Chapter 580 - The Aimless Wanderer
—Cheers echoed, the vibration of the air tingling against the skin.
The lively voices that reached the eardrums, the vortex of excitement that lit up the eyes… a lone figure, putting on a sullen face in the corner of the special viewing seats, let out yet another sigh at the sight, a scene they hadn't witnessed in months.
Lustrous silver hair was cut into a neat, short style. Or so one would think, but a scruffy fringe covered one eye, and the single exposed, sleepy left eye was the color of a canary.
Dressed in a silver-threaded robe befitting a mage, the slender, tall figure's attire was anything but. The front was left open, revealing a practical, unadorned battle garment underneath, the kind a warrior would wear.
The androgynous face with its refined features made it hard to tell if they were male or female. Their grooming was a toss-up between meticulous and careless, and even their attire lacked cohesion.
Furthermore, even the voice that escaped their lips was—
"—What the hell is that? My successor is insane…"
—a neutral tone that could be taken as that of a boyish man or a slightly low-pitched woman. As he, or she, broke their long spell of sullen silence to speak…
"Huh? Yurayura-san, you haven't seen his videos or anything?"
"Still a hermit, as always?"
Two girls popped their heads out from either side of the seat, speaking with the lack of reservation one shows to a close friend. In response, the beautiful person called 'Yurayura'—
"Haven't seen them. Yeah, I'm a hermit. And I'm not interested, as you well know."
—shooed away their "friends" with an annoyed gesture, their scowl a very clear 'I'm in a bad mood' signal.
However, their opponents were not so easily deterred.
"What's with that! We haven't seen you in forever, don't be so cold!"
"Hey, stop it… c'mon, don't cling to me, you little brat…!"
The blue one brushed off the comment with an emotionless, deadpan expression as usual, while the red one, whose desire for attention was only stoked, began to pester them annoyingly.
Putting the former aside, Yurayura raised their voice at the latter, who was a direct problem that couldn't be ignored—and watching from the side, another friend let out a poorly concealed laugh.
"Stop laughing and do something about these two, old man! They won't stop bothering me!"
"Nah. You look like you're having fun, so I figured I'd let it be."
"Huh? You don't mean me, do you? This is a hundred-percent-pure annoyed face."
"Same as always, aren't you?"
As the [General Commander] laughed heartily, Yurayura—the one formerly ranked tenth in the Eastern Faction, and now, having become the current tenth rank, the [Screen] herself…
"Ah, geez, really, this just isn't my thing… You've got to be kidding me, making a comeback…"
—was being shaken back and forth by the little red brat, muttering to themself as they stared up at the ceiling of the special seats, utterly exhausted.
◇◆◇◆◇
"So, what do you think? Your impression of Haru."
"Don't just casually try to continue the conversation, okay? I only came because you dragged me here out of obligation. I never once said I'd quietly shoulder the responsibilities of being a ranker again—"
"Haaah… As always, your pure tsundere act really hits the spot."
"The act is still going strong. Good to see you're well."
"Oi, you two brats, that's enough."
After watching a certain first match in the second half of the Four Pillar selections, they had moved to the Round Table—or rather, Yurayura had been forcefully brought along by their three acquaintances. Yurayura continued to act curtly, but their companions, completely used to it, paid them no mind.
It was always, always like this. Tiring, loud, and annoying—and yet, they had a knack for pulling you into their pace without a hint of malice, which was what made them so hard to deal with.
Every last one of them was a light-attribute type. They should just leave a gloomy person like themself alone.
However, the one to truly resent was the 'world's system' that had put them on this pedestal. The fact that they couldn't bring themself to hate their fellow pedestal-sitters… was truly hopeless, and their sighs only deepened.
"Haaah…………… Ninth… or is it Fourth now? Well, he's amazing, isn't he? A simple genius, that one. Personality-wise, he seems like he'd get along with you guys."
"Thank goodness the 'tsun' part was short."
"It's just for show."
"It's not tsundere, and it's not for show."
Shrugging off the two brats who were saying whatever they pleased, Yurayura sent a look to the older man, whom they called 'old man' but still held a measure of respect for, as if to say, "I've given you your answer."
Then the General Commander… Goldow, stroked his beard and tilted his head.
"Not just us… I think he'd get along with you more than anyone, though?"
He said something completely nonsensical. And so, naturally…
"Hah…? You've got to be joking. A character like that, who's the pinnacle of positivity—"
"Oh dear, you're still as bad at reading people as ever."
"Clueless."
"Him, the pinnacle of positivity… Kaka, now that's a good one."
Just as they were about to voice their objection—what nonsense are you spouting—an avalanche of denials and taunts came crashing down.
They didn't get it. Not at all… but for now…
"Oi, Ri-na, you're treating me the same as always, I see."
To have the audacity to call them 'clueless.' Yurayura glared, but the [Right Wing] girl simply ignored them with a cool expression and retreated behind the General Commander.
It wasn't that she disliked them. It was just that she had a strange way of getting attached to them, even back then.
"Well, you'll see if you spend some time with him. You're back, so how about you look after him a bit as his 'senior'?"
—he said knowingly, adding, "He's still just a rookie, you know."
"I mean, he's so obviously tense today."
"His nervousness is showing. He's overthinking it."
"Huh… ?"
And so, the three 'seniors' shared their impressions, leaving the clueless Yurayura behind. The one they were talking about was none other than the junior who was supposed to be their 'successor,' the [Acrobat]—
Yurayura thought of the young man who had met his challengers with a refreshing smile, skillfully incited the crowd with encouragement, concluded the battles with flair, and filled the venue with an explosion of cheers.
They had just returned from a long period of wandering, on a whim. So even after returning to the tenth seat, they still hadn't met this superstar face-to-face.
They sought strength only to walk the world alone, which was why they threw themself into the conflict of the East. To Yurayura, 'battle' was a means of travel, not a form of entertainment.
Whether it was PvE or PvP, their heart had never once been stirred.
The title of a rank holder in the Eastern Faction, Istia, where one was expected to be a 'flower of the battlefield' more than in any other faction, was 'unfitting' for them. This was the main reason.
—However,
"……………I have no idea what you're talking about, but…"
Their disinterest was, in the end, only for 'battle.'
They were infinitely tiring to be around, loud, and annoying—but Yurayura also envied them for qualities they lacked, and purely as people, they respected these seniors. And if they were all showing such blatant concern for someone…
"Well… I guess I'll watch today's matches, at least."
It wasn't as if they were dead inside. They could still muster a normal person's level of curiosity. As they sighed and muttered those words with the nuance of 'just to kill some time'…
"See? We didn't even have to persuade you, and this is how it ends up."
"It's just the act."
"Same as always, aren't you?"
Another avalanche of affectionate teasing and prodding erupted all at once, and the butt of the joke rose to the bait yet again… Who would be the first to wave the white flag of exhaustion?
Even someone who didn't know them would have found the answer to that question quite simple.