Ch.259This Year’s Outstanding Employee, Shota (6)

There was definitely a certain charm in seeing all the game booths.

I wanted to take my time and enjoy the sights since I’m a nerd at heart, but… I was staff. I had no choice but to hurry to Konami’s booth.

“Ah, you’re here.”

Kujo greeted me.

“……”

His expression hardened when he saw Madoka sticking to me like glue.

“You know the event outline, right? You contributed ideas, after all.”

Kujo seemed a bit nervous, given that this was a major event.

“Ah, of course.”

I replied.

“First, we’ll announce the perfect port of Saigo Fantasy, then showcase a medley of perfectly ported classic masterpieces. Focusing on titles our company has contracts with.”

I explained.

Most gamers are surprisingly traditionalist. There are plenty who spend years diving deep into classic masterpieces. The point was to emphasize that this level of porting is possible even on the new augmented reality console. Games originally played on older consoles can now be experienced in augmented reality. That’s where we gain our leverage.

“Most gamers will probably cream their pants. The place will reek of night blossoms.”

I muttered without thinking.

“Shota!! Hahaha! That’s disgusting!!”

Eri burst into laughter.

“We really need to do well today!! That celebrity is coming!!”

Kujo patted my shoulder.

“Celebrity?”

Aren’t they all industry celebrities?

“None other than… Todoki Hawado!!”

Kujo said with a serious expression.

“T-Todoki Hawado?!!”

A Japanese-American who achieved incredible success with open-world games in the US!! It’s the same person from my original world! Though details like his background and history might be different!! But in any universe, he never released Korean localizations of his games!

“If things go well, the new Fallout might be implemented on our console!”

Kujo said.

“Woohoo!!”

My tension immediately shot up.

“Who the hell is Todoki Hawado… you nerd.”

Taiga couldn’t keep up with our excitement. The other goddesses in my harem were the same, but these people were basically party animals who just enjoyed the crowded atmosphere. But Taiga was essentially a delinquent, not a social butterfly.

I resolved to pay more attention to Taiga… later.

———

Anyway, thanks to the staff’s coordinated response, the event was about to start without any commotion.

Being staff, I helped out with the work.

But… surprisingly many people recognized me.

“Ah!! Are you Arigiri Shota from Toushinbae?”

A trio of women immediately greeted me. They were all dressed in bold cosplay outfits.

“Ah… yes.”

I nodded.

“We’re huge fans of Toushinbae!! You were amazing!!”

The women surrounded me, squealing.

“Um…!”

Toushinbae… it had a decent audience, but was it this popular? Wasn’t it super niche?

“It has an impact you can’t see in regular kendo matches!! People using clone techniques!! Flames coming from swords!!”

The women’s eyes sparkled.

“……….”

Well, I guess that aspect exists. I’ve never seen anyone use normal sword techniques. Maybe Thumbs-up Man and Kana at most.

“Please! Can I have your autograph? Please?”

The women immediately pulled something out of their pockets. Well, an autograph is fine.

“Sign here, please.”

The women’s eyes sparkled as they took out pens and what should have been autograph paper.

But… instead of autograph paper, it was women’s underwear. And it was still warm!!

“Y-you want me to sign this?”

I couldn’t help but double-check.

“Yes!!! This underwear! It’s my most treasured possession! Please sign it with permanent marker!! I want to be with Shota forever!”

The look in this woman’s eyes was dead serious!!

Just then, someone approached, emanating a cold atmosphere.

“Shota. Stop slacking off.”

Kana tried to drive the women away with just her gaze. To strangers, it might have felt like killing intent, but… I’ve come to know Kana. This was jealousy.

“Wow!!!! Ice Princess Kana!!! Saito Kana!!”

“I’m your fan!!”

“Please sign!!”

However, relationships have their own dynamics. A goddess like Kana with FM tendencies was weak against passionate otaku.

“Huh? Eh? Umm?!”

Kana quickly found herself on the defensive, being made to sign autographs. In the end, both Kana and I had no choice but to sign a ton of autographs for the fans.

———-

Anyway, after these eventful incidents, the event began.

My girlfriends and I all got to watch the show from VIP seats.

“The new Fallout is planned to have as many as 124 different endings.”

Nearby, Todoki Hawado was enthusiastically giving an interview. Every word out of his mouth is a lie…!!

While everyone was making small talk, Kujo entered.

“We will now demonstrate our company’s new console. Everyone, please feel free to come up and press the console’s switch. Come on up. We don’t bite.”

Kujo said with a smile.

“First… we’ll demonstrate the new title in Japan’s blockbuster series, Saigo Fantasy!!”

Words alone wouldn’t do it justice. Our strategy was “seeing is believing.” Come up, press the switch, and play. Simple but true to the essence of a game show.

——

Given the overwhelming performance of the console, success was already guaranteed. It was literally a device made by (financially) torturing aliens.

“Awesome!!!”

“Excellent!!”

“This is… Nihon no geimu no mirai…!! Subarashi!!”

People were unanimously giving extremely positive reactions.

This… looks like a success.

“I’m glad, oppa. That you got Dad’s approval.”

Madoka squeezed my hand.

“Yeah… I’m glad things worked out.”

Honestly, with this level of response, they’d probably accept even the shady business model I introduced.

———-

The event concluded successfully. As everyone was starting to wrap up, Kujo spoke to me.

“Shota. Want to play a game before you go?”

Kujo was treating me much more warmly than before. I must have earned some recognition.

“Why not?”

I shrugged and pressed the console button. Honestly, I was curious to try the classic masterpieces implemented in augmented reality.

Beep-!

I pressed the console switch, ready to enter the augmented reality world.

Flash-!!

When my consciousness went dark, I opened my eyes in an unfamiliar place.

It was a pitch-black space. Huh? Did this shit glitch out?

“Hahahahaha!! Arigiri Shota!! I’ve been waiting for this moment when you’d let your guard down!!!”

Then I heard a man’s shout.

I saw a figure with stone-like skin but a fat body filled with flesh.

“You… Galactintin!!!”

I shouted.

“Hehehe. You’re already within range of my ability!!! I’ve been waiting for this moment!! To avenge my humiliation… I’ve been circling around you!!”

Galactintin shouted loudly.

“You… so the stuttering was just an act!!!”

I shouted. How is this guy speaking so fluently when he stuttered in front of me before!!!

“That’s not what you should be focusing on!!”

Galactintin immediately got angry.

“Now that you’re within my ability’s range, I have the overwhelming advantage.”

Galactintin said, crossing his arms.

“My ability is mind control!!!! I’ll read your memories and stimulate your trauma to the fullest!! Die while groaning in mental agony!!”

Galactintin closed the distance between us.

“I’ll instantly kill your girlfriends and comrades without them even knowing!!!”

“Argh?!!”

At that moment, the black background changed.

———

When I opened my eyes, I was on a battlefield. Corpses everywhere.

Buzz-!

Flies were having a feast on top of the corpses.

And… there was myself. The atmosphere was completely different, but it was definitely me. I was digging the ground with a shovel, burying someone. I realized who it was. It was a lover I had in another world.

Is this just a continuation of that high-quality nightmare from before? I was really scared, but… the trauma wasn’t stimulated as much as expected. These aren’t my current memories. There’s a sense of distance.

The scene quickly changed.

Corpse, corpse, corpse, blood, corpse, corpse, corpse—an endless repetition. Honestly, seeing so many corpses was a bit disturbing.

Soon, a cutscene-like video appeared. I was walking leisurely through a castle with just one sword. My entire body was covered in blood. The heads of those I had killed were dangling all over my clothes.

“P-please spare me!!!”

A monster begged me for its life.

Slash-!!

I cut down the monster without hesitation.

“J-just one person… all of us…!!”

“W-we haven’t even invaded the kingdom yet!!! Why…!!”

Slash-!

With another swing of my sword, the monsters scattered into pieces of meat.

“No matter what dimension, no matter what world… if monsters like you crawl out, I’ll chase you to hell.”

The me from another world muttered with cloudy eyes.

Then, those eyes filled with intense hatred.

“I’ll eradicate every last one of you monsters!!!!”

What dwelled in those eyes was pure madness. It gave me goosebumps.

Well… anyway. Where did our Galactintin go? I needed to catch him to end this farce.

And then, I found Galactintin.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!!!”

Galactintin was screaming, tears and snot flowing.

“C-corpses everywhere… ugh…!! Bleeeegh…!!!”

Then, Galactintin started vomiting. Wait. His ability is supposed to stimulate others’ trauma. What good is that if he can’t handle gruesome scenes himself? What a joke. He’s a comedian.

At that moment, my other self in the fantasy spotted Galactintin.

“A monster… I’ll cut you down.”

My fantasy self started chasing after Galactintin at incredible speed.

“Fuuuuuuck!! Stay away!!!!”

Galactintin frantically started running away.

“………”

An astral scene unfolded before my eyes. An ability user falling victim to his own ability. Now that’s rare.