Story Reader / Affection / Nanami: Starfarer / Story
Nanami: Starfarer I
>After an extremely difficult mission, the Parliament approved a few days of holiday for most commandants.
While you don't need to go out, there are still tons of documents accumulated over time for you to process.
There is no such thing as a holiday. Catching up on the paperwork is enough to keep you occupied.
There is no escape from these repetitious and uneventful days...
Commandant!
Com—man—dant!
Commandant, are you here?
Nanami's voice arrives way before she does. Her typical style. But to come here at this point in time...
PANG!
After signing the familiar repair report for the door, the energetic Nanami arrives at your desk.
I knew you'd be here, Commandant!
Nanami is your assistant for the day. Ahem...
Nanami clears her throat.
Nanami reporting! Any order, Commandant?
Then you're free to help me with something, Commandant!
I am now! Because Nanami has a favor to ask you, Commandant.
Is that what an assistant does? You remain suspicious, but your words are honest—
An analysis of the target human's tone and temperature change indicates the target's level of willingness to continue working is 0.543%.
You hear a strange robotic voice with electrical crackles coming from the corridor. It sounds quite horrifying when it comes out of nowhere.
Haha, isn't it fun, Commandant? That's Nanami's new friend, Maple.
Haha, Commandant, did Maple scare you?
Without gaining your approval, Nanami pulls a large "office chair" inside the room.
Its main structure is an office chair indeed, but it is also connected to various circuits, screens and control panels.
Dated parts, uneven paint, rust marks...
It feels like Nanami has dug out the cockpit of some vehicle from a few centuries ago and brought it here.
When you move closer, you find a green, freaky smiley face flickering on a small CRT screen.
Of course not!
Precisely speaking, Maple is...
Maple is a truly humanized smart virtual reality chair. Nanami created me to bring you more joy. I hope you will like me.
Hello, [player name].
You do not know me, but Maple knows everything about you.
I want to play a game.
Maple! Did I let you answer before me?
Maple makes a series of descending electrical sounds. The fluorescent eyes on its screen have also lowered, looking sad and disheartened.
Bzzzz—Maple is sorry. Maple is a good child. Maple should not interrupt while Nanami is talking.
Ahem... As Maple said, it can help Nanami to recreate all sorts of scenes.
It's more than just virtual reality. In fact, some of Nanami's wisdom has been lent to Maple!
That's why Maple can do a lot of things that regular VR devices cannot.
Babylonia is so stingy on resource management. All my applications were rejected.
It took me a lot of time and effort digging up the junkyard before finally managing to assemble enough computing power for Maple.
Commandant, do you still remember our date?
The topic she suddenly brings up jogs your memories—
First stop, the carousel! Rumor has it that the horses will take you to the sky if you ride them long enough!
Second stop, let's go to the haunted house! ...Though ghosts aren't real at all.
And the third stop is roller coaster time! Its rail will break halfway. Super exciting, right?
We never finished any ride, but it was still a super fun day!
Hmph! Relax your stupid fingers!
Oops... It broke.
Luckily, she was holding the hand of a mannequin...
You must've remembered it too, right, Commandant?
But that date was nowhere near enough!
Nanami remembers it clearly. But it was still not enough!
Nanami had a great time with you, but somehow I just felt something was missing.
I thought about it for a long time and finally found out the reason.
The location!
I looked up the database. People used to date on beaches, cinemas, or streets. All of them are no longer around.
So, I built Maple to resolve this particular problem.
I have added many locations where I'd like to have a date with you in Maple. There are a total of... How many?
Report: Nanami has saved a total of 4294967296 locations, 65536 weather effects, and 18446744073709551616 sudden events in Maple.
Huh? Did I save that many?
Alright, let's not waste any time. Come sit here, Commandant.
Nanami pats on Maple. Its seat squeaks, and you see small electrical sparks on the tangled cables.
^_^
Huh?
Nanami sounds shocked.
Just put them away for now, Commandant. You hate them, don't you?
Don't worry, Maple is absolutely safe. Even if it's not, you still have me!
Pleeease, Commandant—Nanami would love to take this opportunity to know more about you.
Without further explanation, Nanami drags you toward Maple. A human's strength is nowhere near a Construct's, and she presses you onto the seat.
Despite its dilapidated look, Maple is surprisingly comfortable to sit in.
But the comfort is fleeting as Nanami puts a fully enclosed metal helmet on your head.
Click!
The thick metal blocks all the light. You can only feel the smell of rust and stuffy darkness.
Are you ready, Commandant?
Her voice bounces around inside the metal helmet, making a humming echo that bombards your skull.
Still, you can clearly feel her eagerness and excitement. Somehow, this has calmed you down.
Accepting your fate, you give a thumbs up toward the direction of her voice.
Beginning to connect!
I'll see you on the other side, Commandant.
You hear a long beep. The seat under you suddenly thrusts forward, and you cannot tell whether the propulsion is virtual or real. You feel your mind accelerating in a deep sea or space until it crashes into a blazing white light.
