Hachiman-kun answered for her. "I slipped into Shino's bag when she wasn't looking. Honestly, you should have noticed the weight, girl."
"Uugh…"
"Whatever," Hachiman sighed. "Just roll with it, Shino."
"O-okay."
Hachiman turned back to Faris. "Faris, I need you to keep this Automaton a secret. Spies have been infiltrating the Fairy Realm lately. If word gets out that he's here, he might be targeted."
"You can count on me-nyan!"
In truth, Faris was internally reeling at how incredibly human the doll's movements and speech were. What is this-nyan…? This man might be an even bigger deal than I thought-nyan.
"For now, I'll take a black coffee," Hachiman said. "And could you show me where the restroom is? Shino, you guys decide what you want while I'm gone."
"Sure, got it."
"What should we get?"
"I'm starving!"
"It's past noon, so maybe something substantial?"
"It's my treat," Hachiman reminded them, "so don't hold back."
He followed Faris away from the table.
"Right this way-nyan!"
The moment they were out of the girls' line of sight, Hachiman leaned in and whispered, "Sorry for springing that on you back there, Faris. That doll is a Soleil-made robot based on my own personality. They aren't on the market yet, so I'd appreciate it if you kept it under wraps."
Faris nodded, her mind racing. If it's Soleil, I suppose technology like that is possible. She looked at him curiously. "Is Hachiman with Soleil-nyan? Then… is your goal for coming here 'that'-nyan?"
"Yeah. Argo told me about it. Said there was a Soleil prototype set up here."
"I see-nyan. So Hachiman truly is a messenger from the Demon King-nyan."
Hachiman recoiled slightly. "Wait, did the 'Demon King' actually call herself that?"
"No-nyan. That's just Faris's personal impression-nyan."
Hachiman couldn't help but be impressed. "…You're sharp, Faris. Her nickname really is 'The Demon King'."
"It was incredible when the Demon King visited-nyan. She had a staggering aura, though it was different from yours-nyan."
"Different? You keep talking about this 'aura'… am I really giving one off?"
"Yes! A huge one-nyan!"
"Well, whatever. Anyway, is the machine available for use today?"
"It's actually under maintenance-nyan… but it's not broken, so using it shouldn't be a problem-nyan."
"Can I count on you?"
Faris gazed intently at Hachiman before a mischievous glint entered her eyes. "Okay-nyan. But in exchange, Faris has a request-nyan."
"A request? If it's within my power, sure."
"Faris wants to see Hachiman play-nyan! To be honest, most of the Masters who come here are just curious amateurs. Faris has been feeling a bit… unfulfilled-nyan."
"Watch me play, huh…"
Hachiman fell into thought. It's too early for my GGO session, and I'd rather not let it slip that I'm 'Hachiman' from ALO… But then again, if the Boss and Argo trust this girl, she can probably keep a secret. Let me check one thing.
"Faris, how much do you know about ALO?"
"When they were installing the equipment, Argo-nyan gave me a quick breakdown and a tour-nyan. It was a sweet experience-nyan!"
"I see. So you're a novice. Fine. If you promise not to tell anyone what I look like in-game, you have a deal."
"It's a promise-nyan! Oh, Faris is practically bursting with anticipation now-nyan!"
"I'll try to live up to the hype."
"Please do-nyan!"
They returned to the table. After taking the orders, Faris led the group to a private room equipped with several AmuSphere units and monitors.
"So this is the facility Soleil built," Shino remarked.
"Yeah. It's supposed to be down for adjustments, but Faris is letting us use it as a favor."
"Oh, really? Thank you, Faris-san!"
"Wow, this is great! Thanks!"
"You're very welcome-nyan! I'll have them pause the maintenance-nyan… Oh! Hachiman, the person doing the adjustments will be watching via the back monitor. Is that okay-nyan?"
"Who's doing the adjustments?"
"An acquaintance of Argo-nyan, and a 'Super Hacker' friend of mine-nyan."
"Ah… then it's fine. Give him my regards."
"Will do-nyan!"
Hachiman turned to the girls. "The condition for using this is that Faris gets to watch me play. So, I'm going to dive into ALO for a bit. You guys eat and let me know what you think of the setup later. If you need a play-by-play, ask this guy. He's got the knowledge for it."
"Yeah, leave it to me!" Hachiman-kun said, puffing out his tiny chest.
"Oh, okay!"
"Nice to meet you-nyan, Shino-nyan."
"Likewise."
"Hachiman's gameplay? Whoa, I'm actually curious!"
"ALO is that game where you can fly in the sky, right?"
"Yeah. It's my home base right now."
"Man, I can't wait!"
"Wait just a moment-nyan. I'm going to go talk to the back-nyan."
Faris disappeared into the staff area.
"Daru-nyan, you got a sec-nyan?"
"Faris-tan? What's up?"
"Can you pause the equipment adjustments for a bit-nyan? There's someone I want to let use the machine-nyan."
"I mean, I can, but who's the guest?"
"A man named Hachiman-nyan. He said it's okay for you to watch the footage too-nyan."
"Hachiman…?"
The hacker, Daru, froze. Faris tilted her head in confusion. "What's wrong-nyan? Do you know him-nyan?"
"Faris-tan, I'm sorry. I've heard about that person from Argo-shi, but I'm under a non-disclosure agreement. I can't talk about it-o."
"Eh?"
Faris was stunned. For someone to be high-profile enough to require an NDA just to mention their name meant Hachiman was a far bigger "player" than she had imagined.
"The moment I heard his name, Argo-shi slapped a confidentiality order on me-o. She probably knew I'd figure out his identity eventually-o."
"So, you did figure it out, Daru-nyan?"
"It took a lot of digging, but I finally reached the truth-o. As expected, he's a VIP. I was blown away-o."
"I see-nyan…"
Faris had never heard Daru speak with such gravity. Her curiosity was now at a breaking point.
"Well, if you're interested, try looking up some internet rumors-o. You'll find plenty of surface-level info there-o."
"Okay, I will. Thanks, Daru-nyan."
"But man, getting to see his live gameplay… we're incredibly lucky-o. Actually, this might be a world first-o."
Faris felt a shiver of excitement. She hurried back to the room.
"Ready to go-nyan!"
"Thanks, Faris. I'm paying, so feel free to order something for yourself too. Don't be shy. Well… I'm heading in."
Hachiman donned the AmuSphere and initiated the link. The moment he logged into ALO and his avatar appeared on the monitors, a scream echoed from the back room.
"I knew it-o! The Hero of SAO… HACHIMAN IS HEEEEEEEEEERE!!"
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