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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 555 Part 1

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 555: Dream With Your Eyes Wide Open Part 1

「You see, there is this one game that I have recently become particularly interested in.」

It was after we had finally managed to leave the ShangriLa Frontier’s booth and were on our way that Rei-san turned towards me and said something like that completely all of a sudden.

「A game that you are particularly interested in?」

「Y-Yes, that’s right…… You can even say that I am VERY much interested in it.」

People who enjoy playing video games tend to be classified as “gamers”, but it is a very broad term that not always and not necessarily conveys someone’s approach to gaming. For example, there is a small margin of people who are going to play only one game at a time and they won’t look at other games until they are going to be done with the one that they are playing at the current moment. I have always thought that Rei-san was that kind of gamer, but I guess that was not the case here. And there is actually nothing wrong with that fact. Quite the contrary, actually: it is actually intriguing to know that there is a game that managed to get Rei-san’s interest.

However, what’s unusual here is for Rei-san to actually express her interest in some other games to other people. Plus, Rei-san seems to be really fired up about that game. Just what kind of a game is that to get such a reaction from her? When it comes to me, I would personally take interest in any game that the creators of Bakumatsu Online would produce. Which means that I am actually interested in the game called Spartan’s Metal, the demo of which should be available for playing here. That being said, my expectations here are quite high, so don’t fuck this up!

But that being said, it’s not something that takes priority here. There are more pressing manners to attend to.

「It’s about time for the general public to start being let inside, so if there is anything that we want to urgently check out, it would be best for us to do it now when we have the chance.」

「Huh, ahh, yes! Right! Umm, there is this one Augmented Reality game that I……」

「「ALRIGHT, IT’S TIME FOR POLARIS TO SHINE!!!」」

「「HUH!?」」

All of a sudden, I heard a loud voice coming from the inside of my pocket. And when I took it out once more, what we saw was once more the JGE’s mascot character, looking as energetic as ever…… But hey? Wait a second!

「Somehow…… I did not expect to see this guy once again here.」

「Me too. I did not think that it would be making another appearance……」

It seems that this particular phenomenon is occurring here because both of us went towards the same place at the same time. And because of that, the slightly annoying voice of the mascot character sounds off in unison from the special tickets of everyone going in the same direction as us.

「「CONGRATULATIONS! A VISITOR BONUS HAS BEEN ADDED! NOW, IF YOU MANAGE TO SAVE UP A WHOLE LOT OF THOSE BONUSES, THEN WHO KNOWS……? SOMETHING GOOD MIGHT HAPPEN TO YOU IN THE END!」」

「Say what now? A visitor’s bonus? …… Ah! Oh, I get it! So, it’s just like a stamp rally?」

「Stump rally? What’s that?」

「…… Huh? I mean, stamp rally is just that. A stamp rally. …… Rei-san? Could it be that you don’t know what that is?」

「Huh? Ahh, umm, ehh, it’s not that I don’t know about it, but it’s more like…… I do not really understand how that works?」

「Ahh, no, I mean, I did not mean it like that! Oh man…… I mean, yeah, I know! It’s actually a rather minor thing, so it’s only natural that some people might not be aware of it……」

At least, that should be the case, right? Or is it only my own precognition? I mean, Rei-san up until now must have lived a life that was so well-off that she must have not known about such “plebeian” things like a stamp rally. Yeah, talk about rich people living in an entirely different world, right? Hey there, Comrade Commie! Want to shake hands with me and hope for a bright future where the poor finally overthrow the rich?

「Umm, to put it simply, a stamp rally is basically an event where you go around various places and you collect special stamps on the piece of paper that was specifically made for this particular event.」

「Ah, I see…… I get it……」

My cousin’s grandfather, a man who died about six years ago, was a train enthusiast and was collecting such things to an alarming extent. The most amazing thing was the transcontinental railroad stamp rally that he did at one time. There were shot glasses whose bottoms could be used as a stamp and those things were literally all over the place…… It seemed that you would get vodka shots at every station that you pass through. By the way, it seems that the cousin’s grandmother, who is still healthy and kicking, has cleaned up everything after the grandfather’s death.

「–––––– In other words, we are inclined to spend money at some particular places, and if we do that, we are going to receive a “stamp” for that.」

Yes, go figure. Just plain and ordinary stopping by is not going to be enough here. Then in that case……

「Rei-san, it seems that we still have about fifteen minutes before the general public is going to swarm the place. You said that there is one game in particular that you are interested in. Do you happen to know where it is located? Will we be able to get there in this remaining time?」

「Ah, yes, about that…… It should be around here! This place!」

「…… Rei-san, this place is a toilet. Again.」

「HAAAUWAAAH!?」

Why is Rei-san so fixated on the bathroom? Could it be that the bathrooms in this place are special? Or maybe there is something to girls’ toilets that us boys do not know about? Not to mention that due to its sheer size this island and its venue has a whole lot of toilets. Like, a WHOLE bunch of them. Could it be that they are all different in some way? Not to mention that they are all placed in different locations around the venue. Or could it be…… Could it be that there are some hidden stamps in there that you can get only by visiting the toilets……!? Talk about the conspiracy theory! But it is something that I can definitely see happening here! Because it’s something related to gaming, that is!

「N-No! That’s not it! I’m not obsessed with toilets! I’m not! Here! I was aiming there, a little bit higher!」

Okay, okay, I get it! I get it, Rei-chan! It was a mistake on your part, a mistake! So there’s no need to get all defensive about it! Mistakes happen to all of us! So easy there!