Chapter 1050 - ........................
A flash of emerald. In truth, it was at a speed that would make one yawn compared to the usual... but if mirrored in reality, it was fast enough to cleave something in two in a single breath.
Drawing a flash, the [Hayami-zuki] ran through the body of the shadow doll, severing it diagonally.
...In the very next moment, several things happened in quick succession.
First, a change in the avatar.
Whether it was related to the light of blessing we players knew, a faint golden light wrapped around my body... along with an effect similar to a level-up, Status returned.
Not everything. However, it was enough of a value to feel a tangible difference. I wasn't the only one who felt the return of power and instantly broke into a reward-seeking smile.
Next, the withdrawal of the shadow.
Starting from the line my katana had run through, the shadow... or rather, the blackness... burst from the doll-like figure and dissipated into mist.
And so... honestly, other things might have changed. It wouldn't be strange if there were more transitions I could read here.
But this was the last.
...
"...Huh?"
Unfortunately, she kicked every other piece of information to the far edge of the starry sky.
The incident I was able to perceive was the last one.
From beneath the blackness that had stained her entire body, a white color emerged. Pure white hair sparkled brilliantly under the night sky, and gold eyes stared at me from point-blank range.
I cut, she was cut. That was our only relationship.
Until just a moment ago, she was an enemy. At least, I had judged her as an enemy and swung my katana. I didn't think of showing mercy or pity in order for us to proceed.
At me, like that...
"What? ...Wait!"
She looked at me as if I were something precious she couldn't help but love.
She killed the distance.
"..."
What she delivered was the feel of a gentle, soft hand left on my cheek.
And,
"........................ What the hell are you doing..."
The temperature of a cool kiss left on my forehead.
...Well then.
As I returned the katana that had done its job so well to its sheath, I watched the remnants of that someone vanish into faint blue phosphorus after leaving a bomb at the very end.
Ten seconds passed. Then twenty.
I wondered if I had about ten more seconds of grace. A few seconds after that thought crossed my mind...
"..., ........................"
Tap, tap. I felt a finger poke my back just as expected. While repeating why though like a great tiger general in my head... I turned around, and yeah.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"Please wait. I was the one it happened to..."
One indigo-haired girl was staring at me with half-open eyes. Not just Nia, but behind her was a sullen, expressionless Garnet, and even further back was a faintly smiling Amber.
An unprecedented protest of innocence now begins.
*
"...[Hero Alistia]. The founder of our Thousand Memories... a hero from the far past, one of those known as the Primeval Four Towers."
"H-Huh..."
"As you know, we cannot use divine revelations... the power of skills, like you Travelers. But in the far past, we too desired a strength that surpassed humans."
"I see...?"
"Thus, we walked the path of training. The path of cultivation was shown by them, the renowned ones. Each of the four individuals shone with incomparable power, leading the era without guidance."
"M-Man, this is getting exciting..."
"Those are the Primeval Four Towers... the [Hero], the [Emperor], the [Saintess], and the [Sage]. They are our pride. Those who showed power that could even rival the current Travelers."
"Ooh..."
"........................ And that is the dignified version of the story. I personally have met each of the four, and they each had quite strong personalities."
"You're the one saying that!? ...Wait, you have personal acquaintance with heroes from the far past? What?"
In a way, I was in a stay of execution.
After the life-or-death struggle against the shadow doll... who apparently had the grand name of [Hero Alistia].
We sat down in a row at a distance from the mountain of rubble that still shaped the landscape. As a reward for overcoming the trial, we were listening to the story from the knight.
"As for that Alistia, she had a habit of getting drunk on battle... ah, how nostalgic. Furthermore, she was weak to alcohol as well as battle, and she had the troublesome habit of going around kissing those she took a liking to when she was drunk..."
"THERE IT IS! Evidence from the knight who knows everything! No way, no way, there's no way I could have predicted the bad habits of a great person from a different world in the far past! I'm the victim here!!!"
Thus, I got what I was waiting for.
I obtained a voucher of innocence against the subtle looks being directed at me from three directions. When I claimed my innocence, the three girls who had been sending me prickly emotions after the sudden forehead kiss...
"........................"
"Hmm..."
"Is that so..."
"Wait, seriously? I'm still the guilty one no matter what?"
You're saying I should have avoided it? That I should have dodged?
Even though I put up a front, for me it was a life-or-death strike. You're saying I should have reflexively dodged an unpredictable kiss in the aftermath of that...!?
"...Good grief. Well, put aside the happy lover's spat where idiots act like idiots."
"Back me up here, my friend..."
"Shut up. If you're a man, just laugh off a hundred or two bouts of jealousy. Go bald."
"Hey, don't add a curse at the end, it ruins everything!"
Anyway... well, I'll ask for forgiveness for my unproven crimes later. As Trakky-senpai said while looking at me with pure exasperation.
"...So... what is it, Kendy-dono?"
Therefore, I should correctly ask what needs to be asked, instead of Ashe, who seemed to be a little angry... or rather, pouting.
"What is it?"
To this knight.
To the knight of Thousand Memories, who had cut and seen off the shadow of his comrade from the far past, and was now looking at me with pure pride.
"Weren't NPCs supposed to be more immortal than us?"
After seeing and being told about things that overturned the common sense of us players. Addressing the natural question that arose...
"That... what was that phenomenon just now?"
Avoiding direct words, I repeated my question.
"...It is death... for us. Yes."
He smiled with his usual calm face.