Volume 5 Side Story 1 (1/2)
It was the time when THE NEW GATE was still a peaceful VRMMO.
One of the bases called Alloride was crowded with players and NPCs.
On the main street where stores that were placed side by side, made of wood, stone, metal and other raw materials that didn't exist in the real world, a couple; in this case a man and woman were walking.
The man, who had black hair and black pupils wore a black long coat with matching black trousers. Except for the red armguards and the red leg guards, his appearance was almost entirely black. Though it was downtown, he was armed with a katana at his waist.
In contrast to the man in black, the woman was dressed in a colorful manner.
Her light brown hair was fas.h.i.+oned into twin tails which reached her back. Her blue eyes, which gave the impression of a blue sky, were looking at the man. Her skirt had a yellow checkered pattern and she also wore a white blouse with navy blue cloth accents. A short red mantle cover from her back to her shoulders. She let it float in the wind.
The man's name was s.h.i.+n, and the woman's name was Marino.
”Hey, Marino. Though I said I'd follow you, how about telling me where you want to go?”
s.h.i.+n hadn't been informed of their destination. Therefore, he asked Marino, who was cheerfully walking in front, where they were going.
”It's just a little farther, be patient.”
Where the two were heading was a shop that had been recommended to Marino.
”Let's look for a secret famous shop”It was brought up into their conversation about one week earlier.
Marino, who had a vast network of friends immediately found one of the shops. Ever since she had become a regular customer, she now talked about it incessantly.
”The bar manager is a nice person, every time I go to his bar, I end up talking to him for hours. How should I say this? He really fits the part of a bar manager who works in a coffee shop. Isn't that what you want? Just like what you might find in a manga or a novel, he's someone who gives off the impression of a dandy uncle who can be relied on. Although his appearance is a bit comical..”
Apparently, their destination was the coffee shop.
Many MMORPG's had transitioned to VR. THE NEW GATE which s.h.i.+n and Marino played was no exception. The conversion to VR allowed the players to move their avatars around like real bodies. Previously, avatars were viewed in third-person with the player viewpoint being from the back of the avatar, so the realism and reality from VR was overwhelmingly more popular with players.
One of the biggest changes was that the sense of taste had been reproduced. In the past, they could only enjoy the atmosphere, but now there were various food products that were sold with the collaboration of a food company.
In addition, there were many customers who come by for food just like in a real coffee shop. Because one couldn't gain weight no matter how many sweets they ate, there was a rumor that many people had their meal portions increased in the game.
While not true of Marino, s.h.i.+n wasn't the sort who would have conversations in a real coffee shop, so he wasn't really inclined to do it in a net game either.
So, why did he go this time? Only because the person who asked him to was Marino.
In the game, the two people were lovers.
”Ah look! You'll see it when we turn at that corner there.”
s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+fted his gaze ahead to where the spirited Marino had pointed.
s.h.i.+n, who had memorized almost all Alloride's maps, noticed that a road with little pedestrian traffic branched off from the main street. Certainly, he agreed that this road had all the atmosphere require for a famous hidden shop.
However, s.h.i.+n started to have doubts before turning at the corner, when he noticed the signboard that he saw earlier.
”Hey, I can see the signboard from here, but only paws and small fishes were drawn on it. Is it a coffee shop where you get to play with cats or dogs?”
'It actually exists', s.h.i.+n imagined a shop where healing is the main theme.
”No it's not. The bar manager is a beast of the cat race. That's why the signboard is like that. Ah, by the way, it's not a small fish drawn with the paw, it's a small dried sardine.”
Marino gave off a ”What are you talking about?” vibe, leaving s.h.i.+n with mixed feelings.
The name of the shop was 'Nyan Da Land'. As for that naming, s.h.i.+n certainly felt it fit a more cat-like vibe rather than animal-like. However, it was not without thinking 'It should have been easy to understand'. Especially the small dried sardines.
”It's because he's a cat, huh? Y~eah, like I would have known that.”
Couldn't they have used an image of a cat? While puzzling over this, s.h.i.+n followed Marino through the door of the coffee shop.
”Welcome! Oh, if isn't it Mari-nyaa?”
”h.e.l.lo Hibineko-san. I've brought the lover whom I had mentioned before”
”Oh, then you must be s.h.i.+n-kun?”
Hibineko looked at s.h.i.+n. Their conversation showed that the relations.h.i.+p between the owner and the Marino was something more than what you'd normally find between a shopkeeper and customer.
Hibineko's low pitched voice echoed through s.h.i.+n's ears. s.h.i.+n wasn't worried about what was said. On the other hand the possibility of writhing to the sombre baritone voice was high.
However, s.h.i.+n focused on the nickname ”Mari-nyaa” used by Hibineko for Marino.
”Marinyaa?”
”Hmm, that was one of the informal word endings that were established by my guild the 'Cat Type Tribe Word Ending Research Society'. When you want to indicate respect and affection, '-nyaa' is attached to the partner's name. Don't worry, '-nyaa' isn't something intended to be used casually like at a first meeting.”
”Sounds like you're part of an amazing guild, huh? Um, may I call you Hibineko-san?”
Though Marino was calling the catman, ”Hibineko”, what s.h.i.+n saw displayed using a.n.a.lyze was
”'Hibineko' has been attached to this avatar, huh? I'm delighted when you call me so.”
The cat type avatar lowered his head, there was coloring of black ears at the white fur. However, a portion of his face was gray for some reason, the white and gray boundary line looked like a crack on a concrete.
Hibineko, a cracked cat? It was an amazingly well made avatar, s.h.i.+n felt it was amusing and a little amazing at the same time. Because it was rare in the game, it was possible that he liked to do things that amazed others.
”Then let's decide what to order first.”
The two sat on the chairs after the self-introduction ended. It was a famous hidden shop so there were few customers inside, each of them having fun chatting.
”Theres a large menu here. The recommended items are the shakes. The choices are strawberry, white peach, and black sesame in yogurt. By the way, I recommend the black grape shake.”
”Is there coffee or tea behind the counter?”
s.h.i.+n who thought one of those was definitely her favorite, asked Marino while glancing behind the counter.
”Everything over there is quite good. There are no bad choices.”
Marino commented that everything there were first-cla.s.s goods. It wasn't just that it tasted good, the food acted as a power up in a way that was more effective than the half-a.s.sed products sold over the counter in a normal shop.
”Then without further ado, I'll take what Marino recommended, the black grape shake.”
”I've decided too. Master, two black grapes shakes.”
Not even five minutes pa.s.sed after Marino ordered before Hibineko brought the shakes, which had been poured into gla.s.ses.
Because a chef could shorten the food preparation time for a certain number of dishes, it didn't even take a minute of time for the actual food preparation.
To make things seem more realistic, a certain amount of time was waited.
”Thank you for waiting. Here are the black grape shakes you ordered.”
”It's here!”
”Then without delay”
s.h.i.+n tasted the shakes that had arrived. With an icy cold feeling, the sourness and the sweet taste of the grapes spread inside his mouth. Even though it was in game, it was a taste he could honestly say was delicious.
The admiring s.h.i.+n saw that the icons which indicate DEX and INT on his stats bar had risen. Though the rate of increase was lower than from a buff from a mage, it was an increase that surpa.s.sed that which was typical given by food.
”This is amazing! Do you have a version for take out?”
”I'd rather keep this between a few close friends. It's a business, but I'm not doing this for profits.”
When s.h.i.+n asked with a voice that wasn't strange coming from a major guild, Hibineko answered with a troubled face.
Among the gamers, there were people who want to seriously take in what they do.
For such people, they might not be interested to fight for the no. 1 either.
”I see. Well, I have a chef acquaintance I know, so I thought I wanted to see her reaction when she drinks this.”
s.h.i.+n who tried to guess at what was going on inside Hibineko's head, explained why.
”If that's the case, I'll prepare one for you to take with you. I wonder what her impression will be?”
”Really! Thank you very much”
Hibineko seemed to be interested in the other's chef's reaction. He converted the shake into a card and handed it to s.h.i.+n.
”That's Cook-san isn't it? I don't appreciate it when you talk about other girls in front of your lover.”
Although s.h.i.+n was happy for a moment because he had obtained something rare, Marino who had been watching the exchange between the two, glared at s.h.i.+n.
”M-My bad, Marino. It's only because the shake you recommended was so wonderful. It was unintentional, okay?”
s.h.i.+n, clasping both hands together to apologize. Marino nodded with a pose that suggested ”It couldn't be helped.”.
”Oh well, I also thought to take some to Cook-san, so it's fine. It's not like you can do this in the real world after all.”
Marino was used to the change that came over s.h.i.+n when he was exposed to unusual items and equipment. It was like his eye color changed.
”So s.h.i.+n, you need to find a good shop for me next time.”
”I'll look for it, but don't expect too much.”
s.h.i.+n frowned at her reply. Armour and weapons shops were one thing, he didn't have a clue about finding a shop with a playful name like 'Nyan Da Land'.
s.h.i.+n was relieved though because he knew it meant she wasn't in a bad mood.