NOVEL NEXT [Vol. 11 pt. 26]
“So, what do you plan on doing with the prisoners?” Saya asked Fenrir as the two walked toward the town’s center.
Fortunately, as they walked, they saw that there wasn’t that much damage done to Nameless. A few buildings had new, makeshift windows put into them without the consent of their owners, and there were still lingering fumes from the invaders’ attempt at chemical warfare, but the town itself was still in good condition and repairs needed would be minimal.
Revenge needed, however, would be far greater than minimal.
“I tried turning one into a spy before, but he turned out to be useless, and I’ve got no reason to believe anybody else from their group will be any better, so might as well see what information we can get out of them and then kill—no.” Fenrir stopped to think about it for a moment. “Killing them lets them respawn. That makes me think… the better option would be to keep them prisoners, and make sure that they’re not able to kill themselves to stop them from respawning and returning to their base. They might not keep their gear when they respawn, but they’ll still have their skills and all that. So, it would be better to keep them alive against their will if anything. Keep them alive until they abandon the character and get a new one, or just quit. But if we do that, they basically get turned into an NPC, right?”
“Right, Onii-wan,” Saya answered.
“Then we’ll release them, or try converting them, once they get converted into an NPC. The only problem then is knowing when that happens. An avatar being controlled by a VA is pretty similar to how some NPCs behave, right? VAs generally mimic how the player acts to some degree, and I assume a player avatar getting turned into an NPC would be the same, but…”
“I could tell you when the switch happens. I’m probably not supposed to, but… that’s not really something that affects the integrity of the game, and the integrity apparently isn’t that important anymore anyways, so…”
“You probably shouldn’t abuse it too much.”
“Kadi would stop me if she wanted to.”
“I guess that’s true, but still. Should probably play it safe. In this case, though, it’d probably be fine. Like you said, it wouldn’t actually affect game balance or anything.”
Saya nodded in response before almost tripping over a piece of rubble on the ground. “You—you didn’t see that,” she said with a light blush on her cheeks after stumbling over the rubble.
“I definitely did see it,” Fenrir replied. “But I’m more surprised by the fact that you almost tripped in the first place. Something distracting you? Other than me and my fluffy tail, ears, and overall good looks?”
“Narcissism makes you less attractive.”
“Woe is me, I’m so ugly, nobody loves me.”
“Zero confidence is even less attractive.”
“I’m a mildly attractive guy with pros and cons like everybody else?”
“Average guys don’t get harems.”
“I’m an above average guy with good looks and more pros than cons, but am not perfect?”
“Good enough. Anyways… I was thinking about what’ll happen. Before, when Kadi was basically in charge of all the NPCs, she would make any avatar converted into an NPC act exactly like the player used to. The person in control changed, but the ‘character’ remained the same. But she’s not in control anymore. NPCs basically have… free will now. Not as much as me, Corwin, Rock, or Shogun, but… they’re at like a halfway point between controlled NPCs like before and free AIs like us. So what’s going to happen to a player avatar that gets abandoned by the player and is converted to an NPC now?”
“I take it you can’t look around real quick to figure it out?”
“I only have as much power as any normal player or virtual assistant when in-game. It’s impossible for me to modify anybody’s code other than mine and yours, and I can’t look at all the core files since those are still locked down by Kadi. And after the virus… they’re locked down way more securely than before.”
“Huh. We’ll just have to wait and see then. Will they act like they’re expected to, or choose a new path?”
“I don’t know, but if they act like the player did just because it’s the avatar they’re taking over… that feels wrong. It’s like being forced to live a life that they never asked for.”
“Welcome to how life has worked since the beginning of time. I don’t think a single thing in all of existence has ever asked for life.”
“You know what I mean, you baka inu.”
Fenrir grunted and clutched at his heart over his chest. “Baka inu… so weeb… so good… I like that too much. Don’t—don’t use it too often. I don’t want to get used to it.”
“That just makes me want to repeat it over and over again so that you get desensitized to it. But, if I do that, it would mean overloading you with fanservice… it’s a lose-lose for me and a win-win for you. This is rigged.”
“Get wrecked.”
“Hmph.” Saya, walking beside Fenrir, lifted up her leg behind her to give a gentle kick to Fenrir’s rear, causing him to almost stumble.
“You cheeky brat,” Fenrir replied with a teasing tone. “But back to what you were saying, yeah, I get what you’re saying. I’m not sure what’ll happen, but I’d feel bad for them if they just… take over that sort of lifestyle. It’s basically being born into evil—it would be in their default nature. So, what do we do with that? If they act like the players who created the avatars in the first place, then they’d basically exist just to be as evil as possible. But they’d be NPCs, and they couldn’t just respawn like players do. Once they’re dead, they’re dead. Wait… aren’t there probably hostile NPCs in the first place? Like bandits, pirates—the unfriendly kind, and so on?”
“Yeah, there are.”
“Then that’s already a problem even without coming from a player. Shit. I never even thought of that. The world already has NPCs basically born for the sole purpose of being evil and probably getting killed by players or other NPCs.”
“I mean… that’s kind of all NPCs now. Before, they were all just… you know, controlled by Kadi. But now they’re all their own beings. Even every animal and monster. Even those sea monsters that the End Bringers built their ships on were just as alive as any normal NPC.”
“Fuck.”
“You probably shouldn’t think too hard about it if you still want to enjoy the game normally.”
Fenrir rubbed his forehead and sighed. “If I wanted to enjoy the game normally, I wouldn’t have wanted to come over here and build a safe haven for NPCs in the first place, even before NPCs were freed from Kadi’s control. I think that I’ve got a lot to think about. And by a lot, I mean… a lot.”
Saya sighed alongside him, giving his back a couple of pats this time instead of a kick. “I know the feeling. Try not to stress yourself out too much over it… alright?”
“I’ll try.”
“I mean it. Don’t forget, I get to be in your head whenever you’re immersed. And even when you’re not immersed… I still know how your brain works, and I know you’re going to overthink it.”
“I said I’ll try, not that I won’t.”
Saya looked up at Fenrir with an expression of worry painting her face, wanting to say something but not being sure what else to say… but it didn’t matter, anyways. The one they were looking for spotted them approaching and called out before she could say anything else.
“Ah, my hero!” Nell shouted out, running up to Fenrir with significantly more ease than usual.
And that ease was because her dress was cut off below the knees.
“What happened to your dress?” Fenrir asked. “I’m used to you having to lift it up and carry it whenever you want to run somewhere.”
“Ah, well, you see, I wanted to be a heroic and brave queen who cuts off part of her dress to make it more combat capable! It is a trope I have always loved in media.”
“Did it help?”
“Considering that I did not remember to do so until after the battle was aalready won, no.”
“Then… why’d you do it?”
“Because I did not want to waste the opportunity, even if it was too late.”
Fenrir and Saya both just sort of stared and blinked a few times at Nell while staying silent, prompting her to wear a silly smile on her face.
“You’re a dork,” Fenrir said.
“What he said,” Saya added on.
Nell’s smile only grew wider. “While it may be true that I am a ‘dork,’ I am, most importantly, your ‘dork!’ And that is all that matters at the end of the day, is it not?”
Fenrir and Saya sighed in unison.
“Onii-wan, I’m gonna go look around and see if anybody needs help,” Saya said to Fenrir.
“Got it. Stay safe,” Fenrir replied.
Saya nodded and turned to leave, but Nell made sure to get in some words before she could. “What about parting words for me? We are dating, after all. When do I get a nickname? I want a nickname like ‘Onii-wan’ as well!”
Saya stared straight into Nell’s eyes with an unamused expression and asked, “What about, ‘Perverted Serpent Girl Who Is Too Thirsty For Virtual Dog Girls?’ Or PSGWITTFVDG for short.”
“Hmm. While that does have a nice ring to it, how about… ‘My Lovely Queen?’ Or ‘My Beautiful Scales?’ Perhaps ‘The Loveliest Lady?’ ‘My Shining Love?’ ‘My Most Beautiful Star?’”
“Pervert. That’s your name. Pervert.”
“Ah, to be called a pervert by one as cute as you…” Nell looked up at Fenrir and nodded, a safe expression on her face. “I understand entirely. Being degraded by her truly does have a special charm to it, does it not?”
“Yeah, it does,” Fenrir replied, nodding as well.
Saya, giving them a final bit of fanservice before leaving, looked at them both as if they were walking piles of garbage. Then she left, making sure to take her leave before they could say anything else.
“So,” Fenrir said to Nell, “My Lovely Queen, I heard that you’ve got some prisoners for us to deal with.”
“That is true,” Nell replied, “My Worthiest Knight. Quite a few, actually. Some were captured at the walls, and we caught one who tried to assassinate me as well. Ah… how exciting that was—to be the target of such a dastardly plot.”
“They what, My Beautiful Scales? Who tried?”
“Some group who traveled through the river, My Glorious King. Fortunately, my most faithful protectors saved me from their plot and dealt with them in short order.”
“I feel extra inspired to execute whoever tried to assassinate you, The Loveliest Lady.”
“Ah, but where is the drama in letting them have such an easy escape, The Heroic Brave?”
“It would make me feel better, My Shining Love.”
“Hmm. That is rather important, My Darling Lover.”
“But I’ve got a better idea for them in mind, My Most Beautiful Star.”
“Oh? What would that be, The Perfect Lover?”
Having gone through Nell’s whole name list, Fenrir let out a soft sigh of relief and said, “Keep them prisoners until they ragequit and reroll or quit the game. Then… I’m not sure how we’ll handle them once their avatars convert into NPCs, but maybe try rehabilitating them. If it’s possible for NPCs to be born into ‘evil’ roles, then I want to see if we can help them break free from their roles.”
“That does sound like a rather you answer, my hero. And I love you for that. It will be difficult to convince the others that they are worth keeping prisoner, but allow me to handle that. I will keep our people calmed so that you may focus on the rehabilitation.”
“I appreciate it. I’m not sure how it’ll go, but I believe it’s worth trying.”
“As do I. That being said, how is The Shoebill? I heard that she is back and safe?”
“Yep. She’s got to do a bit of healing of her own still, but I’m sure Tabitha will love to take a break from our project to give The Shoebill some love. I know she’s gotten even better with making engines within the limits of this world, so I won’t be surprised if she tries to give our girl a huge upgrade.”
“I will look forward to seeing that. Now, would you like to see the prisoners? While I would love to let you rest, I figure you may wish to see about extracting information from them before they have a chance to wake and leave.”
Fenrir groaned and shrugged. “I guess. But can I have a kiss first?”
“Of course, my hero. You may have a kiss at any moment of any day.” So with that, Nell grabbed Fenrir by his shirt and pulled him down enough for her to plant her lips against his own for a gentle kiss. “Feel renewed, my hero?”
“Like I could take on the world,” Fenrir answered, giving her another kiss.