Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 87: Real-World Decisions

"Dad, what were you thinking?!"

I scream in my Dad's face after I tell him what happened in [Isekai] yesterday. After meeting Yuri there, I decided to confront my Dad about bringing a minor beta tester right before I head to school. Thankfully, Kazuki is out taking out the trash so he won't hear me yelling at Dad. I think...

Basically, I'm just trying to smack some sense into him.

"I understand that you're mad about it. But Yuri and his parents accepted the offer and moved in of their own volition. I just didn't expect he would be transferred to Kazuki's school afterward." My glare gets more and more incensed as I keep my focus on him. "I-I swear! We only helped them paid the move-in fees and immigration. That's all we did!"

I groan at this. Guess that's a relief to hear, but I'm still not happy about this.

"Still, what's with you and hiring minors? I know he's old enough to play by himself. But is Kazuki enough to help out with the testing stuff?"

"Honestly, Yuri is the son of the writer of the game. But the only reason why is that he's the one who asked me to let him join the program. I met him when one of my colleagues on a business trip found him at a bus stop in Shibuya and made a deal that he would be allowed to play the game if he learned his lesson not to snap at his parents by doing something risky again."

Yuri did mention he ran away and got grounded before playing the game. So that checks out his story.

"But Yuri's problem aside, we want to have players who will not only experience more than just the gameplay, but also see if they can make their mark in [Isekai's] story. Having some professional eSport players and content creators helps us improve the game sometimes, but we want to break the barriers between a game and world-building and achieve it through our company's AI programs and ADVR."

"So you invited us along with Yuri because Kazuki is a fantasy geek and perfect for the job, right?" I blatantly asked.

"It's more than personal reasons, Hayate. You're about to graduate high school soon and I'm worried that you've been clinging onto him lately. I understand you're trying hard to be a good big brother, but he needs some independence sometimes and I'm a bit concerned you might overreact to the point of barring him from playing the game because of its scary imagery."

Wait, is that what he thinks of my protection methods with Kazuki in the game?! I'm not that overprotective. Am I?

"Hayate, I commend you for becoming a true brother for the last two years now, but Kazuki is a growing boy like you. There is a possibility that you have to move far away from him someday. Whether it's because of college, your job, your passion, or your family, Kazuki needs to learn not to depend so much on you and to start thinking about his own future. That's what growing up is all about."

Well, Dad has a point there. But still, I just acted like a real big brother out of the bloom after saving him from those bullies that day. If I do leave so for so long, how can I live the fact I ignored my younger brother for so in our childhood?

"I-I'm just on the fence about all of this. I'm still indecisive with my future and the only job I have right now is making sure Kazuki has a better future than me."

"Is it? I told you, you can't just live your whole life protecting him. That's the same as your [Guardian] role. While you still retain the bonuses and benefits for keeping your commitment not to leave his side, once Kazuki turns 12, he'll be free to log into the game by himself. Sure, we can still bar him from the game when it comes to his exams, but he is now free to write his story. Isn't it time for you to write your own as well?"