The next morning, Hachiman hit the ground running. His first call was to Kurisu's place.
"There's something I need to ask you..."
After getting the seal of approval from Kurisu, Hachiman contacted Keiko next.
"Keiko-san, I have a few favors to ask..."
Next, he called Minami.
"Minami, I've got a request that's a bit awkward to bring up..."
After that, Hachiman placed a call to Kikuoka.
"Kikuoka-san, the groundwork on my end is set."
Finally, Hachiman called Rose.
"Hey, kitten. Orders."
"My, it's been a while since I've heard that tone from you, Hachiman. Oh, but before that, I have a report. Regarding the voiceprint test... they say there's a high probability it's a different person."
"I see. So that means there's a high chance multiple perpetrators are involved after all."
"Did something happen?"
"It's tied to the instructions I'm about to give you. Asuna will fill you in on the details inside the game."
"Understood."
"Alright, here are your orders. First..."
Next, Hachiman explained the current situation to Asuna and Komachi.
"...So, after school wraps up, I need you to contact Juro and the allied teams. Tell them that if they spot Death Gun, they are under no circumstances to engage. Just pass the info to Rosalia."
"Got it. Leave it to me, Onii-chan."
"To think that XeXeed-san is in critical condition and unconscious..."
"Leave that part to me. I'll handle it."
After assuring Asuna, Hachiman headed to a certain location in KITT after school. Upon arriving, he spotted his targets and called out to them.
"Hey. Sorry for calling you two out on such short notice."
"I was shocked when Minami called out of nowhere—it's been forever. Well, I don't mind, but this isn't some kind of payback, right?"
"Yukko, you're way too jumpy. We already made up, didn't we?"
"Exactly. No need to worry. Today, I've got some important business regarding XeXeed."
"About XeXeed-san?"
"Yeah. I'll give you the details in the car."
Hachiman guided the two of them over to KITT.
"This... is your car?"
"Yeah. Cool, right?"
"Ugh, I hate to admit it, but yeah."
"Guess you really are something else."
The three of them climbed inside. Leaving the driving to KITT, Hachiman began laying out the situation.
"Wait, that's what happened?"
"So that's why XeXeed-san didn't log in..."
"Yeah. I'm taking you to where he is right now. I need you two to come with me and meet him."
"Sure, if that's the case."
"Thanks for inviting us along."
"But if he's unconscious, is there really anything we can do?"
"I've already thought of that. Trust me."
Before long, KITT reached the destination. Staff members were bustling frantically around the premises. Hachiman headed straight to the area where the people he had enlisted were waiting.
Kikuoka, Rinko, Meguri, Kiyomori, and Yve were all there.
"Kikuoka-san, sorry to keep you waiting. Is that XeXeed?"
"Yep. Like I mentioned yesterday, thanks to the tip-off from Zaskar, we successfully secured Tamotsu Shigemura—a.k.a. XeXeed."
"I heard about his condition yesterday, but I'm surprised you managed to move him out."
"Ah, well, I had no idea things were quite that dire. Local prominent figures really can be a pain to deal with. Still, you know how it is—making full use of state authority and all."
Kikuoka flashed a sly grin at Hachiman.
"...What kind of threats did you use?"
"Come now, I didn't break any laws. I negotiated normally—with his parents."
"So you stopped just short of crossing the line, then."
"Ah, ahaha..."
Kikuoka laughed it off nervously. Hachiman gave a dry chuckle and turned to Yve.
"Yve, I assume you heard from the kitten..."
"Hachiman-sama, the avatar and the house are completely ready."
"Sorry to dump this on you while Argo's tied up with other work."
"It is no problem at all. It was easy."
Finally, Hachiman addressed Rinko, Meguri, and Kiyomori.
"Rinko-san, sorry for making you play babysitter to the old man."
"What was that?! That's the first thing you say to me after all this time?!"
"I heard everything from Keiko-san. The setup is perfect—his consciousness can be connected to the server at any moment."
"I heard the rundown from Keiko as well! I'll be doing a thorough re-examination alongside the young lady here. It'll take some time before we get any results, but don't you worry—go give that XeXeed fellow a thorough thrashing without a second thought!"
"Hey, old man, that's not what today is about..."
"Hachiman-kun, I'll provide full support, so everything will be fine."
"I'm counting on you, Megurin."
Hachiman then led Yukko and Haruka—who were still struggling to grasp the situation—to a bed equipped with an Amusphere.
"Sorry for not explaining this properly yet. First, promise me that whatever you see here stays a secret. Strictly speaking, it's company confidential."
"It's fine. Even looking directly at it, I have zero idea what's going on anyway."
"Yeah, I probably wouldn't understand even if you explained it."
"This facility is called Sleeping Knights—or 'Forest of Slumber.' As for this overly elaborate machine... skipping the technical jargon, just think of it as a device that lets us talk to unconscious people in a VR space."
"Yep, I'm already lost."
"Me too."
"Anyway, let's go meet the guy."
The three of them donned their Amuspheres and dived into the space where XeXeed was waiting.
"Where... am I?"
Regaining consciousness, XeXeed looked around in confusion. He remembered passionately holding court during the roundtable hosted by MMO Today. Then, his chest had suddenly tightened, and after that...
"Yo, XeXeed. Looking good... well, maybe not quite."
"Y-You're Shana!"
Shana had asked Yve to configure his avatar to match his Shana appearance. Yukko, Haruka, and XeXeed were set up similarly.
"Man, I checked with Kurisu beforehand, but it really is possible to talk to an unconscious person like this. What a relief."
"...What are you talking about? Where even is this?"
"Hold your horses. Look, those two are here."
"Those two?"
Before XeXeed's eyes, two female avatars materialized.
"Wait... Yukko? Haruka?"
"XeXeed-san!"
"Geez, don't scare us like that!"
"Scare you? What do you mean?"
The two proceeded to explain that today was two days prior to the start of the BoB preliminary rounds.
"Wait, seriously?! Did I somehow gain the power to jump through time?!"
"Like hell you did. I'll explain."
"Shana... sorry, fill me in."
XeXeed conceded with unexpected docility. He likely realized that picking a fight here was pointless.
"Right in the middle of that roundtable, your connection abruptly dropped. Turns out immediately after that, you were rushed to the hospital in critical condition."
"Huh?! What the hell happened to my body?!"
"To be honest, we still don't know. Your parents kept the whole thing hidden from the police, so the hospital didn't run any deep diagnostic checks on you."
"Are you kidding me...? Well, figures. Those two hate my guts anyway."
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. They treat me like a total freeloading leech, even though I earn my own keep."
It seemed XeXeed had managed to support himself on his GGO earnings alone. The fact that the apartment was family property—meaning no rent—was a huge factor, but it proved he was a top-tier player nonetheless.
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