Chapter 178 - The Eve's Gathering
"Well then, I'll be off."
"Yes. I pray for your fortune in battle tomorrow—no, that's not right, is it? I'll be praying you fight well."
I bowed, she smiled... and that was our farewell.
We'd already exchanged so many words leading up to this point. There was no need for any dramatic goodbyes now.
Words like "thank you for everything" were also unnecessary. The bond we'd formed as master and disciple would surely continue for a long time to come.
"Well then, Master, I'll take my leave."
"Yes. You do your best too, Irori-kun."
Irori, beside me, also bowed to a gently smiling Ui-san... and together, we left the dojo, heading into the bamboo forest as the sun set and darkness began to fall.
All I could do was follow the back of the figure in formal samurai attire as he moved smoothly ahead. I was amazed he could walk through this pathless bamboo forest without getting lost.
Back then, Irori-kun was... well, it was all he did, day in and day out...
"..."
The words Master Ui had spoken about Irori during my training came back to me.
Did he walk this path every day, or did he stay at the dojo constantly, like I did? To be honest, I wanted to ask him directly about his past.
But something held me back.
He revered her as his 'Master' with all his heart, without a shadow of a doubt... Was it really okay for me, who had just become her 'disciple,' to ask that?
"—Haru."
I wasn't exactly surprised, but the sudden call of my name made me look up, momentarily speechless. His back, still moving unerringly through the bamboo, didn't stop. Irori had only turned his head to look at me.
"I heard the gist of it from our Master, but I want to hear it from you, too—did your training bear fruit?"
I couldn't quite read his expression from the slight profile, but... at the very least, his voice was calm and composed.
"Well, yeah... I'm definitely not the same person I was during the selection matches."
"So you're confident?"
I nodded without hesitation at his probing question.
Again, I'm definitely not the same person I was before—and not just in terms of combat skill. I have the awareness and resolve of a Title Holder now.
To prove it, I decided to cast aside my hesitation and say it.
"—I've become the disciple of the [Sword Saint]. I have no intention of disgracing that title."
"..."
I thought he would stop walking.
But Irori kept his pace—a soft smile on his face, different from his usual teasing smirk.
"I see."
He uttered just that one word and nodded.
◇◆◇◆◇
"Alright, everyone's here."
It had been a while since I'd been at the Round Table. When Irori and I arrived, the other six were already there. We followed their lead and took our seats, and Goldow clapped his large hands together to start things off.
"First things first. Youngster, how'd it go?"
"No problems... I think. I got my Master's seal of approval."
It seemed the news had already been shared, just as with Irori. Ignoring the one red-clad person staring at me like she'd seen a ghost, no one else seemed overly surprised by my words.
"Hah, if the strongest in the East gave you her blessing, then I've got no complaints. Alright, Ninth. You're officially on the roster for tomorrow's war."
As I nodded in acknowledgment of the General Commander's approval, a slender boy's hand shot out from beside me.
"Congrats, senpai."
"Yeah, thanks."
I bumped my own fist against his, and the 10th-ranked boy smirked.
"And now we have one more sacrifice to be exposed to the public eye."
"...Are you trying to be a nice guy or not? Pick a lane."
"What's wrong with it? We're both people who didn't want a title. We're in this together."
Aha, I see now. You're just trying to hide your embarrassment, aren't you? What a stubborn junior.
"So? What's my role for tomorrow?"
"Ah, you'll be focusing on being a runner(...)."
A runner, huh... Well, that's pretty much what I expected.
"You're good on the details for that, right?"
"Of course. I haven't forgotten what I was told before, and I've done some studying up on my own, just in case."
I watched a few beginner-friendly explanation videos and... what was it called? That archive thing with Hiyorin or whatever.
"A runner—in other words, the point-scorer who goes around hitting the pillars."
"Exactly. It's the star role that decides the outcome of the battle. Better give it your all, newbie."
"Roger that, General Commander."
I returned his intentionally stern glare with an equally theatrical salute. As expected, the big guy, who had an absurdly low bar for humor, burst out laughing.
"If senpai is the runner, then I guess my role is set."
"Yep. Tetra, your top priority is eliminating the youngster's—Haru's—natural enemy(...). Once you crush [Full Auto], there won't be many opponents left who could cause a major accident for this guy."
"Okay, leave the luring to me. Once I've got them, I'll do the rest."
Then followed an exchange between Tetra and Goldow that I didn't quite understand—
"We're good to do our usual thing, right~?"
"Is there anything else you'd do? You two are the cornerstone of our defense this time, too. I'm countin' on ya."
"You got it~"
"Mm."
Then followed an exchange between the red-and-blue pair and Goldow that I didn't quite understand—
"If Teto-kun is acting alone, what should I do this time?"
"Hinayo, you'll be on skirmish duty. Don't stay in one place. Move around and support the front-line troops in various locations."
"Got it. And I should avoid any encounters(......), right?"
"Yeah, avoid the other side's rankers. Don't make any moves that'll waste time."
And, of course, then followed an exchange between Hinayo-san and Goldow that I didn't quite understand—
"As for us... well, it's the usual, I guess."
"Yep. Irori and Genkotsu, you two move to eliminate rankers based on matchups. Leave the regular troops to the others and prioritize encounters."
"Understood."
"Leave it to me."
And finally, there was an exchange between the three men that I didn't quite understand—
"What's wrong? You're making a weird face."
"Well, uh... if there's anything I should understand, just fill me in."
It would be counterproductive to cram my head with information that doesn't directly concern me, only to forget the things I actually need to know.
There were a few words and topics that piqued my interest, but I'm sure my reliable senpais will lecture me on anything I need to understand... I'm definitely not just trying to avoid studying(...).
"So those are the roles. Youngster—damn, force of habit... Haru, any questions?"
"Nah... I can't really think of any, to be honest."
To be blunt, I was short on time. Way short.
Between university and training, I've been completely swamped. Any little bit of free time I had was instantly consumed by chores since I live alone, so I've only managed to install the bare minimum of knowledge.
The most I could manage was skimming info sites and videos during my train commute. I think I managed a quick look at info on the famous rankers, but... honestly, I haven't accumulated enough knowledge to ask any meaningful questions.
"Well, don't worry about it. You won't know what's what until you've experienced the real thing at least once."
Following those helpful words of support, Goldow grinned and held up three fingers.
"There are three things you absolutely must follow. First, don't die. In the Four Pillar War, running away is no shame, even for a ranker. The true winner, the true strong one, is the person who escapes disadvantageous fights, racks up points in advantageous ones, and leads their faction to victory."
You're confident in your running speed, right? When he said that with a smirk, all I could do was nod.
Excellent. When it comes to running, I've now reached the point where I can secure a complete victory even against my Master. I'll be sure to show off my newfound fleet-footedness.
"Second, follow the commander's—well, my—orders. I'll be giving out commands constantly with a special skill during the event... but to put it simply, you just have to trust me. I'll be giving orders expecting immediate responses based on the coordination of the entire force. If you question every little thing, sorry, but we don't have time to debate each one individually."
"You're the head of three hundred people, after all... Understood. I'll fulfill my role as your hands(.) and(.) feet(.)."
That was also a no-brainer. As a first-timer, I didn't have the knowledge or experience to judge the flow of battle anyway. There was no point or meaning in defying the commander's orders... And hey, so Goldow is playing the 'General.'
Well, of course he is. He's the [General Commander], after all.
"And third... I probably don't even need to say it, right? If, by some chance, you run into the South's number one ranker—the [Sword Queen]—drop everything and run for your life."
"That's the most serious face I've ever seen you make..."
I've heard she's bad news, but... well, yeah, I get it. My Master told me a little about her.
She's the one who made Ui-san—the Sword Saint herself—admit, "Even I(.) am(.) no(.) match(.) for(.) her(.)."
"And hey, if you can't get away, don't sweat it. Just think of her as a natural disaster in this war. No one's gonna hold you responsible for that particular 'accident'."
"Well, we don't even know if she's gonna show up in the first place, though~"
From beside Goldow, who was doing his best to terrify me, the red-clad Mi-na chimed in, slumped over the Round Table.
"The Princess has been the commander for the last three wars or so. If she is again this time, she won't be able to enter the maze block where you'll be running wild, big bro—"
"—No, she'll come out this time."
Irori was the one who cut in.
"On top of all the news about someone's consecutive achievements over the past two months, there's also the report of them joining the ranks. There's no way she wouldn't be interested enough to come out."
"Aah... right."
"Hey, stop putting your hands together in prayer."
The way you say that makes it sound like she'd come out specifically to target me... Huh? No way, right? There's no way a celestial being whom everyone considers the undisputed strongest in the virtual world would actively come hunting for some upstart ninth-ranker...
"Well, yeah... that's(.) probably(.) why(.) I'm warning you."
"—..."
"N-Now, now... Don't look like it's the end of the world. It'll be fine, you know? If she appears on the battlefield, she'll inevitably draw attention. With your speed, it shouldn't be too hard to move around while avoiding an encounter with her, right?"
Is that... really true?
I mean, come on, even I've done my research on the literal top player hailed as the strongest.
But I just don't get it. How am I supposed to find any reliable information when every single article just says something like "everything(.) about(.) her(.) is(.) completely(.) insane"?
I even scoured for videos as much as time allowed... and while I could certainly tell she was insane, I honestly couldn't make heads or tails of what she was doing, so I can't say it was helpful.
There was one video where she wiped out over a hundred players with a single swing of a one-handed sword. What the hell am I supposed to learn from that?
The only way I can even prepare is to think of her not as a player, but as a boss monster, right?
My own Master is ridiculous enough, but she and Ui-san—[Iris]—are just too different, even if they're both strong in their own league.
"Ah, right. There was one more thing."
As I shivered at the sudden implication that I was now a target, Goldow waved a hand, holding up a fourth finger as if he'd just remembered something.
"It's your big debut—so have fun, yeah?"
"You're telling me that after all this...?"
I suspected the old guy was doing it on purpose, but his carefree, cheerful laugh seemed completely genuine... Resigning myself to the fact that our General Commander was surely just an airhead, I sank into my chair, dragged down by the weight of the anxiety that had piled up in such a short time.
—A hand was suddenly offered in front of me, a sight I'd seen just a moment ago.
"Don't sweat it, senpai."
"...Th...anks... a... lot...!"
I bumped my fist against his with a thump, matching his amused tone... Oblivious to my feelings, a peaceful atmosphere began to settle over the Round Table.
It's tomorrow, you know? Is this really the time to be picking on the new guy?
Genkotsu-san, the very incarnation of silence.