Chapter 336 - Southern District
The districts for each of the four factions—East, West, South, and North—are accessible to players from other factions, provided they follow the proper procedure.
It's not a particularly complicated process. Basically, you just need to apply at the 'Public Office' in the safe area to have an entry permit issued.
Another way is to be granted a permit by one of the ranked members who represent a faction. I had no idea, but apparently, I already possessed such a privilege... though I don't know if a day will ever come when I'll use that right myself.
In any case, I had already obtained a permit to visit the Southern Faction (Sotalm) district. I received it from Ashe the other day, via Goldow.
It was a crimson card depicting Sotalm's symbol, a 'castle'.
As long as I had it on me, either in my hand or in my inventory, the rest was the same as going to my own faction's city, Istia.
I could use a transfer gate within the Safe Area to jump to the Southern Faction's city.
—And so, as I led Sora towards a nearby transfer gate, I...
"Ah."
"Eh?"
I spotted a familiar face unexpectedly and let out a sound without thinking.
Sora, who was walking beside me, tilted her head in confusion... He had probably noticed me first.
Whether out of consideration for me, now a figure who drew a lot of attention, or not, 'he' stopped the foot he had been about to walk away with and turned back.
Oh... I'm half grateful, half apologetic.
"Ah, um... It's been a while."
"—Yeah, not since we passed each other during the Four Pillar War."
He was a fairly handsome man, which is rare for Arcadia. Or rather, he was somewhere between handsome and a cool older guy, a man who had begun to acquire a certain refined charm.
He was a medium-class warrior with a one-handed mace at his hip and a round shield slung over his back.
"Thanks for everything back then, Zou-sa—... Mr. [Elephant Three]."
"Zou-san is fine. Everyone calls me that—this is the first time we've met in a calmer setting, isn't it, our Ninth... no, you're the Seventh now, aren't you?"
Mr. [ElephantThree], commonly known as Zou-san. He was a veteran Istian and a regular in the Four Pillar War, a high-ranking player known as a key figure in the defense corps.
He was my opponent in the first round of the 'Four Pillar War Main Selection Round', a rather memorable person.
"And is this your rumored partner?"
His gaze shifted to Sora, whom I had failed to properly introduce, my mind still catching up from the unexpected encounter. It was only natural for his eyes to drift to my companion during our greeting; this was my fault.
However, my partner, who suffered from a slight case of shyness—
"My name is Sora. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Ah, a pleasure to meet you too, Sora-chan."
—exchanged greetings with surprising smoothness, without a hint of a stutter. Combined with the dress she wore, her graceful bow looked just like that of a young lady from a noble family.
Well, she was a genuine young lady, after all.
"Are you two heading out somewhere?"
We had bumped into each other and exchanged greetings—it would be a bit cold to just say 'alright, see you' and leave.
Just as I was thinking of a topic to bring up, he spoke first... This guy was a natural conversationalist, with no hesitation in meeting my eyes and speaking.
As expected of our defense corps captain, he had some serious communication skills.
"Yeah, just heading over to Sotalm."
"To the South... —Ah, I see."
It was a concise answer on my part, but Zou-san seemed to grasp the situation from just that.
With a surprisingly playful expression and gesture, he clapped his hands together, then stepped aside to clear the path to the transfer gate.
"In that case, you probably don't have time to entertain a random old guy passing by. We'll save the chat for another time."
No, no, not at all... is what I wanted to say, but the truth was, we didn't have much time to spare. In that case—
"Well... since fate seems to bring us together, if you'd like."
I tapped my window a few times and sent a friend request to the good-natured veteran. A window popped up in front of him, and Zou-san's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Well, well... haha, now I have something to brag about to my wife and son when I get home."
With a good-natured smile, he tapped 'Yes', then extended his hand as if asking for an autograph from a celebrity. "Could I trouble you for a handshake?"
...Not as if. I really was a celebrity now, wasn't I?
Somehow, it really felt that way—back when I fought this veteran who was now so happily shaking my hand, I never could have imagined things would turn out like this.
"It's a pleasure, Acrobat-kun."
"Please, call me Haru... Let's go somewhere together sometime, if we get the chance."
I felt another layer added to the realization of just how far I'd come.
◇◆◇◆◇
"Whoa..."
"Haaah..."
Having expanded my circle of friends in an unexpected place, we were guided by the light of the transfer gate and arrived in the Southern Faction's territory. Seeing a cityscape with a distinctly different design from Istia, Sora and I both let out voices of admiration.
Compared to the city of the East... no, compared to this, it might be better to call the Istia district a 'town'. The scale and density were likely similar, but the overall atmosphere was completely different.
The Sotalm district was truly a 'city'—the buildings were more orderly than those in the East, and while their exteriors had a sufficient fantasy feel... they somehow built a landscape that conveyed a sense of regularity, a certain 'order'.
There was another distinct difference from the Istia district.
"That really stands out."
"I suppose that's the normal way of things, isn't it..."
It was likely the central part of the city. From the fountain plaza, which had a rather familiar design, we could see a massive landmark—in other words, the Southern Faction's 'castle'.
"[El Faria, Knight's Royal Castle]... I saw it in the Four Pillar archives, but it's really flashy."
"It's a... a little intimidating, isn't it?"
Unlike our war base, which was for some reason buried underground, this castle proudly displayed its majesty above ground.
Each faction's personal color was also reflected; while the East's Ruvalest was based on 'white', this El Faria's main color was 'red'.
The structure was also completely different. Ruvalest had a rather eccentric design that could be called a mix of Japanese and Western styles, but this was a true 'Western castle'.
It was intimidating, but also just plain cool—now then.
"And with that............ thank you for waiting. That concludes our reactions."
"Huh?"
Making a statement that would be utterly mystifying if you hadn't noticed, I turned around, causing Sora to voice her confusion—well, yeah, I'd be confused too.
Even I only noticed because my eyes happened to catch her as I was looking around.
"—Hehe, I've been waiting for you."
The voice that replied with a gentle smile belonged to a serene woman.
She had been standing beside us, her presence thinned either intentionally or not. She was likely the guide the South had sent for us.
She wore a black skirt suit, top and bottom—an outfit that might belong to an office worker in the real world... but her soft, long pink hair and matching eyes were very much that of a virtual world avatar.
Her apparent age was around twenty, so it might be more accurate to call her a college student in a suit rather than an office worker.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Momono, and I am Helena's aide. I've been tasked with being your guide today, so I've come to welcome you."
"A pleasure to meet you, I'm Haru."
"N-Nice to meet you, I'm Sora. I look forward to being in your care!"
I wasn't surprised that a guide had been sent, as I'd been told to expect one. However, had I shared that information with Sora? I had forgotten, so no.
I might get an earful from my surprised partner later—but as I was thinking that...
"Well then, shall we get going?"
Momono-san smiled softly and started to walk ahead, leading the way. We'd had quite the history in the real world, but this would be our second time meeting in the virtual one—
"The princess is apparently waiting with bated breath."
—to the side of my acquaintance, Ashe, who was so close, yet so far.
To be honest, I think I could write a whole chapter for each of the four faction districts—East, West, South, North—just covering all their features and whatnot, but the story would never move forward, so I've kind of given up on that.