Chapter 205 - Red, Blue, and White
"...The point difference is something I've never seen before."
"It's so much that it's almost disgusting, isn't it?"
They're probably bored. The little ones come over every time I return to base, and it's not a bad feeling. Ri-na, the serious good girl pretending to be a downer, gives me proper words of encouragement.
I don't mind them chatting idly while I'm resting. I can even overlook the fact that they're making rude assessments right in front of me.
But you, Red, you're a different story.
"If you're not off me in three seconds, I'll sink you. Get ready."
On the small patch of land around the castle-turned-war-base that hadn't been submerged.
Sunk into a giant, person-ruining cushion, I shot a menacing threat at the insolent brat who would get endlessly carried away if left unchecked.
At that, Mi-na, who had been sitting on my lower back as if she owned the place while I was lying face down, immediately scrambled away. I'll never understand why she keeps poking the bear when she has zero defensive power.
"What's with you, no fun at all. Being a chair for a beautiful girl is a reward, isn't it? This is my way of showing appreciation—"
"Hah."
"Hey, what's with that Irorin-like laugh?! Are you saying that Mi-na-chan, the renowned 'energetic one of Mina-Rina,' isn't cute?!"
The energetic one… Well, I guess that's not exactly a negative assessment.
"By the way, what do they call you, Ri-na?"
I shot a half-lidded glare at the self-proclaimed 'energetic one' and asked her other half. The girl with the trademark blue hesitated for just a moment before answering.
"……………………The cute… one."
"…Well, I guess you need a foil."
"—That's it, this is war! What do you mean by that?!"
Unfortunately for you, trying to get special treatment from me based on looks alone is a losing battle. I'll have you know, I've got a partner now who's handsome, kind, and cool.
"…Can you move?"
As I subdued the attacking idiot with one hand, Ri-na, who was still trying to touch me whenever she saw an opening, tilted her head and looked at me.
"Yeah, no problem. Gossan told me to take regular breaks and be ready to move at any time, so this is just a precaution."
He probably saw the state I was in when he came to visit the camp, completely unable to move a muscle. I smiled back at the blue eyes that held a hint of concern and pushed myself up from the cushion—or rather, the sofa-sized mysterious substance.
It's hard to put into words, but it was like some kind of premium, incredibly supportive memory foam… Well, whatever it was, it was a simple resting spot the two of them had prepared using their 'powers'.
I wonder if they sell this in the real world. I could get used to it.
"Training, perfect?"
"I wouldn't go so far as to say perfect, but… well, I should be fine for the duration of the Four Pillar War."
If it were just a matter of switching between two types of output, it would be one thing, but using [Matoi] on top of that is unavoidably tiring. Still, it's not to the point where I can't move my avatar anymore, like before.
My training with Master has paid off in more than just raw combat power… Hey, whoa, wait… Ri-na-san? That tickles, that really tickles…!!
"Okay, I get it, I get it…! I know you're cheering me on, so thank you…!"
She just kept petting my hood over and over—if I let her, she'd probably do it forever. I caught Ri-na's slender hand to stop her. The girl blinked her emotionless eyes a few times and then obediently retracted her hand.
I wonder what's up with her… She has her moments of maturity, but she also feels very innocent, or rather, childish… Well, she is apparently younger than me, so there's that.
When I was researching the enemy title holders, I also did a quick search on my own faction, and data on these two came up right away. Still, I never got such a childish impression from them in real life.
"Now, now, Ri-na-chan, no-no."
Red, who had slipped out of my grasp at some point, pulled her partner away from me into an embrace. The scene itself was heartwarming, like a pair of close sisters—though Ri-na, as usual, had a sullen expression about the physical contact.
To think that these two are the ultimate weapon against the 'Princess'… some things you just can't figure out.
"Oh?"
"Ooh."
"Mm…"
Sometime after I started my third break, a pillar of light rose in the distance. The three of us reacted in sequence, a now-familiar routine.
The respawn of a 'Pillar'—time to get back to work.
"C'mon, c'mon, it's your turn, big bro! Get out there and give it your all!!"
"What character are you playing now?"
My fourth sortie… and my third since this devolved into a game of tag with countless players chasing me all over the place.
Honestly, if I hadn't gotten used to tracking projectiles during my practice bouts with Sora, I probably would've died a thousand times over by now. It was a pretty hellish scene, but…
"Good luck."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
I casually brushed off Red's banter, resisted the urge to pat the head of Blue, who was on a whole other level of young, and headed back into the maze.
I have no intention of complaining, and I don't have any complaints to begin with.
After all—'tag' is now one of my specialties.