Chapter 140 - Tracing a Path Together
I'd slept like a log.
I have no idea how many times it had looped, but by the time I slowly surfaced to consciousness, alerted by the alarm ringing in my ear, it was the next morning.
I vaguely stared at the sunlight streaming through the window—and then my blood ran cold and I shot out of bed. It was seven minutes before our 8:00 AM meeting time.
It was just like oversleeping for my part-time job... no, honestly, I might have been in more of a panic.
Two minutes to practically shove my face into the sink and splash water on it, followed by a minimal violation of my oral cavity with a toothbrush.
One minute to slam my foot into the wall, writhe in agony, and force down a pastry I'd pulled from the fridge with a swig of milk.
While wondering why on earth I was eating after brushing my teeth, I finished getting ready in three minutes. My bedhead was a chaotic mess, like a rooster's comb, but I didn't care. I dove into [Arcadia], completely out of breath.
—That was about three minutes ago.
I'd logged out at Ui-san's residence... residence? Dojo? yesterday, so naturally, I materialized on the stone pavement enclosed by its walls.
I had no memory of the route from the transfer gate to here, so without a second thought, I leaped into the sky and made a beeline for a likely-looking spot I'd pinpointed from above.
Fortunately, while getting there required some steps, getting back was no problem at all. The words [Safe Area 033] were clearly displayed as a transfer option, so I slammed my fist on them and—
"I made it!!"
"Eh..."
I was now here.
No, I hadn't made it. Sora was already here, clearly in a 'waiting' posture...!
"A-Are you okay...?"
"Hah... ghk... Yeah, sorry, I'm fine."
I bent over, hands on my knees, less from a lack of stamina and more from a mental thing. Sora looked at me with concern.
She's even rubbing my back... My partner is an angel today, too.
"Sorry, I overslept... I am so very sorry for making you wait..."
Although, time-wise, it was still 7:59 AM—ah, it just turned eight.
"You're right on time. —Good morning, Haru."
"Haha... Yeah, good morning, Sora."
She looked at my less-than-graceful arrival with amusement—but still, she greeted me with a happy smile.
It had been a while since it was just the two of us, Sora and I. Our day of adventure had begun.
◇◆◇◆◇
"You said you overslept, but did you get enough rest yesterday?"
"Yeah... I slept for about twenty hours..."
"Twen— A-Are you sure your body is okay?"
"I don't know. My avatar is fine, but my real body might be stiff as a board from sleeping too much."
"Um, you're currently sleeping more right now."
"............Maybe I'll go for a run during our lunch break."
"A run... during a break?"
While enjoying such peaceful conversation, we—or rather, I—raced through the scenery that flew by in a blur.
I'd thought about our plan for the day beforehand, a few destinations in mind.
And the distance to get there was a little too far to be called a 'stroll'...
"...I have to say, I'm a little concerned that I've gotten so completely used to this."
"And how is the ride, milady?"
"...It's also rather irritating that it keeps getting more comfortable bit by bit."
Then she added, "And if you call me 'milady' again, I'll get angry," with a displeased look on her face... but Sora, nestled in my arms as if it were her designated spot, was completely relaxed, no longer tense at all.
She doesn't like being called 'milady'? Why not?
A few minutes after leaving the Safe Area, I was, as usual, carrying Sora in both arms, running with my AGI at full throttle toward our destination.
The town, developed around a Great Bell Tower that was once submerged in a forest, is still surrounded by a great forest as far as the eye can see.
No matter where you're going, you have to pass through this first, so any "long trip" in the [Garden of Divine Creation] basically starts from the forest, but—
"It really does feel like a cheat, doesn't it?"
"I'm acting within the game's specifications, so there's absolutely no problem."
I replied to her exasperated mutter with a textbook-perfect deadpan. Because really, I wasn't doing anything in a gray area this time.
I'm just kicking off the tops of the trees and running over the forest.
Can the trees withstand the force of a kick from my absurd stats multiplied by the weight of two people? Well, they are withstanding it, so I guess they can. Fantasy trees are amazing.
"Even so, you could probably do this much, right, Sora?"
"...I've been meaning to say this for a while, but I think your assessment of me has gotten a little strange lately, Haru."
Huh?
Cute and strong, adorable and powerful. I don't see anything wrong with that.
"I can't do this, okay? I absolutely can't. How can you jump around so nonchalantly?"
"Jump around... Well, if I hesitated, I'd fall..."
Something like this is all about momentum. The required stat isn't technique, it's simply guts—
"That's exactly it. It's scary. This is normally terrifying."
"You seem pretty calm about it, though?"
"...That's thanks to experience. I know you wouldn't drop me, Haru."
Oh, the trust. Makes a guy blush.
"But it would be scary to try and do this myself— You don't seem to have much of that feeling, do you, Haru?"
"Hmm..."
Well, she's got a point.
I mean, scary things are scary, you know? Heights, of course, monsters coming at you to tear you apart, and even PvP where people point actual 'blades' at you—of course there's fear.
It's just that...
"I guess deep down, I still think of it as a game..."
That core perception is probably what's numbing my senses. It's something I've been aware of for a while now.
◇◆◇◆◇
"W-We're floating..."
"Yep, we're floating."
About ten minutes after starting our cheap traversal of the great forest.
After heading west and running across some plains for a while, what awaited us was an impossibly huge fissure in the earth. And floating around it was a swarm of giant rocks.
In Arcadia, only places like dungeons, such as the [Spiral Crimson Tower], have official names. Fields and the like don't seem to have any.
As a result, it's common for players to share information using nicknames.
"'The Quarry'—that's what they call it."
"Haaah..."
Sora stared at the surreal scenery in a daze, and I know exactly how she feels. I was much the same when I first came here alone.
"I don't know the full details, but apparently a meteorite crashed here and made it like this."
"A meteorite...!"
"That's what the flavor text of the materials you can gather here says, anyway. The rocks are floating because the meteorite's strange properties spread through the area."
It's the source of the material called [Floating Meteor Fragment]—yes, one of the required materials for my new set of gear, the [Meteor Serpent] series.
Truth be told, the main theme of today's adventure is to power up Sora. Our main target is the materials she needs to finally update her long-neglected equipment.
And I haven't forgotten. The [Desert Moray] series I used before the [Meteor Serpent] was a matching set that Sora had wanted.
It's not that I'm not a little embarrassed, but it's crystal clear what should take priority over something like that.
"Alright, let's get this mining done quick and head to the next spot. We're going to blitz through a journey that took me a week in a single day, so we need to keep up the pace."
"Y-Yes!"
I picked out a large floating rock and started walking towards it. Sora, who had been captivated by the magnificent scenery, hurriedly followed after me.
While hiding the smile that threatened to spread across my face at the girl's small-animal-like gestures.
Finding myself in the unusual position of explaining things to a very interested Sora, I felt a refreshing novelty as I prepared to tackle the mining task I had once experienced before.
—What, a pickaxe? Just hit it with a blunt weapon and it'll work out somehow.
I'll try to explain something that has come up due to certain circumstances.
This humble work of mine is read by many people daily, and I've received more praise than I could have ever hoped for. On top of that, I'm grateful to receive several feedback messages every day, and my heart's nourishment knows no bounds these days.
However, a problem has arisen regarding this...
My... my replies... I can't seem to keep up...
If I were competent enough to think of appropriate replies quickly and send them out in a flash, that would be great... but I end up thinking so hard about what to say that I sometimes spend more time on it than on writing the story itself. There have been times when I realized nearly two hours had passed since I started replying, and I'd think to myself, "I could have written several chapters in this time...?" It's a situation where I myself wonder what I'm doing.
If I end up falling behind on updates because I'm pressed for time, that would defeat the whole purpose...
So, I am truly sorry.
From now on, I would like to limit my replies to feedback to "questions I particularly want to answer" and "things I can reply to easily."
It feels more apologetic than anything, and more than anyone, it's me who wants to reply, so this is a heart-wrenching decision... but I thought that all of you who support me regularly would probably say, "Forget that and get on with the story."
I am always grateful and happy to read all the feedback messages.
Even when pressed for time, I sometimes look back at them and let out a creepy laugh. I was recently spotted by an acquaintance and was very embarrassed.
I am sorry that I cannot reply to every message, but
I would be happy if you could continue to support me.