Chapter 161 - Charmed by War, a Charmer in War
"First off, it's not like we're playing the 'villain' or anything."
A perfect score—apparently, that didn't mean my analysis had hit the bullseye on every single point.
It was more like I was mostly correct, and the fact that I'd gotten that far on my own was worthy of praise. And with that, a supplementary explanation, disguised as a review of the answers, began.
"Like you said, the Four Pillar War is nothing but a detour when it comes to prioritizing the main conquest. That's a fact that even we in the Eastern Faction have accepted."
"But—" he trailed off, taking a swig from his cup. Then, Goldow leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky.
His completely relaxed posture seemed to say that this wasn't a negative conversation at all.
"The other factions know that we've accepted it—so, even if it's not a fixed match, the current arrangement is the 'best' one that we've all mutually agreed to maintain."
"Hmm... so even if it's not match-fixing, there were some sort of talks?"
Raising a white flag to the bitter drink I just couldn't get used to, I set my mug aside and asked. Goldow must have seen me wince after taking that last sip, because he chuckled softly and nodded. "Yep."
"Well, it wasn't the talks themselves that convinced them. The three factions came to us with an alliance proposal, and while we turned them down, Istia offered a counter-proposal—and we showed them we had the power to make it a reality."
Judging from the way he spoke, he must have been right in the thick of it back then. As if painting a picture of the past in the sky, the General Commander recounted history, his gaze filled with nostalgia—and an immense sense of fun.
"The first Four Pillar War. We threw down the gauntlet to the Northern and Southern factions—and we, the Eastern Faction, seized victory."
"Seriously? You guys were raising hell from the very beginning?"
It seemed Istia was Istia, even three years ago.
"Back then, the old man—the first-ranked—and Ui were on the battlefield too... The younger guys might call me a nostalgic old fool, but those were fun times."
The first-ranked, was he older than Goldow? The way he said "old man" made it seem that way... but right now, I was more interested in someone other than the First I'd never even met.
"Speaking of which, Ui-san was in the first one, wasn't she?"
It was only natural that I'd be more drawn to the name of someone I'd recently met.
"Oh yeah, she was a force of nature, doing the work of ten people and then some. One moment she'd be smiling with a cool look on her face, saying 'I'm off,' and the next she'd be charging headfirst into a vanguard of at least fifty players."
Sword Saint...
"I'm sure she was having fun with it in her own way... but something must have been... different for her. She started saying she wasn't good with large-scale PvP and just holed herself up."
"...It sounds like—ah, no, it's nothing."
I almost asked for the details but stopped myself. If I was going to ask, I should ask her directly—or so I thought...
"Nah, you don't need to walk on eggshells about this one. She just didn't particularly like fighting. She didn't see the need to step onto a stage that held little interest for her, especially with all the attention it brought. She just wanted to focus on her training, so she shut herself away."
"Ah... ahh... well, that makes sense."
Ui-san didn't particularly like fighting. An opinion I had coincidentally shared was confirmed, and I felt a small sense of relief along with my understanding.
It was because my vague assumption—that maybe something, you know, unpleasant had happened to her on the grand stage of war—had been denied.
Even with the preface "about this one," I could at least rest easy on one front. After spending even a short time with her, I could somewhat understand why Irori was so overprotective.
"Let's get back on topic. The challenge we laid down was this: we don't need to fix any matches. If we fight with all our might and keep the forces balanced, the wins and losses will even out. A slight disadvantage is just right for us, so come at us, both of you at once."
"Everything you're saying sounds like it's powered by muscle..."
"Hah, Helena said the same thing back then."
Helena who...? Oh well, doesn't matter.
"Just like you said, it's best if we have a slight losing record. But we can't keep losing. Lose twice, win once. Lose once, win twice. Lose twice again, then win again... We make it look like we're losing, but in reality, we're evenly matched. That appearance is what's crucial."
That way, the only faction blessing that fluctuates is Istia's, and only slightly. It prevents any delays in player enhancement for the sake of the main conquest. Wait... ah, I get it.
"Hold on, that just clicked... Right, appearance—this virtual world isn't just our entertainment."
"Oh, you got it. Good, one hundred and twenty points for you."
As I murmured my realization, almost to myself, Goldow snapped his fingers in good humor and awarded me extra credit.
"Focusing on the conquest is a given, but this is a game—you gotta have fun. Both us players, and the audience in the real world who aren't."
"True... it's one thing for the players, but it'd be way worse for the people watching to see a fixed match..."
Arcadia is a massive form of entertainment that has taken the real world by storm, even just as a spectator sport. No, without exaggeration, it's the biggest in the world.
It's probably the same reason why rankers can't show a pathetic side to the public.
Arcadia has become the world's largest content, deeply involving the real world. To broadcast a staged match to the entire globe during its only official event...
"Yeah, you'd want to avoid that if you could..."
"Exactly. That's why the other factions have accepted our selfish demand—as long as we can see our counter-proposal through, as long as we can fight two factions with all our might and maintain a stalemate, as long as we're willing to die to embody the 'sword' of this world..."
No, if your will is that recognized, it's not being selfish anymore, it's—
"I see... I get it now. You guys are in a solid cooperative relationship. Of course there wouldn't be any friction."
"That's about the size of it. Besides, in the end, the guys outside Istia want to have as much fun as they can, too, right?"
"That's for sure."
Okay, I completely get it now.
At least for me, there are no more questions or concerns.
"I get it... which means I need to be willing to die to become a 'sword' myself, as one of the selfish ones, right?"
Now that I understood the situation, as a new title holder, I couldn't just stand by idly. This would put even more fire into my 'training' starting tomorrow.
"You've got a passionate side to you, don't ya? I don't dislike it. Give it your all, Haru the Acrobat."
"Roger that. I'll be sure to meet your expectations, Goldow the General Commander."
He thrust his cup toward me, and I picked mine up from the side, clinking them together heartily.
As drops of liquid flew, I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether or not to imitate the great man as he hesitated, wondering whether to follow the example of the big man who gulped down his bitter water with such gusto——and when I quietly put my cup down, he laughed with amusement, "Kakka!"
In short, it was basically muscle, which concludes the explanation part. Thank you for sticking with me.