Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture.
The Kirigaya residence.
"Brother, Mum's made breakfast, so remember to come down and eat. I'm off to school."
Hearing his sister Suguha Kirigaya's voice from outside the door, Kazuto Kirigaya, his head still on his pillow, mumbled a reply without even opening his eyes.
"I know..."
After receiving his response, Suguha Kirigaya outside the door didn't reply. It wasn't until a few seconds later, when he heard the thumping of feet going downstairs, that Kazuto was sure his sister had left for school.
Actually, Kazuto had to go to school too, but unlike his sister Suguha, who attended an all-girls high school, his school was closer to home, so he could wake up a little later.
By the time Kazuto forced himself to get up and slowly made his way to the ground floor, he saw his mother, Midori Kirigaya, busy in the kitchen and casually greeted her.
"Morning, Mum."
"Is that you, Kazuto?" Midori, busy cleaning in the kitchen, said with her back to the living room. "Go and turn off the TV. Your father forgot to turn it off when he left. And Suguha, honestly, I asked her to help turn it off, but she said she didn't have time and just ran off."
"I know." Not wanting to listen to his mother's nagging, Kazuto walked speechlessly to the dining table, glanced at the cheese and fried egg on it, found the TV remote, and then walked towards the living room sofa.
It was at that moment that Kazuto noticed the NHK news report playing.
[Recently, the Chief Cabinet Secretary has announced he will take responsibility for the misunderstanding caused by the terrorist attack in Kasumigaseki the other day. According to sources within the Cabinet, the Prime Minister has approved Secretary Kobayashi's resignation.]
[According to related sources, the Prime Minister may reorganise the Cabinet in mid-June.]
Glancing at the official news that was of no importance to him, Kazuto changed the channel to his favourite, TV Tokyo.
Normally, at this time, TV Tokyo would be broadcasting a morning cooking show.
Eating the simple breakfast his mother made while watching the exquisite dishes being prepared on TV was one of Kazuto's occasional interests.
However, when he switched to TV Tokyo, what appeared was not the morning cooking show, but a live broadcast that took him completely by surprise.
"Recently, the Yggdrasil Company has announced the successful development of the world's first virtual reality game, Yggdrasil."
"It is reported that the Yggdrasil Company has announced that on June 1st at 8 a.m., at the Ariake International Exhibition Centre, a live lottery will be held for 10,000 closed beta spots. In addition, at the same time, Yggdrasil will hold an online lottery for beta spots on its official website."
"According to our reporter's understanding, the president of the major integrated electronics manufacturer, Rect, has already acknowledged on social media that they have received an order for ten thousand VR helmets."
"Currently, the stock of the integrated electronics manufacturer Rect has hit its limit up."
It wasn't until the broadcast reporter started rambling about the vague origins of the Yggdrasil Company and the difficulties they encountered developing their VR technology that Kazuto, his head filled with this rubbish, finally reacted, saying blankly, "You've got to be kidding me..."
"I just took a nap, and a virtual reality game has already been developed?"
"Wait, the TV said the beta spots are being given out on June 1st? Isn't that tomorrow?"
Realising this, Kazuto, a hardcore gaming enthusiast, was instantly dumbfounded.
Although Kawagoe wasn't far from Tokyo, the queue for the world's first virtual game would have certainly filled up long ago.
The line outside the Ariake International Exhibition Centre was probably already a long dragon.
Based on Kazuto's experience of rushing to buy first-run products, he definitely wouldn't get a spot if he took the train to queue now.
The key was that June 1st was a Thursday. He had classes, let alone queueing for a launch.
"I've never even heard of this Yggdrasil Company, and they're releasing the game in such a hurry. Are they rushing to get a piece of the pie?"
Muttering a complaint, Kazuto immediately turned off the TV and ran back upstairs.
The staircase instantly echoed with heavy, thumping footsteps.
The sound of his steps was so loud that it made Midori in the kitchen turn her head and remind him, "Kazuto, what are you running in such a hurry for?"
"I'm in a rush!"
Kazuto shouted back as he burst into his room, turned on the computer he hadn't shut down from yesterday, and quickly searched for the Yggdrasil Company's official website. Seeing the words "Reserve Beta Spot", he clicked without a second thought.
The next second, a line of text appeared on the computer screen:
[You have successfully made a reservation.]
[Current reservations: 130,987 people.]
Seeing the number, Kazuto couldn't help but scratch his cheek.
"Maybe I should go to Tokyo and try queuing after all?"
As for tomorrow's classes, well, Kazuto suddenly felt it was time for his hand to be broken again.
The last time he injured his hand during kendo practice, he had asked the doctor for an extra certificate. Now was the time to use it.
Kazuto had extensive experience dealing with his teachers and family.
...
At the same time, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
The industrial production base of the major integrated electronics manufacturer, Rect.
A brown-haired young man with slicked-back hair, wearing a suit, spoke in a gentle tone to his sister, following behind him.
"Asuna, it should be class time now, right? Is it really okay for you to just take leave and not go?"
Hearing her brother Kouichirou Yuuki's question, Asuna Yuuki sighed, placed a hand on her hip, and said with a look of helplessness, "Brother, right now I'm the supervisory representative sent by the Yggdrasil Company!
"At a time like this, you're still asking me why I'm not at school?
"Don't you think the question itself is very strange?"
"Ah?"
Kouichirou Yuuki froze for a moment, then it dawned on him. He said awkwardly, "Sorry, I forgot."
Seeing his sister, Kouichirou had subconsciously thought they were in a relaxed setting like at home, and had forgotten that he was currently showing Asuna, the client's representative, around to inspect the production line.
However, this interruption only made Kouichirou feel the world was even more absurd.
The order his company had recently signed was destined to make their stock price skyrocket.
And his own sister had been dispatched to act as the client's production supervision representative.
How could Kouichirou not figure out the reason this huge pie had fallen into his family's lap?
But knowing was one thing; Kouichirou was still a little worried about Asuna's situation.
His sister had only just started high school, right? Starting to get involved in this kind of business so young, wouldn't it be a bit too tiring?
Having to study and be responsible for this kind of company affair, even a man of iron couldn't take it, let alone a child like Asuna.
"If work is too tiring, you can ask your big brother for help..."
After Kouichirou said this, Asuna asked cautiously, "Since you've said that, can you deliver 100,000 VR helmets before tomorrow?"
Hearing this quantity, and thinking of the new production line's output of five thousand VR helmets every eight hours, Kouichirou fell silent for a moment, then said, "Asuna."
"What is it?"
"You're not trying to kill me, are you?"