Chapter 333 - A Distance So Close, Yet Untouchable
"Alright, nighty night~!"
"Good night."
"Yeah, night—... whoa, that was fast."
A wry smile crossed my face as the little duo logged out of the virtual world without even waiting for a reply. I lowered the hand I had raised mid-wave, leaving it hanging awkwardly in the air.
The high-tension echo of their "good nights" faded in an instant, and the Round Table was filled with a profound silence.
We had moved here for the simple reason that you can't perform a full logout from an instanced training area. It wasn't like we were about to jump into another event or anything—
"We've got tomorrow to think about. We should probably call it a day, too."
"Yes..."
My partner seemed to have reached her limit, a combination of fatigue and sleepiness weighing her down. Once I saw her off to the real world, I'd just have one last thing to take care of before wrapping up for the day.
"It's fine to log out right here. When you log back in, you should appear in the plaza at the castle entrance."
"Okay..."
Somehow, every word she said in reply sounded... dazed.
I could count on one hand the number of times I'd spent time with Sora this late at night, but if I recalled correctly, she wasn't this out of it even in the middle of the night on the day of our victory party... Was she just sleep-deprived?
She did look pretty sleepy this morning.
"—Whoa there. Hey, hey, go back to the real world before you fall asleep. It wouldn't do for a young lady of your stature to be so unladylike... Don't come crying to me if that maid of yours scolds you for it."
She wasn't quite nodding off, but when Sora stumbled beside me, rubbing her eyes, I instinctively reached out to steady her. My words were accompanied by a thought of that mysterious maid I hadn't seen since that one time.
If I heard correctly, this Natsume-san person was Sora's 'caretaker'. I didn't know the full details of their relationship, but it would be a shame if she got an earful over this.
Even without that, players should maintain a semblance of 'normalcy' wherever possible.
I was well aware of the common belief that logging out in the virtual world provides a deeper, more restful sleep than an ordinary bed in [Arcadia]... but still.
I've come to realize it lately, but maintaining a proper boundary between the real and virtual worlds is important. For us players who travel between the two, leaning too heavily to one side can easily throw off our mental and physical balance.
"I know... You shouldn't stay up too late and oversleep either, Haru."
"You don't need to worry about me—is something I can't really say, given my track record."
Well, that aside.
"Sora-san."
"..."
Is something wrong?—The question didn't need to be spoken. I conveyed it with my gaze, but she simply averted her eyes, pretending not to notice.
They say many people's hands get warm when they get sleepy. I wonder if that translates to avatars here in the virtual world, too?
Because right now, the little finger on my left hand was feeling quite toasty, thanks to a certain someone.
Five seconds, then ten, passed in silence—
"...Um... I'm sorry. It's nothing, really..."
Sora gently let go of my hand and took a half-step back, a troubled look on her face, though her eyes were still sleepy. I was just as troubled, but it seemed we were both inwardly wondering what was going on.
Could it be that she's sad to say goodbye?—It was something I might have said before.
"You did great today. Get some rest."
"...Yes."
Right now, all I could manage was to say those words in a deliberately calm voice.
I had no intention of changing how I cherished Sora as my partner. And as her fake fiancé, I was fully prepared to do what little I could to protect her.
However, while it went without saying that I couldn't cross the 'line' we'd established, I now had to be more careful than ever.
To ensure that my words to my partner—never strayed from the bounds of 'trust'.
Lately, Sora has been holding my hand less often. And I'd like to think I'm not so foolish as to need to ask 'why'.
So, tonight's little... incident—
"Good night."
"Yeah, good night."
I'll just chalk it up to a whim, a product of her sleepiness.
Because I'm sure that's what I'm supposed to do right now.
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"—Stupid."
The moment she returned to the real world.
Lying there in the darkness, that single word tumbled from her lips.
"Stupid."
Why did I suddenly feel so lonely when we were saying goodbye?
"Stupid."
Was it because we spent the entire day together, more than ever before?
"Stupid."
Even though I'm trying to hold back, why do I find my hand reaching out before I even realize it?
"...Idiot."
—Even though I know I'll only trouble him.
He only touches her when it's necessary for gameplay. Their sense of distance is built upon a mutual trust, where Sora herself correctly understands this fact.
It went without saying that this was completely different from her, who reached out for the sake of touching him.
She had to do something about this habit of being so clingy. If someone like her, with no resolve or right, kept fawning over him, it would be a disservice to those who were genuinely pursuing a real 'romance'.
If only she could truly resign herself to being just a little sister figure and let herself be spoiled, but—
"...What is wrong with me?"
She couldn't even commit to that, and she, more than anyone else in the world, didn't understand herself.
And so, in a petty tantrum that wasn't quite frustration, she kicked her legs—and the VR rig, detecting the movement, opened its cover as if to say, "Hurry up and get out."
"...It's cold."
The slightly chilly air-conditioned breeze caressed her lightly-clothed skin. The girl petulantly slapped the rig before quickly bowing her head to the machine with an apologetic, "I'm sorry."
She felt even more ridiculous, wondering what on earth she was doing.
She was aware that her heart was still that of an immature child, but she wasn't simple-minded enough to forgive herself for that reason.
She threw herself onto the bed with a forceful motion and pulled the blanket over her head, wishing for the miracle of waking up and having forgotten everything.
It was an unladylike act that would have surely earned her a scolding from Itsuki had she seen it.
—Yeah, good night.
"..."
She unconsciously recalled the last gentle words she had heard... and found her cheeks softening at the mere memory. She was truly exasperated with herself, thinking, I'm a hopeless case.
"Good night..."—muttering to no one in particular, the girl gently closed her eyes.
The faint sound of her breathing slowly transitioned into the soft rhythm of sleep, subtly disturbing the silence of the darkness—
It seemed that tonight, too, it would take a little while.
The longer the run-up, the more powerful the jump.