was because her father had fallen in love with another woman and was unable to break his relationshi+p with her

It was because of that, Miharu was unable to trust any man no more

To be exact, she had been already afraid of people in general, but her fear towards men was now more than that It was because theanother wohter

Froh school andfor 10 years She didn’t knohether it was true or not, but from what her father had secretly told her, that was only when her mother had told him that she wanted to ht Miharu, who knew nothing about romantic relationshi+ps at the time, it was her luck and fortune to be born under the love of her parents

Yet… such a wonderfulhis own family

It rong

Miharu thought She was a person anted to always be with the person she loves To fall in love with a person ill always stay by her side, was so everyone, like her, wished for

It will just be painful if it’s not

Since then, Miharu co It was her mother as sad and that hy she would always listen to whatever her irls school It was not like her ht that it would keep her away from men, but at least it was a place that would be co

It was right after she passed the entrance exam, Miharu was shocked as she heard hera reat was her dise herself She couldn’t understand her mother She knew that her mother broke up with her father Her father was the bad one But, as it then that herup with her father? She kept asking herself but in the end, Miharu couldn't even understand her own mother

In the end, Miharu was all alone She was able to make some friends at school, but at home she was all alone, while her mother ith another person It was not balanced and she was afraid Miharu didn’t have the courage to go out, and instead she started playing 『CtG』 where she could interact with various kinds of people while inside the house

Miharu, who became “Mifa” in the virtual world tried to be soinal self Someone who could express the emotions that she was unable to show in the real world “It was just a game after all” she had told herself, and under that spell, “she” becairl as ti a lot of acquaintances quickly She felt comfortable to be able to be surrounded by a lot of people in this workd

When she was helping the guild 【Labyrinth Troupe】, where a girl she knew belonged to, she first met Clamp Her first ih he was the sae as her, he was quiet and barely said any words It was as if he washer However it was more than just that, the way he silently reject people and created distance felt like Miharu herself

But, if she befriended with such person, Miharu felt that she won’t be alone any in her chest── finally, Mifa, Miharu, was no longer alone

She had a treasure she shared with hi as her, she was able to believe that person even if he’s a rew closer little by little Cala Haruha or her

Clamp

She had met the Claure, he was actually dull looking But, he was very kind, andHaruha and Miharu The “hunch” she had since the day he gave the nairl in 『CtG』 pretty much hit the mark

Kasugai Yuu

I’ht

But, he, already──

◇

An hour had passed since Clamp went off and Mifa, who co-out froh Haruha

Miharu and Haruha, who didn’t knohy they were called back into the real world couldn’t believe the scene they i their Ramiel

It was the scene of Hajie pistol-shaped syringe on his chest

“Eh……what did you do Haru──”

“Quiet I can’t concentrate”

Hajireasy sweat on her forehead was shi+ning like red scales under the sunset

After she carefully finishes the injection, she pulled out the syringe with terrifying precision and appropriately threw it away Then, she took out a pad-shaped electrode froainst Yuu’s chest

“Errm…… what……?”

“It stopped”

Hajian to operate what appears to be the controller of the electrode

Zap! Itsound and Yuu’s body faintly bounced It was like seeing a filature doll But even after being shocked by the electricity, Yuu’s thin eyes remained closed and did not react at all

Before she realized it, Miharu’s legs began shaking

“Eh? Kasugai-kun? Eh? Why?”

Just a little while ago he was repria, it was just as simple as that Even so── even so, why did it become like this?

Within these past two months, the face that looked like Cla face thatis different This face is completely different This is…… this is like---

“He got killed inside 『CtG』”

In contrast to Miharu as in the pinnacle of a hypnotic state, Hajime’s voice was very businesslike Miharu couldn’t understand theof that answer, but that voice convinced her that it’s “the truth”

“I’m sorry…… I didn’t expect that not just Haruha but also Yuu-kun to be targeted”

Miharu nearly shouts

(WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?)

──is what she wanted to say, but she desperately held it in No There’s so more important to say

“Just hurry up and save him!”

“That’s what I’”

Hajime’s voice remained calm She sounded reliable but at the same time, it made Miharu want to let her outburst explode and slap her She was in verge of panicking

It was all too sudden A Ramiel should’ve nals, as a matter of fact, over a year had passed since 『CtG』 start running and there has been no health issue reported other than light dizziness At least that was the case when Miharu checked it on the net before she started playing

Yet, Yuu is dying in front of her eyes All of the sudden her new everyday life that had just begun is leading towards its end

Again…… again, she will be separated fro And this tio even if she wanted to What came into her mind was a simple rejection

No

No no no!

It had only been a while since we first met but

In the beginning wea child as if playing house, we pushed our love onto Haruha as if she was our child, also he said that he loveswhen I first met hi hi is just unbearable

First of all, Miharu still had a lot of things to say to Yuu Wasn’t it Yuu who said “Just say all that you want to say” It will be troublesome if he died now

“Kasugai-kun, you don’t know right…… you don’t knohy I was angry right!?”

The words which she couldn’t say while being Mifa, they fell like flakes of snow They fell along with her tears

“When ere giving a name to Haruha, I was really surprised when Claht know my name── Miharu But soon I realized that it was just a coincidence…… but, then, I started to think that coincidences ht be 『Fate』

We ive birth to our very own child…… all of those special things were fated, then the person inside Claht be my destined… that”

But after saying all that, she got mad all of the sudden

“And then…… why? In the end, YOU JUST GIVE HER THE NAME YOU GOT FROM THE GIRL YOU LIKE! WHERE IS MY FATE!? COME ON AND SAY SOMETHING!”

Haji violently like a caught fish

As if gushi+ng out all of her feelings, Miharu called Yuu

“KASUGAI-KUN!!”

◆

Thus Kasugai Yuu revived

He was then carried to the hospital by the car that Hajime had called, and there he received a medical examination for the very first time in his life No abnormalities── in fact far from it, he was actually “fairly healthy” By the time they received the result of the inspection, it was already night

“Explain…… you will do it right”

Just to be sure, Yuu had been told to stay in the hospital rooht Within the s with Niiro, the three of the on a chair, right next to the bed, holding Yuu’s hand Meanwhile, Niiro was leaning his back on the door

Haruha and Haji on the bench at the hallway Hajime had already been relieved from the tension by the time they reached the hospital, while Haruha…… was still stunned and silentWhen she first arrived, she was still being dragged along by Miharu

It should have been the adults’ obligation to explain the cause of this incident

Niiro, who still did not want to take off his sunglasses like always, let out a dry voice

“Currently, there is a dreadful Player Killer rampant in 『CtG』”

Co like that on the 『CtG』 news line

But

“Player Killers…… they are people who attack other players inside the gaot beaten up by one of them,

But, why did Kasugai-kun end up like that?”

Miharu questioned harshly, and her voice was shaking Probably froer

“That’s because the one who killed Kasugai-kun wasn’t human”

“……What was that?”

Memento Copellia She was obviously not emotionless However, the emotions she kept inside and the actions she displayed outwardly did not particularly irl was similar to Haruha

She had pierced Cla

Just by reht back the pain he felt back then onto his uninjured neck Froered in his conscious

Niiro took out a irl on the air She was noearing different clothes which gave her a different impression, but, she was definitely still Memento

“She── Meeneration of Hadzar A human born within 『CtG』”

“Isn’t that just like Haruha……?”

“That’s right She was born from the exact same nucleus, or core should I say However, the reatly Memento was an approach from the outside, while Haruha was an approach from within Siinning By physically analyzing a pre-existing body and memories we tried to create a complete human from the start”

“Such things are possible……?”

“We succeeded to soh at the time and Memento was able to think normally within 『CtG』

She was also able to move as freely as she wanted However, no matter how many times we carried out an emotional response test, her results were always poor, She simply wasn’t able to develop proper emotions It would have been fine, if e aimed to do was to create a robot, but our, the Huoal is to find a way to create a new human She will continue to remain incomplete if we left her like that

The resulting hypothesis is that there is defect in the Virtual World’s building capacity and so is unable to reproduce the 『so』 that makes human, human It is most likely a factor that simple machines are unable to perceive

That was the case──and thus soive a real body for Meo ahead with the experiment”

So far, other than their education, she was exactly like Haruha Eventually Haruha safely obtained a body in real life and becaai Haruha But Memento, she…

“The experiment was a failure No, you can say that it was partially successful

During Memento’s transfer to the body, due to some unknown reason, her mind caused a rejection and as a result we had to 『discard』 the body We ai-kun had seen, she became a madman”

“And why did Memento became a player killer?”

He asked, but uessed the answer The Pandora’s Box story that Mes in this world, the er be a hope

And so Niiro ansith the name of the “hope”

“It’s Haruha-san Haruha as raised by the most ideal pair determined by the Nephilim Coe, and was able to develop emotion that Memento was unable to”

Miharu’s grip tightened as they that held Yuu’s arm

“Our plan was to have Haruha-san to at least develop huree

Haruha-san succeeded, whichon Memento That’s e isolated her from 『CtG』, and took her in as a sample By that time, her mental state became severely unstable”

“So in the end, she rebelled huh?”

He said coldly He had no reason to be angry for Meer needed so just sleep forever,” by her own parents?

Because of Haruha’s “success”, Memento was labeled as a “failure” and lost her oorth Mee in situation, she went froh” to just “mere data”

What an unreasonable story But that unreasonable feeling now landed on this hospital room It was because, Niiro’s , happily

“Yes Even though twisted, she still has a personality That’s why she showed resistance towards the measures we took to seal her will ── it would have be interesting if that was not the case

By establishi+ng herself as an error, it seems Memento arrived to the conclusion, 『I’m an error so I must make mistakes』 And then the error Me chaos to the world of 『CtG』”

“If so why did she become a Player Killer?”

“The reason is simple It is just her most efficient method to overthrow 『CtG』

Just like what Kasugai-kun had experienced, Memento’s attack also impacted the players’ self in the real world That is an ability acquired froestion through gaze and phero stinal to the opponent’s brain On Kasugai-kun case, the s his avatar’s throat stabbed was processed as pain pain when the signal entered the brain And what stopped his heart froe of 『death』 coinally present within the game, Ramiel Block system didn’t react to it

We call that ability as Siali[1]』”

“……So a that 『would kill me』”

“It made you think that “I’ll die” You can say it’s like an absolute placebo effect

Well then── ill happen if she continues to do hunt players with that power I wonder?”

Certainly, it was an easy to guess result

“People like me will continue to be taken to the hospital And then 『CtG』 will be closed sooner or later”

“Precisely A ht e confirmed that Haruha-san had finally acquired emotion, Memento disappeared from our eyes with some kind of method After that elusive disappearance, presu players Fortunately there are no serious cases like Kasugai-kun so far, but honestly speaking, iine Ekphrasis fell under constant watch from the police”

“……So the recent fainting incidents were the work of Memento?”

“Besides one case due to gas poisoning, ed to reassure the people above in order to prevent the name of 『CtG』 to be revealed to the publicHowever, it won’t last long Of course, we’re putting effort on capturing and isolating Memento However Memento, who simply does not knohat exhaustion is, continues to , we cannot do an immediate search on her

“………Will 『CtG』 be closed?”

If they let Memento run rampant uncontrolled, this incident will be revealed sooner or later, and gae the content it has, prioritizing safety over a ame is a common sense that even a heavy user or the son of the developer Yuu knoell

Niiro nodded but then raised one finger

“There is only one way to prevent that In order to reliably stop Memento, we just have to kill her in 『CtG』 When that happens, Meo and will be tied-up,it easier to us to isolate her That’s why…

We must defeat Memento With Haruha’s help”

Silence

Those dozen seconds of silence Was soer that inhibits rational thinking And then, the thing that broke the silence was also anger

“Don’t say such nonsense!”

Miharu’s strong words were so loud that it was clear that she had forgotten that they’re in a hospital

“Kasugai-kun nearly died you know! And you’re telling us to send Haruha…… that sainst such an opponent!?”

Niiro was unfazed Miharu’s desperate actions were easily repelled back by his reply,

“I’ai-kun had already realized it but Mehts are fully opti an avatar is like talking in a foreign language whilst Memento is a fluent native speaker There is a world of difference”

In fact, even Yuu, as a veteran in 『CtG』 controls, was easily killed by Memento without even able to react at all Memento’s speed and accuracy were far superior to that of a hu

“However, if it’s Haruha-san── if it’s Haruha-san, whose mind operates the saainst her And a those e can ht Memento”

“Is it possible for Haruha to fight people like Memento──”

I don’t think so Even though he told himself that, the doubt didn’t last forever as the scene of Haruha brutallythe train robbers played within Yuu’s mind

“Still…… still I cannot approve that NoHaruha is, even if 『CtG』 close down because she didn’t fight…… it’s ridiculous to expose the child to such dangers for a ame!”

“Tha, that’s right! What happens if she dies!”

Yuu resolutely objected and Miharu backed him up It’s a natural action for parents who take care of their child after all However…

“Yes She will still die, Haruha-san I mean, if 『CtG』 is terminated”

The situation they’re in was not under the “natural” standard that applied for everyone

“…………Eh? Wh, why, is that?”

“Haruha-san obtained a human body and became a normal child However, just like e had mentioned earlier, Haruha-san’s her syntax purity than the real world If she continues to process foreign information from the real world, errors will continue to pile up, and then she will die within, which we estimate, a week’s time”

They couldn’t react at all against the dire facts Niiro spoke of in an indifferent tone

“In order to prevent that, Haruha-sanher spend ti data, and she will be able to adjust her body to h her time in the real world A dialysis of mind should I say”

This tiot furious

“To hell with that! You people should just take responsibility and ht!? No e the cost will be!”

“We would like to do that if possible, but it’s not The scale of the virtual world that we must maintain in order to do maintenance on Haruha-san requires over ten h we have the country backing, it’s so impossible for us to do Thus our modus operandi had to be covert ”

“? What are you saying? Isn’t it easier to do it with less people connected…”

Then he remembered as he said that── what did Fuyufu say?

『It’s not the proble power It’s the nature of the problem itself』

『Even if it can create the same entrances and exits as a human, it won’t able to create the same maze inside The “Heart” is that …… there’s no other choice but to give those computers flesh and blood as well』

And thus the performance of the computer that operates 『CtG』 improves as the number of connected PlayerHuman increases

──Could it be…

“Is it…… a human computer?”

He suddenly blurted Miharu blinked with a blank look on her face, and Niiro── srin

“Correct The identity of the NephilinmGiant type computer that constructed the world of 『CtG』 is a performance operation system that uses the connection between the flesh of human and its network to work

”The consciousness and the body of people, down to the last cell and gene, are made into a database calculation device With that device, we arranged the responses we got froed to observe the same world that was observed by huht, even the hued to observe the memories of humanity

”A dreaht be full of absurdity, but if we mix and match the dreams of several of tens of thousands of people then the absurdity will be filtered out, which means the more the nuet

Eight thousand people are needed just for a simple start-up and we have that amount ready on our end To put it in other words, that is as e”

So that’s why they say it could only be operated by the game maker It made it clear as to why they kept secret of the computer’s specification It would be hard to think that there would be a million people ould want to put their own body inside a machine

──A huaoal- to maintain its performance level

And if it cannot maintain its performance, Haruha will die

“How could this be happening……”

Not only was his daughter an online game addict, but she also shared the same fate as it

The following one hour was a Q&A time that needed not to be described in detail Yuu and Miharu, who understood the reason, was still reluctant to expose Haruha to danger and raised issues, and Niiro, kept on reassuring them that there is no other way to solve this probleht Memento It endlessly repeated itself

But then, the person who settled the barren dispute was none other than the person in question herself—Kasugai Haruha

Haruha, who ca with Hajime spoke with a severe expression for the first time

“Haruha will do it Haruha will defeat that Memento,”

She must’ve heard the situation from Hajime Naturally, Yuu and Haruha desperately tried to stop her She est existence in 『CtG』, but the Haruha they both know is an innocent, spoiled, lonely girl-a small child who they knew since she was born

“Haruha has decided already”

But, Haruha at this tih she would occasionally pout, she would always listen to Yuu and Miharu, but for the very first tiainst them

The dissiirl equilibrates from collection of observations of human computer The round eyes of hers are filled with the color of iron, and Kasugai Haruha sentenced in a cold voice

“Daddy, mommy Don’t follow Haruha It will just be a burden If that happens, Haruha will go back home”

‘Go back ho her resourcefulness father── it’s not even laughable On the contrary, Yuu and Miharu became haunted with the color of despair in their eyes

Which house……did she meant?

Everything went fast by the time they made their decision

Everyone quickly went back to Kasugai house ── although it was a bit forceful, Yuu was allowed to be discharged ── and Haruha laid her small body in the capsule shaped Ramiel

At first Yuu thought it was like so the ht, it looked like a black coffin Soht with her looked creepily like a grave goods

“Around ten o Memento was seen by surveillance Non-Player-CharacterNPC in a tavern at Gun for a prey tonight”

“The game internal state can be viewed on this display”

In front of the provided monitor were Hajiloomy faces all lined up On a different spot there was the ever cal the start-up sound, the sunglass man speaks

“Well then, shall atch over her In this world where your daughter shall train to be the strongest gunman”

◇

──An acrid smell of burned dust

Looking at the vast view, the gentle sky and harsh wilderness will greet you

What can be heard across the winds are the whistling of adventurers heading off to the unexplored

In this land everything is decided through guns and courage

One person shall grasp glory in their hand while the other shall sleep with their gun on their tomb

In here, the gun sun cartridges rolling on the ground equals to the number of victories and corpses

This is the dreaunmen

Its name is: Gunman’s Glaive──

Cheech[2] fulfilled his dream

Ten years or ently worked as a salaryraduation Ever since then, it had become his dream to quit his job and work in a stylish bar on the streets

However due to his ill, his savings won’t increase, and by the ti the company slave, he met 『CtG』 And by the end of his miser play for few months, he finally set his feet on a tavern at one of the towns in Gunman’s Glaive

It’s near the prime location of the transition point church The store came with Clerk NPCs included in the set And now, he is finally able to accomplish his many year dream to become the moody owner and bartender of a bar

But his hopes quickly burnt up on the first day of the reopening

The store is currently wrapped in a full blast dangerous atmosphere

Excluding one of the seven customers, all of them were un belt It wouldn't be a rare sight in Gunman’s Glaive if it was just that, it's all because these people are wearing worriso place

“Mr Bartender, are you aware of the recent player killer case?”

Within such sight, the only feirl arround her mid-teens She had a pretty face but for so impression on others

“Yeah, that thing flowing on the news line right? More than thirteen people were taken down by it or so”

Cheech replied with a smile He’s not a lolicon[3], but he liked this h male customers

“From what someone said, it happened in taverns like this one There were six custoot killed in an instant”

The girl took a sip of the hotwhite residue on her lips with the tip of her tongue

“The culprit enters the store and wanders around, and finally she says,

『Who is human?』

The NPC clerk unhesitatingly answered 『 asked so suddenly All PlayersHumans tilted their necks and said 『Eh? What does she mean?』

And then, in the next moment, everyone’s necks were torn apart All six of them, almost simultaneously

──The black culprit is a gunly fast shooting speed, and the culprit see just player characters”

Cheech sed his breath involuntarily He thought the story itself was just an exaggeration but the girl’s tone of voice that spoke of this massacre dra the story truly down to the core

“……And what happened to the employees── the bartender?”

“Aah, the NPC bartender was safe Saying stuff about receiving chips or so”

“Is, is that so…… so the bartender didn’t die,”

“Why──”

As if taking the place of Cheech, ent back to polishi+ng glasses, one of the rough custoirl went “Yes?” and turned her body to face hiirl

“Just how did you know about the state of the scene where everyone got killed? An NPC shouldn’t have the ability to speak that much”