Chapter 4

It had probably been thirty minutes.

Or perhaps it had only been about three minutes.

Leaning back in the cushioned chair, Helian gazed up at the ceiling, pondering such pointless thoughts.

...Enough with the escapism; it's almost at its limit.

Forcing his dubious mind to work, he began to list the possibilities that could explain this situation.

" Possibility 1: While playing [Tactics Chronicle], an innovative version update was implemented in the background, causing the AI to evolve dramatically. The same applies to the five senses; the amount of perceptible information increased enormously due to the version update."

Negation.

Impossible.

While it might be technically possible to achieve this for the NPC characters who are close to the king, it would take dozens of hours to process in the background, and there was no prior announcement.

Firstly, there was no such announcement.

VR games with "full sensory projection" have strict regulations to prevent even a one-in-ten-thousand accident. It's impossible to perform a large-scale version update without prior notice, especially while players are in the game.

Furthermore, it would be a complete violation of the regulations regarding the five senses.

To prevent players from mistaking virtual reality for real life, "full sensory projection" VR games have strict regulations.

A notable example is taste.

During the alpha testing of "full sensory projection" before its commercialization, an issue arose where the brain recognized in-game meals as real, leading to a significant decrease in food intake in the real world.

In response, "full sensory projection" games are set to provide a semblance of taste, but it is neither unpleasant nor delicious, making it literally tasteless.

Additionally, tactile sensations are limited to a certain extent to prevent them from feeling too real.

This is due to concerns that players might become too satisfied with the virtual world and have a significant negative impact on their real-life social lives. This issue became a social problem during the early days of VR games when regulations were not yet fully established.

Therefore, it's absolutely impossible for the operating company to perform a version update that allows for such realistic sensory information. It would not only lead to the suspension of [Tactics Chronicle] but could also result in a major incident that could threaten the company's survival.

" Possibility 2: An elaborate prank. This is actually the real world, and I was brought to a place similar to the game while I was sleeping. The Reive I saw earlier was a real person, and the dog ears and fluffy tail were accessories. In other words, a well-executed cosplay."

Negation.

Impossible.

Why would someone go to the trouble of preparing a castle identical to the game just for a prank on one person?

Moreover, Reive's ears and tail had no sense of wrongness. They moved naturally and existed as a matter of course.

Furthermore, I could open windows and give simple commands to the legions. Needless to say, such "magical" actions are impossible in the real world.

" Possibility 3: I am still in [Tactics Chronicle], but my consciousness has been transferred to a different dedicated server. On that server, a different version of [Tactics Chronicle] is running. It's a supercomputer-level, high-spec dedicated server, and I'm being subjected to this ridiculous experience as some kind of tester."

Negation... is not possible.

This possibility still remains.

While it severely violates the company's ethical guidelines and the strict regulations of VR games, it might be technically possible if we overlook these issues.

If Reive is the only one with a high-performance AI capable of human-like behavior, and the only one with vast amounts of information like body temperature, skin texture, and pulse, it might be feasible in terms of data capacity and processing power.

However, to verify this, I need to confirm something.

I need to determine that Reive is the only exception.

"―――"

Helian took a silver paper knife from the drawer of his desk.

After a moment, he raised his left hand in front of his face, staring at the palm that felt as real as it could be.

He pressed the blade of the knife against his left palm and, after a brief hesitation, dragged it sideways.

"Ouch..."

Pain shot through him.

It was genuine, undiluted pain. This, too, is a violation of the regulations.

In "full sensory projection" games, pain is strictly regulated for health reasons. The damage is limited to a slight shock or stimulus, not enough to be recognized as pain.

However, this level of regulation violation is expected.

The real issue is what comes next.

"...Blood is coming out."

A thin cut began to bleed red.

When he clenched his left fist, blood quickly overflowed.

Dripping red. The smell of blood could be detected if he brought his nose close. An overwhelming amount of information, indistinguishable from reality.

In other words, if this is [Tactics Chronicle], it means that the character data with vast amounts of information is not limited to Reive.

Even if the server provided such vast amounts of information, it would be impossible for a home game console to process it.

Therefore, Possibility 3 is also negated.

" Possibility 4... a dream."

He didn't want to negate this possibility.

The cut on his left hand throbbed, but he had once pinched his cheek hard in a dream and didn't wake up. He wanted to believe this was the same.

Because, after all, this is the only possibility left.

If he eliminates this, he will have to face this impossible reality.

Just as he was about to hang his head, there was a knock on the door.

...The third knock of the day sounded somewhat hesitant.

Or perhaps it was just his guilt from yelling at Reive earlier that made it seem that way.

"Come in."

"...Excuse me."

Using the "key language" to grant permission to enter, the door opened quietly, and Reive entered as expected.

Her expression was calm, but the triangular dog ears on the top of her head were flat, and her fluffy silver tail hung limply.

The cause was obvious.

"...I have gathered and organized the information again... to report it to you."

"Yes—no, there's something I should say first."

Reive's shoulders trembled.

She looked like a puppy about to be scolded by its owner.

"...Reive, I'm sorry. I seemed to have lost my composure earlier."

"Huh?"

"Being teleported with the entire capital was quite a shock for me. Please forgive me."

He apologized.

As he was about to bow, Reive, looking startled, hurried to stop him.

"N-no! It was my fault for being presumptuous, and it's not something you should apologize for, Lord Helian! I'm the one who should apologize—"

"No, I should apologize. It must have been uncomfortable for you, but please accept my apology. It's necessary for me... for me."

Interrupting Reive's words, he pressed his apology upon her.

...He hadn't accepted this ridiculous reality of being teleported to another world.

The possibility that this was "a dream Helian was seeing" couldn't be completely ruled out.

However, just because it was a dream didn't mean he could act however he wanted.

Yelling at Reive earlier was clearly a case of taking out his frustration on her. It wasn't something that could be brushed off. So he apologized. It was only right.

Moreover, if by some chance... though he didn't want to think about it, if this wasn't a dream but something else, it would be better to act like a king. From a mental health perspective, it wouldn't hurt to take precautions.

Reive seemed to want to say something but suddenly sniffed and looked slightly downward to the right.

Following her gaze, he saw his left hand with the cut from the knife.

It should have been hidden by the desk, but she must have detected the smell of blood.

As expected of a wolf-type [Moon Wolf].

He realized she must have been distracted by his outburst, which is why she hadn't noticed it until now, and the guilt of his outburst pierced his chest.

"Oh, this? It's nothing."

He raised his left hand to show the cut.

Reive's calm expression turned to one on the verge of tears.

Unaccustomed to women's tears, Helian quickly interjected.

"N-no, it's nothing serious! I just accidentally cut myself a little. Don't worry about it."

"...I'm sorry, but... please, let me treat it..."

"It's fine. It will heal if I just lick it. Besides, I need to focus on understanding the current situation."

Unable to look at Reive's face, he forcibly changed the topic to discuss the next steps.

"To reiterate, understanding the current situation is the top priority. What are the legion commanders doing now?"

"Currently, they are commanding their respective legions according to the orders you gave them..."

"I see. Then... is it possible to gather the legion commanders in the audience chamber? Just for about fifteen minutes—"

"It's possible!"

She eagerly responded.

Her face was so close he could count her eyelashes.

...He had no idea what was making her so eager, but it seemed a bit excessive.

"O-okay."

Slightly pulling back, he specified the legion commanders to be gathered and instructed them to assemble in the audience chamber in fifteen minutes.

"I understand! I'll start with the commander of the Third Legion!"

After a deep bow, Reive hurried out of the office.

As he watched her leave, he tilted his head, wondering what had made her so eager, and then remembered her parting words.

"...Ah, I see. She was trying to get me to see the commander of the Third Legion, wasn't she?"

The commander of the Third Legion is a specialist in healing magic.

Since the king had refused, she couldn't bring him to the office, but she was trying to use the audience as an opportunity to get him treated.

"A loyal dog, as expected. Though, he's a wolf."

Thinking it was a remarkably realistic dream, he looked at his left palm.

The cut was still bleeding, though the flow had slowed. It looked painful.

"Maybe I should have asked for treatment first... It's getting really painful."

Muttering this pitifully, he wrapped a piece of cloth around his palm.

Though he had no medical knowledge as a mere student, it should serve as a temporary first aid.

Wishing the dream would end before the audience, he sat in the chair in the audience chamber.

However, time passed mercilessly, and the time for the audience arrived.