Chapter 58: Ball
"Hey, wouldn't we—I mean, wouldn't you be able to make a ton of money if you patented and sold the items you made? Personal, full-dive VR with realistic NPCs and a customizable narrative is like every Otaku's dream..." remarked Issei, walking in a daze with his bookbag behind his head as he, Vahn, and Kiba made their way to the Academy around 7:30 AM.
"It should be possible..." confirmed Vahn, nodding. "But if I did that, the current market wouldn't be able to keep up, and a lot of people would be out of a job. And since we have no idea how the tech works, it could very easily be abused if it fell into the wrong hands..."
"Makes sense..." responded Issei. "But if it's just an issue of knowledge, can't you create technical manuals and blueprints? Then we could roll out the technology gradually over time."
Shaking his head, Vahn contended, "It's better to let people invested in things like that develop the technology organically. That way, society and legislation can evolve alongside them."
"I agree with Vahn-sama on this matter," stated Kiba, wearing his usual smile as he reminded, "Besides, as Devils and members of Rias-buchou's Peerage, we have little need to concern ourselves with human currency. The Ducal House of Gremory owns many banks, a chain of luxury hotels that spans the globe, and several islands. In the Underworld, their private domain is larger than Japan's largest island, so if you require an allowance or funding for something, you need only to inform Buchou and put in a bit of effort."
"Man, talk about old money..." muttered Issei, finding it difficult to wrap his head around how wealthy Rias and her family must be. However, when he considered how long Devils lived, it made sense that they could amass extreme generational wealth...
"Do you think Buchou would allow me to open a savings account with her family...?" asked Issei, prompting Kiba to exhale an amused chuckle before responding, "I'm certain that could be arranged," with a smile...
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With a week passing in the blink of an eye, the day of the Ball Tournament arrived. The sky that morning was gloomy and notably overcast, heralding an inescapable downpour, but it thankfully didn't begin falling during any of the morning events, consisting of soccer between first-year classes, baseball between second-years, and singles and doubles tennis between third-years. After that, indoor events were held in the gymnasium, where Clubs pitted against one another in games like basketball, volleyball, and dodgeball, with the ORC, in particular, being pitted against the Baseball Club.