2 - Second, "Sense of Disagreement"

Well, I've finished giving instructions to the legions, so I've done what I had to do for the time being.

I would like to grasp the current situation of the castle town and other places as soon as possible and move on to the next action, but the various windows only reflect the information before the transfer. The reason is that each corps is still gathering information and their reports have not reached Helian yet.

In this game, only the information that is known is visible in the various windows, including the status window. <>This is not the case.

Therefore, no matter how much you want to know the current situation, you have to wait until your subordinates finish collecting some information.

But it is also painful to do nothing.

Open a chat window.

The translucent window that floats in front of you is lined with the names of other players - that is, kings of other countries - with whom you have had contact in the past.

I tried to display the player list, thinking that I would chat with someone and do some kind of diplomacy to gather information and kill time, but..,

"Huh?"

All the player names in the list were grayed out.

White indicates online status, gray indicates offline status, and black indicates doomed (game over) status. In other words, all players are offline.

It is indeed strange that there is not a single online player at this time, when many countries are celebrating their national celebrations.

Huh?　As I was tilting my head, a subdued knocking sound reached my ears.

"Mr. Helian, it's Leve. I have come to inform you of the current results of our investigation.

Come in. You are cleared to enter.

The door to the office is opened without a sound.

Levee slid in, her back straight and straight as usual, but the dog ears on the top of her head were bent down.

The dog ears on the top of his head were broken without much effort.

"Well then, let me give you a quick report. First of all, the area outside the capital was completely covered with forest. Moreover, according to the information coming from the 6th Corps, some kind of jamming effect seems to be spreading throughout the entire forest.

"Jamming by terrain (field) effects. ...... Well then, I'll send some of the 4th Corps' personnel to investigate again. Safety first, from a distance using magic."

"The commander of the Fourth Army himself has already tried it, but he is having difficulty in analyzing the "jamming" effect, and it is difficult to obtain immediate results. It seems that we will have to use our legs."

"What, after you've already tried it. Then, considering the suitability of the forest terrain, we can organize an elf-centered survey team ..................... ...,huh?"

Yes, sir. I will send further instructions to the Commander of the 4th Corps."

--Wait!

"Also, as for the results of aerial reconnaissance ...... by the Dragon Tribe belonging to the 8th Legion, or rather, the results of distant observation from the sky, there seems to be an endless stretch of deep forest all around the area. Only in the northeastern area, there seems to be relatively little greenery, and some wilderness-like areas can be seen, but it was difficult to confirm any further from low altitude observations limited to within the boundaries of the capital city."

--Wait a minute.

"Also, a small thing, the dragons of the Eighth Legion are not very good. I had to beat them to silence them. It seems that they did not understand the royal order not to provoke them out of the country. I will leave it to the Commander of the 8th Army to re-educate him later. I have warned him not to shoot the target, just in case.

--So wait!

"Regarding domestic security, the people were quite agitated by the sudden situation, but thanks to the efforts of the 2nd and 5th corps commanders, the situation is now under control. However, a recently annexed ogre faction has been ......"

"--Wait, Lieve."

Your voice would have been shaking.

I don't think that was the behavior of a king.

But I could not keep silent any longer.

"......?　Can I help you?"

Rieve has a dubious look on his face.

Again, it was an emotion pattern I had never seen before.

It was strange that I had never seen such an emotion pattern before, even though I should be most familiar with her among all of her subordinates.

Her bad status of "fear" must have already been resolved, and she must be back to her usual "calmness" now. However, I am tired of seeing all the patterns of emotions in her calm state.

However, there was such a great sense of discomfort that even that could be dismissed as a trivial matter.

In the conversation with Levee, Helian did not utter any other than giving permission to enter the room. Nevertheless, Rieve responded to Helian's soliloquy by saying that they had a meeting.

--It is impossible.

No matter how good AI is these days, it has not yet reached the realm where it can act completely like a human being.

In this game [Tactics Chronicle], it is only made to look as if humans and AI are interacting freely by having the human side observe a few rules.

Although it is possible for AI at the cutting-edge research level conducted by the government and companies to achieve full interpersonal communication, AI used for entertainment (games) has not yet reached such a level. It is.

Therefore, it was an extraordinary event that Helian, the player, was able to communicate so freely with Lieve, the AI.

"No, calm down ...... calm down.

I mutter to myself.

Suppose, yes, suppose that the AI of this game has been improved.

In that case, I'd like to throw a complaint mail to the management saying, . Suppose that a revolutionary evolution has been achieved.

--If this is the case, it would be strange if a large-scale version upgrade has not been made.

That would require an upgrade process that would take dozens of hours or more. However, for the past six months, only small and medium-scale upgrades that take only a few dozen minutes have been carried out.

There has been no large-scale upgrade.

"............si,System Window: Open. Select: Logout. Immediately execute!

Logout command is verbally manipulated--no response.

In a panic, the translucent system window is moved in front of the user by touch, and the logout command is manually executed by tap--no response.

"Why, why, ...... what the hell is this?

In the system window that is still displayed, the command to call the GM 《Game Master》 is executed manually (tap)--no response.

My legs are shaking.

I can't stop sweating.

"Herian?　Can I help you?　Are you feeling sick somewhere? ......"

Levee, her tail drooping weakly, looks into my face as if she is worried about me. In her slitted eyes, the reflection of herself, Helian, looks somewhat diminutive.

Rieve, who wonders if he is not feeling well, raises Helian's bangs and touches his hand to his forehead after saying, "Excuse me.

Helian felt a cold, moist, feminine palm on his forehead.

--Fearfully, she touches her right hand on Lieve's cheek.

"What?　Uh, sir?"

A panicked gesture.

A change in facial expression.

This is also a first-time expression of emotion.

Fingertips on the cheek.

Feel the softness.

I feel warmth.

--That's all there is to it.

[Tactics Chronicle] is a full-sensory projection VR (Virtual Reality) game, which can transmit sensory information such as texture and temperature to the player. <, it has been realized for some time.

However, it was only a superficial thing, and it was supposed to be a tasteless thing that could only provide a certain sensation.

Although it is claimed to be able to sense the five senses, due to the performance limitations of home video game consoles, cost issues, and ethical issues of not confusing reality with games, the information about the human body should only have been able to provide a false sense of reality.

And yet, what is that breathing of hers against my outstretched right arm?

What is the beating of her heart that I can feel from the nape of her neck where my right hand touches?

What is the natural hue of her cheeks as they gradually flush?

What is that sweet scent peculiar to women?

--It's impossible.

This is impossible.

I suppose it is technically possible if one wanted to express it.

However, if you ask me whether such detailed information can be loaded into entertainment (games), I would say no.

It is absolutely impossible to pack such a huge amount of information into a single character unit of a game.

Do you think there are hundreds of millions of characters in this world alone?

If you want all of them to hold such a huge amount of information, not to mention the problem of storage capacity, the computation speed of a few thousand teraflops would not be able to keep up with the processing.

A server that can handle such a large amount of information should be at the level of a supercomputer or over-technology.

Then, there is a keyword that suddenly came to my mind.

It was written on a pop-up I saw at a bookstore recently.

It is a genre that exploded in popularity about 30 years ago with the Internet novels, and has been on the rise again recently.

It is a theme often used in novels and manga targeting young readers.

The characters are suddenly the victims of an unfortunate accident or a mistake by God, and are cut off from their daily lives and transported to another world they have never seen before, or a world similar to a video game...

Otherworldly transfer.

This is the first time I have ever heard the sound of blood being pumped through my veins.

It's as cold as if I've been stabbed by an icicle in my spine.

My breathing becomes ragged on its own.

I feel sick.

I can't stand.

My vision is distorted.

I can't stop the nausea.

"He, Herian-sama ......!

Lieve holds Helian's wobbling body in her arms.

Her expression is one of worry mixed with impatience. It is hard to imagine her usual sharp eyes. Her cheeks, which were reddish before, are pale, and her eyes show only concern for her partner.

This is definitely an emotion that I have never seen before.

No, this is not something that can be expressed by the system of "emotion" anymore.

The expression of concern on Levee's face was so deep that Helian could only think that he was being confronted with a reality that was hard to accept.

This is ridiculous.

He has been watching too many cartoons and comics.

There is no such thing as another world.

First of all, he wasn't hit by a truck protecting a child, nor did he meet God.

No, I didn't. Calm down. What are you thinking. It's a fiction. How is that possible in real life? Otherworldly transfers are just a fantasy. It's supposed to be.

Nothing is ...... wrong.

He shakes his head and stands up.

I can't see Lieve's face.

Her expression is too realistic for me to look directly at her.

"Please sit down. I'll get the head of the Third Army right away. Until then, please--"

"Nothing!　Don't call me!"

The words of restraint he uttered quickly turned into an unintentional yell.

Rieve's body trembled.

"Oh, no, ...... really, it's nothing. I'm just a little dizzy, so please leave me alone.

Words of comfort.

No, actually, they're just words to make up for something.

But there is no way he can meet someone in his current state of mind.

Perhaps only the AI of the NPC (Non-Player Character) designated as a member of the king's entourage has been improved.

If that is the case, then it may be possible to make one NPC per ...... player behave like a human being even with the current commercial technology.

There is still a possibility.

So we can't meet other NPCs.

Some reason, which is just barely working somewhere in my head, whispers to me that <<>, but I don't have enough energy to take it seriously. I don't have it.

Anyway, I need to calm down. Please calm me down. I can't meet anyone in this state.

I've sent word to the corps. I'm waiting for their reports. You are also to re-compile the report from the corps commander at ....... As soon as we have some information, we will ask for another report.

"...... but I think it would be better if you took a break."

"I'll be fine."

Rieve's expression is growing impatient.

It is a well-made expression, as if she is sincerely concerned about Hellian. And the tone of voice. The dialogue.

...... stop it. Don't make me see any more gestures that aren't in the game.

"At least let me see you ......."

"You're a jerk!　I said I'm fine!　You should leave and get your information together!"

At the sound of the angry voice, Levee shrugged.

Helian could only think of her as a scolded puppy, with her rational mind doing all the extra work.

"............ I beg your pardon."

With a look of concern for Helian to the end of his speech, but with a solemn bow at the end, Lieve left the room.

All that was left in the office was the empty king, who had shouted at and driven out the men who had cared for him.

".................. system window: open. Select: Log out. Immediate."

No response.

".................. System Window: Reopen. Select: GM call. Immediate.

No response.

I closed the system window and made it reappear, then manually executed the logout and GM call commands again, but still there was no response.