I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 622

"...What’s going on today? Why are there so many people? Is it server shutdown day? I haven’t logged in for a while, so I don’t know what's going on."

"Let me see, the average number of users here used to be around 600-700, but today it’s nearly 1200. Looks like there’s some kind of event going on, so of course, we should check it out."

"...I had a bad feeling about this."

"What? Did Kato's instincts just kick in?"

• Hahaha, three guys, but none of the avatars are male. Hahahaha.
• Hotteok (beastwoman character) / Limit (high elf woman character) / Kato (bard woman character)
• Hotteok aside, if these guys heard what they said, they'd probably have a fit. Hahaha.
• But they picked their avatars themselves, right? Hahaha.
• Kato was worried about possibly becoming a TS (transsexual) during the activation day, wasn’t she? Hahaha.

The Arcadia streamer server was noisier than usual, especially in the central plaza, the heart of the commotion.

In the middle of this, three people—Kato, Limit, and Hotteok—strolled in casually.

They were wearing relatively neat outfits that had a fantasy vibe, clothes that they wouldn’t normally wear in real life. However, these outfits weren’t much different from what others were wearing, blending in with the crowd.

The reason for this was simple: Arcadia was a server where various concepts like fantasy and sci-fi were mixed together, creating a diverse environment.

Here, players could earn in-game currency, hunt monsters, participate in mini-games, and since this was a streamer server, collaborations could be arranged without much effort.

In other words, another world inside the VR game.

Because of this, Arcadia usually had around 700 simultaneous users, but at least today, that wasn’t the case. As I mentioned earlier, the number was well over the average.

Therefore, it was inevitable that the three of them would wade through the crowds in the plaza to figure out the cause of the commotion.

Except for Kato.

And it didn’t take long to figure out why.

"Ay, teacher. Can I ask something? Why are there so many people all of a sudden? Is there some kind of busking going on in the plaza today? I haven’t heard anything about it."

"Ah, what was it… Oh, Hotteok! Hello! I didn’t expect to run into you here! Anyway, what I meant to say was, it’s not busking, but... excuse me, when did you log in?"

"I just logged in two minutes ago, heh. It seems something happened before we got here, what’s going on?"

"Hmm..."

Swish.

As if he believed seeing was better than hearing, the man stepped aside without further explanation and allowed them to pass into the plaza. Hotteok and her group understood immediately, nodded in acknowledgment, and quickly squeezed through the crowd.

The density of the crowd was intense. It felt like more than 500 people were huddled together in a space no larger than a basketball court. But the three of them somehow managed to push through, and after some time, what caught their eye first was… a maid?

And sitting next to what looked like a giant lottery ball, red-faced... Eugene?

"...Huh?"

"...I had a bad feeling about this."

"Eugene, and... isn’t that Iris next to him? What on earth is going on here?"

At first glance, the scene in the center of the plaza seemed totally incomprehensible. But seeing Eugene there, it was natural that a large crowd would gather.

As they were thinking this, in a very brief moment—less than a second—Eugene, who had been sitting in the chair and absentmindedly staring around, suddenly caught their gaze.

Hotteok, an E2 rank, was hit directly by his look and, with her special sense, she felt a chill down her spine. She didn’t miss it—she whispered something to Iris, who was spinning the lottery machine.

After a while, Eugene grabbed a microphone from somewhere and began to speak, his voice spreading across the plaza.

"Ah, ah. To those who made eye contact with me—Hotteok, Limit, and Kato—please come here quickly."

Huff.

It didn’t take long for the air to be sucked out of all three of them, and shortly after, three chairs appeared next to Eugene, and the trio sat down.

Iris, taking the microphone, started to make dramatic sound effects and spun the lottery machine with excitement. Meanwhile, Hotteok and her group were eagerly trying to guess what it was, but Eugene immediately revealed the truth.

"It’s a maid cafe entry lottery, by the way. I, and you all, are exempt from the lottery."

"...Should I be thankful for this?"

"Looks like I’ve been caught, kyahhh!"

"It’s reassuring to see Kato just as usual."

"Haha... but wait, I remember that maid cafes used to be really popular, but is it really okay for us to be included in the lottery like this?"

Hotteok, looking half confused and half curious, asked Eugene.

However, Eugene spoke in a tone that made it clear there was no need to worry.

"If you all weren’t here, I’d be stuck in a bizarre situation where four maids serve one customer."

"...Ah, got it. I understand the feeling completely. We’ll do our best to liven things up. And honestly, I’ve never been to a maid cafe, so I’ve always wanted to try it. Right, guys?"

"No, I didn’t really think about it... No, actually, I did think about wanting to go to a maid cafe, even before bed, and while eating and washing up. So yes, that’s true. Kato, right?"

"I almost got a job as a maid here, so I don’t have the best memories of this place..."

Oops.

Even Eugene had to stop at that remark.

Everyone else, except Kato, had the thought pass through their minds that the maid cafe’s recruitment was done through some sort of rigorous self-entry, but the cheers and groans from the surrounding crowd were so loud that they couldn’t dwell on it.

The cheers from those who won the lottery and the groans from those who didn’t were loud.

However, as usual, the number of people entering the lottery was capped at 100, and with over 80% winning, as Limit explained, it was understandable.

After a while, Iris, having collected the lottery machine, handed it over to Eugene.

• [Notification: <Iris> has requested to join the party.]
• [Notification: Party teleportation function is now in use.]

"...What’s this?"

"Normally, we could just walk there, but with all the attention we’re getting... I wanted to show you the facilities and buildings of this server on the way, but unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be able to do that."

"I’m not disappointed at all, so let’s just get out of here first."

"Ah, yes."

Eugene’s declaration was much firmer—and more urgent—than usual.

His tone had a sense of authority, and both Iris and Hotteok’s group complied, agreeing to use the party teleport function.

The moment they all agreed:

Pop!

The surroundings changed in an instant.

How long had it been? Except for Iris, the group found themselves standing in front of a huge building, the entrance to the maid cafe, located on the outskirts of the map.

Red "CLOSED" letters were rotating around the building, but considering that Eugene and the others were inside and the lights were on, it seemed they were open exclusively for Eugene’s group.

However, there was one glaring flaw:

<Entrance Ticket Purchase - 100,000 Credits>

"...So the lottery is random, but the entrance ticket costs extra?"

"Ah, should I pay for it? After all, I’m one of the original members of Arcadia. I’ve probably got plenty of money."

"Hmm... I don’t think that’s necessary."

And just as Eugene had said, it didn’t seem needed.

Thud, thud, thud!

Like the sound of a machine gun, Iris ran out from behind the glass door, handing the crumpled-up <Maid Cafe Entrance Ticket> to Eugene and everyone else.

As she reentered the building, the door slammed shut, turning dark. This was to hide whatever was going on inside.

The group, except Eugene, stared at it with confused expressions. Just a few minutes ago, they had logged in to the plaza, but now, after blinking, they were in front of the maid cafe.

Limit, half confused and half surprised, added:

"...A maid cafe where the maid pays the entrance fee, that’s something new."

Of course, there was much more to say, but that’s how the world worked.

It was the beginning of a time that no one could have ever imagined.

"Welcome, Master!"

"Hehe, oh my. It’s nice to see you all."

"Wow, this is the first time I’ve been greeted like this."

"It’s nice to meet you. I never imagined I’d end up in a place like this."

• Hahahaha, Biyam’s embarrassed. Hahaha.
• Wow, Biyammaid is treating Biyam like royalty. Hahaha.
• What’s with the interior? Hahahahaha.
• There’s everything on the wall, trophies from the Final Championship and photos. Hahahaha.
• Isn’t this not a maid cafe but just a shrine for Biyam? Hahaha.
• Biyam looks like he wants to demolish the place. Hahaha.

A smooth voice echoed throughout the room.

As soon as I opened the black door and heard the greeting, my first thought was how relieved I was to have brought Kato, Limit, and Hotteok with me, and my second thought was... I didn’t know how they practiced, but the performance was better than I expected.

I thought it would be a lighter atmosphere, but instead, it had a sense of elegance.

...Let’s ignore how my chest felt like it was going to burst.

It seemed like small touches were allowed, whether because the maids and guests were equal in number, or because it was part of the setup. One by one, the maids grabbed each person’s hand and seemed to vanish as if teleporting.

I too, grabbed Iris’ hand, and in that moment, we found ourselves sitting at the balcony table with the best view.

As I flipped through the menu on the table, I saw a variety of food and drinks. Naturally, in VR, eating was also simulated.

What caught my eye, though, was the price list next to it.

But—

Swish!

• [The maid will draw a picture for you on the magical omelette - <Free for VIPs?>]
• [The maid will draw a picture on the sweet cream pancakes - <Free for VIPs?>] ...

"...The price list is changing in real-time."

"Ignore that. Let me first explain how to use the cafe."

"The basic time for staying here is 60 minutes, but... for you, Masters, we can double that time, hehe."

"And here, there’s a secret agreement between the maids and the masters. The first rule is that asking maids for personal information or questions about their private life is strictly forbidden... but today, I’ll allow it?."

"Hah."

"And the second, touching the maids’ clothes, hands, or tails is absolutely prohibited! But for Masters... we might allow it up to a certain point?"

• Hahaha, they’re all just staring at Biyam. Hahaha.
• Biyam’s got eye spasms. Hahaha.
• Is this really a maid cafe? Hahaha.
• A maid (created just to satisfy Biyam) cafe, right? Hahaha.
• A cafe where the maids serve. Hahaha.

It seemed that the reason I was here was, as the viewers said, not to fulfill our own desires, but to fulfill the maids’ desires.

Thinking that, I looked around. In one corner of the balcony, there was a small stage, and a microphone in the center.

I glanced over, wondering if they would do a performance later, when Iris came close to me, flipping through the menu and showing me a section.

It had the maids' personal information. Several things were written there, including some awkward words. Once everyone saw it, the table transformed from a 4-person to an 8-person table.

Pop!

The reason the table grew wasn’t to accommodate more people, but—

"This maid cafe offers a special event with the first spoon of food. If you don’t mind, Masters, you can enjoy it multiple times?"

"...Could you maybe untie the tail wrapped around my waist?"

"Ah, I’m so sorry, Master... I mean, Teacher."

"Are you feeling very embarrassed?"

"...Yes, actually, I am."

• Hahaha, Iris! Iris! Iris! Iris! Iris! Iris!
• Is this person really the same guy from two weeks ago? Seriously, stop joking! Hahaha.
• The disgusting taste... is gone?? Hahaha.
• Fact: According to Triviki, Iris’s partner is in the drama department.

It was, as expected, a feeding event.

Anyway, our editor was so embarrassed that her face turned bright red. I smiled and gently patted her head, whispering in her ear so the viewers wouldn’t hear.

"You can edit this whole part out later."

"...I think that’s probably the best idea. I’m so embarrassed, I think I might die right now."

"You’re the one who invited me here today, right? Time to take responsibility for that."

I knew this was going to happen, and here we are.

Anyway, once I realized that even the maids couldn’t just focus on acting with a thick face, I felt more at ease. So, I sat in my chair, crossed my legs, and added:

"Well then, let’s see... Let’s try that 'service.'"

Though it felt a bit guilty to get something for free, well, at this point, who cares?

I was kind of looking forward to what would happen next.

"…That person, he definitely wasn’t a man before. I bet the first editor who appeared on Eugene's housewarming broadcast was Kagemusha."

"...I really think that’s the case."

Meanwhile, across the table.

Maids Sonia and Kato were whispering to each other, looking at Iris.

It was inevitable that fewer and fewer people would believe that Iris had once been a man.