39 I’m Asked a Favor

Author: Bishamon Mine
Raw: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n0664js/42/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

◆◇Sight: Third person◇◆

 

My name is Lime. I am an Animanoid.

Currently, on the southern continent of Highlane named “World Cradle,” I work as a Strider Association receptionist.
This World Cradle is a continent for the game, opened to player-sans invited from a parallel world.

“Receptionist-san, appraise this~!”

A large male Strider with a somewhat scary-feeling face, and a slender woman Strider-san, brought in some kind of fur and machine parts.
These two are sometimes mistaken for lovers, but they are siblings.
And the person with the scary-feeling face is a very kind person.

Basically, player-sans are often good people.
Dangerous people are easy to screen out in review.

We are handing over terrible weapons, so we properly take defense measures too.
Only, occasionally there are troublesome people——the Mother Computer’s conference is mysterious at times.
So it is a secret from players, but indicators of people who have been kind to NPPs and such are displayed in our VR as numbers and ranks.

The scary-faced man in front of me is Gold level.
He has obtained a high evaluation as a considerable person of character.

It is not him, but people certified as especially persons of character are given a specific title, and it is displayed clearly to us.

Recently there was a woman who gave hope to a sealed Datanoid-san, released her, and obtained a title.

When we NPCs and NPPs put that woman in our vision, a luxurious medal shining silver-white is displayed over her head in VR, which is probably beyond her knowledge.

Now, for the scary-faced him, shall I give a little extra.

I receive the fur and machine parts, answer “certainly,” and immediately enter appraisal.

Eh, an Animanoid with “beast ears and a tail,” looking at animal fur, doesn’t think anything?

Unless it’s a pretty close species, we don’t think anything. Well, if I see a corpse I go “ugh.”
But to me, who has genes that became quite human-like, it feels like “something else.”
That said, if you remodel the genes of the animal in front of you, you can make it a person.

This kind of problem, even old-humanity Homo-species-sans agonized over as ethics and it became a tangled talk, so being told to give an answer right now is a talk that troubles me.

Probably, the impression when seeing a close species’ carcass is about the shock of a Homo sapiens-san seeing a monkey’s carcass?

“These materials are 〈Komorebi Bear Hide〉 and 〈Automatina Core〉. 3,250 credits and 300 points, shall we buy them?”

250 credits is extra.

“Oh. Became a decent price.”
“Please!”

I put out a window and deposit Galaxy credits and merit points to them.

The scary-faced man, confirming the deposit, asked me in a small voice.

“Hey, how much longer until Special-Authority Strider?”
“What might you mean.”
“Guess this isn’t the method, huh.”

When I play dumb, Onee-san sighed.

The siblings get disappointed faces.
I’m sorry. But I truly cannot answer.

On this planet, besides the continents opened to player-sans, player everyone’s intrusion is forbidden.

On other planets too, planets where current humanity lives, besides places that are the game’s stage, you cannot enter.

The Versus Frames player-sans use have a lock so they absolutely will not enter forbidden zones, and player-sans are forbidden from boarding ships that travel.
But actually, there is one method to enter besides the game stages opened to player-sans.
That is obtaining the right of “Special-Authority Strider.”

A player with extremely high ability, and with no personality problems, can receive the Mother Computer’s conference.
Furthermore, only if they pass this conference is the Special-Authority Strider right recognized.
This Special-Authority Strider is given various authorities besides “intrusion into forbidden zones.”
“Free discretion as a guerrilla in large battles,” and “being able to bring special goods to a certain planet.”
“Being able to purchase special items,” and so on.

And they get remembered well by the military too.

Basically, they come to have authority close to a Galactic Union brigadier general.

Looking, in the back of the Association building other player-sans are having a similar conversation to the siblings.

A man wearing a pilot suit like a robot of combined boxes, and a retro-future-looking pair wearing a pilot suit like a robot with a feminine form though all metal.
Incidentally both are men.

“No good. The method to become a Special-Authority Strider, even large-scale clans apparently haven’t specified the conditions.”
“If we could contact a player who says they became a Special-Authority Strider, that’d be fastest. But we don’t know who, you know?”
“No idea at all. They’re said to be super-skilled, though.”

Recently the rumor of “Special-Authority Strider” suddenly spread among player everyone, and everyone is searching bloodshot for the qualification method.

Many people ask me too, but I cannot answer. I do not have that right.

“If super-skilled, probably a top ranker. Around Miles Humor?”
“Then we can’t even contact them.”
“Right. And we don’t even know if it’s really Miles.”

But a solo clear of 〈Insanity〉 Death Road on a mass-production machine.——such a condition, I don’t think anyone will notice.
Because normally, no one can clear it.

There are other conditions too, but raid-boss solo kills and such, every condition is something ordinary people cannot handle.

While I am smiling at the counter like a doll serving smiles, a player-san with an excellent-made face entered the building and immediately talked to me.

“NPC-san, did you think about that date the other day?”

This person is someone who has been hitting on me many times from before.

I smile nikkori and,

“Hahaha”

I return.

Actually, being liked by player-sans is a bit of a status in receptionist circles.

However, it is also true there are people who do awful things to NPCs.

At player application, personality is considered to a degree, but what is considered most is the courage not to flinch in unforeseen situations, next the ability to properly handle a Versus Frame. Next personality, that kind of feel.

So we tell player-sans “you must not do awful things to NPPs and NPCs,” “if you keep doing awful things you will be BAN,” but there are people who do not stop doing awful things.

The person in front of me is exactly that, friendliness rank the lowest, Rust.

This friendliness is only visible when we NPCs and NPPs go through VR.

Friendliness rank starts from Bronze and normally goes up. Silver, Gold, Platinum, Einsta, that kind of feel.

However if you treat NPCs cruelly it can also go down, Iron, Aluminum, Cobalt, Rust, going down.
So he of Rust rank is a person who kept committing outrages that are not crimes against NPPs and NPCs.

Crime is immediate BAN, so criminals cannot come here.
So unless you commit quite a lot of small outrages, you do not drop to Rust.
Of course, I decline such a person’s date invitation.

If it were an invitation from the scary-faced him, I wouldn’t refuse, though.

Incidentally, as the Rust player-san called us, we are called NPCs.

Player-sans misunderstand NPC = Non-player character.
But the real meaning is NPC = Navigator of Play Client, meaning a role that guides players.

And NPP’s meaning is Non-Practiced Person. Meaning a person who has not received training.
This too, player-sans seem to think is Non-player person.

Incidentally the difference between NPC and NPP is that NPCs have received training to guide player-sans, while NPP people have not received training.
However what both have in common is that they have agreed to invite player-sans.

In the Galactic Union there are also citizens who do not look kindly on inviting player-sans.
Such people are forbidden from entering the game stage.
Only, even so there used to be a citizen who entered the game stage.

The him who entered appealed to player-sans that “this world is not a game!”
However, I heard the player-sans just went blank and returned “I suppose so.”

Actually, information like what Galactic Union general citizens know, player-sans have opportunities to obtain.
We basically do not tell player-sans false information either.

If we want to peacefully drive player-sans out of this world, about all we can do is put out information that would make player-sans want to leave, but general citizens do not know such information.

The revival method, which player-sans would seem to fear most, we are not hiding either.
And if we take hard measures like violence to drive player-sans out, it becomes a terrible crime.

“Come on, you’re an NPC so give players service~.”
“I have not been given such a role.”

My role is to guide player-sans. It is not to give service.
If you want to invite me, please become an attractive man.

The player-san with an excellent-made face still calls. This person is persistent every time.

“Hey, it’s fine, just once.”

While I am thinking (won’t you hurry and go somewhere), a buzzer indicating emergency sounded in my VR gear.
When this buzzer rings, it is a considerable emergency.

“I am sorry, an emergency communication has come in.”

After bowing my head I open a window only I can see and look through the notice.
Then I felt the blood drain from the contents.

“MoB appearing in my hometown Nevercity!?——Only skills work, and even the military cannot fully handle it!?”

A major incident outside the game’s stage.
And it is my hometown.
At this rate, my hometown will———.

“No———”

I looked around inside the Association.

“Oi, didn’t she just say MoB in a town I’ve never heard of?”
“Maybe a chance to enter a no-entry zone?”

To have this incident resolved, we have to take player-sans to a forbidden zone.
But we cannot send ordinary player-sans.

Since we are having them enter a forbidden zone, they must be people of excellent character who will absolutely not commit outrages against citizens.
And of course, they must have ability too.

Right now there are nearly thirty player-sans at the Association.
The Association has various functions like a tavern, shops, a replicator, and a dock that does status-ups, so users never stop.

I go through confirming the friendliness and ability of every player-san currently at the Association.
But there are only people with high friendliness but insufficient ability, or high ability but low friendliness.

The scary-faced him has the best conditions, but with his skills he probably cannot win.

“———W-what do I do. What should I……”
“Um…… I would like to take a quest.”

When I look down troubled, a woman’s voice wanting to obtain a quest hung from above my head.
But this is an emergency, I am the receptionist chief so I must devote my strength to resolving the emergency.

Thinking to convey the situation and call a substitute receptionist, I lifted my face, and there was a still-young woman.

A person with a frightened feel, eyeballs trembling.
Over her head, a silver-white medal shining brilliantly——its meaning is the title 〖From the Galaxy, With Love〗.

The person who recently gave hope to a sealed Datanoid and led her to the outside world.

The her in front of my eyes, friendliness is also a splendid Platinum.

I know. Her great deeds.

Originally, what was expected of her was only contact with the sealed important Datanoid-san.

First have her defeat the guardian, then send many high-friendliness players and Galactic Union counselors, and gradually bring her back to the outside world, we were thinking.
However the person in front of my eyes gave hope to the important Datanoid-san sealed on the spot, and took her outside.

With an outrageous one-liner like “make the Mother MoB smile.”

With her declaration the Mother Computer also seems to have decided its gut——“no change to the plan.”
——Moreover, actually there was no time to send counselors and such, the talk goes.

The VR that had sealed the important Datanoid-san was apparently on the verge of breaking from age deterioration.

When she went to the sealed space, if she had not saved the important Datanoid-san on the spot, the important Datanoid-san’s consciousness would have been lost forever, an investigation result that made the military shudder, such talk is flowing.
And if we could not save the important Datanoid-san, we are said to be checkmated at Floor 40……

It was truly just in time——at that moment, that instant, the one who made contact was the her in front of my eyes, and without her words the important Datanoid-san would not have been saved——we would have had no future.

This shocking talk became a rumor among us NPCs in the blink of an eye.
And that name spread at once.

Her name is Suu.

If it is her, it is good.

No, it can only be her.

“Suu-san, please save us! We need your power!”

I bowed my head to her.