Ch.318313 – Password

Adella was lying on a scenic rooftop, frantically trying to decode a cipher.

This would have been a perfect time to use collective intelligence, but NoName’s advice kept bothering her.

[I’d prefer if you kept this secret. At least until we know exactly what it contains.]

“She doesn’t even know what it is herself. Wait, I could just solve it first, couldn’t I?”

If this cipher contained important information, she could use it to blackmail NoName.

Restoring her account to its previous state after the lost save file would be the bare minimum.

She’d also need to get plenty of Christmas presents.

Perhaps she could even reverse their sister dynamic.

‘I failed last time… but opportunities don’t come just once.’

She ignored all of NoName’s messages telling her to come home quickly and focused entirely on decoding the cipher.

She tried hanging upside down from trees, standing under waterfalls while tapping her head.

She struck wooden gongs at quiet temple maps and pushed through crowded plaza maps, never letting go of the paper.

The great Adella even watched a three-hour documentary called “The History of Human Cryptography” on VTube.

Yet still, no satisfactory results emerged.

Adella sighed deeply as she wandered through the VR open space map again.

“Ugh, what am I doing… If only this had been a treasure map!”

A red X mark on a weathered papyrus. A deserted island with crashing waves, a kraken, and a lush forest. In the corner, an eight-pointed star compass.

All elements that stirred the romance of adventure.

Adella picked up a stray branch, crouched down, and drew a treasure map on the ground.

“How do you draw a compass star again?”

Despite watching Pirates of the Caribbean on Netflix just the day before, her terrible memory failed her.

Adella made do by sketching a simple ‘4’ to indicate the cardinal directions.

“It doesn’t look cool without the star. Hmm… I wonder if big sis NoName is good at drawing.”

Adella had never seen NoName draw before.

She was good at magic, swordsmanship, mathematics, languages, and music, so Adella assumed she must be decent at art too.

Meanwhile, the ‘4’ shape looked crooked, so she used the branch to erase it.

“Wait! Four… four-four-four. It’s the number 4!”

A number she’d stared at so intensely she was developing a neurosis about it.

Adella rolled around on the ground as something almost clicked, then finally opened her map app.

She compared the numbers with ASCII, UTF8, and simple alphabetical substitutions.

N, and E.

So the numbers must represent latitude and longitude.

“I am a genius!”

Adella jumped with joy and immediately entered the numbers into the map app.

It was more of a puzzle than a cipher.

‘Straight-laced NoName probably never imagined this!’

[35.3820 N, 63.63133531 E]

But Adella’s guess was completely wrong.

“Oh… is that not it?”

A mountain range in northern Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, specifically a peak.

That seemed too random for a treasure map location.

After about another hour of racking her brain, Adella finally found a more plausible answer.

[35°38’20” N, 139°35’31” E]

[Mitsuké House, 4-chome 23-19, Seijo, Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, Japan]

“That’s not our country… it’s those Japanese bastards’ country!”

With a single sentence, Adella swung between patriotism and treason.

* * *

“This girl… did she think I wouldn’t find her if she ran away?”

Meanwhile, NoName had been watching Adella’s tearful struggle in third-person view for half a day.

‘Why on earth did she go to a waterfall? It’s not like she was meditating.’

Adella had simply left the party, but ownership still belonged to NoName.

The open world didn’t have a central server; instead, capsules shared the load as peers, so ownership meant existence.

Naturally, this ownership relationship couldn’t be dissolved until she obtained a body and left virtual reality.

Bang bang bang-!

‘Speak of the devil.’

Right on cue, Adella knocked on the private room door.

[Private Room]

[NoName and Adella’s Home]

[system: ‘Adella’ has requested to join the ‘NoName and Adella’s Home’ party. Accept?]

“Who is it?”

“Can’t you tell just by hearing? It’s me, Adella! I have something important to tell you, so hurry up and open this door!”

“You’ll break the door. Finished with your little runaway adventure?”

NoName treated running away like it was just going out for dinner.

Adella’s eyebrows twitched, but she had no time to argue.

“That’s not important right now! Listen carefully. This morning, I collected all the Mephistopheles memory fragments! After gathering them all, eleven numbers appeared!”

“Good job.”

“Who am I? I’m the genius cat Adella! I’ve been debating whether to tell you about the cipher I decoded by myself, but if you show some sincerity, I might consider it, hmph!”

“I see. Good job. Adella, could you move aside for a moment? I need to make a call.”

“Huh? Oh, sure…”

NoName’s lack of interest in the cipher was outside Adella’s expectations.

Plus, NoName surely knew about her leaving the party, yet showed no reaction.

Suddenly feeling emotional, Adella fought back tears.

She lay down on the carpet, waiting for NoName to finish her call.

“You just formed a team? How many people? Thirty? Won’t that be too few? It looks like more than just a couple of households. Okay.”

“What? Who are you talking to?”

“Shh, just a moment. Yes. Yes.”

“Fine! I won’t interrupt!”

“So that building is scheduled for redevelopment. Got it. Emika, always be careful, stay close to adults, and contact me immediately if anything happens. Oh, and could you take a photo of the Mitsuké House entrance before you leave? Thanks for doing me this favor.”

After the call ended, Adella asked with a puzzled expression:

“Emika? Katsuhata Emika?”

“Yes. You know her?”

“I know all your acquaintances. But why… wait, did you just say Mitsuké House?”

Adella’s eyes widened.

How on earth did she know that name?

NoName smirked at the open-mouthed Adella.

“Looks like you decoded it too?”

“Uh… no… how…!”

“Did you not know your inventory is shared with mine?”

NoName waved her hand over the hologram, pulling out a pair of black garter belt stockings.

Adella looked shocked.

Her expression asked why NoName had her belongings.

NoName leaned further into the inventory and started pulling out all sorts of items.

A Vocaloid dakimakura, Gundam figurines, boy band bromides, and even a thick flesh-colored chest pad that still retained warmth.

“Kyaaaah! Stop it!”

Adella snatched the last item and hugged it to her chest.

“Digital Video Editing Level 1 Study Guide… Why is this book so clean? You barely opened it when you were at boarding school?”

“That’s! Ahhh! Why are you touching my things! Wait, what about the cipher? Did you decode it by yourself?”

And decoding wasn’t all.

NoName had already contacted the Japanese Katsuhata school and requested an investigation.

“What if there had actually been treasure!”

Adella protested, clenching her fists after hearing the whole story.

“It’s out of our hands now.”

As Adella said, they might just be doing someone else a favor.

But Japanese affairs are best handled by Japanese people.

If any problems arose, they would take appropriate measures.

Adella still looked confused.

NoName took her hands and said:

“I had the same thought as you at first. Of course you’re unhappy about leaving it to others. But think about it. What could I do if I went there myself?”

It wasn’t a question of ability.

Could an 8-year-old child search an entire apartment complex alone?

“Even if the coordinates were accurate to the second, one second of latitude is 25 meters, and one second of longitude is 30 meters. Do you understand?”

“Yeah…”

“If we account for a 2-3 second error, we’d have to search an entire hectare. If a foreigner started picking locks in a redevelopment area, wouldn’t the police be called within a day?”

Though the apartment complex given by the coordinates was quite old, the surrounding neighborhood was a relatively wealthy area with good security.

“Anyway, thank you for collecting the fragments, Adella. It must have been hard playing the game so much.”

“Haha… it was… really hard! Yeah!”

Adella couldn’t meet NoName’s eyes.

She kept to herself that she’d collected them naturally while playing like an addict.

“What time is it now? It’s past midnight.”

“Huh? It’s that late already? Damn, you really lose track of time in here.”

“I think so. You always work so hard, Adella.”

Suddenly feeling something off, Adella lifted NoName by the shoulders and sat her on her lap.

“But why are you still up at midnight? You didn’t even stream today.”

Except for streaming days, NoName rarely stayed in virtual reality for long.

NoName had been connected for over 6 hours already.

She must have entered the VR world right after dinner.

NoName calmly replied:

“Merry Christmas, Adella, though it’s a bit late. Could you check your inventory for a moment?”

[‘Dawn Cat – Adella’s Inventory]

[43. Full Villa House (Waikiki Beach)]

“What’s this?”

“I can’t give you a house in reality, but I thought virtual reality would be okay. Do you like it?”

“It’s just so sudden…”

NoName had already changed into a Santa costume.

“I feel like I’ve been interfering too much with your privacy lately. I should have treated you as an individual, but looking back, I don’t think I always did. I’m deeply reflecting on that.”

NoName looked up at Adella, carefully studying her expression.

This was NoName’s habit.

She always checked the other person’s reaction when making proposals or giving gifts.

Surprisingly considerate of others’ feelings. That was NoName in Adella’s eyes.

Adella pressed her lips together and shook her head.

“No, I don’t need this.”

“Huh? You don’t need it? Why… why? Don’t you like it?”

“If the house is this big, we’ll hardly see each other. Besides, I still like living with you! When else will I get to pinch these cute cheeks? Hehe! Squish squish!”

“Let go. What happened to not interfering with your privacy?”

“I don’t recall saying that?”

Adella whistled and pretended not to know.

“So should I really get a refund?”

“Yes, get a refund! I’m not leaving here! No! I can’t leave! I’m going to keep bothering you until you make me a body!”

“And when I do make you a body?”

“Then I’ll sleep in the same bed as you, hehehe. In a world where ethical codes don’t exist, I wonder what your tummy fat feels like! I can’t wait to touch it.”

NoName shook her head at Adella’s nonsense.

“Oh right, about your dating sim account…”

“Forget about that. I’m a bit upset you exposed my tastes in front of viewers, but you can make it up to me physically. As a Christmas present, sleep with me tonight.”

“Here? So you want me to… just sleep in the capsule?”

“Yes! The capsule has sleep mode! Is that not okay? Do you hate it? Are you abandoning Adella?”

“I suppose there’s no reason why not. Alright.”

“Yay!”

Adella jumped up and cheered.

“Ouch.”

NoName, who had been sitting on Adella’s lap, fell on her bottom from the sudden movement.

NoName picked up a pillow to punish the giggling Adella.

Adella pulled out her 99-enhanced dakimakura, and an irregular pillow fight broke out.

A fierce battle with no defense on either side. Like true sisters, neither gave an inch.

Eventually, NoName bought a bamboo pillow and whacked the back of Adella’s head, creating an unforgettable Christmas memory together.

* * *

The police dispatched to Setagaya Ward staked out quietly, without sirens or horns.

Barricades and police tape blocked various roads.

Some residents, sensing the unease, came out in their pajamas.

Each time, police officers kindly reassured them and sent them back home.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen the police cooperate with us like this.”

The young master of the Katsuhata school remarked to Koizumi Yoshihiro.

The Japanese government’s stance toward various martial arts schools had always been somewhere between “flattery” and “vigilance.”

Particularly large schools were, charitably speaking, volunteer organizations, or less charitably, private military companies with political connections.

Emika’s master nodded slightly in agreement.

“They’re all on alert because we found traces of the Aleph cult. The fact that we caught their trail suggests they’ve been active for a long time already.”

“I see. Terrorism in Japan is unimaginable.”

“I hope those inside are just imposters…”

Signs of electricity and water usage had been found in the abandoned building where no one was supposed to live.

Most significantly, millions of yen in mana tax had been paid over the past decade.

Occasionally homeless people would find empty houses to live in due to Tokyo’s murderous housing prices, but this case was very different.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

A dozen men simultaneously surrounded the building.

[Range Spell: Light]

A massive light spell illuminated all the balconies and corridors of the building.

Members wearing anti-magic gear and aura barriers forcefully kicked open the steel doors.

Bang-!

The worn-out hinges broke with a crack, revealing the interior.

“Two people per household. If no one’s there, move on to the next. Move quickly!”

The search area comprised 50 households.

Occasionally they found smelly homeless people and promptly handed them over to the police.

And then, unit 316 on the central third floor.

“Mr. Koizumi! You need to come see this right away!”

Meanwhile, young men with irezumi tattoos were being brought down in restraints, their eyes filled with hostility.

“Who are these people?”

“I’m not sure. They all know how to use magic, though.”

They know magic but live in such a run-down place?

Very suspicious indeed.

“Don’t let a single one escape. Anything else to report?”

“That… well…”

The young man couldn’t continue.

Koizumi pushed past his shoulder and entered the room where the Katsuhata school members had gathered.

In the corner, a female member was dry heaving.

Normally someone would pat her back, but currently no one had the luxury to do so.

“What’s this?”

“A capsule, sir.”

A powerful stench assaulted his nostrils.

Food waste would have smelled like perfume compared to this.

His eyes stung, and his nose and tongue felt completely numb.

Anyone who smelled this would instinctively know what it was.

Hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic compounds, ammonia.

The smell of a corpse.

Until the forensic team arrived, they couldn’t use magic to preserve the scene.

For now, they had covered the capsule entrance with a shabby cloth to minimize the smell.

“Is there someone inside…?”

“Yes. There is. Someone who was…”

“Hmm… may I take a look?”

Koizumi let out a low sigh.

The body had already been reduced to bones.

The bottom of the capsule, positioned like a coffin, was filled with an unidentified black liquid. This foul water was likely the source of the smell.

Eventually, Koizumi had to cover his mouth.

“How could a human do such a thing…”