Tabito Shigimura frowned as he reached for the doorknob.
Who could this be, at this hour? During quarantine? Was it the police?
He opened the door a crack to see a man whom he didn't recognize. The man wasn't wearing any sunglasses or a mask which one would expect even on a normal day, let alone a Hazmat suit given that it was a quarantine. So was he not coming from outside? Was he a resident of the apartment complex? Tabito had never seen someone who looked like him before.
"Excuse me?" he said, trying hard not to slur his words.
"Ah, yes, Tabula Smaragdina-san?" the man asked.
Tabito felt a jolt down his spine. That was his game name in Yggdrasil. "Who is this who's asking?"
"Ah, sorry," the man answered. "My name is Hiroshi Hirota, also known as Herohero in the game of Yggdrasil. I don't think the two of us were ever particularly very close, but you do remember me from the game, right? Both of us were in the same guild."
"Uh, yeah," Tabito answered. "Just a minute."
And with that, Tabito shut the door and then immediately grabbed a chair to form a makeshift barricade in front of his door.
The hairs on his neck were standing. What was this? How was it possible? How did anyone get his online name?
Tabito was one of those people who never gave out his personal information online such as his address or job, even to his guild mates. He liked to divorce himself from his real life persona completely. He even used a voice modifier while using voice chat so that his exact voice couldn't be recognized if he ever met someone whom he had met online in real life.
As such, this was some serious stalker crap like those Creepypastas he spent far too much time reading on the Internet. Well, he was a big fan of horror, and a few of them were genuinely good though the majority were mediocre. A good portion of them were stalker stories, and he did not want to think about what was going to happen to him if Hiroshi made his way into the room. A good portion of them were about scenarios just like this- meeting someone from the Internet in real life who then sold off your kidneys or something like that.
Because if Hiroshi wasn't a stalker, why was he at his front door on a day like this of all days? There was no real proof that this was even the real Herohero from the game, and even if it was, it didn't mean that this man had pure intentions.
Tabito's hands were trembling. Was this all really happening- or had he drunk so much that he was hallucinating?
His headache came back and he hastily reached for another bottle. It was unwise for him to drink so much given he had no clue as to when he would get another bottle, but if his life was really in danger this might be his last bottle ever.
After downing a third of it he went to his safe and entered the pin code. Nestled within was a glistening pistol. It was rather macabre how pretty it looked- there was a stark contrast between it and the dullness of the rest of the room.
Firearms were not common in Japan in the old days, but as it become apparent that citizens were on their own people began resorting to measures such as owning one and even implanting bulletproof fibers into their skin.
There was more knocking. "Um, Tabula-san?" Hiroshi said. His voice seemed confused, as if he was wondering where Tabito was.
Tabito smirked. This man was a good actor.
"I have a loaded firearm with me!" Tabito screamed at the door. "You can get lost, or else I'll start shooting!"
"Whoa, whoa, what happened?" Hiroshi asked.
"You don't need to know," Tabito said. "Get out, and never come back here! I am armed!"
Tabito took a few shaky breaths as he heard footsteps withdraw from the door.
He lowered his weapon.
He was so relieved he hardly noticed the strange shimmering vortex that was forming by his side.
The moment he did, he turned around immediately.
Okay, there was definitely something else in that booze. He was losing all grasp on reality here!
He pointed the gun at the vortex with a shaking hand. A hand appeared from the vortex- but this one was all bones.
To give some context here, Momonga and Herohero were unsure of how to proceed when Tabula had refused to let them in and threatened to shoot them. However, they really couldn't go ahead and go home without at least telling Tabula what had happened.
If Tabula wanted nothing to do with Nazarick, Momonga would happily oblige with his wishes. But he wanted him to know the truth- he owed his friend that much at least.
Tabito, on the other hand, could not form a rational thought as a skeletal face also emerged from the vortex.
This really was turning into a bad Creepypasta. One of those where the protagonist was just walking along the hallway when he suddenly gets attacked by a supernatural entity out of nowhere, and nothing is explained to the viewer. If he himself read a story like this, he would have rated it as being an extremely bad one, even by Internet Creepypasta standards.
As the figure emerged, carrying a staff which was all too familiar to him, he didn't calm down. Yes, this looked like Momonga, and that staff- definitely the thing which their whole guild had spent months of intense effort to make.
Without thinking, Tabito pulled the trigger.
He had not anticipated the kickback as it caused him to drop the gun. He had never actually fired the darn thing, he had just bought it once long ago as a last resort in case something happened to him.
As it was the bullet didn't seem to do this skeletal figure any damage as the figure grabbed the bullet with an outstretched hand.
"Ah, pardon me for scaring you," the figure said.
Tabito half expected the entity to sound like Momonga- but this voice was deep, emotionless, and frosty. He had never heard a voice like this before.
"What do you want from me?" Tabito asked, now slumping onto the floor. His head was spinning and the alcohol was only one of the reasons for that. "I don't have anything worth stealing."
"I am not a thief, Tabula-san," the figure answered him. "Don't you recognize me? I'm Momonga from the guild Ainz Ooal Gown, from the game Yggdrasil."
"I see that," Tabito replied. "But your voice isn't like his." It was possible that he used a voice modified then- or alternatively he was using one now.
Tabito honestly didn't know what to make of the situation anymore. It appeared some people had somehow gotten his real address and his username on Yggdrasil. Was this figure a costume or robot of some sort?
It seemed too real for him for that to be the case.
"I'm sorry for startling you, and for entering your home like this," Momonga said as he pulled over a chair and sat down. "I apologize for resorting to such means, but I think this is the only way I could get to you."
Tabito picked up the gun, but didn't fire it again or point it at Momonga and instead sat down. "So what is this about?"
"The thing you need to know is that Yggdrasil somehow manifested in the real world," Momonga said. "Somehow, all the rules of Yggdrasil now work in the real world too. I was logged into the servers as they shut down, and when they did, I found myself in this actual body of my avatar. The rest of the Great Tomb of Nazarick has come to life as well, including all the NPCs."
Tabito said, "If you're really Momonga- what's your real name?"
"Suzuki Satoru."
Well, if someone had doxxed him and gotten his name, they probably could get that name too, but to some extent that did set him at ease. "So... this is some sort of weird Isekai?"
"Yes, it seems so," Momonga said.
"What's the deal with Herohero then?" Tabito asked. "He sure doesn't look like a slime."
"That, ah-" Momonga said before there was very rapid knocking at the door.
"Suzuki! What happened! I heard a gunshot!"
It was Hiroshi.
"Ah, it appears only those logged in to the game when it was shut down got turned into their avatars," Momonga said. "Herohero is just a normal human for now. Do you mind if I open the door and let him know everything's alright? Do you mind me letting him in?"
"Why didn't he just come with you through the portal then?" Tabito asked.
"Ah, if you did have a gun, he would have been vulnerable to injury," Momonga replied. "It appears that as in game, I am immune to such projectiles unless the one who fires them are above level 60."
"Well, okay then," Tabito said.
Momonga opened the door and a worried Hiroshi was allowed to enter the room.
He eyed the gun that Tabito was holding warily.
"Ah, so, why are you here then?" Tabito asked.
"Well, you were a member of the guild, right?" Momonga asked. "I mean, you helped build it. Now that it's real, I thought that maybe you'd like to come back to it."
"How'd you find me?" Tabito asked.
"Your NPC, Nigredo, used magic to find you," Momonga said.
Well, that sounded like bullcrap to Tabito, but he couldn't think of an alternative unless a good portion of the country was working to not only doxx him but make a robot like this for some reason.
"As a matter of fact, I thought you might not believe me," Momonga said. "And so, I brought some more proof. I am going to be casting the spell Gate again."
So that explained the portal- now that he thought about it it did look like the one in Yggdrasil. Or sort of like it- it had textures and contours in real life that would not be there in game.
A figure emerged from the vortex- one that he recognized instantly from the hours he had worked on it.
"Please remove your helmet," Momonga said.
The figure complied and he saw the far too beautiful to be real face of his creation, Albedo.
"I salute you, Tabula Smaragdina-sama," she said and bowed her head.
Albedo still took a look around the room even with her head lowered and was deeply disappointed. Such a place- it was unfit for even the lowest servant of Nazarick, let alone one of the Supreme Beings that had created her. Why was someone such as him living in such squalor?
It wasn't just that- there was also the fact that the room was cluttered and dirty. She could smell alcohol on her creator's body.
Momonga-sama had mentioned something along the lines of the Supreme Beings being 'nothing of importance' in this world, but she hadn't expected something like this.
Tabito rubbed his eyes over and over again.
"Well, it's nice to have you all over here," he said calmly before getting up. "If you don't mind though, I need to start getting breakfast ready."
Tabito made his way into the kitchen where he began opening a few packets of instant ramen.
The others were kind of speechless as they watched this behavior.
"Ah..." Suzuki said.
Hiroshi got up and whispered into Suzuki's ear. "I think he believes he's hallucinating."
"Oh, that explains it," Suzuki answered.
"Eh?" Albedo asked. "Hallucinating?"
"Not so loudly," Suzuki whispered back. "Most likely he can't deal with this, and given the amount he's been drinking, I suppose he thought it's a reasonable conclusion to reach. Though this does pose a bit of a difficulty for us."
"I'll say," Hiroshi muttered as Tabito returned with a bowl of instant ramen and began eating it, almost ignoring the other three in the room entirely.
Platinum Dragon Lord led the lone soldier behind him through the network of hallways located in the guild base.
There had been some commotion about them only letting one person follow him- he was not privy to the details but the others seemed to agree.
As it was the hallways of the guild base were designed to be as confusing as possible so as to throw off any intruders, but Platinum Dragon Lord had lived in here for several centuries and knew the place like the back of his claw.
Before entering the central treasury, he turned around to talk to the human following him. Now that they were all inside and under the guild bases's lighting, it seemed very apparent that they were humans of some kind.
"We are about to meet my master," Platinum Dragon Lord said. "I take it that you will not fire your weapon unnecessarily?"
The man had refused to leave his weapon behind, and the Platinum Dragon Lord had went along with it given he felt he had little choice in the matter.
"Yeah, sure thing pal," the soldier replied.
Platinum Dragon Lord felt that the solider was being far too informal for someone he had just met, but he ignored it for now. Was that just how people spoke in this place?
The two of them then stepped into the room.
Platinum Dragon Lord opened his real eyes and willed the suit of armor to standby towards the corner as the human began swearing and, despite his warning, pointed his weapon straight at him.
"If you attempt to shoot my master, I will slice your arm off before you can pull the trigger," Platinum Dragon Lord in his armor spoke out as his levitating sword stopped an inch from the man's arm.
The man lowered his weapon and took off his helmet. Even under it, he was wearing a strange mask and goggles, but now Platinum Dragon Lord could see his eyes clearly. He then grabbed something strapped to his waist and said, "There's a strange- thing- here inside this place!"
"Thing?" Platinum Dragon Lord roared in indignation. At the sound of the dragon's voice, the man shuddered. "I have a name. I am the Platinum Dragon Lord, one of the Dragon Lords of the Argland Council State. You will not address me as an 'it!'"
There was force in those last few words.
Platinum Dragon Lord hoped this duality between the armor and his real body would help sell the little bit.
"Ah, sorry, sorry," the soldier babbled. He had assumed at first, that he was looking at some sort of animatronic or robot. After all, there was no way that a real dragon would be around. But that voice did not sound like it was generated from a machine, and those movements were very lifelike. CGI was omniscient in movies in the current age- and he had never seen CGI that looked anything like this before. "I am sorry, Your Highness- Mister Dragon Lord-" he wasn't really sure how one should address a dragon lord, but the dragon didn't seem to correct him when he said this, so he continued- "-but are you real? You're a real dragon? I never thought they existed."
This sent Platinum Dragon Lord's mind into a whirl. If this was Yggdrasil he expected knowledge on what a dragon was to be commonplace. Or were these perhaps new players?
"If I may ask a question first in response to your question," Platinum Dragon Lord said. "I seem to find myself in strange territory. Where in Yggdrasil are we?"
"Yggdrasil?" the soldier asked. He struggled to remember his Norse mythology. He had never read about it in college or anywhere, but he had watched the new renditions of the Avengers movies. Yggdrasil was the world tree that Thor kept on talking about. In the movies... what was Earth called again? He struggled to remember.
"I guess we would perhaps be on Earth-" or wait, "Midgard? As it would be called?"
"I see," Platinum Dragon Lord said. So that confirmed that he was indeed in Yggdrasil. Were that true, than he would have great difficulty surviving here. If he were swarmed by large group of players, he would meet the same fate as all of his kin for sure. He would have to be careful- and if he had been summoned as a form of revenge for killing other Yggdrasil players, he would need to seek protection somehow.
But there was something that nagged at him in the back of his mind. As far as he knew, the servers for Yggdrasil had been shut down- essentially the world had been said to have been destroyed, which was when players such as the Eight Greed Kings had been brought to his world. Or had that been misinformation?
"So where in Yggdrasil are you from, Mister Dragon Lord?" the mana asked.
Platinum Dragon Lord thought of an answer before replying. "I am from Vanaheim." That was the world that the leader of the thirteen heroes told him he was in before being transported to a different world. It would be a good idea to try and blend in for now- he could even offer up the name of the leader to show that he was a friend of players in general.
"Oh," the man said. He was shaking in his boots. He may have been a veteran of many missions but he had never ran into something like this before. The Nine Realms of Yggdrasil were real- though they were probably not like those of the Marvel movies. Sadly he didn't have any further actual knowledge on them. He had never heard of Vanaheim, and only really knew of Asgard and Midgard from watching the movies, but it sounded like a legitimate world to him.
Now that the man had accepted this, Platinum Dragon Lord relaxed a little, assuming he was safe for now. Was there also a nation known as the Argland Council State in this Vanaheim realm of Yggdrasil- or did this simple foot soldier just not know any better? Most likely the latter. "I do not know how I ended up in Midgard, and I apologize if I am encroaching upon your territory, but this was not of my doing. If possible, I would like to converse with the leader of your organization as to what I can do to remedy this."
"Oh," the soldier said. He was nearly oblivious to the fact that several more men had followed him into this place, but they seemed to have gotten lost in the winding tunnels of the guild base. Platinum Dragon Lord could still sense them, but he ignored them for now. "Well, ya see, Mister Dragon Lord, I am just a soldier really- a bit higher ranked. So if you want to speak to my commander that's one thing- but if you want to speak to the President or the Senate or something like that, I don't know if I can arrange for that."
"Who is ultimately in charge of your organization? I wish to meet him or her- or alternatively the king of this country," Platinum Dragon Lord said.
"Now, we don't have kings here," the soldier replied. "But again, looks like you want to speak to the President." This was like one of those old sci-fi movies where the aliens would say, "Take me to your leader."
"Ah, but there is an issue," Platinum Dragon Lord said. "I cannot leave this place and must stand guard over it. In my stead, you make take Riku who will serve as my ambassador to visit the President of yours." His armor bowed to acknowledge himself. "Your comrades have gotten lost in the labyrinth which exists on the way here. On your way out, collect them and tell me what you can arrange for."
"I will accompany you outside," his armor said as it motioned for the soldier to follow him.
"So you're like his bodyguard or something?" the solider asked as they left.
"After a fashion," Riku replied.
"So, uh, is he real?" the soldier asked when they were out of earshot. Or at least, what he thought was out of earshot. A dragon's hearing was far sharper than a human's and Platinum Dragon Lord could hear his voice both through his armor and through his own ears. "Like I mean, he's a real dragon?"
"Indeed," Riku said.
"And what are you? Are you human?" the soldier asked. "Or are you an Asgardian or something?"
Platinum Dragon Lord had no idea what an Asgardian was and so had difficulty answering this question. He remained silent.
The soldier found the others and motioned for them to follow him outside. He'd need to speak to the field commander about what he had found.
He thought about the Avengers movies. Whenever people from alternate worlds showed up, it never bode well. Usually there was something like an inter-dimensional war that was about to break out. Of course, that was assuming that this all wasn't some sort of elaborate hoax and he wasn't being played. But if it was real- well, it was usually soldiers like them who were killed like cannon fodder first before the real heroes swept in.
And he for sure was no hero.
To his surprise, the commander didn't even question if what he was saying was true or now. He seemed to believe the fact that there was a magical talking dragon somewhere in this floating castle at face value, which slightly unnerved him.
"So, you want to meet the President?" the commander asked the suit of armor.
"Indeed," Riku answered. "Please permit me to be the voice of my master."
"Before that, there's one thing," the commander said. "Can you use magic? I would like to see a demonstration of a spell, any spell."
Platinum Dragon Lord found this to be a strange request, but he complied with a simple Greater Teleportation spell to disappear and reappear one hundred yards away before coming back to the same place.
"Oh, well," the commander said and bit his lip as if he was thinking deeply. "I would like to meet with ah, your master, if that is alright."
"I can permit you to do so," Riku answered. "Though he will tire of countless visitors soon."
"Alright," the commander said while eyeing him up and down. "You call him 'master'- are you a sort of slave or something?"
"I live to serve my master," Riku answered. "Though I am no slave. Slavery is banned within the domains of the Argland Council State."
"Oh, well, good thing then," the commander said. He was accompanied by several other soldiers as Platinum Dragon Lord led them towards his real body as he had done earlier.
The real body of the Platinum Dragon Lord raised its head as the 'guests' arrived. The soldiers all raised their guns at him before the commander told them to lower their weapons.
"Sorry about this," the commander said. "I just needed to see this with my own eyes before I report to my superiors, ah-" He then turned to Platinum Dragon Lord's suit or armor and whispered. "How should I address him?"
"You may address me as the Platinum Dragon Lord," Platinum Dragon Lord said simply.
"Ah, so you seem to have great ears," the commander said.
"Indeed. My senses are far sharper than that of a human's," Platinum Dragon Lord said.
"Ah, right, well, forgive me, but there is soemthing we need to confirm," the commander said. "Yesterday, at the stroke of midnight, our world, Earth, or Midgard- was it? Yeah, was enveloped in a bright light and suddenly people all over the world developed the ability to cast spells. Were you responsible for that?" Some soldiers behind him exchanged mutterings- this was classified information but he would get them to shut up about it easy enough.
Platinum Dragon Lord was confused. The Eight Greed Kings had imported Tier Magic into his world and as such, magic was already known within Yggdrasil. "I thought that magic was already well known within all realms of Yggdrasil?"
"Well, that might be true where you're from," the commander said. "But here on Ear-Midgard, we don't have any kind of magic. Just science. Until yesterday that is."
Platinum Dragon Lord had heard of science from some reports. It was widely considered to be inferior to magic- and he would have to agree with that assessment.
"Well, my knowledge about the other worlds of Yggdrasil is limited," Platinum Dragon Lord replied. Perhaps Midgard did not have magic casters? He only knew brief details of Vanaheim. "I believe things will become more clearer as we exchange information with one another. As for this even that brought magic into your world, I was not responsible. As a matter of fact I believe that indeed, I might have been a victim of it as well as I was brought here."
"Oh, I see," the commander said. "And you didn't happen to run into any planes, did you? Some of our pilots saw a strange shining entity flying in the sky at very high speeds."
This perked up Platinum Dragon Lord's ears. Could it be one of the other dragon lords which had been brought here alongside him? The description could be describing the Brightness Dragon Lord- though it could also be a number of other things. "That was not I, for I have not left this place in a long time."
"Why thank you," the commander said. "Is there anything that I can get you? Food? Water? Or anything else?"
"No," Platinum Dragon Lord said. "I have no need of sustenance." Dragons as it were needed to only hunt every few months, save for pregnant ones who would need to hunt weekly. This was a good thing considering their massive size and overwhelming power, but he had a magic item that alleviated the need for food and drink.
"Ah well, if there's anything else we can get you, please let us know," the commander said. "In the meantime, I'll try to open a link with the President."
Tabito was sleeping in his chair with a bottle of win in his hand which he was snuggling like a child would a teddy bear.
He had chosen to completely disregard the other three people in the room and had gone about his morning routine as if they didn't exist and this had ended with him finishing half a bottle and snoozing in a chair.
As such, Suzuki and Hiroshi might have had magical powers, but deep down both of them were people who spent far too much time on the Internet. As such, the sheer awkwardness of the situation prevented them from doing anything.
Any time they'd address Tabito, Tabito would give a strange answer which made no sense.
"What do we do now?" Hiroshi asked.
Suzuki had no answer to this. If Tabito had not believe them, that would have been one thing. But this was flat-out denial of reality.
Hiroshi continued. "I think we should take him back to Nazarick as he is."
"That's kidnapping," Suzuki muttered.
"We've already done that though," Hiroshi answered.
"Indeed, but he is our friend," Suzuki said. He honestly didn't feel too deeply about the humans he was currently keeping in Nazarick, but was deeply worried about what Tabito would think of him.
"And we need to show him that he isn't hallucinating," Hiroshi said. "He probably drinks too much and thinks its due to that. We need to get rid of the bottle first of all. And then, when he sees the guild base, he'll probably realize that he isn't just seeing things."
Suzuki considered this. If Tabito had simply said that he did not want to go back to Nazarick and wanted to stay out of the guild's business, Suzuki woudl have gladly accepted such a wish and gone back to Nazarick without a fuss. But, it did not seem that Tabito was in a right state of mind- or that Tabito realized what was going on. "Albedo- do you have a problem with us holding your creator, Tabula Smaragdina, agaisnt his will?"
Hiroshi then flinched as he remembered that Albedo was also with them. She had remained quiet and still for so long he had forgotten about her. If she had feelings for her creator like Solution did for him, then this could turn messy quickly.
"I only wish to serve you above all, Momonga-sama," Albedo said. "As such, if you so desire, I will split open the skull of my creator should you wish."
Her voice sounded like honey but the content was anything but. She had even drawn her weapon as she said this.
Wow! She turned on him rather quick! Wait- is this because of what Suzuki changed in her character sheet description?
"Ah, no, Albedo," Suzuki said. "We merely wish to hold him for a while. I'll take the bottle of wine from him, and let's head back to Nazarick. We'll discuss things further there."
Draudillon Oriculus spent most of her time in front of the strange glowing contraption before her.
She had asked what sort of magic made this weird mirror work but Hayato had just laughed and ruffled her hair for some reason when she asked that. He said that magic wasn't real and this worked on 'science'- something she had heard of before. Scientists usually made things like telescope lenses and gyroscopes- though anyone with half a brain knew it was highly inferior to magic. But, she guessed that perhaps these people had developed a far more advanced version of science. But what was that about magic not existing? What kind of a dumb lie was that?
It took her a while to figure out how the 'remote' thing worked but she was able to use it confidently now.
There wasn't much she could see. No matter what she did, it wouldn't show her the view of her own country. Many times it would show a message saying that the channel had been blocked due to the quarantine. She couldn't read the script, but she did understand what was being said. Draduillon hadn't fully understood when Hayato had told her that this was a box in a network of boxes and they were all connected- there was no such magical or scientific technology back in her home country. It seemed the government of this nation had control over what one could see through this device.
Hayato had gotten a call and had left her alone in the house, and she whiled away time fliting through the channels. She didn't really need Hayato's warning to stay inside, that much was common sense.
She had, in a sense, already pretty much given up regarding her situation. There was nothing further she could do. As far as she could tell, she had been whisked away to another land. Until her captors made a move or announced themselves- assuming they existed, there was nothing she could do. No scheme of hers would work, and she had accepted that.
As it was she found a room upstairs which seemed to belong to a young girl- or had been prepared for one at least anyway and she climbed into the bed and fell asleep.
Hayato returned to the house much later, and had climbed upstairs to see that the girl he had rescued was fast asleep in the bed he had made for his own daughter.
It did not look like the quarantine was going to be over any time soon, so there was little to be angry with her about given that he wouldn't need it.
He tucked her in and went downstairs and made something. It was another microwave dinner- again, not very healthy, but given that his cook wouldn't be showing up it was the only thing he could do as it was already pretty late. When it was ready, he carried a plate upstairs and woke Draudillon up, telling her that dinner was ready.
"Eh?" Draudillon muttered. "I'm not really hungry..." She thought she was more sleepy than hungry but then her stomach growled.
For dinner was more of the strange warm stuff from earlier- though this had a yellowish covering on top that looked like butter. "You haven't had pizza bagels before?" At this point, Hayato guessed it was futile to even ask such things. The girl didn't seem to have even seen a television before- just what kind of place had she grown up in?
They tasted good enough to Draudillon, but again, their taste was quite strong and they were quite oily and something she guessed only a real child would enjoy. She would usually want a drink this time around but asking for one would arose suspicion- though Hayato had handed her a glass of orange juice. It frankly did not taste at all as good as the kind she had in the palace but she didn't let her displeasure show.
"So, how was work?" she asked. There was really nothing to talk about, and this seemed an innocent enough question if said in the right tone even if it was from a small child.
"Oh nothing special," Hayato said. "I just drove around. Some other guys got to see some action, but not me."
Once she was done eating, Hayto led her back to the same room and tucked her carefully in.
It was sort of heartwarming seeing this, but as you can imagine it was deeply uncomfortable and even sort of sickening for someone such as Draudillon who was actually an adult woman. But she decided to go with it as Hayto turned off the lights (these people used a strange apparatus on the wall to turn them off and on) before he walked away saying, "Sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!"
Were there actual parasites in her bed? She hadn't felt them bite her, and something about his tone told her that he was joking- though it was a rather poor joke if really was just that.
Of course, she actually couldn't sleep given the long nap she had taken, and so when she was sure that Hayato was asleep she snuck downstairs to see if she could maybe find a bottle or two.
You would probably think that this was a bad idea- but given the general stress of the situation she had found herself in and the fact that she could apparently do nothing about it except pretend to be this strange man's daughter she needed an outlet for her frustrations, no matter how nice he was.
While she snuck downstairs she silently cursed herself for not having looked for wine some time before.
She did not turn on the light, not wanting to risk getting caught. But at the same time, given that all the curtains in the house were still shut she couldn't see a thing. That is, she wouldn't have been able to normally, but there seemed to be a lot of mirrors in the house which gave off a low blue light which was just enough for her to get by. The thing that Hayato had cooked her meal in even had glowing numerals on it- hey! She recognized those numbers! 2:45- but what did they mean? After a while of staring at them it changed to 2:46, so this was probably some sort of clock in addition to being an oven?
She opened the fridge but couldn't find anything like she was hoping for. She found a couple of drinks, sure, but those were the same strange fizzling ones that were far too sweet which she had had earlier. Next to this was a cabinet drawer, though she had to pull up a chair to reach it.
All she saw were what looked like spices. The second drawer did have a bottle but on inspecition it was clear it was filled with oil rather than wine. It was only in the third drawer that she hit the jackpot and found what she was looking for.
Now, the only problem was that the bottle was still sealed shut. As she couldn't see a corkscrew she instead went for a spoon.
She was successful and dropped the spoon onto the floor and began drinking straight out of the bottle. Some of it slipped onto her chin but she didn't mind. However, her clothes might get dirty and she didn't have a replacement, and given that there was a quarantine around she was rather unsure if she could buy any spares. Hayato seemed to have a daughter, but she wasn't sure if they would be the same size.
With half of the bottle finished, she was a bit intoxicated already. The wine wasn't very good by her standards but she would take what she got.
As such, she didn't notice the footsteps or the lights turn on as Hayato came in with a gun in his hand.
Instead of what he had been expecting- an intruder, what he saw was a little girl chugging a bottle of wine with a shocked look on her face.
Draudillon did a spit-take as she saw the form of her rescuer.