Ch.259[Chapter 259] Welcome, Sir Dominic

“I understand.”

Sir Dominic followed the man with a rhinoceros head, riding in a limousine until they arrived somewhere.

It was a skyscraper that soared high into the sky, similar to System Industries’ buildings, though Sir Dominic thought that this might be what System Industries’ architecture would look like if it were a bit more stable.

“…Huh? Why are you here?”

While standing at the entrance of the building, looking up at the structure whose top was not visible, Sir Dominic heard a familiar voice.

“…Senior?”

When Sir Dominic turned his head, v.a.l.l.o.c. was there, eating a donut in a demonic form with muscles and wings, unlike his usual human appearance.

“Is this a dream? Why is Senior in my dream…”

“What? That’s… oh.”

V.a.l.l.o.c. opened his mouth as if to tell Sir Dominic something, but when the rhinoceros-headed man behind Sir Dominic put a finger to his lips gesturing to be quiet, he immediately closed his mouth.

Judging by the new security team leader’s signal, this seemed to be a matter where ‘security’ was important.

“Well, yeah. It’s a dream. It’s a terrible dream. That must be it.”

V.a.l.l.o.c. tried his best to emphasize that it was a dream, but unfortunately, his acting talent was practically zero.

“…I see.”

Sir Dominic noticed v.a.l.l.o.c.’s awkward acting but nodded as if he understood.

There must be a reason why v.a.l.l.o.c. was acting this way.

At this point, Sir Dominic began to wonder if this was really a dream or a new stage or dungeon disguised as a dream.

“Let’s go now. The President is waiting.”

The rhinoceros-headed man subtly reminded Sir Dominic of their original purpose.

Sir Dominic nodded at the rhinoceros-headed man’s words.

“Right. I almost forgot.”

With that, Sir Dominic bid farewell to v.a.l.l.o.c.

“Then, Senior, I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah. See you in Gachaland! …Oops!”

V.a.l.l.o.c. made a slip of the tongue and frantically covered his mouth with his palm.

Fortunately, Sir Dominic didn’t pay much attention to v.a.l.l.o.c.’s words.

Upon entering the building, a very antique and splendid lobby greeted Sir Dominic.

This magnificent lobby, decorated with gold, platinum, silk, and velvet, had employees wearing silk tuxedos. Unlike the businesslike atmosphere of System Industries, this place had a casino-like ambiance.

“Welcome, Team Leader. Are you going to see the President?”

“Yes.”

To go further into the lobby, one had to pass through a security device. An employee standing next to the security device searched Sir Dominic’s body while speaking to the rhinoceros-headed man.

Sir Dominic had to take out everything in his inventory during the body search, but the security employee seemed to think there was nothing dangerous and nodded, returning all of Sir Dominic’s belongings.

“I apologize. I know the President is waiting, but this is my job.”

“…If you’re looking for dangerous items, why are you letting me keep my sword and shield?”

Sir Dominic pointed to the sword at his waist and the shield on his back.

“Those aren’t considered threats.”

The employee replied as if it were obvious.

“Just as no one would question an employee carrying an office cutter knife.”

From the employee’s words, Sir Dominic realized that his weapons would be useless in this building.

“This way.”

The rhinoceros-headed man… the security team leader who had been waiting beyond the security device, headed toward the elevator as soon as Sir Dominic passed through.

The security team leader opened the elevator door with the key card hanging around his neck, then placed the key card below the buttons with floor numbers. The elevator began to shoot upward at high speed without anyone pressing a button.

Sir Dominic let out a weak groan as the strong gravity nearly bent his knees, but like a true tank, he endured it.

“Please be careful with your actions from now on. Once we pass through this door, you’ll be with the President.”

After getting off the elevator, they were in a long corridor with luxurious carpeting.

Large photographs that seemed to be the company’s pride were hanging on both sides of the corridor. Sir Dominic realized that only one person’s face was not clearly visible in each photo.

The people whose faces weren’t clearly visible varied from photo to photo. In some photos, they wore checkered shirts; in others, they wore ill-fitting, unfashionable suits. In some pictures, they were shaking hands with someone who appeared to be important, while in others, they sat on a throne wearing expensive suits.

Sir Dominic couldn’t recognize the face of that person… or perhaps those people, but he realized that each one was holding something in their hands.

Sir Dominic looked closely at one photo.

The person shaking hands with the important figure was holding something labeled “Ninja Spirits: The War Clouds of the Unryu Family.”

Sir Dominic remembered seeing the word “Unryu” somewhere before, and after pondering for a moment, he realized that the word “Unryu” was attached to Hime when he was caught in the anomaly and turned into pixels.

“Unryu…?”

Sir Dominic looked at the other photos again.

He seemed to see familiar names like “Inspector Javert and the Phantom Thief Super Deluxe,” “Legend of Ashtrania: The Revival of Demon Lord Teu Le Vante.”

Feeling uneasy about these familiar names, Sir Dominic moved on to the next picture, thinking he would look at just one more.

“The President says you may enter.”

However, Sir Dominic didn’t get a chance to examine that picture closely.

The security team leader had called for him.

“…I’ll go.”

Sir Dominic walked toward the door the security team leader indicated.

He had many questions to ask the entity beyond the door.

The security team leader closed the door as soon as Sir Dominic passed through.

Only Sir Dominic was permitted to have an audience with the President, not himself.

Instead, the security team leader walked to the picture Sir Dominic had been about to look at.

“Impressive charisma as always.”

What the security team leader was looking at was a photo of a man sitting on a throne, holding a CD labeled “Chronicles of Feralant.”

And not just one, but three of them.

…

Sir Dominic looked around the room as he heard the door close behind him.

The spacious room had one wall made entirely of glass, offering a direct view of the city below.

The room, with its warm-toned curtains and bright but substantial wooden furniture, exuded a cozy atmosphere, contrasting with the cold city lights visible through the window.

“You’ve arrived.”

While Sir Dominic was taking in this elegant room, he heard someone calling from behind him.

Sir Dominic quickly turned around.

Even though Sir Dominic’s senses were somewhat unusual, he wasn’t so unaware as to not notice someone approaching.

The person standing behind Sir Dominic was an elderly man wearing an extremely expensive suit, with such impressive charisma that even Sir Dominic felt intimidated.

Yes, even Sir Dominic.

“No need to be so startled. I have no intention of harming you.”

Of course, you can’t harm me either. A child’s voice was heard from somewhere.

“…Are you the President?”

“Yes. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

The President grinned as he took out whiskey and glasses from a cabinet.

Sir Dominic wondered if he had seen this person before, but then realized that this was the Unborn President.

The memory that had been hidden due to past trauma was awakening.

“Unborn President…”

“That’s what they call me in Gachaland.”

They call me different things elsewhere. A young man’s voice whispered in Sir Dominic’s ear.

The President sat in an expensive-looking chair with a glass full of whiskey.

“First, let me apologize. To see you once, I had no choice but to use dreams.”

Even the Creator can’t be recognized by this damn AI. The child and young man expressed anger simultaneously.

“Anyway, now that you’re here, we can deceive the central system’s eyes for a while.”

“…Why did you bring me here?”

Sir Dominic stared blankly at the President, who had suddenly changed his demeanor to that of a friendly neighbor, then remembered his original purpose and asked a question.

“If you went to such lengths to bring me here, there must be a reason.”

The President raised a finger, saying it was a good question.

“Good question. It’s because I wanted to see you once.”

“You wanted… to see me?”

“Yes. Simply put, I’m a fan.”

Sir Dominic blinked in surprise at the President’s words.

Just for fan sentiment, just to see him once, he had done all this?

“…Fine. Let’s say you’re my fan and wanted to see me. But for us to meet like this would require an elaborate plan.”

“Indeed. It was quite a substantial plan.”

“That means you prepared in advance. Don’t tell me my unusual senses are also because of you?”

The President remained silent at Sir Dominic’s words.