Chapter 538 - Those the Stars Watch
Although I say it felt long, the trip still seemed to end in the blink of an eye. A week is the kind of thing that just slips by before you even notice.
Which means I can't afford to be complacent about my weekend plans just because it's still Monday.
I'll report on what my 'Shadow' was like tonight, but the battle plan against the [Black Stain That Slays All] has already been decided. No matter what form my and Ashe's doubles take, our course of action is pretty much set in stone with a mutual, "Well, in the end, it's gotta be that, right?"
In other words, my job is to prepare enough cards in my hand to see that plan through—which, when you get down to it, is no different from what I always do.
Compared to my master, Ashe, and even Irori, I'm still so... thin. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the [Acrobat] only exists thanks to my partner, my artisan, my friends, and all the unique equipment I've been blessed with.
My own talent is honestly just a bonus. The reality is, starting with meeting Sora on my very first day, I'd say it's been one hundred percent luck. So I'm still desperately, utterly lacking in the power and experience this body needs.
I have to build more thickness. I have to, if only to present myself as a worthy ranker in the Four Pillar War Selection Match two months from now.
And so, with that in mind—
"Hey, is it okay now?"
"NOOOOOOO!!!"
In my quest for power, after a few twists and turns, I found myself kneeling on the floor before a pipsqueak.
Why???
"I'm a complete victim of friendly fire here... Ri-na-san?"
"She's genuinely sulking, so she's being a real handful. Just humor her a little longer."
"...Alright, yeah. I get it."
"Why are you always so obedient with Ri-na-chan?! Do you like her?! Big sister won't allow that!!!"
She's so loud. And does she have the thought process of a grade-schooler?
How did it come to this? All I did was stop by to get some pointers from the experts on my new magic—
This is all—every last bit of it—Irori's fault. Why is he still fighting with her? He should have at least tried to cheer her up.
"I mean, okay, I'll concede that it was my bad for leaving on a trip without saying anything. We're ranked members of the same faction, right? Maybe I should have at least said, 'Hey, I'll be offline for about a week.' But... when she's unloading a bunch of complaints on me where the anger is clearly not directed at me..."
What am I supposed to do? I haven't pried into their relationship at all, so I know absolutely nothing about it.
Perhaps taking pity on me as I struggled to deal with the unusually non-joking, genuinely cranky red one, the blue one came to my side and whispered in my ear.
"Whenever you're ready, can you call him over under your name?"
"Hm, eh...? Ah, you mean Irori?"
"Yes. This is getting tiresome, so I'm just going to throw them together and let them make up on their own."
"That's a direct approach, but why me?"
"She's been bugging him nonstop for a week over this, so he's pretty fed up with her too. If I call him, he'll probably suspect it's Mi-na's doing and be wary... Also, you two are friends."
"Ah... well, I'm not opposed to it."
I'll probably get an earful later, but whatever. I'm the junior here. My seniors shouldn't be dragging me into their super-personal drama.
"Okay, then let's call that settled... and come to think of it, I don't need both of you for this. Ri-na, could you give me some advice by yourself?"
"Yes, that's fine. The training room?"
"That would be best. It'll be convenient if I end up wanting to test something."
"Understood."
Things proceeded smoothly, and with this, the first of my tasks would be complete. Man, Ri-na is so straightforward and easy to talk to. She's a lifesaver.
—As for the other one, who had been yapping away while we were having our little secret chat, she was now on the receiving end of being thoroughly and utterly ignored.
"If you ignore me any more, Mi-na-chan's gonna cry...!"
She looked genuinely dejected, so the two of us had no choice but to console her. When she started getting cocky again after just a few minutes, I put her in her place with a firm grip.
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"Whoa... you really do just shatter every preconceived notion, don't you?"
"In terms of acquisition speed since starting the game, you're the third fastest in history. That's amazing."
"That's an honor. By the way, who are the top two?"
After our little charade at the Round Table, we moved to the familiar training grounds. A few minutes later, after I explained my reason for being there, I posed a question at the end of our conversation. As I'd vaguely expected, Mi-na and Ri-na both raised their hands.
So, what were we talking about? None other than their specialty: Starlight Magic.
In short, I'd come to see them today to get their opinions on the [Starlight Magic Aptitude] I acquired on the final day of the recent event.
"And after us—including you now, big bro—the gap widens a ton. The next ones are all players who've been playing for at least a year. Oh, but a fair number of players have it, you know?"
Curious about what "a fair number" meant, I glanced at Ri-na. The girl closed her eyes for a few seconds as if recalling the memory, then told me, "About three hundred people."
I see... I see?
Hold on. My first instinct was to think, So it's not super rare, but when you compare that to the total number of [Arcadia] users, it's actually absurdly rare.
I had a vague sense that it was special, but it seems to be a much rarer skill than I thought. As someone who now counts myself among its wielders, I can't help but feel a slight sense of superiority.
—But anyway.
When I acquired [Water Magic Aptitude] before, I didn't think twice and just set the skill on a whim, unleashing a massive flood. So why did I go out of my way to seek the advice of experts this time...?
"Still, it's kinda surprising. Are you actually a pretty timid person, big bro?"
"You're more cautious than I expected."
"Anyone would be cautious. Especially when you're warned that some things are the kind you can't take back."
And that was why. On the day I got it, I was a walking corpse in every sense of the word, so I simply didn't have the energy and decided to put it off. Later, when I did a quick search on 'Starlight Magic,' a certain term caught my eye.
The somewhat unsettling phrase: "Starlight Magic Gacha."
Feeling a slight sense of alarm, I decided it was best not to just set the skill carelessly... and from there, with all the chaos of the trip, I kept postponing it until now.
Because of that, I still hadn't touched it in the virtual world. In the real world, after getting the invitation to conquer the [Shadow-Infested Arena], I consulted with Ashe about it first—
Well, the conclusion was that relying on the experts would be the soundest approach.
"I just heard the rough numbers for the first time, but I figured it was rare from the lack of clear information online. On top of that, I saw some threatening phrases like 'one-time gacha after acquiring the aptitude skill' and 'you can basically only get one spell'... so, yeah. It wasn't urgent, so I played it safe."
"Well, whatever works for you, I guess."
"Thinking things through is a good thing."
One nonchalant response and one earnest affirmation. As always, their reactions couldn't be more different, but in that they'll always help when I ask, I genuinely trust the 'Eastern Wings.'
Lately, I've even been managing to restrain myself from punishing the red one about half the time.
"First, a disclaimer: we're not exactly 'Starlight Magic Doctors,' you know? We're confident that we've used it more and researched it more than anyone, but you shouldn't assume everything we say is correct. We can't take responsibility if you tell us to!"
"In exchange, if there's something we don't know, we'll tell you honestly that we don't know. We won't teach you anything irresponsible, so you can rest assured about that."
"Well, just be a little lenient with our near-certain speculations, okay? Otherwise, everything will be an 'I don't know,' and there'd be no point in us giving you advice."
"We can't expect clear answers from the admins or the virtual world itself, so there are limits. If it later turns out we were wrong, it just means we've made the same mistake... so think of yourself as one of the pioneers and accept it."
"And with that—"
"We'll help you as much as we can."
"...You two don't rehearse that synchronized routine, do you?"
At any rate, their surprisingly sincere willingness to help was incredibly reassuring. As the newcomer junior, I decided to rely on my seniors to the fullest.