Chapter 317 - Remembering Those Days
"—Huh, so you really didn't have an air jump during the Four Pillar War?"
"Yeah. I was getting by with a bunch of tricks, but they've been taken away now."
"Haaah… your skills evolving and effectively making you weaker. That's some bad luck."
"Well, I'm sure if I could just master it, it'd be better than before, but…"
"Nah, that's tough. On top of a super-specialized stat build, you've got all these hard-to-control skills, and then you have to manage an unrealistic physical feat like an 'air jump' on top of it all."
"Exactly. Before, I had something of a foothold, but now it's just 'empty space.' I just can't get the feel for stepping on nothing."
"Sounds like you're in worse shape than I thought… By the way, what happened to that 'ignition' thing you used like it was your trademark?"
"That very [Ignition] is what evolved into [Rocket], so…"
"Ah… I see."
"Having your key skill get all weird on you like that… that's gotta hurt…"
Just a dozen minutes or so after our hectic departure.
As we headed due south from the safe area—the men, including the two who had caused all the fuss, were engaged in the kind of casual conversation you'd have with old friends.
"…………Boys are strange, aren't they?"
"They really are. One minute they're shouting and fighting, the next they're like this."
I could hear the exasperated tones of the women watching us from a step behind, but they'd just have to understand that this is how it is.
That's just how guys, or rather, gamers, are.
Yesterday's enemy is today's friend. Once you share a 'good game' together, anyone can become a friend with whom you can be informal and fool around.
"Also, your durability seems to have gone up a bit, right? I took a peek at your public info, and I thought it said VIT: 0…"
"Ah, I don't list all my equipment details. Right now, I have about 150 from additional buffs… during the Four Pillar War, it was 50."
"Fifty, with a full-on melee attacker build… you're an idiot."
"That is, well, pretty idiotic… I mean, in a good way."
"I am an idiot, aren't I? But hey, if the plan is to dodge everything, then investing in durability is just a waste, right?"
"Idiot."
"Idiot."
"Haha, I'll take that as a compliment."
—Ah, how wonderfully carefree the back-and-forth of a conversation between guys is.
In the real world, I chat with Toshiki, and here I talk with Irori and Goldow, but…
The former never turns into a 'guys' conversation' because the girls in our group are so active. The latter is relaxed, I guess, but I often talk to them one-on-one, so it doesn't turn out like this.
Tetra is in a different category. That junior of mine is generally quiet and calm, so for some reason… my more introverted, true self tends to come out.
"Oh my, what's wrong? You look so happy."
"Heh? Ah, uh… n-no, I'm not. Probably."
"Eeeh?"
An interesting voice caught my attention, and I glanced back to see Sora waving her hands in a dismissive gesture.
Rinne-chan-san, walking beside her, was watching my partner with an amused expression… Oh, are they telling secrets? Two beautiful girls whispering to each other is a feast for the eyes; they can do that forever as far as I'm concerned.
Also, I'd bet money on it. In a few seconds, Sora is going to turn red for some reason.
From Rinne-chan-san's teasing expression and Sora's already slightly flustered state, the future was sealed—see?
"Wha—! N-no, that's not…"
"Ahaha~. Well, that's how it is, so don't you worry about a thing~
Whatever she was told, Sora's cheeks flared red as predicted, and she assumed a defensive posture. Rinne-chan-san watched the girl with an affectionate smile, and then—
"…Huh?"
Her round, black eyes suddenly turned towards me, who had been observing the two of them.
Not just her eyes.
"Whoa!? H-hey, what—"
"Okay, okay! Just borrowing him for a sec!"
I was pushed on the back by the cheerful girl with the ponytail that suited her so well, and was forcefully ejected from the circle of guys.
The only one surprised by the action from the person I'd had the least interaction with was… for some reason, just me.
"Here we go…"
"She held back for a while, ya know."
Hey, you two over there.
Instead of muttering knowingly, give me an explanation—where are you taking me???
I was pushed, and pushed, and pushed, and kept being pushed at a brisk pace… until I was led more than ten steps ahead of the others.
On the other side of the bouncing Rinne-chan-san, I looked back and saw the tiger-and-disciple duo striking up a conversation with the now-abandoned Sora.
What's with that… Torakichi is acting a little suspicious. Is he some kind of pure-hearted boy?
—That aside,
"Umm… can I help you?"
"Ahaha, sorry. I just wanted to have a little 'chat' with you."
I lowered my gaze from the people behind us to her. She was taller than Sora, and she flashed a grin at a slightly-too-close distance—
…I'd seen it many times already today, but it was a truly refreshing, wonderful smile.
She was a girl to whom the phrase 'cheerful and innocent' suited perfectly.
"Let me reintroduce myself—I'm Maru's partner, Rinne."
"Ah, yeah—I'm Sora's partner, Haru."
She skipped over to stand beside me, and we introduced ourselves again.
With her bright appearance that embodied 'positivity,' she wore girly cloth armor befitting a fantasy martial artist. She had no noticeable weapons, looking as if she fought with her bare hands…
Setting aside whatever abilities she might have, her fundamental style was that of a hard-hitting power fighter. It was somehow both surprising and fitting.
I took her offered right hand, and just as I expected, she shook it vigorously up and down, making me laugh.
"Maru and Haru-san sound so similar. Hmmm, what should we do about that…"
"Ah, you're right. I hadn't even thought about it."
"We'll figure it out as we go—oh, and please, just call me Rinne!"
"This is the first time someone's insisted on me using their first name… but, got it. Nice to meet you, Rinne. You can just call me by my first name too, it's fine."
I was responding with the same casual air I had with Torakichi and Maru II, but normally, this was a senior female ranker to whom I would be using polite language.
If she was asking me to be casual, I wouldn't feel comfortable unless she did the same—or so I thought.
"No, that's a bit of a stretch for me."
To my surprise, Rinne-chan-san, now Rinne, refused.
To be flat-out refused by a girl when I offered my first name… for some, this could be a genuinely depressing situation. Especially when I had pushed her to do it…?
I froze, more out of surprise than shock—
"Because when it comes to my 'fave,' I'm the type who'd rather look up to them than stand beside them!"
The words she then dropped didn't register for a moment, and I just stared back blankly at Rinne, who had declared it so nonchalantly.
No, wait a minute.
Recently, I had a similar experience somewhere… not just somewhere, but in the real world—
"I've rewatched the archives endlessly! You were so, so cool!!"
—Yes, a certain young lady of the Shijo family was exactly like this.
"………………No, no, no, I'm really not that amazing, for a senior ranker to be calling me their fave or anything like that…"
"The day after the Four Pillar War, Maru was like 'Watch it, just watch it, watch all of it' over and over again, it was so annoying, but once I watched one, I couldn't stop!"
"Okay, let's calm down. Just for a second, let's calm—"
"But the best part! Was the one-on-one fight with Iris-sama!!"
I see, so she's not stopping.
"It was a real, reeeally huge shame that they didn't pick up the conversation! But I can use my imagination—or rather, my deduction—from your expressions!! Yes!!"
"You're very passionate…"
So she's called with '-sama' even by fellow rankers…
I've been too embarrassed to call her by her nickname, Ashe, but it seems like it would be more peaceful to just go back to her original name.
Every time I call her Iris, she makes a very, very faint look of displeasure, so I'll probably get chewed out for it eventually—
"Therefore! Since this expedition is a fateful encounter, I was hoping to take this opportunity to ask you all sorts of things—!!"
"Hey, um… whoa, you're close, too close!—Hey, Maru II-shi! Your partner just started bugging out, can you do something about her?!"
"It's useless! Maru is just as obsessed with 'Acrobat-san' as I am!!"
My hopes for rescue were dashed by the strange logic that he was 'a kindred spirit, in a way'… and indeed, when I looked back, all I got was an apologetic, vague smile.
You traitor…!!
And you, Torakky, with that sleazy grin next to him, I'll deal with you later. I'll tease you mercilessly about how you were fumbling all over yourself in front of Sora, just you wait…!!
…And so, for a while after that, I was hounded by a rapid-fire machine gun of questions from Rinne, who I now suspected might be an even greater free spirit than her partner's master.
Whenever I glanced back at Sora, I saw that she had eventually joined the guys next to her—
"…Fufu."
—and for some reason, she was watching me with a happy smile. It was a mystery.
When we first met. I remember how, even when it was just the two of us, it always felt this lively.