Jessica's Reality Check

As she spoke, she began alternately tapping the top of my head with her black rabbit ears.

I grabbed those ears of Jessica's and yanked them, speaking as if to dare her to just say it properly for once.

"If you've got something to say, then say it straight instead of hitting me with your ears like this... Wait, how the hell are you even moving these?"

"Ow, I get it!"

The instant I released my grip, her ears sprang back like coiled springs. Jessica stroked them with a pained expression, then immediately launched into her opposing opinion.

"Battleships are great and all. I've been under the Commander long enough to know just how magnificent a fleet battle can look."

"Mm."

"But the problem is, to build a Fleet Association and then construct battleships on top of that... wouldn't it take at least a month at minimum?"

"Yeah, it would."

Even back when this was still a game, building a single battleship had taken a considerable amount of time. Considering how time had expanded exponentially once this place became reality, her point was more than plausible.

"About a month and a half, maybe."

"Right. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But do you really think the first event currently underway won't end within that period?"

"Huh?"

"Moreover, in a situation where we have no idea what the next event will be, I think it's better to conserve resources just in case."

Hearing her continue like that, I decided to give a nod of acknowledgment to Jessica's rebuttal.

"You're right."

"So... wait, what?"

"I'm saying you're right, Jessica. Dumping every last bit of our stockpiled resources into construction in a situation like this really doesn't seem like the way to go."

Romance is nice and all, but that's the kind of thing you do when you actually have the leeway for it, isn't it?

Thinking about it, how was my current behavior any different from those car-poor fools who sell off everything including their house just because they want a supercar?

Yeah. Horrible.

Having regained my senses, I decided to offer a word of thanks to our Jessica, who had helped me get my head back on straight.

"Thanks to you, I almost did something stupid. Appreciate it."

"Eh... ah, of course! That's my job, after all!"

At any rate, after deciding to temporarily set aside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my soul as a battleship enthusiast...

I couldn't just leave base construction idle, so I started with the construction of Additional Docking Facilities, which put relatively less pressure on our resources.

Then I began pondering what information remained in my memory about the content of the "next event."

If my memory's correct... the thing that came after this event was the user joint play, right?

But now that I'd been possessed here for over a year already, and the period when I'd actually played that event had been during my hardcore gaming days...

It had been more than five years, so I just couldn't remember the details clearly.

Hmm... was it the one where users formed parties and sent out their supers? No, that sounds like a different game.

"Urgh."

A soft groan slipped out of me unbidden as I continued to agonize and re-agonize over it...

Wait a second. Why am I fretting over this alone?

Suddenly the thought flashed through my mind: why was I leaving the perfectly good community gallery unused?

Even as my head shook from side to side of its own accord, the situation being what it was, I first opened the gallery and started digging through speculation posts about what the next event's content might be.

And of course, the other users weren't just sitting around idle either. Centered around the veterans, I could see them writing speculation posts based on collective intelligence, relying on their own memories to figure out what the next event would be.

The problem was that the majority of posts were taking that exact stance—"we don't really know either"—with perfect consistency.

Naturally, the returnees and newbies who had to watch that dementia-patient-level display had this to say:

Yeah—every last one of them was raising hell about loading the veterans onto A-frames and hauling them off.

And just in case, I checked the overall chat window as well... but unlike before, there was almost nothing useful being said.

No—rather than trying to use collective intelligence like the gallery, it was just pure collective monologue happening, so...

Feeling like my brain would rot if I kept watching, I closed the chat window and thought about future plans while clearing today's daily quests.

First, diligently gather resources while the additional docking facilities finished construction.

Continue the fleet reconstruction plan that doubled as daily quest clears, including the construction of the newly started NEW No. 3 Battlecruiser.

And once it seemed like we'd gathered enough resources that way, then build the Fleet Association and other buildings.

But this grand plan of mine ended up in the trash can again after a mere two days and half a day had passed since it began.

All because of the Overall Announcement that floated up before my eyes.

Event announcement.