Chapter 712 - Second Round
"—Oh, my. Looks like everyone's here."
And so, after slurping down a certain illustrator-recommended cup ramen that cost a little over two hundred yen, and after a dizzying series of world-hops—from virtual to real, then real to real, then virtual to virtual—I killed some time chatting with my lonely partner before finally returning to the stage of duty.
The special boot-up sequence led to a relog that automatically delivered me to a room: Waiting Room Part 2, where the participants for the next match were gathered. Which meant I was met with three faces.
My partner, Hina-san, and our opponents for the second round of C-Block, the seeded team [Screen & Scattered]. Of the two, the amiable Mr. Tonic of [Scattered] gave me a friendly wave, while the [Screen] member, Yurayura-shi, glanced at me once before turning away without interest…
Well, that was pretty much in line with the characters I'd gathered from our brief interactions.
"Your barrage of new moves in the first round was magnificent. Looking forward to round two."
"Ah, thanks. Same here."
Ignoring the latter's usual display of aloofness, the refreshing, handsome man in the hero-like suit struck up a conversation—for a ranker, he was, how should I put it, so lacking in quirks that it was almost a defining characteristic in itself.
I wondered if it was just a facade, or if he was really like this through and through.
…Anyway, setting that aside.
"Um… is something wrong?"
I sat down on the sofa next to my partner, and asked the lady who had been observing me with a meaningful stare ever since I arrived. She smiled mischievously and replied,
"You seem a little more relaxed now, don't you?"
She said something that sounded like she'd seen right through me. In response, I tilted my head and feigned ignorance, as if to say, 'Whatever do you mean?'…
"You look much more refreshed than you did before the break—did you get some energy from your cute partner?"
"I refuse to comment."
She had hit the nail on the head so perfectly that all I could do was turn my face away and play dumb. People had told me before, but was I really that easy to read? But setting that aside, too.
The time was nearly 2 PM, meaning the countdown to the second program had begun. There was only one thing the four of us gathered in this room needed to discuss.
"So, how should we approach the second round?"
That is to say, a meeting to decide where to draw the line between serious fighting and performance to liven up this entertainment match… or so I thought, as I brought it up.
"How should we approach it, you ask…"
"Yeah…"
Mr. Tonic chimed in, agreeing with Hina-san's words, as they both turned their eyes towards the lone silver figure. And, of course, I joined them, making it three pairs of eyes.
He—or she—now the center of attention, frowned in annoyance but didn't go so far as to ignore us, dutifully opening their mouth to speak.
"…As you know, I can't hold back. You guys just adjust on your own."
"I figured as much."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"That's about what I expected."
And so, it was something we all knew beforehand. When the [Screen] was involved, the match's content would inevitably boil down to how the other three, exposed to an extraordinary power, would conduct themselves.
How would Hina-san and I resist? And how would Mr. Tonic co-star? The director of the stage was already decided, so in the end, it all depended on the performance of us actors.
And a crucial point in considering that performance was—
"By the way, which one were you planning to lay down?"
Which of the three rules he or she controlled would be chosen? When I asked lightly, Yurayura-shi glanced at me again with that same indifferent look.
"You can pretty much guess, can't you? Against you guys, I don't have a choice."
They tossed back a reply that was the very antithesis of straightforwardness. It was a refreshingly contrary attitude, but personally, I didn't dislike it; in a way, it was easy to understand.
While not a direct answer, the response was within my grasp—indeed, against Hina-san and me, it would have to be that one. The prediction itself wasn't difficult.
However, the difficulty of actually dealing with it was another story. And considering our tag team combination, it was a huge problem—
Just as we all reached the conclusion that 'there's nothing to discuss,' and our meeting came to a swift end, a screen materialized in mid-air, announcing the time.
And then,
"—Heeey! It's that time again! Your bellies might be full from lunch, but I bet your hearts are still starving! Let's get hyped for the middle act!"
The MC's energized voice echoed out, declaring the resumption of the program.
◇◆◇◆◇
After being teleported, I made my third entrance onto the stage. The stage was the same, the cheers were the same; the only thing different was the opponents across from me, one a comrade, the other less than an acquaintance.
"Haaah… What do we do?"
"Seriously, what do we do?"
After winning the first round of A-Block, the [Adamant & Undying] tag team advanced to face the [Peerless & Castle Lord] pair, the third-ranked members from the South and East. We had a meeting—or rather, since one of them was sleeping soundly, we exchanged a few words that didn't quite amount to a strategy session, but in the end, the conclusion was the same.
To put it simply, what in the world could we do to break through their defense?
"Tetra, you don't have another trump card hidden away like in the first round, do you?"
"I'm not like a certain someone; I don't just have ultimate moves popping out of nowhere. What about you, Auerin-senpai? Don't you have something? At this rate, we could get completely shut down and lose instantly."
"Ngh… I have one, but… hmm…"
Seeing his partner's reluctant expression, the boy didn't tilt his head in confusion… Instead, being all too perceptive, he let out a small sigh.
"Are you trying to win?"
"Huh? Of course I am."
"Right—then let's do it. The lamest thing would be to regret not trying later."
"…You know, teaming up with you has really changed my impression of you."
In response to Tetra's unhesitating declaration of 'full speed ahead,' Auerin gave him a look mixed with surprise and admiration.
"Alright then, let's do it—[Trance]."
With that key phrase, he changed his form.
His light armor remained, but his body shrank slightly while his long, hawk-brown hair grew out, tied up in a ponytail that cascaded down like a waterfall… His now slender right hand reached for the hilt of the greatsword on his back.
Thus, seeing his partner show an undeniable 'will to win,'
"…What do you need?"
"MP and support. Infinitely."
After exchanging brief words, the boy nodded and followed suit.
"Okay, then—[Trance]."
Along with the cheers for Auerin's transformation, another round of unavoidably embarrassing cheers rained down, but he ignored them all. Thus, the [Undying] sprouted 'ears' and a 'tail' befitting his all-black attire and, with a cool expression that, to those who knew him well, looked half-desperate…
"Well, let's just see what we can do."
"Alright, let's make this fun."
He and his partner steeled their resolve and faced their 'enemies.'
—And there, in their line of sight.
"…………………………[Castle Lord]."
"………………Ngh…"
"Are you awake?"
"……………………Mmm…"
"You are awake, right?"
"…Mhm…"
"I'll take that as a yes. I'm counting on you… I'm really counting on you."
"…Mhm…"
"Could you at least open your eyes?"
"Mmm………………"
"Gah… She's more than I can handle…!"
Their tag team synergy was beyond excellent—it was downright broken. However, in terms of their diligent and lazy natures, their compatibility was catastrophic. The two 'enemies' were still struggling to even communicate.
Thus, the first match of the Triangle Duo's second round began.
It's okay, she's properly awake. You're not allowed to say that being awake and still like this is even less okay.