Logout Successful

"I-is logout possible?"

"Ah, come to think of it, I hadn't tested that."

"Isn't that the most important thing!? Err, um, you're joking, right? You're pranking me, right? Is this some kind of hidden camera show?"

I should've worried about that before the red-light district. Completely forgot.

"That's right yo! If we can't log out, our jobs will be in serious trouble yo!?"

"Then let me try disabling VR display. Wait a sec."

"Wait yo! What if we can't get back to this world yo!?"

"… That, I don't know. I don't even understand how or why we're inside the game in the first place…"

"… W-we'll just have to pray we can come back and leave yo…!!"

I opened the config menu… Come to think of it, being able to naturally operate this menu just by thinking about it is pretty amazing.

I switched from VR display back to 3D display.

"Display will revert in 5 seconds. 4. 3. 2…"

My vision was engulfed in light, then immediately blacked out.

I had returned to the state just before entering VR display — sitting in my chair, holding my mobile device.

"Oh, I'm back… I actually made it back safely. Ah, I'm hungry…"

The feeling of fullness vanished instantly, and my stomach growled with a sense of loss.

Looking at my mobile device's screen, it showed the guild's dining hall, with Tria, Alto, and Penpen sitting around a table with maps spread out between them.

The conversation we'd just been having in VR was properly recorded in the message log.

"… So it wasn't a dream, is that what this means?"

"Tria, did you switch back your display?"

"Yeah. Safely returned to reality… This is incredible. But what kind of technology even is this… someone please give me a scientific explanation…"

"Yo yo yo. I safely switched back too, so I'm immediately returning to VR yo."

"That was fast!"

"I totally understand now why underground illegal VR never dies out yo."

She's already hooked on VR (or whatever this is), huh? I understand the feeling though.

"Anyway, I'm gonna finish my meal here first before going back. Ahh, now that I've tasted natural meat…"

Compared to that, even retort-pouch hamburger steak is just salty sponge clay. This might have a significant impact on my future lifestyle.

The sauce is way too oily as well, and somehow feels harsh. The aroma alone wins in terms of refinement, but… that wild, rough smell stimulates the appetite more. Actually, wait? Is the smell deliberately suppressed so you don't overeat?

"Haah. Not satisfying. Nowhere near satisfying."

Hamburg steak… used to be my favorite food.

So this is what they call the disease of luxury.

… Yeah, if this 'Kaito a Luise' game gets banned as an illegal game in the future, I wouldn't hesitate to blow my savings on cyberization and dig through the underground illegal game scene.

Those things are scary because of viruses… but even so, there's no way I'll ever forget the moment I bit into that natural meat steak.

"I definitely can't write about this VR mode on the Wiki."

There might be other people who've reached Lv30, but they're surely keeping their mouths shut too. That's how much that world was overflowing with charm. The wind, the air, the sky. Everything was fresh. Unpolluted, all natural.

And thinking about the Wiki reminded me of something.

Come to think of it, there were items exchangeable with SP like 'Reward Pancakes' and 'Delicious Steak' in the item information…?

… That was just Lizardman meat hunted nearby, wasn't it? Then what exactly is that 'Delicious Steak' supposed to be?

What I'd dismissed as just flavor text for an affection-boosting item suddenly took on a whole new meaning. Now that I could eat it myself.

Yeah. I want to go back quickly too. With that thought, switching to VR mode again on my mobile device was already a given.

Ah, I should use the toilet first though.

"… Well, anyway, I came back, but suddenly feeling this full is rough. Like that sluggish feeling you get from overeating."

"I thought so too yo."

Having returned only to be hit by overwhelming fullness, I slumped over the table while Alto leaned back in her chair.

"Whoa… I want to reach Lv30 soon too, but this is probably illegal, right? Was it safe in terms of side effects?"

"When I came back I did a security check, but there were no abnormalities in my firewall yo… Just so you know, because of my job, mine is a reliable first-class product yo? I also did a body check and everything was all green yo. Drool was fine too yo."

"Alto, you checked that much?"

"Well, I'm in the service industry yo."

"You're in the service industry, Alto-san? Thanks for your hard work."

"Yo."

Alto waved her hand casually.

"But! I wanna go to the red-light district yo! In this body, I wanna splurge at the red-light district!"

"… Personally, I'm not really into lewd stuff. Well, let's ask the merchant. Oh, if we're going to another town, I should probably let my creditor know since I'm still a debtor."

"Just pay it off already yo! I'll put up as much money as you need yo, just make equipment and items for me too from now on yo!"

So the three of us ended up going to see the merchant who'd been lending money to Penpen.

Penpen paid off her debt, and was now able to come to Wantos with us.