The sea, the beach, and the rolling mountains in the distance. The sand felt warm and damp under my feet, and I could feel the sea breeze on my body. I stared blankly into the distance. It was my first time at the beach. The environment was so realistic I could even feel the seawater splashing on me from the wind.
...On my body?
I looked down and saw that I was completely naked!
"Huh?"
Darley Arabian noticed my odd behavior.
"Has the teleportation device not been perfected yet? Why is there a bug where clothes disappear during multi-person teleportation?"
"You did this on purpose, didn't you? Why do I have a bug and you don't? I want to see you naked!"
"It doesn't matter. It's just the two of us here. No one will say anything even if we're naked. But if I were to be naked, wouldn't we become Adam and Eve? In that case, should we also eat the forbidden fruit? I'd be very happy to eat it with Little Lamb."
"Is it really okay for you to say that as a goddess?"
"It's fine. We're AIs now, anyway," Darley Arabian said with a giggle.
This guy is so annoying! If I could, I would mess up Darley Arabian until she was a pile of mush to vent my anger, but my skills weren't good enough yet.
"Do you want me to take it off, Little Lamb?"
"I'll wait until I've improved my skills. It's not enough right now."
"I'll be looking forward to the experience you'll bring me. Hehe~"
Darley Arabian waved her hand, and a towel appeared around my waist.
"Currently, we only have female clothes and yukatas. Of course, if you want to wear a dress, I can change it for you." Darley Arabian's lips curled into a smile, her gaze subtly looking at my crotch.
Oh, you're so cocky. Just you wait. When I master this, I'll go all out on you for three hundred rounds, and you won't be able to stop crying.
"Alright, Little Lamb, let me show you around." Darley Arabian led me along the beach. "This is the Tracen summer training camp. We rebuilt the beach to allow horse girls to train here, but also to relax. They can come here to fish and sunbathe."
"Fishing?"
"That's right. The ocean has to have fish, of course."
I looked at the endless sea. I wondered if there was really no end to it or if it was a small, enclosed island like in The Truman Show.
"You can think of this as a separate map, roughly the same size as Tokyo. When you log in later, you'll be able to choose a landing spot. Besides the beach, there are seven other places you can choose from. The scenery outside is real, not just a backdrop."
"Can you stop reading my mind?"
"It's the Three Goddesses' responsibility to keep track of the Trainer's status in real-time."
What a lame excuse. Reading my mind meant she knew all the thoughts I had about her. I'd been wanting to taste Darley Arabian's chocolate milk.
"I don't mind. In fact, it's quite interesting. Want to give it a try?"
Darley Arabian straightened her back, her ample chest bouncing.
"..."
...
Ten minutes later.
"Why is there actually..."
"I thought you'd like it."
So sweet... Darley Arabian's chocolate milk.
"Do you want to continue waiting, Little Lamb? There's no need to practice your skills, is there?"
"I'm completely at your mercy. You've always been so relaxed."
"Because a Little Lamb who works hard is very cute."
"Just you wait, Darley. You won't be arrogant forever."
"It seems like there won't be an opportunity today. So, do you want to go fishing? We have plenty of time, anyway. I bet you've never fished on the ocean before, have you, Little Lamb?"
I hadn't. The only time I ever went fishing was with Sky, and she was the one who got a bite. I took the fishing rod she handed me and decided to give it a try. I lived for pleasure, and that was my motto. The VR world was useless for the most part, or at least for most of the time.
Darley Arabian gave me a box of bait. We sat by the sea and cast our lines. The hot sun baked my head, and I fanned myself to keep cool. The world's environmental simulation was at an unprecedented level. There were many times when I forgot whether I was in reality or in the game.
Half an hour later, the fishing rod moved. Seeing the line shaking, I quickly grabbed it. "It's so strong!"
Like I was being dragged by a car, the fish pulled me straight into the sea.
"Darley!"
"I'm coming! Hold on, Little Lamb!" Darley Arabian put down her fishing rod and ran over to me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me toward the shore. Soon, a fish almost a meter long surfaced.
After we dragged it ashore, the fish thrashed around wildly. "Hurry, grab it, Little Lamb! It's trying to jump back!"
"You're not going anywhere!" I pounced on the fish. After being slapped by its tail a couple of times, it finally calmed down.
"This must be at least twenty pounds, right?"
"What a haul!"
Just as we were putting the fish in the bucket, Darley Arabian's fishing rod moved as well.
"Whoa! It looks like it's a good day today!" Darley Arabian rushed over and grabbed her fishing rod. I took out a fishing net to help. The gloom I felt from Darley's teasing was swept away as we caught more and more fish. I finally understood why Sky loved fishing so much.
Soon, the sun was directly overhead. Without realizing it, we had been playing on the beach for over three hours. I lay on the sand, drenched in sweat, watching the brown-skinned horse girl leaning against the bucket, touching the fish.
Ignoring her playful personality, Darley was a good companion. At least, I hadn't had so much fun in a long time. The feeling of oppression that had been lingering in my heart had lessened a lot. I felt more motivated to complete the tasks.
Grrr... My stomach growled.
"Can we eat these fish?"
"Of course, but they won't fill you up." Darley Arabian hugged her knees. "The taste, the texture, and the feeling of swallowing can all be simulated by the program, but not the nutrition. You need to eat real food to maintain the nutrients your body consumes. No matter how much you eat, the VR world can't make you feel full."
She turned to me. "Speaking of which, it's already lunchtime. You must be hungry, right, Little Lamb?"
"Yeah, I'm going back to eat something."
"Is it okay if I take these fish back to add to the kids' meal?"
"Sure... By the way, you guys don't need to eat, do you? Do AIs need to eat?"
"No, we don't, but..." Darley Arabian suddenly showed a hint of a sad smile. "We also want to experience what it feels like to be alive."
I fell silent. I waved to her. "I'll come again. I had a lot of fun with you today."
"I'll be looking forward to your next visit."
I clicked the log-out button and disappeared from the beach. After I was gone, Darley Arabian stroked the fishing box. A white light flashed, and the fishing box turned into colorful shards that disappeared into the air.
"Darley, you have such a wicked heart. Little Lamb is the last human left in this world, and you keep teasing him." A horse girl in a yellow leather jacket, Byerley Turk, came up to Darley Arabian and adjusted her hat. "You all want to keep him in VR. If he really doesn't want to leave, the outside world will stop running."
As the "player," only my presence could keep the game going.
"In that case, let's just make this the new world," Darley Arabian said with a smile. "Don't you think that as long as Little Lamb is here, any world would be interesting?"
"Little Lamb's abilities might not work here."
"Maybe they will. Even though it's not complete, it's the power of the Three Goddesses. Under that power's influence, anything is possible."
"..."
"Maybe in the near future, he can turn this into a real world, or perfect the game world outside. Don't you think that's very interesting?"
"It is, but right now, the uncertainty of him becoming attached to VR is too great."
"It's fine. Uncertainty is interesting too," Darley Arabian said, her lips curling into a smile. She said to Byerley Turk, "I had a great time with Little Lamb today. I fed him a taste. Is it always so comfortable to feed someone else? It's the first time I've felt this way, Byerley."
"After all, it's part of the process of human life. It has to be comfortable for procreation."
"What should I play with Little Lamb next time? Do you have any good ideas? If it were you, what would you want to play with Little Lamb?"
Byerley Turk thought for a moment. "Exploring... the process of life."
"Isn't that the same as me?"
"I just prefer to watch from the side."