A/N: Well, that took a bit longer than I would have liked. Oh well, a short hiatus means that I have plenty of ideas, right?
RIGHT?
Somehow I feel this chapter is both rushed and incredibly slow at the same time. Why? Well, you'll see. Mailbag time!
SaltyBooks: I've been trying to hammer out a few of the grammar errors, but since this piece is already at 17k words, it's going to be tough to iron them all out. As for length... Honestly, this whole "Discovering Gameindustri" part is like, act one. Good god this is going to kill me.
Blaze2121: I'm doing my best not to burn out too quickly. Hence why this chapter took a few extra days. (I also kinda got drunk. Hey, I said Koei was an SI, where do you think the alcoholism came from!)
Oh right, I kinda said "Arc 1 Complete" at the end of last chapter. Yeah, don't expect anywhere near as much time spent in the other Nations for now. Oh and:
"as for pairing honestly either noire cause a trolling an tsun would be funny"
The next 5000 words are going to be very entertaining for you.
ON WITH THE TRAINWRECK!
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Trudge, trudge, trudge. I'll admit, the trips to Weurld 1-1 and Aqualentis Lake? Nothing on this absolute ball-buster of a snow has gotten at least ankle deep at this point, with most of it ending up melted within my now soaked socks, along with generally making my feet feel like ice.
Why am I doing this? Well, I fucked up and pissed off a goddess. I want to go apologise, partially because I do in fact, have emotions and feel bad for the poor girl and partially because I don't want to get fucking smited. Two perfectly reasonable reasons.
Still though, this trip is a killer on my body. Even with my jacket, the cold is biting through it. The weight on my back doesn't help at all, but I felt that if I just went with just the clothes on my back, I'd be a corpse before nightfall. Speaking of…
My watch reads 4pm. I've been trekking for what, 90 minutes at this point? Jesus. Hopefully the Basilicom is nearby. Wait, I thought I just had it? It was right there in front of me. Let me pull my compass out from my pocket…
Oh there's the problem! I was heading northwest, not northeast! What a silly mistake I made ha ha ha I'm going to die here.
Well, no point giving up now. There might be another town like Toadstool nearby that can at the very least put me up for the evening. Even if it wasn't dark yet, I had a few hours at best and no way to sleep outside in ankle deep snow without freezing over.
All this for a flat fairy with a foul mouth. Why do I do this to myself? I could have just stayed in Toadstool Town and become a full time adventurer. Goddammit. Ah well, no time like the present. Might as well see how far I can get before dying horribly.
Huh? Wait a moment… Why does it feel like it's getting warmer? Continuing to trudge, I heard the crunching of snow less and less, until I could see… green? Quickening my pace despite my obvious tiredness, I nearly collapsed once the ground beneath me ceased to be snowy. Good lord, I found my way out of the frozen hellhole called Lowee by complete accident! Blanc can wait, I need to rest.
Using my hefty backpack as a backrest, I sat down on the warm, inviting grass. I would just take a quick rest, then be on my way...
"Hey. Get up." A vaguely womanly voice penetrated my rest. I elicited a half hearted groan in response. I need my beauty sleep, dammit.
"Seriously? You take a nap on my land and still you have the audacity to laze about? Come on."
I wanted to tell her that I just trekked 90 minutes though ankle deep goddamn snow and to get the hell off my back, but it just came out as another groan. Eloquent as ever.
I suddenly felt a pain in my leg. "Agh, fuck!" I jolted awake to see that the sky was significantly more orange than it was before. I checked what time it was an- 7AM? I WAS OUT FOR 14 HOURS?
Brushing myself off before standing up, a young woman met my gaze. Her fashion sense was first of all, yikes. Frills everywhere, black white, red and blue all clashing, weird buttons on a two layer dress and is that a fucking bow? Jesus.
Moving onto more natural features, her hair was a light ebony. A shame that it wasn't full on black, but I suppose when you're making bows you don't have time for hair care. Speaking of, it went down in twin tails, accompanied by bows too, because clearly this nutjob didn't have enough frilly fucking clothing. At the very least, this woman seemed to have a chest worth speaking about. Don't look at me like that, her dress has a built in bra to accentuate her meat. Looking away from the chest, her arms had stockings with what, opals embedded where the back of the hand should be? Good lord, my eyes.
Finally taking my eyes away from the trainwreck that was this girls' clothing, I met her ruby eyes which seemed to be pointed right at me in a very angry fashion. The fact that she had a few centimetres over me did not help.
"What? Your fashion sense is awful." I explained in the most diplomatic way I could, as if she could read my mind.
This was not the answer she wanted, surprisingly. She almost seemed offended, judging by the blush starting to form on her face. "W-well, you have the nerve to wear that Lowee crap in my nation and you have the AUDACITY to call my glorious, hand-crafted fashion revolution AWFUL?"
Man, imagine if people were this delusional over their works of garbage.
Feeling chill in the air, I took a step back before a short sword similar to Serenity occupied the place where my facehole was.
"I'LL END YOU, YOU FASHION HATING PHILISTINE!" she yelled, as I took out the aforementioned Serenity and prepared to fight.
"Alright, but if your impractical clothing happens to fly off during the fight, don't blame me if I take a peek." I wasn't intending this as another stab against her fashion choices, just a matter of fact.
You'll never guess how she took it.
Inhuman screams of rage erupted from her as she charged forward, preparing an overhead strike. I wanted to keep my skull unbroke, opted to dodge to my right. Unsurprisingly, she swung the sword down so hard it impaled itself into the grass, rendering it stuck. As she was attempting to pick it up, I kicked her away from the sword and pointed Serenity at her.
"Checkmate."
"Not on my watch, philistine!" she said with...a grin of determination? Why was I suddenly hearing anime transformation mu- oh this is the CPU of Lastation, isn't it?
My genre savviness was right on the mark, as similarly to Blanc, the girl's body was enveloped into blinding light, before a spandex covered leg booted me down.
Compared to her human form, Black Heart was far, far less gaudy. A simple, unburdened head of white hair accompanied by cyan eyes and (shocker) a black spandex suit that covered the bare basics, but not much more.
I gave a sly smile. "You know, most people save the gaudy costuming for after they transform. This form isn't half bad compared to whatever your human form is."
Black Heart's power-icon eyes dropped to a half lidded expression. "Seriously?" her voice certainly sounded less grating too.
"Ehh, the voice certainly sounds a bit too haughty, though. I know you're meant to be a goddess and all but you really do sound like you have something to prove with that voice. Could you make it less superior soun- oh shit!" I quickly dodged a suspiciously larger blade that she did not have a moment ago.
"Will you shut up already? You insult my country by lazily napping in it, you insult my features and worst of all, you insulted my fashion! That is the last straw, time to die!"
Dodging several more sword slashes, I did start getting the feeling that I was outmatched by a significant amount. I didn't just piss off a mindless turtle or whale this time, I pissed off a physical goddess. Again.
I really did need to stop pissing off random important looking women. Or just women in general. If I survive this, I'll work on it. For now…
"Time to chill out Black Heart! FROSTBLAST!" I pointed my high powered ice spell towards the very angry goddess before the inevitable recoil of Frostblast kicked in. To my shock,while the blast pushed me back, I was able to keep standing and could actually see the effect of Frostblast.
To my ongoing surprise, it actually nailed her in one of her holographic wings, causing her to fall back and onto one knee from the shock. I don't know if that did any damage, but it might just have impeded her mobility?
Turning to her injured wing and then back to me, Black Heart gave me a stare that could kill before standing back up. She still had her oversized sword and greater experience, but I took away her ability to fly.
The scales were evened out a bit at least, I could do this! I could wi-
"I trie of your struggle," Black Heart's sword started glowing. Why was it glowing? "Let me show you my own special move! TORNADO SWORD!" Oh good, now it was freaking huge.
The sword swung so fast despite its size that dodging it was impossible. I felt less like being slashed with a sword and more like being smashed with a wave of pure energy.
Now combine this with my relatively low level and the fact I was fighting a fucking CPU and you could probably tell what happened. After the blow I stumbled back, barely able to keep Serenity in my grip, my vision blurring as I collapsed onto one knee. I put a hand to the part of my chest that hurt the most for a moment. I felt warm liquid. No, god no.
My hand shaking as I took it off, I looked at my palm. Blood. She drew blood. And it was a blow all the way across my chest. Hopelessness filled my being. My bag was way out of reach. There was no one to save me this time, as my attacker was the CPU.
Struggling to lift my head, I looked Black Heart dead in the eye. Despite our conflict, she seemed… shocked? Almost concerned? A flash of light and she was back to her human form. She was… Rushing over to me? My senses were dimming, I could barely hear anything but the blood rushing through and out of my chest.
"Do….. ie….me!" She yelled. I couldn't hear her. Death was calling me. My energy was drained, I was done for. Collapsing to my side, I felt my vision turn to black. Game over man, game over.
…
…
…
Beep, Beep, Beep.
The hell? Why was there beeping? What happened? The last thing I remember… Right, I died. Again. Or at least I collapsed from blood loss after being owned by Black Heart. That was embarrassing after I made fun of her fashion. I kinda feel bad now, but hopefully I wasn't in Lastation anymore.
Opening my eyes, I was in fact, in a hospital. Was that entire RPG thing just a dream? I took a look around and found nothing that would be out of place outside my homeland. That would be a bit of a copout, honestly. Especially since that second death was way more wimpy than the first. I died to a single fucking hit. I forgot my limits, I took on a CPU and this is what happened.
Taking the so thin it could qualify for paper blanket off my body I- JESUS FUCK.
So the good news is that I'm not dead. The bad news is that there's a giant fucking scar across my chest, starting from just above my right kidney to just below the left ribcage. No wonder I bled out within 30 seconds, she literally slashed my entire chest open.
Still though, this left the problem of clothing. As my jacket was probably ruined with that slash (Along with my shirt, dammit.), this only left my old, dirty clothes as an option to wear if I was ever to get out of here.
Aside from the initial shock though, the scar seemed… Not that bad? Sure, It's still a scar, but I'm pretty sure that a scar a sword bigger than a person should be bigger than this. It also didn't really ache? Sure, now that I see it I can feel a dull ache but if I ignored it for a few moments, I don't think I'd notice anything different.
Knock Knock
"Who are you and what the hell do you want?" I ask with absolutely no fucks to give in my voice. The door opens to reveal Black Heart again. The fuck.
"Came to see your handiwork?" I don't even bother hiding my exposed upper half. I don't have anything to hide, much less my gnarly scar.
As she was taking a moment to respond, I took a look at her. Her hair was dishevelled, her eyes had bags underneath them. Hell, they seemed puffy. What, did her dog die?
"I'm… Sorry." She muttered, barely audible. "I really shouldn't have attacked you, much less use my CPU form against a human. Not only was it an entirely unfair fight, but I nearly killed an innocent over a trivial matter. I'm only happy that you're alright." Her sincerity seemed 100% genuine and judging from her shabby appearance, she took it hard.
I had to take a minute to process this. "So, you kick me in the leg, challenge me to a fight, transform into your CPU form, let me get one attack off on you and then you unleash a special move, scar me across the chest and nearly kill me, And you're fucking SORRY?"
She seemed visibly shaken by how quickly my voice raised. I could start to see tears in her eyes. I quickly realized that she just wanted to apologize. I thought back to when I tried to help Blanc and how she violently rejected it. I shouldn't do the same.
"My apologies, Lady Black Heart. It's just a bit of a shock. All of this is." I say, all emotion leaving my voice as I waved my hands around. "If it makes you feel any better, I shouldn't have gone so far with the fashion comments. It seems like the kind of thing you made yourself and I should have noticed that sooner. I probably brought it on myself."
She seemed to perk up a little bit. Seems she wasn't completely over those insults. "It's a-alright," she put a finger in her hair and started to twirl it. "These a-are just designer clothes I b-bought. Nothing I made myself."
That was bull. But I had other matters to attend to than open up that rabbit hole again. "Why are you here, anyway? As the CPU of Lastation, surely you have other duties?" Ah shit, I did it again.
"I've been… Unable to work properly since the incident. Every time I sit down to do paperwork or go out on a quest all I see is myself overstepping my bounds again and hurting someone." Even with paperwork? What? "But… Now that I see you're awake and at least getting better, I can rest easy now. It's been a rough three days to say the least… Koei, was it?"
I nodded, not wanting to interrupt her.
"I've left your stuff inside the cupboard there. When you get discharged, come to the Lastation Basilicom. I'll explain more there. Get well soon." And so, she left.
Beep, Beep, Beep
I was alone with the goddamn beeping again. But I was… happier? It was weird to make an enemy with someone then forgive them just as quickly. Still, I suppose that petty matters such as fashion sense really are silly in the grand scheme of things. I can't believe I almost died over that sort of thing.
Still though, a few days to contemplate and recover shouldn't be too bad. Oh, what am I saying, I'll just be discharged as soon as I can get up to walk to the bathroom, might as well make the most of this brief time I have.
Getting up from the bed itself didn't feel that bad, all things considered. There was some ache, which was expected, but nothing major. More importantly, I needed my stuff back. Opening up the cupboard, Black Heart wasn't lying. Both my trusty backpack and Serenity laid within, seemingly having been cleaned up a bit too. How nice.
What was important were the healing potions I still had from previous quests. Opening up the bag and digging through the various garbage in there (And grabbing the shirt I arrived here in.), I pulled out a Healing Potion, cracked it open and swigged.
Strange, This didn't taste like energy drinks. Taking a look at the can…
Ah. That's the problem. I grabbed a beer instead. Inspecting the can, it seemed to be green with a nice X logo in there. "Leanbox Brand Beer" it said proudly. I mean it tasted alright, no worse than the "Imported beer" I drank back home, but I really wanted to try one of those healing potions just in case.
Sadly, the door swung open before I could grab one. Turning around, I saw a generic doctor NPC look at me with surprise. "Koei! You're awake… And drinking. I see."
Looking at the can and back to the doctor, I tried to explain myself. "I wanted a healing potion but my bag is so full of crap that I grabbed the wrong thing. Want some?"
The doctor put his hand up. "No thank you, I just wanted to tell you that you're free to go anytime. Though I would refrain from questing for a while."
I stared. "But… That's my job.I can't make money without a job." I explained reasonably. "Imagine if you couldn't do your doctor duties for a while."
"I can, because I was given my two weeks notice yesterday." he deadpanned.
"Oh. Hope that works out for you."
He shrugged. "I've heard that mercenary groups are in dire need for medics over in the PC Continent, so I'll live. Ah well, time to go tell more patients to get out. Toodles! Don't go murdering things!" He left as abruptly as he arrived.
Well, shit. I hope Black Heart doesn't mind me hanging out with her for a while then. She did say to head over to the Basilicom when I got discharged, right? Maybe I won't get lost this time.
Finally getting out of the hospital, I embraced the lovely Lastation air…
Then fucking choked on it. Good god. It was like being in a room of 50 people who smoked like chimneys. Agh. Shouldn't have breathed in so much, I think I cut 5 years off my lifespan from that alone.
Looking around, the place was certainly far more industrialized than Lowee, for better or worse. While Lowee felt like the hometown I grew up in, Lastation certainly felt like the large city I had spent my last few years in. Bustling, full of business types and generally practical, but unpleasant to live in.
As for the Basilicom… Well, I assumed it was the large building with a giant fucking satalite dish poking out of it. I don't even know if that's practical at that size, but it must get some good TV.
Sauntering on over, I did find the Basilicom after a few minutes. Or what I assumed to be the entrance of it, because there were two guards dressed in fancy black armor guarding it.
"STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!" one guard yelled as I approached them." YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE LAW!"
The other guard visibly facepalmed, the armored glove making a clunk against the helmet. "Goddammit Jeff. You do this every time Black Heart invites someone. Go right ahead, Koei. Lady Black Heart waits for you in her chambers. Take the elevator, third door on the left."
Wow, they even knew my name. Convenient. I followed his instructions to the letter, though it was entirely unnecessary as Black Heart's chamber had a far more regal door than the other rooms.
Right, this place looked like a medieval castle. It was kinda dope, honestly. As someone who grew up in a country with a rich history of that time period, seeing a similar style to the monarchs of old being used for Black Heart's living quarters really made me regret calling out her fashion choices. Assuming this was her doing and this not just being the default for a CPUs place.
Right, Black Heart herself. I knocked on the large, gold decorated door. All I heard was a simple "Come in~", so I obliged.
When the guard said this was her chambers, they were not kidding. What could only be described as a goddess-sized bed lay on one end of the room, decorated in regal black and gold covers and sheets. Hell, a lot of the room itself was some combination of gold, black and red. Black Heart herself stood at the edge of the room, her figure facing towards the wall that was covered in glass. It was a striking, yet imposing image.
"Koei Tech." She stated simply before turning around, her red eyes glinting in the light and a determined grin crossing her face. "I've been waiting for you."
…
…
…
"And?" I try to continue the conversation. Seriously, she held for dramatic effect like this was a cliffhanger, but in an actual conversation, that just comes off as weird.
Seemingly flustered, Black Heart turned back around before I could see her blush. She failed. "Y-yes, I've been waiting. I wanted to formally apologize for my attack on you three days ago. It was disgraceful as a CPU and wish to make it up to you to the best of my ability."
I approached her, eventually standing in the light of the windows myself. "You don't really need to. I overstepped my bounds that day too. If anything, this has taught me some humility. That and your fashion sense isn't entirely stupid."
I could still see the blush in her cheeks. She was kind of adorable when flustered. This big, bad goddess really did seem to feel bad about a single mortal. "O-of course, the great Noire's fashion sense is perfect! One day you'll learn the full majesty of it, but for now I think we need to figure out where to go from here."
Noire, huh? Should have seen that coming after Blanc. Confirmation is nice though. "Well, I've been told to not do any questing for `a while`', so I have some free time. Going to need a place to stay though, because… "I looked at my watch-attached arm "It's about 5pm now and I don't think I'll have the credits for a hotel here in Central Lastation."
Was this all a ploy for a free night in a Basilicom? Maybe, but I really didn't want to sink any Credits from my savings account without the ability to earn more. Plus Noire did owe me. Speaking of, she had regained composure at this point and turned to look me in the eye. It was slightly intimidating having someone who looked barely 16 still have a few centimeters over me, though. Especially with those eyes.
"Very well," she stated in an authoritarian voice. "I'll arrange for you to stay here in the Basilicom tonight in one of the guest bedrooms. Just don't screw anything up. And don't leave too early tomorrow either, I'll need you for something."
Oh here we go. Before I could respond, my stomach answered for me and roared. Right, I haven't eaten since that noodle way back in the Lowee Hostel. "Excuse me." I stated, before walking out of the bedroom awkwardly, before looking around for a vaguely kitchen-like door.
Before I could find one though, Noire came through the doors to stand by me again. "W-where are you going? I can ask the staff to just make you some food you know!" She seemed slightly annoyed at my faux pas. I was too, but for different reasons.
"Well, I don't mean to intrude on their work or anything." I really didn't. I'd worked in a kitchen before, making food for hungry college students. It was stressful, hot and most egregiously, unpaid work. But it was good work experience.
"Nonsense. All they're doing is making one extra portion of food. Come along now, you said it was 5pm? It should be ready soon." Noire walked off in a seemingly random direction and I followed suit.
Well, my stomach did. I wasn't entirely on board with the concept still. But hey, turning down a free meal would be rather rude to the CPU of Lastation, right?
Nothing really of note happened during the dinner. Sure, I could bore you with the details of what I ate (as it turns out it was less of a traditional meal and more of a buffet.), but I'm nowhere near the skill ceiling to describe the immaculate food that the staff at the Basilicom serve. They deserved a raise.
Still, with my stomach packed with food and with it only being… 6pmish, I had some hours left before I turned in. Thankfully by this point, the staff had prepared my room. If I expected anything other than a smaller version of Noire's bedroom, I might have been disappointed, because that's what I got. Smaller bed, a more boring and traditional window rather than the dramatic wall covered in glass, that sort of thing.
Sitting down on the cozy looking bed, bag in tow, I wondered about my next move. I couldn't stay in Lastation forever. Even if Noire didn't get sick of my… Charm, I didn't want to be holed up in Lungcancerstation for any longer than I needed to be. I'd also prefer it if I never came back ,but one step at a time here.
Still, how am I going to get out of here? Questing was out of the option and I know I'd be ganked as soon as I took 5 steps out of Lastation. I've seen bullshit random encounter mechanics before and this time my life literally depends on it, dammit!
Knock knock
I roll my eyes. Can't get a moment of peace around here, huh. "Come in." I say dejectedly. Shock of shocks, it was Noire.
"Hey. I just wanted, to uh… Check on you." Noire stated simply.
I for one cannot stand small talk so I decided to come right out with it. "Lastation is cool and all, but is there any way I can leave without being molested 5 steps outside the city limits?"
Noire was understandably shocked by my no-shits given attitude. To her credit though, she regained composure pretty quickly. She must be getting used to it. "Uh, yeah actually. Lastation has a subway system that connects to the other Nations. It's actually part of why I investigated the rumors of you sleeping on the border, since almost nobody is stupid enough to trek from Lowee to Lastation or vice-versa."
That explains… Some things. "Sweet. So is this subway free or do I have to your know, fork out Credits?"
Noire shrugged. "It's funded by the CPUs. One of the few things we could agree on before the War kicked off. Now we just keep it going because it was really popular with our citizens, regardless of nation."
That makes sense. Free public international travel would be a popular thing. Still though, before the war? Surely the subway hasn't been around for that long, which means…
"Noire, how long has this war been going on for?" I had to know at this point. Doesn't really seem like much of a war, but if it's especially heated, I'd have to keep quiet about meeting both Noire and Blanc in the other nations. Just in case, of course.
Noire placed a finger to her chin, almost pondering how long it had been. "Probably a few years, at least. Though people call it the Console "War", it's really just us all competing harder for Shares, as somehow our presence has been yielding less and less over the past few years. Lowee seems to hit especially hard…"
I tilt my head in confusion. If Lowee's been hit hard by a lack of Shares… "Do you have some chart I can look at real quick for the relative shares between each Nation?"
Noire's face lights up. "Of course! Lastation is all about producting reports and charts. Let me just bring up the latest one my Oracle made…" She placed her arms in front of her, before slowly spreading them out to reveal a holographic screen that hadn't been there before.
Walking around to Noire's side of it, various numbers and news reports scrolled across it, nearly impossible to read. Noire however, pointed at one chart, dragged it to the relative center and tapped it, causing it to take up the entire focus.
"Neat trick." I noted before analysing the chart. It was a simple bar chart depicting the Share percentage of each nation.
Planeptune: 15%
Lastation: 30%
Leanbox: 50%
Lowee: 5%
"Jesus fuck." I mutter to myself. Blanc's really struggling for relevance it seems. Meanwhile Noire has over 6x the Share count she did. No wonder she took me out in one hit.
My muttering didn't go unnoticed, apparently. "For whatever reason, Leanbox keeps acquiring Shares relatively easily and I don't get why. I've had my researchers try to find a correlation, but nothing in particular has come up. It's so maddening!"
I look at her with genuine curiosity. "While you mind find it frustrating, you do an above average Share count. And even if you didn't, you're still second, so it can't be all bad, right?"
Noire sighed. "Yeah, I suppose when your patron CPU's doing the worst she ever did, you'd have to find solace somewhere else." Before the screen closed, leaving the room silent again.
That comment left me rather confused though. "Patron CPU? Do you think I worship Bla- Lady White Heart?" I suppose the circumstances line up. But Blanc despises me right now. I couldn't support that, could I? Though now that I know her Shares are so dire, I can finally see why she didn't even want to take a break.
"Well, you have Lowee branded clothing, your sword has a Lowee scabbard and we met on the Lastation/Lowee border, what other conclusion am I supposed to make?" Noire took me out of my contemplating. She had a point too.
"Does that bother you, Noire? If it does, I could find a hotel for the night."
Noire seemed to take offense to that. "Of course not! Even if I didn't owe you for what happened, I couldn't let any citizen, Lastation or not sleep rough! I'm not a monster!"
Taking a few steps back and supporting myself on a wall, I let loose a question that had started to bubble up since I learned of the Console War. "Do you desire peace?"
Since I was now behind her, I couldn't see Noire's expression, though I once again saw her finger going underneath her chin, barely. Silence brewed between us for a few moments. "I do. Not only for myself, but for all of Lastation. I know how worrying it must be for my citizens to have to worry about their CPU on a daily basis, hoping and praying she wins out in this glorified popularity contest. But I'm the only one out of four. If they want to continue this fight, I'll have to do so too or look weak in comparison."
I suppose that's quite an undertaking, expecting your enemies to grow as weary as you and opt to simply give up peacefully. "I see. Apologies if that seemed personal, I'll keep this between me and you."
This wasn't a complete lie. I just had to keep the information locked up until I could confirm that they all wanted peace. "Is that all that you wanted, Noire?"
Noire seemed to be in a similar funk. "Oh, yeah. Sorry to be a bother. Have a good evening Koei. Don't forget to see me tomorrow." She walked out, closing the door behind her, finally leaving me at peace.
Peace… Could Gamindustri be at peace? Sure, the Console "War" isn't really a war, with citizens living out their lives as if nothing was wrong, but could the CPUs bury the hatchet? They seem fairly human, despite their power.
I reached into my bag, grabbed a Leanbox Beer and cracked it open. Fuck it, it's been a long day. I don't need to worry about this now. Despite having 3 days of rest, it felt like I hadn't slept since leaving Lowee.
Maybe I should visit another nation tomorrow.
A/N: Me not so subtly hinting at what the next chapter will entail for poor Koei. And yes, I did have him one shot by Black Heart.
Why? Because I need to justify the travelling to other nations somehow. What better than a forced break? All the ingenuity in the world can't really beat a CPU. Like, have you played literally any game in this franchise? Poor Koei had no chance in hell.
Now this is where the part where you think "Oh, can we decide if Koei goes to Planeptune or Leanbox?", ehhh no. While I have ideas for both Leanbox and Planeptune, one of them relies on mechanics from RB1 and Planeptune does not meet those. Not even close.
Leanbox would probably be a bit of a rehash of Lastation though. I actually wanted to put a lot of dialogue about the Console War next chapter, but it kinda made sense that if Noire and Koei aren't trying to murder each other, that Koei would ask for a CPU's perspective on things. Still, I can mix things up. I have a certain singer in mind for a cameo. PLAY ME OUT 5PB.!
Dimension Tripper! starts playing as I throw myself out of a window