Retro Hero (4) - 22

Asuma Toki.

As Rio's secretary and bodyguard, she is a member of C&C, but she has never met the other members. Since she basically only works with Rio, she lacks social skills. Is that Rio's fault? Not entirely, but she also has a strong natural airheadedness.

That kind of Toki...

"I prefer drumsticks."

"Okay."

She chose chicken over Rio. Since Rio didn't usually buy her delicious food, she lost to chicken.

Toki is satisfied after ordering chicken with only drumsticks. The chicken was, of course, ordered for delivery, and they headed to the club room after buying painkillers.

"Toki, you're Rio's secretary, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Then, is this okay?"

"This is also unavoidable. It won't be a big problem."

She's irresponsible, saying it'll be fine even though her employer has amnesia. The truth is, Toki sometimes wanted to play around.

That's why she decided to keep quiet about Rio getting hit by the beam, falling down, and losing her memory.

"But Sensei. You said you would take advantage of this situation in the club room. What do you plan to do with President Rio?"

"Ah, about that... It's just talk, I don't plan to do anything weird. I just want to show Rio how great games are."

"Games, you say. I think that's good. I was bored during my time off from work."

"Does Rio not take care of you?"

"It's not that she doesn't take care of me, but it's boring being alone."

"I see."

It seems like Toki doesn't like being alone. Sensei patted Toki's back and comforted her.

The two returned to the Game Development Department, and in the club room, they saw Rio looking troubled.

"Is she a vegetable? Not like a herbivore man or something?"

"I see what's going on. That's a herbivore, Rio."

"Ah, Sensei. And the maid next to you?"

"It's Toki."

Toki greets her with a peace sign. Sensei and Toki coordinated their stories and told Rio that she was a third-year student who came for a trial membership in the Game Development Department.

Toki also wanted to enjoy a few days off, so she went along with it, and as for after Rio's memories returned... she left that to her future self.

"Since we cleared it, I want to try another game."

"That's a great attitude, Rio-senpai! Then, let's try Ultimate Mariu Party, which can be played multiplayer! It's originally for four players, but recently they released a version for up to eight players! Let's try it with all seven of us!"

'So Mario is Mariu here.'

Sensei thought of the game he played on Earth and played the game together with everyone.

Alice and Rio, who hadn't played games much, took the lead due to luck, while Momoi and Toki were in the lower ranks due to various unlucky events.

"Even I have a hard time with these luck-based games."

Even the gaming master, UZQueen, couldn't exert her full power in games where luck was more important than skill.

"I'm going to win this game. I've already planned my strategy, Sensei."

"Rio, you're confident."

"Of course. I have a star and 140 coins. I have plenty of capital."

Rio is confident that she will win. Then, it's Sensei's turn, and he rolls the dice and moves spaces...

"What are those black spaces?"

"Ah, those are Koopa spaces. It's where the events of the great demon king Koopa take place!"

Unfortunately, Sensei landed in a bad event space. There, he spins a roulette wheel...

{Koopa Revolution! I've always thought that coins should be equal. That way, there's fairness without a gap between the rich and the poor!}

"Wh-What...?"

And so, Rio got a taste of the red... no, Red Winter. It was an event where all players' coins became equal. Thanks to that, Rio's assets were instantly halved, and Momoi and Toki, who were in last place, gained capital.

"Yes, a Ghost space!"

Next, Momoi lands in a Ghost space and uses 50 coins to steal Rio's star. Then, Midori also lands in a Ghost space and, lacking money, takes coins from Rio.

"Wh-What is this..."

"Haha! Life is all about the real thing, Rio-senpai~?"

"...This game is rigged."

Rio was experiencing the bitterness of the game. Still, she still had one star, and seeing Toki who had no stars, she thought she still had a chance to win...

She continues to earn money on Chance spaces and arrives at a Swap space... She spins the roulette, selects an item that allows for a one-sided swap and a target, and Rio ends up giving 20 coins to Toki, gradually giving Toki the advantage. Soon after, Toki arrives at a Queen Ghost space.

"Investing my entire fortune, this is what you call holding, Rio-- senpai."

Using her entire fortune, Toki steals one star from everyone. Rio becomes broke as the game ends.

"Ah, it's not over yet... I'm sure the rules said there was a last chance for a comeback..."

Rio still held onto a glimmer of hope...

{The person who moved the most spaces is Alice-sama!}

{Next, the person who used the most coins is Toki-sama!}

{The person who used the most items is Yuzu-sama!}

And so, the bonus star time ends... Toki wins, with Alice in second place. Yuzu and Momoi each had two stars.

Sensei, who had one star even without money, and Midori, who had no stars but more money than Rio. Rio, who had no stars and no money, came in last.

"I... came in last?"

"Toki won, peace peace. Holding is indeed great."

"Wh-Why did this happen..."

"Life doesn't always go your way, Rio."

"Kuh... One more round."

Perhaps because of her strong competitive spirit, Rio demanded a rematch, and they played another round on the same map. This time, Alice won, and Rio, once again suffering from bad luck, came in last.

"Unfair..."

"That's life, Rio."

"Should Sensei be saying such negative things?"

"A teacher teaches both ideals and reality. Then, since it's almost time, I'll place the order."

Since it was getting late, Sensei ordered chicken, and Momoi introduced another game in the meantime. Midori leaves the club room to go to the bathroom for a moment... When she opens the door, something suddenly comes in.

"C-Cats?"

"Ah... Stray cats. They come often."

Alice's eyes sparkled at the sight of the suddenly appearing cats, and Yuzu explained that they sometimes came into the building. They were stray cats that sometimes entered the building, and the Game Development Department would occasionally play with them.

"It's my first time seeing cats!"

"It's your first time. I don't really remember touching one... or maybe I did?"

"From what I know, Rio-senpai isn't that type."

"Was I really such a cold person...?"

Rio is dejected by Toki's harsh truth. Alice picks up a cat that ran to her and is amazed.

"They stretch!"

"I see..."

"Rio-senpai, you should pet them too!"

"W-Won't they run away?"

"It's okay! This kind of event is friendly!"

At Alice's words, Rio hesitantly pets the cats, and they approach her gently. Rio holds a cat and is amazed.

'She's just a normal high school girl, after all.'

Sensei smiles warmly, seeing the two acting like ordinary girls.

Soon after, the chicken was delivered.

Sensei was perceptive enough to have ordered cat food from the convenience store as well, and since greasy and seasoned chicken could upset the cats' stomachs, she gave the cats canned cat food instead.

"Mmm~ Chicken is delicious after so long!"

"Yeah. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it's delicious..."

"This is chicken, Alice's HP increases!"

"It's been a while since I've had chicken, but personally, I like cheese balls more."

"Did you know, Rio? In Millennium, this ketchup is considered a vegetable. We're having a nutritionally balanced meal with vegetables and meat right now."

"Ketchup is a vegetable... Who made such a strange rule? What an idiot."

In order to reduce the budget, including the construction of Eridu, and to embezzle funds, Rio had defined ketchup as a vegetable to cut the budget of the school cafeteria. Rio was laughing at herself for being an idiot.

And so, they ate chicken, and the cats, full from eating high-quality canned food, also left. With their stomachs full, the group played another game.

Later, time passed, and it became late at night.

"Is it okay to sleep here?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Yes, Rio-senpai's house is too far away, so I recommend staying here during the trial period. As a bonus, I also have Rio-senpai's pajamas."

"I guess I relied on Toki a lot..."

Once again, Sensei and Toki coordinated their stories and had Rio stay there. And so, Rio changed into her pajamas.

"Rio-senpai! Before we sleep, let's talk about games with Alice!"

"Yeah, sure. A review of today's games would be good. You mean an evaluation."

"That's right! I think all of today's games were great!"

"Except for Mariu Party..."

Rio, having lost her memories, had also forgotten Alice's identity... and was becoming friends with Alice.

The next morning.

"Mmm... It's morning."

"Ah, you're awake."

"Alice? You woke up first... Huh? Alice is next to me..."

"I'm not Alice, Rio. I'm Sensei."