Chapter 421 - Always and Forever
I must support her—or so I had resolved myself, but...
"Operating as normal, I see..."
"? I'm not sure what you mean... but from my perspective, you're the strange one for already getting used to that form, Haru."
"Well, it's just an avatar at the end of the day."
Logging into the virtual world for the first time in a day, I found my partner was more than just okay... she was on a completely different level. As if utterly unconcerned by the world's gaze, she greeted me with her usual, radiant Sora-san smile.
Hmm... was I worrying for nothing? Though her identity isn't public, she is a Yotsuya heiress. She might have a certain level of resistance to this kind of thing.
Well, for now, if she seems okay, then all's well—
"Speaking of forms, what were you doing with those tails?"
I posed the question to Sora, who was watching my magical training in my own transformed body with a gaze that was half-interest, half-exasperation.
In response, looking far less accustomed to her form than I was to mine, she shyly hid the four tails swaying behind her back—whether by her will or not.
By the way, even though she hid her tails, the magnificent, fluffy ears on her head were still twitching. I wonder if they move in response to her emotions, too.
"P-Practice. The sensation of my body changes quite a bit."
This adorable getup—none other than Sora's own transformed state, her `Trance` form—came complete with a reproachful look for my teasing.
She was a four-tailed fox, not a nine-tailed one. Both her ears and tails were a brilliant, pure white. And in this form, her golden hair was streaked with white starting from the base of her fox ears, creating a beautiful gradient.
I'm not an expert myself, but I heard from Lux—who showed a surprising amount of knowledge on the subject—that it might be modeled after a divine fox spirit known as a Tenko.
"I see. So you were flying around the house."
"I-I wasn't flying! And it's only because I'm inside the house!"
Apparently, she's still too embarrassed to show this form outside. It's kind of funny how the cuteness index of the word 'house' is on a completely different level when Sora says it compared to when I do.
Thanks to my own transformation, my voice is also a pretty girl's voice (lol), but that doesn't matter when the person inside is a guy. That's just how it is.
"Besides, I can't fly in this form..."
"Well, yeah, not when your AGI gets wiped out."
And so, Sora's `Trance` causes her Agility (AGI) stat to vanish. Whether that's something to celebrate is debatable, but it's certainly not a bad outcome.
Like my own transformation, her MID stat, with equipment bonuses, breaks the 1,000-point mark. Considering it enhances her flavor as a stationary cannon on par with a generic Mi-na and Ri-na, it's a solid choice.
What's more, even with AGI at zero, she's not immobile like the `Eastern Wings`. And the moment she cancels the transformation, she reverts to a frontline fighter—or rather, an all-rounder—who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me.
There's just no stopping my partner's ever-growing versatility.
That said, both my `Trance` and her transformed state share a one-hour cooldown for activation and deactivation, so we can't exactly switch between forms frequently to match the situation.
—Now then,
"Since we happened to meet up, want to go somewhere? Ah, wait... maybe it's better to wait until you can change back from that form."
"Oh, no, it's fine!"
Going somewhere means walking around outside, and her current appearance is ridiculously conspicuous. With all the attention currently focused on 'the Acrobat's partner,' that's a bit of a problem.
I was about to retract my suggestion, but Sora shook her head, and a magic circle instantly enveloped her avatar. With a flash of light, she reappeared in her familiar form, her hair color back to normal.
Ah, farewell, fluffiness.
"Okay. You got this from Nia the day before yesterday, right?"
"Yes, I did."
I pulled down the hood of my [Hidden Rat's Cloak] as I spoke, and Sora nodded, retrieving a matching gray garment from her inventory. We had a matching set of stealth gear.
It wasn't a perfect match; hers had been subtly adjusted to complement her [Dress of El-Clelia]. The fine craftsmanship was nothing short of impressive.
"Alright, let's go. Somewhere!"
"Um, somewhere as in...?"
"The plan is that there is no plan!"
"Ah, haha..."
Going with the flow is perfectly fine.
As always, as long as we're together, even just walking around is sure to be fun.
This is just one part, or rather, half a part of a chapter. I'm posting it in sections as I finish them up to a good stopping point. So, I'll see you again later.
――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇
Name：Sora
Lv：100
STR(Strength)：100
AGI(Agility)：200
DEX(Dexterity)：50
VIT(Vitality)：100
MID(Mind)：600(+200)
LUC(Luck)：100
――――――――――――――――――
◇Status / Trance◇
Name：Sora
Lv：100
STR(Strength)：100
AGI(Agility)：――
DEX(Dexterity)：50
VIT(Vitality)：100
MID(Mind)：850(+200)
LUC(Luck)：300
――――――――――――――――――