Became a Human Rights Advocate

28 – Episode 6. Yes?

＜2＞

After a long limousine ride, we arrived at the western end of Academy City. In terms of location, it is the farthest from Dong-gu, where Edelweiss and my school are located.

The reason I came here must be to avoid rumors that the vice president of Edelweiss hangs out with men.

I wonder if it’s meaningful at the point where there’s already a fuss in front of the school. Well, Suisei is an eccentric girl who lacks common sense in strange parts, so it’s understandable.

“Sihyuk. Here you go!”

Suisei urged, waving his hands. I nodded and silently followed him.

When I first heard the word date from Suisei, I was completely confused, but when I saw the place I arrived, I immediately came to my senses.

Because it was a development I already knew.

We arrived at the largest arcade in the Western District.

It was the place where one of Suisei’s intimacy events, the Arcade Date, took place.

Arcade Dating is an event that occurs when Suisei’s stress level exceeds a certain level.

As usual, Suisei tries to control her mood with girlish methods such as tea ceremony, kendo, and flower arrangement, but all of them fail.

While thinking so much, I think of a place called an arcade that I have always wanted to visit at least once.

But according to rumors, the arcade is a terrifying place full of rogues preying on female students. Of course, it was a false rumor due to the exaggeration peculiar to the girls’ school, but it was information that was already imprinted as truth in Suisei’s head.

It would be fine if I went with other classmates, but as the vice president of the Edelweiss Student Council, I can’t take the students to the game room, which is far from studying.

In the meantime, I thought of ‘Teacher’.

An outsider who has nothing to do with Edelweiss, and an adult who can protect him in case of emergency.

But Ju Ji-young, the teacher of our special department, is busy at the moment.

There, instead of a pheasant, it was me, Lee Si-hyeok, who came to mind with the feeling of a chicken.

That’s why it’s not a date mixed with romantic feelings, but a date that feels like playing with friends.

“This is the arcade!”

Shortly after entering her arcade, Suisei clasped her hands together in admiration.

“Is this your first time here?”

“Yes!”

“You’re really hard, Edelweiss”

Suisei who heard me shook her head from side to side.

“Edelweiss is not as strict as people see. It’s just the first time I come to the arcade.”

“… Is it?”

“Anyway, it’s a more splendid place than I thought. I’ve heard it’s a smoky, dark, den of evil.”

There was a time when it was such a place. It was a terrifying place where bully brothers used to live and steal money from children.

I don’t know if this side of the world is like that, but at least it was like that in my childhood.

The arcade we came to was a bright place befitting a busy street, far from such a dark feeling. In that bright place, only two places, a group of people standing in front of a rhythm game or a fighting game, had a little bit of dark energy.

…Why are you staring at me?

“Is there anything you’re looking for?”

“Hax of the X!”

You know the name correctly. It’s a Suisei-like choice that likes shooter games.

I looked around and searched the arcade, and Suisei followed me like a dog.

“Here it is.”

Arrived at a two-person gun shooting arcade

The front of 『Hax of the X De 17』.

This is a series that I often enjoyed as a child, and it was an action game in the genre of gun shooting where I fought various horror creatures such as zombies and vampires.

But the series numbering is 10 higher than the latest one in my memory.

I never thought that the setting of Legend of Academia in the near future would be reflected in such detail.

Unlike the machine in my memory that only had an electron gun on the screen, a booth the size of four coin karaoke sticks was prepared.

When I went inside the booth, there was a VR device worn on my head and a pretty plausible electron gun. After reading the notice posted on the wall, it seems that the sensor inside the booth detects movement and reflects it in VR.

My heart, which I hadn’t expected much from, began to throb with curiosity.

“Looks like fun.”

“Isn’t it? I really wanted to try it too.”

“Is this your favorite series?”

Suisei nodded his head up and down.

“I’ve played with consoles and PCs, but this is my first arcade experience. A stage that can only be done in an arcade is-“

Suisei excitedly started explaining. Suise is usually a calm young lady, but when it comes to her field of interest, she becomes so passionate.

I put a coin in her slot, agreeing with her explanation.

The entire booth went black and dark, and a guide sound came out.

-Please wear all prepared devices.

Even in the near future, the appearance of VR devices was not very different. After attaching the detection sensors to her arms and legs in designated places as described in the description, she finally put her head into the VR-equipped helmet.

But even after a long time, there is no sign of the game starting.

-The game will not start until all prepared devices are worn.

“Mr Sihyuk….”

Hearing Suisei’s voice, he took off her helmet and saw Suisei in trouble with a bunch of detection sensors in his hands.

“… Can I help you?”

“Yes, please.”

After I got the sensors from Suisei, she started attaching them all over her body.

“Raise your arm a little.”

“Is it like this?”

Suisei raises both of her arms high. I wrapped my hands around her Suisei’s waist and attached her sensor to her back, but I bumped her face against something on her.

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

It wasn’t until I safely attached the last sensor to my back that I noticed what I had just bumped into.

I glanced at Suisei, wondering if he was angry.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to mind too much.

…

She almost got caught…

I put the helmet on my head again, calming the strangely burning sensation.

– After a while, the game will start.

“It’s started, Mr. Sihyuk!”

Suisei shouted in her expectant voice.

I also waited for the screen to appear while feeling my heart pounding.

After a while, the title screen appears before my eyes-

＜3＞

After 30 minutes.

“… I was scared.”

“… Yes, it was very scary.”

Suisei and I sat on chairs next to the booth, exhausted.

No, it’s too scary.

It was a series that I felt quite scary even when I played it in the arcade when I was young, but I never imagined it would be this scary.

In the screen method, if you’re scared, you can just look away a little, but in the VR environment, you can’t avoid it no matter where you move your gaze.

Everywhere you look, there are zombies, Jiangshi, strange vampire bats, mummies, abomination, and vampires.

Unlike the previous series, which had poor graphics, it is close to live action, and the sound is played directly to the ears.

I calmed my heart and glanced at Suisei next to me. She was the same woman who had just been cawing and screaming at her, but now her expression is lifeless again.

I wonder if the battle with Paulo was a shock. Because that’s the only stress factor that comes to mind right now.

Well, all I can do is play with her to the best of her ability.

Suisei is a strong-willed person, so she will be able to overcome it soon.

“… It’s hot.”

I murmured as I fluttered the hem of my school uniform shirt. I moved in a very frightened place in a small place, and before I knew it, my body was wet with sweat.

“Eight.”

Hey!

A cool sensation passes through the back of my neck. Frightened, I turned around to see Suisei with a mischievous face.

“What did you do?”

“How is it, cool? It is a privilege only for those who can handle ice.”

Touch it once. While doing so, Suisei stretched out his arms.

I swallowed my saliva involuntarily as I looked at my white skin without a single blemish.

“… Excuse me then.”

After a moment of hesitation, I immediately placed my hand on Suisei’s arm. A cool chill felt on Suisei’s skin.

“Oh… Cool.”

“Isn’t it? During the summer, it is difficult for classmates to cling to each other.”

As I imagined that scene, I raised the corner of his mouth without realizing it. The students of Edelweiss covered her, exhausted from her heat, as if her Suisei were her giant ice.

What a spooky sight.

“Oh, have you cooled down already?”

“Oh, this is enough.”

Actually, it was still a bit hot, but I took my hand off her without showing it. It was because I was a little uncomfortable leaving traces of my own flesh on Suisei’s pure white skin.

Whether he knew that or not, Suisei got up from his seat with his spirits up again.

“Come on, let’s go to the next one if you feel better!”

“What do you want to do this time?”

“It’s a sticker picture!”

… It’s stereotypical. It is a standard course that is always taken when arcades appear in cartoons or animations.

The booth for taking sticker pictures was exactly as I remembered it. In the first place, even in the world I was in, it was a device that had a slightly analog-like flavor, so there was no reason for a major change.

“This is what I’ve only heard in words… !”

Suisei let out a strange exclamation and looked around the booth. To my eyes, it seemed ordinary, but to Suisei, it must be a mysterious scenery that he has never seen before.

It dawned on me that this long-haired woman in front of me was a young lady.

“Come on, Mr. Sihyuk!”

“Huh?”

“Come on!”

Su Issey must have felt something from Xs of Xs, but this time, she entrusted the operation to me from the beginning.

… Even so, I am not familiar with sticker photos. It’s just a matter of choosing a moderately popular filter.

“Now, let’s take a picture.”

“Sihyuk? Is it okay if I look here?”

“A little down. Uh, there … Suisei. You don’t have to face it like that.”

“What? Something just sparkled and a light came out.”

“Don’t look this way, look at the camera!”

After all the fuss, I managed to get a few usable photos.

“Now, take it.”

When she handed me a photo of a sticker, she stared at her photo and immediately put it in her purse.

“Sihyuk.”

“Huh?”

So naturally, Suisei ran her hand through my bangs as if she was playing a prank on her classmate.

Her cool breeze brushes her forehead.

After a moment of silence, she raised the corner of her mouth and spoke again.

“Cut my hair, it suits me well.”

It was the brightest smile I saw for the first time today.

＞

“….Heo-eok.”

At the same time, downtown in the eastern district.

After school, Soso went to a cafe with Elena to prepare for the midterm exam, and at that moment, Soso felt chills all over his body.

“Soso, what’s wrong?”

“No… I got chills.”

“Are you feeling cold?”

“…I don’t think so.”

Then what was it?

Maybe it’s just my mood.

Perhaps.