Chapter 1006 - Meanwhile: The Substitutes
"──────And that's the situation."
A calm, resolute, and composed demeanor.
"Again, I apologize to you all for this sudden change of plans. As the one who granted his request, I'd like to offer my apologies as well. I ask for your understanding."
A sincere, gentlemanly, and utterly reliable demeanor.
The words 'as well' were just a formality, and no one would misinterpret them. In this virtual world, there was no one who would dare complain to him, the one standing before the crowd in another's stead.
And because they understood this, the moment he smiled without hesitation────
...squeals of delight. Or rather, just screams.
The one-hundred-person capacity was more than half-filled by female players.
They had originally entered the lottery hoping to see the [Haru the Acrobat] and were disappointed, but when the [Peerless] arrived as a substitute, they had resiliently switched gears to an 'oh well, this is good too' mindset.
These girls, who were often just as high-energy as the male players in the virtual world, were already being captivated by the ranked, blond, half-Japanese handsome model who was just as attractive as he was in real life.
...Someone was watching this scene unfold.
"Aha... Haru-san can be quite the schemer, can't he?"
"...?"
With a voice that expressed more 'surprise' than admiration.
The orange-haired 'Colorful Beauty', who was muttering cheerfully with a faintly mischievous smile, stood next to the head chef, who had once again accompanied her and was now tilting his head in confusion.
"Hm? I'm just saying it's good that he's self-aware. He must have asked Irori-kun to be his substitute because he was counting on his invincible handsome-guy power to make up for his absence, you know?"
"Make up for it..."
Seeing that Ittetsu still didn't quite get it, Nonomi laughed.
"His popularity with the ladies. In other words, I'm saying he's now fully aware of his own appeal and has accepted it. He was always a bit wishy-washy about that, so I'm relieved he's learned to be more shrewd."
"Ah... so that's what you mean."
"That's what I mean~"
While it was lonely and a bit disappointing not to be able to 'be together' for this fourth event, seeing the young man's mental growth in this unexpected way was something to be genuinely happy about as a friend.
She'd also heard rumors that he'd been 'on a roll' lately.
His absence this time was for special training in preparation for the upcoming Four Pillar War, so the anticipation for his performance alone was more than enough to offset the negative of his last-minute cancellation.
"I'm looking forward to it~ Our leader's big rampage~"
"Yeah, me too."
And so, the 'Zodiac Forest' group, which revered the [Haru the Acrobat] as their leader, including Nonomi and Ittetsu, quickly reached a consensus of understanding...
Furthermore, the lucky ones who had been invited to this event also accepted the additional faces Haru had arranged, thinking 'oh well, this is good too', not just the [Peerless]...
""────........................""
Glaaaance. The two of them discreetly shifted their gazes to the side.
Along with the additional faces, there were two little ones who were putting on extremely easy-to-read──── smiling & prim visiting faces, or rather, idol faces. Beneath them, however, for those who knew them well, was an extremely easy-to-read blend of dissatisfaction, irritation, et cetera.
One was the self-proclaimed little sister, who seemed infinitely ticked off at the 'big brother' who had ditched her.
And the other... was the girlfriend (future-tense), who seemed infinitely irritated, likely having her own thoughts about the blond samurai youth currently being swooned over by the girls in front of her.
In other words, the grumpy lineup of the 'Eastern Wings', Minalina.
────Well now, it's a good thing he's started to learn how to be more shrewd.
"Hmm... but if he needs to make up for the make-up, I guess Haru-san is still young, isn't he? I'd like to see him keep trying his best~"
He was still green. And that's what made it fun.
As his friend, she decided she would continue to watch over him (enjoy herself) for a long, long time to come────
As Nonomi once again wore a mischievous smile and looked on cheerfully, thinking such things to herself...
"...I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but from what high horse are you looking down from?"
...the fact that she had someone to tsukkomi her would likely be the popular girl's salvation.