Chapter 518 - Two Pairs Who Know Each Other Well
"—Yo, how's it going?"
"That's my line. Weren't you dead drunk just a moment ago?"
When I answered the crisp knock, the room was entered by the same overwhelmingly imposing figure. Despite our heights not being all that different, his body was so large that I almost felt like I had to look up at him, and it still seemed untouched by “old age.”
This was the second time we'd met in reality, following last year. However, with two years of interaction in the virtual world, there was no longer any room for things like nervousness between us.
Irori, who had been sitting on his bed fiddling with his phone, gestured toward a chair. Goldow didn't seem to mind the casual treatment, merely glancing sideways.
"You're still a strange one. I can't tell if you're a strong drinker or a weak one."
"It's the best kind, ain't it? Get perfectly drunk, and recover in a flash."
"Take care of your body. You're the one who keeps saying you're not young anymore. I won't be responsible if you get lectured by your daughter in front of your junior again and lose what little dignity you have left."
"Ain't it a little late for that?"
"I'm telling you to keep it at this level, General Commander."
A casual conversation with someone much older.
Though he didn't dislike this atmosphere now, he'd been terribly bewildered by it at first. In the real-world dojo, elders were, without exception, to be revered, so he'd found it difficult to act so casually toward his seniors.
It wasn't a matter of which was better, but simply a difference in environment.
"Man, June is still nice and cool. It's pleasant, a real blessing."
"Don't sleep with your stomach exposed and catch a cold."
"…Irori, you been gettin' more naggy by the day?"
"Well, perhaps it's because the number of people who make me say things has increased."
As he said that, a mischievous grin appeared on his face, and Goldow sighed inwardly, realizing his mistake. It seemed the vacation atmosphere was making his own tongue a little too loose.
"A real blessing, indeed."
"…You, on the other hand, are getting more and more like an old man with your teasing every day."
Well, it's not so bad—
"So? From your perspective, how's he been lately?"
"How's he been? He's still the same infinitely cheeky and immature junior."
"Heh… Gahaha! You're quick to dismiss the guy who's been acknowledged by the ‘Supreme,’ fought the ‘Strongest’ to a draw, became the key to vanquishing a ‘White Throne,’ and is now bathing in the attention and praise of the entire world."
"I don't believe I'm giving an unfair assessment."
"I know, I know. It just means that in your eyes, you can see all that room for him to grow, right? It's only been three months since he entered the virtual world… he really is a monster."
"Even so, I think you're overestimating him a bit."
"Ya think? Well, I'm aware I'm heapin' a ton of expectations on him."
"Go easy on him, enough so you don't crush him."
"Blessed with such a kind senpai, Haru's a lucky guy."
"…I'm telling you, stop smirking and teasing me every time."
—Once in a while like this, two men of different ages.
Letting the wind carry them, sharing an honest conversation wasn't so bad.
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"Oh, looking for a midnight snack?"
"Unfortunately, I'm quite full from someone's party course. May I have some tea?"
The party was over, the cleanup was done, and after a short rest in her room, her energy was quickly replenished. Neither she, who had returned to the kitchen as if it were a matter of course, nor her “comrade,” who appeared a few minutes later, felt any sense of surprise anymore.
They had known each other for three years now, both in reality and in the virtual world. They were used to each other.
"Okay. Iced or hot?"
"Hot, please."
"It's cool this year, isn't it?"
"It's still technically early summer. In fact, we might need to be careful not to let our bodies get too cold."
As she said this, her gaze flickered upward, which likely meant what he thought it did. As always, their family relationship seemed to be enviably good.
"Haha, catching a cold from sleeping with his stomach exposed sounds like something he'd do."
"…I suppose I should go and check on him quietly in the middle of the night."
"It must be tough having such a high-maintenance father."
To be able to make such rude remarks was only possible because of a certain level of trust. There was no need to worry about whether the unspoken words, “You seem to be having fun, I'm envious,” were getting across.
—And so, while enjoying the conversation, he rummaged through the cupboard for a while to fulfill the order. From a bewilderingly diverse selection of tea leaves, he chose one at random and poured hot water into the pre-warmed teapot.
After he finished pouring and looked up from watching the tea leaves unfurl,
"…………Haha."
"Fufu…"
Realizing they were making similar faces, Uni and Helena let out weary smiles the moment their eyes met.
"…I feel relieved."
"Yes, truly."
"Of course, it's not like I don't feel a little frustrated that a newcomer who appeared like a comet snatched her away."
"Yes, truly."
"Still, I'm glad. A game is only fun when you have someone to enjoy it with."
"…Yes, truly."
Just today, in the span of a few short hours, how many times had they seen her with such a relaxed expression? As he thought back, he couldn't stop his cheeks from softening into a smile.
As people who were captivated by that figure, that sword, that very way of being.
"We've been rewarded. Both me, who desperately clung to the second seat, and you, her right arm who supported her by her side—it finally feels like a weight has been lifted from our shoulders."
"I could never say that, though. I simply fell for her on my own and devoted myself to her on my own."
"It's fine. She knows everything that's in our hearts, thankfully."
That was why she said it to them so many times.
Both now that she had changed, and in the past when she couldn't, over and over again—thank you.
And yet, those were their words to say.
To be able to experience the seemingly laughable role of a “knight serving a princess” in modern times. To give it his all, even if his strength fell short, while struggling with his own doubts. Compared to the life he had been nonchalantly wasting before meeting her, it went without saying how vividly that experience had colored his world.
He had gained a priceless experience, a passion, a vibrancy.
The powerlessness and other pains he had accumulated over three years seemed to have vanished completely in the face of his current, clear emotions.
It wasn't in vain. He would proudly take pride in having reached this point.
"Let's have another toast, even if it's just with tea."
"It's modest, and that has its own charm. It suits us supporting characters."
He poured the herbal tea into the two cups he had prepared without being asked and handed one to Helena. Then, without clinking their cups, they simply raised them slightly in a modest toast—
"……………………What is this?"
"…I wonder. It's a taste I've never had before."
At the strange taste of the nameless tea leaves he had chosen at random, the two of them tilted their heads in unison.
An emotional flavor.