Chapter 686 - At the Princess's Whim
"…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………So, why isn't she in the rankings?"
"It's a mystery."
Monday afternoon, the day after the weekend, in my room in the real world.
While indulging in a bit of baking—not quite a hobby—my assistant next to me let out a word after a long, long period of thought. To which, unfortunately, I could only respond with a question mark of my own.
"In a way, her position is more special than anyone else's. I can only imagine there are all sorts of circumstances we don't know about… Ah, stop. That's enough."
"Mm."
What the [Sword Queen] was holding in her right hand was not a sword, but a hand mixer, a class above the one at my parents' house in terms of quietness. The egg whites in the bowl she held in her left hand had transformed into a stiff-peaked meringue, her assigned task successfully completed.
I'd heard several times that she wasn't used to it due to lack of opportunity, but when I actually left it to her, her dexterity and efficiency were, as expected, superhuman. It seems nothing is impossible for the invincible princess.
Anyway. The topic of conversation, which ran parallel to the impromptu joint cooking session that started when Ashe casually dropped by my room, was about my partner, Sora, who had been on a rampage until she got sleepy last night.
"If I were to look for a serious reason, maybe it's because she's not good at PvP?"
"That might not be entirely off the mark for the East's selection criteria, but… your partner's value is not so small that she could be excluded for that reason alone."
"Right? I think so too."
I plopped about a third of the meringue into another bowl with the prepared egg yolk batter and mixed it in. Then I added the rest and gently folded it with a spatula, cutting through the mixture.
When the time was right, I poured it all at once into a pan shaped like a giant donut maker, with a hole in the center. All that was left was to bake it. In a few dozen minutes, a delicious chiffon cake would be ready.
"…Hey, Haru."
"Yes, this is Haru."
"Is it normal for boys to be able to bake cakes?"
"I think anyone can do it if they try. You can find recipes online in a second these days."
"I see… So you can make chiffon cake at home."
"It's way easier than a sponge cake, so in the Kasuga household, it's more like a homemade cake."
And with that, the work was done for now. As we exchanged laid-back words befitting of our leisure time (?), and I quickly cleaned up the utensils, a beep from the oven announced that it had finished preheating.
Alright, it's time for its journey. Off you go, and become delicious.
"Anyway, in the end, isn't 'it's a mystery' the only answer we have? It's impossible for Togo-shi or Nagomi-san, who say they can only operate on the outside, to pull strings… which means, if there is something going on, it must be the will of the 'gods.'"
"Even so, it's inconsistent, isn't it? If they just wanted to give her special power, there's no reason not to elevate her to a ranker, where she could acquire a top-tier unique ability in the form of a 'title.' Conversely, the demerit of becoming a ranker—standing out—"
"—is something she's already achieved by obtaining the [Cradle of Sword-Craft], a super top-tier [Anima] that's guaranteed to be a balance-breaking-rampage-machine. If the plan was to restrain her, it's failed."
In any case, there are too many things about my partner that deviate from the norm.
But in the end, in a virtual world where many 'special' things exist, the alternative answer of 'her own talent' always accompanies it, making it impossible to deduce anything further.
So,
"…Shall we drop it? It's not a very pleasant topic anyway."
"I agree. Sora is Sora, and that's all that matters."
"That being said, I wish she'd tone down the absurdity a bit. I'm jealous. I want to wield colorful magic swords at will, too."
"In this wide world, Sora's probably the only one who the [Sword Queen] herself looks up to."
It's probably for the best to let a playful topic remain just that and toss it aside. It's a part of me that can't be completely uninterested… but well, Sora is Sora.
She's my cute and reliable partner, and that's good enough.
"From a strategic standpoint, it's a huge help that she's not a ranker. I hope she stays 'nameless' for a long time… at least until all the 'Colored Monsters' are defeated."
"She's a super-special asset who doesn't take up a slot, after all…"
In fact, she'll be a great help in the 'Green Connect' raid scheduled for next weekend… or will she? With that one, it's not even certain if we'll encounter a direct battle—
"That aside. How are your preparations for this weekend?"
Ashe directed the conversation to a point one week before the future I was looking at. This Sunday, the 'Triangle Duo' was finally just six days away.
"Hmm… well, so-so? Tetra and Goldow told me not to worry about it too much, and I plan on participating just to have fun, like they said."
The estimated audience size—the AR dome built near the Tokyo bay area, nicknamed the 'Yotsuya Dome' or 'That Stupidly High-Tech Building,' is comparable in size to the Tokyo Dome itself, so the number of 'eyes' will be in the tens of thousands at a minimum.
Although we won't actually be going to the venue, showing ourselves to 'truly ordinary people' in a crossover with the real world… well, it's not hard to imagine that it'll bring a different kind and level of nervousness than before.
But you know, I've already given up on a lot of things.
"So, no problem. Once the real thing starts and I focus on the opponent in front of me, I'm sure I won't be bothered by my surroundings… I-I believe I won't, so, I'm, fine."
"…Are you really okay?"
"Your eyes aren't smiling."
And her voice didn't sound worried at all, either. I averted my eyes from Ashe, who was skillfully grinning with a deadpan expression—no, wait, I've been averting my gaze for a while now, but I thought she hadn't noticed, so it was fine—
"Haru."
"Yes."
"When are you going to look at me properly?"
—but she totally noticed. Welp, I'm dead.
The refreshments were still unfinished in the oven, but the coffee I'd brewed to keep my hands busy wasn't enough to distract her. Ashe closed the distance, and I turned my face away.
But, as always, she wouldn't let me escape.
She grabbed my head and forced my neck to turn, and what jumped into my vision was—the figure of the princess in her casual, dorm-only clothes, with an apron layered on top.
Whose apron? My apron, obviously. What, you think I'm kidding?
"…Does it not suit me?"
"I-It's hard to put into words…"
To be blunt, it doesn't suit you. It really, really doesn't suit you.
And because it doesn't suit you, it suits you to a deadly degree. Give me a break.
The overwhelming impression was that of someone completely unused to wearing it, and that it didn't match her at all. Since it's mine, it's too big, and the bagginess is just… you know…
You know…!!!!!
"………………Which is better?"
"Stop changing colors, I don't need a variety show, I've had enough already…!"
And so, for the several dozen minutes until the oven beeped.
As Ashe began to seriously tease me, putting on and taking off the 'bracelet' that technically surpassed the Yotsuya Dome, and messing with her hairstyle.
It goes without saying that I continued to expose my pathetic, helpless self.
Unfortunately, I can't describe everything, but this is pretty much what they do whenever they meet.