Chapter 656 - A Name Respun
—If I'm being honest, I wanted to run backward, not forward.
He did something I didn't know again. He showed me a sight I'd never seen before again.
And again, he soared over my head. The only reason I could stop myself from chasing after the figure that had seized my heart and stolen my gaze was, once again, because of that same heart.
I know how he looks at me. I know what he finds endearing about me. That's precisely why I won't make a mistake.
To avoid losing to my formidable rivals in love, it would be the height of folly to tarnish the one “strength” that is mine alone. This is not an ordeal; it is what I desire.
Because my desperate desire for both is the same.
In that case, I will simply choose the path that will ultimately grant me both. For this moment, I will endure the urge to rush to his side—and I will win, and in doing so, I will capture his gaze.
“Get back, General! Stop standing on the front lines every single time!!”
“What!? Then who else can act as a wall against her, huh!?”
Even after spending more time on this battlefield than anyone, I had rarely experienced a massive brawl of this scale.
In the midst of a chaos so profound that a momentary lapse in concentration would make it impossible to even grasp my own situation. With my carefree friend who shares the name of the “sword” on my crown absent, I found myself facing the East's second and third strongest.
Golden hair and golden armor. While parrying the “sword” and “fist” of the two who attacked in unison, their matching colors making them look like the best of friends as they exchanged roars, I also cut apart the searing gazes that flew at me through the gaps in the battlefield.
“—Hehe.”
A smile escaped my lips, impossible to hold back.
In the corner of my consciousness, I heard the voices of my enemies and friends shouting this and that—but I could not suppress the dancing of my heart at the utterly unknown presence that rose from far behind me.
The blades of a windmill, caught in a sudden gust, began to spin furiously.
On the stage she had so desperately longed for, the once-lonely [Sword Queen] let out a pure, unfiltered smile. The fire that had been lit by “him” was no longer his alone; it had certainly begun to spread.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…! How in the world can one person with a single sword—”
“Hey, Irori, she’s smiling elegantly and saying ‘ufufu’!? She’s seriously got room to spare! She’s on a completely different level of strength compared to before—”
My playmates had increased so much.
It wasn't just my friends, who had cast aside all unnecessary emotions like pity and reservation. The countless gazes from those around me now held awe, but no longer fear.
Because, thanks to a certain someone, I was finally able to convey it properly.
That the [Sword Queen], Iris, Alicia White—was just a normal player, who could fall in love like anyone else and simply wanted to play with everyone.
Just a slight change in the color of their gazes made everything so much gentler.
So much happier.
So much—more fun. That’s why, that’s why.
I probably don’t have to hate this crown anymore.
“...It’s a race, Haru.”
Catch me if you can.
A flash to the left. The swung sword batted away a golden fist and blew away the encroaching ice. In the midst of it all, I spun a small murmur and, with my free right hand, touched it… the black and navy blue hair ornament that adorned my silver-blue hair.
[One’s Gift (Fox’s Fortune Shadow-Woven Cord)]—one of only two in this world, a matching item with my beloved prince.
Its hidden power…
“[Little Braver].”
A curse was transformed into a blessing, its form respun into a “connection.”
A small yet certain light bloomed from a transparent crown, and the flash of my sword grew sharper.
In the heart of the greatest, most chaotic festival the virtual world had ever seen—
There were no longer any who carried their solitude.
A small one is fine, a life-sized one is fine. Wielding a sword for yourself, rousing your heart for you—that's all it takes.
That alone should make you stronger than before.
With that said, this has been merely the prologue to the prologue. Be prepared for the next development.
The fifth chapter is planned to be the longest by a landslide. Please look forward to everything.