Interlude: Storming Into Akihabara Tower Hall

One, two, three... That's it! We've got enough points now!

We did it! Thanks to everyone's assistance, we can finally upgrade our point card rank!

Oh, I don't know about that.

They all seemed to really enjoy shopping, and they all found things they were happy with. I think that's good enough.

？！

Now, at long last, we can enter that tower ourselves.

And from there, all we need do to meet this King of Figures person is make it to the top!

Yes. I want to find out whether he truly is my beloved King Pygmalion or not as soon as possible.

And that is not the only thing I wish to find out...

Nero Nero! Hellooo, all you lovely people out in dream town☆ The angel of Akiba is here☆

Ah-keeey-baa, everyone! That's right! It's time for another episode of yours truly's official talk show!

My wish is to have each and every one of you help make Akiba into an even lovelier place...

...and turn it into an even more wonderful town than it is now♪

Whether you're about to go shopping now, or you're about to head home...

It'd make me sooo happy if you stopped and heard me out for just a little while! Aha☆

By the way, did you all hear the news? There's a new promotion happening at the main shopping street! You see...

Gnnn, speak of the doll! Er, devil!

That's right! I still need to find out why this King of Figures created such a cute, yet intrinsically sinful being!

Well, if it has anything to do with this Singularity, and I'd bet it does, that makes now as good a time for this as any.

I've been deliberately avoiding this, but Galatea, now that we're about to enter the belly of the beast, there's something I need to ask you.

What is it?

Let's say this King of Figures does turn out to be King Pygmalion, and that he's responsible for this Singularity.

What would you do?

Well, if it has anything to do with this Singularity, and I'd bet it does, that makes now as good a time for this as any.

I've been deliberately avoiding this, but Galatea, now that we're about to enter the belly of the beast, there's something I need to ask you.

What is it?

Let's say this King of Figures does turn out to be King Pygmalion, and that he's responsible for this Singularity.

What would you do?

...All I want right now is to see him again.

What happens afterward... I don't know.

Yeah, that's about what I figured.

It is what it is, Da Vinci.

This Singularity is certainly strange, but it does not seem to be making anyone's lives worse.

You can hardly blame her for not feeling as though anything is truly wrong here.

For all we know, it may even be difficult for a Berserker to understand why Singularities need to be erased at all.

The fact is, the future holds any number of possibilities.

Galatea may end up being instrumental in convincing the King of Figures to end this Singularity, or she may end up being our enemy.

But so what?

As long as Master has accepted those possibilities, and still decided to have her accompany us...

...all we, his Servants, must do is trust his judgment.

？！

Umu, there you have it. As for what happens later, we can cross that bridge when we come to it!

(It sounds like they think King Pygmalion might be doing something evil.)

(If he is...what am I supposed to do...?)

So we're putting things we don't wakarunderstand off for later then? Sounds good to me.

Procrastination is a hikki art form, especially for the difficult stuff.

Turns out if you wait long enough, lots of stuff basically takes care of itself.

I can't even imagine being so lazy... But, never mind that now.

All right, if we're all ready, let's head to that tower. This is where our mission really begins!

...Yes, everything's in order. You all qualify as high-level wishmen now.

Congratulations! You must have shopped really hard!

Yattaaa!

You're now officially permitted to shop at the Akihabara Tower Hall, which is exclusive to high-level wishmen.

However, there are some things I need to warn you about first.

First, I'd like you all to read this.

Disclaimers?

That's right. I believe you've all seen it for yourselves before, but...

No... Not yet... I still haven't...completed...the series... Urk.

We need an ambulance here, stat! Get this wishman to the hospital!

...As you can see, shopping at the Akihabara Tower Hall can be very dangerous, so we advise you all not to take it lightly.

The tower of dreams has a huge selection of rare goods, so there are also many high-level wishmen competing for them.

It's very easy to find yourselves suffering from oxygen deficiency and dehydration.

Oh, and of course, things only get more intense and dangerous the higher you go, since the merchandise on the higher floors is even rarer.

Suffice to say: please be careful in there.

I see... It sounds like shopping here won't be very straightforward, either.

？！

Right. We'll have to watch our step, Master!

Awww. You really did qualify to climb the tower.

You!? What are you doing here!? We just saw you on television!

Oh silly, that was all prerecorded☆ You do know not everything on a screen is live, right?

Yours truly is a very popular idol, so my schedule is absolutely jam-packed!

Go on, Nero Boys! Praise me!

Woooooo! We love watching you work, Nero!

Are you here to try and stop us from climbing the tower?

...

No, I wouldn't do that.

I was born to help Akihabara in any way I can. As long as everyone follows the rules, I'll always be on their side.

All I want is for people to happily follow the rules, enjoy their time in this city full of things they love, and rediscover why it is they came to love them in the first place.

So no, I can't stop you from climbing the tower. But I don't think you should.

...Why is that?

...

Because you won't find what you're looking for there.

Huh? What do you mean by that?

You should have just waited. You should have just kept on aimlessly wandering around.

That way, you would've been happy...

...But that's a tune for another time! Now, it's time for my next event! I can't wait!

Okay, everyone, I hope you all enjoy a happy, healthy, love-filled Akihabara life! Ah-keeey-baa☆

...

I swear, I do not understand her at all. The only thing I can say for sure is that she is beautiful to look at, since she has my face.

Well, at least it looks like we don't have to worry about her trying to stop us. Now come on, let's see what the inside of this tower is like.

Whoa! It's so...densely packed!

It's like they made the hallways extra narrow so they could pack in even more stores! This is so waku waku!

Hmm? Weird. We have the blueprints for a similar building in Akihabara on file, and this place is really quite different.

It looks to be way more complex... Almost like some kind of labyrinth...

It does kind of feel like a whole side of Akiba.

It's going to be really tough making our way through these narrow corridors with all these other people around...

I mean, they made it sound like this place was off-limits to all but the chosen ones! Nobody said anything about there being THIS many high-level wishmen here!

It was certainly difficult for us to make it here, since we were rushing to do so as fast as possible.

But these other people have had more time...

...so a good number of them were able to earn enough points to qualify.

？！

Hang on. That's not all.

The evil spirits possessing me are all acting up. There's something else here we're not seeing.

I have a sense of what you mean. The air here is foul, and not only from the sweat of frenzied shoppers.

Whoop. There goes another one. Must be new here if he's already collapsing on the first floor.

I wish these guys would learn to take better care of themselves.

Excuse us. Move aside, please. Stretcher coming through.

...Fujimaru, this could be our chance to get a better idea of what's going on here. Can you get closer to the guy who just collapsed?

？！

That did it. I ran a quick but thorough scan on him. These guys aren't just collapsing from exhaustion.

There's an unnatural od here that's reducing their vitality on every conceivable level.

Basically, they've had the life sucked out of them.

That did it. I ran a quick but thorough scan on him. These guys aren't just collapsing from exhaustion.

There's an unnatural od here that's reducing their vitality on every conceivable level.

Basically, they've had the life sucked out of them.

...!

I can't point to any conclusive evidence yet...

But something tells me this whole tower has been set up to drain the life out of you the higher up you go.

Th-that sounds really dangerous! Are you all right, Master!?

Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I feel great. I just want to make sure you're okay!

You feel fine? Phew. I'm relieved to hear that.

But if you feel weak or tired, I want you to let me know immediately, okay?

？！

Fortunately, this draining effect doesn't seem to be fatal, so we should be able to work around it.

If we focus our support efforts solely on Master, we should be able to boost his Mystic Code's effects enough to effectively neutralize the drain.

The problem being that we aren't able to do the same for the Servants.

Of course, Servants possess powerful spirit bodies to begin with, so you shouldn't have to worry about vanishing...

But you could absolutely end up too exhausted to move.

Fortunately, this draining effect doesn't seem to be fatal, so we should be able to work around it.

If we focus our support efforts solely on Master, we should be able to boost his Mystic Code's effects enough to effectively neutralize the drain.

The problem being that we aren't able to do the same for the Servants.

Of course, Servants possess powerful spirit bodies to begin with, so you shouldn't have to worry about vanishing...

But you could absolutely end up too exhausted to move.

Then we will just have to take turns securing a route.

Guess it's gonna be all hands on deck here too, then.

Aww man, I was really hoping I could take my time browsing the shops with all these rare goodies, too...

Oh, but don't get me chigawrong, Ma-chan! I know the mission comes first! Really, I do!

？！

Yeah, good idea! I hope you'll join me for that. Oh, but only if you have time, of course. Ehehe.

...Yosh, let's do this thing!

All right, it's decided then. You guys are gonna have to make your way through this dungeonlike tower.

It won't be easy, but at least the end goal's in sight now. Good luck!

...I feel like we kind of got sidetracked here, but never mind that.

You don't accidentally drain life force. This isn't just a crime though, it's also proof there's something fishy going on here.

This might not be the same Akihabara I know...but that doesn't change the fact that I'm part of its Nightwatch.

If there's something I can do to help here, then I've just gotta do it, right?

So...I hope you'll put this Grim Reaper to good use here, Master.

(...King Pygmalion was a good, kind king. He would never harm anyone without a good reason.)

(So...does this mean he's not the one waiting at the top of this tower?)