Chapter 514 - Full Capacity Assembled
"—Well, I'll be damned. You really are just a kid, looks like you haven't changed a bit from over there. An old man like me is gonna stick out like a sore thumb. I've been lookin' forward to meetin' you, kiddo!"
"You're one to talk, you haven't changed either—gubbeh, wha—!? Hey, uncle, uncle! Your arm's too thick, you're crushing me…!"
Alicia had just told me they'd arrived, so I slipped out of the kitchen and popped my head into the entrance hall, only to find myself in this predicament less than thirty seconds later.
There were two familiar, yet unfamiliar faces, along with a woman I still couldn't say I was used to seeing, even in the virtual world. When I spotted the group of three and gave a little wave, a brawny, well-built man strode over and had me in a vice grip before I could protest.
I struggled instinctively, but it was, unfortunately, not even a millimeter effective.
While not quite the same as his avatar that towered over two meters, he was still easily over one-eighty, with a thick, muscular frame that was nothing short of imposing.
Judging by the exasperated yet apologetic look his “daughter” was giving me from a short distance away, he had to be in his late forties at the very least…
Man, you're more than young enough yourself. What is with this muscle mass? I can only imagine what kind of monster you were in your prime, you real-life titan—
"…Father. That's enough."
"Oops, my bad."
A few seconds after I'd given up resisting and gone limp, his “daughter” approached with a quiet sigh and reined in her out-of-control old man—her “father.”
I was saved. I thought I was going to get my head twisted off just moments after meeting him.
"This is no good. When I meet my buddies from over there in the real world, I can't help but get all fired up, forgetting my age… Ah, you okay?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm okay, but… please don't throw your STR around over here. I'll die."
"Gahaha! My bad, my bad. I'll be more careful."
"That laugh is the same here, too…"
—Well, anyway.
"Goldow and Helena-san, I presume."
"Yeah. Good to see you again, Haru."
"My father was terribly rude. It's been a while, Haru-sama—… Oh, perhaps adding ‘-sama’ is a bit too much in the real world."
"It is. Please, feel free to call me whatever you're comfortable with."
"Very well, I understand."
The father-daughter pair standing side-by-side both looked almost identical to their counterparts in the game.
Goldow's short, dandyish haircut, which suited him to a T, was a bit of a fresh look, but Helena-san was truly the same. Maybe the look in her eyes is a little softer than her avatar's? That's about it. If she put on a suit, the replication would be perfect.
As for my first impression of their aura… it's, well, that. If I'm not mistaken, they both have a similar feel to Sora's father, Mr. Togo.
I'd bet they're the type to be in positions of leadership in the real world, both father and daughter.
"—If the greetings are over, I'll show you to your room."
"Oh, thanks."
"Thank you."
Alicia, who had been standing to the side watching the whole mess unfold, finally spoke up.
She must have already exchanged greetings as the host before I showed my face. And since these two were also “regulars,” their exchange was brief and to the point.
"Uni is already starting on the finishing touches, so if you'd like, we can have dinner right away."
"Oh, sounds great! I've been missin' his cooking."
"…Try not to pester him so much this time and make him angry."
As they exchanged casual words like old friends, Alicia led the two of them away… leaving one person behind.
"Hmm… I doubt it, but are you by any chance the silent type in real life?"
"—Shut up. I was just trying to find the right time to speak."
It feels weird to think this, but of all the men in the virtual world, his is the voice I'm most familiar with. That irritatingly refreshing voice is, of course, unchanged in the real world, and paired with his equally unchanged refreshing face, he's annoyingly the very definition of a pretty boy.
In a way, he was the most unchanged of all.
If you dressed him in his usual kamishimo and gave him a sword, he'd probably achieve a hundred-percent replication rate, even higher than Helena-san's—
"You're the one who's awfully quiet compared to how you are over there—Haru."
"Hah, I'm actually relieved you're so refreshingly the same. Though I have no idea what I mean by 'actually'."
"I stand corrected. That half-assed attitude is unmistakably you."
"What'd you say, you punk? Should I call you Nate-san?"
"Hey, using my real name is a crime."
Irori, the fourth seat of Istia, [Peerless], made a bitter face that was probably a mirror image of my own, and then…
"…It's a vacation. Let's just be honest—I kinda wanted to see you, junior."
It seems his habit of trading barbs one moment and then suddenly dropping a dose of sincerity the next hasn't changed. The young man's gentle smile disarmed me, and…
"Yeah, yeah—I kinda wanted to see you too, senpai."
I lightly bumped my fist against the right hand he raised as we passed each other—
""Ow…!?""
The bones in our knuckles made a clean, crisp clack, and we both winced at the same time.
The last person for the trip was Irori-kun, a.k.a. Nate Mitake-kun. Did anyone guess correctly?