Chapter 8 — In a World Dominated by the Seyla, I Alone Am Safe
As they descended the stairs from the hotel roof, Hanakawa was deep in thought. After Sion had left for her meeting with the other Sages, they had finished their discussion and gone their separate ways. Everyone else had gone on ahead, so Hanakawa was left walking alone.
“No, no, no! I can understand why Sir Takatou and Tomochika would leave together and why Ryouko and Carol would go with them! But why would Sir Ootori and Mitadera leave together?! And when did that concierge disappear?!”
Everyone had grouped up and left naturally, so he had hesitated to force his way into any of their groups.
“Now then, I decided to stay in this world after all...so what do I do?”
Sion had agreed to build a harem for him, and while he wanted nothing more than to take her up on that offer, it was doubtful whether such a thing was possible in a world overrun by the Seyla.
“Ugh...in a world dominated by the Seyla, I alone am safe. That would make me a true harem king, but there is no way such a convenient coincidence could come to pass. Actually, is it totally impossible that my luck could swing in that direction? For example, I could have some inexplicable resistance to the infection! Geh heh heh! If I could provide them food, no one would be able to disobey me!”
Though he happily entertained the delusion, he had no intention of testing the idea out. All land outside of the barrier surrounding the hotel was dangerous. He wasn’t insane enough to intentionally leave.
“I suppose I could head outside, and in the worst case, I have my one chance to join the game to escape harm...”
The mysterious message had said they would be instantly teleported underground when they joined the game, something most would find impossible to believe. But Hanakawa didn’t doubt it in the least. He felt Van wasn’t the type of person to lie.
“But it is still a game created by Sir Van, is it not? Though he was quite kind to me at the academy, I am not sure I can trust the games he makes...”
Van had honestly tried to help Hanakawa but had no issues with the idea of brainwashing the people around him to do so. In short, he didn’t seem to be the type with a strong sense of right and wrong. It wasn’t hard to believe he’d do something unethical in an attempt to be kind.
“The name Cavern Quest does not explain what the game is about, though. Regardless, this place should be safe for now. Though there is the issue of acquiring food, with Miss Sion’s ability to teleport us, we should be able to secure foodstuffs without too much trouble! Living the rest of my life here would be too much, but...no matter! I am sure a certain protagonist will clean all of this up sooner or later!”
He had no intention of doing something about the Seyla himself, nor did he have the ability to.
“That said! Wouldn’t Sir Takatou be capable of doing something similar?! With his ability to kill anything, the Seyla would prove no hindrance to his movement! Though it seems he has no wish to indulge himself so! I am sure he will eventually reluctantly deal with the Seyla, or alternatively resolve the problem entirely by accident while attempting to help someone else! Had I his powers, I would freely do whatever I wished and earn a peerless otherworld harem!”
Hanakawa continued muttering to himself as he descended the stairs.
“That said, I am not one to hold on to resentment. I am a much more tolerant person now. After all, a harem has been promised to me already.”
Putting the important problems aside for now, he decided to enjoy his stay in the luxury hotel. The stores and restaurants were all on the first floor, so he headed there first.
“I wonder, is food still being served in the restaurant? If there is a concern about food, there is a possibility it will be closed...”
But it ended up being a needless worry. Either the staff had decided there was no point in rationing food or they hadn’t even considered there might be a food shortage. The high-class restaurant was still running in full swing.
“Please bring me your finest dish!”
Without the Gift, Hanakawa had no access to his item box and therefore couldn’t pay for food in any way, but it seemed the staff knew he was associated with the Sage as they immediately showed him to a seat.
“Actually, it has been quite a while since I have had a decent meal, has it not? My expectations continue to grow!”
His chest swelling in anticipation, he began looking around the restaurant. He had boldly given an indistinct order, so he had no idea what kind of food awaited him. There were only a few others in the restaurant. It seemed the evacuees from the city hadn’t come here yet.
Hanakawa looked at a nearby table. A wealthy looking family sat there, food piled up to the point it seemed impossible for their small number to ever finish it.
“Oooh...that is much more wild than I would expect from such a high-class restaurant. A whole roast placed in the center of the table? How does one even begin to eat such a thing?”
Though he didn’t recognize the animal, a four-legged creature of some description lay cooked in the center of their table, giving a bizarre impression to the display.
“Ah...no matter. The aroma alone is enough to stimulate my appetite. I am sure whatever it is, it is delicious!”
Though he was a little concerned now, he forced himself to get over it. He was sure he wouldn’t get something that strange. However, that concern was soon overwritten by another one as, no matter how long he waited, nothing came. No matter how much time passed, no one came to deliver any food.
“Hmm. Perhaps the best dish is the one that takes the most time to prepare. Perhaps I should order something else in the meantime.”
If it would take that long, it might be best to order something else to tide him over. As Hanakawa hesitated, a large sound came from the kitchen. The sound of something heavy and metal crashing to the ground, the sound of plates smashing, and faint screams.
“I am getting a terrible feeling about this...b-but occasionally, such things are commonplace in a restaurant such as this. Ah! Perhaps a brand new, clumsy yet beautiful chef had been working to prepare my meal, and accidentally threw the entire thing to the floor on her way to present it to me! Such a thing is quite possible! And in that case, said beautiful woman would then be on her way to apologize to me directly, would she not?!”
Fleeing from the restaurant immediately may have been the smart choice. But there was the possibility he would get an apology from a clumsy female chef. As Hanakawa hesitated, the father of the rich family nearby fell face-first onto his table. Food was sent flying in all directions, and his wife and children began to scream.
If that had been all, one could have written it off as a sudden illness, but there was something sticking out of the man’s back. It was like something had erupted from his stomach through his back, and was now squirming around, reaching for the food on the table.
“Ah, such a development is common in zombie stories, is it not? The moment one relaxes, thinking their dwelling is perfectly sealed and safe, one learns there is a member of the infected already inside, driving everyone to desperation!”
Hanakawa felt instinctively that the man must have been infected by the Seyla. He couldn’t imagine some entirely unrelated parasite bursting out of a man in a situation like this. The tentacles sprouting from the man reached out and grabbed the man’s wife and children. Nothing happened to them immediately, but something else underwent a drastic change. Despite being thoroughly cooked and definitely dead, the roast animal on the table started to move. The legs, which had been cut off, regrew, and its roasted skin began to grow hair. A similar change was happening with the rest of the food. Resurrected fish and shrimp flopped around on the plates, something began writhing within the soup, and the salad exploded outwards, covering the table in greenery.
“Ah! This is not the time to be watching in shock! I must flee!”
Hanakawa rose from his seat and slowly began making his way out of the restaurant. Perhaps luckily, the infected food wasn’t aiming for him. It seemed content to attack the people nearby first.
“Without panic, without creating a scene. Make my way to the exit. Perhaps this way I can avoid being attacked?”
But that hope was immediately dashed. Their infection complete, the infected family all turned their attention to Hanakawa as one.
“I suppose it was foolish to think I alone could escape!”
He no longer had the luxury of moving slowly. Hanakawa made a break for the exit, leaving the restaurant and heading to the lobby of the hotel. The infected didn’t give chase immediately. It seemed they couldn’t move especially fast.
“Are these the classic zombies that will not give chase if one flees?”
However, the panic had already spread to the lobby. People with warped bodies and hollow eyes were attacking everyone around them.
“For now, I must head upstairs!”
There was no point in trying to get outside. The Seyla were everywhere beyond the barrier, and he didn’t know if he could pass through it anyway.
Hanakawa ran up the stairs. Something was chasing him, and at full speed.
“I would prefer if you did not mix the running types of zombies together!”
However, the thing chasing Hanakawa was far larger than he was, and that made it quite a bit slower. That said, without the Gift, Hanakawa wasn’t particularly fast either.
“Ugh! Two fatties running up the stairs is not a scene anyone wishes to see! Even if my life is on the line here, I do not feel much of a sense of tension...though even if I run at full speed, it will eventually overtake me, and there will be nothing I can do!”
Even so, he couldn’t stop. Hanakawa struggled his way up the staircase.
“These stairs...are...too much...”
It seemed his pursuer was similarly exhausted. The infection didn’t appear to be lending them any physical strength.
“That said, I have not yet escaped...however! In times like this, I have my perfect guardian deity! Master Takatou is here, is he not?! I need to reach him somehow. The fifth floor, was it not?”
Having yet to even reach the second floor, the fifth floor seemed impossibly far away.
“W-Well, as long as my pursuer is also exhausted, perhaps I will be able to manage...”
Though he couldn’t afford to let his guard down, his outlook was still optimistic, until he heard footsteps coming from behind his corpulent pursuer. The source of the footsteps quickly knocked the larger pursuer out of the way and rushed up towards Hanakawa.
“Ha ha...well...if the only cost of immortality is wishing to spread the infection, then...wah!”
The moment he gave up and came to a stop, Hanakawa felt himself suddenly accelerate. His exhausted body had flown up the stairs and reached the second floor.
“What? Huh? Is this the awakening I have long sought? Has this crisis uncovered some hidden potential within me?”
“I apologize for the rough treatment. Are you unharmed?” It was the concierge, Celestina. Hanakawa looked down the stairs he had come from to see the infected that had been pursuing him collapsed at the bottom, motionless.
“Please come this way.”
Doing as instructed, Hanakawa stepped closer to the concierge, after which fire doors closed to seal the stairway.
“What just happened?”
“That would be this,” Celestina said, holding out a hand. She was holding a bundle of thread so thin as to be almost invisible. “I used this thread to pull you to safety and restrain those chasing you at the bottom of the stairs.”
“Why does a hotel concierge have skills like this?!”
“It is a skill I picked up as a hobby. Normally, it is not particularly useful, but it seems to have come in handy here.”
“A thread user? That gives quite a powerful impression!”
Celestina chuckled. “That is kind of you to say.”
“But if we close these doors, then the people below us...” Though he felt ashamed to say so after he had fled here alone, now that he was safe, he had to admit to feeling a little concerned.
“My sincerest apologies, but there are none but staff and those who have been evacuated from the city on the first floor. The safety of those staying at the hotel is my top priority.” In other words, she had no problem cutting off those who weren’t guests.
“Uhh...does that mean this place is safe?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that. All pathways to the first floor have been closed, but the fire doors are not that sturdy. And considering the creature in question, I imagine it will eventually find its way here through the ventilation system.”
“So what should we do now?”
“It is only a matter of time before we are wiped out if we stay here. It would be best if we could find a safer place to hide...though if the enemy is falling from the sky, such a place may be difficult to find. I believe we have little hope now but to rely on the power of the Sages.”
“I suppose we can rely on Sir Van’s proposal. Do you believe it will really work?”
“I suspect you will be teleported, yes. I cannot imagine why he would lie.”
“But is saying something like ‘Play Cavern Quest’ really enough to initiate a— Uh oh.”
“Ah!” Not expecting Hanakawa to say the keywords out loud, the normally calm and collected Celestina seemed to panic briefly.
Hanakawa’s body began to glow faintly.
“Umm...please be careful.”
“Wait, can you not do something?! I have no desire to go there! Why were the keywords something so simple and easy to say by accident?!”
“I do not believe it is the kind of thing one would say in daily life, but...in any case, I have attached my thread to your body. I imagine I will end up in the same place sooner or later, so when that happens I will endeavor to assist you.”
Hanakawa disappeared from the hotel hallway.
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