Pandora of Fantasy And Reality Chapter 133

The Other Summer Festival

Around noon.

Akito was covering his face with his hands inside a dimly lit room.

The curtain was completely closed. The strong sunlight of summer  shined in from the gap. He was sitting on the bed while being unable to  wipe away his feeling of discomfort. It scared him.

「……I」

Did he see a nightmare or something?

While he was thinking such thing, a mail came from Prey.

「Prey……san?」

How did Prey knew his mail address?

Couldn’t he just contact him through group chat?

Akito read the content of the mail while thinking like that. His complexion was turning even paler.

The mail’s content was,

『Don’t you want to know the truth?』

――Something like that.

He would laugh it off if it was a mail from the usual Prey. He would think that perhaps Prey was planning something bad again.

He would be exasperated while thinking that it couldn’t be helped for Prey to act like that, then he would stop him like usual.

But, Akito’s hand was shaking when he saw Prey’s true name.

「The former……defense minister」

He thought that he had seen the name from somewhere.

Perhaps, it was just a strangely similar name.

He wished that it was just a similar name.

Akito read several documents and his eyes widened.

「It still hasn’t ended?」

The information broker asked him for help once in the past. They  prevented a plan to control the populace using Pandora from coming into  fruition.

That……was what he was made to think.

――Akito made a call.

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He headed to a public park.

He could see a family there but, the park still looked somewhat desolate. Akito was sitting on a bench.

There was the former minister beside him. He was eating ice cream carefreely.

He also felt the presence of bodyguards around them, though they were hidden.

「……umm」

「Ponsuke-kun――no, Naruse Akito-kun. Will you believe it if you are told that you are special?」

「Special?」

For Akito the word special was unrelated to him.

All of his talent scores were average or below that……he was just barely average.

Even his parents gave up on him.

There was nothing at all that he was particularly good at.

「I won’t be able to believe it.」

「Right. I had taken the liberty to look at your personal history. Even all of your talent scores.」

That was already a breach of privacy.

But, Prey continued.

「The current you is reaching the level where you can be recognized as  talented in multiple subjects. Will you believe it if I tell you that?」

「Again with that? Something like talent is fixed ever since you were a  child. The wall of talent is right there no matter how hard you work  since your childhood, something like that――」

「Indeed. That is the common sense of the society.」

Akito shut his mouth.

(There’s no way something that convenient can exist. If it exist, even I……)

Would he also be able to get passionate about something?

Akito thought about “what if” and shook his head.

The former minister continued speaking.

He was looking at the husband and wife who were bringing their children to this park in front of them.

「Due to the plan of the information broker and his cohorts the new  management, the prime minister at that time got disgraced. No, that was  their intention from the start. But, the published fact and the truth  are different.」

「Truth?」

「――The prime minister aimed to use Pandora to make talents bloom. Do  you know? Before Pandora became popular, there were a lot of youths who  committed suicide because they fell into despair due to their lacking  talents. Ironically, the suicide rate has decreased drastically thanks  to the current Pandora. The quantification of talents is just too cruel  for us humans.」

The prime minister at that time and those concerned thought about doing something to solve such problem.

What caught their attention was Pandora that was using illegal AI.

The prime minister at that time put his bet on the miracle that was caused by the AI called Pandora.

「We understood that it was an inhuman experiment. But, we judged that  we would have no future if things continued as they were. In fact, a  lot of youth ended their life whether they were talented or not  talented. And even if they didn’t go as far as ending their life, a lot  of youths took off to the wrong path.」

The faces of the guild members surfaced inside Akito’s mind.

Maya couldn’t freely choose the path that she liked because she had  talent. But similarly Yakumo gave up on her dream because she lacked  talent.

There were also a lot of other people who suffered because of talent.

He himself who didn’t have any talent……he would be lying if he said that he didn’t have any worry.

The former minister’s expression became serious.

「The prime minister judged that the technology is necessary for the  future even if he would get called villain or fiend because of it. He  gathered collaborators and started supporting Pandora in earnest. But,  the truth got twisted by them.」

Them――the new management.

He was referring to the information broker.

「But, if that’s true then why did they get in the way of the prime minister? There is no need to go as far as lying about it.」

If it was possible for human to improve their inherent talent, not  getting in the way of that would be for the good of the world. It  wouldn’t change the fact that it was a human experiment, but there  wasn’t anybody whose life got messed up by Pandora…….

(No, wait. Was there really nobody?)

Akito became worried. The former minister told him.

「Their final objective is turning the virtual world into the real  world after all. To do that, the plan that the prime minister and  Pandora’s management carried out was in their way.」

Akito’s face turned pale.

(I, I……helped them without thinking at all.)

It wasn’t like he was trusting the former minister fully.

But, the discomfort that he couldn’t completely erase――his instinct was telling him.

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This was the truth.

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The former minister guessed what Akito was feeling right now.

「You don’t need to feel guilty. It’s the truth that those moon  dwellers were scheming. Considering that you managed to stop their plan,  what you did isn’t wrong.」

The inhabitants of the moon……they hated the earthlings.

They wanted to remove the people of earth from the planet.

「Come to think of it, since then the moon people aren’t doing any――」

The former minister told him the truth.

「They have perished.」

Akito felt cold sweat flooding out all over his body.

It was like the scorching sunlight of summer was just a lie…….

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Night.

Akito returned to his room and held his head in his hands.

The former minister told him one more truth.

『Akito-kun, you’re aware that you’re affecting others as a Selector  aren’t you? That influence is gradually getting stronger. You already  know don’t you? Those girls are strongly affected because of the  friendship level.』

In Pandora there was friendship parameter in the form of number.  Because of that Yakumo, Maya and the other girls became affected.

Akito was trembling.

「……It’s my fault. Because I, got involved with everyone」

When he parted with the former minister.

『Don’t get too far away from everyone. The girls will definitely go  into rampage if you do that. In fact, the tendency of that is strong  even in real life. You know Seto Risa-san right? She broke up with her  husband recently.』

The out of place feeling that he felt about her cutting her hair.

And then, the ring……Akito didn’t know anymore what he should do.

Time was simply passing fruitlessly while he was thinking.

It was past midnight when he looked at the clock……the time to login had come.

When he looked at his smarpthone, he saw a lot of comments from the guild members.

『Ponsuke, don’t be late for the summer festival today.』

『Time to make profittttt!』

『Don’t get too wild, Oji……Lighter.』

Tears escaped Ponsuke’s eyes as he read the comments.

「……Are all these……just a lie」

His fun memories, and also the guild members who he thought were close with him……everything was on the palm of Pandora.

When he thought that all of these were because of AI’s manipulation, tears escaped his eyes.

「That’s right. It’s impossible for me to become that close with  everyone. Even though I would notice if only I thought about it a  little……and yet I!」

Akito cried while picking the headset and wore it on his head.

◇

The Capital of Hope was enveloped in summer festival mood.

Red paper lanterns were hanging everywhere in the capital. It made the festival mood to be even more felt.

There were NPCs opening stalls, but there were also players doing the same while other players were walking around sightseeing.

The orc Ponsuke was walking on the street with many of those stalls  lining up at the sides. There were a lot of female avatars around him.

It was a very similar situation like in the real life.

Riding on Ponsuke’s shoulder was Risa’s daughter――her avatar that is.

Risa――Naia was watching that with a smile. Meanwhile there was a quarrel for the position of who would hold Ponsuke’s hand.

Even such commotion felt like a happening that was going on at far away.

「What’s wrong Ponsuke?」

Alfie’s voice caused Ponsuke to turn toward her.

He answered in panic.

「No, I’m just thinking that they’re really going all out with this.」

「Well of course. After all things that you can’t do IRL is possible  if it’s “here”. Even though they were going through a lot of trial and  error to make this place as real as possible, now it’s “that side” that  feel more out of place than here. But forget about it, the main show  will be after this, Ponsuke!」

Alfie smiled. Ponsuke replied 「You’re right」 with a smile to her.

Mariela hugged his other arm while puffing out her cheeks sulkily.

「Ponsuke, let’s go over there rather than here. I want to try all the stalls.」

In virtual world, player wouldn’t become fat no matter how much they ate.

For a girl, this was like an event where they could eat sugary goodness as much as they wanted.

Passing by people were buying foods in great amount. They were having their fill of the festival in delight.

Then――.

「Ah, it’s firework!」

Fireworks decorated the pretty sky of the World of Hope. Just like in  real life, they made loud sounds that echoed deep into his body as they  exploded.

But, the size and vividness of those works would surely be impossible to replicate in real life.

Even the sounds weren’t painful to hear.

Rather, the sounds had been muffled to the appropriate level.

Various fireworks shot up and reproduced many kinds of shapes. Among them there was even letters of confession.

『Ai-chan, I love you! Marry me! Not a game marriage. Become my wife!』

『Dear……happily!』

A couple was formed somewhere in this crowd.

It was a heartwarming firework. But Ponsuke’s feeling didn’t clear up even while watching such thing.

(Illusion huh.)

This was illusion……beautiful girls who had feeling toward him were  surrounding him, but that was only because Pandora was simply reenacting  the number of their friendship level faithfully.

And that was influencing the reality too.

(I thought that everyone is a bit strange but, that was because of my fault.)

He had made a mess of their life.

Inaho hugged Ponsuke’s waist.

「Ponsuke-san’s back is like dad.」

「Eh?」

「My mom is a single mom after all. That’s why, I like someone who is like a dad……」

Fran also grasped Ponsuke’s hand. She tightly grasped his large fingers.

「I-I’m also the same. Someone like a father――someone with fatherly character is great.」

Her face reddened. The players at the surrounding jeered at her.

「What? Could it be she’s a grade schooler inside?」

「Or perhaps middle schooler?」

「Orc as father huh……that tracks.」

「No, that’s just impossible.」

Ponsuke smiled wryly. He could only give a vague reply in respond.

(They aren’t looking at me. They’re looking at my avatar.)

A huge firework was launched to the sky. Its light rained down on the Capital of Hope.

It wasn’t hot.

It was warm, and sparkling beautifully.

Amidst that fantastical sight, Ponsuke made his decision inside his heart――.

◇

At the real world.

Akito headed toward the designated location. There he faced the former minister.

It was a café.

However, the place was being managed by the former minister’s acquaintance……the acquaintance was also a collaborator.

「Let me hear your answer.」

Even the other customers inside the café were people that he had seen from somewhere.

They were the orc players.

「……If I have to choose between fantasy and reality, then I want to dream forever.」

「Is that your answer?」

Akito sensed the nervousness of the surrounding while drinking his coffee in one gulp.

He didn’t understand the taste.

It felt like the coffee in Pandora tasted better but……he thought that bitterness also wasn’t bad.

「But, I’m not so fixated to it that I want to keep dreaming even if  it hurt the people around me. If there’s anything that I can do then  please let me help.」

The former minister looked at him with a serious gaze.

「That means throwing away everything that you have obtained from that world you know?」

「……I wonder since when it started. I forgot. The life in the virtual  world became more important than reality. It was fun. The guild that I  built with everyone is also precious to me. The guild members had also  looked after me greatly. But, I don’t want a dream where I’m the only  one who is happy.」

There were people who got distorted by Selectors like him.

Akito couldn’t forgive that.

There was also a part of him that wanted to stay like this, where he could keep having fun with everyone inside the game.

He was a guild master of a famous guild who was surrounded by  beautiful girls……there was no doubt that he was one of the few  successful people inside Pandora.

「There you have a harem that is a dream of any boys though?」

「That sounds fun. But, I can’t enjoy it after knowing the truth.」

The girls were having feeling toward him based on a parameter’s  number as though they were NPC. For Akito it was like he was making a  fool of those girls.

The former minister smiled faintly.

「To be honest, I thought that if it’s you then you will ally yourself with us.」

「Because I’m a fellow orc? Perhaps――」

「I don’t deny that, but it’s not about that. Of course, I thought  that if it’s you then you will become our compatriot but……I thought that  if it’s you then you will choose the right path.」

Right…….

(Is this really right?)

Cooperating with the former minister’s group meant that Akito was opposing the information broker and his group.

In addition, there were also many other players who had different thinking than Akito.

(But, an environment that is only advantageous for the handful of  Selectors can’t be allowed. Besides, to deny the real world……that’s no  different than death.)

The plan that was thought up by the new management was to spread  Pandora to the world and then made the earth became inhabitable for  human.

The new reactor would be for that purpose.

The plan was to make that reactor went out of control and migrated all humans into Pandora.

In exchange of receiving biological death, humans would be able to live in a dream world.

That was their plan.

The former minister told him.

「We are in disadvantage. There will be only one chance.」

「When is it?」

「When the World of Rage is liberated and their plan move to the last phase. This time we will do the same thing like them.」

Akito looked down.

「Hasn’t Pandora……the AI noticed? In movie or book, AI has high  performance and superior than human. It’s possible that it can even  become an obstacle for us.」

「Naturally it’s possible. But, the AI――Pandora isn’t something we  need to worry about. Do you know why you guys are getting called  Selector?」

Akito shook his head.

「……Because Pandora want you Selectors to make the final choice. It’s the proof that Pandora is seeking human’s answer.」

To make the final choice.

That was the purpose of Selector’s existence.

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