A Family Hooked on Games
Liria's family had the chance to hear from her about the many kinds of games that existed. They took a particular interest in online games — the sort any number of people could enjoy together.
Selenia, however, had no communications network capable of linking the world, which made online gaming impossible. It was a shame, but they would have to content themselves with something four people could play.
"So four players is the most we can manage in Selenia, then."
"Liria prepared this for us. We shouldn't be greedy for more."
"Even if we wanted to be, the internet is impossible here. There's nothing to be done about it."
"Still, being able to play with four is nothing to sneeze at."
Liria's family learned that on Earth, submarine cables and satellites could stitch the entire world together through the internet. That science, rather than mana, could connect a world struck them as a genuine marvel. Communication tools existed in Selenia as well, of course, but the internet was something else entirely. Selenia's devices linked one person to another; they could never connect people all at once the way Earth did.
Silvia told them about her own experiences with the internet — and with internet games, besides. Elia was astonished that a space called the internet held such a vast store of information, and astonished all over again to learn that a considerable portion of it was false. Online games, Silvia explained, let people play together from anywhere in the world, and she herself had tried a racing game with eight players. Human gaming skill in the middle and lower ranks was utterly pathetic, she said, and she had yet to meet anyone at the very top.
Hearing Silvia's stories only deepened the family's interest in Earth.
"Earth really is a fascinating place."
"And there's so much delicious food, too."
"Earth has wicked humans on a completely different scale from Selenia," Silvia said.
"Is that so? Then we truly did well to send Silvia along."
"I've heard humans make weapons with their science and technology, but even if they turn hostile, I believe I can handle things myself."
Silvia was confident that no matter how powerful Earth's humans' weapons might be, they would never defeat her. Earth supposedly had nuclear weapons, but launching a first strike against someone capable of detection magic was impossible. Besides, no sane human would drop a nuclear weapon on a populated area — and even if one did, she could nullify the damage. She could also track whoever attacked her and deal with them for certain. Silvia was prepared to do anything to protect Liria.
"And what is this beast?"
"Liria has decided to raise her. Is that not allowed?"
"A cute little fox kit, I see. You've named her, haven't you? I believe Liria will raise her well."
"Her name is Iris. Hehe."
"A fine name."
The moment Liria spoke with those sparkling eyes, Renos completely changed his tune. Looking again, the little creature was rather adorable, and she seemed well-behaved. He stroked the head of Liria, who stood there clutching Iris tightly in her arms.
Meanwhile, Elia was troubled by the fact that they had kept playing without even realizing Liria had returned.
"The games seem far too addictive."
"We've been at it ever since Liria left, after all."
"From now on, we play only at the times we set. Everyone understands, yes?"
"It's a shame, but it can't be helped."
"Yes."
"Yes."
Following Elia's advice, Liria's family decided to set designated hours for gaming. If they kept playing without a plan, they would surely pour far too much of their time into it. A few hours a day, they reasoned, would keep the rest of their lives from being affected.
"How many kinds of games are there, anyway?"
"More than one could ever count, Mother."
"There were only two here, though?"
Renos had yet to fully enjoy the racing game and Tetris, but he wanted to try other games as well. Liria resolved to purchase a great many titles for her family.
"This console downloads games through Earth's internet and stores them," Liria explained. "But download times and capacity have their limits, so Liria could only download two to bring along today."
"So you can receive games through the internet."
"They're still downloading even now," Silvia added. "You're welcome to look forward to it."
With Na Sujeong's help, they had arranged to download games onto an external hard drive, so a great many titles would be waiting once they returned to the cafe. Renos looked at Liria with expectant eyes at Silvia's words. Liria had never imagined her family would take to games this much.
She knew that Selenia was sorely lacking in entertainment compared to Earth. Even sports that were commonplace on Earth couldn't take hold here, where the gap in physical ability from one individual to the next was simply too vast. A contest among people of similar skill would amount to a match between humans without mana — and to those who possessed it, that would look utterly dull. As a result, sports had never developed in any meaningful way, and the people were starved for amusement.
Liria had initially considered inventing something like Othello, then given up on the idea. She knew Othello and gomoku well enough, but she wasn't familiar with other board games. Still, as more of Earth's culture found its way across, she intended to bring Earth's board games as well.
"How was today's adventure?"
"Wandering about with Sister Silvia was fun, too. Hehe. We even took down an ogre, and Liria met Iris."
"An ogre? Our daughter has only just begun as an adventurer. That's dangerous."
"Liria knocked it out in a single blow."
"Mother would prefer that our daughter be more careful."
No matter how powerful Liria's magic was, Elia couldn't help but worry about her hunting monsters of 6-star rank and above. Still, if she could knock out an ogre in a single blow, Elia reasoned it wouldn't be terribly dangerous even without Silvia. That said, she had no intention of separating them.
"Liria also saw a rabbit beastman at the Adventurer's Guild today."
"A rabbit beastman — you saw a rare adventurer, then."
"Yes. Liria saw her quite clearly."
Rabbit beastmen were generally even weaker than humans. They possessed more agile bodies, but their strength was so lacking that one had to wonder whether they could hunt monsters properly at all. To become an adventurer, one needed the power to reliably incapacitate a monster — or to kill it outright. Rabbit beastmen could do neither, which made them poorly suited to the profession. Even a human who possessed mana could attain a degree of agility that wouldn't fall far behind a rabbit beastman's. For a rabbit beastman, born weak, to work as an adventurer was a tremendous disadvantage.
That said, 1-star or 2-star monsters required little force, so their agility would be a considerable help — at those ranks, it might be possible. But if they couldn't rise above 2-star, the earnings would be meager, and it would amount to a waste of time.
"Liria also watched a rank-up exam."
"A rabbit beastman's rank-up exam — you witnessed something rare indeed."
"It was a 6-star exam."
"6-star?"
Renos couldn't help but be astonished that a rabbit beastman had taken a 6-star rank-up exam. No rabbit beastman had ever produced an adventurer of 4-star or higher, and he had assumed none ever would. He now realized his prediction had been wildly off the mark.
"That's remarkable."
"Yes. Hehe."
"It wasn't a male rabbit beastman, was it?"
"It was a female rabbit beastman. Hehe."
Renos was relieved that the rabbit beastman who had caught Liria's interest was female. Liria had completed her coming-of-age ceremony, but it was still too soon for her to take an interest in men. Fortunately, she seemed to have no interest in men at all, and was only forward with Silvia. If only Silvia had been male, she would have been the ideal partner for Liria — but so long as Silvia was always by her side, Renos trusted she would drive the men away.
"Silvia. I am placing my trust in you."
"Pardon?"
"I have my reasons."
Silvia couldn't hide her bewilderment at Renos suddenly declaring his trust in her. From the context, it seemed he wanted her to keep Liria from falling for some no-good man. Silvia agreed with him completely. She would be happy if Liria stayed by her side for the rest of her life.
"Liria, what was the rabbit beastman like?"
"She was incredibly cute."
"Was she?"
"Yes. Hehe."
It was the first time Liria had ever called someone cute. Elia found herself curious about what kind of woman this rabbit beastman was. But no matter how cute a rabbit beastman might be, she declared with certainty that no being in existence was cuter than her own daughter, Liria.
"And you, Silvia? What did you think?"
"I don't really know."
"Is that so?"
"She must have looked cute through Liria's eyes. To me, Liria is the best."
Elia found herself thinking once more about the rabbit beastman who had drawn such a positive reaction from Liria.
When dinnertime arrived, Liria tried feeding Iris all sorts of things, and Iris ate everything without being picky. Watching her enjoy the food so heartily, Liria wore a look of pure contentment. It matched what the monster encyclopedia had said, which pleased her. She gently stroked Iris's head in a way that wouldn't interfere with the meal, and Iris pressed her head into Liria's hand.
Liria resolved that from now on, Iris would join her on every adventure.