Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 130 – Long Time, No See

As this was an officially sponsored venue that handled a variety of events, each game booth was spacious, with large screens overhead showing highlight reels of each game. Watching the visuals really made me want to try every game; they were cool, sometimes cute, and always just enjoyable to watch. And the staff that stood at each booth were dressed in costumes from the games and waving their hands. The clothes were elaborate and a sight to behold.

The ADO booth we were aiming for was located at the far back corner of the room. The popular games weren’t concentrated in one place, but scattered all over the place, according to Harpon-san, who had played quite a few games. 

“[ ADO ] is in the back, right? In the center is the most popular game, [ USM ], and at the far right of the entrance is [ Magitite ], right?”

Harpon-san, who listed the top games in the popularity ranking one after another, had played all the popular games, but he said that ADO was the most in-depth.

“It’s not like other games, where you can tell it’s a game. With ADO, that line is blurred. You’d think the people inside are some form of independent-thinking AI, but they feel different, more human-like. So, you end up getting really engrossed in it. Hahaha. Oh, and with USM, even when you play, you can tell it’s inputted data, so it’s interesting for comparison. After all, the NPC at the store only says ‘Welcome,’ and people on the streets endlessly repeat the same topics. I’d be really surprised if they told me they were real people.”

“Heh. As expected of a hardcore gamer.”

“I’m not that bad. There are way crazier ones out there.”

Harpon-san, who responded to Yuuta’s quips with a smile, seemed pretty mature. He was probably one of those no-good adults who spent most of his free time and money on playing games. I wondered if I’d become like that, too. My future was looking bleak.

While moving my feet desperately, with a distant gaze, I finally spotted the ADO booth. On the large display, the opening movie was playing. It was really cool. Thinking so, I glanced sideways, but Yuuta was watching with a dead look in his eyes. The members of [ Takahashi and his Merry Men ] had similar expressions. Right, they actually met the Hero, who turned out to be nothing like the brave, focused hero the opening movie made him look like. Is that redhead the one who likes being bossed around by his wife…? While I began thinking that way, a complex feeling arose, different from just admiration.

The ominous black Demon King stood in front of the Hero. The Hero let out a mighty cry as he confronted it. I wondered if Emily-san was around in the background.

It bothered me that the other members weren’t appearing at all. I wanted to see Sarah-san and others. And the Sage, who was secretly alive and running around the world. I wished I could be of some help to Sarah-san, who used the last of her strength to put her hopes in that book.

Although we were given priority entrance, as I expected, the ADO booth was already crowded with people.

But it was better than last year. Last year, I could only look at the ceiling display while being squished among the crowd of people.

I could see the staff through the people this time.

Wait, that’s…

That person standing in the ADO booth, wearing the generic light equipment of an ADO NPC…

“Hey, Kengo. That guy dressed like a gatekeeper looks familiar…”

I heard Yuuta’s surprised voice from beside me.

I had spotted that familiar face too. But it wasn’t Vidello-san. It was Vil-san.

Vil-san, was he related to ADO?

[ Everyone, welcome to the Another Dimension Online booth. We have a section for those under 15 to experience, a Q&A corner, and much, much more, so please enjoy your day. ]

Vil-san spoke into the microphone and his voice echoed throughout the booth.

Despite the noise from other booths, everyone seems captivated by his melodious voice.

“Hey, Mac. Is that the gatekeeper you were with the other day? I thought he was an NPC, but he’s actually a player?”

“No, he’s not.”

He’s not.

The stone statue beastman said that Vidello-san’s body was real.

My body was fake, so Vidello-san’s body must belong in the other world, where you can’t come back from death.

“I see. They look really alike though. But well, that gatekeeper was clearly indicated as an NPC. Still, it’s surprising how similar they are.”

Vil-san was wearing a white shirt like Vidello-san often wore, with a breastplate over it, pants, boots, a sword at his waist, and gauntlets on his arms.

The background was designed to look like the streets of ADO, so it was as if that part of the world had been cut out.

“I heard there’s also a function in the back where, if you enter your character’s name, you can see your level ranking.”

“Ranking, huh? I wonder what the highest level is right now.”

“Oh, I heard recently that the leader of [ Yuunagi ] is over 136 now.”

While listening to Yuuta and the others talking next to me, my eyes followed Vil-san.

“Anyway, I want to check out the rankings. Are you guys coming?”

Harpon-san started pushing his way through the crowd to get to the place where he could look up the rankings. There was already a sign out that said ‘Line starts here.’ Staff members dressed as town residents were holding the sign.

Yuuta took Yui’s hand and asked her if she wanted to go. Masuda and Brave were more interested in the merchandise and headed in a different direction.

“I’m not too concerned about my level or the rankings. More importantly…”

As people continued to gather around, I realized that if I missed this opportunity, I might not make it to the front of the line.

“I want to see the city set up close and personal.”

Saying this, I waved to Yuuta and the others and walked alone to the front of the line.

The illuminated corner I saw was a familiar streetscape, and I could tell by the ramparts at the back that it was modeled after the Sei Castle Town.

Ah, at that gate, Vidello-san stood wearing splendid armor. The meticulously crafted streets reminded me of that moment, making me feel like I was playing the game just by looking at it.

Even though I should be myself right now, I fell into the illusion of standing there as Mac in my avatar form.

The signs and hanging banners displaying characters from the other side were amazing. I couldn’t read them. I guess in the game, you had to have certain gear equipped to be able to read them

Did that also mean that without specialized gear, these words couldn’t be understood…?

Come to think of it, what did the characters from the other world look like?

Were the characters written down and left as is…? I didn’t remember the characters ever being translated, either. There weren’t many opportunities to write characters over there in the first place.

As I pondered over these thoughts while looking at the set, I was suddenly pushed from behind.

“Whoa!”

I fell to the ground — Ouch! — and was about to get up when a hand was quickly held out to me.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, I’m al…right…”

I looked up and saw Vil-san’s face in front of me.

“It’s been a while, Kengo. You came today. Be careful, there are a lot of people around.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you very much…”

I was pulled up by the hand and suddenly lifted to my feet. Around me, there were shrill cries of women as they admired Vil-san’s chivalry.

But still… I looked closely at Vil-san.

He looked very much like Vidello-san, but the more I looked at him, the more I realized how different he was.

“So you’re an ADO player, Kengo? What a coincidence! Well, anyway, the Q&A session will start soon, and I’ll answer Kengo’s question first.”

Though it wasn’t particularly dirty, Vil-san gently brushed off the dust from my backside and winked at, not just me, but everyone around us. The cries started up again. Truly, good looks go a long way.

With his long legs, he wore the clothes of the other world without any awkwardness.

Once Vil-san saw that I was standing, he smoothly released my hand and held up the microphone.

[ I hope everyone is enjoying looking around, but let’s have a little Q&A session here. Does anyone have any questions you’d like to ask us? We’ll do our best to answer as many questions as we can, as long as they’re not about personal matters or cheating tricks. ] 

The people around me all raised their hands and started throwing questions. Wow, I couldn’t understand anything they were saying.

Then, Vil-san winked at me as I was now reabsorbed back into the crowd.

[ Alright, you there, the boy who fell just now. Are you okay? Everyone, be careful not to push too hard, or someone might fall and get hurt. Okay, let’s start with this boy. If you have any questions, go ahead. ]

I was a little puzzled. I’m a little bit puzzled.

All my questions were ones I had to figure out the answers to on my own. It felt wrong to ask for quest hints here.

So I decided to ask a simple question.

“Could you tell me about the personalities of the members who defeated the Demon King 15 years ago?”

I couldn’t think of a better question, so I asked that, and Vil-san instantly looked amused.