Chapter 24
The business card provided had ‘Freelance writer Junichiro Tokuoka’ printed on it .
It was my first time receiving a business card, so I looked at it closely with both hands .
“Just in case, this should make getting in touch easier,” Mr . Tokuoka said as though making an excuse for some reason .
We came to a coffee shop near a hospital .
It was not a chain coffee shop that I would use occasionally after school .
It was instead a coffee shop with a retro appearance and an aura of the early Heisei or Showa eras . On the glass wall were the words ‘Internet Cafe Okhotsk’ .
This is the first type of store that my generation will use as its top choice .
“Ha…”
I looked at Mr . Tokuoka in such a way so as not to be rude .
I didn’t think that Mr . Tokuoka’s suspicion would be reduced with just one business card .
He wore round sunglasses and a plain baseball cap . Top top it all off, a Hawaiian shirt with a purple tinge . Oh, I just remembered . It was the color of clay .
Was he about forty years old? I have a hard time telling people’s ages .
When I had been called, it would have been a reasonable response for a junior high school student like me to immediately escape from the place and rush to a children’s shelter or something like that .
In fact, I tried to do just that .
It was Mr . Tokuoka’s words that stopped me .
“Want to know why your friend fell into a coma?”
Does he know anything about what is happening in The World?
“I’m Junichiro Tokuoka, thirty-four years old, unemployed for a reason . Single . Please excuse me if I don’t care to tell you anything more private than that . ”
After taking a sip of the coffee he brought in, Mr . Tokuoka introduced himself .
I was indifferent . I tried to drink the cocoa served in front of me . Huh, wait a minute, I thought .
“You’re unemployed?”
I was a little surprised and spoke again .
“But your business card says you’re a freelance writer . ”
“Oh, I can’t just say I’m unemployed there . Being a freelance writer is similar anyway . No need to worry about the little details,” he said as though getting angry .
“Let’s get into the topic at hand . Your friend… uh, what did you say his name was?”
I answered his question .
“That’s right, Yasuhiko . There are at least six people like him across the country,” Tokuoka suddenly shouted . It startled me .
“And none of them has recovered yet . With one exception . ”
“One exception?”
“Yes, but, let’s skip that for now . All they have in common is that they lost consciousness while playing a game . ”
“The World?”
“Exactly . ”
Mr . Tokuoka nodded .
“Something has happened in The World . I’m investigating it . Would you please tell me what you and Yasuhiko experienced there?”
I last talked about it ten days ago . I was strangely nervous to talk to a real adult that I never met in the game . As I repeated the story, I talked about what happened to Orca . And of course, the black-clad character I called the “Reaper” .
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“Are you still playing The World?”
Mr . Tokuoka frowned when I told him I had logged in every day to save Yasuhiko .
I nodded .
“I think there’s a clue in the game, to get Yasuhiko back . ”
“It’s too dangerous . I advise you to stop . ”
“But…”
“What if you meet the Reaper again? Next time you could be rendered unconscious . ”
“No, I defeated the Reaper . ”
“Actually, I’ve come across him too, so I know you’re not lying or joking about it, and I know he’s a really dangerous guy . I understand your desire to help your friend, but…”
Mr . Tokuoka, who was trying to drink his coffee, had been one step behind and suddenly caught up .
“Huh, you defeated it?”
“Yes . ”
“You defeated it? That thing? By yourself?”
“No, I had others help me,” I said, referring to the previous day’s events .
Mr . Tokuoka groaned with his arms folded .
“I see… and Yasuhiko never regained consciousness . ”
It seemed like he was thinking about something for a while .
“I’ve heard your story and one thing is very clear,” Mr . Tokuoka finally said .
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“Defeating a specific monster in the game will solve it . This is not a simple incident . ”
This person knows stuff . He knows what’s happening in The World much more than I do .
“Would you tell me what you know, Mr . Tokuoka?” I said hurriedly .
“If you like, please make a character and log in to The World . I hope we can all talk directly . ”
I thought it was a good idea .
“No way . I can’t . ”
Mr . Tokuoka waved his hand exaggeratedly .
“CC is keeping an eye on me . If I register an account, make a PC, and log in, I’ll be immediately found out . It would be terrible . ”
They’re keeping an eye on him? What on earth could this guy have done?
I thought about this, but soon thought again that there might not be his fault .
Helba’s email crossed my mind . “You are being watched by management,” it said .
“So, don’t ask me to join the game . My name is out there, too . I will be marked,” Mr . Tokuoka said .
“Okay…”
“Yeah, but I wonder . ”
Mr . Tokuoka held out his hand .
“Hand me my business card . ”
Mr . Tokuoka took out a pen from his pocket and wrote something on the back of his business card .
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Looking at the other side, I could see an English word .
fragment
“Search the internet for this word . You’ll come to understand a lot . ”
“Fragment? What is it? What does it mean?”
“Actually, I don’t know the details myself . I’m still looking into it,” said Mr . Tokuoka with a laugh .
“But it’s probably a keyword that leads to the truth of the matter . ”
“The truth…”
“Of the time you encountered the Reaper,” Mr Tokuoka said .
“I could only run away . I couldn’t even imagine fighting it . On the contrary, if my companion could not help me, I might have become comatose too . ”
Mr . Tokuoka looked at me .
“But you defeated it, using the power of the bracelet that was passed on to you by the girl . Nobody else, just you got the bracelet . I think it makes some sense . ”
Even though he said it made sense, I didn’t really understand it myself .
“Well, don’t think too hard . Do some investigating in the game . I’ll do research outside the game . It’s all about the division of labor, the right person in the right place . It’s probably more efficient… we just need a way to exchange information . ”
Mr . Tokuoka took the pen back from his pocket and wrote a phone number in the margin of the business card .
He picked it up the edges and flapped it to dry the ink before giving it to me again .
“My phone number . Please call me anytime!”
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