Chapter 306: Saiga's Castle of Wind and Clouds

Sunraku: Ah—, you okay?

Psyger-0: I'm so sorry! Um, my VR system is acting up...

Sunraku: Figured.

Sunraku: But isn't that bad? Even if you send it in for repairs right now, there's no way it'll be ready by tomorrow.

Psyger-0: Yes...

Sunraku: I'm guessing there's some kind of problem with the output system, so you should probably prepare to migrate your data via a mobile terminal just in case.

Sunraku: I'll ask just in case, but you aren't planning to just go out and buy a brand new one right now, are you...

Psyger-0: It's not impossible, but...

Sunraku: Ah, you don't have to force yourself. Even the headgear types are pretty expensive.

Psyger-0: I've decided to send it in for repairs. I am truly sorry for breaking our promise for today...

Sunraku: No, wait.

Psyger-0: Eh?

Sunraku: I might actually be able to do something about this.

Sunraku: Well, it depends on whether you're okay with renting one, though.

............

.........

......

Basically, I currently own two VR systems. One is the commercial-grade... or rather, the chair-type VR system adorned with illustrations that the pro gaming team "Cyber Battalion" sent me. The other is the headgear-type VR system I had been using up until then.
Since I've already transferred all my data over to the commercial-grade one, my headgear system—which has had all its data completely wiped—currently has no opportunity to be used. If this were a normal day, I would have just left it at "Hope the repairs finish quickly." But tomorrow is the launch of the second pioneer ship to the New Continent in ShanFro.
It seems Rei-shi has a way to squeeze herself onto the crew roster at the very last minute, but not even being able to log in makes that entirely irrelevant.

Which is why I proposed lending her my currently unused headgear VR system. Additionally, I found myself walking outside on a rather cool Saturday morning carrying a cardboard box, heading over to examine Saiga-san's broken VR system.

Sunraku: So basically, I'm lending you the VR system I'm not using right now until your repairs are finished.

Psyger-0: Are you sure?

Sunraku: Well, stuff happened and I'm not using it right now, so it's fine.

Sunraku: But are you okay with this? A guy used it for quite a long time, you know?

Psyger-0: It's fine! Entirely! There is absolutely no problem!

Psyger-0: Yes!!

Sunraku: O-Oh...

Sunraku: Then, let's meet at Rock Roll...

Sunraku: Ah, wait. The release date for "Imperial Avalon 3" was yesterday, wasn't it... That means it's closed today.

Psyger-0: Imperi, al...?

Sunraku: It's a new Otome game. Apparently it's a massive blockbuster, so the shop is definitely closed this weekend.

Sunraku: Come to think of it, Saiga-san, you're in the same school district as me, so you live pretty close by, right?

Sunraku: I'll just bring it over directly, then.

Sunraku: I can at least do a simple diagnostic check. Who knows, maybe it can be fixed without even needing to send it in for repairs.

Psyger-0: Are you really sure? To have you go out of your way to come all this way...

Sunraku: Full-dive gamers need to exercise moderately or it affects our performance, so don't worry about it. It's basically just like changing my jogging route.

Psyger-0: Th-Then, I'll send you my address... But actually, maybe I should head o

Psyger-0: Never mind.

Sunraku: Eh?

Psyger-0: It's nothing, yes.

Psyger-0: It's just that I happened to see it by chance, so it's not like I looked it up or knew about it, so never min

Psyger-0: [This message was deleted]

Sunraku: W-Well, whatever.

Sunraku: Anyway, I'll head over after I grab some breakfast.

Psyger-0: Understood.

............

.........

......

It took exactly five minutes for Rei's thoughts—which had arrived at the conclusion that "Since he's coming to check my VR system's malfunction, him entering my house is a foregone conclusion. Doesn't that basically qualify as an 'At-Home Date'?"—to undergo a supernova explosion.

The school district where the Hizutome household is located is essentially an isolated island with barely any students.
This is because the area is predominantly populated by people who have lived here since around the 20th century, making the average age demographic quite high. In fact, I once asked my parents why they bothered building a house in a place like this, and they gave me the painfully mundane answer of: "Because the land happened to be cheap."
To be fair, it's not like absolutely zero minors live here. But if we narrow it down strictly to people my age attending my high school, Saiga-san is literally the only person I know of.

"Let's see, turn right here and... is this it?"

It only took about fifteen minutes from my house at a light jog. She really does live close by.
Wait, hold on... Huh? Is this entire massive block displayed on the map without any subdivisions all a single property? This entire walled enclosure... Eh, it's huge. If you placed the Hizutome house in a four-by-four grid, this place is basically sixteen times larger in terms of sheer square footage... You could legitimately play baseball in here, hey.

"Is this... the power of the Saiga family...!?"

Actually, where's the front door? Don't tell me that gate—the type you'd normally smash open with a battering ram during a castle siege scenario—is the front door? Are we seriously in modern-day Japan right now? This is a samurai residence. This is a straight-up samurai residence.

"No matter how you look at it, that's not a place a delivery guy would stand..."

Maybe we really should have just met up in front of Rock Roll... No, testing a VR system while standing outside is obviously impossible. And since Iwamaki-san—acting as a commoner-turned-maid serving an Imperial Family trying to conquer a continent—has set off on a journey to conquer a bizarrely male-only royal court, tinkering with hardware at a random family restaurant is also out of the question.

Can't be helped. I'll just message Saiga-san: "I've arrived, but where's the entrance?" For now, I guess I'll just wait in front of the gate... Hm?

"...mera, ...ka?"

"...bu, .........blind spot...ra"

"...kuzo"

What's going on? There's a group of kids plastered against the gate in bizarre poses. They look exactly like a bunch of little brats, but what are they doing in a place like... Ah, they're running this way.
For some reason, the moment they saw me, they made a face that practically screamed "Crap!" and ran away... Well, whatever. I'll just move to the front of the gate and... Ah, there's a normal human-sized door built right into it. Thank god.

『...Who might you be?』

"Uwoah, you scared me!?"

I haven't even pressed the intercom yet, though!? Don't tell me they have dedicated staff monitoring the front entrance 24/7 in preparation for visitors!?
If I actually stopped to think about it, given the location where those brats were doing weird poses against the wall and the location of the intercom, it was obvious they were trying to pull a "Ding-Dong Ditch." It was purely because of that timing that I happened to perfectly cross paths with the person answering the intercom. However... it would take me a little while longer to realize this, considering I was slightly—no, quite heavily—panicking at the time.

"Nna, eh, ahー............ I have a delivery? For Saiga Rei-san."

『............』

Wow, this is amazing. They haven't spoken a single word, yet the distrust radiating from the speaker is palpable.

『...Do you have an appointment?』

An appointment... A message on a social network app technically counts as one, right? Yeah.

"Ahー yes. I contacted her beforehand."

『............Please wait a moment.』

After waiting a few minutes, the gate opened with a gigigi... Ah, that one?

No, wait, a car is coming out from the inside. I stood there, watching the expectedly foreign luxury car drive out, wondering if it was really okay for me to enter. Just then, the person on the intercom—who had presumably gone to confirm my story—gave me permission to enter, and I finally achieved my infiltration into the Saiga estate.

Wait, if it's an infiltration, I'll get arrested. While I was thinking about that, a middle-aged woman wearing traditional Japanese clothing—a rather rare sight in modern-day Japan—appeared before me. A servant... They actually exist.

"You are Hizutome-sama, correct?"

"Sama... Ah, yes."

"Rei-sama may be slightly delayed in coming here, so please follow me..."

What should I do? Was there a dress code? I'm wearing incredibly casual clothes right now, but at least it's better than wearing a tracksuit, right?
Did I mess up by lightly agreeing to fix her VR system...? While pondering such thoughts, I continued my walk into the Saiga estate.

............

.........

......

"........."

"Please wait here for a while."

The tea stalk floating in the green tea I had been served was completely snapped in half, spinning endlessly in the green sea. I-Is this an ominous sign implying "Even if you have good luck, it will be snapped in half"...? No, stay strong, my heart.

Sitting in seiza, feeling exactly like I had just been randomly teleported directly into a monster house, I suddenly noticed something strange entering the corner of my vision.

"Wait, is this..."

To describe it, it was a bizarre contraption that looked like "a keychain shaped like a surfboard with a barbed hook attached to it."
That being said, I actually knew what this was. Or rather, I have a literal dozen of these same things at my house.

"...Fumu, I do believe that belongs to me?"

"Eh? ......Heehk—."

A voice called out to me just as I was trying to remember specifically "what" it was used for. Turning around, I saw an elderly man—whose character design practically screamed that he was the type to mow down armies with a Japanese katana—standing perfectly still, staring right at me.

There was absolutely no mistake. This person was the final boss of Saiga's Castle of Wind and Clouds... I never heard anything about a wandering-type boss, though!

Author's Afterword
Vooooooon... "Saiga's Castle of Wind and Clouds" (In the style of the "Anor Londo" text appearing in Dark Souls 3).

Meanwhile, the heroine is currently panicking over ablutions, cleaning, makeup, and choosing an outfit, and has apparently been caught by her eldest sister and is currently receiving a lecture.

• Saiga's Castle of Wind and Clouds... or rather, the Saiga Estate.
  There's an archery range and a martial arts dojo located somewhere on the premises.