落とし穴２４掘：少しの隙間とゲームという暇つぶし (Part2)
"Wait here a moment."
With those words, I headed to my private room in the deepest part of the dungeon—a place I hadn't used much lately—and retrieved what I could call my partner: my game console.
"What is that? It looks similar to a machine for watching DVDs, but..."
"Ah, you’re not entirely wrong, but this is the console itself. A game machine."
"A game machine? The console? What does that mean?"
"I’m going to hook it up, so just wait a second."
Let's see, this goes here, and the power cord goes... there. I popped the software in as well.
Naturally, I had no intention of letting them play games involving modern warfare or civilizations that had surpassed our own. I even avoided showing them footage of such things. That kind of conceptual leap was too much for Seraria and the others to handle right now. Therefore, it was inevitably going to be a pre-modern, dark fantasy RPG.
I flipped the switch, changed the input, and booted up the game. The title screen of that dark fantasy RPG I’d been playing when Luna dragged me away appeared on the screen. This should be fine. The controls were complex, but letting them play an old-school 8-bit console game would be a bit... well, the graphics wouldn't be great. We might enjoy it, but for Seraria, it would probably just be difficult to look at. Well, it’s fun for me, at least.
"What... is this?"
Seraria was captivated by the dark world unfolding before her eyes.
"Heh heh heh. This is the world you are going to adventure in."
"Wait, I’m going inside this!?"
"Ah, no. Here, hold this controller."
"A controller?"
She tilted her head, but took the controller I offered.
"Like this."
When I showed her an example, she gripped it firmly. Hmm, rather than me just playing to show her, maybe it’s better to teach her the controls while we play? She’d get a better feel for it that way.
"Alright, you see 'Start' and 'Load' on the screen, right?"
"Yes."
"Go ahead and select 'Start'..."
I’ll be honest. I messed up.
"Take this!!"
It was currently 4:30 PM. I really should have been preparing dinner, but ever since I taught her how to play, she had been at it for eight hours straight. She was clumsy at first because she didn't know what she was doing, but now she was a veteran, moving around, using items, and even swapping out equipment with ease.
This dark fantasy world must have really struck a chord with Seraria. After learning the basic controls, I gave her a rough explanation of the game's objective. As a former princess, the idea of a game where you adventure solo seemed to resonate with her; for some reason, she’d created a male character and was tearing through the map.
"Ah—I'm surrounded!? My situational awareness was too lax!"
No matter how skilled Seraria’s controls became, this game wasn't easy to beat. It was a game famous for its "death traps"—you had to die to learn. Well, if you were careful and checked your surroundings, you wouldn't die that often. Except for the bosses, that is.
"I’ll break through this time for sure!!"
She was sent back to the starting point, but she didn't let it get her down and started moving forward again.
"Um, Seraria?"
"What? I'm busy right now!!"
"It's about time to go make dinner. What do you want to do?"
"Ah—I'm going to keep playing. Call me when the food is ready."
"Got it."
Seraria did come for dinner. But she inhaled her food at top speed and immediately returned to the room.
"...Brother. Did something go wrong with the military march? Seraria ate your cooking so quickly, and she didn't even ask for seconds..."
"...Something's wrong."
"W-well, who knows?"
Could I really tell them? That she was just addicted to a game?!
After that, Seraria stayed up for three nights straight before sleeping for an entire day. I really should put a time limit on the gaming. Wait, am I her parent or something?!
...Games are terrifying.
***
This chapter showed a bit of Yuki’s feelings, the god’s perspective, and Seraria’s feelings. Honestly, I debated whether to make this part of the main story, but I decided to make it a "pitfall" and a fun side-chapter along with the second half.
As a result of this game, Seraria’s combat and command skills supposedly improved.
I might take a break tomorrow. If I do, I apologize.