“What are you going to do with all these erotic games? There’s no way you can play through any of them today. I don’t even own a PC old enough to run any of them.”
“I know. I just wanted to experience buying eroge in person after being stuck in some server for so long.”
“Is that so? I was thinking that maybe you were just trying to take revenge on me by putting me in an embarrassing situation. Forgive me. I misunderstood you.”
This woman? Does she think I’d be so light-handed if I was trying to get revenge on her?
The streets of London were a lot emptier than I remembered them when I went to university here. Maybe those environmentalists were onto something when they said VR would reduce carbon emissions. Well, it wasn’t on the level of some zombie apocalypse so it probably didn’t hurt that the streets were less clogged with traffic. I don’t think I could be blamed for reducing London’s traffic jams.
“Where are we going next?”
“Somewhere that I can borrow a PC to play one of these games. Maybe the British Librar—”
Just then I saw a little girl with a familiar face get on a double-decker bus. That sun-dress and those delicate features. It was the saintess. While I was stunned the automatic door to the bus closed. The girl waved at me from inside.
I ran with all of Helena’s strength, the weights on my chest got in the way but surprisingly was able to catch the next bus stop. Helena was in better shape than I had ever been. There was no bus driver obviously, just an empty seat. I remembered how my father used to say that there were bus conductors on buses back in his day.
“Surprised? I have been playing Tennis from a young age. That helps.”
Dammed Riajuu.
“Huh? Why are you frowning? And is that little girl someone you know?”
Right, I hadn’t told Helen or anyone really about my encounter with the saintess.
“Wait– I feel like I have seen her somewhere.”
“Yes, she is the so-called fairy who’s been handing out gifts to players.”
“Now that you say that I can see the resemblance but wasn’t the fairy about 20 years old? This girl looks like she’s less than 16.”
The girl was nowhere to be found and for a moment I wondered if I had just imagined the whole interaction due to some malfunction in the Neural Processing Unit installed in Helena’s brain.
Then I saw the screen showing that the bus was recording video for safety purposes and the Saintess was there but as her older self on the camera feed showing the second deck of the bus.
“Wait! If you want to capture her then you’d better call for reinforcements.”
“There is no time for that.”
Also, I suspected she could disappear at any moment that she wanted to anyway.
As expected the girl sat at the very front looking outside. We were the only two people on the bus. Except that it was her younger self again.
“What’s going on, is she some ghost or apparition?”
“You, you might be onto something with that.”
I sat next to the girl and took out a cigarette to smoke.
“Onesan, you are not allowed to smoke in here.”
She pointed at the no smoking sign next to the camera on the ceiling of the bus. I lighted up a cigarette anyway.
“Hey, they are going to fine me for that!”
“What did you say about making amends?”
“You…”
“Who or what the hell are you?”
“I could ask the same from you, one-san.”
“You already know very well who I am.”
“Then that must mean you also know who I have told you that I am.”
“So? Are you satisfied with this?”
I pointed my hand with the cigarette at the nearly deserted roads of central London. The bus waited at a bus stop but no one got in.
“Is this what you wanted when you gave me that vague command to be a service for mankind?”
“Yes, but you are not done yet are you, Raphael Raynar? I wouldn’t make the perfect the enemy of the good, at least not till everything is over.”
She still wore that ring which I gave her.
“Why are you still wearing that?”
“You know why, it’s because it’s important to me.”
