Chapter 414 - The Same-Day Invasion
The victory party ended up lasting late into the night. The next day dawned.
After being forced to give my second virtual world recital in place of Sora, who had been on the verge of being dragged onto the stage, I was then bombarded with demands for party tricks and acrobatics. Eventually, the relentlessly high-energy crowd dragged me out of the ‘castle’ and made me give a live demonstration of clearing the [Spiral Crimson Tower]. After countless other events that are too many to recount—
“—My head hurts…”
Here I was.
Following the recent subjugation battle, I was once again hit with a severe case of phantom fatigue and was completely down for the count. Today was, wonderfully, a Monday, but I had already given up on getting up in the morning and had contacted my university.
This wasn't the first time, but the fact that Director Kunori himself always answered my calls was endlessly humbling and awkward.
He had insisted I use his direct line, saying it was ‘quicker that way,’ but… no matter the reality of the situation, this was basically me playing hooky because of a game. Yet for some reason, he always sounded cheerful, almost happy about it, which was mysteriously frightening.
I had a feeling that one day, some sudden, troublesome matter would come crashing down on me.
My friends, who had also called in absent, sent me similar messages. They went something like this—
‘Got it, roger. Btw, that archive video is blowing up like crazy.’
‘Yup, gotcha. On another note, that video I uploaded yesterday is going super viral.’
‘Okay, take care. And this might be unsolicited advice, but you should probably disconnect from the internet for a while.’
‘Understood.’
‘Um, if it’s not too much trouble,’
‘Actually, never mind. Please take care of yourself.’
‘If you need the lecture notes, just let me know.’
And so on.
As for Kaede, who sent me a series of fragmented messages… I could tell she was bugging out as usual, so I sent a simple thanks for her last message and decided to leave her be.
Other than that, I decided to follow Mizuki’s advice and shield my eyes and ears from the world’s information for a while—just as my stomach let out a growl.
“Even if you don’t move, you still get hungry…”
It was just before ten in the morning.
I needed to get some kind of nourishment, no matter what. With that thought, I tried to leap out of bed—
“Og-gueh…!”
My real body, which was no match for my virtual avatar, bounced pathetically on the bed. The jarring motion sent a wave of pain through my head, and I let out a groan.
“—Hm?”
I had just finished stuffing myself with some emergency rations, taken another short rest, and was done making and eating a simple lunch.
The sound of a strange melody from the intercom suddenly rang out, and I pushed myself up from the sofa where I had been sinking.
There were only two people who would ever visit this room, so I figured it had to be either Iris or Ms. Chitose… but that prediction…
“Well now…?”
…was swiftly overturned when I checked the monitor showing the view outside my door. Or rather, it was Ms. Chitose, but—
I mustered some energy into my heavy limbs, headed to the entrance, unlocked it, and opened the door. Standing in the hallway was a single woman.
“Hello, what can I do for you?”
I greeted the familiar face without any tension. The gentle-looking, black-haired woman returned my greeting with a smile and an apology. “I’m sorry to bother you so suddenly.”
This was Ms. Chitose Madoka. She was none other than the mother of Mr. Chitose Kazuharu, the assistant to Yotsuya's representative. She’s the housekeeper who handles cleaning and other chores here at the dormitory where Iris and I live, and she’s also the fourth resident.
As a resident who’s indebted to her, she’s someone I unconditionally look up to. Thank you for your hard work, as always.
“You know how there was talk of a new person coming soon? Well, I just got a call from Kazuharu about it.”
“Ah, yes?”
I was almost certain she was talking about Nia, but I couldn’t see how that would lead to Ms. Madoka visiting my room.
Iris was supposed to have handled all the arrangements for the move, which had been decided in a flash in the end—
“I know this is sudden, but he said he wants to get it done today, so he asked if you could help her move in. It seems she'll use the existing furniture like you did, Haru-kun, so it's just a matter of carrying in a few cardboard boxes.”
“Things are moving too fast.”
Who was I supposed to be exasperated with here?
Iris, for pushing the decision through at lightning speed? Yotsuya, for actually processing everything at lightning speed and throwing a new resident in? Or Nia, for getting swept up in this lightning-fast process and agreeing to move into this unknown dormitory the very next day?
The only people with normal mentalities here were myself and Ms. Madoka—no, lately, I’m not so sure about myself. Perhaps the only one who truly deserved the title of ‘peaceful, sane person’ was Ms. Chitose (the mother).
“She's a girl, so I could help, but I heard she's an especially close friend of yours, Haru-kun… What should I do? Should I leave it to you?”
I could practically see the look on the Yotsuya representative assistant’s face when he fed that line to Ms. Madoka. Not that I had any intention of denying it, but still…
“In that case, yes. I'm free right now, so I'll help.”
And when I said that…
“Then I'll leave it to you. The young ladies are already in the lobby downstairs, so if you could go and get them right away—ufufu.”
“This is developing too fast.”
And what was with that meaningful “ufufu” at the end?
You have too kind a face; a deliberately mischievous smile doesn't suit you, ma'am.
—Wait a minute.
“Young ladies… plural???”
What, did Nia clone herself?