Chapter 195: Reaching the Heavens Part 2

「Yes?」

「Hello, I have a package to deliver.」

「Ah, please wait just a moment.」

A package? Did Rumi ordered some clothes again? Or maybe Dad ordered a new set of fishing rods? Please don’t tell me that Mom ordered a new set of insects specimens……? Are we going to redo this whole ‘World’s Moth Selection’ horror we have been through this early spring? The horrifying possibility was always there, but it did not make that much sense to me.

「Ah, you can leave it there. It’s no problem.」

「No, no, no, we’ll have to carry it inside. It’s quite big, after all.」

「…… Quite big?」

Looking behind the courier standing at the door, I could hear two more men talking to one another. One of them said ‘Alright, lift it up!’, followed by the noises of some huge package being taken off a large truck.

The hell is this? A package that is so large that two grown-up men need to carry it? What was in that package, anyways? Did mother buy a whole terrarium of some crap?

I remember how last Christmas Mom tried to recreate a South American ecosystem around the house, but was blocked by the neighbors who were scared that some of her ‘pets’ might actually break loose all over the block. She was supposed to abandon that project completely, but what if she was working on it in secret all this time? No, Mom would never be so stupid to do something like that. Probably. …… That’s right.

「Umm, excuse me but…… What is this package, anyway?」

「Oh, yeas, it should be right here…… ‘To Hizutome Rakuro-sama.’ ‘UCE. Chair-Type Full Dive VR System Pro’. That’s what is says here. And I must say, it’s the first time I see something like that being delivered to a private user, not some shop or company…… Umm, hello? Hello?」

---- DUE TO A CRITICAL ERROR ‘SANRAKU.EXE’ HAS SHUT ITSELF DOWN.

---- RESTARTING ‘SANRAKU.EXE’.

---- ONE NEW UPDATE WAS DETECTED BY THE SYSTEM. ‘SANRAKU.EXE’ WILL RESTART UPON THE COMPLETITION OF THE UPDATE.

---- THE FUCK IS THIS?

「Umm…… I don’t want to be rude, but who actually sent this?」

「Hm? Oh, umm, one second, please…… Cyber Battalion. Is the VR chair some sort of a prize for being a part of a professional gaming team?」

「Ah, I see. I see how it is. Now, please excuse me for a moment.」

「Umm, where would you like us to carry the package?」

「Please take it to my room, I mean onto the second floor. …… Sorry for the trouble. Yes, that’s right.」

Right, as for me…… I HAVE A SEVERAL QUESTIONS!

Subject: Yo, what the fuck?

From: Sanraku

To: Modorokatsu

Body: What the frick is that supposed to mean? What gives, dude?

Subject: RE: Yo, what the fuck?

From: Modorokatsu

To: Sanraku

Body: Nice attempt at Kansai dialect. Made me laugh a bit. But it seems that the package has arrived.

Subject: RE: RE: Yo, what the fuck?

From: Sanraku

To: Modorokatsu

Body: Right, but what the hell is that supposed to me? And I’m warning you, if they ask me to pay for this sh*t, I’m going to sue your ass. Huh?

Subject: RE: RE: RE:Yo, what the fuck?

From: Modorokatsu

To: Sanraku

Body: For now, please try to calm down. Let’s say that we have sent if for business purposes? Consider it a gift from our sponsors. A token of gratitude for a ‘No Face’ for participation in GGC. And it’s completely free!

Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: Yo, what the fuck?

From: Sanraku

To: Modorokatsu

Body: You do realize that there is nothing scarier than a free gift, right? They are traps in waiting most of the time, aimed at making the life of the Main Character miserable. You can’t even trust people’s good intentions anymore these days!

Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Yo, what the fuck?

From: Modorokatsu

To: Sanraku

Body: Please stop overthinking things to such an extent. No need to be on the lookout for traps everywhere at every moment. Why not stop for a minute and take a deep breath? How about this: consider this an investment on our part. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get an official e-mail sometime later?

Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Yo, what the fuck?

From: Sanraku

To: Modorokatsu

Body: Anyways, how the hell do you even know where I live? I don’t remember ever sharing my address with you.

Subject: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: Yo, what the fuck?

From: Modorokatsu

To: Sanraku

Body: Ah, if you are wondering about that, it’s simple really. All I had to do was to ask Pencil Warrior in my spare time.

Subject: You BITCH ------!!!

From: Sanraku

To: Pencil Warrior

Body: I’LL SUE YOUR FUCKING ASS ----!!!

Subject: RE: You BITCH ------!!!

From: Pencil Warrior

To: Sanraku

Body: Why, it’s good to hear from you, too. Besides, why are you so angry? Shouldn’t you actually be happy about it? And rest assured, I have made sure that your private information were kept strictly confidential. Probably.

Subject: You Guys, I just Can’t Even……

From: Sanraku

To: Pencil Warrior, Modorokatsu

Body: Think about my feelings for once! What do you want me to do if all of a sudden a package like that arrives at my doorstep!?

Subject: RE: You Guys, I Just Can’t Even……

From: Pencil Warrior

To: Sanraku

Body: Anyways, today’s supper seems to be especially delicious.

Subject: RE: You Guys, I Just Can’t Even……

From: Modorokatsu

To: Sanraku

Body: Smile, my dear Sanraku. You are never fully dressed without a smile, you know?

「Those stupid bastards……!」

Isn’t that your private information are legally protected!? Have they all went and forgotten all about that?

Oh well…… I would be lying if I said that the contents of this package was not making me feel happy, at the very least. At the very least, it made that three days and three nights trip to GGC all worth my while. Umm……

「Would you like to open it here, right now?」

「Ah, no, that’s alright. I’ll arrange it myself later.」

「Right, now I just need you to authenticate it with your finger print, if you please……」

In this day and age, fingerprint recognition can be used instead of ID when you order things online. So I pressed my thumb against the small device that was presented to me, and after a second or two of the data being loaded, the identification process was finally complete.

「Right, that completes it. Thank you very much.」

「Thanks a lot.」

Now, then…… I see the courier off, lock the front door, take off my shoes and return to my room on the second floor. But now what? Receiving this thing is pretty much equivalent to being scouted by the same team that Katsu belongs to. And although he said to treat is as a gift…… And I know that I have promised my family that I would go to University, but with this…… This calls for a family meeting…… No, more like family interrogation? More like family torture, I daresay.

Though my thoughts were going into a pretty dark direction, my body was filling with excitement. With shaking hands I open up the cardboard box and take out the VR system that was inside.

「Oh wow.」

I let out my voice from my throat. But that’s weird. My voice sounded strange. As if it belonged to me, but at the same time it belonged to someone else entirely.

「I feel like my hands won’t stop shaking……」

What emerged out of the box was the newest type of Chair Full Dive VR system. Machine parts of the device were covered with reinforced plastic exterior, and there was a folder attached to it, with illustrations presenting both Cursed Prison and Prison Break inside of it. There was also one more file: an illustration of a mercenary wearing a metal pumpkin-like helmet with a logo with words ‘No Face’ written on it. Looking closely, the back rest also had a logo of Cyber Battalion engraved on it.

Subject: Post Script

From: Modorokatsu

To: Sanraku

Body: Those illustrations attached are the handiwork of the artist that designed the characters for the game. They are one of a kind, attached to only one specific VR system in the entire world.

「It surely makes me happy, but…… It makes me happy, but……! Why does that last line sounded more like a threat than anything else!?」

The moment I have found those illustration, it was like I just signed a pact with the Devil himself. I don’t know how else I could be able to put it.

---- Ahh, but still.

This thing will surely come in handy once the time to fight against Kutanid arrives.