Chapter 1093 - Toward Resumption
And so, how much time had passed?
"—...This is the worst."
"Oh... That's a rare word choice."
In Arcadia, emotional expressions constantly manifest much more extremely than in reality.
However, that isn't just 'exaggeration'; while the exaggeration is indeed grand, it seems the degree of 'how much to exaggerate' correctly fluctuates according to the player's emotional values.
In short, it's exaggerated, but certainly not a lie.
That's why... in my arms. Having gradually stopped crying a few minutes ago, she calmed her heart and composed her throat and voice. Finally, she muttered a single sentence, rare for her.
"This is the worst...!"
Muttering it again, she moved from crying to embarrassment.
Sora, whose cheeks were dyed vermilion instead of tears, wasn't quite steaming from her head, but close. While keeping her face pressed against my chest to hide it, she was angry (..........) in a way I'd never seen before.
Well, rather than angry, it was more like she was sulking.
"...Well, don't worry about it. I... it's not like I'm particularly at fault, or rather, this time it's entirely the fault of that mysterious entity called Arcadia doing whatever it wants, and everyone understands th—"
Thump (........). A golden headbutt as if to say, 'Shut up.'
Yes, I'll shut up.
"............ —This is the worst!!!"
And then, she muttered it a third time.
A truly rare repetition of a word so unlike Sora. Somehow, listening to it makes me feel restless, or rather, the somewhat rough language stands out all the more...
"...Um."
"Ah, yes."
When I was fidgeting while remaining silent according to her unspoken command.
The fact that her voice sounded like it was still wet with tears even after she composed it... must be my imagination, or rather, it's just me being dragged along by my 'Memory.'
I can already see that the virtual tears have disappeared from her profile, which she isn't hiding very well, and the throat of a virtual body (avatar) never goes hoarse no matter how much one wails.
So, as expected—
"I, I under... yes. I understand, you know."
"U-huh. ...Huh?"
"I understand. I've properly accepted the current situation."
"Oh...?"
"I said I'd return, too. ...And I'm happy to be with Haru."
"Ah... yes."
"Therefore, ........................um, er"
The voice that sounded different from usual was just me, the receiver, dragging along the tears from earlier. And Sora-san was indeed in a different state than usual.
Conclusion.
"...—I see, I see. I get it, I get it."
"Eh, I haven't even said wh— muffled..."
Including the part where she started making earnest excuses without having summarized what she wanted to say at all, she's just truly ultra-cute and specially precious.
I'm also still shaken in some parts, but she's so endearing that such things don't matter anymore. What else am I supposed to do besides hug her while losing my vocabulary?
—Fortunately,
"..., ........................"
Sora-san, whose words and body were squished by me, did not refuse the continuation of my embrace.
"...Your heart was just surprised. Or rather, you probably forgot you were surprised before you even noticed it. It's only natural you'd end up like this."
"............"
"In fact, I'm glad it turned out like this. I'm really glad you didn't just bottle it up without noticing. As for me, I'm even at the point of 'I'm glad you cried'—sorry, sorry."
She pinched the back of my hand, and I let out a wry smile.
"If there's anxiety, you know. ...Well, I'm sure there is."
"...Yes."
"You don't have to say it, and I won't tell you to cry again."
"...Yes."
I gently placed one arm, which I had released from the duty of embracing her, on my partner's head.
"Try your best to notice (...............), okay? I'll try my best to notice too. And... well, it doesn't have to be just me. Go to someone's side—no, wait."
Truly, I sometimes almost forget.
As if nestling close to and comforting a girl three years younger than me, who is still only fifteen.
"It has to be me. Come to my side. I'll always be with you."
While stroking her head, I said something very cool-sounding... however, when I declared my unvarnished true feelings.
Sora, without a word, gave me another adorable headbutt.
◇◆◇◆◇
—......
—...
—...
◇The covenant of [Green Connect] has been formed◇
◇The world phase will transition◇
◇The 'Level' system has been updated◇
◇The 'Status' system has been updated◇
◇The 'Four Pillar War' has been updated◇
◇A skill has evolved◇ · <
◇A title has been acquired◇ · 'Green Link'
──────────────────
◇Status◇
Title: Hoshikake (Clown)
Name: Haru Lv: 110⇒121【11】
STR: 300
AGI: 300
DEX: 0
VIT: 0(+100)
MID: 350(+450)
LUC: 300
──────────────────
"Hmm...?"
—Well then, here we are.
Now that things have settled down, finally, at long last. I was reaching for and facing the "results" that I had let go of since the day of the [Green Connect] second act conquest.
Lined up before my eyes were past logs and such related to the results.
First, as the most immediate changes, there was skill growth and the acquisition of a new title.
If one considers that we accomplished the major feat of a 'Colored' conquest, this might look like a meager harvest, but on the other hand, there are parts where I can't help but nod and say, "I thought so," so I have no particular comments.
Sure, we "worked hard" during those dozens of hours of adventure in a weakened state. However, to put it extremely, that wasn't the kind of "experience" where one exerts their original full power to surpass their limits.
I can't express it well, but I can somehow tell by intuition. Most likely, the 'experience points' we obtained in this conquest remain within the category of nothing special.
Well, fine. It's not like I faced it expecting that kind of thing anyway, I thought.
So, setting aside such trivialities with a quick 'yeah, yeah'—and also setting aside that Four Pillar update thing which remains unknown in detail even after several days.
"............Hmm."
──────────────────
◇Status◇
Title: Hoshikake (Clown)
Name: Haru Lv: 121【11】
STR: 300
AGI: 300
DEX: 0
VIT: 0(+100)
MID: 350(+450)
LUC: 300
──────────────────
—Lv. 121.
It's safe to say that the new elements I must swallow for now are concentrated right here.
...And so. A lot of things really happened, from hospitalization to this and that, but once again, finally. Let's properly return (......)—
To the enjoyment of entertainment (gameplay) that, while beyond my understanding, more than compensates for the unknown with dreams.
Note that I'll be postponing going outside for a while, considering various factors.
There are mountains of things to do, but all of them can wait until later. At this point, being an hour or two late to start is just a margin of error. I'm also extending the notification mute because it's too scary.
Therefore...
"Sora-san, what level did you reach?"
"Mm, ah, er... it was 108."
For now, while holding my partner on my lap.
Let's start by leisurely staring down the status window in my room.
(T/N: For those who forgot, the protagonist's original level of 110 included the +10 from the [Ninefold Shadow-Woven Gauntlet]. Excluding equipment corrections, the current levels are 'Protagonist: 111' and 'Sora-san: 108'.)