Chapter 190 - To the Battlefield
—Eastern Faction War Base [Ruvalest, Underground Castle of Another Layer]—
"Hurry up and form your parties!! Get teamed up and do your final checks!!"
"Our buffer is missing!!"
"Scouts, gather over here!! C'mon, get a move on, is that AGI you're so proud of just for show?!"
"Defense squads that are ready, head over to Zou-san's or Duck-san's position!! Get your orders and stand by!!"
"Mika-kun, get over here!! My leader's wife is suddenly ill, he might not make it!!"
"You serious...!? I'll follow up later! For now, Hansel, you take care of Assault Squad B!!"
"You've gotta be kidding meeee!!?"
"Has anyone seen Genkotsu-san?"
"What...?! Someone who can reach him! Spam call Gen-san, he might be sleeping!!"
"Agh, it's the same every time with us Easterners...! Maybe we should learn a thing or two from the North and South!?"
"..."
"How's it look, newbie? Quite a scene, huh?"
In what could only be described as pandemonium, countless players darted around the entrance hall. The young man silently observed the festival-like chaos of the faction's three hundred elite members, his cheek twitching into a wry smile at the carefree words of his general.
"A scene...? Well, it's lively, I'll give you that..."
Peeking down at the scene below from the upper floor of the open-atrium entrance, while trying to stay hidden in the shadows of the railing—the promising newcomer, Haru the Acrobat, muttered as he clutched the front of his shirt, a nervous sweat beading on his brow.
"Even you get nervous, huh?"
"I don't know what you mean by 'even me'... you know I was nervous even before and after the selection matches, right?"
It was understandable, but his unusually weak demeanor was so unlike him that it was almost comical.
Although he had produced one absurd result after another, it seemed his mental fortitude wasn't quite as monstrous.
"I won't tell you not to be nervous, but don't you dare make a fool of yourself, got it?"
"Haa... Well, I suppose I have to put on a good show..."
"It's tough being a popular guy."
He had expected a witty comeback, as usual, but Haru just choked on his words and made a strange face.
"Hm? Something wrong?"
"No, well, it's nothing..."
Aha.
"Something happened, didn't it."
"No..."
"Something definitely happened."
"Well..."
"Was it that partner of yours? Or the little artisan girl? —Hey, don't tell me it was Ui..."
"—Ah, uh...!! Got a message, excuse me for a sec??"
Forcefully cutting off the interrogation, he moved away with an exaggerated, theatrical gesture. Goldow watched him go with a grin, and Haru dutifully shot a glare back over his shoulder.
He wasn't old enough to be considered an elder yet, but he had reached an age where he found such youthful vigor dazzling.
In any case, it seemed he wasn't faking it; he really had received a message. He opened a window, checked something, and then, as if on reflex, let out a relieved smile.
"'Her'?"
"It is a woman."
When Haru returned, Goldow threw a teasing remark his way... and for some reason, Haru seemed to have regained a bit of his natural composure.
"I couldn't get in touch with my exclusive magic artisan who I was supposed to meet briefly, but I just got a message of support from her."
"Ah, the little magic artisan girl?"
"You know about that too...? Well, yeah. Just one line: 'Do your best.'"
"Hah, sounds like you're trusted. Good for you."
"Yeah, really," the young man smiled. His nervousness hadn't completely vanished, but it wasn't as if Goldow had been worried in the first place.
He recalled the fourth match of the selection tournament.
One moment Haru was stiff as a board, the next he was rampaging across the field like a completely different person—and in the end, he was the monster who had brought down an insurmountable wall.
Once the battle began, he would run wild on his own.
"So... should I just wait here?"
"You should. As for me, it's about time... There, see? I'm being called."
Replying with a glance to Hinayo, who was waving from the floor below, Goldow pulled the large hood over Haru's head—who was now sitting cross-legged, leaning against the railing—and patted it encouragingly from above.
"Well, you don't have to give any embarrassing speeches like I do. Take it easy, Acrobat."
"...Yeah, yeah. Roger that, General Commander."
All things considered, if this was the extent of his nervousness right before the grand stage of the Four Pillar War, then—this kid really was a big shot.
Big enough that, even for those watching over him, anticipation far outweighed any anxiety.
"And while you're at it, stick your chest out with pride. The Ninth Seat and the Sword Saint's Disciple—there aren't many who can laugh at you now that you're carrying both those titles."
"...Thanks for that. Well, call me when it's my turn."
"Yeah—Well, even so..."
—The [Four Pillar War] will begin shortly.
"Your turn is coming up soon, too."
—All participating players, please stand by within your faction's war base.
—Commencing transfer to the wartime field shortly.
—Commencing transfer to the wartime field shortly.
—Commencing transfer to the wartime field shortly.
Amidst the familiar announcements, he felt the gazes gather on him as he descended the stairs, one step at a time. This would be his tenth time... and his ninth since he had come to be called the 'General Commander'.
Nervousness was something he no longer felt—and yet,
—Sixty seconds until transfer.
"—Hey, you all. Are you ready?"
As if the earlier foolish clamor had never happened, his voice echoed through the now-silent entrance hall as he surveyed it from the landing.
—Fifty seconds until transfer.
Hinayo and the other members of the Ten Seats, who had been scattered about, now gathered under Goldow. Spotting the figure of the Eighth Seat, Genkotsu, whom he hadn't seen until now, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"This time, well, we'll skip the stiff declarations of intent—ah, no... more accurately, I've already made that declaration."
—Forty seconds until transfer.
"Most of you here probably haven't seen him, but we got a new face recently."
—Thirty seconds.
"And I told him—this time, with him as our secret weapon..."
—Twenty.
"I'm gonna give you all one hell of a victory."
—Ten.
"Well... that's about it. You get what I'm trying to say, right?"
—5, 4, 3, 2,
—1,
"—Just like always, let's go get our win."
Nervousness? He hadn't felt such a thing in ages. The same was likely true for most of the veteran players gathered here.
And yet, this pre-battle exhilaration.
This heat that welled up from the pit of his stomach—no matter how many times he repeated this moment, it would never cool. Anyone who had lost that fire of fighting spirit had no business standing in this place.
Indeed, no words were needed to follow his declaration.
Into that space, filled with a searing silence and a heat that threatened to scorch their very bodies,
—Executing transfer to wartime field.
—The [Four Pillar War] will now commence.
A dazzling blue light of teleportation flashed into existence.