Chapter 1158 - Normalcy and Specialness
"────Hmm... I'm starting to get used to this, aren't I?"
Thus, amidst the silence that followed the passing of the clamor.
Nia muttered as she gazed from a safe zone at the site, which had been subjected to such thorough destruction that it could only be described as having no trace left, her eyes narrowing against the heat waves of the still-lingering 'flames.'
A few seconds had passed since Iris dived into the massive hole opened by the golden flame tower Sora had unleashed, followed by a further burst of light from underground. Although Nia had remained in Hide and had not participated in the battle, the various UI elements indicating combat status—which were displayed in her field of vision through the Link with her party members—had...
As was only natural, completely vanished. In short,
"Well, putting that aside... ────Are you okay? Look, look, it's over now. You're safe, safe."
The situation was concluded. The monster had been repelled—or rather, it had been exterminated so thoroughly it almost seemed pitiful... indeed, without leaving a trace. Therefore, she informed the person beside her that the danger had passed.
Whereupon,
"....................................He, eh...???"
"Ah—... haha, yeah, that's a civilian's reaction, isn't it? Take notes, self-proclaimed civilian (me)..."
Just before going to deliver the final blow to the giant bug (Ninerve). The female player whom Iris had left behind while evacuating from Sora's strike seemed utterly unable to keep up with what was happening.
Seeing her blinking her eyes endlessly while letting out a raspy voice, Nia secretly lamented her own perception, which was steadily breaking... ──It was at that timing.
"...Oops, hey."
As she felt the presences her sensing skills had been picking up for the last ten-odd seconds draw closer, multiple footsteps began to reach her ears────well, it was a natural progression.
It was something she and Sora had already accepted the moment the 'Princess' decided to intervene. Therefore, Nia felt it was too late to sigh now; as she called out to the woman again and turned around...
Step, step, step, step, step. Five in total.
They had likely come flying in a panic after hearing the excessive, abnormal commotion that was too mild to merely call 'unusual.' Four men and one woman arrived safely.
The gazes of the five first turned toward the rescued woman, showing signs of relief, and then—
"You're her companions, right?"
They turned toward the [Milmarinus (Blue Fairy)] standing beside her────Nia, having resigned herself to getting involved, swept back her hood, and naturally, everyone's attention was sucked into her exposed indigo eyes...
"Wha... h-hold on... ────Nene-san!!?"
"Seriously, what are you even doing???"
"Just how lucky are you? I want some of that."
"So she was an unlucky yet explosively lucky klutz... I like it."
"N-ie... Nia-cha... e-eh, EEEKKK THE REAL THING............!!!!!"
Naturally, in the face of the commotion that had kicked off with such vigor.
"Ahaha—"
The self-proclaimed civilian, also known as the famous fairy, for the time being, plastered a business smile onto her face.
────Thus, a few minutes later.
"Truly... most sincerely, I am terribly sorry for the immense trouble I've caused..."
"Now, now, there, there. The important thing is that you're safe."
"It's way beyond just being safe. At this point, it's worth a 'Banzai' cheer."
"For real." "Right?" "Yeah."
A massive blunder, followed by a sudden disappearance. Then, after panicking and resorting to NG behavior, her messages cut off. After reuniting with her companions, who said they had been running desperately after that textbook chain of tragedies, the woman────[Nene]────had regained some semblance of composure.
In the center of the rocky mountain region that had been half-blown away along with its master. That is to say, in a safe zone where silence was guaranteed for the next few days until the next [Dragon-Eating Worm of the Vortex (Goliath Ninerve)] would respawn,
"Uuu............ h-um, really..."
"No, well."
"You don't need to worry about it. You must have been scared too."
"Yes. I'm glad we made it in time."
"So kiiiiiind............!"
The three girls and the six-person party stood together, engaging in light conversation.
Of course, the option of being a 'Stray Hero'────saving someone casually and leaving casually, a move that could be extremely heroic or, depending on the situation, considered bad manners────had been on the table.
However, the woman (Nene) had been sobbing endlessly since being saved, whether from the release of fear or out of guilt, and the members of her temporary party seemed like good people...
While a certain level of character is guaranteed just by being a player of Arcadia, they were identified as being in the 'good-natured' category, possessing particularly good sense and goodwill. Judging there to be no problem, the choice was made to stay.
The three girls, three different ways.
It was a judgment of 'no problem' made by each of their respective eyes for judging people.
────That being said,
"Fuguuu............ so amazing... beautiful, cute... this is insane............"
"「「「「「......................」」」」」"
Setting aside Nene, who was glitching out along with the excessive tears provided by the system, there were the other five. No matter how much they were presumed to be people of character, there were limits to their reason and fortitude.
────I want to try chatting about various things.
────Is it okay to just let this opportunity slip away?
────How much of an approach would be permitted... and so on.
Well, it was only natural for a human. For an Arcadian living in a virtual world, it was even more so. Only the veteran princess (Iris) saw through the state of the five, who each let their desires—which shouldn't be blamed—seep out, and she saw through it deeply, linking it to her own position.
"............Mm, right. For now."
As expected, while it was slightly less skillful compared to a natural one, the smile she showed was more than enough to captivate people; the behavior of none other than the [Sword Queen] was the answer.
It was the answer, and the sincere, legitimate forgiveness from above by one who was correctly aware of her position.
In short,
"............Would you mind helping us process these materials?"
Words and actions indicating that interaction was acceptable.
Whereupon, looking at the mountain of 'materials' scattered around... Iris, Sora, and Nia, who had been recognized as the party that achieved the subjugation of the [Dragon-Eating Worm of the Vortex (Goliath Ninerve)], had all filled their inventories with mountains of "sweets," resulting in the excess items being dumped out.
While Iris 'relied' on them with a voice she made an effort to keep gentle, looking at the spoils of war that were indeed mountain-like and fitting for the reward of a Half-Raid Boss subjugation,
"「「「「「────YES, WITH PLEASURE!!!!!」」」」」"
Five loyal retainers were born on the spot. It goes without saying that the gold and indigo ones were secretly letting out wry smiles at the exchange... and as for the one other person who couldn't keep up,
"If I'm not in the way, I'd like to help tooooooo...!"
She continued to shed torrents of tears that, if this were reality, would have likely turned her into a mummy by now.
[Author's Note]
The five people other than Nene-chan also have detailed settings, but I think many people's brains would puncture, so I will go in the direction of omitting their descriptions. Please imagine them freely from their speech habits.