Chapter 688 - In the Midst of Youth
—And so, when it came to inviting family, my parents were naturally the first ones I thought of.
"Which means, I have four invitation tickets right here."
"A god is among us..."
"Praise be to the heavens, praise be to Nozomin..."
"...If you tried to get these legitimately, the odds would be worse than dozens to one..."
"I-Is this really okay...?"
As usual, we were at the Shijo residence. Even though I'd told them about this beforehand, my friends were all trembling—whether in jest or seriousness, I couldn't tell—now that they were faced with the actual tickets.
My parents passed, and Nagomi-san had told me to 'invite as many people as you like,' but in the end, I only invited six people.
This group from university... actually, come to think of it, everyone I invited is from the university.
Besides them, I invited Kunori-san, the university's chairman. Seeing as he's helped me out tremendously, I brought him the tickets and the news, and he accepted them with pure, unadulterated joy.
I was a little worried about whether it was appropriate for him to accept something like this from a student, but he apparently said, 'Refusing a gesture of goodwill from you would be far more outrageous,' with a dead-serious, immediate reply.
It's the same as always... it's in moments when I'm dealing with that madam that I'm most aware of how ridiculous my own situation has become. I hope he and his husband, who is also a huge fan of the virtual world, have a wonderful time.
By the way, Nia refused with a dead-serious recluse move, saying, "Too many people. Impossible." Her friend, Mitsueda-san, declined with a dead-serious guardian move, saying, "I have to stay home and watch with the shut-in." To be honest, I saw that coming. It was the expected outcome.
—But anyway, back to the matter at hand.
"Alright, there you go. Make sure you don't lose them before the day."
""Okay!""
"Thank you."
"Wow... Oh, wow... So this is the legendary..."
My childhood friends replied with the kind of bright, honest energy you'd expect from elementary schoolers. Mizuki took hers with a hand that trembled slightly, though her voice was calm. And the young lady of the Shijo house accepted hers with a voice and hands that were both trembling in utter reverence.
As always, is it just me, or is Kaede by far the most down-to-earth—or rather, the most normal—one in this group when it comes to her reactions?
Or perhaps, because she's a young lady who wasn't raised in a bubble, she understands the value of things more deeply than others, hence her reaction.
In any case, she's a great character. I hope she stays just the way she is forever, but at the same time, a mischievous thought bubbled up, which I tried to suppress—
"By the way, the [Sword Saint] will be there, so look forward to it."
—I tried, but my mouth beat me to it. Damn.
Well, it's not like it was a secret, and I was planning on telling this group anyway, considering the potential risks and the fact that I trust their discretion...
Still, dropping that bomb out of nowhere might have been a bit too much of a prank.
"..............................Huh—?"
"...Nozomi-kun?"
"Sorry, it just sort of... slipped out..."
Next to Kaede, who had frozen solid after letting out a sound like a mosquito's buzz, my best friend's other half sighed and shot me a glare. Well, might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.
"So, uhm. I've already told you guys about my clan, [Azure Sky Clan], so I'll just say it... my master joined up with us a little while ago."
"""Excuse me???"""
Whoa, a three-person sync.
As for Kaede, who wasn't reacting... it's fine. She's probably, most likely, definitely still breathing.
"She'll be making more public appearances from now on. There's a chance I might ask for help editing videos featuring Ui-san, so just be ready for that."
"What do you mean, 'be ready for that'?! Seriously?!"
"Seriously. We've already been on a few adventures together as a clan."
"No way... You're kidding..."
Though not to the same extent as Kaede... then again, it's no exaggeration to say that every Arcadia otaku is a fan of the [Sword Saint] to some degree. Watching Toshiki and Shoko's considerable reactions, I cautiously glanced over at the true fan—
"..............................Sh-She's crying..."
"...The shock was too much. It'll take her a little while to recover."
Still frozen, Mizuki-san naturally pulled her best friend, who had begun to shed beautiful tears, into an embrace. Faced with such a lovely display of friendship between two beautiful university students, I started to feel a pang of guilt, but when I met her eyes through her glasses, she just gave me a wry smile, not a blaming one.
"As you can probably guess, it's just her usual sickness. Tears of joy, so don't worry about it. I'll be looking forward to the videos—very, very much so."
"...I've actually already filmed a few. I'll check with Ui-san and the others."
"Please do."
I have no intention of publicizing the clan to the world, but a few videos could probably be passed off as a collaboration between members of the same faction. I was planning on releasing the 'private party' videos eventually anyway.
I'll need to consider the timing, but saying 'YES' now wouldn't be a lie.
And so,
"Well... I guess it can't be helped. If we hadn't told her beforehand, Kaede-chan might have actually fainted from the surprise at the venue."
"Ah, so that's why... Yeah, I guess a vaccination was in order."
That's exactly it.
Toshiki and Shoko were being rather blunt, but the young Shijo lady's condition was a well-known fact within our group—a fact of shame, perhaps—so she wouldn't object even if she heard them.
Thus, the ticket distribution ended, albeit not entirely smoothly. After a break of a few dozen minutes for the hardcore fan to recover, it was break time.
Adorning the table we sat around were, as always, fragrant tea and sweets. The latter, however, were not the usual high-end confections found at the Shijo residence...
"Seriously, Nozomin. You're just too skilled at everything, aren't you?"
"You're the first guy friend I've had who just casually bakes a cake. What is wrong with you?"
"It's as beautiful as something you'd buy in a store... Is this also from your part-time job?"
"Nah, baking is my dad's hobby. I just got infected after helping him out since I was a kid."
The cake was none other than a chiffon cake I'd baked yesterday. One of the two I'd made had already been cleanly devoured by the residents of the Yotsuya dorm; this was the other half.
"Really...? You were so skillful. Like a professional."
That was Kaede-san, who had been watching me prepare the whipped cream in the kitchen earlier.
I hadn't done anything professional—I'd just been whisking away with a mixer—but she'd been staring at me with such an impressed look that my back had started to feel all tingly.
"Anyway, stop talking and just eat. Don't build up my expectations so much. It's embarrassing and uncomfortable and embarrassing."
""Okay!""
"You guys really get along, huh?"
After making a perfunctory jab at the ever-energetic pair, I took a bite from my own plate... Yep, it's good. A very familiar taste.
As my friends began to eat one by one, their reactions were...
"Nghh... A guy my age made this? Seriously...?"
"I don't know why, but I'm starting to get angry..."
"It's delicious. The kind of thing you'd want to eat regularly."
"...Are you sure you're not a professional?"
It seemed to be well-received by everyone. A happy ending—
"Ah, Nozomin, hey! I have a question. My curiosity is killing me, so can I ask one thing?"
"Hm?"
Just as I was about to completely relax, Shoko, who had been trembling in a state I couldn't tell was感動 or devastation, shot her hand up.
When I turned to her, she took a deep breath as if steeling herself to say something difficult, biding her time...—
"They say you get fight money for the Triangle Duo, right? I heard a rumor."
And just like that, she dropped a topic that was probably difficult to ask a friend—or perhaps, because we were friends.
"Ah..."
I instantly understood where the conversation was heading and let out a noncommittal sound. I glanced around... no one was chiding her or giving her dirty looks. Everyone just looked awkward and curious.
Hey, I get it.
If our roles were reversed, I'm not sure I could have suppressed my own curiosity. For Shoko, the curiosity queen of our group, holding back was probably impossible.
"W-Well, I mean, it's not like I want to know the exact amount or anything gross like that! It's more of a... like, what's the scale of it, you know? For educational purposes!"
"I get it. I get it. I understand completely, so don't worry. You don't have to panic like that."
Again, I'm the same way.
So... I guess it wouldn't hurt to whisper the scale of it.
"Oh, ah, yes!"
When I beckoned her over, she scurried up to me with a surprised look on her face. I gave her a wry smile. As a reward for the hero who had bravely trampled over awkwardness in her devotion to curiosity, I whispered a rough estimate of the 'reward' that did, in fact, exist—
And a few seconds later,
"...H-Hey, what's wrong? Just how much—"
"It's better not to know. You won't be able to come back."
"...I think I get the picture. Well, no, I don't get it at all, but I get the picture."
"Ahaha..."
And so, we ended up with a catatonic Shoko and three horrified friends. I'd reached a point where I could just lean into it and find the whole scene amusing... Oh, right, one more thing.
That cake you guys are eating. It just so happens to contain meringue personally whipped by the one and only [Sword Queen], even if it's just a little...
Yeah, probably best to keep that a secret.