Chapter 1278 The New World Is Balancing On the Brink, Its Fate About to Be Decided Part 1

Seriously, whatever should I do now?

The matter of Orchestra still remains a mystery shrouded in fog, and when I tried to grasp the true nature of it, I was only greeted by the events related to Conquest Dolls. Seriously, why the things always turn out this way?

「Hmm, yeah……」

I’ve been thinking about it almost all day now, but I was unable to come up with anything. Not to mention that I also have my studies that I need to focus on right now…… But I feel like there is something there in this fog, just waiting for me to grasp it firmly. Something is stuck on the tip of my fingertips inside of this dense fog, just at the edge of my reach, but forever unobtainable…… I feel like I already have all the puzzle pieces necessary to solve this mystery, but I forgot which pockets I actually put some of them in……

The “body” of the Orchestra is just a plain and ordinary music player. The owner of this thing is Andrew Jitter Doll, strictly speaking, but the actual first owner’s identity remains unknown for now. Or rather, it seems that human beings were born on this Earth and thrived way before they left into space for the first time.

In other words … If I tried to put my hand on how old actually this music player must be, it would be hundreds, if not even thousands of years old. But I do believe that it would a good guess to say that it is at least three thousand years old? Maybe four thousand years old in the worst case scenario. So no matter which calculation you choose to believe, one thing is certain for sure: this thing is an antique. Now, if we were to use the real world timetable as a reference, being four thousand years old would actually put it at around two thousand BC? Would that be its point of origin? But wouldn’t that make it the same era as the emergence of the first clay tablets people used to write on?

「…… It’s no good, this blasted thing always manages to escape my grasp at the last possible second!」

I can see that this thing is no longer something that can be managed by thinking alone. It’s a type of mystery that can’t be solved forever without a scoop of inspiration, or some other factor that would act like a catalyst of sorts. And you know how it is with inspiration, it comes and goes as it pleases…… At times like this, it is always good to just switch your gears and think about something else. Then who knows? Maybe some unexpected revelation is going to come your way?

That’s right…… Oh, yes, it seems that only the avatars that the player hasn’t operated in a while appear in the places visited in the past because of a bug. That was the thing that was going on with Bakumatsu Online at the current moment. Or it was something similar to that, I would have to refer to the past logs to see if that was really the case.

According to what I have heard, the Rankers such as the Raid Boss were duplicated and became a cause for screams of terror all across the map…… Now, to think that someone like that would be duplicated and roam free and unchecked all over the place, that’s the stuff of a true horror if I could imagine one.

「Hmm…… Seriously though, something feels very wrong in here now.」

I feel like I have been able to scratch the truth with the tips of my fingers now! Seriously now, Bakumatsu Onlline! Could it be that the truth that I have been searching for so desperately was hidden behind the Divine Punishment all this time!?

Divine Punishment, Excessive Proliferation, Avatars…… Which one is the thread that is worthy of grasping and pursuit? Oh fuck my life, now all of my inspiration is getting away ad well! Oh no, not again! Once again, there is nothing more but an empty space inside of my head! When it comes to Bakumatsu Online, it took almost an entire of my thinking capacity to think about the Divine Punishment, so now my brain would virtually become useless for anything else! For the time being, I’m just wondering if the excessive proliferation bug is something that can actually be reproduced, but this time it seems that it is not something that the company would be neglecting, so I wonder just how long do we have before they will eventually fix it?

「Hmm?」

Rei-san, it seems like she was in the middle of talking to someone, but from this distance I was unable to tell who that someone might actually be. But from the look of things, it surely wasn’t anything peaceful or pleasant. Oh well, I guess I’ll just get back home and…… Oh, it would seem that Rei-san managed to notice me.

「I’m really sorry, but I really need to go now…… Ah, Rakuro-kun! Are you on your way home, perhaps?」

「Hm? O-Oh, yeah, I guess so.」

「Umm, you see, about ShanFro…… There is actually something that I…… would like to talk to you about……」

「Sure thing, I don’t mind at all, but…… It seems that I have interrupted you in your conversation. Are you really sure that’s alright with you?」

The person that Rei-san was talking to…… Huh? There is no one there? Could it be that they already went away, but in the opposite direction? Hmm, maybe they went towards the front gate or already left school, who knows? Or maybe they had their club activities to attend to?

「Umm, it’s alright. It’s just that…… Umm, this is, it was about the career counseling…… Getting some advice. Yes! No, umm! It was about making a choice soon!」

「Umm, I mean…… wouldn’t decision-making be something that would have to wait until next year?」

Would it be better to put something in the second and third choice slots? Or maybe show maximum confidence that you are going to get in your first choice? That is the question. My pride is telling me one thing, but my brain is telling me to just play it safe just to be on the safe side.

「About that…… It was suggested to me that with my grades I have a really good chance to be able to study abroad.」

「Study abroad, you say?」

「Yes, but I was quite adamant about the fact that I do not wish to leave Japan anytime soon.」

Rei-san then laughed shortly, trying to play that issue down, but personally I don’t know. It would seem that Rei-san is actually insanely smart…… As far as I can remember, she is always in the top parts of the grade when it comes to exams and tests. So it would be foolish for her to burn a bridge like that.

However, overseas, huh……? Takeda-san has also mentioned it as one of the possible routes that I could take. Well, I rejected it because it would be more difficult to get my hands on more shitty games, but still……