Kurosaki Enterprises was a major name in the gaming industry, but it had very few games that truly belonged to it. Its main business was still providing console hardware, securing popular blockbusters, and making them available only on its own products. That had always been its sales strategy. For that purpose, it had even created a department dedicated to finding promising small studios among the public.
Relying on the deep pockets those small circles did not have, Kurosaki Enterprises would support them, then take a profit.
But the business strategy it had used until now had changed half a year ago. Even the department that acted like a talent scout, searching a vast ocean for games that gave off a shine, was being gradually reduced, with the goal of eliminating it by the end of the year.
Because there was no longer any need to go through so much trouble. He had already completed what could only be called a monopoly.
Now, every VRMMO on the market had to purchase The Seed program from him before it could be developed. Otherwise, unless a second Kayaba appeared, no one could create a vast FullDive world from nothing.
Because of his agreement with that person, he could not use scarcity marketing to deliberately raise the price. Instead, he placed it openly on a website platform and sold periods of use at a number every manufacturer could accept. The core technology remained in Kurosaki's hands, and by maintaining this rental-like model, money would keep flowing in.
Commerce was a battlefield without smoke, one where no one could predict everything. But once a monopolist appeared, the fighting in that field could be declared temporarily over.
Unless the technology in his hands stopped being necessary, or someone truly developed a virtual environment editor more powerful than Kayaba's. But the great age of VR had only just arrived. There was no way a new reformer would stand up so quickly.
Now, it was no longer only the gaming industry that depended on it. The realism and freedom of FullDive could be applied in every field: social apps where lovers separated by distance could meet in a virtual form, services that let blind patients see the colors of the world, opportunities for disabled people to experience a healthy body, and even battlefield environments simulated for military training.
Technological change was like a plague or a virus. Once humanity accepted it, it spread madly, like fire in an uncivilized age, or electricity in the steam age.
Kurosaki Enterprises would also use this opportunity and the massive funds it had obtained to transform itself. From a mere game company that survived on entertainment, it would evolve into a diversified participant in advanced fields.
Hidemura Kurosaki was the third person to hold this "seed of fire." His feeling about that was very simple.
...Knowledge really was power.
From competing manufacturers to civilian facilities and government departments, groups purchasing usage rights for The Seed came one after another.
There was jealousy. There was suspicion. But the product itself was genuine.
Hidemura wearily removed his work glasses. No matter how comfortable the expensive chair under him was, after seven or eight hours of sitting, it felt no different from one of those cold, hard seats on a commuter train. He slowly stood, stretched a little, and let out a relaxed sigh.
It was only collecting money, yet somehow it felt even more exhausting than the emergency work he had done when the company was on the brink of bankruptcy...
He picked up his nearly cold coffee and paced to the tall floor-to-ceiling window behind him, using the view of the crowded city below as a way to relax. With autumn giving way to winter, the roadside trees had nearly lost all their leaves. A dry, cold wind blew through the city. Without the bright summer sun, the pale gray clouds and sky cast everything in a lifeless iron-blue shade.
On every street and alley, the traffic was still the same as ever, a scene of irregular yet precise gears turning together.
If he had to choose, summer was better to look at. The sky was cleaner and endless, there was more green, and among the crowds walking by, he could faintly catch sight of girls in shorts and skirts.
That was about as dry as his thoughts got now. In his forties or fifties, Hidemura no longer had a young man's energy. Standing before these clear floor-to-ceiling windows as the boss and looking down at the city did not fill him with pride, nor did any sense of accomplishment swell out of his body.
After all, he had been looking at this view for almost ten years.
And speaking of looking down... in this office building, his room was only on one of the middle floors.
No seasoned shopkeeper would truly place his noble, high-class office on the top floor unless he had no choice and happened to be renting a high floor.
Think about it carefully and it was obvious. If everyone in a building worked for your company and you were at the very top, then whenever something happened, everyone would have to cram into the elevator and run all the way up to find you. Too troublesome. The middle was best. People going up or down only had to cover half the height to reach you.
He finished his coffee and returned to his seat. Even so, this middle-aged man still did not want to throw himself back into work so quickly. He folded his arms, stared at the white ceiling, and let his mind wander.
Add one more topic to the meeting two days from now.
Have the secretary pour another cup of coffee later. Tell her to add more sugar. This new brand was a little bitter.
Was something wrong with the central air conditioning? It should not be this hot at 28 degrees Celsius...
The middle-aged man did not notice that his thoughts were drifting farther and farther from work.
Right. It was past five in the afternoon. Saki should be out of school. He glanced at the Blancpain watch on his left wrist and estimated his daughter's schedule for the day, figuring she was probably on her way home. With that thought, he took out his phone and called her. Ever since his wife passed away, he had been busy with work and had neglected his little princess.
Only after learning that she had been caught in the SAO incident, and after seeing Saki in her hospital bed, did he suddenly realize that she had grown quite a bit.
Fortunately, things were now moving in a better direction. It was not as if he had no time or chance to make up for the guilt in his heart.
He listened to the dial tone.
"Hey, Dad?"
Before long, his daughter's voice came through the receiver. It was only a few words, but to Hidemura, they were enough to wash away the exhaustion of the entire day.
"Saki, are you out of school?" he asked gently.
"Yeah."
"Be careful on the way home. Dad will be home a little after seven. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight? Didn't you mention that new restaurant in Ginza the other day? How about we go together?"
The middle-aged man had forgotten the string of English in the restaurant's name, but he calmly replaced it with "that restaurant."
"Seven? Isn't that too late?"
Hidemura fell into thought, considering whether to use the privilege of being the president to leave before all his employees and spend a warm, family-filled dinner with his daughter.
"I'll just eat out with Satoru... no, with Suzuki."
"..."
The middle-aged man froze for one second.
"Y-you only just got out of school, didn't you?"
"Oh, I skipped class. But at this hour, school really should be over now."
Hidemura touched his chest. He felt a little awful, as if something in him had tripped like a breaker.
"You skipped class to go out with him?"
His voice was slightly dry.
"How can that be okay? That's completely unreasonable. This is a regular high school. Dad went out of his way to make sure you didn't go to one of those special schools for SAO survivors... I was afraid a place like that might make you uncomfortable. And the teachers at your current school don't know your situation. They would definitely get seriously angry, wouldn't they?"
"Ugh, school is so boring!" Saki's tone carried some dissatisfaction. "It's not fun at all! I already learned everything they teach in middle school, and my classmates all feel so childish. Never mind the chuunibyou otaku who spend all day dating 2D characters. The rest only know how to study. There's not a single bit of excitement all day!"
"Because it's a famous high school with strong entrance scores... I also looked into the clubs, and they should be very rich in variety!" Hidemura replied weakly.
"Nope. Club activities are boring too."
"But..."
"If you're going to scold me, do it when I get back. I'm hanging up!"
The middle-aged man immediately looked as if he had surrendered.
"I won't. I'm not going to scold you," he said quickly. "You just skipped class, that's all."
Just then, another voice came through the phone. This line did not seem to be meant for him.
"See? Dad won't scold me."
"But... this is already the fourth time you've slipped out of school," a young man's voice beside her said, sounding rather helpless.
"..."
Hidemura fell silent.
"That's it, Dad. We're going to handle something," Saki said casually.
"W-what are you planning to do?!" Hidemura jumped up from his chair.
"To..." Saki's voice paused. "We're going to, uh, that Crimson Rose restaurant I mentioned last time."
"No! You're lying. Last time you said Dark Blue Rose!" Hidemura shouted, his eyes red.
"Hey, old man, one minute ago you covered for yourself with 'that restaurant'! Why did your brain suddenly start working now?!" Saki shouted back.
"No. Absolutely not! Even if it's just dinner, I'll skip work and come over! It's fine! I'll treat you!" Hidemura said, already walking toward the door.
Right... even if it was only dinner, all he had to do was picture them in a dazzling commercial district at dusk, seated by a window under warm yellow light, red candles burning on the table, his daughter shy and blushing, fidgeting with her fingers as she looked at the man across from her, and then, a little later, ordering a bottle of Moet & Chandon to set the mood.
The middle-aged man felt as if every circuit in him was about to blow.
"Hey... are you imagining something weird?!" Saki asked in a panic.
"No!"
"I know. You're thinking about my dark history from when I was eight and didn't know any better, clinging to you and saying 'Daddy is the best' and 'I'll stay with Daddy forever,' aren't you?!"
"I really wasn't thinking about that just now... Really. Believe me." Hidemura rubbed his head.
"I'm not believing an old man who's practically balding on top!"
"B-balding on top...?! Daddy's hairstyle was professionally designed!" The hand rubbing his head suddenly jerked back.
"Of course you can't see the disaster on the crown of your head when you look in the mirror yourself!"
After hearing that, Hidemura hurried back to the floor-to-ceiling window and used the clear glass to bend his head down and inspect the top of it as hard as he could.
"In five more years, you're definitely going to turn into a greasy old man with a big belly, a round oily face, and a corrupted pervert soul. Then you'll start thinking about finding me a stepmom, right? Yes, that young female secretary of yours! I've thought her flirting looked suspicious for ages!"
"Impossible!" Hidemura said in a low voice.
Hearing how serious he was, Saki could not help pausing.
"Hmph. At least you still have some consc..."
She gave a little huff and spoke in broken pieces.
"In college, Dad was called the second Takuya Kimura. There is no way I could fall into such a pitiful state! Even when I'm old, please think of me as the second Marlon Brando!"
"..."
Was my dad always this shameless?
Saki froze in place, unable to recover for a long moment.
Satoru stood off to the side with a hand over his face. Listening to this derailed father and daughter had become more than he could take. He patted Saki on the shoulder and took the phone.
"Mr. Kurosaki, please calm down. She and I are only out walking around. I'll bring her home by eight at the latest, so please don't worry."
"Long ago, I made up my mind. The day my daughter dates is the day I die..."
A low, ghostly whisper came from the other end of the phone.
"So, Suzuki, if you really intend to kill me, then don't hesitate."
This woman.
Satoru glanced at Saki.
She might never get married...
"I wouldn't dare. I really wouldn't," he said quickly.
"Then tell me where you are! I'll decide whether or not to jump from this sixth floor!" The voice on the phone was still full of strength.
Satoru covered his face more deeply, looked at the facility ahead of them, and let out a long sigh.
"She and I are at the entrance to the medical university hospital."
He looked at the quiet, spacious hospital entrance, felt the faint ache in his head, and felt drained.