Thank you for supports!
Thanks to LightRiver33 for edits!
Here is the next chapter!
The City of Memory— Digital World;
After the lottery they discussed, each of them were assigned to procure one of the materials they needed. Honoka was assigned to search for a material for the wall, Kotori the windows, and Umi the roof.
The trio make their way to the marketplace shortly. It may still be a little difficult for them to grasp the whole idea of material uses but, with Kotori's limited knowledge and a few questions they asked to the seniors, they managed to figure out where they can search without having to worry about getting scammed.
"…hmm… bricks are pretty tough but, don't you think we can go for marble?" Honoka asked her friends as she looked over the notes that Kotori wrote.
"Hmm...they certainly are not as expensive as the real world's marble and it looks pretty classy too…" Kotori commented.
"Will it be as hard to process, though? How do we build our home later?" Umi asked.
"I'm not quite sure myself but Nozomi-senpai said that we are not supposed to worry about that." Honoka answered.
"Still, I wouldn't want to cause too much trouble for Eli-senpai. We just got to know her recently and—well, we aren't that comfortable with each other yet. I'm afraid that we will make things go bad." Umi said.
"Hng…should we stick with concrete then? I think that's the average building material?" Kotori suggested.
"Uh…How about we use natural rock? It looks decent…" Honoka said.
"Natural rock? I doubt it will be easy to assemble them correctly. I mean, we need to cut it somehow, right?" Umi said.
"Again, we wouldn't know. We were just told to get the sample materials. Maybe we should just pick anything we can get?" Honoka said as she continued to deliberate.
"Uh, alright… hmm…then, maybe I should just get crystal clear glasses or something similar for the windows…" Kotori said.
"I wonder if the common clay roof is good enough? Maybe I should go for the metal roof instead…?"
The trio drifted into silence as they pored over the note. They all tried so hard to think of any flaws for the materials theywere deciding on but they could not really think of anything.
Honoka kept on thinking of getting unusual materials instead of thinking about its uses, Kotori was too scared of getting an overly fragile material, while Umi was focused on the difficulty of setting up the material itself.
A few minutes passed but none of them have made their decision or shared their ideas. Soon after, just as they were about to decide, the trio noticed a woman pass by—a woman wearing an armor complete with a mask, both of which are light blue and purple in color with a few turquoise green highlights. Her body is slim and fit and her emphasized bust appears to almost match a specific senior's.
The woman's hair color cannot be seen but it's clear that she has a beautiful bright yellow skin and her thin lips is a natural peach color. Her face may have been covered with mask but everyone could imagine how beautiful she might be without it. The trio are now in doubt whether they might've seen a Digimon and even Kotori had to use her Digimon Scanner to make sure that the woman is certainly not a digimon.
"Excuse me, can I get a dozen of digi-mystic ore?" the woman asked the patient seller.
"Sure, is this an official business?" the seller asked.
"No, it's personal business. Please use my personal wallet." she replied.
"Understood."
The trio stared blankly at the woman and the seller as they wondered if there are actually special materials in the Digital World that they can use to build a home. Since the notes that they have written are only limited to their knowledge of the real world's materials, perhaps there is a catalogue they could've asked for from the start.
Meanwhile,
The three youngest girls had the little black haired girl as their guide and they ebrowsed many shops and stands but they still couldn't decide what they wanted to use. Niko isn't really that helpful but she does have a character that makes Maki very talkative—or pissed off.
"Listen! I won't buy candies as a sample! It's not even the right material!" the red haired girl said clearly.
"Huh? I told you I'm not saying you should submit that as a material. You could just buy it for me!" Niko replied.
"And why is that?" Maki crossed her arms,
"Because I'm a humble, cute girl who deserves all the sweets in this world!" Niko said proudly.
"Huh?! The heck is that, I don't get it!" Maki replied.
"But you will get diabetes sooner than anyone else here-nya!" Rin said.
"What the hell did you just say?!" Niko complained.
"N-Now-now…" Hanayo tried to shift their attention—which fortunately for her, worked.
"Why don't we all just get what we want? I'm sure there should be catalogue or uh… a guide…somewhere?"
"Huh? You shouldn't really trust the official guide, you know. Maybe some are helpful but, in reality, purchasing from the official shop is always much more expensive than buying from players. The only things that they sell are their brand and trustworthy service or item. These materials aren't new, you know, and many people have been using them for crafting. There are some players who might be still stuck with the old prices so you can get them cheap from the marketplace outside the city…" Niko explained.
"Heh—I think trust is worth the money. I would rather get expensive stuff than get fake dirt…" Maki replied.
"Are you trying to make a foundation with dirt?!" Niko exclaimed.
"O-Of course not! I'm just thinking of a material that looks like beach sand but is as strong as the usual stone foundation!" Maki replied.
"For me, I'm still a little confused with the word 'bones'-nya! Do I have to get actual bones to build a home?"
"Uh, they're not exactly bones, you know. She was talking about the parts that used to make the base shape of the home itself. It could be wood, it could be metal. Many people suggest metal, though, because it's strong…" Niko said.
"Uh, what about, Fences? I don't really know what kind of fence will look good on our home…I mean, wouldn't it be better if we wait and see how it will turn out first before deciding?"
"We are meant to not know what the others will get and how our materials will fit with each other. It's just like gambling your life away with these card sets." Niko said.
"Let me guess, you like to gamble your life away with those card sets, then keep losing, so you sell them instead?" Maki said.
"G-gh….it's nothing like that, you know! I just happen to think that it worth more to sell those card sets than opening it…"
"Really? I still think you are just being a loser…" Maki said.
"Ehehe—anyhow, we really should keep our discussion focused on the building materials…" Hanayo said, trying to get them to focus on the topic.
"Sheesh—yeah, she is right. But for real, I never expected Nozomi to get those cards from the set that I sold. I should've tried to open it…"
"Maybe that's your karma." Maki said.
"The heck is with that! There's no such thing as karma! It's just luck!" Niko stated clearly.
"E-Everyone…let's just…look for materials?" Hanayo said—still with the intention to get them to focus.
The City of Memory, Housing Wards — Digital World;
Eli and Nozomi searched through the area, keeping their eyes at the signs on each vacant lot in the area. The lands are available in a variety of sizes and the two discussed which land they should pick—considering the number of people they need to house and the budget they currently have in their treasury.
"Hmm… the medium size seems affordable for a starter at least… if we purchase this one, we can afford the building interior as well…" Eli said.
"Remember that housing is going to be popular as soon as they open this place for the non-S-Rank members. If you purchase the medium one, you might not be able to purchase the big one… at least not right away." Nozomi added.
"I knew that. But if we purchase the large land, we might not be able to purchase the interior."
"Let me remind you one name: Maki Nishikino."
"You're telling me to just let her supply our budget? No way!" Eli retorted.
"Now-now, Ericchi, you shouldn't be too ashamed to let her do that. The truth is that we all aim for the fun of being together and, besides, it won't hurt you to let me live my dream, right?' Nozomi replied with her playful smile.
"Your….dream?" Eli tilts her head slightly.
"I want to live in a big house, with you as the father of my children… then maybe Nikocchi will be the pet…"
"N-Nozomi! I'm not a guy! How many times I have to tell you that I'm not?" Eli replied as her face turned bright red.
"It's not like I'm interested in guys, Ericchi… you're just going to play the role—which you already are playing right now…" Nozomi replied.
"Huh?"
"A father like you—searching for a home to live in, accompanied by a wife like me and worrying about how you can live all of us. Then maybe soon you're also going to worry about us not having enough privacy?"
"W-what? What privacy?"
"Oh—Ericchi! You know, privacy to expand the family…"
"W-what?! Should I tell you again that I'm—!" Eli pauses.
Nozomi quietly stares at her with the playful smile still on her face.
Eli sighed.
"Alright, I get it. I do want that kind of privacy from time to time. But for real, though, are we even going to do that? People might be able to see…" she said.
"Not if we hog a special room for both of us, the medium land will allow us to make a house that own two floors, one for the meeting room which includes kitchen and dining room, the other for the basement which will only have two rooms—the big bed room and a bathroom. The large land will allow us to create a big house—four floors, seven private rooms and one big main bedroom, a kitchen, a meeting room that includes the dining room as well, and a big guest room—enough for a family…"
"That sounds luxurious…" Eli replied.
"No doubt. But we have enough to purchase the whole land along with the house building—that is if they do not pick the expensive samples. We might have to save up again if they happen to pick an expensive sample…" Nozomi said.
"Think we will have to buy a tent as a start?" Eli said—a little smirk on her face, giving out a slight hint of mockery to Nozomi's idea.
"Did you just try to laugh at my idea? Well, not that I mind that. That sounds like the best thing we can do as a back-up plan. Buy this large land and purchase some tents until we have enough to purchase the complete materials and hire some builder Digimon from the lobby."
"You're pretty persistent, huh? But I suppose if you are really sure that we all want the large land…" Eli sighed again.
"Or you should've supported my idea—let the Rich Girl pay for us…" Nozomi said.
"No… not a chance…" Eli replied.
"My card says, you will reverse that opinion as soon as you know what the future holds for us…"
"You didn't even pick your cards…"
"The cards speaks to me, Ericchi, they don't have to be picked up…"
"Whatever—but alright, I'll go buy a large land, but let's just make sure we're in the most strategic position, ok?"
"My, you just love being in a strategic position, don't you? But let's just learn from our experience— the top is always the best…" Nozomi said with her naughty and playful gaze.
"The top is my territory—you're in the bottom." Eli replied.
Nozomi giggled at her response.
"Now, are we still talking about houses?"
It takes more than five hours for them all to finally decide,
Nozomi and Eli have been waiting in the land that they purchased, along with Maki, Rin, Niko, and Hanayo. The land is huge and surrounded by the rest of the empty lands. Some players have also started to build their homes.
The environment is decent since they purchased one of the lands on the highest elevation.
While they waited for the last trio to show up, they discussed what they have for the project. Apparently, Rin, Hanayo, and Maki took the least expensive yet decent materials while Niko chose materials that are near impossible to get. It's fortunate that Niko's part is going to be for the least needed as well—alas, Nozomi already had a hunch.
"This is ironic. You were telling us to get the least expensive while you basically chose the most expensive material—not only among us but in the digital world as well…" Maki said.
"I-isn't it great though? I mean, I've never knew that materials could enhance a Digimon's happiness and loyalty…" Hanayo said.
"Heh—heh—heh! It's going to be worth it!" Niko said proudly.
"Surely, it will, but we are not going to use our personal treasury for you, Nikocchi. You will have to donate at least 70% the price of your total material cost." Nozomi said.
"70%?! Can't you be any nicer?" Niko exclaimed.
"It's already the least I can do after discussing with Ericchi. Trust me, she wants to make you pay 90% of the price but I told her that my luck will make up for the 20% and there you go—70% and no lower." Nozomi said.
"Heh—honestly, I don't mind if I have to pay 100%..." Maki said.
"That surely will help our treasury…we're a little low in the treasury department after we bought a few tents for us all, just in case we can't finish this in a day." Nozomi said.
"Is that so? Then, I'll do 130%, let's call that as my donation."
Nozomi nodded with a smile—then she glanced over to the quiet blonde who did not protest. Perhaps she is too shy to do so.
"Heeeey…. Maki-chan…." Niko said a little cheekily.
"Maki-chan…? Since when did you start calling me that?!" Maki protested.
"A-Aren't we a close friend? Or… best friends ever since we met?"
"I see where you're going, but no, I'm not paying for you…" Maki said immediately.
"Gh-gh… stingy jerk…" Niko smirked at her.
"What did you say?!"
"Now-now, Nikocchi, Maki-chan…" Nozomi called them out to stop any further argument.
"….don't you think we need to get along? We're about to stay in tents and you two might have to stay with each other. Right Ericchi?" Nozomi said as she looked over to Eli.
Eli is still quiet, though she did not seem to mind the spontaneous idea.
"Huh? We're not getting our own tents?" Maki asked.
"Nope, we need to bond with each other, so—that's why, you all need to be shuffled and sleep with each other as a family." Nozomi replied.
"Ri-ridiculous…"
"Nope, nothing is ridiculous. This is all written in the stars tonight. It will go well—and may even be amusing." Nozomi said.
Soon after she said it, the last trio finally found their way to the land.
"Haaa—I'm sorry! We got lost!" Honoka said loudly.
"Honoka made a mistake with her reading and we went all the way around. That's why it took a while for us to get here." Umi said rather calmly.
"I'm so tired! Please let me take a break!" Kotori said—huffing.
"On the bright side, though! I found a way to create a non-elite club! Apparently, it will cost me a good amount of money to register but I'm set! Tsubasa-chan also recommended a few settings!" Honoka said happily.
"W-wait, a club? We're really about start a club? Why did nobody ask me about that?" Niko asked.
"E-eh? Something wrong?" Honoka asked.
"There definitely is! I mean, if only you discussed this with me, I could've just dragged you all in to my club!"
"Ehh? I never knew you had a club? It didn't say anything in your profile." Kotori said.
"That's because my club is offline right now! There's basically no members so I had to take it offline so I don't have to pay the monthly administration fees!"
"Administration fees? Did your club used to publish something?" Honoka asked.
"It was an idol club and a decent one, I tell you! People are just cowards and left me behind." Niko said.
"Or maybe you're just a terrible leader." Nozomi said bluntly.
"Oi! Do you have to say that?!" Niko protested.
"Still though, an idol club?" Maki lifted her eyebrows—wondering about its purpose.
"Oh—Tsubasa-chan also told me to set the club as an idol club. She said it's the easiest one to level up if we're not after constant battles and focus on social life." Honoka said.
"That's true, an idol club is also the easiest way to become more famous—which mean, selling items will be a breeze for them." Niko said.
"You can't rely on that knowledge." Eli finally spoke up. Her words sounded cold and her eyes didn't seem to show any hint of being impressed with the idea.
"You can be famous, but it won't guarantee that you will own the market. There are many more people who are better than you. Besides…" the blonde turned her cold gaze to the ginger haired girl.
"Tell me, why did you create a club out of nowhere? Do you have a purpose?" she asked.
Honoka remained silent— it's like the answer was stuck on the tip of her tongue.
"Are you always this spontaneous? Or you're just in love with wasting your money for something that you don't even understand? Why would anyone make an idol club just because they want one?" Eli asked.
For some reason, Umi who had admired her from first sight began to doubt her feeling. There's something that makes her angry—other than because Eli did looks like she was hurting her friend's feelings. It was also because Eli was so quick at to judge her friend's action.
"H-hey, Eli, don't you realize that you're also talking to me right now?" Niko said.
"I don't care about you and, unfortunately, you're also the reason why I even thought of it in the first place. Let me tell you that right now, in this kind of crisis, everyone will value their survival needs more than they value their luxury. They need their money—and they will cut off their spending. Unless you're capable of becoming as popular as A-Rise, you are unlikely to carve your name in society. Only some trashy jokes and nothing more would be the best you can do." Eli replied coldly.
Honoka remained silent—there are a lot of truths in those harsh words.
"Excuse me, but I don't like the way you speak like she will do nothing good with it." Umi said politely.
"Then tell me, what's the use of that club to you? Is it any better than building this one home for us all? And before you spit your questionable wisdom at me, let me tell you that we will have to stay here for a long time and reckless spending needs to be prevented at all cost." Eli said.
Umi remained silent. She doesn't know what exactly an idol club could do for their main activity and alas, she also has no idea why an idol club is related to the Digital World and Digimons right now.
"Now-now, Ericchi. It's not like we will not make any money during this time. It's true that we will have to be cautious about what people will do in the future— but that wouldn't be nice of you to use that as your excuse to be a spoilsport. Let her make what she want to make, maybe she is surprisingly good in that?" Nozomi said.
"A-rise didn't build their fame out of nowhere. There was hard work and talent involved. Then if I have to be blunt, they're still too amateur for me. I swear even if I watched them in action for a hundred times, I will still say the same thing over and over…" Eli replied.
"Well—you shouldn't watch them for a hundred times, to begin with. You'll get bored. Plus, if I have to be blunt to you too, Ericchi. Have you ever wondered why they're liked? I may have seen you getting swarmed by your fans, but I've never seen you admired as much as people admire Tsubasa-chan, or Erena-chan, or Anjuu-chan."
"I don't want to be a center of attention like them, mind you. I'm fine with my solitude." Eli replied.
"Are we going to argue some more in this kind of situation, Ericchi?" Nozomi asked in a very-very serious tone, causing the blonde to suddenly react like she knows she is going to be in a big-big trouble.
"Tch—whatever then, I don't care anymore. Just do what you want and tell me what I should do." She said.
"That sounds like a better deal for me, not that I want to put you aside though. I just want you to listen to them some more instead of attacking them immediately."
"I didn't intend to do that—silly. I was just—…!" Eli pauses as her eyes set on how Nozomi crossed her arms at her.
"Fine… I'll listen…" she sighed heavily.
"Good. Then let's bring the discussion back to you, Honoka-chan…" Nozomi turned herself around at Honoka.
"E-Eh…? Me?" Honoka replied—still flustered and somewhat nervous from listening to the couple's argument.
"So, tell me… what made you decide to register a club? I thought you knew that it's a little bit too early for you all?" Nozomi asked.
"Eh, well, I was just told that Tsubasa-chan created A-Rise from scratches like this. I want to make one like them too—and uh…. I haven't really submitted the registration…"
"Oh, you're not completely registered yet, huh? You can refund the form." Niko said.
"Eh…? But…?" Honoka tried to reason.
"Hmm...if that's the case, then you can refund it and let's all use what we already have." Nozomi said.
Honoka seems to be slightly disappointed.
"Uhn…but..what about the settings? I've written them all in the registration form—I just need to complete it with the club name…" she said.
"You can change settings and club names anytime, so if you want to use the same setting, just hand that form to me and let me copy it to my club." Niko said.
"Ok then!" Honoka replied, she seems to cheer up with the solution offered.
"Then, if you don't mind, I will have Ericchi take a look at it and tweak it to fit our condition." Nozomi said.
"Ok! I don't mind!" Honoka replied again.
While the third years were discussing…
Honoka, Umi, Kotori and their juniors are taking a stroll around the housing area. Nozomi said that it will take a pretty long time so they should spend their time on something else.
Watching the night over in Digital world is so much different than the night in their world. They've never been here at night, nor have seen the number of virus Digimon hovering in the sky and littering the streets. It's so close to the sight of demon armies getting ready to invade the innocent—except it's not going to happen like that.
Those Virus Digimons are as tame as the usual Digimon that they see in the daylight. They also seem to be fond of their tamers as well. Despite the affection toward their tamers, some Digimon do look like they're about to maul whoever is in their way—and most of their tamers don't look that friendly as well.
Honoka isn't afraid of that, though. Instead, she is intrigued with the idea of a Dark Digimon being a loving and warmhearted Digimon—like Nozomi's Lady perhaps? Maybe she has never actually spent her time with Lady, but just from seeing her for a second gives out that kind of feeling.
"Hey, have any of you talked to Nozomi-senpai's Digimon? The one called Lady? She was a Lady Devimon, right?" Honoka asked cheerfully.
"Uh… I think I've seen her, but I've never really talked to her…" Kotori said.
"Same. I've also never seen her in action before." Umi said.
"I've talked to her for a pretty long time. She is very gentle unlike what people always say about her species." Hanayo said.
"Heh—according to Angel, Lady is pretty mischievous, but she isn't evil. She also said that she is also very protective especially to Nozomi and her." Maki said.
"Gaomon said that Lady is very caring too-nya! She was contacting him and asked him about his condition!" Rin added.
"Hehe—I guess scary digimons aren't always bad, right?" Honoka said cheerfully.
"Are you thinking of evolving Agumon into a dark digimon?" Kotori asked.
"Hnn…can he?" Honoka asked.
"Yep, Agumon can take the dark path—so instead of turning into a regular greymon, he can turn into Blue-Greymon, which will turn into Blue MetalGreymon or SkullGreymon—then lastly will become Black War Greymon. They're said to be the strongest Fighter Virus Digimon that ever existed." Kotori said.
"Now-now, isn't that just an outdated information?" a voice that they have never heard before said.
The girls turned their attention to the source of the voice.
A female official member approached with a few documents stashed in her waist bag. Her face was covered with a helm and a Digimon that looked like a cupid with four pairs of white wings on his back and a pair of small wings on his head between his short blonde hair. A purple mark was drawn on his face and his light blue eyes was shining as if it was glaring at the girls.
"W-what Digimon is that? Why does he look so intimidating?" Maki whispered to Hanayo. Hanayo carefully scanned him using her digivice.
Lucemon (Lv? / ?%)
Type : Vaccine
Attribute : Light
Owner : ?
Personality : Brainy
"Lucemon….." Hanayo whispered back.
"Lucemon?" Maki wondered.
"Ah—sorry to interrupt the nice chat, hehe…" The official member said.
"Hmm…didn't I see you in the marketplace before?" Honoka asked—she definitely noticed the similar shape of lips, skin color, and body shape.
"You did? Well, if you did, then you probably did. I'm here to do the same task—assisting players to build their homes."
"Ah—ok!" Honoka replied cheerfully.
"Say though, lovely girls, do you all happen to have any trouble with building your home?" the official member asked gently.
"Uhmm… I'm not sure. We are all not part of the discussion! We were the ones who chose the building materials though!"
"I see, then I assume these peoples who are currently discussing are professionals?" the official member asked again.
"Uh, yes? One of them is an S-rank." Honoka replied.
"I see, if that's the case, I'm convinced. S-rank members are always our premium members and they received the guide book on how to build a home way earlier than the other players. You can browse the guide book from this friend of yours." the official member said.
"Uh…say though, can we still pick one for ourselves?" Kotori asked.
"Ah, yeah, we kind of feel bad if we have to ask for that all the time." Umi added.
"Sure, but it still nice if you can save up your memory spaces. There will be a few more system changes to be implemented after the next maintenance. Then about your food and drinks, since it's not quite real food, they will be able to last until you use it. So it is suggested that you purchase a big refrigerator—especially since there will be nine of you here, right?"
"H-how do you know?" Honoka asked.
"Y-yeah…we never said that there will be nine of us." Hanayo said— her eyes still set on the small Digimon who remained quiet behind this very official member, making her very nervous.
The woman pauses, no one can tell what expression she made until she smiled softly and finally gave her response.
"Your names are registered on the land data."
"Ahh! Ok! Hehe!" Honoka replied.
"Sheesh, why would you ask something like that anyway? She is an official member, of course she knows!" Maki said.
"B-By the way!" Kotori said to the official member.
"Hmm?" The woman replied.
"Is Lucemon your Digimon? I seem to not be able to see the owner's name from scanner." Kotori said.
"A-ahaha! Yes! I was about to ask the same question!" Hanayo added.
"Hmm… is he my Digimon? That's not a question that can be simply replied with a 'yes' or a 'no'…"
"Eh…?" the girls are flustered.
"If you were asking 'is he my digimon', then you might probably ask if he is my partner—which, as a matter of fact, I should respond with a yes, though at the same time, you were also asking if I own him, which I should respond with a no. All Digimons do not belongs to anyone but themselves. Just like human beings. Calling one Digimon as a possession of someone is like saying that one is in an intimate relationship with a Digimon—which is wrong." The official replied,
"E-Eehhh?!" the girls raises their eyebrows in surprise.
"T-Then, we've been mistaken!" Honoka said.
"I never knew that it could be interpreted like that!" Kotori said.
"T-That do sounds so wrong in so many levels!" Umi said.
"G-Gaah! Why have we never thought of that?" Hanayo asked in her panic.
"C-Could we have been offending them-nya?!" Rin said.
"W-well, at least now we know that we shouldn't talk like that." Maki said.
The official member giggled in her amusement.
"I'm just messing with you all. It's fine for you to speak like that. That's what everyone always says anyway." She said between her giggle—along with Lucemon who seems to be somewhat amused as well.
"You don't need to worry about offending anyone with such thing. At times when we were talking about our owner, we also say like, 'my human' or something of that sort. No one would think about something further than a friendly relationship between a human and a Digimon." Lucemon said.
The girls are surprised when they heard Lucemon speak to them.
"What? Why are you all staring at me like that? It isn't weird for a Digimon to talk to humans, right?" Lucemon said.
"E-Eh! No! Not at all! We were just surprised because… uh…of a rumor about you…." Kotori said.
"A-And your eyes are pretty scary! I thought you were angry at me!" Hanayo said.
"Huh? No way, this is just my face. But heh—as what you said, it's not like it's my first time being misunderstood like that. I am Lucemon, one of the Seven Demon Lords in the Digital world. Many call me as The Pride, but really, the only pride I have is being myself." Lucemon said.
"He really is proud…" Maki whispered to herself with a smirk on her face.
"Not like I'm the only proud Digimon, you see? There also Piedmon and some others. Why would anyone just judge me as the worst and not the best?" Lucemon crossed his arms.
"Now-now, Lucy. Behave yourself, this is still an official business." the official member said.
"Right, sorry. So are there any more questions regarding any sort of business?" Lucemon asked.
"Uh….I guess?" Honoka replied.
"What is this question?" Lucemon asked again.
"Are you a female or male-nya?" Rin asked immediately before Honoka were able to ask her question.
"Easy, I'm neither. Digimons don't have genders or at least—we never bother to think of such. It was until the digimon knows about human being and their world, they started to try to identify if they are male or female." Lucemon replied.
"Oh…ok-nya!" Rin replied.
"So, you're identifying yourself as….?" Honoka tried to ask the question.
Lucemon tried to think for a moment.
"Well, I'd say I'm female because she called me with such a feminine name, but I don't want to be in despair with the thought of losing my asset size to her. I don't even have any asset with me right now!" he said as he stare into the official member.
"Asset?" Rin and Honoka tilts their heads together.
"Bust…they are always the asset that everyone talks about!" the official member said proudly as she taps on both of her own bust that was covered by her official armor.
Maki snorted at the scene.
"Heh—you don't always need a big bust to be proud of yourself. I know someone who is so full of pride and she barely has any bust… or at least, no one can see them."
"Really? That's amazing…but still, I'd feel better if I'm identified as a male. When I grow up, I can be the most handsome Digimon and my human can still be the most beautiful human that ever existed." Lucemon said.
"Now-now, Lucemon. You may be blonde and have a pair of icy eyes, but you're pretty sweet, aren't you?"
"Hah! It's not like there are no sweet blondes with icy blue eyes." Lucemon said with a giggle.
"That someone specific is not sweet at all—more like a shy daft to me." The official member smirked mockingly.
"But anyway, are there anymore questions?" the official tried to keep their conversation on track.
"Yes! About clubs!" Honoka said loudly.
"Clubs? What about it?" Lucemon asked.
"Uh, I heard from a friend of mine… she said a non-elite club has a lot of benefits that can be useful to me as a beginner. She didn't tell me about them but told me to just make a club anyway and find out myself."
"Well, certainly, a club can go hunting together without worrying about the loot. As what you already know, all loots and experiences will be distributed to the party. While you only allowed to take about 7 people in a party, you can get as many people as possible with a club. As long as you're standing near each other, experiences will be good to go. By default, all loot will be taken by the person who got the first hit on the Wild Digimon, though you can always change that in the settings." Lucemon explained.
"I see, but what is the maximum number of people that a club can accommodate?" Honoka asked.
"You can take 48 if you like. But are you really going to that many members?" Lucemon replied.
"Uh….guess not…" Honoka smirked.
"Nine should be the most effective number. You don't really have a huge club battles, but there will be tournaments that require at least nine members. You should consider joining those." Lucemon continued.
"Also, to add to his explanation—a club will get extra training points, depending on their club type. Having your own estate will also benefit the club member since you can all set up your own training ground." the official said.
"Question! Question!" Honoka said loudly.
"Yes?" Lucemon and the official replied at the same time.
"What's the use of training points if we can train our Digimon ourselves?" Honoka asked.
"That's a good question. To help you understand, training points can be traded for real money—which is basically the pay for the trainer. This system was created so that people think that digimon training is limited. It was also set-up to control the price range for people who make money by becoming a professional trainer. There were plenty of overpriced and underpriced training before this system was created." Lucemon explained.
"But why do we make people limit their digimon training?" Honoka asked.
"Because many humans still think that Digimons are non-living things. Back when the system was still in beta testing, a trainer actually treated a Digimon like a play thing. He used so many items on his partner, ignoring all the protests he made. He didn't even respond to his Digimon, thinking that it's just automated like in his usual game. Then he used all of his money to train his Digimon for the beta testing phase. It was when the beta testing ended that he took his Digimon out of the training just to test his power in battle." Lucemon replied.
"Who-whoa… that's cruel…" Honoka said.
"Yes, but I'm glad he did it during beta testing—he made us realize the big flaw in the system." Lucemon replied again.
"It's not that it only benefits us, the system also helps players get enough training for their partner Digimon. Not everyone is willing to spend thousands or millions of yen for training—so making them think that the given training point is all they can use for training is probably the best way to keep their digimon trained." the official replied.
"It is also to remind players that not everyone is capable of training one Digimon. A simple human sports training isn't enough. They need an actual combat training." Lucemon replied.
"I see…." Honoka nods.
Umi seems to be intrigued with the idea of becoming a professional trainer and she thought about how to best phrase her question, though before she actually did, the official answered her question as if she was capable of reading minds.
"In order to have one profession, you need to register yourself in the chosen guild. For example, if you want to be a trainer, then you need to register yourself in the trainer guild. If you want to be a chef, then you need to register in the chef guild. I believe someone here knows where they are."
"Yep-yep! I do-I do!" Kotori replied.
"Hehe—I asked Tsubasa-chan about that too! She told me to fetch the registration later, though! She said, being chef isn't as cheap as it is! I should farm more money and ingredients first!" Honoka said.
"That's very true. But it's never wrong to fetch your starter kit to understand the system. There should be manual books and everything else that you need as a beginner." the official replied.
"Really? Then, I should get them!" Honoka replied.
"Tell me, are there any other professions I can take?" Maki asked.
"Hehe, there should be something that is related to music and art, like…an idol?" Hanayo replied.
"Idol? It's a little too much." Maki replied.
"It's not that bad to become an Idol since you have all the assets you need… and also, because becoming an idol is the easiest way to achieve popularity, it certainly will help your game play. Though, if you want to search around, you can take a look at the professions list in the lobby." the official replied.
"What's the relation between being an idol and playing Digimon online though? I still don't get it. I mean, what if we make our way through another profession? Will that be different?" Umi said.
"Like what she said, popularity. Also, I assume you've heard about the special shop for popular members? It will certainly help you fund your partner's needs. Rising through another profession is fine, but if you're capable of being an Idol, why not?" Lucemon said.
"Hmm…well, to make it much easier to grasp, the purpose of Digimon Online is to raise both inhabitants' skills so it's not only a one-sided advantage. That's why we created the profession system to keep our players skilled while they also raise their Digimon's quality." the official added.
"I see…" Umi nodded.
"So, are there any other questions?" the official asked.
"Uh…maybe not now?" Honoka replied.
"Then, if you happen to have more, you can come to the lobby or ask me if we happen to meet again."
"We usually staying in the Housing Enthusiast Office—it should be the biggest building north of Housing area. But for now, we will have to take another look around. Take care of yourself, ok?" Lucemon said.
"Ok!" Honoka and the other girls replied before they parted from each other.
After a few hours,
Honoka, Umi, Kotori, Maki, Rin and Hanayo's thoughts went to the three seniors as they step their feet back to their land. What exactly is happening in their discussion? Why are they taking so long?
They knew that the three seniors built a tent in the very area for their discussion—though it's so strange that the land is so quiet when all six of them were silent. The tent can't be that sound proof, can it?
To be honest, though, they are very tired right now. It is possible that their bodies that are too tired from checking out with whatever thing they can mess with in the land. On the bright side, they started to enjoy hanging out with each other.
"Hnng….I wonder if they are alright?" Honoka broke the silence but the rest of the girls seem unresponsive. Their eyes are heavy and their bodies barely have any stamina to move. They lay down on the empty land and used their own bags as pillows–except for Kotori who produced her yellow pillow out of nowhere.
Honoka's eyes slowly began to close. The night seemed darker to her eyes, even if the stars and the holographic digital sky shine brighter than the night she had always seen in her world. Eventually, she finally succumbed to her dream land along with the rest of the girls.
Minutes passed and a blonde girl finally walked out of the tent by herself, carrying a stack of paper on her arm and with her digivice attached to her head.
"Sheesh, those two—too quick to fall asleep. I can't really blame them, though. Nozomi didn't get to take a nap today and Niko is probably tired from whatever business she had…" she mumbled to herself.
"….uuhh…it's pretty dark here …" she continued as she searched the function in her digivice—wearing her light blue goggle and seeing the night through its light.
"Eh…?" her eyebrows shot up from her surprise at seeing the sleeping bodies.
"They're asleep too? How can I present this if they're all asleep?" she sighed after.
She took a moment to think before she returned to the tent to place the stack of papers and searched through the pile of items in the tent. Without her noticing, her movement caused the purplenette to wake up—and she noticed someone is moving on top of her.
She was about to tease her, but—wouldn't it be much more interesting if she knew what exactly the other was trying to do? She decided to keep her eyes closed and use her other senses.
The blonde stopped moving when she managed to find what she needed. She moved out of the tent so quickly—which caused the purpnelette to wonder why she didn't get the intimate act she expected as her girlfriend. Nozomi opened her eyes wide and began to search around for the blonde. She is definitely not in the small tent so she crawled to the entrance and took a peek outside.
Eli built the tents and it didn't take long to finish two tents since they purchased the instant tents. Nozomi smiled at the scene she witnessed and she would have helped out, but…again, wouldn't it be much more interesting to know what Eli would do next?
She had to wait for a while before her curiosity was satisfied because Eli took a minute to observe each of the girls. When she finally made her decision, she placed her fingers gently on the bluenette—surprising her and causing her to jump cautiously.
"A-Ah! S-Sorry I fell asleep, senpai!" Umi said a little loudly. Eli remained silent as she placed her own finger on her lips.
"Oh…." Umi nods when she realizes that she shouldn't be too loud right now.
"You look like a strong girl, can you help me move your friends into the tents?" the blonde whispered.
"Yes, certainly." Umi replied.
"Let's start from your friends, Honoka and Kotori—are those their names?"
"Yes!"
"Alright then… let's move Honoka first."
"Ok!"
The two carefully lifted Honoka— who was deep in her slumber— and moved over to one of the tents before slowly placing her down. Next, they were about to continue with Kotori—but….
"W-wait, senpai…" Umi said.
"Hmm?" Eli replied gently.
"Can we…. Place Kotori somewhere else?"
"Why?" Eli wondered.
"Because she is fragile—and Honoka is a bad sleeper. She would move around and probably kick someone in her sleep."
"I understand, but we need to fill one tent with three people. Who do you think should be there with her?" Eli asked.
"Hmm…" Umi looked around.
"Let's go with her!" she continued as she pointed to the orange haired girl who had been sleeping with one of her legs on top of Maki's head.
"Rin? She looks like a bad sleeper too." Eli said.
"Yes, exactly. Let's just place them together." Umi nodded with a serious expression.
Eli was quiet for a moment before she giggled at her choice. Umi was slightly surprised by how gentle Eli's voice is while also appreciating the moment she saw her senior make such a friendly giggle. Perhaps Eli isn't that bad after all.
"That sounds interesting. Let's place her there." the blonde said.
The two proceeded to lift Rin carefully, making sure to not wake up the other two juniors. Nozomi smiled in amusement, wondering who the two will choose next.
When she tried to think of who would fit in the group—she realized that the person who's sleeping in her tent is also a very bad sleeper. In fact, she has started to move her feet to another direction. With a mischievous smile on her face, she giggled and took her chance to bully this specific little girl.
She lifted her up, it was as easy as picking up a pillow— then ran out of the tent. Eli and Umi noticed her and immediately wondered what she is going to do with Niko.
When she got closer, she stopped and offered Niko like a sword to a king.
"Ericchi, this is my offering to you. Please take it."
"I-it?" Umi emphasized on how Nozomi called her.
"Yep, a Nikocchi to fulfill the demon tent's belly." Nozomi replied with serious voice.
Eli chuckled to her,
"There, Nozomi, you're pretty evil aren't you? But I can't really complain. Niko has been punching my papers while I was working on the plan and research."
"Another bad sleeper then? Let's chuck her in." Umi said.
"Alright. Then I shall do as you wish, Advisor Sonoda!" Nozomi said before she ran to where Honoka and Rin were. Umi and Eli didn't know how she placed her, but it seemed to have been a little rough. Will she wake up from that?"
Nozomi returned to where Eli and Umi stood and they waited for any reaction but it seems that the tent is quiet and calm—for now.
"Looks like they're deep in their slumber…" Eli said.
"Honoka won't be awake before someone actually pours water on her. The last time she and Kotori had a sleepover in my home, she was somehow sleeping with her body on top of me and her feet on top of Kotori. We were lucky that it was raining at midnight, otherwise, we would not have been able to get any water from the windows and we would not have been able to wake her up." Umi said.
"So is Nikocchi. The last time she and Ericchi stayed in my apartment, she kicked my face. She should be glad that I still can snuggle with Ericchi—if Ericchi isn't my girlfriend and I didn't have the liberty to put myself in her embrace, I'll throw her to the floor."
"I guess everyone are has a bloodthirst against bad sleepers. But now, should we continue moving these girls?" Eli said.
"Sure, Ericchi. I'll help out. Let's move the fragile girl in because, even though it's not quite a real world, it's still pretty cold at night, so we better move her first," Nozomi said.
"Ah, right, let's move Kotori first. I wonder where she should be though…?" Umi asked.
"My tent is warm, I can guarantee it." Nozomi said.
"Alright, then let's move Kotori to your tent." Eli said.
"W-wait, will she sleep with Eli-senpai too, then?" Umi asked.
"Hmm? Not really, I'm planning to place…hmmm what was her name again? Hanayo?" Eli said.
"Ericchi prefers cold places to sleep in rather than warm places. But she sometimes prefers warm than cold as long as there are some extra wet pillows and a warmer included." Nozomi replied.
"Extra wet pillows and a warmer…?" Umi flustered.
"P-Put that aside… let's not think about that shameless statement," Eli said a little nervously.
"Shameless statement? Then… did you mean…..?" Umi looked very troubled.
"Umi, Let's move Kotori now. Let's go!" Eli said again, trying to change the topic. Though, Umi's fearful eyes were still locked on Nozomi's mischievous smile—by all means, she grasped the idea that Nozomi planted in her head.
"H-here you go, Umi, please move her, ok?" Eli said after she lifted Kotori and handed her to Umi.
"O-Oh…." Umi snapped out of her thoughts.
She finally walked to Nozomi's tent and carefully places Kotori inside. Eli sighed in relief while Nozomi seems to be thinking of her next move. But before the two senior were able to make discuss their junior's reaction, Umi ran out of the tent and quickly picked up a girl from the ground near them, then ran back again to the tent.
"H-Hanayo is inside already! I'm out! Good night!" Umi said before she dashed inside the tent.
Eli and Nozomi blinked, amazed at how Umi seems to be very nervous when she looked at them just a moment ago.
"W-wow…did she really grasp the idea of us being intimate?" Eli said.
"Well, I certainly was talking about that. She isn't wrong." Nozomi replied.
"You shouldn't do that, Nozomi. The poor girl might have been traumatized about it."
"Nah—don't sweat it. My card says, she just needs to loosen up from her Yamato Nadeshiko persona." Nozomi answered with a playful smile.
"Sheesh, Nozomi. But if you says so…I don't have any complaints." Eli sighed.
"Now, shouldn't you move this last Princess in with you? I'll help you out." Nozomi said.
"Right, Maki is going in my tent. I hope she isn't—…" Eli paused as she saw Maki wake up and walk to the tent she is supposed to be in.
"Guess you don't have to. What a good girl…" Nozomi said.
"You should get some rest, Nozomi. We will start building the home once everyone agrees and, perhaps, also call out our Digimons to help out?"
"Well, I don't mind if I have to stay up late. It will be our digimon who will work anyway." Nozomi replied.
"No silly, you will have to work too. Now get some rest, I'll see you in the morning. I'll also have to make sure that everyone works if they all agree to it." Eli said before she gently pressed her lips on her girlfriend's forehead and turned to head to the tent.
"Wait, Ericchi…"
"What is it, honey?" Eli asked.
"There's still something I want to discuss with you." Nozomi said.
Now that she speaks with a serious manner, Eli feels like it really is something important.
Meanwhile—the Real World;
"Gggaaaaaahhhh!" Tsubasa held her hair in frustration. Erena and Anjuu only smirked at her.
"I can't believe it! Now we completely lost contact?!" Tsubasa said.
"It can't be helped, Tsubasa. The connection has been cut off for good. They said the Virus Source is too close to the area and turning it on may anger it and endanger the crowd crossing the bridge between the domains." Erena said.
"Well, can't we just anger it anyway then beat the hell out of it? There should be more than a hundred S-Ranked players by now, right? Will it wipe us all out?" Tsubasa said.
"The thing is, we don't know what this Virus Source is capable of. The official said that it's a very unusual virus and that it had devoured more than a hundred digimon soldiers. They even tried to use the destroyer—or should we say, the forbidden Digimons including the eaters— yet they were also devoured. Killing attempts also seem to fail. It's more like this Virus Source is an immortal being." Anjuu explained.
"Say, would Yggdrasil have any idea of how to get rid of it?" Tsubasa asked.
"Don't be ridiculous. Yggdrasil would most likely blame humans for not being able to solve this. Or maybe he won't care enough as long as this creature won't mess up the Digital World." Erena said.
"Well, why won't he? I mean, because of this, his beloved Digital World will be populated by humans, right?"
"He needed the help of humans to manage his wild Digimon in the first place So, yes, it's still impossible for him to care." Erena sighed.
"Actually…" Anjuu said—her eyes are set on her Digivice's screen.
"I searched. There's an official announcement about Yggdrasil's response regarding to this incident." she continued.
Tsubasa and Erena curiously waited for Anjuu to explain the announcement.
"He said the Royal Knights are being dispatched to the Bridge Domain right now—they will be searching for this creature and put an end to it."
"Dispatching the real royal knights? Now that's really something. But what if they are defeated?" Tsubasa asked.
"That can't be. If they are defeated, then who can stop it? We S-Ranked players are already no match for the real royal knight." Erena said.
"Wouldn't it be interesting to know though? I mean, let's just say that if this creature we call 'The Virus Source' defeated them, what kind of Heroes that will rise up to save the world?" Anjuu said.
Deep in the Bridge Domain.
The domain exists to increase the distance between the Digital World and the Real world. It is supposed to be left empty and barren but, ever since the incident happened, many digimon and officials gathered near the entrance. They have also started to build a small plot of farm to supply their battle.
They knew that this will be nothing like the usual 'maintenance' that they've been doing. Even the Royal Knights feel uneasy about having to do this task.
A white digimon with Wolf and Dinosaur hand—famously called Omegamon— sat near his fellow knights and investigated about the things that were being discussed, from the most minor incident to the greatest. They are very, very curious about what might have caused this Virus Source to appear all of a sudden.
The fact that the creature contains a partial essence that has been identified as human soul, and it is mixed with a pile of digital essence intrigues them. What may have caused this creature to be so strong? Will they be able to defeat it or should they run away without trying? After all. If they are defeated, they will have to face the consequence and be absorbed like all other defeated soldiers.
Another digimon, with a big red robe, a metal shield and a long lance—called as Dukemon— started a conversation.
"Omegamon, are you nervous?" he asked.
"My friend, this is about life and death. We must be very careful and not be defeated, else we might have to face the consequence of being absorbed by this unknown creature." Omegamon replied.
"We all have been there, remember the eaters?"
"Aye, I remember them very well. Since they're controlled by our system, we dispatched them all and hoped for the best yet, there was no sign of success after a few hours. The report says that the creature can't be corrupted by it and it devours them like a food instead. There's no sign of any reaction or weakening power. It gets stronger and stronger each time we made an attempt… " Omegamon replied.
"Ah, now that you have mentioned it, I fear the same. What if we all happen to be defeated? Will that creature possess our power as well? If that happens, then no one can possibly win against it—not even King Yggdrasil himself." Dukemon said.
"Now—!" a loud female-like voice interrupted.
The two Royal Knights turn around and saw the slim pink armored knight.
"Lord Knightmon!" Omegamon and Dukemon said.
"Aren't you two a little bit too negative? We aren't that weak—and you two were the ones who told me that humans aren't that bad." she said.
"You're certainly right, Lord Knightmon. We might have been too nervous to face this creature because we don't even know how strong it is or any real information about it. Alas, we can't even measure its power. If they happen to be as strong as King Yggdrasil, we might just be screwed for pissing it off or end up giving it with our power."
"No one will provide it with any more power. We should all retreat when we know that we cannot win." Lord Knightmon said.
Dukemon and Omegamon remained silent, astonished by what Lord Knightmon said to them. Not that it's something amazing or wrong, it's just unusual for their fellow knight to speak like that.
"Lord Knightmon…are you….nervous too?" Omegamon asked.
"W-whatever are you saying! I'm not! It's just that we should all act smart, right?" Lord Knightmon replied.
"You are right. We all have to understand when to give up." Dukemon said.
"Craniumon told me that he is about to develop a cannon to test the potential of this creature. The potential of this canon will be as strong as our power combined. If the test fails, we should all abandon the Bridge Domain and plan a new strike." Lord Knightmon said.
"How many times will we fire that canon?" Omegamon asked.
"One. The canon can only be used once." Lord Knightmon replied.
"I see,…then, perhaps, we can all shoot some extra fires—to deal twice the damage to this creature." Omegamon said.
"Good thinking, but we need to be further away from the canon since it will explode after it fired its shot." Lord Knightmon said.
"Understood. Now, should we all prepare for it?" Omegamon asked to confirm.
"The Canon should be ready by this afternoon. Let us all hope for the best." Lord Knightmon said.
Back to the Digital World;
The night began to fade and lights started to shine again. The sunlight could've been fake, but it's bright enough to blind someone's eyes after the long slumber. Honoka finally awakened and she found herself alone in the tent.
When the ginger girl headed out of her tent to satisfy her curiosity, she found herself and the tent set up in a poor location . Alas, she is not even in the middle of the land, she is so close to the border!
"Whoaaa! Why did I sleep here?!" Honoka exclaimed.
Despite her loud voice, nobody responded to her since they are busy building their home. Eli has been working on checking up plans while her Renamon is working hard to match her plan to the real work. Lady is tasked with tidying up the details while Angel supports Birdramon with lifting the building materials. Umi and her Penguinmon had been tasked with some ridiculous job—but they are the one who asked for it anyway since, they said this building job is a good physical and mental training. The amount of effort and discipline are very high on the two. Hanayo and her Sunflowmon, a medium-sized green Digimon with a sunflower head are painting on the walls— it's not quite real paint but still works like paint. There's also Gaomon who is currently partnered with Rin with transporting materials and they also seem to be doing it as their training.
Who is still missing? Other than the people she can see, there were still two people missing—or so she thought. When her eyes found the other tent not too far away from the construction, she found one of the missing girls with her Digimon—a Soulmon, currently on cooking duty and they seem to be enjoying themselves. Now that she is reminded of it, she wonders if it also means that Niko has taken the Chef Profession.
Why didn't she tell her?
Putting that thought aside, she needed to know what she can do today. She can't just sit there and do nothing. Because, other than it isn't a nice thing to do, it will also make her feel bad.
Before moving towards the rest of the girls, she remembered that she needed to pick up her Digimon in the lobby. She looked around—ignoring the sight of her neighbors were working on their own homes as well. All she had in her mind are two questions: Would there be a nearby shortcut to the lobby? Or perhaps she should approach the girls first before getting her Digimon?
Also, I just made an "Archive of Our Own" account! I will probably remake "Secret Romance", "The Fool's Journey" and some other fan fiction like "Atelier Kotori" and upload it there! ^^