Chapter 179 - The Unexpected and The Expected
"Alright... well, I guess that's about it."
Goldow finally brought the meeting to a close after about thirty minutes. To be honest, I'd been expecting some kind of long, intense conference, so it felt a bit anticlimactic...
"Ufufu, you look a little let down, don't you?"
Apparently, she'd seen it on my face. As Hinayo-san, who seemed to have read my mind, let out a soft laugh, Irori, next to me, leaned back deep in his chair and continued.
"I told you before, didn't I? We don't get bogged down with a lot of miscellaneous tasks. Most of the complicated stuff that needs thinking about is handled by dedicated support staff."
"...And you get paid for it?"
"Exactly," Irori laughed, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I still can't quite wrap my head around that part... What's it even like, getting a salary to do a job inside a game?
"Well, in the end, we're not so much the 'brains' as we are the 'faces' of the operation. We stand at the front, take charge, and rally the troops, but... what's demanded of us more than anything is this,"
Goldow took over the explanation, slapping a brawny arm that looked about as thick as the torso of the red-clad girl sitting next to him—though not mine, of course.
"Even for me, the one in command, it's not like I'm directing every single player participating in the war. I just give orders to you rankers, who are also 'faces,' and to the platoon and company commanders we've organized."
"That still sounds like a lot of work... but okay, I get it. At the very least, I just need to go on a rampage without thinking about the complicated stuff. Or rather, that's what I should be doing."
"Exactly. Leave the detailed thinking to the guys who are good at it—like that guy you know, Lotta."
I see. That makes sense.
But Lotta, huh... He's on the 'Four Pillar Steering Committee.' I haven't had a chance to see him since the selection matches, but if that's the case, he must be incredibly busy—
"Speaking of which, Lottan was the one who first noticed you, right, big bro~? Just as you'd expect from the [Insighter], huh~"
Lottan... wait, huh? The In-sa... what?
Mi-na, who had been slumped over the table without a shred of tension from the very beginning, let slip an unfamiliar word. As I tilted my head in confusion, the third and fourth-ranked members, who always seemed to get along, continued the conversation.
"You bet. I got a message from him, saying 'I've found a monster!!' with an uncharacteristic amount of excitement. So, I went to check it out and... there was the monster, sitting there with a dazed look on his face, instantly wiping the floor with a selection match regular. I couldn't help but laugh."
"Aww, I wish I could've watched, too. All I really know about him is his battle record and that he's fast(...)."
"Just look forward to tomorrow. If he's gotten even better since then, even the first-timers here are gonna have their minds blown."
Somehow, the bar has been mysteriously raised for me... Anyway,
"Hey, he's an acquaintance of Goldow's, and Red... Mi-na? calls him by a nickname. Is Lotta a pretty important guy, like, high-ranking?"
"Hey, why'd you put a question mark after my name?"
Well, it's because in my head I've just been calling you "Red"—
"Lotta-san is a former Title Holder."
—and nothing else...
"..."
I averted my gaze from the glaring red-clad Mi-na, only to have my eyes meet Ri-na's. I was rendered speechless by the words she stated so simply.
A former ranker? Lotta? That handsome, married man with a kid who acted like, "Oh, I'm just an ordinary committee member who's moderately strong"?
"You should think of the contestants in the main tournament as being in a different league."
"You have to go in thinking that they're all opponents I wouldn't stand a chance against."
I remembered the words he had spouted after the selection match preliminaries.
Hoh...? Hmmm...? Haaah...? That bastard...!
I slammed my head against the Round Table in a frustrated headbutt, making Tetra jump next to me with a startled "Eh? What?" but I didn't care.
"By the way, you can rest easy knowing you're definitely stronger than me."
"Dammit...! That guy was totally messing with me...!"
"Ah, perhaps..."
"Aha."
"His bad habit strikes again..."
Hinayo-san, Mi-na, and Goldow reacted instantly to my resentful muttering. From their reactions, it seemed that guy had always been like that.
"In... sighter? Is that his...?"
"Mm, [Insighter]. His highest rank was seventh. He dropped out of the rankings three rotations(.....) ago."
So that was his title... With Ri-na's added explanation, a glorious tag reading "Former 7th-Rank [Insighter]" materialized above the handsome, smugly smiling face in my mind.
"Ahh... well, knowing him, I can pretty much guess what he said... but yeah, when one of our guys from the Eastern Faction says they're 'no big deal' or whatever, you probably shouldn't trust them."
"Like that kid(..) over there." Goldow gestured to the 10th-ranked [Undying] sitting next to me... Ah, right, this junior of mine had also said something about "not being good at fighting."
I shot a sideways glance at him, and Tetra quickly looked away.
Okay, I'm not buying your "not good at fighting" line either.
◇◆◇◆◇
Although my mind had been thrown into disarray by that little episode, the meeting wrapped up after we confirmed tomorrow's meeting time and other details.
I was told to get a good rest for the night—they even said I should sleep in until past noon tomorrow... but, well, it's still too early, isn't it?
The virtual world may have passed dusk and entered the night, but in the real world, it was only just approaching 5 PM. A bit too early for dinner—
"Haru."
A voice called out to me as I was wondering what to do.
Everyone had already said their goodbyes and were leaving, when a figure approached me... a samurai, clad in formal attire.
"It's kind of an awkward time, isn't it? Do you have any plans after this?"
"No, none. I was just wondering what to do."
When I answered honestly, Irori nodded.
"I see. In that case, give me a little of your time."
"..."
Those words—or rather, this whole development...
"Alright."
Having somewhat anticipated what was to come(......), I agreed and rose from my chair.
When we faced each other, his blue eyes were calm, but they held a light that was anything but serene.
The last event of the second act is about to begin.